Chapter 1: The Beginning
Chapter Text
27 years, that’s all that Maya Alexis Carson had before she met her end. It wasn’t anything gruesome, nothing terrifying or unnatural, in fact it was a positively mundane ending to her short life. A car accident, they happened all the time, every day even, but she never expected it, what she expected even less, was her rebirth, sure she believed that maybe souls got recycled, that they were given another chance to live, but she was fairly certain that they weren’t supposed to be able to remember their previous lives. She could, however it wasn’t until she was three that the memories of her previous life came rushing back to her, and with it, the realisation that she wasn’t a normal child, in a normal world. For Maya Alexis Carson, 27 year old woman, only child, dead before her time, was now Maya Alexis Sommers, three year old daughter to Jenna Sommers, cousin to three year old Elena Gilbert and one year old Jeremy Gilbert. The morning she woke up with her new ‘old’ memories, the three year old said her first curse word, “Fuck!”
She was five when she first met Caroline Forbes and Bonnie Bennett, as much as she hadn’t wanted to, she tried to befriend Elena, but the two of them could never get along, so she had decided not to even attempt to befriend the main character’s best friends, but it seemed like fate had a different idea. It was the first day of kindergarten that she met Caroline Forbes, the little blonde girl was a bubbly ball of light and had latched onto Maya almost the instant that they met, and Maya, who had been wallowing in a pit of darkness and despair since she got her memories back, was enamoured with the girl. Caroline was the sunshine to Maya’s endless night, and she couldn’t help but love the girl’s light, after all, if Maya was going to be stuck going through everything in her life again she needed to make friends and Caroline was a delight.
Her meeting with Bonnie, however, did not go well, the baby Bennett Witch was already friends with Elena so didn’t like Maya out of principal, but then when she had touched the Bennett Witch’s hand the girl had yelped as if shocked and accused Maya of hurting her on purpose. Maya had stared at her hand with wide eyes, when she touched Bonnie, her palm had glowed red, just for a moment, and she realised that she would never be able to be normal. Her five-year-old brain was overcome with emotion, and she burst into tears, it did not endear Bonnie and Elena to Caroline, who thought that they had made her new bestest friend cry, and from that moment, there was a fracture in the plot line that she knew of. Caroline Forbes was not one of Elena’s or Bonnie’s friends, in fact, she didn’t like them much at all, but she loved Maya because Maya was her best friend.
She was seven when she met her first vampire, of course, she was looking for him, so it wasn’t a shock…or rather that much of a shock when she found him. She cursed herself for not remembering Enzo sooner, but she was only young, and it was difficult to process old and new memories at the same time. It seemed that the universe tried to help her out with this and on occasion would send her a dream to remind her of something, or even show her something that she didn’t know to begin with.
She and her mother Jenna were staying over at the Gilbert’s for the weekend, but right now they were all out, Jenna, Miranda and Grayson were at the Mystic Grill enjoying a child free meal, while Elena, Jeremy and Maya were playing in the nearby park, with a teenage babysitter watching them. Elena was playing with Bonnie, who was there with her Grams, and five-year-old Jeremy was being watched like a hawk by the babysitter. So Maya used this as an opportunity to sneak into Grayson’s medical practice, to the basement, where she knew in her gut that Enzo was.
Maya made her way downstairs as quickly as she dared, she knew she wouldn’t have much time, and she couldn’t let Enzo out, it was broad daylight, but she couldn’t let him waste away, without any hope of being free. Even though she knew what was happening for Enzo, nothing could prepare her for the actual sight of the poor vampire, strapped to a table, with an IV of what was probably vervain slowly being drip fed into him to keep him down. Enzo’s head shot up when he scented the newcomer and she let out an involuntary squeak as his eyes landed on hers. Maya’s hand shot up to cover her mouth, lest any other involuntary sounds slipped out, Enzo looked so much worse than she remembered, he was deathly pale, his face was gaunt, he looked like he wouldn’t be far from actual desiccation.
“No, no, no,” Enzo moaned as he saw the little girl, how could his captors do this, she was just a child, putting her in the room with him, if they released his bonds then he’d kill her, “Sweetheart you need to run,” he whispered in a panic, he didn’t want to hurt her, “you can’t be here!”
Maya ignored him, walking up to him, “You’re a vampire,” she whispered, almost afraid to say it out loud.
Enzo was shocked, was Augustine training children now? Her hand reached up and he flinched, it was involuntary, he’d long since trained himself not to react to his torturers, but this child had thrown him for a loop. “It’s okay,” she said quietly, her fingers gently brushed the hair from his eyes, “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“But I could hurt you!” he replied, momentarily stunned by the gentle touch, it had been 60 years since he’d last felt a gentle hand upon him.
“No, you can’t,” she replied, it had been two years since she’d discovered that she was a Siphon, the first thing that she’d gotten her hands on was the Gilbert pocket watch and she’d drained it of every last bit of magic it had. It was a powerful creation and had more magic than she thought inside of it, terrified to go to Sheila Bennett for help, because she wasn’t a normal witch, she trained herself. She started off small, little tricks that shouldn’t have taken much, but she didn’t know the words to the spells so she exerted more magic than necessary. It turned out that fundamentally magic was a force of will, incantations helped channel magic into what the witch wanted, and ultimately there was a lot that she could do without the use of words, it just took longer and drained her tiny body faster. When she’d exhausted the magic of the pocket watch she’d stalled in her training. She couldn’t use Uncle Grayson’s ring, she knew John Gilbert would need it in the future, she didn’t know where the Gilbert device was and even if she did, she was only seven, she couldn’t go out on her own and get it. “I’m Maya,” she said, “What’s your name?”
Enzo sighed; the little girl didn’t look like she was going anywhere, hopefully talking to her would distract him from the fact that he could practically feel the blood running through her veins. “Lorenzo St John, at your service Sweetheart, how can I help you?”
“I found one of Uncle Grayson’s diaries, it- it said he was hurting someone, I had to know,” Maya admitted.
“So, you’re the doctor’s niece then?” Enzo tried to be nonchalant about it, but it came out flat, and harsh.
“I’m sorry,” Maya whimpered, tears were starting to fall from her eyes, “I’m sorry he’s hurting you! I want to make him stop but I’m only seven! My powers don’t work right yet, I’m so sorry!” she was full on crying, even though she had the memories from her past life, memories that meant that she remembered being an adult; her body and mind was still seven, and what she saw, what she knew, it was nothing any seven-year-old should see.
Enzo was startled out of his dark thoughts by her tears, no one had ever cried for him, not once in his almost century of existence. “Hey sweetheart, it’s alright love, don’t cry for me.” He couldn’t reach out to comfort her, but he didn’t want her to cry.
Her little hands roughly scrubbed at her face as she tried to calm down, she didn’t have long and Enzo needed blood before he desiccated, reaching out, she grabbed a scalpel from the tray next to him and made a small cut on the side of her hand. “What are you do-” Enzo was cut off by the bloody appendage being shoved into his mouth. He tried to stop himself, he really did, but the taste of her blood was too much for him and his fangs came out, sinking into her hand deeper she let out a small whine that went unheard by the vampire that hadn’t had fresh blood in 60-plus years.
Maya knew that it would hurt but she wasn’t expecting the strange rush of something else that shot through her, she knew in the books if a vampire fed on someone willing it felt good, but she didn’t realise that it would be the same here. She looked at Enzo and realised that he’d gotten some of his colour back and his cheeks looked a little fuller, she put her other hand on his face and started to Siphon him, to get him to stop feeding. When Enzo felt the odd stinging pain he pulled back, letting go of her hand, “What, what was that?!” Enzo felt a little woozy, “I could have killed you!”
“It’s ok,” Maya replied, “I’m a witch, I stopped you.”
“What if you hadn’t!” he almost yelled, he did not want to be responsible for the little girl’s death.
“I know how to hurt you,” she responded, “I’m not like normal witches, I have to take magic from people to work, so I took a bit from you to stop you.”
“I don’t have any magic, I’m a vampire,” he said angrily, unable to believe that the girl had just risked her life for him.
Maya sighed and looked at him like was stupid, “Vampires are full of magic, it’s the only thing that keeps them alive, I took a bit of yours, that’s why it hurt, it’s not permanent don’t worry.” She shrugged and looked down at her bleeding hand, furrowing her brow, she focused on the injury and placed her other hand on top of it, waiting a moment she pulled her hand away to find the injury gone. Maya showed Enzo her hand so as not to worry the vampire further, “See, all healed.”
Enzo was amazed but wouldn’t show it, “Never do that again,” he ordered.
Shaking her head, Maya knew that he wouldn’t budge on this, but she’d figure out how to feed him something, “It’s daytime, so I can’t let you out, but I promise I’m going to figure out how to free you Lorenzo,” she said, and in lieu of a goodbye she kissed him on the cheek quickly, before darting up the stairs and out of the building before the babysitter could notice she was missing.
Getting back to the park she curled up on a bench away from Elena and Bonnie, she wished the Caroline was there, but her Care-Bear was on a weekend trip with her dad. She felt eyes on her and stiffened, looking around she saw Sheila Bennett’s eyes on her and fought her instincts which were telling her to run. A Bennett Witch had created the Prison Worlds that Kai and the Heretics were in, which meant that the Bennett line thought that Siphoners were unnatural. Maya didn’t want to go anywhere near Bonnie’s Grams.
She was ten when she finally figured out where to get a steady source of magic from, for the past three years she’d managed to accidentally stumble across bits and pieces that were imbued with magic so she could keep practicing, but nothing so she could do it all the time. But at ten, her mother Jenna had moved them into the apartment above Grayson’s medical practice, which was good for her because it made it easier to visit Enzo. After her third visit the Augustine vampire had finally told her to call him by his nickname, and by the time she was ten he had come to not only trust her, but to rely on her visits to keep him sane and to keep his hope alive. But the move also meant that Maya was close to one particular magical hotspot, the place where Esther Mikaelson had died, the Original Witch had left a huge magical signature there and it was close enough that Maya could cut through there after school, on her way home.
It was because she’d found a steady magic source that she’d felt that it was time to tell her mother the truth about her abilities and enlist Jenna’s help in getting Enzo out of the torture factory below. “Mum can I talk to you?” Maya asked, one weekend.
Jenna looked up from her computer, working on completing her bachelor’s degree and taking care of a child as a single mother was hard, but she wouldn’t trade it for the world. “Sure baby, what is it.”
Maya sat down in front of her mother with all the seriousness that she could muster, “Mum I’m going to tell you something and I need you to believe me, okay? It’s really important.”
“Ok honey, lay it on me,” Jenna was a little amused at how serious her baby girl looked.
“Mum I’m a Witch.”
Jenna tried not to laugh at her daughter, clearly her imagination was running wild, “Ok,” she said with mock seriousness, “Are you a Witch like Hermione in Harry Potter? Do you have a wand? Did you get your Hogwarts Letter?”
“Mum!” Maya exclaimed, “I’m telling the truth! Look!” She raised her hand and pointed it at the candle sticks on the table between them, “Phasmatos Incendia!” She spoke clearly and all three candles lit up.
Jenna jumped in surprise at that and then looked round the apartment as if looking for whoever else was in on the prank “Honey how did you do that? Playing with fire isn’t a joke.”
“I’m not joking Mum!” Maya said frustrated, grabbing a pillow off the couch she ripped it open and let the feathers all drop to the floor.
“Maya!” Jenna exclaimed getting up to grab her daughter. But Maya moved away from her and concentrated, the feathers all lifted up around Jenna a just floated there. Jenna looked around in shock “Oh my god!” she whispered, feeling her legs give out she collapsed on the floor staring at her daughter.
Tears pooled in Maya’s eyes, “Please don’t be afraid Mummy, please,” she whimpered and Jenna came back to herself.
She pulled her daughter to her in a tight hug, “I’m not scared of you baby, this is just a lot to take in.” Standing up with her daughter in her arms, Jenna settled on the couch, “Now how about you tell me everything.”
It took a few hours but, Maya told Jenna what she could, about the magic, about the ‘visions’ that she would get whilst asleep, she didn’t go into too much detail there, but she’d been having terrible nightmares of the Witch House and she knew her Mum would ask questions about the little girl waking up screaming in the middle of the night. She also told her about the Sheila and how Jenna could never tell her about Maya, even though Sheila was an actual practicing witch herself. “Why not?” Jenna asked, “You can’t just learn this all by yourself.”
“You can’t Mum, Miss Sheila hates me!”
“Honey I’m sure she doesn’t hate you, and you need help.”
“No, she told me to stay away, she said I was an abomination, she’ll hurt me Mum!”
“Maya-”
“No, when we were at Bonnie’s house with Elena, Miss Sheila said that I was unnatural, that I shouldn’t exist, and to stay away from Bonnie. I told you I’m not like normal witches.”
Jenna’s face hardened at the thought of her daughter being threatened by another person, who the hell did Sheila Bennett think she was! “Then we’ll just have to find you someone like you.”
“The other witches kill them,” Maya whispered, “or worse, I don’t know where to find someone else to help.”
Maya’s voice trembled as she spoke about others like her, and Jenna did everything she could to keep her own terror from showing, the thought of her little girl being murdered by witches that didn’t like that she was different, had her wanting to snatch up her daughter and hide away where no one could find them. It was then Maya moved on to her most pressing concern, the vampire in the basement.
“WHAT!” Jenna yelled, when Maya told her about Enzo, “You’re telling me that Grayson is torturing someone, in the goddamn basement!”
“Mum that’s a dollar in the swear jar!”
“Maya this is a situation that needs swearing, and don’t think were not going to have a conversation about your lack of self-preservation! Feeding a hungry vampire! What were you thinking?!” Jenna threw herself back onto the couch, “We can’t just leave him there,” she muttered to herself, “It’s not right.”
Maya smiled, Jenna was the best mum, she didn’t hate her for being a Siphon, and she didn’t want to leave Enzo in the basement. “Well…” she started, almost guiltily, “I kinda have a plan.” She looked up at her mother with a sheepish smile.
Jenna’s eyes narrowed at her daughter, “Tell me everything!” she ordered.
“Well… I’ve been practicing enough that I could blow the power on this street, it’ll turn off the cameras and the locks in Uncle Grayson’s clinic, we could get some blood bags and feed Enzo, and then let him out before anyone sees!”
Jenna gripped the bridge of her nose in frustration and then looked at her daughter, “We are doing this, and then I am going to figure out your punishment for putting your life in danger.”
Maya knew that there was no way she could get out of this, so just nodded silently and let her mother process all the information that she’d been given.
It was three days later on Saturday evening that Jenna gave her daughter the go ahead for the plan, closing her eyes and concentrating, Maya reached out with her borrowed magic, she could feel the electric current running through the building and followed it outside to the powerlines, frowning she muttered a few words under her breath before there was loud crack and one of the electrical lines fell, cutting off the power to the whole street. “Lets go,” Jenna said, holding onto her daughter tightly, she hadn’t wanted to bring the young girl, but Maya had pointed out that Enzo wouldn’t trust her on her own and she didn’t want the vampire to hurt her.
Maya waited patiently for Jenna to find the blood bags in the Clinic, the woman grabbing all ten of them because she didn’t know how much the vampire would need, “Let’s go Mum!” She grabbed Jenna’s hand when her mother got close and pulled her to the basement door, “Ok hang on,” Maya grabbed the door handle and concentrated her magic on making the door fragile and then she pulled towards her, the edge of the door warped and swung open, “to make it look like it broke from the inside,” she shrugged at her mother’s questioning gaze.
Jenna was so not going to touch that with a ten-foot pole tonight. The mother daughter duo headed downstairs and Jenna gasped at what she saw, Enzo was in a cage that looked to be bolted to the floor, “Oh my god!” she whispered, she was hoping that at least this part of her conversation with her daughter was make believe, but her brother-in-law really was cutting up a person down here.
“Sweetheart,” Enzo spoke warily, “What are you doing down here?”
“We’re breaking you out!” Maya replied excited, she hated that it had taken her this long to come up with a way to free her friend.
“Love I haven’t fed, you can’t let me out,” he replied, not taking his eyes from the other woman in the room.
“It’s okay Enzo, we brought you food! Mum!” she said calling to the woman who was frozen in place, “Mum!” she hissed again, finally getting Jenna’s attention. “The blood!” Jenna startled and handed the purse filled with blood bags to her daughter, who in turn happily supplied them to the man in the cage, “See Enzo, blood bags!”
Enzo looked at the bags warily, not yet willing to give in to the feeling that was rising in his chest. “What?”
“Enzo hurry, we don’t know when Uncle Grayson is going to come back!”
The vampire shook himself from his stupor and started draining the bags, he finished all ten, not willing to chance being even the slightest bit hungry around his saviours, when he was finished, he handed the purse back, “Alright, move aside sweetheart.” Maya grabbed her mother’s hand and pulled her to the side of the cage and they both watched as Enzo kicked the cage door open, finally at full strength after 60 years. Jenna squeaked in surprise when she saw the door fly across the room, “We need to leave,” Enzo said, “Who knows if someone heard that.” He grabbed both girls and whooshed out the clinic and landed them outside of their apartment upstairs. Jenna wobbled on her feet not expecting or being used to such a feeling, but Maya was practically jumping up and down in glee, that was the single most fun thing she’d ever felt! Enzo looked at the little ten-year-old with a soft smile, she was his saviour, his hope, his little sister, he bent down and wrapped her in his arms, “Thank you sweetheart, I’ll see you soon,” he whispered and then whooshed out of sight.
Chapter 2: Magic is Real
Notes:
Thanks for reading, comments would totally be appreciated!
Chapter Text
School had just finished the Monday after Maya and her mother had freed Enzo, and surprisingly Jenna was there to pick up the young girl up. She usually let Maya walk home on her own, because her daughter had always acted more maturely than the other children her age, but Jenna had finally come up with a punishment for Maya for keeping Enzo, and magic and all things dangerous from her. Jenna was chatting with her sister Miranda as they both waited for the girls to come outside. Elena rushed out, whilst Maya and Caroline left the school at a much more sedate pace, the girls were chatting animatedly when Jenna cleared her throat startling them both.
“Mom! What are you doing here?” Maya asked, she had a feeling she knew what this was about but didn’t want to say anything.
“Well, I’ve decided on your punishment for…” Jenna shot a quick glance at Miranda who had no idea what was going on but was watching with intrigue. Jenna had never disciplined Maya in front of anyone before. “Your misbehaviour.”
“Okay,” Maya didn’t think this was going to be good.
“You’re grounded for a month.”
“What?” Maya squeaked.
“Your Aunt Miranda will be picking you up from school for the whole month, and you’ll be staying over there until I come to get you after I finish work.”
“Mom!” she whined.
“Also no TV for a month!”
“The TV’s broken,” Maya replied, to be honest, she had a lot going on and didn’t spend any time watching unless she was with Caroline.
“Then no computer.”
“I need my computer for school,” Maya pointed.
Jenna scowled, sometimes she wished Maya wasn’t such a smart mouth, looking to her daughter’s side she saw her best friend stood there and smirked, “Then no Caroline!”
“What?!” Maya yelled.
At the same time Caroline lurched forward a little and exclaimed, “No Caroline!”
“No Caroline!” Jenna said again, “Now get in the car, Aunt Miranda’s taking you back to her place, Caroline go home, you can hang out with Maya again in a month.”
Elena looked positively gleeful at this outcome, Maya never got into trouble, Maya was well behaved, and smart, and the perfect child, her dad often told Elena to be more like Maya, which was one of the reasons she hated her cousin. But this was great, she couldn’t wait to tell Bonnie all about it, the only downside was that Maya was going to be at their house every day for a month. Maya stared mournfully at her best friend as Miranda started her car and drove off with the girl, this was going to suck!
By the time Maya actually got home she had a pounding headache, Elena wouldn’t stop being a brat, Aunt Miranda wouldn’t stop her, because no one should yell at her ‘precious’ Elena and Jeremy wouldn’t stop following her around. It was weird, she figured that her baby cousin would follow in Elena’s footsteps and hate her. But it seemed like Jeremy did have his own brain and decided that because Maya wasn’t into the usual girly things like his sister, he liked her.
Sighing Maya headed straight to her room, shutting the door and threw herself on her bed, she missed Caroline, she didn’t think it was possible but even though she had 27 extra years on the soon to be blonde bombshell, Caroline really had wormed her way into her heart. The ten-year-old allowed Maya to let loose, and act like a child, which really helped, because if Maya didn’t have Caroline, all she’d be doing is planning and plotting, trying to figure out how to get the best outcome for everyone. She also missed Enzo, he was her friend, and while she was so happy that he got his freedom, she was upset that she probably wouldn’t see him again. She was so deep in thought that she startled when she heard a tapping at her bedroom window and saw Enzo’s face peering in at her. “Are you going to let me in or what?” he hissed.
Darting over to the window she pushed it open and invited him inside, “What are you doing here? Mom said that some creepy guys came by the clinic today, we think they’re Augustine. You can’t be here Enzo, they’ll catch you.” She rushed out.
“I know sweetheart, but I couldn’t just leave you without saying goodbye, you spent three years creeping in and out of my torture chamber just to keep me company, to keep me sane.” Moving her dark red hair behind an ear, Enzo crouched down so that they were eye to eye. “You gave me hope when I had none and then to top it all off you and your mother rescued me from a lifetime of torture. You mean everything to me Little One, I had to see you again.”
Maya’s eyes welled with tears and she flung herself forward into Enzo, the stupid vampire kept making her cry, “I don’t want you to go ‘Zo,” she hiccoughed, trying to stifle her sobs so her mother wouldn’t hear her, “I’m gonna miss you so much,” she squeezed his middle, the vampire gathered her in his arms and lifted her up, sitting on the bed, he settled her in his lap, stroking her hair, waiting for her to calm down. Enzo was the first person she’d told everything to, he knew that she was a reincarnated soul, that she could remember everything of that previous life, including her death, he knew that she would get visions about the future (and sometimes the past). He was also the only one who truly understood how terrified she was living in town with a Bennett Witch, she told him about the prison worlds, about how Sheila Bennett helped to put the last Siphoner in one eight years prior.
“Believe it or not Little One, I don’t want to have to leave, but I can’t let Augustine find me again, and I need to figure out how to live in this century, especially without a daylight ring.”
Maya’s eyes widened and she looked up at the British vampire, “I can make you one!”
“You know the spell?”
Maya shook her head, “No, but I know where we can find a copy of it, if you could get me it, and a lapis lazuli ring, I could spell it.”
“You’re certain love? This isn’t just a ploy to get me to stick around longer?”
“Enzo I don’t want you to go, but I don’t want you to get hurt more.”
Enzo nodded, “Alright sweetheart, tell me, where’s the spell?”
“It’s in Emily Bennett’s grimoire, which was buried with the late, not so great, Giuseppe Salvatore…Damon’s dad.”
The vampire’s jaw clenched at the reminder of his old friend, the man that had left him to die, the man that didn’t have enough in him to kill Enzo, instead of leaving him to a fate worse than death. He wanted to find his cellmate and now he knew just where to start. “Love,” he started, “if I brought you something of the Salvatore Patriarch, do you think that you could find Damon for me?”
“Uh, what do you mean when you say ‘something’?” she hesitated, why did she feel like the answer was going to gross her out?
“Well it has been 150 years, so it would be a bone.”
“Gross Enzo! A bone!”
“Keep it down, do you want your mother to hear us?”
“That’s so disgusting, and yes, I could, but I would need actual maps of the US.”
Enzo smiled, “Thank you sweetheart, I’m going to go before your mother comes to check on you, but I’ll bring you the grimoire so that you can review the spell.” With that he whooshed out of the window and Maya threw herself onto her back and groaned, this was going to be a long month.
The next morning Maya found Emily Bennett’s grimoire on the desk in her room, along with a note from Enzo telling her to study up on the spell while he hunted down an acceptable ring. Smiling at the prospect of being able to learn from it before Bonnie and Sheila could get their hands on it excited her. Also, if Caroline did end up becoming a vampire in the future, she wanted to be the one to give her a daylight ring, Care needed to know that even if she made mistakes and hurt people, on accident or on purpose, it she wouldn’t be punished. Maya frowned when thinking of Caroline reminded her of her latest predicament, and the Caroline free month she’d been punished with. She hated being a kid sometimes.
Maya woke up with a smile on her face, she made it the full month being stuck at Elena’s, missing Caroline, not practicing her magic, she been studying the grimoire Enzo had gotten her, but apart from the daylight ring spell, and locator spell, she hadn’t been able to do anything else. Her mum had to go to Whitmore for her lectures, but Maya was finally free to do as she wanted. Packing up the grimoire in her Lord of the Rings backpack, she grabbed her keys and the emergency cell phone her mother had provided her with after the whole ‘if a witch finds me, they might kill me’ thing, she headed out to the site of Esther’s death. When she got there, she felt a change in the magic of the area, a weakening, and then she was smiling for a whole different reason. The magic of the site was not infinite, which meant that she could Siphon it all up, which in turn, meant that Esther would not be able to use it as a source of power to make an indestructible stake and an unkillable hunter. Maya wondered if she could find something to store magic in, the moonstone sealed a curse, and Emily Bennett’s talisman worked like a magical battery, so surely something could be made that wasn’t as ugly for her to wear. Maya bit her lip and decided she’d give Enzo a call about it later, the vampire might be able to find something for her after he’d finished dealing with Damon Salvatore.
Biting her lip, she shook the thoughts from her head and sat down on the ground, pulling the grimoire out she flipped through the pages until she got to what she was looking for. The boundary spell, the one used on the tomb, if she understood how it was done, then she could figure out how to undo it, and while Maya was probably just going to Siphon the magic from the tomb, she wanted to be able to cast the spell at will, without the use of a celestial event.
Hours had passed before Maya had made any progress, and any that she had made was miniscule in comparison to what she wished to be able to do, she’d managed to trap a squirrel in a small circle, but it had only lasted ten minutes before it gave out. Huffing in frustration she shut the grimoire and placed her hands on the ground, closing her eyes she Siphoned the magic into her body. She was going to see Caroline and there was no way that the blonde would accept any lies from her, besides, she wanted Caroline to be more prepared than anyone else in this town. In the show Caroline hadn’t grown as a person until she became a vampire, which meant that people didn’t believe in her and that created the insecure version of the girl that was easy to manipulate and hurt. But Maya wasn’t about to let that happen, her Caroline was going to be strong and smart and independent, before anyone tried to sink their fangs into the girl.
Before she was reborn, Maya had never walked so much in her life, she lived in the city in her previous life, where taxis, buses and trains were everywhere, but here in small town Virginia, there wasn’t much she could do but walk. While the magical hotspot was close by to the apartment, it still tired her out, she was going to have to call either Caroline’s mom or dad and hope that one of them could pick her up, or she was going to have to call Aunt Miranda or (shudder to think about it) Uncle Grayson and see if they were willing to take her over to Care’s. This sucked, she couldn’t wait until she could drive again.
Sighing, Maya picked up the phone and dialled the familiar number that would connect her to her best friend. Caroline picked up on the second ring and Maya had to stop herself from squealing in excitement, “Care-Bear! Guess who is finally free and missing her sunshine!”
The delighted gasp on the other end of the phone was exactly what she was expecting, but also made her ever so fond of the girl she called best friend. “Seriously?! You’ve been released?!” Caroline replied.
“I’m free and clear and mom is out for the day and left me money for Pizza, so what do you say, wanna hang with your bestie?”
“YES!” Caroline practically shrieked, “Hang on,” Maya heard the tell-tale sound of the phone being left on its side, and muffled voices, Caroline must have gone to speak to her parents. The phone was picked up again and the ten-year-old blond was on the line again, “Okay, mom says that she’ll drop me off on the way to work, so I’ll be there in an hour, I’m staying over tonight!” Caroline giggled. “I’ll see you soon!” she hung up the phone before Maya could respond.
Shaking her head, Maya grinned and moved to set everything up for Caroline, she figured the best way to address things with Care was to make sure that she started off with the pretty stuff, she’d move on to scarier things when Caroline was old enough. She was going to have to tell Caroline about the danger that other witches would be to her though.
Clearing the table Maya set out a few things: a pile of feathers from the pillow she’d destroyed when showing her mom her abilities, a candle, a glass of water and her mom’s fake crystal ball that Jenna had gotten as part of a psychic costume for last year’s Halloween. She also ordered Pizza for dinner, she figured her mum would be home at around eight p.m. and would be starving after a long day at college. She just hoped that she was right and Caroline wouldn’t completely freak out when Maya showed her what she could do.
A knock at the door broke her out of her reverie, “Maya open up!” Caroline called.
The Siphon rushed to the door, opening it she was engulfed in her ball of sunshine’s arms, the two girls falling to the floor at the force at which Caroline had thrown herself at her best friend. “Caroline!” Sheriff Forbes scolded as she brought in her daughter’s overnight bag.
“Hi Mrs Forbes!” Maya chirped from the floor, still wrapped in Caroline’s arms, she grinned up at the Sheriff, showing that she was fine.
“Maya honey,” the Sheriff replied, “Caroline let the girl up!” Caroline reluctantly pulled back and both girls stood up, “Where’s your mother?” Liz asked.
“She’s just grabbing some sleepover goodies,” Maya replied, knowing that Liz wouldn’t be happy to know that she was at home alone, but her mom deserved to get an education and given that Maya could remember how to take care of herself, she made sure to never give her mom any trouble. “She’ll be back in like 20 minutes, did you want to wait for her?” she asked, knowing that the Sheriff would decline.
“No honey, that’s fine, just tell her I said hi okay, and whatever you did, don’t do it again, Caroline’s been sulking all month.”
“I have not!” Caroline protested.
Liz rolled her eyes and smiled fondly down at her daughter, “Caroline, your father will pick you up at ten tomorrow, be ready.” She said, ruffling her daughters hair, “I’ll see you tomorrow honey, bye girls.”
Caroline managed to hold out for whole hour and a half before she finally caved and demanded answers from her best friend, “Okay you have to spill!” she moaned, “What did you do?!”
“Nearly two hours, I’m impressed Care!” Maya smirked, she really was, Caroline had never been able to hold her curiosity for this long before.
“Maya!” Caroline whined, “Tell me! Or I’ll tell Elena who really destroyed her Malibu Barbie!”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Maya challenged.
“Try me!” Caroline crossed her arms over her chest and Maya was rewarded with a flash of what the young girl would look like in the future.
“Okay, okay,” Maya caved, “I’ll tell you, but you have to promise that you’ll never breathe a word of this to anyone, I mean it Care. Not. A. Word.”
“I swear,” Caroline promised.
So Maya told her about being a witch, it took a while for Caroline to even take her seriously, at first she thought that Maya was lying just to keep from telling her the truth about what she did, but when it became clear that Maya was serious, she asked for proof. Maya tugged her over to the table and sat down, “Now don’t scream okay, I need my concentration, but I’ll go with the easiest thing first.” Closing her eyes for a moment, when she opened them, they were surrounded by floating feathers.
Caroline gasped in surprise, she didn’t really believe what Maya was telling her until this show of magic, she wanted to ask questions, but Maya had told her that she needed to concentrate. Maya moved her hand and the feathers gathered in a pile on the dining table.
“Well?” she asked a little sheepishly, “Are you scared of me?”
“It’s beautiful!” Caroline exclaimed, “What else can you do?”
Maya smiled, “See what I can do with fire!” she lit the candle with a wave of her hand, this time as she moved her hands and the flame grew and rose up and away from the candle and morphed into the shape of a ballet dancer.
Caroline clapped with joy, “It’s so pretty!” she giggled, she couldn’t believe it, her best friend was a witch!
“Okay, now water!” Maya put the flames out and pushed the glass of water over to Caroline, “Now touch the glass.”
Caroline frowned but put her hands on the glass, “What’s supposed to happen?”
“Just give it a minute,” Maya replied and focused on the water, Caroline gasped as the water began to cool and then quickly turned to ice.
“That’s so cool!”
“Yeah but they’re not my favourite.”
Caroline looked at her best friend curiously, “Well what is?”
Maya grabbed the crystal ball and put it directly in front of her, “I’m not going to tell your future, just be quiet.” Closing her eyes, this required all her concentration, the glass ball floated in the air, started glowing red before it began to twist into a new shape, when she was done it was a delicate glass horse. Maya felt drained, she didn’t realise the all that element manipulation would be so tiring, her concentration broke and the horse dropped from its position in the air. Caroline squeaked in alarm and grabbed the delicate glass horse before it hit the table and shattered. “Do you like it?” Maya asked.
“It’s- it’s perfect,” Caroline marvelled, Maya’s other tricks were amazing, but this was something that she could touch, hold, something that told her that she wasn’t just imagining things. “I love it!”
“Good,” Maya replied, “it’s yours.”
“Seriously!” Caroline’s delight was evident, “You’re the best!”
Chapter 3: Introductions
Notes:
Thanks for reading, comments would totally be appreciated!
Chapter Text
"this" - phone conversation
"this" - different languages
Maya was 13 when Enzo gave her a call to tell her the news about Damon, he’d found him shortly after Maya located the eldest Salvatore, and for two years he’d punished Damon, beat him black and blue for his betrayal, beat him so hard, and for so long that Damon’s emotions switched on. Damon had spent the next year trying to make amends with Enzo, earn his forgiveness, but in his time free, Enzo realised that the reason he was so hurt by Damon’s betrayal wasn’t just because Damon was his best friend. It was because he was in love with the eldest Salvatore, which wouldn’t have been a problem, if Damon wasn’t so bloody in love with Katherine Pierce. “Maybe I can help with that!” Maya said, thinking about the dream she’d had about the tomb under the church.
“How?” Enzo asked, Damon had been in love with Katherine for 140 years, there was no way to break that.
“You said Damon’s been waiting to break her out of the tomb right?”
“Yes, he has to wait for the comet to pass in four years.”
“She’s not there.”
“What?!”
“I had a vison, the tomb is sealed with magic, so I should be able to Siphon it. I can open the tomb and prove it.”
“Then we’ll come there right away, open the tomb, and show Damon that she’s not there, that she doesn’t love him!”
“Not yet!” Maya exclaimed, “Summer vacation isn’t far away, Care is going to cheer camp, you guys can come then.”
“Why wait so long?”
“I don’t want a volatile, vengeful, broken hearted vampire loose in town while my best friend is here.”
“You let me out while she was in town,” Enzo pointed out, “I was much more volatile and vengeful.”
“I know you Enzo, I don’t know Damon, and just because you love him, doesn’t mean I trust him. Besides, I need you to find something for me to put the magic I Siphon from the tomb in. My body won’t be able to hold that much power without killing me. Plus, I need you to get Damon to agree to killing the rest of the vampires in the tomb, bar Pearl.”
“Wait, it could kill you? Love you’re not doing it, we’ll wait till the comet passes.”
“No Enzo, the visions only come to me when I need to do something, as long as you can find me a vessel to store the magic in, I’ll be fine!”
“No way love, you’re my priority, Damon can wait.”
“Enzo if I’d have ignored my vision when I was seven, just because I could have been killed, you and I never would have met.”
“Sweetheart-”
“No Enzo, this needs to be done, I get the visions when they’re needed, now are you going to find me a vessel or not?!”
Enzo sighed, “You’re really not going to give up on this?”
“How long have you known me Enzo?”
“Fine,” he acquiesced, “I’ll find something for you to use. I’ll speak to Damon, maybe he knows someone, or something that can help.”
“Thanks Enzo! I’ll see you in two months!”
“Who was that?” Damon asked, walking into the hotel room that Enzo and he were sharing.
Enzo snapped the phone shut, looking at the man he loved, he was hesitant to tell Damon, but he believed Maya was telling him the truth, “The witch that freed me from Augustine.”
Damon stiffened at the reminder that he’d left his best friend to die and be tortured, instead of saving him like he should have done, “Oh? And what did she say?”
“Well, she’s not particularly happy that I’m not still beating you black and blue, and she thinks that when you get Katherine back, you’ll abandon me again.”
“Is that what you believe?” Damon asked, he wouldn’t admit it, but he was afraid of the answer Enzo would give him, when he thought about it, he wasn’t so sure of the answer himself.
“To be honest, I don’t know, and I don’t want to spend another four years waiting for the answer.”
“So, what now then?” He shouldn’t have asked, he knew what the answer was going to be, he knew that Enzo was going to leave, and he deserved it, everyone always left him.
“Now we find a vessel capable of holding powerful magic, because my Little Witch, is going to open the tomb in two months.”
“WHAT?!”
“Like I said, I’m not waiting around for you Damon, I did that for 50 years, we’re going to find out what will happen, if I can really trust you.”
“So tell me, know any witches that could provide a powerful empty vessel?”
“I uh- I might know one,” he spoke slowly, his feelings a mess, “She’s in Atlanta right now.”
“Well then, you book the aeroplane tickets, and phone your witch.”
“And what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to get a drink,” Enzo replied, brushing past Damon and heading out of the room, he felt like a fool, there was no way that Damon would pick him over the woman that he’d been in love with for nearly a century and a half.
A month and half later Enzo and Damon were sat at a bar in L.A, “Well that was a bust,” Damon scowled, throwing a back his bourbon.
“15 bloody witches and all the same answer. No. No. No and oh what was that other thing they said? Ah yes, hell no!”
The two vampires heard a laugh from the table over, instinctively they knew that it was directed at them, “Witches are tricky little things, aren’t they?” Their heads snapped in the direction of the voice, they were met with a man, clearly a vampire, with a smirk, drinking a pint.
Damon’s eyes narrowed at the vampire, always the more reckless of the two headed over to him, “And what would you know about them?” he asked, sitting across from the vampire.
The man let out another laugh, “Young, old, dead or alive, witches are a pain in the arse. I tend to avoid them unless I have the proper amount of leverage, something that I would say, you don’t have.”
“Let me guess, you just so happen to have the exact right amount of leverage over a witch that we need.” Damon said.
Enzo had to stop himself from rolling his eyes and sighing, he followed his friend, intent on keeping Damon from pissing off a clearly older vampire. “He means to say that in a much more polite fashion.”
“Ah I can see you’re the brains of this operation,” the vampire replied.
Enzo smirked and gestured to the seat opposite the vampire, and next to Damon, “May I?” The vampire nodded and Enzo sat down, “Now before we get into anything,” he shot a look at Damon, “I suppose introductions are in order. “Lorenzo St John.”
“Damon Salvatore.”
The vampire smirked, “Niklaus Mikaelson,” it amused him when vampires didn’t know who he was, they were always fun when they found out.
Damon fought the urge to scoff at the formal introduction, but he was still trying to not piss off the man he called best friend, so instead decided to only instigate a little and go straight to the point, “So Nik, you’re clearly here for a reason, you know what we’ve been looking for.”
It wasn’t a question, and the Original found himself entertained enough by Damon that he didn’t rip out his spine for his insolence. Niklaus had heard stories about the eldest Salvatore, a vampire just as deadly as the Ripper of Monterrey, but wasn’t a Ripper himself, he just revelled in the kill. This version of Damon seemed decidedly more subdued than he’d been led to believe, but he figured it had something to do with the other vampire at his side. He didn’t know much about this Lorenzo, just that he’d been turned in 1903, spent some time having fun and then in 1940 dropped completely off the map. And now here the two of them were, together, looking for an item strong enough to hold magic that had been sealed with the passing of a comet. Given that Damon came from Mystic Falls 1864 and was turned by the Katerina Petrova herself, he had to assume that the vampire was trying to get into the tomb, for love or vengeance Niklaus didn’t know, nor did he care, but he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Katerina since the 1860’s and wanted to know if she was in there. If she wasn’t and had just faked her death (which was of course more likely) he bet that someone in there knew something about where she might go. “Well for two vampires traversing the length and breadth of America, looking for a powerful artifact, or rather something that could become a powerful artifact, you weren’t very subtle.”
“And you’re here to what? Offer us what we need out of the goodness of your heart?”
“Damon,” Enzo hissed, at first he thought this vampire was just older than them, but the longer they spent in his presence the more dangerous Niklaus Mikaelson felt.
Klaus smirked, “Oh I never do anything for free,” that was strictly not true, when it came down to it, if his siblings really needed something of him, he’d do it. “Now if I’m correct, you’re looking for something that could hold the magic of a barrier spell that was sealed with a comet as a celestial event. And since Damon here is from Mystic Falls, I’m going to take a wild guess and say that it has something to do with Katherine Pierce.”
Damon and Enzo both stiffened at the name, Maya had told Enzo that keeping Katherine’s name out of his searches was in the best interest of everyone, or else he could attract some very powerful, dangerous attention. “My, my, you are well informed,” Enzo said, covering up the worry that was creeping in.
“What do you want with Katherine?” Damon asked quietly, unsure as to what to do, if he reacted too strongly then Enzo would leave him, but it was Katherine, the woman he loved.
Klaus’s eyes locked with Damon’s for a moment as he came to the quiet realisation that the younger vampire was caught in Katerina’s web, “Back when she was a baby vampire, she came across an object that I had been hunting for, for quite some time, I want to know what she did with it.”
“And what is this object exactly?” Enzo asked, his hand on Damon’s leg, in an effort to keep his friend from doing something stupid.
“An old family heirloom, it was lost when my home was raided in the 13th Century,” (technically not a lie, as some witches had raided his family’s home back then and had taken the moonstone. Granted Klaus had retrieved it mere days later, but the truth still held), “It’s one of the few things I have left that connects me to my human life, I’d like it back.” (Again, not a lie, his mother was in possession of the moonstone from when he was a child).
Damon couldn’t stop himself from blanching at the not-so-subtle hint to the vampire’s age, the 13th century put Niklaus at, at least 800 years old, far older than any vampire that he’d come across before. “You’re not going to tell us what it is?”
“You don’t really need to know what it is, of course, I was just going to wait for the comet to pass in four years and open up the tomb, but from the way you’re acting I’d say you have someone who can open it now.”
Enzo cleared his throat, “I might, really it all depends on whether we can find what my witch needs.”
“Well then gents, how about we get a round in, and negotiate?” Klaus asked jovially.
The three had spent hours negotiating, Klaus of course wanted to be there when the tomb opened so he could see who was inside for himself, Damon was against the idea as it could put Katherine in danger (not that he’d actually voiced that particular thought), but Enzo had been against it for a much more specific reason. It didn’t take a genius to see that Klaus was also interested in the witch that Enzo had alluded to, someone with the ability to break a spell bound by a rare celestial even like a comet was indeed powerful, and Klaus was always interested in powerful creatures that he could bend to his will. Enzo had shut that down straight away, going so far as to insist that if Klaus wanted to be there, then they would wait until the comet had passed.
“Then I want a favour from your witch, something of my choosing.” Klaus had countered, he had thought to compel the vampires when they were resistant to what he wanted, but quickly realised that with Enzo, it was impossible, and not because he was on vervain. Which meant that the witch was strong enough to protect Enzo’s mind against the might of an Original, whoever she was, was powerful indeed. Damon could be compelled, but a few well-placed questions told him that the elder Salvatore brother had no idea who or where the witch was.
Enzo frowned, “I need to make a phone call then,” pulling out his phone, he dialled her number.
Maya answered on the first ring, “Enzo, what’s up?”
Klaus raised a brow at the sound of the voice on the other end, it sounded young, younger than he expected, “I’ve hit a bit of a snag in acquiring that item you needed.”
“Do we need to wait for the comet? I’d prefer not to, but if you can’t get it, we can wait.”
“Well not exactly, I’ve got someone that could provide what you need, but they want something in return.”
“And who is this person exactly?” Maya asked, she was getting a funny feeling and wasn’t sure why.
“Niklaus Mikaelson.” Enzo responded.
Maya was silent for a moment, not understanding how either of the vampires had managed to run into the Original, let alone, how he would have what she needed, “Fuck.”
Klaus actually perked up at that, at least someone knew to be immediately afraid of him, “You’ve heard of me, fantastic!”
Damon shot Enzo a look, neither of them knew who this was, but if the witch knew who Niklaus was then it couldn’t be good.
The next words she spoke were in Bulgarian, she figured it be the best language to learn that no one in Mystic Falls would know, and one that would freak Katherine out when she made her inevitable appearance. “Niklaus Mikaelson, what could I possibly do for an Original?”
Klaus was for a moment stunned, this witch was getting more interesting by the second, “I get the feeling there’s a lot that you could do for me, but as it stands, I only want one favour.”
“I won’t do anything that hurts those I consider mine.” She replied succinctly, while this was an obvious wrench in her plans, she was smart, she could figure a way around it.
Damon and Enzo looked confused at the exchange, Enzo more so than Damon, he had no idea his little witch could speak another language.
“Tell me are Damon and Enzo, those you consider your own?” Klaus replied, the witch knew who he was, and hadn’t outright said no.
“They are, so what do you want?”
He’d thought to use the witch to find the white oak stake that Mikael had hidden away somewhere, but trusting the only weapon that could kill him, to an unknown witch would be incredibly stupid, but there was something else he needed, “The moonstone.”
Maya paused at that, shortly after she’d turned ten, she’d started to get debilitating migraines, it seemed like all her future knowledge was too much for such a young mind. She couldn’t explain it to her mother and when Jenna had taken her to the hospital the doctors hadn’t known what was causing them. Maya had spent weeks bed-ridden because of the pain, and then one night she saw a shadow at the foot of the bed, unable to do anything she slipped into unconsciousness and when she woke the pain was gone. The only problem was her memories had become fuzzy, she hadn’t lost them, she could still feel them there, and all of them hadn’t been hidden, but the hidden ones were only surfacing when either the Universe deemed she was ready, or when someone or something triggered the memory. At Klaus’s words, memories of Mason Lockwood came flooding in, but not the location of the elusive stone. “No witch or warlock has been able to find it in 500 years, and yet you think I can?” she asked, she couldn’t let Klaus get his hands on the moonstone just yet, she couldn’t remember why, but she just knew that it wasn’t time for him to break the curse. Of course, she couldn’t remember what the curse was, just that it had something to do with werewolves and vampires.
“Well, you seem to think that you have the power to open the tomb without drawing on the comet, finding one pesky little mystical object shouldn’t be too much trouble for you.” He replied.
Maya scoffed, there was only one reason why Klaus had never been able to find and that was the Original Witch herself, the stone was in Mystic Falls, the place where Esther died, which meant that she had stronger abilities here, even dead. “The moonstone belonged to the witch that enacted the curse, yes?”
“Yes, it did.”
“Then I’d wager that’s why no one can find it, a curse that hurts werewolves…and vampires must be something that many witches want to keep intact. She’s probably got people all over the world keeping it hidden.”
Klaus growled as his grip tightened around the phone, of course his mother was the reason he couldn’t find the bloody moonstone, “Okay, okay,” Enzo said, snatching the phone from Klaus’s hand before he could crush it, “Love I don’t know what you and Nik here have been talking about, but how’s about you don’t piss off an ancient vampire when your best friend is in the vicinity and you’re thousands of miles away.”
“Technically you’re not my best friend, that honour goes to the Sunshine in my life, but if it makes you feel any better you’re my best vampire friend.” Maya quipped, she knew that Klaus wasn’t going to hurt Enzo or Damon, at least not while he was still curious about her.
“I’m you’re only vampire friend!”
“That’s true, and if what I think is going to happen actually happens, then Sunshine’s going to be a vampire too, which would make her my best friend and my best vampire friend, huh, sorry Enzo, looks like you’re number two on my list,” Maya grinned at the frustrated sound Enzo made on the other end of the phone.
“Oh you little-”
Klaus snatched the phone back from Enzo, and cut in, “You can get back to tormenting your friend another time, you haven’t given me an answer on the moonstone, and believe me the offer of my assistance has a time limit.”
He was annoyed and Maya knew that she had to get Klaus on, she couldn’t afford to have him sweep into Mystic Falls now, not when she was so woefully underprepared “I told you, the witch that cast the curse is cloaking it, I can’t find it with a spell. But what if I could give you something else?”
“What would that be?”
“The Dopplegänger isn’t in the tomb, she set up the vampires in town and used the chaos to flee, faking her death so that she could hide from you.” Maya knew that Katherine was a dopplegänger, but she couldn’t remember who she looked like.
Klaus scowled, he knew better than to believe that Katerina would be caught in such a foolish trap, but hearing it confirmed was another thing all together, not to mention Damon was clearly still under the impression that she had been desiccating for years, either the witch was lying to him, or to Damon. “Your friend believes that she’s in the tomb, have you told him that she’s not there?”
“The Italian needs to see it to believe it, telling him now would just put him in danger, when he’s angry he does stupid things, I prefer he be here so that I can deal with him.”
“What proof do you have that she’s not in the tomb?” Klaus asked, he would check out her information before giving her friends anything.
“Annabelle Zhu saw Katherine in 1983 in Chicago, Anna’s mother is in the tomb, so she came to me for help.” That last part was an outright lie, but Anna was coming to Mystic Falls, after Maya had reached out to her through Craig’s List, to collect her mother and it would make sense that she’d use information as a bargaining chip.
“If you’re lying to me witch, I’ll make you beg for death.” Klaus threatened.
“I’m not, make some calls, but do it quickly, I have to open the tomb by the end of the month, Enzo will stay in touch with you.” With that she hung up, unwilling to test the Hybrid’s patience further when she wasn’t there, and her friend was so close to him.
Klaus looked up at Enzo and tossed the phone back at the younger vampire, “I have to confirm the information your witch gave me before I help you with anything, I’ll be in touch.” The Original whooshed out of the bar before either of the other vampires could say anything, if the witch’s information was true, it would have been the closest he’d been to Katerina in two centuries.
Damon looked at Enzo with a raised eyebrow, “So are you going to call your witch friend back?”
Chapter 4: The Tomb
Notes:
Short chapter, but I'm trying to move things along quicker.
Thanks for the kudos and bookmarks!
Comments would be appreciated!
Chapter Text
this - other languages (mostly spells)
Maya and her mother Jenna were at the old Fells Church site in the woods, Enzo and Damon would be meeting them there in minutes, Enzo had wanted to meet earlier but no matter how much Maya trusted her friend, she did not trust Damon, and didn’t want him to think that she lived in town, for her mother’s safety and her own. They were having a picnic on a blanket, enjoying the warm day, Maya asked Enzo to meet her at 10 a.m. she’d wanted to be sure that she would have time between Damon’s heartbreak, Anna’s rescue of her mother and the destruction of the tomb vampires.
“I can’t believe I’m letting you do this,” Jenna huffed, annoyed that somehow her 13-year-old had managed to convince her that this was a good idea.
“I mean, is it really convincing, if I just told you I was doing this with or without you?”
“You’re right, you didn’t convince me, you blackmailed me, and just for that, you’re grounded for a month!”
Maya groaned, “Come on mom! This isn’t fair, I didn’t lie to you!” she knew what being grounded for a month meant.
“No, you just threatened to use your witch powers to keep me at home, while you met up with Enzo and opened up a tomb full of hungry vampires!”
“Desiccated vampires mom! They won’t be able to do anything without a little blood!”
“Not the point!” Jenna exclaimed, “So you know what this means, no Caroline!”
“You can’t say no Caroline for a month, in the summer! She’ll kill me!” Maya protested, how was she being punished for telling the truth?
“Well you should have thought of that before your little magic threat, and don’t even think of getting Enzo to compel me, I’m on vervain!”
Maya huffed in annoyance, “Totally regretting telling you about vampires now.”
“Are we late?” Enzo called amused as he caught the tail end of the conversation. He and Damon walked into the clearing, startling the two mortals.
“Enzo!” Maya smiled and ran over to him, she threw her arms around his neck and he swung her around, “I missed you!”
“Hello love,” he grinned, “enjoying the sun sweetheart?”
“Well between you, Care, the family, self-defence and magic training, it’s been a while since I’ve had time to just relax.”
“Oh Enzo, aren’t you going to introduce us?” Damon asked sidling up to them both, shooting the girl and her mother a smirk.
“Damon, this is Maya, my best…Witch friend.”
“Oh the shade Enzo! I knew that comment was going to bite me in the ass!” she laughed.
Enzo snorted in amusement, wrapping a hand around her waist he turned to Damon fully, “Damon this is Maya,” he said again, more seriously this time, “my saviour, my hope, my everything, touch her and die.”
Damon’s eyes narrowed, “Wait, you’re telling me that this is the witch that’s going to open the tomb? The one that saved you? She’s a child!”
Maya scowled at him, “That’s right, I am a child, how does it feel to know that a child could save Enzo from Augustine, when a fully grown vampire couldn’t?”
“Maya!” Enzo hissed.
“What, I’m opening the tomb because of him, and if he wants to be a dick, I can be one right back!”
“You little-” Damon snarled but was stopped short by Enzo.
“Damon I meant it, you touch her, you die.”
“And he won’t be the one to kill you,” both vampires looked up at the sound of Jenna’s voice and saw a gun pointed right at them, “Wooden bullets, before you get cocky, and at this distance, I’m a god damn surgeon with a gun, so step away from my daughter.” Jenna scowled as she stood firm as she stared down the Salvatore. Jenna had taken it upon herself to learn how to use a weapon, with the knowledge that her daughter may very well be in danger as she grew up, Jenna was determined that Maya wouldn’t have to face anything alone.
Maya tensed, she didn’t know what Enzo would do if her mother killed Damon, and she didn’t really want Damon to die, she understood his scepticism, most witches didn’t even come into their powers until they hit puberty, so she was an anomaly. “Ok how’s about we all chill, no one kills anyone, mum, put the gun away, Enzo you keep your friend in check.” Enzo nodded and pushed Damon away, and Maya sighed as the older vampire backed off. “Alright then, I presume you have something for me?”
“Yes love,” Enzo pulled out an expertly carved wooden box, Maya didn’t know why, but she felt like Klaus had actually carved it himself. “Personally, I thought it was a bit flashy, but then again I’m not a witch.”
Taking it from him, she opened the box and gasped at what was inside, it was a pendant, made of three different precious stones, the majority of the pendant was obsidian – for protection, and on the front and back, it looked like two wolves, one made of ruby – for endurance, and emerald – for abundance, in fact it looked like the wolves on each side of the obsidian were actually embedded in the black stone. “It’s beautiful,” she breathed, “and exactly what I need.” This particular piece of jewellery was definitely going to cost her more than one favour.
“But it will definitely work?” Enzo asked, wanting to make sure before she did anything to put herself in danger.
Maya slipped the necklace on and immediately felt a connection to it, no other witch had used it before, it was truly an empty vessel, and it felt like it had been made just for her, “This will work, trust me,” she looked over at Damon, he was unusually tense, she knew that he’d be on edge, being so close to getting his lady love out of the tomb, but there was something more that was wrong. “You should check on him,” she said to Enzo, “I’ll get started.”
Maya and Jenna headed down to the entrance of the tomb, and while Enzo went over to speak to Damon, Maya laid her hands on the stone at the entrance and began to siphon the magic holding the stone in place and channelled it into the necklace.
Damon frowned as he watched the mother and daughter head down the stone steps to the tomb, he was on edge and he hated it, he was about to get everything he ever wanted, Katherine was the love of his life, he’d loved her for 140 years and soon he’d have her again. And yet, here he was, having second thoughts, he knew it was because of Enzo, his best friend, the vampire that he’d abandoned to torture and death, and yet had been willing to forgive him of it all, if only it meant that Damon would never abandon him again. Damon wanted Katherine back, but he didn’t want to lose Enzo, he couldn’t, and he knew that Katherine didn’t like to share, what if she didn’t want Enzo around? What if she hurt him? What if she killed him? She was far older than either of them, shaking his head Damon realised that he couldn’t risk it, he couldn’t risk seeing the heartbreak and betrayal on Enzo’s face a second time. Just the thought of hurting Enzo again made Damon want to stake himself.
Looking up, he saw his friend coming towards him, “You need to stop her,” he said, eyes wide, almost desperately.
“What?” Enzo asked, what the hell was Damon playing at?
“Enzo you have to stop her, Katherine can’t get out!”
If it could have, Enzo’s heart would have stopped at the words, was Damon really giving her up when he thought he was so close to getting her back? “Damon, calm down and explain yourself, you’ve been waiting for this for almost your whole life, this is everything you’ve ever wanted.”
“Enzo she’ll kill you! I’ve thought about it, Katherine doesn’t share, she won’t like us being friends, and she’ll be too strong to stop, I can’t-” he broke off for a moment to collect himself, “I can’t lose you Enzo, not again.” The desperation in Damon’s eyes reminded him of the moment he’d realised that he couldn’t get Enzo’s cage open in 1958.
It took everything in Enzo, not to reach out and bring the slightly older vampire in for a kiss, Damon was choosing him over Katherine, in a moment when he believed that she was only minutes away from being freed, he was choosing to leave her to rot. “Damon, you love her,” Enzo said, he needed to make sure that Damon understood what he was doing.
“I don’t care Enzo, I’m not losing you again,” he said it with so much conviction that Enzo was left with very little doubt of what the elder Salvatore wanted.
Before he could say anything else in response, they both heard the stone covering the tomb scrape across the ground, moving to open for the first time in 140 years, they both whooshed below, “Close it back up!” Damon said, startling both of the mortals.
“What?” Jenna asked, her daughter was in the middle of siphoning the actual barrier spell so that Damon didn’t get stuck in the tomb, and he was telling them to stop, “What do you mean close it? You want your girlfriend out.”
“I can’t let her out,” Damon insisted, “Look Enzo’s your friend, right? He said that you helped him along with the witch to escape, well Katherine will kill him, we can’t let her out, close the tomb.”
Jenna sighed, she was studying to be psychology, and therefore tried to understand what Damon was feeling in that moment, she knew that Katherine wasn’t in the tomb, her daughter had told her as much. But Maya had also said that Damon needed to know that she wasn’t there, otherwise he would never be able to really move on, and for Enzo’s sake, Damon needed to move on. “You really believe she’ll hurt Enzo?” she asked carefully.
“Yes, so tell your girl to shut the tomb back up!”
“The vampires inside, will they be able to do anything? Can they talk? Move?”
Damon shook his head, “They’ve been deprived of blood too long, they’re practically corpses.”
“Ok, then you need to go in Damon, we won’t let her out, but this is a woman that you’ve loved for what, 140 years? If you’re going to end this chapter of your life, you need closure.”
“But-” he stopped, could he really voice what was going through his head? He didn’t want to hurt Enzo, looking over at his friend, who was deep in conversation with the witch, he decided to say it aloud, just once, “but what if when I see her, I decide that I don’t care what she might do? What if when I see her, I decide that she’s worth the risk? I don’t want hurt Enzo again.”
“Damon, just the fact that you’re actually having these thoughts, tells me that when it comes down to it, you’ll make the right decision, but you need to go in there, otherwise you’ll always wonder.” Jenna responded, she was happy that he was thinking of Enzo, but Damon had to go in that tomb, he had to know that Katherine didn’t care about him, so that he could finally put his love for her to rest.
Damon sighed and looked over at Enzo who nodded, “Okay,” he replied moving over to the entrance and glancing at the witch, “You’re sure that if I go in, I’ll be able to come out?”
“The spell’s gone completely, hell Enzo can go in there with you, if you don’t trust me, trust him,” Maya replied.
The elder Salvatore pulled a blood bag out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Enzo, who gave him a look of surprise, “Just so I won’t be tempted,” Damon said, before whooshing inside.
Maya looked over at one of her best friends, “Are you going to be okay? In a few minutes, he’s going to be heartbroken.”
Enzo gave her a sad smile, he knew that Damon was going to be hurt, and that he would have to pick up the pieces for a while, but he truly believed that Damon was worth it, “I’ll be fine, oh! Before I forget,” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag, inside were ten Lapis Lazuli rings of varying sizes.
“Daylight rings?”
“You mentioned that you didn’t feel comfortable living above the clinic anymore, but you and your mother couldn’t afford a new place, I happen to have a line on a few vampires that would pay a handsome price for the ability to walk in the sun. I’ve got a guy who can set up a site online for you to sell them, and the starting prices for the rings are in the region of $1.5 million.”
“WHAT?!”
“The ability to walk in the sun isn’t something that many vampires outside of New Orleans have been afforded, the older the vampires, the more they’re willing to pay. I’ll send you the information later so that you can get started on earning some money, and getting you and your mother out of that apartment.” He smiled when he felt Maya’s arms wrap around his waist, he’d wanted to get her and her mother out of that apartment for years, but knew that there was no way that either of them would let him just buy somewhere for them to live.
They heard a yell of agony come from inside the tomb and Maya knew that Damon had discovered that Katherine wasn’t even in there, “Give me the blood bag,” Maya said, “I don’t want to risk anything happening, give it to me, and then go get him.”
Enzo nodded and handed her the bag of O neg and rushed inside to locate his friend, the two of them came out a few moments later, Damon, predictably heartbroken, and Enzo worried that this was going to send him off the rails again. “I’ll be in touch love,” he said, before whooshing Damon out of there, unwilling to risk the lives of his saviours for one more moment.
Jenna came up to her daughter as the vampires left, “Now what?”
Maya reached her hand out and started to chant “phasmatos oblinito sepulcrum, phasmatos oblinito sepulcrum, phasmatos oblinito sepulcruim.” Jenna watched in wonder as the stone covered up the tomb once again, “I’ve put a temporary lock on the tomb, Anna won’t be here for another four hours, so we’ve got time.”
“Alright then, we should talk about how Enzo has suddenly decided that he wants to make you a millionaire!”
“Ugh, Mom!” Maya complained as she followed Jenna back up the stairs.
“I’m just saying, we should look at new places to live, I mean I don’t want to stay in the apartment, you don’t want to stay in the apartment, Uncle Grayson’s got way too much access to us right now, and what Enzo’s proposing means that you don’t have to worry about college fees, or household bills.” Maya insisted, her mother was resistant to Enzo’s idea, feeling like it was too much of a handout.
“How am I even supposed to explain the sudden influx of cash to Miranda and Grayson, and the rest of the town? They’ll know that there’s no way that I could afford a house, let alone the one that you want near Caroline.”
“That’s easy, you never told anyone who my father was, just say that you were contacted by his estate, and I’m the last living relative, the money’s my inheritance. I mean technically, the magic’s my inheritance and I’d be making money from it, so it’s not like you’d be lying.” She shrugged, she wanted to get as far away from the clinic as possible, and the place near Caroline’s cost a lot, it was too big and would raise too many questions, but Maya wanted to be near her best friend, and wanted enough space in the house so that Enzo, Caroline and her cousin Jeremy (who still seemed to prefer her, to Elena) could stay over.
Jenna shifted uncomfortably, it was no secret around town that Maya was the product of a night stand, in fact, things for Jenna were hazy about the night Maya was conceived, she’d snuck out to a frat party on Whitmore’s campus, gotten drunk and 9 months later, Maya had been born. Jenna didn’t actually know who Maya’s father was, she’d told Miranda and her parents that the father had wanted nothing to do with her and that was the story that she had stuck with for 13 years. “Honey, your father-”
“It’s okay mom, I don’t need to know about him, I don’t want to, I have you, and you’re all that matters.” Maya said, she knew her father was a sensitive topic for her mother, “But the plus side is, we can use the fact that no one knows who he is to fake an inheritance.”
The pair were stopped from any more conversation as Anna arrived on the scene, the mother and daughter agreed that it would be best to pretend that Jenna was the Witch, and her daughter just an apprentice. Anna was definitely not someone they could trust, and Maya didn’t remember much about her, just that Pearl had the Gilbert device, and it was necessary for use later on. Jenna would say the spell to open the tomb, whilst Maya would do the actual magic behind Anna’s back, and once Maya had what they needed, she could end the tomb vampires before word got out about them.
“You’re going to open the tomb?” Anna sneered.
Jenna gave her a cold glare, (she’d been practicing in the mirror at home), “Let’s get one thing straight, the only reason I’m even opening the tomb is because I need the Gilbert device, if your mother didn’t have it, I’d leave her in there to rot.”
Anna growled and shot forward, but she was stopped by a crippling pain in her head, Maya was giving the old vampire multiple aneurisms, ensuring that they didn’t fade in intensity. After a minute Jenna signalled to her daughter to stop her spell. “Are you going to try that again? I have no problem killing you, vampire.” Jenna said.
“Alright!” Anna backed off, “You open the tomb so I can get my mother, and you can have the Gilbert device!”
“Remember, you only get your mother, everyone else stays right where they are,” when Anna nodded Jenna gestured to the stairs, “Then let’s go.”
Anna followed the Jenna and Maya downstairs she was getting antsy as she’d believed that any witch would need a celestial event to open the tomb, and this one was about to do it without one. Maya had set up some candles in a circle and they lit as she and her mother descended down the stairs. Jenna stood in the centre of the circle and held her hand out, receiving a nod from her daughter she started to chant. “Phasmatos aperire sepulcrum, phasmatos aperire sepulcrum, phasmatos aperire sepulcrum, phasmatos aperire sepulcrum.” The tombstone scraped along the floor as it dragged open, and Anna whooshed inside before it could even open all the way.
“Mom, are you sure you want to be here for this? Because I can do this on my own.”
“You’re my daughter, you shouldn’t even have to do this, but I’m not leaving you alone.”
Maya nodded, she didn’t want her mother to have any part in the deaths of these vampires, her mum should remain pure to the evils of the supernatural world, but the consequence of being open and honest with Jenna, was that she wasn’t willing to turn a blind eye to the horrors of the world, especially not with a daughter that was smack in the middle of all things supernatural.
Anna and Pearl came back but hit an invisible barrier before they could exit, “What the hell is this?!” Anna snarled.
“It’s not my fault that you ran in there before I could finish the spell!” Jenna replied, "But now that you’re stuck in there, where’s the Gilbert device?”
“You’re not getting anything until we get out of here!”
“I didn’t say give it to me, I want to know that you have it! Show it to me, and I’ll let you out.”
“Anna,” Pearl coughed, she’d been given two blood bags, but was still very weak, “Show them.”
Anna scowled but pulled it out of her pocket to show them, Jenna gave her daughter a questioning look and when she received confirmation she held out her hand and finished the chant. “Phasmatos conteram sigillum, phasmatos conteram sigillum, phasmatos conteram sigillum.” The barrier came down and Anna pulled her mother out in case the witch changed her mind.
Unfortunately for Anna and Pearl, Maya couldn’t let them go, even if they promised to leave town, Katherine would find out about them, or worse they would stay and tip off Stefan about the Sun and the Moon Curse, she couldn’t remember why, but it wasn’t something she could take a chance with. She froze them both where they stood and they cried out, “What are you doing?! You promised!” Anna yelled.
Maya stepped forward then, “I’m sorry, my mother said that she would let you go, but I didn’t say I would,” she raised her hand and two stakes floated up.
“NO! PLEASE!” Anna shouted.
“My family are the Gilberts, I can’t put them in danger,” she replied, “Motus!” The two vampires bodies surged forward, not of their own volition and collided with the stakes. Maya gasped as they collapsed to the ground dead, she hadn’t wanted to do this, but she couldn’t see any other way of keeping her family safe from the dangers around them. Jenna pulled her daughter close as she let out a sob, “I’m sorry mom, I had to!”
“I know baby, I know,” Jenna sighed, Maya had told her how Jonathan Gilbert had trapped Pearl, and that Anna had sworn revenge on the founding family, this was the only way to protect her sister and her niece and nephew.
Maya took some time to collect herself, and then set the rest of the tomb vampires alight, she waited with her mother for the bodies to turn into ash, and then she used her control over water to wash the ashes away, and made it look like nothing had ever happened.
Chapter 5: The Hunter
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Chapter Text
Maya was 14 when she finally picked up her phone and called the number that she’d been given to contact Klaus. She didn’t know why, but Klaus had stayed in touch with Damon and Enzo in fact the three of them had met up on multiple occasions, it started off as a way to bitch about Katherine and the fact that she was huge pain in all of their arses, but the three of them had eventually become 'murder buddies', as she’d affectionately coined when Enzo had told her that they’d been hanging with the Original. In fact, it was probably the reason why Klaus hadn’t been compelled to find her and use her abilities for himself, but Enzo had given her Klaus’ number and told her to call him when she was ready.
Now after a year of searching, she was ready, she’d had the location of Mikael, The Destroyer, since she was ten, but had had no idea where the white oak stake was, until she had a dream about an ancient locator spell that she could do to find the stake. She’d found it, hidden in a cemetery just outside Mystic Falls, and of course that’s where she would find it, Mikael was planning on using someone in town to lure Klaus to him, so the stake would have been close by. She was surprised though, that there wasn’t a stronger cloaking spell on it than what she’d had to break through, but she supposed The Destroyer didn’t have many fans in the witch community, even if he was out to kill the Originals.
Sighing she knew that this was a big risk, but she didn’t want Mikael around to cause her problems in the future, she knew that Damon was descended from Klaus and she couldn’t let him die no matter what.
Enzo had taken a break from soothing Damon’s broken heart, left him to have some violent fun in Spain, and had told the older vampire that he’d be joining him again in a few weeks. So he was with her, he was going to meet Klaus at the cemetery that housed Mikael with the stake, the Original had become, dare he say it, his friend and knowing that his friend wouldn’t have his brother with him when he finally rid himself of the creature of his nightmares, Enzo wanted to be there for Nik.
Pressing Klaus’s name on her phone, he picked up on the second ring, “I didn’t think you’d call love,” Klaus spoke in lieu of a hello.
“Mr Mikaelson, it has been a while since we last spoke.” Maya replied.
“Oh I think we’ve passed the formalities love.”
“Well you haven’t really told me what I can call you, and I would never presume.”
Klaus smiled at that, the little witch was smart, “Well my friends call me Nik, everyone else calls me Klaus.”
“And what do I get to call you?” she asked, she wasn’t his friend, but she wanted to be, her life would be so much easier if Klaus Mikaelson was on her side.
“Well, I suppose that will depend on what you have to say.”
“I’m calling about that favour I owe you.”
Klaus straightened, “Have you found the moonstone?”
“Not yet, but I did find something else that might interest you.”
“And what’s that?”
“You need to promise not to freak out, so I can tell you the whole story.”
“Love-”
“Please, it’s important.”
He sighed, “Very well, you have my word, I will listen to the whole story before I lose my temper.”
“In 1996 a vampire came to town, an ancient vampire, he was looking for a powerful witch to help him lure you out of hiding, so that he could kill you.”
Klaus let out a low growl, “Let me guess, you were that witch?”
“First of all, you promised to listen to the whole story, and second, I was not that witch, I wasn’t old enough to be that witch, I’m not going to tell you how old I was, because that’s none of your business, but the witch that he came for was a lot older than me.”
“My apologies love, please go on.”
“Okay, so when this vampire came for this witch, he threatened her friends and family, which pissed her off, so instead of helping him, she attacked him, with dark magic. Mikael’s been desiccated in a mausoleum in North Carolina since 1996. But his location isn’t the reason I called you, you see if he had had the white oak stake with him when he was desiccated, the witch would have killed him. But he didn’t and the witch couldn’t find it afterwards, because in retaliation for using dark magic, the spirits took hers away.”
“You know where the white oak stake is.” Klaus concluded, after spending 1000 years running from his father, Klaus would not give in to the tiny fleck of hope that her words had sparked inside of him.
“I have the white oak stake,” Maya confirmed.
“And how do I know that the stake is truly what you say it is?”
“Well, I hoped that you would use it on Mikael, Enzo said he’ll bring it to you, but just so you can check for yourself, Mikael is in the Pickett Mausoleum in Charlotte North Carolina. I’ll text you the address.”
“Little witch, if you’re lying to me, I will find you, and slaughter everyone you have ever loved in front of you, I will make you wish for death before I grant you that sweet release.”
Maya suppressed a whimper at his threat, she knew that Klaus was dangerous, but maybe she couldn’t always see it, because her memories of him had been supressed by whatever happened to her when she was 10. “I’m not lying, Enzo’s my best friend, do you think I would send him to you if I was going to betray you? Call him, set up a time a place to meet, he’ll bring the stake.” She hung up before he could say anything else to terrify her further and looked over at her best friend, “After he kills Mikael, you need to gather up the ashes and bring them to me.”
“Why do you need them?” Enzo asked.
“I honestly don’t know, I just know that if those ashes aren’t kept safe, we’re all going to regret it. Are you sure you’re going to be okay with Klaus? I don’t know how he’ll react, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Nonsense sweetheart, Nik’s my friend, he said that to me himself, and you’re not lying to him. He’ll kill his father, I’ll collect the ashes, and you won’t owe him a favour anymore. Which I’ll admit, would make me feel a hell of a lot better.”
“Really?” Maya asked.
“Nik’s my friend, but you know I love you, knowing that he won’t have a hold over you anymore gives me a sense of relief that I haven’t had since you freed me from Augustine.”
Maya crawled across her bed to bury herself in his side, both taking and giving comfort, she didn’t like him thinking about Augustine and hated that he’d felt that scared for her, that he equated this feeling to what he felt during his time of torture. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. You should have told me, I love you, I never wanted you to worry about me.”
“You’re 14 and you had a debt to the deadliest vampire in all of time hanging over your head, how could you not think that I would worry?”
Maya shrugged, “Because I don't feel like I'm 14, I have like an extra 27 years worth of memories, ugh, sometimes I feel so old,” she frowned, other times she felt like she was exactly her physical age, it was seriously exhausting.
Enzo snorted in amusement, “I don’t care how old you are, I’m still older than you.”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don’t plan on doing anything dangerous for at least two years.”
“You’re going to make me go grey,” he sighed, tightening his hold on her.
“When do you think you’ll have to meet Klaus?”
He shrugged, “A few days maybe, I think he’ll send out one of his compelled minions to check out your information before he asks me to bring the stake to him.”
“Well then, want to help me pick out the furniture for your new room?” Maya asked, gesturing to her computer.
“Su-Wait, my new room?”
“You didn’t think mum would get a new house without having space for you, did you? You may annoy the crap out of her, but mum loves you.”
Enzo smiled, Jenna Sommers was really something, after he left Mystic Falls, she checked in with him, just as much as Maya did. She acted like his therapist and his agony aunt, helping him when he had days where he felt so hopeless he couldn’t breathe, and gave him advice on how he should handle Damon, she was heaven sent, of that he had no doubt. And to know that Jenna wanted to ensure that he had a place in her home, in her family, made him love her all the more. “If its my room, I’m picking out all the furniture sweetheart, knowing you, you’d pick out some god-awful waterbed or something.”
“I would not!” she protested, “Although now that you mention it…”
“Oh absolutely not love, you are not going anywhere near the design of my room!” He pulled the computer away from her as she reached for it.
“Hey!” she cried and tried to grab it from him as he whooshed into the living room, “You cheater!”
A week later Maya was hanging out in the park across from the Grill with Caroline and Jeremy, the girls had practically adopted the boy as their brother, he’d pulled away from Elena fairly quickly, his actual sister, because even at 14 with her parents still around, she felt like she was in charge of him, tried to act like a second mother to him. It wasn't something Jeremey could stand, who at 12-years-old like most boys his age, wanted nothing to do with his big sister. But Maya liked a lot of the same things that he did, comic books and video games, she’d even managed to talk his mother into taking them both to an art opening in Charlottesville, just because he liked to draw. And Caroline was always with his cousin, so she just kind of grew on him, but she didn’t make fun of him for liking art, and always gave him great advice when it came to talking to girls, so he actually liked hanging out with her whenever he wasn’t with his friends from school.
The three were laughing at something that had happened to Tyler Lockwood in school that day, Maya had hoped he wasn’t a huge douche as a child, but sadly she was proven wrong, Tyler was a dick, no matter how old he was, and had gotten into a shoving match with one of the guys in the year below him. The result had ended in a hilarious moment, when Tyler had tripped over his own feet after a particularly hard push and he ended up knocking over the cafeteria trash can and getting food all over him. Jeremy hadn’t gotten to see it because he was still in Middle School, but Caroline, being the Queen Bee that she was, had her cell phone on her and filmed the whole thing. So, the three were giggling over the footage when Grayson Gilbert walked over to them and pulled the young boy up, stating that Uncle John was here and they needed to have ‘family’ time, of course that time didn’t include Maya, as she’d made her dislike for the other Gilbert known from a young age.
Snickering at Jeremy’s disgusted face, the girls waved at him as he was dragged away from them, “God I hate ‘Uncle’ John,” Maya grimaced.
“Didn’t he try sleeping with your mom once?” Caroline asked.
“Yep, I will be forever thankful that I was an energetic kid and ‘accidentally’ elbowed him in his balls!” Maya replied and Caroline burst into giggles, John Gilbert was a creep, and she was glad that Jenna never slept with him.
Their discussion was interrupted by Maya’s phone ringing, and when she pulled it out the screen said ‘Mr Mikaelson’. “Who’s Mr Mikaelson?” Caroline asked.
Maya looked around and cast a quick silencing spell around her, ensuring that no one would be able to hear her conversation. “I’ll tell you later, just stay quiet, I don’t want him to know about you, he’s dangerous.” She flipped the phone open, putting it on speaker and answering, “So was I right, or are you hunting me down now so that I can beg for death?” she asked, causing Caroline’s eyebrows to shoot up to her hairline.
She heard, dare she think it, an amused sigh, on the other end of the line “Are you utterly incapable of a proper greeting love?”
“My mistake Mr Mikaelson, please let me try again.” In a nasally voice she said, “Witch Hotline, how may I direct your call this fine day?”
She definitely heard a muffled chuckle that time, “Yes, I’d like to be directed to the witch who sent me a lovely care package via her vampire best friend, I’d give you a name, but do you know, she hasn’t actually told me what it is.”
Caroline shot her a pouty look, she didn’t like anyone else being referred to as Maya’s best friend, “I see, hold please,” she waited a moment before reverting back to her normal voice, “Mr Mikaelson! How may I be of service?” Klaus was clearly in high spirits, which meant he must have killed Mikael, finally.
“Well, last I checked love, you owed me a debt, and attempted to clear it by giving me Mikael’s location and the only weapon capable of killing him. I’m calling to let you know that you are most certainly debt free.”
“Mikael’s dead?”
“Staked him myself,” he confirmed, the moment Mikael had gone up in flames, he’d been met with a wave of relief completely foreign to him.
Maya smiled, that was one less problem she had to deal with, “I’m glad, he deserved to die. So is that all you’re calling me for?”
Klaus was taken aback, she knew that Mikael was out to kill at least one Original, the progenitors of all vampires, but she actually sounded genuine when she spoke of his death, yes she was friends with at least two vampires, but witches weren't particular fans of the Originals, so he had thought that he might hear some regret when he spoke of Mikael's death, “Well, I was hoping for a name.”
“Candace, Kelly, Marcus, I’m sorry you’re going to have to be more specific,” Maya teased before she could stop herself.
“Your name love, surely you know that now that you’ve helped me kill my greatest foe, you are not an enemy, and friends typically know each other’s names.”
Biting her lip to stop a girlish squeal, Klaus was potentially her friend! Tentatively her friend of course, but still, this was a huge step in the right direction. “My friends call me Mai,” she replied softly, she couldn’t give him any more than that, knowing that he’d try to look for her with any info she gave him.
“Mai, my friends call me Nik.”
“Nik,” she said, “I like it, it’s nice to have a new friend.”
“Indeed it is,” Klaus had been hoping for more, but only last week he had threatened to murder everyone she loved and then torture her to death, so he supposed a last name was out of the question at the moment.
“Nik,” she hesitated, “Can I ask, what are you going to do now? The Destroyer’s gone and you’re finally free.”
“Well, I was thinking a family reunion would be in order, of course you’re welcome to join, I’d love to thank you in person for all your help.”
“I think maybe that’s one reunion I’ll have to miss, you’re getting your family back after all, might be a little to violent for my fragile body.”
“You’ve got me there, chances are it won’t be as fun filled as I hope.”
“Where are you planning on doing it? Just so I know to stay far out reach.”
“I was thinking New Orleans,” Klaus responded, it was after all, his city.
“That’s right, I heard your family built that city.”
“You know your history, I’m impressed.”
“There’s a lot I know, stay in touch and you might get to know it too.” Maya saw Caroline’s eyes widen as she flirted with Klaus, the blonde had never seen her interested in anyone their age, so was shocked when she saw Maya in action.
“I’ll have to do that,” Klaus promised, the witch had twice demonstrated not only her power, but her usefulness, and if he could have her, he would.
“Well, New Orleans wouldn’t be my first choice for the reunion, but then they are your family.”
“No? It’s the city we were happiest in, I would think it’s the best place to hold such an event.”
“It’s exactly that, you were happiest in New Orleans, personally, I wouldn’t want to tarnish such a memory, because you don’t have to be a genius to know that even with Mikael gone, your siblings are not going to be happy with you when you wake them.”
“And where would you suggest?”
“If it were me? You and your siblings must have parted ways plenty of times in the past, I’d pick a place that doesn’t hold many memories of your family together. Paint it as a fresh city, for a fresh start. That’s what you want isn’t it?”
“You still haven’t said where you’d go.”
“A city, obviously, give them the illusion of getting lost amongst the crowd, a place big enough where you all wouldn’t have to see each other every day, but be able to know that you were in one place. Personally, I’d go to New York, but that’s only because I love it there.”
“Really?” Klaus asked, intrigued, if she loved it in New York, did that mean she made regular trips to the city? Would he be able to ‘stumble’ across the witch sooner rather than later?
Maya nodded, “Yep, I’ve visited every year since I was 10, spend two weeks there in the Summer, last year I went for week in December. I think the city’s a magical place. But that’s just my opinion, you’d need to find a place for yourself.” She hoped that Klaus was curious enough about her that he’d go to New York instead of New Orleans, she didn’t know what would happen if he went to the French Quarter this early. If the witches there were as powerful as they were in the Originals, it would be an issue, especially since they didn’t have anyone that they could call on and trust completely, and she had no idea of what went down in Louisiana, again thanks to whatever happened to her when she was a kid.
“I’ll have to give it some thought love, but perhaps you’re right.”
Maya could see that Caroline was about to burst with questions, so decided that it was time to wrap up her conversation, “Look, I’ve got to be somewhere soon, so I’ll let you go, but do keep in touch, those pictures I got from your little 'booze' cruise with Enzo and Damon were delightful!” she hung up on him. It was becoming a bad habit with her, wanting to get the last word in with the Original was going to bite her in the arse someday.
Caroline demanded her attention, with her arms crossed over her chest and a look that stated that she should receive nothing but 100% truth, “What the hell was that?!”
Maya had managed to drag Caroline back to hers, before she answered the girl’s questions, “Okay we’re inside, now you better tell me who that was, or you’ll regret it!”
Maya winced at the reminder of Caroline’s ability to dole out swift but cruel retribution, she’d influenced the blonde way too much. “Okay chill.” She sighed, mentally wondering exactly how much she be able to get away with telling her, “His name’s Nik, or rather, Niklaus Mikaelson, he’s a very old, very powerful vampire.” At Caroline’s unimpressed look she backtracked a little, “Okay, so he’s more than old, he’s ancient, an Original.”
“Which means what exactly?”
“He, along with his siblings are the first vampires in history, every vampire after that comes from one of their bloodlines.”
“And how old is he exactly?” Caroline pressed.
“Well,” she said a little hesitantly, “He’s a Viking, so like a thousand-ish.”
“1000-YEARS-OLD!” Caroline shrieked, “You were flirting with a 1000-year-old who threatened to kill you!”
“He didn’t so much as threaten me, more so he threatened everyone I love, and I was not flirting with him!”
“Okay 1. Yes, you were flirting, I’m 14 not 4, I know what flirting sounds like, and you missy were definitely flirting, and 2. I’m one of the people that you love! How are you flirting with someone that threatened me?! How did you even meet a 1000-year-old anyway? Did Enzo introduce you? He sounds dangerous, Enzo wouldn’t introduce you to someone that would hurt you.”
“I’ve actually never met him, Enzo, and by association Damon, were helping me, I needed something that could store my magic, so it doesn’t just leach off from me whilst I slept. But you know, the witches hate me, and they hate vampires so they wouldn’t help. Nik heard about two vampires pestering witches, looking for something unusual, and he had the means to get it. So in exchange for a favour of his choosing he helped me out.”
“Wait, your necklace, you said a friend gave it to you! He gave that to you right?! I knew it was expensive!”
“Yes, I mean Enzo gave it to me, but Nik procured it, I actually think he had it made for me, but yes, he got it for me, and like I said, Nik and I have never met in person, we just talk over the phone. Or rather he threatens and I joke.”
“Flirt,” Caroline interrupted, “he threatens, and you flirt.”
“I do not flirt with him.”
“Let me see the pictures,” Caroline demanded.
“Whaaat pictures?” she asked, trying to play dumb.
“You told this Nik guy that you had pictures of him on a booze cruise, now show me!”
Maya winced, “Right, you heard that.”
“Computer, now!” Caroline held her hand and wiggled her fingers.
Maya rolled her eyes, Care was such a little gossip, “Fine,” she acquiesced and grabbed her laptop from her room, booting it up she showed Caroline the pictures that Damon had actually sent her, it seemed like the Salvatore was trying to claw his way into her good books for the sake of Enzo, and so had kept in touch with her once he'd gotten through the raw pain of his heartbreak.
“Wow!” Caroline’s eyes widened, “They’re all so…”
“Hot?”
“Definitely,” Caroline nodded, “So which one’s which?” Caroline had heard all about Enzo and Damon, but she’d never actually met the two, Maya was always weary about putting her in harm’s way, and she still didn’t trust Damon. And Enzo practically stuck to Damon like glue, so he kept his visits short, or they met out of town.
“Alright, dark hair, clean shaven, piercing blue eyes, that is Damon Salvatore, of the founding families, an actual original founding family member. Hot? Yes. But heartbroken, he spent 140 years loving one woman, he thought she was trapped in a tomb under Mystic Falls,” she held up her hand to stop Caroline from interrupting, “long story short, she wasn’t, she was a selfish bitch who knew that he was in love with her, and waiting for her, and she didn’t care, ergo heartbroken. The brunette with the smouldering good looks, dark eyes and stubble, that is Enzo, he is British, gorgeous, as you know he spent 60 years being tortured by an evil secret society a member of which is Elena’s dad, and he is the only other person that I refer to as my best friend.”
Caroline gave her a glare and then turned back to the screen, “So then this would be Nik? Hmm, hot, blond hair, blue eyes, oh are you crushing on a male version of me?”
Maya scoffed and hit Caroline in the face with a pillow, “Shut up, I am not crushing on him! And he is not a male version of you, you are light, and laughter and represent everything good in my life. Nik, uh, Nik is dark, and twisted, and terrifying, and old, and powerful.”
“And charming, and playful, and hot,” Caroline continued, “just admit it, you like him.”
“I can’t like him Caroline.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m 14 Care!”
“And he’s a vampire! You said you’ve never met him in person, so just…meet him when you’re older.” She shrugged, as though they weren’t talking about a potential relationship with an Original, with the Original, the deadliest and most temperamental.
“You’re terrible,” Maya grinned.
“And yet you love me,” Caroline replied with a smirk.
Klaus sat back in his studio, in the Penthouse he’d purchased in Manhattan, his siblings were arguing in the other room, Kol was angry at Rebekah for her betrayal of him in New Orleans, Rebekah mad at Elijah for a betrayal 200 hundred years ago, Finn was angry at Kol, Rebekah and Elijah for not freeing him from the dagger sooner, and all of his siblings were mad at him, for good reason, but he’d never admit that to any of them. Sighing as he heard yet another vase smash, he left their new home, he’d already been thrown through two walls, had a hot poker jabbed in his chest and had at least two daggers shoved in his heart, he’d let Elijah deal with rest of their tantrums, but right now he needed a drink, and as luck would have it, he had a couple of friends in town for the week.
“Nik!” Damon called as Klaus walked into the bar, “What took you so long? Enzo and I have already finished half the bottle.” The older Salvatore had been acting like he was in better spirits, but it had only been a year since he’d had his heart broken so Klaus was sceptical.
The Original sat down with his friends, (and god was that an odd thing to think, it had been years since he actually had any, 90 years to be exact) “I had a little family trouble.”
“Ah you finally woke them up then?”
Klaus shrugged, “Well my father’s finally dead, technically I had no reason to keep them daggered.”
“Let me guess, they’re not particularly happy with you?” Enzo said, pouring bourbon for all three of them.
“I mean I get it, I daggered them! But if I hadn’t, they’d be dead! Our father was on our trail and anytime one of them threw a tantrum, or got heartbroken they attracted attention, attention that would attract Mikael. What was I supposed to do?”
Enzo shrugged amused at his friend, “I dunno, maybe talk to them.”
“Oh please, spoken like a man with no siblings!” Damon exclaimed, “Siblings are never reasonable, you can’t just talk to them, they never would have listened!”
“See Damon knows what I’m talking about!” Klaus lifted his glass to take a sip of his drink.
“I don’t think taking advice from Damon Salvatore about siblings, is a good idea, especially given his own relationship with his brother,” Enzo pointed out.
Damon scoffed, “Rude, that’s rude, but also true,” he took another drink, “Stefan had no idea I had been kidnapped and was being tortured for five years. Come to think of it, he wasn’t even in his ripper faze, he was too busy hanging with his best friend Lexi.” Damon sneered, he never liked that girl.
“Not a fan of your brother’s friends, mate?” Klaus asked, this was exactly what he needed, someone to listen to his problems, and distract him with their own, plus he rather enjoyed Damon’s absolute recklessness when it came to being around older vampires.
“Lexi Branson, she comes around every time Stefan’s on a ripper binge to pull him out of it, and baby bro sent her to me in the seventies. He thought I was off the rails and had her try to get me to turn my emotions back on.”
“And what did you do in response?” Klaus asked.
Damon smirked, there was a devious glint in his eye and Enzo raised a brow, he’d hadn’t heard this story yet, “I let her think she was getting to me, made her fall in love with me, and then I slept with her and left her locked on a roof of a bar at dawn. She doesn’t have a daylight ring.”
Klaus laughed, “You’re a little bit vindictive Damon.”
“Oh, you’ve barely gotten to know me,” Damon shrugged, “You’ll learn not to be surprised.”
Enzo rolled his eyes, unsure whether to be disappointed or amused at Damon’s story, he was probably more amused truth be told, “Oh please you’re not that interesting.”
“I’m sorry, which one of us came up the Whitmore revenge plot? Hmm, oh that’s right, me, not you, me.” Damon pointed out.
“Oh what’s this? What revenge plot?” Klaus asked, he loved a good bit of vengeance.
Enzo sighed, he was happy that Damon had, at least, stuck to that particular plan, “When Damon and I were down in the cells we needed something to keep our spirits up. We talked about revenge on Augustine, more importantly the lead ‘researcher’ Dr Whitmore. We couldn’t just kill him, that was far too boring.”
“So, after a little encouragement from Enzo, I came up with the perfect revenge plot.”
“Do tell,” Klaus leaned forward.
“Kill him.” Damon said simply, throwing Klaus for a loop.
“What?” Klaus frowned, that didn’t sound even a little devious.
“That was my response too,” Enzo snorted, vividly remembering when he had this exact conversation with his best friend.
“But!” Damon exclaimed pouring another drink, “I didn’t just kill him, I killed his whole family, except for one person, and then I let that person grow up, and have a family of their own, and then I did it again, and again.”
“You keep leaving one person alive, so you can stretch out your revenge for as long as you want to.” Klaus said in understanding, “I think it will be a while before I’m not surprised by you Damon.”
“Wait are you saying that I don’t look smart enough to pull off an elaborate revenge plot?”
“You said it,” Klaus smirked, and Enzo laughed.
Damon gave a fake gasp, “You both suck! And I don’t have to sit here and listen to you mock me!” he stood and headed over to a table full of women that had been shooting him and his friends flirty looks since they got there.
When Damon was far enough away from them Klaus turned to his other companion, “So how are things with you and the elder Salvatore?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come Enzo, I’m 1000-years-old, you think I don’t know a man in love when I see one?”
“Oh please you did not figure that out yourself,” Enzo challenged.
“Maybe I had a tip off.”
“From who?”
Klaus shrugged and beckoned over a server to bring them another round, “Oh I might have had a lovely little conversation with a certain witch,” he hinted.
“Bullshit,” Enzo shook his head, “There’s no way you’ve been talking to her.”
“On the contrary, Mai and I have been having lovely discussions, once a week.” He waved his phone in Enzo’s face, showing him his call history.
Enzo frowned, “Mai? She didn’t tell you anything about Damon and I.”
“What makes you so sure?” Klaus asked, poking at his friend, Enzo and Mai were both quite secretive of their relationship with one another, but every time Klaus prodded, a little sliver of information would reveal iteself.
“Just because we’re friends," Enzo gestured to himself and Klaus, "Doesn’t mean she trusts you, she only gave you her nickname.”
Cocking his head Klaus took a drink, “She doesn’t trust me yet, I’m sure a couple more conversations with her will have the witch spilling all her dirty little secrets.”
Enzo fought the urge to growl at his friend, he knew that Maya would interest Nik, he knew that the Original would want her for himself, a powerful witch that was allied with vampires was rare, but he also knew that Maya was no fool. And it would take more than pretty words for Nik to gain Maya’s trust. “Believe what you want, I guarantee you, it won’t be as easy as you think.”
Klaus raised a brow, “I’ll take that as a challenge.”
Notes:
So Mikael's dead, Enzo, Damon and Klaus have become 'murder buddies', Jeremy has become much closer to Caroline and Maya, and Maya still has no idea what happened to her when she was 10. Will we find out anything about the mysterious shadowy figure? Tune in to find out!
Thanks for reading!
Comments would be appreciated!
Chapter 6: The Freakin' Moonstone
Notes:
Thanks for the Kudos, Bookmarks and Comments!
Comment will always be appreciated!
Chapter Text
this - flashback scene
It was half way to her 15th Birthday, when Maya started to get strange dreams, they weren’t the prophetic dreams/memories that she had been used to getting since she was a child. These were dreams filled with magic and death, dreams of a dark figure that was reaching out for her, and it was terrifying, these were nightmares. She had no idea what was happening to her, but as she got closer and closer to her birthday the nightmares were getting worse, so bad in fact that she was waking up screaming. Her terror so great, and screams so loud that they woke her mother, who’s room was on the other side of their new house.
“Maya! Maya! Baby wake up!” Jenna shook her daughter awake.
“Mom!”
“Baby what happened? What’s going on?”
“Mom they’re getting worse, I don’t know what’s happening to me, and I can’t stop it.” She was crying. Her whole life she’d been a step ahead, she’d had a plan, but whatever this was, whatever was trying to pry its way into her brain, she didn’t know what it was, why it was there, and what it was doing to her. But she’d never been so afraid in her life, and this was the first time she didn’t know what to do.
“Its okay baby,” Jenna said, holding the girl close to her chest, “we’ll figure this out, whatever it is, we’ll stop it.” Jenna wasn’t a witch, or a werewolf, or a vampire, she wasn’t anything supernatural, but her daughter was, and it didn’t matter, she would find a way to help her Maya, no matter what.
It had been 5 days since Maya had woken her mother up screaming, and every night since, had been the same, she didn’t know any silencing spells that would stay in effect whilst she slept so she couldn’t keep how bad they actually were from Jenna. Which was a problem, because her mother was not very good at hiding her worry.
Maya had spent the last few days of the school week and the weekend at home, trying to figure out what was going on in her head. It was difficult and slow-going, she didn’t have any ancestors to call upon for guidance, and the ones that were hovering around Mystic Falls would sooner lead her to her death, than help her. Enzo and Damon had sent her a few grimoires that they had picked up while on their travels, but there was nothing about the shadowy spectre that was clawing its way into her skull.
So, she did what most people her age did when they had a question, she turned to the internet. It was Monday morning, and she was fully intent on staying at home once again, this time on her computer, while she tried to figure out what was wrong with her. And that is exactly where Jenna found her when she walked into her daughter’s room that morning.
Maya sat at her desk, hunched over her laptop, eyes focused on nothing but the screen, sighing Jenna moved further into the room and spoke, “God please go to school.”
“I have got way too many things to research today,” Maya replied, refusing to take her eyes off the screen.
“I’m not going to beg you,” Jenna said, rubbing a hand over her exhausted face (her daughter wasn’t the only once losing sleep over Maya’s nightmares).
“Okay good, I’m impervious to your influence anyway,” she shrugged.
“Would you consider a bribe?” Jenna offered.
“You couldn’t meet my price.”
“Extortion?” she asked.
“You got nothing on me,” Maya shrugged.
“Yeah, you’re right,” sighing Jenna grabbed the back of Maya’s desk chair, glad the thing was on wheels, and started to drag her daughter away from the computer.
“Mom what are you doing?” Maya asked, looking back at her mother who continued to pull, “Mom, what are you doing?” her hands scrambled for her laptop but it was too late, her mother had pulled her too far back, she was leaning too far forward, and she was running on too little sleep, “What are-Owe!” she cried as she fell out the chair.
Jenna stood over her with an unimpressed look, “Go to school.”
“Alright!” she cried out, pulling herself from the floor with a huff, heading towards the bathroom.
“And don’t think I won’t check in with the school to make sure!” Jenna called as she walked out of Maya’s room. The truth was she had a meeting with the Occult Studies Professor at Duke University, with the hopes that they would have some information on what was happening to her daughter. Jenna couldn’t go to the Professor on the Whitmore Campus, because it was Sheila Bennett, and while she was more than certain that the Bennett Witch could probably help, she knew for a fact that Sheila wouldn’t. Jenna shook her head and headed out to her car, trying to ignore the memory of her encounter with Sheila on Maya’s 14th birthday.
Flashback – 2006
Jenna was rushing to the bakery to pick up Maya’s birthday cake, it was her daughter’s 14th birthday and she was running terribly behind. Miranda had offered to help, but Jenna felt bad, as even though Jeremy was invited, Elena was not. She still didn’t know why their children hated each other but she couldn’t do much about it, even though she wished that it wasn’t the case. Maya tried to make it easy on her mother, always perfectly polite on family game nights, going out of her way to avoid an altercation with Elena, by sticking with Jeremy, but somehow, the two girls would always end up fighting.
In any case, it meant that Jenna was running her daughter’s party on her own, Bill Forbes was helping but had been called in to work for an emergency, and Liz was too busy dealing with an ‘animal attack’ to help (thank you very much for that Damon). Maya’s party was due to start in an hour, she had to pick up the cake and then get Maya and Caroline to the party venue before the other guests started arriving. Jenna almost flew into the bakery and crashed headfirst into Sheila Bennett.
“God I’m sor-” Jenna cut herself off when she saw who she’d bumped into, “Mrs Bennett,” Jenna said, straightening herself up.
“Jenna,” Sheila replied, “Running late?”
Jenna scowled, “I’m picking up the cake for Maya’s birthday. Bonnie wasn’t invited, but I don’t think that you’re too broken up about it.” She said, as much as she had wanted to confront the older Bennett when she found out that she’d threatened her daughter, Maya had been so terrified that Sheila would do something that she couldn’t. But Maya was older now, more confident in her use of magic, and Jenna wasn’t about to let Sheila think that she could go around threatening a child, especially her child.
Sheila’s eyes narrowed, “Maya may be your daughter, but she’s an abomination, she shouldn’t exist, but as long as she doesn’t have magic, she’s just a leach with no juice. So I’ll do you a favour Miss Sommers, as long as she stays away from my granddaughter, as long as she stays away from magic, she won’t have anything to fear from me.”
Shelia must be under the misconception that Maya didn’t know magic already, Jenna thought to herself, granted her daughter had gone to great lengths to keep her use of magic a secret, since Maya had gotten her ‘talisman’ as she called it, she only ever practised in the basement in their home. Not to mention Maya had killed the tomb vampires, closed that place back up and made it look like nothing had ever happened there in the first place. Jenna took a step closer to the Bennett Witch, “Let me make myself clear, I don’t care who you are, I don’t care what you are, and I definitely don’t care how powerful you think you are. My daughter is off limits, and if you ever try to hurt her, if you try to tell anyone about her, if you so much as breathe in her direction, I will personally make sure, that this town goes back to its old ways. I heard they used to burn witches in the 1800s, I’ll ensure your precious granddaughter, is the first one tied to a pyre.” Moving back, Jenna turned around to go up to the counter, “I swear to you Sheila, if anything happens to my little girl, you will pay.”
End Flashback
Jenna was a bright, bubbly, fun loving woman, but it turned out, that threatening the one thing, the one person that she cared that most about, brought about the beast in her.
After school, Jenna still wasn’t back from her meeting at Duke, so Caroline and Maya were alone at home, Maya was desperate to stay awake as she was terrified to be dragged into another nightmare, and Caroline was determined to figure out what was trying to hurt her best friend. Even though there was nothing supernatural about her, didn’t mean that she couldn’t help her best friend, after all, she was Caroline Forbes, queen of research.
The girls were sat at the kitchen counter, the best place for them in order to keep Maya awake, plus she was ensuring that her Sunshine remained well fed and watered, she did not want to have to deal with a hungry Caroline, especially not whilst she was so sleep deprived. “We’ve been over this a thousand times already Sunshine,” Maya said, “I don’t see how going over it again is going to help.”
“We have to go over this again,” Caroline stressed, “There must be something we missed,” she wasn’t taking no for an answer, “So first things first, when did you get the first nightmare?”
Maya groaned and rubbed her hand over her face, she was exhausted and so not in the mood to go over this again, “I dunno like six months ago,” she shrugged.
“Okay, so what were we doing six months ago?”
“Um you and I were working on your Cheerleading routine for try-outs, Mum was practicing her psychology on Enzo and Damon, both of them have serious issues by the way, and uh, Nik and I had just had a discussion on where the best place for a vacation was.”
“Ok so- wait, you and Klaus are on vacationing conversations? Since when do you know each other that well?”
“Well he woke his siblings, and whilst they all agreed to stay together, they’re not particularly happy with him, so he’s been calling me more recently, I think he likes having someone to talk to that he hasn’t tried to kill and that hasn’t tried to kill him.”
“But he has Damon and Enzo right?”
“Yeah, but Damon and Enzo have each other, and Damon’s busy making up for lost time by taking Enzo to all the places that he wanted to visit while he was held captive. Sometimes they don’t answer the phone,” Maya shrugged.
“And he knows that you will? All the time?” Caroline asked, clearly she was missing something.
“I…may have…given him a schedule of when I’m free,” Maya replied sheepishly.
“Mai!” Caroline exclaimed, slapping her on the back of her head.
“Owe!”
“You didn’t think to mention this!”
“What?”
“The only significant change to your life is your regular talks with Klaus Mikaelson! Your nightmares started straight after that!”
“What you think he did this to me?” Maya shook her head, “He wouldn’t, he wants me on his side, torturing me with nightmares when I’ve only ever helped him would be stupid, and Niklaus Mikaelson is definitely not stupid.”
Caroline frowned, Maya was right, from everything she’d been told about Klaus, he wasn’t dumb, and while he was powerful, and ruthless, and antagonistic, she doubted that he would attack a witch that had been helping him willingly, (Maya had once explained that a witch operating under duress made their spell work, shaky and unwieldy), so chances were that Klaus wouldn’t hurt Maya unless she gave him a reason to. “Well it has to be something connected to you and Klaus, it’s the only thing that makes sense,” Caroline insisted.
“Whatever it is, I can’t think of what it would be,” Maya shrugged.
“Well think harder! Describe the nightmare figure for me.”
“It’s just a dark figure, I don’t know how I would describe it!”
“Start with the basics, tall or short?”
“Average I guess, like 5’5’’ or 5’6’’.”
“Build?”
“Lithe, it definitely doesn’t look like it’s physically strong, but it gives off a huge aura of power.”
“Body shape?”
“Um…” Maya thought back to her latest nightmare and the figure shrouded in darkness, “Feminine, definitely.”
“So the person doing this is a witch?”
“The only witch that knows I even exist is Bonnie’s grandma, I know what her power feels like, this felt twisted, and dark, Bennett magic is full of light and nature, this felt like death.”
Caroline pursed her lips and her brow furrowed as she catalogued the new information she was given in her brain and compared it to what she already knew. “Death,” she muttered as she tried to grasp something that was just on the edge of her mind, “Feels like death…FEELS LIKE DEATH!” she shouted. “Oh my god Maya, it feels like death!”
“You don’t have to sound so excited about it,” Maya replied with an eyebrow raised.
“Don’t you get it! You said before, the spirits here don’t like you! What if its one of them?”
“You’re saying you think I’m being attacked by a dead witch?”
“What else could it be?”
“It feels like death, but if the spirits wanted me dead, wouldn’t they have done it earlier?”
“Well something must have changed, you must have pissed someone off, what witchy things have you been doing lately?”
“Nothing more than the usual daylight jewellery…except…”
“Except what?” Caroline asked.
“Except I’ve been trying to use that spell, the one that I used to find the white oak stake, I’ve been trying to use it to find the moonstone. I haven’t told Nik because I don’t want get his hopes up, but I’ve been looking for it.”
“You haven’t found it yet?”
“I’ve made progress, I know that its in town somewhere.”
“Well then that’s it!” Caroline exclaimed, “You said the moonstone’s been missing for 500 years, all so Klaus doesn’t break some curse, but now you’re friends with Klaus and have been getting closer to finding it. What if the witch that cast the curse, is attacking you?”
Maya froze at that, she couldn’t believe that she’d been so stupid, Caroline was right, it made perfect sense, she’d told Klaus that the moonstone was being hidden by the witch who’d cast the curse, and if that witch could hide the moonstone when she was on the other side, of course she could attack someone trying to find it. Especially when that person was a witch. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before,” Maya whispered.
Caroline shrugged, trying not to show how worried that this revelation had made her, after all, how were you supposed to fight a witch that was already dead, “Don’t beat yourself up, I am the smart one out of the two of us.”
Maya scowled and smacked a pillow in Caroline’s face, “Shut up!”
Caroline pushed the pillow away and shot her a glare, “So now what? You know who’s doing this to you, are you going to stop looking for the moonstone?”
The Siphon shook her head, “I’m not about to be bullied into submission by some old, dead witch. Especially if I can get something that hasn’t been seen in 500 years. If she’s trying to stop me from finding the moonstone, then I need to narrow down its location faster.”
“And how are you going to do that?”
“I know a place,” Maya sighed, “The witch died here, in Mystic Falls, I channel what’s left of her magic in that spot, to break through her cloaking spell.”
“Sneak past the enemy lines by using her magic as a disguise,” Caroline said in understanding.
Maya nodded, “The only problem is, it could be dangerous, it’s why I haven’t done it before.”
“Witch bitch is trying to kill you in your sleep, I’m pretty sure that that’s dangerous too.”
“So we’re in agreement I should do this now, preferably before mum comes home and busts us both.”
Caroline nodded, “Let’s go!”
The girls rushed out of the house, taking their bikes to Maya’s hidden magical spot, “This place is giving me serious serial killer vibes,” Caroline shuddered. She wasn’t magical, but even she could feel the death that enveloped the place.
“It’s not my favourite place to practice magic, but for a while it was the only place I could.”
“So what do you need?”
“Help me set up these candles in a pentagram,” Maya pulled out white candles from her backpack and gave Caroline two, taking the other three they set up the pentagram, with the centre over the very spot that Esther died. Maya pulled out a map and a knife and settled them in the middle. “Before I cast the spell, I need to anchor myself to something.”
“Why?” Caroline asked, genuinely curious about the magic her friend did.
“We’re standing on the very spot that the witch died, her death was so violent that it left a mark, which means that while I can easily access her magic, she’s the strongest here, and I don’t want to give her the opportunity to have so much access to me.” Esther was a master at possession and she didn’t want to take that chance.
Caroline nodded, “So what do you need in an anchor?”
“Something on this plane of existence, something that belongs to me, something that I have an emotional connection to. I brought a couple of things I could use.” She pulled out the dragon that Enzo had won her from a fair the first time she had been to New York. The charm bracelet that her mother had gotten her when she turned 13, and the first painting Jeremy had done, after she had managed to convince Aunt Miranda to take them both to an art exhibit. She didn’t have anything from Caroline, because there was nothing more important than the girl herself.
“You’re sure that one of these things will work to hold you here?”
Maya gave a hesitant nod, “The stronger the emotional connection the better,” she said.
Caroline frowned, she wasn’t sure any of these items had a strong enough connection, and then the lightbulb went off. “What about me?”
“What about you?”
“I’m your best friend, the only thing that you could possibly have a stronger connection to is your mum, so use me.”
“Caroline its still dangerous,” Maya shook her head, “I don’t want to risk you.”
“You listen here! I’m the one that figured out what was going on! I’m the one that said that we should do this, and I’m the one you’re going to anchor to you, because I’m not risking you!” Caroline scolded.
Maya was taken aback, Caroline had never been angry at her before, but she had to admit, her best friend was right, the thing that would give her the best chance at succeeding and staying connected to her own body would be to use her Sunshine as an anchor. “Are you sure Sunshine? I don’t want to hurt you.”
“It’ll hurt me if you don’t use me.”
Nodding Maya picked up the knife and walked over to her friend, “I’m going to need to make a cut on your hand and then on mine, our blood will mix together and I’ll say the spell. You should feel a connection to me, you won’t be able to hear my thoughts or anything, but you will be able to feel me, and therefore feel if anything changes in me, okay?”
Caroline nodded, “Let’s do this.”
Maya made a small cut on her palm and then one on Caroline’s, they held their hands side by side and watched as their blood moved towards each other’s and then mingled. “Phasmatos stationem anchoram habemus animae meae sanguis meus, lux mea est in tenebris. Phasmatos stationem anchoram habemus animae meae sanguis meus, lux mea est in tenebris.”
Caroline’s eyes widened as for the first time, she felt everything that Maya was feeling, her love, her fear, her exhaustion, but overwhelming all of that at this moment, her determination. “Wow! It’s like I can feel everything! Awe, you love me that much!”
Maya blushed at that, she didn’t mean for Caroline to have quite so much access to her feelings, “Just familiarise yourself with what I feel like, I’m going to give you this,” She took off her talisman, after siphoning enough magic to get the channelling going. Maya wrapped it around Caroline’s bloodied hand, and Care felt the connection between herself and Maya solidify. “If you feel anything, I mean anything that isn’t me, you unwrap that necklace and throw it as far away from you as you can, it'll distract me long enough to stop the locator spell, and cut off the witch's access to me.”
“Okay,” Caroline nodded and watched the Siphon move into the pentagram, Maya waved her hand and the candles all lit up, she moved her bloodied hand over the map of Mystic Falls and let the liquid drip onto the paper.
“Phasmatos sanguinis et spirituum magicae religat, solvo, id invenias quod occultatum est, lapis ostende mihi, phasmatos sanguinis et spirituum magicae religat, solvo, id invenias quod occultatum est, lapis ostende mihi.” She kept repeating the words over, and over, and the blood slowly started to move away from the centre of the map. As the trail became clearer, the words were becoming more difficult to say, she started to feel some push back coming from the magic she was channelling. Maya could feel the pressure in her head start to increase as Esther tried to pull on Maya’s magic and use it for herself. Luckily for the Siphon, she didn’t have any magic of her own, and that meant that Esther could not keep a solid grip on her.
“Maya!” Caroline cried, the wind had picked up around them and the blonde could feel her friend’s hold on herself shake, “Maya I’m here! I’m right here Maya!” closing her eyes Caroline willed her strength to go to the Siphon, “Take what you need! I’ll keep you strong!”
Maya’s eyes, which had closed at some point, flashed open as she felt strength surge through her, the green of her irises almost glowing with power as she fought to push away the malicious entity and keep the locator spell going until she found what she was looking for. As she felt her nose start to drip blood, the push back from the other side lessened, she’d almost drained the area of it’s magic, almost stripped this place of Esther’s darkness. She looked down at the map and saw the blood begin to congregate in one area, “Lockwood Manor” she murmured before the spell finally stopped, because there was no more magic left to siphon. Maya collapsed to the ground and Caroline darted forward to check on her friend.
“Maya! Mai! Please be okay!” she cried out, rolling the girl over, Caroline had never been more relieved to hear her groan in discomfort.
“S’ok Sunshine,” Maya whispered, seeing the distraught look on Caroline’s face, “I’m okay now, I felt you, you helped me,” she sighed.
“God don’t you ever do that again!” Caroline ordered, brushing a few stray tears from her face, “I felt you shake, I felt you get weaker!”
Maya gave her a soft smile as she reached out and unwound her talisman from Caroline’s hand, slipping it over her head, she let herself absorb just a touch of magic to give her, her strength back momentarily, “And you were there, to stop me from breaking.”
“I’ll always be there,” Caroline insisted, helping her friend get to her feet, “But don’t you ever scare me like that again!”
“How about we go home and get some rest?” She could see that Caroline was paler than usual, that was probably due to the strength she had sapped from her.
“I am so not in the mood to ride my bike back to the house,” Caroline complained.
“That’s cool, I brought enough cash to take a cab back,” Maya shrugged, “I figured I’d be too tired to bike back anyway.”
Two weeks later the dreams had stopped, Maya believed that when she drained the area of Esther’s magical signature, Esther couldn’t reach out to her anymore. She was back in good spirits, it was just another week until her birthday, unfortunately it was also a week until the Founders…whatever it was they were throwing this month, so she was not looking forward to having to dress up. It did however mean that Caroline, with her unprecedented access to the Lockwood’s place so that she could help the decorating committee, could snoop round the mansion virtually unchecked. In her snooping, she’d discovered a floor safe in Richard Lockwood’s study, from there all she had to do was flirt a little with Tyler and get him to open the safe in an attempt to impress her.
It was an easy enough task, Caroline was confident in herself, much more confident then she would have been had she grown up friends with Elena, and managed to talk Tyler into looking for his dad’s ‘best stash’ and he’d headed right to the safe and opened it up. “What’s that?” Caroline asked, spying the smooth white stone in the safe, Maya had given her a fake, that looked like the original to swap out in case she found it.
Tyler frowned and reached down to pick it up, “I don’t know, I’ve never seen it before.” He’d been in his dad’s safe plenty of times, however he’d never ever seen it before.
“Can I see it?” Caroline asked casually, “Must be worth something if it’s in the safe,” she shrugged, giving Tyler a flirty smile.
He shrugged, he didn’t see why not, it wasn’t like she was going to steal the thing while he was there, “Sure, but don’t drop it.”
Caroline suppressed a frown, she was a cheerleader for crying out loud, if she dropped things there would be serious injuries. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure some little rock isn’t going to be too hard for me to handle.” She took it out of Tyler’s hands and gave it a cursory glance, making it look like she wasn’t really interested in the thing, and then, while Tyler had turned his back to pour her some of his dad’s scotch, Caroline swapped the moonstone, for the fake in her purse. And when Tyler turned back around she handed him the fake and took the drink out of his hands. Tyler put the fake moonstone, in the safe and closed it up, not wanting his father to find out about him going through his safe. Caroline gave him another smile, downing the scotch before he could say anything else, if she was going to have to flirt with Tyler Lockwood, she definitely needed a buzz. “So…is there anything else you’d like to show me around here?”
Maya met Caroline at hers that night, “Sunshine! Please tell me you have something for me?” Maya begged, her nightmares had ended, but something still didn’t sit right with her, and she wanted to get the moonstone, before Katherine got her grubby little hands on it, again.
“What no hi Caroline? How was your day? You spent it flirting with Tyler you say? That must have been terrible, and you did it all for me? Just to keep him distracted while you stole a powerful magical relic from his house?” Caroline frowned, she was so not in a good mood from having to deal with Tyler all day, “Just a, 'tell me you have something for me?'”
Maya had the decency to look abashed, Caroline was right of course, she couldn’t let her unrelenting need to have the moonstone, get in the way of her friendship, “You’re right, I’m sorry, I know you spent the day flirting with Lockdouche, just to find the moonstone for me, the first thing I should have said was thank you for doing what no witch, werewolf, or even Original was able to do in five centuries. You found the moonstone, not even the most powerful creature on the planet could do that, and I am very grateful.” Maya gave her a hug, “I’m sorry you had to flirt with Tyler, that sucks, he sucks, you must have had a shitty day. So tonight, I’m staying over and we are watching all your favourite movies!”
Caroline smiled and returned her hug, she wasn’t mad at Maya, but Tyler Lockwood got on her very last nerve. “Come on,” she motioned to her bedside drawer, where she’d put the moonstone, “let me show you what all of the fuss was about.”
Maya grinned back, in five seconds she would have the moonstone in her hands, and she would be able to give it to Klaus, as a sign of real friendship, when Caroline pulled it out of the drawer, she couldn’t help but be mesmerised by it. There was something about that rock that was pulling her in, and she couldn’t stop herself from reaching out and taking it, even though something was screaming at her, telling it was a bad idea. It was then that she realised, that the reason she couldn’t feel Esther trying to break her way into her head anymore, was because the Original witch, had an altogether different plan. Because the second she touched that rock, she felt searing agony rip through her brain, she screamed in anguish and dropped to the floor.
“Maya!” Caroline cried out, she dropped to her knees, shoving the moonstone away from her friend and under the bed, “Maya!” Caroline reached for her friend, when she realised that Maya’s chest was still, “MAYA!” she screamed in horror, her best friend, her family, her person wasn’t breathing!
That's the end of this chapter, please if you have time, I would be very grateful if you could leave a comment!
Thank you for reading!
Chapter 7: Retaliation
Notes:
Thank you for the Kudos! Please leave a comment!
Chapter Text
Sheriff Forbes rushed into Caroline’s room when she heard her daughter scream, her eyes locked onto Maya’s prone form and she ran to the girl, “Caroline! What happened?”
“I don’t know!” Caroline cried, “Mum she’s not breathing!”
Liz looked down at the girl, and started CPR, “Caroline call for an ambulance right now!”
Caroline stumbled to her feet and grabbed her phone, she dialled 911 and prayed that Maya would be okay, she couldn’t stop crying, by the time the ambulance got there, Maya hadn’t started breathing again. Liz bundled Caroline into her cruiser and they followed the ambulance to the hospital.
When they got to the hospital, Caroline was a hysterical mess, she had no idea what had happened, all Maya had done was take the moonstone, but Caroline hadn’t been hurt by the stone, so why had Maya?
Meanwhile the doctors were trying everything they could to help Maya, but her heart had stopped twice in her time there, each time longer than the last. They managed to get her back each time, but they had no idea what was wrong with her, in fact, they had put the girl on a ventilator, just to keep her breathing.
Whilst all this was happening around her unconscious, dying form, Maya was in her own world of trouble.
The Other Side
Maya wandered the plain of the other side, she’d died! She thought to herself indignantly, she couldn’t believe it, not even a murderous vampire in town and she’d been killed by a rock for god sakes! This was humiliating, she couldn’t believe it, what the hell had happened? How had the Original Bitch…sorry Witch, managed to spell the moonstone like that? That hadn’t happened in the TVD timeline, she was sure of it, Esther must have had help to reach out past the Other Side, to the living plain. But the question was, who had helped her? And was she going to be attacked by Esther and whoever her minions were? Maya went for her necklace to try and siphon some magic to arm herself, but faltered when she realised that she couldn’t feel anything coming from her necklace. Of course, the magic belonged to the living plain, and it wasn’t hers to begin with, so she didn’t have anything to connect with to draw from. “Shit,” she muttered, this was not good.
“My wife tells me that you are just as much of a beast as the boy.” She heard an eerily familiar voice spit from behind her.
Eyes widening for a moment, Maya fought off the instinctual whimper of fear that the sound of that voice evoked. Klaus had been terrified of Mikael, and for good reason, and she was willing to bet that Esther had told Mikael all about the fact that she was the reason he was currently occupying the Other Side, instead of hunting his children, like he had for the past 1000 years. Steeling herself, she turned around, eyes narrowed at the original vampire hunter “Mikael,” she scowled, “I’m not surprised to see you here.”
Mikael gave her, what could only be described, as a sinister look, “It will be my greatest pleasure to end your pathetic life once and for all.” If he couldn’t kill the abomination that had masqueraded as his son, then he could very well end the witch that was the reason for his own death. He whooshed forward and wrapped a hand around her throat, starting to squeeze the life out of her. Maya’s hands instinctively came up to grip his wrist, in a desperate attempt to stop him from killing her, again, and much to her surprise, she was able to siphon from him. Thanks to her ability, she was able to loosen Mikael’s hold on her, just slightly, “You know I love a good choking as much as the next girl, but you’re just not my type. Motus!” Mikael flew back and hit a tree, not waiting for the Original to get up she ran into the forest, keeping what little magic she’d managed to siphon from Mikael to herself.
As Maya ran deeper into the forest, she heard a cracking come from her side, and just managed to dodge a huge log flying in her direction, “Motherfucker! I thought we were all supposed to be alone on the Other Side!” Maya said to herself as she jumped back, avoiding a boulder that had been hurled towards her.
“There’s no use running girl !” Mikael called out, with the same sneer that he used on Klaus, “You will not survive me!”
Maya froze, as what he’d been saying finally registered in her brain, “What?” she asked, whirling around to face the Destroyer head on, “What did you just say to me?”
Mikael stalked forward, he pulled out a knife, that he must have had on him when he died, “I will end you.”
“PHASMATOS PROHIBERE!” Maya yelled and this time it was Mikael frozen in his tracks, “You said that I won’t survive you, you said that you were going to end my pathetic life once and for all. And you know what that tells me?” She smirked at him victoriously, “I’m not dead! You wouldn’t be trying so hard to kill me otherwise, but you know what?” she walked up to him, confident that her spell would hold and laid her hands on him, siphoning more magic from him, “You are dead, and I’M THE REASON! I’M THE ONE THAT GAVE NIKLAUS EVERYTHING HE NEEDED TO END YOUR PATHETIC EXISTENCE, AND I WILL GIVE HIM EVERYTHING HE NEEDS TO BREAK HIS CURSE AND MAKE MORE ‘ABOMINATIONS’ JUST. LIKE. HIM!” She yelled. “And you’ll be cursed to watch, but since you’re so interested in the things that your precious wife has to say, why don’t you ask her what really happened to Freya, because she didn’t die of the plague. Every moment of her life she suffered, wishing for her father to save her, but he never did.” She said viciously. Those were the last words that Mikael heard from her, before she snapped his neck. As Maya began to walk away, she felt herself fade from the Other Side, and found herself in nothing but darkness.
The Living Plain
Jenna was sat at Maya’s bedside, her tears hadn’t stopped flowing, Maya hadn’t woken up, she hadn’t responded to anything the doctors had done, they’d said something about her being in a coma, but no one knew why. Her sister Miranda came in to sit with her, Miranda had gotten a call from Liz, Jenna was a hysterical mess, her daughter’s heart had stopped beating, multiple times, and Jenna needed her big sister. Even though their daughters didn’t get along, Miranda loved her niece, and she loved her baby sister, so she would be there for Jenna and Maya, for as long as they needed her. Miranda pulled Jenna to her, wrapping her arms around her, just like she’d done when Jenna had come to her crying after finding out she was pregnant, “It’s going to be okay Jenna, the doctors are going to figure out what’s wrong, Maya will wake up, and she’ll want to know all about the birthday plans you have for her.”
Jenna sobbed into her sister’s shoulder, “They don’t know what’s wrong with her, they don’t know why she won’t wake up!”
“I promise, Maya is going to wake up.” Miranda said strongly, looking over at her niece, gasping in fright at the sight, “Oh my god,” she whispered, Jenna looked up at her sister’s words and focused on what she was looking at. Maya’s neck, which had been clear, had dark finger shaped bruises appear on it.
“What the hell?” Jenna asked.
The Darkness
The darkness was kind of comforting, she’d said it before, Caroline was the sun, and she was the night, they made up two halves of the same coin, so being in the dark didn’t scare her, at least not more than being on the Other Side. But she needed to figure out where she was, and how to get out of there, but just as she was focusing on that, she felt herself being pulled from wherever she was, and landing right back on the Other Side.
The Other Side
“Not again,” she whined, “Is this just going to keep happening?!” she asked no one in particular, if it was, it was going to be a real inconvenience.
“So you are the witch that has been betraying the spirits by helping my son.”
Maya rolled her eyes, what was with this family and their need to show up while her back was turned? She spun around to meet the Original Witch face to face. “And you’re the bitch that kept her son week for his entire mortal life, cursed him to live half a life when you turned him into a vampire, and drove him to near insanity because of it.” Maya scowled, she hated Nik’s parents, all three of them were terrible…she paused at that, she could remember everything! What did that mean?! “And not that I need to explain myself, but I’m not betraying anyone, as far as the spirits are concerned, I’m just as much of an abomination as your son.”
Esther’s eyes narrowed at the girl before her, and that’s what she was, a girl, a child, who was going to die tonight, so that she could cross back over and finally end all of her children. “I will not let you help my son break his curse. He’s an affront to nature, all my children are.”
Maya scoffed, “Oh please, I’m so sick of you witches, believing that you know Nature’s will, humans are life and vampires death, there must be balance in everything. Are you truly so arrogant as to believe that you could do anything that She doesn’t allow?”
Esther frowned, “You are nothing but a child, you know nothing of the world, of nature, I have spent 1000 years on the Other Side, being punished for the monsters I created, I will not let you stop me from righting my greatest mistake!”
“You want to get back the land of the living, you’re going to have to go through me.” Maya stated, realising exactly what Esther wanted, she couldn’t take over her body while they were on different plains, so now she was trying to take over now that her spirit was untethered from her flesh.
“I think you’ll find that that’s the plan,” Esther replied, moving closer to Maya, “You have no power here, I made sure of that.”
“Well, that makes you very stupid,” Maya laughed, “Just because I can’t access the magic in my necklace, doesn’t mean I have no power here. We’re on the Other Side Esther, this plain is made up entirely of magic, it’s practically in the air.”
Esther’s eyes widened as she realised what Maya was saying, “Blø!” the Original Witch said, her hand flying out to cast her spell.
“Ugh!” Maya groaned and bent over, vomiting blood as she felt the full effect of Esther’s spell, her hand came into contact with the ground and she pulled on the ancient magic that held the other side together. Gaining some strength back, Maya straightened up, blood was dripping from her nose, her eyes, and ears, “I may be young, but I am not WEAK! Dead or alive, I will never let you use me to hurt your son.”
“You don’t have a choice,” Esther replied, “Bryte bein!”
Maya cried out as she felt the bones in her right arm and left leg snap, causing her to fall to one knee, struggling to lift up her left hand she grunted, she would not let this bitch kill her, “Phasmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox!” Esther screamed and then fell into unconsciousness, at least temporarily, as her blood turned to acid. Maya’s other leg gave out under her weight, and she groaned as she hit the floor and felt her rib crack under the pressure.
Rolling onto her back she gasped, she had to get out of the area, Esther was unconscious, but only for now, the woman was already dead, which meant that she couldn’t be killed again on the Other Side. But Maya could still die permanently, and as confident as she was, she knew that Esther was a powerful witch, more powerful than her, especially as she’d had 1000 years to navigate the Other Side. Stretching out her good hand she felt the dirt under her fingertips, buried them in the ground, and started to siphon the magic there. “Fix the leg,” she whispered to herself, concentrating, “Fix the leg, just fix the leg, come on, you can do this, just fix the leg.” She whimpered as she felt the bone in her leg realign itself and began to knit together.
“Well hello little one,” another female voice spoke, as the woman came into view, Maya laid eyes on her and gasped in astonishment, “You've been busy haven't you?” the woman asked, crouching down as Maya blacked out.
The Living Plain
Grayson had come in when Miranda called him, after the bruises mysteriously appeared on Maya’s neck, he took over her treatment when he realised that whatever was happening to his niece was something supernatural. Jenna was unusually hostile, not in front of Miranda of course, and she was not being overtly hostile, but it was noticeable. She watched him like a hawk as he checked on his niece, she wouldn’t let him be alone with her, like she thought that he would do something to her.
He heard the alarms go off in Maya’s room and he rushed in, her heart had stopped again but this time blood began to pour from her eyes, and ears, and her bones broke seemingly without any trauma, “What the hell?” he said to himself as he tried to get her heart going again.
“NO!” Jenna screamed as a nurse pulled her back so she didn’t get in the way while Grayson and the rest off his teams tried to get her back.
The Other Side
Maya woke with a start, she was still on the Other Side, “No, no, no,” she whispered to herself, she pushed up off the floor using her good arm, she stood shakily on her recently repaired leg, suppressing a gasp of pain.
“Nice to see you’re finally awake,” the woman said, sitting at table in front of the fire, in a cosy little home on the edge of the forest.
Maya looked around the room first, this place was different from everywhere else, it couldn’t be explained, but it felt off, it was then she looked at the woman before her, “I can’t still be here, I’m not dead, I can’t be.”
“Not yet no, and you’ve still got a little while, time works differently on the Other Side,” the woman replied.
“Why did you bring me here?”
“Before you go back, we need to have a little talk, and you need to do something for me.”
The Living Plain
Jenna sagged in relief as Grayson confirmed that Maya’s heart was beating again, she still couldn’t breathe on her own, but she was alive and that was what mattered. Now all her baby had to do was wake up, without being injured any further. And that was another serious problem, so far only Grayson and Miranda had seen the odd things that were happening to her body, Miranda had only seen the bruises on Maya’s neck, but Grayson had seen her bleeding from her eyes, witnessed her leg and arm twist at unnatural angles and heard the snap of her bones. She’d seen the look in his eyes, he was interested in what was happening to her, and not in the way a normal doctor would be interested, the glint in his eyes was what she’d imagined he looked like when he’d tortured Enzo.
Darkness
Maya re-appeared in the darkness, not the Other Side, and not the Living Plain either, the good news was she couldn’t feel any pain here, her arm and rib was still broken, she could feel that, but not the pain that she’d felt when she was on the Other Side. The bad news however, was that she couldn’t feel any magic, whatever she had siphoned, either was gone, or she couldn’t access it. “Where the hell am I?” she murmured.
A bit of a shorter chapter for you all, (sorry), I just wanted to spread this out a little, build some anticipation.
Maya's at the hospital, but can't breathe on her own, and Grayson now suspects something magical going on with his niece. What will happen now? How will Jenna handle Grayson's suspicions? You'll just have to wait and see!
Please leave a comment if you can!
Chapter 8: Help
Chapter Text
It had been two weeks since Maya had fallen into her coma, Jenna had barely left her side, while she didn’t trust Grayson with her little girl, having him as part of her family meant that she was afforded more access than regular visitors. She had a cot set up in her daughter’s room, Miranda brought her clothes so that she didn’t have to go home, Jeremy and Caroline would come and sit with her, Damon and Enzo had flown in immediately upon a phone call from a slightly calmer Caroline. She’d called from Maya’s phone when she’d managed to stop crying. Damon had been able to remain at the hospital with Jenna for most of the time, he’d vacate the area whenever her sister and nephew showed up, but Enzo had to remain in the shadows most of the time, with Grayson Gilbert as Maya’s doctor he had to wait until the Gilbert Patriarch had left before he could check on his best friend. Unfortunately, nothing had changed when he visited, her heart still beat, and she’d come off the ventilator, able to breathe on her own again, but she wouldn’t wake up. She wasn’t responding to stimuli, and her brain activity was declining, both Damon and Enzo had tried to enter her mind in order to wake her up but had been thrown out of it before they could make contact. Whatever was keeping her unconscious, was also strong enough to keep two century old vampires out of head whilst keeping her down.
It was the middle of the day and Grayson had some ‘business’ on the Whitmore campus so Enzo and Damon were able to visit Maya together this time. Damon was sat in the bed, next to Maya, his hand on her head whilst he tried again to enter her mind. Jenna was lying on the cot, her head in Enzo’s lap as the vampire stroked her hair, she’d just come down from another crying jag and was now staring at her daughter’s unresponsive form. “I don’t know what to do anymore,” Jenna whispered hoarsely when Damon pulled back with a groan, he still couldn’t reach her. “The neurologist said that she’s dying.” She brushed away the tears that had started again.
“And what does your dear old brother-in-law have to say?” Enzo asked with a sneer.
“He wants to move her, he’s been telling Miranda that the hospital near Whitmore is better than the one here, that it’s got more resources. Enzo he saw her bones break on their own, he has to know that something supernatural happened.”
Damon looked over at the other two, “If he saw that, and wants to move her to Whitmore, it’s so he can study her for Augustine, I don’t think they’ve ever had a witch before, niece or not, he won’t be gentle.”
Jenna sat up and looked at both vampires in a panic, “I can’t let him take her!”
“So we kill him,” Damon shrugged, “I’m actually surprised you didn’t do it already Zo.”
“You can’t kill him!” Jenna exclaimed, “He’s my sister’s husband!”
“Who wants to experiment on your daughter!” Damon exclaimed, “There’s no choice here.”
“Damon!” Enzo chided, “We’re not killing him, not if we don’t have to,” Enzo had had this discussion with Maya years ago, after he’d gotten out, they’d talked about the issues that Grayson’s life and death would bring with them, they still hadn’t decided what to do, but Enzo had promised he wouldn’t do anything without Maya’s permission. “Our primary focus should be getting Maya out of Grayson’s reach whilst she’s defenceless.”
“How are we going to do that though?” Jenna asked
Damon gave Enzo a look, and his companion nodded, he knew what they’d have to do, even if Enzo was reluctant to do it, “We’re going to move her to a hospital in New York, and then we’re going to ask someone for a favour.”
“Who?” Jenna asked wearily, she had a feeling she knew, her daughter hadn’t been secretive about her chats with a certain old-as-dirt vampire, but she also hadn’t been very forthcoming with the information she had about him.
“Our friend,” Enzo said, “He’s the oldest, deadliest creature in existence, if anyone can help her it’s him.”
“And he’s just going to help save my daughter? Out of the goodness of his heart?”
Enzo winced a little at her sceptical tone, “Well not exactly, but Maya’s his friend, and she’s smart and powerful, he likes having her on his side.”
“He wants to use her,” Jenna concluded.
“I don’t think so,” Damon cut in, he needed to have Jenna on side for this move, because he didn't think that Maya, nor Enzo would appreciate it if he drained Jenna of vervain and then compelled her to go along with them. “Not really, Nik’s not the kind of guy that doesn’t get what he wants, if all he wanted was to use her, he would have found her, and taken her by now, I think he actually likes her.”
Jenna scoffed, “And what? You expect me to believe that someone who is used to being on top, isn’t just going to take advantage her when he gets the chance?”
“Jenna,” Damon said, moving over to the woman, looking deep into her eyes, “Maya gave him something that he cherishes, more than anything, according to him, technically he owes her.”
“What could she have given him, that was that important?”
“She gave him his family back,” Enzo said, “There was a hunter, just as strong, just as old as Nik, and he had a weapon that was capable of killing Nik, and any member of his family. Maya found that weapon and the location of the hunter, and gave them to Nik. Nik killed the hunter, and for the first time in 1000 years, he was able to re-unite his family. If we ask for his help, he will give it.”
Jenna wiped a hand over her face and stood up, “Ok, so how do we do this?”
“Enzo’ll give Nik a call to arrange things in New York, I’ll get the ball rolling here,” Damon said, “We should be ready to go tomorrow, and I’ll be here when you tell the Dr Frankenstein that you’re moving your daughter, as back-up.”
Jenna nodded, “Thank you,” she said, squeezing Damon’s arm in a friendly gesture, the two had come far since their initial confrontation at Fells Church two years ago.
The older vampire shrugged, “Eh, Enzo made it pretty clear that Maya’s his number one priority, and I kinda like her,” he pointed a finger at Jenna, “Do not tell her I said that though!”
For the first time in two weeks Jenna smiled, “I promise.”
“Good, I’m going to go and talk to staff here about moving Maya, you stay with her.”
It was the morning, and Damon was stood outside Caroline’s house, waiting for the blonde’s mother and father to leave for work. He’d never met the girl, but had seen pictures, and figured that while Jenna was remaining in the hospital, Maya’s human best friend could pack some stuff for her and Jenna, so both women actually had some clothes when they got to New York. He straightened when he saw both adults leave, waited until he could no longer hear either of their vehicles, before whooshing to the front of the house and knocking on the door.
About 30 seconds later Caroline opened the door, eye’s widening at the site of him stood there, “I’m not inviting you in!” she rushed out in a panic, Maya had always said that as much as she (grudgingly) liked Damon, he was a wild card, and very dangerous.
Damon smirked, “You know who I am, fantastic, at least this makes things easier. Jenna’s having Maya transferred to a hospital in New York to get her away from Doctor Gilbert, so you need to come with me and pack some things for the both of them.”
“What?!” Caroline shrieked causing Damon to wince a little at the sound, “What do you mean she’s moving her to New York?!”
“Doctor Gilbert saw Maya’s bones break, on their own, and now he’s pushing to get Maya moved to a hospital close to Whitmore, I’m pretty sure you and I both know what that means Blondie.”
“Oh god, he thinks she’s magical!”
“Ding, ding, ding! Got it one Barbie, Enzo and I are moving the little witch somewhere safe, so that we can figure out how to help her without needing to worry about psycho doctors wanting to cut her up and play with her insides.”
Caroline shot him an unimpressed look, she so did not need that imagery in her head, “I’m still not inviting you in.”
“Not asking you to Barbie, but I do need you to come and pack the ladies’ things for me, seeing as how I have yet to secure an invite to Casa del Sommers.” Damon pouted a little at the thought that Jenna still had not given him an all-access pass to her house, (it might have had something to do with the fact that in the first 30 seconds of their initial meeting he had threatened Maya, and Jenna had threatened to shoot him, but surely that was all in the past?).
“I’m calling Jenna first,” Caroline insisted.
“Make it snappy!”
Caroline slammed the door in his face, and called her best friend’s mum, upon receiving confirmation from Jenna as to what was happening, she grabbed her keys and her purse, slipping the moonstone inside, and headed out the front door. It was a short walk to Maya’s house, now that she’d moved, but Caroline refused to let Damon vamp speed them there, so it gave her a chance to talk to the raven-haired vampire.
“You’re taking her to Klaus, aren’t you?”
Damon raised an eyebrow, glancing at the young girl, “Maya really tells you everything huh?”
“Oh please,” Caroline scoffed, “I’m her best friend in the whole world, you think I wouldn’t know all about Klaus and their weird little flirtations on the phone.”
“You’ve seen it too!” Damon exclaimed, he’d caught the tail end of several conversations Nik had had with Maya, and all of them had had a layer of flirtation to them, “I knew they were flirting! I mean my idea of flirting has a way less blood and gore in it, but to each his own I guess.”
“Thank you!” Caroline replied, feeling vindicated by Damon’s agreement with her, “They are so weird! But Maya still refuses to acknowledge that I’m right, she’s all like ‘we’re just friends Sunshine, he’s too old for me, we don’t flirt’ but I know better.”
“Tell me about it, Enzo’s in total denial, as far as he’s concerned Maya does not, and will never know what attraction is, let alone do anything scandalous with Niklaus Mikaelson.”
“Well, if that’s what he’s hoping for he’s going to be severely disappointed, she totally thinks he’s scrumptious, and I can tell you, he's totally her type.”
“It’s the accent, right?” Damon asked.
“Definitely.”
“There’s something about the British accent that’s just so…”
“Swoon-worthy?” Caroline offered, inwardly squealing at the thought that she was getting some initial confirmation of, what she and Maya had coined as, Denzo.
“I was going to say hot, but sure,” Damon shrugged.
They’d finally made it to Maya’s house and Caroline took out her key and unlocked the door, “I won’t be long!” she called, rushing upstairs. She grabbed two duffle bags and quickly packed what she believed would be essentials for both Maya and Jenna.
She was done 30 minutes later, and found Damon sat around the back of the house on the porch swing, “All finished,” she said handing Damon one of the bags, if Maya was being transferred today, then she was going to go to the hospital with Damon and say goodbye.
Damon had gotten them to the hospital in seconds, giving Caroline her first experience of vampire speed, she’d been disorientated, but extremely proud that she hadn’t puked in front of the hot vampire she’d been chatting to. Putting the duffle bags in his car, that he'd left at the hospital, they’d walked in to find Grayson and Jenna in a full-blown argument.
“I don’t understand why you won’t trust me Jenna, she’ll be better off at Whitmore Hospital! They have more equipment and I have colleagues there that specialise in Maya’s problem.” Grayson insisted, unwilling to say the ‘M’ word while he didn’t know how much his sister-in-law actually knew about the supernatural.
“I don’t need to explain myself to you Grayson, I’m doing what’s best for her.”
“By moving her to a city and hospital that you have no connections with? How does that make any sense?!”
Damon cleared his throat while Caroline moved to Jenna’s side, “Is there a problem here?” he asked, his eyes like ice as he stared down Enzo’s most recent torturer.
“Who are you?” Grayson asked, he’d seen the man with Jenna before but hadn’t managed to catch a name or work out what his relationship was with his sister-in-law.
“Oh I’m so sorry, I completely neglected to introduce myself,” Damon gave him smirk, imagining what it would be like tear out the doctor’s throat with his teeth, “I’m Derek,” Damon said, unwilling to give him any details about himself.
“Derek what?”
Damon shrugged, “Doesn’t really matter, I just came to check on my good friend Jenna, when I found you yelling at her, correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that that’s not part of your job description.”
“I’m having a discussion with my patient’s mother, whatever you want can wait.”
“Actually it can’t,” Damon said, “Because you were talking about a subject that actually has a lot to do with me,” he turned to Jenna who had an arm wrapped around Caroline’s shoulders, “The medical team has arrived, and is ready to move Maya, the lovely Caroline here, packed your things, they’re in the car, all we need to do is finish up the paperwork here, so we can leave.”
Grayson scoffed at the man, “I’m not signing off on this! You can’t just take her.”
“You don’t need to sign off on anything, you’re no longer Maya’s doctor.”
“What?” Jenna asked confused.
“What are you talking about?” Grayson asked.
“Well, I feel a little iffy about family treating family, so Maya has a new doctor, and since I’m the one paying for her treatment, the hospital was more than happy to oblige my request.” Damon turned to Caroline, “Barbie, you stay here with Maya while Jenna and I go and fill out the rest of the paperwork.” At her answering nod he motioned for Jenna to follow him, and they left the room, Grayson following after them spluttering in anger.
When they had left Enzo whooshed in, startling the young girl, “Enzo!” Caroline exclaimed, finally getting a face to face look at her best friend’s, vampire best friend, “What are you doing here? Dr Gilbert is in the building, he cannot see you!”
“Ah, you must be the lovely Caroline, I can see why she calls you Sunshine,” Enzo smiled.
“You cannot be here!” Caroline hissed.
“Damon will keep the good doctor busy, I’m just here to make sure that Maya will be safe in transit.”
“How are you going to that?” she asked curiously. Enzo grabbed a syringe and needle, he used it to draw blood from himself and then inject it into Maya. “What are you doing?!” Caroline whisper screeched.
“Vampire blood has healing properties, and if the worst should happen, it will bring her back from death,” Enzo explained and Caroline blanched.
“Do you really thing she’ll need it?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not taking any chances with her,” he’d rather have her frozen at 15 than lose her forever.
Caroline nodded in understanding, she didn’t want to lose Maya either, “Enzo,” she said hesitantly, “What did Jenna tell you about what happened with Maya?”
“Just that she found a magical item and that when she touched it, it did this to her.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure how much to tell Jenna exactly,” Caroline looked at him sheepishly.
“What do you mean, what happened Caroline?”
“The magical item that she found, that we found, it was the moonstone.”
“WHAT!”
“Shh, would you keep it down!”
“What do you mean it was the moonstone?”
“Look, long story short, those nightmares she was getting, we figured out it was the Witch that was hiding the moonstone, she stopped attacking Maya when her locator spell finally found that stupid rock. It was in the Lockwood property, so I went and got it, Maya came over to mine to pick it up, and the second she touched it, it did this,” she pointed at her friend. “I don’t know how, because it didn’t do anything to me then, and it hasn’t since.”
“You still have the stone?” Enzo asked.
Caroline nodded and pulled it out of her purse, “Damon said you’re asking Klaus for help, this should be enough payment to find a way to fix her, right?”
Enzo took it in his hand, stared at the small white stone that had caused such damage to his world, if he didn’t know how much Nik needed the damn thing, he would have hurled it into the sea. “For this love, Nik will do everything to fix her, I’ll make sure of it.”
“You better be sure about this Enzo, this is the only thing I’ve got to make sure that Klaus will help her.” Caroline said, she remembered all about how Maya had told her how dangerous and powerful Klaus was, and even if they flirted over the phone, that didn’t mean that he would automatically jump to Maya’s rescue. You didn’t become the oldest, deadliest creature in existence by helping out whoever asked.
“I’m sure love, he’ll help her.”
Klaus sat back in his office in the Penthouse, he’d just gotten off the phone with Damon, it appeared that his little witch had gotten herself into a spot of trouble and was in need of his assistance. Smiling to himself, he reached for his phone, intent on ensuring some heavy vampire protection at the hospital she would be moved to, he was finally going to meet the little witch that plagued his thoughts. He would have preferred to meet her when she wasn’t in trouble, maybe surprise her while she was on a walk in Central Park on one of her visits to the city, but at least he got to see her now, and whatever was plaguing her, he would stop it, and she would be in his debt once more.
Another short chapter, but I wanted the other characters to be able to interact a little without her presence, Caroline finally meets Damon and Enzo! Klaus is going to get what he's wanted for the past two years, and meet the 'little witch' herself (too bad that she's in a coma).
Notes:
If you have time, please drop a comment, I love hearing your feedback!
Chapter 9: New York, New York
Chapter Text
I realised I haven't really given you guys a description of what Maya looks like, so this picture is what I imagine she'd look like, with green eyes.
Jenna walked into the hospital room her daughter had been given and looked around in awe, Damon had managed to get them a whole private section in the hospital, she was no expert, but she was pretty sure that the men and women on the doors were definitely vampires, and while that should have scared her, she found herself relieved that her daughter warranted such protection. Even thousands of miles away, she couldn’t shake her fear of Augustine, unsure of how far their reach extended, so all the extra guards, made her feel more secure, at least it did today.
Damon walked in with a smile, “Alright, everything’s all set up here for you, this entire floor is ours and ours alone.”
“Every member of the hospital staff has been compelled,” Enzo said, following Damon inside, “not one of them will say a word about you, or Maya to anyone and I’ve made sure that there’ll be no record of our stay here once we’re done.”
“We’re going to have to talk about security though,” Damon said, “The vampires here are courtesy of Nik, we told him about Augustine, so he wanted to make sure that this place was fully under his control. There’ll be four vampires on this floor at all times, not including us. If you have to leave the hospital, one of us is going with you. No doctor, or nurse or anyone else, will be allowed on this floor, without our express permission, we’re not taking any chances here.”
Jenna nodded, “I understand,” the urge to fight being told what to do wasn’t there, she knew that this was for her daughter’s safety, “When is Nik getting here?”
“He’ll be here tomorrow, after lunch, he’s got some business to finish off first, and we figured we’d let you get settled in tonight,” Enzo said.
“You’re sure he’ll be able to help?” she asked.
“If anyone can, he can,” Enzo confirmed, “Nik’s been around for 1000 years, whatever this is, chances are at least one member of his family has seen it.”
Elijah and Kol eyed their brother’s closed office door with suspicion, he’d been acting differently for months now, on the phone at odd hours of the day, having secret meetings all over the city, taking trips outside of the state and coming back unusually pleased, the brothers had tried following him on more than one of his nights out but had lost him fairly quickly in the city. He’d also been incredibly cagey about how he’d not only managed to find their father, but also use his only weapon against him and kill Mikael for good.
“I’m telling you, he’s up to something ‘Lijah,” Kol insisted. “When have you ever known Nik to act like this?” he asked.
“It is suspicious,” Elijah agreed.
“Suspicious? ‘Lijah last month I destroyed one of his prized pieces of art on purpose, just to get a rise out of him, and I didn’t get a dagger threat, not one, what ever he’s up to, is more than suspicious!”
“What would you like me to do Kol?”
“Find out what he’s doing!” Kol hissed, he’d tried getting into Nik’s office and his studio while his brother was out, but Nik had managed to find a witch to lay some enchantments to keep them all out.
“Oh and how exactly do you expect me to that? Would you like me to just burst into his office and say ‘Niklaus you have been unusually pleasant, no dagger threats, no yelling, no temper tantrums, it’s making us all very suspicious, what are you up to?’ Exactly how do you think that would go?”
“Don’t patronise me Elijah, but you have to do something, I’ve never seen him this calm, his office, his studio, they’ve never been locked to us before, but they are now! What if this has something to with father?”
“Don’t be ridiculous Kol, father is dead, Niklaus would never risk waking you all, if he wasn’t,” Elijah said.
“But how is father dead? He won’t tell us anything, how did he kill father without help?”
Elijah frowned, Kol had a point, Niklaus had been terrified of Mikael, they all had, but somehow his brother had managed to kill their father without any of them at his side. Who had Niklaus turned to for help? Who did Niklaus trust more than his own family? No one. Who did Niklaus trust outside of his family? No one. Who did Niklaus trust beside himself? No one. So how had he done it? What was he hiding from them?
Klaus came out of his study and Kol whooshed to his side, “Going somewhere Nik?”
Klaus looked towards to his brother with a raised eyebrow, “I have business to attend to.”
“You’ve been awfully busy in these past few months Niklaus,” Elijah said, joining his brothers, standing on Klaus’s other side.
“I have various business ventures all over the world,” Klaus said moving to leave, inwardly cursing the fact that his brothers were following him, “I don’t see why you’re so interested now.”
“Well, you haven’t really been paying attention to me have you Nik,” Kol started, as the baby brother he was used to receiving attention from both his brothers, Nik especially, “And I’m bored, so let me join you, it’s the least you can do after sticking a dagger in my heart.” His voice was cajoling, it never failed when he wanted to lay the guilt trip on his older brother.
Klaus scowled, he knew exactly what Kol was doing, he always gave in when his brother used that voice, it was a weakness that he refused to acknowledge, but it was one that Kol knew about, and Kol could always manage to persuade him to do anything with the voice that reminded him of his once mortal brother. “You know I would, but I just don’t have time to explain the intricacies of my business at this moment in time, but tell you what, if you’re so bored, I’ll take you out when I get back. You and I can paint the town red.” Before Kol could respond Klaus whooshed out of there, leaving both of his brothers speechless.
Kol turned to Elijah, “You see what I mean, Nik never says no to me when I use that voice! He’s plotting and he won’t let us in on it!”
“What do you mean he never says no when you use that voice?” Elijah asked affronted, Niklaus never just did anything when he asked and all Kol had to do was use that ridiculous wheedling voice and Niklaus gave him whatever he wanted!
“Oh grow up Elijah, I’ve used it on you too!” Kol dismissed, seeing the flash of jealousy on his older brother’s face.
“You’ve used it on me?!” Elijah exclaimed incredulously.
“Can we please focus on the matter at hand ‘Lijah? Nik’s hiding something important from us!”
Elijah’s eyes narrowed at his baby brother, “We are not done with this discussion,” Elijah said, “I’m sure you have a witch on speed dial brother, get one to temporarily lower the boundary on Niklaus’ office and studio and we shall see what our brother is hiding.”
“And what are you going to do while I get us a useful witch?”
“I will compel members of the police department to follow our brother using the cameras in the city and have them send us copies of the footage showing us where he goes and who he meets with.”
“And then?”
“And then if our brother is in fact planning something nefarious, then we shall confront him together, and if it turns out that he has done nothing wrong, then we can leave it at that, without him knowing that we were checking up on him. Because while these last few months have been admittedly strange, they have been incredibly pleasant.”
Jenna was pacing the length of Maya’s private hospital room, while Damon was lying on the couch that had been brought up for him, and Enzo was sitting in Maya’s bed, next to her, his fingers running through her hair, “Why am I so nervous? I shouldn’t be nervous right? I’ve dealt with vampires before; this is no different! Right?” she looked at both vampires, “Tell me I’m right!”
“It might not be exactly the same,” Enzo said, trying to be gentle, “You should probably be nicer to him then you are to Damon, a lot nicer.”
“I’m plenty nice to Damon!” she protested.
“You threatened to shoot me when we first met!” Damon exclaimed.
“You were going to attack Maya!” Jenna replied.
“Alright, you see this right here,” Enzo motioned to the two of them, “This, you should not do, as much as Nik finds Damon’s total lack of survival instinct amusing, I am not willing to bet that he’ll find it equally amusing in you. Be nice Jenna.”
“I’m always nice,” she crossed her arms pouting.
“And I’m hurt that you’d think that I would do anything that would injure the little witch’s mother, I’m a man of my word Enzo, I told you they’d be safe here.” Klaus said from the doorway, entertained at the panic he saw on the woman’s face and annoyance he saw on his friends’.
“Safe not sound,” Enzo pointed out, “You can be hurt and safe, that’s all I’m saying.”
“Aah well, allow me to remedy that then, I promise that as long as neither the witch nor her mother are here as a plot to try and kill me or my family, they will both be safe and sound.”
“There, now that we’re all cool,” Damon stood and was the one to intervene this time, since when was he the sensible one? “How about an introduction?”
“Niklaus Mikaelson,” Klaus said to the woman who was eyeing him warily, “call me Klaus.”
“Jenna,” the woman replied, “Maya’s mother.”
“No last name Jenna?”
“If Maya hasn’t given you her last name, I’m certainly not going to,” she said with a little sass.
“Jenna!” Enzo hissed.
But Klaus smiled, “I see where Maya gets her fire from, and her intelligence.”
Jenna narrowed her eyes at him, “I’m too smart to let you charm me, Klaus.”
“How refreshing,” he smirked.
Enzo had slapped his hand over his eyes and stifled a groan at the exchange, both of the Sommers women were going to send him to an early grave at this rate.
“How about we just focus on Maya now, you know, the one that’s dying, the one that we’re all here for,” Damon cut in, again, acting as the peacekeeper, these women were turning him soft.
Klaus shot Damon an amused look before nodding, “As much as it pains me to admit it, Damon’s right, let’s focus on the witch first.” He moved over to the bed and looked down at the unconscious girl before him, she was younger than he expected, far younger in fact, but there was something about her that drew him in, “How long has she been like this?”
“Two weeks,” Jenna answered, “The doctors say that her brain activity is declining, that she won’t make it much longer.”
“Do we know what it was that did this to her?” he asked, noticing Enzo give him a discreet nod and touched his pocket, indicating his possession of whatever the item was, he’d deal with that later.
“Her friend said she touched something magical and it did this,” Jenna gestured to her daughter, “What are you going to do?”
“Well by all accounts, Maya is stuck inside her own mind, and unless she can be brought out of it, she will die, I will go in there and pull her out.”
“Damon and Enzo already tried that; it didn’t work.”
“No offence to my friends, but they are less than two centuries old, I am considerably older and stronger, not to mention it is something I specialise in.”
“And if you still can’t get into her mind?” Jenna wasn’t particularly happy about the idea of having her daughter’s mind invaded by 1000-year-old vampire, but she had no choice anymore.
“Then I have several people that work for me who will find a way to wake her, I think you’ll find that I am rather fond of your daughter Jenna, I will help her.”
“Right, okay, okay, just please bring her back to me,” Jenna said, her worry evident on her expressive features.
Klaus nodded and sat on the bed, he reached out, and took her head in his hands, closing his eyes he felt the block, shielding her mind, and forced his way through.
The Darkness
Maya felt like she had spent months in the dark, it had gone from a comfort, to maddening and then back to a comfort, she couldn’t feel any physical sensations and couldn’t get out of the darkness, lately however, she’d begun to get tired, she knew that she was slipping away and found that every moment spent in the dark was slowly sapping her will to fight. Closing her eyes, she sighed, it appeared that Esther might win after all, the Original Witch may not be able to take over her body, but she could certainly stop her from helping Nik break his curse. Allowing a single tear to fall, she wiped it away and leant back, keeping her eyes closed she could feel herself floating, it wouldn’t be long now.
Klaus appeared in the endless dark of Maya’s mind, looking around he spotted her to his left, seemingly floating in thin air, walking towards her he reached out his hand. Upon contact with her body the darkness shifted, and morphed into a well-lit library, and Maya gasped, her eyes flying open, locking on his. “Nik!”
“Hello love.”
The Living Plain
Wes Maxfield was sat in his lab, on Whitmore campus, he’s research had been stalled by the loss of Augustine’s long term test subject, Dr Gilbert had provided Augustine with stellar information from his experiments on 12144, but then the idiot had lost the subject! Augustine had managed to hold onto one test subject for nearly six decades, they hadn’t lost him through fire, and war, and yet three years with Grayson Gilbert, and the subject breaks out and stays out! Gilbert had been shunned for quite some time thanks to that stupid loss, but two weeks ago, the doctor had brought the possibility of a witch, under a spell, to Augustine. The witch was apparently his niece, on his wife’s side, and Grayson believed that if he could bring her in for tests, then he would be brought back to the inner circle. Something that Wes had not denied, but he would be damned if he let incompetence bring down the century old society. Hearing a knock at the door, he lifted his head and saw the object of his musings walk in.
“Dr Gilbert, what are you doing here?”
“It’s my niece,” Grayson replied.
Wes fought the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, of course the idiot screwed this up too, “What about her?”
“My sister-in-law moved her, but not to Whitmore Hospital.”
Wes narrowed his eyes, “What the hell happened?”
“She had a friend, his name’s Derek, he paid Maya’s medical bills and moved her to a hospital in New York.”
“And you couldn’t stop it?!”
“He had me thrown off the case! Said that family shouldn’t treat family and Jenna bought in to it.”
Wes let out a frustrated huff, “Which hospital was she moved to?”
“I- I don’t know, the paperwork doesn’t say, and Jenna didn’t tell me, all I know is the flight they were on, was chartered to Manhattan.”
Dr Maxfield scowled, “I guess I really do have to do everything myself, get out! I’ll find the girl.”
Grayson hurried out of the room, unwilling to anger his colleague anymore, and perhaps a touch relieved that the choice of what to do about Maya had been taken out of his hands, as far as he was concerned, he was no longer responsible for what happened to the girl…his niece, he’d be able to look Jenna in the eye and say with absolute certainty, that he knew nothing about what Augustine was doing with her daughter when they retrieved her. And he should still be in Augustine’s good graces for bringing them a witch in the first place, nodding to himself he left the campus, feeling more assured than when he left.
The Library
“Nik how- what are you- I- what is going on?!” Maya finally asked, too confused to get her words out.
“I’m here to wake you up love,” he replied, taking a quick glance around the now vast library.
“Wake me up, I’ve been asleep?”
“You’ve been in a coma, for two weeks actually, unless you can wake up, you’ll die.”
“Two weeks! I’ve been in a coma for two weeks?! That bitch! She made me miss my birthday!” Maya scowled.
Klaus cocked his head as regarded the little witch, “I tell you that you’ll die soon, and all you take away from that is that you missed your birthday?”
“Yeah,” Maya replied, looking at him like she didn’t understand why he didn’t get it, “I was supposed to go paintballing, I was going to get to shoot my stupid cousin in her stupid perfect face! There's no way she's going to be persuaded to go paintballing next year!”
“I’m sure your mother can re-arrange your celebrations after you wake, for now we should probably focus on getting you out of here. Now you said that someone did this to you.”
“Oh yeah,” Maya looked around the library distractedly, “Your mum, she’s a real bitch,” she complained, heading off in a random direction.
“What?” Klaus frowned and appeared in front of her in less than a second, “What do you mean? You’re saying my mother did this to you? Why? How?”
“Well, it’s not so much hard to explain, as complicated, long winded, completely unbelievable. Maybe we should just concentrate on getting out of here and I’ll tell you later!”
“I believe it will take us some time to leave your mindscape so perhaps you should tell me about everything while we search for the exit.”
“Can’t you just pull us out of here? I mean isn’t that what you came here to do?”
“I came here to wake you up love, you’re the one that has to do the heavy lifting.”
“Seriously? Why can nothing ever be easy?” Maya complained, she’d been trying to get back to the land of the living since she’d turned up in the dark and hadn’t had any luck, how was she supposed to get out?
“Seriously, now stop avoiding the question, and explain what is going on, in detail,” Klaus said, getting impatient with her wish to leave him without answers.
“Fine,” she sighed, “I guess the first thing we should establish is exactly how much you know about me. What has Enzo told you?”
“Other than the fact that you saved his life, and that you’re a witch, nothing.” He was quite annoyed at that actually, despite the fact that they were friends, Enzo refused to tell him anything about the little witch. Klaus admired the loyalty Enzo had to her, but it did frustrate him to no end.
“Really? You’re saying that the only other things you know about me are what I’ve told you? God, it must kill you to know so little about what I am.” Maya never doubted Enzo for a second, but she did doubt her spell to prevent compulsion, she was only half sure that it would work on Enzo, and even less sure that the spell would remain in tact for such a long time.
“I can admit, the curiosity has become rather…maddening.”
“Well, I guess the first thing I should tell you is that I’m a reincarnation, I was a 27-year-old woman when I died in a car accident, and then I was re-born to the woman you no doubt met if you’re here.”
“A reincarnation? I’ve heard of old souls before love, but they are not supposed to know who or what they are.”
Maya sighed, “Unfortunately I didn’t get that lucky, or maybe I am luckier than them, the jury's still out on that. Anyway, when I was three, I got all of my memories back, believe me it is difficult enough re-doing childhood, but having all of my adult memories while re-living my teenage years has not been a picnic.”
Klaus followed her as she walked down one of the library aisles, trying to spot an exit, all the while listening to her tale, “I suppose that would explain why you act so much older than you are.”
“Ah, I was wondering when you’d get to that, I’m younger than you expected huh?”
“Much younger, how old are you exactly?”
“In this life? You said it’s been two weeks, so I’m 15 now.”
“15, that would mean that the first time we spoke on the phone, you were 13, you opened the tomb at 13? With everything I know about witches, that’s impossible. No one could be that powerful so young.”
“What do you know about the Gemini coven?”
“Just that they are a reclusive coven, they hoard their secrets jealously, and they date back thousands of years.”
“Well, what they don’t advertise is that they have a practiced powerful tradition called The Merge, it takes place when the leader’s set of twins reach the age of 22 and it determines who the next leader of the coven is. Through the ritual, the twins’ consciousness and strength will be merged together, only the stronger twin survives, they take on the weaker twin’s magic and a few of their attributes, but the weaker one always dies. Unfortunately, because of this weird cannibalistic ritual, the coven, on occasion, produces a very special type of witch, a Siphon.”
“Never heard of it,” Klaus admitted.
“You wouldn’t have, the Gemini Coven believe that Siphoners are abominations, that we shouldn’t exist, because a Siphon has the ability to do magic but doesn’t have any magic of their own, we have to absorb, or siphon it, from magical objects, or supernatural creatures, or in the case of the tomb, I absorbed the magic of the spell, it removed the boundary and the seal, and gave me a boost in power. So, you can see why the coven believes us to be monsters, the Gemini have either killed or imprisoned any Siphon that they become aware of.”
“That’s why you needed an empty talisman, to put the magic in?”
“Yeah, but also because the amount of magic in that tomb spell was way too much for me to handle, if we absorb more magic than our bodies can physically take, it could kill us, so I used the talisman that you sent me and channelled the magic directly into it. Even if I could handle absorbing that amount of magic, because it doesn’t belong to me, it just drains out of me while I sleep, which would be a total waste of that amount of power.”
“You’re a magical leach!”
“Ugh! That’s so rude!” Maya groaned, “Even Damon knows better than to call me a leach!” Klaus raised an eyebrow at her, clearly disbelieving that, Damon had no sense of self preservation. She relented, “Fine! The one time he did, I made him throw up out of his eyeballs, don’t make me have to do that to you, I’m not a leach.”
“I apologise,” Klaus held his hands up as he turned this information around in his head, if Maya could siphon magic, could she siphon his curse? Would she be able to remove the magic like it was never there? “But what does this have to do with my mother?”
Maya hesitated, this was going to require a level of finesse that she was fairly certain that she didn’t have, “So, when three-year-old me, got all my memories back, I also got memories of you, and Damon, and Enzo, and Caroline and whole bunch of other people whose lives are going to affect mine, but they weren’t so much memories, as a vision of the future.”
“You’ve seen the future?” Klaus didn’t believe her for one second.
“I’ve watched the future, the 27-year-old me, she didn’t have any magic, but the thing is, nobody did. Wherever I was, before I was born in this world, the supernatural didn’t exist. Werewolves, witches, vampires, demons, anything that was even the slightest bit magical, was just a story. You were just a story, and I don’t mean like ‘the great Klaus Mikaelson, the myth that no one has ever seen before,’ I mean you were nothing but the product of some writer’s imagination.”
“Perhaps all this time spent locked in your mind has driven you insane, because I’m clearly very real!”
“God, I knew you weren’t going to believe me!” Maya complained, Enzo certainly hadn’t believed her when she tried to explain, it had taken her showing him something in her head, wait that was it! “Look just take a look inside my head, a real look, let me show you something that shouldn’t exist.”
She was looking at him with such earnest eyes, if she wanted to let a monster in past her all of her defences, who was he to deny her? Grabbing her head in both hands he fell deeper into her mind, and found himself inside a small apartment, walking through the tiny hallway, he saw what appeared to be an older version of Maya sitting on a couch watching television. She looked like Maya, but at the same time didn’t, dark hair as opposed to Maya’s vibrant red, brown eyes instead of green, and she was watching something on TV. Klaus moved around the room slowly, taking everything in, he could hear the traffic from outside, neighbours arguing next door, and that was when he heard his voice, coming from the television set. Not his voice now, not the sound of the Original that no longer had anything to fear, but the sound of a mortal, terrified of his father, the sound of a child begging his father for forgiveness.
Snarling in rage, Klaus yanked himself from the memory, and found his hand wrapped around Maya’s throat, “HOW DARE YOU! WHAT ARE YOU?!”
Maya gasped as he grabbed at her, she had no magic here! She couldn’t get out of his grip, “Nik,” she tried to get out, but his grip only tightened in response.
“HOW DID YOU GET IN MY HEAD?! TELL ME WITCH OR I WILL DESTROY YOU AND I WILL START WITH YOUR MOTHER!”
Maya’s eyes narrowed, no one hurt her mother, not while she still had breath in her body! Frantically searching for a way to stop Klaus, she wished that she had access to magic, but she couldn’t feel it anywhere. Black spots started to appear in her vision, she was going to pass out, but before that happened, Klaus body was flung across the room and Maya sank to the floor coughing as she tried to get air back in her lungs.
“That’s quite enough of that,” a male voice spoke.
Klaus pushed himself up to look at the man, “Who the hell are you?”
The man gave him a cold smile, that sent shivers down Klaus’s spine, “I am Death.”
So I gave you a longer chapter, threw in a little bit of Original fun for tho se of you wondering just what they were up to. This chapter went a little rogue on me, considering Dr Maxfield was just introduced and I didn't actually plan on having him be a part of this story at all, but hey I think he'll make things interesting. Got some face to face time with Klaus and Maya here, I was planning on bringing her out of her coma in this chapter, but then Klaus threw that tantrum and I couldn't let him out of Maya's head until he cooled down! Hopefully he'll get out in the next chapter!
Notes:
Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you have time, I love getting feedback!
Chapter 10: The Truth
Chapter Text
Klaus and Maya were sat at a table that had just appeared in the library across from the man who claimed to be death. "You can't honestly expect me to believe that you're Death." Klaus scowled, whoever this was, wasn't a part of Maya, the mental signature was vastly different from the witch's, so he must have been the reason for Maya being stuck in her head.
The man cocked his head and sat down opposite the two with a flourish, "You will believe what I tell you, because it is the truth, and it is the only way either of you will leave this place."
Klaus sneered him, "You cannot keep me here, I got myself in and I can get myself out!"
"Well by all means," dark eyes narrowed, and he raised a gloved hand, gesturing for Klaus to leave, "Go for it."
Klaus closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating on leaving Maya's mind, but when he opened them, he was still stuck in that chair. "I thought you said you were going," Maya whispered, she knew without a doubt that the man before her was exactly as he claimed, Death.
"I am!" Klaus snarled back.
"Then go!"
"I'm trying, it's your bloody mind that's keeping me here!"
"Oh, my mind is the problem? Fine, I release you! Go! Be free!" She waved her hands at him, imitating letting him go. When Klaus still hadn't disappeared from view, "Dude! You're embarrassing me in front of death right now!"
"You're obviously subconsciously keeping me here!" Klaus hissed, "And that is not Death!"
"No, I'm not! And yes, he is!"
"Children, as much as this amuses me, at least one of us does not have an infinite amount of time," his eyes locked with Maya, conveying that she did not have long left. "And just to clarify, we are not in Maya's mind."
"Where are we then?" Maya asked.
"Look around, it should be familiar to you my dear."
Maya's eyes darted around as she took the library in, eyeing the details with a renewed interest, "Holy shit," she whispered seeing the repeated name on the books, Nik's name, "We're in your reading room," she looked over at Klaus who was still struggling in his seat, trying to get up and attack Death, "Nik, Nik! KLAUS!" she finally yelled, getting his attention, "We're in Death's reading room. Look around, look at the names!" Klaus allowed his eyes to quickly dart over the volumes closest to him, Elijah's name on every one that he could see. "Every book in this room, details all the different possible ways, anyone, anywhere can die." She looked at the man before her, "We're in Death's domain, and there is no escape."
At her words, Death smiled.
The Living Plain
"Shouldn't they be waking up by now?" Jenna asked.
Damon sighed, Nik had been inside Maya's mind for six hours now, they'd all hoped that all the Original had had to do was give Maya a little nudge towards consciousness, but if that was the case then they would have been awake in minutes. The fact that Nik had arrived at the hospital at 10 a.m. but was still there at 4 p.m. meant that Maya's conscious mind was buried so deep in her subconscious, that Nik was having to search for her. He would have to dig through years of memories, dreams, nightmares, random thoughts, and find where she was hidden. "Maya must be better hidden in her own mind than we thought, I'm sorry Jenna, I have no idea how long this is going to take."
Enzo was pacing behind them both, he couldn't take this worry, he was losing her, and he could feel it, he'd been connected to her since she'd first forced her blood on him, the connection was only reinforced when she used magic to seal his mind away from compulsion, and now he could feel her fading. He couldn't take this! He couldn't breathe! Damon turned when he heard Enzo's breathing elevate, "Enzo! Enzo calm down, you're freaking out!" Damon gripped Enzo's face in his hands, trying to ground him to something.
"He's having an anxiety attack!" Jenna exclaimed, rushing over to him.
"I can't breathe!"
"Enzo look at me!" Damon said, "Look me in the eyes! Focus on my heart, listen, you can hear it beat."
Enzo blinked as he tried to focus on Damon's gorgeous blue eyes, he pulled back his hearing, closing off his surroundings, zeroing in on Damon's heartbeat.
"Breathe with me, okay," Damon said, his chest rising and falling with more pronunciation to emphasise exactly what he wanted Enzo to do.
Enzo nodded, eyes drifting to Damon's chest, where he could hear his slow heartbeat, it wasn't working though, the panic he was feeling was too overwhelming, he knew he couldn't stay in the hospital, not while he was feeling like this, he was liable to do something terrible and he didn't want Jenna to see that side of him. He whooshed out of the hospital before Damon could stop him.
Damon gave Jenna an almost pleading look, "Go after him, I'll be fine here, go Damon!" the older vampire disappeared from sight in an instant.
Jenna sat on the couch Damon previously occupied, staring at her daughter and the unconscious Original, who was now lying next to her in order to maintain physical contact, she sighed, "Please wake up, I cannot be the glue that holds our weird family together, so please just wake up," she whispered.
Death's Reading Room
Klaus sat back in his chair, he'd quit struggling, finally realising that until he was let go, he could not escape, and it felt like the more he fought the bindings, the stronger they got, "If you are really Death, then what are we doing here? What are you doing here? Why won't you let me leave?"
Death regarded him for a moment, Death had hoped that he wouldn't need to interact with the Original, but Maya had to go ahead and involve herself in the Hybrid's affairs at far too young an age, she had to get herself nearly killed at his expense without even knowing why. "You're here because you need to be, and you will remain, until I am finished with what's mine."
Maya's eyes widened, "I'm sorry, what's yours now? I know you're not talking about me! Because I belong to no one but myself."
Death looked back at the young girl before him, he'd missed her fire, been without it for decades as he'd plotted a way to gain a hold on the living world and keep it without his pesky sister from interfering, "How many times do you think you have reincarnated?" he asked.
"I-uh," she stuttered, looking over at Klaus who watching them both with suspicion, "Once I guess, although, given that you asked, I take it the actual number is larger than that."
He smiled, "You have been an old soul for much longer than your friend here has been alive, and I have been trying to reach you for weeks."
"Okay, step back, rewind, and pretend like you're talking to someone who has no idea what's going on, in fact, don't pretend," she turned her head towards Klaus, "And you need to stop glaring at me like this is my fault, I didn't ask you to jump into my brain and rescue me!"
"No but your friends did," Klaus replied.
"They're your friends too and let's not forget that they're only your friends because of me, so how about you show me a little gratitude and point those accusing eyes in another direction!"
"Oh please, you have nothing to do with my friendship with Damon and Enzo, and if you think that I'm not going to blame you for this, then all your time here really has driven you insane!"
"ENOUGH!" the room shook, and Maya squeaked in shock, turning her attention back to Death, who was looking much less pleased.
"I'm sorry," she rushed out, it was not a good idea to piss off the literal incarnate of Death, "I'd really like that explanation now," she finished a little timidly. The fear that had shot through her at his yell still hadn't left her, so she was decidedly more subdued than usual.
"There aren't many old souls that exist," Death began, one leg crossed over the other, his gloved hands folded in his lap, "But you were the first, my first."
"I don't understand," Maya admitted, the only life and death she could remember was her previous one.
"You see, I am Death, death is infinite, unyielding and final, but the Universe craves balance, and thus my sister was birthed into existence, I believe she is referred to by the humans as 'Mother Nature'."
"Nature's your sister?" Klaus asked incredulously.
Death turned his fathomless black eyes on the Hybrid, "We are two halves of the whole, there cannot be dark without the light, there cannot be life without death, so it has been, so it shall be. Now my sister, can be wild, vengeful, tempestuous, but she is loved, for she is life. And on this Earth, as on many others, life thrives, in her creation she was no longer left alone, with only myself for company. She can walk this Earth and any other she desires, the life that flows through every creatures veins gives her access that I don't have." There was a sadness in his eyes, a betrayal that ran deep, "She left me alone to frolic with what was hers, and I was jealous, that was when I heard you."
He turned back to Maya, "Roughly 6000 years ago, you were a Servant of Nature, you belonged to her favourite line, so devoted were you that you forsook everything else, your friends, your family, were nothing compared to the strength of your connection with Nature. Your pure heart was a joy for all those to behold. Until your home was attacked by raiders, they burnt your village to the ground, took the women and children for their own, and they tried to take you." Death reached out to her, clasped her hand in his and showed her, what he was unwilling to share with Klaus.
Maya saw another version of herself, warm caramel skin, dark hair, bleached from days in the sun, deep brown eyes, the colour of the Earth beneath her feet. She watched as this other version of herself fought her attackers, lashed out with magic, eyes aflame with anger as her home turned to ash around her. She broke the men, burned them, drowned them in their own blood, for daring to take what was hers, but it was too much for her, her body too fragile for the power that she'd called upon to defend her home, and she found herself falling to her knees as she tried to keep her attackers at bay, magic betraying her when she truly needed it more than ever before. Finally, as her magic had all but leached from her bones, a crude blade was thrust between her ribs, into her lungs, once, twice, and then a third time the blade was pulled from her, and she was kicked to the ground.
She landed on her back gasping for air that would never come, blood filled her lungs, drowning her as she had done to so many of her attackers, and as she struggled to cling to the last vestige of life, the raiders piled wood atop her prone form and set it alight, burning the witch so she could not rise to attack again. Death released his grip on Maya, pulling her out the vision causing her to cry out in agony as she felt a death that was hers once again, "As you burned, you made hardly a sound, you couldn't with your lungs so damaged, but in your last moments, there were no prayers to The Mother, you did not curse the raiders, you didn't even think to punish, so devastated were you, by what you perceived to be a betrayal from The Mother. Instead, your mind cried out to me, you begged for Death to come, you begged me to make you mine, and in my anger, and jealousy at my sister, I answered."
Maya was trembling from the agony of the vision, "That much power," she whimpered, feeling the lick of the flames crawl over her even now, "Her body couldn't take it, everyone has limitations, she just reached hers."
"You did," Death replied, "But you were so young, so full of life, that it had never occurred to you, and I took what was offered, I marked you as mine and mine alone, my sister could no longer have you. For a time you remained in the darkness, in the comfort of my embrace. You see, the souls of the dead eventually find peace, they linger with me for what seems like mere moments before they find their way to another form of life. But a soul that I have marked, is mine for eternity, and for eternity I will keep you."
"That doesn't explain how she was the first reincarnation," Klaus cut in, getting all together tired of being ignored, when Death spoke, he spoke only to Maya, his words felt like ice in Klaus' veins, but Maya gave nothing away to indicate that she felt the same. He felt a weight atop him that he struggled to keep from smothering him, but Maya did not look as though she had a similar problem.
Death shot Klaus a cursory glance, and then focused back on his little soul, "You enjoyed the dark Maya, your soul luxuriated in my domain, absorbed everything I could offer, but you grew restless, you knew what you had left behind and wanted to be able to go back. And I found myself indulgent, I do not give life, I had never thought about it, but my power, like my sister's is vast and unknowable. So I bent the fabric of the life that my sister had worked so hard to create, and pushed your soul back into the world, and when you reached the Living Plain, the power of my sister brought you back to life. Mother Nature was unhappy of course, I had taken what was hers and she wished to take what was mine in retaliation, she could not kill you, for all it would do, is land you back in my domain, instead, she took your memory, every time you were reborn on this Earth, you forgot who were before. I cared not, your soul was still mine, and when I knew I had the ability to ensure your re-birth I searched for other souls that cried out for me. I found them and marked more of them so I would no longer feel such loneliness. But much like you, I grew restless, no longer content to just observe life, and remain in the dark with my souls."
He looked over at Klaus now, properly taking in the scowling Original, "1000 years ago, a witch called out for help, she believed herself to be harnessing dark magic, magic meant to protect and preserve life, instead she harnessed death magic, she called out to the spirits to protect her family, and when the spirits did not answer, I did."
Klaus felt the words reverberate in his bones, he knew them to be true, "You are the reason vampires exist."
"It's my power that flows through your veins Niklaus Mikaelson, and every vampire in existence," Death smiled, "I let a Servant of Nature use my power to allow the dead to walk through life, and my sister hates me for it, that's why for all your strength, you have weaknesses."
Klaus thought about it for a moment, processing the information given before coming to a conclusion about why Death was before them now, "You want us on Earth, so that you have access, you want us to be able to walk the world, just so that you can too!"
Death smirked, "I knew there was an intelligent man under the beast," and Klaus snarled in response. "Unfortunately, it took my sister thousands of years before the Earth sustained enough life that she could waltz around among the masses, it will take just as long before I am able to do so. I must ensure that the curse of the vampire is cemented into the fabric of this world, I wish to ensure that it can never be undone, and to do that, you all must survive. I have seen your future Niklaus Mikaelson, I have seen the fate of my people at the hands of the Servants of Nature, and I will not let it stand. So, I sent you my deadliest child, my first, my favourite."
"You said she can't remember her past lives when she's re-born, she can't remember you when she lives again, how does she remember in this life?" The invisible restraints had grown tighter around Klaus, he could feel them begin to crush his organs, and believed that it was because of the man before him, the oppressive weight of death was pressing down on him, and he wasn't sure how much more he could take.
"I sent Maya to a different Earth, one connected to this Earth through myths and legends, but one without magic, I had her learn everything that she could about this world through that delightful little medium, humans call television, and then when she was killed, I ensured her re-birth here. My sister only wipes the memories from her birth world."
"And memories from another world, even if they are about this place, aren't something that she can just take without consequence," Maya concluded.
"Correct, she tried to take them from you once, when you were 10, I'm sure you remember the agony you were in as a child."
Maya remembered, she remembered doctors and therapists, her mother's tears as she could not be helped, she remembered blacking out in her bed, just after she'd seen a shadow stand above her "You hid them, I must have been close to death if you could reach out to me, if I could see you."
"My sister nearly killed you, trying to take your memories, so I have kept them shrouded, protected them, and you, they will only appear when triggered."
"So why can I remember everything here?"
"Because little one, this is as you said, my domain, my sister's power is not part of the fabric here."
"But I'm still alive, a living being cannot enter this domain without dying," her eyes slid over to Klaus, for the first time witnessing his discomfort, as though it had been hidden from her until now, "That's why Nik has to stay, he's taking the punishment that this place is doling out for my continued presence!" Her worried frown grew more panicked as she thought of what he must be going through, "We have to get out of here! I have to go, I can't stay here when he's being tortured!"
Death reached his hand out to her once more, this time cupping her cheek, and she felt the comfort he'd offered the night she died the first time, "Soon little one, but I believe that you two should have a talk before leaving," he waved his hand, an hourglass appeared on the table and a door opened to their left, "When you go through that door you will wake back in the Living Plain, but your memories will once again be hidden behind my veil, perhaps speak with Niklaus before you go, but be wary, you only have until the sand runs out before you die, both of you." He vanished from sight, Klaus felt a slight decrease in pressure, and his restraints were removed.
Shoving himself to his feet, he gripped her arm and began to drag Maya towards the open door, "Let's go, now!" his speed and strength had not returned, so Maya was able to snatch her arm from his grasp.
"Wait!"
"No Maya, now!"
"I know you're in pain, but there are things you need to know before it's too late! Before I can't tell you!" she looked back at the hourglass, she didn't have long.
Klaus was torn between craving knowledge of the future, and needing to leave before he met a true death, "Speak quickly!"
Maya's eyes darted to the bookshelf, seeing the names of Klaus' siblings she gasped, "Freya! She was your older sister."
"Died before I was born," Klaus cut her off impatiently.
"No! She didn't, she's been cursed, she spends a hundred years asleep for one year awake, she's asleep in the Dowager Fauline Cottage, in New Orleans, don't go yourself, send Finn, she knows him, and you'll need her."
"Why? I know nothing of her, she was never my sister!"
"But she's a Mikaelson witch! You'll need her help with your curse."
His hand was around her throat again, "WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF MY CURSE?!"
Shoving him off her, stronger than him, whilst he was still taking her brunt of the punishment from Death's Domain, "There's a failsafe! You kill the dopplegänger to become a Hybrid, but you can't make any more because you need human dopplegänger blood for werewolves to complete the transition!" she rushed out, she was running out of time, she needed to give him as much information as she could.
Klaus snarled in rage, of course his mother would do something like this, ensuring that he was alone for all time, just to spite him, he eyed the hourglass, halfway to empty, "What else? What else can you tell me? Make it fast!" he demanded.
"Your pack! Your bloodline, Mikael didn't kill them all, The North-East Atlantic Pack, they're yours, they pass down your story from generation to generation, you need to find them, learn how to be a wolf before you break your curse! What else? What else?" she muttered to herself, eyes on the grains of sand as they fell. "You need to tell your siblings what you did to your mother, they will find out Nik, and they need to know from you!"
"I can't," Klaus said.
"You have to! They will forgive you eventually, um… Rebekah and Marcel! You need to know the truth about how Mikael really found you in New Orleans!"
"Tell me she didn't," Klaus felt his heart drop to his stomach, his sister could not have orchestrated such a heinous betrayal, and with his son of all people?
"She has to tell you." Maya shook her head, she couldn't say it, "Oh god White Oak! You carved something, a horse? No a knight! You gave it to Rebekah, it's made from White Oak, you have to destroy it!" she said, there was so much more that she needed to tell him, so much that if he knew he could change, stop from happening, but there just wasn't enough time!
Klaus grabbed her arm again and pulled her to the opening of the door, "Time to go!" he said, witnessing the sand almost reach its end.
"Nik wait!" Maya tried to stop him, but she couldn't, he'd pulled her through the doorway with him yanking her away from death, ripping her from her own mind.
The Living Plain
Maya awoke shooting straight up into a seated position as she let out a hoarse scream of pain, the agony of being forcibly torn from her own mind ringing in her skull. Jenna jumped back in fright, she wasn't expecting her daughter's awakening to be so harsh, so sudden. Maya's head turned to the side as she felt movement coming from next to her, she saw Klaus's eyes flutter open, as he woke, scowling she used all her might to shove him from the bed, causing him land with a thud on the floor. The shove had thrown off her balance and Maya crashed onto the bed, her body twisted, head hanging over the edge as she eyed Klaus, "You are such an arsehole!" she exclaimed.
Klaus growled, veins under his eyes appearing as his fangs grew. It was Damon who stepped in, whooshing to Klaus, hauling him up and out of the room before anything else could be said or done. Groaning, Maya rolled her body, so she was lying on her back again, and tried to sit, this time with much more difficulty than she'd like. But before she could straighten up, her mother tackled her in a hug, "Maya! Oh baby, you're awake!" Jenna exclaimed, the tears falling from her eyes, ones of joy for the first time in weeks. "You're here, you're awake, oh sweetheart I can't believe it!"
"Mom!" Maya gasped as her arms wound around her mother, "I need to breathe!" she smiled.
Jenna pulled back, wiping her eyes, "You're okay, I can't even-" she was cut off when Enzo whooshed into the room, wrapping the younger girl in his arms.
"Love, you're awake!" He had been on a bit of a blood binge, his emotions too uncontrollable at the thought of never being able to speak to his best friend again, Damon had gotten him out of the hospital and set him on a short, yet bloody path, in order to gain back his control. It was a good idea, Enzo didn't want to hurt Jenna, and Damon understood what he was feeling, the need to tear apart, to destroy when his emotions overwhelmed him, so he wasn't in the room for Maya's initial awakening, he'd been trudging up the stairs in the hospital when he heard her voice and whooshed into her room. He'd never been so happy to see her upright and talking before in his life.
Four people stepped out of Newark Airport, three men and one woman, they'd just gotten off of a plane from Virginia, "There are 62 major hospitals in New York City, how the hell are we supposed to find one sick girl in 62 hospitals?" The woman asked.
"We have her name, we'll start checking out hospitals," one of the men said.
"Dr Maxfield already tried that, she's not listed as a patient in any of them," the woman replied.
"We do have this though," the second man pulled out his phone, he'd just received a text from Dr Maxfield, a picture of a man with dark hair, pale skin and blue eyes. "This is the guy that paid for Miss Sommers treatment at the hospital in Mystic Falls, said his name's Derek."
"There was no Derek on the hospital's system," the third man said.
"It doesn't matter," the second man replied, "While the girl is stuck in the hospital she won't be running round the city, but I bet whoever this guy is, he'll leave the hospital at least once, in a city this large with this many cameras, we'll catch him on one."
"We don't have access to the city's cameras," the first man said.
"I know someone who does," the woman frowned, realising why she'd been sent along to New York, "let's go."
So we've met Death, he probably won't be a regular, seeing as how Maya can only see him if she's perilously close to dying. Klaus has received some unfiltered news of the future, which means that pleasantness that Kol and Elijah were getting suspicious of definitely won't last. Maya's awake and Augustine have touched down in New York City, are they going to find Maya? Are they going to find Enzo? Will Maya meet any other Originals? Who knows? You'll have to wait and see!
Notes:
Thanks for reading, if you have time please leave a comment, I love getting the feedback!
Chapter 11: The Gift
Notes:
Thank for all the comments and kudos! Please enjoy!
Chapter Text
The next few days after Maya awoke was a whirl of tests and doctors, combined with her mother's unwillingness to leave her alone, Enzo and Damon's annoying capability to be awake for days without rest, it meant that Maya had very little time to herself. Case in point, Enzo was with her now while Damon had taken Jenna to grab a bite to eat from a little Pizzeria that was around the corner from the hospital.
"What were you thinking?!" Enzo scolded, "You don't tell anyone you're being haunted, you don't tell us that you've figured how to stop it and then you almost die getting a stupid rock for Nik!"
"I don't need permission to use magic Enzo!" Maya shot back, "I had a problem and I figured out how to deal with it, and as for that stupid rock, I wouldn't have found out what Esther was trying to do without it! I wasn't being haunted, that crazy witch was trying to take over my body! If I hadn't found the moonstone then chances are Esther would have found a way to possess me. Then where exactly do you think we'd be huh? Long term possession pits both souls against one another, I'm only 15, Esther is stronger than me, she would have beaten me, which would have killed me, permanently. Unless I convinced mum to move across the country from Mystic Falls, nothing would have stopped Esther. I did what I had to do."
"I'm not saying that you had to have permission, but you should have told us, we could have gotten you help."
"Help from who? You're all vampires," she hissed, "What could you possibly do in that situation? We can't go to a witch for help because barely any of them can be trusted. My kind only come from one coven, and the coven keeps such a tight hold on that secret that not even Nik had heard of something like me! You couldn't have done anything Enzo!"
"WELL MAYBE THAT'S MY PROBLEM!" Enzo thundered, hurling Maya's lunch tray across the room and through the wall, "You always do this!" his hand ran through his hair as he looked at her helplessly, "You dive headfirst into these situations without a single thought about yourself, it's like you think that your life isn't as important as ours!"
"IT ISN'T!" Maya finally yelled back, "It isn't, I'm not supposed to be here, I'm just an extra, I was supposed to die 6000 years ago, this life was never supposed to play out with me in it! Death made it perfectly clear, I am just a means to an end for him! My job is to keep the vampire race alive, so that he doesn't have to be alone anymore, that's my sole purpose here Enzo, what else am I supposed to do but do my job?"
Enzo froze, his jaw clenched at her explanation, "What would have happened to Jenna if you weren't here?"
"What?" Maya asked.
"Answer the question, what would have happened?"
"Uh Nik- Klaus would have killed her."
"What would have happened to me?"
"Yo- You would have spent a decade more as an Augustine vampire, gotten your freedom and then you would have died."
"What would have happened to Caroline?"
"Enzo-"
"What would have happened Maya?"
"She would have been used and abused by a version of Damon that doesn't exist here thanks to you."
"No Sweetheart, it's thanks to you, I couldn't have changed Damon if you hadn't have freed me, your mother would be dead in a few years, if you hadn't sent Damon and I on that ridiculous quest for a talisman. We wouldn't have met Nik, if we hadn't met him, he wouldn't have known you, he wouldn't be so interested in you, but we did, and Nik wouldn't touch your mother because I don't think he wants to hurt you." Enzo sat at the foot of the bed, ensuring that she couldn't look away from him.
"What's your point?"
"My point Sweetheart, is that Death, or whatever it is that sent you here, could have sent you anywhere, could have made you anyone in order to complete your task. But he sent you to a woman so strong, and full of love, that she is willing to take on the world for you, even when she knows that she doesn't stand a chance. Yes, he gave you to Jenna so that you'd eventually end up close to the Originals, but he also gave you a mother that is perfect for you, he put you in a life where you wouldn't just survive, he put you somewhere that you could really live. He hasn't told you to stop doing what you're doing with Caroline, or Jeremy, or your mother, has he?"
Maya shook her head, "No."
"Because he wants you to be happy."
"Enzo he said he doesn't care if I die," Maya refuted.
"Because you'll always end up back with him, but you made him love you."
"Enzo-"
"If he didn't love you, he never would have brought you back to life the first time, or any time after that. He gave you this life because he wants you to be happy, so I need you to be selfish with your life, because I swear to you Maya if you ever do something like this again, if you ever put yourself in a situation like this again, I don't care how much you'll hate me for it, I will turn you into a vampire myself. Do you understand me?" Enzo asked, he meant what he said, he'd kill her just to stop her from killing herself.
Maya swallowed, she'd never seen Enzo like this before he was so…hurt, "Enzo I didn't mean to hurt you."
"I know, that's the only reason I didn't turn you the second time your heart restarted, that and your mother would have killed me. I need you to be selfish with your life Maya, I need you to do it for me, when I was in Augustine you became my hope, you were my light in the darkness, if I lose you, I lose my hope, if I lose my hope I have no reason to live. So at the very least, if you can't be selfish with your life for yourself, then you can at least be selfish for me."
Maya nodded, she'd never thought about it like that, she'd never thought that she'd be Enzo's connection to life, she'd just assumed that when he re-united with Damon again the dark-haired vampire would be his connection, "I promise Enzo, I can be selfish for you."
"Kol have you found a witch yet?" Elijah asked his brother, ever since Klaus had come back from his extended business a few days ago, he'd been in a spectacularly foul mood, it appeared they'd both spoken too soon when it came to thinking that their brother would actually be pleasant this time around.
"No!" Kol pouted, none of the witches he knew were alive, and the ones he'd managed to contact were unwilling to cross Klaus, "None of the witches here are willing to do something that Nik would disapprove of, I hate New York."
"Well, whilst that has not panned out, my contacts in the police department did come through with some footage of Niklaus, meeting with what appears to be two vampires, it looks like they met for drinks." Elijah eyed the footage with a puzzled gaze, Klaus looked almost like he was enjoying himself, truly having fun. It was...odd.
Kol whooshed over to his brother, taking his phone out of his hand and looking at the video that had been sent to Elijah, "Are they-they look like they're having fun! Nik doesn't have fun with baby vampires!"
"They may not be babies," Elijah responded barely concealing the flash of envy that bubbled up in him at his brother's words.
"Oh please, I don't recognise either of them, do you?" Elijah shook his head, "Then they must be babies because aside from Nik, you're the one who's been out in the world the longest, if they were anyone of consequence you would know them. Now," Kol tossed the phone back to Elijah, "Let's find out who these two are, whoever Nik was with, this doesn't look like business." Kol frowned, it had been a long time since he'd seen his brother smile like that, he wasn't sure that he liked it, whether that was because he was jealous or because he just wanted Klaus to suffer was yet to be determined.
Three days later had Maya trying to sneak her way off the floor, her mother still hadn't let up on leaving her alone for long, the doctors had insisted that she needed extra tests because they had no idea what was wrong with her (she suspected that the hospital just wanted more of Damon's money). Maya was done with being cooped up in her room so when Enzo and Damon had gone to get a 'drink' and her mother was busy talking to one of her doctors, Maya slipped out of her room. She had managed to creep past two of the vampires that had been part of the protection detail that Klaus had left. All Maya had to do was make it to the stairwell, she could get off of her floor and she would be lost in a sea of people, she wouldn't have to worry about the vampires looking for her because they wouldn't be able to smell or hear her. As she rounded a corner she crashed into someone, she yelped in shock and the person's hands grabbed her before she could fall to the floor.
"Well, well, what do we have here?"
"Nik!" Maya squeaked, "What are you doing here?"
"I think the more prudent question would be what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in your room Little Siphon?"
Maya's eyes widened and her hand reached up to cover his mouth, "Don't call me that! Anyone could be listening!"
Klaus raised a brow as he felt her hand over his mouth, he reached up and took her wrist in his own hand and gently pulled it away from him, "Very well, Little Witch, what are you doing you doing out of bed?"
"It's been five days Nik, I can't take it anymore! Those doctors have run every test known to man on me, I've been stuck on bed rest, even though I've been asleep for two freaking weeks and I probably have more vampire blood than human blood in me with the amount that Damon and Enzo have been feeding me! I need out, I don't need to go far, but I can't be in here anymore!"
"Well love, if I let you sneak out of here, that defeats the purpose of all the vampires that I have guarding you," Klaus smirked at the desperate look on her face.
"Then take me for a walk!" she insisted, "You're supposed to be the baddest thing out there right? If that's true then the safest place for me would be at your side wouldn't it?"
Klaus paused at that, no one had ever said that being near him was safe, no one, "Why would I do that?"
"You're here because you want to talk," Maya shrugged, "If we have our talk outside, then it gets us away from prying vampire ears. I might even have a little gift for you, and given the last gift you got from me was pretty spectacular, I'd bet good money that this next one is just as awesome."
Klaus gave her a smile, she was just as feisty as she was over the phone, "Alright love, let's go for a walk."
The four people from Virginia were holed up in an Augustine stash house, searching though the camera footage that had been provided for them. "How many more of these videos are we going to have to watch?!" the first man complained.
"Look we were given a job, and we will do it properly," the woman replied.
"We haven't seen him go into a hospital, so we'll have to figure out which hospital is nearest to the places that he frequents." The second man said.
The third man watched the footage with a suspicious eye, "Don't you think it's strange that he disappears off camera more than once? This city has almost 18,000 public cameras, even if he walks into a blind spot, he should show up on another camera somewhere."
"You think he's a vampire?" The woman asked.
"It makes sense, Dr Maxfield said that the girl we're after is probably a witch, witches make those daylight rings for vampires which means that they must connect with each other from time to time. Maybe he owes the witch."
"If he's a vampire we'll have to restock on the vervain, and make sure the cage is reinforced, it's been years since this house has been used to house a test subject," the woman replied.
The second man looked over at the first, "Go and restock, Francine you go with him. Bradley and I will continue to go through this footage and see if we can figure out which hospital the witch is in. And then we'll take them both."
Klaus and Maya had been walking for about 15 minutes, just around the hospital, she didn't want to be too far from her mother, so he'd agreed that they could walk around the private grounds belonging to the hospital. She got some air and got to stretch her legs, while Klaus was given time to put his thoughts together. Now that he was faced with someone that could actually answer his questions, he found that there were thousands of things that he wished to know, privately he'd cursed his temper, if he hadn't have attacked Maya after she'd shown him the vision of her past life, would she have had more time to tell him his future? Or would he just have a whole different set of questions that Maya potentially couldn't answer?
Repressing a sigh, he spotted a bench nearby and guided her to it, chances are the conversation they were about to have would be best whilst seated, "So Love, where is this gift I was promised?"
Maya gave him a little smile, "What you can't wait a little longer? Patience is a virtue you know?"
Klaus smirked, leaning in close enough that she could feel his breath on her cheek, "Oh don't be fooled love, I'm the Devil in disguise," his finger trailed down the side of her face, curving under her jaw, tilting her chin towards him so that he could look deep into her eyes, "And nothing about the Devil is virtuous."
Maya felt her heart speed up at his close proximity, and judging by the mischievous spark in his eyes, and the smug satisfaction on his face, she knew that he heard it. Cursing her raging hormones she held the eye contact, unwilling to show an outward sign of faltering, even though she knew that he knew, in that moment she was his. She pulled a small pouch out of her jacket pocket, holding it out for him to take. "You ruin all my fun," she pouted.
Klaus quirked a brow, being the first one to break eye contact simply because he was curious about what was in the bag, taking it from her, he looked inside, eyes widening he couldn't believe what he saw. Tipping the contents into his hand he couldn't hold back the shock, he knew what the moonstone looked like, knew what it felt like, and he knew that what he held in his hands was undoubtedly the moonstone that he'd been searching for, for five hundred years. "How?" was all he could muster, Maya had said that it was cloaked, how had she found it?
"So you remember six months ago, our calls became more regular, we talked for longer and about more than just ridiculously superficial things?" she asked and at his nod she continued. "Well, after we became more…friendly, I decided that I wanted to try and find the moonstone for you, I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to be upset if it didn't work. It took a really long time, but I managed to narrow down its location to a single town. But then I started getting these nightmares, they weren't too bad at first, just dark, but as I got closer and closer to finding the moonstone, my nightmares became…terrors. There was a woman, shrouded in darkness, it was like she was trying to claw her way inside of me."
At these words Klaus looked alarmed, one of his favourite tricks was bodysnatching, and he knew what she was saying, someone had tried to take over her body from afar. "Sweetheart, who-"
"Just let me finish please," Maya said, of course Klaus was going to want to know who had tried to attack her, at his nod she continued, "Sunshine was actually the one who figured out what was happening to me, who was coming for me, so I went to a site with a lot of magic, and I used it to push through the cloaking spell on the moonstone and found that it was somewhere in the Mayor's house. My girl's got complete access to the Mayor's so she found it for me. I went over to hers to get it and the moment I touched it…" she paused, remembering the pain so strong it practically killed her, "Klaus the pain that I felt…it basically killed me, and then that dark place that you saw when you came for me…it wasn't the first place I ended up."
"Show me," Klaus said, he hoped that what she was hinting at wasn't true.
"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly.
Instead of answering, both his hands came up to her head, he gripped her temple tightly and fell into her memories of the Other Side. He watched first as she faced off with his father, watched as she ran and then was forced to fight The Destroyer, heard as she screamed that she would help break his curse just to spite Mikael. The next scene was worse, an attack by his mother, and confirmation that his mother wanted all of his siblings dead, not just himself. He felt Maya push him out of her head after that, he was almost grateful, unwilling to see any more of the horrors that she went through just because of him. Klaus snatched his hands away from Maya's head, he drew her in close and found his lips on hers, in an almost tender kiss. The only apology he was willing to offer for the pain that she had endured at his expense, slowly Klaus pulled away from her, swallowing the little moan of protest she made as he did.
"Oh," Maya gasped, her face flushed making her almost as red as her hair. Turning away from Klaus she held out a hand to stop him from talking, "I'm- I'm gonna need a minute," Maya said, pushing down the urge to squeal like a teenage girl, she could do that with Caroline later, "Shut up Nik!"
"I didn't say anything!" Klaus replied, not even trying to hide the smirk on his face and in his voice.
Turning back to him, Maya's eyes narrowed, "I know what you're thinking, so you just need to stop… all of that!" she waved her arms at him.
Glancing at himself then back to Maya amused he replied, "You just gestured to all of me."
"Yes well, all of you needs to stop," she said, completely flustered by him.
"I think you need to be more specific," Klaus said, he was loving this, she'd always been so sure of herself when they'd talked, but now, here in person, he'd completely thrown her off her game.
"And I… think it's time for me to go back inside!" she stood and started heading back to the hospital entrance.
He laughed as she did her best to walk away like he wasn't affecting her, he caught up to her quick enough, "Come on Love, we've barely had time to talk! I thought I might share some of my nefarious plans with you!"
Maya stopped walking, steeling herself she turned to face him, "Your nefarious plans?" She asked sarcastically.
Klaus nodded, "Oh yes, I have many that you might be interested in, but first I do have one question for you." When she didn't say anything he continued, "Exactly how much do you like being choked?"
"Ah-" Maya's jaw dropped, she couldn't get any sound out, of all the things that he saw on The Other Side, that was what he focused on! Her stupid little quip to Mikael! Scowling at him she screwed up her fists, did an about turn and marched away from him
"Oh don't be like that Love! We're just getting to know each other better!" he grinned, following after her at a sedate human pace, he was going to have so much fun with her.
Ok so I had to stop it there! And I'd just like to stress that this kiss, is just that, a kiss, he knows that she's way older than him now so he find that it's easier to just make it his apology, because he's too proud to say the words 'I'm sorry', it's also his thanks because we all know he can never just say 'thank you'. But they're not getting together yet, Maya's got her whole life ahead of her and Klaus just isn't ready for the level of trust and commitment that Maya would want from him.
Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment, the feedback is awesome!
Chapter 12: Meet Cute?
Chapter Text
Two days later Augustine had received more video footage of 'Derek' but this time he was with a woman. The female member of Augustine, Francine, straightened when she saw them together on the monitor, "Stop," she said, "That's the girl's mother, all accounts say that she's human so if we follow this footage, it should show us exactly which hospital the witch is in."
Bradley, one of the men nodded and searched for footage containing the woman, "You should call Mark and Daniel, tell them to get their asses back here, we'll have a location for the girl by lunch time!"
Once the doctors had given Maya the 'all clear', Jenna moved her daughter into Damon and Enzo's apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, while the guys much preferred to hang out in rougher areas of the city, both of them had a taste for luxury (or rather, Damon had a taste for luxury and wanted to provide Enzo with nothing but the best) and therefore their living space was somewhere obscenely expensive.
Jenna had decided that she and Maya would finish off the week in New York then fly home with Damon at their side, she wanted the protection offered by a vampire, especially when she wasn't so sure of how much Augustine knew about her daughter, but she wasn't willing to risk Enzo coming to town. Especially if Grayson had put Augustine on alert, she would never forgive herself if something happened to one of her dearest friends, so Enzo had agreed to hang back (not that he'd been happy about it).
"Mom!" Maya called from her place on the balcony, taking in the view of her favourite city.
Jenna joined her daughter, sitting in one of the lush couches that were out there, (she could definitely get used to having rich vampire friends) "What's up honey?"
"I'm bored, and you know Caroline won't forgive me if I don't bring her back something awesome, can we go shopping?"
Jenna hesitated, did she really want her daughter outside now? After she'd just come back from the brink of death all she wanted to do was wrap Maya in cotton and lock her inside for the foreseeable future, "I'm not sure."
"Come on Mom!" Maya pouted, "We have three more days before we have to leave! Plus payment for the last ring I sold online has just come through! We've paid for your college this semester, the bills are all up to date, and half of this payment has already gone into savings. You know you want to be irresponsible, lets splash the cash and buy Jeremy something outrageously expensive for Christmas so that Elena hates me even more!"
Jenna shook her head in exasperation, not even bothering to hide her amusement, she didn't get why there was so much animosity between her daughter and her niece, and she didn't encourage it, but sometimes the fights those two got into were legendary! The prank wars even worse, they reminded her of when she and Miranda were younger, so as much as she tried to discipline Maya, Jenna couldn't help but associate fond memories with the next generation's catfights. "Fine," she said, giving in, "But Damon and Enzo are coming with us!"
Maya shrugged, "Of course they are, who else is going to carry all of our bags?"
"Lijah!" Kol whooshed into his elder brother's favourite place in their home, the library.
Sighing Elijah placed the bookmark in between the pages of his favourite tome, knowing Kol he probably wasn't going to be able to get back to his reading any time soon, "Yes brother?"
"Have you seen this?!" Kol exclaimed waving Elijah's phone in front of him.
Frowning Elijah patted his pockets, confirming that yes indeed, his brother had his phone, how had Kol gotten that without him noticing? "Considering that you are the one with my phone, it would not be a stretch of the imagination to say that I have not seen whatever it is that has you so worked up." Fighting the urge to massage his temples, his brother was headache inducing, which was a feat given Elijah's Original Vampire status, he held out his hand for his phone, wishing to see whatever it was that had Kol vibrating with energy.
"You will never believe the video that the police department just sent you!" Kol couldn't stop himself, he was so excited.
Elijah clicked on the app for his emails, scowling at the thought that Kol had somehow managed to guess his password, he was going to have to change it again, his little brother having no shred of decency when it came to privacy. He opened the message from his contact and played the video attachment. He saw Niklaus walking with a young red-haired woman, her arm looped through his as he smiled almost indulgently at her.
"There's no sound of course," Kol pointed out, it was the only thing getting him down, he so wanted to know what was said between his brother and the red-head, "Forward through it!" Getting tired of waiting he grabbed the phone from Elijah, fast forwarding to the point where the two were sitting on a bench and gave it back to his brother.
Elijah watched as his brother leaned in close to the woman, but then pulled back with a smirk, the woman pulled out a small pouch moments later that Niklaus took from her. When Niklaus looked inside the smirk was gone, and his brother tipped the contents onto his hand, Elijah paused the video. "Is that-?" he didn't dare finish the question, the answer was too unbelievable.
"It's the moonstone 'Lijah!" Kol almost crowed, that bloody rock had been missing for five centuries and now it had turned up in New York, his big brother's personal life was becoming more and more interesting.
"Impossible," Elijah breathed, the footage wasn't the best, it must have been a fake, he'd heard nothing of Katerina for years and if Niklaus had tracked the moonstone, surely he had tracked down the elusive Petrova Doppelgänger. "That cannot be the moonstone."
"Why because your beloved Katerina has it?" Kol asked derisively, he'd never understood the lure of the Petrova line, sure they were beautiful, but all of them were bloody bitches from what he could tell, not a drop of loyalty in them as they had no qualms about tearing brothers apart. "Nik is single minded in his focus, and now that father is dead, I doubt Katerina stands a chance against him."
Elijah ignored the ache that Kol's words caused, his only solace was the fact that if Niklaus had in fact managed to capture Katerina then his brother would not have kept it quiet, he would have lorded it over Elijah's head the moment he caught her. Focusing back on the video his eyes widened in surprise as he saw Niklaus take the girl's head in his hands and enter her mind, his surprise only grew when he watched as his brother pulled out of her mind and then pulled the young woman in close for a kiss. There was nothing aggressive in his brother's movements and when he pulled back, the woman turned from him, causing Niklaus to smile instead of glower in anger. She rushed away from him, but his brother caught up, said a few words causing her to storm off and Niklaus did the strangest thing, he laughed and then trailed off after her. It was such an odd sight, his brother looked like he may genuinely enjoy the young woman's company, who was she? "Who is she?" he demanded from Kol.
"No clue!" Kol replied, but she was a tasty little thing, "What's say we confront Nik about her and find out!"
"Absolutely not!" Elijah shut down, "Niklaus looks like he is enjoying spending time with her, we will not threaten that by questioning him, he may kill the poor girl just to spite us!"
Kol frowned, "You're such a bore Elijah! You never let me do anything fun," he complained. He would have continued but he heard his brother, the one in question leave his art studio and head towards the front door. Kol whooshed from the library, Elijah hot on his heels, both hoping to reach their brother before he left for parts unknown again.
"Nik!" Kol said, appearing at his brother's side, "Just where do you think you're going?"
Klaus looked over at Kol, he'd been in a good mood all day thanks to his Little Siphon, his plans were falling into place one by one, so tonight he'd figured that he'd celebrate some, grab himself a little entertainment and of course some dinner. "I am going out for a drink," Klaus said, answering honestly, maybe he should invite his brothers, it had been a while, "In fact, why don't you and Elijah join me? I can't remember the last time we went out together."
Kol shot Elijah a surprised look, they hadn't been out together like this since well before he was daggered, "I think that's an excellent idea! It's been getting a little too boring around here for my tastes!"
Elijah's face mirrored the surprise on Kol's, Niklaus's moods changed faster than the weather, but this stark contrast to the foul mood that he had been in was a shock, his brother was going to give him whiplash, "I suppose that is a splendid idea brother," Elijah acquiesced, perhaps they could get Niklaus drunk enough to spill some of these new secrets of his.
"Excellent!" Kol chimed in, "Let's go!" he moved to whoosh out of the Penthouse but was halted by Elijah's grip on his shirt.
"Brother perhaps first, you should go an collect your own phone, so that if we separate, we have a way to reach you," he plucked his phone from Kol's hands, how had he gotten a hold of it again?!
"Right!" Kol smirked, "Be right back!" he whooshed upstairs to his room, grabbing the device, he moved to head back down, but this time he was stopped by his sister.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Rebekah asked, Kol and Elijah were up to something, their rooms had all been soundproofed (thank the gods for small mercies), but her older brothers had been spending a lot of time with each other in them.
"Nik's asked 'Lijah and I out for drinks," Kol replied a little smugly, it hadn't gone unnoticed to him that Nik had been avoiding Rebekah whenever he could and when he couldn't he was not being pleasant. At her frown Kol's smirk only grew, "What's the matter Sister, upset that Nik's decided that you're no longer his favourite?" Whatever Rebekah had done to draw Nik's animosity he hoped that it was bad enough that it lasted for a while, he always hated the fact that Rebekah was the one that got all of Nik's attention, now for once she could see what it was like to be on the receiving end of his cold indifference.
Rebekah scowled, she didn't know what she'd done to upset her brother, she hadn't brought home any suiters, hadn't insisted on striking out on her own, she hadn't done anything that could possible have angered him, so why was it that he was treating her as though she'd betrayed him? "Get out Kol! With you three gone I can actually have some peace and quiet!" she whooshed back into her room before Kol could say anything else to upset her, and Kol rolling his eyes, went straight back down to meet his brothers.
"Oh come on Mom this is not fair!" Maya complained, she, her mother and her favourite vampires had been out for most of the day shopping, and Jenna had actually bought a fantastic little outfit to go out in, and going out is exactly what Jenna was going to do.
"I don't want to hear another word," Jenna said grabbing her purse and sliding her phone inside, "Enzo and I are going out and being grown-ups! Damon is going to stay here and watch out for you, now be good and make sure you're in bed by 11."
"I don't need a bedtime, I'm 15!" Maya protested, now her mother was just being difficult.
"And I'm not a babysitter!" Damon argued.
"Yes you do," Jenna said and then looked at Damon, "And yes you are, both of you be good, bye!" she gave them a quick wave and then dragged a snickering Enzo out of the apartment.
Maya and Damon looked at each other, neither of them pleased with this development, "This sucks," Maya said.
"Agreed."
They both sighed and headed in opposite directions, Maya towards the living room to switch on the TV, and Damon to the kitchen where all of his liquor was stored.
All four members of Augustine were in the private hospital that Maya had so recently been a resident of, they'd witnessed her mother walk into this hospital with the potential vampire and came to gather intel on the girl.
"It's no use," Francine said to Mark and Bradley, "There are no records of a Maya Sommers staying here, and not a single member of staff remembers seeing either one of these two."
Daniel came up to the other three with a grim look on his face, "I've talked to everyone I could, no one has seen the girl here. But a few of them do remember that an entire floor of the hospital was off limits up until this morning, and they say that they just received a large donation from an anonymous source."
"A vampire could easily compel the hospital staff, none of them are on vervain," Bradley said.
"We should see if we can get into the security office, a fancy place like this has got cameras," Mark said, "vampires can erase memories, not video footage."
Daniel nodded, "Francine, see if you can sweet talk some of those guards round to letting you in, the rest of us will go and check out that floor, see if the people up there left anything behind."
Elijah let out a long suffering sigh, holding the bridge of his nose as he watched his brothers surrounded by women whilst he sat at the bar, suddenly he could remember exactly why it had been so long since the three of them had gone out. Klaus and Kol on their own were bad enough, but together his brothers were troublemakers of the highest order. He was most definitely going to have to clean up more than one mess tonight. Signalling the bar tender for another drink, if he was going to have to deal with the childish antics of his brothers at least he could have a good drink first, he felt a warm presence slowly appear by his side, a woman, most definitely, preparing to reject whatever pick up line he was about to be assaulted with, he turned and found himself pleasantly surprised.
"You look like a man who's contemplating murder," the woman smiled at him.
Elijah found himself smiling back, "My brothers dragged me out tonight," he offered, "We don't often find ourselves in the same city but when we do, we go out. Individually they're bad enough, but together my brothers are a menace to society." He gestured over to the gaggle of women that had surrounded Niklaus and Kol's table, his brothers almost hidden from sight due to the number of women over there.
"Wow!" the woman laughed, seeing how many girls were over there, "Your brothers must be something else!"
"They like to think so," Elijah replied with a smile.
"I get that stressed out look though, my daughter and her best friend are always plotting something nefarious, they know they drive me to drink!"
"And tonight? Is that what has brought you out on the town?"
The woman gave him an impish grin, "No, tonight I just want to have some fun, you know?" she cocked her head to the side, almost daring him to continue on with her.
Elijah gave himself a moment to contemplate his options before making a decision on his course of action, if Niklaus and Kol could have their fun, why couldn't he? At least for one night, the world wouldn't stop spinning if he relaxed for a time, "I'm Elijah, by the way."
"Jenna," the woman replied.
"Can I buy you a drink Jenna?"
"Sure," she shrugged.
It was one in the morning when Damon heard frightened whimpers coming from the guest bedroom, 'Maya' he thought to himself before, throwing on a T-shirt and rushing into her room. She was tossing and turning in bed, clearly in the throws of a nightmare. Moving to her side, Damon shook her awake, not wanting her to be stuck in her head any longer than necessary.
Maya's eyes shot open in fright, she sat up, looking around the room wildly before her eyes landed on the blue-eyed vampire crouched at the side of the bed, "Damon," she whispered, reaching out for him.
Damon sat on top of the covers, and pulled her close for a hug, "You're alright, it was just a nightmare," he said.
Maya gripped his T-shirt tightly and shook her head, "Not a nightmare," she whispered, "a memory."
Damon ran his hand up and down her back, he knew all about memories that would come back to haunt you, he had them all the time, "Do you want to talk about it Red?" he asked. She shook her head, she didn't want to explain, couldn't, not accurately. Hesitating he asked another question, "Do you want to show me?"
Freezing for a moment she thought about it and then nodded, this was a memory that she hadn't shared with anyone, but for some reason she felt compelled to share it with Damon. She closed her eyes and let down her mental defences, knowing that even after gorging on fresh blood, Damon would not be strong enough to get through them on his own, she let him in, let him see.
Damon's slight intake of breath was the only thing that indicated his surprise when he saw a different version of Maya appear, fighting off ancient attackers. He watches as she fought, watched as they stabbed her, and finally he watched as she burned to death. Pulling out of her mind, he fought the urge to see if he was doused in flames, "What the hell was that?!" he asked, barely concealing his horror.
"My first death," she whispered, "Death showed it to me, to remind me of who I am I guess, and now I can't get it out of my head, I wake up and I think that I'm on fire." She felt Damon's arms tighten around her.
"You haven't told your mom about this, or Enzo."
"How could I? Enzo's still really freaked out by my two-week vacation into 'near death land' and Mom's so weirded out by the idea of past lives, that I barely got her on board with the fact that I've lived once before, this would just make it worse."
Damon nodded, "Why'd you show me?" Their friendship was nowhere near as strong as the one she shared with Enzo, they were friends but that closeness she displayed when she was by Enzo's side had always seemed out of reach to him. He understood why, of course, he figured a big chunk of it was Enzo himself, there was probably still a part of her that hated him for leaving Enzo to Augustine, there had to be, because there was a huge part of him that hated himself too.
"We're not as close as Enzo and I are, we probably won't ever be, but I want you to know that I trust you Damon."
Damon did what he could to not pull away immediately, he didn't do well around heavy emotions, and Maya's words were stirring up a whole host of them, "Ok, well I should let you get back to sleep," he said.
"Damon," she stopped him from getting up, "Could you stay? Just until I fall asleep?"
Closing his eyes for a moment Damon pushed through his insecurity, if Maya was offering him an olive branch, he needed to accept it, "Sure, I'll stay." He lay down and re-wrapped his arms around Maya, he'd hold her until she fell asleep, it was the least he could do.
Enzo and Jenna were enjoying their time at the upscale establishment that she'd taken them to, Jenna wanted to unwind, and she deserved it. Her daughter was up and about, completely healthy and back to being her fiery energetic self, so Enzo had suggested that they go out. He grinned as she threw back a shot, she'd been eyeing a guy at the bar for a while, "You should go and talk to him love," Enzo said.
Jenna flushed, "No! We're out together, I'm not the kind of girl that ditches her friend for a hot guy!"
"Oh you're so sure that you'll get him and ditch me huh?" Enzo smirked, "I dunno gorgeous, that's a little presumptuous don't you think?"
"Oh please," Jenna scoffed confidently, "Have you seen me? I always get what I want."
"Alright a challenge then, you go over there and pull that bloke, and I'll pay for our drinks for the rest of the night, and if you can't then you have to be my wingman for the rest of the evening."
Jenna laughed, "You're hot and British, like you need a wingman! But fine, challenge accepted!"
She made her way over to the bar, to the hot guy in the impeccable suit, and within minutes of talking to him she realised that tonight she was most definitely going to be one of those girls that ditched her friend for a hot guy. She shot Enzo a quick text, telling him to fly free for the night, because Elijah was incredibly charming and she wanted to have some fun of the adult kind.
Enzo rolled his eyes at the message, he knew what was going to happen the moment he sent Jenna over there, in fact, he was hoping that she could get a little stress relief, Jenna had been running around nonstop for the last few weeks, trying to keep it together for Maya, she deserved a little fun. And with Damon watching over his best friend tonight, it meant that he got to have some fun of his own. Smiling he made his way over to a group of women, hoping at least one of them wouldn't mind being his snack this evening.
Enzo came home a little after 2 in the morning, he grabbed a quick shower, changed into some sleep pants and a T-shirt and went over to Maya's room to check in on her. It was there he found Damon and Maya, both still wide awake, curled up around each other. "What's going on here?" he asked suspiciously.
Damon turned his head a little to see Enzo giving them both an odd look, "Aah, well, I had a nightmare, and Maya was just offering me comfort."
Enzo almost snorted at the absurdity of what Damon was saying but felt himself warm at the thought that Damon would offer his best friend comfort without being prompted, "You had a nightmare?" he asked.
"Yep," Damon confirmed.
"Well then scoot over, Maya will protect you from one side, I'll get the other!" he said almost cheerfully.
Damon raised a brow at Enzo in surprise, that was definitely not the response he was expecting, Maya shuffled over to the other side of the bed and Enzo pushed him over to the middle climbing in beside him. Enzo threw an arm over Damon's waist, his hand just about reaching Maya's back to offer the real nightmare victim some comfort.
Morning came much too fast for Maya, she was the only one out of her companions that could actually feel tired, cursing the fact that she hadn't shut her curtains before falling asleep, she groaned and rolled over in attempt to keep the sun away from her, but ended up smacking someone in the face. Jolting awake, she saw Enzo startle and give her a little glare, "Well that was a fine wake up call," he drawled, not realising that he'd managed to fall asleep curled up against Damon's back.
Maya rolled her eyes and looked around the room, "Where's Damon?" she asked.
"Hmm…" Enzo cocked his head to the side and listened, "I believe he's making breakfast," the two of them heard the sound system turn on and music started blasting out, taking a sniff Enzo grinned, "Waffles if I'm not mistaken!"
He was out of the room faster than Maya could blink and not for the first time she scowled at the thought that her literal BFF was a vampire, they always had so much energy. "You better not eat it all before I get there!" she yelled, heaving herself out of bed and into the bathroom so she could freshen up first.
By the time Maya had gotten out of the shower and into some lounge pants and a shirt that she was sure belonged to one of the guys, breakfast was served, Damon had gone all out, waffles, eggs, bacon, French toast, "Exactly how many people did you think were eating today?" Maya asked walking into the kitchen. She passed Enzo who was sat at the counter and gave him a peck on the cheek as a proper greeting.
"Enzo's a bottomless pit, I love waffles, and I was expecting your mother to be here for breakfast too, and I wanted to provide you with a decent breakfast considering you've been stuck on a liquid diet for the past two weeks," Damon replied, handing her a cup of tea as she walked past him to grab a plate.
She gave him a kiss on the cheek as thanks and settled down on one of the stools next to Enzo, "Oh I get it, you were trying to show off your skills in an attempt to bribe Mom into inviting you in, right?" Before Damon could answer Maya cut him off with another question, "What do you mean 'you were expecting mum to be here'? She's not here? Where is she?" She turned to Enzo a quizzical look on her face, he was the one with her last.
"Uh…well you see love your mother met someone last night and I figured she's been wound so tight lately-"
"Aah gross!" Maya covered his mouth, wanting him to stop talking, "I don't need you talking about how tight my Mom is wound! I don't want to know!"
"Come on Red," Damon snickered, "It's only natural, your Mom's a babe!"
"Ugh!" Maya covered her ears, in a childish attempt to stop them talking, "I'm not listening!"
Damon laughed and playfully tugged at one of Maya's arms, trying to get her to uncover her ears, when they were stopped by the door opening.
Jenna awoke with a satisfied smile on her face, she and Elijah had hit it off last night and decided to take their drinks somewhere a little more private. He'd suggested the hotel, as he didn't want to be interrupted by his siblings and she'd agreed, not wanting to make things awkward for her daughter. The hotel room was nice, for something that had only been purchased for a bout of mind-blowing sex. And mind-blowing it had been, Elijah was a take charge kind of guy, he'd led her to the room, poured her a drink and when she gave him her 'bedroom eyes', he'd kissed her with such ferocity it had her gasping for air. They'd lost their clothes quickly, and her fingers had found purchase in his perfect hair, whilst he did things with his tongue that she was sure should be illegal, turns out that for all of Elijah's old world, gentleman like charm, he was absolutely insistent on giving twice as much as he'd got, and Jenna had no objection to his views on how to treat a woman in bed. It had been fantastic, and exhausting, which was why she was still in bed with him come the morning, instead of sneaking out like she should have done after he'd fallen asleep.
She listened for a minute to Elijah's steady breathing, assuming he was still sleeping, Jenna sat up slowly, reaching for her dress that had been thrown to the floor nearby. Sliding it on she made her way to the bathroom to freshen up before she made the 'walk of shame' home, thinking back to when she was younger, she would have tried to rush out of the hotel room as soon as humanly possible, but she was an adult now, sex, as long as it was consensual between both parties was perfectly healthy and natural. She had nothing to be embarrassed about, but her hair was completely sex-mussed, her clothes rumpled and call her crazy, but she didn't want Elijah to see her when she was less than perfect. She finger combed her hair, rinsed her mouth out with the hotel-provided mouth wash, and splashed her face with water, making sure that her makeup wasn't smudged she opened the bathroom door so that she could leave and gasped at the sight of a very awake Elijah standing before her.
Elijah smiled at the slight increase in Jenna's heartbeat, he didn't mean to shock her, but the surge of blood rushing under her skin appealed to his monster. "Leaving so soon?" he asked, he'd put his trousers on but had forgone the shirt for the moment.
"I should get back to my place, before my friends send out a search party." She replied, trying and failing to keep her eyes on his.
"Such a pity," Elijah lamented, stroking her cheek and trailing his thumb down her throat, over her pulsing carotid artery, "I was hoping that we could have some…breakfast."
"Is that what the kids are calling it these days?" Jenna smirked, "As delightful as breakfast might be, I do have to get back to my daughter."
Elijah mirrored her look and nodded in agreement, "I should probably head home as well and make sure my brothers have not gotten into too much trouble. If you are ready to go, please allow me to accompany you out."
"I would appreciate that, unfortunately for me, that does mean that you're going to have to put your shirt back on," she trailed her hand up his bare chest for a moment before pulling back, "Let me grab my purse."
Elijah dressed at a human pace, when he was ready his hand found the small of Jenna's back and he guided out of their hotel room and into the elevator. He walked her outside and brought her to a sleek black town car, "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of arranging a car for you, I couldn't have you walking home in those heels, no matter how good you look in them."
"You Mr Smith, are too charming for your own good," Jenna said as the driver opened the door for her.
Elijah smirked, "I've also put my number in your phone, should you ever be in New York again."
"I'll keep that in mind," Jenna replied, tilting her head up, she kissed him long and deep, knowing that she probably wouldn't see him again and wanted to leave her mark on him, like he had on her, he'd definitely ruined her for other men. "I'll see you around Elijah."
"I certainly hope so," he replied, watching as she slid into the car, the driver shut the door and drove off. Sighing he realised that he was going to have to go back to the Penthouse and he very much doubted that he would be able to sneak in.
Lunch time had Damon and Enzo splitting up from Maya and Jenna, the girls were going to Tiffany's first because they had a small collection of high end Lapis Lazuli jewellery and Maya wanted to pick up some pretty pieces as once she spelled them they could be sold for extra, and then they were going to take a walk in Central Park, enjoying the weather before it got to cold in New York. Damon and Enzo were planning on meeting Klaus later on, but first they were going to grab a bite to eat, mostly for Damon because he'd had to stay home last night and didn't get a chance to hunt. They'd meet the girls for dinner, but Jenna had wanted a little supernatural free time, and Enzo was pretty sure that if she spent anymore time around Damon, she'd stake him, there were only so many walk of shame jokes a girl could take.
Damon was waiting at the corner of an alley, while Enzo was luring a couple of lonely humans out of the lunch rush, and that's when he felt eyes on him, "Enzo," whispered, causing his companion to pause in the crowd. Damon was hit with two vervain darts and he groaned in pain, "Don't," he gasped, stopping Enzo from rushing to his aid, he had an idea of who was attacking him but he had no way of knowing how many there were. Damon felt two people come up from the side, under the guise of helping a struggling passer-by, "Augustine," Damon said, warning Enzo, they doused him with more vervain, causing him to pass out and they dragged him away from the crowd.
Enzo froze, knowing that if he did anything out of the ordinary other members of Augustine could grab him, and then he wouldn't be able to help Damon, he tried to spot any other hunters in the crowd but couldn't tell where the others were. He pushed through the humans surrounding him to try and follow them, but Augustine shoved Damon in a car and drove off, and he couldn't follow at vampire speed without exposing himself. Freaking out Enzo ran over to a cab and got in, he was going to need help to get Damon back.
Klaus was in his studio when he heard the pounding on the Penthouse's front door, there were only two people in the city that didn't have keys to the Penthouse, but could get past the wards that he'd had a witch set up for him and they both knew not to come to his residence unless it was an absolute emergency. He whooshed downstairs just as Kol answered the door, "Is there something I can help you with?" his brother asked.
Klaus took one look at the panicked visage on Enzo's face and pushed his brother out of the way, "What happened?"
"Augustine," Enzo said, Klaus motioned for his friend to follow him and they both sped into his study.
"Tell me everything," Klaus demanded.
"Damon and I went out for some lunch, I was picking out the humans when Damon called for me, told me not move and he was hit with at least two vervain darts. He said Augustine and two men came from the crowd, knocked him out and got him in a car and out of there before I could catch up. I don't know how many of them there are Nik! We have to get him back! I have no idea where Augustine could be in the city, or if they're planning on transporting him out of the state!"
Kol was stood outside Nik's study, the vampire that had sped in after his brother had not closed the door all the way so he could hear everything going on. His eyebrows raised in surprise, so far no one but family had been allowed to refer to his brother by that particular nickname, but this baby vampire that Nik had been hanging out with had used it so freely, and he guessed that this 'Damon' was the other vampire he'd seen in the videos.
"I'll get a hold of the video footage around the area he was taken," Klaus said, pulling out his phone, "Call the Little Witch, if they've come to New York, they came for her and managed to find Damon in their search."
Enzo felt a cold bolt of panic rush through him, he thought it was the fear that he was feeling at Damon being taken from him, but he realised that the terror he was feeling ran deeper, his connection with Maya was fluttering, something was wrong. He dialled her number, "Pick up, pick up, pick up!" he muttered, becoming more and more worried as the phone continued to ring.
Just as it was about to roll over to voicemail she picked up, "Enzo?" Maya's voice was out of breath.
"Augustine has Damon!" Enzo rushed out, "Where are you?"
"In Central Park, running from at least three members of their members!" Maya replied in a panic, if they had Damon, Enzo must be going out of his mind. She dragged her mother around a corner, and they zigzagged into the surrounding trees, she needed help. Her magic was depleted, and she didn't have enough to keep herself and her mother safe. "Enzo I don't have enough magic to fight them all off! I don't know how many of them there are, I need help!"
"Love I need you to send me your exact location!" Klaus cut in.
"Nik?" Maya asked, dodging some trees, her mother grabbed the phone off of her as she made them duck behind a large boulder in the park.
"I think we're a couple miles North of the Zoo," Jenna panted, "But we got turned around, these assholes came out of nowhere!"
"Shit there's two more of them!" Maya whisper yelled, "Someone needs to get over here now! They have magic muting herbs and if they get me, I don't know if I'll be able to stop them!"
"We're on the way!" Klaus said, vampire speed would get them there quickly but Enzo wasn't anywhere near as fast as he was.
"Put the phone in your pocket and stay on the line," Enzo ordered, he needed to know the moment Augustine got too close.
"Okay," Jenna conceded, she wasn't planning on hanging up on him anyway.
Kol came into the room, it sounded like there was about to be bloodshed, and he wanted in, "See if you can find somewhere to hide," he said, not bothering to introduce himself, "If I'm recalling correctly, there should be some caves about a mile East of where you are."
"Who is this?!" Maya asked, she felt like she knew the voice, but at the same time didn't.
Klaus glared at Kol, he should have shut the door, he didn't want Kol knowing about Maya, "It's my brother, we'll be there shortly Sweetheart, if you can't hide keep moving, don't let them pin you down." All three of the vampires whooshed out of the Penthouse, Klaus had an idea of where the girls would be and knew that if he got close he would be able to hear them.
Maya and Jenna ran through the woods in Central Park, they'd definitely gotten turned around, because they should have made it to a more populated area by now but they hadn't. These Augustine members were trying to box them in. "Maybe we should split up, you're not who they're after."
"Not a chance in hell," Jenna replied, "I'm not going anywhere, we just need to keep moving until Klaus and Enzo get to us.
"Mum they're surrounding us, we won't be able to keep this up for long."
"It doesn't need to be long," Jenna insisted, "Just long enough!"
Maya had just run past a tree when a hand shot out and grabbed her, she let out a shriek, it was a member of Augustine, she turned into dead weight to get out of his grip and rolled out of the way when he tried to hit her with the magic dampening powder. She had no idea if that stuff would work on her, she kicked the man in the face before clambering to her feet and running towards her mother who had been cornered by a man and a woman. "Motus!" her hand reached out and the two of them flew away from Jenna and into each other, her mother ran towards her and they tried to get away but it was too late, they had been completely surrounded. There were eight people circling them and Maya was freaking out, she only had enough magic in her necklace for probably one or two spells, not enough to save them both.
One of the men in the circle took out a gun causing both of them to blanche, "I think that's enough from the both of you! Hands up now!"
Mother and daughter raised their hands slowly, "Enzo, Nik, now would be an excellent time for you two to sweep in for the rescue." Maya whispered, her phone was in her pocket but she knew that they would be able to hear her.
"I have an idea but it will only take out three of them Mum."
"Do it," Jenna whispered back, hopefully in the confusion they'd be able to get away.
Moving closer to her mother so she could get three of the Augustine hunters in view, including the man with the gun "Phasmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox!" the three men went down screaming, their blood turning to acid in their veins, Maya and Jenna ran in opposite directions trying to get away from the hunters. Maya cried out when she felt a fist slam into the side of her jaw, she staggered to the side and looked up at the woman that had attacked her, it didn't look like the woman had the magic dampening powder, not that it mattered now, she was out of juice. Maya snarled, this bitch was going to get it, she tackled the woman and ended up on top of her on the ground. Maya yanked the woman's hair and punched her in the throat, the woman choked and Maya pushed herself up, she kicked the woman in the ribs as hard as she could, once, twice, then a third and final time. She heard a crack and the woman started coughing up blood, one of her ribs must have pierced her lung.
Pulling away Maya turned to go and find her mother, but came face to face with another man and another gun, she had nothing left to stop him from shooting her, she knew she was screwed. The man cocked the gun and Maya prepared herself to feel the pain of at least one bullet, but before he could shoot her, the man's heart was torn from his chest. He fell to the ground and Klaus stepped close to her, dropping the heart, "Hello love."
So this was super long, don't get used to that! Damon's been captured and Maya's about to come face to face with Kol! Also hoped you enjoyed the tiny bit of Elijah/Jenna that popped in my head, I figured Jenna's been through some shit, she deserves a little action, and Elijah just decided to volunteer!
Notes:
If you can please drop a comment, I love getting the feedback!
Chapter 13: Augustine
Notes:
Thank you for all the kudos and comments! Please enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Maya stared at Klaus for a moment, finding it unbelievable that he was actually there, that he'd gotten to her before she'd gotten shot, "You took your time," is what she said, instead of thanking him.
"Your mother said that you were North of the Zoo, you're actually due West of it," he commented, unbothered about the other Augustine members, Enzo had taken out one, Kol had gotten one, and the both of them had restrained the final two members, Klaus needing them to find Damon.
"My apologies, the next time I'm running for my life, I'll ask my pursuers to hang on a sec while I get my bearings."
"Much appreciated love," Klaus smirked, it was good to know that she wasn't too traumatised by this latest brush with trouble.
She moved in closer to him as, the man who she assumed was Klaus's brother, kept their two hostages secured, and Enzo checked on her mother, "Thank you for coming for me," her eyes travelled over her mother, whose was currently squeezing the life out of Enzo, "I just killed three people in front of her."
"Three people that would have taken you to be tortured and then killed, she knows that, and I'm certain that she won't hold that against you."
"MAYA!" Jenna yelled, rushing towards her daughter.
"Mom!" she wrapped her arms around Jenna, Maya had never feared for anyone like she'd feared for her mother's life, she was going make Augustine pay.
Jenna pulled back and looked over at Klaus, "Thank you," she said, Klaus nodded back, Jenna turned to Enzo, her eyes hardening as she saw the two men Kol had tied up, "We need to get them somewhere private; we need to find Damon."
Maya was surprised by her mother, Jenna had to have known was going to happen to these men when Enzo got them somewhere quiet, "Take them back to the apartment," Maya said, "If they don't have Damon's location then I can do a locator spell from there."
Enzo nodded, "Our place isn't far," he replied.
"Kol," Klaus said, "Bring them and follow me." He grabbed up Maya, while Enzo took Jenna, and Kol hauled the two hostages to their feet and whooshed after his brother.
Damon was dowsed with a bucket of vervain water and he screamed as woke, he felt weak, he could barely move, they must have given him more vervain while he was unconscious. He was on a concrete floor, his skin burning with every move, there was a solid wall behind him, and bars surrounding him on three sides. "Wakey, wakey vampire," he heard a voice say.
Groaning he tried to sit up, only to have more vervain water tossed on him, and he screamed again, hitting the floor, he tamped down the fear he felt at being caught, at being at their mercy. It was muffled but her could hear the sounds of the city, cars driving past, the subway, the distinct accent of the New Yorkers shuffling about. Damon rolled his head in the direction of his captors, "What the hell do you want?" he coughed out.
A woman walked up next to the man before him, even if he had the energy, they were too far away from the bars for him to attack, "I think you know exactly what we want," she said, "You were doing such a good job of hiding her too. Right up until you and her mother went out for lunch."
"I'm not telling you anything," Damon said through gritted teeth, he wouldn't give Maya up, not when he knew exactly what was in store for her. He turned away from them, finally noticing the heavy duty chains they'd placed on him, no wonder his wrists and ankles were burning, they'd laced the inside of the cuffs with vervain too.
"You say that now," the man said, "but we have ways to make you talk." He picked up a bottle containing some sort of chemical, "Now personally, I prefer getting my hands dirty, but we don't really have time for that so we're going to start with something easy to use, and very painful. I have to admit, I do like hearing you disgusting creatures scream when we use this though." He took out a syringe and filled it up, opening the cell Damon couldn't move, "We'll see how long you last with this running through your veins." The man jabbed the needle into Damon's stomach and depressed the plunger, Damon screamed, his blood felt like it was on fire, and it was spreading to the rest of his body, this pain, so much worse than simple vervain. What were they doing to him?
"It's no use trying to compel them, they would have vervain in their system," Enzo said, enraged that the man he loved had been stolen from him.
"Then we'll just have to bleed it out of them," Kol replied cheerfully, pulling a knife from the kitchen block, "You don't mind if I use this do you? It's been a while since I've enjoyed a good spot of torture."
Maya saw her mother turn a little green at the thought of actually torturing two humans, and turned to the vampires in the room, "Torturing them is just going to waste time, time that I'm sure Damon doesn't have."
"Well then what do you suggest Little Witch?" Klaus asked, stringing the two men up in the living room.
"My first grimoire had a spell to read minds, I could do it, we just need to make sure their defences are suitably lowered."
"Didn't you say that your magic was depleted?" Kol asked, "Whatever that means."
Maya narrowed her eyes at the Original, she guessed that Klaus hadn't told him anything about her, "Now that I have Enzo, it's pretty easy to get back." She held out her hand and Enzo took it without hesitation. Klaus and Kol watched with interest as they saw her palm glow red and Enzo wince a little as she siphoned his magic, she hadn't quite perfected the art of painlessly siphoning someone yet, as there were no other magical creatures for her to use. After about a minute she let go, Enzo could last a full five minutes of her siphoning from him continuously, but she didn't want to deplete him of his energy while they still needed to get Damon back. "All done," she locked eyes with Kol, "Now it's your turn."
He raised an eyebrow in question, "My turn for what exactly?"
"Their defences need to be lowered if I'm going to get in, that means they need to be in pain." The smile that lit up Kol's face was a little disturbing, no one should be that happy about causing damage, at least no one that was in the vicinity of her mother.
Kol had taken the carving knife and was currently hacking away at their captives, causing them to cry out in agony, thank god the floor below them was empty. Jenna had to look away, it was one thing to bring these people here for the express purpose of getting answers from them, but another to actually witness the torture. "I know that this is necessary, but does he have to look so happy while he's doing this?" Jenna hissed at her daughter.
Maya shrugged, "In certain circles, Kol is referred to as the Happy Homicidal Maniac, his temperament is likely just as bad as Nik's."
Kol pulled back with a flourish and turned to the women, "Right you are darling!" he walked closer to them, ignoring the warning growl that slipped from Klaus, "Although I would like to know which circles you're referring to, I quite like that moniker, I'd like to know who to thank!"
His eyes glinted dangerously at Maya, "Maybe wait until after I'm done saving our friend."
"He's not my friend," Kol insisted.
"No but he is mine Kol," Klaus interrupted, pulling his brother back, "And I'd like to find him before he's dead." Klaus looked over at Maya, "Get on with it sweetheart."
Maya walked over to the two humans, glad that they'd been tied so close together, it meant that she could sandwich both of their heads between her hands, and she could hit them with the spell at the same time. "When I begin the spell, start asking questions, even if they don't speak out loud they'll answer in their heads and I'll see it." Klaus and Enzo nodded, signalling for her to start, "Phasmatos mentem legere, phasmatos mentem legere," as she chanted, Enzo asked about Damon, where he was, what was happening to him, and she received flashes in her mind. Cursing she pulled back, "There's six Augustine facilities in New York City, none of them close to where they grabbed him, they don't know which one he was taken to. Augustine here must work in cells, just in case of capture."
Enzo kicked the couch through the living room wall, "Damn it! How are we supposed to get him back?!"
"Enzo!" Maya said, placing a hand on his arm, "I need you to calm down, all I need is a map, Damon's hair and some blood." Enzo was out of the room and back in less than a second, carrying with him a paper map of the city and Damon's hairbrush. "Ok, Mom pass me a bowl from the kitchen please," Jenna grabbed a bowl whilst Maya laid out the map on the floor. Maya took some of the hair from the brush and placed it in the bowl, the locator spell for a person was very different to that of an object, and it was easier with a blood relation, she walked up to Klaus and held the bowl out in front of him, "Blood please." She had been hoping that she wouldn't need to do the locator spell, because it would mean that Klaus would know that there was connection between him, and every Vampire in his line, which would most definitely make him curious about why that information was something that needed to be known.
"I'm not related to Damon love."
"Actually you are in a way, every Original has a sireline, which means that every vampire in existence has Original blood flowing through their veins, albeit in miniscule amounts. Damon is a part of your sireline, and luckily there's only three vampires that separate you two, so it shouldn't be too difficult to bind Damon's essence to the blood in the bowl so I can find him, so blood please."
"There's something else you're not telling me," Klaus said suspiciously, he didn't know who's blood had turned Katerina, which meant that for some reason it was necessary for Damon Salvatore to know where he came from. Why was that?
"There's a lot I'm not telling you, it's why you find me so interesting." She replied, holding the bowl a little higher waiting for his donation.
Klaus bit into his hand and let some of his blood drip into the bowl, while Kol watched with intrigue, Nik seemed to have more than just a passing interest in the witch, otherwise he never would have allowed her to speak to him like that. Maya took the bowl back and stood over the map, she could bind the blood to Damon's essence, but she would need more magic in order to do the locator spell. "Phasmatos ligare sanguinem," she whispered, watching as the blood moved to coat the hairs, the blood shimmered for just a moment before settling, the binding was done.
Maya dripped the blood over their own location on the map, she knew for a fact that Damon wasn't anywhere near them, "I'm going to need some more juice to do the locator spell," she said looking at Enzo, but before the younger vampire could respond, Kol was in front of her.
"Then use me darling," he held out a hand, he wanted to know how her powers worked, he'd never seen a witch use an ability like hers before.
Not wanting to argue as she knew they were pressed for time, Maya took Kol's hand in hers, as she started to siphon from him, she also did the locator spell, "Phasmatos tribum nas ex veras, sequita saguines, ementas asten mihan ega petous," Kol could understand why Enzo had winced in pain, whatever she was doing felt like something sharp was being dragged across his very essence, and the longer she held on, the more insistent that drag became. The blood on the map began to move and Maya pulled her hand from Kol's the moment it stopped. "Found him!" she said, ignoring the look that Kol gave her, if he wanted to know about her then she'd have to trust him, and it was highly unlikely that that was going to happen any time soon.
Klaus looked at the map and sent a text from his phone, "I'll have a few men keep an eye on the place," he said.
"How much do you want to bet that we'll need invites to get in?" Enzo asked.
"I'm not taking that bet," Jenna said, "An invitation is one of the only ways people can be safe against vampires, there's no way you'll be able to get in."
"Do you think that one of them will be able to get us inside?" Maya asked gesturing to the two humans that had been tied up.
"Doubtful, it would be much smarter to give ownership to someone out of state," Klaus replied, "An invitation can be given over the phone, there would be no need for the human to be close."
"I take it burning the place down is not an option," Kol threw out.
"Of course it's not an option!" Maya said, "Fire kills vampires, Damon's a vampire, ergo, fire kills him!"
"Well if we can't get in, how do we get Damon out?" Enzo asked.
"You can't get in," Maya said, "I can."
"No absolutely not!" Jenna cut in, "It's not an option."
"Mom-"
"No! I literally just got you back, you are not running headfirst into danger again!"
"If we don't go and get Damon right now, Augustine could decide that he's not worth the effort to transport, either they torture him, or they kill him, and neither option is good with me."
"How would you even get him out?!"
Maya looked at Klaus and Kol and then back at her mom, "There's enough power in this room for me to recharge my necklace, then I've got an immobility spell, the acid spell, hell I could even put them to sleep, all I need is enough magic."
"I don't like this," Jenna said.
"Neither do I," Enzo cut in, "I don't want to put you at risk to get Damon back, Augustine came here for you."
"Which is why they're going to let me in through their front door." Maya insisted, "Unless any of you have a better idea."
"I still say we should just set the place alight," Kol shrugged, ignoring the glares he received from everyone else in the room.
Klaus pulled her away from the rest of them, of course Kol and Enzo could still hear him, but he was certain that this wasn't a discussion to be had in front of her mother, "Are you sure you can do this Little Witch? We don't know how many people are in there and you may have to kill again."
"Damon's mine Nik, I told you that before, they don't get to hurt what's mine and not suffer the consequences."
Damon had finally stopped screaming, but only because one of the humans in the house had tired of the noise so they'd cut out his voice box, drenched in vervain and tortured, Damon couldn't heal, the cut at his throat still open and raw, on occasion someone would bring a new chemical in, causing Damon a new kind of pain. Once they'd realised that they couldn't get him to talk, the torture became much worse, they'd cut him open, cracked his chest and for one heart stopping moment he thought that they would tear his heart out, instead they'd removed his left lung, cut it open, filled it with vervain, sewed it back up and shoved back inside his chest. They'd taken the other out and filled it with whatever the chemical was that they'd used before and given the right lung the same treatment. Every breath he took was sheer agony. Damon didn't think that he could hate himself anymore than he already did, but this, this was a new kind of torture, giving him a snippet of what Enzo had gone through for 50 years, because of him, because he couldn't save him, because he never went back. There was no doubt that Enzo had endured worse and he didn't know how his friend had ever managed to forgive him. Damon held back a flinch when he heard movement outside the cell, he wouldn't give these arseholes the satisfaction of seeing his fear, but he wished they'd taken his hearing, when he heard the woman talk about how pretty his eyes were, and wonder if when she took them, they'd grow back.
Maya stood on the corner of the street, the brownstone that Damon had been trapped in, in the centre, "Can you hear anything?" she asked Klaus, he was with her, insistent that he be by her side right up until the door, and that the first thing she must do is determine if there was anyone inside capable of providing him with an invite.
Klaus didn't have to strain himself to hear it, he was very used to all the sounds a vampire could make whilst being tortured, he could smell the vervain and practically taste the blood that had been spilled from Damon Salvatore…his friend, probably his best friend, Klaus didn't bother to hide his monster, he would make them pay. "He's in there," is all he said in response. Detailing exactly what Damon was going through wouldn't help Maya, she couldn't afford to break her concentration with this. "You know what you have to do?"
"Get in, freeze them, find out if one can provide an invite, find Damon, send them all out to you, Enzo and Kol."
"But most importantly?"
"Don't get captured."
"Go, I will be waiting."
Maya tried not to rush to the steps of the brownstone, if anyone was watching she didn't want to draw attention to herself, wearing a black beanie covered her mane of red hair, and sunglasses large enough to obscure most of her face, she made it to the front door without incident. Taking a breath, Maya reached out and rung the doorbell, she and the vampires had debated over this. She had enough power to blast in the door, but if it alerted others deeper in the house to her presence then would they rush to the entrance or would they kill Damon? In the end it was decided that she would ring the bell, it was innocuous, no one would suspect the person that they were going after to show up at their door. The moment someone opened the door, she froze them in their tracks, "Phasmatos Prohibere!" She pulled him out of the home, "Tell me, can you invite a vampire inside?" she muttered her mind reading spell and forced herself not to show her frustration, "No, what a shame, for you." Shoving him away from her, Kol sped to the door, grabbing the human and disappearing just as quick.
Maya headed towards where she could hear voices, and someone came out of the room in the back, before they could say anything, Maya held out her hand and their throat closed up, they couldn't make a sound. The telekinesis wasn't new, it was the first thing that she learned and the easiest thing for her to access, but it was also the hardest to control, if she couldn't keep her concentration then something she didn't intend would usually happen. Maya expanded her power, this one couldn't invite the vampires in either but he knew who could, she threw him out of the house and he was taken by Enzo this time. "Okay you can do this Maya," steeling herself she walked into the room that held most of the house's occupants. "I hear you're all looking for me," they turned to face her in surprise but it was too late, "Ad somnum!" the four Augustine hunters fell asleep, she lifted up the unconscious Augustine woman, and pushed her towards the entrance, "Nik," Maya whispered, knowing that he'd hear her. He appeared at the front door, "This one can invite you in, I'll wake her up, but you'll have to secure the invite."
"Give her to me love," Klaus's eyes were hard, he could hear at least two people with Damon, and he was being tortured as they spoke.
Maya shoved the woman outside and woke her up, she didn't wait for Klaus to get an invitation out of her, she had to find Damon, and find him fast, from the danger in Nik's eyes, she got the feeling that Damon was being tortured. "Where are you Damon?" she asked quietly. Closing her eyes she stretched out her senses, it was something that she'd been learning before Esther had taken her out of commission, being able to sense other supernaturals, it didn't work great, but she was able to sense those who were closest to her. Eyes widening she felt him below her, but she couldn't find the door to the basement anywhere.
Damon cried out as he felt a wooden blade cut open the skin of his back, his vocal cords had finally healed but it didn't matter much because as soon as his throat had started to close, the woman in the room had held his head down and torn his eyes from his skull, they still hadn't healed. "It's so interesting that wood is your kind's weakness," his torturer said, "Did you know that our studies show that it takes four times as long for a vampire to heal from a wound inflicted by wood, than anything else?" It was like he was a student being given a lecture and he wished that they'd pierced his ear drums instead. He felt his spine break and lost the feeling in his legs, "Shall we see how long it takes for your spine to heal? You must be an old vampire, even drenched in vervain, you're healing much faster than any vampire that I've had the pleasure to work on."
"Actually he's quite young," Damon heard Nik's voice and he was flooded with relief, "Not even two centuries old, if you wanted an old vampire, maybe you should have come after me."
"Nik," Damon sighed, as he felt the man on top of him fly off of him, he heard the cell door be torn from it's hinges and rattle as it fell to the floor.
"DAMON!" There was Enzo, he felt Enzo's hands on him and he groaned as Enzo tried to move him.
"They broke my spine," he croaked out.
"Ohmygod DAMON!" Maya cried, rushing in after Enzo, Damon was a bloody mess, he turned his face from her direction.
"Enzo don't let her see," he whispered, but it was too late, Maya had come into his cell and seen the full extent of the damage done to him.
"Oh god," she whimpered, "What did they do to you?" he flinched as she stroked his face, instinctively expecting pain.
"Maya wait upstairs with Kol," Nik said, "You're the only human here not on vervain, when we release him, he will try to kill you." He cut her off before she could argue, "NOW!"
She flinched back at his anger, knowing that it wasn't truly directed at her, she fled the room, in truth she didn't want to see Damon the way he was now, she'd seen blood, and death before, but seeing him tortured, hurt her so much.
Kol didn't fight his smirk when he heard Nik send his witch back upstairs, he knew that Nik didn't want his witch anywhere near him, but had sent her upstairs in order to what? Spare her pain? In order to spare his friend? He didn't know, but he'd get the opportunity to find out, especially with Nik's attention elsewhere. "I have to say darling, you've made me very curious."
Maya looked over at the other Original, she was almost grateful for him in that moment, Kol was dangerous, and she would need all of her wits to deal with him, "Before today I've never even met you, how could you be curious?"
"Well that's just it, I'd never heard of you before, but then today Nik rushed so desperately to your rescue. My brother's never been partial to witches, and yet he seems to be quite…fond of you."
Maya started at that, his words were dipped in innuendo, "You followed him?" she asked and Kol smiled, "No if you'd have followed him, then something tells me that you would have confronted us, but you were watching us…the cameras? You got access to the city's cameras to follow your brother? Why?"
Kol couldn't help but grin, Nik's little witch was smart, smarter than he gave her credit for and maybe that was why Nik was so interested in her. "My brother was acting unusual, I wanted to know what he was up to."
"Acting unusual? Nik's been perfectly pleasant," Maya said confused.
"Exactly! You haven't known him long, but my brother is never 'pleasant'."
Maya shrugged, it sounded a little like Kol was jealous, "Maybe you just haven't given him reason to be pleasant."
Kol fought the urge to scowl, "And you have?"
"I make promises and I deliver on them, what's not to like about me?"
"Promises, like delivering my brother the moonstone?"
Maya smiled, Kol was fishing and if Nik hadn't told his siblings about the moonstone, then she certainly wouldn't, "I don't know what you're talking about, what moonstone?"
"Don't lie to me witch, you gave the moonstone to Nik when you were with him outside the hospital, Nik's been searching for it for five centuries, how did you find it?"
Maya's eyes hardened, it had taken her time, but Nik had given her trust, and she wasn't going to break it just because Kol scared her, there was no way that Kol could be certain that she gave Nik the moonstone. She wasn't near any cameras when it happened, so the footage couldn't have been clear, "I don't even know what a moonstone is."
Kol snarled, his hand was around her throat in an instant, he would not let this little witch lie to him, "Tell me the truth!"
Maya brought her hand up to Kol's wrist with the full intention of siphoning from him and throwing him off her, but the moment her hand came into contact with his skin, a vision overtook her. Kol, staggering in a familiar kitchen, burning and screaming and then falling to the ground dead. It would appear that Kol had seen it too, because he pulled back like he'd just been scalded. "What was that? WHAT DID I JUST SEE?!" he went for her again, but Klaus snapped his neck before he came into contact with her.
"Nik!"
"What happened?" Nik demanded "What did you see?"
Maya looked up at him in shock, "When I came into contact with Kol, Nik I, I saw his death."
Klaus froze, his brother was not going to die, he wouldn't allow it, "Impossible, the last of the White Oak has been destroyed."
"Maybe the future's changed now, but it was clearly something that happened before, Nik that's not the worst part."
"What could possibly be worse than you telling me that my baby brother could die?" he snarled.
"I'm pretty sure he saw it too."
Dun dun dun! Kol's just seen something that he shouldn't have what's Klaus to do now? He wants to keep Maya from siblings, so how is that going to work? Also the next chapter will be the last one for New York, because I'm missing the Caya (Maya Caroline) interaction, and she still needs to gush to someone about the handsome Original. Please don't hate me for hurting Damon, it had to be done!
Notes:
Thanks for reading, please leave a comment if you can, they bring me joy!
Chapter 14: Kol
Notes:
Thanks for all the comments!
I have a quick question for all of you - Damon is a nickname person, what nicknames do you think that he'd give Maya? What do you all think suits her?
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Maya was curled up in bed with her mother, needing comfort after seeing what Damon had gone through. Damon hadn't come with her, he'd needed to do a lot more healing, and he wanted to get his pound of flesh from the hunters that had tortured him. So Enzo had strung up what was left of their captives, they had all night to break the humans and find out what they knew. Klaus had had to take Kol back to the Penthouse, Maya had unintentionally revealed something about herself that neither she nor Klaus had wanted revealed, and to Kol of all people, so Klaus needed to do damage control. But Maya didn't want to worry about any of that tonight, she couldn't close her eyes without seeing Damon's tortured body, but she was glad she went. Having her mother hold her close, Maya knew what needed to be done, her uncle couldn't be allowed to live any longer, he'd set the dogs loose on her, and Damon had been caught in the trap instead. She would figure out some other way for Stefan to see Elena, but Grayson didn't get to live anymore, not after what he'd done. It would hurt Jeremy, it would hurt her Aunt Miranda, which would hurt her mother in turn, but Grayson had helped break Enzo, and had been the reason for Damon's suffering today, she needed to tell Enzo that he could get rid of her uncle. If her mother found out about this, then she would just have to ask for forgiveness later.
Kol woke with a start in his brother's study, "Nik!" he growled, "What the hell did you do?"
"You had my Witch in your sights Kol, you're lucky you didn't get a dagger in your heart!"
"You didn't see what I saw Nik! She did something to me!"
"She did nothing to you! She can't control what she sees and if you hadn't been trying to force your way into her mind you never would have seen it in the first place!"
"So it's true then! You're plotting against me!"
Klaus snarled, shoving his brother against the wall of his study and holding him there, "I'm not trying to kill you, you idiot! Despite everything you and I have done to one another you are still my brother and I love you!"
"Then what did I see?" Kol asked through gritted teeth.
Klaus sighed, letting him go, he wouldn't be able to keep everything about Maya from Kol, but he had to figure out how to sate his brother's curiosity, whilst keeping his Little Siphon to himself. "Maya gets visions, she cannot control when they appear, or what they are, but they are true."
"You can't be serious, seers don't exist Nik."
"She's not a seer Kol, she's an old soul, and her visions are very real brother, you know me I would never believe anything like this without proof."
"What proof has she given you?" Kol asked incredulously, Nik was many things, but stupid was not one of them.
"Mikael angered a witch in 1996, she desiccated him and locked him in a mausoleum, I didn't know this until she brought it to my attention. But Mikael wasn't locked away with his stake, she found it and delivered it to me along with Mikael's location, where I killed him."
"She's the reason father's dead? Why would she ever help you?"
"I had something she needed and in return she gave me something that I needed."
"And now?" Kol asked, "You seem fond of her."
"Would you just throw away a witch of her power?" he asked a little smugly, Kol for all his recklessness, loved witches, and there were many covens that loved him back, but he didn't have anyone like Maya.
"Since we're on the topic of her power, what kind of witch is she?" he'd never met another like her before, and that his brother had someone new and powerful at his side was killing him, "I can't say that I've seen her kind of ability before, what is she?"
Klaus smirked, "Terribly sorry brother, but I just can't tell you."
"Can't or won't?"
"Both, she gets rather touchy about who knows what she is, if you'd like to know, she needs to trust you."
Kol let out a scoff, "She trusts you?"
"We have an understanding," Klaus shrugged, not for the first time, feeling glad that he had something that gave him an edge over his siblings.
It was lunch time before Damon appeared back in the apartment, Jenna and Maya had been worrying about him all night, neither one of them really able to sleep. The moment she saw him Maya had her arms wrapped around his waist, her head resting on his chest, "Whoa now Red, what is this?" Damon asked, his hands floundering around, unsure of what to do.
"Shut up, you're letting me have this." She mumbled into his chest.
"Am I?"
"Yes, you are," Jenna said coming up and hugging him from behind, "You're letting us both have this."
Jenna's head rested on his shoulder, Damon finally let one of his hands settle on Maya's back while the other held onto to Jenna's arm, and he relaxed into the hug that he was getting from the girls. He couldn't remember the last time he'd received comfort like this, he couldn't remember the last time that he had people that cared about him enough to offer him comfort. "Hey now is this a private party or can anyone join?" Enzo asked walking in, dropping his keys in the bowl by the door.
"Oh no, all of this is mine," Damon replied amused, "Although if you girls want, we can definitely take this somewhere more private," Damon wiggled his eyebrows.
"Ugh!" Jenna groaned pulling away from him.
"Gross Damon," Maya frowned releasing him from her grip, "You're disgusting!" she moved over to her best friend, hugging him instead, "Enzo knows not be gross."
"I don't know love, that would be quite the delectable sandwich," Enzo smirked.
"Oh my god!" Maya pulled back and Damon laughed at the look on her face, "You are rubbing off on him in entirely the wrong way," she accused.
Damon smirked, "There's a right way to rub of on him?"
"Okay you know what I'm done, I was worried, and you're clearly fine, so I'm going to get back to my packing."
"Leaving so soon Darling?" Kol said, standing just inside the entryway, "We haven't even had a chance to get to know one another."
"I already have enough homicidal maniacs in my life, so no thanks," she turned to leave, but was once again stopped by another person.
"I'm not sure whether I should be delighted or offended love," Klaus said, following his brother inside the apartment.
"Seriously? Is this place just like an open house now?" Maya exclaimed.
"We have been invited in," Klaus offered.
Maya rolled her eyes and shot a look at Enzo, that would be rectified soon enough, neither of them trusted Kol and were not about to let him have full access to them. "What are you even doing here?"
"Damon and Enzo spent all of last night getting information from those Augustine members, if hunters are operating in my city we need to know," Klaus replied.
"No, you need to know, that still doesn't explain why he's here," Maya retorted, nodding in Kol's direction.
"Hunting vampire hunters, that sounds perfectly thrilling, New York is getting so boring these days," Kol said, throwing himself into one of the couches in the living area.
Jenna scowled as her daughter joined her in the kitchen, "I'm still not happy about him being here," she whispered to Maya, "He's way too enthused about violence." Kol smiled at her words an offered her a little wave from the couch, causing Jenna to roll her eyes.
"I'm pretty sure that's all vampires Mom," Maya replied amused. Jenna shook her head, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed to the living area.
Klaus came to join Maya in the kitchen, fully able to pay attention to what Damon and Enzo were saying, whilst speaking with his Little Siphon, "I think we need to have a little discussion don't we love?"
Maya's eyes flitted over to Kol and then back to Klaus, "I think that most of that discussion needs to happen when you're alone. Tea?" she asked pouring some for herself.
Klaus nodded and took a cup from her, "Well what can you tell me while I'm here?"
"I already told you that every Original has a sireline," at Klaus's nod she continued, "What I didn't tell you is that when an Original dies, they take the whole sireline with them."
Klaus stiffened, "In other words…"
"You die and every vampire with even a hint of your blood in them drops dead within an hour."
"And you know this because of the knight?" Klaus asked, referring to the White Oak knight that he'd destroyed at her behest. Maya nodded, she could vividly remember Elijah dying after being shot, members of his sireline dropping dead around Kol and Rebekah. "Who?" he asked, the only way she could have known was if one of them died.
"Elijah," she whispered softly.
Finn may be the eldest, but Elijah was Klaus's big brother, the one he trusted the most, the one who had stood by him through his worst and to know that there was a future out there where Elijah was no longer by his side, even if that future was no longer viable, it caused a very literal pain in his heart. Klaus's fingers dug into the top of the kitchen counter, he had no idea what to say, he never thought that he would lose Elijah, never even thought that there was ever a possibility of loosing Elijah.
"Hey," Maya reached out and settled her hand over his, "Nik," she moved closer to him, pulling his hand away from the counter, ignoring the dents that he'd left in the granite, "It's not going to happen now, you got rid of the knight," she kept her voice low, not wanting to draw the other's attention, "It's my job to make sure that you all stay alive, and I'm going to do that, no matter what."
Klaus looked into her eyes, witnessing a sincerity that he wasn't used to seeing in anyone when they spoke to him, "And Kol?"
"I don't know what it was," she hadn't had much time to think about it, too worried about Damon, "The moment I figure it out, you'll know, I swear."
Klaus pulled his hand from hers, they would have to have a much more in depth conversation when he was sure that his brother wasn't listening in, "We'll talk more later, for now we should probably pay attention to Enzo."
Maya nodded and turned her attention to the four in the living room, picking up on the tail end of the conversation, "Wait," she said to Enzo, "You said the orders came from Whitmore Campus, do you know who?"
Damon nodded, "Some professor named Wexfield…or Waxfield?" he looked over at Enzo.
"Maxfield, Professor Maxfield," Enzo said, annoyed that Damon hadn't been paying attention.
"Aah!" Maya grabbed her head and doubled over, she'd just been hit with a whole host of information, and it appeared that her brain didn't like it.
"Maya!" Jenna exclaimed, getting up to go to her daughter, Klaus was there first though, holding her up before she fell to the ground.
"Love are you alright?" Enzo asked worried, he'd never seen this happen to her.
Straightening up, she nodded, "Yeah," she pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose, "I just got hit with a very large info dump."
"About the professor?" Kol asked, was this how her visions usually came to her? If so it seemed counter-productive, what if she was out and came into contact with an enemy and dropped to the ground in pain?
"Yeah, he's going to need to be dealt with, immediately."
"What can you tell us?" Damon asked.
"Dr Maxfield is a biologist, he was using the results he got from the experiments on Enzo and other vampires to try and create a Ripper Virus."
"A what?" Jenna asked, confused at the term.
"Uh, basically there are vampires out there that can't handle their bloodlust," Damon cut in, "They get so into the feed they literally rip their victims apart."
"Oh my god," Jenna murmured, "Vampires like that exist?"
"Not many do," Klaus said, "Most tend to draw too much attention and end up being killed off by those of us that are older and stronger."
"But that doesn't make any sense, why would Augustine want to make vampires even more dangerous for humans?"
"They don't want to," Maya replied, "He's trying to make a virus that will mean that vampires crave other vampires' blood, he's basically trying to turn all vampires into violent cannibals so that the race can extinguish itself."
"I take it from the look on your face, he succeeds," Kol said, he was all for mass murder and chaos, but turning every vampire into a cannibalistic ripper didn't sound like fun.
"It'll take him like another four years to perfect but then he gets help from a coven of witches who make it contagious. So I think I speak for all of us when I say that he and his research need to go, and fast."
"We'll take care of it," Damon said, his face hard, he had first hand experience of rippers and as much as he taunted his brother, he himself would never be able to survive that loss of control, and as far as he was concerned he would make sure that it didn't happen, "We'll drop you off at home, and then go to the campus."
"You have to be careful, Augustine has control of the campus, which means that not all of the buildings are under eminent domain, you'll need invites to get in." Maya said, she could vaguely remember Caroline being unable to enter one of the buildings on campus. "And I swear to God, if you two aren't checking in with me and Mom regularly, I will rip out your freaking spleens!"
"Maya!" Jenna exclaimed.
"What it's not like they need them, I don't even need mine, it's just a bag of blood."
Kol laughed, "It appears you have more in common with my brother than I thought, perhaps you do go well together!"
Maya shot him a withering look and Klaus growled, "Say another word and I'll tear out your liver."
"And I'll hold you down," Maya added.
Kol smirked, "You see, you're both so adorably violent!"
Maya narrowed her eyes and Kol winced in pain, grabbing his head, "Aneurism spell, I leaned to do that when I was 10." She flounced off to her room, unwilling to deal with the youngest Mikaelson brother any longer, Kol was definitely going to be a complication in her long-term plans.
"I'm in hell," Maya said, looking around, "I died and now I'm in hell, it's the only explanation."
"Oh stop being so dramatic!" Caroline exclaimed, handing her a bundle of clothing, "You nearly died and your Mom implemented the 'No Caroline' punishment, for two months! This is the only way to circumvent that, now stop complaining and go get dressed."
Maya groaned and threw her head back in displeasure, walking into the dressing room, she pulled on the clothes and came back out, ignoring her friend's squeal of delight she frowned, "Seriously, what did I ever do to you? Why am I being punished?"
"Seriously," Caroline threw back, "Stop complaining, or you really will be punished! Now let's get out on that field, the girls are waiting!"
Maya scowled and walked towards the group of girls on football field, "Everybody's staring at me," the skirt was too short, the top to 'peppy', on the whole, the outfit was so not her style.
"They're staring because they're all jealous of how good you look, now quit bitching and show Elena and Bonnie that just because you joined late, doesn't mean that you can't do every single one of these routines better than they can!"
Maya let out a whine and joined the group of girls that had gathered on one side of the football field, "I can't believe she made me a cheerleader," she muttered to herself, privately thinking that this was in fact her punishment from Caroline for almost dying, and if that was the case, she was going to try really hard, not to do it again.
Klaus and Kol were going through one of the Augustine Safe Houses that Maya had named, members of Augustine lay broken and bleeding at their feet as the two vampires searched through the documents that they'd found in one of the back rooms, it appeared that this particular house was a hub for Augustine. "You know eventually we're going to have to talk about your little witch, Nik," Kol said, tipping out a box of notebooks.
"I don't have to talk to you about anything Kol."
"Well, I suppose that I could always speak with Elijah and tell him that I've figured out why you've been in such a good mood…or I could tell Rebekah that you've found a tasty little thing to spend your time with, that should get our sister interested in your comings and goings!"
Klaus growled and shoved Kol up against the wall, "If you know what's good for you brother, you will keep Maya's name out of your mouth! And as far as Rebekah's concerned, you will ensure that she knows nothing about any of this or else I will put you down again! I mean it Kol, I will not give Rebekah the chance to ruin this for me!"
Kol pushed Klaus away from him, his brother was a power hungry, paranoid, narcissistic megalomaniac, and each of his siblings had disappointed him, multiple times, but the way Nik had been acting suggested a betrayal that had cut him deep. The only problem was neither he, Rebekah nor Elijah knew what it was that she could have done to cause their brother to distrust her so. "Enough of the dagger threats Nik! They're getting old! Now what is so bloody important that you're worried our sister will ruin it?"
Scowling, Klaus moved away from his brother, texting some of his minions to come and clear the Augustine house of anything useful, "My private affairs are none of your business Kol! And my issues with Rebekah are my own, they're none of your concern."
Kol shook his head, glaring at his older brother, "What could you possibly be keeping to yourself that's so important that you disregard the feelings of your favourite sibling?"
Klaus rolled his eyes, "Rebekah's not my favourite." This was always a problem when Rebekah and Kol were awake at the same time, both of them always wanted all the attention that he could give them. When they were younger, Klaus was the one that protected them as children, Finn was mother's favourite son, and Elijah was the only one that Mikael could stand. Kol, Rebekah and Henrik were the youngest and Klaus had wanted them to have lives that were as easy as possible (for the time anyway). He'd suffered Mikael's abuse from a young age and hadn't wanted that for his younger siblings, so he'd taken the brunt of their punishments when he could. As a result, he'd been the one that his younger siblings had run to when they wanted something. As vampires, this had manifested in both Kol and Rebekah being overly jealous with their brother.
"Oh please, everyone knows that Bekah's your favourite," Kol refuted, unwilling to argue with his brother about this, "But you didn't answer the question, what is so important to you that you won't tell any of us about it?" When Klaus didn't reply, Kol took a shot, "Is it your curse?" Klaus's jaw tightened and Kol latched on to it, "Your witch gave you the moonstone! I knew it!"
"Enough Kol!"
"Now that you have the moonstone, you just need the dopplegänger, I imagine that's what you're looking for."
Klaus fought the urge to huff in frustration, now that Kol had latched on to his curse, there was no way he'd let it go, he supposed out of all his siblings Kol would be the best one to discuss the newly discovered failsafe with. "I'm not looking for her yet, I have to deal with an unexpected issue with the curse first."
Kol frowned, "What issue?"
"It appears as though mother added a failsafe to my curse, I kill the dopplegänger to become the Hybrid, but I won't be able to turn any wolves because they need human dopplegänger blood to transition on."
Kol let out a scoff, "Your witch told you this?"
"I confirmed with several others, they communed with the Other Side and all of them were very insistent on the fact that the dopplegänger must be sacrificed and stay dead."
"And of course, mother must have known that there was a chance that you'd break your curse so she wanted to ensure that you'd never be able to make anyone else like you." Kol concluded, it was a terrible but brilliant plan, he would admit to that. "Even from beyond the grave, mother's still screwing with you."
"So you see, even if I find the dopplegänger, I need to work around the failsafe first," Klaus said.
"Well," Kol thought for a moment, "It would be difficult but not impossible to bring her back as human."
"But that still leaves my ability to turn hybrids linked to a fragile human."
Kol leant against the desk he'd tipped the notebooks on and frowned, his mother had never written down her immortality spell, it had been taken from Ayanna and twisted into something darker, he knew the components but didn't know exactly what magics had answered his mother's call, "When we turn a witch into a vampire all they need is normal human blood to transition on. But they lose their magic because you can't be both." That was the only thing that he'd hated about being a vampire, his ability to do magic was ripped from him, without his knowledge or consent, it had hurt him for the longest time. "But a hybrid can be both, it would stand to reason that they would need more than just human blood to transition."
"You think the dopplegänger blood is something that I would have been tied to regardless?" Klaus asked.
Kol shook his head, "No, if it was, mother wouldn't have used her to bind your curse, she would have just found a way to stop her from being born over and over again. I'd need to consult with mother's grimoires, even then the curse is old magic, I don't know anyone that would be able to manipulate it the way you would need."
Klaus quirked an eyebrow, "What if I knew of someone that could understand the magic from our time? A witch of mother's bloodline?"
Kol looked at his brother questioningly, what was his brother talking about? "A witch of mother's blood would be exactly what you need, they'd quite possibly be the only one who could unbind you, without triggering the failsafe. But there is none of her bloodline in existence, we certainly had no children."
"Mother's first child, Freya."
"The one who died of the plague?"
Klaus nodded, "According to Maya, she didn't die, she's been cursed to sleep for a hundred years, her magic gathers in her and then she wakes for a year."
"And you believe her?"
"Do you remember the knight that I'd carved for Rebekah as a child?"
Kol nodded, frowning, he'd been unbearably jealous that Nik had carved it for their sister, he'd been in a mood for a week until Nik had carved a horse for him, he was certain that he still had it hidden away in one of his properties. "Yes."
"It was made of White Oak."
"What?!"
"Maya had a vision, of it being stolen and then fashioned into bullets, one of which was used to murder Elijah."
If it was possible, Kol would have paled at the information, Elijah, dead? The idea didn't bare thinking about, Finn was the oldest, Klaus the most powerful, but Elijah was their backbone, without him, their family would have fallen apart centuries ago. "Tell me you destroyed it Nik!"
"I burnt it to ash the moment I got home, not a splinter of the wood remains, but I never would have known about it if it wasn't for Maya. And when she found the moonstone, mother attacked her from the Other Side, she very nearly killed her."
"Which tells you that in this, Maya can be trusted," Kol said in understanding. "Well then, when are you going to get our big sister?"
"Maya has suggested I send Finn, seeing as how he is the only one of us that Freya actually knows. I feel that our brother needs more time to adjust."
"And you don't trust him."
"Would you?"
"Considering that the last time he was awake he was looking for a way to kill himself when Sage disappeared, no I wouldn't, I still can't believe that he welcomed her back with open arms after she abandoned him."
Klaus smirked, "I'll let you in on a little secret brother, Mikael compelled her away, the compulsion broke when I killed him, but father ensured that Sage could not be in the same city as Finn with the hopes that our brother would break away from us in order to find her."
"Bloody hell, father was such a dick!" Kol couldn't believe that he didn't know that.
"I would like to be more confident in Finn's abilities before I send him out on his own."
"I suppose putting trust into a sister that none of us know isn't something that I would want to do either," Kol said thoughtfully, "I'll go through mother's things, see if I can piece together what she did before you wake our sister." Kol was actually rather excited, it had been centuries since he'd had such complicated project, and he'd never had one that had been approved by Nik before, which meant that Kol had much more leeway, he could reach out to witches and research magics without fear of being daggered. And it would give him the perfect excuse to contact Nik's little witch under the guise of research. He smirked to himself, oh yes, this would be very interesting.
Maya had nearly fallen asleep in her bed when she heard a noise coming from downstairs, her mother was out with her sister, Aunt Miranda wanting to take Jenna out for a girls night to help her relax, and Enzo and Damon were on Whitmore Campus, trying to figure out an innocuous way to kidnap Dr Maxfield, so what had made the noise? She jerked in alarm as she heard a shuffle and a thud come from downstairs. Grabbing her mother's baseball bat, she crept downstairs to see who was trying to get into her house, whoever it was, was messing with the wrong girl.
She slunk through the house, only to find no one there, cursing her imagination she turned to head back upstairs when she heard a scrape come from the front porch. Steeling herself she burst outside, bat raised and stopped just short of cracking the intruder over the head, when she let out a yelp of fright, "Caroline! What the hell are you doing?"
"What am I doing? You weren't answering your phone! What are you doing?! Why do you have a bat?!" Caroline almost screeched, she couldn't believe that Maya had nearly hit her with a baseball bat.
"I thought you were a predator."
"A pre- you have magic Mai, if you think there's a predator outside you freeze them before coming outside!"
"I was half asleep! What are you doing here?"
"I know it's late, but Mom and Dad are arguing again, it's getting pretty loud, I didn't want to be in the house anymore."
Maya scrubbed a hand over her tired face and really looked at Caroline, her parents had been arguing more and more over the past few months and Caroline looked like she was about to break. Grabbing her best friend's hand, she tugged her inside, Caroline had a room set up next to Maya's, fully stocked with clothes and beauty products because the girls liked to spend the night at each other's place more often than not. But Maya knew that Caroline didn't want to spend the night alone, so she pulled her into her room, and grabbed a sleepshirt and shorts for Caroline, "Get changed, and then let's go to sleep, we've got to get to school early in the morning."
Caroline changed and quickly slipped into bed in front of Maya, Maya scooted forward so that Caroline's back was pressed to her front and threw her arm around Caroline's waist, hugging her tight. "Maya?" Caroline whispered.
"Yeah?"
"I think that my Mom and Dad are going to split up."
Maya nuzzled her face into Caroline's hair, offering her comfort, "If that happens, it'll hurt, but you're strong, and you'll get through it, I'll help you get through it."
"What if he tries to take me with him?"
"You're 15, I'm pretty sure that you get a choice about who you want to live with, but if he tries to take you, I'll cast a spell on him! No one's going to make you do something you don't want to do."
Caroline gripped her best friend's hand, of all the things that Maya said, that was the one that she believed the most, she trusted Maya more than anyone, and she trusted that Maya would figure out how to make sure that they weren't separated, she couldn't imagine ever being split from her best friend.
Damon was leant back in a chair, his feet kicked up on a desk as he watched Enzo slice into Wes Maxfield, they'd compelled an apartment in Wes's building and grabbed him up on his way back from work. The gag kept him quiet as Enzo worked on draining the doctor of the vervain in his blood, he smirked at the Doctor's pained groans, it wouldn't be long now, then they'd be able to compel him and find out exactly how far Augustine's reach extended, their hunt would be delicious, every last one of the humans that thought that they could experiment on them, would find out the true meaning of pain before they met their deaths. Damon would hunt every family member and eradicate them from existence, and he would enjoy every single second of it.
He jolted in his seat when his phone rang, grabbing it from his jacket he frowned, there was still a full half hour before they had to check in with Maya, so why was she calling now? "Hello Red, how may I help you?"
Enzo stopped what he was doing and moved over to Damon, even though he didn't need to in order to hear, "Mum's out, so I thought we could talk about Grayson, Enzo said that he wouldn't do anything without talking to me first, but I don't think I can let him live any longer." Maya said, she wished that it hadn't come to this, because this would be something that she would have to keep from her mother, she never wanted to keep anything from Jenna, but she knew that no matter how much Jenna wanted Grayson to pay for what he'd done (if it hadn't have been for him, Augustine wouldn't know about Maya, and Damon never would have been tortured again), she wouldn't be able to handle the guilt of having Grayson's death on her conscience. So, she was taking the choice out of her mother's hands, "Grayson needs to die, but it can't be here, and it can't look like a vampire did it either. Mum can't know about this, she'd never be able to look at Aunt Miranda or Elena or Jeremy again."
"Your uncle's been keeping to town recently," Enzo said, "We'll need to find a way to lure him out."
"That's the other reason I was calling, there's a medical conference that he goes to every year in California, it's coming up soon, it'll be the easiest way to grab him up."
"Are you sure about this sweetheart? He is your family after all."
Maya pursed her lips, she didn't want to admit that the main reason she wanted Grayson to survive was just because that he was a key point in ensuring that Stefan met Elena, it sounded terribly callous when she thought about it like that, "He stopped being my family when I met you Enzo, if it wasn't for him, Damon wouldn't have been taken again."
Damon ignored the way his heart warmed at her words, so uncomfortable with the open affection that Maya was willing to give him, and gave Enzo a smirk, "Awe Red, I didn't know that you cared so much!"
"Shut up Damon, you know that I love you," Maya said, she knew that Damon had a hard time processing people's feeling for him when they weren't disgust or anger (she blamed his father for that), but she didn't care, her heart wasn't fickle, and to those she cared about, she showered them with affection whenever she could. It didn't help that most of the people that she'd chosen to love had such inadequacy complexes, the only one who didn't was Enzo, and that was because he loved just as hard and fiercely as she did. "You two have to promise me that Mom won't find out about this, she needs to believe that Grayson's death is an accident, can you do that?"
"I'll make sure of it sweetheart," Enzo said, he may have to make the death look like a normal human death, but Maya didn't say that he couldn't torture Grayson first.
Hope you enjoyed the Teen Wolf moment!
Notes:
Thank you for reading, if you can please drop a comment, I love getting the feedback!
Chapter 15: Revenge
Notes:
Thank you all so much for the comments and kudos!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Maya was with Caroline, walking over to Elena's house after school, the third Friday of every month was 'family game night' and because Caroline was staying with her for the weekend, she was invited to family night. It happened every so often, that Caroline got to come along, but it always led to extra competitiveness, that inevitably led to fights, so Miranda and Grayson were always weary of Caroline coming along. As the two girls were walking, arm in arm, Maya's phone rang, she looked at the caller ID and flushed when Caroline gave her a smirk.
"You better put that on speaker!" Caroline hissed and Maya pouted, the last thing she needed was for Caroline to have more evidence of their 'flirting'.
Maya cast a quick silencing spell on the immediate area around them and answered, "Hi Nik,"
"Wrong brother darling!"
Maya's eyes widened in alarm, "Kol! Why do you have Nik's phone? How do you have Nik's phone?"
Caroline muted the phone, "Who's that?"
"Nik's baby brother," Maya replied taking the phone off of mute.
"What can I say darling, my brother needs to keep a better eye on his things."
"You know that Nik's going to kick your ass when catches you?"
"He can try," Kol replied amused, he enjoyed Maya's frankness, it was a pleasing contradiction to how most acted around him and his family.
"Why are you calling me Kol?"
"Would you believe that I'm calling just to check on you? To make sure that Augustine hasn't hunted you down and murdered you?"
"No," Maya rolled her eyes and Kol laughed.
"You know you are the first in centuries to speak to me as though I don't frighten you."
"You terrify me Kol, but unlike you I am very mortal, and have very limited time to do what I need to, so I can't afford to let that stop me."
"Well, I do appreciate your honesty." In fact it was something that he admired, it dramatically decreased his desire to murder her just to piss of Nik, if she could hold his interest a little longer, then that desire might disappear altogether.
"What do you want Kol?"
"I need to know, word for word, what you know about Nik's curse, and the failsafe."
"The curse involves the moonstone, and the sacrifice of a werewolf, then a vampire, then the doppelgänger, on a full moon, in the place of her birth. If Nik completes the sacrifice, the Hybrid Curse will be broken, but if he breaks the curse, a failsafe will be triggered, and he won't be able to make any more hybrids, he'll be the only one that exists."
"What makes you think that it's a failsafe, and not an actual component of being a hybrid?"
"Well, to be honest, my magical theory is very limited, mum's not a witch, so everything I know, I taught myself with the help of any grimoire that Enzo and Damon can scrounge up for me. I'd have to get a read on the magic to be certain, but if Esther knew that Nik would need the doppelgänger's blood in order to create other hybrids, why would she have gone about binding his other half the way she did?"
"What do you mean?" Kol asked intrigued, when working on something like this it was always best to get opinions other than your own, and he was curious to hear her thoughts on the curse.
"If in fact doppelgänger blood was integral to the creation of hybrids then she wouldn't have made the curse so easy to break."
Kol let out a laugh, "You think breaking the curse is easy?"
"Think about it, a werewolf and vampire, easy to find, Mikaelson magic is bound into a very small, easily transportable stone. Plus doppelgängers are naturally occurring, she had to have known another would appear eventually."
"The doppelgänger only exists because of the Hybrid Curse in order to ensure balance." Kol said, all of his siblings knew that.
"No she doesn't," Maya replied, baffled that Kol of all people didn't know the truth, "Esther used Tatia's blood to create the Originals because it held powerful magical properties, if Tatia wasn't already a doppelgänger then her blood wouldn't have the properties that could be used."
"You're saying that Tatia wasn't the first," Kol replied.
"No, Tatia was a Shadow Self, whatever the reason that the doppelgänger exists, it wasn't to specifically break the curse, Esther just piggy backed on to existing magic! Esther specifically weaved the failsafe into the curse, probably because she figured that when the next one appeared, Nik would just sacrifice her without a thought, ending the line for good."
Kol had to sit down, it was like being hit by a freight train, he couldn't believe that he thought that normal human blood had been used the immortality spell, with a spell as powerful as his mother's, of course more than regular ingredients would be needed. "If I can figure out a way around the failsafe, do you think hybrids would transition on regular blood?"
"I think that with the creation of the Originals, Nature fought back as much as she could without disrupting the balance, I think that you have to look at balance when figuring out how Nik will be able to sire hybrids."
"What balance?"
"When a mortal becomes a vampire, they have to transition on mortal blood, it's the beginning and the end of their life. When a werewolf becomes a hybrid, there has to be a balance there too."
"You think that they would have to transition on werewolf blood?"
Maya's eyes widened as information popped into her head, information that she certainly didn't know before, "I think that that they need to transition on Nik's blood! Think about it Kol! The vampire part of him is dead, but the werewolf is very much alive, he's the end and the beginning!"
"That's the reason why the failsafe exists!" Kol said with realisation, "Nik has an endless supply of his own blood! Mother would most certainly wish to keep that hidden from him!" Kol stood, he had to get back to his mother's grimoires now that his research had taken a new turn, "It was a pleasure talking to you darling!"
He hung up before Maya could answer and she turned to face a stern looking Caroline, "Klaus is a vampire and a werewolf?!"
Maya looked at her sheepishly, "Shit did I forget to tell you?"
"I think I would remember if you told me something like that Mai!"
"Oh crap," Maya had so much going on, that she'd also completely forgotten to fill Caroline in on Tyler's little 'puppy' problem as well, Caroline was not going to be happy with her. "There may have been something else I forgot to tell you."
"Damn it Maya!"
Damon was hidden in a dark corner of a restaurant in California, frowning as he watched Grayson pay for dinner with his colleagues. Enzo was waiting in the Gilbert patriarch's car, unwilling to go far, but unable to be out in the open without alerting the doctor to his presence. Damon followed as the group of humans walked out of the door and waited for them to split up and head to their own vehicles. Damon made noise when Grayson reached his car and stood directly behind him, when Grayson heard the noise he turned quickly, trained to react like a hunter would but he'd never been taken by surprise by a vampire before, "Hi doc," he said sinisterly, before knocking him out and stuffing him into the car. "You got a place picked out to take him?" Damon asked, "We can't play for long." They could only hold Grayson for so long before people would think him missing, which meant that Enzo had a limited time to get his revenge, because Grayson needed to be in perfect health when he had his 'accident', and he couldn't have vampire blood in his system when he died.
"I set up a shipping container outside of town, that way we won't have to keep him quiet while we have fun."
Damon smirked, "Perfect," he was going to enjoy watching Enzo work.
Grayson woke with a start, his hands tied above him tightly, holding him so high that his toes barely brushed the ground, he'd been stripped naked and left in a dark dank room by himself. Looking around, he couldn't see anything, there was no sunlight, no light from the moon, or the street or cars. He couldn't hear anything! Where was he? His head jerked up as he heard the scraping noise of metal on metal come from somewhere behind him. A strip of light fell across the room and Grayson saw a shadow pass through it, and then another. His heart pounded; he could feel the fear flood his whole being. He heard two heavy thumps come from behind him and suddenly the entire room was lit up brightly, he squinted at the light, trying to see if he could tell where he was and then jerked back as far as he could when a man appeared in front of him.
"Hello Doctor," Enzo said, his mouth set in a firm line, eyes already revealing the monster within, "Did you miss me?"
"Oh God!" Grayson tugged at his arms, frantically trying to escape, this couldn't be happening! "12144," he whispered, he was going to die, he was never going to see Jeremy or Elena or his beautiful wife Miranda again.
"My name's Lorenzo, I'd tell you to remember it, but you won't live long enough for it to matter."
"Don't forget me," Damon said amused, stepping into view.
Grayson's eyes widened, "You! You were in the hospital with Jenna! Oh God, what did you do to Jenna?"
Enzo growled, this pathetic creature had no right to accuse them of anything, "Meet Damon Salvatore."
"Or as you might have known me 21051," Damon said, "Enzo and I are old friends, and when he said that he was going to torture and then murder one of his captors, well I said count me in!"
Enzo grinned, wanting to twist the knife in deeper, before he started the actual torture, "And we haven't done anything to Jenna, why would we, when she was the one that got me out."
If it was possible, Grayson would have paled even further, "What?"
"Little Maya, the witch that you tried to sell to your sick little organisation, she used her power to rip the door from it's frame, fed me blood, even made me this delightful little daylight ring," he wiggled his fingers, showing off the piece of jewellery, "And Jenna was by her side for the whole thing. They know what you are Grayson, your whole family does, and they don't care what happens to you."
"NO!"
Damon moved in closer, "Oh yes, in fact, your pretty little niece told us exactly where you'd be, practically begged us to make you suffer, just like you wanted her to."
"No I-"
"There's no use denying it," Enzo cut him off, "We found Maxfield, found out everything, once we're done with you, we're going to kill every last member of Augustine out there."
"I'm going to wipe your family from existence, of course we'll keep Maya and Jenna around, they are so very tasty." Damon taunted and grinned at the uptick in Grayson's heartbeat and the increase in the scent of fear in the air.
"Enough talk," Enzo said, "We're nothing but monsters to you, now you're going to see just how right you are!" his fangs came out and he lunged.
Grayson screamed.
It was an ice-cold Monday in January when Miranda Gilbert found Sheriff Forbes and Bill Forbes at her front door, "Liz! Bill, what are you doing here?" Miranda said surprised, she was trying to usher the kids out the door for school, but the look on the Sheriff's face stopped her.
"Miranda, we need to talk, may we come in?"
Miranda pushed a curious Elena and Jeremy out of the way and stepped back from the door, inviting the two in. "Mom what's going on?" Elena asked.
"Go upstairs Elena."
"Mum-"
"NOW Elena! And take your brother with you!"
Elena jumped back in shock at her mother's raised voice, she gripped Jeremy's wrist and dragged him up to her room, "Elena!" Jeremy said struggling against her harsh grip.
"Quiet Jere! I'm trying to hear what mom's saying!" Jeremy stopped struggling and strained his hearing, he could pick up nothing but muffled voices.
Miranda was sat on the couch in the den with Liz sat across from her and Bill next to her, "Miranda, I'm so sorry to have to tell you this," she reached out and took Miranda's hands in her own. "I received a call from the San Diego police department this morning, Grayson went out to dinner last night, with some colleagues from the convention, he was parked away from the rest of his party, and on his walk back to his car, he was shot and killed by a mugger. I'm so sorry Miranda."
"What?" Miranda asked, "No, that's not- he can't be- he's not dead, he's on a flight back to Virginia right now! He's going to be home for lunch!" she denied, shaking her head.
Liz tightened her grip on her friend's hands, "Miranda they found his ID on him, one of his colleagues identified the body."
"NO!" Miranda ripped herself from the Sheriff's grasp, shooting to her feet, "No! He's not dead! I spoke to him last night! You're wrong, it's not him!" she sobbed, "It can't be!"
Liz stood and pulled her friend into her arms, holding onto the shaking woman, tightly, she looked over at her husband, 'Call Jenna,' she mouthed, "I'm so sorry," Liz whispered into the other woman's hair, she would offer as much comfort as she could, while they waited for Miranda's sister to show up.
Jeremy, Elena and Miranda had all moved into Jenna's house a few days after news of Grayson's death broke in the town. It was only temporary, just until the three of them could walk into their own house without being hit with an onslaught of memories of Grayson. It had been ten days since his death, and the funeral was tomorrow. Jeremy had been a mess, he was only 13, he had no frame of reference for the kind of loss that he was suffering. He'd taken up residence in Caroline's room, the one next to Maya's and more often than not, she would awake to him crawling into her bed and she would curl around him and hold him while he cried.
Maya had never felt guilt like this before, she was the reason Grayson was dead now, there was no doubt about it, she thought that she could handle it, but there was a difference between killing people that she didn't know and signing off on the death of a person that you'd grown up with. Her Aunt Miranda was practically a zombie, she spent her days in bed, barely ate, barely slept, barely talked. Jenna was running herself ragged taking care of her. If Miranda was a zombie, Elena was a ghost, she just didn't come out of her room, she made no noise whatsoever, the only evidence that she was still there was the fact that food was placed outside of her room, and it was eaten and the empty plates were left to be collected. Maya would have been annoyed if she hadn't felt so bad, with just a few words, she'd broken her family.
The sniffle she'd heard coming from Jeremy's room was the last straw, she needed some time out of the house, time to deal with what she'd done, she needed to talk to someone. She left the house without saying anything, instead of taking the well worn path between her house and Caroline's, she headed into the woods that surrounded her home. Maya couldn't talk to her mother about this obviously, and laying her problems at Caroline's feet would have been a disaster, not because Caroline wouldn't have supported her, she would have, but Caroline shouldn't have to deal with her issues when she was dealing with her parent's problems. Speaking to Damon and Enzo was out, they were the ones that tortured and killed Grayson, she didn't want to make them feel guilty, because they deserved to have their revenge, Enzo especially. In the end there was only one person that she could talk to.
Sitting down, she cast a quick silencing spell and video called Klaus, "Good Morning Little Siphon."
"Hi Nik," she gave him a tired smile.
"To what do I owe this love? You're three days early for our regular catch up." Klaus was in his studio, his sleeves rolled up, paint stains on his hands, an uncharacteristic relaxation in his eyes.
"If I said that I was just calling to talk to you, would you believe me?"
"I would, if not for that look in your eyes."
"What look?" Maya asked.
"That look of guilt, it has been centuries since I have felt it myself, but I remember it well."
Maya bit her lip to stop it from wobbling, "I guess you heard about Uncle Grayson."
"Are you feeling regret, over his death?" Klaus tilted his head and settled on the couch in his studio, she was definitely upset about something.
Shaking her head, Maya gave a weak laugh, "I wish that was my problem, I could deal with that, but I hurt my family Nik, I broke them, Jeremy, Aunt Miranda, hell I'm even feeling terrible about what this has done to Elena! Jeremy can't stop crying and I have to be there to comfort him, every time, and I'm the reason that his dad is dead. How am I supposed to do that?!"
"Your uncle spent years torturing vampires, because he believed that there is no difference between them and monsters, I may not disagree with that view, but if you hadn't have given Enzo your blessing, do you think that Damon would have waited much longer? Especially after he was captured?"
"No," Maya conceded, with everything she knew about Damon, the fact that he'd held back as much as he had was admirable.
"What you gave your family, was closure, Damon and Enzo made your uncle's death look like an every day, run of the mill occurrence. People in big cities are mugged all the time, it's unfortunate but true, not only that, but the 'mugger' was caught and arrested, your family has someone to blame, someone to let their anger out on. You said it yourself, Grayson was destined to die."
"Yeah, with Aunt Miranda, I didn't realise how much this would hurt her! I think of Grayson as a monster, I forgot that Aunt Miranda didn't."
"Well then perhaps as penance, you could ensure that she doesn't meet her intended end? Give your cousins a parent that they can keep."
"Make sure that Aunt Miranda lives just to assuage my own guilt? That's a little selfish don't you think?"
"I don't think it'll matter to your cousins love, all they'll know, is that they don't have to mourn another loss." Klaus shrugged, he didn't care about being selfish, as far as he was concerned, selfishness was the best way to ensure ones survival, the longer she spent with him, the more that Maya would understand and come to embrace it.
"So!" she tucked her hair behind her ear, not wanting to discuss her problems any further, "Tell me what's going on with you, did you know that Kol's been in contact with me?"
Klaus frowned at the reminder, when he found Kol messing with his phone, he'd thrown his brother through the window of his bedroom, causing quite a stir to the people down below, that was a lot of compulsion that he had to dole out, very quickly in order to ensure that their presence was not noted by the rest of the community. "I do, how was that?"
"Aside from the occasional threats? Pretty good actually, he's been working really hard on that breakthrough that he came to on your curse, and he has sent me several grimoires on older linking spells, and sleep curses, so that I can try to figure out how to break through Freya's curse. I think he's taken it upon himself to be my teacher."
"I hate to say it, but he's probably the best person to teach you, Kol does have 1000 years' worth of magical knowledge to draw from."
"But he's so cocky!" Maya whined, "He's always 'darling' this and 'pretty thing' that, not to mention that I think he's trying to woo me away from you, make himself my favourite Original."
Klaus's low growl sent shivers down her spine, "And what do you say to him then?"
"What is there to say?" she asked, "I tell him that I like working with you, I like talking to you, that we're friends, but it doesn't deter him."
"I'll have a talk with him later, set some things straight."
"You still haven't told me what you've been up to," Maya reminded him, she wanted to be distracted now, "Have you sent Finn to get Freya yet?"
"I'd rather have you do it."
"What?!"
"I'd rather you go to New Orleans, I don't trust Finn."
"Nik New Orleans is full of witches! Do I have to remind you of how they react to my kind?!"
"I don't trust that Finn won't abscond with our sister, and leave me in the lurch with my curse."
"But that still puts me in danger, if I even bump into someone accidentally, it'll tell the witches what I am."
"Speak to Kol first, see if he has a spell that could cloak your magical signature."
"Then he has to know what I am, Nik are you prepared for that?"
"Prepared for what?"
"Prepared to share, don't act like you don't enjoy the fact that you have something that Kol's never seen before."
"Well, it's nice to know that you agree that you're mine." Klaus mused.
"Shut up Nik! You know what I mean!"
Klaus laughed, maybe she hadn't meant to say it, but it didn't make it any less true, she belonged to him. "I'll tell Kol what he needs to know, but if he can give you something that can cloak you, you will go yes?"
"It'll have to be in the summer, I can't really afford to take any more time off of school."
"I'll have him contact you soon. Goodbye my Little Siphon."
"I'm not yours," Maya grumbled in annoyance, hanging up, she was never going to live that slip of the tongue down, Klaus wouldn't let her.
It was March, and the Gilberts had finally moved back home, they'd stayed with Maya and Jenna for a lot longer than anticipated, and it finally took Maya volunteering to pack up Grayson's things for her aunt, for Miranda to snap out of her funk. Her aunt appreciated her niece's thoughtfulness but had decided that she needed to be the one to take care of her husband's things.
In order to give her mother some time alone, Maya had spent the day in the Library, Jenna was relaxing in her room when she heard noises from Maya's bedroom, finally her daughter was home. Getting up Jenna headed to Maya's room, "Hey Maya, I'm gonna go to…" she reached Maya's room but there was no one there, "Sleep." She trailed off, sighing she turned around to go back to her room, where was her daughter? She heard a thud and froze, hearing more noises she grabbed her bat from the hallway closet and poked her head back into her daughter's room, just in time to see someone come through the window. Rushing in and raising the bat over her head she screamed and the person in Maya's room screamed too, shielding themselves from the possible onslaught.
"Caroline!" Jemma yelled, realising who it was, she lowered the bat, heart pounding in her chest, "What the hell are you doing here?!"
"What am I doing?! God do either of you even play baseball?!" Caroline yelled back.
"What?!"
The lights turned on the room, both of them turned to the door and Maya walked in, sighing Jenna moved over to her, "Can you please tell your friend to use the front door?"
"But we lock the front door, she wouldn't be able to get in."
"Yeah, exactly!" Jenna tossed the bat on Maya's bed, "You know what, that's about enough parenting for me, so good night." She stormed out of the room annoyed that her relaxation had been ruined.
"Night mom!" Maya called and then looked back at Caroline, "What's up Sunshine? I'm sure my phone was on this time."
"Dad left," Caroline replied quietly.
"Oh Care," Maya wrapped her arms around Caroline and pulled her in for a tight hug, "I'm so sorry." That was all it took for Caroline to break down in sobs, she buried her face in Maya's hair, returning the hug with much more fervour, her whole life was changing, and she didn't know what to do. "Oh Sunshine, I'm right here, whatever you need, I'm right here."
"Ca-Can I stay here tonight?" she hiccoughed, looking up at Maya with tear filled eyes.
"Of course you can, come here." She tugged Caroline to the bed, she knew exactly what Caroline needed, and luckily for them both, it was the weekend, Caroline would have plenty of time to get her tears out, before school on Monday.
Notes:
If you have time, please drop a comment, I love getting the feedback!
Chapter 16: New Orleans
Chapter Text
"Did you get my latest care package darling?" Kol asked, kicking his feet up on his desk, after he'd taken over the research on his brother's curse, he'd demanded a place in the penthouse of his own to work. Elijah had his library, Rebekah had practically a whole floor just to herself and her clothes, and Finn had a private garden on the roof where he could escape the rest of the family, so Kol didn't see why he shouldn't have a space for himself as well.
"I did, I cast the glamour over myself, and I think that it worked, Damon's taking me to meet an old witch friend of his in Georgia to test it out, if it doesn't work then he said he'd kill her."
"Good, have you had a chance to go through the linking spells?"
"I looked through them, I have an idea of what I could do, but you'll need to show me how to read the spell that's on Freya when we get to New York," Maya replied.
"You're not planning on waking my sister while you're in New Orleans?"
"I don't think that's a great idea, I mean she won't know me, I'm not family, and she's been asleep for almost a century, I feel like getting her on a plane would be an issue. Plus the spell on Freya is so contrived that I'm sure that I'll have to do more than just an unlinking."
"Walk me through your thought process darling," when it came to magic, Kol was very serious, he liked to have fun, he liked to flirt, but he was actually trying to teach Maya about something that he loved, and he wanted to ensure that she received the best education, a Mikaelson never did things by half measures.
By now, Maya was used to this from Kol, in addition to her bi-weekly check ins with Klaus, Kol had wanted to speak with her at least three times a week, and have at least one video call in order for him to see the progress that she was making with magic. He'd sent her grimoires, while Klaus had sent her old magical objects that she could siphon in order to keep practicing. "The sleeping curse is on both Freya and the woman that she's running from, it was a way for them to cheat mortality, and they're linked together. If I break the link then whoever's on the other end of the spell wakes up, if I just wake Freya, again, the person linked to her wakes up. I don't think the answer is in breaking the link."
"What's the answer then?"
"I think that we need a way to transfer the link, temporarily to another person, maybe link Freya to one of your siblings in order to ensure that both ends of the spell are tethered to something."
"And how would you do that?"
Maya rubbed her hands over her face and groaned, magical theory made her head hurt, there were so many rules and so many different types of magic that could be used, "I'm not sure, I feel like if I used anything close to the magic that has cursed Freya it would unintentionally alert whoever's on the other end. I almost think that I should use a magic that I'm not used to, I mean Freya had to have gone to New Orleans for more than just your family, it's a city of magic." She paused for a moment, she was missing something, what was she missing, "She went there to try to break the spell, or to hide? No not hide, to mask! Kol what about Voodoo? Could I turn another person, or vampire into a Voodoo Doll? Trick the magic into thinking that it's still connected to Freya?"
Kol gave her a genuine smile, Maya was an excellent student, she could follow as well as lead, and though her way of dealing with problems wasn't like his own, she rotated the problem instead of attacking it head on like he did, he recognised that there was always more than one way to solve an issue, "That's excellent thinking darling, if you can get a read on the magic of her link, there's a good chance that we could trick it into connecting with someone else, preferably a vampire so that we don't have to worry about keeping the person fed."
"I don't know much about Voodoo, in fact I know next to nothing about it."
"I can teach you what I know, and the rest you can learn while you're in New Orleans, once you've got Freya out of her prison, then you can spend some time there a learn from the New Orleans witches, at least as long as that glamour works. Call me as soon as you've tested it out."
"I will, thanks Kol."
Outside of Kol's workroom, Finn stood frozen, he hadn't meant to eavesdrop on his younger brother, he'd just been passing by, but then Kol had said Freya's name, referred to her as his sister, suggested that she was still alive and cursed somewhere in New Orleans. His gut instinct was to rush in and force answers from his brother, but he knew that Kol would never give anything up to him, and he was more likely to receive a dagger through his heart than answers. His only option was to spy on his younger siblings, Niklaus and Kol had been working together on something in secret, was this it? He'd have to find out, and find out soon, because it sounded like someone was going to collect his sister and wake her up in a world that moved far ahead of what she could understand.
It was May when Caroline came marching into the Sommers' home, determination written all over her face. She burst into Maya's room, startling the girl so badly that she tipped her chair backwards and hit the floor with a grunt, she'd been video chatting with Klaus, leaning back in her chair, keeping it balanced on two legs. "Oof!" she groaned, "Damn it Caroline!"
"Get off the phone, we need to talk!" Caroline demanded.
Maya glanced at her phone, Klaus was on the other end looking very amused, "Nik, I'm going to have to call you back later!" she hung up before he could comment and pulled herself up from the floor. "What has got you looking like a woman on a mission?" she rubbed her shoulder with a scowl, that fall had hurt.
"You are spending the summer in New Orleans and New York!"
"I already told you this Sunshine, what's the deal?" she threw herself onto her bed, relaxing into it.
"You're spending the whole summer without me!" Caroline looked petulant, in the weeks after her father had left Caroline had wallowed, blamed herself, blamed her mom, and cried more than she had since she was a kid. But eventually she'd focussed on her projects and committees with such an intensity that she'd already taken several of them from the older girls who usually ran them. Sheriff Forbes had been very similar and thrown herself into her own work, she was barely home, and Caroline ended up having family dinner with Maya and Jenna more often than not.
"Caroline we've talked about this, if I could take you with me I would."
"Well why can't you take me with you?!"
"Because your mother is not going to let her 15 year-old daughter go on a vacation with me to two different party cities over the summer, especially because Mom's not going with me, it's just me and Damon and Enzo."
"You can't leave me here alone Maya! Mom's thrown herself so far into her work, she didn't come home for three days last week, three days! Please don't leave me alone here! You promised you wouldn't." That was a low blow and she knew it, Maya had promised never to leave Caroline, and Caroline was not about using that promise to get what she wanted.
"The only way you're mom's going to agree to this is if you can get her off her vervain and then one of the guys can compel her, tell her that they can be trusted and that you deserve to have a fun vacation. That she wouldn't spend the summer worrying about you getting into trouble at home just because you're bored. Is that what you want?"
"That's the only way she'll agree?" Caroline deflated, she wasn't sure how she felt about compulsion, she'd never experienced it and she wasn't sure about taking someone's free will away.
"What do you think Care? You know your mom better than I do."
Caroline frowned, "That's all they'd compel her to do? Trust me to go on vacation with you guys?"
"I can make sure of it, but you'd have to be sure that it's what you want."
"Let me think about it," she turned on her heel and started walking out of the room, "Hurry up and get dressed, I'm not letting you miss a single cheer practice!"
Rolling her eyes, Maya moved to her closet and pulled out her uniform, there had to be a way to get out of being on the cheer team without hurting Caroline's feelings, because she wasn't sure just how much she could take.
July of 2008 had Maya, Damon and Enzo stepping out of the Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans (Maya had managed to convince Caroline to meet them in New York, because she didn't want to risk her). After that it was only a half hour drive to the French Quarter, Enzo had bought an apartment there when he found out that the Quarter didn't just belong to witches, but also vampires. He'd put it in Maya's name, so that no vampire would be able to get in, Maya had just been excited to own real estate and of course had a little fun with keeping Damon out of the apartment, he'd called her a 'little magic sucker,' so she'd messed with him a little, finally giving in when he'd given Enzo his puppy dog eyes.
"What are we doing first?" Damon asked, New Orleans was a vampire city and as much as he was here for Maya's protection, he wanted to have some fun of his own.
"First I have to go and present myself to the Regent here," Maya replied, Kol had given her a crash course in how the witches in New Orleans worked, and the Regent of the Nine Covens needed to accept her in the city so that she didn't have to worry about being attacked by magic users while she was on guard from all the vampires in the city.
"Who?"
"The Regent of the Nine Covens, she's in charge of all of the witches in New Orleans, and she's the only one who can open the cottage for me to get Freya out, so pissing her off isn't an option."
"You're not going alone," Enzo stated.
"Enzo-"
"No," he shook his head, "There are vampires and witches everywhere, we may not be able to go into the witch's house with you, but we're going to be with you up until that point."
"Enzo I don't want to piss the Regent off, we need her to open that cottage."
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't you just siphon the spell keeping it locked?" Damon asked.
"I could, but the Dowager Fauline Cottage, it's a combination of witch prison and sanatorium, if I siphon the spell, it's gone for good, and then I'm responsible for letting a bunch of crazy slash homicidal witches out into the world! I don't want that on my conscience, plus it'll really piss off the witches here, and I'm not good enough to take on nine covens."
"I guess you have a point there Sabrina," Damon conceded, he didn't really care about people getting hurt, but keeping the peace in the Quarter was probably a good idea. Especially considering his last conversation with Nik had told him how much the Original loved this city.
"The Regent hate's vampires," Maya said.
"I don't care," Enzo said.
"But-"
"No, you are fifteen, your mother put me in charge and I promised that I wouldn't let you out of my sight."
"Also Nik threatened to tear out our spines if we let anything happen to you," Damon pointed out unhelpfully.
Maya let out a frustrated growl, "The Regent hates vampires! I need to make sure she doesn't think of me as a threat! And we need to get Freya out of that crazy house before one of you," she looked pointedly at Damon, "pisses off whoever's in charge of the vampires in the city."
"Why are looking at me?" Damon protested, "Enzo pisses people off too!"
"Not the way that you do," Enzo muttered, amused.
"Hey!"
"Guys! There's no discussion here, you can walk me to the Cauldron, but then you're leaving, you can wait for me to be done, and I will call immediately to come and get me."
"If anything happens-"
"I swear Enzo, I'll be careful, I'll be selfish, okay?" she said, referring to the conversation that they'd had when she'd been in the hospital. "I promise."
Enzo nodded, albeit reluctantly, he knew that he was going to have to allow her to do this, she needed this, and Nik would probably kill him if he hindered her, after all, they were here to pick up his sister. "Fine."
The next morning, Maya, Damon and Enzo were out on the streets of the French Quarter, she noticed one or two vampires out, they weren't watching her specifically, but looked as though they were keeping an eye on things. As they'd left the apartment, she'd found a note attached to the door, she must have brushed up against a witch on her way into the Quarter and they'd let the Regent know that she was here. The note had an address and time, and Maya was going to make sure that she wasn't late, she'd siphoned plenty of magic from Damon and Enzo, her necklace was topped up with magic, and she'd re-charged Kol's glamour spell, because there was no way she was going to get out of her meeting with the Regent without coming into contact with her.
Standing outside the Regent's house she took a couple of deep breaths, "Don't freak out," she muttered, before she steeled herself and strode up to the door, ringing the bell, she waited to be invited in. The doors opened and a woman wordlessly stepped back, inviting her inside. Swallowing, Maya stepped inside the Regent's home, she repressed a gasp as she felt the power in the home, she knew that the Regent was powerful, but this was the first time she'd felt another witch's power before. "I believe Regent LaRue is expecting me," she said to the woman, who nodded.
"She is, follow me."
They walked into a warm living room, the Regent was sat in a chair with a blanket over her lap, there was a tea set out in front of her. Maya stood in front of the woman, not sitting until she'd been directed to, "Regent LaRue," Maya inclined her head in greeting, she needed to be respectful, but not to the point where it looked like she was kissing arse.
"Take a seat," the Regent gestured, and Maya sat down, "Tea?"
"No thank you," Kol had told her not to drink anything that had been presented to her by the Regent, it may be seen as disrespectful, but she couldn't afford to be potentially drugged.
"I see you received my invitation."
"I did, considering I only got into town last night, I assume one of your witches spotted me in the Quarter."
"I like to be well informed when outsiders come to my city, Miss Sommers."
"I know," Maya replied, not showing how startled she was the Josephine LaRue knew her name, "That's why I came."
"I normally don't concern myself with witches that are passing through, but I have been told that you are keeping the company of two vampires."
"I don't really see how that's any of your business," Maya said a little sharply, the protectiveness she felt for her vampires coming through.
"Witches are servants of nature, vampires are abominations, it makes me very suspicious of your reasons for being here. Witches do not work for vampires unless they are dabbling in the dark."
Maya fought the urge to throw the tea in Josephine's face, that would not go well for her when she was surrounded by witches, "I don't work for vampires, I'm here on behalf of my coven, those vampires are my family regardless of what you believe them to be. There's nothing that they wouldn't do to keep me safe, and this city isn't exactly safe."
Regent LaRue frowned, a witch referring to vampires as family was just as abhorrent as the vampires themselves. "I find it hard to believe that a coven would send someone so young to New Orleans, especially to ask for something from the Regent."
"Perhaps I'm the only one who can give the Regent something in return for what I need."
"And what is it you need?"
"100 years ago a witch belonging to my coven was cursed to sleep, and then hidden away in the Dowager Fauline Cottage, so that we could not get to her. She's still there, and I've been told that you have the power to open the Cottage and let me get her out."
Josephine scoffed, "There's no one in that Cottage that doesn't belong there." She would have sensed that if there was someone in there if they weren't meant to be.
"My vampires are over 100 years-old, they know what they saw, and my coven can feel our sister's magic still alive, locked in this city, I'm just the first that's able to offer you something in return to free her."
"What could you possibly offer me, that I cannot get for myself?" despite her age, Josephine's power was still thrumming through her veins.
"I can remove the hex," Maya said, as a girl Josephine LaRue had been a violinist, and she was going to run away with a musician, her mother had hexed her hands so that they became gnarled with arthritis, meaning that she could never play her violin again.
"No one has been able to reverse the hex on my hands, you expect me to believe that a child can?"
"I said remove, not reverse." Kol had been teaching her how to differentiate between different forms of magic, spells felt different to curses, both felt differently to hexes and all three felt different to a witch's intrinsic magic. Unfortunately, the spell that had been cast on the Originals was considered a curse, and she couldn't differentiate between the immortality curse and the hybrid curse placed on Klaus, she couldn't siphon him without fear of removing the wrong thing.
"Prove it."
Maya laughed, "You want me to remove your hex without getting an agreement from you on what I want? That's not happening."
"Remove the hex on one hand, allow me to see that you truly have the capability of doing what you say, then I will think about your request." Josephine didn't want to jump at what Maya was offering, many witches had come to her with similar offers, fixing her hands for power, but hexes typically could not be broken, and her mother had always been very apt at them.
Maya gave it some thought, she could remove the magic on Regent LaRue's hands, it was risky, but she knew it was the only thing that would convince the Regent to give her access to the Cottage. "May I have a pen and paper?" she asked and one of Josephine's girls appeared at her side and handed them to her. Maya wrote down a few things, she needed to make it look like an actual spell, and when she worked on one of Josephine's hands she had to make sure the actual siphoning was hidden, "I'll need these ingredients, an opaque bowl and a black towel." She turned to look at Josephine, "When she comes back, I want your people gone, I'm not letting them see what I do, I'm not giving them the chance to replicate my work on your other hand."
Elijah left his library to find his brothers, Niklaus and Kol were up to something, he wondered at how quickly things had changed, 10 months ago he and Kol had both been suspicious of Niklaus and now both of his younger brothers were conspiring together, whispering behind closed doors, meetings in magically silenced studies and studios. Niklaus had even given Kol a place to work on his magic obsession, and he'd had never done that before. What had Kol discovered? What was Niklaus hiding from the rest of his siblings? And how had he convinced Kol to keep it quiet? Elijah decided he would first speak with Finn, his older brother was so quiet when Sage was not there that he was easy to forget, it was probable that he'd heard something without even trying to eavesdrop. If Finn didn't know anything then he would enlist Rebekah's help, his sister had also been left out of whatever Niklaus was planning, and that was unusual enough that it wouldn't take much to persuade her to snoop through their brother's things.
First Elijah went to Finn's room, he wasn't there, which was not unusual, he enjoyed spending most of his time in the garden that had been built for him. But his brother wasn't there either, tilting his head in thought he pulled out his phone and called Finn. Finn's phone was ringing upstairs, from his room, maybe he'd just forgotten it? Finn had obviously had the hardest time adjusting to the modern world and had not taken to keeping his phone with him all the time. Elijah called Sage next, but was shocked to find that her phone was also ringing upstairs, she had no reason to leave her phone here. Where was his brother?
"Niklaus!" he called, "Kol! Rebekah!" he whooshed upstairs and met his siblings on the landing of the second floor.
"Elijah?" Rebekah asked, "What is it?"
"Finn's missing," he said.
Kol rolled his eyes, "Oh please, he's probably just out with Sage, you know he loves spending time away from us."
"He left his phone here, and so did Sage, I can see Finn forgetting his phone, but Sage wouldn't, I demanded that she remain contactable at all times when she is out with our brother, because I know that he's been having difficulties." Elijah replied.
Kol whooshed into Finn's room and came out with both phones, unlocking his brother's phone he browsed through the recent search history and spotted something he knew would not make Nik happy, "Well there's nothing of use in there," he shrugged, shoving the phone into his pocket, "And I don't know Sage's passcode."
"How do you know Finn's code?" Klaus asked annoyed, reminding himself that he needed to change his own, again.
"His code's 1234, he's not great with technology," all the new tech had been Kol's favourite thing since he'd woken up, the information available at his fingertips was astonishing.
"Elijah, Finn's favourite place to eat is 'Sofia's Wine Bar and Café' go and check there first, Rebekah, Finn loves the 'Conservatory Garden' in Central Park, see if he's there, he also enjoys the 'Glass Waterfall Tunnel', the 'Pomander Walk', and the 'Old City Hall Subway Station'. Kol, try and break into Sage's phone, I will check in a witch about doing a locator spell if we still can't find him." Klaus said and took in their looks of astonishment that all three were giving him, "What?"
"How do you know all those things about Finn?" Rebekah asked, from what she'd seen, Nik had barely paid attention to Finn, she hadn't even seen them say more than a few words at a time to each other. Kol and Elijah wanted to know as well.
"I know where all of your favourite spots are in the city," when they still didn't say anything he rolled is eyes, "This isn't surprising, I like to know things! Go find our brother!" he spun on his heel and headed for his study.
The siblings split up and when he was sure that they had gone, Kol followed Klaus into his study, taking out Finn's phone he tossed it to his brother, "Take a look at what Finn searched last."
Unlocking the device, Klaus's eyes hardened as he looked at the search history, "Did you tell him?"
"Haven't said a word to him," Kol shook his head, "if I had it wouldn't have made any difference because we still need a witch for the spell."
"Bloody hell," Klaus groaned, he knew things were running too smoothly for him, "Keep our brother and sister busy, I'll call Damon and Enzo, warn them to be on the lookout for Finn and his lover."
Maya had mixed the ingredients in the bowl, creating a dark, almost black concoction, she'd mixed several herbs that promoted healing along with some potions that were meant to purify, "Place your left hand in there," she said, daring Josephine to refuse.
The Regent looked her suspiciously, but complied, if she refused she would look weak, Maya rolled up her sleeve gripped Josephine's hand in hers in the concoction, she took the towel with her other hand and covered the bowl and their hands. If the concoction wasn't dark enough to hide her siphoning, then the towel certainly would. Closing her eyes she stretched out her senses, she could feel when she brushed up against Josephine's natural magic and then delved deeper to find the hex. Closing her eyes she felt out the hex, and could feel that it was intertwined with Josephine's magic, it was no wonder no one could fix it, the hex was feeding off of the Regent's own magic, so any time someone tried to heal her hands, they didn't delve deeper to clear out the hex, it was like mould, if you didn't get rid of all of it, it would just grow back.
Opening her eyes, she looked at Josephine, "The hex is completely intertwined with your magic, I can heal your hand temporarily, remove the hex from this hand and put up a temporary block, but it can't be removed unless I remove the whole thing, and I'm not willing to do that without getting what I want. So, what would you like me to do?"
Josephine regarded her with critical eye, the girl didn't seem as though she was lying, and no one had discovered the truth behind the hex on their own, Josephine knew of course, she'd known for decades, but for her the only way to remove the hex was to give up her magic, and that was something that she had never been willing to do. "Heal my hand," she said, "Show me what you can do."
Maya nodded and closed her eyes again, as she started to siphon the hex from one hand she began to chant, "Spirituum hei obstructionum." Repeating the words over and over she could feel her spell take effect.
Josephine felt her fingers unfurl, straightening for the first time in five decades, the pain that had always been associated with the arthritis disappeared as well, the Regent was so overwhelmed she almost missed the feel of Maya's magic, the magic she'd used on her felt exactly like her mother's, felt exactly like her own, how was she doing this? Maya opened her eyes, and removed her hand from the bowl, wiping it on the towel, before handing it to the Regent to clean off her own. Josephine stared at her hand in wonder, it had been such a long time since she'd been able to move her fingers without any pain.
"That'll last a week at the most, but it'll probably be less, given the strength of the hex," Maya said, calling attention to herself, "If that's all, I'm going to go and explore the Quarter, you know where I'm staying when you want me to fix your hands permanently." Josephine nodded and Maya left before the old woman could change her mind.
Josephine watched her leave before summoning a couple of the girls that stayed with her, "I need all the files of everyone in the Fauline Cottage, I want to make sure that there's no body in there that shouldn't be." One of the girls nodded and left, Josephine turned to the other girl, "You, find out everything you can about Miss Sommers, everything."
It had been two days since her meeting with the Regent, Maya was fairly certain that she'd be contacted soon, but until then, she wanted to enjoy some time in the Quarter, she had the feeling that the next time she would be there, the city would not be so peaceful. "Come on Damon!" Maya whined, he was taking forever, choosing to flirt with a couple of girls out on the streets, "I want beignets and you promised you'd get me some!" Enzo was scouting the Cauldron; he didn't trust the witches in the city and wanted to make sure that none of them knew what Maya was.
"I'll be with you in a minute little sister!" Damon called back, not wanting to let her ruin his chance with the two local hotties.
Maya scowled, Damon was such a horn-dog! Turning away from him she marched around the corner, google said that there was a pretty good café down the street, she wouldn't be far and it would give Damon the kick up the pants he needed, he was supposed to be keeping her safe! Huffing she wasn't paying attention and crashed into someone, "Oof!" she gasped and fell to the floor, the other person fell too. Pushing herself up she saw that she'd crashed into a young girl, "Oh my God I'm so sorry!" she said, pulling the girl up, "I completely wasn't watching where I was going!"
"It's okay," the girl said smiling.
Maya's eyes widened when she saw who it was, she knew this girl, "Seriously that was totally my bad, my brother pissed me off and I should have been paying attention!"
The girl laughed, "It's okay, I promise, I'm not hurt, there's no harm done, umm are you new to the Quarter?" she asked.
"I'm just visiting," Maya confirmed, "I was hoping to get some beignets, but my brother would rather flirt than keep his promise!"
"I know a great little place if you'd like some company," the girl said, "I'm Davina by the way."
Maya smiled, "Maya," she held out her hand and Davina grasped it, both girls connecting to each other's magic and immediately felt at ease with one another, "It's nice to meet a witch my age," Maya said, "We don't have them in my town."
"I'd love to hear about that, I've never been out of the Quarter," Davina smiled, "Come on, if we're quick, we'll beat the lunch rush!"
It took 15 minutes for Damon to realise that Maya was gone and another 45 minutes before he'd found her, when he had she'd been saying goodbye to Davina, giving the younger girl a hug so he hung back until she was gone. "What the hell Maya?! You can't just run off like that! Enzo will kill me!"
"I didn't run off Damon!" she hissed back, "You wanted to flirt, and I wanted beignets! I was only two streets away anyway!"
"This city is full of vampires and witches, what did you not understand about not going anywhere without us?!"
"The part that said I also had to watch you try to get two girls into bed in broad daylight!"
"Oh you little"-
"What are we arguing about?" Enzo said appearing from nowhere.
"Nothing!" Damon and Maya chorused, looking entirely too innocent.
"Uh-huh," Enzo said, unconvinced, "I'm not going to push, there's a couple of shops in the Cauldron that you can go to and pick up supplies."
"Great!" She said, grabbing Enzo's hand and tugging him away from Damon before the older vampire decided he wanted to rat her out.
///
Maya and Enzo had just come out of one of the a witchcraft stores with supplies from Kol's list, the Original was going to go over the spell work with her and help prepare what she needed to unlink and wake Freya. "Where's Damon?" she asked, looking around, they'd left him outside for 10 minutes.
Tilting his head, Enzo picked up the sounds of feeding, "Getting lunch," he said motioning to an alleyway.
"Of course he is," Maya rolled her eyes, "Come on, there's another store I want to go to before we get food."
"Sure thing love," Enzo smiled, she was practically vibrating with energy, it had to be because she was surrounded by magic. He made a move to leave, but froze, stopping Maya from going anywhere, he could hear Damon, and it didn't sound good.
///
Damon was feeding from a girl in an alleyway in the Cauldron, Maya and Enzo were shopping and he didn't really have an interest in witch stuff, the Cauldron was pretty busy so he didn't hear the person come up behind him before he was yanked away from the girl and tossed into the opposite wall. Landing on his feet, Damon growled and lunged for his attacker, only to be stopped by two vampires who grabbed both of his arms.
"You know there are rules in Quarter," a dark-skinned vampire said, "And one of the major ones, is that we don't feed from the locals."
Damon sneered at the vampire, "Well I'm just passing through, and it's not like she's dead," the girl had been led away by another vampire, "So I think you should let me go."
The vampire laughed, "That's not how it works here friend, my boys have been keeping and eye on you and your friend, where'd you get your rings from?"
Damon smirked, he'd noticed that most of the vampires in the Quarter didn't have daylight rings, "Well there are witches outside of New Orleans, and not all of them hate vampires."
"Well in my city, the only daylight rings allowed are the ones that I allow," he motioned to one of the vampires and the guy tried to remove Damon's ring, there was enough shadow in the alleyway that he wouldn't burst into flames, but the vampire yelped in pain when he tried to take it.
Damon laughed, "Like I said, there are plenty of witches outside this place, and I'm pretty sure that my witch is better than your witch." Damon was stalling for time.
The vampire in front of him frowned, his witches had never mentioned that there was a way to prevent the removal of their rings. He made to move closer, when both of his guys were ripped from Damon. "Looks like you got yourself in some trouble mate," Enzo said, offering a feral grin to the vampires that had surrounded them.
"Well you know me," Damon shrugged, "I never like to be bored."
Both of them took quick stock of their situation, there were too many vampires for them too take on in one go, they'd have to take out the two at the head of the alley and then make for the tourists, this vampire clearly didn't want to make a scene in front of the humans. "I got two," Enzo said.
"I can get three," Damon replied cockily.
The vampire in front of them glared, "You two aren't going anywhere, you broke my rules."
"And why the hell should we care?" Damon scoffed, realising that a few more vampires had joined the ones behind them.
"Because this is my city and feeding on the locals is punishable by a year in the Garden."
Enzo didn't know what the Garden was, but it didn't sound good. "We'll have to pass," Enzo said, edging closer to Damon, they would need to run fast.
"Not optional," the vampire said, the ones surrounding them tensed, as though waiting for a signal from the lead, but the only thing that happened was that two of them were launched to the other end of the alley.
Maya stalked into the alley, she was pissed, Enzo had told her to stay where she was and whooshed off like she couldn't help, another two vampires charged at her and she waved her hand "Ossox!" both vampire fell to the ground with their necks snapped. Her eyes locked with the vampire in charge and she braced herself as information flooded her mind, "Marcel," she said, she didn't know how she felt about the vampire that Klaus called his son, on the one hand, Rebekah and Klaus did love him, but on the other, he'd betrayed Klaus and stolen his city right from under him.
"Well at least someone has heard of me," Marcel smiled, but the look in his eyes was hard, "This isn't your fight witch."
"Well you're messing with my vampires, so I'd say it is." If Marcel tried to hurt Enzo, she'd kill him, future problems be damned.
"Your vampires broke the rules," Marcel replied, the witch looked young, she was definitely a kid, which left him with very few options, he wouldn't let anyone in the Quarter kill kids.
"I don't care," Maya said, "We're here on witch business, they're not going to kill anyone and you're going to leave us the hell alone."
"And if we don't?" Marcel cocked his head to the side, this kid was confident, she must be powerful.
"You come after me and mine, I will rend flesh from bone!" she had a fire in her eyes, she wasn't joking, she would peel their flesh from their bones if any of them tried anything.
Marcel scowled at her, she'd threatened them, he couldn't let her get away with that, he motioned at the guys on the side and three of them whooshed forward to try and grab her. Waving her hand, the three vampires froze and Maya whispered one word, she was going to have to prove to Marcel that she meant business, "Cortices," the vampire in the middle of the three screamed as the flesh on his arm started peeling away. Enzo wrapped an arm around Maya's waist, ready to steal her away at a moment's notice.
"STOP!" Marcel yelled, seeing what she was capable of, she wasn't even breaking a sweat.
Maya flicked her hand and the three vampires flew backwards into some of the others, "I told you what I would do if you tried anything, next time I won't stop."
"You don't get to come into my city and break the rules and make threats, that's not how this works!" Marcel moved forward, his guys not being deterred by what they had seen, mostly because of the loyalty they had for Marcel.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was fairly certain that this city belonged to my family," a voice said from the opening of the alley, everyone turned to see who was there, a man and a woman.
Maya let out a quiet gasp, "Finn," she breathed.
Notes:
Thank you for reading, if you have time please leave a comment as I love the feedback!
Chapter 17: Finn
Notes:
Thanks for all the comments and kudos!
How do you guys feel about possible Rebekah/Mason Lockwood? Something I'm toying with.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Bloody hell!"
"Oh shit!"
"Crap!" Damon, Enzo and Maya all muttered at the same time when she revealed who it was, none of them had been prepared to meet the eldest Mikaelson. Finn and Sage stalked into the alley, Sage gave Damon a cheeky wave when his eyes widened at the sight of her, he'd slept with an Original's girlfriend, he was so dead!
"Who the hell are you?" Marcel asked, tensing, he looked familiar, but he'd definitely never seen him before.
"Allow me to introduce myself, Finn Mikaelson, I believe that you know my sister."
Marcel's eyes widened, if it was possible, he would have paled at Finn's words, "Is she here?" he hedged, he hadn't seen Rebekah in a century, and she would be pissed to know that he was alive and didn't come for her.
Finn slammed him against the wall, his hand around Marcel's throat as he lifted him off the floor. The vampires surrounding them tried to stop him, but Sage, Damon and Enzo killed a few of them, while Maya snapped the rest of their necks. "Lucky for you, my baby sister is not here, but I wouldn't get too comfortable," Finn tightened his grip and hissed, "I know what you did Marcellus."
Maya turned to Sage, "Klaus will be really pissed if Finn kills him, really pissed," she emphasised.
Sage didn't particularly care about anything that upset Finn's psychotic brother, but she got the feeling from the young girl that if Finn did kill Marcel, he'd be looking at the business end of a dagger very soon. Nodding she whooshed to Finn's side, "Finn, we have business," she gave a miniscule shake of the head and Finn eased up on the pressure around Marcel's throat.
"Allow me to be perfectly clear, these vampires, and the witch are under my protection, and since you have met my kind before, you know that I cannot be killed. Do not push me." He broke Marcel's neck and then turned to the two vampires and witch.
"We should talk in private," Maya blurted out, "Before the ones that aren't dead wake up." She rushed out.
"You're right," Sage said, a wicked gleam in her eye, "We should." She grabbed Maya and whooshed away.
Finn broke Damon and Enzo's legs, (they would heal faster than the broken necks of the other vampires) and sped after the two women.
Damon groaned as the bones in his legs realigned, "They took Maya," he said, looking around as he stood up, he pulled Enzo to his feet once he'd healed.
"We need to call Nik," Enzo said, "But first we need to get out of here." They whooshed out of the alley and headed straight to the apartment.
Before they could call Klaus, the phone rang, "Enzo my brother Finn's on the way to New Orleans, I don't know when he left but he'll probably be there soon."
"Too late for that!" Enzo said.
"What?"
"Finn and his girlfriend just broke our legs and stole Maya!"
"WHAT?!" Klaus yelled.
Maya was sat on an uncomfortable wrought iron chair, her wrists tied down to the armrests, she fought the urge to roll her eyes, clearly they thought that she'd need her hands in order to cast. "You know, I have to be honest, the whole kidnapping thing, doesn't exactly give me the warm fuzzies."
Finn narrowed his eyes at her, "You said we should speak privately."
Maya scowled, "Yeah, privately, that doesn't mean you get to just steal me off the street! Also the restraints are a little overkill don't you think?"
"We saw what you did in that alley, we're just taking precautions, no one wants to end up with a snapped neck." Sage replied, the older woman hadn't taken her eyes from Maya, studying her carefully, young but powerful, working for Kol and possibly Klaus, she'd have to be careful with the witch. As much as she hated Finn's psychotic family, she knew that just giving them a funny look could be the cause of her death. She'd been given leniency because Finn loved her and she loved Finn, but she doubted that leniency would be extended if she damaged Kol's witch.
"What do you want?" Maya asked, calculating how much more time she'd have to be in this house, by now Damon and Enzo had to be back in their apartment, and they would have called Nik, if he was smart (which he was), Nik would use his blood for a locator spell and Damon and Enzo would sweep in trying to save her. She knew that the Original had a few witches that owed him on speed dial, but she wasn't sure about having Damon and Enzo come and find her. Finn was an Original and Sage was close to nine centuries old, either one of them could kill her friends without breaking a sweat and she didn't want that to happen.
"You are here to collect my sister," Finn said, "A sister that I thought long dead, I'm the only one that Freya knows, and yet I knew nothing of this plan."
"Well Nik didn't think that you could be trusted," she gave as much of a shrug as she could with her arms tied down, "and given the circumstances I'm inclined to agree."
"You will tell me where my sister is, and free her from whatever it is that has stopped her from finding me, and then we will let you go." Finn stated, as though it was a done deal.
"I don't know where you're getting your information from, but I'm not a slave to the Originals, I'm doing your brother a favour and in return he does one for me, that's how we work, you don't get to order me to do anything." Maya replied, shocked by Finn's audacity, it was true that even with her memories she didn't know much about Finn apart from his hatred of what he was, but she'd always thought that that he was follower not a leader, she didn't really see him as being a problem, something she'd clearly miscalculated.
"You are here, at my mercy," Finn replied angrily, "You will do as I say, or I have no use for you. I put you and your friends under my protection, but it can just as easily be taken away."
Maya's eyes hardened, "My friends and I don't need your protection, we have Nik's, and if I wanted to use it, I would have name dropped him in that alley, way before I took out some of Marcel's guys. But I didn't, because the only way to get your sister out of the city, is with the permission of the Regent, and she hates vampires. So congratulations, you've potentially screwed us out of getting her, because if the Regent thinks that I'm with you, you can kiss all chances of getting your sister out of here goodbye. Your best bet is to let me go, head back to New York and wait for your sister there."
"I will not allow my sister to be used by Niklaus for whatever nefarious scheme he has planned. I spent 900 years at his mercy, I will not allow him to do the same to Freya!"
"Look I get it, your brother's a dick, you don't trust him, but he's the only reason that you even have a chance at seeing your sister again. Because if you'd had your way, and he'd un-daggered you after Alexander and his hunter buddies shoved that thing in your chest, you would have spent the rest of your existence trying to kill yourself. And you were so young back then, that you probably would have succeeded, now you're much harder to kill, which means that your sister actually has the chance of knowing you."
"I will not thank Niklaus for keeping me in a coffin, do you know what happens after centuries of being daggered? You become aware! I could hear everything that my siblings did, and not once did they ever try to wake me, not once did they even ask Niklaus to raise me. NOT ONCE! I WAS IN HELL! And they didn't care, I will never let them harm my sister."
Maya's eyes softened a fraction, she knew that Finn was telling the truth, and it must have been agony for him, but she couldn't afford to feel sympathetic towards the eldest Original, she couldn't quite remember everything about him, but she had the distinct feeling that he was the reason that Kol had died, and considering that she was genuinely enjoying her magic lessons with him, she wasn't going to let that happen. "I told you, Nik's a dick, there's never been any doubt about that, and if it makes you feel better, I'll strongly suggest that he apologises to you. But let me make one thing perfectly clear to you. You don't scare me, my loyalty is to Nik, and unless he does something to betray that trust, it will remain with him. Nik needs Freya's help, and if you try and stop that, you won't have to worry about your brother daggering you," she could feel a darkness creep into her voice, and it looked like Sage and Finn could sense it too, because they tensed, looking ready for a fight, "Because I'll shove that thing into your chest myself, the only difference is, I'll drop you in the middle of the ocean after, and you really will never wake up!" she growled the last part.
Finn and Sage's eyes changed, neither taking the threat lightly, Sage moved to rush forward but fell to the floor with her neck snapped, "Fun fact," Maya said, standing, she used her little monologue to undo her restraints without her captors knowing, "I don't actually need my hands to do magic." Finn fell to the ground, his head twisted at an unnatural angle. "It just makes it easier." Shaking off the darkness that had crept into her she looked outside and cursed, the sun was starting to get low, which meant that Marcel's guys would be coming out of the woodwork in spades, and the two vampires behind her wouldn't take long to wake, she needed to do something and fast.
"Well," Maya said to herself, "Might as well test out how effective my barrier spell is now." She closed her eyes and let her magic reach out, searching the house for candles, smiling when a few handfuls appeared. She set them out and jot down a quick note for Finn and Sage when they woke, without a celestial event she wouldn't be able to trap them inside the house for too long. Sticking the note to the interior of the front door, she re-broke the vampires' necks and then laid her hands on them, she might as well use their own magic to trap them, no sense in wasting her reserves.
The candles lit in a circle around the vampires, she stepped outside, and focused the spell on them, she wasn't taking the chance of being stuck with them, "Phasmatos intus custodiunt mortuos claudunt eos." Her voice grew in strength, until she was shouting her spell, feeling as though an invisible wall was growing before her, brick by brick. "Phasmatos intus custodiunt mortuos claudunt eos! PHASMATOS INTUS CUSTODIUNT MORTUOS CLAUDUNT EOS!" Panting as she felt the barrier tighten around the house and settle, she passed her hand through the threshold of the door, but could feel a ripple of the magic there. At least it meant that she could get either Damon or Enzo to drop off a human or two them, she didn't want Finn and Sage to starve, just needed them out of the way while she was in New Orleans. Maya waved her hand and the front door shut and she started walking down the driveway of the abandoned home.
Pulling out her phone she noticed multiple calls from Nik, Kol, Damon and Enzo, sighing she returned the most recent call, Enzo, she'd call Nik after, at least none of them had phoned her mother yet, that would have been a pain in the arse. Enzo picked up on the first ring, "Maya! Where are you?!" he asked, panicked.
"I have no idea," she replied looking around, "I can keep walking and see if I can find a street sign or something."
"Don't, Nik's got a witch on her way to do a locator spell to find you."
"I wouldn't bother, I'm not with Finn anymore, he and Sage are locked up tight, give me a few and I'll find something," closing her eyes she reached out and searched for magic in the area, hoping to sense a vampire or witch nearby, when she felt the familiar sense of vampire close to her she smiled, she couldn't be far from the French Quarter. "Hang on I think I got something!" Rushing forward she could hear more sounds of life, "I'm on Willow Street, wherever the hell that is, is one of you gonna come and get me?"
"We're on our way Love," Enzo breathed a sigh of relief, "You're sure that those two can't get to you again?"
"Positive, we've got a little while before they're free."
Enzo paused at that, "Define a 'little while'"
"Four, maybe five days."
"And if we aren't done by then?"
Maya shrugged, "We'll have to figure that out when it comes to it. It'll be fine."
"You really have a thing for downplaying a bad situation you know that?" Damon cut in, "Find somewhere to hide out, we don't want any of Marcel's guys picking you up before we get there."
"No problem Damon, there's a couple places here that are empty, call me when you're here, I'm going to call Nik, let him know that I'm okay."
"We'll see you soon love."
Maya hung up on Enzo and dialled Nik, he picked up on the second ring, "You're a real dick you know that?" she asked in lieu of a hello.
"What a lovely greeting, I'm so glad that I wasted my time calling for a witch to find you!" he replied sarcastically.
"Don't bother, I rescued myself! Doesn't change the fact that you're a dick."
"And what is it I've done to make you accuse me so?"
"I was kidnapped because Finn doesn't trust you not to hurt Freya, he wanted me to grab Freya for him so that he can make sure that she doesn't get used by you. If you and Kol had made sure that no one could hear you, then he wouldn't even be here! Also you need to apologise to your brother, maybe twice cus I was kind of a dick too."
Klaus laughed, "I don't apologise love, ever."
"Maybe you should this time! Turns out that after you've been daggered for centuries, you become aware of your surroundings, Finn could hear everything going on around him, he knew every time you daggered a sibling, every time you woke one up, and he knows that not one of them ever tried to wake him up. I can't imagine what that was like, so you should probably say you're sorry, even if you don't mean it."
"Did…did you see that?" Klaus asked quietly, he had no idea that daggers could do that.
"He told me, then I saw it, it does kind of make you a huge dick."
"I still don't apologise to anyone."
"Well think about doing it for me? Because I really was a bitch to your brother, I mean he did kidnap me, but I might have said something that was kind of uncalled for…"
"What did you say exactly?"
"I don't want to talk about it now, let's just say it was very…Klaus-like, violent, hurtful and completely unnecessary."
"Well, now I need to hear it! Especially if you think that it was something I would say!"
She wrinkled her nose in thought, he was going to find out eventually, "I kind of told him that if he tried to stop Freya from helping you, that he didn't have to worry about you daggering him, because I would…"
"I'll admit that's 'Klaus-like' but not very hurtful."
"And I might have also said that I would dump him in the middle of the ocean and that he'd never wake up…"
"I TOLD YOU, YOU TWO WERE ALIKE!" Kol's voice yelled over the phone.
"Kol? What-why are you listening in?"
"Who do you think found out that Finn and Sage were headed to New Orleans?" Kol asked smugly.
"Probably the same person that told him what I was doing in New Orleans in the first place! What did you say to Finn?!"
"I didn't say anything to him! Tell her Nik!"
"Well I certainly didn't do it," Klaus said dryly.
"Did you remember to shut the door to your study anytime we talked?" Maya asked.
"Of course I did! I mean maybe not every time…"
Maya rolled her eyed, "Nik, please throw your brother out of a window, he's the dick!"
"I'll get right on that love," Klaus replied, amused, his baby brother was definitely getting an arse kicking, forgetting to shut his door! The worst kind of rookie mistake anyone could make. "Did Finn and Sage hurt you?"
"No, I'm good, they tied me up and thought that it meant I couldn't do anything to them. But Kol and I have been working on my spellwork, I broke both their necks and put up a temporary barrier so they can't leave the house they took me too. Hopefully I'll be gone by the time they get out."
"And if you're not?"
"I'll figure it out." She shrugged.
"Nonsense, I'll be in New Orleans by tonight."
"NO!" Maya yelled, "DO NOT COME HERE!"
"Why?" Klaus asked, was he finally going to find out the reason behind her need to keep him from his favourite city?
"Uh-I'll tell you when I get to New York, it's probably something that we should talk about in person…"
"Then I'll come down." Kol said, "You clearly need help darling."
"No! No, no, no! Absolutely not! You cannot come here at all Kol!"
"Why not?" he asked affronted, he could help!
"Because you're a stirrer Kol, you stir things up and not in a good way. I already have one of those here with me, I don't need one with a thousand years-worth of experience!"
Klaus laughed at his brother's pout, Kol hated being told 'no', "You're certain you don't want me there? After all don't I make you feel…safe?" He asked, referring to their moment in the hospital when she'd insisted that she'd be safe at his side. Kol snorted in amusement at that and ended up with a fist in the face, that threw him to the other end of the room.
"I'll be fine Nik, just make sure that the plane's ready to go when we are. Oh!" she looked out the window of the empty house she'd been hiding in and saw her vampires pull up, "Enzo and Damon are here, I'll talk to you later. Don't forget to throw Kol through a window for me!" She hung up before she could respond and ran outside, jumping into Enzo's arms.
It was two days later when Maya had gotten the summons from the Regent, and it came in the form of Davina Claire. Maya was at a café with Enzo, both enjoying the summer sun while eating a little lunch, when Davina came up to them. "Hey Davina!" Maya smiled at the younger girl, this version of Davina Claire was sweet and innocent, Maya didn't know what had happened to change that about Davina, but she hoped that whatever it was could be stopped.
"Hi Maya!" Davina said, a little hesitantly when she realised that Maya was sitting with a vampire, "Um…could we talk? In private?" she knew that vampires ran the Quarter, but she'd never actually been this close to one before, she'd heard the King of the Quarter had a rule about children.
"Oh!" Maya looked over at Enzo who shook his head, he wasn't letting her out of his sight again, looking back at Davina, she gave the girl an apologetic smile, "This is Enzo, he's my brother, and my protection here, I kind of pissed of some vampires and Enzo's not leaving my side. But anything you tell me, I'm just gonna tell him anyway…unless it's totally personal! I would never divulge personal secrets to anyone!" she insisted.
"I won't hurt you sweetheart, I don't hurt kids, and I'm just here to make sure my sister's safe, I promise."
"I swear he won't hurt you, but if you're still uncomfortable I could give you my number, and we can just talk over the phone," Maya offered.
Davina looked between the two of them, her coven had told her all about how dangerous the vampires in the Quarter were, but Maya was comfortable sitting next to one, called him her brother, ate with him, without fear of being hurt. "No, it's okay, can I sit?"
"Of course," Maya gestured to the chair opposite her, with one hand, the other firmly clasped in Enzo's.
Davina sat down, "I have a message from the Regent, she said to meet her tonight in front of the Cottage, if you know what that means."
"I do," Maya nodded, "Thanks Davina, did you want to have lunch with us? There's still a lot about the Quarter I don't know, and Enzo's like an old man! He's got a ton of knowledge stuck in his brain, just bursting to get out."
Enzo elbowed her in the side, "Hey!" he complained, "What have I told you about making fun of my age! It's not my fault I grew up in an age far superior to yours!"
"Oh yeah," Maya rolled her eyes, "No modern medicine, no indoor plumbing, no internet, you were really born in a golden age!" she teased.
Their joking manor caused Davina to let out a giggle, were vampires really so terrible if they could act like Enzo? "You two really act like you're family."
Enzo shrugged, "We might not be blood related, but she's my sister, has been since the age of seven, she means everything to me, just because I'm a vampire and she's a witch, doesn't mean that we can't care about one another."
"It's true," Maya added, "Being a vampire doesn't turn you into a monster, it just amplifies who you are, as a human I imagine Enzo was very loyal, and loved deeply." She gave him an adoring look, "As a vampire, that's been amplified, he's even more of those things."
"But, my coven says that vampires are killers, are you telling me you've never killed anyone before?" Davina asked Enzo.
He shook his head at the witches' simplistic view of his kind, "Of course I've killed, vampires are predators and humans the prey, lions and tigers kill all the time, it doesn't make them evil."
"But vampires don't have to kill," Davina insisted, "They still do!"
"A killer instinct is just that Davina, every so often it needs to be satisfied, or else you just create a monster."
"My coven has seen vampires do horrible things," the girl tried again.
"Think of it like this Davina, vampires are humans… but also more than, and humans…" she sighed, "Humans slaughter each other because of the colour of their skin, or their faith, or their politics, or for no reason at all, hate for people comes to them as easily as they draw breath. Witches aren't any different if they hate a vampire just because they're a vampire. You don't know Enzo, you don't know who he is, what he's done, he could have been newly turned, with no death on his hands and you didn't know that, but you were still afraid to sit down with him here next to me. It doesn't make you a bad person Davina, just human, a French Quarter witch could try to kill me tomorrow just because I'm friendly with vampires, if that happens would you like me to believe that all French Quarter witches are the same?"
Davina shook her head, "I-I've never thought about it like that," she said, Maya's words had triggered something, she'd always been content to believe in her coven, but was Maya right? "I should go, you've given me a lot to think about."
"No problem," Maya shrugged giving the younger girl a soft smile, "I'll talk to you later."
Davina left and Enzo looked over at Maya, "That was thoughtful little speech love, been working on it long?"
"Not really, I believe everything that I said, but I pretty much stole that speech from Magneto."
"Magneto?" Enzo replied slowly, "The mutant from that comic book you love so much?"
"Yeah!"
He laughed, "You're such a nerd!"
"Hey!" she protested, smacking his arm, "I am not!"
"Yes or no, was that speech word for word?"
"I…paraphrased…"
"Such a nerd," Enzo shook his head with a smile.
Rolling her eyes Maya stood, "Come on, lets get Damon, we're going to have to plan for tonight."
Damon and Enzo were on either side of Maya as they arrived at the Dowager Fauline Cottage, The Regent and her entourage were already there, and Maya could feel vampires watching from the distance. "Can we get this over with?" Maya asked as she stood before Josephine, ignoring the glare the older woman threw at her companions.
"Details first," the Regent said, her research into the Cottage had given her no answers and similarly her investigation into Maya had not yielded many results. The girl claimed that she'd been sent by her coven, and yet she had no evidence of which coven Maya belonged to, Maya's mother was not a witch, they'd gone back generations and not a single Sommers in Maya's line had even the slightest inclination towards magic. Which meant that Maya's gift came from her father, a father that was conspicuously absent, there was no name listed on Maya's birth certificate and her investigator could not come up with a hint towards who Maya was related to. "Whether or not you find who your are looking for, you will remove the hex on my hands." The Regent stated.
"I can agree to that," Maya acquiesced, "I'll do it when we're finished here."
"I am opening the Cottage for you and no one else, you're the only one that may enter."
"No," Maya said quickly, before one of the vampires could protest.
"This is not a negotiation," Josephine stated.
"I have no guarantee that you won't just shut me in with the rest of those crazy witches, and I'm not taking the chance. I go nowhere without protection, and my vampires are my protection."
"I will not let them enter the Cottage." Josephine replied stubbornly.
Maya scowled, "You've investigated me, I can tell. I can also tell that you haven't come up with anything on me, you don't know who I am, or what I'm capable of, but I'm sure that your girls told you about my confrontation with Marcel and his vampires." At Josephine's nod she continued, "I took them on without breaking a sweat, without fear, and I've already shown you that I'm capable of fixing your hands. Do you really think that I'm not capable of opening this Cottage without your help?"
"If you could do it yourself, then why did you ask for my help?" The Regent asked.
"I did it out of common curtesy, if I open those doors, they stay open, the spell on the cottage will be broken and every crazy, murderous witch that's been locked up in there is free to roam this city once more. I don't want to do that, but I will if given no other choice, but it's your choice, you open the doors and I go in there with my vampires and come out with my coven sister, and in return I fix your hands. Or you refuse, I open the cottage, take my sister and leave you and the rest of the nine covens to deal with the mess, either way I get what I want, but you don't."
Josephine paused, she was the Regent of the Nine Covens, she did not get backed into a corner, and yet this girl was going just that, Maya had given her a taste of what it might be like to have her hands back, and she didn't want to lose that, she had the feeling that Maya would do what she promised. "You have two hours to search the Cottage, if you do not find who you came for and leave within that time, I will shut the doors and seal all three of you inside."
"Fine," Maya said, if Josephine did lock them inside she would siphon the spell, and leave New Orleans to deal with the problems that came with that, but the Regent didn't need to know that. "Now open the doors."
Josephine raised her hands and muttered a few words, and Maya felt a shift in the magic surrounding the Cottage. "Come on," Maya said, gesturing to Damon and Enzo.
///
The three of them whooshed inside, Enzo released Maya and they looked around the prison, "This place gives creepy a whole new definition." Damon said.
"Witch prison Damon, it's not celebrity rehab," Maya replied, shuddering at the feel of the dark magic in the Cottage, "We need to hurry, but I do not want to split up, we don't know how much power these witches have."
"I agree," Enzo said, "We'll start in the basement and work our way up. Let's go!" he grabbed Maya up and whooshed down to the basement, closely followed by Damon.
The three of them had spent an hour searching the basement, and the first two floors of the Cottage, before Maya felt a pulse of magic that made her look up at the ceiling. "You know, I'm pretty sure that cottages are actually meant to be small, all these floors are seriously bad advertising."
"You're telling me," Damon replied annoyed, "This place is nuts, it doesn't look this big from the outside."
"It's like the Tardis," Enzo shrugged, causing his companions to shoot him an incredulous look.
"Who's the nerd now?" Maya asked.
"I'm British," Enzo defended, "Doctor Who is like the recommended reading you get in school, it must be watched."
Damon snorted in amusement, "If that's true then what's that autographed Doctor Who poster you have stashed in your closet? Extra credit?"
"You're one to talk, you have that signed Captain Kirk doll in your room."
"It's an action figure!" Damon hissed.
"Oh my God," Maya said, looking delighted, "I knew I was the cool one of the group, but I didn't realise that you two were such geeks!"
"Shut up Maya!" they both said at the same time, causing the girl to cover up a snort of laughter.
"Come on!" she said, calming down, "I get the feeling I know where we're supposed to go." She made her way up the stairs to the third floor, looking for the way into the attic, finding the door hidden in the hallway closet, she tried to open it, but it was locked. "Damn!"
"Move over," Damon said. Gripping the handle he turned and heard the lock break on the other side, he pushed the door open. The attic was far more ominous that the rest of the house, if that could be believed, the stairs leading up to it were dark, Maya couldn't see in front of her.
"Can you find the light switch?" Maya asked.
"Nope," Damon replied unhelpfully, "Take my hand, Enzo you take the rear, we'll go up together."
The three of them made their way upstairs and Maya could just about make out the outline of her vampires when they reached the top, it was pitch black, something that shouldn't have been possible considering that the moon was quite bright and its light should have been coming through the window in the attic. Enzo pulled out his phone and lit up the screen, "Thank god for modern technology," he muttered, he should have been able to see even in the dark, but it was like there was a heavy blanket in the room, blinding his sight. When the phone came to life Maya looked around, spotting something glinting in the light.
"Over there!" she said, the three made their way over and Maya gasped, it was a glass coffin, and inside, a young blonde woman, who looked for all intents purposes, asleep.
"This her?" Damon asked.
Placing her hand on top of the glass, Maya flinched as she felt an onslaught of memories slot themselves into place in her head, "This is Freya, come on, we need to get her out of here."
"Shall we open the coffin?" Enzo asked.
"No, she put herself in here, I have no idea the kind of protections she put in place and we don't have time for me to navigate them, can you two bring her in the coffin?"
"No problem," Damon replied, grabbing one end of the coffin, Enzo picked up the other, "Let's go, Maya I want you ahead of us at all times, so that we can see you."
///
Josephine couldn't hold back her shock as she saw the three of them come out with a coffin, no one had died in the Cottage, she would have felt it, and yet, there was a woman in the coffin, a woman that wasn't in any of the files she had, Maya had been telling the truth!
"Told you so," Maya said, unable to keep the smug look from her face, she liked being underestimated.
"How is this possible?" Josephine asked.
"Don't feel too bad," Enzo said with a smirk, "She was locked away almost a hundred years ago, you weren't born then."
Josephine shot him a glare and turned back to the Cottage, sealing it back up, before looking at Maya, "I believe that it is time to fulfil your end of the bargain."
Maya nodded, "You're right, lets go." She said, motioning for the older witch to follow her, when Josephine gave her a questioning look Maya paused, "I'm not doing this out in the open, we're going back to my place, considering I'm fairly sure that you wont invite Enzo or Damon into your home."
"I will not."
"Right, so follow us back to our apartment here, you already know where it is."
///
Josephine was sat at the dinner table in the apartment, Maya hadn't let any of her people in, but allowed them to wait directly outside. Damon was outside with the entourage whilst Enzo lurked in the corner of the room, making sure that the Regent didn't try anything. "Are you ready?" Maya asked. She'd made the concoction again, and had a towel ready to cover their hands up so Josephine couldn't see her work. At the Regent's nod, she took hold of her hands, dipped them in the opaque liquid and Enzo laid the towel over them. Closing her eyes Maya stretched her senses, she felt the hex, how it weaved into the Regent's magic, felt where it stopped, and began to siphon. Maya muttered a few words, drawing the hex away by using it's own magic against itself, as it drew away from Josephine's own magic it became easier to siphon. Concentrating Maya drew it all out of the The Regent, following each wispy tail that the hex left, ensuring that not even the smallest part of it was left in Josephine, before pulling away.
The Regent gasped as she looked at both of her hands, her fingers straight, not a hint of the pain that she'd been in, present anymore, moving them slowly she shed tears at the feeling, she never thought that this was something that she'd be able to have again. Maya watched as the Regent marvelled at her hands, the French Quarter witches were some of the most powerful, she'd been genuinely surprised that none of them had been able to break the hex. But when she felt the hex that wrapped around the Regent's gnarled hands she'd been shocked, the magic had been tied to the Ancestors, the Regent's mother, unwilling to let her daughter go, had ensured that even from beyond the grave she would have to endure the hex. What was with supernatural mothers and their inability to allow their children to grow into their own without doing what they believed was 'best' for them?
"Thank you," Josephine whispered, almost reverently.
"The magic was tied to your Ancestors," Maya said, "Had they wanted to, they could have undone the hex, but they chose not to, that's also why none of your own could undo the hex, they couldn't see the difference between it and your own magic. I'm not saying this to hurt you, but you are the link that communes with the Ancestors on a daily basis, perhaps you should ask why they didn't want you to be healed."
Josephine nodded and stood, "Now that our business is concluded, how long do you plan to remain in New Orleans?"
"We'll be gone by the end of the week," Maya replied.
"The next time you are in New Orleans, join me for tea." The older woman said, before sweeping out of the apartment.
"That was intense," Enzo commented.
"You should have Nik get the plane ready for the day after tomorrow, I don't want to be in this city much longer, that barrier spell I put up will only last another few days." Maya replied.
"I'll call him first thing in the morning."
The next day Maya was in one of the shops in the Cauldron, it was a shop that specialised in Voodoo, she'd spoken with the a few witches in the Quarter at length, there used to be a coven in New Orleans referred to as the Voodoo Queens, but they had been subdued and destroyed by the human faction in NOLA years ago. Luckily, while they were gone their knowledge remained, and she'd been able to figure out that she needed extra items in order to pull of the spell she'd wanted to. The shop owner refused to let Enzo or Damon in, so they were waiting just outside, whilst Maya was perusing the shelves for ingredients, when she felt his presence.
"Marcel," she said, not turning from the shelf.
"You know you've caused quite a stir among the witches, all they can talk about it how some small town girl from the middle of nowhere managed to do what the Regent herself couldn't."
"Your point?"
"You're powerful," Marcel said, "Especially for one as young as you."
Turning around she finally faced him, "Is this the part where you ask for my help? Or where you threaten me? I'd like to know, so that I know how much pain I'll be leaving you in, when I leave the store."
Marcel smiled, but his eyes were cold, she knew that those eyes could hold warmth in them, had seen it, but she was a danger to him, to his rule, "You brought an Original into my city."
"I wouldn't say that too loud, especially when we know who this city really belongs to."
He frowned, a low growl escaping him before he could stop it, "I should kill you."
"You can try," Maya replied, "I may be under Finn's protection, but he's not the Original I work for."
"And who do you work for then?"
"The one I work for, he's got a great temper, and is very possessive, if you managed to kill me, he'd burn this city to the ground."
Marcel ran her words through his head, she didn't work for Rebekah, she'd said 'he', and Elijah was too controlled to allow his emotions to get the better of him, which only left two, Klaus and Kol, both had hair trigger tempers, both would tear apart a city at the drop of a hat, but only one would potentially stop themselves from killing him, "Who?" he ground out.
Maya smiled, "That's for me to know, and you to dot dot dot," she replied, stealing one of Damon's favourite lines, "But please make your threats, I was getting a little bored."
"Who was in the coffin?" he asked suddenly.
"What?"
"You took someone from the Fauline Cottage, who was it?"
"My coven sister, she was cursed and locked away so that we couldn't get her back, I fixed the Regent's hands and in turn, I got her back."
"And how did you do that exactly? A witch your age shouldn't have been able to pull that off."
"What can I say?" she shrugged, "I had a really, really good teacher."
Marcel froze for a moment at that, Kol was known to run with witches, he was actually an expert in them, did that mean that she was working for Kol? If she was then he was screwed.
"What do you want Marcel? I have a lot to do before I leave, and not a lot of time to do it in."
"You spelled that cocky vampire's ring," he said, getting to what he really wanted, his men had seen what happened when someone tried to remove the ring, and had been talking about it, wanting that kind of protection for themselves.
"So?"
"I want that spell," he said, "So my witch can do it."
Maya laughed, "That spell, was one of my own creation, I'm quite proud of it, but I won't be giving it to anyone."
"I'm not asking princess," he replied.
"And my answer's still no, I don't work for free Marcel, my daylight rings and the protections that they come with cost upward of $1.5 million."
"You charge for daylight rings?" he asked.
"How else am I supposed to pay for college?" she replied, "With money comes the ability to do whatever I want, I don't know why more witches don't charge for their services, trading in favours is so tedious."
"You're telling me the Originals pay you?" he asked incredulously.
She shrugged, "At the end of the day, money really does make the world go round, so I'm not about to cut into my own profits by giving you my spell, if your witch is smart enough, I'm sure she'll come up with something!" Maya waved her hand and Marcel ended up frozen where he stood, he glared at her, he couldn't even open his mouth to talk.
"This has been fascinating, really, but I have errands to run, don't worry, the spell will wear off when I'm out of range!" she headed up to the counter at the back of the shop, paid for her items and left, she didn't appreciate the fact that the witch who ran the place kept her friends out, while she let Marcel have his way.
Maya, was sat in the private plane that Klaus had sent for them, waiting while Damon and Enzo loaded Freya, very carefully in the cargo hold. It wouldn't do well to arrive with the Original's only mortal sister all banged up. Taking out her phone she called Kol, "We're going to be leaving New Orleans in a few minutes," she said.
"Did you manage to find everything that you'll need for the spell?" Kol asked.
"Yes, and I spoke to a few witches that work with Voodoo, they all said the same thing, if we want this to work then the link has to be attached on both ends, we'll have a vampire taking over Freya's role in the spell, but Freya will also need to be linked to someone, to trick the spell into thinking that nothing's changed."
"Who do you want to link her to?"
"I don't know, I get the feeling that she should be linked to one of you, just to ensure that she can't be hurt or killed, before I find a way to permanently break the spell, but I have no idea who, I mean, she can't be linked to Nik, that could interfere in his ability to break the curse, and I'm not linking her to Finn, he's far too much of a liability to allow him that much power over his sister."
"Which leaves, Rebekah, Elijah and myself," Kol concluded, "and each of us has our own pros and cons."
"Elijah has his strength of character, but I feel like he'd be blinded by his need for a family and let Freya get away with too much."
"You'd be right, my brother would not be the best disciplinarian, especially as Freya is technically his elder sister."
"Nik says that Rebekah's got great instincts when it comes to liars."
"She does."
"But she's emotional, I can't trust that she won't get jealous of Nik giving Freya all the attention and do something drastic."
"A fair point," Kol conceded.
"Which leaves…"
"Me."
"You know the most about magic, I think you'd be able to spot if she tries anything, but you also have a temper, and we need Freya on side in order to break Nik's curse."
"I can reign myself in," Kol said.
"Are you sure?"
"Do you have a better option?"
"Not really."
"Then it's settled, in order to wake Freya, you will link our sister to me, and we shall find a way to break Nik's curse."
Notes:
Thanks for reading! If you have time, please leave a comment, I love the feedback!
Chapter 18: Time Off
Chapter Text
Klaus and Kol were waiting for them when the plane arrived, Maya rushed down the stairs and threw herself at Klaus, wrapping her arms around his neck, surprisingly he caught her. "Thank god!" Maya said, still in his arms, "Damon bet that you wouldn't catch me if I threw myself at you!"
"Ah," Klaus smirked, tightening his grip on her, "How much did you win?"
"500 bucks!"
"At least I know I'm worth something," Klaus mused.
"Awe man, seriously!" Damon whined, seeing Maya in Klaus's arms, "You just lost me 500 bucks Nik!"
"Am I not allowed to greet my favourite witch any way I see fit?" Klaus asked.
"Yeah Damon, can't he greet me any way he sees fit?" Maya asked, resting her head on Klaus's shoulder, shooting him a smug grin.
Damon scowled, pulled out his wallet and handed over the money to her, "I'm getting that back!"
"You wish," Maya scoffed, finally being released from Klaus's hold, her feet hit the ground, but she didn't move too far away from him.
"Where's my enthusiastic greeting darling?" Kol asked.
"In your dreams Kol."
"Every night darling," he replied lasciviously.
"Ugh!" Maya wrinkled her nose, "I walked into that didn't I?"
"Most definitely," Klaus agreed.
She looked up at Klaus, "Hi."
"Hello love," he smirked, "Did you enjoy New Orleans?"
"You mean besides the kidnapping? I spent most of my time in the Cauldron," she shrugged, "I didn't get a chance to really explore."
"Something that I'd be happy to rectify in the future," Klaus offered, he found that he'd like to give her a personalised tour of one of his favourite places in the world.
"In the future, sure. But we should focus on the present for now," they looked over at the plane and watched as Enzo and Damon brought out the glass coffin containing his sister. Kol was at the coffin instantly, examining it as they moved. "Have you got a place for Kol and I to work? The spell-work I have to do is going to take a lot of time and no offence, but I don't really want your sister at the apartment."
"There's Brownstone that I've purchased within walking distance of the apartment, it's in your name love, so you'll have to invite Kol and I in."
"Wait, you bought me a house?"
"Well, I want you to be able to keep the rest of my siblings out," Klaus said, "Finn will no doubt be on the way back here shortly and I don't want him anywhere near Freya until you and Kol have woken her. The bedrooms have also been set up for you to rest in, I'd rather you don't go out without either Kol or myself to escort you, just to be safe."
Maya tilted her head thoughtfully, this Klaus was different from the one that she'd seen in her visions, different from the one in her memories, she assumed that Klaus would demand that she do as he says, demand that she'd spend all her time working for him, and no one else. But he wasn't like that with her, this wasn't Klaus, this was Nik, her friend, the man that she could talk to when she couldn't talk to anyone else, the man that laughed at her jokes and sent her trinkets filled with magic so she could keep up with her training. "Okay," she agreed.
Klaus raised a brow, "I was expecting a little more fight from you."
"I know my limits Nik, I only got away from your brother and Sage because I took them by surprise, I won't be able to do that again, and I'm pretty sure that both of them want me dead after what I said so I'm not going to argue. Don't get used to it though!"
"Perish the thought love."
"NIKLAUS! KOL!" Finn yelled as he burst into the Penthouse.
Klaus looked up at Elijah, the two were enjoying some quiet time in the elder Mikaelson's library, rolling his eyes he shut his book and stood, "That took longer than expected," he muttered, whooshing from the library. He was not about to get into a fight in there and face a lecture from Elijah about endangering his precious books. "Finn!" he said cheerily, entering the foyer, "I thought you and Sage were off enjoying your time together as a couple."
Finn charged forward and threw Klaus across the room, "WHERE IS SHE?!" he yelled.
Klaus punched him the face and shoved Finn away from him, but his older brother kept coming, the two of them smashed into one of the walls and fell through into the living room, "What the-" Rebekah jumped back from her brothers, she'd just been reading a magazine in her favourite arm chair when the two of them fell through the wall.
"TELL ME!" Finn yelled, grabbing one of Elijah's vases and hurling at his younger brother.
Elijah whooshed into the room, just in time to see it smash against the wall and growled, "That was 400 years-old!" he exclaimed, and grabbed the next priceless piece that Finn threw out of the air, not wanting anything else damaged. "ENOUGH!" he yelled, when they wouldn't stop, he slammed Klaus up against one wall while Rebekah pushed Finn against another. When he was certain that the two weren't going to attack one another he let go of Klaus and turned to look at his older brother, "What is going on?!" Elijah looked between the two of them and waited for an answer. "Well?"
Rebekah stepped back from Finn, eying him warily, "I'd like to know that as well, you just ruined a perfectly good antique!"
"Where is she Niklaus?!"
"Who?" Klaus asked, unwilling to reveal anything.
"Yes who are you talking about brother, Sage?" Elijah asked, "Is Sage missing?"
Finn's eyes narrowed, unsure as whether to believe that Elijah didn't know what was going on, "I am talking about our sister."
"What?" Rebekah asked, "I'm right here."
"I am speaking of Freya."
"Finn, Freya's dead," Elijah said gently, wondering if all that time his brother spent daggered had actually damaged his brain.
Finn scoffed, "You didn't tell him?" he looked over at Klaus, "You didn't tell your big brother what you and Kol are up to?"
"Niklaus what is he talking about?"
Klaus scowled, looking between his three siblings, "Our older sister Freya, she's alive."
"What?" Rebekah gasped, "What are you talking about?"
"She's been cursed by a witch, spends a hundred years asleep for one year awake. I sent someone to retrieve her."
"Your red-headed little witch," Finn spat, "Where. Is. My. Sister?"
Elijah looked up at that, a red head? Perhaps the young woman that he and Kol had seen in that video outside of the hospital? "Niklaus what did you do?"
Klaus clenched his jaw, of course, he was always the one that did something, "I didn't do anything, except send someone to retrieve our long lost sibling!"
Finn scoffed, "Your witch left me trapped in a house for a week! All so she could abscond with my sister at your behest!"
Klaus scowled, "YOU KIDNAPPED HER! STOLE HER OFF THE STREET AND TIED HER DOWN! Did you think that she would just let that go?! When she has a job to do, she gets it done, and you, chose to interfere. All she did was get you out of the way. And point of fact, Freya is our sister."
"Oh please, she's only your sister because you want something from her!"
"As a matter of fact I do! You see it occurred to me, and to Kol, that a witch of mother's bloodline may actually be able to remove my curse without the need for a doppelgänger!"
"If you think that I would allow Freya to be used by you-"
"Oh come off it Finn! Freya is in plenty of trouble herself! A curse that she has not been able to break for a thousand years! A witch who has been hunting her for just as long! How would you help her Finn? Who do you know that could help her, hmm?" Klaus moved away from Elijah and in close to his eldest brother, "What could you possibly do to save her?"
Finn snarled and made to attack Klaus, only to be slammed back into the wall by Rebekah, "That is enough!" she said, and turned to look at Klaus, "If Finn's been locked up for a week, where's Freya?"
Klaus looked down at his sister, he had to get over his anger with her, Mikael was dead now, he couldn't hurt him anymore, "The spell keeping her asleep is a strong one, Kol is helping my witch break it as we speak, he seems to think that it will take more than a few days to wake her."
"I want to see her," Rebekah demanded.
"You will, when she's awake."
"Now Nik!"
"Freya is with my witch, I am not letting you, Elijah or Finn, anywhere near my witch!"
"Nik-"
"I said no! Finn has already threatened her once, I'm not taking the chance of anything happening to her."
"But you'll let Kol near her?" Rebekah scoffed.
"Kol likes her, and as the one out of all of us that knows the most about magic, he is necessary. You will see Freya when she wakes and not a moment sooner. And you," he glared at Finn, "If you try to interfere in the breaking of my curse, I will ensure that my witch's threat is carried out to the letter."
Klaus shoved away from Finn and whooshed into his studio, Elijah closely followed, "Niklaus-"
"Not now Elijah."
"Niklaus why didn't you tell me about this?"
"I wasn't going to tell anyone until it was done! The only bloody reason Kol knows is because he was listening in to one of my phone calls!"
"Niklaus if you had told me about Freya I would have helped you! She is our sister!"
"Yes, maybe you would have, or perhaps you would have been more inclined to agree with Finn and decide that she was to be kept as far from me as possible! It's no secret that you no longer want me to break the curse!"
"Niklaus."
"Or will you deny that you have been searching for ways to kill me?"
"I thought you had dropped our family in the ocean!"
"And you believed me?! For a thousand years I have done nothing but keep you close! I have never claimed to be the bastion of temperance but the fact that you would actually believe that I would dump our siblings in the ocean! After everything I have done to protect them, TO PROTECT YOU! I should stick you back in your bloody coffin for it!" Klaus was furious, his siblings had always questioned him, always hated him for the use of the daggers against them, he understood that, in fact he probably would have thought less of them if they didn't hate him for it. But the fact that Elijah of all people could actually believe him capable of abandoning his family like that, it hurt him, in a way he didn't think possible anymore. He had to get away, before he did actually dagger one of his siblings, he didn't think that that would endear him to Freya, and he needed her on side. He whooshed out of the Penthouse before Elijah could stop him.
"Elijah," Rebekah said, making herself known, "You were trying to kill Nik?" she asked brokenly, "Why?"
"I was in a dark place Rebekah, Niklaus told me that he'd dropped your coffins into the ocean and I believed him, I thought I'd lost our family for good."
"Oh Elijah," Rebekah whispered, coming up to hug her brother, she often resented the fact that Elijah spent the least amount of time in a coffin than the rest of them, she never took into account how it must have felt for him when he was awake, unable to rouse his siblings for fear that Niklaus would lock him back in his coffin too.
"Kol," Maya started, as they prepared the first ingredients to the spell, "I- there's something that I need to talk to Nik about, something I remembered, but I'm not sure how well he'd take it."
"My brother's managed to keep his head with all these revelations that you've given him so far darling, what could possibly be so bad that you're worried about him now?"
"Its…Marcel."
Kol looked up at that, "That snivelling little street rat?" Kol really hated Marcel, "What did he do?"
"It's more about what he didn't do…and then what he did."
"Maya…"
"He didn't die in that fire at the Opera House!" she rushed out.
"What?!"
"He's still alive, and he didn't come looking for Nik and Rebekah."
"Bloody hell," he may have hated Marcel but he knew that Nik and Rebekah loved him, not coming after them when they fled New Orleans, that was a betrayal of the highest order, "You said he did something."
"Nik's gonna be really mad, and he's gonna wanna do things that he can't do, at least until he's broken his curse."
"Maya, what did Marcell do?"
"He stayed in New Orleans, he took over, the vampires and the witches call him King of the Quarter now."
For the first time in his life Kol was speechless, Marcel had gone and done what?! Taken New Orleans when he should have been with Rebekah and Nik? He didn't know what to say.
Maya closed her eyes as she blurted out the rest, "And he's living in the Abattoir, pretending like all the 'M's' stamped everywhere stand for Marcel and Nik already knows this next part, but when coupled with this new information I'm afraid it's going to send Nik into a tailspin that's going to end with the very, very brutal decimation of New Orleans and that cannot happen right now!"
"What are you talking about Maya?" Kol asked, whatever it was sounded worse than what she'd already told him.
"He and Rebekah called Mikael to New Orleans in 1919, they're the reason that the city burned, that Nik had to run."
Kol launched a table across the room in anger and Maya jumped in surprise, "I'm gonna pull his spine out through his nose!" He'd tried to put Klaus down once or twice before, even attempted to create a dagger that could do to his brother, what it did to him. But he'd never, never, thought of setting Mikael loose on his brother. That Rebekah had done it, and Marcel, his baby sister, and Nik's self-proclaimed son! He didn't even know how to contemplate what Maya had just told him.
"Kol!"
"I'm going to go to New Orleans and tear everything apart brick by brick!"
"Kol stop!" Maya froze him on the spot, "I didn't tell you so that you could go and destroy your home! I told you, because I don't know how I'm supposed to keep Nik calm."
"You think I can keep Nik bloody calm?!"
"I know you don't have any experience in being the voice of reason Kol, but Nik's going to need someone on his side that isn't me! When Elijah finds this out he's going to do everything in his power to keep Rebekah safe and Finn couldn't give two shits about anyone in your family apart from Freya! Nik's gonna go ballistic, you're gonna have to be there for him, and neither one of you can go to New Orleans, not now!"
"Why not?!" Kol asked, he could barely settle himself, it was good thing that Maya still had her spell in place, even if it infuriated him.
"BECAUSE ALL I SEE IS DEATH!" She yelled, finally releasing the spell and collapsing into a chair, "Every night, since I saw Marcel, I dream of it, I see it when I wake, if you go there too early, Mikaelsons will die." She'd been having the visions for days, Mikaelson deaths that she knew she'd never seen before, she could feel it in her bones, these were new versions of the Mikaelsons' ending. Death was truly persistent in his need to keep vampires alive. "You have to help me keep him calm Kol.
Kol allowed himself to drop heavily back into his seat, "Your friends aren't going to be able to help?"
"With the anger I know is coming, I don't really want them anywhere near him to be honest."
"Smart thinking," Kol conceded.
"Well I'm not stupid," Maya replied, "He's going to destroy the house isn't he?"
"Probably."
"Damn it!" she complained, "This is prime New York real estate, and I only just got it!"
"One thing that you have to get used to if you're going to remain at Nik's side darling, is destruction." He heard the front door to the Brownstone open and then slam, "Speak of the devil!"
"Shit!"
Damon opened the door to his apartment and let Caroline inside, Maya had asked him and Enzo to look after her best friend whilst she dealt with the Freya situation, and while he hated being treated like a babysitter, he had to admit, she did save his arse in New Orleans, if not for the spell she'd put on his ring, he'd have burst into flames in the middle of the day, so he owed her one. And Enzo, well Enzo would do pretty much anything for Maya, no questions asked.
"How long is Maya going to be?" Caroline asked, she'd come to New York, not just to get away from her mother's obsessive work habits, but to spend time with her best friend.
"Little Red said that it'll probably take about two weeks to get everything sorted for Freya," Damon replied. He knew that some spells took longer than others, but he hadn't realised that there were spells that needed to be stretched out over time to function.
"Two weeks!" Caroline complained, "What am I supposed to do until then?"
"Well, you're in luck love," Enzo said, coming out of his room, freshly dressed, "Damon and I are going to give you a tour of New York. Besides," he crossed his arms, "It gives us a chance to get to know one another without Maya, don't you think?"
Caroline narrowed her eyes at Enzo, there was a challenge hidden behind all that charm, and she came to the realisation that maybe Enzo didn't like the fact that he had to compete with her for the title of best friend, not that Maya had ever given them any indication that there was a competition. Either way, Caroline Forbes did not back down from a challenge, "I think that'd be great!" she replied cheerily, "Maybe I'll finally understand what Maya sees in you, besides your pretty face," she was feeling catty today, she turned to Damon, "Show me to my room?"
"Right this way," Damon said, motioning for her to head down the hallway, he turned to Enzo, mirth dancing in his eyes, "I like this girl! She's feisty!"
Klaus was furious, he was raging, he was livid, fuming, incensed, and…he couldn't move, "Maya!" he growled.
"Don't you growl at me!" she replied, concentrating on keeping him still, his rage was indescribable, so it was taking a lot out of her to keep him still, "I'm not letting you go until you calm down!"
"HE TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!" Klaus yelled, "HE TOLD MY FATHER WHERE I WAS AND HE STOLE MY CITY!"
"I KNOW!" Maya yelled back, Kol had been zero help to her, the younger Mikaelson bouncing between being enraged at the thought that Marcel had bested his family, and amused at the fact that Klaus was very literally locked down. "But you cannot charge off and kill him, not now!"
"Maya the moment you lose your concentration, I'll bloody run to New Orleans if I have to! No one gets away with what Marcel has done, no one!"
"God Nik!" she moved in close to him, taking his face between her hands, "Look okay, just look at what I've seen if you go to New Orleans for your revenge now!"
Klaus growled, but his eyes locked with hers and he fell into her memories, he witnessed Kol's death, and Finn's, he saw Rebekah trapped by witches, unable to flee, he saw himself burst into flames as he was killed. Witnessed Elijah's anguish at the loss of his family and then his own inevitable end. Pulling back, he panted with exertion, his heart beat slowing slightly as he tried to force himself to calm down. "Let me go," he said.
"Are you…calmer?" Maya asked and he nodded, "And you're not going to do anything irrational, and by that I mean hunt down Marcel, torture him, murder him, steal his kingdom and piss off a city full of witches?"
"Maya!"
"Promises are important Nik, I need you to promise me that you won't do anything like that, at least not until you've broken your curse and have your hybrids at your side. Please Nik, I need you to promise me." Her hands slid down to his chest, over his heart, "Please Nik."
Klaus clenched his jaw, what she was asking, it was a lot, he wanted to say that it was too much to ask of him, he'd never tempered his rage at another's request, even Elijah could not stop him when he really got going. But Maya wasn't asking for her own sake, she was asking for him, for the sake of his family. He realised that he had to agree, if what she saw was correct, then he really didn't have a choice, but that didn't mean that he couldn't plan. If Marcel was playing at being King, Klaus could send in his own spies, human and vampire, and come up with a plan to destroy Marcel and take back his city, without breaking his word to Maya. "I promise." He finally said, and felt the spell that Maya had cast lift almost immediately.
The relief that Maya felt at his words was palpable, he was telling her the truth, she knew it, "You're mad that I spelled you to stay still, aren't you?" she looked up at him with wide eyes, her hands grasped in his.
"You're going to owe me," he said, less angry, more annoyed that he'd been caught in her spell when he'd seen it used before, it was one of her favourites.
"Tell me something I don't know," Maya shrugged, giving him a small smile.
Dropping her hands, Klaus pulled back, straightening up, "I'll be staying here for the next few nights." He was in no mood to deal with his siblings, especially when the chances were he'd actually try to murder Rebekah.
"Why are you telling me?"
"Technically it's your house," Klaus replied.
"Well then, I guess you could take one of the guest rooms on the second floor," Maya responded, "They're small, but comfortable."
Klaus's lips quirked with a hint of a smile, "And where have you been staying?"
"Like you said it's my house, so the master bedroom is the only place really appropriate." She shrugged, giving him an impish grin.
"Of course."
Maya was sat at the breakfast table the next morning, sipping her tea and going over the notes that she'd made when she was in New Orleans. Kol across from her, reading through one of his grimoires that focused on Voodoo, and sketching out possible rituals that could be used to wake Freya. It was this position that Klaus found them in when he came downstairs. Maya raised her head, almost as though she could sense him, the moment he entered, "Finally!" she said, moving to the sink to deposit her empty cup, "I thought you'd never wake up!"
"You were waiting for me?" Klaus asked, ignoring the amused smile that had taken over his little brother's face.
"You're taking me out for the day!" she smiled.
Klaus noted that she was indeed dressed for an outdoor excursion, finding that when she wanted to stay inside, she'd favour baggy t-shirts and sweats, instead she was in a pretty hunter green top that complemented her eyes, black jeans, heeled boots and had applied a simple layer of makeup, "And when did we agree to this?" he asked.
"We didn't, but you clearly need a distraction, and I've been in a magic bubble for weeks, I need a break. I can't do anything else for Freya until these ingredients distil and that's going to take 48 hours. Besides I'm your favourite witch, why wouldn't you want to spend the day with me?"
"You are aware that I'm a busy man," Klaus replied, "I can't just drop everything to spend the day with you."
"Come on Nik," she cajoled, widening her eyes and putting on a pleading affect, "There's a new exhibit at the 'Met' and I have it on good authority that you're a bit of an art history buff."
"Go on Nik, give the poor girl a break," Kol cut in, using that voice that Klaus could hardly refuse, "After all, she is doing all of this just for you, she deserves a break."
Klaus narrowed his eyes, he could already feel himself giving in, damn Kol and his stupid wheedling voice, coupled with Maya's puppy dog expression it was dangerous, "I don't like it when the two of you get along." He muttered.
"Come on Nik, please."
Cursing in Old Norse, Klaus let out a frustrated huff "Fine," he said, "Be ready to go in five minutes." he whooshed from the room.
"Yes!" Maya cheered, giving Kol a high five.
"I heard that!" Klaus called from upstairs and Maya grinned at the younger Mikaelson.
/ / / / / / /
Klaus and Maya were walking out of the 'Met' he wasn't going to admit it to her, but it had been a good idea, Maya was fascinated by art, and hung onto his every word as he told her stories about the artists that had painted or sculpted the works in the museum. And he'd relished the opportunity to talk to someone about art without dealing with his siblings' incessant eye rolling, "Where to next?" he asked.
"I could use a snack," she replied, "Still a lowly mortal here."
Smirking, Klaus guided her to food truck that wasn't far away, Maya's idea for a 'human day' where neither one of them had to be what they were, was rather relaxing. He'd had days when he was out with Damon and Enzo, where their pleasure didn't come from being vampires, they'd relaxed in human atmospheres, listening to music, drinking, and sight-seeing (that one for Enzo), and they'd been some of his most satisfying times in recent memory. He was having a rather enjoyable day with the little witch, "Come on," he said, "According to 'Yelp' that particular food truck has four stars."
Maya laughed, "I can't believe you just said that," she threaded her arm through his.
"What?"
"Yelp, like you're just some tourist in the city, it's weird to think about."
"Well food trucks are a recent invention, and I can't run the risk of you getting food poisoning, like you said, you are mortal." He replied, the smile on his face genuine as the two of them reached the front of the truck's queue.
Klaus purchased Maya's food at her insistence, "The guy works in a food truck Nik, it's not even his, compulsion is not ok in this situation!"
"Hurry up and finish, there's plenty we can do today." New York may be Maya's favourite place, but she'd only spent a few weeks each summer there, there was a lot that she had yet to see, so Klaus would in fact be her tour guide.
Finishing up, she threw the rubbish away and gripped his arm again, "Are we walking?" at his answering nod, she smiled, they could talk for a little while then, "So…"
"So?"
"Tell me about your wolf pack, have you found them yet?"
Klaus nodded, "They're staying in one of the state forests in Massachusetts, I've been conversing with a few of their Elders over email."
"That's great!" Maya replied, "They're only a few hours away! Are you going to see them?"
"They move around every few months, and they are still weary of having a vampire near them. The current Alpha and the Elders want to meet away from the pack before they let me anywhere near the rest of them."
"Well it makes sense that they'd be cautious, I mean don't people refer to you as 'Klaus the Mad'? I'm just saying, you're supposed to be very scary."
"What do you mean 'supposed to be'?"
"You're right, my mistake," Maya conceded, holding her hands up, "You're downright terrifying, anyone would quake in fear at just being in your presence."
"You don't look terrified," Klaus pointed out.
"It…passed," she shrugged, and laughed when it elicited a growl from the Original. "My point, is that you need to let these wolves get to know you, and maybe keep 'Psycho Klaus' from sabotaging you."
"Psycho Klaus?"
"Oh," Maya shot him a cheeky grin, "There are many different facets to your personality, I gave them names."
"Such as?" Klaus asked, he didn't think anyone had ever spoke to him like this before, so freely, so unafraid of consequence.
"Ok so there's 'Psycho Klaus' of course , 'Vengeful Klaus' don't act like you're not already plotting against Marcel, I know you are, 'Bored Klaus', 'Evil Klaus', and 'Murderous Klaus', just to name a few, granted most of them are very similar and its hard to distinguish between them, but they're all different. None of them are my favourite version of you, but they all have their uses."
Klaus raised an eyebrow, "And which version of me is your favourite?"
"Well that's easy," Maya replied, wondering how he didn't get it yet, "Nik's my favourite, he's the guy that tells me to 'get over' the fact that I've hurt people, because I need to be selfish, the guy that takes the time out of his week to talk to me, even when I know he's busy. The guy that spends the day with me in New York, just because I want him to, the guy that protects his friends for no other reason than they're his friends. And all those versions of Klaus, they're right there in Nik, that's what makes him so special." She shrugged, "Turns out I kind of dig the crazy."
Klaus didn't know what to say, the only other person who'd ever even come close to speaking their mind to him was Stefan Salvatore back in the 20's, and he'd been an emotionless ripper at the time, so didn't really have any self-preservation instincts. But Maya, she'd just been so open and honest with him, unafraid to answer his questions, and completely willing to let him get a glimpse of what she saw in him that had her so willing to face off against his enemies.
"You know what else I like about Nik?" she asked.
"What?"
"I like the fact that he's willing to help me out to win a bet with Damon…"
"You have another bet with Damon?" he had a feeling she was only talking now so that he didn't have to, it was like she knew that he didn't know how to respond to her revelation.
"Yep."
"And you want my help to win."
"Yep."
"What is it?" he asked cautiously, the last time she'd just thrown herself at him.
"Turn around," Maya said, gesturing for him to turn when he didn't move.
Rolling his eyes, Klaus did as she asked and let out a surprised "Oof," when he felt her jump on his back. "Absolutely not, no way, get down." He said, he was the Original Hybrid, (or at least he would be soon) he did not give piggyback rides.
"Please Nik," she said, tightening her grip on him.
"No way! Off now!"
"But it's for another 500 bucks! Damon's trying to get his money back!"
"I don't care."
"I'll split it with you!"
"I don't need $500."
"Neither do I, but it's Damon's money, if I win the bet then it will irritate the shit out of him! Don't you want to do that Nik? Don't you want to bug Damon?"
Klaus frowned, Damon may have been his best friend, but he was also, without a doubt, a little shit, and causing him annoyance was always an excellent pass time, "Bloody hell, fine!" he ground out, "How long do we have to stay like this?"
"15 minutes minimum," Maya replied, (okay so it was really only 5, but they'd been walking for ages and her feet hurt!) "And I need a picture as proof!"
Klaus fought the urge to groan, if any of his siblings got a hold of a picture of him giving his little witch a piggyback ride they'd never let it go. "One picture, you will not send it Damon, you can take one photo, show it to Damon and then you must delete it from your phone. I have a reputation to uphold."
"Great!" Maya chirped.
In the end she got seven photos out of him, and she'd delete them off her phone, just as soon as she'd uploaded them to her laptop, they'd be great blackmail for the future.
Notes:
Ok this chapter had a few revelations, along with some a little bonding, I felt like Nik needed it and there was no way Finn wasn't going to reveal what Klaus had been up to, so no Freya yet, but she'll probably be in the next chapter!
If you have time please leave a comment, the feedback is wonderful.
Chapter 19: Awake
Chapter Text
It had been six days since Maya's little trip around New York with Klaus, he'd kept himself fairly closed off since then, and Maya had chosen not to push, she was treating him like a wary animal really, not wanting to spook him if she pushed too hard. She'd let him deal with his feelings on his own, and just show him that she was there for him when he needed.
She and Kol were about to complete the first phase of the unlinking spell, he'd brought her a desiccated vampire and placed him on the floor of the basement, Freya had been gently laid down next to the vampire, the two would need to be touching so that it would be easier to connect them. After receiving descriptions from Maya on what the link felt like, Kol had determined that Freya would need to connect to the vampire first and that connection needed to settle for a few days so that it would be easier to trick the real link into believing that the vampire was Freya. Maya drew the pentagram around both prone figures, Kol couldn't help with this as she needed to infuse her essence into the binding, he would just be serving as her battery, using the magic that made him an Original would help, as it was his mother's magic, which was close to Freya's and would hopefully mask their intentions.
"Freya has an affinity for the Earth," Kol said, "How are you accounting for the difference in magic?" When he was mortal, and had his own magic, Kol had an affinity for Air, the opposite element to Earth, his mother was connected to Water, so the magic that Maya would be drawing on would either be connected to Water or Air.
"Nik flew in soil from the region we believe that Freya was born in so that I can boost the connection between her and my magic." Maya answered. "It's one of the key ingredients in the spell that I wrote."
Kol nodded, it was a good idea, and Freya's magic would instinctively latch onto it, making it easier for Maya to manipulate it. She'd come up with the solution on her own, Kol felt something akin to pride for his student, she absorbed his magical knowledge like a sponge, and twisted it to suit her needs. "Good, are you ready? Once you start the spell, you can't stop, not until it's finished."
Maya nodded, "I don't know how long this is going to take, so we should probably get Nik." At Kol's questioning look she elaborated, "It takes 5 minutes for Enzo to really start feeling the affects of my Siphoning, for Damon it's 7 minutes. Enzo's been a vampire for about a century, Damon's been one for just over 140 years. Which means roughly it's one minute for every 20 years of vampirism. You're a thousand, which means, theoretically, that you should be able to withstand about 50 minutes of my Siphoning. This is a big spell, so my magic is going to get used up as fast as I'm Siphoning it, and I'm really not sure how long this will take, Nik should be here in case you need to switch out with him."
"Alright, I'll fetch my brother, you make yourself comfortable, this is a dangerous spell, even though the magic isn't your own, it will take a lot out of you." Kol said, he needed to do more research on Siphoners, he didn't have enough information on them in order to know if Maya worked differently or reacted differently to the way in which spells worked.
Moments later, Klaus was downstairs with Kol, Maya was sat on the ground, just outside of the pentagram, Kol took a seat on her left and Klaus on her right, the younger Mikaelson gave her his hand and Maya began the spell.
Rebekah and Elijah were scouring every inch of Kol's study in an attempt to figure out where their brothers had disappeared to. Klaus's study, bedroom and studio were all locked up tight, but Kol's hadn't been spelled. At first Elijah thought that it was an oversight, one which he would use to locate his family, but as each moment passed without any further information, he was starting to believe that Kol left his study unlocked because he hadn't left anything behind that would help them.
Rebekah sighed in frustration as she tipped out a draw and again found nothing, "This is bloody useless Elijah! There's nothing here!"
Elijah pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, Rebekah was right, there wasn't anything worth their attention in this room, "We've already checked Kol's room," Elijah said, "he hasn't left a single breadcrumb for us to follow."
"Which means that Kol really doesn't want us interfering," Rebekah replied, "He and Nik are working together and Kol's loving the fact that we're not a part of their schemes!" She wouldn't lie and say that she wasn't hurt, she'd been getting the cold shoulder from Nik for months, but to discover that Kol was the one that was getting Nik's trust now and not her, it was painful and maddening, he'd been daggered the last time for attempting to construct a dagger to put Nik down, and yet Nik was trusting him with something as important as his curse. "We need to look at this from another angle. What about Nik's witch?"
"Kol and I couldn't find anything about her the last time she was in the city," Elijah replied.
"Kol clearly found something about her, but just didn't tell you," she scoffed.
"How is that helping?"
"It isn't, but I felt the need to point it out, besides you didn't have me before."
"And what are you going to do that I already haven't?"
"That's easy, the girl may be Nik's witch, but she's still a girl, a teenager, and I know what teenage girls like, after all I am one."
"The first stage of the spell is complete," Maya said, she was curled up in the giant bed in the master suite of the Brownstone, the spell taking more out of her than she realised it would.
Klaus was sat across from her in a comfortable armchair, "How many stages are there?"
"Possibly four," she replied, fighting off a yawn, "Stages two and three are moving the link to the vampire, and at the same time shifting Freya's side of the link to Kol so that both ends are connected to something. I don't know if once I relocate the link Freya will wake up, or if it's a completely separate spell."
"Just connecting that vampire and Freya took a lot out of you sweetheart, are you sure you're going to be able to do this on your own?"
Maya nodded, "I'll be okay, the rest of the ingredients need time to prepare, I'll Siphon the magic before-hand, and I'll be chock full vampire blood while I do the spell."
Klaus narrowed his eyes, this was not part of the plan that he'd been informed of, "Whose blood?"
"Oh Kol offered, I figure Original blood is stronger than any other," she shrugged.
"I see," Klaus suppressed a growl, he couldn't stand the idea of Maya drinking Kol's blood, she belonged to him, he didn't want her to drink from anyone else, and that was a thought that he'd unpack later. "What do you plan on doing now?"
"Probably just watch a couple movies, eat some take out, you know you can join me if you want?"
"I'm surprised that you haven't been back to the apartment, I was under the impression that your best friend was in town." Klaus replied, moving to join her at the head of the bed, sitting next to her.
Maya let out a little laugh, "Damon might be an irritant, but occasionally he has his uses, he texted me, apparently Enzo and Caroline are having some sort of 'best friend wars' where I guess the winner gets me? If I go over there, they're just going to want me to choose between them, and that's not something I ever want to be dragged into."
"Ah the troubles of youth," Klaus smirked, "Loved so much that people are fighting over you, how is that view from the top?"
"You tell me, I have been led to believe that you're a pretty sought after commodity yourself."
Klaus threw his arm over her shoulder and pulled her close to his side, "What can I say love, it's good to be king."
Caroline focused on Enzo and crossed her arms over her chest, she was sat across from him at the table, a piece of paper with a lot of writing on it between them, "These are the terms that are on the table." She said.
"This is preposterous, and unfair, I'm not agreeing to it," Enzo replied, crossing his arms and shooting a glare back at her.
"This is the only thing that makes sense," Caroline said, "I won't agree to anything else."
"You don't get every weekend with her Caroline! You spend all day with her in school, you have sleepovers in her room, hell you're there for every family night! I get time with Maya too!"
"She spends every summer with you and Damon!" Caroline exclaimed.
"One month, she spends one month every summer with me and that's only because you spend a month at cheer camp every summer. And do I have to remind you that you've forced her join the bloody cheer team so that next year, she'll be doing the same! I won't get any time with her next summer!"
"Now you're just being ridiculous, and unreasonable, I do not monopolise her time! We're best friends! We've known each other since Kindergarten, it's only natural that we spend a lot of time together."
"And I've known her since she was seven! I should be able to spend as much time with her as I want, she's basically my sister!"
"I've known her longer!"
"People please, let's remember that the winner of this fight gets Maya as the reward!" Damon cut in.
"Shut up Damon!" Caroline and Enzo both said.
A week later, Kol lay next to Freya and the unnamed vampire on the floor in the centre of a Chaos symbol, Maya and Kol had a serious debate about what to use for this particular spell. Kol had wanted to go with something a little more traditional, but Maya had argued that seeing as how they were mixing Voodoo with Old Norse magic, and the caster of the spell was using magic that was possibly air and water based, or possibly even death's magic which was messy itself, on someone who was steeped in earth magic, chaos was the only thing that made sense. Maya used the ingredients that she'd mixed to paint binding symbols on Kol and Freya's skin, she drew linking lines on Freya and the vampire, this was going to be a very complicated spell that was going to require a lot of concentration.
"Are you sure you can handle this sweetheart?" Klaus asked from the side lines, he was there just in case she needed him, she'd spent days siphoning from him and Kol, charging her talisman until it was fit to burst with magic.
"If I can't I'll stop," Maya replied.
She stepped away from them and moved to stand beside Klaus, "Before we get started you should take some of my blood darling, you know just in case." Kol moved to sit up, but Klaus's bleeding wrist was in front of her in an instant.
"Nonsense, you should have some of mine," Klaus said, pushing his wrist towards her mouth, he ignored Kol's smirk as he did. Maya took a few mouthfuls, but Klaus bit into his wrist again and pushed it towards her, "I want to make sure that you have enough in you," he said at her wary glance.
"Right!" Maya pushed Klaus's arm away from her, licking her lips to get at the stray drops of blood, "Let's see if we can wake your sister!" Maya slipped off her shoes, stepping into the chaos symbol, she allowed herself to connect to it, lifting her hands she frowned in concentration, it was time to see if she could put her money where her mouth was and wake Freya.
/ / / /
The spell took hours and used up so much of Maya's energy that the moment she'd finished she collapsed, unconscious, Klaus caught her and whooshed her to her bedroom whilst Kol sat up and kept an eye on his sister. She hadn't awoken yet, and he couldn't tell whether or not she would, he could feel the connection to Freya's magic, and knew without a doubt that would be able to cut her off from it should she choose to work against him or his brother, but that was all he could feel so far. Once she was awake he should be able to feel the itch of her consciousness, at the back of his mind, but nothing yet.
Klaus gently deposited Maya on her bed, brushing her hair out of her face he could tell that she was exhausted, as a Siphon she had no magical energies to drain, but the use of such heavy magic took its toll on her body, that much was clear. Biting into his wrist, he shoved it into her mouth, waiting until he could feel her drinking from him, her eyes fluttered open and she moaned in pain.
Klaus let out a breath in relief, "Are you alright love?" he pushed her hair out of her eyes.
"My head hurts," she whimpered, nuzzling her face into his hand.
"You should have some more blood," he replied, pulling away and biting into his wrist again. She latched onto the bleeding appendage and drank until his wound healed.
"Still hurts," she whispered and he frowned, she gripped his hand in hers, "It's ok, it's a magic hangover, Kol said I'd probably have one once I'd finished the spell. I think I just need to sleep. Is Freya awake?"
"Not yet, get some sleep, I promise I'll wake you if she does."
"The moment she wakes Nik, we need her, but trusting her…"
"I won't trust a thing she says unless you approve it," he replied, causing her to give him a tired smile, "Now, close your eyes, and get some sleep, I'll be here when you wake."
Rebekah and Elijah were at the fifth place on her list, looking for some sign of Klaus's witch. "Rebekah, this is sixth place we've been to, perhaps wandering the city aimlessly wasn't the best idea." Elijah sighed.
"It's the fifth, and it's not like you had any better ideas Elijah, we're going to all the places that a teenage girl would want to go in Manhattan, now hurry up, we still have seven more places on list we need to hit before lunch."
"Rebekah this is ridi-" Elijah cut himself off when he saw who had just walked in.
"What?" Rebekah asked, following her brother's line of sight, "Who are you looking at?"
"Those two," Elijah replied, eyeing two very familiar vampires, "Niklaus has been hanging around those two recently, but I don't know who the human girl is with them."
"Well," Rebekah smirked, "It's a good thing that I'm here, none of them know who I am, and all I need is an opening."
The next morning Maya woke up early, she could feel her body buzzing with energy, she'd rushed through breakfast with Kol, before he and Klaus headed out to…do whatever it was they'd gone to do. And it was lunchtime when Caroline had strong armed Damon and Enzo into bringing her to the Brownstone, "SUNSHINE!" Maya shrieked in joy; she didn't realise how much she missed Caroline until she saw her.
"MAYA!" Caroline shrieked back, wrapping the slightly older girl in her arms, "I missed you so much!"
"Oh I missed you too!" Maya replied burying her face in Caroline's hair, "So," she pushed away from Caroline, "How have you liked New York so far?"
"I love this place," Caroline replied, "And we're totally doing this next year! Without the magical crap."
"Definitely!"
"Come on, you need to give me a tour of this place, the outside is beautiful, but of course we're going to have to re-decorate, this place has got serious serial killer vibes."
Maya smirked, "It's one of the Augustine safe houses, Nik, Damon and Enzo have been systematically destroying every part of it, and they started here."
"Klaus bought you torture house?" Caroline asked, "I feel like I should be surprised but I'm not."
"It's not a torture house," Maya replied, "It's just a little dark," she shrugged, "But the bedrooms are pretty sweet."
Caroline squealed in excitement, "Show me everything!"
Damon and Enzo gave each other a mildly worried look and watched the two girls rush upstairs, "Should we be worried?" Enzo asked, they'd never actually seen Caroline and Maya together before.
"Definitely," Damon nodded.
/ / / / /
An hour later music was blasting through the house, Maya and Caroline were dancing in the middle of the living room, Damon had deigned to join them and Enzo was drinking, while laughing at them as Damon spun the girls around. The girls were really enjoying themselves, Maya seemed to have more energy than normal and she was friskier than usual.
"Well, well," Kol said walking inside, "What do we have here?"
Klaus stepped into the living room just after him, his eyes tracking Maya's every movement, "She seems extra chipper today," he said.
Kol let out a little laugh, "That she is, exactly how much blood did you feed her?"
Klaus quirked an eyebrow, he'd forgotten, it'd been so long since he'd allowed anyone to drink from him, he'd forgotten the effect that his blood had on others, especially large quantities of it, "Bloody hell," Klaus muttered causing Kol to look over at him and smirk.
"You forgot didn't you brother?"
"Forgot what?" Enzo asked.
"Nik here forgot just what ancient blood will do to someone so young, he overcooked her."
"She needed it," Klaus insisted.
"Maybe, doesn't change the fact that she's as high as bloody kite right now."
"What are you talking about?" Enzo asked, "Our blood doesn't have that effect on people."
Klaus shrugged, "Actually it does, you're just not old enough Enzo, once you reach about four centuries our blood can have… side effects."
"Side effects like that?" Enzo nodded his head at Maya, watching as she and Caroline danced with Damon in the middle.
"She's on a blood high," Klaus sighed, "Thankfully she'll just be a little tired when it wears off, there's nothing we can do about it, so I just suggest we let her have her fun."
"Kol!" Maya called, "Come and dance with us!" she giggled.
Kol smirked, "My pleasure darling!" his hand slipped into hers and she pulled him towards them, "And who is this beautiful creature?" he asked, eyeing Caroline with a devilish grin.
Caroline raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a unimpressed once over, "Someone that's not interested," she replied.
If possible, Kol's smirk widened, a glint in his eyes as he responded, "I do love pretty little things with sharp tongues."
Maya rolled her eyes, "Kol, this is Caroline, and she's off limits to the likes of you."
"The likes of me?" he asked mock offended.
"We're just not into playboys," Caroline cut in, tugging Maya towards her, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she twirled to meet Damon's outstretched hand. The Salvatore smirking at the turn of events.
Maya laughed as she pressed up against Caroline's back, sandwiching the blonde between her and the raven haired vampire, "Sorry Kol! No fun for you!"
"I'll take that as a challenge," he grinned, Maya's pretty friend smelled delicious.
Before she could respond, Maya stumbled as she was hit with a wave of magic, looking up at Kol, he'd felt it too, "Freya," she breathed.
This was much shorter than anticipated, but hopefully the next chapter is a little meatier...
Notes:
If you have time please leave a comment, the feedback is amazing!
Chapter 20: Daughter of Death
Notes:
Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kol and Maya whooshed to the basement, just in time to see Freya gasp awake, "Oh my God it worked," Maya said, she almost couldn't believe it, Freya had actually woken up. "Can you feel the connection?" Maya asked.
"Yes," Kol replied, "I can feel her presence," he whispered, not wanting to startle his sister. The two of them walked slowly towards Freya, she was breathing heavily, frantically looking around, she wasn't where she'd hidden herself. "Freya," Kol said calmly, causing the woman to look up at him, her eyes widening when they met his, she recognised him.
"Kol?" she asked, surprised.
"Hello sister."
Freya's eyes darted around the room, "How- where am I?"
"New York," Kol replied, "We found you in New Orleans," he said, eyes narrowing, "Imagine our surprise, when we realised that a sister that we believed long dead, was actually alive and kicking."
"We?" Freya asked.
"Yes we. Hello Freya," Klaus said, appearing at his brother's side, and blocking her view of Maya.
Freya's heart sped up at the sight of him, both the first and last time she'd seen Klaus was when he'd daggered Kol in 1914, and yet Kol was stood there calm and cool, next to his brother as though nothing ever happened. "How do you know who I am?" she was completely thrown off, no one knew who she was, she'd kept it that way for a reason.
"A little birdie told us," Kol shrugged, "I remember you, you came with me to a Christmas party in 1914."
"Christmas 1914," Klaus said, "Wasn't that when I…"
"Daggered me," Kol finished, shooting his brother an annoyed look.
Klaus shrugged in response, he wasn't going to apologise for it, "Why didn't you tell any of us who you were?" he asked Freya.
The blonde stood on shaky legs, "I saw you stab our brother in the heart!" she hissed.
Kol shrugged, "To be fair to Nik, I was trying to make a dagger that would do the same thing to him."
"Exactly, he deserved it," Klaus brushed off and Maya smacked him on the arm.
"You're not helping," she said, revealing herself to Freya.
"Who are you?" Freya asked, this wasn't someone she recognised.
"I'm the one that woke you," she replied, keeping her focus on the older woman, "Don't worry about your curse, we have a temporary handle on it."
Freya was startled, how did she know about the curse? "What do you know of my curse?"
"Sleep for a hundred years, wake for one, essentially immortal, you're connected to another witch, the one that cursed you, you're running from her, but I don't know who she is, or why."
"How do you know all that?"
"Does it matter? I'm the only reason you're awake early, and not being hunted right now."
Freya's hand hovered over her heart, it was like she could sense the change in the link, and that was when she spotted the desiccated vampire, "What happened to my curse? It's- I- It feels different."
Maya glanced over at Kol, waiting for his approval, at his nod she gave the rehearsed answer, "It's a temporary solution, the witch's half of the link is connected to that vampire, your half is connected to Kol. As long as you don't do anything to disrupt the connection that I've built, you have a few years before it starts to break down."
Freya watched the girl with suspicious eyes, she sensed that she wasn't a normal witch, in fact she felt like a boy that Freya had known once, six hundred years ago, before she'd escaped Dahlia. "You masked my link; I've been looking for a way for centuries." She finally said.
"The Mikaelson siblings are very protective of their own, even if they'd never met before, your brothers are very powerful Freya, and while you're a powerful witch, you've spent most of your time asleep, they've had a lot longer to cultivate there knowledge of magic."
Freya eyed her brothers again, this time noticing their clothes, "What's the date?"
"It's the 30th of July, 2008," Klaus said, "We have a lot to talk about sister."
"First maybe we should let Freya shower, change, get some food in her, she's been asleep for 94 years," Maya said, putting her hand on Klaus's arm.
Klaus nodded, "Fine, hurry up."
/ / / /
After about two hours, Freya was sat at the dining table with Klaus and Maya across from her, Kol was sat next to her, "You didn't wake me just because I'm your sister," Freya deduced. After witnessing how violent and bloodthirsty her siblings were in 1914, she wouldn't trust that all they wanted was a family reunion.
"Well at least you're not stupid," Klaus said, Maya had been oddly tense since Freya woke up, and he'd picked up on it immediately, making him tense and even more distrustful of his older sister than he already was. Maya was fidgeting with her hands under the table, and Klaus laid one of his over hers, "How much do you know about me?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"He means, what do you know of his origin?" Kol clarified, "You must have heard stories about us, about Nik."
"I spent most of my time running," Freya said, shaking her head, "I know nothing of my family besides their names."
Klaus looked over at Maya for confirmation, "Its probable," she whispered, "she seemed pretty shocked when she saw what you did to Kol."
"I suppose the most important thing that you should know, is that I'm only your half-brother."
Freya gave him a questioning look, she hadn't been lying when she said that she didn't know much about her family, Dahlia had only wanted Freya to rely on her, and had only told her that her siblings had become abominations. "What are you talking about?"
"Mother had an affair with a werewolf, and when we were turned into vampires, I made my first kill and triggered my werewolf curse."
"That's impossible," Freya insisted, "You can't be werewolf and a vampire, you can't be both."
"Well Nik's special," Maya said, "He is both, he's a hybrid, the Original Hybrid."
"And mother being so desperate for forgiveness, cast a curse on my poor brother," Kol said, that day he and the rest of his family had been hiding in the caves, away from the wolves on the full moon, none of his siblings really knew what had happened the night that Klaus was cursed, they'd just seen the aftermath, and Nik had come back broken. "She locked away his werewolf side, it's been a thousand years and finally we have almost all of the ingredients to break the curse."
"You need someone with Esther's magic to do the spell," Freya said.
"The curse can be broken by any witch powerful enough, I need you to ensure that nothing unexpected occurred," Klaus replied. He'd had a long discussion with Kol that morning, while they needed Freya's magic, they weren't going to give her all the information on his curse, not when Maya was so hesitant to trust her.
"And if I decide that I don't wish to help you?" Freya asked, she really knew nothing about Klaus, just what she'd seen of him, and what she'd seen hadn't been good, she didn't know whether she was going to want to help him with his curse, although doing something that was so clearly against what Esther wanted did sound appealing.
"Well that's simple," Maya said, "My helping you break your curse, is contingent upon you helping Nik, if you don't help Nik, I'll put you back to sleep, and we won't have a use for Finn anymore, so he can join you."
Klaus smirked, he did so enjoy her dark side, and it wasn't something that he'd influenced, she came by it naturally, "Don't worry sister, I'll give you a little time to decide what you want to do, our siblings are all awake and in the city, you should get to know them." He was planning on using his siblings against her, Finn wouldn't help him, but Rebekah had been desperate to get back in his good graces, and Elijah would do as he asked if he wanted him to trust him again.
Klaus, Kol and Freya had left to go to the Mikaelson Penthouse, Maya didn't want to go, which was perfect because Klaus was unwilling to let her go, Rebekah and Elijah didn't know who she was yet and he wanted it kept that way for as long as possible. So Maya was at the Brownstone with Caroline, Enzo and Damon, her high had finally worn off and she had crashed pretty heavily.
"Sunshine I'm so tired," she moaned, dropping onto the couch in the living room.
"I don't care," she said, pulling out a giant binder, "we have too much work to do!"
"What the hell is that?"
"You were with Freya, Klaus and Kol for hours! What did you think I was doing while I was waiting?!"
"Barbie's very organised," Damon said, stealing Enzo's drink from him.
"I'll give it to you Blondie, you sure know how to get what you want," Enzo admitted, trying to take his drink back.
"I have fabric samples, colour swatches and the boys picked up about fifty furniture catalogues for us!" she said, dropping the catalogues on the coffee table.
"Why are you doing this to me?" Maya moaned.
"Your mom didn't let me help decorate the house back home, but this is your place, and it's in desperate need of a makeover!"
"This must be what hell feels like," Maya muttered, earning a slap on the back of her head for it. "Damn it Caroline!" Maya exclaimed, while Damon snickered at the two girls.
"What do you think you're laughing at Mr Salvatore," Caroline said, narrowing her eyes at the vampire, "You're helping too!"
/ / / /
Maya had managed to sneak off, when Caroline was directing Enzo to remove some of the more hideous pieces of furniture from the downstairs study. In Maya's attempt to hide from 'Hurricane Caroline' she'd found a storage room on the third floor, it was filled with boxes of paperwork, probably stuff from Augustine that Klaus either had yet to go through, or more likely, he didn't feel as though the information was important and shoved it out of sight.
"MAYA!" Caroline yelled from downstairs, causing her to jump and knock over one of the boxes.
"Crap," she muttered, bending down to pick up the documents that had spread out on the floor when something caught her eye, picking up one of the documents she turned it around and scanned through it. She gasped as she read four seemingly innocuous words, the memories flooding her mind, this time causing her very real pain, "Aah!" Maya gripped her head in her hands and collapsed. The images running through her head were terrifying but she'd seen them before, they shouldn't have scared her as much as they did but they were worse this time. "God, please!" she whimpered, it was like a knife in her skull, curling up in a ball she squeezed her eyes shut, hoping the pain would stop soon.
"God Maya!" Enzo exclaimed, he'd heard her hit the floor and sped upstairs when she cried out. Picking her up, he whooshed them to her room and deposited her on the bed, "Maya! Maya?!" he tried, Damon and Caroline rushing into the room.
"What happened?" Caroline asked.
"I don't know!" Enzo replied, turning back to the prone form of his best friend, "Maya!" she started to convulse, "No!"
"She's bleeding!" Caroline said, hurrying to Maya's side.
When Maya stopped her breathing shallowed, and heartbeat slowed, "Enzo what's happening?"
Enzo looked over at Damon, "Call Nik and Kol, NOW!"
Klaus and Kol walked into the Penthouse with Freya in between them, they ushered her into the recently refurbished living room, (they had compulsion to thank for the quick fixes in their home). "Elijah! Rebekah! Finn!" Klaus called, his siblings appearing in the room in an instant.
"Brothers! Sister! Meet Freya, our long-lost oldest sibling," Kol said cheerily.
Rebekah and Elijah froze at the sight of her, but Finn was in front of her in less than a second, "Freya?" he asked, and she smiled at him in return.
"Hello Finn," she threw her arms around her brother, the only one that she really knew and Finn hugged her back.
Kol looked over at Klaus and rolled his eyes, throwing himself onto the loveseat, his legs over one of the arms, his back leaning against the other. Klaus smirked and knocked Kol's legs off the arm and sat down on it, leaving the couch and other armchair free for the rest of his siblings, almost as though he and Kol were presenting a united front against the rest of them. "Yes, yes we're all very excited to meet a new member of the family," Klaus said.
"But we should talk about more important things," Kol cut in, "Like why you never came to find us before, who you're running from, who cursed you, and you know why?"
"Kol!" Elijah said sharply as he led his oldest sister to the couch, "Freya has just gotten here, perhaps we should allow her time to get to know us first."
"No he's right Elijah," Klaus said, "My witch could have died waking Freya early, giving her time that she wouldn't normally have in order to break her curse, I want to know everything."
Kol was surprised at his brother's defence of him, surprised and quietly pleased, Klaus usually only spoke out against Elijah when Elijah was against him, not when Elijah was working against any of his other siblings. "So tell us Freya, tell us all about that nasty little curse."
"I'd like to know as well, Elijah," Rebekah said more softly, "I remember meeting you once, which means that you knew who we were, why didn't you say anything to me?"
Freya shot Finn a look, her brother didn't look happy at Kol or Klaus, she'd need to find out why later, but it didn't look like her younger brothers were going to let it go, "What did our mother tell you about me?" she asked, she'd been told by Dahlia that her family didn't want her.
"She told us that you died of the plague," Elijah said, "It's why we moved to the New World, father didn't want to take the chance that we would become sick and die, so he moved us. Clearly that wasn't the case."
"Did you know that mother had a sister?" at her siblings shocked looks she continued, "Mother was a very powerful witch, clearly, I mean she created vampires after all, but in order to marry father she gave up witchcraft. Her older sister however, Dahlia, refused to give it up, she hated mother for marrying our father and abandoning her. And about a year into the marriage, mother discovered that she was barren, so she went to Dahlia to beg for help. You see mother may have been strong, but Dahlia was far more powerful, and she agreed to help, for a price."
"Mother gave you up," Rebekah concluded.
Freya nodded, "Not me specifically, she gave up the first borns, if she didn't Dahlia would have taken all of mothers children."
"Wait," Kol said, "You said first borns as in more than one."
"Mother gave up every first born, of every generation, if any of you had had children, Dahlia would have taken them, your children, your children's children, every first born of mother's bloodline."
"How could she?!" Rebekah gasped, out of all her family, she was the one that longed for children, even when she was human, but if she'd had one then they would have been taken from her!
"I suppose that explains why mother wasn't in a rush to get any of us married," Elijah muttered bitterly, it was odd when he thought about it, Finn was nearly thirty when he was turned and yet he wasn't married, when most in their village were married off during their teenage years.
"When Dahlia found out that mother had turned you into vampires, creatures that not only could not die, but could not have children, she became angry and obsessed with finding a way to be immortal. She cast a spell to link us, so that we couldn't be killed, and then she cast the sleeping curse, we sleep for a hundred years to allow our magic to gather in us, then we wake for a year."
"That doesn't explain why you never came to us," Rebekah said.
"Rebekah!" Finn said, scolding his baby sister.
Freya gave them a sad look as she remembered her mortal life, "The first time I tried to leave, it with one of the boys from the village near us, we spent months sneaking around and I fell in love with him. I fell pregnant, and then Dahlia killed my love, she told me that she had known about us the whole time, she let me run around with that boy because she wanted me to become pregnant. She wanted my baby for her own, to use for his power. I decided that I could not live like that any longer, and poisoned myself, it was better to die, than be trapped with Dahlia for the rest of my life." Finn gripped his sister's hand in his, he didn't want to think about her being in so much pain that she didn't want to live any longer. "But it was all for nothing, when I took that poison it didn't kill me, because Dahlia had already cast her spell and linked us, I woke a few hours later, but my son was not part of the spell." She had tears in her eyes.
"He died," Rebekah whispered brokenly.
"I spent the next eight centuries trying to escape from Dahlia, I was finally able to in 1914, that's when we met," she looked over at Kol and then Rebekah.
"So what you're saying is, our psychotic aunt will be coming for you when she wakes up," Klaus said, it felt like he'd just brought a whole host of problems on himself that he didn't need.
Finn looked over at his brother at that, "I thought that the whole point of your witch was that she was able to wake Freya without consequence!"
Klaus sneered at Finn, "You wouldn't know what the point of my witch is, she woke Freya early, and was able to trick the link between Freya and Dahlia into thinking that nothing has changed. Dahlia will wake eventually, but it gives Freya the opportunity to have a few more years to figure out how to kill our aunt. Which is more than I can say you would have done for her!"
Finn growled in anger, veins appearing under his darkening eyes, "Finn don't!" Elijah commanded, "It won't end well for you."
Freya watched the exchange between her brothers, she'd seen Klaus dagger Kol, she'd seen Rebekah and Elijah at the Christmas party, but she hadn't seen Finn, and judging from the lingering tension between her siblings, she got the idea that there was a serious divide between Finn and the rest of the family.
Klaus and Kol allowed their vampiric features to come through, re-affirming that they were on the same side, but before they could do anything a phone rang. Klaus pulled his out of his pocket and looked at the ID, he frowned and gestured at Kol to follow him with a slight tilt of head. The two of them whooshed out of the room and into Klaus's studio, shutting the door behind them so that their siblings couldn't hear anything.
"What just happened?" Freya asked.
Klaus answered the phone call from Damon, putting it on speaker even though it wasn't necessary, "Damon! I'm rather busy at the moment."
"You need to get back here now!" Damon demanded.
"What's happened?"
"Maya was in a storage closet with that paperwork from Augustine, they must have triggered something, because she collapsed, and then she seized, and blood came out of her nose and her ears, and now she's barely breathing, it's just like before, you need to get here!"
"I'll be there shortly." Klaus looked at Kol, "I have to go."
"What happened before Nik?"
"I told you that she was attacked by mother when she found the moonstone, what I didn't tell you was that it nearly killed her, she was unconscious for two weeks before she was brought to New York. I had to go into her mind and pull her out, or else she would have died, I was the only one strong enough to get past her defences."
"I'll go," Kol said.
"Kol-"
"Listen to me! You can't leave, you've already made it known to our siblings that Maya means something to you, and you told Freya that Maya could have died, if you leave then they will assume it has something to do with your witch. Besides the moment you're gone Finn will speak of how much of a monster you are and Elijah and Rebekah may join in, we need Freya on our side, and you and I both know that it would be better if it was willingly."
"You're the one that controls the flow of Freya's magic!"
"Maya put in a failsafe of her own, should Freya stray too far from me, she won't be able to access her magic, we might as well test it out now."
"I was the only one who could get into Maya's mind last time."
"And if I can't get in, I will come back immediately and you can go, but it will look less suspicious if you remain and I go." Kol said.
Klaus let out a low growl, he didn't like the thought of anyone in Maya's head that wasn't him, but Kol made a point, "Fine! You call me the moment she wakes up!"
Kol whooshed out of the Penthouse and Klaus made his way back downstairs.
The Other Side
Maya groaned as she woke on the floor of the other side, "Fuck not again!" she complained, moving to stand on shaky legs, she was pretty sure that she shouldn't be there, she couldn't remember an attack.
"Hello Maya," a voice said from behind her, causing her to whirl around in shock.
"You!" she exclaimed, recognising the person before her.
"Have you made any progress?"
"I'm working on it," Maya replied tersely.
"When you left here we had an agreement."
"And I fully intend to stick to it," Maya replied, "But how do I know you're sticking to your end? It's not like I can just drop by for a visit every now and then."
The person walked forward, and placed their hand on the side of her face, "Consider this an advance."
Maya gasped as she felt knowledge cement itself in her mind.
"But until you complete the first task, you won't remember this!"
The Darkness
Maya's eyes shot open and she realised that she was surrounded by darkness, "This is getting real old," she muttered looking around, even though she knew where she was, she didn't know how to get out of there. Huffing she sat down and awaited the change that would hopefully come soon, she didn't want to be stuck there for weeks again.
Kol appeared in seemingly endless darkness, looking around he spotted Maya and rushed to her, the moment he put his hand on her shoulder their surroundings changed.
Death's Reading Room
Maya looked behind her and was shocked to see the younger Mikaelson instead of Nik, "Kol?" she asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Nik had to stay with the family, to ensure that none of them found you, I volunteered," he said, looking around the room, "Where is here exactly darling?"
"He didn't tell you what happened the last time?"
"Just that he had to pull you out of your mind."
Maya rolled her eyes, "Of course he didn't, you know I'm a reincarnation right?"
"Yes."
"Well I'm not just a reincarnation, I'm the reincarnation, the first of my kind, just over six thousand years old… you know what, this will be faster if you just took a look for yourself," she said, not wanting to go through the whole song and dance again. She took Kol's hand, placing it on her temple and focused on what happened when she was last in this room, with Nik.
After a few minutes Kol pulled back in shock, "Bloody hell!" while he'd felt Nature, could still vaguely remember the connection he had to it, he had no idea that Death was a separate entity. It made sense though, why he couldn't be both a witch and a vampire, you couldn't be a Servant of Nature and Servant of Death at the same time, which begged the question, what exactly was Maya? A Siphon had the ability to take magic and use it, but none of their own, and she was a reincarnation, the first reincarnation, if anyone was a Servant of Death, then it was her, so how could she do magic?
"You're up to speed then?" she asked, making sure that Kol had seen all that he needed to.
"If we're here too long we'll die!" Kol said, "Wait if I'm here it's because-"
"We need to have a chat," Death's voice cut him off. Both Kol and Maya whirled to meet the sharply dressed being behind them, "Two visits in less than 12 months, you're getting into far more trouble than you should." He scolded Maya, walking up to her.
"I didn't do anything this time! It was your stupid memory block that did this!"
Death frowned, "What do you mean?"
"When the memories come back, the more there are, the more it hurts, this newest set of memories was particularly excruciating."
"That should not be happening," he said, taking her head in both hands and closing his eyes, he examined every inch of her mind, her defences non-existent against him, for she was his. After a few moments he found it, the blocks in her mind weren't coming down smoothly, they were being attacked, it appeared as though his sister wasn't done trying to stop him. It didn't matter though, he'd be able to fix it while his girl was with him. "It looks like my sister is trying to stop you from gaining your memories back, that's what's hurting you."
"Great," Maya replied glumly, "I supposed eventually her attacks will kill me before I can finish."
"They would have, if you hadn't ended up back here, I will re-instate the barrier in your mind, shore it up behind a heavy layer of my own magic, it should hold long enough for you to gain all your memories back."
"And if it doesn't?" Kol was the one asking this time, he didn't struggle against the oppressive weight he could feel just by being in Death's presence, but that did not make it any less uncomfortable.
"If it doesn't then either she'll end up back here so that I can strengthen it up again, or she'll die."
Kol frowned at the callous way Death spoke of Maya's passing, but then again, when she died, she always ended up back in this domain, so he supposed Death really had no true reason to worry. "I'm here because you need to talk to Maya," he said.
Death shrugged, as he finished up his work in Maya's mind, "I just saw it as an opportunity, I've never been able to speak to her whilst she was alive before, this is rather novel." He pulled his hands away from Maya and she swayed a little before opening her eyes.
"Woah," she said, "That was…intense." Before the wall to her memories felt like just that, a wall, but now, it actually felt like an entity, something in her mind that wasn't her, but instinctively she knew that it wasn't there to hurt her. "Why did you bring me here again?"
"I thought we could use a chat," he turned and walked towards the table and chairs that had just appeared, "Come along now!" he called.
Maya scurried after him, Kol hot on his heels, he'd never imagined he'd be able to speak to a being as powerful as Death, he didn't want to waste it.
"Do you have questions?" Death asked.
Maya scoffed, there was so much she wished to know, so much that she wanted to talk about, just to get someone else's opinion, "There's plenty I wish to know."
"Pick a place to start," he said, "You know you don't have much time here," he nodded over at Kol and Maya looked at the Original, he was faring worse than Klaus, possibly because whilst very strong, as a Hybrid, Klaus was stronger.
"Hayley," Maya said.
"Unnecessary," Death dismissed.
"But what about Malivore?"
"If things go the way I've planned them, Malivore won't be a problem," he smirked.
"Fine, The Hollow?" Maya was being intentionally vague, in Death's domain she understood that there were things that the Originals should not know yet.
"You're on the right track so far, keep going and things should work out…hopefully."
"The Other Side, and Cade's domain?"
"Take them or leave them," he shrugged, "I don't really care either way. You will never end up in either permanently, I've already seen to that."
Maya paused at that, she wanted to know what he meant, but didn't have the time, "What do I do with the sign? Nature requires balance so if I get rid of it…"
"Keep it safe until you can travel," Death said, touching her hand, "in a few years there will be a place that you can take it, one that only you can access," he passed the location on through his touch, knowing that it would settle behind the wall that he'd erected until the time was right.
"God I don't even know what to ask next," she groaned, there was so much that she needed help with.
"I have a question," Kol said, sweat beading on his forehead, Death looked over at him, "What is Maya? She's your first, your Servant, yet she can do magic, which belongs to Nature, she shouldn't be able to."
Death smirked, "When vampires were created, they needed life blood to sustain them, make them strong, to allow them to use their abilities. A Siphon similarly uses life magic to activate their own abilities."
"You're saying Siphons are yours?"
Death let out a little chuckle that sent shivers down Kol's spine, "When the Gemini Coven was cursed with that pathetic ritual, taking life after life in order to sustain themselves, I saw an opportunity, I planted a seed of my own magic within them, and watched it grow. There are three things that walk the Earth that belong to me, my first and most prized possessions, the Old Souls, my second, the Siphons – they were a surprise, I had no idea what my magic would create when left alone, and my third, the vampires. You and your siblings are the key to me finally setting foot on the Earth, and seeing my beloved sister for the first time in eons." Standing, he waved a gloved hand and the doorway and hourglass appeared. "Maya my beautiful, deadly delight," he sighed tilting her face up with two fingers beneath her chin, "You know the rules."
"I do," she glanced down at the timer and then back at him, "It's time to go."
Turning to walk away, Death paused for a moment, "Oh and Kol, Maya is not my Servant, as you put it, I am not my sister."
"Then what is she?" Kol asked.
"She's my daughter."
So how did you like my little surprise? What do you think Maya saw that caused her such a problem that she nearly died? Do you think that Maya told Kol about anything before they had to leave? What do you think that Klaus will say now that he's not the only one who has met Death and lived?
Notes:
If you can, please leave a comment, I really enjoy the feedback!
Chapter 21: Anger
Chapter Text
Kol was holed up in his study, he'd come back to the living world and he could feel a change, not a physical change, but a mental one, he'd not had much time in Death's Domain, so Maya had only showed him the memories that she believed to be the most pertinent. His death…if you wanted to get technical about it, his second and third deaths, his first of course being the time that Mikael had driven a sword through his heart and changed him into an Original. He hadn't told Nik what he'd seen, hadn't spoken to Maya about it either, for he knew that those memories were once again hidden securely behind a wall reinforced by Death himself. His second death had been the most terrifying, seeing himself believe that Nik wanted him dead, watching as he was staked with White Oak, seeing his body burst into flames, hearing his own screams of agony. It had been torturous, and knowing that Nik had witnessed it, unable to stop it, and so full of rage and grief that he'd thrown caution to the wind when trying to avenge his baby brother and ended up trapped inside a house, unable to exact vengeance. Kol knew that he and Klaus were getting closer, their bond of brotherhood slowly repairing itself, but in that timeline their bond was shattered, perhaps beyond repair, and yet Nik was the only one out of his siblings that had mourned him.
Elijah had done nothing in the wake of his death, just continued on in his life as though it had meant nothing. Rebekah, knowing that those around her had orchestrated his murder, ignored it, she had continued to work with them, despite what they had done and it pained him more than he was able to admit. How could she? He was her brother, and she'd thrown him away in the hopes of a 'cure' for vampirism. He couldn't temper his rage, he snarled throwing a chair across the room, he would ensure that she never got her hands on the cure, even if he had to put her down and drop her into the bloody sea, he would ensure that she never saw an end to being a vampire, that was a promise that he would do everything to keep.
And then came his third death, if his second was terrifying, his third was heart-breaking, he and Finn had never gotten along, even as mortals. His older brother forever jealous of Kol's natural talent with magic, and his carefree nature, he'd almost go so far as to say that Finn loathed him, the simpering mama's boy that he was, Finn was his least favourite of all his siblings, and that included the newly found Freya. But he never thought that Finn would actually kill him, not only kill him, but ensure that he suffered before his death, both physically and mentally. Other than not protesting when Nik had refused to pull the dagger out of Finn, Kol had never done anything terrible to his brother. He'd left Finn and his wench Sage alone, allowed them to do their own thing, for the few short years they were together, but Finn had murdered him. Made sure that it hurt, and ensured that he knew that there was no way out of it, he'd relished in it. If Kol wasn't so certain that Death would have his hide, he would find a way to destroy Finn, permanently, in fact, if all that was keeping him alive was his sireline, then Kol would find out whether it was possible to sever that link. Surely if the vampires in Finn's line wouldn't die, then Death couldn't be too upset at him if he killed his brother. Right?
But before that, he had research that needed to be done on Siphons and Death Magic, pushing his painful thoughts to the back of his head, Kol pulled out grimoire after grimoire from his shelves, laying them out on his ostentatious desk he started going through everything that he could think of that even closely resembled what Maya could do. Her brushes with death were far too many, and too close together, he needed to fundamentally understand how her ability worked so that he could proper instruct her.
A knock at the door caused his head to shoot up, Freya had finally fallen asleep, Finn and Elijah quickly following suit, whilst Rebekah had decided to go out, and Nik was at the Brownstone, so he didn't know who was bothering him now. He hadn't locked his door, so when it swung inward, he wasn't surprised, he was however surprised to see Elijah, he supposed out of all his siblings bar Nik right now, Elijah was the one who would least likely cause his rage to bubble up. "What do you want Elijah?"
"There's much that we need to discuss Kol."
Rebekah had gone out after Freya had gone to bed, she'd received a text from one of her minions that one of Klaus's friends had been spotted at a bar in town, she was going to see if she could persuade him to give up the location of Nik's witch, and if persuasion didn't work then she could always compel him. She walked into the establishment and saw him sitting at the bar, his drink was almost empty and his shoulders were tense, something was clearly bothering him, she could work with that. Striding in, she took a seat next to him, summoning the bar tender for to take her order.
Damon tensed when he felt someone sitting next to him, Nik had taught him how to not only sense other vampires, but tell whether the vampires near him were older than him. And the woman who'd sat next to him felt old. He turned in his seat to face her and smirked, she was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, but he didn't want her, in fact it had been a while since he'd wanted anyone except one specific person. He should probably do something about that, and soon, because he was pretty sure that Enzo wasn't going to wait around for him forever.
Kol sat back in his chair, "I don't think we have anything we need to talk about Elijah."
"I disagree. You and I were aligned, we were supposed to figure out what Niklaus was hiding from us together, instead the moment you found out, you threw me to the wayside in order to gain Niklaus's favour. Since when has doing his biding been something that you enjoy?"
Kol scowled, he wasn't doing his brother's biding, he'd found out what Nik had been up to, and then Nik had confided in him. He'd offered to help his brother, Nik trusted him, and he wasn't about to lose that because Elijah was jealous. "I'm not doing Nik's biding," he hissed, "I was the one that found out what our brother was up to and do you know what he asked for my help! It's not my bloody fault that he doesn't trust you anymore!"
Elijah shifted in his chair, slightly uncomfortably, Kol had always been vicious and wickedly intelligent, a fact that Elijah had a habit of forgetting, he hid it behind his vulgarity and childish behaviour but Kol was just as smart as he was and he knew how to use it against his enemies, and it appeared that to Kol, Elijah was currently an enemy. "Of course Niklaus trusts me, I'm his brother Kol, I have always been by his side."
"Even when you were trying to kill him?" Kol asked almost innocently, that particular revelation had come from Rebekah of all people, she'd been ranting about Nik ignoring her and somehow that little snippet of information had slipped out. Elijah believed that Nik had thrown them all into the ocean and as a result had been looking for ways to kill him.
"Don't act like you've never tried it before!"
"I have never tried to kill Nik before! Have I tried to hurt him before? Yes! Get even with him? Of course! But don't you ever accuse me of trying to kill him! I'll leave that up to you and Bekah!" Kol snarled, so furious at his brother that he'd let something slip that he hadn't meant to.
"What?" Elijah asked, suddenly worried, if Rebekah had done something then Niklaus's ambivalence towards his sister suddenly made sense, "What are you talking about? What did Rebekah do?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself," Kol sneered.
"Kol if our sister has done something-"
"Elijah, Rebekah's misdeeds are her own, if you want to stand in the way of Nik's wrath, that's your prerogative, I'll happily stand aside and watch, just as you and Rebekah did to me." Kol's eyes narrowed, every moment he spent with Elijah, his anger was increasing, "Now get out!"
Maya had come back to the land of the living immediately after Kol, and Caroline and Enzo had been all over her, extra worried and refusing to leave her side. Eventually the three of them had fallen asleep in cuddle pile, and after a few hours Maya had woken again, Caroline on her right and Enzo on her left. Mumbling a few words, she silenced her movements and slid out of the bed, so as not to wake either of her friends. Maya crept downstairs and found Klaus in the living room, on the couch, drinking a bourbon.
"Hey," she said quietly, padding over and curling up on the couch next to him, "Nobody told me you were here."
"Kol and I have agreed to trade off on our time here, especially with Freya in the Penthouse," Klaus replied, "You were fast asleep when I arrived."
"Are you okay? You're not really giving off a 'my-diabolical-plans-are-coming-into-place' type of vibe, and they are you know, soon you're going to have everything that you've been working so hard towards, and Mikael's not here to stop you anymore."
Klaus let out a scoff, "Who needs Mikael when my family seem intent to stop me at every turn?" he gripped the glass tumbler in has hand tighter.
"What happened?" Maya asked softly, it was like she could feel the difference in Klaus's temperament, his anger was simmering just below the surface, it wouldn't take much to push him over the edge.
"Regardless of my attempts to stop them, Finn, Rebekah and Elijah seem intent to air my every indiscretion to Freya, I can tell that with every word they utter it pushes Freya further and further away from my cause. Not to mention that we now have my crazy aunt Dahlia to deal with."
Maya held a breath, waiting for the pain that would come with an onslaught of memories, but there was none, whatever Death had done to her mind had really helped her. Still she frowned, she knew that something like this was a possibility, but she was hoping that Freya's hate of Esther would help to coerce the older witch to help Klaus. Not to mention, given her advanced age, she had to know what happened to wolves who'd been triggered and then locked back away with magic. It never ended well for them, or whoever they were with, and because Klaus was a vampire, the effects were heightened. "Nik," she moved closer to him, lifted his arm and buried herself in his side, causing him to tense at the sudden contact. Ignoring it, she wrapped her arms around him, her head resting in the crook of his neck, "Freya's going to help you, and not just because if she doesn't, she'll end up back in a coffin, waiting for Dahlia to find her."
"You know as well as I do, that a witch that's been forced to do someone's bidding is worth far less than one who works willingly." He replied tersely.
"I do, Freya's going to help because I know how to kill Dahlia."
Klaus sent her a shocked look, she hadn't mentioned anything about Dahlia before, "What? How could you possibly- you have your memories back of Dahlia."
"I got them back the moment you said her name."
"You didn't even flinch, that little fix Death put in your mind must really be something."
She gave a little shrug, refusing to let him go, "What can I say, he's really invested in keeping you alive."
"Well then, how do we do it?"
"There are some rare ingredients that need to be gathered, I already have one, and you can get the other, but the last, that's gonna be tricky, we can't kill Dahlia until after you break your curse anyway. I don't know where she is, so we might actually have to wait until she wakes up on her own."
"Just tell me what you need," Klaus replied, if he had a way to kill Dahlia, then he had the exact leverage he needed to get Freya to do whatever he wanted.
"Sacred Norwegian soil, I don't actually know what that means, so you and Kol will have to figure it out, but I'm confident you'll manage."
"You won't tell me the rest?"
She was quiet for a moment, "Dahlia's stronger than your mother, and in the other timeline, she got into your head, I don't want to take the chance that she could do it again and we lose the element of surprise."
Klaus pulled her closer to him, if that was even possible, he'd been the most powerful creature in existence for so long, the idea of someone being able to get into his head was preposterous, but by now he knew not to doubt his Little Siphon. "What did you see today, that caused such a stir that it nearly killed you?"
Maya refused to look at him, for the first time in her life, she didn't want to tell him what she saw, it had saddened her, made her feel like that there was no end to this fight, it made her feel like she'd never be able to rest, and it hurt her knowing that it would cause Nik nothing but pain, "I don't want tell you," she mumbled into his chest.
"Why not?" he asked, Maya had been reluctant to tell him about her memories before, but he could feel that she truly didn't want to tell him about what she'd seen.
"Because it's going to hurt you Nik! I thought Marcel's betrayal was bad, but this is going to hurt you worse, I almost wish you'd never have to know."
Klaus cupped the side of her face and made her look up at him, her eyes were wet with tears and Klaus was taken aback, when was the last time that someone cried for him? Not because of him, but actually for him? Probably when he was still mortal, and he'd suffered a beating at the hands of his father. His thumb stroked across her cheek, catching a tear as it fell, "May I see, sweetheart?"
"I don't want to hurt you Nik," she whispered.
"People have been hurting me for a thousand years love, I can take it, I promise."
"Okay," she replied, "But you have to stay with me, you have to promise me that you won't leave until you're calm."
"I give you my word."
Maya gave him a little nod and he reached for her temple and fell into her memories. Maya closed her eyes, this time she could feel him in her head, rooting around her most recent revelation. Pulling away from her, Klaus growled, his vampiric features coming to light in an instant, he'd thought that he was angry before, this was a whole new level of rage that had taken over.
"Nik!" Maya said, feeling him pull away, "Nik no!" she threw herself into his lap, her hands coming up to grip his face, "Look at me!" she insisted, pulling his eyes down to meet hers. "I need you to calm down for me, please Nik you promised me!" he struggled against her grip, not realising that she was clearly using magic to hold him in place, "Nik please! Tell me what you need and I'll give it to you! Nik!" Maya was panicking now, she wouldn't be able to hold him down for much longer, especially without using offensive magic.
Klaus snarled, he was so deep in his rage he couldn't even register who was in front of him, all he knew was that she was preventing him from unleashing hell. His eyes locked on to her throat, her heart was pounding, he could practically taste the blood pumping in her veins. Growling he latched onto her throat, fangs sinking into her skin, Klaus drank deeply from her.
Notes:
Can anyone guess what Klaus saw in Maya's head?! Don't hate me because it was short please!
Please leave a comment if you have the time, the feedback gives me a boost!
Chapter 22: Hard Truths
Chapter Text
The next morning Maya woke up with the taste of blood in her mouth, she was in a bed, in the guest room that Klaus used as his own. Yawning she sat up slowly and ran a hand through her hair, her head was little funny, what had happened last nigh- "Oh shit!" she cursed, remembering the feel of Klaus's fangs in her throat, her hand shot to the right side of her neck, there was no open wound, but she could feel a scar. "What the fuck?!" she hissed, scrambling out of the bed and rushing over to the mirror, her eyes zeroed in on the very fresh scar on her throat. "What. The. Fuck?!" she gasped. The blood in her mouth clearly belonged to Klaus because the bite had healed up, but it had scarred, that shouldn't have happened.
Maya heard movement in the hallway and tugged her hair over her neck to cover up the mark, "Maya!" Caroline burst in, "Where were you?!"
"Sunshine!" Maya said whirling to meet her friend, "What?"
"You weren't in bed! Where did you go!"
"Oh, uh I got too hot sleeping in the middle, but I didn't want to wake you guys, so I slept in here."
"In here?" Caroline asked, eyes darting over to the rumpled bed.
"Yes."
"Isn't this Klaus's room?"
"Oh my God he didn't stay here Caroline!"
"I know for a fact that he was here last night!"
"He was downstairs!"
"Fine," Caroline crossed her arms, "I can't believe you left me in bed with Enzo!"
Maya rolled her eyes at that, "Quit your complaining, you two might fight, but you think he's ridiculously hot, don't deny it."
"Maya!" Caroline actually stomped her foot.
"Don't you 'Maya' me! I know you Care, you secretly loved it!"
"Shut up!" Caroline complained, "We're going out for breakfast, are you coming?"
"Umm, I have to check in with Nik and Kol first, I'll catch up."
"Maya you promised that we'd hang out! We have three weeks before we have to go home!"
Maya sighed, it was true, she had promised Caroline at least a month of fun, she just didn't expect that all this Mikaelson drama was going to take up so much of her time, "You're right, I'm sorry, now that Freya's awake the guys are the ones that are responsible for her. You know what, just give me the day to tie up loose ends and then it's just you and me for the next three weeks…with our vampire bodyguards."
"You promise?" Caroline asked.
"I swear."
"One day, and then you're mine!"
"One day," Maya reiterated.
Caroline nodded, spun on her heel, and walked out, "DAMON! ENZO! LET'S GO!" she yelled.
Maya sat down on the bed and let out a breath, "Shit!" she muttered when she heard them the leave. Grabbing her phone she dialled Kol's number. "You need to get your ass over here right now!"
"Well hello to you too darling," Kol replied, amused.
"Kol, this isn't a joke, this is really fucking serious! I need you here, and don't say a word to Nik."
"What happened?" he asked.
"I can't talk over the phone, you need to come over! Now!"
"I'll be with you shortly."
Kol was at the Brownstone in minutes, he rushed in and found Maya pacing the living room floor.
"What has you so worked up darling?"
"What the fuck is this?!" she demanded, moving her hair out of the way, showing off her newest scar.
Kol raised an eyebrow at the mark, "Who bit you love? Damon or Enzo? And are they ready to face Nik's wrath?"
"Klaus was the one who bit me! Why would you assume that it was Damon or Enzo?"
"No reason love, Nik bit you, you say?"
"No, no, no, you assumed for a reason! Why did you think it was Damon or Enzo? And why did I scar? Klaus fed me his blood I should have fully healed!"
Kol smirked, he'd only seen those scars a handful of times in his long life, "Perhaps you should speak with Nik."
Maya scowled, she didn't call him over just so he could avoid her questions, and she didn't want to talk to Klaus yet, narrowing her eyes, Kol groaned in pain as she gave him aneurism after aneurism, "I called you for a reason Kol! Do you really think that I want to speak to Klaus right now? I'm fucking furious!"
Kol growled, his eyes darkening for just a moment before he shook it off, he could tell she was freaking out, and if Nik hadn't stayed to explain things to her something must have been wrong, "Do you want me to bite you?!"
"Oh please like I'd let you," Maya dismissed.
"You let Nik," he pointed out.
"He caught me by surprise, you won't!"
Kol sneered at her, "Want a bet darling?"
"Damn it Kol I didn't call you here to fight with you! I need information, and you definitely have information."
Kol scowled, but realised that she did need to know what had happened to her, "Tell me what happened." It also didn't escape his notice that she was calling his brother by his more well known name, attempting to distance herself from Nik no doubt.
Maya sighed and collapsed onto the couch, "Klaus and I were talking last night, and he asked about what I saw, and I didn't want to tell him."
"Why not?"
"Because it was gonna hurt him, I don't like hurting anybody that I care about, but…"
"But there's something about him that makes you feel worse if you hurt him," Kol finished for her.
"Yes," Maya nodded, "I don't understand what's happening Kol."
Kol paused for a moment, it was difficult to explain, something that he himself barely understood, "Sometimes vampires form connections with others that go beyond…the physical, it usually happens when the human regularly consumes one vampire's blood."
"Which is why you thought that Damon or Enzo bit me?"
Kol nodded, "Damon did mention that he and Enzo liked to keep you stocked with vampire blood for your safety, I just didn't account for the fact that, that connection could form due to the quantity and age of the blood you consume."
"Klaus fed me his blood, a lot of it."
"And then within 24 hours he fed on you, and sealed the connection by feeding you his blood."
"I still don't understand, what is this connection that you're talking about?"
"How did you feel after Nik fed you his blood?"
"Really good, full of energy, like I was on a sugar high, but it felt way better than that, and then I crashed," Maya replied.
"But what did you feel after the crash? When you were talking with Nik, how did you feel?"
"I don't know," she rubbed her hands over her face, "I always like spending time with him, I was content just to be with him, but he was angry before I got there."
"How did you know that Nik was angry? Did he look angry?"
"We-" Maya thought back to last night, he hadn't looked angry, "No, he didn't, I could just…feel it, like what he was giving off, it didn't feel right."
Kol nodded, "That was the start of your connection with him, blood exchanges are very intimate for vampires, you drank directly from his vein, and he drank from you."
"So what I can feel what he feels now?" she asked horrified, "Can he feel me? Can he make me feel things?"
"No he can't influence how you feel, not like that, you might feel more relaxed around him, but it will be the same for him. And you can't feel what each other feels, but if your emotions are strong enough, the other would pick up a…vibe."
"Okay," Maya said, taking in what he was saying, she was panicking a little, she wasn't prepared for anything like this, "Is it permanent?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?! You're like a thousand! How can you not know?!"
"I barely know any vampires that have bonded with humans like this, I don't know if it's permanent, or if it will fade with time, but it will be something that you have to deal with from now on."
"That doesn't explain the scar, Klaus fed me his blood afterwards, I should have healed."
Kol gave her a little smirk, he knew that she was going to be angry at Nik for this, "It's rare that a vampire bonds with someone, because should something happen to that bonded it will hurt the vampire, the scar is…"
"What?" Maya narrowed her eyes at Kol, he was clearly enjoying what he was about to say, "The scar is what?"
"A mark of ownership, it's a signal to others you belong to someone."
"WHAT?!" Maya yelled, "I'M GONNA KILL YOUR BROTHER!"
Klaus had come to his senses when Maya had passed out from blood loss, her heart had slowed down dramatically, and he'd ripped himself away from her, staring at her with wide eyes. It was very rare that he did something that he hadn't meant to, but he most definitely hadn't meant to tear into Maya's throat, he felt a connection with her that he hadn't felt in centuries, and he hadn't wanted to hurt her. She would hate him for this, quickly he tore into his wrist and shoved it in her mouth, forcing her to drink from him. When she'd healed, he'd whooshed her into the guest room, carefully depositing her in the bed, he made sure that her heartbeat was strong before he vanished from the house.
He'd remained out all night, furious at himself, at his brother, at the woman he'd once loved and furious at Maya for putting herself in such a dangerous position with him. She knew that he'd be angry at what she showed him, and yet she'd thrown herself headfirst into danger by preventing him from going anywhere. When he arrived back at the Penthouse his mood hadn't improved, in fact it had probably worsened, seeing Rebekah and Elijah together infuriated him, it made him so angry he didn't even acknowledge the looks that Finn and Freya were throwing at him. He headed up to his studio and ransacked it, he destroyed his supplies, his furniture, and his artwork, all in the name of getting his anger out.
The door to his studio was locked, and spelled, so no one could hear him, or get in, at least he was free to lose himself there, or he thought that he was, but the door opened, and in walked the main object of his thoughts. He turned and was met with a fist in the face, he could feel his nose break at the impact, "That's for biting me!" Maya snarled out. Klaus growled and straightened up, only to be met with another fist, crushing his nose again, "That was for leaving me alone after you bit me, you dick!"
"Maya!" Klaus snarled.
"Motus!" Klaus flew back and hit the broken table in the room hard, "And that was for giving me a goddamn scar! What the fuck Klaus?!" She was fuming.
Klaus growled, shot across the room and slammed her into the wall, "ENOUGH!" he yelled, tearing her necklace off of her and keeping her hands from touching him.
"How dare you?!" she struggled against his grip, without her necklace, and the inability to touch him, she couldn't siphon, which meant that she was cut off from magic, "Get off me!"
"Not until you calm down!" he replied.
"Me calm down! That's rich coming from you! What part of you was calm last night?!"
"You shouldn't have got in my way!"
Maya struggled against him even more, "I swear to God, Klaus if you don't let me go, you are not going to like what happens!"
"So it's Klaus now? I thought we were friends!"
"You fucking bit me Klaus! And you left a scar!"
Klaus froze at that, he hadn't heard her the first time, but he had the second, his eyes zeroed in on the spot on her neck and his vampire burst through at the sight of his mark imprinted on her skin. He lowered his mouth towards the mark and Maya's eyes widened.
"Don't you dare bite me again!" she was going to threaten him again but instead she gasped as his lips brushed the scar and she was overtaken with a vision. One that wasn't anything like her other visions and it appeared that she'd dragged Klaus in to view it too. It was… steamy to say the least, an older version of herself wrapped around Klaus, nails digging into his bare back as she pulled him closer to her, his mouth traversing her naked chest. Maya's older self threw her head back in ecstasy, as her legs wrapped tighter around his waist and vision Klaus's hips flexed as he sank deeper into her, his fangs sliding into her throat.
The real Klaus abruptly tore away from Maya, both of them panting with exertion, Maya slid down the wall, eyes wide as she tried to process what she'd just seen, "What the fuck was that?!" she'd never had a vision like that before. Her cheeks turned red as she locked eyes with Klaus and realised that he'd seen everything she had.
Klaus smirked at her, "Well, well, what was that love? A delectable vision of the future? Or a wicked little fantasy of your own?" he whooshed to her, and had her up against the wall again, grabbing her legs he hitched them around his waist, his dimples showing as she gasped at the contact, "Either way, I'm game," he nosed her neck, the left side this time, avoiding the bite.
"Absolutely not Klaus!" Maya pushed him back a little, he was still holding her up, but she'd moved him away so that she could look him in the eye, "It's not happening Klaus!"
"Nik," he cut in, he didn't like the way his well-known nickname sounded coming from her.
Maya glared at him, did he really think that being charming was going make her less mad at him? Actually it made her more angry! "Klaus, I'm fifteen."
"Sixteen in three and a half weeks," he shrugged, "I don't mind, besides you're technically far older than me."
"Well I do," now that Maya had her hands on him, she could siphon again and shoved him away from her, "And even if I was older, I'm not sleeping with you Klaus."
Klaus let out a little laugh, "That's not what your delightful vision showed me."
Maya scowled, that cocky little- "Every vision I've had, I've set out to stop, and I'm well on my way to doing so, so don't hold your breath, Klaus." Maya moved to walk away from him, coming to him had been a mistake, punching him had only made her feel good momentarily. In reality she was hurt, not physically, but emotionally, he'd hurt her feelings, and she didn't know how she was going to forgive him. When she'd woken up she hadn't really been able to register the pain in her heart, especially when she found the scar on her neck. She'd been too wrapped up in the shock of what Klaus had done, she hadn't felt the hurt, not until after she'd gotten a couple of shots in. He tried to stop her from leaving, "Klaus don't." Maya said, pulling away from him, "I have to go, I can't be here."
"Maya I-" he couldn't finish his sentence, he wasn't one for apologies and he knew that she needed one.
Maya paused just before she opened the door, "Klaus," she sighed, "I am furious with you, you did something that I'm not sure can be fixed, and you did it to me. You hurt me Klaus! For almost three years I've been there! Helping you, keeping you safe, making sure that you get everything that you've ever wanted! And you just-!" she paused, "I can't even look at you without wanting to hurt you back Klaus, and I know exactly how to make it hurt bad." She turned away from him, unwilling to see his reaction, "I have to go, before I do or say something that we'll both regret."
"Maya stop-"
"Klaus I need you to stay away from me, at least for now." She walked out of the studio, closing the door behind her.
"Are you alright darling?" Kol asked, he'd been waiting outside the room for her, he couldn't hear inside thanks to the spell, but he knew that whatever discussion they were having was going to be intense.
"You're going to have to watch him for a while, if there are any problems, you deal with it, for the next three weeks at least I'm off the clock," she said, maybe what she needed was just some time to feel like a teenager again, "No vampires, no werewolves, no witches, no magic whatsoever, okay?"
Kol nodded, he could work with that, it would give him the time he needed to deal with his own issues. "Very well, but call me before you go home."
"I should go before Finn realises that I'm here." Maya headed downstairs, only to be met with three out off five Originals and a pissed off 900 year old vampire, "Great," she muttered.
"YOU!" Sage snarled and she and Finn lurched forward to attack her.
Maya frowned and waved her hands before they could reach her, "Ossox!" both of their necks snapped and they fell to the floor.
Elijah and Rebekah looked at her in shock, "What did you just-" Rebekah cut herself off, she'd never seen a witch so young wield so much power.
Maya rolled her eyes, she was not in the mood, "Not my circus! Not my monkeys!" she said annoyed, "Prohibere!" The remaining vampires froze where they stood, "Kol! Come and take care of this!" she called, "I'm leaving!"
Rushing out, she paused when she hit the street, reaching to her neck, Maya frowned, Klaus still had her necklace, and she'd just used the last of her magic on the Originals. She wasn't going back for it, who knows what Klaus would do.
Klaus was sitting alone in the wreckage of his studio, he was leaning against the back wall, his arms resting on his knees, a bottle of bourbon in one hand, his head tipped back as he surveyed the damage with unseeing eyes. Kol walked in, it had only been about a week since Klaus had given him access to the studio when it was locked, none of their other siblings had access to Klaus's inner sanctum in the Penthouse. "She's gone," Kol said, eyeing Klaus carefully, it had been centuries since he'd seen his brother… distraught.
"I hurt her," Klaus replied.
Kol nodded, shifting some of the broken wood on the floor with his foot, and then sliding down the wall next to Klaus. He took the bottle from his brother and took a drink, "You tend to do that," he replied, he wasn't going to pull any punches, it wouldn't do either of them any good.
"She doesn't care about the bite," Klaus refuted, letting out a disbelieving laugh, "I don't even think she cares about the mark, I hurt her feelings," He turned his head to look at Kol, "How am I supposed to fix that?"
Kol locked eyes with him and shrugged, "Alas brother, that is the one thing that I truly can't help you with, I don't do feelings."
"Neither do I," Klaus scoffed, how was he supposed to fix this?
"Elijah's quite adept at emotions," Kol pointed out, "So is Rebekah."
"Not in a million bloody years!"
Kol let out a little laugh, "I didn't think that would be an option anyway."
"So what do I do?" Klaus asked.
"Like I said brother, I'm not an expert, but perhaps you could start," he reached out and picked up Maya's wolf talisman, and dangled it in front of Klaus, "by returning this."
"That witch is bloody powerful!" Rebekah fumed, it had taken a full thirty minutes before she and Elijah had been released from the freezing spell.
Elijah downed a glass of blood from the kitchen, he'd spent the whole half hour trying to break free of the spell, all it had done was give him the mother of all headaches, "She took us all down, with just a wave of her hands, and she is at Niklaus's beck and call. Rebekah…"
Rebekah looked at Elijah worried, "Nik's never had this kind of power in his corner before…"
"And thanks to his witch, he has Freya," Finn cut in, walking inside with his sister, "Do you really believe that Niklaus is going to just let us live our lives? Father is dead, he has the daggers, unmatched power in his corner and the only one that would stand a chance of going up against him, is under his control."
Elijah narrowed his eyes, he didn't like where this was going, "And what exactly is it you're proposing Finn?"
"We need to find a way to stop Niklaus before he becomes too powerful. If he breaks his curse, no one will be powerful enough to take him on. What'll stop him from locking us all away again?"
"Niklaus has spent a millennium looking for a way to break the curse," Elijah said, "Do you really think that he would allow anyone to interfere? Especially when he is so close to breaking it?" He wasn't going to agree with Finn, but he also didn't want to alienate his elder brother, Finn was the only one who truly had Freya's ear, and Finn believed that she was strong enough to take on their psychotic brother.
"You can't seriously be thinking about this!" Rebekah hissed, her eyes darting around the room, terrified that Klaus was going to hear them and dagger them all. "Nik will kill us! You know what he's done to Katerina! And he cared nothing for her! If we betray Nik there will be no end to our suffering!" She wasn't willing to risk her life against her brother, not when they were finally free of Mikael.
Finn frowned, he knew that it was going to be difficult to convince his siblings to side with him, but if he could just pressure them enough, make them fear Niklaus enough that they wouldn't help their brother, perhaps it would be just enough to prevent him from breaking the Hybrid curse. Their mother had cursed Niklaus for a reason, and he wouldn't let the last thing that their mother did to protect the world be destroyed. "What do you think sister?" he turned to Freya, "Do you really believe that Niklaus should be able to break his curse? It was the last thing mother did, and she did it to keep us all safe."
Unbeknownst to Finn, he'd said the wrong thing, Freya hated Esther, it would have been better if he'd never mentioned their mother, "Niklaus's witch has control over me," she replied, not answering his question.
"Then we find and kill the witch, I'm owed recompense for her actions anyway."
Rebekah scowled, she wasn't pleased at the witch, but she also wasn't stupid enough to believe that they could just kill her, she also wasn't stupid enough to think that their brother wouldn't retaliate against them, he seemed… protective of his witch, he wouldn't even say her name near them. "Do you really think that we'll be able to kill the witch without any retaliation?" she rolled her eyes, Finn was being an idiot, "Not to mention, we have no idea what it would do to Freya, whose to say that if the witch dies, Freya doesn't go right back to sleep?"
Freya frowned, her magic had been limited, at one point it had stopped working all together, before coming back hours later, that was the witch's doing no doubt, but whatever had been done to her, she wasn't strong enough to break the spell, "The only other person that would know what has been done to me is Kol, and I don't believe that he'll help, despite the fact that the last time I saw him, Niklaus was shoving a dagger in his heart." It was baffling to her, how her siblings were acting around Klaus, despite the fact that he still possessed daggers that could render them all but dead.
Rebekah scoffed, not wanting to be reminded of the fact that Kol was now in Nik's good graces, "Kol's having his turn as Nik's favourite, he's not going to let that go easily."
Freya raised a brow at her younger sister, perhaps she could use the clear jealousy Rebekah was feeling against Kol, and separate him from Niklaus, "Is Kol not normally the favourite?" she asked innocently.
Rebekah narrowed her eyes at her older sister, she supposed she couldn't fault Freya's lack of knowledge, she didn't know their family, "Kol's a troublemaker, he draws too much attention to us, he's never the favourite."
"But father's dead," Freya said slowly, that had been painful for her to find out, her father, the one who had played with her in the fields, watched over her when she'd fallen sick, he'd named his sword for her, so that she'd always be with him in battle. Her father, according to her siblings, had become a monster, violent, abusive, and he'd hunted them for a millennia, before he'd finally been killed.
"You're point?" Rebekah rolled her eyes, unwilling to discuss Kol's mysterious rise in Niklaus's eyes.
"My point is that there's no one chasing you, Niklaus doesn't need to keep Kol in check anymore, because there's no weapon left that can kill him, and no one with the power to wield it, even if there was one. None of you need to hide anymore, so what does it matter if Kol draws attention from anyone? He can do what he likes, and Niklaus can join him, without fear."
Rebekah and Elijah both froze at that, deep down they'd believed that whatever alliance Klaus and Kol had was short lived, as it always had been, but Freya was right, unless Kol betrayed him, Klaus had no reason to put him down again. And Kol was clearly enjoying being Klaus's right hand far too much to even consider betrayal. "Kol isn't going to help you," Elijah spoke carefully, he wasn't agreeing with Finn, but he also wasn't dismissing his elder brother's idea.
"He will if he thinks I'm helping him," Freya replied, in truth, her desire to break Klaus's curse had grown somewhat, especially when she knew that it was the last bit of magic that Esther had done, breaking the curse would be a way she could hurt her mother, even if Esther was dead.
"Sister you can't-"
Freya cut Finn off, "I can and I will, Kol doesn't know me, he will believe that I am helping him with the Hybrid curse and then he will help me, it will also let me find out what they are planning."
"It's dangerous," Finn insisted.
"I'm immortal," Freya replied, "I can't die, not so long as I'm connected to Dahlia."
The unfortunate thing about the soundproofing spell on Klaus's studio, was that when the doors were closed, while no one could hear inside, no one could hear what was going on outside the studio. So for the most part, neither he nor Kol had heard what was being discussed, they had managed to catch the tail end of their sibling's conversation and Klaus roared in anger. Whooshing downstairs, being followed closely by Kol.
"SO THAT'S WHAT THIS HAS COME TO! PLOTTING AGAINST ME! IN MY OWN HOME! A HOME I BUILT FOR ALL OF YOU!" He yelled, his eyes going dark with rage, Kol snarling at their siblings at his side, "THE HOME I INVITED YOU INTO!" he turned to Freya. He threw Finn though two walls, Kol tossing Elijah to one side before he could interfere. "I WOKE YOU! GAVE YOU A FAMILY! GAVE YOU A HOME! I HAVE OFFERED YOU RESOURCES AND POWER SO THAT YOU COULD BE FREE OF DAHLIA YET YOU SIT IN MY HOME AND CONSPIRE AGAINST ME!"
"Nik stop!" Rebekah pled, she didn't want this to happen, she just wanted things to go back to how they were, when her favourite brother trusted her. "We don't want to hurt you!"
"You should keep your mouth shut Bekah!" Kol whirled on her, ready to confront her for what she did, even if Nik wasn't, "You're the most treacherous of us all!"
"Shut up Kol!" Rebekah snarled, attacking him, "You know nothing about me!"
Kol threw her off him, "I KNOW YOU CALLED MIKAEL TO NEW ORLEANS!" he yelled, and she gasped in shock, no one knew that, Nik couldn't know that, he'd find a way to truly kill her.
"I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"I know what you did Rebekah," Klaus growled out, his temper boiling over, secrets that no one wanted told were about to be spilled, "You and Marcel called Mikael, the Destroyer to New Orleans!"
"What?" Elijah paled, she couldn't have, how could she have done such a thing to them?
"Go on tell him!" Klaus snarled, "Tell him how you and my son, my son, tricked a witch into sending him our location, you brought him to our home to KILL ME!"
"NO!" Rebekah refuted, "I didn't! I swear!"
Klaus growled and pulled a dagger from his inner pocket, "You did this!"
Elijah whooshed in front of his sister "Walk away from this Niklaus!" he couldn't believe that Rebekah had done this, there would be no end to Klaus's rage.
Klaus pointed the dagger at Rebekah who was clinging to Elijah like a wounded puppy, "This is for you Rebekah!"
"I'm asking you, brother-to-brother, end this nonsense now," Elijah pled.
"You would side with a traitor?!" Klaus's anger flared, he shouldn't be surprised, not after what he'd just found out.
Kol snapped his phone shut and looked over at Klaus, "It's done," he said simply, Maya wasn't the only witch he knew in town, and he'd had one of the ones who owed him a favour put up a temporary barrier, he wasn't letting Rebekah escape this.
Elijah ignored Kol, "I am not choosing sides, but I will not allow you to hurt our sister!"
"Thanks to Kol none can leave this house, how long do you think you can defend her?" he whooshed towards them, but Rebekah ran away, first to the door to attempt to leave, and then to a window when she couldn't get out.
"As long as it takes, and I will do so with whatever means necessary!"
"You can't stop me Elijah, you have no power here!"
Elijah shot a look at Freya who cast a pain spell on Klaus to try to stop him, Klaus groaned in pain, but Kol whooshed to Freya's side, "That's enough of that sister!" he looked into her eyes, he wasn't compelling her, he couldn't, but Maya's linking spell afforded him some very special perks, "No magic for you until I say so!"
Freya's magic stopped flowing and Klaus straightened up with a cruel smirk. "Is that all you've got brother?" he whooshed out of the room to chase after Rebekah, the Penthouse was large, but not large enough for her to hide from him.
Elijah whooshed after him, and threw him aside when he made to attack, Klaus fought back, the two of them equally matched, he needed to give Freya enough time to figure out how to get the barrier down. "Niklaus, I know you, and I grew up fighting you. I can't be beaten, nor can I be persuaded. You cannot get past me."
"I could get past you. Although, it might have to be over your dead body. After everything you've done, perhaps I should direct my rage toward you!" he pointed the dagger at Elijah, he'd taken his brother down before, he could do it again.
"You should see yourself! The murderous expression, the self-righteous posturing. You look like father!"
Klaus raged, how dare he! How dare Elijah compare him to father! "I'm not him. Rebekah's betrayal justifies my anger. His was that of a madman. You were never the recipient of his cruelty. None of you were! Not Kol, not Finn. None of you! I think you've forgotten what he was truly like!"
"No. I have not forgotten," Elijah replied gravely, as much as he wished he could, he could never forget the pain Mikael caused. Klaus glared at Elijah before speeding away to find Rebekah, "Niklaus, I understand your anger, but I implore you, be better than him. Do what he could not; demonstrate the grace of mercy, rather than this petty cruelty."
"You ask him to show mercy to one who has wronged him?" Kol asked incredulously, walking into the room, "You really don't know Nik at all, do you, brother?"
Rebekah appeared in the room, she couldn't take it anymore, she wouldn't be able to run from Nik, not when he had nothing hunting him, "Enough. Whatever I have done wrong, my guilt is nothing compared to yours. You want revenge? Fine. But, before you have it, I will look you in the eye and tell you why it was your cruelty and your spite that led us to this."
Klaus sneered at her, he already knew her reasoning behind her treachery, but he'd let her talk, let her think that she actually had a chance to escape his wrath, "Go on, then. Speak your piece, and when you are finished, I will grant you the punishment you deserve, even if I have to go through Elijah to do so."
Kol scoffed watching as Finn walked in, along with Freya, he leant against the wall, at his brother's side, "Let it begin! The trial of Rebekah Mikaelson!" he called out, he'd always been fond of dramatics, and he would milk his sister's fall from grace for all it was worth.
"What a relief. Kol's on his side," Rebekah muttered bitterly.
"Just speak your truth. I'll make certain they behave themselves," Elijah straightened his suit, ruffled from his brief fight with Klaus.
"You stand accused of betraying your own blood. How do you plead?" Klaus asked sardonically.
"I plead you to shut up and listen!"
"You summoned our father. You brought him to our home. What possible defence could you have?"
"I knew he was the only thing that you feared, and I wanted you to run!"
"Because you hated me," Klaus finished for her.
"Because you were hateful. You denied me the freedom to love."
"Oh, so that's your defence! You called Mikael, The Destroyer, the hunter of vampires, because I detained you from pursuing some dull suitors." Klaus replied and Kol rolled his eyes, of course that was her reasoning.
"You were cruel and controlling and manipulative."
"I was trying to protect you! From imbeciles, and leeches. Not to mention your own poor judgment."
"And what about the one that you loved enough to call friend? Why did you forbid me to love Marcel?"
"Do not mention his name!" Klaus tried to hold back his anger, he didn't call Marcel his friend, he called him his son, and Rebekah had still gone after him.
"What has happened to you? I remember the sweet boy who made me laugh and gave me gifts, who loved art and music. I wanted to be just like you. How could you have fallen so far?"
"You say you despise Rebekah for her betrayal, and yet no one has stood by your side for so long, not even I myself." Elijah cut in, it was true, she was the one who was by his side for eternity, "Perhaps it's you that's forgotten. I remember the day that father caught you whittling little chess pieces with his hunting knife. He beat you so mercilessly and for so long, I actually feared for your life."
"So, you would paint her as a loyal sister, but she betrayed me out of lust for Marcel. Perhaps that was why you did it, for love. Perhaps I might temper my rage if Rebekah will admit she was a victim of her own idiocy, that her great love, Marcel, used her to oust this family and to take my city." He hadn't told Rebekah about Marcel's continued existence, but he was about to, it would hurt her, and he needed that.
"Marcel did not manipulate me!" she replied quickly.
Klaus scoffed, "You defend him, and yet you can't help but wonder, what if I'm right?"
"We loved each other. It was your refusal to respect that, that led to your ruin."
"Then why didn't he chase after you when you fled New Orleans? Oh, yes! That's right. He stayed there stealing what I built!"
"What?!" Rebekah gasped.
"Oh, did we forget to tell you sister?" Kol cut in, "Turns out that Marcel didn't die in that fire, he lived, and he didn't come for you Rebekah, he remained in New Orleans, and took everything that we built!"
"No!" Rebekah refused to believe that, "No he would never do that to me!"
"Just ask Finn, I'm certain he had a run in with that cretin when he went to New Orleans!" Kol all but crowed, as far as he was concerned Rebekah deserved this.
Rebekah shook her head in denial and looked over at her eldest brother, "Finn?"
Finn actually looked a little repentant, Rebekah was his baby sister, "Rebekah," he sighed, unable to say what she needed to hear.
"No!" Rebekah refused to believe it, Marcel would not have done that to her, he loved her, they were just saying this to hurt her. "You want me to renounce Marcel, to beg for your forgiveness? I won't. Marcel was not at fault. I called Mikael!"
"Rebekah, you must-"
Rebekah cut Elijah off, "I was the one who brought him to New Orleans because of your wickedness! I wanted love and happiness, and you denied me the freedom to have either. Yes, I hated and was afraid of our father, but he was a lesser evil than you. My bastard brother who loomed over me, threatening me as you are now. I wanted rid of you, and given the choice, I'd do it again!"
Klaus growled, lunging at her, only to be pushed away by Elijah, snatching the dagger from Klaus's hands, "You won't listen to her. So, now, you must deal with me!"
"What do you think you can do? The dagger won't do anything to me, you know that, and Freya's got no power to stop me, I hold all the cards, not you brother."
"Unlike you, I have no wish to harm my siblings, I only hold this to keep it from you."
"You know I have others," Klaus dismissed, "And there's no way out for Rebekah, there never will be."
"She's our sister."
"Why must you defend her? Rebekah betrayed you, as well, when she brought Mikael here!"
"Because she is our sister, and because I like to remember her the way that she was before we became what we became. She was an innocent girl, quick to laugh, full of life."
"My memories only serve to make the betrayal more painful," Elijah didn't know it, but Klaus wasn't just referring to Rebekah, he was also referring to his older brother, Elijah didn't know that Klaus knew what he'd done.
"Can you not then accept some small part of the blame? After all, Niklaus, it was your cruelty that led her to do what she did."
"Do you not see, Elijah? She didn't mean to chase him off!" Kol said, tired of Elijah's constant defence of their sister, "She wanted him dead!"
"You're wrong."
"She has always hated me. You know that's true," Klaus agreed with Kol, Rebekah had tried to kill him.
"You have no idea, do you? You have no idea what she was prepared to do for you. When our sister sees something that she perceives to be an injustice, she can be stubborn, impetuous, and, at times, downright dangerous, and never was this more apparent than the night she tried to kill our father!" Elijah closed his eyes, sharing the memory he had with both Klaus and Kol, they saw Rebekah grab a knife, and creep over to where Mikael was sleeping, fully ready to kill him.
Klaus tore himself from the memory, "What is this, some melodramatic fiction designed to garner my sympathy?"
"It is the truth." Elijah tried, "I was there. And she would have done it, all to protect you, had I not stopped her. I often wished that I could revisit that moment, complete the task myself."
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"Niklaus, sometimes our sister acts without thinking. She's short of temper, she's quick to fall in love, but she loves you. But your malicious treatment has broken her heart. So, yes, she responded by summoning our father. Yes, that was a mistake. I'm not entirely sure that I can blame her."
Klaus shrugged, "I can," he whooshed towards Rebekah, who ran out of the room, Klaus followed.
Elijah beat him to Rebekah, standing in front of her defensively, Kol, Finn and Freya catching up in less than a second, "Niklaus, so help me-"
"Are you really going to stand against me? And not with that pathetic blade. It doesn't work on me, even if it did, you'd just have to pull it out someday, and then I'd hate you as I do her, now. If you want to protect Rebekah, you'll need to find a way to kill me, and you'll need it fast!"
"I don't have to listen to this nonsense!"
"Come now Elijah!" Kol said, taking up his own defensive stance, "Don't pretend like you haven't thought about it! I know all about the witches that you reached out to, to try and kill Nik!" Kol growled, "You dress yourself up in your fancy suits and with your handkerchiefs. You, with your mask of civility and eloquence, you're every bit the abomination that we are, you could even be worse, so go on, do whatever it is that you planned to do before Nik woke us! Try and kill him! See what happens!"
Elijah threw the dagger to the ground, he knew keeping it was useless, Klaus had one for each of them, "I'm not so cowardly that I have to kill you, Niklaus, but if I have to make you suffer to protect Rebekah, that is what I will do."
Klaus smirked, "You see? I knew you couldn't do it. You still cling to the hope that I can be redeemed, and if the bastard can be saved, then maybe there's hope for you." Klaus whooshed to him and broke Elijah's spine in three places, ripping out a large section, causing him to cry out in agony. That would take Elijah time to heal, time enough for Klaus to unleash his wrath.
Rebekah whooshed in and broke both of Kol's legs, she couldn't afford to have him against her, "I won't let you continue to hurt our brother!"
"Well you'll have to kill me to stop me," Klaus said, sending her sailing across the room, Freya narrowly avoided getting flattened by her sister. He walked over to Kol, resetting his legs so he would heal far faster. "So why not finish what you started a century ago?"
"I did not want you dead! I wanted you to run."
"LIAR! You wanted revenge!"
"You drove me to betray you, and now you want to twist it and make it worse so you can justify your anger instead of accepting your own fault? All I did was love your friend! You could've been happy for us, but instead, in your paranoia, you feared losing us both. And, because of that, you did. There is no one else to blame, Nik. Only you."
"Where is Marcel now, hmm? I thought he loved you, and yet he never came after you! And now here you are, taking his share of the punishment, I'm gonna shove this in your chest," he held up the dagger, "Only this time, Kol will be the one to decide whether you will ever awake!"
Rebekah fought not to show her shock at his words, he'd never given anyone control over their bodies, "I won't let you."
"You against me and Kol. It's hardly a fair fight, is it? Even if you had my son on your side, you wouldn't stand a chance, but you have no one Rebekah, I suspect Marcel moved on to a younger and prettier girl the moment we left town." Kol let out a sinister laugh at that, Klaus really did know how to hit people where it hurt.
"You take joy in other people's pain, and then you wonder why I hate you."
"Yes, and that hatred led you to do what you did. Admit the truth. Admit you wanted me dead!"
"I wanted you to run, that is all! Despite your delusions!"
Klaus looked over at Elijah who was groaning in pain, he was healing much slower than he should, he quirked an eyebrow at Kol who gave a nonchalant shrug, so maybe he'd also asked his witch to slow down certain Mikaelson's healing processes, temporarily of course. "Elijah lies suffering, and I will help him, get him out of the house so that he can heal. All you have to do is admit it."
"You're insane!"
"YES! Yes! I am a vicious, heartless monster, and so you summoned Mikael to kill me. Admit it!"
"It's not true!"
"You know what you did. Admit it!"
"I didn't!"
"You wanted me dead! Admit it!"
Rebekah's face crumpled with grief as she eyed the only brother that had tried to help her, "Maybe I did." She whispered, eyes widening when she realised what she'd just said, "Nik wait-"
Klaus felt his heart break, she'd actually admitted it, she'd wanted him dead, he glanced at Kol who looked just as shocked as he did. Angrily Klaus shoved a wooden stake into Rebekah's chest, he hadn't used the dagger, if he daggered her, someone would wake her eventually, and he no longer wanted the responsibility of dealing with her. Klaus handed the dagger to Kol and sank to the floor, what was he supposed to do now? He'd pushed her to admit it, but he'd never actually believed that she'd wanted him dead, but she'd said it, hadn't she?
"You didn't use the dagger," Kol said quietly.
"What would be the point?" Klaus asked, "The daggers were so that I could keep you close," he looked over at his prone sister, she'd wake soon enough, probably about the same time that Elijah regenerated and healed his broken spine, "Why would I keep a traitor close? I'm done with her," he said flatly, standing and walking out of the room, brushing past a quiet Finn and Freya, there was still much that had to be revealed, but he needed a drink. Kol shot both of his older siblings with a glare and followed his brother.
/ / / /
Kol was sat with Klaus in the downstairs living room, both of them had drinks in their hands, "You still have more to deal with," Kol said.
"I know," Klaus sighed, leaning back in his chair.
"What are you going to do?"
"Well I suppose that our siblings should air all their dirty laundry tonight, get it all out there, so there are no more surprises," he replied bitterly.
"I'm sure you have some dirty laundry of your own," Kol pointed out.
Klaus nodded as he thought back to the only truly large secret he'd kept from his family…well not all his family, it appeared that Elijah knew his darkest secret and hadn't told the rest of them. "I'll tell you," Klaus said, surprising both himself and Kol, but he couldn't keep it to himself, Maya had said the truth would come out, it was better for him to get out in front of it, "But not here."
Kol nodded, he didn't think that Klaus would tell him anything, he was willing to wait until they were clear of the house and they could talk in private, "What are you going to do with Rebekah?"
"Once I'm done with Elijah and Freya, she's going to leave."
"You're just letting her go?!" Kol asked incredulously, Rebekah couldn't be allowed to just get away with what she'd done.
"I told you, I'm done with her, she really tried to kill me Kol, she's not my family anymore, I don't want her anywhere near me."
"You're not going to punish her!"
"I'll tell you what brother, I'm not the only one she betrayed in New Orleans, keep her away from me, away from my witch and out of New Orleans, her punishment's yours to mete out."
Kol's eyes widened, Nik was the 'punisher', no one else dispensed justice quite like him, no one else was allowed, and yet, Nik was giving him free reign! He supposed it helped that he already had part of her punishment planned out, his search and destruction of the cure would take on a whole new meaning, before it was just to keep Rebekah immortal, but now, he'd make sure that she knew that he'd been the one to destroy that particular dream of hers. "No killing?" he asked cheekily.
Klaus shook his head in exasperation, "Well we wouldn't want to piss off you know who."
/ / / / /
Rebekah gasped awake, she pulled the stake out of her heart, moaning as her skin knit back together. She'd been left alone upstairs, Elijah's prone form next to her, he groaned as he used the wall to pull himself up into a sitting position, "He didn't dagger me," she said in disbelief, she was sure that she wasn't going to awake for five hundred years minimum.
Elijah frowned as he sat up, he'd heard his brother's conversation while his body was healing, "That's not a good thing Rebekah."
"What?!" she asked sharply, getting up and walking over to him, pulling her brother to his feet.
"He daggered us because he didn't want to be alone," he shook his head, "Niklaus no longer believes you're worth it."
"You're wrong Elijah, he loves me, he's just angry."
"I wish that was all it was, he told Kol that he had to deal with me as well."
"What did you do?"
"I don't know, but much like you, I imagine he has discovered something in my past that has hurt him."
"Then what do we do Elijah? Nik's never been like this before."
"For the first time in a millennia Rebekah, I'm not sure there's anything we can do, but face whatever it is that we've done to our brother."
/ / / / /
Elijah and Rebekah slowly walked into the living room, "You didn't dagger me," Rebekah said, looking at Klaus.
He took a sip of his drink, allowing the glass to dangle from his fingertips, "You're no longer my problem Rebekah, any punishment that you will receive will be at Kol's discretion, I'm washing my hands of you, little sister."
"Nik-"
"And you no longer have my permission to call me that," he cut her off, if Maya wasn't going to call him Nik, he certainly wasn't going to let Rebekah continue to use that name, "You and I, are done."
He stood and made to walk away, but was stopped by Elijah, "Niklaus!"
"Don't even get me started on you Elijah! As far as I'm concerned you're just as bad as our sister!"
"Niklaus-"
"You stood there and defended her!" he pointed at Rebekah, "When she tried to kill me! She brought the one thing that I fear to our door and you still defend her!" he shook his head, "I don't know why I'm surprised, you've never been on my side! Not really! You've always been ashamed of me!"
"I did everything I could to protect you!"
"Protect me?! You stood and you watched as Mikael beat me till I passed out cold!"
"I NEVER WATCHED YOU SUFFER! I was beside you tortured and beaten without mercy!"
"YOU HELPED HIM TIE ME DOWN!" Klaus yelled back.
"Wait what?" Kol asked standing, what was Nik talking about?
"You helped Mikael tie me down, you helped him and mother! When I begged you for help, you helped them, without you they never would have been able to keep me there! They never would have been able to curse me! But you helped!" It was a secret that Klaus had never let slip before, he loved Elijah, and he'd never wanted anyone to know what his older brother had done, because Elijah had vowed to stay with him 'Always and Forever' and he didn't want anyone to know that he'd been hurt by the closest person in the world to him. But he was so angry, he'd just snapped, it had spilled out by accident, no one was ever supposed to know his greatest pain. No one. "You forced me to live with this maddening pain for a millennia! You did this to me!"
"You did what?!" Kol exclaimed, he'd thought that they were all in the caves the night Nik had been cursed, but he realised that he hadn't seen Elijah that night.
"Elijah!" Rebekah exclaimed, for the moment her pain was forgotten, this was a betrayal that she'd never foreseen.
"And then you took Aurora from me! You compelled her to break my heart," a tear rolled down his cheek as he remembered that terrible night, his heart had been shattered, and he'd vowed never to let love in again. "You compelled her to ruin me! And then to leave and never return! I hate you for what you did to me," he finished quietly.
Rebekah was looking at Elijah with wide eyes, she knew how much Aurora had meant to Klaus, her brother had fallen deeply in love with her, his first love as a vampire, and when Aurora had left he'd changed, he'd rejected any form of love after that, and not just his own love, he wouldn't let any of them be happy. Had Elijah really done that?
"Niklaus how did you?"
"What, find out? Well brother, it appears that after a thousand years, I finally found someone who is on my side, and no one else's."
"You must believe me brother, I never meant to hurt you."
"You did it specifically to hurt me, and I don't think that I can forgive you Elijah." Klaus moved away from his older brother, his best friend in the world, his heart had been torn to shreds, if he stayed much longer he would do something that he would come to regret.
"Niklaus," Elijah reached out to his brother and Klaus pulled back before they could come into contact.
"No! I don't want to hear it Elijah, you broke my heart, both of you did," he glanced at Rebekah, "I can't be here." Klaus looked over at Kol, giving him a quick nod before whooshing out of the Penthouse.
/ / / /
Finn and Freya sat in her room, she'd managed to get up a privacy spell before Kol had taken her magic, so her siblings couldn't hear what was going on in her room, but anyone inside could hear what was going on outside of it. "My magic's gone!" Freya exclaimed.
"How is that possible?" Finn asked.
"I don't know," Freya said, "He's a vampire, he doesn't have magic, so he can't cast a spell to stop me."
"He must have an enchanted object," Finn mused, "The witch probably gave it to him because she can't stay here."
"So we find the object," Freya said.
"Or we kill the witch," Finn finished.
Notes:
If you can please leave a comment, they give me life! Thanks for reading!
Chapter 23: Who was that?!
Chapter Text
It had taken a while, but Kol had managed to extract himself from the disaster that was his family, it had taken him two hours to lose the tail that one of his siblings had put on him, and he finally headed towards the apartment building that Klaus had a place in, he walked in to find him pacing the open plan living room. The apartment Klaus was in was below Damon and Enzo's, Maya didn't want to see him, but it didn't stop him from wanting to be near her, even if she didn't know it. And with Freya and Finn plotting against his Little Siphon, he didn't want her far from him. He'd stay out of her way, but he would be there in case she needed him. Klaus looked up when the door opened and Kol breezed in.
"You took your time," Klaus said.
"Someone sent spies after me," Kol shrugged, "I evaded a few, killed the rest, you know, the usual."
"I hope you steered clear of the CCTV, we can't compel cameras."
"What you think this is my first time?" Kol replied, he tossed himself onto the settee, his carefree smile disappeared, "Why didn't you ever tell us Nik?"
"Tell you what?" Klaus asked, nonchalantly.
"Nik," Kol frowned, "Elijah helped mother and father curse you, it's been a thousand years and you've never said anything, to anyone about it."
"Kol-"
"Why?!" Kol demanded, "He's the only one you've left alive that was involved in the curse!"
"HE'S OUR BROTHER… what do you mean the only one I've left alive?" Klaus stopped as he realised what Kol said.
Kol rolled his eyes, "What you think I didn't know? Was that your big secret? That you killed our mother?"
Klaus was speechless, how could Kol have possibly known? "How-"
Kol sighed, his first few hundred years had not been good, his blood lust had been at an all time high, especially immediately after being turned, he lost his connection with nature, had been turned into a monster, the agony drove him mad, made him furious and on the night that his brother had killed Esther, he wasn't the only one there. "You know how you felt, when they bound your wolf?" Klaus nodded, "It was the same for me, you know I loved my magic, when I lost it…when it was taken from me, I've never felt anger like that before Nik, and the night that you tore mother's heart from her chest…I was there."
"What?!"
"I was going to kill her, I hated her, for what she'd done to me, I still do sometimes, but that night I was there, I saw you rip her heart out."
"You never said anything," Klaus whispered.
"What was there to say? If you hadn't done it I would have."
"I'm the reason father chased us, all these years, I killed our mother, and he wanted me dead for it."
"Don't be ridiculous Nik!" Kol shook his head, "Father's greatest sin was his pride, he had mother curse you to make you weak… weak enough to kill. Once he found out that you weren't his, he never would have let you live, if you hadn't killed mother and told us all that he'd done it so that we would run, then you wouldn't be here today Nik, you'd be dead."
"Kol I killed our mother and then lied to you all about it, how are you reacting like this?! You never told anyone! When Elijah found out he practically ripped my heart out and fed it to me! And you what? You just don't care?!" Klaus couldn't understand it, as much as he hated it, Elijah's reaction had been more in line to their mother's death than Kol's.
"Nik, I am not our noble brother! That night my hate for our mother could not be eclipsed by anything! All you did was get there first. Besides I'm not a snitch. I'm given to believe that 'snitches get stitches…and then end up in ditches' although I must confess I don't know why anyone would stitch someone up if they were planning on killing them. It's completely counterproductive!"
Klaus's eyes widened and he couldn't stop the laughter that spilled out, "'Snitches get stitches!' Where did you even hear that?"
"Where do you think?"
Klaus's laughter died in his throat, "Maya."
Kol nodded, "You're going to have to fix things with her you know?"
"Well, she's in New York for the next three weeks."
"You think that's enough time?"
"It'll have to be," Klaus shrugged, the truths that had spilled out had shattered his family, Kol was the only one he had left, Maya was a close second, he couldn't afford to lose her too. So later that night, he slipped into the apartment upstairs, Damon and Enzo in their own rooms, Maya's little human friend, Caroline, in the one in between them, and his Little Siphon fast asleep in hers on the other end of the apartment. Hers was the only one on that end of the apartment as Enzo had turned the other spare room into place to practice for her, she kept several of the magical trinkets he'd procured for her in her New York practice room.
He snuck into her room, he didn't linger, he didn't want to, but he did need to give her back her talisman, he shouldn't have taken it from her in the first place, but now that he had, she needed it back. Pulling the talisman out of his pocket he moved in close, careful not to touch the mark on her neck, no matter how much he wanted to, he gently clasped the pendant around her neck, smiling when she let out a contented sigh and unconsciously reached for the talisman. "I'll see you soon my Little Siphon," he whispered, his thumb stroking her cheek just once before he whooshed out of the room.
Maya's eyes opened when she knew that he left, her hand clenching around her most precious item and gave a small, hopeful smile, maybe she could forgive Klaus, maybe he could be her 'Nik' again.
"Okay so check this place out," Maya said, smiling at Caroline, "I come here every time I'm in New York, to stock up on lapis lazuli for the website, I know I said no magic, but I thought that as an apology for neglecting my best friend duties for the last month, I should get you something special, and this place has got some killer jewellery."
"Well," Caroline hesitated, Maya had told her that in one version of the future, she'd become a vampire, she wasn't sure how she felt about that, she had plans for her life and she didn't know if being a vampire was a part of them. Maya was a siphon, she was going to be embroiled in the supernatural for the rest of her life. But Maya was her best friend, and she was smart enough to know that if she wanted to stay in Maya's life, the supernatural would be a part of hers to, and as a human she was at the bottom of the food chain. Being a vampire would make her stronger, faster, better prepared than she was now, but it also meant that she wouldn't age, wouldn't be able to stay with her mother in her home town, wouldn't be able to have children, and then there was the blood lust. She didn't know anything about it, and if she was going to be a vampire, then she wanted all the information at her disposal, either way she'd make an informed decision, but just in case, she didn't want to be stuck with something from the reject pile. "Can I pick something out for me?"
Maya gave her a questioning look, "You- you want to be a vampire?"
"I don't know," Caroline said, "But I want to be prepared. So how do we do this?"
Maya nodded, "Okay, then we'll take a look at their collection, if you do become a vampire then your daylight jewellery is forever, and cuz you're my best friend it's not like I'm going to charge you. So I would recommend you go for a few items, a ring obviously, something pretty but classic, something that ages well."
"Unlike Damon's gaudy signet ring," Caroline scoffed, she thought that thing was hideous.
Maya laughed, "I dare you to say that to Damon!"
"I already did, he wasn't very happy with me," she replied cheekily.
"Care!"
"It needed to be said! It's hideous!"
Maya shook her head, "Whatever, we should also get you a bracelet, something that looks like a charm bracelet, because that's what teenage girls wear."
"What about an earring?" Caroline asked.
"Just one?" Maya asked, "Wouldn't that look weird?"
Caroline shook her head, "Not if it's something that I've been wearing for years, up here," she pointed to a spot near the top of her ear, in the cartilage, "The stone could hide behind my ear so that people don't see it."
Maya gave her friend an impressed look, "Hidden, but out in the open, small unassuming, no one would question it, I never thought of that."
"Could I start wearing it before I become a vampire?"
"So that no one even thinks that it could be the daylight jewellery, smart Sunshine."
Caroline shrugged, "I like to think ahead."
"Well then," she held her hand out for Caroline to take, "Let's take a look."
Caroline giggled and the two rushed inside, she gasped at all the beautiful pieces on display, and Maya led her to the back, to a room that was stocked with precious stones, "Wow!"
"Everything in this room is able to be used in spells, or to hold them like the Lapis Lazuli."
"Like your necklace," Caroline said, "What's it made of?"
Maya reached up running her thumb over one of the howling wolf heads, "The majority of it is obsidian – to keep me protected from dangerous magic, one of the wolves is made from ruby – for endurance in battle, which means that it will hold up when I use it to fight and protect myself. And the other wolf is made from emerald – for abundance, it amplifies the effect that the talisman has, so that it holds more magic."
"So every jewel in here is like that?" Caroline asked curiously, she liked learning about magic, it made her feel closer to Maya, which was good, because lately she felt like Maya was slipping away from her.
"Yeah, look, the jade," she pointed at it, "it's a stone connected to good fortune, prosperity, and can be used to 'treat evil' although I'm a little unclear how that works. Turquoise is used by psychic's and seers, to amplify their gifts, amethyst is used for protection and jasper is used for luck. You remember the purple bracelet I got your mom?"
"The one she keeps on all the time?"
Maya nodded, "It's amethyst with some jasper embedded inside, it won't deflect bullets or anything, but the protection spell means more often than not, she won't get hurt, and the luck means that if she does get hurt it's nothing major."
"You made something to keep my mom safe?" Caroline whispered.
"Of course I did," Maya replied, "She's your mom, I don't want anything bad to happen to her, I love Aunt Liz, and I love you, I want her to be as safe as I could make her, I don't want you to have lose her."
Caroline's eyes widened and she wrapped Maya in her embrace, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said, burying her face in Maya's hair and then she pulled back punching her friend in the shoulder, "Why didn't you tell me before!"
Maya shrugged a little sheepishly, "I didn't think about it, honestly, I just did it."
Caroline gave her a brilliant smile, "Okay, so tell me about the rest!"
"Sapphire, for intuition and communication with the spirits, again something used by psychics. Opal for fertility, but also it can be used as a generator of creativity and inspiration. Diamond for mental clarity, spiritual enlightenment and most especially power. Amber's a fire stone, it can be used for clarity, confidence, protection and strength. Bloodstone, healing, fertility, physical and financial abundance. Carnelian, for magic shielding, and can be used a talisman against psychic attack. Garnet is used in lunar rituals, can give other stones a magical boost and it's connected to women's bodies. Hematite, healing, protection for homes and property, willpower, confidence and psychic awareness. And last but not least, quartz, for love, friendship and relationships." Maya finished, looking around the room, her lessons with Kol had really paid off, she was mostly able to tell what they were used for just from her senses.
"And what about this?" Caroline picked up a rough looking dark stone.
"That is black kyanite, I have no idea what it's used for…"
"Kol doesn't know?" Caroline asked.
"I'm not talking to either Mikaelson right now, because I promised you all of my attention, and because I'm a little mad at Nik."
The blonde sighed, "Are you ever going to tell me what he did?"
"Maybe one day," Maya replied, "When I'm not so mad at him."
"Well what about that girl that you met in New Orleans, you kept in touch with her right?"
"Yeah but Davina's like fourteen, how is she going to know what this is for?"
"Well she grew up around magic," Caroline shrugged, "And it's different from the kind that you practise, it doesn't hurt to ask."
"You want me to ask Davina?"
"Call her!" Caroline said brightly.
"What now?!" Maya asked, "I thought this was supposed to be you and me time!"
"It is, but I have some ideas and I'd like to know I have someone else to run them by if I want to surprise you."
"What about Kol? You can ask him stuff."
"I never want to owe Kol Mikaelson anything, I get the feeling that owing him, would be a very bad idea."
"That's probably a good call," Maya admitted, "There's no sense getting tangled up with a Mikaelson if you don't have to."
"You mean like you did," Caroline pointed out.
Maya narrowed her eyes and smacked Caroline's arm, "Shut up Sunshine!"
The best friend smirked, "Come on call her! Oh video call her! I want to see her face!"
"Fine," Maya relented, pulling out her phone "I don't know what you're so excited for, she probably won't even answer."
Rebekah and Elijah were out of the Penthouse, they couldn't stay, not when Kol was shooting them such vile looks and Finn and Freya were clearly plotting against Klaus, their brother was worryingly nowhere to be found, the daggers were missing, most likely in his possession, and the mere fact that he hadn't daggered them both already had put them on edge. So at present, they were out, in the middle of the New York city crowd, as they were less likely to be taken down out in the open.
"Why didn't you ever tell us Elijah?" Rebekah asked, she couldn't get over the fact that he'd helped their parents curse Klaus, tied him down, when their brother was scared and confused, made it so in that moment he was truly alone, with no one to turn to. "Hell why did you do it? You helped mother and father make him into the monster that he is now."
Elijah knew why he didn't say anything, it had eaten at him, but the look of betrayal that Niklaus had given him that night, it was one that he couldn't bare to see on the rest of his siblings faces if they found out what he'd done. "I don't know what to say about it Rebekah, it is by far the worst thing that I have ever done, I hurt Niklaus in a way I never thought I could, I never wanted any of you to find out, but I thought it best that Niklaus would be the one to tell you all."
"But he didn't!" Rebekah exclaimed, "You should have told us!"
"I couldn't Rebekah! I've never been more ashamed of anything in my entire life! And you're one to talk! You called Mikael to New Orleans! Our home!"
"I HAD TO!" she yelled back as she stormed off, into the park, Elijah followed closely behind, "Nik never would have let Marcel and I be happy! Marcel was Nik's friend and he refused to let us be together, all I wanted was to be happy!"
"Oh for the love of- Did it ever occur to you that for once, his refusal to allow you to be together was not about you!"
"What?"
"Marcel wasn't Niklaus's friend Rebekah, he raised him from the age of a boy, named him, you were there, Marcel was the closest thing that Niklaus had to a son, and you in your infinite wisdom decided that you had to have him! Of all the people that you wanted, you had to have him! He was practically family and you decided that it was necessary to pick the one person that you knew would aggravate our brother more than everyone!" Elijah yelled back.
"Marcel wasn't-"
"HE WAS NIKLAUS'S SON REBEKAH! You never should have chosen Marcel for yourself."
"Marcel loved me."
"Marcel was a child, who didn't know any better, you did, and you chose to pursue him anyway! Why?!"
"I DON'T KNOW! I don't know alright! I was lonely and hurting and Marcel was there, we bonded."
Elijah rubbed a hand over his face, there was no use arguing about this, they were going round in circles, "It's not like it matters anymore Rebekah, Niklaus is furious at both of us, he has the daggers and Kol by his side, Finn and Freya have teamed up to stop Niklaus. We have been left to our own devices."
"What do we do Elijah? Do we stand with Finn and Freya? Or try to get back in Nik's good books, which is definitely going to be impossible. Or do we run, and hope that Nik's too pre-occupied to chase us?"
Elijah looked up at his sister, she was scared "In a thousand years I have never seen anyone successfully stand against him, not even our father. Should they attempt to stand against him, Freya and Finn will fail, and they will suffer for it. I spent a thousand years running, I don't want to do it anymore."
"So we try to make it up to Nik," Rebekah said resignedly, she didn't even know why she'd bothered asking, she knew what Elijah's answer would be. And after the revelation of what he'd done, Elijah would do whatever was necessary to earn Nik's trust back.
"The question is, how do we do this, without being daggered?"
"Well you're the one that comes up with the plans." Rebekah said.
"If you want to get back in Nik's good books, perhaps you should start with this," Kol appeared in front of his brother and sister, a frown on his face, he didn't want to go to Elijah with this, but he also didn't have time to spend chasing this particular problem all over the world. This should keep Elijah busy and out of his hair, hopefully his older brother would take Rebekah with him. He handed Elijah a file.
"Kingmaker Land Development Incorporated? What is this?"
"This is the business that belongs to our oldest friend. Lucien Castle." Elijah would have paled, if possible, he thought he wouldn't have to deal with that particular problem for at least another millennia.
"And what is the issue with Mr Castle's business?" Rebekah stalked forward and pulled the file out of Elijah's hands.
"Lucien is using his business as a front to hunt down kidnap and experiment on werewolves in an attempt to create a werewolf venom so potent that it can kill an Original. Nik would like it stopped for various reasons, the least of which is the fact that he'll need wolves to turn into hybrids once the curse is broken. You want to get back in Nik's good books, start there." He whooshed away before Rebekah or Elijah could say anything more.
Caroline frowned as Davina described the last meeting she'd had with one of the girls in her coven, "They don't really sound like they're your friends Davina."
The younger girl shrugged, it was true, Monique, Cassie and Abigail were the ones that she spent almost all of her time with, but the girls weren't particularly nice, they weren't mean either, but Davina had been raised differently to them. Monique was her closest friend but a lot of the time the girl didn't understand that Davina's background meant that she couldn't do most of the things the other girls could. Her mother was very controlling, and kept her on a tight leash, in fact that leash had only loosened slightly when Maya had come to town, and the Regent had used Davina as a go between. "They're my coven, they're all I have."
"Well now you have us!" Caroline insisted.
"She's right, we may not be in New Orleans but we're your friends," Maya agreed, "If anybody is giving you a hard time, I'll send one of my guys down to deal with it for you."
"One of your guys?"
"You've already met Enzo, Damon's much more reckless, but he could have some fun scaring some teenage witches…"
"No, no vampires!" Davina insisted, "It'll make everyone in the coven freak-out, they're still not happy that you're the one that cured the Regent."
"That's just jealousy," Maya dismissed, "They don't like the fact that they couldn't cure her, and that I won't let anyone know how I did it."
"Why won't you?" Davina asked, it puzzled her, she was part of a coven and information was always shared between each other.
"Knowledge is power," Maya replied seriously, "When you don't have strength, or skill, knowledge is what will save you. For example I created a spell, that will stop anyone from removing a vampire's daylight jewellery. Marcel saw that, and wanted it for himself, so that he could use it to increase his power in the Quarter."
"If you can undo a blood hex on the Regent when no one else could, then that makes you a hot commodity," Davina said understandingly.
"Exactly!" Caroline cut in, "Knowledge is power!"
"And absolute knowledge is absolute power," Maya said.
"Don't go all nerd on her, she doesn't need that in her life!" Caroline rolled her eyes and smacked her on the arm.
Davina laughed, she liked the way that the two girls interacted with one another, she hoped that someday she'd have friends like that, "Okay I have to go soon, I'll have a look through some old grimoires to find out what Black Kyanite can do, but why do you want to know so badly?"
"That's because of me!" Caroline said excitedly, "I had an idea! So tell me, how many people out there do you think could do with a little magical boost?"
"What do mean?" Davina asked.
"Maya made a protection bracelet for my mom because she's a cop and she wanted to keep her safe, my question is how many people out there could use something like that? Extra protection? Or a boost of creativity? Or like a rush of confidence for that job interview that you're really nervous for? How many people would pay for that?"
Maya smirked as she realised what Caroline was getting at, "A lot of people would pay for that."
"But covens don't do that," Davina said, "They don't work outside themselves, they don't share with outsiders."
"Then it's a good thing that we're not a coven," Caroline smirked.
"I already sell daylight jewellery online, I could expand the website easily enough, a lot of vampires have people that they love that they want to keep safe. Think about it, I already have an account at this place I could put more money in, buy up stock and we could really do this! Caroline could work on the designs, you and I could do the spells, it's actually a pretty great business idea!"
"You want me to do this with you?" Davina asked.
"Of course I do, I can't possibly do everything myself, I do have school, and you're in witch city, which means that any extra ingredients you could easily procure, besides, if we work on this together, Davina you could have some real independence, with the money that we make, you could do anything you want when you get older."
Davina nodded, "You're right, I'll send you the address of the post office nearest to me, I don't want that stuff showing up to our home, mom won't like it."
"Alright so what spells are you best versed in?"
"Anything fire based I guess, it's my element."
"Ok so we'll start with amber because it's fire based, garnet for the magical boost…" Maya thought about it for a moment, Davina was going to go through a lot, the first of which was psychological torture from the Ancestors, if she could help, she wanted to, "Also carnelian, it's good for magical shielding and it protects against psychic attack, I think that you should practice with that, its always good to be able to shield yourself."
Davina nodded, "Okay, that's a good idea, I have to go, there's a coven meeting soon, they're talking about preparing the girls for some ritual cleansing, I'll talk to you later! Bye girls!"
"Bye Davina!" Caroline smiled.
"Later D."
Caroline turned to Maya, "I like her, she could definitely be part of the friend group, and you can tell she's going to grow up to be hot, she'll totally bring up our group average!"
"Our group average?"
Caroline nodded, "The group hotness average! We're competing against Damon, Enzo and Klaus, that's a hard task, but not impossible if we add extra hotties to our group."
Maya rolled her eyes, "Is everything a competition to you?"
"Duh," Caroline grinned, "Now let's get some new jewels!"
A week later Caroline and Maya were with Enzo in a karaoke bar, he'd compelled the place for them in an effort to get along with Caroline, from what Maya had told him the blonde loved to sing and he hated to admit it, but when she wasn't being all controlling she was kind of fun. Maya was about to go onstage fully willing to get involved if it made her Sunshine happy. Caroline sat down next to him with a smile, "I've got to say Enzo, this was actually a good idea."
"Well I've resigned myself to believe that as long as Maya is in my life, you will be too, so I suppose that we should learn to get along."
Caroline gave a little pout, "What if I like fighting with you?"
Enzo shot her an amused glance, "Well no one says that we have to stop."
Caroline small smile turned into a full out grin when she heard the music turn up, "Fall Out Boy! Thank God it's not that crazy metal stuff she listens to!"
"It's terrible isn't it?" Enzo agreed, "I mean honestly it's just angry noise, how does she listen to it?!"
"I know right! It's like screaming and banging and she thinks that it sounds good!"
Enzo took a drink and shook his head, "Damon's the same, awful taste in music! Maybe because it was because he lived through the eighties!"
Damon was sat with Klaus in a bar across from the karaoke place, "You know you could just go in there, talk to her, say you're sorry… for whatever you've done to upset her."
"I can't," Klaus replied.
"Because the word 'sorry' isn't in your vocabulary?"
"Because it wouldn't be enough, I hurt Maya's feelings, and unlike every other woman I've met in my entire life, she can't be bought."
"But that's why you like her so much isn't it?" Damon smirked, giving him a nudge, "The fact that she can't be bought means that any loyalty she has towards you, is all real, not a single part of it manufactured."
"Well I don't know about that," Klaus started, "she was sent here specifically to keep me alive."
Damon rolled his eyes, it was like Klaus was being particularly obtuse, "Nik, don't be stupid, she was sent here to protect you, she wasn't sent to be your friend, she wasn't sent to care about you, or worry when one of her visions could hurt you! She could keep you and the rest of your family alive from the shadows, she never had to reveal herself to you. In fact all of this would be easier for her if she didn't. I mean Death told her to keep you alive, she didn't have to tell you about the failsafe, she doesn't have to help you find a way to get around it, but she's doing it because she cares about you. You better fix whatever you did, she's totally monopolizing all my time with Enzo."
"Aah you've finally made your move!" Klaus perked up, this was what he needed, a distraction.
"No!" Damon replied bitterly, "That's the problem! She's always there you know?! Every time that I get just a little alone time with him, she just pops up! Like an annoying, red-headed, cockblock!" Klaus laughed as Damon continued. "It's not funny Nik! I haven't been laid in like a month! A sexless Damon Salvatore is not a fun Damon Salvatore!"
"But he is amusing, I mean look at you, getting all worked up over stolen moments with your Beau!"
Damon scowled, "Like you're any better! Look at you! Stalker of the year, waiting, watching and for what? If you're not going man up and fix things with Maya then what's all this for?" Damon gestured to the room around them, and then across the street. Klaus had been following Maya everywhere she went, at a distance of course, because he knew that despite his warnings against it, Finn and Freya were likely to try to hurt his Little Siphon. And now in the bar, Klaus was watching a live video of Maya and Caroline up on stage. He'd compelled someone in the Karaoke place to film the inside so he could see everything.
"Finn's going to try something, I just know it, I'm here to keep her safe!"
"It'd be a lot easier to do if she let you near her," Damon replied in a sing song voice. "Just go in there and say you're sorry!"
Klaus scowled at him, "Shut up Damon!"
The next week had Caroline and Maya touring Fifth Avenue, if anything brought the two girls together, it was shopping. They'd been at it for hours, Damon and Enzo in the background, carrying their bags, they were taking a break from spending money and had headed inside Central Park. The girls were giggling over the looks on the guys faces, they were complaining about being pack mules when both of them dropped to the ground with snapped necks. Caroline gasped and Maya straightened up, she whirled to face whoever had just attacked them but was stopped when shackles appeared on her wrists, and a powder was blown in her face, magic dampening powder, designed to stop a witch from using her abilities. "Finn!" she snarled. Before her stood Finn, Freya and Sage.
Caroline stood a little straighter, her heart was pounding but she wasn't going to let her fear show, these three had just rendered their protection unconscious and put those weird shackles on Maya, she couldn't do magic. Slowly she reached towards her pocket but the red-headed vampire grabbed her by the throat, "My beloved says that we can't kill the witch yet but he said nothing of you." Sage tightened her grip around Caroline's throat and lifted her in the air.
Caroline choked, she scrabbled at the hand at her neck she could barely breathe. "Sage," Finn said, stopping her from killing the human girl, "We'll need her for the moment."
Sage frowned, but lowered Caroline to the ground, she kept a hold of the girl, "What's first?"
"First," Finn said, turning to Maya, "You release my sister from her bond with Kol."
Maya sneered at him "No can do, I undo the link and big sister over there goes night night."
Finn scowled, "Do you think that for one moment I believe that fiction? I will not allow you to hold my sister hostage!"
"You're an idiot that has no idea what sort of magic you're messing with! Besides, I can't do anything now," she held up her shackled hands.
Freya let out a disbelieving laugh, "I know that is not going stop you for long, we need to talk."
Maya shook her head, keeping one eye on Sage who hadn't let go of Caroline, "Maya?" Caroline whimpered.
"It's alright Sunshine," Maya said confidently, even though she was feeling anything but, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
"Well the only way that works, is if you give us what we want," Sage said, tightening her grip on Caroline.
"Don't you dare Maya!" Caroline exclaimed and then groaned in pain as Sage clamped down on her shoulder.
"I wasn't going to," Maya said, "I don't react well when the people I love are threatened."
"For now you're helpless," Freya pointed out, "We could just kill you."
"And risk Klaus's wrath?" she asked, "Because if you try to stop him from ending a thousand years worth of agony, agony that your mother caused, he'll wipe you from existence, if anyone can it's him." Maya was just buying herself time, she could feel her siphoning abilities, she touched the shackles, they were drenched in magic, power dampening magic, but it wasn't designed for people like her. The powder was similar, she could feel it's affects, but it couldn't stop her, not for long, she felt her siphoning pushing against the dampening. She gripped the chain in her hands and started to siphon, it was difficult, the powder and the cuffs fighting against her, but she could feel it working. "You three have no idea what you're really up against, and unless you get with the program, you will die," she looked at Finn, and then slid her eyes over to Freya, "And you'll be out the only brother that you actually know. Left with a family that has grown for a thousand years without you, and then what will you do?"
"ENOUGH!" Finn snarled, "You will release my sister from Niklaus's machinations, or Sage will kill your friend."
"I doubt that," a voice said from behind them, Sage dropped to the floor, her neck snapped, and Caroline was whooshed out of the vicinity.
/ / / /
"Kol!" Caroline exclaimed, she was in his arms.
"In a spot of trouble are you darling?"
"How'd you find us?"
"You think Nik hasn't been following every move that Maya makes? They may be fighting, but he's not going to let anything happen to her."
Caroline looked up at him with widened eyes, "You know I actually believe you, put me down."
"Caroline-"
"Put me down Kol! Go back there and make sure Maya's okay! I'll be fine! Go!" Kol let her go and whooshed away."
/ / / /
Maya's eyes widened as Klaus appeared from nowhere and snapped Freya's neck, "That's enough of that," he said and turned to Finn, "Now what am I to do with you?"
Finn growled, his vampiric features coming to light, he launched himself at Klaus, anger beyond compare, Klaus tugged the dagger from his jacket and stabbed Finn in the heart.
"Klaus!" Maya exclaimed, "You just- Freya will never forgive you for that!"
He walked up to her, eyeing her chains in distaste, he snapped them off her wrists, "I don't care."
"Klaus you need her."
"Not more than I need you," he reached out and stroked her cheek, "I need you to believe me when I tell you that I will never let anyone hurt you again, not even me."
"But, you could lose your chance at making more hybrids," she whispered.
He shook his head, "It's the damndest thing, but I trust you," he said, "Freya might make things easier, but you're what I need, I swear to you I will always keep you safe."
"You're putting what you need at risk, for me…"
"When I first met Enzo, he said something to me that I didn't understand, he said to me that you were everything, I get it now. I've seen it with Damon, with Kol, I know that it was never your intention, but without you I wouldn't have my baby brother back. Kol likes you, he'd never want to hurt you, the same with Damon, and me, homicidal maniacs, the lot of us, and yet you got under our skin, you made us care."
"Then you should kill me, if you care, I'm a weakness, you can't afford to have a weakness Nik, it's the only thing that makes sense."
Klaus's eyes lit up, he didn't miss the fact that she'd called him Nik, "When have you known me to do anything that makes sense?"
Maya smiled and threw her arms around him, "Thank you."
"Always."
She pulled away from him and looked over at the two unconscious Mikaelsons, "Let her take the dagger out."
"What?"
"Finn's the only one out of all of you that she knows, she'll never trust you if she doesn't have him."
"He won't let Freya help."
"Freya may love Finn, but her sense of self preservation's stronger, she'll help you, or when Dahlia wakes up, she won't have any magic to fight her. Kol will make sure of that, let her wake him, he doesn't know where I live."
"Ugh," a groan came from behind them, Damon and Enzo both struggled to sit up, "What the hell happened?" Enzo groaned.
Damon pulled himself to his feet and saw Sage out cold near by, "Ugh, Sage, I can't believe I let her get the drop on me!" he complained.
"Don't feel too bad," Kol said as he appeared, "She is 900 years old."
"Kol! Where's Caroline?"
"I dropped her at a café with a couple of mates, she sent me back to check on you lot, but it looks like Nik has everything in hand!"
"Well I couldn't let you have all the fun!" he shrugged.
"Go get my Sunshine," Maya said to Kol, "Meet us back at the apartment." She turned to Klaus and held out her hand, "Give me a lift?
Maya was curled up on the couch in the apartment, resting against Klaus's chest. The two of them were talking, finally, about 'the incident' as it had been dubbed. The rest of them were on the other side of the apartment, the vampires unable to eavesdrop because Maya had cast a soundproofing spell. Caroline was pouting, because she was being left out and she still didn't know what Klaus had done to earn Maya's displeasure.
"How much longer are they going to be?" she asked.
"Maya's got a silencing spell up," Kol said, "We'll only know when the spell comes down," he brushed the hair from Caroline's face, "For now, we'll just have to wait and see darling."
"Hey!" Damon tugged Caroline towards him and shot a scowl at Kol, "Hands off, Baby Klaus! You're way too old for her!"
"I'm only nineteen!" Kol protested.
"And she is fifteen!" Damon replied, "Back off!" he'd promised Maya that he wouldn't let Kol put the moves on Caroline, he could at least do that.
/ / / /
"I'm still mad at you Nik," Maya said, feeling his arm tighten around her.
"I know love, but you'll forgive me eventually, or at least that's what that vision of your indicates," he finished cheekily.
Maya let out an indignant huff and elbowed him in the stomach, "I thought we agreed that we'd never mention that again!"
Klaus smirked, "But seeing you match the shade of your hair is so delightful!" he tucked her hair behind one ear, accidentally brushing his fingers over the fading bite mark on her neck, pulling them both into another vision.
/ / / /
Maya was in a tastefully decorated room, lying back on a four poster bad, there was a man above her, kissing his way down her body as he flicked open the buttons of her blouse one by one. She gasped as his lips hovered just under her belly button, and he tugged down her skirt and underwear. Whoever this was, it wasn't Klaus, the man had warm olive skin, dark hair and grey eyes. Her fingers threaded through his hair as she arched into his touch.
"Well, well, look at this! I'm not gone for an hour and you two decide to take up with each other in my bed!" Klaus said walking into the bedroom, dropping his jacket onto a nearby chair, his eyes shifting to the tell-tale yellow and black.
The man pulled back just slightly, blood dripping from his prominent fangs, "You were late, what did you expect?"
Klaus growled and Maya whimpered, "Nik?!" she breathed out, shifting under his scrutiny.
Klaus whooshed to her side, leaning over her with dark grin, "Don't worry love, I'm here now," his mouth shot to her neck, latching onto the mark that he'd left on her, fangs sinking into her tender flesh.
Maya cried out, her free hand latched onto his head, pulling him closer to her, as the other vampire went back to feasting on her as well. She moaned in pleasure as both men drank deeply from her.
/ / /
Present day Maya pulled away from Klaus, her skin flushed, and chest heaving.
"Who the hell was that?" Klaus asked.
"I have no idea!"
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, the feedback really helps my writing!
Chapter 24: Baby Wolves
Chapter Text
"What are you doing?" Damon asked Klaus, walking into the small room he'd made into a studio in his apartment.
Klaus was sat at his desk, sketching a picture of a man that he'd never seen before, "I don't recognise the man I saw in Maya's vision," Klaus said, "So I'm going to send this out to all my contacts."
"Huh," Damon mused, Klaus was acting weird, he moved round the desk to see the sketch, "So what, you're just gonna send out this drawing to all your minions and have them track him down?"
"Exactly," Klaus confirmed.
"Uh-huh, and you're doing this because…?" Damon shot him a knowing smirk, "Because I am absolutely certain that whoever this guy is, he wasn't acting like he was your enemy."
Klaus narrowed his eyes at Damon, did he- did Damon know the context of Maya's most recent vision? "You know." He accused.
Damon snorted in amusement and threw himself into a chair, "Of course I know! Who else was Little Red going to talk to about the weird new sex visions that she's having? Caroline, the girl who loves her more than anything, but has no real-world experience when it comes to the supernatural? Or Enzo, the guy who has basically watched Maya grow up? I mean I love Enzo, but he will murder you if he finds out she's having sex visions about you! She told me all about her visions and the fact that you bit her."
"Damon I-" Klaus stopped for a moment as he registered what Damon said, "You love Enzo?" he asked, attempting to distract Damon from his digging.
"I didn't say that."
"Yes you did."
"No."
"Yes."
"Nik!"
"Damon!"
"We're not talking about me Nik! We're talking about you and your weird possessive need to have everyone to yourself!"
"I do not!" Klaus protested, fully aware that in that moment he was nothing but a liar, he did not share, he hadn't since he was mortal.
"Oh my God you are!" Damon threw his hands in the air, as if he couldn't believe that they were actually having this discussion, Klaus was wickedly possessive, and he found this out last summer, when Kol had discovered Klaus's friends and made it his mission to antagonise his brother by befriending himself, Enzo and Maya. Klaus had acted like a petulant child for months when he found out that Kol and Damon had gone hunting together…come to think of it, Enzo hadn't been too happy about that either. "Don't pretend that you didn't throw the ugliest tantrum when you found out that Kol and Maya were video chatting!"
Klaus scowled and let out a warning growl, Damon wasn't lying though, he had not been happy when he'd realised that Maya and Kol had been talking regularly. He wanted to snap Damon's neck, but if he did, it would just be proving the eldest Salvatore right. "You take that back!"
"Never!" Damon smirked, dodging the glass thrown at his head, "Missed me!" Klaus snarled and frisbeed a canvas at Damon, who slipped out of the way again. "Missed again!" Damon grinned and rushed out of the room, only to be followed by the Original.
Kol just got off the phone with one of his contacts with a sigh, it appeared as though when he slaughtered that coven of Silas worshiping witches four hundred years ago, anyone else with a connection to the oldest known immortal disappeared, the Travellers, true to their name, had scattered all over the globe and not resurfaced since. He'd heard mutterings of a coven that made it their business to ensure that Silas was never awoken, but he didn't know who they were, or how to find them, "Fuck!" he snarled, throwing his phone against the wall, shattering it, if he didn't find out how to get to Silas and force the cure down the immortal's throat, he would go crazy, just the knowledge about his potential death, years from now, was already making him irritable, thank the Gods that Nik had killed their father, otherwise he would be drawing some serious attention to his family right now. He should speak to Maya about this, he knew that she didn't remember anything about the immortal, and speaking to her about Silas may even release the memories she had of him, but that would put her directly in the line of fire of a potential immortal witch who could bring down the Other Side. And he didn't want that, he didn't want to burden her with more than she'd already shouldered, his family's continued existence, his brother's curse, the failsafe, not to mention the whole mess with Freya and Dahlia. Maya had far too much to deal with already, he couldn't put this on her as well, he wouldn't.
A knock at the door to his study startled him, he was sure Elijah and Rebekah were busy researching Lucien and his company, in fact, they should be off in the next few days, going to the first 'research facility' that they'd discovered to rescue the werewolves being tortured there. Nik was with Damon, the Salvatore sending him a text that he was being chased by an angry Original and to 'come help immediately', and he didn't think that either Freya or Finn would come to speak to him, he was clearly Team Nik.
Frowning, Kol opened the door, and saw Freya on the other side, "What do you want?" he asked, keeping an eye out for Sage or Finn.
"Can we talk?" she asked softly, watching as his eyes darted to the space behind her, "Sage took Finn out for a meal, apparently fresh blood is the best thing for after a daggering."
Kol said nothing, just opened the door a fraction wider and stepped a little to the side, he was curious to see what Freya was going to do, especially because he had yet to give her, her magic back after the little stunt she and Finn had pulled. "You have five minutes," he said, thanks to his anger he had to go out and get a new phone, perhaps Nik should invest in a stash of spares… he'd bring it up to his brother later.
"Brother-"
"Don't call me brother," Kol said, "As far as I'm concerned you've yet to do anything that make's you a part of my family."
Freya's jaw tightened in annoyance, she knew that she was going to have a hard time with Kol, but she wanted to get him on side, if not, then she'd resort to her own failsafe, the dagger. Niklaus had left it in Finn and left Finn with her, he had to have known she'd take it out of her dear brother, but now, she had a weapon to use against the one who was keeping her magic from her. "Kol," she started again, "I need to speak with you about the witch."
Kol fought the urge to roll his eyes, this didn't feel at all like a contrived conversation! He crossed his arms and propped himself up on his desk, feigning relaxation, but remaining on his feet just in case. "What about her?"
"I need to speak with her Kol! I must understand what she's done to me!"
"What she's done is give you time!" he growled out, "Precious time! Time that you should be using to your advantage! Instead, you're plotting with Finn! Finn of all people! Big brother's no master strategist! He's a simpering fool who's letting his anger endanger you!"
"He is our brother!" Freya snapped, not liking the way this was going.
"He is a needy little momma's boy who couldn't handle being a vampire without his 'beloved' Sage by his side! Nik may have made the decision to keep the dagger in him, but any one of us could have undaggered Finn at any time! But we didn't! You want to know why?! Because despite living together as mortals, despite remaining together as a family for a century, he never acted like he was one of us! I may have been the outsider, but at least I tried! He didn't! Not once! You knew Finn for five years, I've known him longer, and the fact that you're choosing to trust him with your life, it's the stupidest thing you could do. Sorry," Kol paused, "the second stupidest thing you could do. The absolute stupidest thing you could do is to take that dagger, that you have hidden under your shirt, and shove it in my heart."
Freya started at that, how did he know that she had the dagger on her? "I don't-"
"Oh there's no need to lie!" Kol shrugged, as though it was the obvious thing to do…which given that Freya was a Mikaelson, it was, "I know you have it, but you see, if you were to be stupid enough and lucky enough to actually dagger me, well then you would have just ruined any chance you had at being free. I control your access to your magic, but that access was given to me by Maya, and she was worried about me, living in the same house as you. So she put in a failsafe of her own. That dagger slides into my heart, and you lose access to your magic forever. So please try it!" he spread his arms wide and waited.
Freya's eyes narrowed at her baby brother, as she calculated the likelihood of that statement.
"No?" Kol asked mockingly, before flashing over to her and yanking the dagger from her, "Too bad, I was hoping you'd be more interesting."
"Kol-"
"Yes, yes, you want to speak with Maya, unfortunately for you, she's going to be very busy for the next several months, given that her schooling starts up again. If you wanted to speak with her, perhaps you shouldn't have threatened her best friend."
Maya yawned and scrubbed her hands over her face, "Caroline, you know we're leaving with twice as much stuff than what we came here with." The girls were due back in Mystic Falls in a day and a half and had barely been able to pack, what with their massive increase in stuff.
"It's my first time in New York!" Caroline protested, "What did you think was going to happen?"
"Well I didn't think that we were going to buy out the entire precious stone collection in the jewellers," Maya muttered.
"Hey! You know that was an excellent business decision!"
"I know! I know! It's just I spent so much money I can't afford to buy new suitcases to haul all this stuff back home."
"Oh," Caroline paused for a moment, she was running low on cash too, the Forbes family didn't have as much compared to the Lockwoods, or even the Gilberts, she'd spent about ten years worth of birthday and Christmas money on her trip to New York, so she didn't have much in the way of cash either. "One sec!" she whipped out her phone, firing off several texts.
"Who are you texting?" Maya asked, from her position across Caroline's bed.
"Kol," she replied flippantly.
"WHAT?!" Maya shot up in surprise, "Since when do you have Kol's number? Why do you have Kol's number?"
"Relax, I'm not doing anything with him," Caroline shrugged, "He gave it to me the other night, and I'm texting him so that he can send us some luggage so that we can finish packing." She looked around the room, at the mess everywhere, "Can't you like, cast a spell? Make our current luggage bigger on the inside, like in Mary Poppins?"
"I- You want me to create a pocket dimension inside a suitcase?" Maya asked incredulously, "I wouldn't even know where to start with that, that's never been done before!"
"Neither has your daylight ring protection spell, it hasn't stopped you before," the blonde shrugged, "Get to figuring it out! We could totally market it exclusively to supernaturals! In fact why are we stopping there? We could create coffee with a shot of charisma! Cakes that never let you put on weight! Oh alcohol that never gives you a hangover!" she squealed.
"I've created a monster," Maya groaned, she should have known that Caroline wouldn't have left their business at just magical jewellery, knowing Caroline, the girl was going to have Maya help her take over the world (something that she didn't inherently have a problem with, it just seems like that would be a lot of work).
Klaus stood with Maya in the private terminal of the airport, he'd arranged for the girls to go back home in his jet because they had so much extra baggage with them. "I have to leave soon," Maya said, looking up at the Original.
"I know," he replied, "Can't miss your birthday celebrations for the second time in a row."
"Right," she nodded, "My sweet sixteen, you better not have gotten me anything too crazy."
"What makes you think that I got you anything at all?"
"I heard you love birthdays," she shrugged, shoving her hands in her pockets.
Klaus smiled, "I do, which is why you won't know what I got you, until your big day."
"Spoil sport," she pouted.
"It's only five days love, you can hang on until then."
"But Nik!" she whined a little, "What if the suspense kills me?!"
"If the suspense kills you I suppose I could always give your present to Caroline," he mused.
"Nik!" she gasped scandalised, causing him to laugh.
"Birthday presents are supposed to be surprises, and don't try searching the plane, its not on there, it'll be delivered the day of."
"Fine," Maya crossed her arms, knowing that he wouldn't let on to what it was.
Klaus noticed Caroline boarding the plane, along with Enzo and Damon, "You should get going, it's nearly time for take off."
Maya threw her arms around Nik, the weeks she'd been on the outs with him had been hell, "I'm going to miss you."
"And I you darling."
Pulling back a little, she looked into his eyes, "You're not going back to the Penthouse are you?"
He shook his head, "It wouldn't be smart, Kol and I are staying at the Brownstone."
"Maybe," she started, "You should get in touch with the pack," she whispered, "Tell them that you're leaving New York for a bit, that you need some space from vampire drama. They might be more open to a meet if they know that you're not hanging with your siblings for now. Plus I know Kol's planning on visiting some coven in China for something, so he'll be out of town too. With Rebekah and Elijah gone, you shouldn't be alone with Finn and Freya, they suck."
Klaus's lips quirked, "I'll think about it," he agreed, "Bye love, I'll see you soon."
September 8th, known to the majority of the Mystic Falls population as the first day of high school that year, was important for a very different reason for Maya, Caroline and Jenna, it was Maya's sixteenth birthday. Did it suck that it was on the first day of school? Yes, but Caroline and Jenna had a week long plan of fun, culminating in a birthday bash that would be the talk of the high school… at least until Caroline's sixteenth on October 10th.
Maya was having her customary breakfast with Caroline when her mother came in, "Okay!" Jenna grinned, clapping her hands together she urged her daughter and best friend up, "Present time!"
"We usually do presents after school," Maya said, smiling bemusedly at her mother, they'd never strayed from tradition before.
"I know, I know," Jenna agreed, "But I thought that this was something that you would want before you went to school." Ushering the two of them outside, Maya's eyes lit up as they laid on a dark blue car sat in the driveway.
"Oh my God! Is that- Is that for me?!" she sputtered, lurching forward to the car.
Jenna shrugged, "You got your driver's license, and I made some smart investments with the money that…technically you made, I thought you deserved it."
"Mom, this is – this is amazing! I can't believe you did this!" she wrapped her arms around her mother, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
Caroline shrieked in excitement, the car was perfect, a pretty little convertible, so the two of them could go on the road trips that they'd dreamed of. "Elena's going to be so freaking jealous!" she cheered, causing Jenna to roll her eyes.
"One of these days you're going to have to tell me why you hate Elena so much."
"I don't hate Elena," Maya refuted, "I just think she's rude, and selfish, and hates the fact that I beat her out in Driver's Ed."
"We should go!" Caroline cut in, not wanting to spend the morning talking about Elena Gilbert, "Besides it's Jeremy's last year of Middle School, and what's cooler than arriving in this sweet convertible?"
"Oh yes! Can we Mom? Please?!"
"Fine," Jenna relented, "Go, I'll call Miranda and tell her you're coming."
"YES!" Maya cheered, snatching the keys from her mother's outstretched hand, "Oh!" she hugged Jenna again, "I love you!"
"Happy Birthday baby," Jenna smiled and watched as her daughter and Caroline hopped into the car and drove off. It was times like this that made her so happy that her daughter had chosen to tell her the truth about what she was. Sure it was dangerous, sometimes downright terrifying, but seeing her like this, happy, free, unafraid to be who she was meant to be, it made Jenna so proud.
/ / /
"Elena's going to hate you for this," Caroline smirked.
Rolling her eyes, Maya concentrated on reaching her cousins' house without incident, "Caroline, you know you're the one who cares about the social hierarchy at school, not me."
"Oh please," Caroline snorted in amusement, "Don't act like I don't see the smirk on your face whenever someone jumps out of your way in fear in the hallways."
"I'm smirking because they're scared of me, and I haven't done a thing to encourage them."
"You broke Joey Newman's nose last year!" Caroline shot back.
"He grabbed your ass without permission! He deserved it!"
"He did, and I will be forever grateful to you for doing it, I'm just saying people have good reason to be afraid of you!"
"Fine," Maya conceded, "Douchebags should be afraid of me, very, very afraid, but high school girls, needing to be decimated by a few acerbic words, that's your wheelhouse."
"As long as we're clear," Caroline nodded, "I'm the brains and you're the brawn!"
"Hey!"
Caroline laughed at the indignation on Maya's face and jumped out of the car as they pulled up in front of the Gilbert house. Shaking her head, Maya got out and followed her Sunshine up the stairs. Caroline had already rang the bell by the time she reached the door and it was thrown open by the reason they were there.
"Jeremy!" Maya smiled, as the younger boy wrapped her in his arms.
"Maya! Happy birthday Cuz!" he smiled.
Maya felt a pang in her heart at his easy smile, Jeremy was so much better after a summer spent at 'Arts Camp'. Jenna had suggested sending him there for the long vacation, as it gave him time to heal, and gave Miranda a chance to grieve the loss of her husband without worrying her children, as Elena had gone to 'Cheer Camp' for a month over their break.
"Maya!" Aunt Miranda said, walking up to the open door, the older woman looked better as well, "Happy birthday Sweetheart," she said, giving her niece a hug.
"Thanks Aunty M," she replied, pulling back.
"I see your mother didn't waste anytime with your gift," Miranda nodded at the car, "Are you sure you're going to be able to drive Jeremy to school?"
"I will not go one mile over the speed limit, I promise." Maya reassured.
Miranda crossed her arms over her chest and gave Maya a scrutinising look, "Ok," she nodded, "You can take him, but under one condition."
"What?" Maya asked warily.
"You're taking Elena too."
"What?!"
"Come on!"
"Mom!" all three of the teens complained.
"No complaints!" she pointed at all three of them, "You're going to school, it will save me time if you take Elena to school too, I'll pick her up, but it makes no sense for you to be here and not take her with you."
Maya groaned, she didn't want to spend a car journey with Elena, she was the ultimate downer, "Fine," she grumbled, "But she's sitting in the back."
Miranda looked at her amused, she would get the two girls to get along, even if it killed her, "Alright, I'll go get her, all of you be nice!" she demanded.
The three teens trudged towards the car, their excitement, noticeably diminished, it would be a miracle if Elena and Maya didn't have a screaming match in the car.
Rebekah kicked the door down of a hidden lab in Alaska belonging to Lucien's company, more specifically, the underground lab in the Tongass National Forest, she couldn't understand why wolf packs insisted in living in the forest, sure they went out of control every full moon, but it was one night a month. Why they couldn't live with the rest of civilisation was beyond her. A couple of vampires came out of the woodworks and attacked her, she was quick to kill them, Klaus was one for tearing out hearts, Elijah for knocking off heads, but she preferred a much cleaner method. She'd brought stakes with her, and used them with ruthless efficiency, she may have looked delicate, but she was a thousand-year-old Viking, anyone that underestimated her was a fool.
She stormed through the corridors, the lab was cold and clinical, it had clearly been used, but there weren't any werewolves being experimented on at the moment, if she was a younger vampire she would have been fooled. But her age meant that her senses were much stronger than the centuries old ones that she'd just killed. She could hear the heartbeats of the captives below, snarling she rushed down to the hidden cellars, she was genuinely shocked at the sight, the werewolves here were barely hanging on, each one in worse condition than the last. Rebekah had witnessed torture before, even been the cause of it, but this place felt sinister in a way that she wasn't used to.
Rebekah whooshed back upstairs, flipping open her phone and she called Elijah.
"Rebekah you were supposed to call me when you reached the lab." Elijah said, answering the phone call.
"Relax Elijah, I'm fine, but I can't say the same for the occupants of this particular facility."
"What?"
"These wolves are barely alive, no amount of vampire blood will save them, they've been torn apart. I'm going to put them out of their misery."
"Rebekah we're supposed to save these wolves, not kill them."
"At this point killing them would be a kindness Elijah, they're missing limbs, and organs, and one is missing his entire lower jaw! I don't even know how that one is still alive! We're too late, these wolves are beyond saving." Rebekah was resolute, she didn't care for the plight of the wolves, but Lucien what had done to the members of this pack, it was too much. "I'll go through the computers, see if I can come up with any information on this pack, and burn the place to ash."
"Fine," Elijah sighed, crossing the lab's location off his map of Kingmaker properties, "Remember you're in the forest, don't let the flames get out of control."
"Yes, yes Elijah, don't burn down the bloody forest, I'm not a child, I know who Smokey the Bear is!" she replied, snapping the phone shut and whooshing back downstairs.
Rebekah broke the cage doors, and effortlessly snapped the necks of the wolves that had been captured, before heading into the next set of rooms, where the tell-tale hum of computer equipment was coming from. She'd found another vampire hiding there, and instead of killing him, compelled him to copy all the information on the system he could and give it to her. While the compelled vampire did that, she explored the rest of the facility, it was worryingly undermanned, which meant that it was entirely possible that Lucien had found what he was looking for with the pack and had moved on. She froze in her search when she heard a whimper, cocking her head, Rebekah closed her eyes and focused on the sounds around her, narrowing her senses, she heard the rustle of fabric coming from beneath her, she didn't think there was another level to the facility but there must have been. There was a shuffle of feet on the floor, and another whimper, Rebekah went back to the vampire doing her bidding, "What's below us?" she asked.
The man lifted his head and looked at her scared, "What are you talking about?"
Rolling her eyes, Rebekah appeared in front of him, her pupils dilated and she repeated her question, "What. Is. Below. Us? I can hear movement."
"It's where we keep the werewolves on the full moon, so that we don't get bitten."
"Is there someone down there now?"
"Yes." The vampire whispered, if he thought he had a chance of survival before, he knew that he definitely didn't have one now.
"Take me there," she demanded.
Swallowing, he nodded and whooshed out of the room, Rebekah followed him. The vampire came to a dead end and pressed his hand against part of the wall, the area shifted back to reveal a secret hallway. Frowning Rebekah stepped forward, why would a secret lab need an extra secret area? "Stay here and keep the door open."
Rebekah whooshed inside and gaped at what she saw, a young boy and girl, they couldn't have been more than seven years old, they were huddled together in their own filth, wearing scraps, "My God," she whispered, taking in the room she could see the claw marks on the walls, and looked back at the two children tucked away in the corner, they couldn't have broken their werewolf curse, they were too young, but then why were they here? Stepping forward, they pulled back away from her in fear, "I'm not here to hurt you," she spoke softly.
Of course the children didn't believe her, if they were active werewolves then they could smell the vampire on her. "I know you're scared, but the people that hurt you are all dead, I've made sure of it."
"There's still one upstairs," the little boy spoke, he'd manoeuvred himself in front of the girl, in an effort to protect her.
"Yes," Rebekah said, "I needed to find out what was happening here, he's getting me that information, but I can promise you, he won't leave here alive."
"I don't believe you," the boy said, "you're a vampire, you're just like them."
The pain in his eyes made Rebekah want to cry, she couldn't abide by children being hurt, "I am a vampire, but I'm here for my brother, he was born a wolf, and he wants to stop what's been happening here."
"A vampire? And a werewolf?" the boy was sceptical, everything that he'd been taught, that he'd seen, told him that vampires hated werewolves. "I don't believe you."
"He's not here, but I'll take you to him," Rebekah promised, "I swear to you, I will not hurt you."
The girl tugged on the boy's arm, "Where's mommy?" she whimpered and Rebekah's eyes softened further.
The boy looked at the blonde and Rebekah gently shook her head, "There were no women upstairs, I'm sorry." The boy was trying so hard to be strong for the girl, but at her words, it looked like he was near tears, "Please let me take you from here," she stretched out her hand, she wouldn't move closer to the baby wolves, she didn't want to spook them, "I'm burning this place to the ground, you can't stay here."
The boy looked at the girl, she was shivering, they hadn't been fed in days, not since she'd accidentally bit one of the vampires while she'd been in her wolf form, they were tired, and hungry, if they stayed they would die. The girl just tightened her grip on him, "If you try anything, I'll bite you, and vampires can't heal from a wolf bite," he said, a new strength in his voice.
Rebekah nodded, and straightened, tucking her hand in her pocket. The boy stood on shaky legs, pulling the girl with him, "You're not going to tell me your names are you?" The children just stared at her, not saying anything, "Right, follow me," she said.
When the three of them got to the entrance of the secret hallway the children froze, staring at the vampire waiting for them, "It's alright," Rebekah said, walking up to the vampire, "What more have you got left to do?" she asked.
"The files should all be copied now."
"Go and get them." He whooshed away and came back in an instant, handing her a memory card with everything on. "Have you erased all the servers?"
"Yes," the vampire replied.
"Good, here," she handed him a stake and he looked at her with wide eyes. "Take that stake, and shove it in your heart."
"But that will kill me," he said, slowly bringing the stake to his chest, he couldn't stop himself.
"That's the point, now chop, chop, we don't have all day."
Rebekah and the children watched as the vampire staked himself and dropped dead at her feet. "How did you do that?" he asked, he didn't think that vampires could do that to each other.
"I'm a very special vampire," she said, motioning for the children to follow her, "Lets get out of here." She pulled out her phone and shot off a text to a couple of her own compelled minions, they would burn down the facility and make sure that it didn't set the forest ablaze. Before they got all the way out, the girl collapsed.
"No!" the boy cried and Rebekah knelt down at her side.
"It's all right," she tried to comfort him, "She's not hurt, just exhausted, you both are. I imagine it's been a while since either one of you ate or drank anything?" the boy nodded and Rebekah frowned, the nearest place to eat was three hours away by car, the children would need energy to go on. Biting into her hand, she placed the bloody appendage to the girl's lips, the blood wouldn't sustain her, but it would keep her awake and alive long enough for her to get the children something to eat. When the girl's eyes opened she bit into her hand again and held it in front of the boy, "You'll need the energy, it's quite the walk to the car, and nearest diner is not close."
The boy looked at her hand with suspicion, but came forward slightly and placed his lips against the open wound, he swallowed a mouthful and pulled back with a grimace. "Ugh!"
"Come," Rebekah said, watching as the boy helped the girl to her feet, "We need to get you some food."
Maya and Caroline were enjoying their post school meal at the 'Coffee Bean', Miranda had decided, that in an effort to get back to normal, the family would get together for Maya's birthday, which meant that Damon and Enzo couldn't come over to the house for dinner. The two vampires walked in, garnering a look or two from the small amount of patrons the coffee shop had, and sat down with the girls.
"Hey Sweetheart," Enzo smiled, pulling Maya into a hug, "Happy birthday."
"Thank you Enzo," she smiled.
"Hey Sabrina," Damon smirked, pulling her to him after Enzo, "Happy birthday."
"Damon," Maya rolled her eyes, she watches 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' once with Damon and all of a sudden it's her new nickname, "Thanks…What'd you bring me?" she asked, making grabby hands at the four very conspicuous bags the men were carrying.
Enzo snorted in amusement, handing over the first gift bag, "This one's from Kol."
Maya raised a brow and pulled out a heavily wrapped object, tearing off the wrapping paper she gasped in delight, it was a grimoire, but not one that belonged to anyone. The front and back covers were sturdy, and had been hand painted. Her last name in delicate lettering on the top and on the spine of the book, and a wolf howling at the moon, exactly like the one on her necklace. "It's beautiful," she said with wide eyes. Opening it, the pages were thick and strong, and a note fluttered out. Maya picked the note up from her lap and silently began to read it.
'Maya, you have spent years honing your craft, learning from me, without anything to really call your own.
It's customary for young witches to be gifted a grimoire by their coven when they turn sixteen, you don't have a coven, but you do have me.
I have a thousand years' worth of magic to teach you, and I look forward to you excelling in every aspect.
This grimoire signifies your growth into independence, I'm sure the spells that you come up with will be exquisite, do me proud.
- Kol
p.s. Nik painted the cover!'
Maya smiled and tucked the note into the grimoire and delicately placed it in the bag, "What's next!" She'd inspect the grimoire more thoroughly later.
"This is from me," Damon shoved a tiny gift bag under her nose, wanting her to open it before Enzo's, the vampire in question shot him a scowl.
Maya ginned and opened the bag, she pulled out an envelope and looked at Damon quizzically, why did he need a gift bag for an envelope? She opened it and pulled out two concert tickets, "Oh. My. God. Are these Linkin Park tickets?!" she asked excitedly, shooting Damon an incredulous look, "Are you taking me to see Linkin Park?!"
"Damn right I am!" Damon replied, "We're gonna go backstage, hang with band," he shrugged.
Maya squealed and flung herself at Damon, "I love it! I love it! I love it!" she chanted, arms tight around him, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank You!"
"Told ya she'd love it," Damon shot Enzo a smug look.
"Yeah, yeah, now we have the third best present out of the way," Enzo said, handing over an equally small bag. "Here we go!"
Maya took out another envelope and pulled out three tickets…plane tickets, "Ticket's to L.A?" Maya asked with wide eyes, "We're going to L.A in the summer?!"
Enzo nodded, "You, me and blondie over there," he pointed at Caroline, who choked on her drink when she heard that.
"What?" she demanded.
"Permission has already been obtained from your parents, you two are coming with me for a little sun, sea, sand and celebrity sightings for two weeks over your summer vacation."
Both girls shrieked in delight and Enzo found himself enveloped in hug from both of them, "Oh my God Enzo!" Maya said, "I can't wait!"
"I've always wanted to go to L.A!" Caroline said, already planning out their itinerary.
Enzo shot Damon a smirk, the older vampire scowling in return. Maya pulled back and settled in her seat, "Pretty sure you've got another present there for me."
Damon rolled his eyes, "What, the stuff we brought you not enough?"
"Damon!" she whined, "That's Nik's present!"
"Maybe, maybe not," he shrugged.
"Don't make me zap you!" she threatened and Damon laughed, handing over the final gift.
The bag was large, and contained a box, she took the box out and removed the top, there was something inside covered in tissue paper. Maya moved the delicate paper and pulled out the object inside. Her eyes widened in surprise when she realised that it was a canvas, "Wow," she whispered.
The painting was of her, Caroline, her mother, Damon and Enzo, all together in a family portrait, Klaus' signature in the bottom corner. "Wait," Caroline said in awe, "Did Klaus paint this?"
Maya nodded and Enzo smiled at the look on the girls' faces, "Nik hasn't given a painting to anyone in over two centuries," he said, "But he said you deserved something to commemorate your family."
"It's beautiful," Maya replied.
"I'm just surprised he threw me in with the rest of the family," Damon said, and he was, Enzo was the one that had the initial connection to Maya, not him.
"Shut up Damon," Caroline said, punching him in the shoulder, "You know you're family."
Damon smirked and looked over the artwork, "I have to admit, for a thousand-year-old psycho, he's got talent."
Rebekah paced the hotel room, the two werewolf children had finally relented to having a bath, it had taken her three days to convince them to trust her enough to clean up. Now they were both asleep in bed while she waited for Kol, she had tried calling Nik, but he wouldn't answer the phone to her, and she didn't think that just showing up on his doorstep was a good idea. She was nervous, Elijah was on the other side of the country, looking into another one of Lucien's labs so Rebekah didn't have any back up.
She stopped pacing as she heard the noise outside of her room, and then a knock at her door. "Rebekah," Kol called in a sing song voice, "Are you going to let me in?"
Rebekah whooshed to the door, the knock had woken the children and she steeled herself for a potential confrontation. Opening the door, her eyes widened at the sight of both Kol and Nik, the former with an annoying smirk on his face, the latter, a scowl. Nik was not happy that he had to be there, was not happy to see her, despite the circumstances. She moved to the side, allowing her brothers entry to her room.
The young boy had put himself in front of the girl again, defending her, now that they were clean, it was easy to see that the two were brother and sister, twins most likely, but they hadn't been willing to share that information with her. "I take it these are the two baby wolves you were talking about," Kol said, staring at the two children.
The boy frowned, "Are you the wolf?" he asked.
Kol laughed, "God no, I've never been overly fond of wolves, witches are more my thing." Klaus let out a low growl and Kol smirked, "Relax brother, you know you're the exception!" Kol looked back at the boy, "Nik would be the wolf," he gestured to his brother, "Not me."
Klaus took a step forward and held out a hand, he knew that while his werewolf half was buried deep, he didn't smell like a normal vampire. The Beta of the North East Atlantic Pack had said so when they met two days ago, he'd said that Klaus had smelt familiar, but at the same time not.
The boy cautiously crawled forward on the bed, ensuring that he kept all three of the adults in his line of sight, he scented the air around Klaus and his brow wrinkled in thought, "You don't smell like a vampire," the boy said, "But you don't smell like a wolf."
Klaus nodded, crouching down, so that he was eye level with the boy, "I was born to the Alpha of my pack a thousand years ago," Klaus started, causing the boy's eyebrows to shoot up in surprise at his age, "And when I got older, my mother, who was a witch, turned my siblings and I, into vampires."
"You can't be a vampire and a wolf," the girl said, piping up from her brother's side.
Klaus gave her a small smile, "I can, because before us, there were no vampires, we're the Originals."
The boy furrowed his brow, he'd heard that word before, but where? "What's your name?" he asked.
"You can call me Klaus."
The girl grabbed her brother's shirt and yanked him back away from the Original, "Daddy said Klaus is a monster."
Klaus nodded, "Your Daddy was right Little One, but I give you my word, I am a monster that is going to keep you safe."
"How?" the girl asked, "You're not like us."
"There's a pack," Klaus said, he was unwilling to go into heavy detail while his sister was there, "Currently they are travelling through New England, I'll take you to them."
"Why would they help us?" the boy asked, clearing his throat.
"I know the Alpha," Klaus said, "He wouldn't turn away a wolf in need, especially not children."
Rebekah's eyes widened, she didn't know that her brother was in touch with any packs, he hadn't seemed interested in them since the 1600's.
"Prove it," the boy demanded.
Klaus gave him a smirk and nodded, "Alright, give me a moment, I'll get him on the phone." He straightened up and looked at his siblings, "Wait here." Sending Kol a silent message to keep Rebekah occupied while he spoke with the Alpha.
/ / / /
Stepping outside of the hotel room, Klaus whooshed outside, putting enough distance between himself and Rebekah so that she couldn't overhear him. He dialled the number he had for the Alpha.
"Klaus," a gruff voice said on the other end.
"Conner," Klaus greeted, "I'm going to need to meet you and the pack much sooner than expected."
"I told you, the pack's still weary of you, don't force this."
Klaus scowled, stamping down the urge to yell at the Alpha, "Its not for me, my sister came across two werewolf pups, they can't be more than seven or eight, their parents are dead, so is the rest of their pack, the children have nowhere to go."
"No child turns that early Klaus," Conner rumbled.
"Rebekah found them in a facility run by vampires, they were running experiments on the pack, I imagine the vampires forced the children to turn."
"What are you talking about?" Connor breathed, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Haven't you noticed how what's left of the wolf packs have been disappearing?" Klaus asked, "They're being taken and experimented on, my brother and sister are looking for the people doing this, at my behest."
"Why are you looking for missing packs?" Connor asked, Klaus hadn't been very clear on why he felt the sudden need to find out where he came from.
"Very soon, I'll have access to my werewolf side again," Klaus replied, "Along with my freedom, comes the ability to turn other werewolves into Hybrids like me. They'd be stronger and faster than any wolf, immortal like a vampire, with a bite twice as deadly, and they wouldn't be forced to turn every full moon."
Connor's eyes widened, he had no idea that Klaus had the ability to turn werewolves, nowhere in the legends passed down through his pack was that information, "And you want to make a new species." Connor said stiffly, what would this mean for him and the other wolves? Would they all have to bow to Klaus's will?
"I want to create my own pack," Klaus corrected, "I have spent a thousand years alone, I don't intend to keep it that way."
"And do we get a choice?" Connor scoffed.
"I don't wish to take over the pack," Klaus said, that was a lie, the pack was his only connection to his wolf, if he could be the Alpha, he was going to be, "I want to learn about being a wolf, so that I can be a good Alpha to my pack. And of course you get to choose, what use is a bunch of unhappy werewolves with vampire appetites to me?"
Connor would need to discuss this with his Beta and with the pack Elder, but he couldn't let these two children be left without a pack, "Only you are to come with the children, no one else."
"Agreed."
"Do you know where they come from?"
"Information suggests that it was the remnants of the Deep Water Pack that was being held in the facility."
"The Deep Waters?" Connor repeated with a troubled frown, "The Deep Water Pack is werewolf royalty, they're one of the seven blood lines."
"Yes well it appears that these two children are all that's left. And they're asking for proof that you're a werewolf, so I'm going to video call you, so you can show them."
"Very well," Connor said hanging up, only to have the video call come up on his phone. He answered and came face to face with Klaus.
"Children, meet Connor, Conner, the children, they still don't trust us with their names." Klaus pointed the phone at the children and they cautiously crawled forward.
Connor's eyes glowed yellow, causing both the boy's and girl's eyes to glow in response, "I'm Connor, the Alpha, Klaus is going to bring you here, to my pack, we'll take you in, keep you safe, among your own kind."
"Our pack couldn't keep us safe," the boy said.
"My pack is bigger, and stronger, and we know who the enemy is. Go with Klaus, do not give him any trouble." Connor's eyes glowed again, and he hung up the phone.
He was going to have to speak to his Beta and the Elder immediately, he needed to know what they suggested he do with the information that Klaus had just given him.
Notes:
If you have time please leave a comment, they make me feel good when I'm low.
Chapter 25: The Pack
Notes:
Thank you for all the comments and kudos! I love them!
Big question for you all, Miranda Gilbert - should she live or die?
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The children had been almost completely silent on their journey with Klaus, having determined that they wouldn't trust him until he proved to be telling the truth. They didn't even speak to each other, but it was like they knew what the other was thinking with just a simple shift of their eyes, or twitch of their hands, Klaus didn't begrudge them their mistrust, the girl at least, had some idea of who he was, and he was actually rather impressed that the children were being so careful around him. They were clearly siblings, they had a distinct underlying scent that made it obvious to him that they were related, and the way they acted around each other…well Klaus remembered how hard he fought to protect Rebekah, Kol and Henrik from Mikael's wrath, what he'd been willing to take to keep them safe, what he had taken to keep them safe. Klaus could see the look in the boy's eyes, it was the same look he'd had in his own when Mikael was beating him for the theft of his favourite knife… a knife that Rebekah had taken.
Klaus gave the children a quick look in the rear-view mirror, the girl was fast asleep, curled up into the boy's side, he on the other hand was wide awake, and shot Klaus a suspicious glare when he noticed the hybrid's eyes on him. The Original fought the urge to smirk at the boy and pulled into a parking lot outside the Mount Washington State Forest, "Come along," Klaus said getting out of the car, "The pack's deep in the forest, but the Alpha's not far, perhaps once you see him, you'll decide to finally grace us with your names." The children got out of the car, the boy helping his sister straighten up when she struggled to stretch out her body, "Come on then," Klaus sighed holding out his hands. Connor may not have been far, but it would take the two small children at least two hours to walk to their meeting place. Both kids shot him a look and Klaus rolled his eyes, "Either give me your hands and we can meet your new Alpha in seconds, or you two can stumble through the forest for the next few hours. I know which I'd prefer."
The boy and girl looked at each other for a moment, communicating silently, before the girl gave her brother a nod, she was tired, she'd suffered worse than her brother because she was younger, her body could barely handle the changes it had to go through every full moon, she could feel herself getting weaker each month. If Klaus could get them to the Alpha quicker, she would take it. "Fine," the boy said, both of them walking towards the Original. Klaus smirked and grabbed them up, whooshing into the forest towards Connor.
Klaus stopped a couple seconds later, and put the children down gently, "We're here."
Connor was waiting with his Beta when Klaus appeared in front of them with the children, "Klaus," he greeted.
"Connor," Klaus nodded, "I see that you brought your Beta along."
"He goes where I go," he replied and looked down at the children who were eyeing both of them with suspicion. Connor crouched down, so that he was eye level with them and allowed his wolf to shine through. The children's eyes glowed yellow in response, their grips tightening on each other as they felt his Alpha power ripple through the air.
Connor motioned for his Beta to join him, the other man lowering himself to the ground, offering the children a gentle smile, he let his eyes glow for a moment, showing the kids that he too was a wolf.
"Children, I'm the Alpha, Connor, this is my Beta, Daniel, I take it you haven't given Klaus your names yet." They shook their heads and he smirked, "Well if you're going to stay with my pack I'll need to know who you are."
The boy clenched his jaw, he knew that they would have to give the Alpha their names, but it was difficult, they'd kept them a secret for a reason, because they were the Alpha's children, they didn't want the vampires to find out and hurt them more. "I'm Liam Vand, and this is my sister Luna."
"Vand?" Connor asked, "You're the Alpha's children?"
"Yes," the boy nodded, "Mom said not to let the vampires know."
Connor glanced up at Klaus in question, "The Alpha bloodline is the strongest," Klaus said, "It stands to reason that whatever the vampires are looking for would be easier to find in Alphas."
Daniel straightened up and shot a look at the Original before turning to his Alpha, "The pack's not far, we should get the kids settled."
Connor nodded, "We should go."
"Wait," Luna said, "Why did Klaus bring us to you?" she asked, she didn't understand why there was a werewolf pack that was okay with an Original, not when her mommy and daddy had both said that Klaus was the worst monster out there…but then again, he hadn't been mean to them. He'd got them new clothes, and bought them candy and some toys so that they wouldn't be bored in the car.
"You didn't tell them?" Connor asked Klaus.
"I thought they might take whatever I say with a grain of salt," Klaus shrugged.
"My pack is the Northeast Atlantic Pack, Klaus's father was the Alpha of my pack 1000 years ago."
"So…this is Klaus' pack?" the boy asked.
Connor shifted uncomfortably, Klaus was the eldest son of their Alpha bloodline, of his bloodline, but the way the boy said it made it sound like the pack belonged to Klaus, "That's to be determined, technically Klaus isn't a wolf."
Klaus fought the urge to growl at the Alpha, ordinarily he'd kill for less, but Maya had been very clear that he needed to understand pack dynamics, and his own pack would be the best to start with.
"But he's not a vampire," Liam pointed out, he hadn't seen Klaus's werewolf, but he could scent the wolf in him.
"Like I said, it's something that needs to be thought about. Come, we should get to the pack before it gets dark."
It was October 18th, and as a present for Jeremy's 14th birthday that had just passed, Maya and Caroline had taken him to the next town over for another art show, he hadn't been to one for a few years so he was having a great time, so was Maya truth be told, the artist specialised in comic book art and Maya could definitely see herself buying a few pieces for her room.
"This place is awesome!" Jeremy grinned, tugging both girls towards a huge painting of his favourite hero, Spiderman. "You guys have to see this!"
Caroline moaned in annoyance, she was not a fan of comic books, "Why did you drag me to this?" she whispered to Maya.
"Drag you?!" Maya asked incredulously, "You're the one that complained that I was going out of town without you and pouted until I invited you along!"
"Yeah but you didn't tell me you were coming here!" Caroline hissed.
"Where did you think we were going?! This is literally the only thing to do in this town! Now stop complaining, Jeremy's happy for like the first time in almost a year!"
Caroline rolled her eyes but smiled at Jeremy as he ran back over to them, "Guy's there's a huge Captain America section! You have to come see!"
"Of course Jer!" Caroline followed, she was happy to see Jeremy smile again.
They spent a couple of hours at the exhibit, before deciding it was time to head back home, "That was awesome!" Jeremy crowed as the three of them made their way back to the car, it was dark already and all of their mom's were waiting to have dinner with them.
"I agree, but we need to get going," Maya said, urging Jeremy to hurry up, she didn't want to be late for dinner, Aunt Miranda was trusting her to go out of town with Jeremy and she wanted to ensure that she kept that trust.
"I know, I know," Jeremy grumbled, "I just wish we could have bought something from there."
"That stuff was so expensive!" Caroline said amused, "You really think that your mom would let you buy something for that price?"
"Guys-" Maya was cut off as someone appeared in their path, her eyes widened and she pulled Jeremy and Caroline behind her, this guy felt like a vampire. "Who the hell are you? And what the fuck do you want?"
The vampire smirked, "Marcel wants a word."
"Marcel can go and fuck himself," Maya replied with a snarl, "You can tell him that," she frowned and the vampire gripped his head groaning in pain, "But you don't have to be alive to do that."
"Maya what's happening?" Jeremy asked scared, he saw the man in front of them try to attack his cousin and then collapse in pain, the man's eyes flickering between black and red, and regular human brown.
"It's ok Jer, I'll explain later. Sunshine, you got him?"
"Yeah, got him," Caroline said, gripping Jeremy's arm tightly, pulling him closer to her. "Are there any more?" she asked looking around, she didn't want to be caught off guard again.
"No," Maya replied, expanding her senses just to make sure, and then turned her attention back to the vampire. "Call the guys."
"Wait!" he cried out, "I'm just the messenger!"
"Well unlike some, I do believe in killing the messenger, you know why? Because it sends a message! Motus!" The small wooden stake she'd kept on herself at all times, flew from her hands into the vampire's heart.
"Oh my God!" Jeremy gasped, "Is that a vampire!"
Maya's eyes widened as she realised what her baby cousin had witnessed, "Shit! Yeah," she whirled to face him, "We should probably talk."
"Maya!" Caroline hissed, gesturing to the now dead vampire on the ground.
"But first I need to hide that body, because people shouldn't see that." She whispered a few words and the body moved into the trunk of her car.
"You know what, let's get in the car, and drive to somewhere more private!" Caroline said.
"Wait, you know about this? And did you just move him with your mind?!" Jeremy asked incredulously, "Are you a mutant?!"
"Yes," Maya replied quickly.
"Maya!" Caroline smacked her on the arm.
"Well technically I am, I'm a mutated version of a witch… oh I never thought about that before! I am a mutant, cool!"
"You're a witch?!" Jeremy's voice was getting progressively higher.
"God damn it, Maya! Get your ass in the car and let's get out of here!" Caroline growled out, shoving Jeremy into the back seat.
"Right sorry!" Maya got in the car and drove out of town. She pulled onto a little side road, hidden away from the main road and Caroline pulled out her phone.
"Jer, I know you're panicking," Caroline started, "And we'll explain everything to you in a few minutes, but we have to deal with the dead body first."
"You didn't call the guys?!"
"I'm sorry, I was a little busy trying to stop your cousin from freaking out!"
"Who's freaking out?!" Jeremy said, "Not me! I'm not freaking out! Why would I be freaking out?! I mean I just found out that vampires exist and my favourite cousin is a witch! I'm not freaking out! You know what you're freaking out!"
"Jeremy!" Maya exclaimed, "Calm your tits dude, you're freaking out! Now I'll explain everything to you in a minute. Chill!" she turned to Caroline, "Will you call the guys now?!"
"As long as you call Nik."
"What?! Why do I have to call Nik? I'm like his favourite person in the world, he's going to be so pissed that Marcel sent one of his guys after me!"
"Exactly, he's gonna be pissed, so you're calling him!"
"God damn it!" Maya groaned, and pulled out her phone, "Fine, but you're dealing with Enzo."
"Who's Enzo?" Jeremy asked.
"Not now Jeremy!" Caroline said, pulling out her own phone and calling Enzo.
"What's up Carebear? Aren't you supposed to be out with Maya and her cousin right now?"
"We were attacked by a vampire!" Caroline exclaimed.
"What the fuck?!" Enzo yelled.
"Marcel sent one of his guys after Maya! Why would he do that? He thinks that she works for Kol, why would he take the chance of angering an Original that hates him?!"
"He must have heard that Kol was out of the country," Enzo replied.
"What's going on?" Damon asked, seeing Enzo pacing the floor.
"Marcel sent a vampire after Maya!"
"WHAT?!" Damon cried, "WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"Will one of you come here and get the dead vampire that's in the trunk?!"
"Isn't dead vampire kind of redundant?" Jeremy asked, "Aren't they already dead?"
"Fine the 'dead' dead vampire, is that better?"
"Who is that?" Damon asked, "Is that the cousin? Did you stake a vampire in front of the kid?!" he hissed.
"Yes, but I didn't do it, Maya did, because apparently killing the messenger 'sends a message'"
"Don't do those finger quotes Caroline! Killing the messenger does send a message!" Maya snapped, "Just ask Damon!"
"You stop stalling and call Nik right now!" Caroline snapped back and turned her attention back to her phone.
"She's right, it does send a message," Damon agreed.
"Don't agree with her! She was reckless, she could have just knocked the vampire out and we could have run."
"And lure the vampire back home? Not happening, she did the right thing! Now where are you? We'll come get the body."
"Who is she speaking to?" Jeremy asked Maya, looking over at his cousin with wide eyes.
"A couple of friends of ours," Maya said, rubbing a hand over her face, "We can't leave the body in the trunk, and Mystic Falls is like supernatural hunter central so we can't take it there."
"What?!" Jeremy exclaimed.
"Look Jer, this'll be a lot easier to explain when the boys get here, and I have to call someone too."
"Who are you calling?"
"Someone big, and strong, and scary, and someone that's gonna be really pissed this happened. Let me do it now, because if I don't, I might never do it, and that'll just make him angrier when he finds out."
Scrolling through her phone, Maya dialled Nik's number, this was not going to be fun.
"Maya, love? Why are you calling? You said you were busy this weekend." Klaus asked, answering his phone and walking away from the young werewolves that had surrounded him.
"It's gonna make you mad," she replied slowly, "You know I hate making you mad."
"Did you do something to make me angry?" he asked carefully, whatever she said to him, he couldn't afford to blow up in the midst of the wolves, he barely had their trust.
"No! If I did something to make you angry I wouldn't call to tell you about it! I'm not stupid!"
"Then someone else did something, was it Kol? I thought he was in China."
"No it wasn't Kol!"
"It was Damon wasn't it? I knew letting him hang around you was a bad idea, he can't help himself!"
"No, and what are you talking about? I knew him before I knew you! He let you hang with me!"
"Well stop beating around the bush and tell me what's going on!"
"I'm in the next town over from home with Caroline and Jeremy, and Marcel sent one of his guys after me, he said Marcel wanted a word, so I killed the vampire."
"WHAT?!" Klaus fumed, and Maya yanked the phone away from her ear at his yell, wincing at the volume.
"Nik you need to calm down, you're with the pack remember, you cannot scare them!"
"Little witch, I am going to rip Marcel apart!"
"Okay, let's try to remember that Marcel is like your son, you probably shouldn't kill your son!"
"I'm going to torture him to death!"
"NIK, chill the fuck out! Damon and Enzo are on their way to deal with the body and send it back to Marcel, you need to stay with your pack, I don't want you to do anything! I only called you because I knew that Damon would let it slip and that you'd be even more pissed if I didn't tell you."
"Maya-"
"No Nik, listen to me, your pack is important, you need to get to know them, you need them to trust you, because if they trust you, you can become Alpha much more easily. You have to stay there, and do not retaliate against Marcel!"
"That's like asking me not to drink blood."
"I know what I'm asking Nik, I know that it's hard, but Marcel thinks that I'm Kol's witch, he only sent someone because Kol's out of the country. He'll be waiting for retaliation, let me retaliate, I don't want Marcel to know about you until it's too late."
Klaus growled, his vampire side on full display, the idea of standing aside and doing nothing didn't sit right with him, he never just did nothing…an idea popped into his head and he smirked, if Marcel believed that Maya belonged to Kol, then maybe Kol could stop by New Orleans on his way back home, in fact, he'd call his brother right now. "Fine," he snarled, "I won't retaliate. But you're going to owe me. I'll call you back before bed love, when I've calmed down."
Maya looked over at Caroline with her eyebrows raised, "He agreed to that way too fast."
"He's definitely plotting something," Caroline agreed.
"Hello!" Jeremy said from the back seat, startling both girls, reminding them he was there. "Will you tell me what's going on now?!"
"Right, you're still here, where do I start?" Maya asked herself and then looked over at Caroline.
"Start with the magic thing, that's how you started with me."
Klaus growled and shot Kol a text, his brother would call him back when he woke, "Something wrong?" Connor asked, walking up to the Original, "A few of the wolves saw you storm off, it made them…uneasy."
Klaus frowned, he wasn't going to tell the Alpha much, but he needed to reassure him that none of the wolves were the objects of his wrath, "An enemy made an attack on me today."
Connor eyed Klaus for a moment, taking in his demeanour and nodded in understanding. "How are you dealing with it?"
"It's already been dealt with, but I'm still…angry."
"They attacked a woman," Connor said, understanding Klaus's anger.
"They attacked what is mine! No one lives after they attack what is mine!"
"Klaus you need to calm yourself, you can't act like this around the children." Conner said, using his Alpha voice.
The voice did nothing but anger the Original further, but he'd promised Maya to remain in good standing with this pack, "I'm going to go get something to eat, I'll be back in a few hours."
"So let me get this straight, vampires, werewolves and witches exist, and you're like a mutant witch, but you're also a reincarnation because those exist now, and Death is an entity that's like your dad?! What. The. Fuck?"
"Hey no swearing Jeremy, you're only 14!"
"You are magic! You have magic powers and you didn't tell me! I deserve to swear!" he rounded on Caroline, "And you! How long have you known?!"
"Uh…you remember that first time that Maya got grounded?"
"That was years ago… you were 10 then! I can't believe you told her before you told me!"
"I'm sorry I didn't think that you could keep it a secret," Maya shrugged.
"WHAT?!" Jeremy practically shrieked, "I am an excellent secret keeper! I have kept all of your secrets!"
Caroline's eyes widened at the thought of secrets that Maya hadn't told her, "What secrets?" she asked Jeremy.
"Oh no, no, no, I'm not going to tell you Caroline, because I am an excellent secret keeper." Jeremy reiterated.
Caroline shuffled over to Jeremy and whispered in his ear, "You'll tell me later?"
"You already know," he admitted quietly and then shook his head, "That's not important, why am I the last to know?!"
"You're not the last to know," Maya replied.
"Oh yeah? Who doesn't know?"
"…Aunt Miranda…and Elena…"
"Aunt Jenna knows?!"
"Of course I told mom, I live with her, I don't keep secrets from her, except for those first 10 years of my life when I was still figuring stuff out."
"I'm the last to know," Jeremy lamented, "I thought you loved me, I thought I was your favourite!"
"Oh come on, don't get dramatic, you know you're my favourite, I love you, I just couldn't tell you before. But you know now, and I'm never gonna tell Elena."
"Great, you're not going to tell the one person you hate!"
"Oh my god, this is going to be a thing isn't it?"
"Totally a thing." Caroline agreed. "You want Damon to…"
"No," Maya shook her head, "He'll find out again, and just hate me, it's best he knows now, that way he won't invite any vampires in to the house."
"Well at least get Damon to put a lock on it, that way he can't talk about it with anyone that isn't us."
"That'd be the smart thing to do," Maya agreed.
"The first smart thing you've said all night," Caroline replied.
"Hey!"
A month later it was November 13th, Klaus' third full moon with his blood pack, Maya had been right when she said that it would take a long time for the pack to accept his presence with them, let alone welcome him among them. But it had been a good idea, seeing them change together, run as a pack, it was eye opening. What he could remember from his first and only transformation was the fear, the pain, and then an undeniable sense of freedom that came when he had fully transformed. The memory of the pain was clear as a bell, but the freedom, that was fuzzy, almost like a fever dream, he wanted it back, every year it felt like the bonds of his curse grew tighter, more uncomfortable, and now, watching the pack that should have been his, he could see why. The Northeast Atlantic Pack were traditionalists at heart, they accepted their wolves, embraced their change every month and it looked like it did them well.
Klaus was walking through the edges of the camp, when a female member of the pack, Morgan...or was it Megan? She was one who hadn't triggered the curse, ran up to him in a panic. "Klaus!" she said a little breathless.
Klaus eyed her with suspicion, she'd never spoken to him before, "Yes?" he asked.
"You have to come with me! It's Luna!"
Klaus' eyes hardened, he'd kept an eye on the two children since he'd brought them to the pack, they'd been withdrawn, reserved for the most part, which was understandable, seeing as how they'd lost their whole family, their pack, and had been thrown into a new environment, with a new Alpha that they'd had to swear allegiance to in order to be allowed to remain. "What is it?"
"I don't know, something's wrong, please everyone else has shifted, she needs help!"
Klaus wasn't someone anyone would turn to for help, but he had a special interest in those children, he saw much of himself in them, not that he would admit it to anyone, and if he could help when there was no one else available, it would make the pack look upon him more favourably. Fighting the urge to growl he nodded and followed the woman to Luna, he wasn't used to having to temper himself, not like this, and not for long periods of time, but if the pack was going to accept him as their Alpha, he should show that he could take care of them. The two of them came to a small clearing, where Luna, who was still very much in her human form was writhing in agony on the floor.
Klaus heard a growl and the woman stopped him from moving in closer, "He won't let anyone get close," she said. It was Liam, he had shifted, but was zealously keeping guard of his little sister, wolves couldn't control themselves when they shifted, but they had an instinct that ensured that they protected their family. And the wolf pup didn't want anyone near his sister. "I don't know what to do, I can't get closer to see what's wrong with her, I know our bites are toxic to vampires but…"
"Move back," Klaus said, he may not have been able to shift, but he did have wolf blood running though his veins the bite wouldn't do anything to him. Slowly he moved closer to Luna, she was crying as the bones in her arms twisted and snapped, trying to get her to shift. Liam growled again, and took a threatening step towards the Original, and Klaus fought the urge to laugh, he was quite literally a pup, he wouldn't have been a threat fully grown, but now, as a child, he wasn't even an annoyance. Ignoring the wolf, Klaus continued forward and Liam launched himself at him, the Original growled right back at the child, low and deep, even without the benefit of his wolf, Klaus was the clear predator, wolf Liam recognised this and lowered himself in submission, whimpering in fear as he realised that he was in danger if her didn't stop.
Klaus headed straight for Luna, no longer in the mood to take things slow, especially as her cries were increasing in both volume and desperation, but he kept Liam with his sight line, in case the child attempted to try to attack him from behind. "Luna," he said crouching down and reaching for her, "Can you hear me?"
"Klaus!" she cried out, one hand had finally changed into a paw, but the rest of her body was struggling, "It hurts!"
"I know love," Klaus laid a hand on her head, gently brushing her hair out of her face, so that she could see him clearly. He recalled hearing Connor and Daniel talking about the children not long ago, they were both worried that they wouldn't be able to sustain the change into a wolf every month, their bodies weren't equipped to deal with this kind of trauma yet. And Daniel had mentioned that he'd noticed Luna getting weaker over the past two full moons, he didn't think that she'd last much longer. Of course neither the Alpha nor the Beta had told this to Klaus, but with his senses, he could easily hear them from across the encampment.
Klaus had spent two previous full moons with the pack, and had been there to witness the first changes of three new wolves, they each had someone with them, to walk them through the change, and Klaus realised that neither of the children had anyone to do the same with them. "I need you to listen to me now, I know it hurts, but you need to concentrate on the air in your lungs, and the ground beneath you. Can you feel it?" his hands were gentle as he kept her from writhing around too much.
"Aah!" one of the bones in her leg cracked.
"Feel the ground! The dirt, the grass, the leaves!"
Luna's eyes squeezed shut and she dug her remaining hand into the soil, "I feel it!" she panted.
"If you fight it, this will take hours."
"Hours!"
"The pain makes you want to fight you don't think you can take any more. You need to let it in, accept the pain, let it swallow you whole and you can be free."
Luna nodded, tears streaming down her face, "I can do this."
"You can do this."
"Klaus," the woman said, she hadn't come any closer, because while Liam had backed off from Klaus, he wouldn't let the woman near his sister. "Her body has taken on too much damage, I'm not sure that she'll make it through the change." He gave her a glare, but looked back at the trembling little girl on the floor, it was true, she didn't look good, but he wouldn't let her die. "She needs time to heal," the woman said, "The moon won't give her that."
"Then I will," Klaus said, tearing into his wrist and then shoving it in Luna's mouth, the blood heading straight to her damaged insides.
Luna's colour improved, and she screamed as more bones cracked and reshaped to match her brother's form. The transformation was much longer than anything Klaus had seen before, even with his blood in her system, it still took half the night for her change to complete, and by the time it was over Luna was too tired to do anything but lay her head in Klaus's lap and fall asleep. Liam cautiously made his way over to the two of them, scenting the air, and nudging his sister with his nose, finally settling in next to her. Klaus looked up at the woman who'd asked for his help while he stroked Luna's fur, "She won't survive another full moon will she?"
"Not even your blood will save her." The woman replied.
/ / /
It was the late morning before Luna transformed back to her human form, Liam had changed the moment the sun came up and had run to get some clothes for the both of them, but Luna was still unconscious, so Klaus covered the little girl with his jacket, lifting her in his arms, he carried her to the tent that she'd been sharing with her brother and settled her into her cot. Coming out of the tent, he was met with the Alpha and Beta, Connor and Daniel.
"Klaus, I was told you spent the night helping the baby wolf through her change," Connor said rather gruffly.
"I was asked for my help," Klaus shrugged, as though it meant nothing to him.
"And do you often help when asked?" Connor was still suspicious of Klaus's motives, but he was grateful that he'd been there to look after Luna when as her Alpha, he could not be.
"Depends who's asking."
"Well regardless, it was for nothing, she won't survive another change, there's a reason there are no wolves younger than 12."
"I brought her here to be safe, and you're telling me that you're not even going to try?" Klaus replied, unhappy with the direction of this conversation.
"There's nothing we can do, you can't put the wolf back in the box Klaus…well unless it's you."
Klaus scowled at the reminder of his curse, but Connor did have a point, spells had tried to lock the wolf back after it had been released, and in every case, the person was driven insane by the newly imprisoned wolf. The only thing that kept Klaus from going crazy was his vampire side, but there had to be something that could be done for the little girl. "I'll figure something out."
"You can't be serious!" Daniel scoffed, "There's nothing that you can do."
"I'm Klaus Mikaelson, there's nothing I can't do." He said, walking away from the two, he'd call Kol, speak to his brother and come up with something to save the girl, why he wanted to so badly he didn't know, but he wasn't one to second guess himself.
/ / /
Klaus had spent hours on the phone with Kol, his younger brother promising that he would look into helping the wolf girl before the next full moon. Sighing he sidestepped a rabble of teens that were enjoying the evening after their first change, but froze when a glint of silver caught his eye. Grabbing the teen, Klaus pulled the boy towards him, "Hey!"
"Where did you get this?" Klaus asked, holding up the ring the boy had around his neck.
"My- my Grandad gave it to me," the boy replied, struggling to pull himself from the Original's grip.
"Stop wiggling, you're not going anywhere," Klaus said, annoyed at the boy's continued movement, "How did your grandfather get it?!"
"Why?" the boy asked.
"KLAUS!" Connor yelled, coming closer to the two "Let go of my son, now!" he commanded.
Klaus snarled, yanking the ring off the necklace and dropped the teen, "How did your family get this?!"
Connor growled, "That's what you attacked my son for? A trinket."
Klaus growled back, "Allow me to make myself perfectly clear, when I attack someone, you'll know it! Now answer the bloody question before I really lose my temper."
Connor's eyes flashed yellow, but there wasn't much he could do, Klaus could decimate the pack in seconds, in fact he had done so in the past to others, not to mention that a few members of the pack had taken a strange liking to the Old One. But backing down was going to make him look weak, it would leave him open to challenges from other members of the pack, he knew that he shouldn't have allowed Klaus to stay with them, but now he was stuck. "It's been passed down through my family, generation to generation. Why?"
"Because it belonged to my mother."
Connor took a step back at that, it belonged to Klaus's mother? Which meant that she must have given it to Klaus's father before the pack was almost completely slaughtered. The anger on Klaus's face was enough to cause a shiver of fear to run down his spine, "Keep it then, it belongs to you." Klaus let out a low rumble of displeasure and whooshed away, he had another phone call to make.
Connor's Beta, Daniel, appeared by his Alpha's side, "You backed off the vampire pretty fast."
Connor whirled on his Beta, eyes flashing dangerously at the insubordination, "The vampire is an Old One, we anger him, he slaughters us, just like his father did a thousand years ago!" he shoved his Beta to the ground, "YOU DO NOT QUESTION ME! I AM THE ALPHA!"
Maya was woken by the ringing of her phone, groaning she rolled over, blindly reaching out for it, she slapped at it, refusing to answer, she was way too tired. When it stopped ringing she buried her face back in her pillow. It started ringing again and she pulled her duvet over her head, mumbling a few words in Latin the phone stopped making a racket. Whoever it was could wait until morning.
Maya had almost fallen back asleep when her door was thrown open by her mother, the older woman stumbling in, holding her own phone at her side, "Maya," she scowled when her daughter ignored her. Grumbling Jenna tugged at the comforter until it was on the floor.
"Mom!" Maya moaned in frustration, "It's two in the morning."
"Yeah and I have to go to work first thing, so next time answer the damn phone!" she pulled her daughter into a seated position and shoved her phone at her, "And tell that Original that I don't appreciate being woken in the middle of the night!" huffing, Jenna spun on her heel and left the room, flicking the lights on to further ensure that her daughter didn't just fall back asleep.
"Aah fuck!" Maya cried out, hiding her face under a pillow, blocking the brightness from her sensitive eyes. She brought her mom's phone to her ear, "Mmm, 'lo?" she mumbled.
"Maya 21st century technology is rather easy to operate, when I call, you pick up the phone! You do not send me to voicemail!"
"Nik," she whined, "It's two a.m. I'm sleepy."
"Maya wake up and pay attention!" Klaus growled.
"I'm not at your beck and call dude, I have a life," she sighed stretching out in bed, waving her hand so that the light turned off and her comforter floated back onto her.
"Maya this is life or death!"
"What?!" she asked, sitting up now, "Your death? I don't think there's anything out there that can kill you!"
"No not mine," Klaus replied.
"Oh," she lay back down, "Then call me in the morning Nik, I have school you know?"
"Maya you wake up right now or I swear I will go to New Orleans and kill Marcel today!"
"Alright!" Maya said, shooting back up, realising how serious Klaus was, "I'm up, I'm up! What do you need?"
"Tell me, was there a reason that you insisted that I met my father's pack and kept them on side?"
"I don't know what to tell you Nik, I just go with my gut feelings and things happen, why? Did something happen?"
"The son of the Alpha, he had ring belonging to my mother, she must have given it to her lover before we turned into vampires."
"Hmm," Maya frowned, "It sounds like something I would know about, but I got nothing," she shrugged, "Can you show me?"
Klaus took a picture and sent it to her, "Have a look."
Maya pulled the phone from her ear and opened the message that he sent through, memories flooding her mind as she took in the ring, "I know what that is," she said.
"What?" Klaus had an idea, but didn't want to say.
"Your mother gave it to your father, to stop him from turning every month, it's a moonlight ring, but it's missing the stone."
"Do you know what stone is needed? Can you do the spell?"
"It's Black Kyanite, I think Sunshine ordered some even though I didn't know what it was for. But what's the point of the spell? It can't be used on you."
"You remember the two children I told you about?"
"The ones Rebekah found?"
"The girl's dying, her body is too young to handle the change, she won't survive another full moon, I doubt the boy has much longer as well."
"Esther created the spell, it's much more complicated than the daylight ring spell, it's in one of her grimoires, I'm sure Kol could help me figure it out."
Klaus paused at that, he'd kept Esther's grimoires under strict lock and key, Kol hadn't even used any of the spells to teach Maya, "Are you sure you can do this?"
"You really need these kids to live huh?"
"I don't know what it is, but I can't let them die."
Maya knew that he was wary about letting those grimoires out of his control, they contained the secrets to his family's making, "Look, have Kol go through the grimoires and find the spell, we'll do it…unless you want Freya to do the spell!"
Klaus snorted in amusement, "Not likely, Kol's on his way back from China, he'll find what you need. Now go to bed, you have school in the morning you know?"
"Fuck off Nik," she hung up and pulled the duvet back over her head and went back to sleep.
Friday December 12th had Maya arrive at Sumter Forest in South Carolina, the pack had moved south to get out of the cold, but it didn't feel like that for Maya, from what she'd read about the state, night-time weather on average was just above freezing. Shivering she clung tighter to Damon's back as he whooshed her through the forest, "Why do werewolves always have to live in forests?" she complained, "I mean motels are a thing you know!"
Damon chuckled as he dodged trees, getting closer to where Klaus and his pack were, "They're animals, completely uncivilized," he joked.
"I heard that!" Klaus growled, as they appeared on the edge of where the pack gathered.
"Dunno what you're talking about," Damon shrugged as Maya jumped down from his back.
"Nik!" she smiled, throwing herself at him, wrapping her arms around him.
"Hello love, did you make another bet with Damon?"
"Nope," she buried her face into his chest, "This was just for me, I missed you," she mumbled.
Klaus ran a hand through her hair, avoiding the scar on her neck, and nodded at his best friend, "You took your time," he said.
"You asked me to bring a teenage girl to the middle of a forest, in the dead of winter, what were you expecting?" the younger vampire replied.
"Seriously Nik we couldn't do this in hotel?" Maya whined, gripping him tighter as she tried to ward off the cold.
"This pack moves around a lot Little Witch, they don't do hotels."
"Whatever, I'm casting the spell and then Damon's getting me out of here because he shouldn't be out here during a full moon."
"He'll be fine love, we'll get you out of here before the moon rise I promise."
"Good because if a wolf even attempts to bite him, I will murder them."
"Ah Little Red, I love it when you threaten death for me," Damon said, pulling her to him with a grin, "Shall we get on with this then?"
"Come on, I'll take you to the children," Klaus said, "You'll make sure that the rings will only work for the kids?"
"Yeah," Maya nodded, "That's the easy part, I'll just do the same thing I did for Enzo's ring, and I'll put a protection spell on them too, so that no one can steal them."
"Good."
/ / /
Connor and Daniel watched as Klaus welcomed a vampire into the pack's territory, "So we're just letting him invite anyone around the pack now?" Daniel asked, "He's not part of the pack!"
"Tread carefully Daniel," Connor growled, "the vampire's here to protect the witch, she can help Luna."
The Beta snorted, "Nothing will stop that girl from dying tonight, it'd be a kindness to kill her now, before the moon rises." He made to move to the girl's tent but Connor grabbed him.
"Don't be an idiot," he hissed, "half the pack like the kids, if anything happens to them before the full moon Klaus isn't going to be the one to get the blame, I will, besides, Megan was very vocal about Klaus comforting a baby werewolf during transition, the pack's welcoming him, I didn't even think that was possible."
"Oh it'll be more than possible when they find out what Klaus can do, if he breaks his curse, there's no way he'll let you stay Alpha, not when this pack is his birth right." Daniel hadn't wanted to allow Klaus anywhere near the pack, from the start he'd distrusted the Original and didn't think that he had any right to be near them. Once Klaus had been turned into a vampire, he didn't have any right to his werewolf heritage, but Connor was here trying to play the game, and it may not have been clear to the Alpha, but the Beta could see that he was losing.
"Curse or not, Klaus's birth right died the moment he did, he's not taking this pack from me." Connor stormed off.
Daniel watched his Alpha go with barely conceived anger, "Someone will," the Beta muttered, slinking off to find a few of the older members, if Connor wasn't going to do anything about the vampire in their midst, he would.
/ / /
Damon waited outside the tent as Maya and Klaus went inside, the Hybrid had given his friend a brief explanation of what the kids had gone through at the hands of vampires, so for once Damon was going to be tactful and try not to aggravate the situation.
"Hi," Maya spoke softly to the two children that had warmed up to Klaus after their last full moon experience, Liam, the boy was 9 years old, the girl Luna, was 7, it was no wonder both of their bodies were breaking down with every change the moon forced them into. "I'm Maya, has Nik told you about me?" she asked.
"Nik?" the boy asked.
"Klaus," Maya clarified, "Nik's what I call him."
"He said that you're a witch, that you can help me," Luna supplied, looking up at the Original, she'd formed a bond with the Old One after her disastrous change last month, allowing herself to get closer to him, trust him, even though the Alpha didn't. Liam had followed her example, grateful that Klaus had managed to keep her safe from death that night.
"I'm here to help both of you, neither one of you should have to suffer the transformation yet, your bodies aren't capable of dealing with the pain that comes with it."
"How can you help?" Luna asked, latching onto Klaus's leg.
"Are you going to lock away our wolves, like Klaus?" Liam questioned.
"No," Maya shook her head, marvelling at the way the children looked to Klaus as their leader, despite the fact that they had sworn themselves to an Alpha, "Even if I could, it would kill you, I'm going to give you something very similar to what vampires have. Do you know how they walk in the Sun?"
"Daddy said they had rings," Luna replied, "He said they'd burn without them."
Maya nodded, and pulled out two rings, Black Kyanite in the bands, "Daylight rings, magic to protect them from the Sun. These are moonlight rings, they'll protect you from the pull of the Moon, you'll still be able to feel your wolf, but as long as you keep them on, you won't shift on a full moon, not if you don't want to."
Liam looked at the rings, the stone in them was quite large, but the bands were small, they would fit them now, but what about when they got older? "How will that fit me when I'm bigger?"
Maya smiled "Well that is a very special spell of my own," she gestured for Klaus's hand, muttering a few words, the moment the ring touched his hand, it expanded in size. "I've made it so that the rings will grow when you do, that way you don't have to worry about changing them. I've also got two more spells that will go on these rings to keep you safe. You know how some werewolves don't like having to change every full moon?" At the children's nods she continued, "I'm going to cast a spell so that the rings only work for you, that way if you take the ring off and someone tries to use it, it won't work for them. There's also another spell, but it would be easier to show you what happens. Would it be okay if I invited my friend Damon inside? He's a vampire, but he keeps me safe."
"He's also my friend," Klaus said, "He won't hurt you, I promise."
The kids looked at each other, silently communicating, before nodding, almost in unison, "Okay," Liam said, moving to his sister's side.
"Damon! Get your butt in here!" Maya called and the blue-eyed vampire came inside.
"What?" Damon asked, "It's cramped in here," he muttered, looking around.
"I need you to hold your hand out for me." Shrugging he held out his right hand, "Other hand Damon!" Sighing he switched without question, "Good, Nik, try and take Damon's ring off."
"What?" Klaus asked.
"I'm not doing it, it hurts!"
Muttering in annoyance under his breath, Klaus reached out and tugged on the ring, only to be zapped by the protection spell Maya put on it, "Owe!" he frowned as he saw a burn on his hand where it had touched the ring and showed it to the kids before it healed.
"It's a protection spell, once you put the rings on, I'll cast it, to make sure that no one can take it off you. If you don't take the ring off yourself, it will hurt whoever tries. That way none of the kids around here get any ideas, okay?"
"Okay," Liam replied, eyeing Damon with distrust, "Can he go now?"
Damon scowled, "Rude," he muttered, walking back outside.
"Have you got everything you need love?" Klaus asked.
Maya nodded, even though it was still daylight she could sense the moon and use it for her spell, "I could use a boost," she held out her hand to him, "It's painless now."
"Really?" Klaus quirked an eyebrow, that was a new development, sliding his hand into hers, "Have at it then love."
"Okay, Liam we'll do yours first, put your hand in mine, over the ring and close your eyes, reach out with your senses, can you feel the pull of the moon?"
Liam's eyes slide shut as he did what she said, he expanded all of his senses, stronger today than any other, he could hear chatter from outside, could smell the lunch cooking over a barbeque stove, and right…there! He could feel the moon, tugging at his wolf, making it restless, when he nodded she started the spell.
"Phasmatos hunc lupum a plena luna protege, caveto. Phasmatos hunc lupum a plena luna protege, caveto." She chanted, one hand in Klaus's, the other locking her fingers in the boy's, she could feel the spell fighting her, this wasn't like the daylight spell, which had been created around the same time as vampires. Werewolves had existed for 1500 years, a curse that had become ingrained in nature, and therefore it was much harder to fight against. Which is what Maya was doing, she was fighting the pull of the moon, it had only been done once before and in a much different way. Maya could feel the power radiating in the air, it was probably more difficult to do because she was in the middle of a pack, the moon's power amplified by each wolf in her vicinity. That would be something she'd note in her own grimoire, in case she ever had to do this spell again. Finally Maya felt the Moonlight spell take hold, and then she cast the extra spells on the ring. Opening her eyes she panted with exertion, letting go of the boy and Nik's hand. "Try it out," she said.
Liam hesitated, looking to Klaus first, who nodded at him, encouraging him to put the ring on, sliding it over his index finger, he gasped as the pull of the moon disappeared. "I can't feel it anymore," he murmured, "The pull's gone."
"But can you feel your wolf?" Maya asked.
He frowned, concentrating for a moment, he could feel it, and his eyes glowed yellow, confirming that he still had access to it, "Yeah, I can."
"Excellent!" Maya smiled, "Don't take the ring off unless you want to change okay, but it's not good for you until you're older."
Liam gave her a small smile, he wasn't going to admit it, but he was feeling worse after ever transformation, but he hadn't wanted to scare his sister. "Thank you," he said, "Can you help my sister now?"
"Of course," Maya nodded, shaking off the slight fatigue she felt, that spell had taken more out of her than she anticipated.
"Are you alright love?" Klaus said, noticing the sweat that had started to gather on her forehead.
"Yeah, just a little tired, but let's get this done, I don't really want to be here when it gets dark."
"As long as you're sure," Klaus gave her his hand again and Maya gave Luna the same instructions.
It took the little girl longer to do as asked, she and her wolf hadn't been in a good place from the moment her curse was triggered, "I'm ready," Luna said finally.
"Give me your hand," Maya replied, grasping it gently, she began her chant. It was more difficult this time, like now that nature knew what she was up to it was fighting harder to stop her. It didn't help that she was already tired from the first spell. Scowling, Maya gripped Klaus's hand a little tighter, she wasn't going to let Mother Nature stop her from saving this little girl, she may have only come here because Luna was important to Klaus, but one look at her big brown eyes and Maya knew that she would have helped her even without Klaus. Her chants got louder as she fought to get the moon's pull under her control, finally feeling it relent, she cast the other two spells and told Luna to put the ring on.
Luna's eyes glowed yellow and she smiled, "My wolf's calmer now, and I can't feel the moon anymore."
"Good," Maya stood, swaying on her feet, only to be steadied by Nik.
"Easy love, you need to rest." He looked at her worried, if he'd known that the spell would take this much of a toll on her, he would have only asked for one ring first, Liam could wait for another month before he'd need it.
"It's fine," she said shaking him off, Damon and I have a room at a motel for the night, we'll head back home tomorrow."
Klaus walked her out of the tent and handed her off to his friend, "Get her back to the room quickly, she needs to sleep."
"I'm fine Nik," she mumbled, Damon lifting her into his arms, "I just wasn't expecting to fight her so hard."
"Fight who?" Klaus asked, shooting Damon a look, who was just as baffled.
"Mother Nature," she whispered, "That lady did not want me casting that spell, don't know why though…" Maya trailed off as she fell asleep, her head on Damon's shoulder.
"Don't leave until I see you tomorrow," Klaus ordered, Maya wasn't making much sense, she had to fight Mother Nature? Was she serious? If she was, why wouldn't Nature want to help the two baby wolves? They were part of her creation, so she shouldn't have tried to stop a spell like that. If Mother Nature had really tried to stop her, how strong was Maya?
/ / /
Daniel gathered a few of the wolves that were unhappy with the fact that a vampire had been allowed in their midst, "Follow those two," he said quietly, not wanting to alert anyone to what he was doing. He nodded slightly at the dark-haired vampire and the witch that had just left the encampment, "Don't attack till the moon is full, bite the vampire, it'll send the Old One a message, that their kind isn't welcome here."
"What about the witch?" one of the wolves asked.
"Don't kill her if you can help it, I want to know what she did to those kids, see if she really did something to save the girl. If she did we could use her."
"Connor sanctioned this?" a wolf asked.
"Connor's gone soft, he's bowing to a vampire, letting him do whatever he wants here, Connor's not making the decisions for this pack anymore."
/ / /
Maya had slept for a couple of hours after the spell, waking as it had just started to get dark, "Finally!" Damon said, "I thought I was gonna be stuck in this motel with no entertainment."
She groaned as she sat up "How long was I out?"
"Few hours, looks like the moon will be up soon," Damon gestured to rapidly darkening sky.
"Get away from the windows," Maya frowned, something wasn't right.
Damon turned to look at her "What is it?"
"I don't know," she stood and looked around the room, they were on the ground floor of the building, and all she had was this foreboding feeling deep in her gut. She stretched out her magical senses, eyes fluttering closed, as soon as Maya felt another presence, they flew open. "Shit! There are Werewolves nearby!"
"Well yeah, they're turning not far from here," Damon dismissed.
"No Damon! The pack is deep in the forest, there are werewolves right outside!" Maya said, panic in her voice, "A werewolf bite is fatal to a vampire! Call Nik now!" But it was too late, the moon was high and Maya could feel the wolves charging towards them, "Get behind me!"
Damon whooshed behind Maya, away from the window, just as a wolf burst through.
"Motus!" Maya yelled, throwing the wolf back outside, she heard a crash from behind them, there must have been a window in the bathroom. "Damon!" A wolf attacked the dark haired vampire while another two distracted her.
Damon was on the floor, struggling to keep the wolf's deadly teeth away from him, "Little help Maya!" he called, grunting with effort, he finally got his feet under the wolf and kicked it off, jumping up he ended up with his back against Maya's trying to keep the wolves in sight. "Why the hell are they attacking us!"
"They're from the pack, they must have followed us!" Maya said, summoning her strength and thrusting her hands away from her body, causing the wolves to fly out of the room. "Phasmatos obice praesidium!" Maya pulled her hands back and erected an invisible barrier to stop the wolves from coming in, she should have done that the moment she sensed the wolves. "Ok," she panted, she was still tired from making the two rings, "We should be safe now, they can't come in."
"They might not be able to come in, but we have a problem," Damon replied, looking at his arm with a frown.
"What?" Maya turned to look at him, and zeroed in on the mark on his wrist, "What is that?"
"That mutt must have nipped me before I kicked it off, you think this is deadly?" he grimaced, knowing it was bad, the initial wound had healed immediately, but now the skin looked infected.
"Oh God!" Maya rushed to Damon's side, taking his hand in her own, she could feel the dread well up inside her, but the moment her eyes landed on the bite she relaxed. "It's okay, you'll be fine." She sighed in relief.
"Uh Maya, if I was okay, this would be healed!" Damon replied.
"No it's fine, there's a cure!"
"No there's not! Nik said he's the cure! But only after he breaks his curse, I don't have that long to wait Maya!"
"It's not the only cure!" she said, the picture of a dark haired man healing his own werewolf bite flashing before her eyes.
"What are you talking about?" Damon asked.
"It's magic Damon," she looked at him, seeing if he understood, realising that he wouldn't, she elaborated, "The only way a guy turns into a werewolf is magic, so technically the venom is magic too…" she covered the bite with her hand and siphoned, pulling away, she was met with perfectly healed skin, "So I just went ahead and siphoned it up." She looked up at Damon with a smile, "You're okay."
"I'm okay," Damon repeated, looking at his healed arm and then back at the Siphon, "I'm okay!" he wrapped her in a hug, lifting her off her feet for a moment before dropping her back to the ground, "Why didn't you tell me that you could heal a werewolf bite!" he smacked her on her arm.
"Owe!" Maya rubbed her arm, "I didn't know until I saw it."
"You had a vision?"
"I probably would have figured it out," Maya shrugged, "Eventually."
"I can't believe that you had the cure this whole time," Damon said, relief filling him, he was wary of the fact that Klaus was going to be around werewolves for quite some time, the knowledge that there was a cure out there for him and Enzo, took a load of his mind.
"We can't tell anyone," she insisted.
"You're right, you're weird enough as it is, we can't add another thing to the list."
"I just saved your life, is it impossible for you to be nice!" Maya complained.
"Did you really though?" Damon shrugged, "It was just a scratch, it probably would have healed."
"Ugh! You are such an ass!"
Damon laughed and tossed her phone at her, "We should probably let Nik know what happened, call him."
"Why do I always have to be the one that calls Nik?" she moaned.
"Because he likes you the best!"
/ / /
Klaus had arrived at the motel first thing in the morning, he'd remained with Liam and Luna, ensuring that nothing went wrong with their moonlight rings for the night, before heading to his Siphon and his best friend, "What the bloody hell happened?!"
"They must have followed us from the camp, not sure why though," Damon said, as Maya packed her stuff in a bag, "Did you do something to piss them off?"
"Nothing more than usual," Klaus replied, "Besides, an attack like this isn't something that Connor would sanction, he's all about fighting with honour and keeping his word, rather tedious if you ask me."
"Then it had to be someone else," Maya replied, "There must be at least some wolves that aren't happy that they have a vampire among them."
"The Alpha and Beta have been butting heads recently."
"I take it that's your doing."
"What can I say," Klaus shrugged, "I'm a troublemaker at heart."
"The wolves will all be healed now, so we won't be able to tell who attacked us," Damon said, pissed that he wouldn't get the chance to retaliate against the wolves that had tried to kill him.
"Speak for yourself," Klaus scoffed, "There's at least two scents here that I recognise."
"You can track people by scent?" Maya whispered to Damon, watching as Klaus checked every inch of their room.
"I've never done that before," Damon replied, "Maybe it's a wolf thing."
"It's a thousand-year-old vampire thing, Damon," Klaus said annoyed, crouching to take a look at a splatter of wolf blood on the ground, "My senses are far stronger than yours, and everyone has distinct scent, you should learn how to do it." He stood and walked over to them.
"I'm going to go back to the pack, I have a feeling that you're not the only ones in danger here, but you two need to go, now. Especially when the pack realises what you are capable of doing."
Maya nodded in agreement, "You're right, I should get out of town before the wolves decide they all want moonlight rings."
"I'll put these in the car," Damon cut in, seeing that Klaus clearly wanted a moment with Maya on his own, he grabbed their bags and whooshed out of the room.
"Maya," Klaus said, brushing her hair out of her face, when he'd received the call from her, telling him that Damon had been bitten…well it had been a long time since he'd felt fear. It had been almost a century since he'd been afraid of losing anyone, as much as he hated to admit it, Damon was his best friend, and the thought that he would lose that friend had sent an icy feeling down his spine. He wouldn't say that it was fear, or panic, but when Maya said she'd had the cure, the relief that he'd felt, it was close to the feeling he'd got when he knew that he'd never have to fear his father again.
Maya rested her hands on his chest and looked up at him with understanding in her eyes, "I know," she said, she understood that he couldn't say it, couldn't acknowledge his feelings, "Damon's my family, I'm not going to let anything happen to him if I can help it."
His thumb stroked her cheek and he leant down, "You are truly remarkable," he almost whispered, and she smiled in return.
This time she brushed her lips against his, featherlight, too quick for him to react before pulling away, "I am awesome," she agreed.
Smiling, Klaus straightened up, "I'm lucky to have you."
"To know me, Nik, you don't have me." Maya slipped past him and out of the room, heading to the car.
Klaus turned and watched her leave, "Not yet, but I will soon," he said into the empty air.
Kol had just arrived back from China, he hadn't gone to New York, instead he stopped in New Orleans. His brother had called him the moment he'd found out that Marcel had sent a vampire after Maya. Needless to say, he was livid, Marcel thought that Maya was his Witch, and still made a move for her, made a move against him, he'd always hated the little urchin, his brother's love for the boy, the only thing that kept him alive, but Marcel was on thin ice. A few more acts like this, another attack on the Siphon that Nik trusted with the most important thing in his long life, and Marcel would know a pain like no other. Nik would make sure of it, but for now, he'd been tasked with sending Nik's former protégé a message, and Kol was going to have some fun.
He moved through the streets of New Orleans silently, unnoticed, there weren't may depictions of him throughout time, Nik liked to keep the paintings of his family to himself, and anything that Marcel may have had was extremely out of date. All it took was a change in hair style and modern day clothes and the vampires in the Quarter had no idea who he was. A little recon told him that Marcel lived in the Abattoir, the home his family built, but didn't spend his days there. He spent his time running around the Quarter with his little 'Daywallkers', antagonising the Witches, and dealing with the humans. In fact, today, Marcel had a meeting with the Human Faction, a meeting that would take most of the day. So it was time for Kol to have some fun. Grinning to himself Kol whooshed inside the Abattoir, alerting the vampires that had been roaming around his home, "Hello boys," Kol's eyes flashed dangerously, "Show me what you've got."
The vampires attacked him, they started one at a time, not realising how stupid it was, but once Kol had dispatched four of them, they attacked in groups, first in two or three, and then eventually tried attacking him at once, it was all for nought though, there were only twenty of them. It was child's play for Kol, he'd slaughtered all but one, Marcel's second in command, Thierry, smiling, he dragged the struggling vampire to his feet and shoved him against the wall, "You're Marcel's second, if I were you I'd stop struggling, that is if you want to live."
Thierry's frantic movements died down, hand clutching at the one around his throat, "What do you want?" he croaked out.
"Unfortunately your friend Marcel did something very stupid, and it made me very angry." Kol hissed, his grip tightening around the vampire's throat.
"Wh- Who are you?"
"Kol Mikaelson." Thierry let go of Kol's hand in shock, "You've heard of me, fantastic," the sadistic grin on the Original's face was terrifying.
"What-"
"Oh no, I'm done answering questions, Marcel fucked up, and now you will suffer for his mistake," he growled. He shoved his hand into Thierry's stomach, tearing out his intestines, causing the younger vampire to scream. "You're being too loud, I don't want you to spoil the surprise."
Kol snapped Thierry's neck and then pinned him high up the wall, close to the second floor, using the wrought iron fire pokers in the fire place, and then turned to the pile of bodies in the centre of the room, how best to display his displeasure to Marcel? He took a quick look around the room and remembered a conversation that Maya had had with him over a year ago. When they were still getting to know one another, before she trusted him to teach her magic. She talked about a movie that she'd seen when she was 24, lamenting over the fact that she wasn't sure if would come out here. She'd mentioned a scene that she thought he'd appreciate it… well if he couldn't see it on the big screen, he might as well re-enact it in real life. Kol whooshed around the room, clearing all furniture away, he spread the bodies out on the floor, arranging them artfully on the ground to spell out a phrase. Whistling while he worked, he heard a groan come from behind him, Thierry was waking up, the wound in his stomach had healed, but Kol had ripped it open several times in order to drain him of his blood, making him too weak to free himself.
Thierry looked down and gaped in horror at what he saw, "Do you like it?" Kol asked, whooshing up the stairs and leaning over the balcony, looking at the vampire pinned just below him.
"What did you do?" Thierry asked, he'd witnessed horrors during the war, and Marcel had a mean streak when it came to his enemies. But this was something else, vampires didn't do this to their own kind, Marcel had made sure of it. Vampires that broke the rules, or were enemies weren't killed, they were punished, locked away, in Marcel's private version of a jail, they didn't die unless absolutely necessary.
"I know," Kol frowned as he looked down at his work, "I have those two left over and that's upsetting me, throwing off my vision." He glanced over at the two bodies left of the 19 he'd killed. "Oh!" he exclaimed, whooshing back down, he took one body and turned it into an exclamation mark, before taking the other and tearing it to pieces, scattering it just before the entrance, like a twisted 'welcome' mat. Whooshing back up the stairs Kol smiled as he surveyed his final masterpiece, "That's much better!" He looked back at Thierry and laughed as he saw the vampire try to free himself. "I wouldn't bother, you lost a lot of blood, what's left in you is barely keeping you awake, you're as weak as a new born, can't get out of this without help, so just stop trying. Now," he gripped Thierry's face in one hand, squeezing so hard that the younger vampire's jaw cracked, "I left you alive so that you could tell Marcel who did this. Now you tell him I was here, tell him that he is the reason for this," he gestured to the bodies splayed out in a macabre display, "and tell him that if he ever sends someone for what's mine again, I'll come back, and take everything that he considers his. Do you understand?" Kol asked, his voice turning menacing for the first time that night.
"Yes," Thierry winced.
Kol pulled back with a smile, "Excellent," he said happily, "Then I'll be on my way!" He snapped Thierry's neck again, just for good measure, and left via the back. He was covered in blood and didn't want anyone to track him down now, after all he promised Nik that he wouldn't kill Marcel, he'd like to at least try to keep that promise. He whooshed away, but was stopped when he bumped into a teenage girl.
The girl gasped at the sight of him, Kol was going to ignore her, but he recognised her as the one that Maya had taken a liking to. "Well, well, well, Davina Claire, look at you, you're shorter than I thought you'd be."
Davina's eyes were wide as she took him in, at all the blood covering him, "What- Who are you?" she asked, fear in her eyes, "How do you know me?"
Kol noticed her gaze and smirked, "Not to worry love, it's all vampire blood, Marcel and I had a bit of a disagreement, and to answer your question, I'm Kol Mikaelson," he gave her a little bow, "I believe you know my favourite student, Maya."
"Maya?" she asked, "You teach her? You're a vampire!"
"Before that I was a witch, you know I knew one of your ancestors, Mary-Alice, she was feisty." He smirked.
Davina's nose wrinkled in disgust, "Ew," she complained, "That is not something I needed to hear, and you shouldn't be here, looking like that." She motioned to his blood covered clothing, "Vampires like to keep a low profile during the day."
"Well I had to send a message, Marcel went after our mutual friend, I couldn't let that stand."
"He went after Maya?" Davina asked, frowning, Maya hadn't told her.
"Mm-hmm, sent one of his lackies after her, I just came to return him. Looking at his watch he realised that he should get cleaned up soon, his plane was due to leave in an hour and he didn't want Marcel's men to catch a glimpse of him just yet, "But you are right, I should go. I'll be seeing you, Miss Claire," his eyes flashed with mischief and then he was gone.
Davina looked around, ensuring that there was no one near her before heading in the opposite direction, she had to call Maya, find out if she was ok.
Marcel had just finished his meeting with the Human faction when one of his Daywalkers found him, "Marcel!" Diego rushed out, "You have you have to see this!"
Marcel followed the younger vampire, the two of them arriving at the compound in seconds, Marcel tripped over the dead vampire that had been scattered at the entrance, "What-" he cut himself off when he saw Thierry pinned to the wall, grey from the loss of blood, but he didn't know that, he looked dead. "Thierry!" he whooshed upstairs, yanking the pokers from his body, his friend groaned and Marcel sighed in relief that he was alive. He pulled his second over the balcony and then froze at the sight that was on the floor, the words spelled out by 18 of his Daywalkers. 'MAYA IS MINE!'
Notes:
Thanks for reading, if you have time, please leave a comment as they make me all warm and fuzzy inside!
Chapter 26: Alpha
Notes:
Thanks for all the comments and kudos! They are wonderful inspiration!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The pack was in uproar, Liam and Luna hadn't changed that night, they'd stayed human, stayed alive, and still had access to their wolves. It was a miracle, and it wasn't thanks to their Alpha, but to the vampire that had been living amongst them for months. A vampire that had the worst reputation in history, a reputation that he didn't shy away from, he actually revelled in the fear and mistrust that his mere presence instilled. And yet, the two children, the ones who had been so distrustful of him, now looked to him as their authority figure, it hadn't gone unnoticed.
Klaus smirked as the chaos just unfurled around him, he barely had to do anything, a well-placed word here, an under the breath comment there, and the lower ranks of the pack were causing a stir. Surprisingly it was the children that had caused the biggest change in the dynamics of the pack, he hadn't even told them to do anything, but by saving their lives, and procuring them something that no wolf had had in a thousand years, he'd earned a level of trust from them that no other member of the pack had. He was the first one they greeted in the morning, the last one they saw at night, they gathered their meals and sat in his vicinity, and when he was out feeding, they'd wait to eat until he came back. They were acting like the three of them were a little pack, with him as the Alpha, of course he'd think of the implications of that at another time, but for now, their decision seriously benefitted him. The pack had noticed, the Alpha and Beta had noticed, neither of them had said anything yet though, because how would it look if they made any moves against him for protecting the youngest members of the pack?
"Klaus," Connor said, walking up to the Old One with purpose, the whispers going round the pack were causing the Alpha a headache, coupled with his Beta testing his boundaries, Connor felt like he was losing his mind.
Rolling his eyes Klaus pasted a smirk on his face and turned to face the Alpha wolf, "Connor, what can I do for you?" He'd wondered how long it would take the Alpha to come and speak with him.
"We need to talk about the children."
Liam had kept his ears open when he saw the Alpha coming their way, and when Connor spoke, he looked to Klaus from behind the Alpha, wondering if he or Luna needed to stay. He and his sister had been getting funny looks since the full moon, the older pack members were either looking at them in awe, or with anger, the younger ones looked at them with jealousy. Klaus had warned him that this might happen, he hadn't told Luna but she was too young to understand it anyway, too young to understand that Klaus wouldn't just give the rest of the wolves rings if they asked, not unless he was getting something out of it. He didn't even know why Klaus had the rings made for him and his sister, neither of them had anything to offer the Old One, which was probably why subconsciously their wolves were looking to Klaus as their true Alpha. So when the Alpha Connor came to Klaus, Liam quietly stood, not making himself known to the Alpha, he looked to Klaus for instruction. Klaus's fingers twitched at his side, motioning for Liam to go, and to take his sister with him.
"What about them?" Klaus asked, he wanted to know how Connor would play this, would the discussion be about the rings? Or would he make it about the children's newfound loyalty?
"The rings Klaus," Connor said, annoyed that he had to elaborate, "You gave two children the means to control the change! Now I've got half the pack clamouring for your attention so that they can get rings too. The other half want to get rid of them, thinking that they're not natural, they go against the core of who the werewolves are! You basically set off a bomb and are ignoring the damage!"
Klaus paused, genuinely shocked at the audacity of the wolf, "Are you saying that I should have let the children die? Because that's what would have happened if I hadn't gotten them moonlight rings! They're part of your pack, saving them should have been a priority of yours."
"There's a natural order to things Klaus! Yes, they're children, but the moment they triggered the curse they gained the responsibilities of werewolves! And with that comes the fact that there are consequences to actions, they killed, the pain is our punishment for taking innocent life, they're no different to the rest of us." Connor insisted, the Pack Elder was a traditionalist, and was unhappy with the discussions going around their people, Connor had been raised the same, wolves, were wolves, nothing should interfere in who they were.
"Except that they were taken by vampires, forced to kill so that they could activate their curse. They had no choice, and the fact that you don't understand that, is something I find very troubling. There is a difference between adults and children, and they are by definition children."
"Oh please! Since when do you help children? You are 'by definition' a monster." Connor said, twisting Klaus's words and using them against him, "You don't help anyone! Not unless it benefits you!"
Klaus's hand wrapped around Connor's throat and he squeezed, showing the wolf that no matter what he thought, there was only one person that had the power, and it wasn't an angry werewolf, no matter his position in the pack, "I'd choose your next words very carefully if I were you," Klaus said with an almost deadly calm in his voice, "Just because I've played nice these past three months, doesn't mean that you should forget who I am. I am a monster, there is no question about that, and I've killed for less, the next time you raise your voice to me, I'll rip your throat out."
Klaus kept his threat short and sweet, because he could hear a commotion in the distance, coming from the same direction the children had gone in. He dropped the Alpha and whooshed towards the noise.
Marcel was holed up deep in the compound, only his second in command Thierry and Diego had been allowed with him. He'd beefed up the security of his home, no one had seen Kol Mikaelson enter New Orleans, and no one had seen him leave, so he had no idea if he had a pissed off Original in town or not. He wouldn't admit that he made a mistake, something that he'd learned from Klaus no doubt, but he had miscalculated the significance Kol had placed in the Witch that had blown into his city all those months ago. He'd thought that because Kol had left her unprotected, alone, and surrounded by humans, that she wasn't important. Kol had a reputation of using and discarding Witches when they'd outlived their usefulness, and when he'd gotten reports of Kol leaving the country he'd thought that that was his chance. The NOLA witches were becoming a problem and having a witch under his control was something that he'd been looking into, sure the girl was young, but she was powerful, and creative, he'd thought that she'd be perfect to work for him. But he'd underestimated exactly how much interest Kol had in her, and with the hate that the Original harboured for him, there was no way that he'd leave it at just the 'warning' he'd received.
Marcel scoffed at that thought 'warning' right, he'd come home to find a massacre, something that none of his guys had had experience with before, because unfortunately, there wasn't a single one of them that was older than a century, they'd never come across an Original before, they didn't know the danger that the Old Ones truly possessed. Marcel had gotten sloppy, he'd forgotten what life was like with enemies, and back then, his enemies automatically became Klaus's enemies. Whether he'd like to admit it or not, Klaus had kept him protected, in fact Klaus had kept him protected from Kol, daggering his baby brother to keep him safe. Perhaps he should put out some feelers for the most dangerous Original, see if he was in a relatively calm state, and make himself known to the man he'd once called father…he'd have to think on it, he didn't have any powerful Witches to help him, so perhaps Klaus might do him a favour and put his younger brother down again for old times' sake…
In the three months that Elijah and Rebekah had been away from their family, they'd managed to destroy five of Lucien's facilities, and free the remnants of two packs in the process. The BasRoq and Paxon pack, both of which had been decimated by Lucien's people, it would take decades for the packs to grow to a safe size. Even once the pack members had healed, there was no way that they would be able to travel without being in serious danger, not while Lucien still lived. Elijah had provided the packs with one protected plot of land, along with a large home on the property.
"What's the catch?" The eldest member of the BasRoq packed asked, "You're vampires, I don't even know why you're helping us."
"Unfortunately the blame for your recent incarceration can be partially laid at my feet," Elijah admitted, ever the noble Original, he could admit when he made a mistake.
"What?" the wolf made an attempt to growl out, but she was too injured.
"I know the vampire that orchestrated all of this," he motioned to the facility that they were in, "had I killed him when I had the chance, you and your kind would have never been subject to such atrocities. I will be dealing with the vampire personally, he cannot be allowed to live any longer, but as a way to make amends on my part, I offer you the land and the home, to use as long as you and your pack see fit."
The female wolf scowled as Elijah held out the keys to two vehicles nearby and snatched them from his fingers, "I'll think about it," she said, there was no way she was going to accept another vampire's hospitality, not after what she and her pack had been through.
"There is one thing though," Elijah said, before she could leave, "I cleared out a similar facility a few days ago, the property is in use by the remnants of another pack, you would have to share."
She paused, "Who?"
"The Paxon pack." The woman stiffened, that was royal bloodline, just like her own, "It may interest you to know that the Deep Water pack were also held in a place like this. They're all dead."
She didn't say anything, just nodded and motioned for what was left of her people to leave, now she had no choice but to go to this property that the vampire had laid out for her. Three royal bloodlines had been taken and tortured, one wiped out completely, she needed to speak to whoever was in charge of the Paxon pack and find out what was going on.
"Well she was charming," Rebekah said, walking up to her brother, watching as the wolves left.
"She'd just been released from torture, I wasn't expecting much."
"Well the least she could do was show a little gratitude," the youngest Original remarked, she wasn't a fan of werewolves, and she'd been chasing after them for months. She wanted to get back to a life where she didn't have trudge through the woods in her designer boots, but alas, they'd only scratched the surface of Lucien's private torture chambers. "You know this would go so much faster if Nik and Kol would help out, instead of leaving us to do all the heavy lifting."
"Niklaus still hasn't called you?" Elijah enquired, knowing what his sister's real problem was, she'd lost her brother's trust, something that she thought that she'd always have, no matter what. And instead of reacting like he should have, he'd pulled back, pulled away, they'd never thought that it was something that their brother was capable of. Niklaus let out his rage, with violent words and actions, instead, apart from his initial outburst, he'd been quiet, he'd been hurt, and for the first time in centuries, he'd let them know it.
"No," Rebekah replied, "Sometimes I think I should call him, but then I remember how he looked at me, like I meant nothing to him."
"Sister you know that's not true."
"Isn't it Elijah? He didn't dagger us, he didn't even send us away, that was Kol, he just stopped caring."
"Whatever Niklaus feels for us now, it's only temporary Rebekah."
"Elijah-"
"No," Elijah shook his head, cutting her off, "If there was no chance of Niklaus forgiving us we wouldn't be here. He came when you needed help with those baby wolves."
"He came because Kol called him," Rebekah scoffed, Kol as the favourite, it was pissing her off.
"He still came to you, he could have insisted that Kol bring the children to him, but instead came to get them, I fully believe that it was to see you. You are our baby sister Rebekah, he can't hate you forever, he's just hurting."
"You truly believe that?" she asked.
"With every fibre of my being," Elijah replied.
"I said I'm fine Davina," Maya insisted, the young witch had video called her the moment she had some free time away from her mother. "It was one vampire, I could kill him in my sleep."
"If it was only one vampire then why did Kol do what he did?" Davina asked.
"What did Kol do?" Maya asked, she didn't even know that he was back in the country, "Wait, how do you know who Kol is? How did you know that I know Kol?"
"In order, Kol killed 19 of Marcel's Daywalkers, he used 18 to spell out 'MAYA IS MINE!' on the compound floor, scattered the other one like a welcome mat, and pinned Marcel's right hand guy to the wall and left him there for Marcel to find. I know Kol because he introduced himself to me, he was leaving the compound and bumped into me, I freaked out a little because he was covered in blood, but then he told me that he was your teacher. Aside from the blood he was kind of charming…"
"I knew I shouldn't have told him about that movie," Maya muttered, before turning her attention back to her young friend, "Absolutely not Davina!" Maya exclaimed, wanting to cut the girl off before she said anything that Maya wouldn't be able to erase from her mind, "Don't you go falling for his charm! I already have Caroline mooning over him, I don't need you doing the same!"
"I'M NOT MOONING OVER HIM!" Caroline yelled from her room, finishing off her homework.
Maya rolled her eyes, "She totally is, I caught her texting him the other day," she whispered into the webcam.
Davina laughed and shook her head, "You don't have to worry about me," she said, "He kind of implied that he'd…you know… with one of my ancestors! That's a major turn off."
"Of course he would," Maya snorted in amusement, "Only Kol would casually drop that into a conversation and then still try to be charming." Shaking her head she got back to Davina's initial question, "And to answer your question, Kol needs to make sure that no one else is going to come after me, so he had to be particularly brutal. The Originals are kind of 'take no prisoners' vampires, you're lucky if you get a warning after you cross them, plus Kol has a very specific hate for Marcel, it goes all the way back to when Marcel was human."
"If you're sure," Davina said sceptically, it seemed like overkill if Maya hadn't been hurt by the one vampire that had been sent after her.
"I'm positive," Maya confirmed, "I don't want you to worry about me D, I have plenty of protection here, I'm more worried about you, in New Orleans all on your own."
"I'm okay, I have my coven to protect me," she said.
"I know, it's just… a coven operates on the whole 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few' belief, I just want you to be careful."
"The needs of the- did you just quote Star Wars at me?" Davina frowned.
"Star Trek!" Maya corrected, wagging her finger at the screen, "Do not mix them up! I'll kick your ass!"
"She's a very protective nerd," Caroline snorted in amusement as she walked into the room, "Only reference things that you know about, otherwise you'll get stuck with a nerd lecture from hell!"
"Noted," Davina laughed, it was so nice to have people that she could talk to like this, without having to worry that someone was going to run to her mother to tell on her.
"You both suck," Maya pouted, "Jeremy understands me!"
"Oh who's Jeremy?" Davina asked, leaning forward, while Caroline had no problem talking about her exploits at school, she'd never heard Maya talk about a boy, "Is he your boyfriend?"
"Gross Davina!" Maya's nose wrinkled as she made a face in disgust, "He's my cousin!"
"Oh," Davina frowned, that was less exciting, "Is he like us? Can he do magic?" she perked up, she wasn't really allowed to talk to boys outside of the coven.
"No," Maya shook her head, "My magic comes from my father's side, Jeremy's my mom's sister's son, so he's just a regular human."
"That knows about magic now!" Caroline cut in, "That vampire came for Maya while we were all out, and Maya, genius that she is, killed the vampire with magic in front of him!"
"There was literally nothing else that could be done!" Maya replied.
"How old is he? Can I meet him? How much does he know? Has he seen you do other spells? Has he met your vampire friends?"
"Whoa calm down D, one question at a time!" Maya laughed, "He's 14, I will ask him if he wants to meet you, he knows pretty much everything Caroline knows I guess," she looked over at her blonde friend, who just shrugged in response, "I've done a couple of spells for him, but he keeps trying to get me to make his collectibles sentient, like that's just something I can do!" Davina laughed, he sounded like he was fun, "He's met Damon and Enzo, they had to come and get rid of the body."
"MAYA!" Maya's head snapped up as she heard her mother yell her name from downstairs.
"First name, you're fine," Davina dismissed.
"ALEXIS!"
"Second name," Caroline said, "Could be an issue."
"SOMMERS!"
"Third name you are in deep shit." Davina said, having heard the older woman even through the webcam and mic.
"HOW DARE YOU NOT TELL ME THAT JEREMY KNOWS ABOUT YOU!"
"Awe shit," Maya looked mildly terrified, she'd never been tripled named before, "I'll call you later D, that is if I'm not dead!"
Klaus arrived at the scene of a couple of younger wolves, in their teens no doubt, gathering around Liam and Luna, "Let us try it out!" one of the teens said, holding their hand out to Liam. "It's not even a full moon, we just want to see!"
"I said no!" Liam exclaimed, "It's not for you, and it won't work on you!"
"Bullshit!" One of the older teens commented, "If it works for you, it'll work for us! We're a pack, we share everything!" the older boy came closer and tried to take the ring off of Liam's finger, but was zapped by the spell that Maya had put on it. "Ah!" The teen shook his hand, his palm had a very clear burn on it, "What was that?!"
"I see you've discovered the anti-theft spell I had my witch place on these rings," Klaus said, making himself known and the teens backed up in fear, they'd all been told by their parents who the vampire was, "This may be a pack, but I know for a fact that stealing is not allowed, no matter what." He growled, letting his vampire show through, "If I catch you bothering the little ones again, I'll demonstrate the punishment for theft in my time, here's a hint, it involved the loss of a limb." He made to lunge at them and the teens ran off in fear.
Klaus straightened and felt Luna tug at his jeans, "Yes little one?"
"Did you really cut off people's hands?" she asked.
Klaus raised a brow, "Maybe, why do you want a history lesson?"
"…Yes," she said finally, she was curious about Klaus, "But I'm hungry now."
"Then run along and get something to eat," he dismissed.
"But I'm sooo hungry! What if I faint?" she clutched at his leg tighter and pretended to be dizzy.
"You remember three months ago, when you wouldn't let me near you?" Klaus asked, the girl clearly wanted to be picked up. She looked at him with wide innocent eyes and Klaus sighed, "Bloody hell," he muttered, picking her up, he settled her on his side.
"Don't forget Liam!" she cried.
Klaus rolled his eyes and looked down at the young boy, he still wasn't up to a healthy weight, Liam tried not to look like he wanted to be picked up as well, but he was a child who missed his parents, Klaus was the closest thing he had left. "Fine," Klaus muttered, but pointed a finger at them both first, "You tell no one of this, are we clear?" When both children nodded, Klaus lifted Liam, putting him on his back and then whooshed towards the communal area the pack usually ate food in.
Kol was sat in his study pouring over his mother's grimoire, the one she'd put Klaus's curse in, he'd come up with a few ideas on how to avoid activating the failsafe, but he couldn't be certain of any of them without the help of Freya, this was blood magic, and could only be broken by a witch of Esther's bloodline. Sighing as he thought about his older sister, he stiffened as there was a knock on his door, and it opened, "Kol?" Freya asked, "May I come in?"
He looked over at her, he couldn't sense Finn nearby, the two siblings seeming to lose a touch of their closeness the longer Finn obsessed over stopping Nik, "That depends, are you here to try to convince me to join you and Finn in your belief that Nik should never be free of mother's curse?"
Freya sighed and walked inside, closing the door firmly behind her so that if Finn or Sage came back, they wouldn't hear her, "I don't believe that he shouldn't be free Kol," she said, "I just…I hate our mother for what she did to me! Undoing something that she's still trying hard to keep intact, that would be something that I have no problem doing. But you and Niklaus have me on a leash, what am I supposed to do? Help when you've tied me down."
"Technically you wouldn't even know about the leash if you hadn't have attacked Nik," Kol replied flippantly, "It was put there to stop you from attacking us, I mean, we have no idea who you are, not really. We'd have to be stupid to blindly trust you."
Freya nodded, "I understand that, but how can I trust you and Niklaus? All I know about my younger brother is that he is a violent psychopath, and I've seen it. How can you want to help him after what he's done to you?"
Kol let out a small laugh, "If you'd been listening that night, you would know that each member of our family has done terrible things to one another. We all hurt each other, but we're immortal, Niklaus is my brother, am I supposed to hate my brother for eternity? This is the first time since we became vampires that we haven't had to run, we can be ourselves without fear. I want to know who my brother is without the constant fear of death hanging over him. Can you understand that?"
All it took was another month for anarchy to descend, the second full moon that the children lived through without changing caused a massive ripple effect throughout the pack. On the one side was the Alpha, an advocate for the traditional way of the werewolf that had endured since the beginning of their existence. On the other the Beta, who wanted to elevate the pack's status among every other werewolf out there, he wanted moonlight rings for everyone, and he wanted his pack to be rid of Klaus. But then there were the younger members, they didn't get a say in what went down in the pack, and they didn't really know who Klaus was, all they'd heard was stories of a violent vampire, who made his enemies tremble in fear, and yet, they'd seen nothing of the sort. Sure they'd caught glimpses of his temper, but nothing that scared them, nothing that was out of the ordinary for a werewolf, plus there was a rumour going around the pack that soon Klaus would be able to turn werewolves into Hybrids. They wouldn't just be able to stop being forced to change, they would have double the strength of a vampire, with access to their deadly venom, and for some of them, that sounded like heaven, they would be at the top of the supernatural food chain, they wouldn't have to constantly stay on the move, they could finally put down roots, have lives outside of the pack.
Liam and Luna trailed behind Klaus as he walked through the pack territory, everyone had been summoned for a meeting by the Beta, of course Klaus hadn't been included in the summoning, but the children were a part of the pack, so he accompanied them to the gathering. He had a feeling that the meeting would breakdown fairly quickly and he wasn't about to let either of the small children get caught up in the fight…he'd deal with that feeling later. He watched as the wolves argued amongst one another, throwing insults and rules and traditions in each other's faces, some even bold enough to mention him by name…those wolves he'd punish when he became Alpha.
"ENOUGH!" the Beta, Daniel, yelled, "THE ALPHA DOESN'T RUN THINGS ANYMORE, HE COWERS BEFORE A VAMPIRE! TAKES HIS CUES FROM ONE WHO ISN'T EVEN PART OF THIS PACK! I CHALLENGE YOU FOR THE RIGHT TO RULE!"
Connor growled, "YOU THINK YOU CAN RULE?! YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT ME?!" He entered the loosely formed circle of wolves, "MY BLOODLINE HAS ALWAYS RULED! I WILL KILL YOU!"
"I CHALLENGE YOU!" Daniel shouted again, before charging at Connor.
"Is Connor going to lose?" Liam asked Klaus, "I can't pledge to Daniel, he won't be a good Alpha." Daniel only thought about the present, he didn't think about the consequences to his actions, he'd lead the pack into ruin.
"It's doubtful," Klaus replied quietly, in truth he wasn't worried for the fate of the Alpha at all, Connor was the superior specimen, stronger, faster, there was no way that Daniel could win without help, and if he had help, his challenge would be forfeit. "He won't be able to win without assistance."
What Klaus neglected to mention was the fact that Daniel did have help, he could smell the wolves that had attacked Damon spread out in the group, along with a few others, they'd taken over the front of the circle, in place to prevent anyone from stopping them when they interfered. The battle between the Alpha and Beta had started out fairly evenly, they trained together, they knew each other's moves, but it quickly became apparent that Connor had both the strength and size advantage. The Alpha was winning when the Beta's men attacked, three of them rushed Connor, attacking from every angle, it was a bloodbath, other members of the pack tried to get involved, but it appeared that the Beta had amassed quite a following and they were keeping them at bay.
"Klaus!" Liam exclaimed, grabbing his sister and latching on to the vampire, "What's happening?"
Klaus frowned, he wasn't expecting such a large reaction, he hadn't realised exactly how many wolves the Beta had on his side, he snatched the children up and whooshed them away from the fight, he set them high up in a tree, "Stay here, keep your sister safe, don't come down for anyone but me, understand?"
Liam nodded and Klaus whooshed back to the fight, he arrived just in time to see Connor held down by two wolves and killed by the Beta. Cary cried out when he saw his father die and got taken down by some of the Beta's lieutenants. "Sorry Cary, but the only way we stay in power is if the bloodline is gone, for good."
The Beta came up to the young man, he was the last of the Alpha bloodline, no other line had ruled the pack before, the Beta was about kill him when Klaus finally stepped in. Snapping the Beta's neck and the necks of the man and woman holding Cary, "ENOUGH!" Klaus yelled, his voice rising above all of the noise. He sped through the pack, separating the wolves as he went until everyone was still. "YOU ARE, ALL OF YOU, CHILDREN! You stand here, spitting and scratching like infants, and not one of you was able to stop the Beta from murdering your Alpha! Not a single one of you was able to save the last of the Alpha Bloodline!" he gestured to Cary, who in a very short time was bruised and bloody, "You had to leave that up to me! Well let me make one thing clear to all of you! You have no Alpha, you have no Beta! All you have left is me. This pack belongs to me now, and if any of you have a problem with that you can leave, this is your once chance, because I do not take insubordination lightly!"
The pack was silent, Klaus wasn't a wolf, but they could feel the power radiating off of him, and technically, he'd killed the one who killed their Alpha. Most of them shifted from foot to foot, uncertain as to what they should do, while a few others, those who had been loyal to Daniel or Connor, Klaus didn't know, pulled away from the group.
"We won't bow to vampire!" one of them spit out.
"Then you best leave, before I kill you," Klaus said, frighteningly calm, "But know this, I come across you again, I won't be so pleasant." The veins under his eyes raised and the vampire came to the surface with his rage.
Several of the wolves left at that, they could not, and would not, be ordered around by a vampire pretending to be a wolf, Klaus Mikaelson had no right being the Alpha of a pack, and any that followed him were idiots, or at least that was the thinking.
Klaus sneered at their retreating forms before he turned to those who remained, "Bury the dead, and pack your things, we leave tomorrow." He stalked off to retrieve the two children he'd kept safe from harm, pulling them down from the tree he'd kept them in, he set them on their feet and directed them to their tent, "Gather anything that is important to you, we're leaving soon."
"Klaus?" Luna asked, "What happened? Do we have a new Alpha?"
"Yes," Klaus replied, "I'm the Alpha, now run along, there's still much to be done," he gestured for them to leave as he saw Cary and few other young wolves head in his direction.
"Klaus," Cary said, holding his ribs tightly with one arm, while the other dangled uselessly at his side, "The others want to know where we're going, we've never moved without a plan before."
"Arizona," Klaus replied, "I have an estate there with plenty of land, we could all use some warm weather and time to decide how to move forward."
Cary nodded and motioned for his companions to go, they would spread the word around camp, "Klaus," he hesitated for a moment, "Why did you save me?" he asked, "You could have let Daniel kill me, and then there would be no other that could claim this pack as theirs."
Klaus's eyes snapped to Cary's, the younger man holding back a flinch, "My father's blood runs through your veins Cary, it might surprise you to learn that that means something to me. Family is important, no matter where it comes from." Klaus made to move to his own tent, it was next to Liam and Luna's, having being put there for their safety, "Get yourself seen to, you'll be no use to anyone if you can't move that arm."
"So how are things going with Originals?" Jenna asked her daughter, the two of them having lunch together, with no one else around.
"They're good," Maya said, she and her mother had a weekly lunch, where they could catch up on anything that they missed, "The pack has settled in Arizona with Nik, things are a little 'touch and go' for him there, but he's a vampire, they're wolves, there was always bound to be some tension.
"And Kol?" Jenna asked, "What's going on there? You two are always on the phone to one another, talking…texting…"
"Oh gross mom! There's nothing going on with us! He's my magic teacher, that's all! Besides, he's pumping me for information on Caroline, he's totally trying to get into her pants."
"Caroline!" Jenna exclaimed, "She's not falling for it is she? Because that man is clearly a player, in fact he probably invented the term!"
Maya laughed and nodded, taking a sip from her drink, "Probably, but no Care's not giving him the time of day, I think that's why he likes her so much, she's not 'falling for his charms'."
"Well you make sure he knows that if he messes with her, he's going to have me to deal with!"
"He's a thousand-year-old vampire mom, I doubt you scare him."
"No, but all he has to know is that I'll sick my daughter on him! My kid's pretty powerful."
"She is, is she?" Maya smiled, she loved being able to just sit with her mother and enjoy their time together, lately it felt that all she was doing was putting out one supernatural fire after the other. It was nice to get back to normal. "How do you know she could take him?"
"It's just a feeling I have," Jenna shrugged, returning the smile, "She's kind of a badass, I'm very proud of her."
Maya beamed at the compliment, "Well I can tell you that she has never been more grateful to have such a badass role model in her mother." And that was the truth, Jenna had done what very few women in their small town could do. She had a daughter at the age of seventeen, and instead of giving it up, or having her parents raise the child, Jenna had taken the responsibility in stride. She hadn't cared how it had made her look to the town, she finished high school, worked two jobs so that she could pay for all of baby Maya's needs, and scraped together enough to pay for her own college education, refusing to let a teen pregnancy stand in the way of her hopes and dreams.
"So, if it's not Kol, then it has to be Klaus," Jenna said, "Damon mentioned that on your last meet up there was definitely some flirtatious looks, and feels."
"Oh my- Mom! I am not talking about this with you!"
"Aha! So I was right!"
"So quick question, not that I don't absolutely love the fact that we're moving to town so that we can be close to Maya," Enzo started, "But why are we moving all of a sudden?"
"You mean why is she suddenly cool to let me of all vampires hang around town in a more permanent fashion?" Damon responded.
"Well yes," Enzo zipped up his suitcase, he'd already packed several bags, Mystic Falls being in the middle of nowhere, he wasn't about to suffer the loss of some of his favourite things.
"She said that she had a feeling that I needed to come to town, she doesn't want anyone to know that we're there yet, but she wanted us close. And you know what that means?" he asked excitedly.
"You finally get an invite-"
"I finally get an invite into the big house!" Damon cheered, cutting Enzo off, "Jenna's been keeping me out on purpose, but now, now! She has no choice but to let me in!" It had been a running joke with all of them that Damon was not allowed in the house, Maya said that as far as invite privileges went, only Jenna was allowed to offer them, because she was the only human. That of course meant a very pouty Damon, never allowed in the house, whilst Enzo got to bask in the warmth of the home. But now, Jenna had to let him in, and he couldn't wait to start annoying her.
"You may want to hold off on annoying Jenna, I'm sure she'll get Maya to find a way to uninvite you."
"Bullshit, can't be done!" Damon replied, picking up his one suitcase and handing it off to the compelled help.
"If anyone could figure out how to do it, Maya could."
Damon paused for a moment before shaking his head, "She wouldn't, she loves me too much, she said so herself."
"What?!" Enzo asked, head snapping up to look at the older vampire, "When did she say that?! I demand to have the exact date and time!"
"Just face it Enzo, you are no longer the only vampire that she loves!" Damon wiggled his eyebrows and dodged a flying shoe Enzo sent his way.
"Shut up Damon!"
"Hah!" he whooshed out of the room, but not before calling out, "Won't be long before she's saying that to Nik!"
Growling, Enzo chased after him, "You take that back!"
"No!" Damon laughed, it was always so easy to rile Enzo up when it came to the Siphon.
"Damn it!" Enzo tried to catch Damon, but the older vampire was faster than him, "I hate you!"
"You love me," Damon replied.
"No I hate you!" Enzo called, not seeing the other man anywhere.
Damon appeared right in front of him with a smirk, "You love me," he said again, this time leaning forward and pressing his lips to Enzo's.
The younger vampire responded almost immediately, a hand in Damon's hair, bringing him in closer and deepening the kiss, "Okay," Enzo whispered, lips barely leaving Damon's, "I love you."
"I love you too," Damon said, tearing Enzo's shirt off and pushing him back towards the bedroom, so what if they'd be late for their flight? This was a long time coming, and Damon planned to give Enzo everything he deserved.
Notes:
If you have time please leave a comment, they always help when I'm feeling low.
Chapter 27: It Begins
Notes:
Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was May 24th when Maya heard a car pull up outside of the house, smiling at her mother she rushed downstairs and flung open the front door, where Damon and Enzo stood. “You’re here!” she cheered, she’d been so excited to have them come to Mystic Falls on a more permanent basis, to have the rest of her family together, finally. She hugged them both, first Enzo and then Damon, and pulled back to look at them. “Hang on, something’s different about you two.” She said, giving them both a suspicious look.
“Well-”
“Oh. My. God!” Maya said, eyes wide as she realised what she was seeing, “You finally said the ‘L’ word! You both did!” she squealed in delight.
“Maybe,” Enzo conceded, grinning in response to her happiness.
“I can’t believe this I’m so happy for you! Oh I have to call Nik! And Kol! And Sunshine!”
“Hold up there Sabrina!” Damon grabbed the back of her T-shirt before she could go back in the house and pulled her to him, “Why exactly do you have to go and call everybody?”
“…To tell them the good news..”
“I don’t believe that for a second,” Damon said, “I know when you’re up to something! What did you do?”
Maya looked up at both of them innocently and Enzo crossed his arms over his chest, “Spill little lady.”
“Fine,” she admitted, “We all bet when you were going to get together…”
“And you won?” Damon asked, amusement in his eyes.
“Of course I won! You’re my guys, I know you.” Damon threw his arm around her neck and pulled her in close, “Ack! Damon!”
“Spill, who bet what?”
“Oh my God! Damon, let go!” she grumbled, “Enzo! Help!”
“No way!” Enzo refused, “Give the dirt Love, tell us who thought what.”
“Fine!” Maya managed to get her arms between her body and Damon’s and shoved him away, “I’ll tell you, you just have to ruin all my fun," she pouted.
“Stop stalling,” Enzo said.
“Kol thought that you were both too stupid to see that you love each other and would never say a word.”
“Hey!”
“Arse!”
“Nik thought that it would take like a serious emergency, and not like Damon getting kidnapped, he thought that something would have to happen to Enzo before Damon would ever admit it.”
“That sounds fair,” Enzo agreed, he could definitely see that happening.
“C’mon! I’m not that bad!” Damon protested.
“You are Damon.”
“Definitely,” Maya said, “and Care thought it would be at least another year before you two finally said the ‘L’ word.”
Damon shook his head, “Can you believe this, our friends, all betting on our love lives.”
Enzo tried to look offended, but he couldn’t “How much did you win?”
“Enough to take us all out for a celebratory dinner tonight,” she replied innocently.
“You’re paying for our drinks.”
“Of course.”
“Then we’re good, let’s get our stuff inside.” He grabbed his bag and moved past the threshold.
“Hey!” Damon cried out, “I’m still waiting on an invite here!”
“Oh yeah!” Maya smirked at the Salvatore, “Mom! Damon’s here!”
Jenna came down the stairs, having just finished setting up the guest rooms and smirked at Damon stood just outside the house, mirroring the look on Maya’s face, “Well, well, what do we have here?”
“Oh come on Jenna, just invite me in,” he scowled.
“Is that Damon Salvatore? At my door? Begging for an invite?” Jenna was loving this.
“Jenna!”
“I’m sorry but I don’t see the benefit of letting you in, don’t you have a house that you could stay in?”
“Oh my God!” Damon scrubbed his hands over his face.
Maya and Enzo were cracking up behind the Sommers matriarch, “How long do you think she can keep this up?” Enzo whispered.
“Well if I know my mom, and I do, she can do this for hours!” Maya replied, “Mom’s a younger sibling, she can keep up the annoyance factor for as long as she wants.”
“Huh, you wanna get some popcorn and watch the show?”
“Totally,” Maya nodded, the two of them heading to the kitchen.
“Hey! Where are you two going?!” Damon called, “Damn it Jenna, let me in!”
The property that Klaus had in Arizona was more of a compound than a home, nestled in some hills in Scottsdale, right next a vast expanse of forest that he owned. It was one of the only homes he had that the rest of the family didn’t know about, purchasing it in the century that he and Elijah had been apart and the rest of his siblings had been daggered. It was actually one of his favourites, secluded enough that he wasn’t bothered by anyone, but near enough to civilisation that he could pop into the nearest town and grab a ‘bite’. He’d brought the pack there simply because he knew that none of his siblings would bother him there, he didn’t want Rebekah or Elijah knowing that he had a pack that belonged to him, and the pack was his, despite the Elders having issues with him, Klaus was the only one capable of taking care of them, now that the Alpha, Beta and several upstarts were dead, and the rest had abandoned their heritage.
Cary watched as the pack had finally settled into Klaus’s home, the pack had been cautious at first, not used to living in the sort of luxury that Klaus was providing…okay they weren’t used to any sort of luxury, always on the move, never settling down. The mansion/compound that Klaus had provided them with was insane, there was a private pool outside that had most of the teenagers in uproar. A wine cellar underground (Cary had caught a few of the children playing hide’n’seek down there and had ushered them out with speed, he didn’t even want to think of what Klaus would do if any of those expensive looking bottles had been broken). A gourmet kitchen that had the cooks of the pack thrilled, a games room that had the rest of the kids all excited, a library that he’d actually made his own personal little heaven, not to mention the huge expanse of land the pack had the run of every full moon. It was paradise for a people that had been living untethered for centuries, and that was the harsh truth, when the remnants of the pack had gathered together, after they’d been slaughtered by the father of the Originals, they vowed to never be caught like that again. The pack had never settled, and now, in the home of the son of the man who had slaughtered them like beasts, but also the son of the man that was the Alpha, the pack was finally resting.
Cary had been acting like the defacto Beta of the pack, Klaus hadn’t officially been named as Alpha, and wouldn’t be until his own wolf was present, but no one was fool enough to challenge him, and he had been acting like a proper Alpha. Taking care of the young, ensuring the safety of everyone (regardless of their feelings towards him) and providing a territory that could belong to them, if they chose it. But he knew that the older members of the pack, the Elders especially, were getting restless, an official announcement would need to be made in order to settle things. So steeling himself, Cary went upstairs and knocked on what he presumed was the Klaus’s study, he’d never been inside, but the vampire spent most of his time there when he wasn’t with Liam and Luna.
Klaus quirked an eyebrow at the knock, he hadn’t specifically said that no one was allowed up to this part of his home (as evidenced by the fact that both Liam and Luna were currently playing together with some spare paint he had lying around), but no one did come up to his studio. He assumed because they were all still afraid of him. “Come in,” he said, curious to see which of the wolves had been brave enough to find him.
Cary pushed open the door, stalling for a moment as he took in the room, it was clearly an artist’s studio, evidenced by the drawings that littered a table along with paints and canvases tucked away in the corner, he’d never expected that Klaus Mikaelson, ‘The Butcher’, as some referred to him, to be into this sort of thing. He was further shocked to find the two children that he’d just been thinking about, on one side of the room, playing, while Klaus seemed to be relaxed into a fancy looking couch, quietly reading. “Uh Klaus?” This was weird, Klaus was an Original vampire, one responsible for mayhem and destruction that rang through the ages, but he was just sat there, enjoying a book, like he was a regular person. The view was certainly jarring for Cary, who despite it all, did have an image of who and what Klaus was in his head.
“Cary,” Klaus looked up from his book, amusement hidden in his eyes, almost like he knew what the young wolf was thinking. “Is there something you needed?”
“Uh, yeah,” Cary shook his head like he was trying to rid himself of his confused thoughts, “The Elders are insisting that a Beta be named, the pack can’t be without one.”
“I’m surprised they’re not insisting that you become the Alpha, after all, you are the only one left of your father’s bloodline.”
“They did try,” Cary nodded, “But I was never cut out to be Alpha, I never really wanted to be, and I’m not the last of my father’s bloodline, as you pointed out, you’re my blood too. Which is what I told the Elders.”
“Let me guess, as much as they hate the idea of me being in charge, they don’t have the resources or the backing to attempt a coup.”
“And even if they did, they’d just end up dead,” Cary finished.
“So what’s this about choosing a Beta then?”
“You may not be a vampire, but your wolf’s not free yet, there needs to be a chain of command that the wolves can follow. I mean, you’re in charge, but do you want everyone coming to you with every little problem that they have? The Beta deals with smaller more petty issues, while the Alpha deals with taking care of the pack. That’s how we work.”
“If that’s the case, then perhaps you should be the Beta.” Klaus shrugged, already working out how this would benefit him. Cary was the son of the previous Alpha, he had the Elders’ goodwill, he was old enough that it shouldn’t be an issue for the older members of the pack, while still being young enough that younger members wouldn’t feel alienated by the leadership.
“What?!” Cary sputtered, “Me! I can’t be the Beta!”
“Why not?” Klaus asked.
“Because-because- because I can’t!”
“It seems to me as though you’re already fulfilling the duties of a Beta, you made sure that everyone settled in, dealt with any issues that the members have had, and the Elders don’t mind speaking with you. What’s the downside?”
“Well I- I’m too young, who’s going to listen to me? What about Eric? He’s a good fit, his grandfather was Beta.”
“He also hates vampires.”
“But-”
“He can’t keep his mouth shut when he gets into the booze.”
“What about Regina? She’s got authority coming out of her pores.”
“Regina scares the children more than I do,” Klaus rolled his eyes.
“Well what about-”
“Cary, there’s no one better suited to the role, not to mention that if you’re the Beta it keeps the power within our bloodline. You’re young, you may not understand what that means now, but eventually, you’ll understand that any advantage is worth keeping.” Klaus stood and motioned for the children to get up, “Now, I do believe that it’s nearly time for dinner and Liam and Luna are covered in paint, why don’t you take them down to get washed up and I’ll join the pack tonight.”
Damon unpacked his things quietly, dinner with Jenna and Maya had been... wonderful, Jenna had heard that he and Enzo were together and her response had been unbridled happiness. Damon accepted it with a smile, but it had thrown him off. All his life no one had ever been happy for him the way that Jenna and Maya had, when he was a young boy, he’d fallen for the daughter of the baker in town. His father had put his foot down, no Salvatore would marry anyone so low born he'd said, his mother had told him that it was nothing but puppy love, inconsequential, and shouldn’t be mourned. When he was a teen he’d fallen in love with the stable hand, the man had been ten years his senior and they’d had to keep their relationship a secret, both of them could have been killed if it was discovered. Then Damon had gone off to war and when he came back Katherine was in living in his home and he’d fallen for her, and she’d repaid that love by playing with him and his brother Stefan. This was truly the first time anyone had been happy for him to be in love, and he was unsure of how to deal with it.
“You alright?” Enzo asked, walking into their room, closing the door behind him.
“They were really happy for us,” Damon said softly, “That’s never happened to me before.”
Enzo came up behind him, pressing against his back, as Damon turned his head to look at him, “The girl’s love us, that’s what you do when you love someone, you’re happy for their happiness.”
“It’s just different.”
“Good different?”
Damon nodded his head, before leaning in to kiss Enzo, “Yeah, really good.” He smirked then, all traces of vulnerability from his features disappearing, “Now how’s about you and I test out the soundproofing spell Maya put on this place.”
“You read my mind,” Enzo smirked right back, pushing Damon towards the bed, “Let’s have some fun.”
“Alright, let’s get this show on the road people!” Jeremy cheered, “Maya and I are on the same team, because we’re totally in sync!”
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa there Baby Gilbert, first of all, this is a Backstreet Boys household! There is to be no mention of N’Sync within these four walls!” Jenna cut Jeremy off before he could continue.
“She’s right,” Maya agreed, “As much as we love Justin, we are Backstreet Boys for life!”
“Second, you and Maya aren’t on a team, we’re doing Sommers vs Gilberts, that’s the only way this is fair!”
“How is that fair?” Jeremy complained, “That leaves me stuck with Mom! She’s terrible at Charades!”
“Relax Jer, Mom sucks at Pictionary, it’ll be a wash for you.”
“Hey!”
“Rude!” Miranda and Jenna protested, offended at their children’s insults.
“Oh what are you gonna do, be each other’s partners?” Maya asked childishly, “You both suck and you know it!”
“Okay you know what, those are fighting words!” Miranda said, bringing her sister a glass of wine, “You and Jeremy can be partners, but Jenna and I,” she gestured to herself and her sister, “We’ll kick your butts!”
The faux confidence was enough to send Maya and Jeremy into peals of laughter, the two of them holding onto each other as the two women were pouting at their children, “Oh you were serious!” Maya said wiping away a tear as she tried to calm herself down, “Alright, let’s get these games started, and may the best team win.”
“Which we will,” Jeremy chimed in, ducking the marker that was launched at his head in response.
/ / /
An hour and half later, Jeremy was laughing at his mother as she struggled to guess whatever it was that Jenna was trying to draw for their turn in Pictionary, “I know Elena hates me, but I can’t believe that she’s missing this!” Maya said.
“She said she wasn’t feeling well,” Jeremy shrugged, he didn’t like being put in the middle of Maya and Elena’s weird rivalry, trying to remain as neutral as possible, “Besides, Caroline’s missing game night too.”
“Yeah but Caroline’s missing it because as future Head Cheerleader, she needs to be at all parties, bonfires, and gatherings that are thrown in high school. And there’s a huge bonfire happening tonight. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if Elena faked being sick and snuck out.”
“Oh come on, Elena’s not stupid enough to do that, I mean we’re all here, how would she even get there?” Jeremy protested, his sister may have been acting differently since their father’s death, but she wasn’t stupid, or reckless.
Maya cocked her head to the side as she felt something niggling at the back of her mind, “You know what, I’m going to check on her.” She stood and rushed up the stairs of the Gilbert household before Jeremy could stop her.
“Hey!” Jenna called, “Where are you going?! It’s your turn!”
Both women turned to look at Jeremy for answers and he rolled his eyes, “She thinks Elena’s faking being sick, and snuck out to go to the bonfire.”
“Oh for the love of-”
“Okay this problem the girls have with each other is really getting out of hand,” Miranda said, standing up so that she could go and fetch her niece.
“Mom! Aunt Miranda!” Maya called and rushed back downstairs, “Elena’s gone!”
“What?!” Miranda exclaimed, going upstairs to see for herself. The older woman came back down with a frown on her face, “She’s gone!” she confirmed, fuming at her daughter, she’d specifically told her that she couldn’t go to the bonfire tonight.
“How did she even leave without us knowing?” Jenna asked.
“Oh the trellis is really sturdy, it can hold two or three people,” Jeremy blurted out, and then froze as all three women turned to stare at him in question, “Or…so I’ve been told.”
Maya shook her head as her cousin revealed his own secret exit, “Dumbass,” she muttered.
“I’m going to call her!” Miranda said, whipping out her phone and dialing.
"I can't believe she did this," Jeremey complained, "On games night!"
“She’s not answering!” Miranda said, coming over to Maya and Jenna, “Do you know where the bonfire is tonight?” While there weren’t many places in town where bonfires could be held, there were still enough to be inconvenient if they all had to be searched.
Maya shook her head, “I’ll call Care, she’s at the party, you should probably keep calling Elena.” Maya called her best friend and then shot her a text when her phone call went unanswered. A few minutes later the location came through. “It’s at the falls tonight.”
“Right,” Miranda said, “I’m going to get her, Jenna can you stay with Jeremy and Maya?”
“Wait!” Maya said, “Look, Auntie M, if you show up at that party, you’re gonna embarrass Elena, and while usually I’m all for that, Jer’s going into high school this year and anything you do will reflect badly on him.”
“Well what do you suggest Maya?” Miranda said annoyed, “Let her continue to party it up with her friends when she should be here?!”
“Look I’ll go get her, you can be as angry at her as you want, I just want Jeremy to have a good start to high school, these kids are vicious.”
“And you think that won’t make a scene?”
“Oh it will, but everyone used to us arguing, in fact the upperclassman have a bet on when we’ll come to blows, it’ll embarrass Elena, but not Jeremy, which can be a part of her punishment if you want.”
“It could be a good idea,” Jenna said hesitantly, “It might give you time to calm down a little and come up with an appropriate punishment for her.”
Miranda hesitated, she was furious at Elena, but she remembered how hard school could be, and she didn’t want to be the cause of Jeremy having a hard time when he didn’t deserve it. “Fine, you go and get her,” she relented, “But you call the moment you get to the party, and call as soon as you are on your way back.”
“I’ll be back in like, 45 minutes, it’ll take you guys that long to argue over what movie to watch tonight anyway.” Maya said, rushing out of the house before either her mother or aunt could change their minds. She didn’t know why, but she had this feeling in her gut that told her not to let Aunt Miranda leave the house tonight, so she’d volunteered to get her cousin. In fact she was really surprised that her Aunt had relented so easily, both adults knew that they could barely stand one another, how had they just agreed to let Maya go? That was a question she'd have to ponder at a different time, for now she had to go and get her cousin before Aunt Miranda came to her senses.
Elena stumbled away from the party, she and Matt had just gotten into another fight, she wanted to call her mom, but she wasn’t supposed to be at the bonfire, “Elena!” Bonnie called, “Wait up!” she ran up to her friend, “What’s wrong?”
“Matt and I got into a fight,” she sighed, throwing back the contents of her red solo cup, “He was talking about college and marriage and all the stuff he always talks about, and I just…I couldn’t!”
“I don’t think he really cares about any of that stuff,” Bonnie comforted her friend, “He’s just trying to figure out how you feel about him, I mean he’s told you he loves you twice and you haven’t said it back.”
“I don’t know how I feel,” Elena protested, heading back to the party, intent on getting another drink.
“Yes you do, you’re just afraid to say it Elena,” Bonnie said, she knew that Elena wasn’t in love with Matt anymore.
“I don’t want to lose him Bon,” Elena said, grabbing another drink and downing it quickly, if she was going to get in trouble for sneaking out, she wasn’t going to waste the night.
“You won’t lose him Lena, but you should set him free, it’s not fair on him otherwise.”
“I hate this,” Elena sighed.
“Look, we’re both gonna to be in trouble for tonight, let’s just have some fun now and deal with the consequences tomorrow,” Bonnie shrugged, grabbing a beer out of the cooler to drink from, and handing one to her best friend.
“Fine,” Elena shrugged, taking the drink and moved in the opposite direction of her current boyfriend.
/ / /
Maya looked around the party, watching as teens danced around the fire and drank beer, “I can’t believe Caroline likes coming to these things,” she grumbled. Her eyes darted around the bonfire, finally spotting Elena with Bonnie, “Great, looks like those two are drunk already, this’ll be fun.” She marched over with a scowl, “Elena!” she said, getting the other girl’s attention, “It’s time to go!”
“Ugh! Maya,” Elena glared, “What are you doing here?!”
“You’re mom found out that you snuck out,” Maya said, “I’m here to take you home.”
“Whatever Maya, I bet you told her that Elena went out,” Bonnie cut in.
Maya gave her a sarcastic smile, “You’re damn right I did, you don’t get to avoid family night just because you want to, that’s not how family night works.”
“Why do you always have to be such a bitch?!” Elena scowled.
“Because I like it, now let’s go!”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Oh yes you are!” By now a small crowd had gathered around the girls, hoping to see them come to blows.
“Fuck off Maya! Unlike you, Bonnie and I know how to have fun, we’re staying!” She moved to walk away, but Matt showed up.
“Elena?” he asked, “What’s going on?”
Elena froze, she wasn’t ready to talk to him again, “I have to go,” she said, dodging him and heading towards Maya’s car.
Rolling her eyes Maya followed her cousin, opening the vehicle, Maya got behind the steering wheel as Elena stumbled into the car.
/ / /
Maya was driving back when she realised that she hadn’t called her mom, pulling out her phone she hit redial and her mother quickly picked up. Maya put the phone on speaker and dropped the phone in the armrest. “Mom?”
“Maya? Where are you?” Jenna asked.
“We’re on the way back, it looks like we’re going to have to take Wickery Bridge, the storm knocked down a couple of trees.”
“Ugh you know you shouldn’t be on the phone,” Elena glowered at her cousin, the alcohol making her act worse than normal.
“And you shouldn’t be drunk!” Maya shot back.
“Drunk!” Miranda cut in, “Elena Marie Gilbert! What were you thinking!” Miranda yelled.
“God why do you always have to be such a tattletale?!” Elena complained, shoving her cousin.
“Wh- Back off Elena!” Maya shot out her hand, smacking the older girl away from her.
“No! You’re always such a suck up! Why can’t you just let me have fun!” Elena smacked back.
“Quit it Elena I’m driving!” Maya shot back, trying to ignore her cousin’s drunken antics.
“Elena?! Maya?! What’s going on?” Jenna asked, suddenly worried that sending Maya alone had been a bad idea, why had they done that?
“Elena back off!” Maya yelled, feeling her cousin shove her again, “Damn it Elena!” Maya turned to look at the drunk girl and in that moment Elena’s hand collided with the steering wheel, causing the car to swerve. “Elen- Aah!”
“Aah!” Both girls screamed as the car spun out of control and crashed through the railings of the bridge, the car hit the water.
“Maya!”
“Elena!” Both mothers called through the phone, “Girls!”
Maya’s head hit the driver’s door and she’d been knocked unconscious.
“Mom!” Elena called panicked, “We crashed through the bri-“ the phone cut off.
Notes:
Thanks for reading, if you have time, please leave a comment as they make me feel good!
Chapter 28: The Accident
Chapter Text
Liam and Luna
Death
The line went dead and Jenna froze, eyes wide with shock, what had just happened? Had she heard that right?
"Oh my God!" Miranda gasped, grabbing her keys from the counter, "Call the Sheriff! We have to go!" she said to Jenna, but the younger woman hadn't moved. "Jenna now!" but she still hadn't snapped out of it. "Jeremy help Aunt Jenna to the car, I'm calling Liz!"
Jeremy shook his aunt and Jenna startled, "What?"
"Aunt Jenna we have to go," Jeremy said, he was scared too, but he could help his aunt, she needed it.
"Right," Jenna nodded a little faintly, standing, "Maya was in an accident," she whispered, "Oh my God Maya!"
Jeremy helped her to the car, the reality of the situation was sinking in and Jenna was panicking, she'd sent her daughter out to get Elena, and they'd gotten into an accident, why did she send Maya? Why did she let her go? It didn't make any sense.
Jeremy sat in the back of the car, as his mother sped down the street, there was no way that they'd get to the bridge in time…but he knew someone who could. He had the number for emergencies and this definitely classified as an emergency.
Enzo's phone rang and he frowned, he and Damon were enjoying some time alone while the Sommers and Gilberts were having their family night, no one was supposed to bother him, and Jeremy wasn't supposed to call him at all unless there was an emergency. "Jeremy? What-"
"Maya was in an accident, her car went off Wickery Bridge!" That was all Jeremy managed to get out before Enzo had whooshed out of the house and straight to the bridge.
Damon came out of the kitchen and frowned, "Enzo?" he called, "Enzo?!" He did a quick look through the house but realised that he wasn't there. Where had he gone?"
Enzo was at the bridge within seconds, someone was in the water, they'd just come up and pulled a person up with them, zeroing in on them, Enzo could see that it wasn't Maya. He dived into the water, he could just about see the car as it was sinking to the bottom and used his speed and strength to propel him towards it. There she was, completely submerged, unconscious, ripping the door off, Enzo realised that the steering column had pinned her in. Growling, his vampire face coming to the surface, Enzo tore the steering wheel and half of the dashboard away from the car, uncaring about how it would look to the locals when it was dredged up. He yanked Maya from her seat and propelled himself to the surface, getting to land as fast as possible.
"Maya!" he lay her on her back, she wasn't breathing, and he couldn't hear her heart beat, "No, no, no! Maya! Adjusting her head, Enzo pinched her nostrils and sealed his mouth over hers, he wasn't letting this happen. Pulling back he started chest compressions, before repeating the process, over and over again. "Come on damn it!" He panted, she couldn't die, not like this. "Wake up Maya!" He didn't stop the compressions, not even when he heard her ribs crack under the pressure, "Wake up!" He cried desperately. "WAKE UP!"
Maya found herself seated at a table that she'd been sat at before, across from her, the only one in existence that knew her better than she knew herself, "This…isn't good, is it?" she said slowly, not bothering to look around when she knew exactly where she was.
"No, it is not," Death said, looking at her, fairly displeased with her sudden appearance.
"There's no Original with me."
"No, there is not."
"But if I'm here, without a vampire, that means that I'm…"
"Dead."
"That's not how this goes," Maya said, "This isn't where I go when I die, I know that, I'm cold, why am I so cold? I shouldn't be. When I come here I'm not supposed to be cold," she insisted, rubbing her arms, trying to increase her circulation, "When I come here I'm warm, and safe, and happy. I'm not any of those things!" Maya looked down at her hands, "And I'm still in this body, I never stay in my last form, I always come back to my first one! What's going on?!"
"What's going on? What's going on?!" Death repeated, frustration evident on his face, "What is going on is that you did, quite possibly the one thing that you shouldn't have done!" he was angry, "What the hell were you thinking?! Getting into that car! May 23rd 2009! You were never supposed to get into that car with Elena!"
"What was I supposed to do?! It's not like you left me an instruction manual!"
"Yes I did! It's all there in your brain! This date should have triggered your memory!"
"What memory?!"
"What-" Death reached forward and placed both of his hands on her temple and dove into her mind, he searched for what felt like an eternity but couldn't find it, the memory of Elena going over the bridge with her parents in the car, it was gone, completely wiped from her mind. "It's gone," he said.
"What?"
"Something that should have been there isn't, it's just gone."
"How? The whole point of you hiding my memories behind the wall was so that it couldn't happen."
"Tell me everything about the accident, everything."
"There's not much to tell, Elena snuck out, Miranda was going to get her, but I insisted on going instead."
"Why?"
"I don't know," she shrugged, suddenly questioning her reasoning, why wouldn't she want Miranda to go and get Elena "I had this feeling in my gut, it told me not to let her go, and Miranda let me, even though she knew it would be a bad idea. It didn't take much persuasion." Death growled and his hands found her head again as he did another deep dive. "Owe!" Maya cried out as she felt him in her mind, "Aah! Stop it!" she screamed, it was like she was being stabbed.
He pulled out again, "The memory was taken, and a suggestion was planted," he said.
"When?" she gasped, her hand going to her temple, her mind was supposed to be her safe space.
"December."
Maya scoffed, "That's what she was doing."
"What?" Death asked, Maya had come to some sort of realisation that he hadn't.
"In December I created two moonlight rings, first one then the other, I could feel her fighting against me, your sister, I thought that she was trying to stop me from making the rings. But the magic I used, the spell I did, it connected me to nature. What if it gave her access to me? A way to get inside my head? What if that's what I was feeling? She wasn't fighting against the spell, she was fighting against your barrier."
"My sister knows what we're doing," Death said, "More than I expected."
"She tried to kill me," Maya realised, "She did kill me."
"Not yet," he said.
"I'm here without an aid, I'm dead, I can't- I can't go back." She felt another shiver down her spine, her body was getting colder.
"You still feel the cold?" Death asked.
"It's getting worse," Maya nodded.
"Then a part of you is still over there!"
"Not enough! I don't come here on my own and then live! That's not how this works! It's never has!"
"You listen to me!" Death growled, eyes going completely black as he felt rage overtake him, "I have been stuck in this domain for thousands of years! While she gets to run around and do whatever she wants, because that's how the universe made us! This is the closest I've ever been to being free! To doing what I want!" He stood her up, grabbing her arms tight, "You and I planned this together! Six thousand years looking for a way to get me to the land of the living and now that we have you want to give up?!"
"I don't want to give up!" Maya exclaimed. "You think I wanted this? You think I wanted to lose what I have there? People that love me, more power than I ever dreamed of at my fingertips, and a man that- a man that I could- Six thousand years and this is the first time that I have a family." she clenched her fists and pulled away from him, "I. Didn't. Want. To. Die!"
"Maybe you don't have to," Death said.
"What are you talking about?!"
"You said it yourself, you've never had as much power as you do now, and it's all there, in your body, on the living plain. I'll send you back!"
"How? You've never been able to do that before."
"Your power comes from me. Every time I've brought you back in the past, you've been one of hers, human, witch, werewolf. But this time everything in you comes from me. I can do it."
Maya shook her head, "You think she's going to let you? She won't, she'll make sure that I stay dead." She wanted to say more, but instead coughed up water, her hair and clothes were suddenly drenched and Death grabbed her before she could fall down, "What's- what's happening?" she gripped his shirt as her knees buckled.
"It's seeping over, life and death," he said, "If we're going to do this, it has to be now! Six thousand years and you're the only one, out of all of my children that I would ever trust with this. Tell me you're not giving up! Tell me!"
Maya nodded, she wanted to go back, she wanted it more than anything, more than the first time she came back to life, "Do it," she gasped, more water spilling from her mouth.
"Wake up!" Enzo cried desperately, tears falling as Maya wasn't responding, she couldn't die, not like this. "WAKE UP!" Maya's eyes flew open and she started coughing up water, "Oh thank God!" He turned her on her side, so she wouldn't choke, "That's it Love, breathe for me." Enzo cocked his head, he could hear sirens, the ambulance and police were almost there.
"Go," Maya gasped, gripping onto his hand tightly, despite the instruction.
"I'm not leaving you," Enzo shook his head.
"You can't stay," she coughed, now she could hear the sirens, they were seconds away, "Go!"
Enzo snarled and whooshed into the trees, she may have needed him out of sight, but she wouldn't leave his, not till he knew that she was safe. He watched as two ambulances pulled up, along with a police car. The other girl wasn't far from Maya, she was unconscious, whoever had pulled her out of the water was long gone, but Enzo didn't care, all he cared about was Maya.
Enzo burst through the doors of the Sommers home, soaking wet and panting, "Where the hell have you-" Damon cut himself off when he took in in the other man.
"Damon," Enzo gasped as he stumbled in, heading straight for the older vampire, he threw his arms around Damon's waist and broke down.
"Hey," Damon said quietly, his arms came up and cradled Enzo against him, "What happened? What's wrong?" He carded his fingers through Enzo's hair, unsure of how to comfort his broken partner.
Enzo tightened his grip on Damon, he needed a moment, to catch his breath, to process what he'd seen, what he'd heard, Maya still wasn't out of the woods, she fallen back into unconsciousness as she'd been loaded into the ambulance. "Maya's car went over the bridge," he finally managed.
"What?!" Damon stiffened, "What happened?!"
Enzo shook his head, burying his face further into Damon's neck, "I don't know, Jeremy called, said there was an accident, I ran and pulled her out of the car, out of the water." He swallowed heavily and looked Damon in his eyes, "She wasn't breathing, and I broke her ribs to get her heart beating again."
"Where is she?"
"On her way to the hospital."
Damon nodded, "Okay, okay, let's get you changed, you're soaking, we'll dry you off, and then go."
Jenna, Miranda and Jeremy were in the hospital waiting room, by the time they had gotten to the bridge paramedics were loading Maya and Elena into ambulances. So they'd gone straight to the emergency room, Jeremy had called Caroline after Enzo, she was already there waiting for them. Damon and Enzo arrived next, they got there in record time, but they had to hang back, couldn't make themselves known without raising suspicion, especially not with how Enzo had torn Maya's car up. As soon as the Sheriff's Department dredged the water and pulled the car out, there would be questions, questions that they didn't want directed at Jenna. So they stayed outside, hearing tuned into the waiting room.
Liz arrived at the hospital, and after speaking with an officer for a few minutes she came over to Miranda and Jenna. "Miranda, Jenna," Liz said, voice full of sympathy, "How are the girls?"
Jenna was still trembling and could barely speak, so Miranda did for her, "Elena's got a broken leg, they're going to set it now."
"And Maya?"
"She's in critical condition, her ribs are broken, she's got internal bleeding, they've taken her into surgery."
"I'm so sorry about this," Liz said, with Miranda as her best friend, and Maya as Caroline's, Liz had known both of the girls since they were born, she'd seen them laugh and cry, and she was just as worried for them, but as Sheriff, she had a job to do. "But we need to discuss what happened," she looked between the two women, "Maya was driving when they went over the bridge and-"
"Hold on!" Jenna snapped out of her despair when she heard what Liz was saying, "You're not actually implying that Maya was responsible for this accident?! Not when we all know what happened!" Jenna looked over at Miranda incredulously, her older sister torn between protecting her daughter and her niece.
"They crashed and we haven't been able to find any witnesses, what are you talking about?" Liz asked.
"Uh- Liz would you give Jenna and I a few minutes please, she's very distraught," Miranda said, tugging at her sister's hand.
Jenna pulled her hand away, "No! We know what happened!" Jenna insisted turning back to Liz, "Maya was on speaker phone, we heard everything!"
"What happened?" Liz asked, her 'Sheriff's' face on full display.
"Jenna-"
"No! You're not pinning this on Maya when it was Elena's fault!" Jenna exclaimed, getting the attention of more than a few people in the hospital, "She was drunk, distracting Maya! Maya kept telling her to stop it, and then, then we just heard them scream," she trailed off with a whimper, and fled the waiting room, not wanting anyone to see her break down.
Damon and Enzo stiffened as Jenna burst through the hospital doors, tears already falling, "You go," Damon said, "I'll check on Caroline and Jeremy."
Enzo nodded and went after her while Damon went inside as he heard the Sheriff follow Miranda who'd taken off in the other direction.
/ / /
"Hey!" Damon said, when he saw Caroline and Jeremy, both of them leaning on each other as they sobbed, "Hey come here," he said, pulling them both to him.
"Damon," Caroline cried, burying herself into his chest, Jeremy quickly following suit.
"Hey, hey it's okay," he said softly, reminded of the fact that they were both so young, "It'll be okay."
Caroline shook her head, sniffling, "They don't know what's wrong! She was awake and then she wasn't! And now she's in surgery!"
"Enzo got to her in time," Damon said, squeezing tightly, "And when she comes out of there, we'll pump her full of vampire blood, just to make sure. I promise." He said, terrified of what was going on. He needed answers from the doctors and he needed them soon, otherwise he'd go into that operating room and give her his blood himself.
/ / /
"Jenna!" Enzo called, jogging up to her.
"Enzo!" Jenna cried, throwing herself at him, "Thank you!" she sobbed, "Thank you!" no one knew how the girls had gotten out of the car, but Jeremy had told her that he'd called Enzo.
"It's alright," he held on as she trembled, "She'll be okay," he said, unsure, but knowing that he had to be strong for her.
"You can't know that," Jenna shook.
"Yes I can," he said, "She woke up! I pulled her out, and I got her breathing, and she woke up, she spoke to me, she's a fighter, she'll be okay."
"Thank you," she whispered, "I don't know what I'd do without you, if you hadn't been there, I can't even imagine-"
"Don't even talk like that. It'll never happen," he said, "I'll always be there for her, and you, she's not my only saviour, and I love you just as much." He whispered into her hair, "You're my family, I will always protect you, both of you."
/ / /
Damon could hear the Sheriff and Miranda come back, "I have to go."
"No," Jeremy sniffled, it had been over a year since his dad had died, and here Damon was, comforting him the way that a father might.
"Your mothers are coming back, Enzo almost ripped the car in half to get to Maya, they can't see me, but Enzo and I will be right outside. We can hear everything, but we can't be in here." He prised their fingers from him, "It'll be okay," he disappeared less than a second before the two women reappeared.
/ / /
Jenna went back inside as Damon came out, "So 'Aunt Miranda' is trying to keep the Sheriff from seeing her daughter before she talks to her alone," Damon said to Enzo, "My guess is to get her story straight."
Enzo snorted, "Well there are only two people that truly know what happened, and one of them is in surgery right now."
"Well maybe we should find out for ourselves," Damon said, "Only the doctors are with the cousin right now."
"Let's go," Enzo frowned, fully intending on ensuring that Elena Gilbert would tell the truth no matter what.
/ / /
Damon and Enzo whooshed back inside the hospital, avoiding anyone and everyone that could be a problem, while looking for Elena. Once they found her room, Enzo compelled the doctors away while Damon walked inside and froze. "Damon?" he asked, "Damon?" he shook the Salvatore by the shoulder and he snapped up to look at the Brit.
"She looks like her," Damon whispered.
"What?" Enzo asked.
"Katherine," Damon breathed, "She looks exactly like Katherine."
/ / /
Caroline rubbed her hands over her face as she tried to keep the tears at bay, her mother was still working the accident and Jeremy had been taken to see his sister by his mom. "Someone needs to let Klaus know what's happened." She said to Jenna.
"Oh God," Jenna breathed, she'd forgotten about him, she and Maya had spoken about the Original in depth, about Maya's feeling for the ancient vampire, and what she was supposed to do, because she didn't really know what Klaus wanted, besides some flirtatious looks and a few comments. Jenna hadn't had the chance to see how the two interacted, having spent the summer helping Miranda, so she had no idea how Klaus was going to react. "He's not going to react well, is he?"
Caroline shook her head, "No, I think it'll be bad, really bad, like biblical bad."
Jenna looked over at the younger girl with wide eyes, "I'm not calling him," she said finally, she was in no mood to deal with an angry Original Vampire. It wasn't happening, no way.
"Who's going to call him then?" Caroline asked.
Jenna gave her a look, "You could call Kol…"
"Kol's going to be just as bad!" the blonde protested.
"Well from what I understand he likes you the best."
"He likes Maya the best!" Caroline replied offended.
"Well then you're second best, either way, I'm not in primary contact with either of the Originals."
"Fine!" Caroline relented, "I'll call him, he can tell Klaus."
It was four p.m. in Sydney Australia when Kol's phone rang, "Caroline!" he purred with a smile, the whole time she had his number, she'd refused to call him, but perhaps she'd finally broken down and was ready to admit that she liked him, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Kol," she started cautiously, "Are you…alone, somewhere private?"
"I'm out in the city at the moment, why?"
"I need you to go somewhere without people. Now." Her voice brooked no argument, and it had Kol frowning, something was wrong.
"Give me a moment Darling." Kol whooshed out of the store that he was in and seconds later was at his home, away from everyone. "I'm alone now."
"You need to stay calm while I tell you this," she said slowly, "Because it's bad."
"What is it?" Kol's voice hardened.
"Maya was at family night, and her cousin, Elena, snuck out to a party, when Elena's mom found out, Maya volunteered to go and get her."
"You're stalling Darling, just tell me what's going on."
"Elena was drunk when Maya picked her up, they were on their way home and Elena was acting like a spoiled brat! She was shoving Maya while she was driving, the car was going over Wickery Bridge and Elena hit the wheel, they crashed, into the water."
"WHAT?!" There was no humour left in Kol, only anger, "WHERE IS MAYA NOW?! TELL ME!" he thundered.
"She's still in surgery, she has broken ribs and internal bleeding, and I don't what's going on because the doctors haven't come out yet," she broke down.
"Where's Damon and Enzo?"
"I don't know, they came out after they spoke to Elena to tell us what she did, but they can't be seen here. Kol," Caroline breathed, "Someone needs to tell Klaus."
Kol froze, no one had told Nik, and he understood why, the person they had to give Nik bad news was currently unconscious in surgery and no one knew when she'd be awake. "I'll take care of it."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm in Australia," he said, "Nik can't do anything to me here, but be aware, Nik's only 2000 miles away, at a push he could be there in 15 minutes."
"WHAT?!" Caroline almost screamed in shock, how was that even possible?
"We get faster every year, we're a thousand, and Nik will use the full extent of his abilities to get there, be ready."
The roar of anger that Klaus let out was almost deafening, it rang out through the compound and had the whole pack cowering back in fear as they knew it came from their leader. "Everyone back in your rooms! Now!" Cary ordered. He was surprised he wasn't shaking in terror, he never heard Klaus make that sound before, he'd never heard anyone make that sound before, but he knew that he needed to get the pack out of view, he wouldn't risk them against the Original's anger.
The pack were quick to follow instructions, including the Elders, who usually had more freedom than the rest of the pack, Cary made sure that everyone was hidden away before slowly making his way upstairs, "Klaus?" he asked, hearing crashing coming from the other side of the door. "Klaus I'm coming in, please don't kill me." He swallowed before opening the door, the Original was stood in the middle of a wreckage that was once his studio, chest heaving, vampire on full display. "I'm here to help, just tell me what you need."
Klaus snarled, the urge to kill right on the surface, but the earnestness in Cary's eyes had him holding off. "I'm going to Virginia, watch the pack."
"How long will you be gone?" Cary asked, "Just so I know what to tell the pack."
"Unknown," Klaus said, tossing Cary a credit card, "Use that for expenses."
"Are you going to take the car? Shall I take you to the airport?"
"It'll be faster if I run," Klaus said lowly, making a move to leave but Cary stopped him.
"Are you going to tell the kids?" he didn't need to elaborate on who the kids were, "We may look after them, but you're who they look to."
Klaus's jaw clenched as he thought about the two young children who had come to rely solely on him and nodded, he would swing by and speak to them before he left, he owed them that much.
/ / /
"Liam, Luna," Klaus said, walking into their room, Cary hadn't told the pack to leave their rooms yet, and he wouldn't while Klaus was still on the property. Liam was reading while Luna was colouring, both of them looked up at his entrance. "I'm leaving for a bit, I don't know how long I'll be gone, but while I am, you two will listen to Cary."
"No!" Luna exclaimed, running over to Klaus and wrapping her arms around his legs, "You can't go!"
Liam was calmer about it, but expressed the same sentiment as he came over to them, "You have to stay," he said, "You're our Alpha."
Klaus looked down at both of them, eyes wide, he hadn't realised how attached to him the children were, "I have to go."
"No!" Luna said again, tightening her grip, "No! You're not leaving!" She demanded.
Klaus pulled her away from his legs and crouched down, looking them both in the eye, "Do you remember the Witch that made you your rings?" he asked.
"Yes," Liam said and Luna nodded, she'd started crying.
"She is a very good friend of mine, and she's been hurt, quite badly, I have to make sure that she's okay."
Luna's little body shook as she tried to withhold her sobs, she remembered the woman that helped her, she gave her and her brother a gift that no one else had, "She's hurt?" she asked, voice small and fragile.
Klaus nodded, "She is, she's very important to me, and did me a great favour when I asked her to come and help you. So I have to go." He motioned for Liam to come closer and the young boy did. Klaus placed his hand on his shoulder, "I need you to look after your sister, can you do that for me?"
"Yes," Liam said, putting on a brave face.
"And you Sweetheart," Klaus turned back to Luna, "I need you to be brave for me, can you do that?" Luna nodded and threw herself at Klaus, he was surprised, but eventually moved to hug her.
"You'll come back?" she asked, telling him what she was really afraid of, her parents and her pack were gone, Klaus and her brother were the only constants that she had in her life, and she'd latched on quite tightly.
"I give you my word, I will come back," he locked eyes with Liam, "as soon as I can."
Liam nodded, his fists clenched at his side as he watched his sister hug Klaus, Klaus tugged the boy to him, and felt as his arms came up fairly hesitantly to hug him, but once they had, he held onto him quite strongly. "Please come back soon," he whispered.
"I promise."
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment as they make my day so much better!
Chapter 29: Doppelganger
Chapter Text
Caroline had been outside for half an hour after her conversation with Kol, she needed the air and wasn't sure whether or not Kol was being serious about the speed at which Klaus could travel. She got her answer seconds later, screaming in shock when he appeared in front of her. "Caroline," Klaus said.
"Kol said you could be here in 15, you're late," she breathed, taking in his dark demeaner.
"Where is she?"
"Still in surgery."
"Injuries?"
"Broken ribs, concussion, punctured lung and a liver laceration. It's bad. Really bad."
Klaus let out a low growl, "Where's the girl?"
Caroline's eyes widened, Klaus didn't look like he was playing around, "Klaus, Elena's her cousin."
"I won't ask again."
"Room 304," she sighed, she'd barely gotten the words out when he vanished from her sight.
"Damon look at me," Enzo said, the older vampire had been pacing the floor of the Sommers' living room since Enzo had dragged him out of the hospital.
"She looks like her Enzo! Exactly like her!" Damon exclaimed, "Now it all makes sense! Why Maya's always been on edge whenever I'm in town! Why she's always insisted on meeting away from Mystic Falls, even though this is my home too. She knew! She knew that Elena looked exactly like Katherine and she didn't want me to know!"
"Damn it Damon!" Enzo snapped, grabbing the other man by the shoulders with a scowl, "She didn't know!"
"Yes she did!"
"No! She didn't! Because if she knew, do you really think that she'd have invited you back to Mystic Falls?!" He shoved Damon back, "And how about you think about that for a second, she invited us, she was tired of always having us so far away so she asked us to come home, so that she could have her family around her! She didn't know!"
"How can you be so sure?!" Damon snapped back, his head was spinning with the possibilities.
"BECAUSE I'VE LOVED YOU FOR YEARS YOU IDIOT!" Enzo thundered, "I've loved you for years, and the only thing that stopped me from telling you was your obsession with Katherine. And Maya knew that! If she had known for one second that Elena looked like Katherine she never would have called us home, because she knows what I'm most afraid of Damon. And that's losing you, to her."
"Enzo," Damon faltered for a moment, had that really been holding his lover back this whole time? "You won't, I promise, I'm over Katherine."
Enzo scrubbed his hands over his face and sighed, "Are you really? I mean look at you, just one hint of something connected to Katherine and you're up in arms about it. Accusing someone who has shown you nothing but love and acceptance of maliciously hiding this secret from you." The hurt was written all over Enzo's face, "I don't want to argue about this with you, I'm going to the hospital, Jenna needs support and she's my family, call me when you get your head out of your arse."
"Enzo wait-" but it was too late, the younger vampire had sped out of the house, Damon sighed, how had things managed to get so screwed up?
A well dressed man walked into the office of his superior, holding a folder, "Mr Castle, sir," he said, waiting to be acknowledged.
Lucien was stood in front of a large window, looking out at the expanse of a city, drink in hand, frown on his face, he hated to be disturbed. He turned to face his underling, "What?"
"We've just received reports back from the Gamma, Delta and Theta sites, all three have been destroyed."
The vampire growled, "How many is that now?"
"Nine in total sir," the underling swallowed nervously.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't I put you in charge of security after the first facility was found and destroyed?" his voice was deadly calm.
"Yes sir."
"And weren't you the one who specifically asked for the assignment, insisting that you could do a better job than your predecessors?"
"Yes, but-" he was cut off with a hand around his throat.
"I didn't get to where I am today by accepting excuses! Failure is not an option for me!" he hissed, "And I don't give second chances!" He tore out the heart of his subordinate, dropping him and it on the floor. Moving over to his desk, he pressed a button on his office phone, "Rita darling, send someone to clean up a mess in my office."
"Yes Mr Castle," Rita said through the machine.
Sneering at the sight of the body on the floor, Lucien eyed the folder that the man had been holding, picking it up he flicked through the information, pausing at one particular page, "Well, well, what do we have here?"
Klaus shot out of the hospital, eyes black with rage, he'd gotten to Elena Gilbert's room, fully intent on ending the little twit's life and what does he find? The doppelgänger! The fucking doppelgänger! Of all the people in the world that Maya was connected to, it had to be the bloody doppelgänger! And why hadn't she told him about her? She knew that he was searching for her, knew that there would be no hiding her from him, especially when they were both so involved with one another, how did she think that this was going to play out? Did she think that she would be able to get around it?
He was fuming, both at Maya and at the doppelgänger, his need to destroy was overwhelming, and there was no one capable of assuaging his anger…well there was one, but she was under heavy anaesthesia being operated on. Growling he sped out of Mystic Falls, he needed to kill and he needed to do it immediately.
Damon had bolted from the Sommers' house shortly after Enzo had left, he was upset and frustrated with both himself and Maya, he'd fucked up, but he wasn't ready to admit it. He needed alcohol and blood, in copious amounts, so he'd run to the capital city, in order to get both.
Damon had found himself in a biker bar, in the seedier part of Richmond, giving a sardonic smirk, he compelled himself a bottle, at least he wouldn't have to feign guilt when the people in the bar died. He'd compelled them all to go about their business unless he interacted with them, and to stay within the bar at all times, there would be no running, no hiding, no one would survive that night, not if he had anything to say about it.
The eldest Salvatore had his face buried in the neck of one of his victims when Klaus found him, drawn in by the screams and the scent of blood, his eyes lit up as he witnessed his best friend already covered with the grisly remains of his first two kills. "Damon!" He called, walking inside, "Did you know?"
Damon's head snapped up, locking eyes with the Original, giving him a sarcastic, bloody grin, "Did I know what? Did I know that Mystic Falls housed an exact copy of the woman I loved for 140 years? Did I know that the cousin Maya has been bitching about for years is the one that you've been searching for, for 500 years?" Damon threw his head back, letting out a hollow laugh, before the smile disappeared completely, "What do you think?"
Klaus looked more deadly than ever, stepping further inside the filthy establishment, "Well then, let's have a chat shall we?"
"Jenna," Miranda said, "Jenna!" she called, when her sister ignored her. Jenna made to leave the waiting room, when Miranda grabbed her arm and turned her around, "Will you please just talk to me?!"
Jenna whirled on her older sister, "What?! What could you possibly have to say to me? Hmm? After what you implied with Liz! Why would you think that I have anything to say to you?!"
Miranda held her hands up in surrender, "I just wanna talk, I didn't mean to say that this was Maya's fault, please just talk to me."
Jenna pursed her lips, "Fine. You have five minutes to convince me that you weren't just trying to throw my daughter under the bus."
"Ok," Miranda said, motioning for her sister to sit, very aware of the eyes that were on the two of them, nothing ever happened in Mystic Falls and now there were two potential scandals that were unfolding before everyone's eyes. "I never meant to imply that Maya was the sole cause of the crash, I know that Elena had a lot to do with it, but Maya should share the blame, she was distracted."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Jenna said, eyes wide, as she stared at her sister in disbelief, "My daughter is in surgery right now, fighting for her life, and you want to say that this is partly her fault!" Jenna's voice raised as her anger did.
"Jen- there's no need to yell."
"Oh I'm gonna yell! YOUR DAUGHTER WAS DRUNK, ELENA COULDN'T KEEP HER GOD DAMN HANDS TO HERSELF AND IS THE REASON MY DAUGHTER NEARLY DIED. GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEAD!"
"Jenna!"
"Mom!"
Caroline pulled Jenna away from Miranda, while Jeremy did the same with his mother, separating the two, it wouldn't do either of them, or their kids, any good if they continued to make a scene.
/ / /
It was early in the afternoon when Miranda was sat in the hospital room with her daughter, Elena had been weaned off of the stronger painkillers, so that Liz could speak to the young girl and get her perspective on the events leading up to the crash. Miranda looked over at her daughter nervously, as Liz walked in with one of her deputies, Elena had been oddly quiet. She supposed that her daughter could have been shaken up by the accident, but her gut told her it was something else. Frowning she looked to the now closed door, her conversation with Jenna had not gone the way she'd wanted it to, and now the Sheriff was here to talk to her daughter. She hoped that the conversation she'd had with Elena had stuck in the young girl's head.
"Miranda, Elena," Liz said as the deputy closed the door, "I think we need to have a talk."
"I don't think this is the best time Liz, Elena's not had much sleep and she's on pain relief."
"The doctor assures me that she's on a very low dose," the Sheriff replied, "And after your argument with Jenna last night, I think it's best that we talk now before anything else is said."
"Mom?" Elena asked, "What argument?"
"It's nothing Sweetheart," Miranda shook her head, not wanting to get into it with Elena now, "Just- do you feel up to answering some questions? Or do you think it's better to wait till you get home?" she emphasised, hoping that Elena would pick up the cue.
For a second it looked like Elena understood, but then she spoke, "I'm fine to talk to the Sheriff," Elena's brow furrowed in confusion for a moment.
"Good," Liz nodded, "I want to make it clear, no one is in trouble here, I just need to get a better picture of what happened last night."
"Okay," Elena nodded.
"So why don't you tell me how you ended up in Maya's car?"
"Maya said that she'd come to get me, and I wasn't going to go with her, it's not like we like each other, but then I saw Matt and I- I didn't want to deal with him, so I went to the car."
"Matt?" Liz asked, "Isn't he your boyfriend?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you want to speak with him?"
"He just…wanted to talk about the future, and I wasn't in the mood, it wasn't anything serious, it's not like we were having an argument or anything."
"Alright, you said that you and Maya don't get along, and that's no secret, I think everybody in town knows that, but you got into her car anyway."
"I did," Elena said a little hesitantly.
"Why did you take Wickery Bridge instead of the more direct route home?"
"There was a tree down in the road," Elena was relaxing into the questions now, "We didn't have a choice."
Liz was about to start the more serious questions, "How many drinks did you have last night Elena."
"Elena-" Miranda started to say, but was cut off by a sharp look from the Sheriff.
"I don't know, five or six maybe," Elena's eyes widened, she shouldn't have said that, she didn't mean to, why did she?
The Sheriff frowned, "Did you see anyone or anything in the road that caused you to swerve off the bridge?"
"No," Elena said, a tremor in her voice.
"What happened immediately prior to the accident, in that car, between you and Maya?"
"I-" Elena didn't want to say it, but she felt compelled to, "I shoved her, a couple of times and my hand hit the wheel, and then the car went over."
Liz sighed, she was hoping that that wasn't the case, "And after the accident, do you know how you got out of the car? Onto the bank?"
Elena shook her head, she had no idea how she'd managed to get back on land, as the water rose in the car, she'd thought that she was going to die, she'd had no idea how it had happened. "I'm sorry, I don't know."
"Alright, I'm going to have to speak with Maya to confirm your story."
"Am I going to be in trouble?" Elena asked worriedly, she looked over at her mother, who was looking equally worried.
"Honestly Elena, Miranda, if were you I'd get a lawyer. You're not under arrest now, but you could be, very soon."
Damon sat back in a booth, as he surveyed the carnage he and Klaus had wrought, there was blood and viscera everywhere, glancing upwards he frowned, how did brains get on the ceiling? Shaking his head he motioned for Klaus to join him once he dropped the last body, finally everyone in the bar was dead. "Do you think we went overboard?" he asked, he was much calmer now that he'd released his bloodlust.
"Maybe," Klaus shrugged, he was still pissed, but his rage had decreased from 'Wrath of God' to 'Hulk' level anger.
"I'm going talk to Enzo," Damon ran his hand through his hair, "I fucked up."
"I left the hospital before seeing Maya," Klaus said, "But I still have the urge to kill her, so I should probably stay here, murder a few more of the locals to take the edge off."
Damon nodded, "Probably for the best, but for what it's worth, what Enzo said, it makes sense. Maya's done a lot for you, at the expense of herself, her health, her sanity, she never had to help you Nik, just keep you alive. And if she doesn't remember that Elena is who you've been looking for, tell her, see her reaction for yourself. Decide if you believe her or if she's been lying to you."
Maya had been put into a private room, curtesy of a little 'persuasion', she'd woken almost immediately when she was brought to recovery, but the anaesthesia was keeping her groggy, she'd fallen asleep shortly after she'd come back. The nurses had brought in a cot for her mother to rest on, and right now Jenna was curled up in Enzo's arms, just waiting for Maya to wake up again. Enzo held Jenna tight to him, running his fingers through her hair, offering her comfort and support. "Jeremy's the one who called me, you know." He said.
"Hmm?"
"Jeremy, he called me, he said that Maya's car went over the bridge, it was all I needed to hear, and I was there, I've never been so scared in my life."
"Me too," Jenna whispered, "If I had lost her- I don't know what I would have done."
"You're not going to lose her."
"You don't know that! Not for certain, this life, this world that she's a part of, it's dangerous, and I can't protect her, I'm not equipped to." She sighed and then looked up at Enzo as something occurred to her, "But you are."
"What do you mean?" Enzo asked.
"When we moved her to the hospital in New York, you gave her your blood."
"I didn't know you knew about that."
"Caroline told me."
"I should have told you," Enzo said, "I only did it because-"
"Because if she died with your blood in her system, it would mean that she would come back," Jenna cut in, "I can't lose her."
"What are you saying Jenna?"
"Now that you and Damon are here, I want you to give her your blood. Every day."
"Jenna that would mean that-"
"I know what it means!" she cut him off, "It means that I won't lose her! So you give her your blood, every day, without fail."
"She'd be a vampire, there's a lot that comes with that."
"I don't care," Jenna replied, "Look at me when I say this, you're a vampire and I love you, if she were a vampire, I'd love her too. Because it would mean that she would be alive, I mean look at this!" she gestured to her daughter's prone form, "This was a car accident, a damn accident! Not supernatural! And she nearly died! She did die! I can't go through this again! This is the second time in as many years that she's been in this position, my daughter. I can't do this again! It'll kill me."
"Hey, hey, hey, calm down, alright, I don't want to lose her either, but this is a discussion that she needs to be a part of, if it's what she wants then I swear, I'll mix my blood in with her morning tea."
"Ugh," Maya moaned out, blinking awake, "Don't do that, it'll ruin my tea."
"Sweetheart!"
"You're awake!"
It was evening by the time that Klaus had finally calmed down enough to go and see Maya, speak to her, find out the truth. He'd changed out of his bloody clothing and was stood just outside her room, waiting for the nurse to finish with her check up. Jenna and Enzo had gone to the cafeteria for dinner, which gave him the opportunity to see his Little Siphon alone. The nurse came out and Klaus stopped her, "When Miss Sommers and her friend come back, tell her that the doctor's going through routine tests with Maya, don't let anyone disturb us," he compelled.
Maya wasn't paying attention when he walked in, readjusting herself in her bed, so that she didn't see him. Klaus was all set to light into her, about the accident, about her cousin, but the moment he saw her, he couldn't stop himself. He strode up to her, cupping her face in one hand, "Nik wh-" She was cut off by his lips on hers, he kissed her, long and slow and deep, like he couldn't get enough, and Maya moaned in response, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in closer. "Nik," she whispered, as she pulled back a little.
"Shut up," he said, pulling her back to him and kissing her again. When Kol had told him about the accident, he'd been furious, vengeful, full of rage, and he was still all of those things, but he'd also been terrified. The closest he could describe it, was feeling the white oak stake against his back, that night in New Orleans, when his father burnt down the city. And the relief that he'd felt when he saw her, alive, awake, it had flooded him, and he couldn't help himself, he needed to be close to her. Eventually, when he'd had his fill, Klaus pulled back, leaning his forehead against hers, "The doctors said that you died."
"It didn't take," she replied.
"Your heart stopped; you weren't breathing."
"I drowned, I died, I wasn't coming back," she couldn't tell her mother this, or Caroline, or Enzo, and Damon was nowhere to be found, Klaus was the only one she could talk to. "I thought- no I knew that I wasn't coming back, people come back from death all the time, but part of my deal with him is that I don't get to do that, not once I've passed the threshold."
Klaus clenched a fist, holding back his fury, "But you're here."
"He did something, this is the first time that I've been born a Siphon, a Child of Death twice over, he used that, twisted it, changed something, inside of me. Something's different, I can feel it."
Before his rage boiled over he spoke, "We need to talk."
"About what?" she asked, her hands were on his chest, fingers clenched tightly in his shirt, while Klaus had one hand, warming her thigh.
"About the doppelgänger."
"What about her?" Maya asked confused, she wasn't expecting Klaus to want to discuss the doppel-bitch when she was sure that he'd be more interested in her, even if that did sound a little selfish.
"You're cousin is the doppelgänger," he replied disbelievingly.
"What?" Maya gave a little laugh, "No she's not." When Klaus didn't say anything she continued, "She's not! If she was I'd know it, there's no way that Elena Gilbert's the doppelgänger!"
Klaus frowned, and put his free hand on her head, showing her an image of Katherine, back when he first met her, when she was human, "You see?"
"Oh my God," Maya whispered, as new memories or visions flooded into her mind, "My cousin's the doppelgänger! Elena's the doppelgänger." Her eyes widened and she looked at Klaus, what that meant clicking in place, "Oh my God Nik! Elena's the doppelgänger! I swear, I had no idea!"
Klaus could see a flash of fear in her eyes and his gut clenched, she'd never been afraid of him before, never, not even when he'd bitten her when he was in a blind rage after learning the truth his brother had hidden from him. She was afraid of him now though and he didn't want that. He traded in fear, hell he couldn't deny the thrill he felt when he saw the tell-tale look in someone's eyes when they realised that there was no way out for them. But on her, that look made him feel like the monster that many accused him of being. "She's your cousin."
"That doesn't matter to me! I have spent years trying to help you break your curse! I nearly died finding the moonstone! You saw me with your mother and your father. I don't care that Elena's the doppelgänger, I will serve her up on a silver platter if I have to! I'd do it for you!"
"Why?" Klaus frowned, "Why would you betray your family like that? For me?"
"Why are you here?" Maya asked, her form trembling as her painkillers started to wear off.
"What?!"
"Why are you here Nik? I have Enzo, he was here, he took care of me, he saved me! I'm alive, and you're Klaus Mikaelson! You didn't need to come all this way to see me, to check on me. So why did you?"
Klaus didn't need to think about his answer, he knew why he was there, "Because you're mine."
Maya nodded, "That's why I'll give you Elena, because I am yours, I think I have been since before we ever met." She swallowed, moving her hands up to his face, thumbs running along his cheekbones, "I know trust doesn't come easily to you, but if I'd remembered, I would have told you, I need you to believe me."
There was nothing but pleading and sincerity in her eyes, and Klaus dipped forward, kissing her again, "I believe you," he finally said.
"You do?" she asked with a shaky breath and he nodded, when the fear in her eyes faded away, his gut unclenched, "Thank you for coming for me." She winced as pain lanced through her abdomen, she'd been sitting up for too long.
"Come on Love," Klaus helped move her, "Lie down." He sat down next to her, allowing her to rest against him.
"I wish I could have some blood," she sighed, "But mom says I can't until I'm out of the hospital and the investigation's over."
"What are they investigating?"
"99% of the time the driver's at fault for the accident, but Elena interfered with my ability to drive. Aunt Miranda says that because Elena was drunk, she wasn't in her right mind, but mom says that because she was drunk, she broke the law. So now they're in an argument and the Sheriff is stuck in the middle of it."
"You're telling me that your cousin caused the accident and now they're trying to get her out of her punishment?"
"I guess," Maya replied, resting her head on his chest, "I'm not really in the mood to deal with it."
"I will," Klaus growled.
"Nik you can't kill her, you need her for the ritual."
"I need her alive yes, but that doesn't mean that she needs all her limbs."
"You can't do that Nik," Maya let out a little laugh.
"And why not?"
"This crash, it signifies the start of everything."
"Everything?"
"Katherine's going to find out about Elena soon, she's going to come to town. Try and use Elena to bargain for her freedom."
Klaus tensed, "You're certain about this?"
"I saw someone that looks like Elena stab Uncle John and cut off his fingers off, I'm pretty sure that wasn't my stupid cousin."
"You want me to just leave the doppelgänger alone here?"
"Compel some minions to keep an eye on her, but keep them out of sight. Caroline put a fake moonstone in Mayor Lockwood's safe so when Katherine comes back for it, she won't know."
"And how long do you expect me to wait before I can break my curse?"
"You'll break your curse before I turn eighteen," she said with absolutely certainty.
"How do you know?"
She shot him an unimpressed look, "Really? You're really going to ask me that?"
Klaus held his hands up in surrender, "My apologies Love but what's your plan for Katerina?"
"She's going to come here for the moonstone, you need it for your ritual and she doesn't know that's it's a fake. So I'll spell it, the moment she touches it, it'll knock her out, and then I'll lock her away." A smile crept onto her face, "Maybe in the tomb that she was meant to be stuck in for a 145 years."
Klaus let out a dark chuckle, "So simple, and yet so devious," he tilted her chin up so her eyes locked with his, "You know, there's a dark side to you that I find so attractive."
"That's probably not a good thing," she replied blushing.
"Probably not, but that's not going to stop me," he leant forwards and kissed her again.
/ / /
Caroline walked in and found Maya curled up asleep against Klaus, "Klaus!" Caroline hissed. "You're not meant to be here!"
"Caroline," he said quietly, "I told the nurses that I didn't want to be disturbed."
The blonde rolled her eyes, "Maya and I have been sneaking in and out of places since we were five, if you think that a compelled nurse is going to stop me, then you're not as smart as you think you are."
Klaus narrowed his eyes at her, "You're lucky Maya likes you so much."
"No, you're lucky that Maya likes you so much," she retorted sassily, dropping into a chair and kicking her feet up on the bed. "What are you going to do about Elena?" at his raised brow she continued, "Come on Klaus, there's no way you're letting this go, I'm not, and I'm not really in a position to do anything about it."
Klaus frowned, he didn't like that he was being so easily read by the two girls, "I have some ideas."
/ / /
Klaus had slipped out when Jenna and Enzo came back to the room, and headed straight for Elena's, there was no one in there with her, which made now the perfect time to see her. "Hello Elena."
Elena's eyes widened, "Who are you?" she asked, moving to sit up.
"Oh no need to get up," he slid the door closed and walked over to her, "I'm Klaus, you don't know me, but I know you, I'm a friend of your cousin's, Maya, the girl you nearly killed."
"Look I don't know what you've been told but I didn't- I didn- I-" no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the words out.
"I wouldn't bother, you see you've been compelled to tell the truth when it comes to the accident, no matter what, so whatever lies you keep trying to get out, won't."
"What are you talking about? Compelled?"
Klaus let his vampire show, "Don't move, don't scream, don't make a sound," he compelled, "You see Elena, I'm a vampire, a vampire that has a very special interest in keeping Maya Sommers safe and alive, at all costs. Now I can't punish you for what you've done the way I want to, but that doesn't mean that you won't be punished."
"From now on you are going to be plagued with terrible nightmares about the accident. They're going to keep you up at night, sometimes you'll even wake screaming. There will be one way to stop them though, apologise to Maya, face-to-face, for causing the accident, of course you're not going to remember how to the stop the nightmares, you're going to have figure that out all on your own."
Klaus gave a cruel smile at the fear in her eyes, "You're not going to remember me, not what I look like, not what I sound like, not my name, but anytime that you hear the name Klaus, you are going to be filled with terror, because you are going to know deep in your gut, that I'm going to kill you, and enjoy doing it. And just for good measure you won't tell anyone about the fear you feel when you hear my name, it'll be a terror that you have to live with, on your own. Now the moment I leave, every bit of this compulsion will take effect, and you can go back to normal. Do you understand?" She couldn't say anything and Klaus rolled his eyes, "You can speak now."
"Yes I understand."
"Good, I'll be seeing you Elena." He stood and vanished from the room, Elena's eyes glazed over for a moment before she looked around a little confused, what was she doing? Shaking her head she leaned back in bed and closed her eyes, she should try to get some sleep.
/ / /
Maya was squashed in her hospital bed with Caroline on one side, Jenna on the other, and Enzo and Klaus on the couch, "Did the doctors say when I could leave?" Maya asked.
"A couple more days, the doctors want to keep an eye on you."
"Ugh," Maya groaned, "I got to stay here in pain when a shot of blood will heal me right away?"
"It'll take more than one shot of blood to fix you up Sweetheart," Enzo said.
"I don't care how much blood it takes 'Zo, I'd just really like to be able to get up, move, not worry about my concussion or my severely damaged insides."
Enzo winced, "Yeah sorry about that Love."
"Don't apologise," Maya said, "The pain is better than being dead," she gave him a little smile, and he nodded in response, "Besides, it's not even the worst part."
"What is?" Caroline asked curiously.
"The worst part, is my car was totalled," Maya complained, frowning at the thought of her perfect little convertible sitting at the bottom of the water.
"That's the worst part?!" Caroline exclaimed, "You could have died!"
"I wasn't hurt that badly," Maya dismissed, "The doctor said that all my bleeding was internal, that's where all the blood is supposed to be!"
"Maya!" Caroline moved to smack her and she held up her hands in defence.
"Concussion Caroline! Concussion!" she reminded her.
Caroline huffed, "You're not funny."
"I'm hilarious!"
"I disagree," Jenna said, looking just as displeased as the young blonde.
"What? You all look so serious! I'm here, alive, talking, I'm fine."
Maya managed to convince her mom to go home and get a shower, she'd be back later, Enzo and Klaus were out fresh feeding, and Caroline had been taken home by her mother, for the first time in days she was alone. Letting out a breath Maya sighed, she hadn't seen Damon yet, she was getting worried, and sad. She covered her face with her hands as she leant back in bed, and the door slid open.
"Hey," she heard a voice say and she looked up at the sound.
"Damon," Maya said, trying to be strong, but it wasn't working, all she wanted to do was burst into tears, so that's what she did.
Damon's eyes widened as he saw her start to cry, and he whooshed towards her, "Don't cry Red," he wrapped his arms around her, "Please don't."
"I didn't think that you were coming," she almost sobbed, "I thought you hated me!"
"I don't hate you," Damon said, holding her tighter, "I'm sorry Honey, I didn't mean to make you feel like this. I had to work somethings out."
"About Elena," Maya sniffled, curling into his chest.
"Yeah," he admitted.
"I didn't remember Damon, I swear."
"I know you didn't, it just took some time to work it's way to the surface, I should have been here sooner. I should have been here when you woke up."
Maya shook her head, "It's okay, I know how much Katherine meant to you, I understand, you needed time, I'm not mad at you. I'm just happy you're here."
"Hey, hey look at me," he pulled back so that he could see her face, "I'm probably never going to say this again, but I love you. You've given me more than I could ever possibly imagine getting in my life, because I'm not a good person, and I'll be the first to admit that I don't deserve anything that you've given me. But you don't care do you?" she shook her head, "So I love you, I'm not angry at you, not anymore."
"I love you too."
Notes:
If you can, please leave a comment, as they make me feel great!
Chapter 30: Los Angeles
Chapter Text
It was two days later when Maya finally got to go home, she sighed in delight as Klaus deposited her on the living room couch, "Liz is coming round after her shift to get your statement!" Jenna called from the kitchen, frowning she came into the living room, "We have absolutely nothing to eat. So I'm going to order in."
"I'm sure that Sunshine said that she'd re-stocked the fridge in anticipation of my arrival home," Maya replied, looking at her mother with suspicion.
"Fine!" Jenna rolled her eyes, "I can't be bothered to make anything so I'm ordering!"
Maya smirked at looked over at Klaus, "What she means is that she can't cook and I'm not supposed to be in the kitchen so she's gonna order."
"Hey!" Jenna exclaimed offended, and threw a cushion at her daughter, one that Maya flicked away with a wave of her hand.
"I'm severely injured! Stop throwing things at me!" Maya turned to Klaus, "What are you just sitting there for, protect me!"
"I think that even injured, you've got protecting yourself covered," Klaus smirked, and looked over at Jenna, "Damon's an excellent cook, why don't you just get him to make something?"
"Why am I being volunteered for kitchen duty?" Damon groaned.
"Because we're hungry and you make good food," Maya shrugged leaning back on the sofa, "Now go and make me a sandwich!"
Damon shot her a scowl, "You're lucky you're injured," he stormed off towards the kitchen.
"Damon seems extra pouty today," Klaus mused.
"Oh that's just because it took him three years to get an invite into this house," Enzo said, lifting Maya's legs and putting them in his lap, "And you only had to ask once before Jenna let you in."
"I've got to keep Damon on his toes!" Jenna defended.
"I heard that!" Damon called from the other room, causing Maya to burst into laughter.
"So where's this Nik I've heard so much about?" Jeremy asked nervously, looking around Maya's room, as though the Original would pop out at any moment, his mom was busy dealing with Elena's lawyer and his sister was laid up at home thanks to her broken leg so he'd snuck over to his aunt's house.
"Out with Damon and Enzo, they need to eat and deal with some…issues."
"So we're not going to see him…?"
"Chill Jer, he's not that scary," Maya dismissed, leaning back against the headboard.
"Really?"
"No," Maya admitted, "He's terrifying, to everyone, except me, because I'm you know…awesome."
"Yeah sure," Jeremy rolled his eyes.
Maya snorted in amusement as she pulled him closer to her, "But seriously, I'd think you'd like him, he's an artist you know?"
"Really?" Jeremy asked sceptically.
"Honestly!" Maya insisted, "He's amazingly talented!" she waved her hand and her grimoire appeared from it's hiding place and floated over, "See, he painted all of this," she gestured at the front and back covers, "And that painting in the family den, he did that too."
"Wow," the sheer amount of detail was impressive, "He really did this?"
"Uh-huh," Maya nodded, "He knew Leonardo Da Vinci."
"Shut up, he did not!"
"He did! And he knew Michelangelo, Botticelli, Monet, and basically all of the famous artists from the Renaissance."
"That's nuts," Jeremy said, "I know he's a vampire, but thinking about all the things that he's witnessed, the history that he's lived through, it's insane!" Jeremy was mind blown when he met Damon and Enzo, and compared to Nik, they were babies.
"You do realise that technically I'm like 6000 years old?"
"Yeah but you can't remember any of it, it's way less impressive," Jeremy shrugged.
"Less impress- less impressive! You're such a little shit!" she shoved him.
"I saved your life! No shoving!" Jeremy laughed, falling out of the bed as she gave him a little extra push with her magic, "And no magic! That's cheating!"
"I am severely injured, magic's all I got!"
"Stop using that as an excuse!" Jeremy jumped up from the floor with a grin, "I am The Saviour!"
"Don't call yourself that!" Maya groaned.
"It's my Superhero name!"
"That's terrible!"
"It's the best name ever!"
"So lame!"
"So cool," Jeremy insisted.
The Sheriff had left Jenna's house for the final time that week, she'd just let Maya and Jenna know what the final decision was regarding Elena, 100 hours of community service and she had been banned from driving for a whole year, it was less than she deserved, Maya had thought, but as a minor, and with it being Elena's first offence, she'd gotten off easily. Miranda had also been ordered to pay Jenna for the cost of the car that had been totalled, not that Jenna cared about that, she'd wanted an admission of guilt from Elena, an apology from both her and her mother and hadn't received either. It was putting a strain on Jeremy, being stuck in the middle of the family, Elena was his sister and he loved her, but he loved Maya too, he knew that Elena was to blame, but he didn't want to take sides.
Maya had mostly just ignored the news, her surgery meant that she wasn't going to be in school for the last few weeks of the year, and Damon had worked his own 'magic' to make sure that she could move into her Junior year in September, without having to finish off her assignments. She'd just been waiting for Liz to give her the sentencing news so that she knew when she could finally get some vampire blood in her and heal up her wounds. She wasn't the only one waiting, the moment the Sheriff had left, Klaus swept into her room, "Your mother said that she's getting you out of town," he said.
"Yeah," Maya nodded, "I can't take vampire blood and heal and stay in town, it would be too suspicious. So I get some blood and spend the Summer outside of Mystic Falls, it's a win-win, I'll need the break anyway, when I come back…" she sighed, "I have to prepare for Katherine."
"I know I said that I liked your plan, but Katerina's dangerous."
"You're sending vampires to town aren't you?"
"I am," he nodded.
"So have them keep an eye on me," she shrugged.
"You'd really be okay with that?"
"It's not like you weren't going to do it anyway," she smirked.
Klaus looked away for a moment, "I'm due to leave in the morning, I have to get back to the pack."
Maya frowned, she was going to miss him, but she knew that he was needed elsewhere, "How are the kids?" she asked, "The moonlight rings still working?" She was curious, Klaus had barely mentioned the children when they talked, but she could feel that they were important to him. He was Klaus Mikaelson, he didn't ask for help, but he'd asked both her and Kol to help the kids, for him.
"They're doing well, they're still wary of most of the pack, especially since they were gifted those very fine pieces of jewellery, but they're good."
"No nightmares? No behavioural issues? I mean they lost everything."
"There haven't been any problems, why are you so interested?"
"I've just been thinking about them lately."
"What have you been thinking?" Klaus asked, he moved further into her room, sitting on her bed and gently pulled her towards him.
Maya rested against his chest, wincing as the shift tugged on her stitches, "I think they're lucky to have you."
Klaus stiffened, "What do you mean?"
"As an Alpha, a protector, whatever capacity they have you in… they're lucky."
"No one has ever been lucky to have me in their lives," he said, "I am the monster that monsters are afraid of."
"I'm lucky to have you," Maya insisted, and she reached up and stroked the talisman around her neck, "I wouldn't have this without you…it means that I can defend myself, when there are people out there that want me dead just for existing. And those kids, they wouldn't be alive without you either, because without you, I wouldn't have known that they needed help. And I wouldn't have known how to help them if you hadn't have shown me that ring. So yeah, they're lucky to have you, and I think they know that."
"Well…I suppose we can agree to disagree on that," Klaus dismissed, "I think it's finally time for you to get some blood in your system."
"Yes!" Maya exclaimed, giving a little fist pump, "My insides hurt so badly, please give me your blood," she held up her hand before Klaus could bite into his wrist, "But try not to overcook me this time. The crash really sucks."
He snorted in amusement, "I'll keep that in mind," he bit into his wrist and placed it against her lips.
Maya was quick to open her mouth and she swallowed down as much of his blood as possible, as the wound started to close, she sank her teeth into him, and Klaus let out a little groan at her unexpected move. His skin tore, his blood flooded her mouth, and she moaned, it shouldn't have tasted so good, but to her it did. She did it again and Klaus let her, blood exchanges were intimate for vampires, but he was letting her, because a part of him wanted that connection, needed it, craved it. But when she went in for a third helping, he pulled his arm away and she mewled in protest, "Sorry Love, but that's enough."
Maya turned to face him, eyes glazed over in a haze of pleasure, blood on her lips and all around her mouth, Klaus's gaze turned heated, she was a messy eater. His vampire bubbled to the surface, and he swooped in to kiss her, licking the blood from around her mouth, his own, but it still tasted good, and she responded. She turned her body to face him fully, pressing herself into him, "This doesn't mean anything," she whispered, pulling back for a moment to catch her breath. "You need to stop kissing me," she said, before leaning in again, she couldn't help herself, he was a very good kisser.
"I think you're the one kissing me." He pulled her closer, lifting her so that she was straddling him.
"Nope it's all you," she mumbled against his mouth, "But I need you to tell me that this is nothing."
"Why?"
"Because I'm still in high school, I'm not letting you cloud everything just because you're a good kisser."
"Oh, I'm more than just a good kisser," Klaus grinned, "I could show you."
"Mmm," Maya pulled all the way back, "Absolutely not!"
"Why not?!" Klaus laughed.
"Because I said so, I'm not letting your thousand years' worth of experience ruin me before I even get out of high school!"
"So you admit there is something between us!"
"Oh please, we both saw that vision, you know I'm going to sleep with you eventually," she pouted.
"You don't need to look so down about it Love."
"I can feel the smugness rolling off of you, I hate it!"
"You find it attractive," he smirked.
"Ugh, just shut up and kiss me," she leant down and pressed her lips against his again.
Caroline found Maya packing her stuff into a suitcase, "So where are you guys going?" she asked, it was going to suck having to go to school without her for the next few weeks, but she knew that her friend couldn't stay in Mystic Falls now that she was uninjured.
"Nik doesn't want us in New York, Kol's still travelling and he's staying in Arizona, so Enzo's extended our stay in California. I'm probably just going to spend my time relaxing in the Sun on the beach."
"I hate you," Caroline pouted.
"Don't be jealous Sunshine," Maya smirked, "It's only like a month and half and then you can join us."
"I hate you," the blonde repeated causing Maya to laugh.
"Well if you hate me, then I guess I don't have to tell you this juicy gossip that I have."
"How juicy?"
"The juiciest."
Caroline's eyes narrowed, "Tell me everything."
"I did something bad, and stupid, and very very bad."
"What did you do?"
Maya winced, anticipating the reaction that she was going to get from her best friend, "I made out with Nik, in my room…on my bed, we made out a lot."
"WHAT?!" Caroline almost screamed.
"Keep it down!" Maya hissed.
"Wha-when? How? When? When?!"
"You already asked that."
"Damn it Mai! Tell me everything!"
"It started when he came to the hospital-"
"When he came to the hospital! That was days ago! You didn't tell me for days?!"
"There were way too many ears at the hospital! Damon and Enzo and Nik were all there, I wasn't going to say anything when they could all hear!"
"Well you're saying something now! Spill!" she snapped her fingers.
"Don't you click your fingers at me!"
"I swear to God if you don't start talking right now, I'm telling Jenna."
"Oh my God fine! He came into my room, and I didn't notice at first, but then all of a sudden he was in front of me, and- and his hand was on my cheek, and his lips were on mine, and then he was kissing me, and it was long and slow and it wasn't like the kiss he gave me last year when he thanked me for finding the moonstone!" She was blurting it out now, "Because that was just quick, like really quick! And it was nothing like the kiss I gave him in December when he came to check on us after we'd been attacked by those Werewolves. I mean that was just a peck! Like the 'peckiest' of pecks!"
"Yo-you've kissed him before?! He's kissed you before?!" Caroline asked with wide eyes.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you that didn't I?" Maya palmed her face and groaned, she was in trouble now, and she was. Caroline jumped on her, attacking her with slaps wherever she could.
"How. Could. You. Not. Tell. Me. This!"
"Care-"
"I'm. Your. Best. Friend!"
"Care-"
Caroline stopped, she was on top of Maya holding her friend's arms down, "Does Enzo know? Did you tell him before you told me?!"
"Enzo doesn't know!" Maya replied, she was really going to have to do something about Enzo and Caroline's rivalry.
"Finish the story."
"What?"
"You said you made out with Klaus in your room, on your bed, which means you kissed him again, after the kiss in the hospital!"
"It was yesterday," Maya admitted, "After your mom left with the news about Elena, I could have blood, because my part in the whole 'information providing thing' was done. So he came up to my room, we talked for a little bit, and then he fed me his blood."
"And?"
"And then when I was done, he kissed me, and I kissed him back, a lot, and then I was straddling him and we were making out, and then I told him that it meant nothing."
"WHAT?!" Caroline shrieked.
"Oh for the love of-" Maya flipped them over, "Keep you voice down!" she said straddling Caroline.
"Why would you say that?!"
"I told him that I didn't want him to 'ruin' me while I'm still in high school."
Caroline frowned, "Ruin?"
"Ruin me."
"Oh."
"Yeah!"
"I bet he was smug about that."
"He was! So smug!" Maya backed off so that she was sitting on top of Caroline's thighs, and crossed her arms, "And he knows! He knows that he would ruin me! And he laughed at me! I told him that I wouldn't let him ruin my high school experience just because he was a good kisser, and do you know what he said?"
"What?"
"I'm more than just a good kisser, I could show you if you like."
"Ugh!" Caroline scoffed, "That's such a line!"
"I know right! And the worst part is I like it! I like his lines! And his smugness, and his power, and his accent, and his mind and his dimples. God I really like his dimples. What am I gonna do Caroline?" Maya threw her hands up in the air in frustration.
Caroline gave her a thoughtful look, "Here's what you're gonna do." she said decisively, "You're gonna have a great summer, you're gonna come back to school and go to parties and get drunk, and date boys, and inappropriate men and have bad sex. And then, when you're ready, go for him."
"You think that he'll wait for me to be ready?"
"I think that for all of his experience, in his ridiculously long life, he has never ever had someone like you, someone that cares about him the way you do. So even though you need time, I really believe that he'll give it to you. He might go out and get laid while he waits, but he'll give you time."
"Okay," Maya nodded thoughtfully, "Does it have to be bad sex though?" and Caroline snorted in amusement.
"Hey, what are you two doing?" Damon's voice said from the doorway.
Both girls turned to look at him with wide eyes and said simultaneously, "Nothing!"
Enzo put Jenna and Maya's suitcases in the car, their flight was scheduled to leave in the afternoon the next day so they'd be leaving first thing in the morning. "Hey Enzo?" Maya said, walking outside.
"Yes Love?"
"Can you take me somewhere?"
"Of course Sweetheart, where to?"
She smiled and held out her hand, "Can you take me to the crash site?"
Enzo paused for a moment, "Why? Why would you want to go there? Relive that horror?"
"I don't know, I have the feeling, an itch in the back of mind, I need to go back there, before we leave for L.A."
Enzo nodded, he gripped her tightly and whooshed to the bridge, "We're here, exactly where it happened." Maya let go of him and walked to the exact place where the car crashed, the vampire practically glued to her hip. "What is it you need?"
Maya shook her head, confused as she looked around, she couldn't figure out what it was that had pulled her towards the crash site, eyeing the railing of the bridge, she found herself drawn to it. She stretched out her hand and finally touched the wood and gasped as the images of Kol burning to death thanks to Elena and Jeremy of all people seared their way into her brain. "Oh my God," she whispered.
"What is it?" Enzo asked warily.
"It's White Oak."
"What?!"
"This whole bridge, it's made of White Oak, what we're standing on right now, it can kill an Original, wipe out an entire sire line."
"We have to get rid of it," Enzo said with worry, "Burn it! All of it! Before someone else finds out!"
"We need Gasoline," Maya said, "Go and get me a load of accelerant, while I cast a spell to search for any remnants of the wood in the water."
Enzo nodded and rushed off, Maya closed her eyes and searched her mind for a spell, the spirits wouldn't help her with this, she felt like she needed to reach out to the source of her power, reaching out her hands over the water she began to chant, "Mors invenit quercum ligneum, mors invenit quercum ligneum, mors invenit quercum ligneum." As she repeated the words she could hear the blood rush through her veins, could feel the power pulse through her, whatever magic she was using, it didn't feel normal, but it felt right. When Mother Nature slipped past her defences, that hadn't felt right, it hadn't felt natural, it had been cold, and painful. But this, this was warm, and comforting, and above all else, it was powerful.
"Alright I've brought-" Enzo froze as her eyes snapped open, they were pitch black, her veins turning darker and darker, until they matched the colour of her eyes, "Whoa."
"Mors invenit quercum ligneum," all of the wood in the water began to float upwards, "I've got them all," the wood piled up in the middle of the bridge, "Do you have what we need?"
"Yes," Enzo replied.
"Douse everything."
Enzo sped back and forth across the bridge, drenching it in accelerant, and then grabbed Maya and whooshed them back onto land, when they were far enough away she reached out her hand again, "Incendia." She said, and the bridge burst into flames, but they weren't the typical orange colour, the flames started off blue, then turned white hot, "Huh, that's never happened before."
"You're eyes and veins have never been black before."
"Really?" Maya shrugged, "That's weird."
"That's all you have to say! It's weird?"
"Well I died," Maya stated, "The CPR you gave me, kept me here long enough for Death to send me back. It's never been possible before, you made it possible," she looked up at him, "But I think he changed something in me, I don't know what, I'll have to figure it out as I go. But yeah, it's a little weird."
Enzo sighed exasperated, his friend was far too glib about things regarding herself, and her safety, "Alright, how long do we have to stay here?"
"Until every last bit of that cursed wood is gone. It shouldn't take long. How are you and Damon?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Well I'm here, if you need to, if you need me, I'm here. I'm on your side, whatever happens between you two, I love Damon, but I'm always going to be on your side. Because you're my person."
"Your person?"
"Yeah, like on Grey's Anatomy, if you go crazy and turn of your emotions and slaughter an entire town, I won't care, if you start a war, it's fine, because I'm sure you would have a good reason, even if you didn't I'd get behind you, because you're my person, and I'm yours."
"My person," Enzo repeated with a smile, "I like that."
"I thought you might."
"Looks like the bridge is almost done."
"Looks like," Maya agreed, and then narrowed her eyes at something in the distance, "What's that?"
Enzo followed her line of sight, "The Mystic Falls sign?"
"Go and get it."
Enzo nodded and was back in a flash with the sign in his hands, "What do you need it for?"
She took it from him and this time the vision was of Klaus, desiccated in a coffin, chained, a stake driven through his heart and the area burst into flames, "It's made of White Oak too."
"Then I'll throw it in the fire!"
"You can't," Maya said finally, "Nature's about balance, when the Originals burnt down the White Oak tree, Mikael kept a stake, one, that wasn't enough to kill them all, so Nature grew another. There needs to be enough White Oak in the world that could kill them all, so that she won't grow another tree."
"This is beyond dangerous," Enzo shook his head.
"It needs to be kept somewhere no one will ever find it."
"Where?!"
"I don't know, but until I do, it stays with us, it goes nowhere near an Original. We have to keep it safe, and keep them safe. We can't tell anyone about this, not until it's gone."
Enzo nodded, "We'll hide it, somewhere no one will even think to find it, and we'll keep it safe until then."
"But we can't go until this bridge is ash."
"Right, of course, we'll wait till it's ash."
"Oh my God I love this place!" Jenna said looking around the villa that Enzo had rented for them, "It's beautiful, and warm, and gorgeous! Why don't we live here?" she looked at her daughter.
"Because we live in Mystic Falls, and you wanted to stay close to your sister."
"Well I don't want to be close to her now," Jenna pouted.
"Yeah but I'd never leave Caroline, you know that."
"Do you think that we could convince Liz to move out here?"
Maya shook her head with a grin, "Liz is Aunt Miranda's best friend, and you know, the Sheriff."
"Right," Jenna winced, "We're going to have to go back to Mystic Falls aren't we?"
"At the end of the summer," Maya nodded, "And when we get back, I will be the focus of all the high school gossip."
"Caroline will cut them down with a few words," Jenna dismissed, "And if that doesn't work, you just do that thing with your eyes that scares people."
"What thing with my eyes that scares people?"
"Oh you know what I mean!"
/ / /
Maya and Enzo were taking a quick tour of Los Angeles, Damon had hung back in Mystic Falls at Klaus's request, waiting for his vampires to arrive and set up around the town before he joined them in California. "This place is amazing," Maya said.
"Better than New York?"
"No, I still love New York, it holds one of my favourite memories."
"Oh, which one?"
Maya gave a little smile, "It's where I had my first kiss."
"Who kissed you?" Enzo frowned.
"It doesn't matter, but it was nice."
"Who are you kissing?! You are not old enough to be kissing!"
"Enzo I'm nearly seventeen."
"You're entirely too young!"
"It's not the 1900's anymore Zo, the sexual revolution occurred a while ago and this might be a surprise for you, but I'm not a virgin anymore."
"Aah!" Enzo stuck his fingers in his ears, "La, la, la! I can't know this!"
Maya laughed, "Relax Zo, it's not like I'm going to tell you who I lost it to! That's stuff that I share with Caroline…and Damon, not with you."
"Good, goo- wait Damon knows?!"
Maya giggled and ran off, "Wait Maya!"
Jenna walked into a little beachfront café with a smile on her face, there was something about the warmth that just made everything feel better. Maya was with Enzo so she was safe, which meant that she could finally relax. The little café was adorable, and had a wonderful view, she sat down at a table outside with a coffee and slice of cheesecake as she took in the ocean.
"Well isn't this an odd coincidence?" a voice said, causing her to jump.
The chair next to her pulled out, and a man dropped into the seat, placing his own drink on the table, "Elijah," Jenna said surprised, "What are you doing here?"
"I was just about to ask you the same thing."
"I'm on vacation."
"I'm working."
"Well don't let me bother you," she said, turning back to the view.
"I'm not working right now," Elijah smirked.
"Well I am vacationing right now, and maybe I'd rather not be disturbed."
"You never called me, after I gave you my number."
"I have a life, I was busy," she shrugged. "Were you expecting a call?"
"Well after that night, I just thought…"
"Oh I get it," Jenna smirked, "You thought that your performance was so good that it warranted a phone call…a second night, oh well," Jenna stood, "I guess you weren't as good as you thought you were." She walked off towards the beach, leaving Elijah stunned for a moment.
He gave a small laugh and followed her, "I'm absolutely certain, that I'm as good as I think I am," he said, catching up with her.
"You wish," Jenna said, "That night wasn't all that memorable." That was a complete lie, but she was enjoying the fact that the hot English guy that had rocked her world, was now chasing after her.
Elijah grabbed her arm and turned her around, "Now you know that's lie," he moved in closer to her.
"No," she shook her head, "My memories are all fuzzy."
"Well then, would you care to join me for a drink tonight, so that I might perhaps convince you to allow me to remind you of how memorable I can be?"
"I'll think about it," Jenna replied, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have vacationing to do, but I'll call you."
Enzo and Maya were sneaking up to the Hollywood sign when Maya froze, "Whoa!"
"Maya? What is it?"
"You can't feel that?"
"Feel what?"
"I dunno, just follow me." She climbed up the hill slowly, she was following a sensation in her gut, the closer she got to the sign, the stronger the sensation got. Finally she stopped under the second 'O'.
"We're here, now what?"
"I think this is where it's supposed to be."
"Where what is supposed to be?"
"The sign, go get the sign."
"Ma-"
"Get the sign now! We don't have much time!"
Enzo whooshed away and was back in a few minutes, "Now what?"
Maya walked further under the 'O', almost in a trance, "This is where the Oak can be hidden."
"Here? Under the Hollywood Sign? This place attracts tourists like flies to shit."
"Not here, but here." She gestured to where she was standing.
"Because that makes so much sense."
"Give me the sign," he handed it to her, "I'll be back."
"Wha-" Enzo cut himself off when she simply vanished from sight.
/ / /
Maya looked around the area that she'd stepped into, it was dark but had a warm glow providing just enough light she could see, "Where am I?" she turned around and Enzo wasn't there. She heard what sounded like rushing water and followed her senses and came across a pool. Looking down, Maya caught sight of her reflection, but it wasn't her own face staring back at her, "How am I seeing you right now?"
From the other side of the water Death smirked, "I'm in your veins, in your blood, in your very essence."
"You changed something in me."
He nodded, "I had to, and now there's more of me that makes you up, which gives you the ability to come and go from places like this."
"And what exactly is this place?"
"It's where the veil between life and death is the weakest."
"Seriously? The veil between life and death is underneath the Hollywood Sign?"
Death gave her a smirk, "One of them."
"Why am I here? And why did I bring this?" she held up the White Oak.
"You're here because I told you to come here."
"You told me to come here? Wait, that's what that 'itch' in the back of my head was?"
He nodded, "Now that we're more deeply connected, I can reach out to you in a way that I couldn't before."
"So why did I bring this?"
"I can't afford to have something like that hanging around where anyone can get their hands on it."
"Because you need to keep as many vampires as you can, alive."
"Exactly, I can protect it here."
"How?"
"Put it in the water."
"What?"
"Put it in the water," he repeated.
Frowning, Maya slowly lowered the sign into the water, submerging it fully and let it go. Pulling her hand back she shook of the droplets, tingles shooting through each finger. Looking back at the reflection, Death stood there, holding the Mystic Falls sign in his hand. "How did that- how did you-"
"The veil is weak here, you're alive and part of me, so you can reach across, for a moment or two, and now, the only thing that can kill my creations cannot be accessed by anyone, but you and me."
"No one can touch it?" she asked, looking at him with wide eyes.
"No one."
"And because it's here, it's close enough to nature that she won't sense that it's gone, so she won't grow another White Oak tree, right?"
"Correct."
"It's safe, they're safe." Maya sighed in relief, Kol was safe, Nik was safe, the rest of the Original's were safe, which meant that so were Damon and Enzo, because it meant that no sire lines could be killed. Not by Esther, or Dahlia, or The Five. They were safe, and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her, because with that weapon off of the table, she could breathe just a touch easier.
/ / /
Enzo had been frantically searching the area when Maya disappeared, debating on whether or not he should call Klaus and let him know that he'd lost her, when she reappeared. Enzo grabbed her and shook her arms, "Where the hell have you been?!" he demanded, realising that the White Oak was missing, "And where the hell did the sign go?"
"Turns out, that that 'itch' in the back of my head was Death trying to communicate with me, and the sign is safe, no one can get to it now." Maya replied, a little disorientated from her reappearance and Enzo's speed.
"What the hell do you mean?"
"Death was drawing me towards a place where the veil between life and death was at its weakest, which is where I disappeared to, because of what I am, I could enter that place."
"You're telling me that the gateway to the Underworld is underneath the Hollywood Sign?" Enzo deadpanned.
"It's not the Underworld! But yeah, basically."
"Of course it is." He rolled his eyes, of all the places the gateway would be, of course it would be in Hollywood, that was like a bad joke.
"The sign's safe, I promise, it's close enough to nature that a new tree won't grow, but far enough away that no one can touch it."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Maya said, looping her arm through Enzo's as the two made their way back down to the road, "Being there, it was like the most secure I've ever felt, like instinctively I just knew that nothing bad could ever happen to me there."
"I imagine that was because you were close to your creator," Enzo mused, it made sense, unlike everyone else in the world, Death protected her.
"It was kind of nice being able to see him without needing to die first," she admitted, "Did you know that he's an impeccable dresser?"
"Really?"
"Yeah," Maya nodded, "He's always dressed to the nines, a three piece suit, not a hair out of place, and not a crease in sight."
"Huh, I always just figured that he dressed like the Grim Reaper."
Klaus arrived back at the 'Pack House' a few days after Enzo had taken the Sommers family to California. He took his time on the way back, in an effort to work off most of his anger, it would do him no good to frighten them unnecessarily. It was night by the time he arrived, most of the pack were in bed or heading that way, and Cary greeted him at the door.
"Cary," Klaus nodded, walking inside his home, "How has everything been?"
"Fine," Cary nodded, "There was a little unrest with the way you left, but I settled the pack down, told them it was an emergency."
"But nothing more?"
"You're the Alpha, if you want to tell them about your Witch, then that's up to you. Personally I'd rather wait to have the debate of tradition vs modern life expectations again."
Klaus smirked, that was a debate that had dominated many a pack dinner, and understood Cary's reluctance to ignite it once again, "And the children? How have they been?"
"They've been…difficult," Cary admitted.
"What happened?"
"Well they just…don't like listening to other adults, you told them to listen to me, so they did, but anyone else…let's just say that Liam has a very extensive vocabulary for someone so young," Cary winced a little at the memory of the Liam insulting one of the adults, "It'd be impressive if it wasn't so inappropriate."
Klaus snorted in amusement, "I suppose I'll have a talk with them, but it's nice to know that they can follow orders, even at such a young age."
Cary shook his head as the two of them made their way towards Klaus's floor, "That's not it," he said, "They don't follow your orders because you're their Alpha Klaus, they obey because you're their constant…they lost everything, their family, their pack, their ability to control their own bodies. And you gave them all of it back, you brought them to a pack, so that they can be amongst their own kind, you got them those rings, so they never have to lose control again, and like it or not, you're their family now."
"I wouldn't read to much into it," Klaus replied, walking towards his room.
"I'm only speaking the truth," Cary said, following, there was something else he needed to explain to Klaus, but he'd wait till the vampire reached his room.
Klaus opened the door to his bedroom and frowned, Liam and Luna were fast asleep on his bed, and what was that? Was that one of his shirts clutched in their hands? "Was there something you forgot to mention Cary?"
"Right," Cary looked at him a little sheepishly, "As soon as you left, they started to get nightmares, letting them in here was the only way they could get a full night's sleep." Klaus shot him an annoyed look, "Like I said, you're their family now."
Fighting the urge to sigh, Klaus turned back to look at the children, "I'll deal with this in the morning." He dismissed Cary and the Beta made his way to his own room.
Going inside, Klaus carefully lifted Liam from the bed and took him to his own, and then did the same with Luna, he'd speak to both of them after he'd gotten some much needed sleep, unable to relax since he'd left Maya back in Mystic Falls. Klaus opted for a quick shower and threw on some sleep pants before crawling into bed and falling asleep rather quickly.
It was about an hour later that he was woken by quiet whispers and then his door opened. Cracking open an eye, he watched as Liam and Luna both stood in his doorway, quietly arguing with one another, "What are you doing?" he asked, startling them both.
"I had a nightmare," Luna said.
"So go to your brother's room," he said, yawning.
"I had one too," Liam reluctantly revealed.
Sighing, Klaus shifted over to one side of the bed and flipped the covers open on the other, "Close the door behind you," he muttered, too tired to be annoyed at them.
Liam and Luna were quick to scramble into the bed beside him, not wanting him to change his mind.
"Klaus?" Luna whispered, eyes on the sleeping face of the Original.
"What?" Klaus asked, not opening his eyes.
"Please don't go again."
Klaus opened his eyes, taking in the worried visage of both children, he reached out his hand and let Luna latch onto it, "I can't promise that, but I give you my word, I'll always come back." Luna gave him a little nod and squeezed his hand and closed her eyes, falling asleep in his presence rather quickly. Klaus waited until both of them were knocked out, contemplating how at ease both of the children were at being in his presence, recalling Maya's words, 'They know how lucky they are' she'd said, and Cary had informed him that the children looked to him like he was their family. Was that really true? Had he managed to create a family without even trying?
Kol was back in New York, in the Brownstone where he and Maya had woken his sister, he'd taken to doing his research for Klaus's curse there. None of his other siblings, baring Klaus, had access to the home, so he could work there without interruption. Or at least, that was what he thought, he heard someone enter the home and whooshed downstairs, slamming the intruder up against the wall.
"Freya." He said, surprised that his sister was there, he released the woman and she rubbed at her throat with a scowl.
"Hello brother," she said.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, he knew that Sage and Finn couldn't enter, but he was still suspicious of her motives. So far they'd had one semi-decent conversation, but nothing more than that.
"I've been thinking about we talked about," she replied carefully.
"We talked about a fair few things, you'll have to be more specific."
"You pointed out that so far, I've have only heard one side of the story, and you are right in that Finn seems rather obsessed with getting away from our family."
"So what is it you want?"
"Tell me about you," she said, "About our brothers and sister, because I still can't understand how you have so easily cast your anger aside."
Kol eyed her suspiciously, he'd given her access to her magic about a month after Maya had left New York, knowing that his sister wouldn't be able to locate his student, and so far she hadn't tried anything against him since he'd taken the dagger from her, but he still didn't trust Freya. She needed to earn that, he supposed the only way she could start to do that, is if the two of them talked. "Fine," he acquiesced, "Join me in the den."
Damon joined Enzo by the private pool the villa had, things between the two of them had been tense, what with Enzo confessing his deepest fear and Damon partially regressing back into his pre-Maya self as a defence. "Hey," he said, Maya had given him a serious telling off when she realised that the two of them had yet to make up properly.
"Damon."
"Can we talk?"
"I guess," he replied, feeling guarded.
"I never meant to hurt you Enzo," Damon sighed, "I didn't mean to make you feel like I'm still in love with Katherine, I'm not, I swear."
"Can you blame me? You completely shut down when you saw Elena! It was like you'd just found at that Katherine wasn't in the tomb all over again!"
"I know!" Damon clenched his fists, "I know okay, I didn't handle it well, I don't handle anything to do with Katherine well. And for a moment, a moment, all of the hurt and the anger that I feel for her bubbled up. When I saw Elena, I thought that Maya knew and just didn't think enough of me to tell me, and I get that I'll never be as important to her as you are, but it felt like a betrayal. I'm sorry that I hurt you."
"You know that she's coming back right?" Enzo asked, "Katherine's coming back to Mystic Falls, she wants to use Elena as a bargaining chip with Nik, so she'll come, and when she knows that you're there, do you think that she'll leave you alone?"
"I know, Maya told me, and it doesn't matter, I love you Enzo, you, not her, not anymore. You gave me time to figure out who I was after Katherine, because for a 140 years she was all I wanted. You forgave me, after I betrayed you in the worst way imaginable, I still don't understand how you could, why you would. I deserved to die for what I did to you Enzo, but you chose to forgive me instead, to love me, and I will spend the rest of my life working towards being worthy of that forgiveness. Whatever you want, I'll do it, to prove to you that you're all I want."
Enzo frowned, seeing the sincerity in his lover's eyes, "If I told you that I wanted her dead?"
"I'd hold her down so that you could stake her," Damon immediately replied.
"You swear that Katherine means nothing to you anymore?"
"Less than nothing," Damon said.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"You only get one chance Damon, and this is it."
"I promise you Enzo, you're the only person I'm in love with."
In Mystic Falls a man sat at his desk, writing in his journal.
'For over a century, I have lived in secret, hiding in the shadows, alone in the world. Until now, I am a vampire, and this is my story. I shouldn't have come home. I know the risk, but I had no choice. I had to know her. But that was a mistake, I had a plan, I wanted to change who I was, create a life as someone new, someone without the past. Without the pain. Someone alive. But it's not that easy. The bad things stay with you, they follow you, you can't escape them, as much as you want to. So what do I do now?'
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make always make me feel great!
Chapter 31: Stefan
Chapter Text
"Crap, crap, crap," Jenna muttered as she rushed around the kitchen as Maya watched on in amusement, "It's your first day of school and I'm totally unprepared! I haven't even made you breakfast!"
Maya poured coffee into a travel thermos and put a croissant in a sandwich bag for her mother, "Mom, chill, I'm the one that makes breakfast remember, and yours is ready to go."
Jenna sighed as she saw what her daughter had prepared for her, "Thank you baby. Now how are you getting to school? Because I can drop you off."
Maya shook her head, "I think Care's coming to get me, besides don't you have a big presentation today?"
"Yes, I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at-" she looked at her watch, "Now! Crap! Okay I have to go, you'll be fine?"
"Of course, go!" Maya laughed, maybe they should have come home a couple of days earlier so that her mom felt less frazzled.
Jenna dropped a kiss on Maya's cheek and rushed out of the door, freezing as she saw what was in the driveway, a car- an Audi with a big bow on top. "Maya!" she called.
Maya came out of house and stared at the car in the driveway, "What is this?" Maya asked.
"You tell me!" Jenna exclaimed.
"You didn't get this for me?" she asked.
"No! I'm still waiting for Miranda to finish paying off your old car, maybe it was one of the guys."
"I'll ask," Maya said, "But you should get going, I'll let you know who this belongs to once I find out."
"Okay," Jenna sighed, "I have to go or I really will be late, figure out who's car that is before you go to school. I'll see you later." She got into her car and quickly drove off while Maya walked over to the vehicle and pulled an envelope out of the bow. She opened it and car keys dropped out with a card that simply said 'Happy Birthday'.
Furrowing her brow in confusion, Maya headed back inside and went upstairs, knocking on Enzo's door, she waited to get a response before going in, Damon and Enzo had made up over the summer and the elder Salvatore had mostly taken up residence in his lover's room, and she was not going to just barge in. "Come in!" Enzo called. He was getting ready when Maya entered, while Damon was still lounging in bed.
"Hey, did either of you two get me a car for my birthday?"
"No," Enzo said slowly, "Someone got you a car?"
"It's sitting in the driveway and Mom doesn't know anything about it, I didn't even hear anyone drop it off."
"It's not even your birthday yet," Damon grumbled from his place in bed, "I've got till Thursday to get you something."
"Well there's only two other people that you know, that can afford to get you a car," Enzo said, shrugging on a shirt.
"And it was probably Nik," Damon said, sitting up, the sheet pooling in his lap, revealing his naked chest.
"Damn!" Maya said with wide eyes, "Did you look this good when you were human?" she asked playfully and Damon shot her a smirk.
"Oh this is all me baby!"
"Hey!" Enzo complained, throwing a balled-up shirt in her direction, "Quit eyeing my boyfriend!"
"I can't help it!" she replied, "Not when he's got all that attractiveness on display!" she waved her hand in Damon's direction and the vampire waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.
"Then get out!" Enzo insisted, pushing her out of his room, Damon stood, uncaring of his nudity, "Damon!" Enzo hissed.
"What? I have something I need to do!" Damon shrugged.
Enzo grumbled and shoved Maya out of the door, "Call Nik! Make sure he's the one that sent the car!" he whirled on Damon, "Am I really going to have to tell you to make sure you're wearing clothes around Maya?"
/ / /
Maya giggled as she let her friend shoo her out of the room. Shaking her head as the door slammed behind her, she shot Nik a quick message to see if he was awake first, Arizona was 2 hours behind Virginia.
Her phone rang and she picked it up, "Hey Nik," she smiled.
"Good morning Love, any particular reason you wanted to talk to me so early?"
"Well, it's the weirdest thing, I went outside this morning, and do you know, there's a car, sitting in my driveway that doesn't belong to me."
"Really?" Klaus asked, "Was there a note left?"
"Just a card that said, 'Happy Birthday', but it's not my Birthday."
"It is on Thursday," Klaus said.
"Nik…did you get me a car for my birthday?"
"Well, I don't like the idea of you being without transportation, and I needed to get you a present."
"Nik that's a brand-new car! I can't accept that!"
"It's not like I can return it," Klaus dismissed, "Besides it'd be poor form to refuse a gift."
"But Nik this is huge!"
"Just accept the gift! I won't take no for an answer here, it's not like you don't need it."
"But-"
"Just say thank you."
"Thank you," Maya said.
"If you don't feel like it's enough, you can always thank me properly when I come to Mystic Falls."
"Nik!" she exclaimed, causing Klaus to laugh.
"Go to school," he said, "You're going to be late if you stay on the phone with me much longer."
Elena downed a coffee and rushed outside to get into Bonnie's car, frowning as she saw Jeremy get into what looked like Maya's new car. Overall the Gilberts had had a terrible summer, she'd been plagued with nightmares, missed Cheer Camp, thanks to her broken leg, and to top it all off, had had to start her community service. Her mom was still upset at her, Jeremy had barely spoken to her, and she was exhausted. Not to mention, the license that she had received just before the summer had been taken away from her, so that now, she had to bum a ride, or walk in order to get anywhere.
Today was the first day of school, and she was in no way ready to go back, Mystic Falls was a small town, and Maya had been gone all summer, so this was the first time since the accident that the two girls would be seen in public at the same time. Elena had no doubt that she was going to be the focus of the gossip at school.
"So Grams is telling me that I'm psychic, our ancestors were from Salem, which isn't all that, I know, but she's going on and on about it, and I'm like, put this woman in a home already!" Bonnie said, talking to Elena as she drove, "But then I started thinking, I predicted Obama and I predicted Heath Ledger, and I still think that Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands..." She chanced a quick glance at her best friend and frowned, "Elena! Back in the car!"
Elena startled and looked over at her friend apologetically, "I did it again, didn't I? I-I'm sorry Bonnie. You were telling me that…"
"That I'm psychic now."
"Right, okay then, predict something. About me."
"I see-" Bonnie was cut off by a black bird colliding with the windshield. "What was that?! Oh, my god! Elena, are you ok?"
"It's ok. I'm fine."
"It was like a bird or something. It came out of nowhere."
"It's fine, really, I'm not freaked out."
"Really?" Bonnie asked, "Because you've been having nightmares all summer, did you even get any sleep last night?"
"No," Elena shook her head, "Not really, they won't go away."
Bonnie glanced at her friend for a moment as she turned into the school parking lot and pulled into a space, "Have you spoken to Maya?" she asked.
"Bonnie," Elena sighed.
"Look you said that the nightmares are focusing on Maya specifically, maybe they're trying to tell you to talk to her."
"I have nothing to say to Maya!" Elena said, looking out at the students milling around and narrowing her eyes when she saw Jeremy laughing with her cousin, "Except to tell her to get her own brother and stop stealing mine," she scowled.
Bonnie followed her eye line and suppressed a sigh, starting an argument on the first day was not a good idea, especially when the official opinion of the town didn't look like it was in Elena's favour. "Look just ignore her then, we need to focus on the year ahead and we can't do that, if we're giving her any attention, that's all she wants."
"You're right," Elena agreed, getting out of the car and throwing her bag over her shoulder, "I want nothing to do with she-who-must-not-be-named." Looking over at Bonnie, Elena gave her a convincing smile, "Make a prediction Miss Psychic."
Bonnie smiled back, "I predict this year is going to be kick ass! And I predict that all the sad and dark times are over, and you are going to be beyond happy."
"Now that is something that I can get behind," Elena nodded, the two of them heading inside the school building.
/ / /
Maya and Caroline were waiting in line at the school office, "I still don't understand why you have to come here to pick up your schedule," Caroline frowned, eyeing the guy in front of her, she hadn't seen his face yet, but fingers crossed that he was hot.
"It's because the school wants to make sure that I'm not going 'crazy' after my near-death experience," Maya rolled her eyes, "I bet they're going to say that they want me to see the Guidance Counsellor just to be sure."
"Ugh," Caroline rolled her eyes, small towns were such a pain.
Maya turned her attention back to the guy in front of her as he spoke to the secretary, he sounded familiar, but she wasn't sure why.
"Your records are incomplete." The school secretary said to the guy, "You're missing immunization records, and we do insist on transcripts."
"Please look again," the man said, "I'm sure everything you need is there."
"Well, you're right. So it is!"
"Thank you," the guy said, collecting a class schedule and locker assignment from the woman before turning around.
Maya's eyes widened as she took in his face, and memories flooded her mind, he offered the two girls a small smile before walking around them.
"Oh my God," Caroline whispered, "He's so hot!"
Maya shot her a look, "We need to make a phone call."
"What?" Caroline asked.
"The new student, that's Stefan freaking Salvatore!"
/ / /
"No D, we're fine," Maya whispered, "He can't even hear what we're saying." Maya and Caroline were on one end of the cafeteria, whilst Stefan was on the other, staring longingly at Elena.
"Are you sure that you don't need me to come and get you?" Damon asked, "Steffi doesn't exactly have the best control of himself."
Caroline snorted in amusement, "We're fine! We'll meet up with you at the Grill after school, I'll tell you all about the story he's giving people. I can't believe that you didn't know your brother was in town!" Caroline prided herself on knowing anything and everything that was going on in school and the fact that Damon didn't even know that Stefan was in the same town as him was inconceivable to her.
"It's not like I've spent much time in town Caroline!" Damon hissed back at her, "Unlike you, I spent most of the summer in California!"
"Yeah, yeah, rub it in," Caroline rolled her eyes, "Okay, he's coming over this way, we'll talk later!" She quickly hung up the phone and shot Stefan a smile as his eyes briefly landed on her.
Maya rolled her eyes after he passed, "Seriously?"
"What he's hot!" she exclaimed, "And there is a major lack of male real estate here!"
"Oh please," Maya scoffed, "D is far better looking."
"Yeah well it's not like he's available," Caroline complained.
"So go after someone else! Elena and Matt broke up, he's cute, and in bed he really tries."
"I still can't believe that you slept with Matt Donovan of all people."
"It was like right before he and Elena got together," Maya defended, "And he was really sweet."
"Does Elena know?"
"God no, if she did she probably never would have dated him!"
"I can't date him anyway, just look at him," the girls looked over at Matt, who, much like Stefan, was staring longingly at Elena, "He's still hung up on her."
"He'll get over her," Maya shrugged, "Maybe…"
"Whatever," Caroline shook her head and stood, "Let's get out of here, we're starting to get stares now that the new boy isn't here."
Maya frowned as she looked around, "Yeah, hey have you seen Jeremy anywhere? I drove him, so if we're going to the Grill I need to know if he wants to come."
"Uh…" Caroline made a face.
"What?"
"I may have heard… that he was hanging out with the stoner kids…"
"Oh seriously?" Maya asked, exasperated, she hoped that by managing to keep her Aunt alive, Jeremy wouldn't have an excuse to fall into his druggie period, but it seemed like it had happened anyway, "What the hell? What is he hanging out with the stoners for?!"
"Two words, Vicki Donovan."
"She's 18, he's 14, she's an actual adult woman, what the hell is she doing hanging out with a 14-year-old?"
"She's working at the Grill today, we'll see if we can get her to back off then."
"Good, because that woman is going to stay the hell away from him or I'm going to hurt her."
"You won't be the only one," Caroline muttered as the two left the cafeteria.
At the Grill after school, Jeremy rushed inside, not wanting to get a lecture from Maya about the weed that she'd caught him smoking, although he had to admit, she wasn't really mad at him for smoking, she was mad at him for smoking on school property. And yeah, maybe that had been stupid, but after the summer he'd had, stuck with Elena and his mom, he decided he'd deserved a way to relax.
"Hey!" Jeremy said, stopping by Vicki.
"Working," she muttered, walking away from him.
Jeremy watched as she headed over to Matt and Tyler's table and then when she came back he stopped her, "Hey, what's your deal? I mean, this summer you act one way and then school starts, and you can't be bothered?" He was hurt, he really liked Vicki, thought that she understood him.
"Look," Vicki said, "Jeremy, I really appreciate all the pharmaceuticals, but you can't keep following me around like a lost puppy."
"When was the last time you had sex with a puppy?" he asked, louder than intended, but she was acting like it meant nothing to her.
"Hey, keep it down!" she looked around, making sure that no one else had heard her, "I don't want to the whole world to know that I deflowered Elena's kid brother!"
"Yeah, and deflowered and deflowered!"
"We hooked up a few times in a drug haze. It's over. You gotta back off before you ruin things between me and Tyler."
"Oh, come on, the guy's a total douche. He only wants you for your ass."
"Yeah? What do you want me for?" she asked, shaking his hand off her and walking away.
Jeremy watched her go and was crushed, he cared about her, thought that they could be together, but she was treating him like he was a little kid. He turned around and stormed out of the Grill, he didn't want to be there anymore.
/ / /
"Hey Jeremy!" Maya called as he rushed past her and Caroline's table, "That girl is nothing but trouble."
"Yeah well, deal with it later, Damon's here." Caroline nodded over at the door, where the vampire was just coming in.
Damon's eyes skimmed over the bar, before landing on the girls, he headed over, and tugged Maya out of the booth and slid in before pulling her back down to sit next to him. Caroline opposite them both, "What are you doing?" Maya asked.
"Stefan's coming over to the Grill, I don't want him to see me just yet," he said.
"So you're hiding behind me?"
"Pretty much," Damon nodded.
"How do you know that he's coming over?" Caroline asked.
"And you do know that you're taller than me, right?"
Damon opted to ignore Maya's comment, "I may have done a tiny bit of stalking/scaring of Elena, and Stef was with her, she's coming here to meet Bon-Bon, and he'll follow."
"Stalking?" Maya asked unimpressed.
"I couldn't help myself!" Damon exclaimed, "She looks so much like Katherine I kinda want to snap her neck! And now that I know that Stefan is obsessed, it makes it so much more fun!"
Rolling her eyes Caroline reached over and slapped him upside the head, "No killing her Damon, Klaus needs her!"
"I'm not gonna kill her," he defended, "I swear! I just like tormenting Stefan."
"What did you do Damon?" Maya asked.
"I freaked her out this morning," Damon said, "I sent a crow right into her windshield on the way to school, and just now, she was at the cemetery, visiting dear old dad and writing in her journal, I just stirred up a little fog, sent another bird."
"Damon!" Maya exclaimed, "That needs serious amounts of fresh blood!" she hissed, "Like killing people amounts! I told you the council's active here! At least tell me you hid the bodies?"
"Of course I did," Damon shrugged, "What do you think I am? An amateur?"
"Yes," Caroline replied, shooting him a grin when he scowled at her.
"Enough about my extremely intricate plot to torment my brother and his new obsession, tell me what you got on him," he looked at Caroline.
Shaking her head, Caroline spoke, "He lives with his uncle up at the old Salvatore Boarding House. He hasn't lived here since he was a kid. Military family, so they moved around a lot. He's a Gemini, and his favourite colour is blue."
"You got all of that in one day?" Damon asked.
"Oh please," she scoffed, "I got all that between third and fourth period."
"Well literally every part of that is a lie," Damon said, "Stef was here back in '94, his favourite colour is purple, Zach's our distant nephew, not his uncle and he's not a Gemini, I am, Stef's birthday is the 1st November."
"Seriously he even lied about his birthday?" Caroline deadpanned.
Damon shrugged, "What did you expect from an eternal 17-year-old who wants to repeat high school for like the 20th time?"
"I'm liking him less and less," the blonde frowned.
Maya smirked and shook her head, "Head's up, the new kid's arrived." She said, seeing Stefan walk through the doors, attention fully locked on his companion, Elena. "Guess you were right D. So now what? How else do you want to fuck with him?"
/ / /
"So you were born in Mystic Falls?" Elena asked Stefan, the two of them were sat with Bonnie at a table, Stefan opposite both of the girls.
"Mm-hmm, and I moved when I was still young."
"Parents?" Bonnie asked.
"My parents passed away."
"I'm so sorry," Elena said, "I lost my dad not too long ago."
"I'm sorry," Stefan replied, "I know how painful that can be."
Elena nodded, "It was, but I'm trying to move on," she looked upset for a moment, before pasting a smile on her face, "Do you have any siblings?"
"None that I talk to. I live with my uncle." Stefan shook his head, mind briefly going to Damon, he hadn't seen his older brother in years, and now that he was in Mystic Falls, he was on edge, especially with Elena being in town.
"So, Stefan, if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow. It's a back to school thing at the Falls." Bonnie cut in, wanting to bring the mood up.
Stefan gave Elena a hopeful smile, "Are you going?"
"Of course she is!"
Elena shot Bonnie a surprised look, before nodding sheepishly, "I am."
"Good, that's good," he moved to say more, but stiffened when he heard familiar laughter coming from somewhere in the Grill. Eyes darting around he gasped when he caught sight of his brother, sitting with two girls across the room. "Who's that?" Stefan asked, not noticing the look on both girls faces. He recognised the red-head, she was in the car with Elena the night that he'd pulled her out of the water, he'd thought that she was dead, but it turned out that someone else had gotten to her.
"That's Maya and Caroline," Bonnie scowled, "Maya's Elena's cousin and Caroline is her best friend."
Stefan looked back at them, "You don't sound as if you like them too much."
"We're not friends."
"But she's your family," Stefan said, looking at Elena.
"Have you ever had that one person in your life, that just causes trouble?" Elena asked.
Stefan glanced back over at the other table, catching Damon throwing his arm over the red-head's shoulders and pulling her in close, seemingly flirting with her, while he made eyes at the blonde, "Oh I have one of those in my life," he said, tearing his eyes away from them.
"Why are you so interested anyway?" Elena asked, not liking the fact that Stefan had his attention on her cousin.
"They're sitting with my brother," he said, frowning.
"What?" Bonnie asked, both girls turning to look at the table, but only seeing Caroline and Maya sitting there.
"There's no one with them," Elena said, "And didn't you say you didn't have any siblings?"
Stefan shot an alarmed glance at the table when he realised that Damon had disappeared, "Actually I said I didn't have any I talked to." He stood, he needed to check outside, find out where Damon was and stop him from doing whatever it was that he'd planned, "This was fun Elena, but I've got to go, I'll see you both later." Stefan rushed out of the Grill before they could say anything.
"Seriously?!" Elena scowled, Maya had just ruined her night without even trying, "What just happened?"
"I think Maya just cock blocked you, without saying a word," Bonnie muttered, a little weirded out by Stefan's behaviour, "But maybe it was for the best, Matt's still totally hung up on you."
Elena shook her head, "No! She can't just do this to me! Everyone at school already thinks that I'm some dangerous alcoholic, she doesn't get to poison the new guy too!" she stormed over to Maya's table, where she and Caroline were laughing over a shared basket of fries. "Hey!" Elena said.
"What?" Maya asked.
"Who were just over here with?!" Elena demanded.
"Some ridiculously hot guy," Maya replied.
"Totally hot," Caroline agreed, "You know what, he's probably great in bed," she said, wiggling her eyebrows at Maya.
Maya smirked, knowing exactly what Caroline wanted her to do, it was definitely mean, but Maya didn't mind being mean, "He's definitely got to be better than Matt," Maya looked back at Elena, "That's not hard to do, but really puts the effort in, right 'Lena?"
"What?!" Elena asked taken aback, "What are you talking about? You haven't slept with Matt."
"Oh my!" Maya faux gasped, hand on her heart, "Did he not tell you? Matty Blue-Eyes and I had a short but passionate love affair, just before you two got together."
"You're lying," Elena denied.
"If I was lying then how would I know that he has a small birthmark shaped like a teddy just above his-"
"Oh my God!" Elena exclaimed, rushing away from the table in anger.
"Maya!" Caroline said, faux shocked, "That was vicious!"
"I know," Maya replied, "You did this to me you know! Before I met you, I was never mean."
"Before you met me you were four!" Caroline scoffed.
Stefan hadn't been able to find Damon anywhere, and had run home, hoping that he'd be at the Boarding House, instead he found his nephew Zach, watching the news with a frown. When he entered the house Zach turned on him, "You promised!" he said, pointing at what the TV was showing.
"That was an animal attack."
"Don't give me that, I know the game," Zach said, "You tear them up enough, they always suspect an animal attack. You said you had it under control!"
"And I do, this wasn't me," Stefan insisted, he didn't want to mention Damon, not when he couldn't find his brother, not when he wasn't sure if what he'd seen wasn't just a trick of the mind.
"Please Uncle Stefan, Mystic Falls is a different place now. It's been quiet for years, but there are people who still remember. And you being here, it's just going to stir things up."
"That's not my intention Zach."
"Then what is?!" his nephew exploded, "Why did you come back? After all this time, why now?!"
"I don't have to explain myself to you, this is my home!"
"I know that you can't change what you are. But you don't belong here anymore!"
"No? Then where do I belong?"
"I can't tell you what to do. But coming back here was a mistake!"
"You're right," Stefan said, "You can't tell me what to do." he brushed past his nephew and went upstairs, checking each of the rooms, but had no luck, Damon was nowhere to be found.
"So what's the plan?" Maya asked, looking between Damon and Enzo.
"No plan just torment," Damon shrugged.
"Oh come on!" Maya scoffed, "You're Damon Salvatore! The day you don't have a hair brained scheme in your back pocket is the day that Kol admits that he is not the most attractive Mikaelson!"
Damon rolled his eyes, "Fine, I have plans, but nothing that won't piss Enzo off."
"Really?" Maya asked, "Nothing?"
"Nada," Damon shook his head.
"I might have an idea," Enzo said, looking between the two.
"What you got Zo?"
"You said that Stefan can't help but be around Elena, right?"
"Yeah," Damon nodded.
"Then make him afraid of you, afraid for her. Insert yourself into her life."
"How do you expect me to do that without acting like I want her?"
Enzo turned his gaze to Maya who wasn't really paying attention, when she realised that he was looking at her, she shook her head, "Oh no! I'm not part of the plan, I just wanted to know what it was! I have plans of my own that I need to focus on. I don't need to be distracted by whatever you're cooking up!"
"Oh come on Maya," Enzo cajoled, "It'll help you too! You need to know what Katherine's up to when she gets here, and we all know that she's going to focus on Elena. The best thing to do, is to get closer to your cousin."
"But I hate my cousin!" Maya whined.
"I don't care, you're helping!"
Maya groaned, crossing her arms and pouting, "Fine, what's your stupid plan."
"Damon's going to fake date you."
"WHAT?!" Both of them yelled.
"Listen!" Enzo held out his hands placatingly, "Think about it, if Damon fake dates you, then Stefan is going to be worried about all the terrible things he could be doing to you. He's established that he likes Elena to the public, so you can brush him off when he approaches you, then the only way that he can get to you, without raising Damon's suspicions is through Elena."
"Elena's not going to want to talk to me! Especially after what I said at the Grill!"
"What did you say?" Enzo asked.
The Siphon shrugged, "I may have mentioned the private area of her now ex-boyfriend."
"Ugh," Enzo looked like he wanted to be sick, "How many times do I have to tell you that I can't know this stuff?!"
Maya laughed and Damon smirked, "Serves you right."
"Just for that you're doing it," Enzo replied.
"It's such bullshit, it'll never work!"
"Look just try it out for a couple of days, go out! Make Stefan notice you."
"Fine," Maya relented, "But when this doesn't work, I want your signed Battlestar Galactica Viper Helmet."
"You don't even like Battlestar Galactica!" Enzo protested.
"But you do, and I'm feeling mean today."
"Plus I hate the thing," Damon said, "It's ugly, and takes up way to much space in the apartment."
Enzo gave Damon a horrified look, as though he was seeing his lover in a new and terrible light, "How dare you, that's a collectible!"
"So's the Time Machine from 'The Time Machine', but you don't see either one of us buying it." Maya replied.
"But you did buy a signed Batman Cowl," Enzo said, "When I'm right, I want that."
"But it's Christian Bale's, you hate Bale!"
"But you don't. Sorry Love, but I'm feeling mean today," the English vampire replied.
Maya gasped, as though she'd been physically hurt by the use of her own words against her, "Fine! You're on!" she held out her hand for a shake.
Enzo grasped her hand and shook it, before letting go he pulled her close, "And you two better make it look it real, or I'm coming for more collectibles!"
Maya and Caroline split up when they got to the Falls, Caroline heading for the beers and Maya looked around for a comfortable spot from where she could observe the goings on without being bothered by the party goers.
"Hey! You made it!" Caroline smiled as she spotted Stefan.
"Um, do I know you?" Stefan asked the blonde.
"Right, Caroline Forbes," she held her hand out and Stefan shook it, still a little confused, "I know everything and everyone at school, it's nice to meet you, Stefan right?"
"Uh, yes, it's nice to meet you too."
"Let's get you a drink."
"Well I'm-"
Caroline cut him off and grabbed his arm, tugging him towards the coolers, "Oh come on!" she insisted, and he stumbled after her, she was surprisingly strong for a human. They made it to the cooler, and Caroline handed him a drink, when she turned to get her own Stefan took the opportunity to disappear. Turning back around, Caroline frowned at the empty space in front of her, "Rude," she muttered, grabbing another drink for Maya, she was going to go find her friend.
/ / /
Maya was leant against a tree on the other side of the party, texting, it was quieter, and far less crowded, when Stefan came up to her. "Hi," he said, giving her a smile.
"Hey," Maya gave an uninterested wave and turned back to her phone.
Stefan cleared his throat, "Um I'm Stefan, I'm uh, new here," he tried again.
"I know," she replied, glancing at him, "You're Damon's brother, right?"
"You uh- you know Damon?" he asked, inwardly cursing, he really had seen his brother yesterday in the Grill, those bodies found on the edge of town must have been his handiwork.
"Uh yeah," Maya let out a little laugh, like she couldn't believe he was asking her that, "He's my boyfriend."
Stefan choked on his beer, "Your what?!" he wheezed.
"My boyfriend, why are you so surprised?"
"Damon just got into town, he couldn't possibly be your boyfriend," he said, God, Damon must have already layered on some pretty heavy compulsion.
"Well, yeah he just got into town, but we met last month in L.A and we've been together ever since." She gave him a perplexed frown, "Look, is there something you wanted? Because this weird panicky energy I'm getting from you," she vaguely gestured to him, "It's not really something I'm enjoying, so maybe you could just like, go away?"
Stefan's eyes widened, "We need to talk about Damon-"
"No, we don't need to talk about anything, dude apart from your name, and the fact that you're my boyfriend's baby brother, I don't know anything about you. So why don't you just back off? Because you're really freaking me out, leave, before I make a scene."
"I-"
"My best friend is Caroline Forbes, so you can bet that I'm a damn expert at making a scene!"
Stefan held his hands up in surrender, that poor girl, she probably had no idea what she was saying, he thought to himself, "Okay, I'm leaving," he said. Staying in her line of sight as he moved away from her.
Caroline waited until Stefan was further away from Maya before she joined the other girl, "Hey! What did he want?"
Maya tapped out a message on her phone, explaining the situation and showed it to Caroline, causing the younger girl to laugh, "You might actually lose your bet with Enzo!"
"Don't even joke about that Sunshine!"
/ / /
"Just admit it Elena!" Bonnie laughed.
"Ok, so he's a little pretty," Elena replied.
"He's got that romance novel stare!"
"Yeah," Elena laughed, fighting back a yawn, she really needed to get some sleep, "Stefan looked deep into her eyes, piercing her very soul!" she mocked.
"Exactly," Bonnie said, "So where is he?"
"I don't know," Elena shrugged, "You're the psychic one, you tell me."
"Right I forgot, okay, give me a sec, Grams says I have to concentrate."
"Wait! You need a crystal ball," Elena picked up an empty beer bottle from the ground and handed to Bonnie.
Bonnie's fingers grazed Elena's hand as she reached for the bottle, "Ahh!"
"What?"
"That was weird," Bonnie shook her head, "When I touched you, I saw blood…and a wolf."
"What?"
"A wolf, blood, there was fog and a man. I'm drunk, it's the drinking. There's nothing psychic about it! Okay, I'm gonna get a refill." Bonnie walked off before Elena could stop her.
/ / /
Stefan frowned as his eyes darted all around the party, Damon was nearby, he had to be, he turned, prepared to do another lap of the place when he bumped into Elena, "Stefan! You came."
"Hi Elena," Stefan said, mind distracted by the very real possibility that his brother was there, ready and waiting to hurt someone, "Did I scare her off?" he asked, pointing at Bonnie's retreating form, if Elena was alone, he didn't want to leave her, she must have been Damon's target.
"Oh uh no, she's uh… you know what, never mind, you're here!"
"I'm here," Stefan repeated.
"You know, you're kind of the talk of the town."
"Am I?"
"Yeah, you're the mysterious new guy,"
"Well, you have the mysterious thing going, too. Twinged in sadness."
"What makes you think that I'm sad?"
"We met in the cemetery," Stefan said, as though it was obvious.
"Well technically we met in the men's room at school, but you don't want to know, everything going on with me…it's not exactly party chit-chat." The two of them had drifted a little bit away from the main party, moving somewhere quieter so that they could talk.
"I've never really been very good at chit-chat," Stefan offered.
"My dad died, at a conference in California, he was mugged, and I didn't take it well, I guess I've always been a daddy's girl at heart. I did some stupid things, and last spring, at party just like this, I got drunk, and I got into my cousin's car, she was driving, I was upset, angry at her. We're not friends, we're barely family, and…I don't even know why I got into her car," she admitted, "I never would have if I wasn't drunk. She drove, I got mad at her, I got mad, and then the car was in the lake. Maya was unconscious and then I was out. We both survived, but I nearly killed us, I did." Elena sighed, "Wow, I think that's the first time I've ever said that and actually meant it."
"You won't be sad forever Elena," Stefan said.
"I don't think that's true," Elena shook her head, "I can't sleep, I haven't had a good night since before the accident!"
Stefan looked at her with sympathy, "Have you tried talking to Maya?" he asked.
"What?"
"You believe that you nearly killed your cousin, maybe your nightmares are how your guilt is manifesting. Talk to your cousin, the worst thing that can happen is nothing."
"I don't know," Elena shook her head, "Maybe, but I doubt it'll help."
"Well, you'll never know if you don't try," Stefan said, getting closer to her and getting a heady whiff of her scent, and his eyes shifted a little, Stefan pulled back and looked away.
"Hey are you okay? Your eye, it just-"
"Oh, um... yeah, no. It's, um, it's nothing. Uh, are you thirsty? I'm gonna get us a drink!" Stefan rushed off, so that he could try to calm down.
/ / /
After dropping off a drink with Maya, Caroline did a few laps of the party, making sure that everyone knew that the Head Cheerleader was in attendance, once that was done she headed back to the cooler to get a couple more drinks. "Hey!" she said, spotting Stefan again, "There you are! Have you been down to the falls yet? Because they are really cool at night." She was trying to be friendly, and yes, maybe throw it out there that she was available to Stefan, "I can show you if you want?"
"I think you've had too much to drink Caroline," Stefan said.
"Well, of course I have! So-"
"Caroline." Stefan cut her off abruptly, "Let me make it clear to you. You and me, it's not gonna happen. Sorry." He walked away from her.
Caroline watched as he left, embarrassment and hurt on her face, he didn't need to be so rude, but he was. She left to go and find Maya, suddenly wanting to get the hell away from the party.
Elena walked up to Stefan with a smile "I was wondering who abducted you, but now I know."
"Yeah, is she uh, like that with everybody?"
"She's always after the freshest meat," Elena nodded, "She'll back off even- God you've got to be kidding me!"
"What is it?"
"My brother," Elena scowled.
"The drunk one?"
"That would be the one. Excuse me."
"Need some help?"
"Trust me, you're not going to want to witness this. Jeremy! Jeremy!" She followed him into the woods. "Jeremy, where the hell are you going?"
"Leave me alone Elena!"
"I don't think so!" she chased after him, but Jeremy kept moving and then tripped over something, or rather someone.
"Oh my God!" Jeremy gasped, it was one of stoner kids, he wasn't even sure of her name.
"Oh my God!" Elena said, she ripped off her jacket, "Something bit her! Here!" she gave Jeremy her jacket, "Put this on her neck, stop the bleeding, I'll call an ambulance!"
Stefan whooshed back to the Boarding House, slamming the door open, startling his nephew, "What happened? What's going on?" Zach asked.
"Someone else was attacked tonight Zach, and it wasn't me." Stefan panted, rushing upstairs to his own bedroom, where a bird was sat on his desk, it squawked once and then flew out of the open window, where a man was stood, "Damon."
"Hello brother," Damon smirked, he had agreed with Enzo that it was probably best to keep things private between them, at least until Katherine showed her face, so he had to temporarily move back to the Boarding House.
"The crow's a bit much don't you think?" Stefan asked, aiming to act as unaffected as he could.
"Wait till you see what I can do with the fog," Damon smirked, moving further into the room.
"When'd you get here?"
"Well, I couldn't miss your first day at school. Your hair's different. I like it." He looked around the room, fingering the journal on Stefan's desk, keeping his brother in his line of sight.
"It's been 15 years, Damon."
"And thank God for that! I couldn't take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look? It did not suit you. Remember Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads."
"Why are you here?"
"I miss my little brother," Damon shrugged.
"You hate small towns. There's nothing for you to do."
"Oh I've managed to keep myself occupied."
"You know you left that girl alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you."
"Ah. That could be a problem... for you."
"Why are you here now?"
"I could ask you the same question. However, I'm fairly certain your answer can be summed up into one little word... Elena," Damon fought the urge to sneer, it was time to make it look like he cared about Katherine, "She took my breath away. Elena. She's a dead ringer for Katherine. Tell me is it working Stefan? Being around her? Being in her world? Does it make you feel alive?"
"She's not Katherine!"
"Well, let's hope not. We both know how that ended." Damon was getting bored now, he'd forgotten how lame 'bunny-diet Stefan' could be. "Tell me something, when's the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel?"
"I know what you're doing, Damon. It's not gonna work."
"Yeah? Come on. Don't you crave it a little?"
"Stop it!"
"Let's do it. Together. How about the blonde, that was so desperate for your attention, and Elena's stunning cousin? Or better yet, let's just cut to the chase, go straight for Elena!"
"Stop it!"
"Imagine what her blood tastes like!" Damon laughed as Stefan's face changed, "I can."
"I said STOP!" Stefan charged at Damon and they both fell through the open window, to the downstairs entrance.
Damon straightened up, already away from his brother, "That's was impressive, I give it a six, missing style, but I was pleasantly surprised. Very good with the whole face thing!"
"You know, it's all fun and games, Damon, huh? But wherever you go, people die."
"Well that's a given." Damon shrugged, it wasn't anything new to him, and Stefan really needed to stop being so sanctimonious.
"Not here. I won't allow it!"
"Well I'll take that as an invitation."
"Damon," Stefan tried another tact, "Please, after all these years, can't we just give it a rest?"
"I promised you an eternity of misery, I'm just keeping my word."
"Just stay away from Elena!"
Damon smirked, "But not her cousin? How hypocritical of you Stef, already willing to let one girl die so that yours can live." Stefan's jaw clenched in anger, "Hey where's your ring?" Stefan looked at his hands, blanching when he realised that it was gone, "Oh yeah, the sun's coming up in a couple of hours, and poof, ashes to ashes…relax. It's right here." He held up the ring, tossing it at his brother and then slammed Stefan up against the wall, "You should know better than to think that you're stronger than me." Damon's eyes turned icy, "You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people! I wouldn't try it again." He let go of his little brother and eyed the human standing nearby, "I think we woke Zach up. Sorry Zach." Damon shot his nephew a cold look, and then headed upstairs. This was going to be fun.
Stefan dropped heavily into the seat at his desk, opened his journal and stared at the last words that he'd written 'The bad things stay with you, they follow you, you can't escape them, as much as you want to. So what do I do now?' Sighing he picked up a pen and wrote six words before whooshing out to go and check on Elena, 'I never should have come back.'
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, and let me know if there's too much canon content in this chapter, I can always adjust depending on what people think!
Chapter 32: Gilbert Family Dinner
Chapter Text
Caroline was curled up in Maya's bed, her best friend wrapped around her, it had been a long time since someone had made her feel so…so…made her feel like she was nothing, and Stefan Salvatore had managed to do just that with a few words. She sniffled as Maya squeezed her tighter, it wasn't fair, she was smart and beautiful and fun, she was Cheer Captain, head of the Dance Committee, head of the Mystic Falls Beautification Committee and head of the Recycling Programme. And Stefan Salvatore treated her like she was nothing but some dumb blonde, she hadn't felt this bad about herself since her dad left and didn't even fight for her to go with him (not that she would leave, but it would have been nice to know that he cared).
"Do you want me to beat him up?" Maya asked, "Because I will, he had no right to be such a dick."
"Who are we beating up?" Jenna asked from the doorway, frowning as she saw Caroline wipe away a stray tear and bury herself further into her daughter's arms.
"No one," Caroline murmured.
"Stefan Salvatore," Maya said.
Jenna came into the room, and sat down on the other side of Caroline, pushing her hair away from her face, "What happened?" she asked softly.
"Nothing," Caroline said, she didn't want to make a big deal about it, she pretty much had a handle on her insecurity, she had ways to cope and with Maya as her friend, she very rarely got overwhelmed. But not this time.
"Stefan was an ass," Maya said, and proceeded to give her mother the whole story, she knew that while Caroline didn't want to make a big deal about it, she needed a mother figure right now, (don't get her wrong, Liz was great, when she was there, but as the Sheriff, Liz Forbes tended to put her work first. Getting worse after her divorce). Jenna was there for Caroline when Liz wasn't, she had been since the girls were 10.
"What a dick," Jenna said and looked over at Maya, "You can punch him once, once, and it can't be on school property, and you should be around Damon when you do it because Stefan is a vampire that has no control and I don't want to get a call telling me that you've been eaten."
"Fine," Maya conceded.
"Right," Jenna straightened up, "I'm going to make us all some hot cocoa, with marshmallows and whipped cream, and I'm ordering Pizza for dinner, Caroline, you get to choose the movie that we watch tonight."
"Oh mom do-"
"The Notebook," Caroline said decisively, and Maya groaned like she was in actual pain, she hated that movie.
The next morning Caroline had left to get to school early, one of her committees needed something, she wasn't sure what, but Maya was certain that whatever it was, she'd be roped in to help. She was eating breakfast and watching TV, when it came across the news that two campers had been killed the night before. "Really," she sighed, putting her dishes away and going upstairs to talk to one of the vampires in her life.
Enzo's door was wide open when Maya walked in, "Aren't you supposed to be staying at the Boarding House?" she asked Damon, who was lounging on the bed.
"I got bored, it's boring over there!" Damon whined, "Stefan's there watching me with his judgy little eyes, and Zach's creeping around like a mouse, like I could snap at any second and kill him."
"But you could snap at any second and kill him," Maya said.
"Yeah but he shouldn't act like it," Damon replied offended, "You know? I'm a big scary vampire! He knows that! And he should act like it!"
"He is acting like it! You just don't like him."
"Eh that too," Damon nodded, pulling her over to sit next to him.
"Speaking of big scary vampires, did you kill a couple of campers last night?" she asked.
"No," Damon scoffed, "I was busy coming up with ways to torment Stef and figuring out how to sneak Enzo over to my place."
Maya's eyes slid over to her best friend, "Zo?" she asked.
"Oh fine!" he admitted, "I know that I'm the one that came up with this whole fake dating thing, but I don't like it!" he complained, "I don't like the fact that you have to be near Elena freaking Gilbert!" he gestured to Damon, "I don't like the fact that you have to be nice to her," he motioned at Maya, "And I absolutely hate the fact that both of you are going to be in Katherine's crosshairs the moment she gets to town simply because you're both in proximity to Elena Gilbert!"
"Zo-"
"No!" Enzo shook his head, "Katherine is three times your age," he pointed at Damon, "And four times mine! And the only people that are old enough to take her down aren't here. And they're not going to be here for months, so excuse me if I'm a little anxious!"
"Enzo relax!" Maya exclaimed, "I'm not mad at you for the dead campers! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I just want you to be more careful where you dump your dead bodies! There's a vampire hunting council in this town and I'd like it if the two vampires in my life who I love more than anything, stay alive!"
"Awe," Enzo smiled, stress melting off his visage, and moving to the other side of her on the bed, "Damon when was the last time that Maya said she loved us?"
Damon smirked at Enzo, "It's been months now," he looked at the girl in the bed between them, "You haven't said that you love us in months."
Maya scowled, she could feel the smugness rolling off of them both in waves, "You know what," she scooted of the bed, "I changed my mind, I hate you both," she walked out of the room.
"We love you!" Enzo called.
"Keep your dead bodies hidden!" she yelled back.
Damon was adjusting things in his room at the Boarding House, Zach was out and Stefan hadn't come back from school yet, so he was taking the time to make it look like he actually lived there. He'd just put the finishing touches on his place when he heard someone downstairs, someone that wasn't supposed to be there. Frowning, he shot Maya a text, maybe they could have some fun.
/ / /
Elena got out of the cab outside of the Salvatore Boarding House, taking a deep breath she walked to the front door and knocked, pushing the door open. She looked around for a moment, before going inside, "Stefan?" she called, "Stefan?"
Damon whooshed behind her, so that when she turned around it would look as though he'd appeared out of nowhere, he narrowed his eyes at the brunette, who just walked into someone's house without permission?
Elena turned around and gasped, "I-I'm sorry for barging in, the door was open…"
Damon cocked an eyebrow, she was looking at him with doe eyes, Katherine's eyes, he thought that maybe he would feel something when he came face to face with her, feel a longing, a lust, maybe a hurt, because she was the living physical embodiment of Katherine, but there was nothing…he felt nothing, and somehow, someway, his heart felt lighter. "You must be Elena, I'm Damon, Stefan's brother."
"Yeah, he may have mentioned you…once."
The look in Damon's eyes was cold, his smirk dark, but she didn't notice, "Ah well, Stefan's not one to brag, please come in," he motioned to the living room, "I'm sure Stefan will be along any second."
"Wow!" she looked around the room, the only place that came close to this…expensive looking was the Lockwood mansion. "This is your living room?"
"Living room, parlour, Sotheby's Auction," Damon shrugged, "It's a little kitschy for my taste. You know my brother's smitten with you, it's about time, for a while I never thought that he'd get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him." He shoved his hands in his pockets and moved in closer to her.
"The last one?"
"Yeah, Katherine, his girlfriend?" when she didn't make a sound, he made a face, "Oh, you two haven't had the awkward ex's conversation yet."
"No."
"My bad. Well, I'm sure it'll come up now…or maybe he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think that he was on the rebound. I mean we all know how those relationships end."
"You say that like every relationship is doomed to fail."
"The relationships where people don't tell each other the truth, yeah, they are."
"And do you tell my cousin the whole truth?" she asked.
"Maya?" Damon asked, a little surprised that she knew about them, "She knows absolutely everything there is to know about me." His smirk turned wicked as he felt the arrival of his brother, "Hello Stefan."
"Elena, I didn't know you were coming over," the younger Salvatore said, taking a cautious step inside the living room.
She turned to face him, "I know. I should have called, I just-"
Damon cut her off, "Oh, don't be silly! You're welcome any time. Isn't she, Stefan?" He turned to face his brother fully, so that Elena couldn't see him, and he let his eyes change, taunting his little brother before turning back to the doppelgänger, "You know, I should break out the family photo albums or some home movies, but I have to warn you, he wasn't always such a looker."
Stefan put his body in between her and Damon, and started to usher her out of the house, "Thank you for stopping by Elena. It was nice to see you."
"R-right," she stuttered, "I should probably go. It was nice to meet you, Damon."
"Great meeting you too Elena!" Damon followed them to the door, he'd heard a car pull in and his eyes lit up, things were going to get interesting.
Stefan opened the door and Elena stumbled right into Maya, "Maya!" Elena exclaimed.
"Elena," Maya scowled, "What are you doing here?"
Elena crossed her arms suddenly defensive, "I'm here for Stefan." She said.
"Right, the guy you've known for like two days." Maya smirked.
"Oh please," Elena rolled her eyes, "What are you doing here?"
"You know maybe you should both go," Stefan suggested, trying to push them both out of the house.
"Not gonna happen Stefan," Damon said, pushing his brother to one side and tugging Maya towards him, "My girl's here to see me, aren't you?"
Maya looked up at him coyly, "That's right babe!"
Damon smiled, leaning down and kissing her, he pulled back and smirked at the dazed look in her eyes, "Why don't you head upstairs, I'll meet you there." He steered her towards the stairs and slapped her on her ass, causing her to jump and giggle as she rushed upstairs. He turned back to see Stefan finish pushing Elena out of the door.
Stefan slammed the door shut and turned to face his brother, "Woo she's got spunk! Although you were kind of rude, I thought I taught you better." Damon said, "But then again you do look kinda pooped, did you overexert yourself today? Let me guess, you went to the hospital?"
"Someone had to clean up the mess you made when you left that girl alive," Stefan replied.
"Well, were you successful? Did the powers of persuasion work?" he wondered closer to the stairs, "Remember, if you don't feed properly, none of those little tricks work right."
"How long was Elena here?" Stefan asked, worried that Damon had tried something, or worse, compelled her.
"Why, were you worried Stefan? Scared we may be doomed to repeat the past? Isn't that why you play your little game, 'I'm the high school human?'"
"I'm not playing any game."
"Of course you are. We both know the closest you'll ever get to humanity is when you rip it open and feed on it."
"And what kind of game are you playing Damon? With Elena, with her cousin?" His eyes darted upstairs as he heard Maya move around in Damon's room.
"Guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you? Now if you'll excuse me, I have a very hot, very naked girl waiting for me in my bed."
Damon moved to leave but Stefan grabbed him and slammed him against the wall, "I'm not going to let you hurt her Damon."
Damon moved so fast that Stefan didn't even see it, just felt it when a fire poker entered his stomach, pinning him to the wall "I do what I want, when I want," Damon growled, vampire on full display, "If I want to fuck Elena's pretty cousin I will, if I want to feed on her I will, if I want to tear her apart and scatter her remains all over Mystic Falls I will. You can't stop me Stefan, you're weak and pathetic." The elder Salvatore let go of the poker and whooshed upstairs, leaving Stefan groaning in pain.
/ / /
Maya and Damon had been chilling in his room, he'd turned on some music so that Stefan couldn't hear anything going on, but the two of them were just spending time together, something that Damon hadn't done in ages. Maya's stomach growled and she frowned, "Please tell me that you have food in this creepy mansion."
"Zach has to eat something," Damon shrugged, "And it's not creepy."
"It is," Maya insisted, "Before you and your brother came home, I'm willing to bet that no one even knew that this place was still occupied…come to think of it, I've never seen Zach Salvatore before. I've lived here my whole life, but I've never seen him."
"Zach's a shut in," Damon said, flipping through a magazine, "He's decided that he doesn't want to bring anyone into his life, because they have the potential to meet me, so he just stays indoors, and occasionally goes to work meetings out of town."
"He works?" Maya asked, "Doing what?"
"No clue," Damon shrugged, "And I don't really care to find out." Maya's stomach rumbled again.
"Your stomach sounds like it's eating itself, go to the kitchen and get some food, bring me up a snack too." Maya got up and Damon stopped her, "And here," he took off his shirt and threw it at her, "Put that on, it smells like me so Stefan will believe that we've been…busy."
"You know if I lose this bet, not only will you be stuck with that stupid Viper helmet, but Zo will probably put it on display along with my Batman Cowl?"
"Yeah, but I like Bale, I feel like he's immortalised the words 'I'm Batman'"
"Ugh, you're an ass," Maya said, going into the bathroom to change.
"And you love me anyway," Damon smirked, causing her to roll her eyes.
"Whatever," she muttered, heading downstairs in just her underwear and Damon's T-shirt, (thank goodness it was long enough to cover her butt).
/ / /
Maya was in the Salvatore kitchen, making herself and Damon a snack, when Stefan came in, "Maya," he said. But she just ignored him, continuing to load up the plates with food and grabbed herself a drink, Damon's room was full of bourbon, just like every room in the house, so he didn't need one. "Maya," Stefan tried again, as she pulled out a tray and put the plates and drink on it, she didn't want to reveal that she was magical just yet, so she was going to have move things the human way. Stefan sighed and moved over to her grabbing her arm, "May-"
He was cut off with a punch to the face, Maya had thrown all her weight (and a little magic) behind it, and Stefan went down like a sack of potatoes. In fact she was sure that she'd heard his nose break, "That was for Caroline," she said, "No one hurts Caroline and gets away with it." She picked up the tray and walked around his prone form, heading upstairs without a second thought. That had felt good.
/ / /
"I can't believe you hit Stefan and I didn't get to see it," Damon complained.
"Well if you had been a gentleman and come downstairs with me to get food, then you would have seen in." Maya said, popping a strawberry into her mouth.
"Can't you just do it again? When I'm there?"
Maya shook her head, "No can do, Mom said I could only hit him once." Damon frowned, "Oh relax old man, it's Stefan, chances are he'll do something that makes me mad again.
"Who are you calling old?" Damon said, "You're the one who can't stop making out with a Viking!"
"I made out with a Viking once!" Maya defended, "Once, and I'm not disputing that he's old, doesn't mean that you're not either."
"I'm sorry, out of the two of us, which one of us was born before the English language was invented?"
"Shut up!" Maya threw a slice of apple at him, which he caught in his mouth.
"I'm just saying, if anyone's the old one here, it's you."
Maya rolled her eyes and threw herself onto Damon's bed, if she was going to have to hang around in just his shirt, then she was going to get under the covers before she froze in the old house. "Whatever," she muttered. "You know, the comet's tomorrow." She said, changing the subject.
"I do," Damon nodded, "I spent so long waiting for it to pass, just so that I could get into the tomb," he murmured, "I had plans upon plans and now everything's changed." He joined her in bed, and Maya slotted herself under his arm, her head on his chest.
"You know it's okay to be angry about it," she said, "You don't love Katherine anymore, but you can still be angry about what she did. You may be a vampire, and have eternity, but she made you waste 140 years, she knew that you loved her, she knew that you were waiting for her and she didn't care, she doesn't care. It's okay to be mad, it's okay to hate her."
"You don't think that it'll upset Enzo?" he asked, the last thing he wanted to do was shake the unsteady foundation of his and Enzo's relationship.
"Damon, Enzo knows you, he's known you at your absolute worst, and he loves you anyway. He'd think it was weird if you weren't angry and hateful, he'd think that you were hiding something. So hate her, plot revenge, just don't hide it from us."
It was the evening when Zach came home, whenever Damon or Stefan came to town, the human Salvatores tried to stay as far away from the vampires as possible. "What is Damon doing here? Why did he come home?" he asked Stefan.
"Because I came home," Stefan scoffed, "He wants to make my life miserable, that's how he enjoys his life."
"Well he's putting us all at risk, that girl in the hospital could talk."
"She won't," Stefan shook his head, "I took care of her."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm not sure Zach! I don't know how well it worked. I'm not as strong as Damon!"
"So what happens if it doesn't work?"
"I don't know. I'll find a way to deal with it."
"Is she worth it?" Zach asked, "Uncle Stefan, this girl you came back for, is she worth it?"
"Yes," Stefan sighed, and then looked at his nephew, "He's brought someone home."
"What?" Zach asked.
"Maya Sommers, she says that they met in L.A last month and have been dating ever since but…"
"But that's ridiculous," Zach said, "He's just compelled her. Maya's linked to the founding families, her best friend is the Sheriff's daughter, he's using her for something."
"He's using her to get to me," Stefan said.
"Is it working?"
"Yes."
It was the night of the comet and Caroline was busy ordering cheerleaders around, getting them to hand out fliers for the gathering later in the evening. Maya had managed to get out of it by letting the blonde know that she was going to be confronting Vicki, and Caroline had agreed that keeping Jeremy protected was a priority.
"Vicki!" Maya said, the older girl had just gone on break and had headed to the bathroom.
"Ugh, what do you want Sommers?" Vicki asked, she wasn't in any mood to talk, in between Tyler's attitude and Jeremy following her around she didn't need to deal with anyone's crap.
Maya locked the bathroom door behind her, "I want you to stay away from Jeremy."
"It's none of your business what I do." Vicki scoffed.
"It is when it involves Jeremy!" Maya said, frowning.
"Look not that it's any of your business, but Jeremy and I are just friends." She moved to leave the bathroom but Maya stopped her, and shoved her against the sink.
"That's not what I've heard," she said, shoving Vicki back when she tried to move again, "Jeremy is my cousin, my 14 year-old cousin, and if I get proof that you slept with him, I will be calling the police, because you're 18 Vicki, Jeremy is a child and you're a grown ass woman, stay away from him, or I'll have you arrested! Are we clear?"
"Get off of me!" Vicki said, struggling to get away from the younger woman.
Maya's grip tightened on Vicki's arms, "I said. Are. We. Clear?"
"Get o-"
"When it comes to my family, I don't mess around, this is your one chance Vicki, do you understand me!"
Vicki snarled at her, "Fine! Yes!"
"You'll stay away from Jeremy?"
"I'll stay away!"
Maya released her grip, and shoved the woman away from her, "I mean it Vicki, this is your only chance." She opened the door and left the bathroom, ignoring the small queue that had formed outside, she left to find Caroline.
Miranda sighed as yet another one of her calls was sent to voicemail, Jenna wouldn't talk to her, hadn't talked to her all summer and now that she was back in town, she was still avoiding her, this couldn't go on. Jenna was her little sister, Maya was her niece, did she handle things badly in May? Yes, but did she deserve to be shut out of her little sister's life? She didn't think so.
"Jeremy!" she called, seeing him walk past on his way out of the house.
"Yeah Mom?" he asked, heading over to her.
"I need you to speak with Maya."
"Mom-" Jeremy started.
"No! Jenna's not answering my phone calls, and she changed the passcode on her gate, so I can't even go over to her house. You're my last line of communication, so I need you to talk to Maya, tell her that I want to talk, and that I would like it if she and Jenna came over for dinner on Friday, eight o'clock."
"You think that they're really going to want to have a family dinner? After Elena nearly killed Maya and still hasn't apologised for it?"
"Jeremy!"
"No Mom! It's true, I know it, you know it, and Elena freaking admitted to it! And you tried to stop her from getting the blame for it by blaming the accident on Maya!"
"That wasn't my intention," Miranda said, "I was just trying to protect my daughter."
"And Aunt Jenna was protecting Maya, you really think that they're going to want to come over and play happy families with us?"
"Just ask her, they're our family and we need to fix this." Jeremy shot her a look and she sighed, "I need to fix this."
It was Friday morning, and Elena and Bonnie were at school, "I'm not saying don't date the guy," Bonnie said, "I'm just saying take it slow."
"Weren't you the one telling me to go for it?"
"Well now I'm saying take it slow."
"Why the about-face?" Elena asked.
"It's not an about-face. You're single for the first time in your entire high school career. It's the perfect time to play the field."
"Oh, because I'm so that girl. Seriously, what are you not saying?"
"It's stupid," Bonnie hesitated, should she tell Elena why she didn't feel great about Stefan now.
"Bonnie, spit it out."
"I accidentally touched Stefan and got a really bad feeling."
"That's it?"
"It was bad, bad!"
"Is this the whole witch mojo thing again?" Elena asked, exasperated at Bonnie's reasoning.
"You know what, I'm just concerned. This is me expressing concern about my best friend's new boyfriend."
"And I love you for it, I do. But I feel good. It's been a hard year, and I'm starting to kind of feel like things are getting back to normal again." And you know what? Stefan is a big part of that."
Stefan came up to the two girls, "Good morning Elena. Good morning Bonnie."
"Hey, um, I gotta drop of an assignment, I'll see you guys later."
"Bonnie, wait!" Elena called, but Bonnie just walked away.
"She doesn't like me very much," he said.
"She just doesn't know you," Elena tried to defend, "She's my best friend. She's just looking out for me. But when she does know you, she will love you."
"I'm not sure about that."
"Look, here's what we're going to do, are you free tonight?"
"Yes."
"Perfect! Dinner, my house. Eight o'clock. You, me, and Bonnie. You two will spend some quality time together and she'll get to see what a great guy you are."
/ / /
"Hey Maya!" Jeremy jogged over to his cousin.
"What's up Jer?" Maya asked.
"Mom wants me to invite you and Aunt Jenna over for dinner tonight."
"Seriously?" Maya scoffed, "Why would I do that?"
"She said that she wants to make things right between you three."
"And what, one dinner's going to do that?"
"No, but it's a start."
"Jeremy I have no interest in hanging out with a girl that can't even be bothered to apologise for killing me."
"Then do it for me!" Jeremy exclaimed.
"What?"
"I miss you! I miss having you over at the house, I miss being able to come over to yours whenever I want! I hate having to sneak around! Just try to get along for me, can you do that?"
"Jer…" Maya trailed off as her phone beeped, indicating a message, she pulled it out and raised an eyebrow at the message from Caroline. 'Elena jst invitd Broody over for dinner tonight w Bonnie.'
Maya bit her lip and then looked back at Jeremy, who was giving her his puppy dog eyes, "Fine!" she relented, "But tell your Mom to set an extra place because I'm bringing Damon."
"Why are you bringing Damon?" Jeremy asked.
"Because he's my boyfriend," she shrugged.
"WHAT?!" Jeremy yelled, causing a few people to look over at them, "What do you mean 'he's your boyfriend?'" Jeremy hadn't spent much time with the vampire, and Maya hadn't felt the need to include his relationship status with Enzo when she introduced them, so as far as he was concerned, she was telling the truth.
"Exactly that, he's my boyfriend, and it's the only way I'm coming over."
"Fine," Jeremy muttered, "I'll let Mom know," he had a feeling that dinner was going to be an odd affair.
/ / /
Caroline linked arms with Maya as cheer practice finished, the two of them ignoring the looks that Stefan was sending their way, "I can't believe that Stefan's on the football team," Caroline said.
"I heard it was a whole thing outside school this morning," Maya replied.
"Yep, Tyler threw the ball at the back of Stefan's head, Stefan turned around and caught it, and then threw it back so hard that Tyler fell over."
"If that's all it takes to make the football team here, it's no wonder we didn't win a single game last year," Maya scoffed.
"It's ridiculous," Caroline said, she didn't want to have to cheer for Stefan, especially when he'd acted like such a douche. "Hey where's your car? I was hoping to bum a ride, mine's in the shop."
"Damon's picking me up, he said something about my short, short skirt and very tight top."
Caroline rolled her eyes, "Of course he is. Will he drop me off home?"
"He will, what kind of boyfriend would he be if he didn't cater to his girlfriend's ever whim?"
"A pretty terrible one!" Damon called, he'd just pulled in to pick Maya up, he got out and leant up against the side of his car as the girls walked over to him. "Blondie you're in the back," he said, leaning in to give Maya a nice long kiss, deepening it when he felt Stefan's eyes on him.
When he pulled away, Maya shook her head, as though to clear the cobwebs, "You need to stop doing that," she said, "Dazzling me with your kisses, is no fair."
Damon smirked, "Awe Red, all's fair in love and war."
Damon walked into Stefan's bedroom, Maya had told him all about dinner, he was going to swing by and pick up both her and Jenna and take them over to the Gilberts, so he knew that Stefan was getting ready for dinner too. "How were try-outs?" he asked. "Did you make the team?" He threw himself into the desk chair and picked up his brother's journal, flipping through a couple of pages, "Very Emerson, the way you reveal your soul with so many... adjectives."
"What are you doing here?"
"I've come to apologize. I've been doing some thinking, some soul searching, and... I want us to start over. We need to put the past behind us. You're my little brother, and if you want to live a normal, happy human life, then I want that for you. Maybe I can do it, too. Maybe I can learn to be a non-living living person. Maybe there's hope for the both of us."
"You know, it doesn't have to be this way, Damon."
Damon smirked and dropped the journal back on the desk, standing and moving to leave, "Of course it does. I saw Elena today, BTW. That means 'by the way' she was at cheerleading practice. Looking so perky in her little short shorts." Stefan took a threatening step forward and Damon grinned, "Just simmer down, I didn't even go near her. I've got my own cheerleader now. Ooh, that reminds me... I gotta run. I have a date. Sweaty palms. Wish me luck!"
Miranda was busy setting the dining room table, annoyed that Elena had not only invited Bonnie to dinner, but also her new boyfriend, without even asking her, this dinner was going to be awkward enough already, but adding two more people to the mix was going to make things worse, she could feel it.
Bonnie and Elena were in the kitchen, plating up the food for the dinner, "You explain it," Bonnie said, "Last night, I'm watching Nine-o, a commercial breaks come on and I'm like, I bet it's that phone commercial, and sure enough, it's that guy and the girl with the bench, he flies to Paris and he flies back. They take a picture."
"Oh, come on," Elena dismissed, "That commercial's on a constant loop."
"Fine. Well, how about this? Today I'm obsessed with numbers. Three numbers. I keep seeing eight, 14, and 22. How weird is that?"
"Maybe we should play the lottery." Elena shrugged, "Have you talked to your Grams?"
"She's just gonna say it's because I'm a witch. I don't want to be a witch. Do you want to be a witch?"
"I don't want to be a witch," Elena shook her head. "Ok, serving spoons. Where are the serving spoons?" she looked around the kitchen.
"Little drawer on your left."
Elena opened the drawer and was startled to find the spoons "Ok, so you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times," she tried to play it off like Bonnie's knowledge was nothing.
"Yeah, that's it," Bonnie agreed.
The doorbell rang and Elena's face lit up, "Okay he's here. Don't be nervous. Just be your normal loving self."
Elena opened the door and was startled to find Jenna, Maya and Damon, instead of Stefan, "Uh what are you doing here?" she asked a little stupidly, she knew that her mother had invited them over, she just didn't think that they would come.
"Waiting for you to invite us in," Jenna said, knowing that Damon couldn't get inside without a verbal invitation.
"Oh right," she locked eyes with Damon and flushed when she saw the intensity in his eyes, "Come in." Damon smirked as the two women went inside and he took a very deliberate step over the threshold, Stefan was going to lose his shit.
"You have a beautiful home," Damon said.
"Thank you," Elena replied, closing the door behind her. She made to leave when the bell rang again, opening it, she let out a little sigh of relief when she saw that it was Stefan. "Stefan," she smiled, "Come in!"
"Thank you," Elena had already invited him in before, so he didn't need to wait for an invite, but it was the polite thing to do.
He made to move to the living room but Elena grabbed his arm, stopping him, "Before you go in there, I have to warn you, my Mom set up her own dinner without telling me, and I only just found out. So it's more than just Bonnie in there."
"Who else is here?" Stefan asked cautiously, he had a feeling that he wasn't going to like the answer.
"Mom invited Maya and Aunt Jenna over, and Maya brought her boyfriend." Elena had sensed the tension between the two brothers, and Stefan had elaborated more on it, on the night of the comet, so she knew that he wasn't going to be happy.
"Damon's here?" Stefan asked alarmed, "He's here? In this house?"
"Yeah," Elena nodded, "It's not like I could tell him not to come in."
Stefan cursed his stupidity, he should have known that Damon would do something like this, "Right, well, let's not let Damon ruin the night." He walked inside the den and frowned at the sight of Damon, stood with his arm around Maya's waist, chatting away to the woman he presumed was her mother. Of course Damon would insert his way into Maya's life in any way he saw fit.
/ / /
About half an hour later, dinner had been served, and everyone was sat at the table, eating quietly, not talking, the tension was so thick, it could be cut with a knife. "Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Elena asked Stefan, in order to try to break the tension.
"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right," Stefan gave her a small smile, tense as he had to sit next to Damon.
"Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him, and-"
"Yeah, I heard," Bonnie cut her off.
"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?" Elena said, trying again.
"Um, divorced. No mom. Live with my dad."
"No, about the witches!" Miranda looked up sharply at that, she was unaware that Bonnie knew about that part of her family, it must mean that she was coming into her magic, "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool."
"Cool isn't the word I'd use," Bonnie shrugged.
"Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too well versed in them, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic Druids that migrated here in the 1800s."
"My family came by way of Salem."
"Really? Salem witches?"
"Yeah."
"I would say that's pretty cool," Stefan said enthusiastically.
"Really? Why?"
"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity."
Bonnie smiled, "Yeah, they are." She was warming up to him.
Damon rolled his eyes and Maya suppressed a laugh, Stefan's idea of flattery was totally lame, and the fact that Bonnie fell for it was even worse. "I can't believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team, especially after you humiliated him in class," Maya said, "Tyler must be seething, but good for you, go for it."
"That's what I always tell him." Damon said, "You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."
"Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today," Maya smirked, "But it's only because you missed summer camp."
"You missed summer camp too," Elena replied, eyes narrowed.
"And who's fault was that?" Maya asked, causing Jenna and Miranda to tense up at the not so subtle mention of the accident, "But it doesn't matter, because I was on point for ever single routine. Right Damon?"
"Oh you definitely were," he agreed, "I guess it helps to have the Cheer Captain as your best friend."
"It does," Maya nodded, turning her attention back to Elena, "God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines."
"I'll work with her." Bonnie cut in, not wanting this to devolve into an argument, "She'll get it."
"I guess Care could put you in the back," Maya mused, ignoring the glare she received in return.
"You know, you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena," Damon said.
"Oh that's just because she's going through a blah phase. You know, car accident, broken leg, total social pariah because she's killed me."
"Maya!" Miranda said, having had enough.
"No!" Maya said, slamming her hand on the table, "You wanted us here to talk, so let's talk! Elena got drunk, Elena couldn't stop interfering with my ability to drive, Elena got her hands on the steering wheel, when I was going over the bridge! She caused the crash! She's the reason why I ended up in that lake! She. Killed. Me. My heart and my breathing stopped, I died, more than once, and it's a damn miracle that I'm alive without any impairments! Because my brain was without oxygen for 12 minutes." She looked between Elena and Miranda with disgust, "I shouldn't be here, but I am! But do you know what's worse, worse than knowing that your family almost permanently killed you? Knowing that while I was undergoing surgery, to save my life," she looked at Miranda, "You were with Sheriff Forbes, trying to blame me for the accident." Her eyes were watering, as she was trying to hold back her tears, she didn't want to give either one of the Gilberts the satisfaction, "You're my Aunt! You're supposed to protect me…instead, you hurt me. And neither one of you, can even bother to apologise for what you did!" She stood, "I can't do this!" she shook her head and left the house, standing on the porch, trying to settle herself.
Jenna moved to go after her daughter, but Damon put a hand on her arm and stopped her, "I'll go," he said quietly.
/ / /
He walked outside and saw her stood off to the side, trembling as she tried to keep her anger and her hurt in check. "Hey," he said softly, wrapping her in his arms, neither he, nor Enzo had thought that this would be difficult for Maya, she was always so strong, so sure of herself, and when they'd gotten to L.A, it was like she'd just brushed off the accident, like it meant nothing to her, so they'd done the same.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled into his chest, "I didn't realise how much she hurt me," she loved her Aunt Miranda, and the betrayal that she'd felt, she must have pushed it deep down, because she didn't want to deal with it, and now it had come out.
"It's okay," Damon whispered, "We shouldn't have pushed you to do this."
"It's not your fault."
"Well it's not yours either, do you want me to take you home? I think dinner's a bust now anyway."
Maya let out a self-depreciating laugh, "I love you," she muttered.
Damon felt Stefan's eyes on them and smirked, "I know."
/ / /
Stefan watched the two from the den window with a scowl, he hadn't heard most of their conversation, Elena had ran upstairs and her mother had followed, and thanks to his weakened senses, he couldn't hear over them initially, once they were upstairs he could hear Damon and Maya, and what he had heard, didn't make him happy. Maya had said that she loved Damon, loved him, Stefan thought that he'd just compelled her to get at him, she was Elena's cousin and it was an ideal way to torment him. But Maya had said that she'd loved him, Damon was treating the girl like Katherine had treated him, that wasn't right.
"You know what," Jenna said, "This has been fun, really, but I'm going to get Damon to take us home." She looked over at Bonnie, "Let them know we left." Bonnie rushed upstairs and Jenna moved to leave.
"Jenna," Stefan said, "My brother's not a good guy, you should keep your daughter away from him."
Jenna scowled and turned to look at Stefan, "My daughter is an excellent judge of character, and Damon has been nothing but a gentleman. Which is more than I can say for you."
"What?" Stefan asked, startled.
"The next time you want to treat a woman like crap, maybe make sure that it's not the Sheriff's daughter." Jenna snarled, leaving the house.
Damon got back to the Boarding House late that night, he had stayed long enough to make sure that Maya was going to be okay, and had had a chat with Enzo about what they were going to do in the future. They would both need to speak with the Siphon when she calmed down so that they could come up with a plan that didn't put her in such close proximity to Elena and her mother.
It was about two a.m. when he got back and Stefan was waiting for him in his room, "Ah, Stef, what is it now?"
"They are people Damon! She's not a puppet, she doesn't exist for your amusement, for you to feed on whenever you want to!"
"Sure she does! They all do! They're whatever I want them to be, they're mine for the taking," he said cruelly, not in the mood to play tonight. All he wanted was to be able to go back to the Sommers' home and curl up in bed with Enzo, instead, he was stuck at the Boarding House, having to deal with Stefan.
"All right, you've had your fun. You used Maya, you got to me and Elena, good for you. Now it's time for you leave them alone."
"That's not gonna happen, because I've been invited in, and I'll go back tomorrow night and the following night and I'll do with your little cheerleader whatever I want to. Because that is what is normal to me."
The next night, was the first football game of the season, the whole town was out in full force, even the Sheriff had made an appearance, "Are you sure you're okay?" Caroline asked.
"I'm fine," Maya said, "Let's just get the cheering over so that I can stay as far away from Elena as possible."
"Then you'll be happy to know that she quit."
"What?"
"Yep, I think it was something you said."
"Of course it was," Maya let out a hollow laugh, "She doesn't want to face me, especially since I embarrassed her in front of her brand new boyfriend." The two girls laughed, but were distracted when they heard yelling coming from by the stands, "Jeremy!" Maya said, both of them hurrying over to see what the commotion was about.
/ / /
Elena walked away from Stefan, he'd just split up Tyler and Jeremy, the two of them fighting over Vicki Donovan of all people. She tried to shake off what she'd seen, but she couldn't. Jeremy had come after Tyler with a broken bottle and Stefan had gotten in the way, she was positive that the bottle had cut Stefan, she'd seen it go into his hand, but when she'd checked, there wasn't a scratch on him. She headed over to Bonnie while Caroline and Maya were nowhere to be seen, "Hey!" Bonnie called, "Where have you been?"
"Can I ask you a question?" Elena asked, "And you give me a really serious no-joke response?"
"Of course, what is it?"
"The bad mojo, when you touched Stefan, and you had that reaction…"
"You know what, forget I said that, Stefan totally won me over."
"No, Bonnie, seriously. What was it? Did you see something? Or…"
"It wasn't clear like a picture. Like today, I keep seeing those same numbers I told you about... 8, 14, 22."
"Yeah?"
"When I touched Stefan, it was a feeling. And it vibrated through me, and it was cold, and it..."
"And what?"
"It was death. It's what I imagine death to be like."
Elena nodded, frowning, what did it mean? She moved off the field when she saw that Caroline and her cousin were coming back, she didn't want to get into it with them right now.
/ / /
Elena was at her mom's car, waiting for her mother and Jeremy to join her, her brother had run off before she could stop him and her mother had followed, she heard a noise from behind her and whirled around, seeing Damon, "What are you doing here?"
"Well dinner last night was very awkward."
"I know, I'm sorry, I-"
"So you are capable of saying the word." Damon said.
"What?"
"Sorry, you're capable of saying sorry, I only bring it up because you still haven't bothered to apologise to Maya for what you did."
"I didn't-" No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the words out, she never could.
"Yes you did, I think you should say you're sorry, don't you?"
"No!" Elena said.
And Damon scowled and moved in closer to her, "I really think that you should apologise." He compelled and Elena slapped him in response.
"I don't know who you think you are, but I am not someone that you can just order around!"
Damon snarled and stormed off, vervain! Stefan had given his little girlfriend vervain! Where had he gotten it from? Damon had made sure to destroy the town's supply years ago, but somehow, Stefan had managed to get his hands on it.
/ / /
Damon found Stefan talking with Matt, the human offering Stefan his seal of approval before running off to join the rest of the team. "Isn't that nice? Stefan joins a team, makes a friend. It's all so, 'rah, rah, go team, yeah!'"
"Not tonight Damon. I'm done with you."
"Nice trick with Elena. Let me guess, vervain in the necklace? I'll admit, I was a bit surprised. It's been a while since anyone could resist my compulsion. Where'd you get it?"
"Does it matter?"
Damon shrugged, "Guess I could just seduce her the old-fashioned way." Playing on what was clearly Stefan's biggest fear, "Or I could just... eat her."
"No, you're not gonna hurt her, Damon."
"No?"
"Because deep down inside, there is a part of you that feels for her. I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you, that you may have actually become the monster that you pretend to be," Stefan believed that the reason Damon was sticking around was because of Elena, because he wanted to know her, like he did.
"Who's pretending?"
"Then kill me."
Damon tapped his bottom lip, "Well, I am tempted."
"No, you're not. You've had lifetimes to do it, and yet, here I am. I'm still alive. And there you are. You're still haunting me. After 145 years. Katherine is dead. And you hate me because you loved her, and you torture me because you still do. And that, my brother, is your humanity."
Damon could feel his vampire bubble to the surface, Stefan knew nothing about him, if he'd tried to reconcile with his brother, he might actually know what was going on with Damon, but instead, Stefan just liked to make assumptions. Damon was spared from making a further comment when the football coach came up to them, "Salvatore! What the hell? We've got a game to play!" the coach stood with his back to Damon, and the older vampire gave a terrifying smile.
"If that's my humanity, then what's this?" he asked, grabbing the coach and sinking his fangs into the man's throat, draining him dry and dropping him on the ground.
"No!" Stefan cried out.
"Anyone. Anytime. Any place," he said before whooshing away.
Stefan was in his bedroom, writing in his journal, 'I thought there was hope, that somewhere deep inside, something in Damon was still human, normal. But I was wrong, there's nothing human left in Damon. No good. No kindness. No love. Only a monster who must be stopped.'
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, as they make me feel great!
Chapter 33: Vervain
Chapter Text
Damon watched as Stefan squirmed in his sleep, on animal blood his brother was pitifully weak, it was easy to get into his head, so he sent his brother a dream, a nightmare, Stefan watched as Dream Damon chased and attacked, Dream Elena. The younger Salvatore woke with a shout and Damon smirked at him from the doorway.
"Bad dream?" he asked.
"Damon!"
"Do you know how easy it was to get into your head just now? You really need some human blood, it might even the playing field. Oh!" he put his hand in front of his mouth in faux shock, "Football reference, too soon." Stefan launched a knife in Damon's direction, and it hit him in the stomach, but Damon didn't make a sound, the human blood in his system made it so that an injury like that felt like a scratch. "All right, I deserved that. But I just wanted to let you know that they caught the culprit. The animal responsible for killing Coach Tanner and all those other people." Damon took the knife out and twirled it in his fingers.
"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked.
"It was a mountain lion, a really big one. It attacked a hunter this morning, it's all over the news. 'Deadly beast captured, all's well in Mystic Falls.'"
"Why would you cover your tracks?" Stefan asked, Damon hadn't been shy about who he was, going so far as to attack someone in the actual town, and now he was covering it up.
"I've decided to stay a while," Damon shrugged, "I'm just having way too much fun here with you and Elena."
"Well you can't touch her now."
"Well, the vervain keeps me out of her head, but maybe that's not my target. Believe it or not Stefan, some girls don't need my persuasion. Some girls just can't resist my good looks, my style, my charm and my unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift. I mean just look at Maya, that pretty little cheerleader is in love with me." He smirked and stabbed the knife into Stefan's belly, causing his brother to groan in pain, "This is John Varvatos dude," he motioned to his shirt, "Dick move." He walked out of the room and headed straight outside, he needed to pick up some blood bags from the hospital, he had a cooler hidden in the basement and would hide the blood there once Stefan had left the house.
"Alright," Caroline said, bouncing into Maya's room, entirely too perky, she threw open the closet doors and started pulling out dresses, throwing them on Maya's bed, and consequently all over the girl who was curled up asleep.
"Sunshine I thought we talked about this!" Maya groaned, pulling the covers over her head, "You may be a morning person, but I am not."
"And you and I need to decide what to wear to the Founder's Day party, and we need to make sure that Damon and Enzo match us!"
"Why do I need to match you?" Enzo asked, coming into the room.
"Because I overheard my Mom say that the Council's using the party to screen for any vampires in town. The party starts at five p.m. when it is still sunny, anyone that shows up during the daylight hours is automatically discounted as a vampire. So you two are taking us!"
"But I don't want to go to a party," Maya complained.
"I don't care," Caroline said, "Enzo!" she snapped, looking at the vampire, "Get Mai out of bed and into the shower, we don't have a lot of time to get ready."
"It's nine a.m. we don't have to leave until quarter to five!" Maya complained.
"Yes, and we need to pick out our outfits, do our hair, makeup and get our stories straight! So hurry up and get up!" Caroline exclaimed, "Enzo let's move!" Caroline clicked her fingers and he held up his hands in surrender.
"Alright, come on Red," he said, throwing Maya over his shoulder and heading towards the bathroom.
"Enzo don't you dare!" Maya exclaimed, "Enzo! Enzo! Don't even! Enz-Aah!" she screamed in shock when he dropped her in the shower and turned on the cold water. Snarling she waved her hand and Enzo was thrown out of the bathroom, and hit the wall in her bedroom.
He groaned as he dropped to the floor, and looked up at Caroline who was clearly amused by the turn of events. "Not a word," he said and she mimed zipping her lips.
Getting up he headed back to his room, "Don't forget to call Damon!" Caroline yelled.
Miranda rushed over to the Lockwood Estate the day of the Founder's Council party, she'd received a message that there was an emergency meeting of the Council that needed to take place before the party started. She arrived at the Lockwood Mansion and headed straight for the Mayor's Study. "What is so important that I had rush over here?" Miranda asked. She looked around the room, both Richard and Carol Lockwood were there, along with Logan Fell, Liz Forbes, and Pastor Young. "What's going on?"
"The pocket watch isn't working," Richard said.
"What?!" Miranda asked. After the second set of animal attacks the Council had voted to use the Gilbert pocket watch to find out who the vampire was in town. So Miranda had dug it out from storage and gave it to the Council. "What do you mean it's not working?"
"We've tried, and it's not working, are you sure that we have everything we need to get it running?" The Mayor asked.
"It's one piece Richard," Miranda deadpanned, "Are you sure you did it right?"
"I'm positive," The Mayor frowned, "The watch has stopped working, which means that we don't have a full proof way to detect vampires."
"The watch was spelled by the Bennett's we could always ask Sheila if she knows what's wrong with it," Miranda said.
"You really think that Sheila will know what's going on?" Carol asked, "She spends most of her time drunk."
"Do you have a better idea?" Miranda replied.
Damon was in the living room going through Stefan's journal, hoping to get any insight into what his little brother was up to, Zach was skulking around, acting more squirrelly than usual. He could hear Zach come in and waited for his nephew to say something.
"I didn't know that you were here," he said.
"Just going through Stefan's homework," Damon said, flipping through the journal, not moving his eyes away from the pages, "Boy this country sure has dumbed down in the last hundred years. Why he wants to go to high school is beyond me. I mean the 70s he went Ivy League," he looked up at Zach, who remained across the room, "Harvard, I understood. Actually no, I didn't get that either." He flicked through the book and resisted the urge to roll his eyes because he could feel Zach hovering. "Go ahead, purge. Get it out, what's on your mind?"
"Why are you here Damon?" Zach finally asked.
Damon looked up at that, a friendly smile on his face, "To spend time with you Zach," he shut the journal and tossed it aside, "Family's important."
"I know you, you always have a motive. So tell me, what is it this time?"
Damon leant back on the sofa for a moment, really where did Zach get the audacity to question him? The human Salvatore was clearly feeling more confident than normal and that was perplexing. He whooshed from his seat to directly in front of Zach, and grabbed him by his throat. "You are in no position to question me."
"I-I didn't mean to upset you," Zach choked out.
Damon smiled, "This is not upset Zach." He squeezed tighter, genuinely contemplating whether or not he should just kill Zach, when Stefan interrupted them.
"What's going on?" Stefan asked.
The elder Salvatore dropped Zach to the floor and turned to face his brother, "Having a family moment Stefan, spending some quality time." He smirked and walked out of the room, he'd find out what Zach was up to later, but for now, he had to pick up a new suit, all of his were horribly out of date.
Stefan rushed over to Zach and helped him up, "Are you okay?"
"No, I'm not," Zach said, "And neither are you!" he gasped, trying to get his breath back, "How many more people have to die before you see that?"
"I see it, all right Zach, I see-"
"Then why aren't you doing anything about it?" Zach demanded.
"I can't! Zach. I can't." Stefan lowered his voice, wary of the fact that Damon's hearing range was much further than his, "It would take human blood, it's the only way that I could stop him and I can't do that."
Zach looked around and whispered, "Vervain could weaken him, if he ingested it. It would help get you the upper hand."
"Vervain hasn't grown here since 1865," Stefan replied, "Damon saw to that, and the little I had I gave to Elena." Zach looked around again and Stefan gave him a questioning look, "What?"
Zach motioned for Stefan to follow him and the two made their way into the basement.
/ / /
Zach took Stefan down past the regular basement and opened the door to the cell that had been there since the house was built, showing Stefan the large amount of vervain he had growing.
"You've been growing it," Stefan said, walking inside.
"It's just something that's been passed down through the generations, blood only runs so deep when you're related to vampires," Zach shrugged, "Damon would kill me if he knew that I had it."
"But you're telling me. Why?"
"Because I trust you. And you're gonna need it if you wanna get rid of him."
Stefan looked back at the vervain and then at Zach, nodding.
Damon had come back from the tailor with a new suit and was in the bathroom, doing his hair, "Do they still wear ties at this thing?" he asked as Stefan walked in.
"Why are you even going?" his brother asked.
"It's only fitting, we were at the very first one remember?"
"Well I think it's better if we don't draw attention to ourselves," Stefan replied.
"So you should stay here," Damon shrugged, "I'll see to it Elena has a good time." Damon looked back in the mirror and saw Stefan take a sip of bourbon, "My goodness, I've driven you to drink."
Stefan shot him a look before trying on his dress shoes, "I can't seem to rid myself of you, what else am I supposed to do besides go about living my life?"
" 'Go about living my life'" Damon mocked, "See, therein lies your eternal struggle," He turned to face Stefan, "You're dead dude. Get over it." He went back into the bathroom to finish getting dressed and when he came out, he gave himself a quick once over in the mirror, "It's cool not growing old, I like being the eternal stud."
"Yes being a 150-year-old teenager has been the height of my happiness." Stefan rolled his eyes and raised his almost empty glass to his brother.
Damon let out a little laugh, putting on his jacket, "You cracked a funny Stefan!" Stefan didn't say anything but finished his drink, "I should have a drink and celebrate." Damon said, grabbing a glass from the table and moving over to the drinks, where a picture of Katherine caught his eye. The usual stabbing pain that was there when he thought of her, had turned into a dull ache, and honestly, he believed that soon, that would be gone too. But for now, he was to play the heartbroken brother, "1864, you and Katherine were the perfect couple. It was hell watching you dance with her."
"My happiness was short lived, as you well know," Stefan replied, waiting for his brother to take a drink.
"I remember," Damon tossed the picture back on the table and picked up the bourbon and his glass instead, turning around to face Stefan, "I left the party early, I was waiting for her. The night you dropped her off, I was waiting just inside." He started to pour his drink and continued, "You were such a gentleman, gave her a kiss on the cheek, when what she really wanted was…" Damon trailed off for a moment as he remembered that night, remembered being in her room, and then remembered how she compelled him to leave, because she didn't want him. Shaking off the new wave of hurt at that memory, he must have suppressed it, he raised his glass to Stefan, who'd turned around to watch him. "Oh well, here's to history repeating itself, huh?"
He moved to take a drink, but just before it could touch his lips he poured it on the floor, "I admire your effort Stefan," Damon said, coldness creeping into his voice, "Pouring yourself a drink, then spiking the bottle with vervain. I'm not some drunk sorority chick, you can't roofie me." Stefan didn't need to know that Damon had been consuming a little vervain every day at Maya's request, so that he'd be better prepared if someone tried something like that with him. It also prevented compulsion from the Originals, but Maya had fortified his mind, like she had with Enzo, so he didn't need to worry about that. "But I can't help but feel a little used." Damon straightened his cuffs, "I thought we were having a moment," he sighed, "Now I have to go to the party angry, who knows what I'll do?" He walked out of his room and Stefan watched him go, jaw clenched in frustration. He thought that his first plan probably wouldn't work, it's why he came up with contingencies, but upsetting Damon before he was going out with Elena's cousin, probably wasn't the smartest of moves.
"Okay people let's go!" Caroline called, adjusting the scarf around her neck, Damon had just arrived to pick up Maya, the two of them would take his car and Enzo would take Maya's.
"What's the hold up Blondie?" Damon asked, coming inside.
"Mai's taking forever," Caroline muttered, "LET'S GO!" she yelled.
"God Sunshine, relax!" Maya said coming downstairs, Enzo trailing behind her.
"Look at you!" Damon smiled, "You look gorgeous."
Maya was wearing a sleeveless, white, knee length dress, with light blue flowers printed all over it, it hugged her waist and showed off her tanned legs. "Why thank you Mr Salvatore."
"Pfft, I wasn't talking to you," Damon said, deliberately pushing her out of his way and taking in Enzo.
"I've never been so offended in my whole life!" Maya gasped, causing Caroline to giggle.
Enzo smirked and moved over to his lover, "So do you," he said, pulling Damon in by his jacket and kissing him, "I missed you this morning."
"I missed you too," Damon replied.
"Hey!" Maya snapped her fingers, pulling the two out of their own little world, "He's my boyfriend tonight! Keep your paws off Enzo!"
Enzo shot her an annoyed look before walking over to Caroline, "That's just as well, because this charming creature is all mine tonight." He placed his hand on Caroline's waist and gave her a rakish grin.
Caroline responded, by giving him her patented 'bitchy smile' and shook his hands off of her, "In your dreams Enzo!" she turned around, hair smacking him in the face as she did so and marched towards the car.
Maya snickered in amusement before rushing after her friend, she didn't want to get yelled at again.
/ / /
Both cars pulled up to the Lockwood Estate almost in sync and the vampires got out, offering their hands to their female companions, all four of them headed for the entrance to the mansion.
"Caroline! Maya! You both look smashing!" Carol Lockwood smiled, walking over to the entrance, she liked both girls, while Maya was a little rowdy, she and Caroline were a force to be reckoned with when it came to helping plan and execute the Council's many celebrations.
"Thank you Mrs Lockwood," Caroline smiled.
"Thanks Mrs L," Maya grinned, conscious of the two vampires between them, waiting for an invite inside, "Oh this is my boyfriend Damon," she gestured at the man by her side, "And this is Lorenzo, Caroline's date."
"Oh well, come on in," Carol said.
"Lovely to meet you," Damon said, stepping inside, "I've been looking forward to this party for quite a while."
Enzo stepped forward with Caroline and smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Caroline has had nothing but good things to say about you and the Mayor."
"Thank you, please enjoy." She gave them her politician smile and walked off to greet other party goers.
"Let's get a drink," Damon said, offering his arm to Maya, as Enzo did the same to Caroline.
The Siphon and older Vampire headed for the bar, but Caroline stopped when she saw her mother, "Wait here," she said to Enzo and walked over to her mother. "Really, you couldn't even change out of the badge for this?" she asked, annoyed that her mom was always working.
"I'm working honey, who's the date you just tried to sneak past me?" the Sheriff asked, as Enzo went to join his friend and lover at the bar.
"Just some guy," Caroline shrugged, not wanting to give anything away, but she knew that that answer wouldn't cut it for her mother.
"He's a little old for you, don't you think?"
"Oh because otherwise you'd approve, I doubt that."
"Caroline," Liz gave her a stern look and she rolled her eyes.
"Relax, he's good friends with Jenna and Maya, they know each other from New York, he's thinking about moving here to be closer to them so I offered to be his date for tonight, so that he can see what Mystic Falls is really like."
"Fine, where's your dad?"
"Memphis."
"Good-"
"With Stephen," she finished, before rushing off to join Maya in the other room, it was a little mean sure, but her mother hadn't paid her any attention since she'd gotten back from L.A. In fact, Caroline didn't think that Liz had even noticed that she'd stayed at the Sommers for most of the week.
/ / /
The party went on for some time, Maya enjoying being out in public with three of her favourite people, she and Damon ignored Stefan and Elena for a while, opting to schmooze with some of the 'more important' residents of Mystic Falls, before it got dark.
Jenna had come to the party later than the rest of them, needing to finish up a project for her work, before she could even think about going to the Founder's Party, not that she really wanted to. She wasn't important enough to be noticed in town, but she did want to see her daughter all dressed up. She grabbed a glass of champagne and walked over to her little group of people.
"Hey Mom!" Maya smiled.
"Hi Honey, Caroline, you both look so pretty," she said.
"And you look ravishing," Enzo smirked, causing the woman to roll her eyes.
"Enzo, Damon," she deadpanned, "I take it you're enjoying the festivities."
"Free booze and drunk society women," Damon smirked, "Who wouldn't?"
Maya elbowed him in the gut "You're such an ass…"
"But you love me anyway," that was something that Damon had taken to saying a lot, especially now that he'd come back to Mystic Falls, it was if he was reminding himself that now he had people that were on his side, people that cared for him. When he hadn't before.
"How are things going?" Jenna asked.
"Damon is taking special delight in tormenting Stefan," Caroline said, arm wrapped tightly around Enzo's as she felt the gaze of the vampire pass over her at the mention of his name.
"As well he should," Jenna said, "He's a dick, I don't like him."
Damon snorted in amusement at that, "There's not many that aren't a fan of St Stefan."
"Well they obviously haven't met you then."
Maya laughed, "Well that's hardly true!"
"Hey!" Damon gasped, "Words hurt you know?!"
"Oh I'm sorry," Maya offered him contrite look, "Do you want me to kiss it better?"
Damon's eyes danced with mirth, "Definitely later," he said suggestively, causing Jenna and Enzo to grimace.
"Okay I'm your Mom and this is grossing me out," Jenna said, "So I'm gonna go, before I hear anything that might make me puke. Have fun, practice safe sex people." She ran off before they could stop her.
"Jenna!"
"Mom!" Both Enzo and Maya exclaimed as Jenna rushed off in the opposite direction.
Caroline shook her head in amusement and something caught her eye, "Hey look," she gave a little nod and Damon saw Stefan and Elena walking over to Founder's Register, from the first ever Founders Party.
"That's my cue," Damon said, "Caroline, won't you please join me?" the four of them had decided that not only would it be fun, but it would be better for Maya's mental health if she didn't have to interact with Elena as much as their initial plan had called for. So Caroline would split the duties with her, it also made it look like Damon was snacking on more teenagers, which would put Stefan seriously on edge.
"I shall," she said, taking his offered arm, the two of them walked over to Elena and Stefan.
/ / /
"The founding families of Mystic Falls welcome you to the inaugural Founder's Council Celebration," Elena read, "Wow, look, it's the original guest registry. Look at all these familiar names: Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood…is that Damon Salvatore? And Stefan Salvatore?" She gave Stefan a startled look.
"The original Salvatore brothers," Damon said, amused at the momentary panic on Stefan's face, "Our ancestors, tragic story actually."
"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past," Stefan said, trying to cut his brother off and keep him away from Elena.
"It's not boring Stefan," Elena said, "I'd love to hear more about your family." Stefan had been very guarded, and coupled with the information that Elena had heard from Bonnie, who'd heard it from Tiki, who got it from Caroline, who got it from Maya, it made her suspicious.
"Well I'm bored," Caroline said, ignoring Elena, "I wanna dance, and neither my date, nor Damon will dance with me. So I'm just going to borrow your date." She didn't ask.
"Then why don't you get Maya to dance with you?" Elena asked.
"Because she's busy introducing Enzo to the Mayor!"
Stefan shot a look over at the Mayor, and sure enough he was chatting with the red head and the stranger Caroline had been with, "I don't really dance," Stefan said.
"He does!" Damon said, "You should see him! Waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all."
"Well that's settled then!" Caroline grabbed Stefan's hand and pulled him along with her to the dance floor. Stefan didn't protest again, likely thinking that Caroline had been compelled to get him away from Elena and wouldn't stop until she did.
They left Damon and Elena alone, for the first time since the night of the football game, "I want to apologise to you for being such a word-class jerk the other night at the football game," the words were like acid in his mouth but he'd get through them, "You didn't deserve it, my therapist said that I'm acting out, trying to punish Stefan, and scaring you was a way I tried to do it."
"Punish him for what?"
"It's all in the past," Damon shook his head, "I don't even wanna bring it up. Let's just say that the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry. And it all started with the original Salvatore brothers.
/ / /
Caroline and Stefan were on the dance floor, "Damon told you to ask me to dance, didn't he?" he asked.
"Why would he do that?" Caroline replied, looking sufficiently confused.
Stefan frowned for a moment, before he caught sight of a waiter bringing around champagne glasses, "Would you like one?" he asked, letting go of her and grabbing two flutes from the waiter's tray. Caroline looked away for a moment so he poured some vervain in her drink, he'd get Maya's on the way back over to Damon and Elena, covering all of his bases.
"Sure, just tell me if you see my mom," Caroline replied, taking a glass from him and sipping some.
Stefan smiled and spotted Maya break away from the Mayor, "Would you excuse me for just one moment," Stefan said.
Caroline nodded and raised a brow as she saw him walk over to Maya.
/ / /
"Maya!" Stefan called, walking up to her with a fresh glass of champagne.
She stopped and turned to face him, "Stefan," she said, face devoid of emotion.
"Can we talk?" he asked.
"That depends, is one of those for me?" she asked, nodding at the champagne.
Stefan smiled, "Of course," he handed a glass over to her and watched as she took a sip.
"So what do you want?"
"I wanted to talk to you about Damon," he said, "I know that he can be very charming, but I've known him for a lot longer than you have, and he's dangerous, you should stay away from him."
Maya frowned, Stefan Salvatore was such a hypocrite, yes Damon was dangerous, he was a vampire, all of them were, but Stefan was arguably worse, he was a Ripper, when he fed on human blood, all of his morals went out of the window, and he left nothing but destruction in its wake. He didn't get to talk to her about Damon being dangerous, "Listen to me when I say this, because I'm only going to say it one more time. Damon is my boyfriend, and I've known him, for longer than I've known you. I don't know you, I don't trust you, and from what little I've seen, you're not the type of person that I'd want to take advice from."
"Ma-"
"No, no, let me finish! You've pushed your way into my business, on more than one occasion, you can't back off, when asked. And you were rude and needlessly cruel to my best friend. Did you even apologise for the way you acted at the bonfire?" she asked, "Caroline was just trying to be friendly to the new guy, but let me guess, you'd heard what she was like from Elena and Bonnie, and decided that based on that, you'd treat her like she was just some dumb blonde cheerleader."
"You're right," Stefan said, realising that whatever compulsion Damon had on the girl was too strong for him combat against, "You don't know me, and I was rude to Caroline, I will apologise. But I do need you to hear this, I know Damon, and he's not good for anyone."
"I heard you," Maya said, "And this is me ignoring you," she walked off and headed back to Enzo, before she punched Stefan again, that would not look good for either of them.
/ / /
"The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town until the war," Damon said, shoving his hands into his pockets, "There was a battle here-"
"The Battle of Willow Creek," Elena nodded.
"Right."
"I know, we talked about it in class. Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside."
"What the history books left out, was that the people that were killed, they weren't there by accident." Damon walked around her, wanting to put a little more distance between them, "They were believed to be Union sympathisers, so some of the Founders on the Confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive." Damon looked down at the little model of the church that was before him, and Elena walked over to him, half entranced by the story, half horrified by what he was saying, "Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church, and when they went to rescue them, they were shot," Damon's eyes were sad, as he remembered the night of his death, "Murdered in cold blood."
"Who was in the church that they wanted to save?" Elena asked.
"A woman I guess, doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?"
Elena looked him in the eye for a moment, before she shook off the connection she felt with him, "Look I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you, but I can't get in the middle of it Damon. I just, I hope you two can work it out."
"I hope so too," Damon said, he heard Maya's laugh and his jaw clenched, it was time to wrap this little charade up, but not without giving Elena something real to think about, "You know, Maya means a lot to me," he said, acting like the caring boyfriend, but genuinely telling her the truth, "And you hurt her, you know that right?"
"Damon look-"
"Don't say anything," Damon said, "You don't have to love her, or care for her, or even like her. But you did something wrong that night Elena, you know it, deep down. You nearly took your Aunt's daughter away from her, and I know Jenna, that would have broken her. The fact that you can't apologise for your Aunt's sake, really makes me question why Stefan even wants to be with you." He gave her a disappointed look and walked off to find Caroline and reunite them both with their respective dates for the evening.
Leaving Elena to gape at him as he left, one moment they were sharing a moment, and the next he was scolding her like she was little child, what the hell was with Damon Salvatore?
/ / /
Damon and Caroline re-joined Maya and Enzo, "So this party is a bust," Enzo said, "But I think we've all stayed here long enough to allay suspicion, don't you?"
Maya nodded, "Definitely, we came, we looked fantastic, and Caroline has been here long enough to show the Miss Mystic committee that she's very involved in all things Mystic Falls, right?" she looked over at the blonde.
"Yeah," Caroline agreed, "We can go home."
"Great," Damon said, "There's just one thing."
"What?" Enzo asked.
"Well we all know that before I met you," he glanced at Maya, "I had a plan to set she-who-must-not-be-named free."
"Right…"
"Once specific ingredient of that plan was an amulet, belonging to Emily Bennett, it would charge up with the passing of the comet so that it could be used to open the, you know, thing."
"Okay, so?" Caroline asked.
"Well I hid it upstairs, in a Lockwood heirloom."
"Seriously?" Maya said.
"Why does everyone hide magical items in the Lockwood house?" Caroline whispered.
"What?" Damon asked, confused, no one had mentioned to him exactly where Maya had located the moonstone.
"Never mind," Maya waved it off, "What's your point?"
"My point is, do you think I should go and get it?"
"A super old talisman, filled with the power of the comet? Sure, I could drain that thing dry."
"Great," Damon said, "Maya you come with me, you two let Jenna know that we're leaving!"
He tugged Maya's hand and the two made their way upstairs, Damon ducked into a study room and Maya followed, watching as he opened an antique and pulled the yellow crystal from it's hiding spot. As she took in the crystal, the vision of Emily Bennett in Bonnie's body flooded her mind. "Well that's hideous," she said.
"Well, it's all yours," Damon replied, dropping it into her outstretched hand.
"Aah!" Maya gasped, dropping the crystal and staring at the burn mark that it left on her hand.
"What is it?" Damon asked worried, looking at the mark.
"That is a powerful talisman, that is directly linked to Emily Bennett," Maya scowled, "She doesn't want me touching it."
Damon frowned, picking it up, "So what do we do with it?"
"Keep it," Maya said, "We can use it as a bargaining chip with Sheila Bennett if necessary."
He slipped it into his jacket pocket, he didn't want to keep it on his person, not when he had to go to the Boarding House, "I'll give it to Enzo," Damon said, "It's probably best to keep it away from Stefan."
/ / /
Stefan frowned as he watched Damon get into his car with Maya, he hadn't fed on either Caroline or Maya yet, and he needed to be there when Damon did, so that he could take his brother and lock him away. He was going to have to follow them.
He kept himself to the woods, as he vamp sped after Damon's car, he watched as his brother went inside the Sommers House, not requiring an invitation, which meant that he already had one. But then Damon came out a few minutes later, hair dishevelled, clothes mussed, a smirk on his face, and Stefan grimaced, Damon hadn't fed on her.
Stefan pulled out his phone and shot a messaged to Zach 'Plan C' was all it said.
Damon got back to the Boarding House, he took off his jacket and tie, and poured himself a drink, it had only been two weeks, but he couldn't wait until this was over.
He missed the easy existence he had, in the little bubble in the Sommers home, he missed waking up to Enzo in the morning, hell he even missed Maya blasting her music in her room first thing as she got dressed. But he had to stay close to Elena, which meant staying close to Stefan, and keeping Stefan suspicious about all the wrong things was the easiest way to do that. Sighing he headed downstairs, he needed a blood bag. Turning the corner he dodged Stefan as he tried to inject him with vervain, "Nice try Stefan, but I'm faster than you," he said, shoving his brother across the hallway and turning to leave, unfortunately while concentrating on Stefan, he hadn't even realised that Zach was close by, and ended up with two vervain darts embedded in his stomach.
Damon groaned in pain, but didn't go down, his tolerance for vervain significantly higher than that of an average vampire his age. "I'm gonna kill you!" he snarled, moving forward, but was hit with another three darts in his back, finally going down, unconscious.
"That took more vervain than I thought," Zach panted, heart pounding, as he realised how close to death he actually was.
"Damon's stronger than expected," Stefan said, picking up his brother and whooshing him down to the cell in the basement. Stefan reached out and grasped Damon's ring, but when he tried to pull it off, he was burned quite badly, "Aah!" What the hell was that? He tried to take the ring again, but had the same result. He couldn't take the ring from his brother, grabbing two more vervain darts, he stabbed them into his brother's leg, if he couldn't take the ring from Damon, then he'd make sure that his brother was too weak to get out.
Groaning as he woke, Damon sensed Stefan looking at him, he felt his hand and smirked, "Couldn't get my ring off huh?"
"I don't need to, you're not going anywhere," Stefan said.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Damon panted, as he tried to push himself to sit up but couldn't. "Don't forget, I have a girlfriend in town."
"You broke up with her," Stefan said, "Over text, this morning, it was very abrupt, but I'm sure she'll get over you."
Damon let out a cross between a gasp and a laugh, "Oh brother," he said, "You have no idea what you've done."
Maya woke to her phone chirping, indicating that she had a message, groaning, she reached out blindly for her phone, and unlocked it, so she could see the message. She brushed the hair out of her face and squinted as she looked at the screen, a message from Damon? He knew better than to send her something so early in the morning. Maya opened the text and her eyes widened as she read the message, sitting up straight, she read it again and cursed. "Enzo!" she yelled, shooting out of bed and running over to his room, she threw open the door without knocking and jumped on his bed, shaking the vampire awake, "Enzo!"
"What?" Enzo groaned, Damon hadn't come back last night and he was in a mood because of it, what if he hadn't come back because he'd spent that time with Elena and decided that he wanted to pursue her?
"Damon's in trouble!" she said, getting his attention.
Enzo's eyes snapped open, "What?!"
"He's in trouble!" She showed him the message that she'd received from 'Damon'.
"What the hell is this?" Enzo asked, the message said that Damon was leaving town, and that he was done with Maya.
"Stefan must have done something! He spiked my drink with vervain, Caroline's too!"
Enzo shot out of bed and got dressed in seconds, "Put some clothes on, we're going to the Boarding House."
/ / /
Damon gave Stefan a taunting grin, which was a feat, given how weak he felt, locked up in that cell, "You've done it now Stef!" he coughed.
"What are you talking about Damon?"
"You'll see."
/ / /
Enzo whooshed Maya straight to the Boarding House, stopping just outside of Stefan's hearing range, "What do we do?" he asked, "I don't have an invite, and the human's not home."
"You stay hidden," Maya said.
"What?!"
"You're the ace in the hole Enzo, Stefan doesn't recognise you, probably because he was too enamoured with Elena from the night of the accident, you stay hidden, I'll get Damon out."
"You'll have to reveal yourself to Stefan."
Maya shrugged, "It was going to happen eventually, and now he's made me extra mad."
Enzo's vampire was on full display, "I want to tear him apart," he growled.
"I know," Maya said, "But wait, it'll be all the more satisfying when Stefan realises that Damon has more than one ally in town." Maya's gaze was dark, Enzo could see the blackness creeping into her veins again, "Stefan's about to wish that he'd never touched Damon."
Enzo melted into the trees as he watched his best friend march to the front door of the Salvatore home, she didn't knock, just blasted it inward.
/ / /
Damon and Stefan both heard a crash come from upstairs, "Uh-oh," Damon said, "Told you so."
Stefan whooshed upstairs, only to be thrown back down them by an invisible force, he groaned as he hit floor, skidding to a stop in front of Damon's cell, "Hello Stefan." Maya said, eyes pitch black, skin luminescent with power.
"Maya!" Stefan's eyes widened as he saw the girl, she had magic!
She lifted her hand up, and Stefan was lifted in the air, choking on nothing, "What exactly do you think you're doing, Ripper?" she asked.
Stefan groaned as he felt his insides start to burn, "What- what are you doing?!" he gasped.
"Do you feel that?" she asked, "That's me, boiling your blood from the inside." Stefan groaned in pain, "It won't kill you, that right's reserved for Damon," she said, "But it hurts like hell right!" she growled out, throwing him back against the wall.
"Maya," Damon coughed and she turned her attention to the almost desiccated vampire in the cell.
"Damon!" she gasped, seeing him in such a terrible state, "You need blood."
"Freezer," he said, and she looked around the room, spotting a large freezer in the corner. She opened it and pulled out six blood bags, she wasn't going to take any chances with Damon.
Stefan rolled onto his side, struggling to push himself up, eyes widening as he saw the blood bags, he didn't know that Damon had been feeding on blood bags, he watched as they lifted into the air and floated through the little gap in the cell, "Don't!" he groaned.
Maya lifted her hand and Stefan was pinned against the wall, Damon grabbed the blood bags as they dropped into his cell and drained them in seconds. With his newly regained strength, Damon broke the cell door and stepped out, blood all over his mouth, vampire on full display.
He sneered at Stefan, struggling against invisible chains, "Stefan meet Maya," he stepped next to the girl, running his hand through her hair, "My pretty. Little. Dark. Witch." He said, eyes glinting dangerously.
"Damon," Stefan strained.
"Maya, babe, did you know that Stefan tried to steal my ring?" he asked.
"Did he now?" she cocked her head and Stefan groaned in pain, "Well that was stupid."
Damon smirked, "Oh definitely, what shall we do about that?"
"Hmm," Maya grinned, "I've got it!" she looked over at the freezer and whispered a few words, sealing it tightly, "Stefan can't get into your cooler," she said, "Now how's about we send him on a scavenger hunt?"
Damon's eyes lit up with glee, he whooshed over to Stefan and took his ring, "Back in few," he said, and whooshed out of the house.
Maya dropped Stefan and he grunted, "What are you doing?"
"Well you thought that you should take Damon's ring, just in case. Now he's taken yours."
Damon whooshed back and crouched over Stefan, "I've hidden your ring Stef, somewhere out there, on the property. How bout you go look for it?"
"Damon, don't." Stefan clawed his way to his feet.
The elder Salvatore, gave him a dark smirk, "It's too late for pleading Stef." He shoved Stefan up against the wall, Stefan could barely fight back, "You're hurt, you need to feed," he pulled Stefan's phone from his pocket and snapped it in half, "Let's hope that Zach doesn't come home before it gets dark." He dropped his brother and gripped Maya and whooshed out of the Boarding House.
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel so good!
Chapter 34: Kidnapping?
Chapter Text
Jenna crossed her arms and stared down at the two vampires and siphon sat on the couch in front of her. “What the hell were you thinking?!” she hissed at them.
“Mom-”
“No!” Jenna held her hand up, “You exposed your powers to Stefan?!”
“To be fair-”
“You let her go into that creepy house without backup!” she pointed at Enzo, “And you!” she put her hands on her hips and sighed, “I’m just glad you’re okay,” she leant down and kissed Damon on the cheek, “But seriously, you need to stop getting locked up, you’re becoming a damsel in distress!”
“Hey!” Damon exclaimed, affronted by the descriptor, and Maya and Enzo snorted in amusement.
“Ugh! I just- I can’t believe you three!” Jenna stormed off and the three of them looked between one another questioningly, waiting to see if she was going to come back.
“Do you think we can go now?” Enzo whispered.
“We should leave,” Maya nodded, “Before she comes back and yells some more.” The red-head stood and grabbed her jacket, “I’m going to go. You two might want to make yourself scarce before she comes back and starts laying out punishments. Later boys.” Maya headed out, knowing that Enzo wanted some alone time with Damon and she had something that she needed to do.
Stefan kept himself down in the basement, he’d tried to go upstairs, only to find that Damon had made sure that the sunlight was coming through every window in the house, and with his phone broken there was no way that he could warn Zach to stay away. He was getting hungrier by the second, whatever Maya had done to him had sent his hunger into overdrive, and he knew that if Zach came home before sunset, he was going to kill him. He couldn’t even lock himself in the cell, because Damon had kicked the door off it’s hinges when he got out. He glanced at his watch, it hadn’t been long since Damon had left, he still had five hours of sun left, he was screwed. Stefan heard a noise coming from the driveway, no, no, no, he was going to kill someone!
/ / /
Damon watched Zach move about the town from the shadows, as much as he wanted to force Stefan’s hand into feeding on human blood as a punishment, he knew that turning Stefan back into a ripper would put Elena in danger, and he was not about to be the one to tell Nik that he was the reason Stefan tore the doppelgänger’s head off. Not to mention, he wanted to be the one to punish Zach, he wanted his nephew to know that he’d fucked up before he died, and he needed a way onto the Council, he wanted to know everything about them, and he couldn’t do that if Stefan ripped Zach’s throat out.
He waited until Zach was completely on his own and then snatched him up, Damon whooshed to the Salvatore Mausoleum, knowing that no one was going to come anywhere near it. He threw Zach on the ground and waited for him to get up and face him.
“Hello nephew.”
“I’m full of vervain, I’ve been putting it in my coffee for 16 years.” Zach said, hoping that Damon wouldn’t try to rip his throat out.
“So it was your vervain, good, good for you,” Damon nodded, closing the door of the mausoleum behind him, “Family only runs so deep.”
“We’re not family Damon. Only in the most dysfunctional sense. In fact I avoided having a living, breathing, loving family because of you.”
Damon rolled his eyes, that wasn’t strictly true, he suspected Stefan had compelled Zach in 1994, told him not to have more family, just in case, “You know you’re just like your grandfather. He didn’t like it when I came to visit either.”
“But you don’t visit Damon, you appear, unannounced. Reminding me that the Boarding House isn’t mine, that you’re just permitting me to live there. Hell, that you’re permitting me to live.”
“Someone had to mow the lawn,” Damon shrugged.
“So what am I here for now then?”
“You’re gonna tell me everything you know about the council, because while you may be chock full of vervain, I know plenty of ways to make you hurt. And at the risk of sounding like a cliché, around here, no one can hear you scream.”
/ / /
Maya texted Enzo to meet her at the park, she’d already missed the first two periods of school and couldn’t be bothered to go in for the rest, plus Caroline was missing the last half of school to set up things for the car wash (go shopping for a new suit).
“Maya,” Enzo said, walking up to her.
“Where’s Damon?”
“Looking for Zach.”
“He’s decided against making Stefan kill him.” Maya said.
“You don’t look surprised.”
“Making his baby brother kill his nephew, that’s dark and twisty, and Damon isn’t in a dark and twisty place anymore, he’s happy. Plus Zach vervained him, and he’s gonna wanna punish the guy himself.”
“So we’re just supposed to let Stefan get away with what he did?” Enzo replied annoyed.
Maya shook her head, “Nope, that’s why I asked you to meet me.”
“What is it?” She showed him her phone, and the picture on it, “What have they done to earn your wrath?”
“Plenty.”
/ / /
Stefan held his breath as he heard someone enter the house, it wasn’t Zach, that much he knew, but he didn’t know who it was. Hopefully if he stayed quiet, they wouldn’t come anywhere near the cellar.
He could feel his vampire come to the surface as he heard the person come closer to the basement entrance, “No, no, no,” he whispered.
The door opened and someone stumbled down the stairs, and as much as he tried to hold it back, he couldn’t. He was on them in an instant, tearing into their throat with his fangs. Somehow he managed to pull himself away from the person he’d attacked and threw himself across the room. “Oh god,” he whispered, staring at the body on the floor, “What have I done?”
He hadn’t killed anyone since 1935, and now he’d done it again, squeezing his eyes shut he couldn’t believe that he’d given in so easily. His eyes shot open when he heard a wet cough come from the person on the floor, they were still alive! He could fix this!
Miranda walked up the steps to Sheila Bennett’s house, pocket watch in her purse, she knocked and waited for the older woman to answer. Sheila opened the door, squinting a little at the harsh sunlight, “Miranda Gilbert,” Sheila said, “This is a surprise.”
“Sheila, the Council needs your help,” Miranda breathed.
The Bennett Witch shook her head, “Bennetts don’t help the Council, not since they burned us at the stake.”
“Shelia please, there’s a vampire in town, and we can’t find it.”
“So use the watch, that’s what it’s for.”
“That’s the problem,” Miranda said, taking the pocket watch out of her bag, “It’s stopped working.”
“What are you talking about?” Sheila looked down at the timepiece in Miranda’s hand, “Magic just doesn’t ‘stop working’, that’s not how it operates.”
“That’s why I brought it to you, so you could see if you knew what was wrong.”
“Come inside,” Sheila said, motioning for her to follow her.
Miranda walked in and Shelia cleared some space on the coffee table, “Give it here.” She held out her hand and Miranda placed the watch in the centre of her palm.
Shelia covered the watch with her other hand and closed her eyes, trying to sense what was wrong, “There’s nothing there,” she said.
“What?”
“The magic, it’s gone… it’s like it’s been-” she cut herself off as she came to a realisation. The watch had been in the possession of the Gilberts for a long time, and it was only recently that Jenna and Miranda had a falling out. Prior to that, Maya would have had almost free reign of the Gilbert household.
“It’s like it’s been what?”
“Drained,” the Bennett Witch finally said, “It’s been drained, there’s no magic left in the watch, so it won’t work.”
“Can you fix it?”
Shelia shook her head, “I could try, but this spell was created over 140 years ago by Emily Bennett, the only way I could be sure was if I had her grimoire.”
“Grimoire?”
“Spell book,” Shelia clarified, “Every witch has one, they write down all their spells in them, Emily’s grimoire would have the spell for this.”
“And you don’t have it?”
“Someone turned Emily in as a witch, and she was burned at the stake, I imagine whoever captured her, took her grimoire. It’s either hidden away, or more likely, destroyed.”
“I’ll check the Founder’s Archives, see if any of the Council back then mention it,” Miranda said, standing.
“In the meantime, I will see what I can do, maybe I can make something for you to use temporarily.”
“Thank you,” Miranda said, “I let you know as soon as I have something.”
Klaus was currently trapped underneath the two small bodies of Liam and Luna, he wasn’t sure how he’d ended up in this position, he’d been going over some accounts from his personal investments, when the children had burst into his office, climbed on his desk, knocked his papers on the floor and then ended up in his lap. He sighed, perhaps it was time to get the children some schooling, they had a lot of time to get used to living with a new pack, living without their family, and they needed to get back to some semblance of normal. And they absolutely needed a premier education, if they were his responsibility then he was going to make sure that they were taken care of. “Alright you know I have a lot of work to do,” he said, his phone started to ring from somewhere on the floor, it must have made it’s way there when his papers had been shoved from the desk. “You should go and play with Cary.”
“No!” Liam complained, “We’re bored.”
“Well-” Klaus cut himself off as he searched for his phone, “What about the rest of the kids?” Unbeknownst to him, Luna’s attention had moved from him, to his phone, she crawled under his legs and found the device underneath a stack of paper.
“We don’t like them,” Liam said.
Klaus grabbed Liam’s arms, stopping the boy from moving, “Liam I need to get to my-” his phone had stopped ringing, “Wonderful.”
“Hello?” Luna asked.
Klaus’s eyes snapped up, and saw that Luna had disappeared from his office, but he could hear her running through the hallways, she had his phone, “Bloody hell!”
Elijah had gathered a lot of information from the Kingmaker sites that he needed to relay to his brothers, Lucien was much further along in his research than they’d believed, and Rebekah had come across the remnants of another pack, the Poldark pack, if the wolves that had been rescued were to be believed, they were a royal bloodline, just like the other wolves that they had found. Which put the number of packs that they had found at four. Which left three unaccounted for, the Malraux pack, the Crescent wolves, and the Northeast Atlantic pack.
The last time he’d heard of the Crescents, they were in New Orleans, but that particular city was off limits, to him and his sister especially. Kol had said something about Niklaus having a plan for New Orleans, and Elijah didn’t think that it was a good idea at the time to anger his brother further, by potentially interfering with that plan. So instead, he’d sent a compelled vampire to the city, to find out if the wolves remained there.
The Malraux pack were ghosts, they hadn’t been heard from in years, which was very unsettling, it meant that either Lucien had found them and already wiped them out. Or they’d gotten so good at hiding, that not even an Original could find them. Which put his own capabilities into question. He didn’t know which would be worse, the possibility of being bested intellectually by a wolf pack, or the knowledge that Lucien was another step closer to making his deadly venom.
The Northeast Atlantic pack was also an issue, from what he could ascertain they liked to remain on the move, they never stayed in a place for more than a month, stuck to woodland areas, and very rarely made contact with the outside world. The problem was, the pack had seemingly completely disappeared, January was the last time there had been any information about them, but since then, there was nothing. He knew that Lucien hadn’t gotten a hold of them yet, because the chatter he’d picked up from Kingmaker, had them frantically searching for the pack. So what had happened to them?
Sighing Elijah picked up his phone, he knew that he would need to inform his brothers about what he’d found. Automatically he phoned Klaus, even though he knew that his brother wouldn’t answer, it was a habit. Shaking himself from his thoughts he moved to hang up, but surprisingly his call was answered. What was even more surprising, was the person who’d answered his call, he’d used the newer video calling feature that his phone supported, and was met with the face of a little blonde girl.
“Hello?” the girl asked.
Elijah stared at her with wide eyes for a moment, who was she? And why was she answering his brother’s phone? “Hello,” he said.
“Who are you?” she asked, eyes squinting in suspicion, she’d never seen this serious looking man before.
“Me? Who are you?” Elijah asked.
“I asked you first,” she replied, like it automatically made it so that he had to answer her.
“I’m Elijah,” he said, taking in the rapidly changing background behind her, it appeared that she was running somewhere.
“I’m Luna!” the girl said.
Elijah was so confused, why did this little girl have his brother’s phone? He was about to ask that particular question, but he heard Klaus yelling the girl’s name in the background, and in response, the girl laughed. Laughed, like she was playing a game.
“What do you want?” Luna asked.
“To speak with my brother!”
“So why did you call me?”
“I didn’t!” Elijah exclaimed, “I called my brother!”
“But I’m not your brother,” Luna said, confused.
“I know that! You have my brother’s phone!”
“No I don’t,” Luna shook her head.
“Yes you do.”
“No. I. Don’t.”
“Yes you do!” Elijah couldn’t believe it, he’d been drawn into an argument with a child.
“No I- ah!” she shrieked, as Klaus grabbed her.
/ / /
Klaus dropped Liam in his chair and shot out of the office, chasing after Luna, “Luna!” he yelled, “Get back here!” instead of the fear that his shouting should have caused, she had the audacity to giggle, giggle, like this was a game.
“No I- ah!” she shrieked, as Klaus grabbed her around the middle and lifted her off the floor.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.
She burst into laughter, right in his face, causing him to growl, his vampire coming to the surface, but she wasn’t scared of him, “Niklaus?”
Klaus snatched the phone from Luna’s hand and looked at the screen, it was Elijah, “Elijah!” Klaus exclaimed, this was awkward, he could feel Luna trying to wriggle out of his grasp, “Just a moment.” He shoved his phone in his pocket so that all Elijah could see was darkness.
Adjusting his grip on Luna, he whooshed to his study, grabbed Liam up, and then whooshed through the compound and found Cary with his friends, “You lot!” Klaus said, dropping the children in front of them, “Watch them,” he whooshed back to his office and pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Elijah, now’s not a really good time.”
“Niklaus did you kidnap a child?”
“What? No!”
“Because it looked like she was running away from you.”
“She was running from me…but not because I kidnapped her!”
“Well-”
“Elijah!” Klaus cut him off, “What did you want?”
“I’m calling about Lucien.” He said and then paused, “Are you sure that you didn’t kidnap that girl?”
“Elijah!”
Rebekah was back in New York, she was waiting on some information from Elijah, and thought it best to use her down time to get to know her sister. She’d always wanted a sister, the idea that she actually had one, was something that she hadn’t had a lot of time to process. There had been so many harsh truths that had been exposed, and then dealing with Nik’s rage, the fact that she had a sister had been pushed to the bottom of the pile, but now that she had some time, she was actually going to get to know Freya.
The two were meeting up for lunch in Times Square, Rebekah was sat at a private table, across from her older sister and smiled. So far the two of them had been getting along rather well, Rebekah had been telling her about some of her favourite times with Nik, when her phone rang, it was Elijah.
Frowning, Rebekah looked at her phone, Elijah knew that she was having lunch with Freya, and had said that he wouldn’t disturb her. “Answer it,” Freya said, “If he’s calling it must be important.”
Rebekah answered and put the phone on speaker, she didn’t want to make it look like she was hiding anything from her sister, “Elijah, I’m at lunch with our sister, this better be important.”
“Ah, yes, you did say that, I’m sorry I forgot.”
“That’s not like you,” Rebekah frowned, “What’s wrong?”
“I spoke to Niklaus earlier and…well… there was child there, a little girl, she was running from him.”
“What?!”
“I think he may have kidnapped her, but he says he didn’t.”
“And you don’t believe him?”
“He refused to answer any questions about the girl…”
“Well, what do you want me to do about it?”
“I was thinking perhaps you could call him, and find out who the child is.”
“Fine,” Rebekah sighed, “He’s probably not going to answer, he hasn’t spoken to me in months.”
“He may now. Please just try.”
“Fine, goodbye brother.” She hung up the phone and saw the incredulous look on Freya’s face, “You want me to call him now, don’t you?”
/ / /
Klaus threw himself back into his chair, groaning in annoyance, he had a feeling that Luna answering his phone was going to cause him some issues. His phone rang, and he saw Rebekah’s name appear on the screen.
“Of course,” he muttered, picking up the phone and answering. “Rebekah,” he said.
“Nik, did you kidnap a child?”
“Bloody hell!”
“Well?” Rebekah demanded.
“No Rebekah! I did not kidnap a child!”
“Then who is she?”
“That’s none of your business!” Klaus growled, “I don’t have time for this!”
/ / /
Rebekah scowled at her phone, he’d hung up on her, Nik had actually hung up on her! “That didn’t sound very convincing,” Freya commented.
“Well Nik’s still rather angry at me, I doubt that he’s willing to go into details about what he’s doing.”
“What about Kol?”
“What about him?” Rebekah asked.
“Well from what I can tell, Niklaus and Kol are rather close now, perhaps he would have better luck getting answers from him.”
Rebekah frowned, she didn’t like thinking that Kol and Nik were closer than she and Nik were, but Freya was making sense, “You’re probably right,” she acquiesced.
“Then let’s go speak to Kol!”
“I don’t know where he is at the moment.”
“I do.”
/ / /
Rebekah and Freya stood before the large Brownstone that Kol had based his operations out of, “Kol’s been staying here?” Rebekah asked, it wasn’t exactly her brother’s style.
“This is where I woke,” Freya said, “Niklaus, Kol and their witch were all here.”
Rebekah stiffened, “Is the witch here now?”
“No,” Freya shook her head, “I don’t know where she is, our brother refuses to speak to me about her, he doesn’t trust me.”
“Of course he doesn’t,” Rebekah scoffed, Kol rarely trusted anyone, but she couldn’t help but feel bad, she may have been part of the reason for that.
The two climbed the stairs and Freya whispered a few words and unlocked the door, she stepped inside, but Rebekah was stuck on the steps. “I can’t come in,” she said, “I’ve not been invited.” It was smart of her brother to put the property in a human’s name, it meant that no vampires could enter.
“That’s right,” Kol said, appearing at the front door, “You haven’t, why are you here Bekah?”
Freya noticed the tension between the two and cut in, “We think that Niklaus has kidnapped a child,” she blurted out.
Kol blinked in surprise at her, “What?”
“You heard me.”
“I know I heard you, but I don’t think that I understand what you just said.”
“We think that Niklaus has kidnapped a child, Elijah called worried, he said that there was little girl, running away from him, and then Rebekah called him, and he wasn’t very forthcoming about it.”
“You-you’re serious?” Kol asked, amused, he had an idea of who the girl was, but just to be sure maybe he should call Nik.
“Completely,” Rebekah said, “Now can we please take this inside?”
“I’m not inviting you in Bekah, I don’t trust you.”
Rebekah pouted, she was expecting that, but it didn’t mean that she wasn’t annoyed by it, “Will you at least call him?!”
“Fine.”
“Now,” she said.
Kol rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone, “Fine!” he dialled Nik’s number and waited for his brother to answer.
“Kol?” Klaus asked, “What is it?”
“Nik did you kidnap a-”
“No!” Klaus growled and hung up the phone.
“He hung up,” Kol said, his level of amusement growing, Nik sounded beyond frustrated, and being able to annoy his brother from halfway across the country, that sounded like fun.
“Well now what?”
“I know who he’ll talk to!” he ignored the questioning look he got from his sisters, and called the one person who Nik would never hang up on.
/ / /
Maya and Caroline were at the mall in Richmond, Caroline had wanted them to get new bathing suits for the car wash that she was organising, so she and Maya had headed over an hour out of town to shop. One of the vampires that Klaus had ordered to watch Elena and Maya had gone with them, and compelled the store for them, so they were the only two shoppers in the beach store. Caroline was laughing as she put on a fashion show for Maya, when the red-head’s phone rang.
“Who is it?” Caroline asked.
“It’s Kol,” Maya looked at her watch, “He’s ahead of schedule.”
“See what he wants!”
“Alright, alright!” Maya laughed, Caroline was very eager to speak with the Original, even though she denied it, Maya was sure that Caroline had developed a crush on the playboy, she just hoped that Kol didn’t hurt her friend, because as much as she cared for Kol and respected him as her teacher, she would tear out his insides if he hurt Caroline.
“Hey Kol!” Maya grinned, answering the video call, and motioning for Caroline to spin around so that she could see the whole bathing suit.
“Hello darling,” Kol smirked, “What are you up to?”
“Oh Sunshine and I are just out shopping…trying on swim suits.”
“Really?” Kol raised an eyebrow, an interested look on his face, “Have either of you found anything good?” he asked.
“You wanna see?” she asked and Kol grinned, nodding. “Too bad!” Maya smirked, “These sexy outfits aren’t for your eyes,” she was exaggerating, she and Care were looking for more modest sets, that were appropriate for a school car wash.
“You’re such a tease Love!”
“Mm, hi Kol,” Caroline said, throwing on a cover up and walking behind Maya, so that she was in the camera frame.
“Well hello Darling, I must say I was hoping to see something more…revealing.”
“In you’re dreams!” Caroline scoffed.
“Every night,” Kol agreed.
/ / /
“Kol!” Rebekah exclaimed, “Would you stop flirting! You called for a reason!”
“Oh I’m just having some fun Bekah!” Kol replied.
Rebekah frowned and tried to take the phone from his hand, “Give that here!”
Kol pulled back, “Hey!” and the two began fighting over the phone, eventually, Rebekah managed to pin Kol to the ground and snatched the phone from him.
“Give that back!” Kol cried out.
“Freya a little help here!” Rebekah said, struggling to hold her brother down.
“Don’t you dare Freya!”
The eldest Mikaelson sibling fought the urge to laugh at the sight, this right here, is what she thought about when she thought of her brothers and sister. Not the fight per se, but way two of them acted, like actual siblings, like they cared for one another, and this was just one of those things that brothers and sisters did. This is what she wanted to be a part of.
/ / /
Caroline and Maya watched as the two siblings fought over the phone, catching flashes of the two until Rebekah finally came out on top, and showed up on the screen, “Hello Rebekah,” Maya said.
“You’re the Witch,” Rebekah replied.
“That’s what people call me.” Maya nodded, “Did you need something?”
Rebekah disappeared from the screen and after a brief struggle, Kol showed up, panting a little, but clearly inside the house now, so Rebekah couldn’t get at him, “Can we talk in private for a moment Darling?”
A few hours later Klaus was leant against a balcony on the top floor of the compound and watched as Cary and his friends played with Liam and Luna by the pool, his phone rang and he rolled his eyes, looking down he saw that it was Maya and he smirked, finally someone who he’d enjoy talking to.
“Maya love! To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Did you kidnap a kid?” she asked.
“Why is everyone calling me and asking if I’ve kidnapped a child!” he exclaimed, this was ridiculous.
“Well, Elijah didn’t believe you when you said ‘no’ so he told Rebekah, who happened to be having lunch with Freya, and Freya told Kol, when she went to meet up with him later, and Kol told me.”
“And who did you tell?” Klaus growled.
“I may have told Damon, who told Enzo…and Caroline…and Mom…and Jeremy. Turns out the guy’s a bit of a gossip…but we’re all very curious, and slightly worried about this child that you’ve apparently kidnapped.” She smirked as she could see the rising frustration on Klaus’s face.
“For the last time, I did not, kidnap a child!”
“Then how about you give me the real story so that I can send the appropriate information back down the phone tree, because I’m pretty sure you don’t want Freya thinking that you go around kidnapping kids.”
Klaus grunted in annoyance, “Fine, what do you want to know?”
“How about you tell me what happened with Elijah first.”
“Nothing, I was in my office, when my phone rang, I was unable to get to it because of the children, and the next thing I know, Luna is running off with my phone and answering it.”
“Wait, how did Luna get your phone?”
“I was working and she and her brother came into the office.”
“They have access to your office?”
“They were having some separation issues…” Klaus replied.
“Separation issues? You mean separation anxiety… from you? They don’t like being separated from you?”
“That…would be accurate.”
“And why is that?” She asked, curious to see what he said.
“I don’t know.” He shrugged.
“Nik, tell the truth, have been looking after the kids?”
“What else am I supposed to do? They’re part of my pack!” he said defensively.
“I mean do they come to when they’re scared? Or upset? Or happy? Or bored?”
“…Maybe.”
“Do you make sure that they’re fed? And I don’t mean just buying food, do you specifically eat meals with them?”
“…Yes.”
“Do they have any other adults in their life that they spend their time with?”
“Not really…”
“And if they need anything, you provide it…immediately?”
“Maybe…”
“Okay,” Maya nodded.
“What do you mean okay? What’s okay?”
“I mean okay, I’ll take care of it.”
“What are you going to say?”
“Relax, it’s not like I’m going to tell them the truth, that’s up to you.”
“What truth?”
“The truth that you’re their father now.”
“WHAT?!” Klaus yelled, causing a few people at the pool to look up at the Original. He noticed the attention and went back inside, “What are you talking about?!”
“Seriously?” Maya asked, “Nik, you care for them, and not just because you’re their Alpha, you’re doing more for them, than anyone else. Look me in the eyes and tell me that if one of them got hurt, you wouldn’t rip apart whoever caused their pain.” Klaus clenched his jaw, but didn’t say anything, “Face it Nik, you’re a papa again. Although something tells me these baby wolves will work out far better than Marcel did.”
Klaus had locked himself in his study, he was brooding, not that he was going to admit it, his thoughts were running a mile a minute, his phone rang again and he sighed, now what? Answering he spoke first, “I swear if you’re calling to ask if I’ve kidnapped a child-”
“Relax,” Damon said, “Maya gave me the party line, you’re not a kidnapper…well not this time at least.”
Klaus rolled his eyes, “Why are you calling?”
“Maya may have mentioned that you might need to talk to your best friend.”
“You’re not my best friend.”
Damon snorted in amusement, “I’m your best friend and you know it!” Klaus just grunted in response, “Now tell your BFF Damon what’s wrong.”
“You’re the most annoying Salvatore that I’ve ever met.”
“Please, we all know that’s St. Stefan.”
“No, your brother was a lot of fun in the 20s.”
“You take that back!”
“Fine, fine! Stefan was a bore! He was absolutely no fun at all!” Klaus said, he should know better than to play with Damon’s insecurities over his brother. Things had been very awkward between them when Damon had found out that Klaus not only knew Stefan, but was friends with him. It had taken months for them to get back to normal after that.
“Damn right,” Damon said, “Now tell me what’s up, don’t make me ask Maya, we all know how much she exaggerates.”
“There is nothing up.”
“Are you really going to make me go and get her? Because I will, and then you’ll be forced to talk feelings with her, is that what you want? To talk about all the feelings you’re feeling? With Maya? She’s so smug when she’s right.”
“And you’re a bloody gossip.”
“I am not!” Damon denied.
“You told basically everyone in Mystic Falls that I kidnapped a child!”
“In my defence, Maya didn’t tell me to keep it to myself!”
“I bloody hate you,” Klaus shook his head.
“I’m your favourite person in the world!”
Stefan spent two nights in the woods, he’d hunted as many animals as he could, he needed to get the taste of human blood out of his mouth, and get it out of his system. He’d also been frantically searching for his ring, Damon had said that it was hidden somewhere on the property, but everywhere that he could think Damon would hide it, it wasn’t there.
He raced back to the house when he could feel the sun coming up, he needed to find that ring, he had to, who knows what Damon had done in the two days that Stefan had been gone. Growling in frustration he threw a glass across his bedroom, causing it to knock over something on his bookshelf and smash on impact. When he heard something other than glass hit the floor, he snapped to attention, there on the floor, was his ring… Damon had hidden his ring in his own fucking room! He’d been searching all over the Salvatore property for the ring, and it was right there, in the house, in his bedroom, he was fuming.
In his anger, his panic, and his thirst, he hadn’t noticed that Zach hadn’t come home.
It was Friday morning and Caroline was marching through the school’s halls, it would be the ‘Sexy Suds Car Wash’ on Saturday and she was making sure that she had everything in place. Maya was in step next to her with a notebook, when it came to organising events, Caroline was the queen, and Maya would just do her best to make sure that everything went off without a hitch for her BFF.
The two girls walked up to Elena and Bonnie, Elena may have quit the cheerleading team, but Bonnie was still on it. “Bonnie!” Caroline said, causing both girls to stop, “The ‘Sexy Suds Car Wash’ is tomorrow, the football team and the band have committed. Well, not all the band, just the ones who could pull of a bikini. I want, ‘in your face’, sexy. I mean it’s a fund raiser for God’s sake, so you better be wearing something appropriate, or I’ll send you home to get a new outfit.” Maya smirked and checked Bonnie, off of Caroline’s list of things to do. The blonde then turned Elena, “Elena, I know that you’re not a cheerleader anymore, but you did sign up for this before you quit. So you better show up, and be appropriately dressed!” She didn’t give Elena a chance to respond, and flounced off. “Let’s go Maya!” she called.
“Yes ma'am!” Maya saluted her and followed.
“Unbelievable,” Elena said, as they watched the two girls walk away, “It’s like she still thinks that she’s in charge.”
“Well she is in charge of me,” Bonnie said, “I’m still on the team.”
“So quit,” Elena shrugged.
“Unlike you, I actually like being a cheerleader.”
“I liked it!” Elena defended.
“You were going to quit before Maya joined!” Bonnie replied, “And then you decided that you had to stay to compete with her. Not that it matters, considering that she’s always on point, always.”
“Bonnie!”
“I’m just saying,” Bonnie shrugged, “I don’t like Maya, but she’s a better dancer than you.”
“Ugh!”
Bonnie laughed at Elena’s affronted look, but stopped when she saw Stefan walking towards them. The guy had been missing for four days, and Elena had made her displeasure known about it. “Heads up,” she said.
Elena looked up as Stefan made his way over to them, “Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” Bonnie said, looking between the two of them awkwardly, “You know I gotta go. Be somewhere. Right now.” And she ran off.
“I’m so sorry I haven’t called,” Stefan said.
“No worries, I’ll live.”
“I was…dealing with Damon.” He swallowed, keeping his eyes locked on hers, and away from the pulsing vein in her neck.
“Damon? What could you possibly have to do with Damon that kept you out of contact for four days?”
“You have every right to be upset with me, but can I explain it all to you? Please?”
“Sure,” Elena sighed, “When?”
“I gotta be home after school, but the Grill, around four o’clock?”
“Okay,” Elena relented, even if she was mad at him, she still wanted to give him a chance.
“Thanks.”
Matt was playing pool in the Grill after school when Elena came up to him, “Hey Matt. Um, have you seen Stefan?”
“Nope,” he shook his head, looking away from her for a moment, something felt off between them, more off than before. As Elena made to move away he spoke, “But if you want to kill some time, you can rack.”
“Uh.”
“Come on, we haven’t played in forever,” when Elena didn’t move he continued, “I’ll let you break.”
“Fine,” Elena took the pool cue out of his hands and started moving the balls on the table, “You know I caught your sister in my bathroom a couple of days ago,” she said.
“What?”
“I’m pretty sure she’s sleeping with Jeremy.”
“Yeah I’m not going to lie,” Matt rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, “Your brother and my sister, that’s weird.”
“Oh? Is it weirder than you and my cousin?”
“Who told you about that?” Matt asked, eyes wide, “Was it Tyler?”
“Tyler knew?!” Elena exclaimed.
“Tyler didn’t tell you?” Matt asked, he thought for sure it would have been him, Tyler was his best friend and probably thought that making Elena jealous would have helped him get her back.
“No!”
“Maya told you?!”
“Well she didn’t so much as tell me, as mention a particular birthmark of yours.”
“Elena I-”
“Don’t worry about it Matt,” she shook her head and lined up her shot on the table, she wasn’t going to act like a brat, Matt wasn’t her boyfriend anymore and even though she was pissed at Maya, now that Matt had confirmed her story, she refused to rise to the bait. “We weren’t together then, and we’re not together now, so I guess it’s none of my business.”
Matt looked crestfallen, “It didn’t mean anything,” he said.
“Oh so taking a girl’s virginity, it doesn’t mean anything to you?”
“No! That’s not what I meant!” Matt stumbled over his words, he was so going to yell at the red-head when he found her, “I just meant that neither one of us cared about each other in that way, we didn’t love each other, it just…happened.”
“And how exactly did it happen?” Elena straightened, leaning on the cue.
“I-”
“No!” Elena sighed, she promised herself she wouldn’t get drawn into Maya’s game and there she was, falling for it, “It’s none of my business. I don’t want to know.”
“Well, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he said.
She looked over at him, at her first love and felt a little bad, “To be fair, if I had known, I probably wouldn’t have gone out with you, so it was a good idea not telling me.”
Matt nodded and watched as she pulled out her phone to check the time, “How late is he?” he asked, suddenly very aware that Elena was going out with someone new.
“Hitting the hour mark, nothing’s wrong though, which means I’m not talking boy problems with you.”
“Good,” Matt moved around the table to take his shot, “It’s not like we were ever best friends or anything.”
Elena sighed as she looked over at him, “Okay, here goes… what do you think of Stefan? Is he a good guy?”
“Why, what’s he done?”
“Not any one thing, he’s just so secretive all the time, I think that there’s something that he doesn’t want me to know…which makes me want to know all the more.”
“Like what? Like that he’s a serial killer and he keeps a clown suit in his trunk?” Matt laughed.
“No of course not, but what do we know about him, really?”
“He’s great at football, little bit of a loner. And as much as I hate saying it, he might be a nice guy.”
“So you think I’m just being paranoid?”
“I think you should talk to him.”
“Talk to who?” Stefan asked standing behind the two, when they turned to face him he continued, “I’m so sorry that I’m late.”
“What happened?”
“I got held up.”
“Is everything okay?”
“There’s this thing with my uncle.”
“And you couldn’t call and tell me that you were going to be an hour late?”
Matt looked between the two of them, “Okay,” he said, “You two have fun,” he put the cue down and walked away, there was no way that he was sticking around for this argument.
“I’m really sorry, it was unavoidable.”
“What was unavoidable?” When Stefan didn’t answer, Elena gave him a sarcastic smile and started to walk away from him, “Okay.”
Stefan put his hand on her arm, causing her to turn, “No Elena please.”
“No, Stefan, don’t you get it? Every question gets a vague non-answer. What is so awful that you’re afraid to tell me?”
The two were interrupted by an old man who was staring at Stefan, “I know you. My God.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I know you. How can it be?”
“I think you have the wrong person sir,” Stefan said nervously.
“You haven’t aged a day.”
Stefan looked between the man and Elena, realising what had just happened, “I’m sorry, excuse me, hey can I take you home, and we can talk about it? Is that okay?” He held her by her arm and guided her away from the old man.
“Wait, what was that?”
“I don’t know, uh nothing.”
“Right, nothing, okay, um, I gotta go Stefan.” Elena shook her head as she walked out of the Grill, Stefan watching as she left.
“Evening Sheriff,” Logan Fell said, walking over to Liz, who was eating her dinner at the Grill, “Anything?”
She sighed and shook her head, “We went over the entire west side of the lake, all the caverns by the falls were clean, no signs of habitat.”
“Then they’re staying in town,” Logan said worriedly.
“We canvassed all abandoned buildings and warehouses.”
“There has to be a private residence.”
“And that much harder to locate,” Liz nodded, “If not impossible, these creatures are smart, they know how to go undetected.”
“Well, someone who only comes out at night should become obvious.”
“You’d think so, but so far we have nothing.”
“What about the watch?” Logan asked.
“Miranda’s working on it.”
“We need it soon,” Logan said, “We can’t keep covering up these deaths.”
Jeremy saw his sister pouting in her bed, he wasn’t her biggest fan at the moment, but she was still his sister, “You okay?” he asked.
“Is Vicki in there?” Elena shot back.
“Don’t answer a question with another question,” he smirked, “And no, I haven’t seen her in a couple of days, she blew off work, and me. Now what’s wrong with you?”
“I’m miserable.”
“Well you should go get something to eat.”
Elena smiled at her brother and got off her bed, brushing past him she headed downstairs, frowning as she heard the sounds of silverware clinking, “Mom?” she received no answer and went straight to the kitchen, “Mom?” sliding open the doors, she found Stefan instead. “Stefan? What are you doing here?”
“Dinner,” Stefan said, slicing some garlic, “Jeremy told me that chicken parmesan is one of your favourites, and I happen to be a good cook. The Italian roots demand it. I can even make my own homemade mozzarella, only tonight, it is unfortunately store bought. Sorry.”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish.” Elena said, walking forward.
“You want to know me right?” He moved on to chopping some onions, “Well, I figure if you’re going to dump me, you should at least, know who you’re dumping. So let’s start with Katherine.”
“Stefan-”
“She was, the most beautiful girl that I’d ever met. She had this perfect olive skin, and she had this laugh, it was ridiculous. I mean, her laugh made you laugh.” Stefan smiled at the memory, “And she was fun. She knew how to have a good time. But Katherine was also very impatient and entitled and selfish and impulsive. Enter Damon.” He looked back down at the food and then back at Elena, “He claims that he was with her first. I don’t know. I do know that I did some things that…I’m not proud of. And my biggest regret…is not being able to make it right before she died. I miss her, but…I’m no longer crippled by her loss. Not like Damon is.”
“But isn’t he dating my cousin?”
“I think that there’s more that story than either of them are letting on,” Stefan replied, how could he tell Elena that her cousin was a dark witch, without revealing who he himself was?
Elena nodded, “So what else?” she moved around the counter and picked up a knife and started chopping.
“I’m an avid reader, a huge Fitzgerald fan, ‘The Great Gatsby’, his masterpiece. But I’m not a snob, I love some good Grisham. I think ‘Seinfeld’ is the best American television show of the past 50 years, but ‘I Love Lucy’ is all time.” He looked at her with a smile, “Huge Scorsese fan, I can watch ‘Taxi Driver’ over and over again.”
“Here, let me,” Elena smiled and took the knife from his hands, he nodded and moved on to preparing something else.
“As far as music, it’s pretty much across the board. Dylan, Hendrix, Patse, Willie. You know what, I even like that one Miley song,” he said causing her to laugh, “Easy!”
“I didn’t say anything!” she shook her head and looked over at him, “Hey this is for the garlic bread right? Because I’m not eating garlic unless you agree to, too.”
Stefan smirked, “Are you kidding? I love garlic.”
Elena smiled, looking at him, and kept cutting, which was stupid, because she ended up cutting herself, “Ow! Ah!”
“You ok?” Stefan came over to her just as she walked to the sink.
“Yeah I think so,” she moved to run her hand under the tap.
Stefan looked at his own hand, which had ended up touching the counter where her blood had spilled, it was on him, her blood, and his vampire started to surface, he couldn’t fight it. His eyes connected with Elena’s in the reflection of the glass above the sink and he spun around, “Your face,” Elena said walking over to him.
“Yeah, I, um, I think I got something in my eye.” His eyes had fully darkened, fangs protruded, everything in him told him to sink his teeth into her.
“Stefan,” Elena put her hand on his shoulder, trying to turn him around, but he turned his face away from her, “Stefan.”
Stefan took a deep breath through his mouth, trying to purge the scent of blood from his nostrils, taking a moment he turned back around when his face went back to normal.
Elena stared at him for a moment, and shook her head, “I think my paranoia has turned into full-blown hallucinations.”
“It’s part of your charm,” Stefan shrugged, moving in closer, he leant down, and the two of them kissed.
The next day, Caroline had Maya up at the crack of dawn to go to the car wash, she was in a leopard print bikini top, and some short jean shorts, directing members of the football team to their stations. Caroline was at the cash table, with Elena, making sure she knew what she was doing, “No friend discounts, no freebies, no pay ya laters. We are not running a charity here.”
“No we are not,” Elena nodded, the car wash was for a good cause, the two of them could be civil to one another.
“Hi,” Stefan said, coming up to Elena, who was putting the cash away.
“Hey,” Elena smiled, standing to greet him.
Caroline stood too, not wanting to stick around for the Elena and Stefan show, “The event is called ‘Sexy Suds’ you know?” she looked them both up and down before walking away.
“Did we just get scolded?” Stefan asked.
“And judged,” Elena nodded.
“Wow.”
“I’m sorry but I guess your going to have to take that off,” she motioned to his hoodie.
“I think you have to go first,” Stefan shot back.
/ / /
Damon and Enzo pulled up to the car wash and parked in one of the bays, “If I catch you ogling Maya-”
“You’ll what?” Damon asked, “We’re in public, she’s my girlfriend, and I’m the type of guy, that definitely ogles his girlfriend when she’s in a bikini,” he shot Enzo a smirk and got out of the car.
“I hate you,” Enzo muttered.
“You love me,” Damon shot back, the two of them making their way over to the table, where Elena and Stefan stood, “Hello brother.”
Stefan dropped Elena’s hands and turned to see Damon stood there, cocky smirk on his face, “Damon.” He said, his eyes slid to the man next to him, “Who’s your friend?”
“Oh this is Enzo,” Damon said.
“Lorenzo to those who don’t know me,” Enzo cut in.
Damon turned to Elena and pulled out some cash, “I’ve brought my car here for a wash.”
“Right!” Elena said, trying to ignore the sudden tension, “I’ll just get you your change.”
“Oh no need,” Damon said, “This is all for the school, right?”
“Right,” Elena nodded.
“Besides, my girl’s the only one I’ll let near my car, and she’ll take her time with it.” Damon’s eyes danced with mischief and he motioned for Enzo to follow him.
Stefan tried to get a look to see if Enzo were human, or a vampire, but the man had both his hands stuffed in his pockets as he walked away. “Stefan?” Elena asked.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I uh, I’ve just never met Enzo, before.”
/ / /
Damon walked up to Maya, who was hosing off a car, “Don’t you look hot,” he said, and she turned to face him.
“Oh no, I’m not falling for that again!”
“Oh but,” Damon’s hand made its way to the small of her back and he pulled her towards him, “I was talking to you this time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he leant down, eyes glinting as they met Stefan’s for a moment, and then they were on Maya, and he was kissing her, pulling back he eyed her top, “I’m loving the leopard print,” he said.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, it’s very… strip club,” he smirked, and she rolled her eyes.
“Good, that’s exactly the vibe I was going for.”
“I brought my car for you to wash.”
“Me specifically?”
“You really think that I’m gonna let any of these morons touch my baby?”
Maya smirked, “But you trust me with her?” and Damon shrugged, “Are you going to watch me while I wash your car?”
“Watch as you get all wet and soapy and bend over the hood?” Damon asked, causing Enzo to groan in disgust. “What do you think?”
Maya laughed, smacking him in the stomach, “Let’s go you perv, take me to that beauty.”
“Ah so the truth comes out!” Damon said, “Now I finally know why you’re dating me.” The three of them walked over to the Camaro.
“Why’s that?” Maya asked, hooking one arm into Enzo’s.
“For my car.”
“Ah,” she nodded, “You caught me, it was all part of my nefarious plot.”
“What was?” Caroline asked, coming up to them.
“My plan to date Damon long enough for him to let his guard down, so that I could steal his car.”
Caroline looked over at said vehicle, she wasn’t into cars, but she did know that Damon’s was expensive, “It is pretty,” she conceded.
“Pretty?” Damon scoffed, “She’s beautiful!”
/ / /
Elena and Stefan were washing a car not far from Damon, so that he could keep an ear on his brother, “You’re getting soap in that,” Elena said, gesturing to his ring.
“Oh, it’s fine.” Stefan said.
“I noticed that Damon has one too, is there a story behind it?”
“Yeah, it’s the um… it’s the family crest,” Stefan said, “It’s from the Italian Renaissance.”
“Huh,” Elena came around the car and took his hand in hers, so she could get a better look at the ring, “What’s the stone?”
“It’s called lapis lazuli.”
“Ah, you should really take it off,” Elena said, “I can put it in my bag.”
“No, its fine, really,” Stefan replied, “Thanks though.”
“Okay,” Elena said, eyeing him for a moment, “I’m gonna get some towels.”
/ / /
Elena walked up to Caroline, who was back at the cash table, “Hey we’re out of towels, and those shimmy things,” she said to Caroline.
“I will get some more,” the blonde replied, being the only one with a key to the supply cupboard in school, “Mind the money.” Caroline left and Elena stayed at the table, she was there when the old man from the Grill showed up.
“I saw you last night,” Elena said, “You were talking to a friend of mine, at the Grill.”
“Well, I thought he was somebody I knew,” he replied.
“Stefan Salvatore?”
“No, it can’t be,” the man shook his head, “It was just my mind playing tricks on me.”
“Where do you think you’d seen him before?”
“When I first moved here, I stayed at the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan was just passing through to visit his uncle. I mean none of us knew he was even here until the attack.”
“The attack?” Elena asked.
“His uncle got killed, mauled by an animal in the woods.”
“His uncle?” Elena clarified, “Zach?”
The man shook his head, “No, Joseph.”
“I’m sorry sir, I don’t think I’m familiar with the story.”
“Well how could you? I mean this happened years ago.”
“Are you sure that the man that you saw, that you knew, his name was Stefan Salvatore?”
“Yes,” the man nodded, “I remember his ring, and his brother.”
“Damon?”
“Yeah, Stefan and Damon Salvatore.”
“When was this?”
“It was early June, 1953… yeah, June 1953.”
Elena watched the man leave with wide eyes, frozen in place until Caroline came back and relieved her of her duty, how was that possible? 1953 was 55 years ago! She went for a quick walk around the car wash to clear her head, she needed to try and get some answers.
/ / /
“Uh-oh,” Damon said, as he spotted Elena making her way back over to Stefan.
“What is it?” Enzo asked, he hadn’t really been paying attention to Stefan and Elena, he’d been more pre-occupied with sending death glares at every man whose eyes lingered on his best friend.
“Looks like Stefan’s going to have his cover blown soon.”
“You think?”
“She’s definitely getting suspicious.”
“I don’t think she’s there yet,” Enzo said.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright, bet, Elena will figure out what Stefan is in the next…three days.”
“I say it’ll take at least another week.”
“200 hundred bucks says she figures it out today.” Maya said, coming up to them.
“You’re on!” Damon said, reaching out his hand to shake hers and then Enzo’s, “You know you missed a spot right,” he nodded back at his car.
Maya scowled at him and went back over to the car, as Enzo whispered in his boyfriend’s ear, “You know that’s gonna cost you later right?”
“So worth it,” Damon shrugged.
Maya picked up the hose while Damon wasn’t looking, made sure that it was on full blast and then aimed it at him, soaking both him and Enzo, “Hey!” Enzo complained, “What did I do?!”
“Aah!” Damon yelled causing people to look in his direction. “I’m getting you for that!” He stripped off his T-shirt and wrung it out, causing Maya to wolf whistle at him.
“Damn Damon! You’re gonna give someone a heart attack looking like that!”
Damon grinned and threw his wet shirt in her face, “Am I making you all hot and bothered?”
“You know it,” Maya fanned herself, and smirked as she caught Enzo eyeing Damon like a piece of meat.
The other vampire took off his own shirt, prompting Caroline to call out, from her spot near the cash, “Woo Enzo! Take it off!” he rolled his eyes at her and grinned.
“You two are incorrigible,” he said.
“We can’t help it,” Maya replied.
“Yeah,” Caroline said, coming up to them, “You’re both just sooo attractive.”
/ / /
Stefan was temporarily distracted by the noise coming from over by Damon, so he didn’t realise that Elena was taking her time getting back to him. He finally noticed her and walked over. “Caroline finally freed you huh?”
“Yeah, but I think she’s a little distracted by your brother and his friend,” she motioned over to the ruckus, blushing when she caught herself eyeing Damon’s naked chest. “Hey, I realised earlier that I had no idea that your family was from Italy.”
“No?” Stefan asked, looking at their joined hands, “Last name Salvatore didn’t do it for you?”
“Right,” Elena said, feeling dumb, “Duh, are there any other Salvatores in Mystic Falls?”
“My Uncle Zach.” Stefan replied.
“Where did everyone else go?”
“They kind of just spread out,” Stefan shrugged, “Why?”
“I’m just trying to learn more about you,” Elena smiled, her eyes drifting from his as she spotted her mom talking to Logan Fell, “Oh, there’s my mom! I’m gonna go say hi!”
“Sure, I’ll be washing cars.” Stefan smiled and headed back to the one he had been working on.
/ / /
Elena came up to her mom and Logan, causing them to stop what they were talking about and turn to her. “Hi,” Logan said, “Elena, right?” he shook her and, “I think I met you once when you were 9.”
“Hi,” Elena said, “You and my mom are friends, right?” she asked looking between them.
“Yes,” Logan said slowly, “Why?”
“Are you good enough friends that I could ask you a favour?”
“Maybe,” Miranda said, eyeing Elena with a bit of suspicion, “Why, what is it?”
“Do you have access to old news stories, say, the fifties?” she asked Logan.
“Yeah,” he nodded, “At the station, between the archives and the internet, we have everything.”
“I have this report, it’s way past due, you’d be a lifesaver.”
“I’m heading there now,” Logan said, looking over at Miranda who nodded, “Let’s go.”
“Great!” She turned to her mother, “If anyone asks, you don’t know where I went, I don’t want Caroline to know that I left.”
“We digitized all our archives last year. You can pull all the remote footage right up on screen.” Logan said, taking Elena through to the archive room, “What is it exactly you’re looking for?”
“An incident from 1953,” Elena said walking inside, “If it even happened, at the old Salvatore Boarding House.”
Logan’s phone rang, “Sorry, one second,” he answered the phone, “Fire? Alright, I’ll be right there,” he hung up, “I gotta go,” he said to Elena, “Can you believe there’s actually news to cover in this town?” she smiled at him, “Alright, use key words to search the database, it’s pretty easy to navigate, and Brady, down in Tech, will help you out, anything you need.”
“Okay,” Elena said.
“Alright, good luck.” He said, rushing out of the room.
Elena pulled up the search function, and typed in the words ‘Joseph Salvatore’ and ‘Animal Attack’ one result popped up, dated 12th June, 1953. She clicked on it, playing an old news report. When the news reporter mentioned the nephew, the camera swung over to someone hiding half in shadow. Pausing the footage, Elena zoomed in to see if she could see who it was. “What the hell?” she whispered, it was fuzzy, but the man looked just like Stefan.
Stefan went back to the Boarding House, hearing noises coming from upstairs, he whooshed towards them, “Zach?!” he called, freezing when all he found was Damon, with his ‘friend’ and Maya, all in Damon’s room. Stefan’s eyes narrowed in on the ring on the other man’s finger, “You’re a vampire,” he said.
Enzo smirked, sitting on the bed, his arm thrown around Maya, “Guilty,” he said.
“What happened to Zach?” he asked. He’d been hoping that Zach had just left town for a few days, but now he figured that wasn’t true.
“Zach left town,” Damon said, “Or at least that’s what we’re telling people.”
“Damon!”
“Relax,” Damon dismissed, “He’s in the family crypt, with the rest of the Salvatore clan.”
“You killed him.” Stefan said, disappointed.
“What did you think was going to happen Stefan?” Maya said, “After what you did?”
“How can you just sit there, and be okay with what he’s done?” Stefan asked.
“Well, it’s simple really, Damon’s a vampire, a predator, with a killer instinct, that needs to, on occasion, be satisfied.”
“You let him out, Zach’s death is on you!”
“Oh no Stefan, don’t get it twisted, Zach’s death is on you, you’re the one that vervained and locked up your brother, even though you knew what would happen if he ever got out. You’re the reason that Zach’s dead Stefan, because if Damon hadn’t have killed him. It would have been you.”
Dear diary,
I’m not a believer.
People are born, they grow old, and then they die.
That’s the world we live in.
There’s no magic, no mysticism, no immortality.
There is nothing that defies rational thought.
People are supposed to be who they say they are, and not lie, or hide their true selves.
It's not possible, I’m not a believer.
I can’t be.
But how can I deny what’s right in front of me?
Someone who never grows old.
Never gets hurt.
Someone who changes in ways that can’t be explained.
Girls bitten, bodies drained of blood…
Elena was outside the Salvatore’s front door but couldn’t bring herself to knock.
Stefan rushed downstairs, he couldn’t be in the house, not now, not with those three upstairs, acting so callous about life and death. He opened the door and was surprised to find Elena.
“What are you?” she asked.
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel great!
Chapter 35: Vampire Vicki
Notes:
OMG over 1000 Kudos! You guys are spoiling me!
Seriously, thank you so much for all the kudos, and the comments, they are wonderful!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Maya looked between Enzo and Damon, “You both owe me 200 bucks,” she said.
“Damn it!” Enzo complained, pulling out a wad of cash and handing it over.
“I can’t believe this,” Damon moaned, taking the money out of his wallet, he made to hand it over but paused, “Wait, is this one of those things that you knew because of your future knowledge?” Maya just shrugged and smirked, “God damn it!” he handed the cash over, “No more betting with you!”
“Really?” Maya asked, “Are you really going to be able to resist betting against me?”
Damon scowled, “Yes.”
“Okay,” Maya nodded, “Because I was going to bet this 400 bucks, and say I think a bunch of druggies are going to die tonight.”
“And why would you think that?” Enzo asked.
“Well in the uh ‘world without me’ today would have been the day that Damon escaped from the basement, and he attacked and killed a bunch of druggies in the cemetery.”
“But Damon’s right here.”
“Yeah,” Damon gestured to himself, “I am!”
“So what's the harm in betting against me then?”
Stefan was walking through the woods after dropping Elena off back home, she wasn’t taking the news that he was a vampire well, not that he expected her too. But he was taking his time to go back to the Boarding House, he needed to prepare himself mentally before dealing with Damon and his friends. He was going by the cemetery, when he heard screams and smelt blood. He raced towards the noise and came across multiple bodies lying on the ground, they’d been fed on, there were still a couple of people barely alive, and Stefan was overwhelmed by the scent of fresh blood. He gave in and drained two of them, getting lost in the feed and tearing them apart. Pulling away from the second person, he could hear another heartbeat, looking around wildly, his eyes locked on to the vampire that had started this massacre. “No!” he gasped, he hadn’t meant for this to happen. “Vicki?”
Vicki looked up at Stefan, dropping the person that she’d been feeding on, they were dead, her vampire on full display, she hissed and whooshed away. Stefan chased her, but lost her somewhere deep in the woods, “No, no, no, no!” he rushed back to the bodies in the cemetery, he couldn’t leave them like this, he had to dispose of them.
Stefan picked up a few bottles of alcohol that he found lying amongst the bodies and doused every one of them with it, he searched them for a lighter and when he found one, he used it to set them alight. He waited long enough to see them catch fire and then whooshed towards the Donavon home, he needed to find Vicki, and he needed to find her now!
Damon rolled over in his bed at the Boarding House, he was sandwiched between Enzo and Maya, the three of them drinking way more than they should have the night before. He felt Enzo tighten his grip on him, and he in turn, squeezed Maya to him, “You know I could get used to this,” he mumbled.
“Don’t even joke about that,” Enzo groaned.
“Mmm,” Maya buried her face into a pillow, “This bed is heaven though.” Enzo lifted his head, and squinted at her, he reached over Damon and shoved her out the bed. “Aah!” she groaned as she hit the floor, “You’re such a dick!”
“My boyfriend, my bed,” he said.
Maya waved her hand and Enzo was pushed from the bed by an invisible force, “I can do that too!”
“Just for that, no vamp blood for you!” Enzo said.
Maya sat up, and pulled herself to her feet, her head pounding thanks to the hangover, “I don’t need it,” she walked to the bathroom, grabbing a glass on her way there and filled it with water from the tap. Coming back into the bedroom, Damon and Enzo watched as she waved her hand over the glass and muttered “Aqua remedium,” causing the water to turn bright blue. The moment she downed the drink, her skin regained its healthy colour, her eyes brightened and she lost all traces of her hangover.
“What the hell was that?” Damon asked.
“I haven’t quite figured out how to make booze that doesn’t give you a hangover, but I did figure out how to make a magical hangover cure.” She waved her hand in front of her face, “See, I’m perfectly healthy now.”
“Yeah, well ‘perfectly healthy’ it’s your turn to make breakfast,” Enzo said, getting up off the floor, and sliding back under the sheets with Damon, “Wake us when its ready.”
"Ugh," Maya rolled her eyes and left the room, muttering something about how it was way too early for Enzo's lame dad jokes.
Stefan sat outside the only coffee shop in Mystic Falls with Elena, she’d called him when she’d woken and asked him to meet her. He had no choice but to abandon his search for Vicki, the sun had come up and he knew that she would be stuck indoors, wherever she was, but he needed to talk to Elena, convince her not to tell anyone about him, for both of their safety.
“You said that you would explain everything, that’s why I asked you to meet me here. When you Google ‘vampire’ you get a world of fiction. What’s the reality?”
“I can tell you whatever you want to know,” Stefan said.
“I know you eat garlic.”
“Yes,” Stefan nodded.
“And somehow, sunlight’s not an issue?”
“We have rings that protect us.”
“Crucifixes?”
“Decorative.”
“Holy water?”
“Drinkable.”
“Mirrors?”
“Myth.”
“You said you don’t kill to survive.”
“Animal blood keeps me alive,” Stefan said (leaving out the fact that he had in fact killed two people the night before), “But it also means that I’m not as strong as Damon.”
“And yet you let him get involved with my cousin?”
“I couldn’t stop Damon even if I tried, and I did try, it didn’t work out very well for me.”
“What do you mean?”
“My uncle and I caught Damon by surprise the night of the Founders Council Party. I locked him up in the basement, hoping to dry him out. If a vampire doesn’t feed, then they desiccate, basically our bodies shut down and we enter a sort of…’living death’. Without blood, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything.”
“Well what happened?”
“Your cousin.” Stefan sighed.
“What?”
“I locked Damon up in an effort to keep him away from your cousin, I thought that he was feeding on her, compelling her-”
“Compelling?”
“Compulsion, it’s a form of mind control. All a vampire has to do, is look in your eyes and take control, they can make you do anything, feel anything, forget anything.”
“Have you ever done that to me?”
“No,” Stefan shook his head, “That necklace I gave you, it’s filled with an herb called vervain, it’s very harmful to vampires, and it prevents compulsion, I wanted to protect you from Damon’s influence. But…I also wanted to protect you from me. You should never take that off, because no matter what happens after today…no matter how you feel about me, you’ll know that you were free to make your own choice. I thought Damon wasn’t giving your cousin a choice, I thought he was using her.”
“You’re saying that he wasn’t?”
“No, he wasn’t…isn’t…I don’t know what the nature of their relationship is.”
“What happened?” Elena asked.
“I locked Damon up, and then sent her a breakup text from his phone. I thought it would be enough to keep her away and eventually forget about him. But that wasn’t the case, your cousin…Elena do you know what she is?”
Elena shook her head, “What do you mean? What is she?”
Stefan paused for a moment as a server came up to them to drop off their drinks, he eyed the pulsing carotid in her throat, sighing in relief as she walked away. “I told you, our rings protect us from the sun, but you didn’t ask how.”
Elena glanced at the signet ring on Stefan’s finger, “Okay. How?”
“They’re spelled by a witch.”
“A Witch?” Elena asked incredulously, “Witches exist?”
Stefan nodded, “They do. Our rings were made when we first became vampires. Witches are powerful, Servants of Nature, and because of what they are, they’re immune to compulsion. Your cousin is immune to compulsion Elena.”
“Wait,” Elena held her hands up, “Are you telling me that Maya is a Witch? Maya? My cousin?”
“Yes,” Stefan looked away from her for a moment, checking their surroundings again, before leaning in closer, “It wasn’t long after I sent her the ‘breakup text’, that she showed up at the Boarding House. I was downstairs with Damon, and she burst through the front door. I went to up to see what the noise was, but she used her powers to throw me back down the stairs. Held me in place and fed Damon blood, so that he was back to full strength. And then in retaliation, before Damon left the Boarding House, he took my ring from me, hid it. And he broke my phone, that’s the real reason I was out of touch for so long.”
“And what? After a couple of days he just gave it back?”
“No,” Stefan shook his head, “He told me that he hid it somewhere on our property, the grounds that we own are very large, I spent that time looking for my ring.”
“So you’re telling me that Damon, and my cousin, who’s a Witch, are working together?” Elena asked incredulously, “Why?”
“I don’t know,” Stefan answered, “Damon and I haven’t had a good relationship since we were human.”
“And when was that? When were you last human?”
“1864.”
Sheriff Forbes covered up a body with a yellow sheet, “I’ve never smelled one this bad before,” Logan said, covering his nose with a handkerchief.
“It tried to cover it’s tracks,” Liz replied, standing as she surveyed the scene.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. You only burn a corpse to hide cause of death, and there are no shell casings.”
“Do we know who they are?” Logan asked.
“The doc will have to check their dental records.”
“What story should I run?” Logan asked, following her as she walked around the cemetery.
“Drug deal gone bad,” Liz shrugged, “It’s not too big a stretch.”
“Any word on the Gilbert watch?”
“Mrs Bennett thinks that she might be able to re-spell the watch,” Liz said, not really believing that the words were coming out of her mouth, spells, witches, vampires, nothing like that should exist. “But she needs a…spell book, that hasn’t been seen since 1864.”
“What are we gonna do?”
“Miranda’s checking the archives, to see if any the Founders wrote about what they did with it.”
“I’ll run the story and give her a hand, we need to figure out how to find this vampire,” Logan said.
A deputy came up to Liz and handed her a purse, “Found this in the brush about 10 yards away.”
Liz dug through it and pulled out a little card wallet, she took out the I.D and sighed, “Vicki Donavan.”
“You know her?”
“I went to high school with her mother.”
Logan looked around, “You think she’s one of these?”
“I hope not.”
Stefan had just finished telling Elena about himself, about Katherine, about Damon, when he cleared his throat, there was one more thing he needed to tell her about. “There’s one more thing.”
“What?” Elena sighed, what more could Stefan have to tell her?
“Last night, I went for a walk in the woods, I found a vampire feeding on some local druggies at the edge of the cemetery, it was Vicki.”
“VICKI?!” Elena yelled.
“Elena!” Stefan hissed, looking around at the eyes that were on them now, “You need to be quiet!”
“What do you mean Vicki’s a vampire!?” she whispered.
“She was injured, a few days ago, quite severely, so I fed her my blood to heal her.”
“What?”
“To become a vampire, you need to die with vampire blood in your system. Then you have roughly 12 hours to make a choice.”
“A choice?”
“Feed or die. To complete the transition you need human blood, if you choose not to, then you die.”
“How did she die?” Elena asked, “Was it Damon?”
“Honestly I don’t know, I fed her my blood and compelled her to leave, I don’t know what happened after that. I found her feeding on people in the cemetery, they’re all dead.”
“And you’re just telling me this now?!” Elena exclaimed, grabbing her bag she jumped up and left.
Stefan threw some cash on the table and chased after her, “Elena! Elena wait!” he grabbed her arm.
“No Stefan!” She yanked her arm out of his hand, “Jeremy has feelings for Vicki, what if she shows up at my home!”
“She won’t!” Stefan said, “At least not while the sun is out, she can’t go anywhere until sundown. You go home and make sure that no one invites her in.”
“What are you going to do?” Elena asked.
“Look for Vicki, I need to track her down and try to teach her how to feed.”
“But she’s killed people Stefan.”
“She has,” he nodded, “But she’s new, a baby vampire, she doesn’t know what’s happening to her, and doesn’t know that it can be controlled. Go home, I’ll call you if I find her.”
“And if she comes to the house?”
“Keep Jeremy away from her, don’t invite her in. You may not like what I’m about to say…but ask your cousin for help.”
“What?! No!”
“She’s powerful Elena! Powerful enough to take me down, which means that she can take Vicki down without a problem.”
“You just said she’s working with Damon!”
“When it comes down to it Elena, if I’m across town and Vicki shows up at your house, do you really want to take the chance that she hurts someone? Jeremy? Your mother?”
Elena took a breath, she didn’t want her family to get hurt, “Fine, but you call me, the moment you find Vicki.”
“I will,” Stefan said. He walked her to an alley way and whooshed her to her house, “I’ll be in touch.”
“That’s weird,” Maya said, “Elena just texted me, she wants me to come over.”
“Do you think something’s wrong?” Enzo asked.
Maya shook her head, “No, I’m the first call Nik’s vampires make if something’s wrong, they haven’t sent me anything.”
“Well let’s go then,” Damon smirked.
“Zo you should go home, Elena’s not going to invite you in,” Maya said.
“Alright,” he nodded, “I’ll keep an eye on your mum, you’ll call me if something’s going on?”
Maya nodded, “We will.”
“See you in a bit Zo,” Damon said, dropping a quick kiss on his lover’s lips before the younger vampire disappeared. “Are we running or shall we take the car?”
“The car, it’s daylight, we want to act like real people.”
/ / /
“Elena’s downstairs,” Damon said, getting out of the car.
“How much do you want to bet that she’s going to freak out when she sees you?”
“Pfft, I’m not taking that bet,” Damon scoffed, the two walked up to the front door and rang the bell.
Elena opened the door and then immediately try to slam it shut when she saw Damon, but he pushed it open, “Jeremy go upstairs,” she said, her brother stood behind her.
“What? Why?” Jeremy asked.
“Just go!”
Maya looked at her younger cousin and gave him a slight nod, telling him to do as his sister said, Jeremy frowned but did as he was told, knowing that Maya would tell him what was going on.
“You’re afraid of me,” Damon smirked, leaning against the door frame, “I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess…Stefan finally fessed up.”
“Stay away from me.”
“Hey, hey, there’s no need to be rude. I’m just here because my girlfriend received a suspicious text from you.” He gestured to Maya, “I’m here to keep her safe, who knows what my baby brother would do to her.” The dark glint in his eyes was back, “May I come in?” he pointed inside, “Oh wait, of course I can, I’ve been invited.” He took a step inside, letting Maya in before he shut the door.
Elena chanced a glance at her cousin, hoping for some help, but Maya just appeared bored, she’d taken out her phone and was messaging someone. Looking back at Damon, she watched as he studied her house, “We can cut to the chase if you want, I’m not gonna kill you right now. That wouldn’t serve my greater agenda.” Maya bit her lip to stop from smirking, Damon was being such a dick and she was loving it.
“So,” Maya said, “Why am I here?”
Elena looked at her cousin, she grabbed her arm and tugged her away from Damon and into the den, Damon tracked the movement with his eyes, making sure that no one was going to pop up from anywhere. “Did you have to bring him?” Elena hissed.
“It’s not exactly like you to ask me nicely for things, I brought Damon in case Stefan was stupid enough to try something. Where is your boyfriend by the way?”
Elena bristled, “He’s out looking for Vicki.”
“Why? What has the druggie done now?”
“She’s a vampire!” she looked at Damon accusingly.
“Don’t look at me with those judge-y little eyes,” Damon said, “I’ve never even spoken to Vicki.”
“Well Stefan said that she was hurt, so he fed her his blood, and now she’s a vampire…somebody killed her.”
Damon cocked his head to the side, “One moment please,” he tugged Maya back into the hallway and gestured to the area.
Rolling her eyes, she soundproofed the immediate area surrounding them, so no one could hear what they were saying, “What?”
“What did you do?!” he hissed.
“Nothing!”
“Maya!” he crossed his arms.
“Ugh, fine! You let Stefan off from killing Zach, and I get why, you needed to be the one to kill Zach, and I’m fine with that. But you got hurt, and Stefan wasn’t getting punished! And neither Enzo nor I, were okay with that! So I got Enzo to compel Vicki, she stumbled into the Boarding House and practically fell down those basement stairs.”
“Seriously?! I can’t believe you!”
“Oh come off it Damon! You got hurt, and as the people that love you, we reserve the right to enact some vengeance to make ourselves feel better. And it killed two birds with one stone, punish Stefan and get Vicki away from Jeremy, permanently.”
“Well it didn’t work out that way did it?”
“No, and that’s something that you should be questioning. We sent Vicki down there, your brother was starving, and Vicki was ripe for the taking. Stefan fed off of her, but he didn’t kill her. How the hell did the Ripper stop?”
Damon took a breath as that realisation hit, “I don’t know, Stefan doesn’t stop, ever!”
Elena watched as the two talked, but she couldn’t hear anything, they weren’t far away from her, she should at least be able to pick up their whispers. Walking forward she placed a hand on Maya’s arm, breaking the spell, “What?”
“What are you two talking about? And why couldn’t I hear you?”
“Oh don’t play dumb Elena,” Maya said, “When Stefan told you about himself, I’m betting he told you about me too. That’s why you called isn’t it?”
“If Vicki comes here, I need a way to keep Jeremy safe.”
“Well so long as Jeremy doesn’t invite her in, he’ll be fine, you don’t need me.”
Maya moved to leave, “Maya!” Elena said, “Please, it’s Jeremy.” Elena was playing on the fact that she knew Maya loved Jeremy.
Maya paused and frowned at Damon, “Let me make one thing clear Elena, the only person that I’m protecting here is Jeremy. If Vicki comes at you, you better hope that Stefan’s close enough to save your ass.”
Elena glanced at Damon and he smirked, “Don’t look at me, I’m just here for my girl.”
“Damon,” he looked over at Maya, “Go help Stefan find Vicki.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” Maya nodded, “With all the people that she killed last night, the Council will be on high alert, we don’t want them to know about you guys just yet.”
“Alright,” Damon said, he swooped in for a romantic lip lock with Maya, before letting her go, “I’ll go,” he left the house, but before the door could shut, he turned back and directed his gaze at Elena “Oh, tip for later. Be careful who you invite in the house.”
Miranda and Logan worked through the Founder’s archives looking for any mention of the Bennetts, or witches, or spell books. “Hey what about this?” Logan said, reading through an entry, “This says that Ge-Guh-Gi-Giuseppe Salvatore is the one that ensured that the witches were burned at the stake.”
“The Salvatores kept all of their journals, the archives don’t have a copy of them, we’ll have to ask Zach,” Miranda said.
“I’ll call him,” Logan said, pulling out his phone. He tried calling multiple times but each time, received no answer, “He’s not picking up.”
“Someone will have to go to the Boarding House then,” Miranda sighed.
“Not you?”
“I don’t think I’d be very welcome there.”
“Why? What did you do?”
“Ugh,” she ran a hand over her face, “My niece is dating the elder of Zach’s nephews, and I got into a fight with her, in front of him.”
“A fight about what?”
“It doesn’t really matter, does it?”
“Fine, I’ll go,” Logan said.
Maya looked over at Elena, her cousin looked like she was almost bursting at the seams with questions, and she was not in the mood to deal with it, “I’m gonna go check on Jeremy.” She made to go upstairs when Elena grabbed her hand and pulled her into the den. “What the hell Elena?!”
“How could you not tell me that you’re a Witch?!”
“Oh I’m sorry, did I miss the part where we suddenly became close? We’re not friends Elena, we’re barely even family, you’re not someone that I confide in.”
“You have magic powers and you didn’t think to tell your family?!” she hissed.
She yanked her hand from Elena's grasp, “I did tell my family, you’re just not it!”
“I bet you told Caroline!”
“Of course I told Caroline! I spend 95% of my time with Caroline! Why wouldn’t I tell her?!”
“And you think Caroline Forbes can keep a secret?” Elena scoffed.
“Well she’s been keeping it since I was 10,” Maya shrugged, “How did you find out again? Oh yeah, your boyfriend outed me! Without my permission!”
“You attacked him!”
“He attacked Damon!”
“You’re dating a killer!”
“So are you!”
“No! Stefan’s not like that! He doesn’t kill people!”
Maya laughed, “Is that what he’s told you? That’s funny!”
“Stop laughing!”
“I can’t help it! The fact that you believe that Stefan hasn’t killed anybody since he became a vampire, it’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day! How can you be that gullible?”
“I’m not gullible!” Elena shot back, “I know Stefan! He’s not a bad person! He’s not a killer!”
“He’s a vampire Elena, they’re all killers, and you know nothing about Stefan Salvatore! He didn’t even tell you that he was a vampire, you had to figure that out for yourself. And I have to say that I’m genuinely surprised that you managed to get your head out of your own ass for long enough to know that there was something off about Stefan!”
“You act like Damon isn’t a problem, he killed Mr Tanner!”
“Stefan pissed him off,” Maya shrugged.
“And you don’t see a problem with that? Damon gets angry and people die!”
Maya shook her head, “The supernatural world operates with a different set of rules. You don’t get it because you’re human.”
“So are you!” Elena exclaimed.
“No I’m not! I haven’t been human from the moment I was born!”
Elena shook her head in disgust, “How can you just sit there? Knowing that Damon’s killed people? Knowing that he’ll do it again?!”
“Ugh,” Maya rolled her eyes, “This isn’t ‘Twilight’ Elena! Vampires drink blood, human blood, that’s what they’re designed to do! Damon’s no Edward Cullen, and I’m not Bella! If Damon wants to kill someone, he’ll do it, because he’s a predator, because there’s only so long that you can supress the biological need to kill, before you go off. And as long as he doesn’t go after anyone that I care about, I couldn’t give a crap what he does!”
“I can’t believe you!” Elena paced.
“Oh come on Elena, you should be grateful to me, Damon stays away from the Gilberts and Bonnie, and Matt and Tyler, because of me.”
“And what about Vicki?!
“Damon didn’t do anything to Vicki,” Maya said, “Chances are, she found her dealer after being healed, picked up some pills and OD’d. And because she didn’t know what was going on when she woke up, she probably fed on the first person that she saw. Damon’s not to blame for that, Stefan is, because it was Stefan’s blood in her system when she died.”
“You’re sleeping with a monster!”
“I am,” Maya agreed, “It’s a lot of fun.”
“Is that it? You’re having fun with Damon? That’s why you let him out after Stefan stopped him?!”
“No, I let him out because I love him.”
“Oh please, you barely know him!”
“Damon and I have been on good terms since I was fifteen Elena, that’s two years, how long have you known Stefan again?”
“Two years? How did you even meet him?!”
“He’s a vampire, I have magic, our paths crossed,” she shrugged, “Why do you even care?”
“How are you a Witch?”
“Well when a mommy Witch and a daddy Witch get together and do the dance with no pants-”
“Jenna’s not a Witch!” Elena interrupted.
“No? How do you know?”
“Because Mom’s not one, I’d know if she was!”
“Would you? I mean, I’m pretty sure that there’s plenty about your parents that you don’t know. But you are right, neither one of our mothers has magic, which means I got it from my dad, all it takes is one parent and then,” she clicked her fingers, “Magic baby.”
“I can’t believe this,” Elena muttered, “How long have you-you been a-”
“I’m gonna stop you right there Elena,” Maya said, she was done answering her cousin's questions and gestured between the two of them, “This thing that we’re doing, we’re not bonding over this, you and I aren’t suddenly going to be singing kumbaya and hugging out our problems. You don’t get to know about me, because you and I, we’re nothing to one another.”
“Maya-”
“You killed me Elena, and you still haven’t said that you’re sorry, and you haven’t apologised because you don’t care. You don’t care that you nearly permanently ended my life, you don’t care that you nearly destroyed my mother. You. Don’t. Care. So we’re nothing, as far as I’m concerned, our only connection is Jeremy. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna check on him, because you sent him upstairs rather abruptly and I’m sure that he’s curious as to why.”
/ / /
Maya knocked on Jeremy’s door, her young cousin was pacing the floor when she went inside. “Jeremy, hey.”
“Maya! What’s going on?” Jeremy asked.
“Jer we need to talk.” She closed the door and soundproofed the room, she didn’t want Elena to hear anything that she said. “It’s Vicki.”
Jeremy looked at her with wide eyes, “What is it?”
“She’s a vampire,” Maya said softly.
“WHAT?!” Jeremy exclaimed, “What are you talking about?”
Taking Jeremy’s hands, she led him to the bed and sat him down, she was going to have to go with Stefan’s lie, she knew that Jeremy wouldn’t understand why she’d done what she’d done. He’d be upset, hurt, possibly hate her for it, so for now she’d go with Stefan’s version of events, “Stefan said that she was hurt, badly enough that he needed to give her blood to heal her. He says that he doesn’t know what happened to her after that, but she must have died with his blood in her system.”
“How do you know that she’s a vampire?” Jeremy asked.
“Stefan was on a walk in the woods last night, he heard screams and smelt blood. He found her feeding on some people in the cemetery.”
“The cemetery?”
“Yeah, it’ll probably be on the news soon enough.”
“Vicki took me to the cemetery once, it’s where she hung out with her friends.”
“Oh Jer.”
“What’s gonna happen now?” Jeremy asked, “She can’t be out there on her own, she probably doesn’t even know what’s happened to her.”
“I know,” Maya nodded, “Stefan’s out looking for her, and Damon’s searching too. Hopefully they’ll find her before anyone on the Council does.”
“Can’t you do something?”
“I am Jeremy, I’m waiting here in case she comes looking for you.”
“No!” Jeremy shook his head, “Can’t you do like a locator spell or something?”
“I’d need blood to do the spell, Vicki’s.”
“What about Matt? He’s her brother, would his blood work.”
Maya knew it would, but she was hoping that Damon would find Vicki before Stefan did and stake her, “It might,” she replied.
“I’m gonna call Matt then,” he reached for his phone but Maya stopped him.
“Jer wait! You can’t call Matt, Elena doesn’t know that you know about all of this, and if she finds out, she’ll probably get Stefan to try to compel you to forget.”
“Then you call him!” Jeremy exclaimed, “Maya! What are you waiting for?!”
“I’ll get Elena to call him, but you need to act like you don’t know anything, to keep you safe. I don’t trust Stefan with you, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I won’t say anything.” Jeremey replied, “But please, find her.”
/ / /
“Elena,” Maya said, seeing her cousin in the kitchen, “You need to call Matt.”
“What? Why?”
“Because neither of the boys are back yet and it’s been hours, it’ll be dark soon, and Vicki will make another kill, if I have some of Matt’s blood then I could try a locator spell.”
“Why didn’t you do that before?!”
“Do you really want to involve Matt in this? I’ll need his blood Elena, how do you suggest that we get it without telling him what’s going on?”
Elena frowned, thinking about her ex, she didn’t want Matt to know about the supernatural, it would only put him in danger, “I’ll figure something out, but I’m calling him.”
/ / /
It was an hour later that Matt came over, Elena had given him some excuse about wanting to talk about Jeremy and Vicki, but hadn’t figured out how to get Matt to give a little blood. Rolling her eyes, Maya’s fingers twitched and Matt caught his fingers on the edge of the glass covering the coffee table and cut himself. “Aah!”
“Matt!” Elena exclaimed, seeing the cut on his fingers, “Let’s get that cleaned up!” she said, grabbing his arm and taking him to the kitchen.
Maya waved her hand at the blood droplets that had landed on the table and they floated up, she rushed upstairs before Elena and Matt could come back, and went into Elena’s room. Quickly she cast the locator spell and found Vicki, hiding in one of the old abandoned warehouses on the edge of town. She texted Damon the location, hoping that he’d get there before Stefan and went back downstairs and saw Elena see Matt off.
“Well?” Elena asked, turning to the Siphon when Matt was gone, “Did you find her?”
“I texted Damon the location.” She shrugged, heading back inside the den.
Elena watched her cousin with narrowed eyes and sent a message to Stefan, he needed to find Vicki before Damon did.
Bonnie was at her Gram’s house, she’d accidentally set that car on fire at the Car Wash and knew without a doubt that she was a Witch. “Was our family burned in the Witch Trials?” she asked.
Sheila lit a few candles as she spoke, “No, the girls that were persecuted in Salem were entirely innocent. You have to have more than ignorance to trap a real Witch.”
“Well, how did we end up in Mystic Falls?”
“Our family fled Salem in 1692 and relocated here.” She turned to her granddaughter, “Our ancestors lived in secrecy for over a hundred years. It’s important that we still do.”
“Grams, everybody knows you’re a Witch.” Bonnie said, moving over so that Sheila could sit next to her.
“They also know it’s absurd. Can’t be true. I’m just a kooky lady that teaches occult at the university. No one really believes, they just poke fun. And let them.” She took a drink from her cup of tea, “Don’t let them know the truth, or they’ll be coming to you for all sorts of things.”
Bonnie frowned, “So where’s the witchcraft? You’ve been talking history for two days, I wanna get to the fun part.”
“It’s not meant to be fun,” Shelia said, she needed Bonnie to be careful, especially now that she knew that the Siphon in town probably had access to magic, “It’s real and it’s serious, and you must understand it before you practice it. Especially in this town.”
“What do you mean in this town?” Bonnie asked.
“In the 1800s a Council was formed in this town, made up of the founding families, the Council was created for the specific purpose of dealing with the supernatural.”
“The supernatural?” Bonnie repeated.
“In 1864 this town was overrun by Vampires.”
“Vampires?!”
Sheila shot Bonnie a look, causing the young girl to close her mouth, “The Vampires were rounded up, locked in the church and killed.”
“Wait, you’re talking about what happened at the Battle of Willowcreek,” Bonnie said.
“Yes,” Shelia nodded, “The Battle was used as a cover to kill the Vampires, but…they were rounded up because of us…because of our ancestor. Emily Bennett.”
“Who was she?”
“She was a very powerful Witch, she created this,” Shelia showed Bonnie the pocket watch.
“She made a watch?”
“No,” she took out the clock and replaced it with a compass, “Emily spelled this watch and the compass so that it would point in the direction of any nearby Vampire.”
Bonnie thought back to the news lately, the ‘animal attacks’ and more recently, Mr Tanner, “Is there a Vampire in town?” she asked worriedly.
“There is,” Sheila nodded.
“Then, shouldn’t we be using this to find whoever it is?”
“We can’t, the magic in it has been taken.”
“Taken?”
“Yes,” Sheila sighed, “I hoped that I would never have to tell you about this, but there are more than just Vampires and Witches out there. There are also Siphons, abominations. And your friend’s cousin, Maya, she is one.”
Logan parked in front of the Salvatore House, got out of his car and looked around. There were no cars in the driveway, and most of the drapes were shut, indicating that no one was home. Walking up to the front door, Logan rang the bell and knocked. “Hello!” he called, “Zach? Are you in there?”
When he received no answer he walked around the house, he tried a couple of the doors and finally found one that was unlocked, he opened it and walked inside, “Hello? Zach!” Looking around he fought the urge to shiver, this place was creepy.
“Can I help you?”
Logan jumped in surprise and whirled around, seeing a man lounging on the couch nearby, feet up on the table, book in his lap. “Who are you?” he asked, he didn’t think he’d seen him before.
“Lorenzo,” he shut his book and stood, “I’m a friend of Damon’s.”
“Damon?”
“One of Zach’s nephews. He’s uh, dating Miranda Gilbert’s niece.”
“Right, I saw him at the Founders Council Party,” Logan swallowed, offering Enzo his 'News Anchor' smile, “I’m looking for Zach, is he here?”
“No.” Enzo said.
“Wh-where is he?”
Enzo shrugged, “No clue mate, you’d have to ask one of his nephews.”
“And is one of them here?”
“Nope.”
Logan narrowed his eyes at Enzo, getting frustrated, “Do you know where they are?”
“Nah,” Enzo shook his head, “Who are you by the way?”
“Logan Fell.”
“Well, Logan Fell, seeing as how no one that you’re looking for is here, you should go.”
“I’d prefer to wait,” Logan crossed his arms.
“Listen mate, the front door was locked, so you came in round the side, that’s kind of sketchy if you ask me. I’m not all that comfortable with you being here. You could be a thief for all I know.”
“I’m the News Anchor!” Logan sputtered, “People in this town know who I am! Nobody knows who you are though, how do I know that you’re not the criminal?”
Enzo was stone faced, “I’d be happy to call the Sheriff and clear all of this up,” Enzo said, “Of course I’ll also be calling Damon, letting him know that you were breaking and entering, and trespassing. And when the Sheriff confirms that I am who I say I am, I’m sure that Damon would be more than happy to press charges…tell me, if you get arrested who becomes the new News Anchor?”
Mayor Lockwood sat down with his wife at the Mystic Grill, he’d just finished speaking with a Sheriff’s deputy. “How many are we dealing with?” Carol said.
“The coroner thinks one. Something about the wound radius and jaw pattern-”
“Are we in danger?” Carol cut him off, “It’s been hiding from us for this long, it could know that we know. And could it come after us? And should I even be saying ‘it’? Is it a he? Or a she? Has it been here before?”
“If it has any historical knowledge of the town, then yes, we could very much be in danger.” The Mayor looked around, making sure that no one was listening in.
“So what do we do?” Carol asked.
“Just keep it quiet, we can’t have the entire town aware of this. We have to find it, before it finds us.”
“Has there been any word on Vicki Donovan?”
“It’s confirmed she wasn’t one of the bodies.”
“Then where is she?”
“I have no idea.”
“Has there been any word on the watch?” Carol asked.
Richard nodded his head at the Miranda and Logan who’d just arrived, “Let’s find out.”
Logan and Miranda sat down with the Lockwoods, “Well? Where are we at?”
“We need access to the Salvatore Journals,” Miranda said.
“So call Zach and ask.”
“We have, there’s been no answer.”
“I went over there,” Logan said, “But he wasn’t home, no one was.”
“Does anybody know where Zach is?” The Mayor, Richard, asked.
Logan shook his head, “No.”
Damon sped to the warehouse, he was going to kill Vicki, there was no way that a girl like her would be able to handle vampirism without years of guidance, and he wasn’t about to get stuck being her teacher. “Vicki?” he called, “Where are you?” he broke off one of the boards on the window, snapping it in half, creating a makeshift stake. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” He listened for movement, and heard the rustling of fabric coming from the floor above him.
He whooshed upstairs, and found her hiding, “Hello Vicki.” He let his Vampire come to the surface and rushed to attack her. Vicki flung herself backward but Damon slammed into her, she wasn’t fast enough to dodge him. He had her on her back, straddling her, he raised the stake, but just before he killed her, he was knocked off of her by Stefan, “What the hell?” he groaned. “Stefan?” he shoved his brother off of him and stood, “How did you find me?”
Stefan rushed at Vicki and snapped her neck, “Elena called, told me that you had Vicki’s location, she didn’t trust that you wouldn’t hurt Vicki.” He glanced at the makeshift stake in Damon’s hand, “I guess she was right.”
“Come on Stefan! You really think that Vicki Donovan of all people is going to handle being a Vampire!”
“She deserves a chance, Damon!”
“She’s a drug addict Stefan! She’s not going to survive.”
“If she dies, it won’t be because you killed her!”
Damon charged at Stefan, and his brother shoved him off, “Would you look at that! I guess someone’s on the human diet again!”
“This is your fault, Damon!”
“No,” Damon shook his head, “It’s yours.” He looked over at the unconscious teen with disgust, “If you’re so desperate to save the girl, fine, she’s all yours brother. But don’t come crying to me when you have to kill her.” He whooshed out of the warehouse, a scowl on his face, this wasn’t worth the effort. He pulled out his phone and shot Maya a text, he hoped that she wouldn’t be too upset with him.
Maya was in the attic of her home, it was her ‘magic room’ as her mother liked to call it, she was staring at whiteboard filled with information. Damon had told her that he’d let Vicki live, because Stefan believed that she deserved a chance, and Damon thought that it would be a better punishment, Stefan would fail and have to kill Vicki and Damon wouldn’t even have to do anything. But in letting Vicki live, a chill had shot down Maya’s spine. Something wasn’t going right in Mystic Falls, she could feel it, and decided that she needed to map it out. Maya had gotten out a couple of whiteboards, that she used to work out her magical theory before casting new spells, and wrote out what she knew about Mystic Falls on one board, in a code that she and Caroline had come up with when they were seven. And used the other board to map out what had actually happened in Mystic Falls so far.
She looked between the boards comparing the two and paled in realisation, “Shit,” she muttered, staring at them in rapidly growing horror.
“What’s wrong?” Enzo asked, having received a text from her, asking him to come up, “And what the hell am I looking at?” He looked at the boards, and what appeared to be nothing but gibberish.
“Where’s everybody else?” She asked.
Enzo cocked his head to the side as he listened out for movement, “Damon’s just arrived with your mum and Caroline’s coming up now.”
“I’m here!” Caroline said bursting in, taking in the serious look on Maya’s face, “What’s goi-” She cut herself off as she caught sight of the board, “Oh shit!”
“What?” Enzo asked, “What are you seeing?”
“The hell Zo?” Damon asked, coming in, “I thought we were meeting at the Grill!”
Jenna followed him and stopped short at the boards, “Oh no, not this crap again.” It had taken Jenna almost two years to get Caroline and Maya to stop using their made up language, for a short time the girls had used it at school, confusing the hell out of the teachers and prompting a conference with both girls parents, “Please tell me we’re not reverting back to nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense!” Caroline protested, “It’s a very complex, very awesome secret language.”
“No it’s a made up nightmare,” Jenna replied.
“Okay everybody shut up!” Maya said, calling attention to herself, “And sit down! Because I think we have a problem.”
Caroline eyed the boards with worry, “You can say that again,” she muttered, “Is all of this true?” she asked.
Maya nodded, “Yep.”
“Well shit, that’s not good.”
“Okay one of you is going to have to start explaining!” Enzo demanded, “All I’m hearing is that things aren’t good and you saying ‘shit’ a bunch of times, what is going on?”
“Okay, Damon let Vicki live,” Maya said, “And Stefan’s got her at the Boarding House right now.”
“Which we already knew,” Jenna confirmed.
“Yeah, but it got me thinking. Certain things are happening that I’ve seen happen, but they shouldn’t, because things are different now.”
“Mai, you’re gonna need to break it down for them,” Caroline said, being the only other person that could read what had been written on the boards, she already knew where Maya was going with this.
Maya shook her head and looked at the board, “Okay, okay, so I wrote down everything that I know has happened so far on this board,” she gestured to the white board with less writing on, “And on the other I put down what I’ve ‘seen’ happen and I compared the two. You following me?”
At their nods she continued, “Okay, so in the WWM, that’s ‘world without me’ for those who didn’t get it, the night before school started, Damon killed a couple, drained them completely, so that he would have enough fresh blood in his system to connect with that crow, and manipulate the fog. And on the first day of school Damon used a crow, to smack into Bonnie’s windshield while she was driving, scaring her, and Elena. And then he used the fog and the crow to freak her out when she went to visit her dad in the cemetery.”
“Which is exactly what he did,” Enzo said.
“Right,” she was talking with her hands, waving them about as she explained, “Which is fine, that’s one day! Damon’s an ass, of course he was going to do that.” Damon looked like he wanted to protest at that, but held back, because he could see that she was working herself up. “Then the next night, in the WWM, Damon killed those two campers out in the woods.”
“But Damon didn’t do that,” Jenna said.
“No, he didn’t,” she pointed at Enzo, “But you did, Damon was at the Boarding House, but you went to the exact same spot in the woods, killed the exact same people, in the exact same way!”
“Huh,” Enzo’s brow furrowed.
“And fine, I could probably explain that away, you know, hungry vampire in town, people out in the middle of the woods at night, easy pickings! Right?!”
“Right,” Damon said.
“But then! The bonfire!” she pointed at the elder Salvatore, “Vicki was the one that was attacked in the WWM, but you didn’t attack her, because you knew that Jeremy liked her, and you didn’t want to have to deal with him bitching at you right?”
“You’re right,” Damon nodded, “I had the chance to go for her, but didn’t take it.”
“But you did attack somebody. And Jeremy found her body, he tripped over her, exactly like he would have done with Vicki. And then Tanner happened, Stefan said that your love for Katherine was your humanity showing, which pissed you off, because ‘A’ you don’t love Katherine anymore, ‘2’ Enzo is the reason that your humanity is fully back, and ‘D’ Stefan has no right to act like he knows who you are anymore, because he doesn’t. Which pissed you off, so you ripped Tanner’s throat out, and left him in the exact same place that I’d seen him in!”
Enzo leant over to Jenna and whispered, “Did she just-”
“Leave it,” Jenna shook her head, “Let her finish, we’ll correct her later.”
“And what else do I have…oh yeah! Zach, dead, at Damon’s hands, both then and now. Those deaths at the cemetery, the night of the car wash, that happened before. Only before, it happened because that would have been the day that Damon escaped the Boarding House after three days of being dried out and vervained. He would have killed them all, except for Vicki, and she is my biggest problem right now. In the WWM, Damon turned Vicki.”
“Don’t look at me!” Damon protested when all eyes turned to him, “I didn’t do it!”
“No you didn’t, and that’s what’s getting to me. Stefan fed on Vicki, he stopped before he killed her, he’s a Ripper, and a Ripper doesn’t stop, so how the hell did Stefan stop before killing her? How did he leave her alive enough to heal with his blood? And how did she actually die?”
“Things are the same but different,” Caroline said.
“It’s like every move I make to change things, Nature’s making a counter move to try and change it back!”
“Okay, so let’s think about this,” Jenna said, “If things are both the same and different, what’s due to happen next?”
“Stefan takes in Vicki, tries to teach her how to be a vampire,” Maya sighed, “And then on the night of the Halloween party, she runs away, sneaks into the party, attacks Elena, and gets staked by Stefan.”
“Okay, so we have to make sure that she doesn’t escape on Halloween,” Jenna said.
“Or we could just kill her now,” Enzo shrugged, receiving a slap on the back of the head from Jenna.
“If we kill her, she dies as a vampire.” Caroline pointed out.
“Which is what happened in the WWM,” Maya finished, sighing she scrubbed her hands over her face and threw herself down in a chair, “I need help.”
Jenna eyed her daughter, noting the visible stress on her face, the bags under her eyes, indicating that lately she hadn’t been getting enough sleep, and knew that it was true, Maya needed help, help that she couldn’t give. “You need to go and see Kol,” she said, “And maybe Klaus. You call them and set something up, and I’ll write you a note for school so that you can go.”
“Mom, I can’t just go off in the middle of the week, besides it’s Care’s birthday in two weeks, and we still haven’t got a place to have the party!”
“We’ll have it here,” Jenna said.
“What?”
“Really?” Caroline asked excitedly, she’d been dying to throw a party at Maya’s place, but Jenna had always been reluctant to let it happen.
“Yeah,” Jenna nodded, “We’ll have it here, and the boys will help get everything ready, so you can go and meet up with the Originals and come up with a game plan.” She could tell that Maya was worried about something else, something bigger than what she was willing to talk about. And she would bet that Caroline knew what it was that was worrying her daughter. And while Maya was away, she’d press her daughter’s best friend to find out what it was.
It was a few days later that Damon and Enzo were drinking together at the Grill, Damon had retreated back to the Sommers house, because Stefan and Vicki were annoying the hell out of him, and Elena, kept insisting on stopping by, despite the fact that she’d told Stefan that she couldn’t date him. Maya was on a private plane, flying to California, with two of Klaus’s compelled vampires as her bodyguards. Klaus was happy to meet her, and so was Kol, but his paranoia made it so that he wanted the meet to be somewhere other than the pack territory, so they’d all agreed that California was the best bet.
A server had just been over to the Vampires’ table to bring them another round of drinks when Miranda and Logan approached them. “Damon,” Miranda said, offering him a small smile, she was hesitant to approach him, given the disaster of a dinner she’d held, but Stefan hadn’t been around the house and Zach hadn’t been answering the phone.
“Mrs Gilbert.”
“Please call me Miranda,” she said, “Uh, have you met Logan?” she asked, motioning to the man at her side.
“No but my friend Enzo here has,” Damon replied, nodding at Enzo, “I hear he stopped by the house.”
“Uh yes,” Logan said, “Sorry about that, I was looking for Zach, he’s not been answering my calls.”
“Zach’s busy,” Damon took a sip of his drink, “He’s been uh, buried… in work for a while, I’ll let him know that you’ve been calling. But is there anything I can do for you?”
“Oh,” Miranda paused glancing at Logan, she didn’t know how much Damon knew about the town, about the Council, and didn’t want to give anything away just in case. “We were going through the Founder’s Archives and realised that we’re missing some of the Salvatore journals.”
Damon stiffened and Enzo shot both of the humans suspicious look, clearing his throat, Damon straightened a little in his seat, “Uh, which ones were you looking for, in particular?”
“We were hoping for the ones around the time of the Battle of Willowcreek and after,” Miranda said.
“So the uh, mid 1860s and beyond,” Damon clarified.
“Yes.”
“Is there any reason for your sudden interest in that particular time period?” Enzo asked.
Logan offered the Vampire a tight smile, “No reason in particular, we’re just looking to expand the archives for Civil Hall, you know, make sure that the people of Mystic Falls have as much access to the history of this town as possible.”
“Well I’ll ask Zach to take a look,” Damon cut in, eyes narrowed in Logan’s direction, “And I’ll remind him to call you.”
“Great!” Miranda said, “We’ll leave you two to your drinks.”
The two humans made to leave, but Damon stopped them, “Logan,” the man turned to look at him, “The next time that you stop by the Boarding House, and there’s no answer, that’s not an invitation for you to just let yourself in. And if you do it again, I will be calling the Sheriff.”
“Right,” Logan said, “Again, sorry about that.”
“Well it’s just common courtesy really,” Enzo said with a dangerous smirk, “Don’t go into someone’s home unless invited.”
“Yeah,” Logan nodded.
“You can go now,” Enzo said, motioning for them to leave, and they did.
“Who the hell is that guy?” Logan asked, as they walked away.
“Maya introduced him as a friend of Jenna’s at the Founders’ Party, she said that she met him in New York a couple of years ago.” Miranda replied.
“New York? What was she doing there?”
“She and Maya have been going there every year, for the last seven years. They go every summer, sometimes they’ll go for a Christmas too.”
“Seven years?” Logan said, “That’s gotta be expensive, how could she possibly afford that? Hell didn’t she move into that big place near the Sheriff’s? How did she do that?”
“Maya’s father died, left her a large sum of money, and since Maya is a minor, Jenna’s the one who got control of it.”
“And who exactly is Maya’s father?”
“I-I don’t know, Jenna’s never told me, she always said that the father wanted nothing to do with them.”
“And yet he left Maya money when she died?”
“Yes.” Miranda nodded.
“Doesn’t that sound a little suspicious to you?” Logan asked, “I mean, all of a sudden some guy no one knows, just drops a bunch of cash on them.”
“What are you suggesting?” Miranda said defensively, “Jenna’s not lying, she has no reason to.”
“I’m not suggesting anything,” Logan replied, “I just think it’s odd.”
“Freya,” Rebekah said, walking into her sister’s room and closing the door, “How would you like to take a little trip with me?”
“A trip where?” Freya asked.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m not really convinced by the story that Kol gave me about Nik. I want to know what he’s up to.”
“Do you know where he is?”
Rebekah smirked, “I had dinner with Kol the other night, and I may have snooped through his phone, Kol is meeting with Nik and their Witch in a few days in Los Angeles, I have the address…”
Freya looked very tempted, “But what about Finn? I don’t want him to think that I’ve abandoned him.”
“You’re a grown woman Freya, if Finn is so determined to hate our brother, then he can’t act like him. And if he kept you here, just because he doesn’t want to be alone, well then, he’s far more like Niklaus than he’d like to admit. Besides, he’s not alone,” Rebekah dismissed, “He has Sage.”
“I don’t know Rebekah.”
“Think about it,” Rebekah said, “I’m leaving for Los Angeles tomorrow night, call me if you want to come along.” She whooshed out of the room leaving Freya to her thoughts.
Freya sat down, her brows furrowed at the conversation, it was true, she didn’t believe what Kol had said about Niklaus, the idea that he was ‘visiting a friend with a child who had managed to get a hold of his phone.’ That made no sense. She wanted to know her brothers, a family is all she ever wanted, and if she knew that Niklaus wasn’t all bad, then perhaps she could convince Finn to stop his plotting, and the family could be together once and for all.
Maya was lounging on a towel on the beach, her two Vampire bodyguards were somewhere behind her, their clear instructions to make themselves inconspicuous unless necessary. Klaus and Kol were running late, she expected it from the wildest Mikaelson, he liked to be contrary just because he could, but she was surprised that Klaus hadn’t arrived yet. He was the kind of person that liked to show up early, just so that he could scope out the place for exits, sightlines, and potential ambush points, (even with Mikael gone, it was a habit that he hadn’t lost). Closing her eyes, the sun warmed her skin and she stretched out, frowning when she felt a shadow cover her. She opened her eyes, ready to chew out whoever was blocking her sun, but instead smiled as she saw Klaus standing above her.
“Nik!” Maya stood and flung her arms around the Original, “You’re late.”
“Yes well, I was…held up…” he trailed off, his gaze moving from her to his travel companions.
Maya followed his eye line and raised a brow, “You brought the kids…”
“You said it wasn’t an emergency, and when I said I was leaving, they…wouldn’t let me go without them…”
“Since when does Niklaus Mikaelson let other people dictate what he does?” Maya gave him a cheeky smirk.
“…Shut up!” Klaus scowled.
“Oh my God, you're such a dad!”
“I said shut up!”
Maya laughed, “I’m just kidding Nik!”
Klaus shook his head, “Let’s just go find somewhere to talk.” He studied her for a moment, “And cover up!”
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” she asked, looking down at her outfit, in her opinion her bikini was fairly modest.
“It’s far too revealing for you!”
“Literally everyone on this beach is wearing something far more revealing than I am!” Maya protested.
He yanked her towards him, hands on the small of her back, so that Maya was pressed against his body, “I don’t want to tear off everyone else’s clothes, do I?”
“Oh,” Maya went bright red at the implication, she hated the fact that he could reduce her to speechlessness, with just a few words. She grabbed her cover up and slid it over her head, “Happy now?”
“That’s barely covering anything up!”
“Well it’s all I have!” Her hands were on her hips, “You’re just gonna have to deal with it!”
“Fine,” he said, pulling her back towards him, “Let’s find somewhere to sit.”
Maya led him and the kids to row of beach chairs, that had been laid out with a table and large sun umbrella between every two chairs. She sat down in one chair, and Klaus took the other, the kids scrambling up on his lap, “How are you two doing?” Maya asked the children.
“W-we-we’re fine,” Liam stuttered out, cheeks turning red as she looked at him.
Maya gave him a small smile, “The rings are working out well for you both?” she asked, “You’ve had no problems?”
“N-no,” he shook his head.
Klaus looked down at Liam with a small smirk, and spoke to the Siphon in Bulgarian, the only other language that he knew that she was fluent in, “It looks like someone has a little crush.”
“Can you blame him?” Maya shrugged, leaning back on her hands.
“No, I can’t,” he smirked at her, ignoring the curious looks that the kids were giving him. “Now what was so important that we needed to meet in person?”
“I’d rather talk about it with both you and Kol, that way I don’t have to explain twice. Where is he anyway?”
“He said he’ll be here tomorrow. He wanted to give us a little time to ourselves…I can’t imagine why,” he shot her a look and she rolled her eyes.
“Damon is such a little gossip, it’s not an attractive quality, I can’t believe he’s your best friend.”
“He’s not my best friend! Why does everyone keep saying that?” Klaus protested and Maya laughed.
“Because it’s true!” she looked at the kids, “Look we have independent people right here to give us their perspective.”
“No don’t you-”
“Okay kids listen up, if you had someone that you talked to everyday, told your secrets to, had fun with,” she motioned for Klaus to keep his mouth shut when he moved to interrupt her, “Listened to you when you complained and always had your back, what would you call that person?”
Liam looked up at Klaus, “You have a best friend,” he said.
“He’s your best friend,” Luna agreed.
“See! The cute ones agree with me!” she grinned, and Klaus growled in response, causing Luna to giggle. “Now!” she clapped her hands and stood up, “Since Kol isn’t going to be here until tomorrow, how about we have a little fun? Have you ever put your feet in the ocean before?” when the kids shook their heads, she held her hands out for them to take. They looked up at Klaus, and at his nod, they slipped their hands into hers and went with her towards the water.
/ / /
Rebekah and Freya were together in Los Angeles, Freya found the place rather charming, and spent quite some time pulling Rebekah into every little shop that she passed on the beachfront. “Sister, you know that we’re here for a reason, right?” Rebekah said. She wasn’t usually one to shy away from shopping, but they were in L.A to spy on Klaus, and they couldn’t do that if they were focused on other things.
“I know!” Freya replied, “But I’ve never been to California before!”
“We can explore later, right now, we should find a place where we can spy on our brothers!”
“Fine,” Freya sulked a little, she knew they were there for a purpose, but Los Angeles was so different from New York, especially out by the ocean. “Let’s go.”
“Come on,” Rebekah shook her head at her sister’s pout, was that how she looked to her brothers when she didn’t get something that she wanted? She tugged on Freya’s hand and the both of them stopped when they found a place to watch from, on the beach. The Witch was stretched out on the ground, and neither of their brothers were anywhere to be seen.
“I thought you said this was the time they arranged to meet?” Freya asked.
“It was,” Rebekah frowned, “Kol, I can understand being late, he usually cares for no one’s time but his own, but Nik is never not on time.”
“Do you think that they’ve arranged something different?” Freya asked alarmed, “Or perhaps they met early?”
“I-” Rebekah stopped as she saw Klaus show up on the sand, and with two small children in tow, “Hang on.” She motioned for Freya to look and the two watched as Klaus approached the Witch, the children hanging back, “I think I know those children.”
The sisters saw the Witch jump up and embrace Klaus, and speak for a few moments, “What’s going on?” Freya asked, “I can’t hear them.”
Rebekah relayed what they were saying, brow furrowing when the Witch referred to Klaus as a ‘dad’ and her brother barely disputed it.
The four of them moved over to some seats for more privacy and Rebekah motioned for Freya to follow her to readjust their position. Nothing of magical importance was being discussed but Rebekah was still thrown by what she heard. Klaus with a best friend? Klaus having fun? The sisters watched as the Witch played with the children in the ocean, and then the Witch and the little girl decided to splash Klaus with water, causing the Original to shoot up with a snarl. But contrary to what usually happened when one angered Klaus, the Witch picked up Luna by the middle, yelling ‘Run!’ and the girls dashed away laughing. Quickly caught by Klaus, who gave playful chase. Klaus grabbed the girl from the Witch’s arms and then pushed the Witch in the water, causing her to scream in shock. And Klaus let out a laugh at her, tickling the little girl in retaliation for her splashing him.
“What on earth?” Rebekah whispered as she saw them, this was not something she was prepared for.
“Is this…usual behaviour for Niklaus?” Freya asked quietly, seeing a side of her brother that she never thought she would.
“No!” Rebekah replied in shock, she’d never seen Klaus act like this before, he was…happy! Having fun!
And then they saw Klaus pull, the now soaking, woman towards him, and he leant down and kissed her, causing both of the children to groan in disgust and splash both of them. The two of them broke apart and then chased after the children.
“I’ve never seen Nik like this before,” Rebekah said, “Not even with Marcel.”
“Marcel?” Freya asked.
“Um…Marcel was Nik’s fri- was his son, Nik took him in as a child in New Orleans, gave him his name, raised him, and yet, I haven’t seen a look like that on Nik’s face since we were children."
“I see,” Freya said, not taking her eyes from her brother, she couldn’t hear what was being said, but she could see how he was acting with the children. “You said you might know who the children are.”
“Yes, I rescued them last year!”
“Rescued them from what?” Freya asked.
“From some Vampires,” Rebekah said, “They are…baby wolves, I stumbled across them, they had nothing, and no one left to care for them.”
“Wolves?” Freya mused, “They’re so young.”
“I’m not entirely clear how they triggered their curse, they weren’t too forthcoming with me.”
“How did they end up with our brother?”
“I called him, since he’s part wolf, I thought that perhaps Nik could help. And he did, he found them a pack, took them to it.”
“If he found them a pack, then why is he with the children now? Acting like he’s their father?”
“I don’t know!” Rebekah replied frustrated, “I don’t know anything! This, all of this is so different than what I’ve seen of Nik for the last millennia! I don’t understand!”
Freya saw the distraught look on her sister’s face, and reached out to comfort her, “It’s all right Rebekah, we shall figure this out…together.”
Bonnie knocked on Elena’s bedroom door in the morning, she had so much to tell her friend, she didn’t even know where to start, “You up?” she asked.
Elena rolled over, “No,” she said and pulled her covers over her head, Bonnie marched over and pulled them from her, “No, no!”
“Why haven’t you called me back?” Bonnie asked.
“I’m sorry,” Elena sighed, letting go of her duvet.
“Are you gonna stay in here forever?”
“Yep.”
Bonnie sighed, “Move over,” Elena shifted in bed and Bonnie climbed under the covers, “I’m officially worried. What’s going on?”
Elena shook her head, “I’m tired of thinking, of talking.”
“Can I get a one-line version, so that I can at least pretend to be helpful?”
“Stefan and I broke up.”
“I’m so sorry,” Bonnie said, “Are you okay? Right, stupid question. I know I’ve been kind of MIA when you need me the most…I suck.”
“You wanna make it up to me?” Elena asked, brushing her hair from her face, “Get my mind off of it.”
Bonnie gave Elena a secretive smile, “Just remember you asked for it,” she got up and shut Elena’s window. She picked up a pillow and ripped it open with a nail file.
“Hey!”
Bonnie dumped the feathers onto the bed, “Be patient.”
“Okay...”
The young Witch sat down, “I need to swear you to secrecy.”
“It’s kind of a bad week for that kind of stuff.”
“Swear, because I’m not supposed to be showing you this.”
“Okay, I swear.”
“Okay. There’s no windows open right?”
Elena looked around, “Right.”
“There’s no fan, no air conditioning.”
“None, what are you doing?”
“Grams just showed me this, you’re gonna love it. You ready?” Elena nodded and Bonnie smiled. She put her hand over the pile of feathers and slowly lifted it, a single feather floating up, following the movement of her hand, and then fell back down to the pile.
Elena watched in shock, “Bonnie, what’s going on?”
Bonnie rubbed her hands together and took a deep breath, this time, hovering both hands over the pile, as she raised them, several feathers floated up. Bonnie put her hands down, looked at Elena and at least 20 feathers shot into the air. Elena looked around in awe, laughing in delight. “It’s true Elena, everything my Grams told me. It’s impossible, and it’s true. I’m a Witch.”
“I believe you,” Elena smiled, looking at her friend.
“It’s weird huh? All this time joking about being psychic, and I really am a Witch.” Both girls let out a little laugh, “You don’t think I’m a freak now do you?”
“No of course not. Bonnie, I just- I don’t understand though. If your Grams asked you to keep this a secret, why did you tell me?”
“You’re my best friend,” Bonnie said, “I can’t keep secrets from you.”
That reminded Elena of what Maya had said about Caroline, how she couldn’t keep the secret of her own magic away from the blonde, Stefan asked her to keep his secret, but he hadn’t said anything about keeping Maya’s secret, “Can I tell you something? But, I need you to keep it a secret.”
“You can tell me anything,” Bonnie smiled.
“It’s about Maya…”
Bonnie straightened, her Grams hadn’t gone into much detail about Maya Sommers, she had kept her explanation short and mostly just emphasised that Bonnie should stay away from the girl, “What about her?”
“Maya’s a Witch too.”
“Is that what she told you?” Bonnie asked.
“Well,” Elena thought about it, had Maya actually said the word ‘Witch’ in reference to herself? She hadn’t, she’d referred to herself as ‘having magic’, but she’d never said the word, “No, she said she’s magical, she never actually said that she was a Witch.”
“That’s because she’s not,” Bonnie said.
“What are you talking about?”
“This is something else that you have to keep to yourself, you can’t even let Maya know that you know it.”
“What is it, Bonnie?”
“My Grams told me about Maya, she’s not a Witch, she’s a Siphon.”
“A Siphon? What is that?”
“Grams basically explained it like this: Witches are Servants of Nature, we draw our power from it, work in harmony with it, which is why I guess that Grams has such a big garden at home, and why all of her plants always look good, even when the rest of the town is suffering through a cold burst or a drought. But anyway, Witches get their magic from Nature. But a Siphon-” she sighed for a moment, figuring out how to word it exactly, “A Siphon doesn’t, they’re not connected to Nature, they don’t feel it, they can’t draw from it, they have no magic of their own.”
“But then, how could Maya do spells?”
“A Siphon has the ability to do magic, but none of their own, they have to take it from enchanted objects, or people with magic, like me. They siphon it.”
“Which is why they’re called Siphons,” Elena said in understanding, “So what you’re saying is that Maya is like a magical leach? She takes her magic from people?”
“Well, I don’t know if she’s taken any from another Witch, but she has taken magic from an enchanted object. Something that my ancestor spelled, a long time ago, but it belonged to the Gilberts.”
“What?”
“You remember that pocket watch that Jeremy was supposed to get from your dad? The one that’s been in your family for generations?”
“Yeah,” Elena nodded.
“Well the watch part was removable, and could be replaced by a compass. Together they were spelled so that when in the presence of a… supernatural creature,” Bonnie didn’t want to scare Elena with the news that not only did Vampires exist, but one was stalking the town, “It would point to them. It was used to hunt… supernatural beings a long time ago. But now, the magic’s been drained from it, it’s all gone.”
“And Maya was the only one with access to it that could take the magic from it! Because she had access to this house!”
“Yeah,” Bonnie nodded, “Grams is trying to find a way to get it to work again, but the spell was old, really old, and no one has seen my ancestor’s grimoire since she was alive.”
“How long ago was that?” Elena asked.
“My ancestor, Emily Bennett, died in 1864, that was the last time anyone ever saw it.”
Elena froze at that date, 1864, Stefan and Damon had been turned into Vampires then, that couldn’t be a coincidence, “Does your Grams have any leads on where to find this- what was it called again?”
“Grimoire, it's basically a Witch's spell book, and she doesn't have anything solid, but she’s more worried about Maya.”
“Why?”
“Grams said that Siphons shouldn’t exist, that they’re abominations,” that word made Bonnie feel a whole mess of things, her grandmother was basically telling her that Maya was a monster just for being born different. But Maya couldn’t control that, any more than Bonnie could control the colour of her skin, or the fact that she was a Witch. Bonnie didn’t like Maya, not one bit, hell she didn’t think that she would have even felt anything had Maya died in that car accident, that was how little she cared for the girl. But even she knew that it was wrong to hate someone just for being born.
“What do you mean?” Elena asked.
“Witches are connected to Nature, which is how they are magical. But Siphons aren’t connected to Nature, so where did their ability come from? They’re obviously not natural, so Grams said that Maya shouldn’t exist. That she's dangerous.”
“But she does exist,” Elena said, she pretty much hated her cousin, but not for existing, that was stupid, “Maya didn’t ask to be born, she can’t not be who she is.”
“I know,” Bonnie nodded, “And I honestly don’t know if what Grams is telling me about Siphons is some seriously old school prejudices, or actual facts.”
“Well then we should find out,” Elena said, maybe this would be a good way to take her mind off of the whole, Stefan, Damon, Vicki, Vampire disaster that had been all she could think of.
“How do we do that?”
“We investigate,” she looked at the closed bathroom door, it was connected to both hers and Jeremy’s room, so she lowered her voice, “I overheard Jeremy saying that Maya was throwing Caroline’s birthday party at her place. So all we have to do is score invites to her house, and then we can snoop.”
“That’s easier said than done Elena! Maya and Caroline, hate us.”
“Oh right,” Elena faltered, that was true, how were they going to get invites over there?
“I guess there’s one thing you could try,” Bonnie said, “But you’re not going to like it.”
“What is it?”
“You could apologise to Maya.”
Notes:
Super long chapter I think, but you deserve it!
If you have time, please leave a comment, I'd like to know your thoughts and they make me feel great!
Chapter 36: Manipulative Wolves
Chapter Text
Klaus and the children had followed Maya to the same Villa that she had lived in over the summer, and she set them up to stay overnight. Since the kids were in unfamiliar territory she put them in the same bedroom, next to Klaus’s which was opposite her own. It took a while for Klaus to get them to sleep, and when he finally did, instead of going to his own room, he knocked on Maya’s door. The Siphon opened the door and gave him a soft smile, she’d changed into a tank top and shorts, getting ready for bed, “Nik.”
“Can I come in Sweetheart?”
Maya shrugged, “Sure,” she stepped aside, and Klaus walked in, settling himself on her bed, “The kids alright?” she asked.
“They’re asleep,” Klaus said, “I don’t think they like being in unfamiliar surroundings.”
“Well, that’s what you’re there for right? To make them feel safe in unfamiliar territory.” She said, going over to the bed and taking a seat next to him, leaning against the headboard.
“I suppose,” he replied quietly.
“Nik…all jokes aside, what are you doing with kids?”
“What do you mean? I’m their Alpha.”
“It’s more than that, and you know it. If you were just their Alpha, they wouldn’t be here right now, it’s been a year Nik and they need stability.”
“They have stability!”
“But do they know it? I’m not criticising you, or what you’ve done for them.”
“That’s not what it sounds like,” he grumbled.
“I’m not,” Maya insisted, “But they’re kids, you gave them a pack when they had none, a home when theirs was destroyed, and a family-a family when theirs was taken from them. But they don’t know that, because you haven’t said it.”
“Maya-”
“Nik, they need to know the truth.”
“And just what is that?”
“That they’re your family.” Klaus made to protest, but Maya put her hand on his arm to stop him, “You don’t have to admit it to me, or to the pack, or to your brothers and sisters, but you do have to admit to them, and yourself. One of the reasons that they’re so afraid to see you go, is because they don’t know for sure that you’ll come back. They don’t know that you see them as family, and they need to. I mean, you’ve had a kid before.”
“And that went so well, last time.”
“So mistakes were made with Marcel,” Maya said, “You can’t deny that you were in a different headspace than you are now.”
“What’s so different about me now, than back then?” Klaus asked.
“Other than the fact that you’re no longer operating under the constant fear that your father will pop up and murder you? You have something now, that you never did.”
“What, you?”
Maya smiled, “I know I’m amazing, but I wasn’t actually talking about me.”
“Then what were you talking about?”
“I’m talking about Kol… and Elijah, and Rebekah, and even Freya, I know that you’re all still so angry with one another, but all of your deep dark secrets are out in the open now. Eventually, you are gonna be able to move forward, to trust each other. I mean you already trust Kol, don’t you?” Klaus nodded, “You didn’t have that before, but you do now…” then she rolled her eyes, “And you have me too.”
Klaus smirked, tugging her into his lap, “You have proved useful in the past.”
“You’re damn right I’m useful. I’m also right about this, those kids need to know that you’re going to be there for them while they grow up. They’ve lost so much already, they can’t lose you too.”
“If I agree to talk to them, can we move on to more pleasurable pursuits?” He asked.
“What more pleas-” He cut her off with his mouth on hers.
Jenna frowned as the two Vampires in her life told her about Miranda and Logan’s request. “Why do they want your family’s journals?” she asked.
“Beats me,” Damon shrugged, “No one’s ever asked for them before.”
“Do you think that they suspect you?”
“That can’t be it,” Damon shook his head, “My father died before he could tell anyone that we were Vampires. Hell, Stefan killed him the night after the Battle of Willowcreek, and I made sure to burn any mention of us afterwards.”
“Hang on,” Enzo said, “If Stefan killed your father the night of your transition, then how was he buried with Emily Bennett’s grimoire?”
“What?” Damon asked, “What are you talking about?”
“Just after Maya and Jenna rescued me, she told me that she could make me a daylight ring, if she could get a hold of the spell. She told me that the Bennett grimoire was buried with him, that he’d vowed to never let anyone get their hands on it, so I got it for her. How did he do that if he was dead?”
“He wouldn’t have known about it,” Damon said, “Emily was killed two weeks after my father died, which means someone else put it there, they must have covered up the way he died.”
“Who else could have possibly known that you and Stefan were Vampires?” Jenna asked.
“I don’t know,” Damon said, “But I can’t give away any of our family journals, Stefan and I stopped by almost every generation, they all wrote about the Vampires in the family.”
“Then we need to find out why Miranda wants the Salvatore Journals,” Enzo said, and looked over at Jenna.
When Jenna realised that his eyes were on her, she shook her head, “No, no way!”
“Come on! You’re the only one that could find out what’s going on in the Gilbert house!”
“That is not true! You have Jeremy!”
Damon shot her a look, “Do you really want Jeremy involved in this?”
She deflated, “No.”
“So you’re the only one who can do it. I mean, you don’t want to make Maya do it, do you?”
“Damn it!”
“Excellent!” Enzo said, “It’s agreed then, you’ll make up with your sister to find out what she’s up to!”
“Hey wait a minute! I never agreed to make up with her!”
Maya rolled off of Klaus, panting, she’d just put the breaks on their activities again. Klaus sighed, pulling her to his side, “I still don’t understand why you’re so insistent that we go no further than this.” He motioned to them both, his shirt had been thrown in some corner of the room, and her hair was mussed, neck dotted with rapidly darkening marks that he’d left on her. But that was as far as they’d gone.
“We talked about this Nik.”
“No, you talked about this, and I still don’t understand your reasoning.” He said, fingers dancing along the strip of flesh on her stomach that had been exposed when her tank top had ridden up during their activities. “Why put off something that’s going to be inevitable?”
Sighing, she leant up on one elbow, and looked over at him, “It’s because it’s going to be inevitable, Nik.” Causing him to raise an eyebrow in question, “You have to know what type of person I am by now. I’m vengeful, and vindictive, and possessive, and you’d need to be ready for that, because if we got together, I wouldn’t be willing to let you go.”
Klaus smiled, “I’d be ready for that.”
“And what about Aurora?” Maya asked, causing his smile to disappear.
“What about her?”
“Nik,” she reached up, running her thumb along his cheek, “She was your first love as a Vampire, you loved her more than Tatia, and you’re still hurting over her departure from your life.”
“I’m not.”
“You are, because if you weren’t, you would have forgiven Elijah by now. It’s okay to be hurt over it still, I need you to work through that before we ever attempt to do this.”
“Why is it so important to you?”
“It may take a while, but I know that she’s going to come back into your life, and I need to know that you don’t feel for her anymore. I need it, because while there’s a lot that I will do, and be, for the person that I love, I won’t ever be a second choice. I don’t deserve that.”
/ / /
Kol arrived at the Villa the next day, first thing in the morning, and he let himself in. He looked around and stopped short when he saw both Liam and Luna in the living room, he wasn’t expecting the children to be here. “Well, if it isn’t the baby wolves,” he said, as he moved further into the house.
“Kol,” Liam said, not so subtly taking a position in front of his sister.
Kol smirked at the move, ignoring the feeling that he got as it reminded him of himself and Rebekah, “Where’s my brother?”
“In bed,” Liam replied. Rolling his eyes, Kol took the stairs two at a time to find Klaus and wake him, “You shouldn’t bug him!” Liam called, but the Original ignored him and continued on.
It was easy for Kol to locate his brother, his smirk widening when he heard two heartbeats coming from one of the bedrooms. He crept inside the room, finding his brother wrapped around the Siphon, both of them still asleep. Kol went to Maya’s side of the bed and poked her in the nose, seeing if it would do anything. When it didn’t wake her, he did it again, and again, causing her to sleepily smack his hand away and then snuggle further into his brother. Kol paused before trying again, talking out his phone and snapping a quick picture for blackmail purposes later on, and when he was satisfied, he poked at Maya again. This time when Maya smacked his hand away, she opened her eyes, and screamed in shock when she saw him looming over her, her hands shot up and he was thrown across the room.
“Seriously Kol?!” Maya yelled, sitting up, “Asshole!”
“Kol!” Klaus snarled, shooting from the bed at her scream, “I’m going to kill you!”
“That’ll be difficult, considering that you gave me all the daggers!” Kol smirked, jumping up and rushing out of the room, Klaus following closely behind him.
Maya winced as she heard crashing coming from downstairs, “HEY!” she yelled, “YOU’RE PAYING FOR WHATEVER YOU BREAK!”
/ / /
It was just after lunch time when all of the occupants of the Villa went to the back. Maya spelled the pool so that the children could play in it, without fear of getting hurt, putting up a barrier to keep them safe. They were also being watched by her two Vampire bodyguards, while she, Kol and Klaus talked, out by the side of the pool. Maya explained everything that had been going on in Mystic Falls, and her fears that Nature was working against her.
“What are you really afraid off?” Kol asked, “So far you’ve been handling everything well. There’s something else isn’t there?”
“It’s my Mom, and Enzo,” she admitted, “This is the first time that I’ve gotten to have a family, if I lost them…there's no telling what I would do, there'd be no end to my rage.”
Klaus looked at her, “How does your mother die?”
“Nik…” she didn’t want to tell him.
“The only way we can stop it, is if it we know what we’re stopping.”
“You killed her,” she whispered.
Klaus stiffened, “What?”
“In the other place, Damon was in love with Elena, and he thought that freeing your sacrifices would give him another month to try and save her. But he didn’t realise that you were prepared, you know, backup Witch, backup Werewolf…”
“Backup Vampire,” Klaus finished, it was certainly something that he would do.
Maya nodded, “You had Katherine pretend to be Elena and lured Mom out of the house. You turned her, specifically to kill her in your ritual and you did.”
“Maya, you have to know that-”
“That you wouldn’t do that to me. I know…I know that you wouldn’t kill her…because of me. But… if everything’s still happening, then does that mean that Mom’s destined to die? Even if it’s not at your hands, there’s still so many ways that she could go. I just want her to be safe.”
“Maya,” Klaus took her hands in his, “I swear to you, I will never hurt your mother, and I will do everything in my power to keep her safe.”
“You can’t fight against Mother Nature, Nik.”
“You are,” Kol cut in, causing them both to look at him, “You’re fighting Her, and you’re doing it for us. So, I’m with Nik on this, you’re protecting our family, and we’ll protect yours.”
“Thank you.”
“What about Enzo?” Kol asked, “How does he die?”
“Stefan kills him. He had his emotions turned off, and Enzo was trying to stop him from killing Elena…and Stefan ripped his heart out.”
“I’m not letting that happen,” Klaus said coldly, he knew that if Damon lost Enzo, he would lose his friend, and he wasn’t going to let that happen. “The first thing I’ll do when I get to Mystic Falls will be to compel him, so that no matter what, he won’t hurt Enzo.”
/ / /
Rebekah and Freya watched from their perch in the balcony of a Villa a few doors down, “I can’t hear anything!” Rebekah complained.
“She must have put up a privacy spell,” Freya said.
“Could you take it down?”
“I could try,” the eldest Mikaelson replied, “But the attempt would alert Kol to my presence, whatever our link is, he can sense whenever I do magic.”
“We can’t let them know that we’re here,” Rebekah said, “I’m not ready to face Nik yet, and this would only anger him further.”
“You’re right about that,” Freya looked through the binoculars that Rebekah had procured for her, “Whatever they’re speaking about, must be truly important, and look, Niklaus isn’t letting the children out of his sight.”
“Ugh!” Rebekah groaned, “I need to know what they’re doing with him!”
/ / /
“There’s also something else that we needed to talk about in person,” Maya said, “Something that I didn’t trust over the phone.”
“What?” Klaus asked.
“The bridge that I crashed through, it was made of white oak.”
“WHAT?” Both Originals yelled.
Maya held her hands up, “Calm down!” she forced them both to sit, “I said it was made of white oak. I destroyed it!”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Kol asked, “How was there enough white oak to make a bloody bridge?!”
“A sapling grew in the place of the tree that you burnt down. 300 years later. It was cut down by the Salvatore logging company, and made into the bridge. I incinerated it.”
“You crashed through it, some would have fallen into the lake,” Klaus said.
“I know,” Maya nodded, “I made sure I got everything out of the lake and destroyed it all.”
“You have ‘but face’” Kol said.
“What?” Maya asked, taken aback.
“You look like you’re about to say but,” he clarified.
“But…there was also a sign…and that I didn’t destroy,” she flicked her hands up, freezing them both in place, keeping them silent, before they could do anything. “Just hear me out, before you lose your shit, please.” Waiting until she could feel them stop struggling, “I’m going to let you go, but I need you to listen okay.” She released her hold on them, and the fact that they didn’t immediately rush to attack her, was a testament to both men’s personal growth. “When you burnt down the first tree, Mikael kept that one stake, and there was that little knight, and Nature didn’t deem it enough. Everything immortal, has to have a way to die, and using white oak on an Original, it incinerates the Original and the wood, you know that.” She looked at Klaus who nodded.
“That’s why another tree grew, because one stake wasn’t enough to kill you all. If I destroyed the sign, then another tree would grow, but we wouldn’t know when, we wouldn’t know if it was cut down, and spread across the globe. We just wouldn’t know. So I couldn’t destroy it.”
“Where is it now?” Kol asked, his voice hoarse.
“Somewhere that no one can access.”
“You'll have to be more specific than that Little Siphon.”
“There are places, all around the world, where the veil between life and death is stretched thin.”
“Meaning what exactly?”
“There are places where life and death kind of…intertwine, but only someone who’s similarly intertwined with the two, can get to those areas. Enzo went with me, when I went to hide the sign, but he said that I just disappeared from sight when I hit the right spot. And I couldn’t see him either. One minute I was underneath the Hollywood Sign, and then the next I was in this…beautiful cave. There was no entrance, I was just there. And there was a body of water, in the middle of the cave, I looked into it, and Death was on the other side, waiting for me. I put the sign in the water, and the next thing I know, he has it. The sign is under his protection now, close enough to life that another tree doesn’t grow, but far enough away, that no one can get to it.”
“But what if another Old Soul stumbles across the area?” Kol asked.
“It won’t matter,” Maya shook her head, “When I came back, after the accident, I told you that I came back different.” Her eyes turned dark, hair going black, and Klaus was in front of her in an instant, tracing the now prominent veins on her face. “There’s a little more Death in me than before, which lets me access the weak spots in the veil that no one else can.” She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she was back to normal.
“No one but you.” Kol said.
“So the question is, do you trust me?” she looked at both of them, hoping that she hadn’t been wrong to give them her trust.
“You didn’t know that it was white oak before?” Kol asked.
Maya shook her head, “No, I was drawn to the crash site, the night before we were due to come here. When I touched the sign, I got an image of you,” she looked at Klaus, “Desiccated, in a coffin, wrapped in chains, just like Mikael, with a stake in your heart, you were burning.” Klaus frowned, and she turned to Kol, “And when I touched the bridge, I saw you, on fire, stake in your chest, thanks to Elena.” Kol didn’t look phased by the revelation, which both she and Klaus noticed, “You’re not surprised.”
Kol glanced between his brother and his student, “When I went to pull you from your mind, and we were drawn into Death’s Reading Room, you told me about my end.”
“What?” Maya asked, “Why didn’t you tell me? You knew I wouldn’t remember.”
“Because I was dealing with it myself, I was killed for a reason, and I’ve been working on a way to stop it from happening, but I must admit the knowledge that there is no more white oak out there for certain. It is comforting.”
“Kol!” Klaus exclaimed, “You never said anything to me! Why?”
Maya looked between the two brothers and stood, “I’m going to go and get the kids bathed and dressed, you two need to talk about this in private. I’ll leave the spell up.”
/ / /
Kol stood, moving away from his brother, and looked out over the ocean. “Why didn’t you say anything?” Klaus asked, “I’m your brother, it’s my job to protect you.”
“I couldn’t!” Kol hissed, “I just couldn’t, not after what I saw!”
Klaus grabbed Kol’s arm, making his brother face him, “What did you see?”
“I died more than once! And that first time- our bond was so broken, that I believed that you had helped orchestrate my death!”
“What?” Klaus was taken aback.
“In my final moments, I believed that you were trying to kill me, but then afterwards… Rebekah knew that I was dead, and continued to work along side the ones that killed me. And Elijah didn’t care, he did nothing to avenge me. Even though I believed that you had come to kill me, you were the only one who tried to enact vengeance on my murderers, but your grief, meant you made a mistake, and you were stopped before you could.”
“Kol-”
“And then I came back, in the body of a Witch, Finn was dead, and he too came back in another body. One more powerful than my own. And then he killed me.”
“What?” Klaus whispered.
Kol couldn’t bring himself to explain it, so instead showed his brother the memory, showed him his fear, his torment, his pain, all at the hands of his big brother.
Klaus pulled himself from the memory, and took Kol by both arms, holding on to him tightly, “I need you to listen to me Kol, you are my baby brother. For you, I would burn the world to ash, there would be no city I would not raze, no person I would not kill. I will never let Finn hurt you like that; this is my vow to you.”
The next day, Klaus hadn’t wanted to leave his brother’s side, so Maya left the brothers, and the children at the Villa, while she went out, she was going to pick up some designer outfits for Caroline’s birthday. If things were following down the same path then there was a very good chance that this would be Caroline’s last birthday as a human, and she wanted to make it the best for her. The bodyguards took her to Beverly Hills and then disappeared from sight, only planning on reappearing when it was time to go.
At lunch time they took her bags to the car, and she sat down at a restaurant to eat, picking up the menu, Maya perused it for a moment, before snapping it shut, when someone dropped themselves into the seat opposite from her. “Hello Freya,” she said.
“Maya,” the older witch replied.
Kol eyed the children as they ran around on the beach, Nik was acting differently with them, he’d only caught glimpses of Nik interacting with Marcel, and it was nothing like this. Nik had been protective of Marcel, but with these two children, he looked like he did when he was mortal. Kol suspected that part of the reason was because the children were Werewolves, something about them, must speak to Nik’s own wolf, despite it being locked away. But what had really surprised him, was his own complete lack of jealousy.
When Kol had seen Marcel, his first instinct had been to kill the little brat, he had taken Nik’s attention away from him, and Kol couldn’t stand it, going so far as to feed the boy his blood so that Nik could turn him, and then see just how unworthy Marcel was of the gift of immortality. But with these children, he didn’t feel jealous, perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he was now the one in Nik’s inner circle, and Bekah and ‘Lijah were on the outside, looking in. Or maybe, it was because even he could sense the bond between the children and Nik, Nik was their father in all but name, something that he believed would change very soon. The children were family, that much he was certain of, they may not be Mikaelsons, but Kol had the feeling that Nik wouldn’t allow a different last name to prevent them from being treated as such, picking a fight over these two children would guarantee him a one way ticket back to being daggered, and Kol had no intention of ever being stuck in a box again.
Kol raised his brow as he saw the little boy, Liam, make his way over to him, while Nik was busy trying to stop the girl from going too far into the water, “What can I do for you Little Wolf?” he asked.
“How did you get Klaus to let us play outside?” he asked.
Nik had been very reluctant to let the children out of the house and onto the beach while Maya was away, her abilities meant that she could prevent the children from being pulled away by a riptide, and without her there, there was a rise in danger. The rise wasn’t significant, they were Originals and would be able to catch the children, should something happen, but still Nik didn’t want to let them play on the beach. “It was easy,” Kol said, cocking his brow, suddenly getting an idea in his head, he may not be jealous of the children, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t cause a little mischief for his brother. “All you have to do is get the tone of your voice just right.”
“The tone?” Liam asked.
Kol smirked, glancing at his brother, who still wasn’t paying attention to them, “Let me show you.”
“You want more freedom to use your powers, but you’re still working with Finn. He doesn’t want to help Nik, he wants to hurt him. And as long as you’re still on his side, I can’t help you.” Maya said.
“He’s my brother, I can’t abandon him,” Freya replied.
“I’m not asking you to, I’m not saying that you can’t love Finn, I’m not saying that you can’t work with him, and be on his side, what I’m saying is that you can’t let Finn’s own beliefs, affect yours. You’ve been alone your entire life,” Maya replied, “I imagine all you really want is to have your family, whole, together.”
“I do,” Freya nodded, “It’s all I want.”
“Well, I can guarantee you that if you, or Finn, prevent Nik from being able to break his curse, he will ensure that you never get what you want. Nik’s especially good at vengeance, he’s had one Vampire running for 500 years, just because she had the audacity to want to live, instead of die in the ritual. Nik did that to someone he doesn’t care about, what do you think that he’d do if members of his own family prevented the ritual?”
“I don’t respond well to threats,” Freya said.
“I’m not threatening you, Freya,” Maya shook her head, “I’m just giving you the facts. There’s a reason that Niklaus Mikaelson, is the most feared out of all the Originals, he does not suffer betrayal lightly. And the longer he’s without the wolf, the worse he becomes.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on Freya! You must know what happens to a Werewolf if you try to cage the beast after it’s been set free.” Freya shook her head, Werewolves weren’t something that she’d ever concentrated her studies on, she knew enough to keep away from them, but had never actively tried to learn about them. “People have tried, several times, to cast a spell which locks the wolf back up. But once it’s free, it can’t be done. Not really. A re-caged beast, drives the man insane, he either kills himself, or someone else kills him when he goes mad. The only reason that Nik is still sane, it’s because the Vampire in him keeps him that way. But it’s been a thousand years, he won’t last another 500. And then you’ll have a brother, that’s impossible to kill, and has gone completely insane. You won’t be the only person that suffers, the world will.” Maya paused as a server picked up her plate and boxed up her food, leaving the bill on the table for her. “The deal I have for you is as follows, you help Nik break his curse, and I’ll help you kill Dahlia.”
“Dahlia’s immortal,” Freya said, “Impossible to kill, there’s only one thing that could kill her, and I don’t even know if it will work.”
“Give me your hand,” Maya said.
“What?”
“Your hand, give it to me.” Maya refused to elaborate further and just waited.
Freya put one hand on the table, palm up, and Maya placed her own on top of Freya’s and siphoned some magic from her, “Aah!” Freya snatched her hand back, and looked at the Siphon with wide eyes, “You’re a Siphon!” she said.
“I am.”
“I met one of your kind once, 600 years ago. I was still with Dahlia at the time.”
“And how did that work out for you?”
“Dahlia wanted the Siphon to join our coven, she believed that Siphons were powerful in their own way, and that she could benefit from them.”
Maya gave her a wry smirk, “She was right, we are powerful, and more often than not, we’re killed for it.”
Freya nodded, “The Siphon was murdered by another coven of Witches before Dahlia could extend her offer.”
“I’m far stronger than the Siphon that you met, despite my age, my body is already capable of taking in immense amounts of magic without breaking down. I can help you kill Dahlia, but I don’t do anything for free.”
“You truly believe that you can kill my aunt?”
“I wouldn’t bet against me, I found you after all.”
“And all I have to do is help Niklaus break a curse that my mother set a thousand years ago?”
Maya nodded, “That’s all, and then I will work with you, and Kol, to free you from your psychotic aunt’s grasp. I swear.”
“I need to think,” Freya said.
“Fine, but it’s worth remembering that once Dahlia’s gone, so is your immortality, you’ll only have one life to live, and the rest of your family will go on without you after you die. I imagine with you gone, Finn won’t be a part of your family for long after that. Unless- no, never mind.”
“Unless what?” Freya prompted, frowning at the thought of leaving Finn all on his own.
“It may be possible to gain that immortality back, by binding yourself to an Original, in the same way that Dahlia bound herself to you.” Maya thought back to how Dahlia had bound herself to Klaus, so that she could remain immortal and kill Freya. There was no reason why it couldn’t work for the Mikaelson sibling.
“I don’t want to go back to being asleep for a hundred years at a time,” Freya shook her head.
“You wouldn’t be, the Originals already have the immortality, binding yourself to one, it would weaken them, significantly, but you could live for as long as you wanted, with your power.”
“How weak would they be?”
“Truthfully, I don’t know, it would probably be about half their strength, which still leaves them stronger than half of the Vampire population out there, but it would leave them weaker than the rest of their siblings. Also, anything that happened to them, say if they were daggered, it would happen to you, not to mention the fact that both parties would need to be completely willing for it to work.”
“I- I can’t make that type of decision now! I barely know my family!”
“Then I suggest you get to know them, all of them.” Maya stood, picking up her leftovers, “You tell Rebekah that she should do a better job of hiding, I hope she hasn’t killed my bodyguards, that would really piss Nik off.” She left Freya sitting there, speechless at her revelation that she knew the Original was nearby all along.
“Kol,” Maya said, finding him on the beach just outside the Villa, “I wanted to talk to you about something in private.”
“You’re not about to reveal something worse than what I’ve already seen are you?”
Maya laughed, “I don’t think so, but you can be the judge.”
“Alright Darling, what have you got?”
“Have you ever thought about being mortal again?”
Kol stiffened, she hadn’t mentioned knowing anything about the supposed ‘cure’ that was possibly hidden away with Silas, was she telling him that it was real? “What do you mean? Why would I have thought about it?”
“It’s just, your mother’s going to come back to life soon, I can only delay it for so long, because she needs to be alive at some point so that I can use her. But as the Witch that cast the immortality spell on you, she would know how to reverse it without killing you. She could make you mortal again.”
He shook his head, “Why would I want that?”
“Because you’d have your magic back.” Maya shrugged, “I know you miss it, even now, and I’ve been thinking a lot about that, especially as we move closer to breaking your brother’s curse. He’s getting something back that was ripped away from him a thousand years ago. But something was ripped from you too.”
“To gain my magic back, I would have to give up my immortality.”
“I don’t know if that’s true,” Maya replied. “I spoke to Freya and it triggered a memory.”
“When did you see Freya?”
“Today, at lunch.”
“WHAT?!”
“She and Rebekah followed you here, I’m guessing one of them got a hold of your phone.”
“Damn it! This must be how Elijah feels every time I steal his phone.”
“Does that mean that you are going to stop doing it to him now?”
Kol scoffed, “No!”
“Whatever,” Maya laughed, “The memory I had, it was of Dahlia, she linked herself to Nik, because he was strong enough to sustain her immortality, and keep her awake. I may have mentioned to Freya, that it could possibly be done, but it would probably half that Original’s strength.”
“And if anyone would agree to that, it would be Finn, it would keep the only sibling he loves alive, and it would benefit us, because it would keep him weaker than us forever.”
“Right,” Maya nodded, “So I just thought that you should know that there is that potential option available to you. If it works for Freya, it means that you’d have an immortal sister, that could do magic. I don’t want you to feel like you don’t have that option, I want you to be happy. And I don’t want you to hate me either.”
“Why would I hate you?”
“Well,” Maya sighed, “There’s a reason that I’m so cavalier about having Vampire blood in my system, if I die, I’d come back as a Vampire…but I’m not a Witch. If I become a Vampire, I still retain my ability to siphon, I’d still be able to do magic-”
“Because a Vampire is a magical being,” Kol said, “You’d be your own battery.”
Maya nodded, “I wouldn’t want you to hate me or your sister for having what you don’t.”
Kol sat down on the sand, and she followed, he looked out at the ocean as he spoke, “When I lost my magic, it the worst pain that I’d ever felt. I spent centuries unable to control my thirst, my rage. Niklaus handled the loss of his wolf much better than I handled my own loss. I spent 400 years trying to find a way back to my magic before I gave up.” He looked at her, “I’ve embraced being a Vampire, accepted it, enjoyed it even. I haven’t thought about being mortal in so long. I’m not sure that I want it anymore.”
“Whatever your decision, I’ll support you, I just…wanted you to know that.”
Maya and the Originals went to the airport together, Klaus and the children would take one jet back to Arizona, and Kol and Maya would take the other to New York, and the bodyguards would drive her the rest of the way back home. She’s missed too much school already, so she had to get going. Klaus was busy having a little chat with the pilot, Kol was having a little talk with Liam, causing Maya to raise her brows in surprise, when had that happened? Either way, it left her alone with Luna.
“Hey princess,” Maya said, causing Luna to look up at her, Maya crouched down to make it easier to talk with her, “You’re okay staying with the pack, right? I know that there aren’t many kids in the pack and most of them are boys.”
Luna nodded, “I’m okay, I stay with Liam, or Klaus, or Cary.”
“Yeah, but they’re all guys, and sometimes, we need a little girl talk. So here,” she pulled out a piece of paper with writing on it, “This is my number, I won’t always be able to pick up because I’m in school, but you can call me, text me, if you ever get tired of all the boys. I’ll be here, okay?”
Luna beamed at her, “Okay,” the little girl nodded.
“Good, and here’s a little tip for you, if Klaus starts getting worked up about something, gets angry, or if you’ve done something that might upset him, ask him for a piggyback.”
“A piggyback?”
Maya nodded, “It completely throws him off, and if you do it right, he’ll give you one.”
“How?”
“Well, you just got to use those pretty little puppy dog eyes that you’ve got, that’s what I do.”
“Can you show me?”
/ / /
Kol and Maya had just arrived at the airport in New York when Maya’s phone rang. She put it on speaker, because Klaus was on the other end. “Nik?”
“What the hell did you two do to Liam and Luna?!” he demanded, causing Kol to burst out laughing.
“Uh…hold please!” she put the phone on mute and looked at the Original, “What did you do?”
“Young Liam just asked how I got Nik to do things that he didn’t want to do.”
“And what did you say?”
“I just showed him how to do the voice…what did you do?”
Maya’s jaw dropped as she realised what had happened, “I showed Luna how to hone her puppy dog eyes.” And Kol burst into another round of laughter, “Whoops!” Maya took the phone off of mute, “Kol and I plead the fifth!” she rushed out.
“Maya!” Klaus growled.
“Got to go!”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel great!
Chapter 37: Caroline’s Birthday
Notes:
Thanks so much for all the comments and kudos!
Lots of pics in this one!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Monday the 5th of October had Maya back in Mystic Falls, and more importantly, back in school with Caroline. Since they were 11, her best friend had declared that the whole week leading up to her birthday was important and demanded extra attention. Not that Maya minded, she loved to make Caroline feel like the most important person in the world to her, because for the most part, she was. “So, let’s go over everything for Saturday,” Caroline said, like she hadn’t been overseeing every step of the party preparation herself.
But Maya indulged her, “Of course. Where do you want to start?”
“The backyard?”
“It's perfectly manicured, the twinkle lights are all up, and the sound system has been fully tested.”
“DJ stand and dance floor?”
“The boys will set up the stage and the dance floor, first thing Saturday morning.”
“Cake?”
“The cake has been purchased and is being delivered by your favourite bakery and will be here no later than 10 a.m. The fridge will have been cleared out so that there’s room for it.”
“Food and drink?”
“Damon’s in charge of drinks, Enzo’s in charge of snacks.”
“Music?”
“The DJ will get there at 5 p.m. to set up and make sure that everything works.”
“What else?”
“Well, most importantly, Mom is on Sheriff Forbes duty for the night, she will be keeping your mother very busy, so that she has no desire to come over and check on us. And I will put up a ‘muffling’ barrier, so that there are no noise complaints, and the best part is, the moment that the guests pass back through the barrier on their way home, they will go from whatever level drunk they’re at, to almost completely sober, and they will wake the next day, without that terrible headache, because guess who finally figured out the spell for ‘hangover-less booze’?” she pointed at herself.
Caroline let out a girlish squeal of glee at that and threw her arms around Maya’s neck, “Mai! You’re the best!”
“No you are. This party is going to be the best one of the entire school year, and I even created a comprehensive checklist for you to go over, so that you have complete control over absolutely every aspect of the party.”
Caroline gasped in delight, but tried to calm herself down, “Maya Alexis Sommers,” she said solemnly, getting down on one knee and taking Maya’s hand in hers, “Will you do me the honour of being my date, to my birthday party?”
Maya gave a mock gasp, her hand on her heart, “Oh Caroline! I thought this day would never come!” She teared up in a dramatic fashion, “Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!”
“Oh Maya!” Caroline stood, “You’ve made me the happiest girl in the universe!” the girls burst into laughter, ignoring the attention that they’d drawn from the students in the hallway.
/ / /
Bonnie and Elena watched as Maya and Caroline made a scene on the other end of the hallway, by their lockers. “Do they always have to be such attention whores?” Elena muttered.
Bonnie rolled her eyes, they had bigger things to deal with than Elena’s ongoing rivalry with her cousin, “Everyone’s saying that Caroline’s birthday bash is going to be the biggest party of the year. And neither one of us have invites, so get over yourself, and get on Maya’s good side!” Bonnie snapped.
“Bonnie!” Elena gasped.
“I’m sorry,” the young Witch apologised, “But we have bigger things to deal with Elena, and right now you’re the only thing standing between us and access to that house!”
“Me, what about you?” Elena asked affronted.
“Oh please, Caroline would have invited us out of spite, so that she could rub her amazing party in our faces, if it wasn’t for you and Maya being completely at odds right now. So suck it up, and go apologise.”
Elena scowled, “Fine!” she said, striding over to the two girls who had attracted a small crowd with their antics.
/ / /
“Maya.” Elena said walking up to the two girls, Bonnie trailing behind her.
Maya stiffened and Caroline frowned, their mood being brought down instantly “Elena.”
“Where have you been?” Elena asked, Maya had been out of school for almost a week, and Caroline hadn’t given anything away.
“It’s none of your business,” she replied, slamming her locker door shut, swinging her backpack on her shoulder, “If that was all, we have class to get to.”
“Wait,” Elena stopped her, “I need to talk to you.”
Maya’s eyes slid from Elena to the Bennett Witch, who was trying and failing to look uninterested in the exchange. “I don’t think that right now is an appropriate time to have any sort of conversation.”
“Look, please,” Elena said, jaw clenching at the plea, “It’s important.”
Caroline rolled her eyes, and grabbed Maya’s hand, “Whatever it is, can wait until later,” the blonde said, pulling her best friend along with her.
“Bye girls!” Maya called, waving with just her fingers, the best friends walked off, smirking as the straps of Elena’s bag ‘magically’ tangled themselves between both Elena and Bonnie’s legs, causing the two girls to trip the moment they tried to move.
Davina watched as Cassie and Monique went head to head with their magic, their coven had been pushing a few of the younger Witches into more intensive magic practice, she wasn’t sure why, but she was excited to learn more, especially if she could use it to protect herself and others.
“Enough!” Bastianna, one of the Elders of the coven said, she’d come in to observe the lesson, with the Regent of the Nine Covens, and Former French Quarter Elder, Josephine La Rue. “Davina, Abigail, your turn.”
The two girls snapped to attention, and scrambled to their feet, taking Cassie and Monique’s places, “Begin,” the Regent said.
Davina was the first to cast a spell, Abigail was only just about able to deflect the gust of wind that had shot her way, “You should know better than to use wind against me Davina!” Abigail said, a little surprised at the strength of the spell the young Witch cast. Every witch had an affinity and Davina’s was fire, not air. “Phasmatos levare,” she said, lifting stones from the ground, “Motus!” the stones shot towards Davina and she raised her hands, creating a temporary barrier in front of her, causing the rocks to bounce off and away from her.
The Regent watched with a critical eye, it appeared that Davina had grown in strength, she hadn’t needed to verbally cast her spell, she was also smart. Abigail had immediately started out with the use of her base element, wind, which meant that she’d already revealed her core strength to her opponent, any attack she made using the other elements would be weaker. Davina however had attacked with wind, when her base element was fire, so she should still be able to increase her attack strength.
Abigail felt the ground rumble underneath her, and jumped back as roots from nearby trees, shot up out of the earth and wrapped around her ankles, pulling so that she fell to floor. Abigail attempted to wriggle out of the roots, but when she couldn’t, burned them away with a quick “Incendia,” pushing herself up, she frowned, getting angry. This time she’d put in more effort. “Phasmatos flante!” she chanted, the spell stronger than her first, picking up any debris in between her and Davina, and hurling it towards her opponent in a violent fashion.
Davina’s eyes widened, she wasn’t expecting a strong attack like that from Abigail, this was supposed to be a demonstration, not a real fight. She raised her hands, this time saying her spell aloud, “Phasmatos murus ignis!” causing a wall of fire to erupt from the ground and burn up almost everything that had been sent in her direction. The wall died down almost immediately, but something metal hadn’t been affected by the fire, causing Davina to squeak in alarm, it was too close to her to do anything, her right hand flew in front of her face, causing the bracelet on her wrist to flare up and it let out a vibrational blast, destroying the debris that her fire hadn’t.
Josephine and Bastianna watched in shock, neither one of them had expected that level of power from Davina, and they hadn’t taught any of the girls how to make protective jewellery, “Enough!” Josephine thundered, causing both girls to drop their hands. She walked over to them, Bastianna in tow, “This was supposed to be a demonstration, not a fight. What were you both thinking?”
“She attacked me!” Davina said, “I was just defending myself!”
Josephine held her hand up, silencing the Claire Witch, “Abigail, what were you thinking with that spell?”
Abigail lowered her eyes in shame, “I’m sorry Regent, I was surprised by Davina and allowed my temper to get the better of me. I apologise, my actions were shameful.”
The Regent dismissed Abigail and she made her way over to the other girls, Bastianna going with her, and then she turned back to Davina, “You’ve grown in strength,” she said.
“I’ve been practicing,” Davina replied demurely, not wanting to anger The Regent.
“Show me your bracelet.”
Davina's amber protection bracelet
Davina looked at the bracelet on her wrist, the band was a simple silver, holding a large amber stone, Maya had crafted it for her, for her protection the girl had said. Biting her lip, Davina placed her wrist in The Regent’s hand. Josephine first gave it a visual inspection, before reaching out with her magic to see how the bracelet had been crafted. “You didn’t make this.” The Regent said.
Davina shook her head, “No Regent, I didn’t.”
“In fact…no French Quarter Witch made this, and yet the magic feels familiar, who made this for you?”
“Um…the uh-” Davina didn’t want to tell her, but she knew that she also couldn’t lie about who’d created the protection bracelet, “Um-the girl that came here, the one that you sent me to give a message to, Maya, she made it for me.”
“Why?” Josephine asked, “And how have you been communicating with her?”
“We met before you sent me to see her, we’ve been emailing and her coven…specialises in creating charms. She said that in a city full of Vampires, she wanted me to have an extra layer of protection…just in case.”
The Regent looked down at Davina, the bracelet was powerful, reacting when its wearer was in danger, it didn’t even need to be activated by Davina. “Why would she wish to protect you from Vampires, when she travels with them?”
“Just because she’s friends with Vampires doesn’t mean that she doesn’t know how dangerous they can be!” Davina protested, eyes widening as she realised the tone she’d taken with the Regent, her head bowed down again, “Sorry, Regent, that was rude.”
“Hmm.” Josephine eyed the young girl, and then the other three, who were watching intently, “It’s very powerful, Davina, do you know the significance of the stone used?”
“Yes! Amber is used for protection and strength, and clarity, and confidence, and it’s a fire stone, which makes sense for me because my base element is fire.”
“You’ve been studying,” Josephine noted, impressed by her knowledge, “Tell me, if one were to make more of these bracelets, say one for each of your friends there, what would you suggest?” The Regent was thinking that perhaps one should be made for each of the girls, they didn’t know it yet, but they had all been selected for the Harvest, and they could do with extra protection before the ritual.
“Um…” Davina looked over at the girls thoughtfully, “Well, Monique’s base element is earth, so I would use obsidian, because it’s main purpose is protection, and it connects well with earth elements. Cassie’s a water Witch, so I’d use…um…amethyst because it’s used mainly for protection and mediation, and it’s mainly a water stone. But air is more difficult to decide for, because there’s not really a stone that connects with air, because those are opposite elements. So for Abigail I might use…Carnelian? Mainly for the magical shielding.”
Josephine nodded as she listened, Davina’s magical knowledge had been expanded beyond that which had been taught to the other girls, she had no doubt that the young girl was an excellent choice for the Harvest, “I’m impressed, you’ve clearly taken your studying seriously.”
“I like to learn,” Davina replied.
“Tell me, do you think that Miss Sommers would consent to making a protection charm for each of the girls?”
Davina looked up at that, “I-I don’t know, I’d have to ask her.”
“Do it,” Josephine said, “Now. Run along, I will be having tea with the elders, let me know her answer.”
“Um…she doesn’t always get back to me straight away, she has school.”
“And it’s my understanding that school will be finished very shortly. Go.”
The final bell, signalling the end of the school day, rang, and Elena and Bonnie, rushed out of class, intent on getting to Maya’s car before the other girl, so that they could speak with her before she left. Elena scowled, she’d had the worst day, she had a bruise on her shin from when she and Bonnie had fallen in the hallway. A sore elbow, from where she’d slipped in the cafeteria and cracked it against a table, her shirt had been covered in yoghurt from that particular fall. And to cap it all off, her seat had collapsed under her weight during History, she was certain that that last fall was a result of Maya, given how both she and Caroline were cackling like hyenas when it happened.
“Maya!” Elena said, straightening as she saw the two girls coming towards her.
“Elena,” Maya said, arriving at her car, “You are persistent today.”
“We need to talk,” Elena insisted.
“Fine, but make it quick, there’s still a lot of work to do before Sunshine’s party.”
“Can we talk alone?” Elena huffed.
Maya rolled her eyes and tossed her car keys to Caroline, “I’ll be right back.” She took Elena’s wrist and dragged the older girl over to the stone benches outside the school, “Move!” she said icily to some teenagers that had gathered there. One of them was about to say something, but when they saw who it was, and the glare that she was shooting them, they all scampered off.
Elena yanked her arm from Maya’s hand, “You don’t need to be so rude!”
“Elena if you don’t have anything of worth to say to me, I’m leaving, like I said, I have lots to do.”
“Look, can you just- sit down,” Elena motioned to the bench and sat on one side of the table.
Maya took a seat opposite, “Fine, I’m sitting, what do you want?”
“Look, Jeremy’s birthday is next week, and with Vicki ‘missing’,” she used air quotes, “I don’t think that we should be fighting, it upsets him.” She sighed, “And I don’t want that.”
“I’m listening,” Maya said, she hated to admit it, but Elena was right about that, Jeremy didn’t deserve to have his family fighting, especially not on his birthday.
“Jeremy wants us all together for his birthday,” Elena said, “At home, so we need to settle this thing between us to make Jeremy happy.”
Maya nodded, glancing over at Caroline who was staring holes into them and then back at Elena, “So what exactly do you suggest? Because I have a lot of problems with you Elena, but for the moment. One. Really. Big. One.”
Elena pursed her lips, and clenched her jaw, she needed to say it, there was no way out of it, “I’m sorry, okay?”
“Sorry. What for?”
“Look isn’t it enough that I just said it?”
“But you didn’t say it. You could be apologising for stealing my Pink Power Ranger back when we were six for all I know,” Maya shrugged.
“I never stole your Power Ranger!”
“Then how did it end up under your bed Elena? Jeremy didn’t take it, the Red Ranger was always his favourite.”
“The Power Rangers are stupid, I would never take one!” Elena insisted.
Maya scoffed, “Whatever, if you’re not going to say it, then this is pointless.” She stood and made to leave.
“No wait!” Elena sighed, looking up at her cousin, “I’m sorry…for my actions on the night of the bridge…” When Maya said nothing, but raised an eyebrow, she continued, “I’m sorry that I nearly killed you-did kill you.” She huffed, “I’m sorry that I nearly made it permanent.”
“And?”
“And, I’m sorry that I was going to go along with Mom and blame you for the accident. That was wrong.”
Maya gave her an unimpressed smile, “Fine, apology accepted.”
Davina knocked on the door to the Elder’s study, and waited to be let in, “Davina,” Josephine said, “I trust you have an answer for me.
“Uh yes- well- she says that she needs to speak with the person in charge… because she doesn’t work for free.”
“Did you tell her that this was a request from me?”
Davina nodded, “I did, her answer was the same,” she handed over a slip of paper, “This is the number that you can contact her at.”
The Regent was displeased at the turn of events, Witches would scramble to do favours for The Regent of the Nine Covens, because it would mean that they were in her good graces, however Maya was not a New Orleans Witch. “Sit,” she said sharply, and Davina practically crumpled into the nearest chair, “Call this number,” Josephine said to Agnes.
The other Elder did as requested, handing the phone to Josephine. “Hello.” Maya said, picking up after the third ring.
“Miss Sommers, this is Regent La Rue.”
“Regent, I understand that you have something to ask me.”
“You created a protection charm for Davina.”
“Yes.”
“I want you to create them for three other girls in the French Quarter.”
“My protection bracelets go for 150 grand a pop,” Maya replied, feigning disinterest, “That’s three bracelets, so... $450,000, how will you be paying?”
The other Elders in the room gasped at her audacity, “That’s preposterous!” Bastianna protested.
“How dare you make such a demand of The Regent!” said Agnes.
“Oh but The Regent can make demands of me?” Maya laughed, “I’m not a NOLA Witch, I don’t answer to your Regent, and I certainly don’t do anything for free. You should already know that, Madam La Rue.”
“And yet you provided Davina with a protection charm, she would not be able to afford such a steep price.”
“Davina’s a special case, I like her.”
“And if I were to simply take her bracelet from her to give to one of the girls?” Josephine asked, causing the young girl to snap her head up in shock, “What then? Would you make her another?”
“You can try it, but my protection spells are thorough, and even if you could remove it from her, without cutting off her arm, it wouldn't work for anyone but her. It’s why the price is so steep; I personalise all of my work. So please tell me again, how you’re just going to take it from her.”
Josephine frowned, the girl was far more disrespectful when she wasn’t in her presence, “$450,000 is not something that the French Quarter Coven will provide you with.”
“Then what do you propose? Because I know you didn’t just call me expecting me to bow and scrape for your approval.”
Disrespectful and defiant, she reminded Josephine of herself when she was younger, “I would owe you a favour.” The Elders gaped at her, it wasn’t often that The Regent offered out favours, but Josephine felt like this was something that the girls needed.
“Hmm, but what if I never come back to New Orleans? Then what would I do?”
“That’s a risk that you’d have to be willing to take,” The Regent replied, goading the girl into agreeing.
“If were to agree there’d be caveats,” Maya replied.
“Such as?”
“Well it’ll take about a week for me to craft what you’re asking for, and if you want something exactly like Davina’s, then I’ll need blood from all three girls, in order to personalise their protection.”
“That can be done,” Josephine agreed.
“And I don’t have a lot of free time, seeing as how I’m not getting paid, I’m not coming to you, you’ll have to come to me…Davina will have to come to me.”
“We can’t just send Davina!”
“She’s the only one of you that I really know, no one else will be allowed in my town. Send her to me on Friday, I’ll have someone pick her up from the airport. And Madam La Rue…I’m a busy girl, so if Davina’s not at the airport on Friday, I will assume that you no longer want the charms and will repurpose them. At which point, you will need to give me more than just a favour, if you still want them, because I don’t like to have my time wasted. Discuss it amongst yourselves and text me the details.”
Jenna was at the Grill, waiting for Miranda to show up, she couldn’t believe that she was going through with Enzo’s ludicrous plan. She didn’t think that she’d be able to do this. Attempt to make up with her sister? Keep a straight face while she did it? An impossible task if Miranda still had no intention of apologising to her, and to Maya. She threw back her bourbon (a drink that she’d developed a taste for thanks to Damon and Enzo) and signalled the server for another. Miranda came in and sat down across from her, just as her drink was set on the table in front of her.
“Drinking already?” Miranda asked as she put her bag on the seat next to her.
Jenna scowled, “Really, that’s the first thing that you say to me?”
“Well it’s only lunch time.”
Jenna drank it like a shot of tequila and motioned for another, “And being here with you means that I need another.”
“Jenna come on,” Miranda sighed.
“What? We haven’t spoken in weeks and the first thing you have to say to me is a question about my drinking habits- which are fine by the way, they just increase whenever I’m near you.”
“Jenna can’t we just put this all behind us? I mean the kids have! Elena told me that she and Maya smoothed things over, why can’t we?”
“How about because you were perfectly happy to let my kid take all the blame for something that yours did! Maya was doing you a favour when she went to pick up Elena, she didn’t have to, but she did, and she nearly died for it. And it wasn’t bad enough that you tried to throw her under the bus, but Maya was in the hospital for a week after her surgery. You took Elena home, and you never came back. I’m your little sister, and my daughter nearly died because of yours, and you never came to check on her, on me.” Jenna shook her head, “I was with you every step of the way after Grayson died, we both were, I invited you into my home, took care of you, took care of your kids. I held you when you cried, fed you when didn’t have the will to feed yourself, bathed you when you were practically catatonic, and you never came to check on me. Maya took care of Jeremy and Elena, she made sure that Elena stayed healthy, comforted Jeremy when he couldn’t stop crying, and you never came to see her.” She took a sip of her drink, “Elena confessed, to the Sheriff, I hadn’t spoken to her, no one had, she told the truth, and got off lightly. And still, you didn’t come to me.”
“You were gone! You stuck around for a couple of days and then took off with Maya, what was I supposed to do?”
“Come and see us when we got back?” Jenna shrugged, “Talk to us, before that stupid dinner party, I should have put my foot down when Maya told me that Jeremy had convinced her to go to your place for a family dinner. I should have said no, because she wasn’t ready for that, but you wanted that. So much so, that you used the only thing you could, your son, because Maya’s always loved him, always given him whatever he asked for, and you used that.”
“You wouldn’t talk to me Jenna,” Miranda shook her head, “You wouldn’t pick up the phone! You wouldn’t respond to emails, hell you even changed the code on your gate, so that I couldn’t come up to the house! Jeremy was all I had.”
“Did it ever occur to you that I didn’t want to put Maya in a position where she’d have to interact with you before I found out what exactly you had to say? You know where I got to school! You could have come to campus to talk me, but you didn’t.”
“If you’re so hell bent on staying angry at me, why are we even here?” Miranda asked, throwing her hands up.
Jenna frowned, “Because it’s Jeremy’s birthday next week! Because Maya has asked me to make sure that Jeremy isn’t caught in the crossfire! Because as much as I loathe you and Elena right now, he doesn’t deserve to have his birthday tainted by this anger!”
Freya joined Rebekah outside of the Villa that she’s compelled in L.A, confused at the lack of luggage around her sister she shot her a look, “Don’t we need to get back to New York?” she asked, “You said that Elijah’s been questioning where you are.”
“That’s true,” Rebekah nodded, “But I also made you a promise, and what better way for us to bond, then to go shopping in Beverly Hills? I hear it’s where all the designer boutiques are, and I’ve never been.”
Freya’s eyes widened, she’d been fascinated by the shops that she’d seen in Los Angeles as they drove through the city, “You're serious?!”
Rebekah nodded, “Yes, I am!” she clapped her hands together, “So what do you think? Can Finn be without you for one more day?”
A smile crept onto the eldest Mikaelson’s face, “Most definitely!”
/ / /
Elijah frowned as his phone call to Rebekah was once again sent to voicemail, she’d been avoiding his calls for two days now, which wasn’t good, because they had a schedule to keep up. He waited until the beep and then left a message, “Rebekah, I don’t know what it is that you are so intent on doing, but when I call, you answer. Especially when we have work to do! Call me back immediately, less I be forced to come and find you!”
He hung up and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, sometimes being the eldest of his childish siblings (Klaus, Kol and Rebekah) was a nightmare. His phone buzzed, indicating a text message, it was his little sister. Scowling he opened the message, Rebekah knew that he despised texting, the incorrect grammar, the misspelt words and confounded emoticons, grated on his nerves.
“Bzy, wt do u thnk?” Was the message he received, along with a picture attached. It was of Rebekah and Freya, outside in the greenery of the Hills, hair tied up in plaits, wearing oversized sunglasses, smiling at the camera.
Annoyed as he was, he couldn’t help but smile, Rebekah was clearly enjoying the fact that she had a sister now. He knew that she’d always longed for one, someone that she could share her wants and dreams with, that wouldn’t immediately scoff at her, much like her brothers had. He knew that Rebekah loved her brothers and always would, but to have a sister, it was something that she'd craved, and now that she had something that she always wanted, he was loathe to disrupt her happiness. Sighing, he responded back, “Have fun, but not too much. I’ll be waiting for you.”
A few moments later, he received another message, along with another picture. Clearly the picture was taken at night if the surroundings were anything to go by. It looked like his sisters were at a bar, or a restaurant. The women were sitting down, Rebekah had her arms wrapped around Freya from behind, head almost resting in the crook of the older Mikaelson’s neck. Freya was holding onto Rebekah tightly, both of them smiling. “Thnk u. Luv u. XXX” she’d sent back.
Shaking his head at her atrocious spelling, Elijah chose to save the picture as his phone’s background, as a reminder of what he was doing this for. He was making sure that his family was safe, making sure that they were happy, that they had a chance to be together, finally, after a thousand years.
/ / /
Klaus was in a meeting with Cary and the Elders of the pack, just a standard check in that he'd chosen to implement in order to ensure that none of them were thinking of attempting a coup. When he was interrupted by a chirp from his phone, indicating a message. He pulled it from his pocket, looking at it quizzically when he saw that the message was from Elijah, he knew that Elijah hated texting, so why was he communicating in such a way? He opened the message and was faced with a few words, and two pictures. “I thought you might like to see these.” Was all it said.
Klaus took in the pictures for a moment, for the first time, not feeling rage when he looked at Rebekah, she was his baby sister, and he knew that he would forgive her eventually, he’d wanted to hold out for longer, but when he was sent images like this. Images of his sister, happy, having fun, it made it more difficult. He saved the pictures and shot a quick message back to his brother. “Looks like they’re having fun.”
Putting his phone back in his pocket, he looked up, only to find all eyes on him, “Continue,” he said.
/ / /
Kol had just made a major breakthrough in the spell to break Klaus’s curse, when he’d received a text from Elijah. He opened the message and found two pictures of his sisters, having fun together. Rolling his eyes, he deleted the text. For him, Rebekah’s betrayal was still too fresh, even if she hadn’t actually done it yet, he wasn’t going to forgive her, not for a very long time if he had anything to say about it.
But he wasn’t upset that his sisters were getting along, in fact, it would help him when trying to convince Freya to assist Nik with his curse. Because Rebekah would want Nik to be happy, and breaking his curse would do that, she would encourage Freya to help in an effort to get into Nik’s good books once more. Shaking his thoughts from his head, he turned his attention to his other problem, The Brotherhood of the Five. He couldn’t find any information on them, if he didn’t know any better, he’d say that they'd died out. But whoever that boy was with the doppelgänger the day of his death, he was a member of the Five, as his tattoo had suggested, but he was young. Kol wanted to find another hunter, an older one, who knew exactly what he was doing first.
Enzo was hanging out at the arrival bay of the airport, he’d been asked to pick up Davina Claire, the girl that he and Maya had met in New Orleans. Apparently the girls had stayed in touch, and had become friends, along with Caroline, and now she was coming to visit Mystic Falls. He straightened when he saw Davina walk out with a small suitcase, along with a severe looking older woman, who he presumed to be the girl’s mother.
“Davina!” He called, getting her attention, and to her credit, she didn’t hesitate to scurry over to him, practically ignoring the woman behind her, who had to catch up.
“Maya said that I was the only one allowed to come,” she hissed at him, before the woman could join them.
“Not to worry Love,” Enzo smiled, “I’ve got it covered.” He took her suitcase from her, “Let’s get a move on shall we, it’s like an hour and a half back.”
“You’re a Vampire,” the woman sneered.
“Yes,” Enzo replied, “What were you expecting?”
“Traditionally, when a Coven invites a Witch into their territory, they send an appropriate emissary to collect the Witch.”
“Well, that’s what I am,” he said, “I’ve been at the right hand of the Coven Leader since the beginning.” He smirked, (technically that was true, he’d been Maya’s right hand guy as she’d developed her abilities, and while there were no other Witches with her…yet, she would be the leader that they followed). “So either come with me, or get back on a flight to New Orleans. I’m sure Maya said that she doesn’t have time to waste.”
Scowling the woman motioned for her daughter to follow the Vampire outside, to the car, “The polite thing to do, would have been to introduce yourself,” she said.
Enzo scoffed and put the bags in the back, “No, the polite thing to do, would have been not to sneer at me, the moment you arrived. Especially when as you can see, Davina doesn’t have a problem with me. Now get in, I don’t want to hit any traffic.”
/ / /
45 minutes later, Enzo pulled up to a hotel that was two towns over from Mystic Falls, he went inside and compelled a room, and then came back out, taking the woman’s bag from the car, he opened the door on her side of the vehicle, “This is where you get off,” he said.
“What? I am not!”
“Yes you are,” he replied, “Maya specifically stated that no one other than Davina was welcome in her Coven’s territory. Davina’s the only one who is coming with me.”
“I am not leaving my daughter with a Vampire!”
“Mom!” Davina protested.
“Do I look like I care what you want?” Enzo asked. “Because from what I understand, your Regent was pretty insistent on getting something from Maya. So insistent, that she’ll owe my Little Witch a favour. And the only way the Regent is getting what she wants, is if she follows Maya’s terms. So you’re gonna stay here for the week, food and amenities have been paid for. And Davina is coming with me, to do what she’s been asked to do, by her Regent.”
“I will not be dictated to by you, or some child Witch,” Ms Claire said, “I only take orders from the Regent.”
“Then I suggest you call her, right now, because if this isn’t resolved soon, I will take you straight back to the airport. And you won’t be able to do a thing to stop me, because I hear that New Orleans Witches can’t practice outside the city.”
/ / /
It had taken a further half an hour, before Enzo and Davina could leave for Mystic Falls, her mother hadn’t been happy about it, but the orders from the Regent were clear. She wanted what Maya had and was not prepared to negotiate anything extra for them.
“So, do you know why Maya was so insistent that I come today?” Davina asked.
“Well, you know it’s Caroline’s birthday tomorrow, right?”
“Right,” she nodded.
“The girls are throwing, what is probably the biggest party Mystic Falls has ever seen tomorrow, she just wanted you to come and have some fun.” Enzo shrugged.
“A Party?!” Davina exclaimed, “I have nothing to wear!”
Enzo laughed, “Relax, Maya spent all summer shopping in L.A, believe me, you’ll have something to wear.” He drove through Mystic Falls, and pulled up to the gate at the start of the Sommers’ driveway.
“Wow!” Davina said, her eyes wide as she took in the size of the house.
“Oh believe me love, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Enzo parked up, got her bag out and guided her into the house, where Caroline and Maya were eagerly awaiting their arrival.
The shrieks of excitement that all three girls let out when Davina entered, had Enzo wincing. “Sometimes I really regret moving in with a bunch of girls,” he muttered to himself, rushing upstairs to lock himself in his room in order to block out the noise.
Saturday morning had Caroline wake up at her home, and have her traditional breakfast with her mom, it used to be with both of her parents, but her mom and dad hadn’t been able to be civil to each other since the divorce. Her mom made pancakes and the two Forbes women for once, enjoyed a peaceful, argument free moment, it was times like this that Caroline missed. With her mother taking on more and more as the Sheriff, the time that she’d spent at home had drastically decreased, meaning that Caroline spent a lot of time at Maya’s, sharing her best friend’s mom.
Since Caroline was going to be spending the day getting ready for her party with Maya, Liz had taken a shift at work, she’d be home at seven that evening, and Jenna was coming over to spend time with her. Miranda may have been Liz’s best friend, but she and Jenna were also close thanks to their daughters. Miranda was coming over too, Liz was hoping to settle the animosity between the two sisters before it got any worse.
“Okay Honey,” Liz got up and kissed Caroline’s head, “I’m going to head to work now, but as promised, we will spend all of Sunday together, okay?”
Caroline nodded, offering her mom a small smile, “I’ll see you later mom.”
Liz smiled in return, and left the house. The blonde grabbed her things and was about to leave, when there was a knock at her door. Opening it, she frowned to find no one there, but two parcels on her doorstep. She picked them up, and put them on the counter, there were cards attached to both, she opened the card on the largest parcel and snorted in amusement, the card read: ‘Happy Birthday, Klaus.’ A simple message, but it had her calling Maya immediately.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” the older girl shouted, picking up the moment she saw Caroline’s name.
“Thanks!” Caroline replied.
“You on your way up?”
“I was, but there were two presents on my doorstep.”
“Oh?”
“Yep, I think your boyfriend’s trying to get into my good books,” the blonde said with a smirk.
“Nik isn’t my boyfriend!” Maya said.
“I didn’t say it was Klaus, but it was funny that your mind went directly there.”
“Oh shut up!” Maya pouted at having been caught out.
“What did he send you?”
“I haven’t opened it yet.”
“Well bring it up here, you can open it with your other presents!”
“Alright.”
/ / /
Caroline was over at the Sommers house in record time, mystery gifts in tow. “Okay so let's see what they are,” Maya said.
“I totally want to know what an Original thinks is an appropriate gift for his girlfriend’s best friend,” Davina chimed in.
“I’m not his girlfriend!” Maya protested, causing the other two to burst into laughter. “You both suck!” she said, “Just open them!”
“Fine!” Caroline relented, opening the large present first. The girls gasped at was revealed. It was a beautifully carved, antique jewellery box, it was multi tiered, every compartment lined with sumptuous blue velvet, little gold filigree around the edges of some of the compartments, looking like crowns. The dark wood was beautifully kept, not a hint of damage, it had clearly been expertly restored, it even had a little hidden compartment underneath the rest of the storage.
“It’s beautiful,” Davina breathed.
“It’s so you,” Maya said, impressed with what Klaus had managed to come up with.
“I have to admit, your guy’s got good taste,” Caroline admitted, “It’s perfect for me! How did he know that I’d like something like this?” she asked.
“Nik and I regularly talk,” Maya replied, “You think we just talk about ourselves the whole time?” she asked.
“Up until now, yeah!”
Maya rolled her eyes and Davina giggled, “Come on, there’s still another gift!”
Caroline plucked the card from the smaller present, and read it, eyes widening when she saw what it said:
‘Happy birthday Darling.
Rest assured, these were worn by a princess,
Almost as beautiful as you.
Hopefully they will match your shine.
Fondly, Kol.’
“Who’s it from?” Maya asked suspiciously.
“No one!” Caroline blurted out, holding the card to her chest.
“You better show us!” Maya said.
“No!” Caroline scooted back a little, away from both girls.
“Sunshine…”
“Nope!” she shot up and made to run.
“Get her Davina!” Maya said, both girls chasing the blonde.
Caroline ran around the table, but Davina cut her off from one way, while Maya went the other way. Davina grabbed Caroline around the middle, stopping her in her tracks, and Maya gripped her shoulders, jumping up, trying to reach the card as Caroline held it over her head. “No! No! No!” Caroline shook her head, she was going to get so much shit if they saw the card, “You can’t reach!”
Maya scowled, and then brightened, “Actually…” she waved her hand and the card shot out of Caroline’s fingers and floated over to the Siphon.
“No fair! Magic’s cheating!”
Maya shrugged, “All’s fair in love and war.” She read the message on the card and her jaw dropped, “Oh. My. God. Kol?!”
“What?!” Davina exclaimed, snatching the card from Maya and reading it for herself.
“Guys!” Caroline moaned, “Give it back!”
“No, no, Care,” Davina said, “Not until you tell us what’s going on!”
“Yeah! How much have you been talking to Kol?”
Davina let out a shocked gasp, “Oh. My. God. You have an Original boyfriend!”
“No I don’t!” Caroline protested, snatching the card back.
“Yes you do!”
“No I don’t!”
“Look, how about you just open the gift and then we can determine whether you’re telling the truth or not!” Maya said.
Caroline scowled, but grabbed the much smaller box and opened it, gaping at the gift inside.
Three tier, cushion cut, diamond earrings of the highest clarity. “Wh-I-”
“Davina, Caroline’s right, she doesn’t have an Original boyfriend,” Maya said, causing the younger girl to shoot her an incredulous look, “She has an Original sugar daddy!”
“MAYA!” Caroline shrieked.
“What are we supposed to do now?” Elena asked Bonnie, she’d apologised to Maya, but it hadn’t resulted in an invitation to Caroline’s party, like the two girls had hoped for.
“Now we sneak in,” Bonnie said.
“What?”
“Think about it! The gates will be open to allow the guests in, from what I hear, the party’s all set up in the backyard, which means that Maya and Caroline will be outside. But, the doors downstairs will be open, so that guests can go to the bathroom.”
“We sneak in when the party has the biggest influx of people,” Elena replied, understanding Bonnie’s train of thought.
“Exactly! And because everyone’s so focused outside, we will have the chance to snoop around Maya’s room!”
“But what about Aunt Jenna? She won’t be at the party, but she’ll be there.”
“Actually, I heard that she was going over to the Sheriff’s for the night. So there’ll be no one to catch us!”
Elena nodded, “Okay, but first, we need to find something to wear so that we don’t stand out.”
Caroline
Maya
Davina
Caroline, Davina and Maya had just put the finishing touches on their outfits, all three of them wearing similar styles, but they were different enough that the dressed weren't identical. Caroline was in a little black A-line dress, with a tulle skirt, beaded bodice, with silver sequins that cinched around her waist. She was also wearing the earrings that Kol had gotten her. Maya was wearing a mocha A-line dress that fell just above her knees, with a scoop neck and a lace bodice, with a chunky silver bracelet around her wrist. Davina was wearing a red, cap sleeve dress, with a lace applique bodice and a string of white pearls around her neck. All three girls looked great.
“You see what I mean?” Maya said to Davina, the younger girl had been nervous, thanks to her Coven she’d never been to a real party, and she wasn’t sure that she would look good in what the girls had picked out for her. “We all have similar outfits, so that everybody knows that were together. We all look totally hot, but, neither one of us is upstaging the birthday girl.”
“I don’t know how we could, with that bling she’s got on her,” Davina said, causing Maya to smirk, the young Witch was coming into her own more and more.
“Both of you shut up!” Caroline said, with no real heat in the words. Before she could say anything else, the doorbell rang, “Oh, the guests have arrived!”
Elena and Bonnie slunk in with a group of rowdy teenagers, the doppelgänger frowning when she spotted her brother chatting with a girl she’d never seen before, a brunette in a red dress. “Let’s go Elena,” Bonnie hissed. Despite her assurances to Elena that they wouldn’t be caught, Bonnie felt an almost oppressive weight on her shoulders as soon as she stepped foot on the property.
Elena followed the girl upstairs, she remembered where Maya’s room was, from when she’d stayed here after her dad had died, so she quickly guided Bonnie to the correct place. She turned the knob and smiled in victory when it twisted easily and she pushed the door open, “She didn’t even lock it!” Both girls walked inside and quickly headed to opposite ends of the room, “What are we looking for?” Elena asked.
“Anything that you think could be magical, like a grimoire, or a talisman, which is like a big piece of jewellery, usually just one stone, mostly worn as a necklace, or even herbs collected in small pouches or little bottles so that they can be used in spells.”
“A large stone necklace…” Elena trailed off for a moment, “You mean... like the wolf thing that she never takes off?”
Bonnie’s eyes widened, as she thought back, Elena was right, she’d never seen Maya without the necklace, not even during cheerleading practice, “Exactly like that!” she rushed to the window, and peaked outside, Maya’s bedroom overlooked the back of the house, so Bonnie searched for the red-head, easily spotting her dancing with Caroline, “She’s not wearing it!”
“It’s got to be somewhere here then!” Elena exclaimed, rushing over to the dresser, and reaching for the jewellery box, “Damn it! It’s locked!”
“Hang on,” Bonnie said, she didn’t know if she could do it, but closing her eyes she concentrated, her Grams had said that she’d be able to do anything with a spell, and every time she lit candles, or accidentally set something on fire, that was her magic bleeding out of her that had had no other outlet, so maybe if she concentrated hard enough, she could open the small lock. After a minute, there was a tiny ‘click’ and Bonnie smiled, “Try it now.”
Elena opened the jewellery box, but the wolf necklace wasn’t there, the were definitely expensive pieces in there, but nothing that Bonnie thought would be an amulet. Sighing in frustration she shut the box, “There’s nothing here!”
Bonnie frowned, “You’re right, I can’t sense anything in here that would be magical. Maybe she’s not dangerous, maybe she doesn’t know a lot of magic.”
“Come on,” Elena stood, “Let’s get out of here before someone finds us.” The girls made their way into the hallway, where Bonnie froze, “Bonnie? What is it?”
Bonnie could feel something calling out to her, she needed to find it, “Follow me,” she said, walking in the opposite direction, to the stairs that led to the attic, “I sense something.” She stood in front of the closed door and tried the knob, “It’s locked.”
“Can’t you just do what you did before?” Elena asked.
“Maybe,” Bonnie said, it was a much bigger lock, and would require more from her. Closing her eyes, she put her hands on the door, breathing deep, she concentrated, trying to exert her will over the lock. It took a lot from her, more than she expected, but she managed to open the door.
“Bonnie, your nose!” Elena exclaimed.
The Bennett Witch reached up and felt blood above her lip, she wiped it away and walked inside the room.
/ / /
Maya was dancing with Caroline, spinning the birthday girl around, grinning as she laughed in happiness, when she felt her wrist warm. Her talisman didn’t go with her outfit, so she’d clipped it to the inside of her bracelet. She’d spelled the talisman so that it would act like an early warning system should someone try to break into her ‘Sanctum Sanctorum’ as Jeremy had called it.
Maya smiled at Caroline and leant towards her so that the girl could hear her, “I’m just going to make a round, make sure that everything’s set up for later,” she said. Caroline nodded and smiled, turning away as her name was called from behind her. Maya took off quickly, she’d be damned if she let anything ruin Caroline’s special day.
“Maya!” Davina said, catching the Siphon’s wrist, she’d seen the shift in her features and wanted to know what had happened, “What’s wrong?”
“Someone’s just broken into my magic room,” she whispered into the NOLA Witch’s ear.
Davina frowned, “Let’s go,” she said immediately.
“You don’t have your magic here.”
“I don’t care, whoever it is, is getting their butt kicked for trying to ruin tonight!”
“Alright,” Maya shrugged, “Let’s go.”
/ / /
Bonnie looked around the room in wonder, this was exactly what they’d been looking for, but they hadn’t expected it in this... quantity. The room was practically dripping with power, “Oh my God,” Bonnie whispered. There were books lining a couple of the walls, a shelf containing labelled jars of herbs and other more…disgusting ingredients. A large, oval mirror, with filigree decorating the edges had been positioned near one of the windows in the attic, catching the moonlight. Bonnie walked further inside, the books looked like grimoires, some of them pretty old.
Elena followed Bonnie, and looked around the room, there was workbench to one side with, what looked like, a small cauldron on, and several small opaque bottles. There were also some really weird things in the room, a basketball sized golden sphere, an hourglass filled with black sand, an antique looking birdcage sat on a stool, an abacas, a white statue of a camel sitting on top of one of the shelves. A set of weighing scales on another table, a glowing blue lamp hanging in the corner of the room, a wickedly sharp dagger hanging on the wall, a shelf contained various crystal-like objects of different sizes and colours, a wooden pan flute, and the thing that drew the most attention from them, a single book, sitting in the middle of the room, on a pedestal. “What is all this stuff?” Elena asked, reaching for something on the table.
“DON’T TOUCH THAT!” Bonnie yelled, causing Elena to snap her hand back to her chest, “Sorry,” Bonnie calmed, “It’s just, I have no idea what most of this stuff is, I don’t know if it’s dangerous.”
Elena nodded, “Is that…a grimoire?” she asked, motioning to the book in the middle of the room.
Bonnie nodded, both of them walking towards it, there was a howling wolf on the front cover, further strengthening Bonnie’s belief that the wolf necklace was Maya’s talisman. “That could definitely be it.”
Elena couldn’t help herself, she reached out to touch the book, but the moment her hand came close, the grimoire lurched off of the pedestal and landed on the floor, “What the hell?!”
“It must be some sort of privacy spell,” Bonnie said, looking at it, “Designed to keep people away from it.”
“Can you-can you do anything about that? If we can’t read it, we don’t know if there’s anything dangerous in it.”
Bonnie glanced over at Elena for a moment, before looking back at the grimoire, she bent down and stretched her hand out over the cover, making sure not to touch it, she focused on her magic, and what she wanted it to do, not realising how much she’d expended already, firstly by walking into the house uninvited, secondly by using magic to open a jewellery box and thirdly using magic to open a door that had been spelled with a warning system. Bonnie touched the cover, but yanked her hand back as she was hit was strong shock of electricity, “Owe!” she hissed, a burn lancing across four fingers, “What the hell?”
“What happened?” Elena asked.
“It burned me!”
/ / /
Maya and Davina reached her magic room, just as Bonnie was burnt by the grimoire, “That would be because you’re not allowed to touch it.” Maya said, causing both girls to whirl around in shock. “What the hell are you doing here Elena?”
“I-”
Maya let out a disbelieving laugh, “No I get it, this is what your apology was for, you don’t care about Jer’s birthday at all, you were just hoping to score an invite to this party. And when that didn’t work, you snuck in anyway.”
“You wouldn’t tell me anything!” Elena said.
Maya shook her head, “Why is Bonnie here? Let me guess, the baby Bennett Witch finally came into her powers.” Bonnie’s eyes widened; she wasn’t supposed to let Maya know that she could do magic.
“No,” Elena refuted, “She’s just here to support me.”
“Oh yeah? Then how did you get in here? It takes quite a bit of magic if you haven’t been keyed into the wards, plus uh- Bon Bon, you missed a spot,” Maya tapped the spot above her own lip, indicating that Bonnie still had blood there.
Davina eyed Bonnie with a look of disdain she’d seen on Maya’s own face, she could tell the Bennett Witch was in pain, “You don’t look like you’re feeling too hot there, Bonnie, was it?”
Bonnie’s eyes snapped to Davina’s “Who are you?”
“Someone’s that’s allowed to be here, clearly, otherwise I’d look like you right now.”
Elena looked over at her friend, only just noticing that she was paler than usual, and now that they’d been confronted, Bonnie was actually trembling a little, “Bonnie! What have you done to her?!” she hissed at Maya.
“Slow your role there cousin,” Maya put her hand over her heart, “I didn’t do a damn thing, I just got here. The baby Bennett did that to herself.”
“What are you talking about?!” Elena wrapped her arm around Bonnie’s shoulders in an effort to quell her shaking.
“It’s pretty simple actually,” Davina said. “This house is protected, the moment the Bennett Witch set foot on the property without an invitation, the spell to weaken magical intruders kicked in. And then Bonnie made it worse by using magic, again and again. Anything that’s happening to her now, that’s her own fault.”
“Make it stop!” Elena said, as Bonnie crumpled into her side.
Maya smirked, walking closer to the girls, “D could you?” she motioned to her grimoire and Davina nodded, trusting that Maya wouldn’t ask her to touch it if it would hurt her. She picked up the grimoire, with an almost reverent look, they weren’t part of the same Coven, so the fact that Maya was allowing her to touch her personal grimoire, was an incredible sign of trust. “Listen Elena,” Maya whispered to her cousin, “You should take Bonnie, and leave. You don’t want me to get Damon, do you? Because the state the little Bennett is in, he’ll eat her for breakfast…or to be more accurate, dinner.” Elena glared at her, “What you need a little push? Okay.” Maya waved her hand, and both girls were shoved from the magic room, and just about stopped themselves from falling down the stairs.
Maya stood in the doorway, “Get. Out. Of. My. Home.”
Elena only just noticed the anger in Maya’s eyes and took a frightened step back, gasping as she came into contact with someone behind her. She turned and was met with Enzo, “Ladies, time to go,” he gripped them both by their arms and dragged them out of the house.
Maya sighed in relief as she felt Bonnie’s magic disappear from the property, “So that was your cousin,” Davina said, looking around the magic room.
“Yep.”
“And that girl’s really a Bennett Witch? They’re supposed to be strong.”
“Bonnie’s magic has been bound for a long time, she only started showing her affinity for it in the last two months or so. She has no idea what she’s capable of yet.”
“And you do?”
“Bonnie Bennett has the kind of power inside of her that only comes around once every thousand years or so. She just, can’t access it yet.”
“So she’s a baby Witch, that thought that she could just waltz in here, consequences be damned?”
Maya shrugged, “Up until this week, she had no idea what I’m capable of…she still doesn’t.”
“She didn’t know what you are?”
“I like to keep a low profile where I can,” Maya said.
“Why?”
“There’s still a lot about me that you don’t know, D, my secrets have secrets.” she winked.
Davina looked over at her friend, “Will you tell me what some of them are?”
Maya nodded, “Yeah, but not tonight. Help me check nothing’s been messed with, and then we can go back to the party.”
Davina nodded and both girls went to opposite ends of the room, Davina couldn’t access her magic, but it was still inside of her, which meant that she could still reach out with her senses to see if anything had been disturbed. As she stretched out her ‘inner eye’ as she’d been taught, she felt herself be drawn to a little table, where three bracelets sat.
“I see you found them,” Maya said.
“Are these…”
“The protection charms that the Regent asked for? Yeah,” she nodded, “There not finished yet, but you can take a look.”
Monique's obsidian protection bracelet
Cassie's amethyst protection bracelet
Abigail's carnelian protection bracelet
Davina picked up the first one, it had two silver bands, and in the centre was a black rose, made of obsidian, “This is Monique’s,” she said, “The Earth Witch.”
“Yeah,” Maya nodded with a smile, “And the others?”
Davina’s finger trailed over a delicate silver chain, with a small purple stone in the middle, amethyst, “This is Cassie’s, she’s the Water Witch.” And then she picked up the last one, a single gold bangle with an orange-coloured stone in the middle, the carnelian, “And this is Abigail’s, because there’s no stone that connects to air.”
“Exactly! You’ve been studying,” Maya said impressed.
Davina smiled, “Well, I want to be able to pull my weight in our business.”
“I'm glad you're learning, but for now, let’s put these down, lock up, and head back to the party, before Caroline notices that we’re missing.”
Elena helped Bonnie inside her Grams’ house. “What happened?” Sheila asked, shocked at the state her granddaughter was in.
“We snuck into Maya’s house,” Elena said.
“You did what?!” Sheila exclaimed, “I specifically told you not to go anywhere near her! Did she put her hands on you?” she asked Bonnie.
Bonnie shook her head, sitting down on the sofa, “She didn’t touch me.”
“Then what happened to you?”
“She spelled her house, and her magic room! I went inside and it was like swimming against the current, and the longer I was there, the stronger the current got. Grams, she’s so much stronger than you said she’d be."
Notes:
If you have time, please drop a comment, they make me feel great!
Chapter 38: Protection Bracelets
Notes:
Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The day after the huge birthday bash, had the members of the Sommers house in varying states of disarray. Caroline had woken up, (without the hangover, thanks to Maya’s spell), but she did stink of booze, so she had rushed off to get a shower and change, before she went home to spend the day with her mother. Jeremy was passed out in some bushes in the front yard, covered from head to toe in neon paint, it was strange enough that Caroline paused on her way back home, she didn’t even know where he’d gotten the paint from, she certainly hadn’t provided it. Shrugging she stumbled down the drive, she may not have had a hangover, but she wasn’t entirely sober either. Of course, when she passed the barrier that had been set up, her head cleared, her walk straightened, and her eyes brightened. By the time she’d gotten home, her mother was none the wiser about how drunk she’d been.
Damon was shirtless, his jeans around his ankles, covered in glitter, unconscious by the pool, his arms wrapped protectively around a half empty bottle of bourbon. Enzo was out like a light underneath the snack table, dressed only in his underwear, a crooked plastic silver crown on his head, and had several beaded necklaces hanging off of his neck. Cake was smeared all over his stomach and he was snoring like a chain saw.
Maya and Davina were the only two, besides Caroline, who’d managed to get themselves indoors, before crashing. In fact all three of them had fallen asleep together, in a tangle of limbs, beads and glitter, on the floor, in the den. And when Caroline had woken, the other girls had too. The Siphon and the Witch were now surveying the aftermath of the party, the members of the Sommers house weren’t the only ones who’d passed out, outside, all of them lucky that it hadn’t started raining the in the middle of the night. Maya could see plenty of people from her year still on the grounds. Matt and Tyler, had made a sort of nest with the pool toys and a couple of the girls from the cheer squad. About half a dozen other football players were scattered about, on the grass, along with other girls and boys from the squad, band, track and basketball teams.
“Your mom’s not home yet,” Davina said, handing the older girl a cup of much needed coffee.
“Yeah, we should probably get everyone out of here before she gets back,” Maya said.
“How do you want to do this?”
“Just a minute,” Maya crept outside, artfully dodging stray limbs and solo cups, and took six or seven pictures of both Damon and Enzo, before going back to the patio.
“What are you doing?” Davina asked, amused at the sight.
“Taking pictures to send to Kol,” Maya replied, “He doesn’t think that we know how to party.” She went to send them off and her eyes widened at her phone, “Oh no!”
“What?”
“I got way drunker than I thought I did,” she said, staring at what were clearly messages that she’d sent the night before.
“What’d you mean?”
“…I appear to have sent some texts…and pictures…”
“To who?”
“…”
“Oh. My. God!”
“…”
“You drunk texted Klaus?! Klaus?!” Davina hissed, “The Original, Klaus?! The one vampire that strikes fear into the hearts of everyone? Klaus?!”
“Well… he doesn’t strike fear into my heart…” Maya offered weakly.
“No, he just makes your heart beat out of your chest, and your lady parts tingle!”
“Davina!” Maya said shocked, “You!” she pointed a finger at the girl, “Have spent way too much time on the phone with Caroline!”
“Well, we’re not wrong!”
“You two have no business discussing my lady parts! And I told Caroline that in confidence!”
“We’re like best friends, you can’t keep anything from me,” she shrugged.
“Really? How’s Tim?”
Davina gasped, “Caroline told you?!”
Maya shrugged, “We’re like best friends, you can’t keep anything from me.” she repeated.
Davina shook her head, “I can’t believe she told you,” she muttered.
Maya laughed, “We can talk about this later, let’s just get everyone out of here before mom comes home.”
Rolling her eyes, Davina looked out at the backyard, “How do you want to do this?”
“Maybe give them a rude awakening.” she went over to the sprinkler system and grabbed the hose that was attached to the wall, “You want the hose or the sprinklers?”
Davina’s eyes brightened, “Definitely the hose!” she’d had fun last night, and now she got to have some more.
“Okay, here you go.” Maya handed her the hose, and Davina stood at the edge of the grass and held it out, towards the unconscious teens. Maya smirked, turning on the sprinklers and then the hose on full blast, causing the teens to groan and some to scream.
Davina laughed as she walked towards the ones who weren’t being hit with the sprinklers, “EVERYBODY UP!” she yelled.
“UP! UP! UP!” Maya yelled, turning on the sound system and blasting out some ACDC, causing more of them to whine. “EVERYBODY UP! YOU DON’T GOTTA GO HOME! BUT YOU GOTTA GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!” she laughed as Davina ran around the garden and sprayed Damon, causing him to roll into the pool.
“Awe Damon!” Maya called, “You got glitter all in the water! It’s gonna end up in the filter!”
Jenna groaned as she sat up, she and Liz had gotten very drunk last night, Miranda had come over, and there hadn’t been much talking, they’d fought and her sister had stormed out, Liz hadn’t wanted to be caught in the middle of them both, but Miranda had had her support all summer, Jenna needed some support too. So Liz had stayed with Jenna instead, and the two women had watched movies and gotten very, very drunk. “Oh, my head,” she held her hand up to her temple, it was pounding.
“Oh my God,” Liz groaned, pulling herself up, “I’m way too old for this!” she moaned, trying to steady herself as the room spun around her, “How is it possible that I’m drunk and hungover at the same time?”
“Mom? Jenna? Oh my God!” Caroline stared at both women in disbelief, “Are you two hungover?”
“And drunk,” Jenna muttered.
“Oh my God!” Caroline laughed, “I can’t believe you two!”
“We are adults Caroline!” Liz said defensively, “We can get drunk if we want to!” she paused “Oh God!” she slapped her hand over her mouth and rushed to the bathroom to throw up.
Caroline looked at Jenna in amusement, “You want some coffee?”
“Please,” Jenna said, pulling herself into a chair at the counter.
Caroline shook her head, starting some breakfast for all three of them, and pouring some coffee for her best friend’s mother, “Here.”
“You’re looking suspiciously fresh faced,” Jenna squinted.
“Well, it’s not like I spent the whole night getting drunk,” she replied.
“Caroline.”
“Fine, Maya spelled the booze at the house, I’m hangover free,” she shrugged.
“Ugh, I think I hate you.”
“Why are you hating my daughter?” Liz asked, stumbling a little as she made her way into the kitchen.
Caroline’s eyes widened in alarm, not knowing how much her mother had actually heard, “Uh…”
“I was just telling Caroline that I’m severely jealous of her fresh faced and youthful appearance.”
“It’s true,” Caroline nodded, “She’s super jealous, it’s not a good look on her, neither is the hangover.”
It was later in the afternoon when Maya and Davina had taken up residence in the magic room. Davina watched the intricate spell work that went into Monique’s bracelet, “Wow, I didn’t realise that it took this much to make a bracelet, the ones that we’ve been making for the website aren’t like this.”
“The ones we make for our online store are generalised, these are personal, they take a lot more work, and these aren’t nearly as complicated as yours.”
“They aren’t?”
Maya shook her head, “No, take it off and look at the back of the stone.”
Davina frowned and undid the bracelet; she didn’t like the naked feeling that got without it around her wrist. She looked at the underside of the stone, she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t thought to look before, rubbing the stone with her thumb, it shimmered a little, and two other stones appeared embedded into the amber, and right in the centre was tiny wolf carved into the orange charm, “What is this?”
“The carnelian is there to protect you from psychic attacks, and the sapphire is to help communicate in the spirit world, I thought you could use that given your powers are connected to the ancestors.”
“And the wolf?”
“I suppose technically that would be the symbol of my Coven, if I had one, if I started one myself, this place, my home, it’s designed to attack anyone whose magical signature it doesn’t recognise, which is basically all Witches, I just wanted to make sure that you’d be safe here.”
Davina snapped the bracelet back on, “Why do you have such heavy protections on your home? I mean it can’t just be because of the Bennett Witch, you said so yourself, she’s just a baby Witch.”
“I guess its time to tell you more about myself huh?”
“I need to know,” Davina said.
“Okay,” Maya nodded, “But you can’t tell anyone about this Davina, I need you to promise me, I’m in enough danger living in a town with the Bennetts, you can’t tell your Coven, or the Regent about me, if you want to know the truth.”
Davina frowned, “Lie to the Regent?”
“Not lie, just…omit, if you can’t make me that promise, then it’s okay, but then, there’s a lot that I can’t tell you.”
Freya arrived back in New York, hugging her sister, and heading back to the Penthouse, it suddenly struck her as odd that despite his anger at his family, Klaus was still paying for them to live together. Despite Finn’s hatred of their brother, he was still happy to live in a house that Klaus provided, use the resources that Klaus had set up for anything he needed, have the Vampires and people that Klaus had compelled run his errands, so that he could say that he wasn’t the one causing anyone any pain or misery. Sighing she looked around the large home, that was now practically empty, Kol showed up once or twice, to collect something from his study. Her sister wouldn’t come home, and was out there with Elijah, who also refused to come home. And Klaus not only wouldn’t come back, but it appeared like he had started a family without them, with his Siphon, and some Werewolf children. This wasn’t the family that she wanted, she wanted her family together, she wanted her family whole. She needed to figure out how to get them all back together.
“Freya!” Finn said, whooshing to her, “You’ve been gone for days!”
“I’m an adult Finn! And for the first time in centuries, I can do what I want!”
“Where were you?! I thought that Niklaus or Kol had hurt you!”
Freya rolled her eyes, she spent years on the run, alone, she knew how to take care of herself, “Not that it should matter, but I was with Rebekah, our sister, we went to California, did a lot of shopping together, and then met some very interesting people at…what I believe is called a night club.”
“Sister! How could you be so reckless as to go out with Rebekah without protection? Anything could have happened to you!”
“Oh, that’s enough Finn,” Freya said, “I just got back, I wanted to go out to lunch with you and Sage, instead you’re yelling at me for having my own life! And I am done with these antics!” she held her hand up to stop him talking, “I am the eldest! And I’m not doing this anymore! Our family has been scattered for over a year!”
“And that’s Niklaus’s fault!”
“It is not just Klaus’s fault!” Freya protested, “Everyone in this family has betrayed everyone else! Our siblings kept you daggered for nine hundred years, Rebekah betrayed Klaus and Kol, Elijah betrayed Klaus and Kol, Kol has betrayed Klaus, and Klaus has betrayed everybody! And you are actively trying to betray Klaus now! Trying to stop him from breaking his curse when, whether he does or doesn’t, it doesn’t have any effect on you!”
“Cursing Niklaus is one of the last things that our mother did with her life! She tried to reverse her mistake! How can you not see that keeping him cursed is necessary?!”
“OUR MOTHER SOLD ME!” Freya finally yelled, “SHE SOLD ME! TO A VILE, VICIOUS, CRUEL WOMAN! How can you think that I would ever want to do anything to help her?!” She looked at her brother incredulously, Finn was supposed to know her, he was supposed to understand her, and suddenly, she felt so separated from the only brother she really knew. Turning around she stormed out before Finn could stop her, throwing her hand back, she shut the door in his face, barricading it with her magic, so that he couldn’t follow her, and got back into the town car that Rebekah had procured for her. “Put my things back in the car,” Freya told the driver, “We’re going somewhere else.”
“You’re a magic siphon?” Davina repeated, trying to work through the information that Maya had given her.
“And an old soul.”
“And Mother Nature has another half, and it’s Death, and he’s the reason that you exist?”
Maya nodded, “Yep.”
“I… need to sit down” and she did, landing quite heavily on the sofa in the magic room, “I…I just- this is a lot of information to take in.”
“I know,” Maya nodded, “I know that it’s hard for you to accept, I’m telling you that something that you believe in, something that your Coven believes in is wrong, I understand that you might not want to believe me, but you asked for the truth.”
“I just don’t get it, how can everything that I believe in be a lie?”
“It’s not everything,” Maya said, “You know, Witches still come from Nature, you’re still powerful, beautiful, wonderful beings. The difference is, the people that they call abominations, Vampires, Siphons…me, we just come from the other side of the scale, we come from Death. And honestly, is it really so surprising? Witches talk about balance all the time, are you really surprised that Nature has something to balance it out?”
“I just-” she tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling, “How is it, that no one has every questioned this before?”
“Well, Old Souls, they can’t remember who they were before, they can’t remember what it’s like to be in Death’s realm.”
“You can.”
“I’m a special case, and Siphons only come from the Gemini Coven, they die, all the time. Not a single one in the past thousand years has even had children, we’re so rare that it’s almost unbelievable. Hell I’m lucky to be alive, the only reason that I survived and was able to learn, was because after mom got pregnant she didn’t go in search for my father. She chose to raise me on her own, and because she’s human, no one ever suspected me.”
“And Vampires?” Davina asked, “They’re not abominations of Nature?”
“Honestly I don’t understand how any Witch could believe that they defied Nature, she’s an all powerful being, and any Witch that thinks that they could cast a spell against her will, is an idiot.”
Davina paused for a moment and really thought about it, “Okay I can see that,” she acquiesced, “But I’ve heard about Siphons it’s never anything good.”
“And now you’ve met one,” Maya said, “What do you think?”
Davina looked at the older girl, her friend, her confidant. The person that not only wanted to make sure that she had a chance to live her life, and gave her a way to be independent away from everything, but she wanted to keep her safe, trusted her to keep her secrets, trusted her in her most sacred space. As she took in the serious look on Maya’s face, Davina remembered one of their first conversations, “I think that being a Siphon doesn’t make you a bad person, if people are bad, then they’re bad, what they are, doesn’t have anything to do with that. You can’t control what you are, anymore than anyone can control the colour of their skin, or their sexuality. I won’t tell anyone, what you are, it’s no one’s business, and you’re my friend.”
Maya nodded, sighing in relief, “Thank you, Davina. That means a lot to me.”
Kol heard the door unlock at the Brownstone and raised a brow, the only other people who had keys weren’t even in the state, so he whooshed to the front, stopping short when he saw Freya in the hallway and a man bringing a bunch of bags inside. “Kol!” she said, “Which room is free?”
“Uh… what?” he asked.
“Direct me to a room that I can stay in it!”
“You’re not staying here!” he protested.
“Well, I’m mad at Finn, I’m not staying at the Penthouse.”
“Well, this isn’t my home! I have no authority to invite you to stay!”
Freya shot him a deadpan look, “Don’t be ridiculous! You spit in the face of authority,” she turned away from him, “If you’re not going to show me to a room, then I’m going to pick out one for myself.” She went upstairs, the man with her bags trailing behind her.
“Wh-You-How-Wh- Stay out of the master bedroom!” he finally called, “That’s occupied! And stay out of my room! And Nik’s!” When there was no answer he scowled and whooshed up the stairs after her, “Damn it!”
Davina spent the whole week with Maya, after the red-head’s revelation, the two had spent the whole week, apart from Jeremy’s birthday, working together, Maya had taught her some techniques that she’d never seen before, but she guessed that being taught by someone with a thousand years’ worth of experience, really gave her a leg up compared with other Witches. And as much as she enjoyed her time with Maya and Caroline, what she didn’t enjoy was the earful that she’d gotten from her mother, the moment they were on the plane back to New Orleans. Her mom had been furious that Davina hadn’t fought to let her into town, to meet the Witch that she was working with, she figured that she’d been given instructions from the Coven to meet Maya and scope her out. But her mother hadn’t been able to do that, and her mother felt like she was going back to New Orleans with nothing to show for it.
Davina met with the Regent the moment she stepped foot back in the Quarter, she’d been retrieved from the airport by Regent La Rue’s personal staff and her mother was sent back to the Coven.
“Regent La Rue,” Davina said, bowing her head, waiting to be acknowledged.
“Davina,” Josephine finally said, “Take a seat.”
The young girl sat on the settee opposite the Regent, holding a small bag in her lap, “I have what you asked for.”
Josephine nodded at one of her girls, and she took the bag from Davina’s hands, the Witch checking over the items with a quick diagnostic spell, making sure that it was free of traps, before handing it over to the Regent. Josephine took out three boxes, opening up the first one, she pulled out Monique’s bracelet, inspecting it, reaching out with her magic to test the charm. On the surface it felt much like Davina’s own protection charm, the differences could be explained away by the fact that each charm had been designed, not only for different people, but for different elements as well.
“This is beautifully crafted,” the Regent remarked, “And the magic has been fully absorbed into every part of the bracelet, not just the stone.”
“Maya said that we won’t always be able to move the stone to intercept an attack, so she used the stone as a focal point, and the protection seeps through into the whole bracelet.”
“Did you see how it was done?”
“Yes,” Davina nodded, “Maya allowed me to work on the bracelets as well, so if needed, I could probably make one myself.”
“Good,” Josephine said, “I may take you up on that.” She snapped the box shut, inspecting the other two charms, before putting them back in the bag. “Take these to your friends, explain what they are for, and that they are expected to wear them.” She dismissed the young Witch, impressed with the work that had gone into the charms, and found herself interested in the potential Harvest girl. While the differences in the charms could be easily explained away, she had a feeling that there was more to the spell on Davina’s bracelet than met the eye, and she was curious to see what other surprises the girl had up her sleeve.
Sheila Bennett entered the Grill for the first time in years, her granddaughter had come home hurt and she was not happy. She’d told Maya to stay away from Bonnie, told her mother, that so long as she didn’t have any magic, then they wouldn’t have any problems. And in one fell swoop, she’d broken both rules. She fingered the Gilbert watch in her pocket, it appeared that Maya had been doing magic for far longer than she knew, if what Bonnie and Elena had said held any truth then Maya Sommers had been practicing magic for years. Looking around, she narrowed her eyes as they locked on the young girl, sitting in a booth way in the back.
/ / /
Maya was waiting on Caroline and Enzo at the Grill, the three of them were going shopping for Halloween outfits, the girls obviously wanted something sexy to wear, but Enzo wanted to get costumes for him and Damon, because he’d never dressed up for Halloween before. The elder Salvatore was refusing to dress up, stating that he didn’t need to dress up when he was already a Vampire, but Enzo wasn’t about to let him get out of it so easily. Caroline was running a little late, because she was finishing off something for the Beautification Committee, and Enzo had stopped at the hospital to stock up on blood bags, so he would be there in a few minutes. So while she waited, she made notes on new spell ideas for their website in a journal, making quite a bit of progress on Caroline’s ‘Mary Poppins’ idea, when Sheila Bennett sat down opposite her, startling her out of her concentration.
“Maya,” the Bennett Witch said, her mouth set in a harsh frown.
“Mrs Bennett,” Maya replied, slamming her journal shut and moving it into her lap, “What the hell do you want?”
“I gave you two instructions so that you could stay here in town. And you broke both of them.”
“Okay first of all, I didn’t go anywhere near Bonnie, I haven’t since I was five. Your precious little grandbaby, is the one that snuck into my home, rifled through my things, and then broke into my Sanctum Santorum. And number two, you don’t get to dictate how I use my gifts, you are not my mother, or my grandmother, or my friend, you are nothing to me, except a pushy old Witch, that can’t keep her nose out of my business.”
“Bonnie came home hurt.”
“Bonnie needs to learn that there are consequences to trespassing, and after you made threats to my mother on my fourteenth birthday, did you really think that she wasn’t going to make sure that our house was protected?”
“She’s not the one using magic that doesn’t belong to her.”
“Oh please,” Maya laughed, “It’s not like I stole the magic from anyone!”
“Then how do you explain this?!” Sheila forcefully placed the Gilbert watch on the table between them.
Maya’s eyes narrowed, the Gilbert watch? She’d drained that when she was a child, why did Sheila have it? “Why do you have that? It belongs to the Gilberts.”
“It was spelled, by my ancestor! And now it’s empty, you stole that magic!”
“I was six!” Maya said, “I had no idea what I was doing! It was an accident!” (No it wasn’t, she’d deliberately drained the watch of its magic, because she didn’t want it to ever be used against her Vampires).
“And now, the town is without protection, when there’s a Vampire on the loose. People are dead, and now the Vampire cannot be found, you did this. Your kind are nothing but a menace.”
Maya put her hand over her heart, “The more you talk, the more you hurt my feelings, and the less inclined I am to help you out with this little problem.” She motioned at the watch.
“I didn’t come to you for help,” Sheila scoffed.
“No?” Maya tilted her head quizzically, picking up the watch, “Because I could probably re-spell it, I studied that particular spell over the summer.”
Sheila narrowed her eyes in suspicion, “How could you possibly know that spell? It was cast in the 1860’s, by my ancestor.”
Maya nodded, “Yeah, Emily Bennett, right?”
“How did yo-”
“Well, that’s actually pretty simple, you see, Emily’s grimoire was taken by the Salvatore patriarch at the time, Giuseppe, he vowed to never let anyone get their hands on it. But… as it turns out, there’s a Salvatore out there that loves me, a Salvatore from way back when.” She smirked, “In fact, you might have heard of him, after all he’s spent the past 145 years protecting your line.”
“Damon,” Sheila said, stone faced, she knew about the Vampire that had kept her line alive, one of Emily’s children had written about how he’d saved them from being burnt at the stake. And other members of her ancestors had written about him too, warning that he was dangerous, but that he had promised to keep them safe.
“Do you know why he’s kept the Bennett line safe, instead of just letting it die out? No? I’ll enlighten you then. Damon promised to protect your line, and in exchange, Emily would protect the woman he loved, keep her from burning to death, by locking her in a tomb underneath Fells Church, she’d be kept safe for 145 years, and after the comet, her descendants were to set the woman he loved free.”
“I will not help a Vampire,” Sheila said.
“Not to worry,” Maya shifted in her seat, “Turns out that Emily lied, she didn’t save the woman that Damon loved, the woman was already free, and Emily knew that. She played on Damon’s feelings, in order to keep her family safe. Which means that Damon, not only doesn’t need your help, but you, are no longer entitled to his protection. And because he loves me, he wanted me to learn magic, and who better to learn from, than the Witch that betrayed him.”
“You have Emily Bennett’s grimoire,” Sheila breathed, she never thought that she would see that spell book.
Maya gave her a sarcastic smile, “Like I said, I could re-spell this, if you asked nicely.”
“I will never ask for your help.” Sheila shook her head.
“Oh well,” she shrugged, “If you’re not going to ask for help, then you don’t really need this then,” she waved the watch, and snatched her hand back when Sheila reached for it. “Uh-uh, this is the Gilbert watch, it’s passed down from father to son, it belongs to Jeremy, and that’s exactly who I’m returning it too. Oh, there’s Caroline, it looks like our time is up.”
“That watch isn’t yours to take, and that grimoire doesn’t belong to you.”
“The watch belongs to my cousin, and given how hard the loss of his father has been on him, one would think that the moment that you knew that you couldn’t do anything with this, you would have given it back. Keeping it from Jeremy, that’s just cruel.”
Sheila seethed, she couldn’t make a scene, Maya was friends with the Sheriff’s daughter, she worked on committees under the tutelage of Carol Lockwood, and ever since the accident, she was the town’s little darling. “And the grimoire?”
Maya paused, “Well, I might be willing to give that to you, if you can promise to stay out of my business.” Sheila was startled, she didn’t think that the girl would have it in her to negotiate. “Think about it. You ignore me, and anything that I’m doing, you stay out of my business, and you can have something that’s been missing from your family for 145 years.” She grabbed her bag and flounced out of the Grill, before Sheila could say anything else.
/ / /
Maya looped her arms in Caroline’s and Enzo’s, “You two are going to need to go shopping without me.”
“What?” Enzo asked sharply.
“Why?” Caroline whined as Maya led them both back towards their cars.
“Because I have to speak with Damon, it’s a magic thing.”
“Then we’ll go with you,” Enzo said.
Maya shook her head, “No can do, Halloween’s in a couple of days, and we need costumes. Besides, I don’t want Sunshine anywhere near Vicki, girl’s still got zero control.”
“But-”
“No ‘buts’ Zo, you and Care go and pick out our outfits, I’ll see you later.”
“I don’t understand why I have to stay cooped up here, why can’t I just go home?” Vicki asked, looking over at Stefan. The room they were in was dark, because she didn’t have any daylight jewellery to protect her from the sun.
“Because you’re changing Vicki, and it’s not something that you want to do alone.” Stefan replied, sitting across from her.
Damon was sat behind them both, reading the newspaper, he wasn’t even sure why he’d bothered to be there, it’s not like he was the one that turned the Donovan girl. He was about to get up to leave when he heard the front door open, and a few moments later, Maya appeared in the doorway. “Gentlemen,” she said, eyeing both Vampires, “Druggie,” she sneered at Vicki, before jumping into Damon’s lap, “We have a problem.” She took the watch out of her pocket and handed it to Damon.
He held it up with a frown, for Stefan to see, “Oh no,” the younger Salvatore muttered.
“What is that?” Vicki asked, ignoring the girl on Damon’s lap. When she turned, she’d gotten her compelled memories back, including the one where an English Vampire and the red-head had told her to go to the Boarding House and find Stefan in the basement.
“This is a very special, very old compass, what are you doing with it?” Damon asked.
“Sheila had it.”
“Sheila?” Stefan asked.
“Bonnie’s Grams.”
Damon stiffened, “Why the hell did the Bennett Witch have it?”
“If you’re so worried that somebody’s onto you, why don’t you just leave town Damon?” Stefan said, looking over at his brother.
“Damon’s not the one going around ripping people apart,” Maya said, shooting the younger Salvatore a glare. Stefan startled at that, “What? You didn’t think that I knew about the two people at the cemetery? You fell off the wagon real hard, didn’t you Stef?”
Damon rolled his eyes, and supressed a smirk, he couldn’t get over the fact that he had people in his corner now, people that didn’t necessarily like his baby bro.
“And who’s fault was that?” Stefan snapped, Vicki had told him about her memory of the red-head.
Maya smirked, snuggling into Damon’s side, “Awe, did Vicki tell you?”
“How could you do that to a person?”
“Well,” Maya sighed, threading her fingers through Damon’s hair, causing the older Vampire to close his eyes with a small groan of pleasure, “It’s simple really, I told Vicki, that if she continued to mess with Jeremy, there’d be consequences. Vicki,” she held her hand out to Stefan, “Meet your consequences. Granted, I had hoped that you would just kill her, still can’t figure out how you managed to keep her head attached to her neck.”
“This isn’t funny Maya, this was a person’s life.”
“And that person is a paedophile.” Maya replied, causing Stefan to startle.
“I am not!” Vicki cried with outrage, but Maya just waved her hand, silencing her.
“Vicki was 18 over the summer, 19 now, and she slept with my 14-year-old cousin, Jeremy. She did so repeatedly over the summer and when I came back and told her to stop, she continued to do so. Call me crazy, but I don’t think that that should go unpunished.”
Stefan looked over the young Vampire in disappointment, he didn’t know that, he still would never have wanted her dead, but he understood Maya’s stance, especially as it involved her cousin. Elena had told him just how close he and Maya were. “I was high!” Vicki said, able to talk again, using her addiction as an excuse.
“Yes you were,” Maya replied, “You know she was using Jeremy to get to Elena’s pain pills? The ones that she was prescribed after the accident.”
“Vicki,” Stefan said, disappointed, even more so now that he knew that she’d stolen from Elena.
“I was messed up okay, I didn’t make the best decisions!”
Damon ignored them and focused on Maya, “What are we going to do about this?” he asked her, opening the watch, seeing that the compass had been put in place, but wasn’t moving.
“You don’t need to worry about the compass, it hasn’t worked since I was six,” she gave him a wink, indicating that she’d drained it of all of it’s magic. “What we do need to worry about is why Sheila had it. I didn’t think that anybody on the Council knew about the Bennetts.”
“Maybe it wasn’t the Council,” Damon said, thinking back to the odd conversation he’d had with Miranda Gilbert.
“What do you mean?”
“You said that, ‘you know who’ came to town when you were a kid, wanted to use someone as bait, but Abby dealt with it. Miranda had to have known about the Bennetts.”
“And you think that she gave the watch to Sheila when the Council discovered that it didn’t work?”
Damon nodded, “It makes sense, especially because she came to me, looking for my father’s journals. She wanted something specific, and Enzo told me about the grimoire.”
“She was hoping with the grimoire, Sheila could re-spell the compass.” Maya realised, “That’s how Sheila knows that I have magic, she must have figured that when the watch was drained I’d gotten to it.”
“Is that gonna be a problem?” he muttered, keeping his eye on Stefan and Vicki, the two were arguing, not paying attention to them at the moment.
“Sheila knows I have the grimoire, I told her that I’d give it to her, if she stays out of my business.”
“You think she’ll take the deal?”
“I think if she really wants that grimoire, then she’ll back off, for a little while at least.” She turned to face the pair of Vampires who were still arguing in front of her, “They’re boring me,” she sighed.
“Me too.”
Maya cocked an eyebrow, before smirking, “Hey!” she said loudly, catching both Stefan and Vicki’s attention, “Why is it so dark in here? Let’s let some sun in,” she waved her hands and one of the curtain’s opened, but Stefan sped over and shut it before the light could hit Vicki.
“Maya!” he exclaimed, “Vicki doesn’t have a daylight ring!”
“Oops,” she shrugged, “My bad. It’s a shame you don’t know a Witch that could make one…oh wait you do!”
Stefan narrowed his eyes at her, “You can make daylight jewellery?”
“Who’d you think cast that nifty little spell that stopped you from taking Damon’s ring?”
Stefan looked over at Damon who merely smirked in response, “Could you make a piece for someone?” he asked, he wasn’t thinking about Vicki now, but about his best friend, Lexie, the woman who’d been stuck in dark from the moment she’d been turned.
“Sure, for $1.5 million.”
“What?”
“That’s my price for a basic ring, any extra’s make it cost more.”
“You’re kidding,” Stefan said, stumped at the thought that she would charge for the rings.
“Nope,” Maya shook her head, “I have a whole website dedicated to selling them ‘magic boutique dot com’. I’ve been doing it since I was 13.”
“You’re not serious.”
“Yeah, mom was working two jobs to take care of me, and had college to pay for, plus we were living in that cramped apartment above Uncle Grayson’s medical practice. Mom doesn’t work anymore, seriously, how do you think we afford our house?”
Stefan looked back at Damon, “You paid her?”
Damon snorted in amusement, “Of course not, she loves me Stef, she’d never charge me!”
“Damon told me about your penchant for stealing his ring, I had to make sure that you couldn’t do that anymore.”
Stefan shook his head, he couldn’t believe that there was someone out there just selling daylight rings on the internet. “You’re just giving rings to anyone? What if they’re bad Vampires?”
“You mean like you?”
“Hey,” Vicki said, “I’m hungry, I need something to eat.”
Stefan looked over at her, grabbing a cup, he handed it to her, “Here.”
“What is it?”
“It’s what you’re craving.”
“Hah, don’t lie to the girl.” Damon said, “It’s so not what you’re craving, but it’ll do in a pinch. Right Stef?”
“What is it?” Vicki asked again.
“Yeah, what is it? Is it skunk? St. Bernard? Bambi?”
“Go on,” Stefan said, ignoring his brother, “Give it a try.”
“She’s new, she needs people blood, she can’t sustain on that stuff.” Damon said, brushing Maya’s hair from her shoulder, shooting her a questioning look, at her nod, he smiled at her, he loved messing with Stefan.
“Yeah, why can’t I have people blood?” Vicki asked, after taking a sip of what was in the mug.
“Because it’s wrong to prey on innocent people Vicki.”
“You don’t have to kill to feed,” Damon interrupted, “Just find someone really tasty, and erase their memory afterwards. It’s so easy.”
“No, no, no, there’s no guarantee that you can control yourself okay? It takes years to learn that, you could kill somebody. You already have, but you didn’t know what was happening to you, but now, knowing what you know, you’d have to carry that with you for the rest of your life, which if I haven’t made clear, is eternity.”
“Don’t listen to him, he walks on a moral plane way out of our eyeline. I say snatch, eat, erase. Just like this.” He tilted Maya’s head to the side, and sank his fangs into her neck, taking a couple of mouthfuls of blood, he pulled back, offering her his own bloody wrist to heal her.
Vicki’s monster came through, and Stefan had to forcefully keep her in her chair, knowing Maya, if Vicki attacked her, she’d throw the girl out of the window, into the sun, “Damon!” he hissed. “Vicki! Hey! Look at me,” Stefan said, getting her attention now that Maya’s wound was healed, “We choose our own path. Our values and our actions, they define who we are.”
“Okay, Count Deepak,” Damon scoffed, standing, pulling Maya up with him, “We are out of here.”
/ / /
Maya and Damon reached the front door when the doorbell rang, Damon smirked, he knew who was on the other side. Opening the door, he and the Siphon blocked the entrance.
Elena’s eyes widened as she saw the two of them, her heart rate spiking in fear as her attention landed on Damon, “Is Stefan here?”
“Yep.”
“Where is he?” she frowned, ignoring her cousin.
“And good morning to you, little miss I’m-on-a-mission.”
Elena crossed her arms, her anger spiking, “How can you be so arrogant and glib, after everything that you’ve done?”
“And how can you be so brave and stupid, to call a Vampire arrogant and glib?” Damon retorted, he didn’t know why Elena felt like she could talk to him like that, especially when she knew that he was a killer.
“If you wanted me dead, I’d be dead.”
“Yes you would.”
“But I’m not.”
“Yet.”
“Be careful Elena,” Maya said, “Alive is a very broad category. A girl with no hands can still be alive,” he eyes grew darker, as she saw her cousin swallow in fear.
“Where is Stefan?”
“He’s upstairs,” Damon smirked, “Singing ‘The Rain in Spain.’ Knock yourself out.” He tugged on Maya’s hand, the two of them walking out of the Boarding House. The door slammed shut behind him and he looked at the Siphon, “Seriously? ‘A girl with no hands can still be alive’?” he repeated.
“It’s true!” Maya shrugged.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re seriously dark and twisted?”
Elena was stood out on a balcony at the Boarding House, hand on her throat, “She threatened me.” She said, referring to Vicki. She’d told Vicki that she couldn’t see Jeremy and Vicki had choked her until she couldn’t breathe.
“She’s on edge.” Stefan said, “Imagine every sense in your body operating at super-speed. I mean she’s uncomfortable in her own skin, and then when you throw in her other issues-”
“How long before it settles?” Elena interrupted, “Hours? Days? Weeks?”
“There’s no rulebook.”
“Well, how long before you learned to control it?”
“A while, but I didn’t have anybody helping me. I had to do it on my own.” He took half a step back from Elena, not wanting to be so close when he still had the urge for human blood, “The thing is, it’s hard to resist certain people, especially when you’re new. It’s difficult to separate your feelings: love, lust, anger, desire. It can all blur into one urge: hunger.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that Jeremy can’t see her. She might not be able to resist him. And she could hurt him.”
“Or worse!”
“I’m not gonna let anybody get hurt,” Stefan said, determined to make sure Vicki didn’t take another life, after all, it was his blood that turned her.
“I need to get going.”
“Elena.”
“Please Stefan, there’s only so much I can take.” She walked out.
“Come on Caroline!” Maya called, “We’re going to be late to the party! And we have to get there before everyone’s too drunk to remember how good we look!” She adjusted the silver bands that she had wrapped around her upper arms. She was dressed as a sexy girl version of Captain America, with a red, white and blue crop top, and red, white and blue short shorts. She had on thigh high silver boots and fishnet stockings and to complete the look, had a tiny version of the Captain America shield. God she was lucky that her mother was at her own Halloween party that night.
Maya
“Alright I’m ready,” Caroline said, coming downstairs.
Maya looked up and her jaw dropped, “Oh. My. God.”
“What?” Caroline asked, a little self-conscious at her choice in costume.
“Caroline Elizabeth Forbes,” Maya started, moving over to her best friend, “I have never been more attracted to someone in my entire life!” Maya looked Caroline up and down. She’d kept her costume a secret, wanting it to be a surprise. She was dressed as Harley Quinn, hair up in pig tails, red and black corset top, that showed off her flat stomach. One red, and one black, fingerless glove on each hand, that reached her elbows. She was wearing skin-tight red and black leggings, with diamonds on the front of each thigh, with knee high leather boots to complete the look.
Caroline
“Maya!” Caroline blushed.
“I’m serious,” Maya said, “You look so hot as Harley, I don’t think that I’m going to be able to keep my hands to myself!” She wrapped her hands around Caroline’s waist and pulled her close, “I mean, damn girl! You are so fine!”
“Stop it!” Caroline laughed, smacking her shoulder, “I’m supposed to be pale, not red faced!”
“Fine, fine!” Maya held her hands up, “Break my heart why don’t you?”
“Alright ladies, we should get going,” Enzo said, stopping short when he saw them.
“Zo you’re Red Hood!” Maya exclaimed, “That’s amazing!”
Enzo
“And you…are not wearing nearly enough clothing! You march upstairs and cover up young lady!” he said, Maya was basically his little sister, he didn’t want to see her dressed up all ‘sexy’.
Maya rolled her eyes, “Don’t make me, make out with Damon in front of you! You know I will!”
Scowling, Enzo turned his attention to the blonde, “Caroline, you look gorgeous, I’m sure that you will be beating people back with a stick.”
Caroline flushed again, “Guys!” she whined a little, fanning her face, “You both need to stop making me blush!”
Enzo smirked, “C’mon! We have a party to get to.”
“Hey where’s Damon?”
Damon walked into the Grill, adjusting his dark jeans, he couldn’t believe that he’d let Enzo talk him into dressing up. He’d thrown a leather jacket over the top of his costume, and so far, refused to put on the mask. He wanted to get nice and buzzed before letting anyone see him dressed up at the party. He ordered a drink at the bar, ears perking up when he heard the Mayor and his wife arguing.
/ / /
“How many martinis have you had?” Richard Lockwood asked.
“Ugh, don’t start with me,” Carol dismissed.
“Can we go now? We’re late for the Halloween party, let’s go,” he threw back the rest of his drink.
“So go ahead,” Carol replied, “I’d like to finish my drink.” The Mayor put down his glass and walked away, not in the mood to fight anymore.
/ / /
Damon caught Carol’s eye after the Mayor left, raising his glass to her, she offered him a smile and turned back around. The Vampire smirked and moved to sit at the table across from her, “Let me guess, Daisy Buchanan,” he said, referring to her costume, “I love a good Gatsby look.”
“I’ve met you before,” Carol said, “Aren’t you Maya Sommers’ boyfriend?”
Damon smirked, “I wouldn’t say she’s my girlfriend, we’re more just…dating.”
“It’s Damon, right?”
“Oh, you remember.”
“Well, you have a face that’s hard to forget. What’s your last name, Damon?”
“Salvatore,” he said.
“Salvatore?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Are you any relation to Zach?”
“Zach’s my uncle,” he leant forward and tried to see if he could compel her, “How do you know Zach?”
“Are you okay?” Carol asked, seeing Damon’s eye twitch.
“Yeah,” he brushed his eye, “Just something in my eye.”
“Well, I know Zach from the Founders’ Council.” Damon looked her over, and saw a bracelet on her wrist, of course she was wearing vervain, “You know, the Salvatores were one of this town’s original settlers.”
“Yes, they were,” Damon said, “I wasn’t aware that Zach was a member. I just recently moved back home with my brother, and haven’t really had a chance to meet many of his friends.”
“Well, will you tell him to return our calls? We’ve left several messages.”
“Zach went out of town for a bit,” Damon said, “But…if it’s about the vervain…”
“You know about the vervain?” Carol asked.
“Well, I’m a Salvatore, of course I do.”
“Of course.”
He raised his glass, “Cheers.”
“This isn’t fair!” Vicki complained, looking at Stefan, “It’s Halloween! If there was any night that I should be able to go out, it’s tonight!”
“I’m sorry Vicki but you can’t go out, not until you have your thirst under control,” Stefan said.
“What like you do?” she scoffed, “I saw what you did to those two at the cemetery! You’re not any better than me!”
“Vicki,” Stefan sighed, “There’s a reason that I drink animal blood, before I bit you, it had been decades since I’d had human blood. Sometimes I slip, and then it’s twice as hard to go back to normal. That’s what I’m trying to stop from happening with you.”
“Ugh!” Vicki stomped off to another room, she just wanted to go out and have some fun. But Stefan wouldn’t let her, the hypocrite. Slamming the door behind her, she startled as she heard a creak, and realised that the window to her room had swung open. She went over to shut it, but stopped, looking outside, she contemplated what she’d learnt from Stefan already. He’d said that as a Vampire, she was more durable, could she survive a two story drop without hurting herself? She looked behind her, at her locked door, and then back outside, there was only one way to find out.
“So, you need vervain?” Damon asked, leaning forward.
“Yes, my husband and I only have left what his parents left him. And Zach had promised that he could supply us with more.”
“Well, I talk to him all the time,” Damon said, “So why don’t I just ask him?” he took a sip of his drink, “How much do you need? I mean, how many people do you think?”
“Well, there’s our children of course.”
“Of course,” Damon nodded.
“And friends, family, and everyone on the Council.”
“The Council?”
“Zach knows how many…” she took a long sip of her drink, “You know what I am so late, my husband is not going to be happy with me.”
“Well, are you happy with your husband?” Damon flirted.
“You’re flirting with me,” Carol smiled.
“You flirted with me first,” Damon shrugged.
“True.”
“Let me escort you to the school, it’s not safe out there, alone. I mean I’ve seen 10 vampires tonight!”
Carol laughed, “If only the real ones were as easy to find.”
“How’s that search going?”
“Oh well, we had the Founder’s Party, and anyone who arrived during the day was eliminated as a suspect,” Carol said, confirming what Caroline had told them she’d heard from her mother, “And all the rest were just dead ends, so…” she finished her drink, “I’ve gotta go.”
“Okay,” Damon said, getting up, “Let’s go! Maya’s going to be blowing up my phone any minute now.”
Elena walked into the Halloween party, dressed as a nurse, with Jeremy at her side, the two of them had been arguing, every time she told him to stop thinking about Vicki, it only made him worse. Matt spotted them and smiled, “You went with last year’s costume too huh?” He asked, he was dressed as a bloody doctor.
“Yeah, I didn’t know that I was coming until like an hour ago.” She smiled back.
“Me neither,” Matt said, turning to Jeremy before the silence could become awkward, “And you’re going as…you?” he asked.
Jeremy rolled his eyes and stalked off, not in the mood to be nice to his sister’s ex.
“He’s not talking to me right now,” Elena said, “We got into a fight.”
“Yeah, I got into it with Vick too when she got home. I’m trying not to smother her, but a part of me didn’t want to let her out of my sight.”
“She’s here?” Elena asked surprised, panic rising up within her.
“Yeah, you can’t miss her. She’s a Vampire.”
Elena’s breathing turned heavy, “Where did Jeremy go?”
“Elena what’s the matter?”
“I gotta find him!” She ran off in the direction that she’d seen Jeremy storm off in.
/ / /
“There he is!” Maya cheered, as she saw Damon arrive at the party, “So come on, what are you dressed as?”
Damon rolled his eyes, taking his jacket off, revealing his costume, and putting on his mask. “What do you think?”
“Nightwing!” Maya laughed, “That’s amazing, I can’t believe that you guys are all Batman verse!”
Damon
“Kinda makes you the odd one out huh?” Damon smirked.
“Shut it nerd!”
“Maya!” Damon gasped, “There’s no call to be rude!” Maya and Caroline giggled, Enzo handing both girls drinks, “Hey! Where’s mine?”
“You’re late,” Enzo dismissed, “Get your own!”
Damon snatched the cup from Maya’s hands, “Hey!” the girl protested.
“Ugh,” Damon’s scrunched his face up in disgust, “This is nasty! What the hell are you drinking?”
“The Lockwood specialty,” Caroline shrugged.
The four of them were interrupted by Elena rushing up to them, “Maya!”
“Ugh, Elena, what do you want?”
“Vicki got out!”
All four of them stiffened at that, “What?”
“Matt said that Vicki came home! And he brought her here!”
“Where’s Jeremy?” Maya asked.
“I lost track of him!”
Maya looked up at Enzo, “We’ll split up,” Enzo said, “You look for Jeremy, we’ll look for Vicki.”
/ / /
Stefan searched the party, he’d followed Vicki in, but the lights and costumes, made it difficult to track her. Spotting the girl, he whooshed through the party, shoving her into an empty room. “What you’re following me now?” Vicki asked.
“You didn’t really give me much of a choice.”
She tried to leave, but he stopped her, “Let me out of here!”
“You shouldn’t be here Vicki, crowds like this, it makes it even harder for you to keep yourself under control!”
“I’m fine!” Vicki shrugged.
“Really? No headache? Your stomach’s not screaming at you? You’re not feeling lightheaded? Or anxious? Or cranky? Like if someone looks at you the wrong way, you could just rip their head off? You wanna know what that’s called? It’s called hunger. And it’s only gonna get worse and worse, every minute that you pretend like it’s not controlling you.”
Vicki shifted uncomfortably, Stefan was right, she was getting hungrier by the moment, but she didn’t want to leave, “I can’t stay locked up in that house forever Stefan!”
“Well, you can’t stay here, it’s too dangerous,” he took her arm and dragged her out of the room, bumping into Elena who was looking around frantically.
“Thank God!” Elena gasped, coming up to Stefan.
“What’s the matter?” Stefan asked, worried.
“I lost track of Jeremy, I was worried.” She glanced at Vicki, not realising that Matt was coming up behind them.
“What’s going on?” Matt asked, seeing his sister with Elena and Stefan, which he thought was odd, considering the last time he saw Stefan, Vicki didn’t want anything to do with him.
“Hey,” Stefan said, “Everything’s fine.”
An idea popped into Vicki’s head and she yanked her arm out of Stefan’s hold, “I told you to quit bothering me!”
Elena’s eyes widened, “No, Vicki, don’t do this.”
“Matt, he won’t leave me alone,” Vicki turned to her brother, knowing that he’d make Stefan go away.
“You need to back off man!” Matt said.
“Matt, it’s okay,” Elena said.
“No it’s not okay. What the hell is your problem? First the house, and now here!”
The moment Stefan’s attention turned to Matt, Vicki whooshed away, “Stefan! She’s gone!” Elena said, pushing past Matt and running after her.
Stefan moved to go after them, but Matt grabbed him to stop the Vampire. Stefan growled and slammed Matt against the wall, “I am trying to help her!” he said, he dropped Matt and rushed after Elena and Vicki.
/ / /
Enzo and Damon had covered half of the party before they bumped into the girls again, “Hey!” Enzo said, “Any luck?”
Maya shook her head, “I can’t find Jeremy anywhere!”
“I checked the Haunted House, and the Ghost Tunnel, he’s not there!” Caroline said.
“Vicki?” Maya asked.
“We can’t see her,” Damon said, he could practically feel the worry building in Maya, Vicki wasn’t supposed to get out tonight, with him refusing to get involved in teaching her, they’d all hoped that she wouldn’t leave the Boarding House. If Vicki died tonight, it would just pile on the stress.
/ / /
Vicki whooshed through the party, spotting Jeremy on his way out, she pushed him into the wall, causing him to jump in surprise. “Vicki! You scared the hell out of me!” he kissed her, uncaring of the fact that she was a Vampire, and that he shouldn’t be near her.
“Sorry,” Vicki said, in between kisses, “I’m sorry.” She grabbed his hand, “C’mon, let’s get out of here!” she tugged him along with her, hoping that Stefan wouldn’t find her again. Vicki lead them out of the school, around the back, to where the busses were parked, and shoved him up against one of them, kissing him again.
“I was worried about you,” Jeremy said, Damon had said that becoming a Vampire was like having all of your emotions turned up to eleven, all the time, and Jeremy was worried about how Vicki would react to that.
“I’m fine now, but I gotta leave.” Vicki said, pulling back from him.
“What? Why?” This had to be because she was a Vampire, he had to tell her that he knew.
“No, Vicki, you can’t leave!” she wouldn’t be safe if she just took off, anything could happen to her.
“Come with me,” Vicki said, “If you come with me then we can be together forever.”
“Vick-” she cut him off with her mouth, lips pressed against his, her hunger was awakened again, and she found herself drawn to the pulsing carotid artery in his neck. She didn’t mean for it to happen, but her fangs appeared, and scraped down his neck. Jeremy felt the sharp prick and his heart rate picked up, “Vicki?” he asked. And then all he felt was pain, as she sank them into his flesh. “Aah! Vicki!”
/ / /
Elena burst into the parking area, just as Jeremy cried out, grabbing a plank of wood, she ran towards the noise. “Vicki no!” she cried out, hitting her with the wood, while it made Vicki pull away from her brother, it also made her angry. Vicki shoved Elena away, into a pile of old wood, snarling, she moved to attack the Gilbert girl, but was pushed back into a bus by Stefan. She shoved Stefan away from her and disappeared.
“Go!” Stefan said, looking at both Gilberts, “Get inside! Go!”
Elena grabbed Jeremy’s hand, and tugged him back towards the school, but before they could get inside, Vicki grabbed Jeremy, throwing him away from his sister, she turned Elena around and sank her fangs into her neck, causing the younger girl to scream in agony.
Stefan’s head shot up, and whooshed towards them, picking up a piece of discarded wood on the way to them.
/ / /
Damon focused his hearing and heard the commotion coming from around the back of the school, he grabbed Maya’s hand and whooshed them both towards the sound. Only just coming into view as Stefan shoved a stake through Vicki’s back, and into her heart.
“No!” Maya cried out, it had happened, just like it had before.
Vicki gasped, looking down at the stake that had been shoved through her heart, and then collapsed the moment that it was removed.
“Vicki!” Jeremy cried out, getting up, “Vicki! Vicki!”
Stefan stopped Jeremy from getting any closer to the now fully dead girl, “Get him out of here!” Elena said, Stefan nodded and looked up at his brother and Maya. Silently asking for help.
Damon nodded, squeezing Maya’s hand, he motioned for her to go with Stefan, Jeremy would need her. Elena collapsed to her knees next to the body, crying as she took in the corpse of the girl that she once knew.
Maya was with Jeremy in his room, he was crying in her arms, “Vicki’s dead, she’s dead!”
“I’m so sorry Jeremy,” Maya held him close, and felt a sliver of guilt take root in her heart, not for Vicki, oh no, but for Jeremy, her baby cousin, the little boy that hung onto her every word and toddled around after her, on his chubby little legs when he was four years old. She felt guilt, because once again, her need for vengeance, had caused him pain.
She brushed her hand through his hair, and down the side of his neck, and it came away, wet with blood. “Jer, you’re hurt!” she moved in front of him and saw the bite mark on his neck, “God!” she placed her hand over his wound and concentrated on knitting the skin back together, she didn’t want Jeremy to have any Vampire blood in his system, not when he was feeling like this.
“She’s gone!” he said, hugging his knees to his chest, “She’s dead!”
“I’m so sorry Jer-”
“Just make it stop,” he cried, “It hurts!”
“Shh, it’s okay.”
“Why does everybody have to die on me?”
“Come here honey,” Maya wrapped her arms around him again, this time he squeezed her back, “What can I do? How can I help.”
“I want it to stop,” he whimpered, “Make it stop hurting! Please!”
“I-”
“Please Maya, it hurts so bad!”
“Okay, okay,” Maya nodded, “You want me to get Damon?” she asked, “If you want, he can make the hurt go away.”
/ / /
Damon walked up to the Gilbert house, Enzo had taken over burying Vicki’s body, so Damon could take Elena home. “Where is he?” Elena asked Stefan, who was sat outside on the porch swing, waiting for her.
“Inside,” Stefan replied, and she rushed inside, just as Maya was coming down the steps.
“How-how is he?” Elena asked, pausing at the site of her cousin.
Maya sighed, not in the mood to be snarky, “He’s a mess,” she shook her head, “Just like before.”
Elena ran up the stairs and into Jeremy’s room to see for herself. Coming out after a few minutes of holding and rocking her baby brother in her arms. “I don’t want him going through this again.” Elena said. “He’s just a kid.”
Maya nodded, for once she agreed with her cousin, Jeremy found out about Vampires by accident, but he wasn’t supposed to get caught in the crosshairs of all the supernatural bullshit that was about to hit the town, “I’ll get Damon.”
“Damon? No Stefan can-”
“Stefan’s weak,” Maya cut her off, “Because of his diet, there’s no guarantee that it would stick. Damon’ll do it, he won’t hurt Jeremy.”
Damon walked inside, hearing what had been said, “I’ll take care of it,” he said.
Elena watched him for a moment, before nodding, hesitantly. Damon’s gaze slid over to Maya’s and she came up to him, “Talk to him,” she whispered, “Find out what he wants first.”
“Of course,” Damon nodded, before going upstairs.
Elena went outside to speak with Stefan, while Maya waited in the house for Damon to come back.
/ / /
“Jeremy,” Damon said, walking into the youngest Gilbert’s room.
Jeremy sat up, wiping his eyes and looked up at Damon, “Damon, please make it stop.” He said.
Damon sat on the bed, “Hey, just tell me what you need.”
“I want the pain to go away! It hurts so much! It feels like I can’t breathe!”
“Okay, okay,” Damon slipped the vervain bracelet from Jeremy’s wrist, and put his hand on Jeremy’s shoulder, catching his gaze, “Vicki lost control,” Damon said, compelling the young boy, “She lost control and attacked someone, and because of it, she’s dead. And it hurts, like a loss always will, but the pain isn’t crippling, it’ll fade, fast. You can move on, and grow, because this won’t stop you.”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me really happy!
Chapter 39: Stefan's Birthday
Notes:
Thanks for all the comments and kudos!
Sorry about the wait, I was celebrating a BIG birthday!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
October 10th 8 p.m.
Klaus was out for dinner with a few members of the Northeast Atlantic Pack, his pack, Cary had pointed out to him early on that as the Alpha (who wasn’t technically the Alpha), he needed to establish connections in the pack, reinforce his authority over them. So every month, he would go out to dinner with Cary, his Beta, and several wolves that he had named as the new enforcers for the pack. It had taken him quite a while to choose new enforcers, since the loss of the last ones, none of them were up to his exacting standards, and he had spent months training them in the fine art of battle, before giving them their new titles.
They were at a fairly mid-level restaurant, none of the wolves being ones for fine dining. Naturally Klaus was at the head of the table, with Cary sat to his right, Regina (the one he’d identified as being terrifying to children) on his left, there were also three other women, Alexandra, Jessica and Emma, and two other men, David and Scott. These were the wolves that he would turn into his first Hybrids, after ensuring that the process worked of course. They were smart, ruthless, and above all, loyal, which was exactly what he wanted when creating a whole new race. And despite his own reservations when it came to spending time with the pack socially, he had actually come to enjoy it, a little, at least. So he was indulging in a drink, laughing at the jokes being thrown around, when his phone buzzed with a message.
“Did you smile when you saw my name pop up on your phone just now?” It was Maya, and he realised that he had smiled, the moment he’d seen it was from her.
“Perhaps…” he sent back.
“How have you gone so long without messaging me? I’m such a delight!” his phone buzzed again and caused him to let out a little laugh.
“What are you so happy about?” Scott asked, taking a sip of his beer.
“None of your business,” Klaus replied, moving to tuck his phone away, but received another message before he could.
“I hope you haven’t forgotten that I exist…because I definitely haven’t forgotten about you… 😉 ”
Klaus raised a brow, that was a little needy…and very unlike her, checking the time, it would have been 11 p.m. in Virginia now, she was throwing a birthday party for Caroline, she must have been a little tipsy.
“I could never forget about you love,” he replied.
“I know that look,” Regina said, smirking at her Alpha, “That’s the look of someone that just got a message from his girlfriend!”
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” he shot back.
“Oh please!” Alexandra butt in, “We’ve all seen you cut out of a meeting, or finish dinner early, hell you even bailed on a training session last week, just to talk on the phone. You have a girl…or is it a guy?”
Klaus glared at her, “You shut your mouth.”
“It’s a girl,” Cary muttered.
“Cary!”
“Oh relax! She’s gorgeous!” Cary brushed off.
“How do you know that?!”
“Half the time when you answer the phone, you’re right next to me! You think that I can’t see who’s on the screen?” Cary turned to look the rest of his companions, “Seriously, she’s totally hot!”
“Stop. Talking. About. How. Attractive. You. Think. She. Is!”
“So you admit it is a girl!” Regina crowed, causing Klaus to growl, “What did she send you?”
“That’s none of your business!”
His phone buzzed again, this time coupled with a picture of Maya with a drink in her hand and several boys around her, “Everyone keeps hitting on me! Too bad you’re not here to save me ☹"
He frowned at that, but before he could respond, he received another message, this time, just a quick video of Maya and Caroline dancing in the centre of a group of guys.
“Damn!” Regina said, leaning over his shoulder, “They’re hot! Which one’s yours?” Klaus snarled and whooshed out of the restaurant, “Guess the guy couldn’t take a little teasing,” Regina shrugged.
“You know that he’s going to run you ragged at our next training session?” Alexandra pointed out.
“Eh, it was worth it.”
Sunday 1st November 2009
Caroline had chosen to stay over at the Sommers house after the disaster that was the Halloween party, she knew that Maya wasn’t going to be feeling great that morning, what with Vicki dying and Jeremy being there to witness it. Maya would probably want to stay in bed, her covers over her head, ignoring the world until Monday, but Caroline wasn’t having any of that. So she burst into her best friend’s room, flinging open the curtains and jumping on the bed to wake her. “How am I only just hearing that you drunk texted Klaus on my birthday?!” she demanded. Causing Maya to groan as the sunlight hit her face.
“Sunshine!” she moaned in annoyance, rolling over and burying her head under her pillow.
“Oh no!” Caroline grabbed the red-head’s arm and flipped her back over, sitting on her stomach.
“Aah!” the Siphon groaned as all of Caroline’s weight landed on her mid-section.
“Wake up!”
“What!” she whined.
“Drunk texts! Klaus! Explain!”
Maya scrubbed her hands over her face and sighed, “There’s nothing to tell, it happened, I’m over it…”
Caroline scowled at the red-head, watching her for a moment before snatching her phone from the nightstand, “We’ll just see about that!”
“Wha-No!” Maya reached for her phone, but Caroline, wily cheerleader that she was, was somehow able to flip over Maya again, this time pinning the older girl’s hands beneath her.
“Oh. My. God!” Caroline stared at Maya’s phone. The first few messages weren’t anything to write home about, they were fun, maybe a little flirty, but as the night had gone on, the messages had not only gotten dirtier, but Maya had also sent a few photos. Photos that Caroline had taken when the girls were messing around with each other, sexy boudoir type of photos. “You sent these to Klaus!” she shrieked.
“Damn it Caroline!”
October 10th, 2009
Klaus was back at the compound after dinner, in the library, enjoying a perfectly aged bourbon, when his phone buzzed again. Maya had been texting him religiously since dinner, the messages getting progressively flirtier, as the night went on. Pulling out his phone his eyes widened as her next message popped up, followed by a picture. “I tk sm sexxxy pics, bt cant post thm…want 2 c?”
The photo that followed, had Klaus swallowing heavily as he struggled to produce an appropriate response. It was a black and white photo, Maya stretched out on her front in bed, her back arched so that her arse was in the air. She had on a skin-tight shirt, dark underwear and thigh high dark stockings. The picture had clearly been taken from a distance, from the side, so someone had to have taken it for her.
“Who took that?” he finally asked.
“Wdnt u lk 2 no 😉” she replied.
Her response had Klaus growling and clenching his fists, Caroline had better have been the one to take that photo, otherwise he might have to come to Mystic Falls early, just to stake his claim.
“Im drunk + sooooo horny. Gna find smne to play wth.”
Klaus stiffened, “DON’T YOU DARE!” when she didn’t respond he texted again, “MAYA!” she didn’t text him back and so he called her, hoping to get her on the phone and distract her, but she wouldn’t answer. Klaus furiously messaged Damon and Enzo, wanting to get one of them to stop Maya from making any drunken mistakes. But none of them responded.
Klaus had almost convinced himself to run all the way to Mystic Falls, when Maya texted him again, “I miss ur lips, wish I could feel them all over my body.” Coupled with another picture.
Her face wasn’t in the photo, but he could tell it was Maya, her wolf talisman nestled comfortably between her breasts. She was sat on the floor, her chest thrust out, giving him a very clear view of her red lingerie. She also had sheer thigh high stockings on, giving him a little peek at the wispy phoenix tattoo she had on her thigh, a tattoo that he’d designed for her.
Klaus could feel his monster creep to the surface, his bloodlust turning into lust for his Siphon. Not only was she wearing the wolf he’d given her, but his artwork was also permanently adorning her body, it triggered something, almost primal, inside of him. She belonged to him, and it took everything in him to not to go out and claim her.
“You’re making this very hard for me sweetheart.”
“Am I making u hard? 😉”
“Maybe…is that all you have to show me?”
“Maybe…”
He didn’t receive anything more from Maya for another hour and a half, it must have been 3 a.m. in Mystic Falls when her last messages came through, “ur so hot, bet ud be hotter moaning my name.”
“You’re very frisky tonight,” Klaus sent back.
“😲 Come play with me, or shud I play wit myself?” with that she sent through her third and final picture. Again, her face couldn’t be seen, but she was perched on a stool at the foot of her bed, her back arched, fingers trailing down her stomach, towards her panties.
Klaus squeezed his bourbon tumbler so tightly that it shattered in his hand, spilling alcohol all over the rug, he needed to stop texting with Maya before he did something that he regretted.
1st November 2009
“I can’t believe that you sent these to Klaus!” Caroline said again.
Maya moaned in frustration, shifting the blonde off her back, “I was drunk,” she defended, “And horny…and lonely.”
“Lonely?” Caroline asked, “You’re not alone, I mean you could literally have anybody that you want!”
“I know Caroline, that’s not what I meant.”
The blonde sighed and crawled under the covers with Maya, head resting on a pillow as she stared deep into her best friend’s eyes, “Then what do you mean?”
“It was my choice for us not to be together, and my reasons haven’t changed, I’m still growing, and Nik needs time to get his shit together…but I miss him so much Care! And I’m always busy, with school, and my plans, and spells and, and, and I always have so much going on! It’s easy to just push it to one side. But in the quiet moments, when there’s nothing left for me to do, it’s like there’s a piece of me that’s missing. Like there’s this gaping crater inside of me and the longer I’m away from him, the bigger it gets.”
Caroline’s gaze turned sympathetic, she knew that there had been something different about Maya ever since they got back from their summer vacation. She’d thought that Maya was just stressed about everything coming to a head this year, but it was clearly more than that. “I don’t understand,” Caroline replied, “This whole separation from him, it’s your idea, it’s part of your plan.”
“I know! He needs to stay out of town, because there’s no way that Katherine’s going to breeze into Mystic Falls without first sending some spies in to see what’s going on! And I know I made the right decision with Nik, because I know that he needs time to process all of his feelings for Aurora.”
“But Aurora was like a thousand years ago! There shouldn’t be any feelings there.”
Maya shook her head, thinking about how best to describe it, “As a Vampire, everything that you feel is heightened. Sadness becomes despair, dislike becomes hate, hate becomes loathing, happiness becomes euphoria, like becomes love and love becomes obsession. Aurora was Nik’s first love as a Vampire,” Maya sighed, “And she broke his heart, and that shaped him into the person that he is today. He said that love was a Vampire’s greatest weakness, and he vowed to never love again. And he didn’t.”
“That’s- wow, that’s intense,” Caroline replied, Maya kept the things that she knew about Klaus very close to her vest, so she knew that what the red-head was telling her was never meant to be repeated.
“And now, he’s found out that everything that he based himself on, the betrayal that shaped him, was nothing more than a lie, a lie perpetrated by one of the few people that he trusted, his big brother. He needs time to readjust, to reassess, and to decide if he wants to find Aurora. “
“Do you really think that he’ll want to?”
“Honestly, I don’t know, he says that she means nothing to him, but what he felt for her…the connection that they shared, that’s not the type of thing that you just let go.”
Caroline could see the worry on her friend’s face, she prided herself on knowing her best friend better than anyone else, but she hadn’t known that Maya was holding such deep insecurity when it came to this woman from Klaus’s past, “I don’t think that Klaus is going to want her back, they may have had a connection, but listen to me.” She brushed Maya’s hair behind her ear, “You and Klaus, you two have a connection, one that to me, seems pretty unbreakable. You gave him freedom from his father, you gave him another sister, hell you gave him his baby brother back! And pretty soon, you’re going to give him the one thing that he’s been craving from the moment he was cursed. You’re giving him his life back, completely, and you’re not doing it because you have to, you’re doing it because you want to. Klaus would have to be stupid to give you up in favour of some girl that he loved when he was a baby Vampire.”
“You think so?”
Caroline smiled, “When I see you and Klaus together, I can tell that he’s the one you’re going to spend the rest of your life with. He’s your epic love. If you don’t believe anything else for the rest of existence, believe that.”
Maya snuggled up into Caroline, “Thanks Sunshine. You always know exactly what to say to me.”
“Perks of being your best friend,” Caroline shrugged. “Now! Damon texted, and he wants us out of the house tonight because he's staying over.”
“What?!” Maya asked warily, “Why?”
“He said something about not wanting to hang around the Boarding House on Stefan's birthday, plus he wants to date night with Enzo.”
Maya shot up, “It’s Stefan’s birthday?! Oh my God! Where’s Damon?”
“At the Boarding House, he left his favourite jacket there, he's coming straight back.”
“I have to go!”
“What? Maya!”
Maya had rushed into the bathroom, starting the shower, and jumping in, she peaked her head above the frosted shower door as Caroline marched into the en-suite, “There’s going to be another death this weekend, I have to prevent this one!”
“Oh for-” Caroline threw her hands up in annoyance, “One of these days, you’re not going to be able to use your future knowledge as an excuse!”
“Not today though!” Maya replied, scrubbing her body from head to toe, she needed to get over to the Boarding House before Damon did something that he’d grow to regret.
Stefan was in his room hanging out with his best friend Lexi, who’d showed up at about 4 a.m., “So you’re saying that there are people actively hunting Vampires in town and yet you’re still here.”
“Just do me a favour, while you’re here, please be careful.”
“Ugh!” Lexi threw her head back in exasperation, “Why stay?” she jumped off the bed, “I’m headed to New York next weekend. Bon Jovi, in The Garden. ‘Wanted Dead or Alive.’ It’s our theme song! It’ll be a blast!”
“Hey, do you think that he would actually remember us?” Stefan asked, “That was a pretty crazy weekend huh?”
Lexi snapped her fingers, “We can make him remember! Come on! Let’s go! I mean, what’s keeping you here?”
Stefan gave a little self depreciating smile, “I told you, her name is Elena.”
The older Vampire picked up a photo of Katherine from the table and turned to face her best friend, “Well, let’s hope that she’s better than the last girl you got all sprung over.”
Stefan stood and snatched the picture from her hands, tucking it back into a book, “You didn’t even know Katherine.”
“Because if I did, I’d kick her ass, the little bitch! Speaking of,” she held up a finger, “Where’s Damon?”
“Probably with his girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend?” Lexi asked incredulously.
“Yeah, I’m uh, still trying to work out exactly what the deal is between them, she’s not compelled.”
“So, she’s hanging with your brother because she wants to?” Lexi said sceptically, “That seems unlikely.”
“Yeah,” Stefan nodded, there had to be something going on that he didn’t know about, “Hey, you gonna be okay here? Alone? I got some things I gotta take care of.” He had to go in to see the Sheriff, he’d been called in as a part of the investigation into Vicki’s disappearance.
“Well it’s not exactly like I can go anywhere,” she pointed to the covered windows, “And you and Damon are the only ones with these nifty little daylight rings,” she lifted his hand observing the Salvatore ring on his finger. “Oh, I have a mood ring from ’75, trade ya?”
Stefan grabbed her hand with a smirk, “Doesn’t work that way, and you know it.”
“Yeah,” she sighed.
“Hey Lex, I’m really glad that you came here.”
“What are we doing for your birthday? It’s not everyday a guy turns 162 years old.”
Stefan shrugged, “I may have a line on a Witch that could make you a daylight ring.”
“What?” Lexi asked with wide eyes, she’d been alive for 350 years, and had never been able to walk in the sun, “Are you serious?”
“Maybe,” he sighed, “I didn’t want to get your hopes up, because she doesn’t like me very much, but she might be willing to make you a ring.”
“Who doesn’t like you?” Lexi scoffed.
“It’s…Damon’s girlfriend…”
“Damon’s girlfriend is a Witch?” Lexi asked.
“Yeah.”
“And you think that she can make daylight rings?”
“Apparently she sells them, online.”
“You’re kidding!”
Stefan shook his head, opening his laptop and showing her the page that he’d been browsing, there were necklaces, rings, earrings, hell even a brooch or two. Delicate pieces and sturdier ones, daylight jewellery designed for all manners of preferences.
“All of these are daylight pieces?” she whispered.
“Yeah,” Stefan nodded, “The website sells a lot more than just daylight jewellery, but this is the only stuff that I’m interested in.”
“Wow,” Lexi scrolled down and winced at the prices, “Sheesh! Look at these prices! $1.5 million, for a simple ring?! And what’s this option? Personalisation? Personalisation how?”
“I don’t know, I think that you have to email the store, and talk about it in more detail. But like I said, Damon’s girlfriend runs the website, if I ask, I’m not sure that she’d be willing to give you one. She’s really not a fan of mine.”
“Well,” Lexi said, pushing out of the way and dropping into a seat and pulling the computer towards her, “She doesn’t know me yet, and I’m completely loveable! You go do your thing, I’m gonna browse through these and see if there’s anything that I like.”
Damon eyed Lexi from doorway of Stefan’s room, she was so engrossed in what she was doing on the computer, she hadn’t noticed him, rolling his eyes, he whooshed inside, “Boo.” He said, standing in front of the table.
“Ugh!” Lexi looked at him in disgust and groaned.
“Hello Lexi,” he smirked, “What an unexpected surprise.”
She let out a scoff, “Unexpected surprise? I think the wrong brother went back to high school.”
“How long you here for?” he asked.
“Just for Stefan’s b’day,” she replied, trying not to get too annoyed at the younger Vampire, she needed to talk to him about his girlfriend.
“Awe, you mean you didn’t come all this way to see me?” his eyes drifted down to the laptop screen when she looked away from him, and he quirked a brow, that was Maya’s website.
Lexi laughed, “That’s it Damon, after a century I finally realised that death means nothing without you.” She stood and leant towards him, “Do me.”
“Oh!” Damon pulled away, “Why are you so mean to me?”
“Uh, have you met you? You’re not a nice person.”
“Because I’m a Vampire!” Damon shrugged.
“But you’re only the bad parts.”
“I disagree,” Maya said, watching the two from the doorway, “At least Damon doesn’t tear people to shreds,” she walked in, “And then put them back together like some horrific jigsaw puzzle.” She gave Damon a quick scan with her eyes, making sure that he hadn’t been hurt.
Lexi looked over at the girl, taking in her clear confidence, her cocked hip, and her quirked brow, “You must be Damon’s girlfriend.”
“And you must be…” Maya scrunched her nose in mock confusion, “No, I got nothing, clearly you’re not important enough to have been mentioned.”
“Well, you’re hanging around Damon, he’s never been a great judge of character.”
Maya regarded Lexi for a moment before letting a smirk creep onto her face, “You know, I might actually like you.” Damon groaned in annoyance and Maya rolled her eyes, “Shut it Damon, you know I don’t have any Vamp girlfriends! I could use one, instead of being surrounded by the eternal boys club!”
Lexi smiled in return, “I’m Lexi Branson, Stefan’s best friend.”
“Oh!” Maya winced, “Points off for that!” then she shrugged, “But you’re hot, so I’ll let it slide, Maya Sommers, Damon’s girlfriend.”
“Well, there’s no accounting for taste,” Lexi shrugged, "But you're hot, so I'll let it slide," she repeated back, causing Maya to let out a little laugh, "Can I get you a drink?”
“It is 10 a.m.” Damon protested.
“Why yes, you can,” Maya said, “Thank you so much for asking!” she caught the look on Damon’s face and knew that she needed to talk with him first, “You know what, I will meet you in the parlour, I just gotta give my boyfriend a proper greeting.”
Lexi wrinkled her nose in disgust, “Ew, I’ll be downstairs.” She walked out of the room and Maya cast a quick temporary silencing spell and walked over to Damon.
“What are you doing?” he hissed.
“Stopping you from doing something very stupid!”
“What?”
“You're meeting with the Sheriff today, to give her vervain right?”
Damon nodded, “Yeah it’s all part of the plan to get on the Council.”
“Yeah well, after your talk with her, you’re gonna get some ideas, ideas that are best ignored.”
“What ideas?”
Maya glanced behind her, making sure that Lexi wasn’t about to burst in, and ensured that her silencing spell was still intact, “You will not use Lexi to throw off the Sheriff’s suspicions about Vampires, do you understand me?”
“What? I would neve- actually that’s a pretty good idea,” Damon conceded.
“No!” Maya smacked him on the arm, “Vicki is dead, because I didn’t try hard enough to stop it, I am telling you right here, right now, Lexi is leaving this town as a non-living, living person!”
“Okay, okay!” Damon held his hands up, “I won’t do anything!”
“Damon!”
“I promise.”
“Good,” Maya sighed, she was going to have to keep an eye on Lexi for the weekend, perhaps she should tell her about Stefan’s fall from grace, it would certainly get both of them out of town and quickly…she’d keep that in her back pocket, just in case, but for now, Damon’s promise was enough to soothe her.
“You’re not really going to hang out with her, are you?”
“I wanna get to know her, she always seemed fun.”
“Awe but-”
“Damon, I can’t hate someone just because you do. But also,” she knew that Damon needed reassurance, “I’d pick you over her in a heartbeat. I’d pick you over Stefan in a heartbeat.”
“You hate Stefan.”
“And I love you,” she replied, causing an involuntary smile to creep onto Damon’s face, “Now go see the Sheriff!”
Lucien sat in his office, going over the reports that he had been given by his security team, four more of his facilities had been destroyed, along with any and all of the information that they might have had on the locations of the two missing bloodlines. This was getting beyond frustrating, again, Elijah was the one caught at the scene, and the more facilities destroyed, the closer the Original got to him. And while he may only be a year younger than the ‘noblest’ of the Mikaelsons, without the upgraded Werewolf venom, he was no match for him. But maybe, he could slow the Original Vampire down.
“Rita!” he called through his intercom.
His assistant came in, “Yes sir?”
“Get me my accountant, and business manager…and Arturo.”
Rita paused at that, “Arturo? You’re certain?”
Arturo was a Vampire that Lucien had turned in the 1300’s, as a human, he’d fallen in love with Lucien, and when Lucien turned him, he became sired to him. Lucien had enjoyed it at first, but having the man dog his every step quickly grew tiresome and he sent him away. Arturo came back into his life every so often, whenever he needed someone that he could trust completely, and now seemed like the best time to use the Vampire once more. “I’m certain,” Lucien nodded, “Get him here as soon as possible.”
Sheriff Forbes sighed as she looked over the paperwork she had on Vicki Donavon, it was most likely that the girl had just up and left town, like her interviews were suggesting, but in doing so, it left Matt alone in his home, with no adult left as his guardian. It was no secret that Kelly Donavon was not cut out to be a mother, more interested in her buzz, and the men that she was with, than looking after her children, and everyone knew that she wasn’t in town. It was a problem that she needed to solve, and quickly, Matt may have been 17, but he had no means of supporting himself, and she didn’t want the poor boy to lose his home. Massaging her temples, she was interrupted by her office phone, answering it, Liz told her deputy to send in the person waiting to see her.
“Mr Salvatore,” she said, seeing the older Salvatore brother in the doorway, carrying a brown package. He walked inside, shutting the door behind him. “I understand from Mrs Lockwood that your uncle’s out of town.”
“Yes, he is, um, but I spoke with Zach and he filled me in, and asked if I could bring this to you,” Damon handed over the package.
Liz took it from him, unsure of what could be inside, but she undid the bindings, and pulled out a purple flower, “Vervain.”
“It’s all we have at the moment,” Damon said, “I hope it’s enough.”
Liz watched him for a moment, before sighing and putting the plant back in the box, “It’s a small circle,” she said, “Founding families, a few city officials.”
“And your deputies, of course, right?” Damon asked, taking a seat in the chair opposite her, “Are we any closer?”
Liz shook her head, “I think our facts are wrong. We’ve always believed that Vampires can only come out in the dark. What if that’s changed?”
“Is that even possible?” Damon asked sceptically.
“We’ve exhausted every avenue. We have to consider that the Vampire may be walking around during the day, right in front of us.”
“Hm,” Damon could feel his jaw clench, “So what’s the next step?”
“We’re now looking at anyone new to town since the deaths began. It should turn up a suspect or two.”
Damon nodded, “And I, of course, will do anything I can to help.” Now he knew why Maya was so insistent on extracting that promise from him. Damon knew that if she hadn’t, he definitely would have set the Sheriff’s eyes on Lexi. Now he and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, would need to come up with a new plan of action, and fast.
Maya and Lexi were in the guest room, chilling on the bed, chatting, with Stefan’s laptop lying between them, “I just don’t get why you don’t like Stefan,” Lexi said, “He’s kind, and thoughtful, and so much fun!”
Maya shot her an amused look, “He’s judgy, and broody, and boring, and a hypocrite!”
“Look, I’ll admit that Stefan can be a little closed off at first, but he’s a great guy!”
“He vervained his brother, locked him in a cellar, and then sent me a ‘brush off’ text from Damon’s phone. Stefan sucks!”
“Okay,” Lexi conceded, “That was probably not his finest moment, he should have gotten the whole story before doing anything. But to be fair, he was just trying to protect you.”
“It’s the 21st century Lexi, I don’t need no man to save me, I could snap Stefan’s neck like that,” she snapped her fingers.
“He didn’t know that you could protect yourself!” Lexi defended.
“Well he should have made sure before he attacked Damon! Also, again, it’s the 21st century, I don’t need a man butting into my business!”
“Okay, we should probably stop talking about Stefan, because I feel like if we don’t, we’re going to get into an argument, and I don’t want that.” Lexi said.
“Well what do you suggest we do?” Maya asked with a wry smirk. She knew exactly what Lexi wanted to do, the open laptop was a clue.
“Well… could we discuss these magic rings that you make?”
“Alright,” Maya nodded, “Which one were you thinking of?”
“I was actually thinking about two.”
“Two?”
Lexi bit her lip, “I have someone,” she finally said, “Someone that I love more than anything.”
“You want a ring for them too,” Maya said in understanding.
“Yes.”
“Alright, show me what you like.”
Lexi pulled the laptop towards her, and clicked into the basket, she’d already marked two rings as her favourites. Both rings were made of rose gold, the one that Lexi had picked out for herself was very vintage, the lapis lazuli was a large oval, with a floral halo surrounding it, set with diamonds. The one she’d chosen for her partner, had a lapis lazuli channel cluster, in fact, it looked like an infinity wedding band. “This is what I was thinking…”
“They look like wedding rings,” Maya noted.
“Well…that was kinda the idea,” Lexi hedged.
Maya glanced over at her and nodded, “Okay, I don’t think I’ve got enough rose gold to hand, I’d have to pick some up, so they might take me a couple weeks to make…”
“Wait, you-you actually make the rings?” Lexi asked, “I thought you just spelled them.
“No,” Maya shook her head, “I buy the raw materials, then I make the jewellery with magic, it’s one of the reasons that I can guarantee that they’re eternal.”
“That’s…amazing!”
Maya shrugged, “I’ve been doing it since I was 13, when I was younger the pieces were very simplistic, you know, functional, but I’ve had a lot of practice now, so things are more detailed, personalised, some people even email me their own designs and ask me to make them.”
“You’d really be willing to make these for me?” Lexi prodded, “Even though I’m Stefan’s best friend and pretty much hate Damon?”
“As long as you’re willing to pay, my freebies are only for family.”
“I’ll place the order now!”
Kol opened the fridge in the kitchen and growled, when he saw that all of his blood-bags had been moved down to the bottom shelf and stuffed together to make room for actual food. “Freya!” he complained, walking into the living room, where his older sister was stretching out on a yoga mat, “You moved all my blood!”
“I need real food to eat Kol!” Freya shot back, rolling her eyes at her baby brother, “It’s not like I threw the blood out!”
“I had a system!” he protested.
“It’s blood! You’re lucky I don’t make you use the fridge in the basement!”
Kol growled in frustration and threw his hands up, storming out of the room and heading back to his study, muttering something about annoying older siblings as he left.
Klaus was outside somewhere in the vast expanse of his lands with Liam and Luna, the children had full access to their wolves and he was teaching them how to use their heightened senses to their advantage, when Kol video called.
Klaus held up a hand, signalling for the children to stop, he sat on the ground and he answered the phone, “Kol.”
“She’s driving me crazy Nik!”
“Who?”
“Freya! She’s everywhere! She’s redecorated the living room, she moved my blood in the fridge, and she reorganised the magic room Nik! My magic room!”
Klaus couldn’t help himself, he burst out laughing, “Well, you said you felt left out of ‘Always and Forever,’ now you know what it’s like to have a sister dogging your footsteps at all times. Congratulations brother!”
Kol groaned in annoyance, “I take it back! I like being on my own! Can’t you take her?!”
Klaus shook his head in amusement, “No can do brother, I already have Rebekah.”
“But she’s not there! Take Freya! You’re all alone!”
“I am not alone, and you know it! Besides, you two are supposed to be working together anyway.”
“But Nik!” Kol whined.
Klaus was going to tell his brother to stop complaining when Luna scrambled into his lap, unlike Liam, who preferred to spend time with Klaus in his studio, Luna was infinitely curious about his business, and more often than not, she ended up tucked away in his office while he worked, in fact, he’d even put a little desk and chair in the corner of his office, so that she could do her homework, and play pretend there. “Hi Kol!” she said, giving his baby brother a big grin.
“Hello Darling,” Kol matched her grin, “I trust you and your brother are making Nik’s life interesting?”
She nodded, “We went to the Aquarium last week! We saw so many sharks!”
“You did, did you?” Kol shot his brother an amused look and Klaus glared back at him, daring him to say something. “You know, I bet that there’s mini golf somewhere near you, I hear that’s fun. Oh! Or perhaps a waterpark! You did enjoy playing in the ocean.”
Luna turned to look up at Klaus, immediately turning on her puppy dog eyes, “Can we?” she asked.
Klaus’s eyes widened at the look, “Yeah Nik, can they?” Kol repeated, using that voice that got him anything from his brother.
“You stop that!” Klaus demanded, pointing at the phone screen, and then pointed at Luna, “And you stop that!” then he turned to Liam who was close by and had a smirk on his face, very reminiscent of Kol’s, “And Liam, I swear if you start…” Liam held up his hands in surrender, as he fought the urge to laugh at Klaus. “You two,” he pointed at Kol and Luna, “Are no longer allowed to talk to one another,” he looked back at the phone screen, “Kol you are a menace!”
“Me?” Kol asked affronted, “I’m not the one teaching her how to play you like a fiddle! That’s all Maya! You know she and the little wolf have been having weekly chats on her secret phone.”
Luna gasped, “Snitches get stitches Kol!” she scowled.
“What secret phone?!” Klaus looked at the girl in his lap, “What secret phone Luna?”
Luna looked away from him, nose pointed in the air, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Luna…” Klaus growled.
“I’m no snitch…” she said, squinting her eyes and looking at him in an attempt at being serious, “I’ll never tell.”
Kol burst into laughter at the affronted look on his brother’s face and Klaus scowled at the camera, “I’ll speak with you later Kol, I have an interrogation to conduct.” He hung up the phone and narrowed his eyes at the little girl who was now attempting to creep away from him. “Luna…”
Damon marched into the Boarding House, looking around for Maya, he found her and Lexi, giggling like schoolgirls in one of the guest rooms. Stefan was eyeing the two of them warily from the doorway. “What is going on?” Damon asked.
Stefan shook his head, looking slightly disturbed at the picture the two made, “I have no idea, I came home and found them like this.”
Damon narrowed his eyes, “I don’t like it.”
“Me either,” Stefan replied, for once agreeing with his brother, the two girls acting like they were friends was really freaking him out.
Damon’s eyes narrowed in on the empty bottles of bourbon on the table in the room, “They’re drunk!” he exclaimed, walking inside, “Lexi!” he hissed, “You got my girlfriend blitzed!”
Lexi laughed, “Oh relax Damon, she can really handle her alcohol!”
Damon scowled, pulling Maya up by her hand, steadying her when she stumbled, “She’s 17!”
“Boo!” Maya pouted, “You’re not being fun Damon!”
“I’m not being fun, because you’ve been drinking since this morning! What am I supposed to tell your mother? ‘Oh I’m sorry your kid died of alcohol poisoning in my house,’ she’d kill me!” He started tugging her out of the room, “Let’s go drunky teen.”
“Nooo!” Maya whined, “I don’t wanna!”
“I don’t care!” he threw her over his shoulder and whooshed out of the room, much to Lexi and Stefan’s surprise.
“I don’t know what’s weirder,” Stefan said, walking in with his arms crossed, “You getting along with Damon’s girlfriend, or Damon acting like a grown up.”
Lexi nodded, “Yeah, that creeps me out too.” She watched the door, expecting to hear arguing, or see Maya or Damon run past in the hallway, but there was nothing, “When did he start acting responsibly?”
Stefan shook his head, “I have no idea.”
/ / /
“Damon!” Maya whined, as he put her back on her feet in his room. He put his finger to his lips then gestured to the room, indicating that she needed to put a silencing spell up, “I’m too drunk for that,” she said and he rolled his eyes. Rummaging through his drawers, he pulled out a bottle of her ‘alcohol cure’ that she’d stashed in various places in the house, for just such an emergency, and handed it over to her. Maya downed the bright blue liquid and immediately sobered up, she whispered a few words and enveloped the room in a silencing spell. “What’s up?”
“What’s up?” Damon hissed, “What’s up?! Liz is practically one step away from discovering that Vampires can walk in the sun! What are we gonna do?!”
“…Well…there is the plan that other you had.”
“Which was?”
“Get Caroline to throw a party at the Grill tonight, attack someone, compel them to believe it’s another Vampire, make sure the Sheriff knows and then stake the Vamp in order to cement their trust in you!”
“And I was gonna use Lexi,” Damon said in understanding.
“Yep,” Maya nodded.
“Well, you made me promise not to use Lexi, so who do we use?”
“Uh…I’ll text Nik, he’s got a bunch of Vampire bodyguards watching us, I’m sure he’ll let me use one,” she shrugged.
“Are you sure that that’s gonna work?”
“Technically, it’s your plan.”
“Can Caroline get a party sorted by tonight?”
Maya gave him a deadpan stare, “Did you really just ask that?”
“I know, I know,” Damon conceded, “I should know better.”
“You convince those two to go to the Grill tonight, and I’ll go help Care sort out the party.”
“Alright, I’ll see you later.”
Maya was sat with Enzo in a booth at the Grill, and Caroline came up to them with a smile on her face, “Well?” she asked, “What do you think?”
“Never doubted you for a second Sunshine,” Maya said, raising her drink to the blonde.
“Considering you only had a few hours notice, it’s great love.” Enzo said, nodding in agreement. He perked up when Damon walked inside, and joined them.
“Caroline,” Damon greeted, dropping a kiss on the cheerleader’s cheek and sliding in next to Enzo, “Excellent party.”
“Damn right it is!” she exclaimed, watching the people on the dance floor, “I’m amazing!”
“Yes you are!” Maya agreed, “Look there’s Lexi and Stefan.”
“Has Nik provided us with a patsy?” Enzo asked quietly.
“Over in the corner,” Maya nodded at a dark haired guy, stood at a table by himself, “I’m gonna keep him occupied, Zo, you and Care run interference with Stefan and Lexi, and Elena, if she shows up. And Damon…”
“I’ll find someone to eat,” the elder Salvatore smirked, getting up from his seat, the group split up to take care of the plan.
/ / /
Damon had found a couple outside, he killed the guy, attacked the girl and compelled her to point out the Vampire that they’d decided to use as a patsy, he’d gone back inside and joined Maya and the Vampire.
“Well?” she asked.
He nodded, “Any minute now.”
“What?” the Vampire asked.
“Oh nothing,” Maya dismissed, “We’re just waiting for Mom to show.”
Damon stiffened when he saw the Sheriff walk in with the girl that he’d compelled.
/ / /
Stefan and Elena were at the pool table, she’d decided that she didn’t want to give him up, even though she was having to lie to her family and friends about who he was, and what better time for them to make up, than his birthday. They saw the Sheriff march over to Damon and Maya and the guy they were talking to, with some of her deputies in tow.
“What’s going on?” Elena asked worriedly, Liz didn’t look happy.
“I don’t know,” Stefan replied, tuning in his hearing to the conversation.
/ / /
The Sheriff glanced at Maya, wishing that she didn’t have to do what she was about to in front of the girl, she shot Damon a look and quickly injected the man that they were talking to, with vervain. “What are you doing?!” Damon exclaimed.
“Thank you for the vervain,” Liz said to Damon, and motioned for her deputies to grab the Vampire, who was now gasping in pain.
“Liz?” Maya said in confusion.
“Not now Maya,” Liz said, and she and the deputies rushed outside.
“Go,” Maya said to Damon, he followed them outside quickly, and Maya headed round the back, she wanted to make sure that Liz wouldn’t get hurt.
Lexi stopped her before she could go far, “What’s going on?” she asked, her face a mask of worry.
“There was an attack outside, the Sheriff found the Vampire, stay with Stefan and Elena, and away from the deputies.”
Lexi nodded and rushed over to the other two, keeping them from going outside.
/ / /
Maya ran outside, just in time to see the Vampire get control back, he threw both of the deputies into cars, knocking them out. Liz pulled out her gun, and shot at him, unfortunately it had no effect on him, the bullets weren’t wooden. She shot him multiple times, but he wouldn’t go down. Snarling the Vampire grabbed Liz, his fangs out, he was about to bite her when Maya came up from behind the Sheriff.
“No!” She yelled, she grabbed Liz’s arm and waved her hand out, “Motus!” The Vampire flew away from them.
“Maya!” Liz gasped, eyes wide in shock.
“Damon now!”
Damon ran up at human speed, and staked the Vampire before he could get up, and then turned to look at Maya and Liz. “Are you okay?” Damon asked, walking towards them.
Liz nodded, “Yeah, thank you,” she looked over at her daughter’s best friend, “Maya what-what was that?” she asked in shock.
Maya gave her a sheepish smile, shooting a look at Damon, “Uh, maybe we should get rid of the Vampire first,” the elder Salvatore said.
Maya nodded, “It’s probably best if we talk about this in private."
“You-you threw that Vampire away from us! Without even touching it!”
“Sheriff!” Damon said, grabbing her arms, forcing her to focus on him, “Someone could come at any moment!”
Liz shook off her shock, “Get it in the car, quickly!”
“Caroline we need to talk.” Liz said, as her daughter came out of her room.
“What is it?” she asked with a frown.
“Sit down.” Liz gestured for her to take a seat.
“Okay,” she said slowly, and sat on the couch.
“How long have you known that Maya had magic?”
Maya knocked on her mom’s door, letting herself in when Jenna called for her to enter, “Hey Mom, I’m headed to bed.”
“Okay honey,” Jenna replied, not really paying attention, she’d been texting with Elijah the past few days and was currently coming up with the perfect reply to one of his messages.
“Just so you know, Liz knows that I’m magic, and is probably gonna wanna talk to you about it in the morning. Cool?”
“Cool.” Jenna muttered, and Maya left. Jenna shook her head as the words that her daughter had said actually registered, “Wait…WHAT?!”
“Damon what the hell was that?” Stefan asked the moment his brother walked into the Boarding House.
The elder Salvatore rolled his eyes, “I thought that was pretty clear Stef. I just took care of the town’s Vampire problem, now you don’t have to worry about being caught by the Council.”
“Cut the crap Damon, you never do anything for anyone but yourself.”
Damon shrugged, “Alright you got me, I have a diabolical master plan.”
“What is it?” Lexi asked.
“Well, if I told you, that wouldn’t be very diabolical, would it?” Damon made to head upstairs, but she grabbed him by the arm.
“You used some random Vampire and not me. Why?”
“I’ll admit, I was tempted,” Damon smirked.
“Damon!” Stefan growled taking a step closer to his best friend.
“But then I thought, if I killed you, who would take responsibility for my baby bro, when he goes off the rails…I mean, has he even told you about his latest bender?”
“Damon!” Stefan hissed.
“What?” Lexi asked confused.
“Baby bro got into a bit of trouble. He turned a girl, then staked her, fed on a couple of druggies and ripped ‘em apart. You should probably take care of that.”
Lexi turned to her friend, “Stefan?”
Klaus was headed to bed, when he heard sniffling coming from Liam’s room, frowning, he opened the door to the boy’s room, only to find Liam curled up in a ball in his bed, trying hard to hide his tears. “Liam?” he asked, walking over to him and crouching down so that he could meet the boy’s eyes, “What’s wrong?”
Liam scrubbed his face, trying to make his tears disappear, “It’s nothing.”
“Come now,” Klaus sighed, he reached out and ran his hand through Liam’s hair, “Talk to me.”
Liam sniffed, “It’s Mom and Dad,” he whimpered, “I can’t remember what they sound like,” he cried, “I’m forgetting what they look like! Luna’s alright forgotten what they look like! They’re gone and there’s gonna be no one to remember them!”
Klaus frowned as he eyed the boy, he couldn’t say that he related, he may have loved his mother and father at one point in time, but Mikael’s abuse, and Esther’s indifference, coupled with her final betrayal meant that he hated his parents. He’d be happy to forget them and the pain that they’d caused him, but Liam’s parents were different. From what little the boy had told him, his parents were good to him and Luna, took care of them, and loved them. “Do you trust me Liam?”
The child nodded, “Yes,” he said, brushing his tears away.
Klaus stilled his hand on Liam’s head, and reached into his mind, bypassing the pain and suffering that were still worryingly near the surface, and found a clear memory of his parents, pulling it to the forefront of Liam’s mind.
Liam gasped as he saw his parents clearly for the first time since they’d died, “I-I didn’t know I still had that.”
“Tomorrow, we will spend the day in my studio, and I’ll paint you pictures of your parents so that you and Luna will never have to worry about forgetting them again.” Klaus finally said.
Liam’s eyes welled with tears and he threw his arms around Klaus’s neck, squeezing tightly, “Thank you Daddy,” he whispered.
Klaus’s eyes widened, his arms automatically wrapping around the boy. Had he heard that correctly? Had Liam really just referred to him as his father?
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment as they make me feel amazing!
Chapter 40: What Did You Call Me?
Chapter Text
Maya sighed as she put her phone down, it was 4 a.m. and she just finished texting with Caroline, her mom was asking all sorts of questions and Caroline had refused to answer any of them, so Liz would definitely be showing up first thing in the morning. Yawning, she turned the lights off and crawled into bed, she would need all the sleep that she could get. Just as she was starting to drift off, her phone rang, “Huh-wha?” reaching out blindly she grabbed her phone and answered, “Hello?” she mumbled.
“He called me daddy!”
“What? Nik?” she asked.
“He called me daddy!” Klaus repeated.
“Nik? Who-what- it’s really late Nik!”
“Maya wake up!” Klaus demanded.
“Ugh,” she groaned, pushing herself up, “Alright, I’m up, what’s going on?”
“Liam called me daddy!”
“Awe, really? That’s great!”
“Maya!”
“I mean, it’s… not great…I mean…uh…I know what I want to say, but I’m not sure what you want me to say…”
“I don’t know what I want you to say either,” Klaus replied, he was so confused, and he was freaking out, (not that he would admit to that).
“Well, I don’t really lie to you…so I’m just gonna tell you what I think you need to hear…”
“Alright,” Klaus sighed.
“I already told you that you’re their dad, you take care of them, it’s not surprising that Liam would refer to you as his father.”
“I’m hardly father material, I mean just look at what happened with Marcel.”
“Oh for- you raised Marcel in your image, which at the time, was ruthless, violent, manipulative, king of everything!”
“I’m still all of those things!”
“Yeah, but what Marcel didn’t understand, was the loyalty that comes with being a member of your family! Liam and Luna are different, they’re wolves, loyalty is built into their DNA. And with what they’ve been through, they understand what it means to protect family no matter the cost. They’re young, but they understand you in a way that Marcel could never hope to. They’re your children Nik, it was always going to end up this way. And you know that! I mean, even Kol knows that! Just think about the way he treated Marcel, versus the way he treats the baby wolves…” Maya sighed, “If you want to freak out, freak out, you need to go kill someone, destroy something, go for it, because at the end of the day, that doesn’t mean anything. The only thing that means something now, is those kids. Liam calling you daddy, is it going to change the way you treat him?”
Klaus shook his head, “Of course not! I’m not going to let a change in title affect me!”
“Exactly,” Maya smiled, “You’re not intimidated by a little word…you’re the Original Hybrid!”
“Don’t mock me!”
“I’m not!” Maya refuted, “You just needed to be reminded…if the kids call you daddy, that’s fine, because it means that people will know, if they come for the children, then they’ll have to suffer you…and won’t that be fun?”
Klaus smirked at the thought of what he would do to his enemies, the idea that he could have a whole host of new people pop up to come for him, just because they would have thought he’d gone soft, only for him to make examples out of them, that made him smile, “You always know just what to say to me.”
Maya shrugged, “I like to think that I know what you need…”
“I wonder if you’ll be so calm and collected when one of the children calls you mummy.”
“Wait what?”
“…”
“Nik? Nik what did you just say to me?”
“…”
“NIK?!” he’d hung up, “Motherfucker just hung up on me!”
/ / /
Klaus let out a little laugh as he hung up, perhaps that was a little mean, but it did make him feel better. His phone buzzed with a message from her, “You deserve everything that you get now!”
Raising an eyebrow, he wondered what that meant, he just didn’t have to wonder very long. His phone trilled, it was Damon, “Shit,” he muttered, before swiping to answer, and a very sleep mussed, shirtless Damon, appeared on screen.
“Nik!” Damon tapped his phone, “Just a sec, I want to make sure that everyone’s on the call.” A moment later, Kol’s face popped up on the screen too, Enzo was smushed in with Damon, “Alright, now that everyone’s here! Do you have little Werewolf children?” Damon asked.
“Bloody hell,” Klaus rolled his eyes.
“Because if you have kids that are calling you dad, I better be the favourite uncle!”
Enzo shoved Damon out of the camera view, “Oh don’t you dare Nik, I’m clearly the only candidate for favourite uncle!” Enzo protested.
Kol laughed, “Nice try boys, but I’m Nik’s actual brother! I’m the only favourite uncle here.”
“Oh please!” Damon scoffed, “No one is going to be the fun uncle except me! What are you going to do, teach them how to be British?!”
“Don’t even-”
The three of them dissolved into an argument, and Klaus’s eyes darted between the Vampires on his screen, “What has she done?” he whispered to himself, Maya had almost immediately got her revenge.
“I can’t just leave town!” Stefan protested.
“Stefan! I have to get you locked down, and being in town with Damon is not going to help dry you out!” Lexi exclaimed.
“And you think me leaving Elena alone in town with Damon is going to help? She looks like Katherine! Damon’s not just gonna leave her alone!”
“I gotta be honest Stefan, it doesn’t even look like he cares, I saw him at the party last night, he didn’t even glance at her when she came to the Grill, all of his attention was on his girlfriend and her friends. I mean, has Damon been interacting with Elena?”
Stefan paused at that, he had to think about the last time that Damon had even spoken to Elena, “Not really…but that could just be a part of his plan! He could just be waiting for me to drop my guard! If I leave, it gives him the perfect opportunity to go after her!”
Lexi rolled her eyes, “I’m not denying that that could be Damon’s plan, but Elena knows what you are, she knows what Damon is, and you’ve given her vervain. The bottom line is, do you trust her?”
Stefan sighed, “Of course I trust her, she’s nothing like Katherine. It’s just…she doesn’t know about the darkest parts of me yet, she doesn’t know what I did!”
“You’re worried that Damon will tell her,” Lexi said in understanding.
Stefan nodded, “Yes!”
“And you’re not ready to talk about that part of your life yet,” Lexi sighed, “I get that, I really do, but if we don't dry you out now, it's only gonna get worse and then you could do the unthinkable and hurt Elena, I know you don't want that."
"How can I just leave her here when Damon's in town?"
"My ears are burning," Damon sang, walking into Stefan's room, "What are we talking about?"
"Just how much of a terrible person you are," Lexi said, "Honestly I don't know what Maya sees in you."
Damon smirked, "You'll have to ask her, but I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with my abs. She's got a real fascination with them."
"Ugh, gross!" Lexi wrinkled her nose, "I'm trying to convince Stefan to get out of town so that I can get him set back on track, not that you're any help."
"Awe," Damon held a hand over his heart, "Lemme guess, Stef's not happy to go, when that means that Elena's gonna be here in town, with me."
"That's about it," Lexi confirmed.
"Hey!" Stefan exclaimed.
"What am I wrong?" Damon asked.
"No," Stefan almost pouted, "I don't trust you with her."
"I wouldn't worry about it, I could not give less of a crap about Elena Gilbert, and if you don't believe me, believe that if I cheated on Maya, especially with Elena, she'd hex my junk off. And the fact of the matter is, I like my junk where it is."
Lexi snorted in amusement, "He does have a point."
"Speaking of," Damon said, "I should get going. We were up kinda late last night, and she asked me to pick her up a coffee," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and laughed at the twin looks of disgust on their faces, "Later!"
Caroline watched her mother nervously as the two of them made their way up the driveway of the Sommers house. Her confrontation with her mother hadn’t exactly gone well, she didn’t want to break Maya’s trust, so she’d refused to answer her mom’s questions, even the most innocuous ones, Liz had gotten mad at Caroline’s lack of responses and sent her daughter to bed. Caroline had messaged Maya until the wee hours of the morning and still the two girls were unsure as to how Liz would react. Because as much as Maya’s house, was Caroline’s, the same could be said about Caroline’s house for Maya. Maya was a permanent fixture in the Forbes home, which meant that she spent a lot of time with Liz.
Liz ignored her daughter’s pointed stares, she couldn’t believe that she was having to do this, couldn’t believe that she was going to have to sit down and have a talk with Jenna and Maya about magic, hell she couldn’t believe that Caroline had managed to keep something this big a secret from her. Ringing the bell, because she certainly didn’t feel comfortable enough for Caroline to use her key, the two blondes waited for an answer.
“You’re packing up?” Sheila asked Bonnie, watching her daughter throw her things in her bag.
“Dad doesn’t like it when I stay here,” Bonnie replied.
“That’s because he’s worried that I’m gonna fill your head with Witchy juju.”
“Well, he’s right,” Bonnie turned to face her Grams.
“Before you go, we need to talk.”
Bonnie eyed the serious look on her Grams’ face, “This is about Maya isn’t it?”
“Bonnie, you put yourself in serious danger going over there!” Sheila said, walking over to her granddaughter.
“Grams-”
“No Bonnie! I told you to stay away from her, and you went to her house! You confronted her, when you had no idea what she was capable of doing! And she hurt you!”
“She didn’t hurt me!” Bonnie cut her off, “She didn’t do anything, I know I shouldn’t have gone there, but I did. And yeah, I got hurt, but not because she attacked me! Because she was protecting herself! Because she doesn’t feel safe living in town with you! I’ve known her my whole life, and I don’t like her! But she shouldn’t feel scared of you just because of how she was born, that’s not fair!”
“No!” Sheila held up a hand, stopping Bonnie, “What’s not fair, is that she has a grimoire belonging to one of our most powerful ancestors, learning from it! When it doesn’t belong to her!”
“What?” Bonnie asked.
“Emily Bennett’s grimoire, the one that I needed to recreate the spell on the compass, Maya has it, she’s had it for years, using it, when it should have come home to us!”
Bonnie frowned, she barely understood her magic, most of the time she wasn’t sure that she wanted to, but she knew that that grimoire was important to her Grams, “How was she supposed to give it to you?” she finally asked, “You told her to stay away from me, and she did, you call her an abomination, why would she feel comfortable coming to you with it? She’s only 17, Grams, who does she have to teach her any better?”
“Bonnie-”
“Did you even offer to help her when she was a kid? Or did you just treat her like a monster?”
Maya and Jenna sat opposite Caroline and Liz, in the den, “Tell me everything,” Liz demanded, looking between the mother and daughter duo.
“Uh…it might be easier if you just ask questions, because I don’t really know where to start.” Maya replied.
“Alright,” Liz said, “How long have you been like this? How long have you been a- a Witch?” she couldn’t get over it, this was her daughter’s best friend, and she had magic.
“Since birth, and just to clarify, I’m not a Witch, I’m a Siphon.”
Liz closed her eyes for a moment, “What’s a Siphon?”
Maya leant forward, “Well, a Siphon- a Siphon is someone with the ability to do magic, but not produce it. Essentially there are two types of magic users in the world, there are your normal, everyday, Witches, like Sheila Bennett. She was born with magic, she has her own…like…rechargeable battery, that she can draw on to cast spells. And then you have people like me, the freaks, the ones that aren’t supposed to exist.”
“Maya you’re not a freak,” Caroline said.
“It’s okay Care, to the Witch world, that’s what I am, a genetic mutation that was never supposed to occur.” She smiled at her friend, but saw that Liz still looked confused, “Think of it like this, where Sheila has her own batteries, I need to be plugged in to the main power. I need to be touching something magic in order for me to be able to do it.”
“And you’ve known what you are, your whole life?” Liz asked, “How did you get like this? Is it random? Genetic? Is-is Jenna?”
“No!” Maya shook her head, “Mom’s not magic, what I am, it’s genetic, which means that my dad has magic. But because Mom didn't have any magic of her own I didn’t know what I was until I was five, and I came into contact with something magical and accidentally siphoned it. It was actually the first time I met Caroline,” she looked over at her friend, giving her a soft smile, she didn’t think that anybody but Enzo knew this part of her story, not really, “Caroline was just…so happy, and bubbly, and full of light, and to this day I have no idea what made her want to be my friend, but she chose me. I came into contact with Bonnie, I touched her hand, and…she had magic inside of her, I didn’t know what I was doing, but my siphoning immediately kicked in. It must have shocked her, and she said that I hurt her. It upset me, it made me cry and then there Caroline was, sweeping in like some golden angel, taking care of me. I always said that she was special from the moment I met her…”
“You never told me that,” Caroline said, moving over to sit by her friend, “I had no idea that that was what upset you.”
“How was I supposed to explain it Care?” she squeezed Caroline’s hand, “Anyway, that day, Sheila picked up Bonnie from Kindergarten, and Bonnie told her what happened, and she knew what I was. She told me to stay away from Bonnie, and magic, otherwise I’d suffer the consequences.”
“Wait!” Jenna cut in, “Sheila threatened you when you were five?! Why didn’t you tell me that was when that happened?!”
“Mom, you were already so pissed that Sheila even talked to me, I didn’t want to set you off, I was a kid, there was no way that I could take her on if Sheila decided to hurt you!”
“You’re saying that a grown woman threatened your life, when you were five.” Liz repeated, “How could she do that?!”
“That’s how she was raised Liz, Witches hate Siphons, it’s been like that for as long as anyone can remember.”
“That’s no excuse, you were a child!”
“It’s been over a decade, and it’s not like I can do anything about it.”
Liz shook her head, that was something that she’d have to revisit properly with Jenna at a later time, an adult threatening children wasn’t something that she’d stand for as Sheriff, especially when that child was someone that she’d watched grow from a baby. “Fine, we’ll come back to that later, how long has Caroline known?”
“What makes you think she knew?”
Liz rolled her eyes, “You two have been attached at the hip ever since you first met! There’s no way that she didn’t know, plus look at her face,” she gestured at her daughter, “There’s no shock, no indignation! She knew!”
Maya leaned over to Caroline and whispered, “You forgot to sell the shock.”
Caroline’s eyes widened, “My bad, Mom…I’m totally shocked.” Liz scowled at her daughter, “Not buying it huh? Oh well, I tried.”
“Care found out when we were 10.”
Liz turned to Caroline, “You’ve known about magic for six years and you never told me!”
“It wasn’t my secret to tell!” Caroline replied, “And it’s not like you’ve been completely truthful! There was a Vampire running around town and you didn’t tell me!”
“You know about Vampires?!” she turned to Maya, “Did you tell her?!”
“If I didn’t tell her, then she wouldn’t keep her vervain jewellery on.”
“Vervain jewel- you gave her vervain jewellery?”
“I wanted to keep her safe,” Maya shrugged, “I also made you protective jewellery, but you hardly ever wear it.” She crossed her arms, pouting.
“Wait what?”
“Caroline and I were worried about you, so that bracelet that I made you for your birthday a few years ago has protections on it.”
“It does?” Liz asked, taken aback.
“Yeah,” Maya nodded, “It won’t deflect bullets or anything, but it basically increases your luck, to the point where you’d rarely be hurt, because it decreases your chances of being in a seriously dangerous situation, and if you are in dangerous situation and get hurt, it won’t be a serious injury.”
“You did that for me?”
“Of course I did, you’re my family Liz.”
Monday afternoon had Caroline over at the Salvatore house, Maya was working on some project and had asked Caroline to stop by and pass some information over to Damon. “Hey Blondie,” Damon said, opening the front door.
“Damon,” Caroline replied, walking into the mansion.
“What’s up?”
“Maya wanted me to tell you all about the newest member of the faculty…”
“You could have done that over the phone,” Damon pointed out.
Caroline sighed, “Plus Mom is kinda pissed about the whole magic thing and took a page out of Jenna’s parenting handbook.”
“No Maya?” Damon asked.
“For a month!”
Damon winced, “Ouch! Alright, come on in, I guess you can help me plan out date night, Zo and I will have been together for 6 months in a few weeks and I figure I should make it special.”
“Oh!” Caroline’s eyes lit up, “I have a ton of ideas!”
Damon smirked and led her into the den, “What did you have to tell me about the school?”
“Oh right! So our new History teacher, Mr Saltzman, it turns out he’s a Vampire hunter, that saw you bite his wife and has come here to kill you, because he thinks that you killed his wife. FYI you didn’t, you turned her, also, his wife is Elena’s biological mom…Elena’s adopted, by the way.”
“Seriously?” Damon complained, “How is this my life?!”
/ / /
Elena frowned as she walked up the driveway to the Boarding House, Stefan had told her that he was going to be out of communication for a couple of weeks, told her that there was something that he needed to do, and that he wouldn’t be able to see her, but he wouldn’t tell her why. If she and Stefan were going to be together then he couldn’t keep secrets from her, so she was planning on surprising him at his house so that she could find out what was going on. She tried the door and was surprised to find it locked, the Salvatores never locked their door, ringing the doorbell, she waited outside for someone to answer.
/ / /
Caroline laughed as Damon looked through the piles of options that she’d come up with in the span of two hours, he was astonished at how many date ideas she’d managed to put together in such a short time. When the bell rung, she got up to go to the door, “I’ll get it! You narrow down the options and I’ll be right back!”
Opening the door, Caroline’s smile turned to a frown when she saw who was there, “Elena, what are you doing here?”
“Me,” Elena said, “My boyfriend lives here, what the hell are you doing here?”
“Damon and I are hanging out, what do you want?”
“Hanging out with your best friend’s boyfriend, really classy Caroline,” Elena scowled, “I’m here to see Stefan, just get out of my way.” She tried to push past Caroline, but the girl blocked the doorway, refusing to move.
Choosing to ignore whatever it was the Elena was implying, Caroline kept a firm grip on the door, preventing Elena from getting inside, “I’m pretty sure, that you’re not supposed to be here.”
“Move Caroline!”
“I’m not letting you in.”
“Wh-” Elena took a long hard look at Caroline, “You know,” she said.
“Know what?” the blonde tilted her head quizzically.
“Cut the crap, you know what they are!” Elena hissed, “Of course Maya told you! And Damon just let her.”
Damon heard what was going on and got up, rolling his eyes, he whooshed to the door, startling Elena, “First of all, I don’t ‘let’ Maya do anything, she’s an independent woman, and can do whatever she wants. Second, Caroline’s Maya’s best friend, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I made her keep a secret from her best friend? And third, this is my house, and like Caroline said, you’re not meant to be here.”
“I need to talk to Stefan.”
“Baby brother’s not here right now,” Damon replied, grabbing hold of the door, moving Caroline out of the way so that he could shut it, “And before you ask, no, you can’t wait for him inside.”
“But-”
“I don’t want you here Elena. If you want to talk to Stef, call him, and if he doesn’t pick up, then he’s busy.” He moved her back and then slammed the door in her face, making sure to turn the lock so that she couldn’t just barge in.
/ / /
Elena scowled as she spun on her heel and marched down the driveway, of course Caroline knew, she and Maya were always together, she couldn’t believe it. Maya could tell Caroline whatever she wanted, but Elena didn’t have anyone to talk to about her real boyfriend problems. That was it, she was going to talk to Bonnie, she had to speak to someone that wasn’t a Vampire about Vampires.
Klaus had spent all of Sunday with Liam, the two of them locked in his studio, it had been an enjoyable day, his art was usually an outlet for him, the only thing in life he could guarantee complete control over, but that day, it had been used to bring comfort to someone other than him. That wasn’t something that his art had done for almost 800 years. It had been an excellent day, right up until the point that Luna had realised that it meant that she wasn’t allowed to join, at which point she’d thrown the ugliest tantrum he’d ever seen. It had taken him about an hour to calm her down, along with the promise of spending the next Sunday just with her, whatever she chose. Today was that day, and she had decided on a visit to the zoo first, then mini golf, then dinner at the ‘Rainforest Café’ he supposed that he should be lucky that she didn’t pick some god-awful place like ‘Chuck E. Cheese’.
Liam on the other hand, was going to spend the day with some of the other children in the pack, having finally settled down enough he’d started up some tentative friendships. He would hang out with them for most of the day and then some of the enforcers were going to have him run through some of the lower-level training exercises, to ensure that he would always be prepared for trouble, no matter what. No son of his would be caught by surprise by his enemies…Klaus paused, he’d just directly referred to Liam as his son.
Logan Fell left the news station late at night, with all the attacks that had happened in recent months, he wouldn’t have allowed himself to work so late, but the Vampire that had been terrorising Mystic Falls had been caught and killed, so he was free to going back to work like normal.
He had just reached his car, when he was snatched away, “Wh-AHHHH!” he screamed, as fangs sank into his neck, and drained him of all of his blood.
The bell rang for the Salvatore Boarding House, and Damon opened the front door, surprised to see the Sheriff on the opposite side, “Sheriff, what a surprise!”
“Sorry to bother you, but we need to talk.”
“Okay, come in,” he motioned for her to enter, and he led to the back garden, where Maya was lounging on the patio furniture, reading a book, “I hope you understand the secrecy, Stefan doesn’t know about this yet, and I’d like to keep it that way.” Stefan was out of town with Lexi, but he had to keep up appearances.
“Of course,” Liz nodded, as she followed him outside, “Kid’s are too young to be brought into this. Maya,” she greeted, still not all together comfortable with the idea that the little girl that she'd helped Jenna raise was not only aware of the supernatural, but also a member of the community itself.
“Hey Liz! What’s up?”
“What did you need?” Damon asked.
“There’s been another attack.” Liz sighed, “Two victims, one female, her throat torn out, completely drained of blood, and the other…Logan Fell was found this morning in the parking lot of the news station, by his car.”
“I’m sorry I don’t understand,” Damon said, “I thought that we solved that problem when I staked the male.”
“I’m thinking he must have turned someone, or multiple someones, I don’t know. The story is another animal attack, but I’m not sure how long we can keep lying to the town. The Council’s in an uproar, we thought we were past this.”
“So, uh, what do we do?”
“You…and Maya, are the only ones who have ever taken on a Vampire, we were hoping you could tell us.”
“Right,” Damon looked over at Maya in question, they weren’t prepared for this.
“Of course this would be so much easier if we had the compass,” Liz muttered.
“Oh,” Maya frowned, “Yeah, that’s my bad.”
“You know about the compass?” Liz asked.
“Yeah,” Maya said, sitting up, “I…may be the reason that it doesn’t work anymore…”
“Maya!”
“I was seven! It was an accident! Before I knew what happened I siphoned all the magic away! I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry!”
“What are we supposed to do now?”
“Well…I mean…I could probably make another one,” Maya shrugged.
“You can? Why didn’t you say anything before?”
“Hey! I offered to help Sheila when she came to me with the compass, but she refused, so I figured she had it covered.”
“You can really make another one?”
Maya nodded, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure, it’s better than doing nothing right?” she looked at Damon who nodded slowly, completely unaware of where she was going with this.
“Alright,” Liz said, “I have to get back to work, but you keep me apprised, okay?”
“You got it Liz.”
“Let me show you out,” Damon said, motioning for Liz to go ahead of him, “What are you doing?” Damon whispered to Maya.
“Relax,” Maya whispered back, “I’ll make sure that it won’t work on anybody we know!”
Maya was working on the spell for a new Vampire detecting compass, with a couple of tweaks of course, she couldn’t let anyone on the Council touch this particular device unless she knew that the people that she cared about couldn’t be identified. She’d called Klaus and he’d sent a message through to his Vampires, telling them to back off of town until further notice, she was nearly done with her spell, when Caroline burst into the room.
“Care!” Maya nearly dropped her new compass when the door flew open, “How many times have I told you, not to burst in like that when I’m working! Also how are you here? Didn’t your mom ban you from coming over?”
“She’s busy with the latest ‘animal attack’,” Caroline dismissed, “We have to talk!”
Putting the compass down, Maya turned to face her friend, “Okay, what’s up?”
Caroline sat down heavily and stared at Maya unaware of where to start. “…”
“Caroline?”
“…”
“Sunshine, I can’t read your mind.”
“Okay, okay, okay,” she started, “Okay, so, you know the party, that you asked me to throw?”
“Yes.”
“Well, while you and the boys were scheming, I…was…talking to Matt…”
“What?!” Maya asked.
“You were busy! And I was lonely…and Matt was being weirdly sweet, and I know what you’re gonna say! He’s Elena’s ex, he’s still in love with her, you don’t want me to get hurt. But I don’t know what I want, all I know is that he’s cute, and he might like me, and I might like him!” Caroline rushed out.
“Okay,” Maya nodded.
“Okay? That’s all you have to say?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Something more than okay!”
“Alright…if you like Matt, you go for it, you’ve already listed a number of things that I believe could be issues, but I’m not gonna stop you. I am however, gonna mention just one thing and I hope that you really think about it. You’ve been flirting with Kol, and Kol’s been flirting with you, and maybe…sometime down the road he might want to act on those flirtations…and Kol, much like his big brother, does not seem like the type to share, so just be clear on the fact that Kol might kill Matt if he thinks that he’s competition.”
“Oh my God you’re right,” Caroline blanched, “Kol’s gonna murder Matt!”
“MAYA!” Jenna yelled from the bottom of the stairs, “LIZ IS ON THE PHONE, SHE SAID CAROLINE’S NOT HOME! SHE BETTER NOT BE HERE!”
Maya’s eyes widened, “SHE’S NOT!” she yelled back, before turning to her friend, “Quick, out the secret exit!”
“The secret exit’s only half built!”
“Well, you’re gonna have to put your tumbling to the test because Mom cannot find you here!”
Luna skipped merrily to the next hole at the mini golf course, while Klaus followed behind her, holding both of the golf clubs over one shoulder, he couldn’t believe that he was doing this, in fact, he was really glad to know that none of his siblings knew where he was, because he could imagine that there would have been a serious amount of blackmail pictures in the future.
“Okay it’s your turn first!” Luna trilled gleefully. Sighing Klaus dropped the little golf ball on the mark and got ready to make his shot, “Wait!” Luna cried, she grabbed his hand and used all of her strength to pull him down to her level.
“Oof, Princess! What are you doing?!” Klaus hissed.
“Make sure you don’t break this one!” she hissed back.
“I’ve been on this earth for a thousand years, I think I can control my strength!”
Luna rolled her eyes and pointedly looked over at the windmill that was missing one of its rotor blades, “Really?”
“That thing was frustrating as hell, I don’t know how anyone could beat that one!”
“…”
He rolled his eyes, “Fine! I promise not to break this one!” Straightening up, he muttered something about rude little children and took his shot, sending the ball through the clown’s mouth that was opening and shutting and sailing to the other side. “There see!”
Luna pushed him out of the way and had her go, the ball hit the closed mouth and bounced back, pouting she tried again, and again, but both times she failed and could feel herself getting angrier and angrier, she growled in frustration and her eyes glowed yellow.
“Hey Princess,” Klaus said, crouching down in front of her, “It’s alright love,” he framed her face with his hands, and made her look at him, “Calm down, it’s okay love, I’ll help you, we’ll work together.” Luna visibly calmed and nodded, Klaus stood behind her, waiting until she has stopped shaking, “Alright, hit the ball in three, two, one.”
This time the ball went through the clown’s mouth, to the other side, and went straight in the hole, “YES!” Luna shrieked with joy, turning to Klaus and jumping on him, wrapping her arms around him, “This is the best day of my life Daddy!”
She ran off to collect the ball, while Klaus just stood there frozen for a moment with wide eyes, had she really just…? Did she…? Did she just call him Daddy?
/ / /
Kol pulled out his phone when it buzzed and he saw that it was a message from Nik, “Need you to go to the Penthouse and send me the tiara that is in the Victorian trunk next to that hideous statue that Elijah’s so fond of.”
“The one he stole from that German Salesman in the 1700s?”
“Yes!”
“Why do you need a tiara?”
“Because I don’t think that I should buy a werewolf a pony.”
Kol eyed his phone quizzically, what in the-?
/ / /
Maya sighed as her phone rang, it seemed like today she was just destined to be interrupted, it was Kol. “Kol, what’s up?” she asked.
“Nik asked me to send him a tiara,” Kol said, glancing at the phone screen whilst he rummaged through the trunk that his brother directed him to.
“What? Why?”
“I was hoping that you could tell me, because his answer was perplexing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, at first, I thought that the tiara was for you, but that’s not what he indicated…”
Maya stiffened at that, who was Klaus getting a tiara for then? “What exactly did he say?”
“He said that he didn’t think that it was a good idea to buy a pony for a werewolf…”
Maya’s jaw dropped, “Oh my God! What does the tiara look like?”
“Well if you give me a moment, I’ll show you.” Kol put the phone down and shifted more old trinkets out of the way, finally finding a small box, opening it, he found it, “Here we go.” He picked up the phone and showed it to her.
“Holy shit!” Sparkling flowers and leaves adorned the headpiece, the rose-cut diamonds were set into silver and the frame was made of gold. “Don’t you dare send that to him!” she said.
“But Nik asked for it!”
“I don’t care, I’m gonna call him, I know exactly who that’s for and it is not happening! I have to make a phone call, I’ll talk to you later.”
/ / /
Klaus’s phone rang, and he picked it up with a smile, “Hello love.”
“Niklaus Mikaelson! Why in the hell are you asking Kol to send you a tiara? Not just any tiara, the freaking Belle Époque Diamond Tiara! That’s like a fifty thousand dollar piece of jewellery!”
“How did you know the name of that tiara?”
“Oh please, I’m friends with Caroline Forbes! I know princess shit! Now quit stalling and answer the question!”
“I wanted to give it Luna,” Klaus shrugged.
“Because she’s your little princess right?”
“She called me Daddy today.”
“Oh Nik, honestly I’m so happy for you,” she smiled, “But you are not giving her a tiara…or a pony!”
“But she called me Daddy! What am I supposed to do?”
“Oh. My. God. Did you get something for Liam because he called you Daddy?”
“…Maybe…”
“Have you given it to him?”
“Not yet,” Klaus replied slowly.
“What did you get him?”
“…”
“Nik!”
“A quad bike,” he finally said.
“A QUAD BIKE!” she yelled, causing him to actually wince at the volume, “No! Absolutely not Nik! If-Look, if you are going to make jokes about me being a…a Mommy, I can’t believe I just said that, then I am making this decision! You are not to give Liam a quad bike, and you are certainly not giving Luna a tiara!”
“But-”
“No buts! I mean it! They're gonna turn out spoiled!"
"No they're not!"
"They're the children of the most powerful being on the planet! Of course they're gonna end up spoiled! And don’t even think about going behind my back and getting Kol to send it to you, because I already told him not to!”
“Oh you think that Kol’s going to listen to you over me?”
“Damn right I do! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my spells!” she hung up.
A message from Kol popped up on screen, “Maya told me not to send you the tiara, so I’m not going to.”
Klaus frowned, “Traitor,” he muttered.
Maya handed over the compass that she’d just spelled to Damon, making sure that it wouldn’t point at him, “I’ve already checked with Enzo and a couple other Vamps I know in town, it won’t point at any of you guys.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive,” she nodded, “I tested it pretty thoroughly, besides, this isn’t for the Council, consider this…the Salvatore device, to be kept in the family, at all times.”
Damon put a hand over his heart, “For me? You shouldn’t have!”
“Well I didn’t just make one for you,” she pulled a much smaller one out of her pocket, the kind that could be affixed to a necklace, “This is the Sommers device, and it’s prettier than yours.”
“Well now I’m offended.”
Maya smirked and shook her head, tossing it to Enzo, “You take one half of town, Enzo, you take the other, find the Vampire, kill it, and call me.”
“Where are you going?” Enzo asked.
“Careers fair, I wasn’t planning on going, but now that Caroline’s enduring a ‘no Maya’ punishment, legitimate school events are the only time we can see each other this month. I’ll see you boys later.”
/ / /
Mayor Lockwood walked up to the Sheriff, “What do we know?”
“Nothing new to report yet,” Liz replied, “My highly reliable deputies are all on alert, but if you feel the need to be more proactive, by all means, grab a stake and have at it.”
“What extra precautions can we take?”
“Right now, there’s nowhere safer than a crowded public place, for once Mayor, we actually know where our kids are.” Liz spotted Maya walking over to her with purpose, “And here comes another one of my precautions now.” Maya had given Liz permission to tell the inner circle of the Council what she was, and Liz had thought that it was actually a good idea, if the main members of the Council knew that Maya was helping them, then it would keep her better protected from Sheila Bennett, should she get any ideas to make good on her threats.
“Hi Liz,” Maya smiled, “Mayor,” she nodded.
“Have you got any news?” Liz asked cautiously.
Maya pulled out a third small compass, the Mayor reached out to grab it, but she snatched her hand back, “Uh-uh, this isn’t for you.” She said, “It’s the Forbes Compass,” she handed it to Liz, “Only to be used with the permission of the Forbes family.”
Liz looked startled, “You made it for me?”
“Well, I made one for me and Damon too, so now there’s a Salvatore device, a Sommers device and a Forbes device,” Maya shrugged.
“Wait, you can make more than one?” The Mayor asked.
“Well it’s a big spell, but if you know what you’re doing, then yeah.”
“So why don’t you make one for all the members of the Council? And the deputies?”
Maya looked at him incredulously, “I’m not a charity! I don’t just give this stuff away for free! I made the compass for Liz because she’s my best friend’s mother, she’s my family, and I love her, I want her to be safe. The same for Damon, and me, because obviously I love me. Anyone else can just suck it.”
“Maya!”
“Sorry Liz! I’m gonna go find Caroline, because this is an official school event, which means that we can spend time together, as per your rules,” she flounced off before Liz could stop her.
/ / /
Elena was looking over a couple of booths, when she spotted Matt, “You still wanna be an astronaut?” she asked.
Matt smiled, “I can’t believe you remember that.”
“I can remember the tinfoil that you wore on your head,” she laughed.
“I was eight,” Matt protested.
Elena gave him a soft smile and really took him in, his hair was scruffier than usual, and he had bags developing under his eyes, “How are you doing?”
“I’ve had it easier.”
“You?”
/ / /
Caroline walked into one of the classrooms and saw Matt and Elena together, close, and talking to one another, as though they were the only two people in the room, and her smile dropped, she felt so stupid. Taking a step back, she slunk out of the room, bumping into her best friend, “Care?” Maya asked, the blonde didn’t look happy, “What is it?”
Caroline shook her head, “Nothing, can we please just go?”
“What happened?” the Siphon asked worriedly.
“Nothing,” Caroline said again, “I just feel so stupid, I should have known that it will always be Elena for him!” she brushed past Maya.
“Caroline!” Maya called, “Caroline!” she chased after her friend.
/ / /
“I heard about you and Caroline,” Elena said.
“Uh, man,” Matt rubbed the back of his head, giving her a sheepish look, “Not you too. We’re friends.” Elena shot him a disbelieving look, “It’s not a big deal.”
“No?”
“No,” Matt shook his head, looking at Elena seriously, “You know I still care about you.”
“Matt-”
“I know, I know, you’re with Stefan, and that’s not changing anytime soon, but I just want you to know that Caroline and I aren’t a thing.”
/ / /
Liz was walking around the inside of the school when she heard her name from behind her and turned around, “Logan,” she said in shock reaching for her weapon instinctively. It had been a deputy that found Logan’s body in the parking lot, so they had opted to bury him quickly to stop anyone from finding out.
“What are you gonna do, stake me? Bury me in another shallow grave. What would you say to my family this time?”
“I didn’t have a choice,” Liz said.
“You bitch,” Logan moved in closer to her, “I died for you, for this town. You’ve known me since I was six,” he spat angrily, “And you swept me under the rug like dirt.”
“You knew what you were getting into.”
“I was one of you!”
“And now you’re one of them.”
Logan sneered at her, “Watch your back Sheriff,” he walked into the crowd.
Liz dialled the station before he was even out of her sight, “Get a backup team to the school immediately. Keep it within the circle. It’s a V5.” She hung up and dialled Damon’s number too, “Damon,” she said when he picked up, “It’s Logan Fell! He’s at the school!”
“I’m on my way.” Damon replied, hanging up and whooshing towards the school.
/ / /
Jeremy ran to catch up with Tyler, he’d just found out that the older boy liked to draw and wanted to talk to him. “I didn’t know you drew,” he said.
“It’s an elective,” Tyler replied.
“Cause it’s good stuff, you like graphics? Because that’s kind of my thing-”
“Whoa, whoa. What are you doing?” Tyler asked.
“Well it’s just something else we have in common.” Jeremy shrugged.
“And what’s the other thing? Vicki? Let’s hang out because we did the same chick? Go be friends with one of the many other guys that she screwed. There’s no shortage of ‘em.”
Jeremy scowled and shoved Tyler up against the locker, punching him in the stomach.
“Hey, hey, hey!” The Mayor rushed over along with the new history teacher, Alaric, “Break it up!”
“Alright work it out tough guy,” Alaric said, pulling Jeremy away from the older boy.
“You two,” The Mayor said, “Follow me.”
“Excuse me, Mayor, where are you taking them?” Alaric asked.
“I’m gonna talk to them,” Richard replied, “All fights should end in handshakes, don’t you think?” he pushed the boys in front of him, directing them to one of the emergency exits.
/ / /
Caroline was on the edge of the school parking lot when a car pulled up in front of her, it was Logan Fell, her eyes widened, she was sure that Maya had said that he was dead. “You need a ride?” he asked, shooting her a charming grin.
“Uh, no thanks,” she replied, taking a step back.
“Come on, I used to babysit you Caroline, I’ll take you home.”
“No, it’s fine,” Caroline said, “I just needed some air, I’m going back inside now.”
Logan got out of the car and took a step towards her, “Oh, come on,” he grabbed her wrist but let go when it burned him, “Aah! Vervain!” his monster came out and Caroline gasped, “Look’s like someone’s in the know,” he said.
Caroline made to run, but he grabbed her, “Let go!” she yelled, “Help! FIRE!” she screamed.
Logan snarled and slammed her against the car, causing her to hit her head, “Finally, some piece and quiet.”
/ / /
Maya was looking through each of the classrooms, searching for her best friend, when a stone on her bracelet heated up. She’d made a bracelet, linking to Caroline, Jeremy and her mother, each of them had their own bracelets to match, each stone was connected to a different person, and would heat up if someone was in danger. “Caroline!” she gasped, just then, Jeremy’s stone heated up too. “Oh no!” she could sense that Jeremy was closer, pulling out her phone she called Enzo, “Zo, Caroline’s in trouble!”
“I’m already on my way!” he replied.
Maya raced outside and found Jeremy and Tyler facing the Mayor, Jeremy looked nervous, he was fiddling with the bracelet that she’d given him.
/ / /
“Okay let’s get this out of your system,” Richard said, “Go ahead, fight.”
“You want us to what?” Jeremy asked.
“I’m not gonna fight him Dad,” Tyler said.
“I don’t think so, sir,” Jeremy made to leave but the Mayor stood in front of him.
“You don’t fight in there, like pansies. You take it outside, fight your battles like men, and move on. That’s the lesson that my dad taught me, so let’s settle it. Fight.”
“Come on, Dad.”
“No, it’s not gonna happen.” Tyler said, and he tried to leave.
“I said fight!” Richard said, shoving him back.
“HEY!” Maya yelled, running up to them.
“Whoa!” Alaric said, “What’s going on out here?”
“I’m just letting these two kids work it out,” Richard said, “We’re good here, go back inside.”
“I don’t wanna go back inside,” Alaric replied, “What I want is an answer to my question. What’s going on out here?”
Maya grabbed Jeremy’s arm, checking over her cousin before glaring at the Mayor.
“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Richard asked, walking over to Alaric. “Do I look like a student?”
“No.” Alaric replied, “You look like a full-grown alpha-male douche bag.”
“You don’t talk to me like that,” Richard said, taking another step towards the History teacher. “I could have your job like this,” he snapped his fingers.
Alaric let out a condescending chuckle, “You do that, then it’ll be you and me in this parking lot, working things out. You cool with that?”
“You just marked yourself."
“Okay,” Alaric nodded.
The Mayor turned to Tyler, motioning for him to go, and he moved to follow, but was stopped by Maya, “Mayor Lockwood,” Maya scowled, looking up at him, “Not a smart move, pissing me off,” she hissed, “That’s my cousin, and if you remember, I told you that I protect the people that I love, you’re lucky I didn’t set you on fire.”
She moved back to Jeremy giving him another quick look over, “You good?”
“Yeah,” Jeremy nodded.
“Go inside, Caroline’s in trouble, I’ve gotta go.”
Jeremy’s eyes widened in alarm, “Go!”
Maya rushed off and Alaric watched her go, “What did she just say to the Mayor?” he asked, he could have sworn he heard something about setting him on fire.
“Nothing!” Jeremy replied, turning around and heading inside.
/ / /
Liz was in her car, driving away from the school when her phone rang, “Where are you?”
“I didn’t know you told your daughter about Vampires Liz, she made a valiant effort trying to get away.”
“What do you want?”
“The satisfaction of turning your daughter into a Vampire.” Logan grinned, he brought the car to a stop, and turned to Caroline, he was going to make her mother listen to him kill her.
Enzo ripped the door open and yanked Logan out of the car, pulling out a gun filled with wooden bullets he fired four shots into Logan’s body, stalking up to him as his body dropped, “Who turned you?” he asked.
“I don’t know!” Logan said, struggling to get up.
Enzo shrugged, “Oh well,” he aimed his gun but Logan held his hands up.
“Wait! Wait! Wait! I do know!”
“You’re lying.” Enzo replied.
“No I’m not,” Logan gasped, getting to his knees, “You think you’re the only ones that want to get into that tomb? There’s more than one way to break the spell! We can help you.”
Enzo narrowed his eyes, crouched down, reached out and grabbed Logan by the throat with one hand, and used the other to press the gun directly to his chest, right above his heart, “I’ll let you in on a little secret,” he whispered, “We opened that tomb four years ago.” Logan’s eyes widened in fear, but it was too late, Enzo had already fired the shot that killed him.
Damon picked up the phone when he heard Liz’s voice on the other end, “Logan, what happened? Logan?!”
“Sheriff, it’s Damon,” he moved over to the other side of the car, biting into his wrist, his blood dripped between Caroline's parted lips, her eyes fluttered open and she gripped his wrist more tightly and took a few mouthfuls of blood.
“Where’s Caroline?”
“She’s okay, uh, I’m on Elm Street.” Enzo picked up the body and shoved it into the trunk of the car, before rushing over to Damon and Caroline’s side.
Caroline gasped as she healed, looking around frantically for her attacker, “Easy love,” Enzo said, as Damon pulled her out of the car and to her feet, “He’s dead, we got him.”
Caroline let out a little sob and threw herself at both Vampires, they wrapped their arms around her as she cried, “It’s okay Gorgeous, we got you.”
Damon stiffened as he heard the wailing of a siren getting closer, “Zo you gotta go, find Red, she’s gotta be freaking out.” Enzo dropped a kiss on Caroline’s crown before he whooshed away. “Hey,” Damon spoke softly, stroking her hair as she wept, “You’re okay, we’ve got you, I promise.” He held onto her tightly as the police car swerved to a stop and Liz rushed out.
“Caroline!” she cried, running up to her daughter.
“It’s okay,” Damon said, “She’s okay.”
Caroline moved from Damon’s arms, straight into her mothers, “Mommy!” she cried.
“Oh Honey,” Liz wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter, she looked up at Damon, fighting off tears. The Salvatore gestured at the trunk of the car and Liz nodded, and mouthed ‘Thank you’, to him, squeezing her daughter tighter, “Let’s get you home,” she said to Caroline.
“I’ll take care of this,” Damon nodded to the car.
/ / /
Enzo found Maya at the school, calmed her down and whooshed her to Caroline’s house, the Sheriff having arrived only a few minutes before. The red-head burst through the front door and headed straight to Caroline’s room, where she found the blonde and her mother curled up in bed. She paused in the doorway, but Liz reached out her hand and gestured for her to join them. Maya dived under the covers, on the other side of the teen, wrapping her arms tightly around the blonde, she didn’t want to let the girl out her sight ever again.
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel great!
Chapter 41: Liz Finds Out...
Notes:
Thank for all of your kind comments and kudos! I hope you enjoy this!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Maya stayed up all night, running her fingers through Caroline’s hair as she slept, terrified to go to sleep for fear that something awful would happen to the blonde. Liz had remained at her daughter’s side, she’d never felt such fear in her life, Caroline had been in more danger than Liz had ever thought possible, if it hadn’t have been for Damon, she’d be dead, just the idea that if he was a few seconds too late, her daughter would be gone, was so hard for Liz to reconcile with.
Maya watched as Liz stirred, checking on Caroline first and then getting up, their eyes locked, “I know I’m not supposed to be here, but-”
Liz shook her head, cutting her off “No. You stay. Caroline needs you, and to be honest, I’d feel better, knowing that there was someone with her that can protect her.”
“Liz you can protect her!” Maya insisted in a whisper.
“Can I?” she asked, “Logan went after her because of me! He hurt her because of me!”
“You can’t think like that, what Logan did, that’s on him, no one else! You didn’t hurt Caroline, you didn’t put her in harms way! You did your job! You protected this town! The only way you knew how! This isn’t your fault. It’s Logan’s, and he’s dead now because of it.”
“But it still happened,” Liz insisted.
“I know, but she’s okay, and the only thing that’s on my mind now is that we find a way to protect her better.”
“You mean…magically?”
Maya nodded, “I have some ideas, and it’ll take some time, and I’ll probably need some help, but yeah, magically, I’m gonna find a way to protect her. I promise.”
Liz walked over to her, sat on the bed and brushed some hair from Maya’s face, giving the girl a soft smile, “Maya, I have spent your whole life watching you grow up, hell, I helped Jenna raise you! I know that things have been...off between us since Bill left, and your little…revelation, definitely made things rocky. But you’re my family too, and I am so proud of the woman that you’re becoming.”
“Thank you Liz,” Maya whispered, feeling warmth spread through her being, perhaps Liz finding out about her was a good thing, maybe it could help bring her and Caroline closer together again.
“I’m gonna call the school and pull you and Caroline out for the day.”
“Okay,” Maya nodded, “Damon would have told Mom what happened, are you going in to work today?”
“Yes,” Liz replied, “I’m going to have to talk to the Council about last night.”
“Oh, um…”
“What?”
“Before you do…I should probably tell you that I may have threatened to set the Mayor on fire last night…” Maya sheepishly admitted.
“You what?!” Liz hissed.
“He took Tyler and Jeremy outside and tried to make them fight ‘like men’,” she air quoted, “And when Jeremy tried to leave, he wouldn’t let him, and when Tyler refused and tried to leave, he shoved him and insisted that they fight. Because that’s what his daddy taught him.”
“Maya you cannot just go around threatening town officials!”
“It’s fine! It’s not like anyone heard…except…maybe Mr Saltzman…the new History teacher.”
“Oh my- just stop talking! I’m going to go get ready for work.” Liz made an about face and left the room before she heard anything more.
“You threatened to set the Mayor on fire?” Caroline’s scratchy voice came from the bed.
Maya faced the girl and smiled, “Yeah, sucks you missed it, I could swear there was fear in his eyes!” she snuggled back up into her friend’s side, knowing that Caroline wasn’t ready to talk about what happened last night.
The blonde shuffled over, wrapping her arms around her best friend and resting her head on Maya’s shoulder, “Can we go over to your place?” she asked, knowing that Maya had already increased the protection spells on her home.
“Of course we can, you wanna lock up in the magic room? Or just snuggle on the couch?”
“Just snuggle,” Caroline replied, she didn’t want to have to think about anything just yet.
“I just can’t believe that Logan’s dead,” Miranda lamented at the Council meeting, it was just the inner circle at the meeting, Richard, Carol, Liz, and Brian Walters (the Medical Examiner).
“He got cocky,” Richard said, “Out at night when we hadn’t confirmed that the town was clear, he should have known better.”
“Richard,” Carol admonished, “The man’s dead, let him have a little dignity.”
“The man tried to kill my daughter!” Liz cut in, “But he’s gone now, I confirmed it with Damon, the Fell’s are just going to bury him in the family plot. They don’t want to make a big deal about it.”
“Which brings us to our next topic,” Carol said, “New members.”
“I think that Damon Salvatore would be an excellent fit for the Council,” Liz said, “To date no one’s killed a Vampire before and Damon has taken down two. Plus he’s providing us with vervain, now that Zach’s moved out of town, and he’s a founding family member.”
There were nods from the rest of the Council, “Alright,” Richard said, “All in favour raise your hands.” Every member of the inner circle raised their hand in agreement, “Very well, Damon Salvatore will be welcomed onto the Council.”
“Which moves us to our next potential member,” Carol spoke, looking over at Miranda, “Jenna.”
“My sister can’t join the Council! She’s not a founding family member.”
“Maybe not, but Maya made a new Vampire detection device for us when I asked, we need her on side. But I don’t want to force the responsibilities of a Council member onto a 17 year old. And while we’re discussing that, how is that Jenna is your sister, and you had no idea what Maya was capable of?” Liz asked, genuinely confused that Miranda had no idea about what her niece was.
Richard snorted in amusement, “That probably has something to do with the fact that her kid nearly killed Jenna’s,” he muttered.
“Richard!”
“Elena did not nearly kill Maya!” Miranda protested.
“That’s not what she copped to,” Richard replied.
“She didn’t!” Miranda insisted.
“Miranda,” Liz sighed, “Elena confessed, get over it, you’re lucky that she got a sympathetic judge was charged as a minor. If Maya had died, Elena would have gone to prison.”
Miranda frowned, she hated the fact that Elena had confessed, “You’re my best friend Liz!”
“I’m also the Sheriff.”
“I think we’re getting away from the topic at hand,” Brian, the Medical Examiner, cut in, “The question for the day is, do we want Jenna Sommers on the Council?”
Half the week had gone by since Logan’s attack, and Caroline hadn’t been able to sleep, Maya had stayed over at her house every night so far, keeping her safe. Right now the red-head was fast asleep, her Mom had only worked the day shift since that night, and was asleep in her own room. Sighing, Caroline moved into the den, closing her bedroom door quietly behind her, her mind was still abuzz with possibilities of what could have happened to her, if her friends were even a second too late.
Tapping her fingers on her thighs, she grabbed her phone, popped in her headphones, and video called the only other person that she had wanted to speak to.
“Caroline Darling! What a pleasant surprise.”
“Hi Kol,” she sighed.
Kol’s smile dropped at the tone of her voice, switching on the light on his end, he brought the phone closer to his face and took in her visage. “What’s the matter Love?”
“I uh,” she rubbed a hand over her face, “I’m not sure where to begin.”
“Whatever it is, you can tell me, I’m halfway across the world right now, so you’re safe.”
Caroline’s stomach dropped at the confirmation of him being so far away, it didn’t make her feel safe, “If you’re um, if you’re busy, I can call you back later.”
“Nonsense Love, there are very few things that could tear me away from you right now, what is it?”
“Okay,” she sighed again, “Let me start by saying that I told Maya, and Damon and Enzo, not to tell you anything, I wanted to be the one to tell you what happened.”
Kol frowned, “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Um…a few nights ago, someone turned Logan Fell, a member of our town Council…he used to babysit me when I was a kid, I’ve known him my whole life,” her voice broke, and she felt a tear slip free of her tight control, “He attacked me!”
Kol growled in response, his monster surfacing almost immediately.
“I was upset over a stupid boy, one that wasn’t even worth my time. And I stormed out of school at night, away from Maya, away from the crowds.” She sniffled and wiped away more tears as they fell, “I tried to get away, I screamed for help, but I was too far from anyone! He threw me against the car and knocked me out. He was gonna kill me Kol! He was gonna feed me his blood and kill me! All while my Mom listened, to punish her!”
“I’ll kill him!” Kol snarled.
“Enzo already beat you to it,” she shook her head, “Damon and Enzo found me before he could, and they killed him, but I can’t sleep.” She whimpered, “I don’t feel safe if I’m not like, right by Maya, or one of the guys. I’ve freaking met Original Vampires! But I’ve never felt more helpless than when he grabbed me.”
Kol tried to shove his monster down, he didn’t want to upset her more, he’d be phoning both Vampires and the Siphon as soon as this call was over, he’d already opened his computer to book a flight back to the U.S. he was going to see Caroline in person, she clearly needed him. “I’m on my way there Love!”
“You can’t come to Mystic Falls Kol, we’re keeping you guys away so that Katherine will show up.”
“Fuck Katherine Pierce! No one is going to stop me from coming for you!”
“I’m going to Georgia this weekend,” she said, “Maya wants to meet a Witch she knows there because she needs some help with a new set of protections for me. Damon and Enzo are coming too. Meet us there? Please?”
Kol’s jaw clenched, he wanted to disregard her request completely and barrel into Mystic Falls, but her asking to see him, was a huge step in whatever relationship they were building, “You’re certain that you don’t want me in Mystic Falls?”
“Not yet. As soon as Katherine’s locked down you can come here. But I really wanna see you Kol.”
“Send me the details, I’ll meet you there.” He finally agreed, she nodded and said her goodbyes, hanging up on him.
/ / /
Kol shoved his phone away and roared in fury, trashing his hotel room, he rushed out into the town and burst into the first nightclub he could find. He locked the doors, and slaughtered every last person in the club. Gorging himself on their blood, he even tore a few people apart, just to get his rage out. By the time he was done, every surface of the club was covered in viscera, his victims’ screams were ringing in his ears, along with the pounding base of the music that was still playing through the club’s speakers. Wiping the blood from his face he scowled, that hadn’t done nearly enough to sate his anger, he smashed all the bottles of alcohol he could find and set fire to the place before whooshing out of there, looking for another place to destroy.
“Why do we have to take two cars again?” Enzo asked, loading up his SUV with Maya’s Witchy ingredients.
“Because while there are four of us right now, we’re going to be coming back with Stefan. Lexi says he’s all dried out and firmly back on the wagon, so he’s coming back with us. Do you want to share a car with him?”
“You’re right, he’s Damon’s brother, Damon can drive him back,” Enzo nodded, he certainly didn’t want to spend 7 hours stuck in a car with the eternal bore that was Stefan Salvatore. “Is that everything?” he asked, shoving a second suitcase in the back of the car.
“Yep, we’re good to go. Where’s Caroline and Damon?” Maya asked.
Enzo cocked his head for a moment, listening out for his lover and the human, “Blondie’s currently squeezing her mother to death, even though we’re only gonna be gone for the weekend. Damon’s complaining about it.”
Maya laughed, “Okay, let’s go. Once Damon hears us leave, he’ll get Sunshine in the car. If we beat him there he owes us shots!”
“What are we waiting for then? Let’s go!”
Damon parked his car directly in front of ‘Bree’s Bar’ and jumped out, opening the door for Caroline, and offering her a hand, he helped her out. “Let’s go!”
“Unbelievable!” Maya complained as Enzo pulled in after him, “We left before them! How did they get here first?!”
“You’re the one that insisted on peeing at the rest stop,” Enzo shrugged.
“How many times do I have to say that I am lady Enzo! I do not pee on the side of the road!” Maya frowned, jumping out of the SUV and stretching her legs.
Enzo rolled his eyes, “Come on, let’s get inside before Bree jumps my boyfriend.”
/ / /
The woman wiping the bar down looked up as the door opened and Damon, Caroline, Enzo and Maya stepped inside. “No, no. It can’t be! Damon?!” she jumped over the bar and rushed over to him, “My honey pie!” she reached out for him, but he pulled back.
“Sorry Bree, these lips are off limits now!” he smirked and walked over to the bar.
“Hey Bree,” Maya said, amused at the glare that Enzo was sending the Witch’s way.
“Bree,” Enzo muttered, following Damon.
“Are they…”
“Finally together?” Maya finished for her, “Yep.”
“Damn! And here I was hoping to take one more ride on the Damon train before it closed down permanently.”
“Ah,” Maya sighed, “Many a woman will be lamenting over that! Oh, FYI, they may be together, but his baby bro Stefan, and Lexi, think that he and I are together.”
“Why?” Bree asked.
“Because it’s fun to mess with Stefan,” Maya shrugged. “Anyway, this is my very best friend, Caroline. Caroline this is Bree, Damon’s Witch friend.”
Bree turned to the blonde who was staring at her with wide eyes, “So you’re what all the fuss is about,” she looked the girl up and down, “Oh I definitely get it!” she said, causing Caroline to turn bright red. “Let’s get you ladies some drinks huh?” she made her way behind the bar and the girls took their seats between Damon and Enzo. “Listen up, everybody!” Bree called, lifting a half empty bottle of tequila and pouring a line of shots. “Here’s to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness. Drink up!”
Damon smirked and took a shot, “Oh Bree, when are you gonna stop introducing me to everyone like that?”
“When my heart is whole once more!”
“So never,” Damon lamented.
“Never.” Bree nodded with a smile.
“How did you two meet?” Caroline asked, curious about someone that Damon referred to, even loosely, as ‘friend.’
“College,” Bree answered.
“You went to college?” Caroline asked Damon incredulously.
“I’ve been on a college campus, yes.” Damon took another shot.
“About 20 years ago, when I was a sweet young freshman, I met this beautiful man, and I fell in love. And then he told me about his little secret, made me love him even more. Cus you see, I had a little secret of my own, that I was dying to share with somebody.”
“She’s a Witch,” Damon mock whispered.
“You changed my world, you know?” Bree said.
“I rocked your world.”
Bree laughed, “He is good in the sack isn’t he?”
Caroline’s eyes widened, “We’ve never-”
“No?” Bree shrugged, “That’s a shame,” she winked, “But mostly he’s just a walk-away Joe.” She took a shot, “That is until this one got a hold of him,” she nodded at Enzo, who smirked in return.
“What can I say?” Enzo shrugged, “When I want someone, I go after them.”
“So, I know why Red’s here,” Bree said, “But why are you? Your girl’s come to see me on her own before.”
“Has anyone come through here, asking about the tomb?” Damon asked.
“The tomb? I thought you decided you didn’t care about it anymore,” Bree replied.
“I don’t,” Damon said, “But someone else came to town, saying they had another way in, they turned a Vampire that attacked Blondie.”
“Which is why you’re here looking for heavier protections,” Bree said to Maya, and the Siphon nodded.
“No one’s come in here asking about it, but the only other way in, is to reverse engineer the spell, and the only way to do that is if you know the exact process of the spell, which can be found in-”
“In Emily Bennetts grimoire,” Maya finished.
Bree stared at Maya for a moment, “You found the grimoire? It’s been lost for 145 years!”
“I found the grimoire,” Maya nodded, “She had some cool spells in there.”
“Shut. Up! I can’t believe that you found it!”
“Ladies!” Enzo cleared his throat, “Can we get back to the matter at hand please?”
“Right,” Bree straightened, “Like I said, no one’s come to me asking about it, but I can ask around some of my friends, see what they know.”
Enzo nodded, “We'd appreciate it.”
“Hey where do you want me to put my stuff?” Maya asked, “I brought a lot of ingredients with me.”
“Grab your bags, I’ll show you where, while I make some calls.” She motioned for the girl to follow her and Maya grabbed the suitcases that Enzo had dragged in, and took them to the back.
Elena was back at the Boarding House, the lights were all dark, the front door locked up tight, and Damon’s car wasn’t there. She rang the bell, but there was no answer, frowning she circled the house, heading to the back, she remembered that there was a door that Stefan didn’t usually lock. Trying it, it opened, and she snuck inside. “Stefan?!” she called, looking around the house, “Damon?!” there was no answer.
She looked around downstairs first, finding nothing she went upstairs, there was bound to be some information on where Stefan was up there, she found his room and started to look around. Stefan and Damon were hiding something from her, and she needed to find out what it was. Elena was drawn to the wall of books first, fingertips trailing over the cracked spines, that showed that they’d obviously been read more than once, and smiled, she loved books, and the fact that Stefan did as well was something she found incredibly attractive. She moved over to the table in the middle of the room and gasped at what she saw.
Elena’s hand trembled as she picked up a very old picture, a picture of a woman that looked like her, looking at the writing below, she could feel her heart beat speed up, ‘Katherine, 1864’.
Caroline was on her second drink when Kol appeared in the bar, she looked up at the sound of the door, and her eyes lit up when she saw him. “Kol!” she got up, and rushed over to him.
Enzo watched with a raised eyebrow, “Are we just letting that happen?” he asked Damon.
The elder Salvatore allowed himself to glace over to the couple, Kol had pushed Caroline’s hair from her face, and was trailing a finger down her cheek, his eyes traversing the length of her body, as though he needed to make sure that she hadn’t been injured. “I don’t really think that we get a vote in that.”
“He’s a thousand years old!”
“And completely indestructible,” Damon looked back at Enzo, “I don’t like saying that Sabrina will handle it, but if she thinks that something bad is going down, then this, she will handle.”
“I still don’t like it,” Enzo grumbled, crossing his arms with a frown.
“I don’t think they care.”
/ / /
Caroline and Kol moved over to a booth on the other side of the bar, it wouldn’t stop the guys from listening in, but it did give them the illusion of privacy, “Are you sure you’re okay Darling?”
“Physically I’m fine, it’s just I don’t feel safe on my own anymore. I always used to feel safe, no matter what. When Finn and Sage had me in their clutches, I was scared sure, but afterwards I was fine! But this…”
Kol pressed her into his side, threading his fingers through her hair, “When Finn and Sage grabbed you, Maya was there, you knew that she would die before she let anything happen to you, so subconsciously you felt safe. Mystic Falls is your home, you mother is the Sheriff, your best friend has magic, you’ve never needed to be afraid in your town because it’s your safe space, no one would dare hurt you there. What that…Logan, did to you, was attack you in your safe space, and in your mind you knew that for once, you were in real trouble. I believe that this was the first time that you were in danger and were unsure as to whether you’d be okay, that’s why you don’t feel safe alone anymore.”
Caroline relaxed into the Original, of all the people out there, she was aware that it was so messed up that she felt safe in the cocoon of his arms, but she also knew that he was one of the strongest beings in existence, no one could hurt her when she was with him, she felt indestructible. “What am I supposed to do? I can’t just latch onto my friends and never let go.”
“You said that Maya is here to work with a Witch to create some new protections for you,” Kol said.
Caroline nodded, “Yes.”
“Then I’ll help, and perhaps, you should learn how to defend yourself, I understand that Maya has been taking lessons since she was a child.”
“Yeah, as soon as Jenna found out about the world of magic, she put Maya in defence lessons.”
“Go with her,” Kol said, “This world is a dangerous one Darling, if you’re going to insist on being a part of it, then you need to learn to fight. I’d be happy to give you some pointers, after all, I am a Viking.”
/ / /
Bree stiffened as she felt the power that entered her establishment, “What’s wrong?” Maya asked from her place at the bar.
“And Old One just walked in,” she whispered, zeroing in on the man that Caroline had just walked up to.
Maya glanced up from her food and nodded, “Yeah, that’s Kol Mikaelson, I think he’s got a bit of a thing for Care.”
“Wait- You know an Original?!”
“I’m a ‘student of the game’ Bree,” Maya shrugged, “Who better to learn from than the Old One that runs with Witches?”
“Kol Mikaelson is your teacher? You run with Originals?!”
Maya smirked, “I run with Klaus,” she revealed, she didn’t want Bree spreading anything about her, and the best way to do that was to drop the Hybrid’s name, he was the one that always had the supernatural community trembling in fear.
Bree paled, “You’re serious aren’t you? Maya do you have any idea how dangerous he is?”
“Yeah,” the girl nodded, “I do, which is why I’ll trust that you’ll keep your mouth shut about it, lest he feels the need to swoop in and murder everyone in here.”
“Is-is he coming here?” Bree panicked, she already had one Original in her bar, she didn’t think that she could take the stress of a second one.
“Nah,” Maya shook her head, “He’s busy right now, Kol will definitely be sticking around until we leave though.”
“I don’t understand Elijah,” Rebekah shook her head, “It’s like any and all evidence that was pointing to Lucien has just disappeared!”
“He must have found out that we’re the ones investigating his business,” Elijah replied, “I’m surprised it took him this long.” The older Mikaelson was going through the documents he’d been given by one of his investigators, the businesses that had leased out the spaces for the ‘secret labs’ were owned by a shell corporation, owned by another shell corporation, owned by another and then another, going on and on until the finally, at the very top of the pyramid was Kingmaker, Lucien’s company. But the problem was, all of a sudden, Lucien was no longer the owner, founder and CEO of the company, another man had taken the helm, Arturo Torres.
“There’s no way that Lucien would just give up his company,” Rebekah stated, “He has far too much pride for that. This has to be a trap of some kind.”
“I agree,” Elijah flicked through the information in his hands, “You know, there are three possible locations for the CEO’s office.”
“You want to pay him a visit?” Rebekah asked with a smirk.
“He thinks that he’s smarter than us,” Elijah replied, “We should disabuse him of that notion.”
“I’ll send some of my people out,” Rebekah said, “They’ll find out which office the boss is in, and if it’s not Lucien, well, they’ll be that much easier to subdue.”
Bree looked between Maya and Kol nervously, the three of them were in the back, the dinner rush wouldn’t come in for the next few hours, so they were working on ideas for new protections for Caroline. Clearing her throat, she pulled out one of her own grimoires, much like Maya, she didn’t have family grimoires, unlike the red-head though, Bree hadn’t had anyone to teach her magic, she’d had to stumble through learning for most of her life, until she reached her thirties and she’d come across a Coven that had been willing to teach her the basics, but hadn’t been willing to do much more unless she became a member. “You’ve got your warning spell down,” Bree said, “But every protection spell that I know, requires the user to have magic, you can’t spell something and have it work without a trigger. And humans don’t have triggers.”
“She is right Love, warding can be put up around houses and towns, even cities, but creating something specific that follows one person around, a human no less, has never been done before.”
Maya fiddled with the bracelet around her wrist, as she bit her lip thoughtfully, “Just because it’s never been done before, doesn’t mean that it can’t be done.” She sighed, “Maybe a warding isn’t what Caroline needs, maybe she needs an object,” she looked at Kol, “You’ve helped Witches create objects that can be used by anyone before, couldn’t you help me do the same again?”
“I taught them how to create dark objects,” Kol said, “They were all designed to attack, hurt, cripple, I’ve never helped anyone create something to protect.”
“If you’re turning to dark objects, I can’t be a party to that,” Bree said, “I won’t help, and I won’t have it here.”
Maya shook her head, “Caroline won’t accept a dark object, and that’s not what I was thinking.”
“What were you thinking then Darling?”
“Caroline…tried to escape, but she couldn’t, if it were a Witch that was attacked, they’d be able to counter immediately, with a whole host of spells, but humans can only rely on their strength and speed.”
“Which is nothing compared to a Vampire’s,” Bree provided.
“She tried to run, but she couldn’t…she couldn’t escape…couldn’t…dodge!” she looked up at both of them, “Couldn’t we come up with a spell, that gave her faster reflexes? A spell of evasion! Couldn’t we spell a piece of jewellery that, when she wore it, it could decrease her reaction time? Make it so that when a Vampire reaches for her, her whole body just automatically moves to evade the attack, faster than a normal human?”
“An evasion spell?” Kol tapped his chin thoughtfully, “Perhaps…but as a human, her body can only move so fast, she would still be no match for older Vampires.”
“It’s not the older Vampires I’m worried about right now, I’m worried about the baby Vampires that keep popping up back home! All she needs is to be fast enough to get to a crowd!”
“You’re talking about creating a spell, something like that would require a lot of ingredients, time to brew, the right jewellery. And when it’s done, your friend would need to practice, her body needs to know how to move in a situation like that before the spell is cast. Because if it’s jewellery, it could be removed, if her body doesn’t know what it’s doing and it’s taken from her, she could stumble or fall, and get caught.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Kol dismissed, “I’ve already spoken to her, she’ll be coming with you to your defence sessions, she’ll learn.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t answer my question, can it be done?”
“Let me do some research,” Bree said, thinking about how a spell like that could be done, “I’m sure that we’ll need something more than just regular spell ingredients, I don’t know what, but I have this feeling that we’d need something extra for a spell like this.”
Kol nodded, “She’s right, humans don’t function the way we do,” he gestured to all three of them, “A spell like that, something designed to alter a human attribute, it will require rare ingredients and a good amount of time to create.”
“I don’t care how long it takes,” Maya replied, “I want Caroline to be in the best position possible,” she held up a hand to stop Kol from saying anything, “Without having to become a Vampire.”
“You and uh…Kol, can use this space to start brewing ingredients for the spell, I have the bar to take care of, I’ll come back when I’m closed.” Bree almost ran out of the back room, unwilling to be in the same room as the Original for any longer.
“I think she’s scared of you Kol,” Maya said, looking over at the youngest Original brother.
“But I’m such a delight!”
Bonnie stared at the ceiling, her hands cradling the back of her head, as she took in what Elena had just told her, “Stefan and Damon are Vampires,” she repeated, “Vampires, and you and Maya are dating them!”
“Bonnie-”
“How long have you known Elena?!”
Elena sighed, “I found out the night of the car wash.”
“The ‘Sexy Suds’ car wash?” Bonnie clarified.
“Yes,” Elena nodded.
“Elena, that was two months ago! You found out two months ago, and didn’t tell me? Even after I told you that I was a Witch?” Bonnie was hurt, the two of them were meant to be best friends, they shared everything with each other, but Elena hadn’t told her, at least not until she absolutely needed to tell Bonnie something.
“I’m sorry Bonnie,” the doppelgänger replied, “It wasn’t my secret to tell.”
Bonnie paused at that, it was true, being a Vampire, that was Stefan’s secret, not Elena’s, but then she thought back to the morning that she spent with Elena, not too long ago, when she’d told Elena about having actual magic. “You told me about Maya, and that wasn’t your secret to tell either! But you still did, because we’re best friends and we don’t keep secrets from each other! Or at least, I thought we didn’t!”
“Bonnie”-
“Caroline and Maya are best friends, and I bet that Caroline knows about the Salvatores!”
“That’s Maya and Caroline! Why are you comparing our friendships?” Elena implored, looking at Bonnie with her doe eyes, trying to show that she hadn’t meant to hurt the Bennett Witch.
“Because we’re the same! One of us magical, one not,” she gestured at Elena, “You just told me that Damon is a killer! He drinks human blood, you can bet your ass that Maya told Caroline because she wanted her to be safe around him! But you didn’t tell me!”
“I’m telling you now!” Elena protested.
“AFTER! After our friend Matt lost his sister! After another Vampire was terrorising the town! After you found out that you’re some carbon copy of Stefan’s ex-girlfriend!” she picked up the picture that Elena had taken from the Salvatore house and threw it in her face. “After you let me sneak into Maya’s house! After she threatened to set Damon on me! I didn’t even know what that meant at the time, but you did!” Bonnie jumped up from the couch and paced the floor, aggressively running her hands through her hair, “You let me put myself in danger and you didn’t even tell me!”
“Bon-”
“No Elena!” Bonnie held up her hand, stopping her from saying anything more, “I can’t even look at you right now!” she shook her head, and ran out of the house. Leaving Elena speechless, how had things gotten so screwed up, so fast?
Bonnie rushed over to her grandmother’s house, her Grams had said that Witches were immune to a Vampire’s compulsion, and as long as she stayed out of Vampire business then she would be fine. But if Elena was dating a Vampire, even if she didn’t want to, she got the feeling that she was going to be dragged into Vampire business, and she needed to know how to defend herself.
She burst through the front door, her Grams wasn’t in, but hopefully she’d be home soon, Bonnie made a B-line for the grimoires on the shelf and pulled them all out, she needed to find out the best spells to go up against a Vampire and she needed to do it fast.
/ / /
“She threatened her! She threatened her Jenna! How could you not tell me?!”
“I took care of it Liz!” Jenna replied, “I made appropriate threats back! Hell I threatened to turn Sheila into the Council so that they could burn her at the stake!”
“You didn’t tell me!” Liz repeated.
“I couldn’t and you know it!” Jenna threw her hands in the air in exasperation, “You didn’t know about Maya’s magic, what was I supposed to do? Tell you that Sheila threatened my kid, but I couldn’t tell you why?!”
Liz clenched her fists, “God! I’m so angry at you right now! At some point in the last six years, you should have told me! At least when Caroline found out!”
“I didn’t find out that Caroline knew until Maya was fourteen, and at that point, I had to respect Maya’s wishes. Did I want to tell you? Of course I did! Do you have any idea how hard it is to be the only grownup in the know in this little family? Damon and Enzo aren’t grownups! They are boys trapped in men’s bodies! I have to be the adult! All the time! And it was fine when Maya was a kid, I’m her Mom, that’s my job. But the moment, the moment, that magic got involved, our lives became so much more dangerous! Do you have any idea how many times my daughter has almost died because of magic?! Four times! Four times! That some magical bitch has attacked my daughter because of who she is! Do you have any idea of how terrified I have been? From the first second that I found out that my baby-girl had magic, I’ve known that there are things that I can’t protect her from. At least you can protect Caroline.”
“Jen, I had no idea,” Liz said, looking at her friend in a new light, how had the younger woman been able to keep up such a happy, upbeat demeanour, when she had so much more than other mothers to worry about?
“I just-” Jenna sighed, “I just never wanted you to worry like I had to.”
Liz abruptly stood, “Well now that I know, I’m taking some of this burden off of you! And I’m starting with Sheila Bennett!”
She marched out of the house and Jenna followed her, bewildered at the sudden turn of events, “What, now! You’re going now!”
“You’re damn right I am!” Liz got into her cruiser and Jenna hurried into the passenger seat. “What are you doing?”
“Well someone has to make sure that you don’t commit a felony!”
/ / /
Sheila walked into her house and saw Bonnie on the couch, going through her grimoires, “Thank God you’re back!”
“And hello to you too,” she put her bags down at the door and sat down next to her granddaughter, "What’s the matter?”
“The Salvatores are Vampires!”
“…”
“You knew!” Bonnie accused when her Grams didn’t say anything, “I can’t believe that you knew and you didn’t tell me!”
“I told you to stay out of Vampire business,” Sheila replied, “As long as you do, you’ll be fine.”
“I can’t Grams! Elena’s dating Stefan Salvatore! Did you know that? She loves him! And Maya’s dating Damon! And he’s killed people in town! He killed Mr Tanner!”
Sheila’s face dropped at that, Maya had hinted that Damon cared about her, but to be dating a Vampire? It meant that she really did have a steady source of magic at her beck and call, “Damon won’t hurt you,” she tried to reassure Bonnie.
“How can you know that?” Bonnie asked, “Thanks to you, Maya pretty much hates me! What’s to stop her from sicking her pet Vampire on me!”
“Damon Salvatore made a promise to our ancestor Emily Bennett to protect our line.”
“In return for what?” Bonnie asked.
“There’s a tomb, under Fells church, filled with Vampires that have been starved to the point of desiccation for 145 years, the deal was that one of her descendants would open that tomb after the passing of the comet.”
“A tomb filled with starving Vampires?! We can’t open that! What’s to stop them from killing us all?!”
“We’re not going to open it Bonnie! I’m not letting those Vampires out.”
“Then what incentive does Damon have to keep us safe?!”
/ / /
Liz pulled up to Sheila’s house and marched to the front door, Jenna scrambled out of the car after her, pulling out her phone and subtly setting it to record, if Liz didn’t commit any felonies, then she was sure that Maya and Caroline would want to see what happened. The Sheriff pounded on the door with her fist, Sheila’s car was in the driveway, so she was definitely home.
/ / /
Bonnie and Sheila were startled out of their conversation by banging on the front door, Sheila stood up and shifted the blinds so that she could peak outside, what she saw, was a very angry looking Sheriff, and worried looking Jenna stood behind her. “Go to your room,” she said to Bonnie.
“Grams what-”
“Now Bonnie! You don’t need to be here for this.”
Bonnie rushed up the stairs, but instead of hiding in her room, she waited at the top, so she could hear what was going on, just in case her Grams was in trouble. Sheila straightened up and opened the door, “Sheriff! What brings you by?”
“What brings me by? What brings me by?!” Liz was fuming, the more she thought about the fear that Maya had to have felt, for years, because of this woman, the angrier she got, “I just found out, that you threatened Maya’s life, when she was five!”
“Sheriff listen to me-”
“No you listen to me!” Liz cut her off, barely able to stop herself from putting hands on the sanctimonious Witch, “Maya is my daughter’s best friend, my goddaughter, my family! And you threatened her, when she was in kindergarten!”
“She hurt Bonnie! I was just protecting my granddaughter!” Sheila defended.
“She was FIVE!” Her eyes were blazing with fury, “She had no idea what happened, what she’d done, what she was! It was an accident! And instead of helping guide her, teach her, you threatened her, for something that was not in her control!” Liz’s fingers dug into the sides of her legs in an effort to stop her reaching for her gun, “Well, let me make something perfectly clear to you Sheila Bennett! I know what my goddaughter is, I know what you are, and if you ever, ever, threaten Maya again. I will bring the full force of the Sheriff’s Department and the Council down on your head!” she pointed at the Bennett Witch, “That is a promise!” she spun on her heel and stormed out of the house, with Jenna running after her.
“Grams?” Bonnie asked, having snuck down the stairs.
Sheila turned around, taking in the look on her granddaughter’s face, “Bonnie.”
“What was she talking about?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Grams, tell me what’s going on!”
Maya had just finished preparing the main ingredients for Caroline’s spell, she needed to let them brew for several hours before they could be used. Kol had gone back out to the bar, much to Bree’s chagrin, to sit with Caroline. He needed to figure out what special items Maya’s spell needed, but he’d outsourced that to his sister, Freya, he’d sent her a message and she’d responded, telling him that she would go through her own grimoires, which she’d stored in a secret compartment in her coffin, and see if she could figure out what was required.
So there wasn’t much Maya could do for the rest of the night, she was going to re-join her friends, when a potential idea popped into her head, and instead of heading back outside, she video called her favourite Original.
“If it isn’t my Little Witch,” Klaus said, not recognising the background, so opted to use his old pet name for her.
“Hi Nik,” she smiled at the sight of him. He looked good, eyes bright, hair a little tousled by the wind, and an easy smile on his face.
“Where are you?”
“Oh, ‘Bree’s Bar’ in Georgia, I came to see Damon’s Witch friend.”
“But you’re Damon’s Witch friend,” Klaus replied, causing her to laugh.
“Damon knew Witches before me,” she defended, and at his look she clarified, “Okay, Witch, he knew one Witch before me. They met like 20 years ago, he rocked her world, and then broke her heart…probably because he cut her off from his magical penis!”
Klaus choked on air at that, “Maya!”
She laughed, “Sorry, sorry! I had to say it someone! But Enzo doesn’t like being reminded that there were others before him!”
“Never mention Damon’s penis to me again!”
“Really? Not even if-”
“Never!” he cut her off.
“Okay, okay!” she relented, “I promise!”
“Did you just call me to put disgusting images in my head?!”
“No! I wanted to put dirty pictures in your head,” she tugged on her green bra strap, showing it to him, “Wanna see my underwear?”
“Yo-A-” Klaus’s eyes widened at her offer.
Maya grinned at his speechlessness, “I’m kidding,” she pulled the edges of her jacket closed over her chest in a mock form of modesty, “You have three naughty pictures of me already Mr Mikaelson! That’s all you're getting.” She smirked, “Which is a shame for you, because I took some even naughtier ones.”
Klaus raised a brow, “How naughty?”
Maya’s eyes closed for a moment as he spoke, God she loved the sound of his voice, it was so sexy, “Let me put it this way, you know the clothes that I was wearing in those earlier shots?”
“Yes.”
“I’m wearing even less.”
“You were only in your underwear in those photos.”
“I know! These newer ones are positively scandalous!”
“Maya,” Klaus growled, his monster pushing through in his lust for her.
She giggled in response, “Ah, as much fun as this is, I didn’t actually call you to rile you up.”
Klaus closed his eyes for a moment and glanced down at his lap, where a certain something was demanding serious attention, “Well, you did a good job of it anyway Love…what did you actually want?”
“I was calling to ask if you’d be willing to draw a couple things for me…a swallow…and a hummingbird.” The glint in her eyes told him that she was fully aware of the significance of the bird to him, “But they need to be small, like about one square inch, maybe a touch bigger.”
“What is this for exactly?”
“The hummingbird’s for me, the swallow's for Caroline. I need them for this spell I’m planning.”
“You’re not going to give me any more than that?” he asked.
Maya shook her head, “If it works out the way I hope, I’ll let you know exactly what it was for.”
“Any particular colours? Or design preferences?”
“I’ll leave that up to the artist.” She smiled and rested her chin on her hand as she watched him.
“What?”
“Nothing, I just…miss you. I know that you can’t be here yet, but seeing Kol with Caroline…it just makes me wish you were.”
“Kol’s there?” Klaus asked.
“Yeah,” Maya nodded with a secretive smile, “She called him, and told him about the attack, and he booked the first flight out to come and see her.”
“Don’t give me that look,” Klaus said, “It’s Kol, she’s just his newest fancy.”
“Oh no, Caroline’s not the girl that’s just a passing fancy, she’s the forever girl, the one that you’re with for eternity. Kol knows that, he’s not just flirting with her, he’s starting to catch feelings, I can tell.”
“You think that you can read my brother?”
“I can read both of you.”
“Really? What can you tell about me then?”
“Oh I can tell a lot, but the most important thing is...you’re falling for me,” she could see Klaus’s jaw tense, and knew that he wasn’t ready for this discussion, “It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything. I know. You don’t have to worry, because I’ve already completely fallen for you.”
Klaus swallowed heavily at that, she couldn’t be saying what he thought she was, no one had said those words to him in centuries, “Maya…”
The smile she offered him was one full of understanding, “It’s okay Nik, I won’t ever ask for anything that you’re not ready to give. Let me know when you’re done with those drawings, it’s pretty urgent. I’ll talk to you later…Love.” She hung up before he could say anything else.
“You and my brother are sickening,” Kol said from the doorway, “Truly. Vomit inducing.”
“No one said that you had to listen in!”
“You didn’t put up a privacy spell,” he replied and she rolled her eyes.
“What do you want Kol?”
“Freya texted me, she’s made some promising in roads to the spell.”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment! They always make me feel wonderful!
Chapter 42: Caroline’s Protection
Chapter Text
On Sunday, Kol and Caroline were together in a booth near the back of the bar, Caroline wanted to spend time with him before she had to go back home, and Maya was more than happy to let her best friend have some time with the Original while she worked on the spell. It also gave Damon and Enzo a little time to just be together, before Stefan and Lexi showed up, which they would be doing in a few hours. “I still can’t get over the fact that you know the Originals,” Bree said, “How did you even meet them?”
“D and Zo met Klaus a few years back, they kept in touch and at some point Klaus needed a spell done and didn’t have a Witch available to do it. I offered and in exchange I got a favour in return, it just went on like that,” Maya shrugged.
“And what, now you’re his personal Witch?”
“I mean-” Maya shook her head, “He has plenty of Witches, but he likes D and Zo, so we ended up crossing paths way more than expected…and he likes my attitude, likes that I’m trustworthy, and that I have a vested interest in keeping the guys alive, so he knows that I wouldn’t take the chance and betray him. Which is also why you should keep your mouth shut about it, he doesn’t take kindly to anyone messing in his affairs.”
“Hey, I don’t want any problems with the Originals,” Bree held her hand up, “I have a good thing going here, and any involvement with the Originals would mess that up. So you do you and I won’t say a word.” Bree wasn’t stupid, she knew that she wasn’t a powerful Witch by any means, people came to her because she mostly traded in knowledge, her easy going nature made it a breeze for her to collect information on pretty much anything. She wasn’t about to go and make enemies with the most feared being on the planet, especially now that his brother knew who she was.
“Cool, did you figure out what was missing for the spell?”
She nodded, “Yeah, you can’t just exponentially increase how fast her reflexes work, you need to base it off something.”
“Meaning what exactly?”
“Think of it like this, if you wanted to become faster, you’d base your spell off of something that’s really fast, like a cheetah. So, however fast you want these reflexes to be, you need to base them off of something with fast reflexes.”
Maya nodded, “I don’t think I have anything that I could use as a base.”
“There’s shop in town, it’s not far from here, they’ll be open for three more hours, you could see what they’ve got.”
“Stefan and Lexi are due to show up soon.”
Bree rolled her eyes, “I’m sure I can keep them occupied while you’re busy, it’s not like I run a bar or anything,” she said sarcastically.
“Alright! Alright! I get it, I’ll go!” She made a move to leave, she’d take Enzo’s SUV, and let the guys have their time together.
“And how bout you bring back whatever you need to make that ‘hangover-less booze’!”
“Damon’s got such a big mouth!” Maya complained.
Bree laughed, “I’ll test it out here, if the customers like it, I’ll make it a standing order, it could be another revenue stream for you.”
Jenna and Liz were at the Grill having lunch together, now that Liz knew about Maya, it felt like a weight had been lifted from her chest, obviously Liz didn’t know everything, Vampires, especially, was going to be a topic that the Sommers girls would have to broach with a lot of care and sensitivity, because if Liz found out on her own, there was no telling how she would react.
“Is it always like this?” Liz asked.
“Like what?”
“Like as her Mom, I’m worried about Caroline, I always will be, but with Maya it feels like…”
“Like there’s a whole extra layer of extreme worry on top of what would already be there?” Jenna finished, “Yeah it does.”
“How have you just dealt with this on your own? I mean for six years, you’ve had to do this alone!”
“Well,” Jenna started, “I haven’t been completely on my own, I know I said that Damon and Enzo are like kids, but they have been a big help.”
“And that’s another thing! How old is Damon? And how are you letting Maya date him?!”
Jenna laughed, “You know you’re the first person in town that’s even questioned their age gap? Don’t worry, they’re not actually dating.”
“What do you mean they’re not dating?! I’ve seen them out together! They went to the Founder’s party together!”
“Long story short, Elena’s dating Damon’s brother and Maya being Maya, just wanted to upset her. And Damon’s cool with it because well, it upsets Stefan and he thinks it’s hilarious, and he’s not a fan of Elena…for obvious reasons.”
Liz rolled her eyes at the explanation, of course that was Maya’s plan, “Wait…when did you meet Damon? And Enzo? You never really mentioned them before.”
“I met Enzo shortly after I found out about Maya, and Damon and Enzo have known each other for, what seems like forever. I met him three years ago. He’s the one that uh…arrange for Mai to be moved to that hospital in New York. It saved her life,” Jenna replied.
“What happened? You said that…” Liz looked around to make sure that no one was listening and lowered her voice just in case, “Witches were trying to kill her.”
“Yeah,” Jenna nodded, her face turning as she thought about that day, “She did a pretty big spell, that left her weak, vulnerable to psychic attack, a Witch that wanted to stop her, used that to their advantage and mentally attacked her. It took a while to find someone who could help, and Damon and Enzo set it up.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell Miranda?”
“What?”
“Up until May, you and Miranda were like best friends, you shared everything, why not tell her? She could have helped you.”
Jenna paused at that, she couldn’t tell Liz that it was because Maya had asked her not to, because then she’d ask why, and they were keeping the fact that Maya was an Old Soul under wraps. Sighing she realised that she had to give Liz something. “Did you know that Grayson was working another job, other than just being a doctor?”
“What? No. What does that have to do with anything?”
“It has everything to do with it. He worked for Augustine, do you know what that is?”
Liz shook her head, “No, I’ve never heard of it before.”
Jenna bit her lip, she looked around, there wasn’t anyone near them, but she still felt too exposed, “I’d prefer to do this somewhere more private, you never know who’s listening in.” Liz nodded, the two of them paid for their food and headed out.
/ / /
Liz and Jenna were sat together in the Sommers’ home, and Jenna felt much more comfortable talking to her friend, “When Maya was seven, she found a journal belonging to Grayson, detailing some of the work that he was doing…hang on, we have it somewhere.” She got up and headed to the little office that she’d set up for her own work, rifling through her drawers, she pulled out the worn journal. Every time that she felt bad about lying to her sister, she’d pull out that journal and read a few pages, it reminded her of who exactly Grayson was, and reminded her of what could have happened to her daughter if she hadn’t been careful. Enzo had never been referred to in the book, except as his numerical designation, so she knew that Liz wouldn’t know who was being tortured. “Here,” she handed it over and Liz opened it.
Her eyes scanned several of the pages, visibly recoiling at some of the descriptions of ‘experiments’ that had been detailed, “I don’t understand, who’s 12144?”
“He was a prisoner, a Vampire,” Jenna replied and Liz looked shocked at the information, “He was turned in 1903, he fought for the allies in World War One, and then again in World War Two. Augustine kidnapped him, sometime during the Second World War, they didn’t just keep him locked up, they tortured him, for sixty years. All in the name of ‘science’. Liz I know how you feel about Vampires, but Augustine was literally cutting pieces out of this man, burning him with vervain, acid, sunlight, breaking him open again, and again, and again.”
“That’s not…this was a Vampire,” Liz tried to say.
“And a man, Vampire’s aren’t born, they’re made, I mean, he literally fought for the good guys in two world wars! How many humans can say that they’ve done that?”
Liz shook her head, “This still doesn’t explain anything!”
“After Maya found that journal, read those words, she snuck into Grayson’s clinic, into the basement, there she found that Vampire, tied up, after his latest round of torture. It terrified her, not the Vampire, but that her uncle could do something so horrific. Apparently she spent the next three years, sneaking into that basement, talking to the Vampire, giving him hope that he would one day be free…When she told me about the magic, she told me about the Vampire in the basement…”
“What did you do?” Liz had a feeling she knew exactly what Jenna did, she knew what type of person Jenna was.
“I set him free.”
“Jenna!”
“Are you telling me that you would have left him there? I know how the Council feels about Vampires, but they are not all monsters, they are people! And he did not deserve what happened to him. Grayson participated in the torture of another being! If Grayson was capable of doing that, what would he have done to Maya? I couldn’t take the chance, so I never told Miranda.” Jenna leant forward, taking Liz’s hands in her own, “We don’t like it when it happens to animals, so why would I like it when it happened to someone that walks and talks and literally fought for our freedom? Would you have left him there Liz?”
Liz shook her head, she wouldn’t have, as much as she hated Vampires, she wouldn’t have let one be tortured like that, “I would have staked him,” Liz replied, “I can’t stomach the idea of torture, but I wouldn’t have set him free.”
“It’s a good thing that I’m not you then,” Jenna said, “Because that Vampire, is the only reason Maya is alive today.”
“What?! What are you talking about?”
“She gave him hope, and freedom, he gave her his loyalty, forever. The night of the accident he was in town…Maya hit her head, before even going into the water she was unconscious, I called him, and told him about the accident,” She couldn’t tell Liz that Jeremy was the one who made that call, otherwise there would be even more questions from her friend, “Liz how do you think that the girls got out of the car? It was a Vampire that saved both girls. It was a Vampire, that dragged Maya out of that car, got her onto to dry land, and gave her CPR until she could breathe on her own. Without him, my daughter would be dead.”
“I-I-” Liz shook her head, “I have to think,” the Sheriff stood, the knowledge that it was a Vampire that had saved her goddaughter had her reeling. Vampires were monsters, why would they try to save anyone?
“Liz-”
“No Jenna. It’s too much, I- I need time, I need you to give me that.”
“Okay,” Jenna frowned, and watched as her friend left her home, she didn’t want Liz to hate her, but she needed to know that Vampires weren’t just monsters, she needed to understand that they were people, with hopes and dreams, and real feelings.
Klaus was taking a walk along the perimeter of the compound’s grounds, he was out alone for the first time in months, that was the thing about packs, you were never alone, added to that, apparently he had two children, his time was no longer his own to do with as he wished. He’d raised a child before, but that was in New Orleans, with Elijah and Rebekah at his side, if he wanted to do something, he just did it, knowing that one of his siblings would ensure that nothing happened to Marcel. But here, with the pack, while he knew that his Beta, and the enforcers would watch the children, he had the strangest urge to remain with them, unlike with Marcel, he didn’t have the need to roam free of these children. Perhaps it was because he no longer had to look over his shoulder for Mikael, perhaps it was because of the split of his family, and he needed to have them with him. Or perhaps it was just because they were wolves like him, whatever it was, he found that he had very little time to himself.
But after his call with his Little Siphon, he needed to get away, at least for a short time. She’d said something to him that he couldn’t believe, sure she hadn’t said that actual words, like she instinctively knew that he would not react well to them, but still, she had implied it…he couldn’t even bring himself to think the word. The word that he’d only just been able to say to Kol, and he’d only said it because his brother had felt like Klaus didn’t care for him, even that had been difficult for him.
Familial love was one thing, but that wasn't what Maya was talking about. Romantic love. Romantic feelings were…they weren’t new to him, but he hadn’t felt them in a millennia, he refused to, and now, here was this young woman (or older woman, depending on how you wanted to think about it) who had just swept into his life. She’d intrigued him from the first moment that he’d talked with her over the phone, she’d known who he was and yet had spoken with a level of confidence and bravado that centuries old Vampires couldn’t pull off. And then somehow, she’d managed to infiltrate every part of his life, his freedom was thanks to her, his family were all finally awake, probably for good, thanks to her. His relationship with his baby brother, a relationship that had been so broken that Kol could barely stand to be around him, had been repaired, and it was all because of her. His birth right as Alpha of his father’s pack, had been cemented, because of her, she was going to ensure that his wolf was finally unbound from the torturous curse that Mikael and Esther had bestowed upon him. His children, Liam and Luna, wouldn’t even be alive without her knowledge of Lucien and his misdeeds…he wouldn’t have his children without her…she was the cause of all his happiness as of late…
She was intelligent, and funny, powerful and dangerous, beautiful and loyal to a fault, she was everything that he needed, and he knew it. Deep within himself, he knew that she was truly what he wanted, and she was there for the taking, that much she’d made clear. But she’d also made it clear to him that she would never be second place, she would never lower herself to being anyone’s second choice, and she didn’t trust that she was the only one he wanted.
Sighing Klaus melted further into the brush, finding a small formation of boulders that was the meeting point of the teenagers whenever they snuck out, and he took a seat. He hadn’t thought of Aurora de Martel in nine centuries, even after the revelation of Elijah’s betrayal, he’d kept his mind far from her, for the pain that she’d caused him was now accompanied by a much fresher hurt. But Maya wanted him to think about Aurora, she wanted him to work through the pain that he felt whenever he heard her name, he believed that at some point Aurora must come back into his life, and Maya was afraid that he would cast her aside in favour of his first love. He had to make his Little Siphon understand that he wouldn’t treat her that way, he just needed to figure out how.
Lexi, her boyfriend Lee and Stefan walked into ‘Bree’s Bar’, she’d received an email from Maya telling her that her rings were ready and that she was planning on coming to the Witch’s bar. Lexi had told her that she’d meet her there, and that Stefan was also ready to come home, so Maya had said that Damon would come with her to pick him up. Looking around, she spotted Damon, sat next to his Vampire friend, Enzo, in a booth, Enzo had his arm on the back of the seats, his fingers were playing with the ends of Damon’s hair. Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, she looked around for Maya, but couldn’t find her, exactly what was going on with those two? She pulled Stefan and Lee towards the bar, they were going to grab a drink, and then she’d head over to the older Salvatore and find out where the Witch was, and maybe figure out what Damon and Enzo were playing at.
Once Bree had served them, Lexi made a direct line over to the two Vampires, Lee and Stefan hung back at the bar, chatting with the Witch for a bit. “Damon!” Lexi said, sitting in front of the two Vampires, startling them both.
“Lexi,” Damon frowned at the older Vampire, he still didn’t get why Red had felt the need to save her, “What do you want?”
“Where’s Maya? She said she’d be here to drop my rings off.”
“She’s working in the back room,” Enzo said, but then stiffened as he heard Stefan ask Bree about Maya and the other woman’s response was that Maya had gone out. “Gone out? What does she mean gone out? How did she even-” he checked his pockets and cut himself off when he couldn’t find his keys, “That little thief! She stole my keys!”
Damon snorted in amusement, taking a sip from his drink, “At least she was smart enough to know not to take my car.”
“Not the point Damon!” Enzo ground out, “How the hell did she take them without me noticing?”
“Well you two seemed to be in your own little world,” Lexi pointed out, the suspicion evident in her eyes, she managed to pick up on the fact that Damon had tensed at her words, just for a moment, but it was there. He was definitely up to something.
/ / /
Stefan threw back a shot, Lexi had worked twice as hard as she usually did to get him back on the animal blood diet, mostly because she knew how much he wanted to get back to Mystic Falls, back to Elena, to keep her away from Damon, but Damon was here, apparently to drive him back to town, and if Damon was here, then he’d need a lot more to drink to deal with him. Stefan signalled for another drink, grabbing the glass when it was put in front of him, but before he could take the shot, he was distracted by a familiar sounding laugh. Turning in its direction, he saw Maya’s best friend, Caroline, tucked away in a booth with an unfamiliar man. He looked around the bar for the red-head but couldn’t see her anywhere. What was Caroline doing here?
“Hey, uh, why don’t you join Lexi, I’ll come find you in a minute,” Stefan said to Lee.
“You sure?” Lee asked, Lexi had explained to him Stefan’s lack of control when he was on human blood and wanted to make sure that the older Vampire was okay to be left alone.
“Yeah,” Stefan nodded, “I’ll only be a couple of minutes.” Lee nodded and walked over to Lexi, who reluctantly introduced him to the two Vampires that she was with. Stefan, on the other hand, headed over in Caroline’s direction.
/ / /
“So Enzo, tell us about you, how do you know Damon?” Lexi asked, she had never even heard of Enzo before, and the few feelers that she had put out, hadn’t come back with anything. She sat across from them with Lee at her side.
“Damon and I met a long time ago,” Enzo replied nonchalantly, he wasn’t about to tell Lexi much about him, especially when he knew that Damon hadn’t told Stefan anything about Augustine, and he didn’t think that his boyfriend had any plans to tell him anytime soon.
“Really?” Lexi leant back in the booth, crossing her arms, “How long ago?”
“We met in 1953…spent five…delightful years together.”
Damon snorted in amusement at that, “That’s one way to put it,” he muttered.
“Five years? Cus I’ve gotta say, even though I’m not friends with Damon, I’d like to think that I know him well enough to know the he doesn’t really do friends, and he’s certainly never mentioned you before.”
Damon rolled his eyes at that, Lexi didn’t know him at all, if she did, she’d know that he would never talk about someone he cared about with her, “Well, you don’t really know me all that well do you Lex? I mean, let’s not forget that I had you fooled pretty easily in the 70s,” he smirked.
Lexi scowled, she hated the fact that Damon had been able to trick her back then, hated the fact that she’d fallen for his lines, believed that she’d been able to turn his emotions back on, and she hadn’t told Lee about that particular part of her history. It wasn’t just a painful memory, it was an embarrassing one, she shouldn’t have fallen for him like she did.
“Perhaps its best to leave the past in the past eh?” Enzo cut in, seeing the veiled anger on Lexi’s face, he didn’t want to have step into a fight between Damon and the older Vampire, they would win, he knew that much, mostly because Kol was in the bar, and he didn’t think that Original would let much happen to them, thanks to Maya and Klaus, but still, they were enjoying their time together and he didn’t want to sour the night with a fight with Stefan’s best friend. “We didn’t come here to fight after all.” He shot Damon a pointed look, who just smirked in return.
/ / /
Caroline was in a booth at the back of the bar sitting across from Kol, he’d mostly spent his time reassuring her that he and Maya had a good plan for some extra protections for her, assuring her that she’d be safe when she went home. In the back of her mind she already knew that, she knew that Maya wouldn’t leave her unprotected, not after Logan’s attack, but it would take a while for her feelings to catch up with her brain. Caroline hadn’t wanted to think about it anymore, so she redirected his attention to himself, she wanted to know more about him, she wasn’t ready for any deep, meaningful discussions about his past, but the two of them had been steadily developing a bond, and she was ready to learn a little more about him.
“It’s ridiculous,” Kol complained, “I mean, first she just moved into the Brownstone, like she had full rights to do it! Then she re-decorated the living room-”
“Wait, I decorated the living room! She can’t just do that!” Caroline cut in, the Brownstone was in Maya’s name, so the girl had let Caroline do whatever she wanted.
“Well she did!” Kol replied, “And now, she’s taken to bringing men home! Men! Men who I find at all hours of the day, shirtless, and rummaging through my fridge!”
Caroline burst out laughing at that, the affronted look on Kol’s face was just too much for her to handle, “I-I’m sorry,” she giggled, the Original looking thoroughly annoyed at her, “I just- can you hear yourself? I mean isn’t this what you wanted? You’ve got a sister all to yourself!”
“Bah!” Kol thew his hands up in the air in exasperation, “You sound just like Nik!”
Stefan appeared at the booth, startling Caroline out of her laughter, “Caroline, what are you doing here?” he asked. His eyes drifted to her companion, spotting the lapis lazuli in his possession.
“Minding my own business, what are you doing?” she shot back, she didn’t understand how whatever she was doing was any of Stefan’s business.
Stefan tensed, “Caroline, can I speak to you in private please?” he wanted to get her away from the mystery Vampire and make sure that she was okay.
The blonde rolled her eyes, “Ugh, Stefan, I know he’s a Vampire.” Stefan’s eyes widened at that, “Yes, I know,” she said, “Did you really think that my best friend was going to just let me walk around town completely uniformed?”
“Caro-”
Kol rolled his eyes and grabbed Stefan’s arm, yanking him closer, causing the younger Vampire to face him, Kol locked eyes with Stefan, “Go away, Caroline doesn’t want you to bother her.” Smirking, he lowered his voice to a mere whisper, “And while you’re at it, Caroline just came with Maya because she wanted to go on a road trip with her friend. Now, forget about me, go back to your friends and leave us alone.” He compelled. Stefan made an about face and headed over to Lexi and Lee without a second thought, forgetting in that instant that he’d been compelled.
“Kol!” Caroline hissed, “I was taking care of it!”
“Darling, Nik made it very clear that he doesn’t want anyone in town to know about us, I’m was just being responsible and making sure that the younger Salvatore doesn't remember me.”
Caroline crossed her arms and huffed, “Since when have you done anything responsible?” she muttered, causing him to laugh out loud.
/ / /
“Stefan!” Damon said, “Finally, are you ready to go?” Damon demanded, he didn’t want to hang around with Lexi any longer than he had too.
“We can’t go anywhere Damon,” Enzo sighed, “Maya’s still not back yet, we can’t leave.”
“Where is she?” Lexi asked, “And how long is she going to be gone?”
“I don’t know,” Damon replied, “We literally just found out that she wasn't here!”
“Relax people!” Maya walked up to them, eyeing the five Vampires all gathered around one table, “I’m back.”
“Where the hell have you been young lady?!” Enzo demanded, “And who said that you could take my car?”
“Maybe if you were paying better attention, then you would have felt me take your keys,” she dangled them in front of her and the English Vampire snatched them from her hands.
“Gimmie those! What have I told you about stealing.”
Maya gave him a deadpan stare, “Nothing, you’ve literally told me nothing about stealing.”
Damon coughed to hide his laughter and Enzo shot them both a look of displeasure, “Well, this is me telling you! Stealing is bad! Don’t do it again!”
Fine,” Maya rolled her eyes, and shoved in next to Damon, turning her attention to Lexi, she smirked, “Sexy Lexi! How’ve you been?”
Lexi looked at her in amusement, “I’m good, this is my boyfriend, Lee.” She turned to him, “Lee, this is Maya.”
“Are you the one that was making our rings?” Lee asked.
“I’m the one that made your rings,” Maya corrected, placing a small gift bag on the table in front of Lexi.
“Are these-” Lexi cut herself off and reached inside, pulling out two ring boxes, and opening them, she gasped at the sight, they looked better than she imagined, the lapis lazuli standing out against the rose gold, and diamonds that the rings had been set in. Lexi pulled out Lee’s ring and took his hand, she slid it onto his left ring finger, it fit perfectly. Lee smiled and did the same for her, “They’re perfect,” she said with a smile. She couldn’t wait to test her ring out.
“Wait,” Stefan said, “How do we know for sure that they work?” he asked, “I mean, it’s not like we can test them out now.” He glanced outside, the sun had set, it was too late to see if the rings really were daylight rings.
“I run a reputable business Stefan,” Maya replied, affronted that Stefan would think that she would provide Lexi with something that didn’t work, “And Lexi’s not an idiot, I’m certain that she’s going to test the ring out on a small patch of skin before going outside and sunbathing.” Lexi nodded in response, of course she would, “These rings have been paid for, if they didn’t work then Lexi would not only come after me, but I’m sure that she’d tell every Vampire that she could not to use my services, and then I’d be out of business. I’m not stupid Stefan.”
“Yeah Stef! What are you implying? Do you think Sabrina’s stupid or that she’d be just malicious enough to offer Lexi the sun and then take it away for no reason?!” Damon cut in, not happy about what Stefan had just insinuated.
“No I-”
“Because really I find that pretty insulting,” Maya said, “Especially seeing as how Lexi and I got on quite well when she came to visit.”
“I didn’t mean that,” Stefan replied, “I just wanted to be sure, Lexi hasn’t been out in the sun in 350 years.”
“And now thanks to me, she will get to watch the sunrise.”
Cary knocked on Klaus’s office door, and let himself in when the Original called for him to enter, “Hey Klaus, can I get the uh…black card again?”
Klaus raised a brow at his Beta, “The black card?”
“Yes,” Cary replied hesitantly.
“The black card is for emergencies,” Klaus said, the black card was unlimited, he would leave it with Cary when he had to leave to ensure the pack had everything it needed, and when he returned, Cary would always give it back. “Why do you need the black card?”
“We’re running low on moonstones.”
“Okay, I’m gonna more information than that, what the hell do you need moonstone for?”
“Oh!” Cary’s eyes widened as he realised that Klaus really didn’t know why they were necessary. “You don’t know! Uh…right,” Cary sat down, “So, you know that a few members of the pack are human, they married into the pack, and some of our people never make a kill and therefore never activate their curse.”
“Yes I know that.” Klaus nodded.
“The members that don’t have a wolf of their own need to have something that shows that they’re a part of a pack. It used to be tattoos, but kids can’t get them, and seeing as how most packs like to stay under the radar, it was decided on moonstone rings. Any wolves that come across a member with a ring will know that that person has a pack.”
“And what about the humans that just decide on moonstone jewellery? It’s a semi-precious stone, so people will want it.”
“Packs have specific designs, it’s not like stuff you can just buy on the internet, and we make it ourselves.”
“Which is why you want the black card.”
Cary nodded, “We need the metal to set the stones in.”
“Where are you even making the rings? We don’t have a forge on site.”
Cary shrugged, “A little fire, some blacksmithing tools, we make it work. So can I have the card?”
“Fine,” he pulled the card out of his wallet and handed it over, pulling back just before Cary could take it, “But, I’ll be coming by to see exactly what is being made.”
“You’re the Alpha, you can do what you want,” Cary replied.
“Damn right I can,” Klaus let Cary take the card and leant back into his chair when the Beta had left the office, he had an idea.
Bonnie bit her lip as she looked around the Grill, Maya and Caroline hadn’t been in school that day, and neither of them had been seen in town all weekend, which was weird, given how many different committees Caroline was a part of, she should have least been visibly active on Saturday and Sunday. But the girls were nowhere in sight, Bonnie needed to talk to someone, and as much as she didn’t like Maya, she got the feeling that the girl would give her more truth than Elena right now. Her eyes lit up as she spotted Jenna, Maya’s mother having dinner with Mr Saltzman. If there was anyone that could tell her where Maya was, it would be her mom. Mr Saltzman got up to go to the bar and she rushed over.
“Miss Sommers,” Bonnie said walking up to the table.
Jenna raised her brow at Bonnie, what did Sheila’s granddaughter want? “Bonnie,” she said coolly, “Is there something you needed?”
“I need to talk to Maya!” Bonnie said almost desperately, her Grams wouldn’t elaborate on anything that the Sheriff had said when she came over to the house, but Bonnie needed to know the truth, had Maya really been living in fear of her Grams since kindergarten?
Jenna eyed the girl suspiciously, “Why?”
“Miss Sommers-”
“You’ve never needed to speak with her before.”
“I-I know, I just, I can’t talk about it, um…I just need to speak with her,” Bonnie fiddled with her hands nervously, she’d never actually spoken to Jenna on her own before.
“She’s out of town,” Jenna replied, “with Caroline and Damon.”
“Damon?!” Bonnie exclaimed, “But-but he’s-”
“He’s her boyfriend, and I trust him,” Jenna took note of Bonnie’s rising alarm, she must know what Damon was, if she had to guess, she’d bet that Elena had been the one to tell her about him. Jeremy had spoken to her the other day, and told her that Elena had been muttering about not being able to talk to her best friend about Stefan, she wasn’t being too subtle about it.
“But-but-”
“Hey, sorry about that, they’re down a bartender,” Alaric smiled as he brought two drinks back with him to the table. “Uh,” his eyes widened as he saw Bonnie standing by Jenna, “Am I interrupting something?”
“No!” Jenna smiled at him, and then turned back to Bonnie, “Maya’ll be back tonight, if you want to talk to her, she’ll be at school tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Bonnie sighed, she didn’t know what she could and couldn’t say to Jenna, she didn’t think that accidentally revealing that Damon was a Vampire to Maya’s mom was a good way to start things off with the Siphon, “I’ll speak to her then I guess.” She turned to walk away, pausing as she realised that Elena was sat at a table with her own mom, she couldn’t talk to her just yet, not until she’d gotten everything straight in her head.
“What was that about?” Alaric asked Jenna as Bonnie walked away.
“She wanted to speak to Maya, but they’re not friends so, she can wait to speak with her at school tomorrow.” Jenna dismissed.
“Speaking of Maya, where was she today? She wasn’t in class.”
“She took a weekend trip with her boyfriend and Caroline, they got stuck so they’ll be back tonight.”
“You let your daughter go out of town with her boyfriend?”
Jenna didn’t like his judgmental tone, “My daughter and I have a very open relationship, I trust her, and I trust Damon.”
“Damon? Damon Salvatore?”
“Yeah,” Jenna nodded.
“Isn’t he a little old for her?” he asked alarmed, he was almost certain that Damon Salvatore was the Vampire that he was hunting, to know that her daughter was out with him, alone, unsupervised, it sent a chill down his spine.
“Pretty sure that I’m the parent,” Jenna said, displeased with the fact that he was questioning her decisions when he had absolutely no say in her life, “Not you, you don’t get to question my decision making, you don’t even know Damon.”
“But you do?” Alaric asked incredulously.
“Yes actually, I do! But I don’t really know you, and I really don’t like this sudden judgmental attitude that I’m getting from you. Maybe we should cut this dinner short.”
“No!” Alaric exclaimed, reaching out a hand to prevent her from leaving, “I’m sorry, you’re right, it’s none of my business. She’s one of my students, I was just concerned, but you’re her Mom, you know better. Can we just start over?” he asked.
Stefan had arrived back in Mystic Falls after making sure that Lexi and Lee’s rings worked, even though Maya had said that they would, he didn’t quite believe her. Because he insisted on waiting until the sun came up, he’d made them all a day late returning to Mystic Falls, Damon had taken Enzo in his car, and Stefan had been forced to join Maya and Caroline in their vehicle, the red-head refusing to speak to him after his blatant disregard of her talents. (That was certainly a frosty seven hour journey that he never wanted to take again). Maya had pulled into her house, and Caroline cited that Stefan could make his own way home, and he’d been off like a shot, perhaps being so blatantly distrustful of the Witch's capabilities was not the best idea.
Stefan walked into the Boarding House and headed up to his room, where he was shocked to find Elena waiting for him, “Elena!”
“Where have you been?” she demanded.
“Uh, I was with Lexi, she wanted to introduce me to her boyfriend, what are you doing here?”
“You said no more lies! Only the truth, but you lied to me!”
“What are you talking about?”
Elena pulled the picture of Katherine from her pocket, “I found this!”
“Elena-”
“You promised that there would be no more lies Stefan! I can handle the truth. As crazy as it is, I can handle the fact that you are a Vampire. And that you have a Vampire brother. And that my best friend is a Witch. I can accept the fact that the world is a much more mysterious place than I ever thought possible. But this- this lie, I can’t take. What am I to you? Who am I to you?”
“You are not Katherine!” Stefan said, moving in closer to her, “You are the opposite of everything that she was.”
“And when did you figure that out? Before you kissed me? Before we slept together?”
“Before I met you.”
“What?”
“The first day of school, when we met, it wasn’t for the first time,” he admitted.
“Then when was it?”
“May 23, 2009.”
“But that was-”
“The day Maya’s car went off the bridge.”
“You were there?”
“Every couple of years I come back here, to see Zach, to see my home. Last spring I was out in the woods by Old Wickery Bridge, and I heard the accident. All of it. I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. The car was already submerged, your cousin was- she was unconscious, at the time I couldn’t tell if she was alive or dead.”
“Oh my God. When I woke up in the hospital, nobody could figure out how we got out of the car, they said it was a miracle!”
“I was going to go back for your cousin, but someone had already gotten to her first, I couldn’t place him at first, but it was Enzo, Damon’s friend.”
“Oh God.”
“When I pulled you out I looked at your face. You looked like Katherine, I couldn’t believe the resemblance. After that, I spent months making sure that you weren’t her. I watched you. I learned everything that I could about you. And I saw that you were nothing like Katherine. And I wanted to leave town, but, Elena, I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave without knowing you. I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you. I wanted to, but you always looked so sad.”
“Why do I look like her?”
“Elena, you’ve already been through so much,” Stefan said softly.
“Why do I look like her, Stefan? What are you not telling me?”
Stefan shook his head, taking her hands in his own, “It didn’t make any sense to me, you were a Gilbert, she was a Pierce. But the resemblance was too similar. And then I learned the truth…you were adopted Elena.”
“How do you know that?” she asked almost desperately, not wanting to believe such a thing was possible.
“Your birth certificate from the city records. It says Elena Gilbert. Mystic Falls General. But there’s no record of your mother ever being admitted. There’s no record of her ever being pregnant then.”
“What else do you know?”
“For me to go any further, I would’ve had to look into the Pierce family, and I couldn’t do that, it was too much of a risk. If someone found out that I was asking about Katherine-” he stopped, shaking off that train of thought. “Listen to me, it doesn’t matter. You are the woman that I love. I love you, okay?” he dipped his head and kissed her, and she kissed him back.
Pulling away she looked in his eyes, “Wait, do you think that Maya knows?”
“It’s very possible,” Stefan replied, “She’s been with Damon for a while now, they seem to have a connection. Damon could have told her, especially if it meant that it would upset me.”
The girls were back in school on Tuesday, they suffered through their lessons, neither one of them really interested in learning, Maya had all the ingredients that she needed for the first spell she was going to cast for Caroline. When they’d returned to Mystic Falls, Maya had found two very detailed drawings in a box in her bedroom, along with a vial of Klaus’s blood. They were both anxious for the spell to be cast, Caroline because she hoped that it would give her the relief that she desperately needed after her attack, and Maya because she needed to be able to feel able to leave Caroline on her own without fear again.
“Are you sure that we can’t just go home?” Caroline whispered, the two of them were in Alaric’s class, not paying attention to whatever he was writing on the board.
“Your Mom ripped me a new one for keeping you away for an extra day, I don’t really want to piss her off anymore,” Maya whispered back.
“Miss Sommers!” Alaric raised his voice, causing both girls to snap to attention, “I take it from your private conversation that you already know everything that I’m about to teach you?” he asked, he was just about to cover the 1950s.
“Well, I’m not one to brag,” Maya started, causing Caroline to snort in amusement, “But history’s kinda my thing.”
“Really? Care to demonstrate your superior knowledge?” Alaric asked sarcastically.
“Sure,” Maya shrugged, muttering a few words under her breath before starting, “Let’s see, 1950 – we got the Korean war, the first ever Xerox machine was introduced, ’51 – uh we had the first ever U.S transcontinental television transmission, ’52 – Eisenhower was elected president, Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne, she’s still in power today, all hail the Queen.”
“Hail,” Caroline cut in, causing Maya to smirk.
“1953 – uh, the DNA double helix was discovered, Stalin died, the armistice for the Korean War, ’54 – the polio vaccine was introduced, uh…the first atomic sub was launched, I think it was called the USS Nautilus, ’55- the Warsaw Pact, ’56 – the Hungarian uprising, that whole Suez crisis thing, ’57 – Sputnik was launched, ’58 – was China’s great leap forward, and finally 1959 – Castro takes power in Cuba, and Alaska and Hawaii become states. And that’s all I can think of off the top of my head, is that enough for you?”
The whole class was staring at her, jaws dropped at the information that had just spewed from her mouth, Alaric himself was stunned, “You- you- just keep the talking to a minimum,” he stuttered out, wondering how the hell she could have just done that when she had been operating at a ‘C’ average for the class.
“You got it teach!” Maya gave him a thumbs up and he turned back to the board, trying to find his train of thought once more.
Caroline leaned over, “How the hell did you do that?” she hissed.
The red-head shot her a smirk, “Basic mind reading spell, I just skimmed the info from broody’s brain,” she whispered back, causing Caroline to slap her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing out loud.
The bell rang and the students all packed up and started to shuffle out, “Miss Sommers, stay behind please.”
“So much for not pissing Mom off anymore!” Caroline muttered as she flounced past, heading to her next lesson.
/ / /
The girls were sat outside on the stone benches for lunch, “Hey, have you noticed that Bonnie’s been staring at us all day?”
“Yeah,” the blonde nodded, “What d’you think she wants?”
“No clue, maybe she wants to tell us off for your Mom ripping into her Grams,” Maya replied.
“That was great!”
“I know right?!”
“I can’t believe that Mom actually did that! I mean, she’s usually so calm and collected!”
Maya shrugged, “Guess she really didn’t take the whole ‘being threatened by a grown-up thing’ lightly.”
“Guess so…oh, heads up, Bonnie’s coming over!” the blonde said, spotting the other girl avoiding Elena and heading straight for them.
Maya sat up and watched as the Bennett Witch made her way over, “Bonnie,” she said coolly.
“Maya,” Bonnie shifted from foot to foot, like she was completely unsure of what she was doing, “Can we talk?”
The blonde and red-head shared a look, before turning back to Bonnie, “I guess, take a seat.”
“Oh,” Bonnie glanced around, her eyes landing on Stefan and Elena, who weren’t too far from them, “I was hoping that it would be in private.”
Maya followed her gaze, “Oh,” she said in realisation, “You’re worried that Stefano might overhear something!” Stefan stiffened at the mention of his name and looked over at them, “No problem.” Maya raised her hands in front of her, and pushed them out slowly, extending a bubble of silence around them. Bonnie watched in intrigue, as she moved her hands, she could feel something magical envelop her, but she didn’t know what it was. “There! Now he can’t hear anything we say.” She offered Stefan a little wave, the Vampire frowned when he realised that he could no longer pick up on what was being said, and turned away from them.
“Wh-what? What did you just do?” Bonnie asked.
“Just a little silencing spell, you gotta learn those first if you hang out with Vampires all the time, otherwise you never get any privacy.”
Bonnie was startled at the fact that Maya had just so openly stated that she knew Vampires, “Wh-”
“That’s what you’re here to talk about isn’t it? The Vampires in town, I assume Elena finally told you.”
“Little late to the party if you ask me,” Caroline muttered.
“Uh yes,” Bonnie replied, “And there was something else.”
“Take a seat, lunch is nearly over, so we don’t have long.”
The head of Kingmaker’s security forces was sat in a meeting with Lucien, “One of our offices was infiltrated,” he said to his boss.
“Which one?” Lucien asked.
“The Colorado office, it was a man and a woman,” he handed Lucien a picture of the two who’d showed up.
Lucien raised a brow, “Rebekah and Elijah? That is odd…” If it was just Elijah investigating his company, he would understand that, or if it were Elijah and Klaus, or Klaus and Rebekah…but Elijah and Rebekah, was odd, Klaus never let Rebekah out of his sight, Lucien knew that for a fact, he would dagger his sister when she stepped out of line, but he never let her go, a thousand years and Rebekah had never been alone. So the fact that it was Rebekah and Elijah together was throwing him off. Where was Klaus? “You’re sure that there was no one else?”
“Positive sir.”
He eyed the picture thoughtfully, his people hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Klaus in years, a millennia on the run had given his sire the very special skill of being able to almost vanish from the world, leaving nothing but his name and the threat of unbridled violence behind. “Has any progress been made in locating the other two packs?”
“The Northeast Atlantic Pack was last spotted in South Carolina, but nothing since then, and the Crescent Pack hasn’t been heard of in almost twenty years. I sent some men to their last known location, but there were no wolves, anywhere.”
Lucien frowned, “And Klaus? Has anybody spotted Klaus Mikaelson? Has there been even a glimpse? A whisper of his presence?”
The Head of Security shook his head, “No sir, no one knows where Klaus is, but…”
“What?”
“Kol was spotted in China, and…there are rumours of another Original, one that no one has ever seen before in New York.”
“Finn?” Lucien asked.
“Yeah, that was the name.”
“That’s impossible,” Lucien muttered, all of the Originals un-daggered? Klaus would only have done that if his father had finally been put down, but nobody had heard of a clash between the Destroyer and Klaus, so that couldn’t be true. Had the Original family finally banded together to take the paranoid Original out? Had they finally decided that they could no longer live under his control and put him down? No! That couldn’t be true! Lucien refused to believe it. Klaus Mikaelson was the monster, the one that everyone feared, it was impossible. He was the one that was destined to destroy his sire! There was no way that the rest of the Originals had been able to kill the terror that was Klaus Mikaelson!
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that we need to speed up our timeline, find me those wolves! And someone find KLAUS MIKAELSON!”
“Are you ready for this Care?” Maya asked, she’d cast her spell, she had decided that instead of creating a piece of jewellery that could enhance Caroline’s reflexes, instead, she would create custom ink, that could be used to make a tattoo. She’d explained it to Liz, the Sheriff had been reluctant, but had caved and given Caroline permission to get a tattoo, so long as it wasn’t too big, and could be easily hidden.
The two of them were sat in her car, outside the tattoo shop in Richmond, Enzo was inside the shop, compelling the artist, “Explain it to me again.” Caroline said, “How is this going to work?” she was nervous, she’d be permanently marking her skin, and she needed to be absolutely sure. She’d seen the design that Klaus had made for her, it was a small, black and white design, a swallow, that was fairly traditional looking, or at least that what her internet search had told her. It was pretty, delicate, Klaus had made something that she thought suited her perfectly.
“I couldn’t just increase your reflex speed exponentially, I had to base it off of something, so I picked a small bird, because they’re pretty fucking fast. I cast two spells on this ink, the first, is a spell of evasion, it basically gives you superhuman reflexes, so that if a Vampire ever reaches for you again, you can dodge them,” she snapped her fingers, “Just like that. Enzo and Damon are gonna practice with you, so that you don’t end up tripping over your own feet.”
“And the other spell?”
“The other spell, is a locator spell, that I tweaked pretty heavily, as far as I’m aware, nothing like it exists.”
“How does it work?”
“Now, because you’re human, you can’t activate the spell, only another Witch or Siphon can. Basically, when the specific spell is cast to look for you, a copy of that little bird, will fly away, to the person that is linked to the spell. Now because this is new and seriously complicated, I could only link it to one person, and they had to be powerful. I linked it to Kol, using his blood. Depending on how far away you are from him, the bird will either show him your location, or he’ll just follow it to you. Do you understand?”
“Who has the spell to activate it?”
“I do, Kol does, the boys will know it, so will Mom and Liz, and Nik, so that if I’m not available, they can get another Witch to cast it, knowing full well that your location is going to someone trusted.”
“I understand,” Caroline nodded, “I’m ready,” she breathed.
“Good.”
“There’s two drawings,” Caroline said, “You’re getting one too.”
Maya nodded, “Yeah, a hummingbird, connected to Nik, obviously.” She looked down at the design that Klaus had made for her, he knew that she liked colour, and had created a beautiful illustration of the bird, pretty green feathers, dark beak, wings flapping to show that it was in flight. “You ready to go in?” she asked.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
/ / /
It took the artist a good few hours to ink the designs to their skin, and when they were done, Enzo provided them both with a few drops of his blood, healing the tattoos almost instantly. “Let me see!” Caroline demanded, tugging on Maya’s arm moments after it had healed.
“Alright, alright!” she laughed, showing Caroline her forearm, the bird was larger than the blonde’s, roughly four inches in size.
“Wow!” Caroline’s fingers brushed over the freshly healed tattoo, “It’s beautiful,” she said, “Maybe I should have gone with colour…”
“It’s too late now! Show me yours!”
The blonde had first thought about getting the tattoo on her wrist, but her Mom had demanded that it be somewhere that could be easily hidden, so she’d moved it up her forearm, just below the crease of her elbow, it was about half the size of Maya’s, “Here.”
“It’s perfect for you Sunshine, and most of your clothes can hide it.”
“You think?” Caroline stroked her thumb over the ink, it was so odd to think that only a few hours before, her skin was completely bare, but now she’d been permanently marked.
“I know it.”
The bell rang at school and the students filed out of Alaric’s classroom for lunch, the history teacher dropped Jeremy’s extra credit essay on the desk in front of the youngest Gilbert while he was packing it up. Jeremy’s eyes widened as he saw the ‘A’ at the top. “Surprised?” Alaric asked, “It’s a good essay, your thoughts are clear and your argument is well laid out. It’s just uh…” Alaric took a seat back at his desk, “You don’t actually think that there are Vampires in Mystic Falls?”
Jeremy smiled at his teacher, “No I mean, I think statistically there’s been more animal attacks, mysterious deaths, uh, people gone missing, more than any other place in the whole commonwealth of Virginia.” He knew that Alaric quite possibly knew the truth, that’s what Maya had said at least, but he wasn’t going to confirm any of Alaric’s theories, especially if he was investigating Damon.
“It’s conjecture, but creative, which is why you got the A. I just wouldn’t get too uh, caught up in the whole conspiracy theory of it all.”
“Yeah I won’t,” Jeremy replied, shoving the rest of his things into his bag and moving to leave the classroom.
“Oh, uh, Jeremy, the source that you cited, for the 1860s info, uh, Johnathan Gilbert?”
“Oh, my ancestor’s journal?”
“I’d really like to see that sometime.”
“Really?” Jeremy asked sceptically, there was only one reason why Alaric wanted it.
“A first-person account of the Civil War,” Alaric laughed, “That’s like, uh, porn for a history teacher.”
“Yeah, well, I’m sorry, but my Mom keeps the journal’s all under lock and key. They’re pretty old, family heirlooms, you know?”
“Right,” Alaric nodded with a frown, he’d wanted to take a look through the journal, see if there were any other secrets about Vampires that he didn’t know. Maybe he could talk to Jenna about it, after all, Jeremy’s mother was her sister. Yeah, he straightened up, he would ask her if she could get the journal for him.
Elena was at home, her mom was dressed up for the 50’s, “You’re going to the dance?” she asked.
“Yeah,” her mom said, “They’re short on chaperones so I’m going.”
“Oh,” Elena deflated at that, she didn’t know how to talk to her mom about what she’d found out from Stefan, “I guess I’ll see you there.” She said.
“Do you want me to wait for you to get ready?” Miranda asked.
“No,” Elena shook her head, “Stefan’s picking me up, you should go.”
“Alright sweetie, I’ll see you there.” Miranda kissed her cheek and left, while Elena ran upstairs to get dressed.
/ / /
“Damon,” Stefan said, walking into his room.
“What?” the raven-haired Vampire asked, looking up from his book, he was waiting for Stefan to leave, he and Enzo were going have a quiet night in, while the girls went to the school dance.
“How long were you in town before you showed up here?”
“Why?” Damon quirked an eyebrow, shutting his book.
“I was talking to Elena about the night of the accident, and realised where I’d seen your friend Enzo before. He pulled Maya out of the car.”
“Your point?” Damon asked, clenching his jaw, he didn’t want to be reminded of the fact that his baby brother had left the Siphon in the car to drown while he saved the very cause of the accident.
“My point, is that if he was in town back then, then so were you, which means that you’ve known Maya for longer than you’re letting on.”
“It doesn’t really matter how long I’ve been in town Stef, it’s none of your business.”
“It is if you deliberately put Elena in danger,” Stefan crossed his arms, looking down at his brother.
“Oh what?! You’re not actually suggesting that I caused the accident?!”
Stefan shrugged, “It makes more sense than Elena causing it.”
Damon scoffed, “Right because your precious little Elena can do no wrong! I wasn’t anywhere near Wickery Bridge the night of the accident! I was out with Enzo, we got the call that car went over the bridge, and Zo got there first. Pulled Maya out of the car, brought her back to life, and what were you doing huh? Oh that’s right, marvelling over Elena’s resemblance to Katherine, instead of saving my girl!” Damon stood and shoved past his brother, “Fuck off Stefan!”
/ / /
Elena had just finished straightening her hair, when she heard a noise from downstairs, “Mom? Jeremy?” she called, but there was no response. Frowning she grabbed her cardigan and went downstairs, “Jeremy?” she called again, “Mom?” There was no one in the kitchen or the den, but then what was that noise she heard? Moving to leave the room, she was grabbed from behind, it was a Vampire! He lunged for her, and she screamed.
“ELENA!” Stefan yelled, yanking the Vampire off of her, instead of staying to fight, the Vampire whooshed out of the house. Stefan grabbed Elena, pulling her to him, “You okay? You’re okay. Oh God, you’re okay,” he reassured.
“Stefan,” Elena whimpered.
“I need to call Damon.”
/ / /
Damon and Enzo walked into the Gilbert house and Elena’s eyes widened, “Wh-how are you here?” she stuttered out, staring at Enzo, “I didn’t invite you in!”
Enzo shot her an amused look, “No, but Jeremy did. He’s a nice young man, hard to believe that he’s your baby brother.”
Stefan scowled at his brother, he couldn’t believe that another Vampire had been invited into the Elena’s house and he didn’t know about it. “I don’t think that’s what you called us here for, is it?” Damon asked.
“I only called you Damon.”
“Well, we were together, and Enzo’s always up for some action, so what’s the problem?”
“A Vampire attacked Elena, in the house.”
Damon frowned, “Well, how’d he get in?”
“He was invited in,” Elena said.
“He posed as a pizza delivery guy last night.”
“Well, he gets points for that,” Damon shrugged, “Did he say what he wanted?”
“No, he was too busy trying to kill me!”
“And you have no idea who this is?” Stefan asked, looking at his brother and his friend, “Neither of you?”
“No,” Damon shook his head.
“My guess is, it’s the same guy that turned Logan.”
“WHAT?!” Elena and Stefan both exclaimed.
“What is he talking about Damon?!” Stefan asked.
“Oh yeah, Logan Fell was turned into a Vampire, he kidnapped Caroline, it was a whole thing,” Damon waved off the incredulous looks that the other two were giving him, “Would you relax, Zo took care of it, killed Logan himself.”
“Do you think there’s another one in town?” Elena asked, stopping Stefan from complaining about the fact that he’d had no idea about Logan.
“We don’t know.”
“Damon,” Stefan said, looking at his brother with very serious eyes, “He was invited in.”
“Then we get him tonight,” Damon replied, and looked over at Elena, “You up for it?”
“What do I have to do?”
“Let your boyfriend take you to the dance,” Enzo cut in, “We’ll see who shows up.”
“That’s a bad idea,” Stefan said, “How are we going to spot him at the dance? There’ll be too many people.”
“That’s easily remedied,” Damon pulled out the compass that Maya had made for him.
“What’s that?” Elena asked.
“Oh, your lovely cousin, made this for me, a compass that points to Vampires.”
“You’re Vampires, how is that going to work?”
“Maya’s not stupid,” Enzo said, with a glare sent in Stefan’s direction, “She made it so that it won’t point at us, just in case someone ever steals it.” He looked at Elena, “You go the dance, play bait, and we’ll find and kill the Vampire.”
“I’ll do it,” Elena breathed, if she didn’t, her mom and Jeremy wouldn’t be safe.
“Ugh,” Maya looked around the dance in disgust, “I hate the fifties.”
“Yeah well, this,” Caroline gestured to her outfit, “Took about two hours, so I’m at least staying half of that.”
Maya laughed, “Fine, one hour, then we’re out of here!”
“I blame you for this,” Caroline replied.
“What?”
“You’ve brought way too much excitement into my life, now dances like this that used to be exciting for me are so boring!”
“I promise Sunshine, it’s just the decade we’re covering! I’m sure the next one will be better.”
“Ah-” Caroline cut herself off as Bonnie made their way over to them, “Bonnie.”
“What are your Vampire friends doing here?” she asked the girls.
“What?!”
“Look,” she gestured behind them, and the girls turned and saw Stefan, Damon and Enzo all stood together.
Maya stiffened, the last time Stefan and Damon were at the 50s dance, it was because there was a Vampire coming after Elena, of course! Noah! He was the Vampire that worked with Anna to try to get into the tomb, Maya had completely forgotten about him, given that Anna was already dead, she didn’t think anyone else would be coming to town to open it, but the two of them must have been working together for much longer than she’d thought. “Do me a favour Bonnie, keep an eye on Jeremy and my Mom.”
“What? Why?” Bonnie asked.
“I’m pretty sure there’s another Vampire here, one that isn’t very friendly.” Caroline paled a little at that, still not completely sure of herself yet, “Care, c’mon, we’ll go find out.” She tugged her friend along with her.
/ / /
“Guys, what’s going on?”
“Vampire attacked Elena, he was invited in,” Damon said.
“Shit!” she cursed, “I was right.”
“You know who it is?” Enzo asked.
Maya nodded, “His name’s Noah, I totally forgot about him, he was working with Anna the first time round. I figured since she was dead, we wouldn’t have to deal with him. He must really want in that tomb.”
Damon glanced at Caroline, who’d yet to say a word, she was pale, and trembling, “You should take Care-Bear and go,” he said.
“What?”
“Zo and I got this, take Blondie and get out of here,” he repeated.
“Damon I can’t just leave, Mom and Jeremy are here!”
“Take Jeremy with you,” Enzo said, seeing the veiled fear in Caroline’s eyes, she wasn’t ready to confront an unknown Vampire so soon after her own attack, “I’ll let your Mum know what’s happening.”
“No,” Caroline said, putting on a brave face, “I’m fine, you should take care of the Vampire.”
Maya looked over at her friend, Damon and Enzo were right, there was no way that Caroline could handle this right now, “You’re sure?” she asked the guys, who nodded in response.
“C’mon Care, we’ll watch ‘The Notebook’,” Maya said.
“But you need to help!” Caroline protested.
“It’ll be fine,” Maya said, “Stefan and Damon did just fine in the other place, with Enzo here, that Vampire doesn’t stand a chance. Let’s go.” Maya laced her fingers with Caroline’s, “Guys, Noah’s gonna try to get Elena on her own, keep an eye on her.” She tugged Caroline away from them, and headed towards Jeremy.
/ / /
Enzo went to go look for Jenna, while Damon hung around the punch bowl, glancing down at the compass every so often, waiting for it to start moving. Alaric wandered up to him carefully, “Hey, I don’t recognise you. How’d you get roped into a chaperoning?” he asked, Damon looked over at Stefan and Elena, who were dancing, and then back at the man that came up to him, “Alaric Saltzman. I’m the new history teacher.”
“Oh, the uh, cursed faculty position,” Damon smirked, shaking his hand.
“So I’ve been told.”
“Damon, Salvatore.”
“Salvatore? As in, uh, Stefan?”
“He’s my little brother. I’m his legal guardian, hence the uh, chaperoning.”
“I hear he’s a brilliant student, not that I’ve had the chance to see it for myself.”
“Ah, his attendance record’s a little spotty, family drama,” Damon shrugged.
“No parents?” Alaric asked.
Damon shook his head, shooting a quick peak at the compass, seeing no movement, “It’s just the two of us now.”
“You uh, you live here you’re whole life?”
“On and off. Travel a bit.”
“Really? Where? Around the states?” Damon shot him a suspicious look and Alaric laughed, “I’m sorry, I’m nosy. I don’t mean to pry. Look it was nice meeting you, enjoy the rest of the dance.” He said, walking away from the Vampire.
“That’s gonna be a problem,” Damon muttered as he watched Alaric walk over to Jenna, “Hmm, that’s really gonna be a problem.”
/ / /
Elena was running through the hallway, Noah had called her, and told her to run or he’d kill her mother, she rushed into the cafeteria where he grabbed her and threw her to the floor. Elena knocked over a stack of papers as she fell, she saw a few pencils and grabbed them just as Noah pulled her up. He moved to bite her, but she stabbed him with one of the pencils, “Aah!” he groaned, she aimed for his chest next, he brought his hand up and the pencil embedded itself into his hand, she stabbed the third into his chest, causing him to fall to the ground. She ran and found a mop, standing on it, she managed to snap it in half. She made to stake him, but he grabbed her arm with a laugh, threw the stake away and went to attack her.
Stefan pulled him away from her and threw Noah over a table, the Vampire jumped up, and was about to attack again when Damon caught his attention, “Hey, dickhead.” He waved at Noah, “Nobody wants to kill you, we just wanna talk.”
Noah ran and Damon tossed a stake over to Enzo, who shoved it into the other Vampire’s stomach. “Now you feel like talking?” Stefan asked.
“Screw you.” Noah sneered.
Stefan pulled out the stake and stabbed him again, “Wrong answer. Why are you doing this?”
“Because it’s fun.”
Stefan dug the stake in deeper and Noah cried out in pain, “What do you want with Elena?”
“She looks like Katherine.”
“You knew Katherine?” Stefan asked.
“Awe, you thought you were the only ones?” Noah mocked, “You don’t even remember me do you?”
“What do you want?” Stefan asked.
Noah smirked, “I’m gonna open the tomb.”
Damon and Enzo rolled their eyes, this guy was an idiot, had he not even been to the tomb? Had he not thought to check on it first? “What tomb?” Elena asked.
Noah looked at Damon, “You didn’t tell them?” he asked, “You don’t know?”
“Know what?!” Stefan demanded.
Noah smirked, “Katherine’s wasting away in the tomb, and your brother’s here to open it.”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Damon said, he picked up the discarded mop handle and staked the Vampire. “There, all done.”
“Damon!” Stefan said, “What the hell was he talking about?”
“It’s nothing Stef,” Damon gestured to Enzo, “Let’s go, I’m sure that you can take care of the body.” He and Enzo whooshed out of the room before Stefan could stop them.
“What was he talking about Stefan?” Elena asked.
“I have no idea. But I’m going to find out.” He stared at the spot that his brother had been standing in, he would definitely find out.
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel great!
Chapter 43: Werewolf Venom
Notes:
Thanks for all the comments and kudos!
Don't hate me, but this is a short one!
Sorry!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“DAMON!” Stefan burst through the doors of the Boarding House after dropping Elena home, “DAMON!” he yelled again, whooshing through the house, looking for his big brother, but the older Salvatore was nowhere too be found. “Damn it!” Stefan cursed, pulling out his phone and calling his brother, but Damon wouldn’t answer. “Damon where the hell are you? We need to talk, now, call me when you get this!” he left the message on Damon’s voicemail and hung up. He whooshed back to his brother’s room and started rummaging through the drawers. If Damon wasn’t going to give him any answers, then he’d find them himself! He searched all night, for the first time cursing the fact that his brother didn’t journal like he did.
/ / /
Maya looked over at Damon after they listened to the voicemail that Stefan had left him, “You know that Stefan’s not gonna stop bugging you about this, right?” She pointed out, she didn’t think that he and Enzo would have let Noah talk when they already knew why he was in town. But they had, and now Stefan had been alerted to the fact that Katherine was very much alive.
“That’s not a problem,” Damon shrugged.
“No? Why?”
“Because I’m never going back to the Boarding House!”
Maya let out a laugh, “Great, can I be there when you tell Mom you’ve moved in permanently?”
“Speaking of the lovely Jenna, did you know that she’s dating the new teacher?”
“Yeah,” Maya nodded.
“And you didn’t tell me?!” he exclaimed, “He wants me dead! Don’t you think that’s a problem?!”
Maya shrugged in response, “D, if I had to spend my time keeping Mom away from everyone that wants you dead, I’d have no time for anything else.”
“Not cool!”
“Damon just leave it alone! Unless he actually tries to kill you, let Mom do her thing!” Maya got up and headed out of his room.
“Fine!”
She poked her head back through the doorway, “And no tricking him into doing it! He has to try and kill you on his own!”
Damon crossed his arms, pouting, “You’re no fun,” he muttered.
Saturday morning had Stefan over at the Gilberts, “Well?” Elena asked, “Did you find out what that Vampire was talking about?”
“No,” Stefan shook his head, “Damon wasn’t home. And he’s no longer returning my calls.”
“What that Vampire said Stefan, about Katherine. You said she was dead.”
“She is! She and 26 other Vampires were rounded up and killed, at the Battle of Willow Creek, the church was set on fire, no one escaped.”
“Stefan that Vampire didn’t say she escaped, he said that she was trapped, along with the others. And that Damon’s here to let her out! Is that possible?”
Stefan shook his head, refusing to believe that, “There’s no way Elena! The Church burned down! No one could survive that!”
“Are you sure?” she pressed.
“If Katherine was still alive then Damon would have-” he stopped, Damon wouldn’t have said anything to him about it, because as far as Damon was concerned, he was the reason why Katherine was in that Church that night. He’d promised Damon that he wouldn’t tell their father about her, but he was young and foolish, and just by sympathising with the Vampires he’d tipped his father off to who she was, and she’d been captured.
“Damon would what?” Elena asked.
Stefan sat down heavily on her bed, “If Katherine was alive there’s no way that Damon would tell me,” he whispered.
“Well how can we find out?” Elena asked.
He looked up at her, “If, if, somehow Katherine and others were still alive, then the first place to check would be the site of the Church.”
Elena stood, “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
/ / /
Stefan brought Elena to the Church site, and both of them started looking around for anything to indicate something other than what had happened, happened. “There’s nothing here,” Stefan sighed, after the two of them had looked for a few hours.
Elena looked around in frustration, “There has to be something Stefan.”
“There’s not Elena! There’s absolutely nothing here!”
Elena threw her hands in the air as she thought back to the Vampire that attacked her, “He was going to ‘open the tomb’,” she muttered, eyes widening in realisation, “Stefan! He said that Damon was here to open the tomb! Did the Church have a tomb?" She took a step towards him, and suddenly the ground gave way beneath her feet, causing her to scream out in fear.
Stefan whooshed towards her, pulling her away from the hole before she fell in, "Oh my God," he said. The ground hadn't given in, it had literally disappeared, as if it had been spelled to look like normal grass.
Elena pressed back into Stefan, afraid that she might fall again, "Stefan, what is that?" she asked, spotting something ominous carved into the rocks below.
"I don't know..." he looked at her, tightening his grip on her, "I should take you home." He wasn't sure what was down there, and he didn't want to put her in danger.
"No," Elena protested, "We're in this together Stefan."
"Alright," Stefan nodded slowly, he lifted her into his arms and whooshed down to the newly revealed area.
Elena gasped at the sight of the pentagram carved on one wall, "What is that?!" Stefan placed Elena gently back on her feet, before walking up to the carved stone, that looked like it was some sort of covering, he tried moving it, but it wouldn't budge, "Stefan?"
He looked over at her, "We might need Bonnie."
“There’s the lovely Jenna!” Damon smiled, speeding over to her.
“What do you want Damon?” Jenna asked.
“What makes you think I want anything?” he shot back offended, “Maybe I just want to spend some time with you!”
“Do you?”
“Yeah! I don’t think that we spend enough time together and I want to remedy that!”
“And?”
“…”
“…”
Damon rolled his eyes, “And, I want you to break up with Alaric.”
“WHAT?!”
“Just hear me out,” he held up his hands.
“I’m listening.” She stared at him, with her hands on her hips.
He dropped his arms, “Wh-Oh, I didn’t think that you’d give in so easily…”
“Damon.”
“Right, right! Alaric is a Vampire Hunter,” he paused, waiting for her to blow up, but she barely reacted.
Raising an eyebrow, Jenna nodded, “I know.”
“Wh-You know? You know?!” he looked incredulous, “Well, did you know that he wants me dead?”
“You killed his wife, didn’t you?”
“She’s not dead-dead!” he defended.
“But she is dead, dead-dead, a little bit dead, there’s not much of a difference.”
“Yes there is!” Damon threw his hands up in exasperation, “There’s a huge difference! There’s being dead in the ground, and being dead and walking and talking like nothing ever happened! And she’s the second kind!”
“Yeah but he doesn’t know that,” Jenna replied.
“Jenna!” Damon whined, “How can you date him, knowing that he wants to kill me?!”
“Damon,” she said quite calmly, “If I had to check with you every time, to make sure that whoever I want to date, doesn’t want to kill you, I’d never have time to do anything else!”
Damon gasped, rather dramatically, and crossed his arms, so offended, “You two are exactly alike,” he muttered, thinking about what Maya had said the night before, “Selfish,” he pointed at her, “Both of you!” he marched out of the room and Jenna slapped her hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh.
“Jenna!” Enzo said, poking his head around the door, he’d been listening in, and had fought the urge to laugh himself, “You’re a little twisted, you know?”
“What?” Jenna shrugged, “I need to have my fun somehow!”
/ / /
Klaus was enjoying a rare moment to himself, when his phone rang, “Hello Damon,” he smirked, he had a feeling he knew exactly what this was about.
“Nik!” Damon said, “You will never believe what’s going on here!”
“What?”
“Jenna’s dating a Vampire Hunter!” he exclaimed, “One that wants to kill me! Can you believe that?!”
"That a Vampire Hunter wants to kill you? There are many things in this world that are unbelievable, but that is not one of them."
"No, that she's dating him!"
“Well,” Klaus started slowly, “Did she know that he was a Hunter when she started dating him?”
“…No.”
“And did she know that he wanted to kill you when she started dating him?”
“…No.”
“Well then, honestly Damon, I’m not sure what to tell you, if Jenna had to make sure that every person that was a potential partner, wasn’t also someone that wanted to kill you, she’d never get anything done.”
“Oh!” Damon gasped, “Nik! You’re my best friend! You’re not supposed to agree with the ‘she-devils’!” he hung up the phone, and Klaus couldn’t supress his laughter, shooting a text off to confirm with a certain someone, that Damon had called him.
/ / /
Kol was scowling at the shelves in his magic room, he’d spent the morning searching through one of his storage vaults for something, and when he came back, the shelves were all re-arranged, his eye twitched in annoyance as he saw that Freya had reorganized all his ingredients into usage groups, instead of his much simpler alphabetical order. “I’m gonna kill her,” he whispered.
Before he could act on this new feeling, his phone rang, for the third time in a row, “Hello Damon,” he sighed.
“Finally! Where have you been?!” Damon snapped.
“I’ve been busy, my life doesn’t revolve around you! I’m not Nik!”
“If you weren’t the only person that I could talk to right now, I would so hang up on you!”
Kol put the phone on speaker as he started to take everything off the shelves, “What do you want Damon?”
“Jenna’s dating a Vampire Hunter that wants me dead, and she won’t break up with him because she didn’t know it when she started dating him and now she likes him!”
“Well, if Jenna’s expected to check in with you to make certain that whoever she dates, doesn’t also want to kill you, she’d never have time for anything else!”
“ARGH!” Damon yelled, hanging up the phone in anger.
Kol shook his head as he let out a little laugh, that had certainly cheered him up a little.
/ / /
Damon went downstairs, huffing in frustration and bumped into Caroline on his way out, “Whoa, Damon, where’s the fire?” she asked.
“I need a drink,” he replied.
“And all the alcohol that you keep in the house isn’t good enough?”
“If I stay, I might run into the Jenna, or Maya, and I’m mad at them.” He crossed his arms.
“Why?”
“Jenna’s dating Alaric and he wants to kill me, and she’s not gonna stop seeing him, and Maya didn’t tell me!”
“Did Jenna know that Alaric wanted you dead before she started dating him?” Caroline asked
“No,” Damon muttered.
“Well, I can’t really blame her Damon, if she has to make sure that every guy she meets doesn’t want to kill you, how is she going have time for anything else in life?”
Damon scowled at the blonde, “I get no respect around here!” he complained, whooshing out of the house.
Caroline shook her head with a smirk, “Kol was right, that was fun,” she said to herself, before going upstairs.
/ / /
Jeremy walked up to Damon, who was slumped in a seat at the bar in the Grill, nursing his drink, “Hey Damon!” he said cheerfully, taking a seat next to the Vampire.
“Not a good time Baby Gilbert,” Damon replied.
Jeremy looked over at him amused, “What’s wrong?”
Damon shot him a suspicious glance at first, before releasing his frustration in one breath, “Jenna’s dating Alaric and he wants me dead, and Maya knew, and Jenna won’t stop seeing him, and no thinks that it’s a big deal!”
Jeremy nodded solemnly, taking in what the Vampire had just blurted out, “Okay, okay, what would you like to happen?”
“I want her to stop seeing a Vampire Hunter,” he hissed.
“But she likes him,” Jeremy replied.
“He wants to kill me!”
“Damon,” Jeremy said, “If we have to check to make sure that all of our friends don’t want to kill you, no one would get anything done!” Jeremy bit his lip to keep in his laughter at the look on Damon’s face.
“WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP SAYING THAT?!” he finally exploded, drawing the attention of several of the patrons.
Jeremy tried to keep it together, he really did, but Damon was at his wits end, and it was just too funny, he burst into peels of laughter, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” he laughed, wiping tears from his eyes as he tried to control himself, “Maya sent out a mass text, she told us all what to say!”
“All of you?!” Damon asked incredulously, “ALL OF YOU?! I’m gonna kill her!”
He turned when he saw Caroline and Maya entering the Grill, and dragged Jeremy over to them, “You!” he thundered, looking down at the red-head.
“Me.” Maya replied, not completely sure what Damon’s issue was, but she had an idea.
“You told everyone to mock me?!”
“Jeremy! You told him?!”
“Don’t blame Jeremy! You’re the one that caused this!”
Maya pointed an accusing finger at Damon, “Oh yeah? Well maybe I only did it, because I know that you’re the one that put chocolate pudding in my underwear drawer last month!”
Damon looked a little taken aback at that, before whipping his head in the baby Gilbert’s direction, “Jeremy! You told her?!”
Jeremy looked between the two of them, thoroughly unimpressed, “Don’t look at me like that! You both told me! Everyone knows I can’t keep a secret!” he grabbed Caroline’s hand, “I don’t have to listen to this. Come on Caroline!” he tugged on her hand, dragging her out of the Grill with him.
Caroline squeaked in surprise, but followed the youngest Gilbert, “Catch you two later!” she called offering the Vampire and the Siphon a little wave as she left the Grill.
Maya and Damon were glaring at each other, when one of the servers came up to them, “Uh, is everything okay?” he asked warily, wondering if he should call the Sheriff.
Their attention snapped to him, “Go away!” they both said, Damon adding a little compulsion along with his words, and then they scowled at each other.
Rebekah threw her jacket aside as she walked into the house that she and Elijah had taken residence in, in Seattle, she was covered in blood and viscera, her and Elijah’s search had turned up nothing at the second possible headquarters for Kingmaker, “Ugh,” she complained, “I can’t believe there was nothing there!”
“Well, I’d imagine that by now, Lucien knows that we’re aware of him, and his misdeeds, he’s trying to frustrate us.” Elijah replied, handing off his jacket to the human resident of the house, along with his tie and shirt, all of which were covered in blood, he was going to have to throw away the whole suite, there was no salvaging it.
“Well it’s bloody well working!”
“Come now Rebekah, at least now, by the process of elimination, we know where he’s based.
“Yes,” she wiped the blood from her face with a towel handed to her by the human, “Where was that again?”
Elijah sighed, “Maine.”
“Maine?” she repeated in disgust, “You’re not serious!”
“At least it’s close to New York, once we’re done there, we can go home.”
Rebekah rolled her eyes, “That is if Nik lets us.”
“Well, it’s not as if he’s staying there anymore.” Elijah replied, “Now, lets get cleaned up and then we can come up with a plan for taking down Lucien, I imagine there will be far more security there, than his other offices.”
“We should call Kol, he loves a good blood sport, and perhaps it will make him more amenable to speaking with us again.” She replied, rather put off by the fact that in a whole year, Kol hadn’t attempted to bother her once.
“Perhaps you’re right.” Elijah mused.
“Stefan wait,” Elena pulled on his hand, stopping him from knocking on Bonnie’s door, “I don’t want to drag Bonnie into this.”
“Elena, if Katherine is in that tomb, then Emily put her there, Emily was powerful, and Bennett, which means that a Bennett Witch will be the only one capable of opening that tomb.”
“But why do you want to open it?” Elena asked, suddenly feeling insecure at the thought that Stefan may still have some feelings for Katherine.
“I don’t want to open it Elena!” Stefan protested, “If Katherine’s down there, then so are 26 other Vampires, 26 starving, angry, Vampires, and I won’t inflict that on this town. But Damon will, he’s still in love with Katherine, it has to be the reason why he came to town! And he’s going to know that only a Bennett Witch can open the tomb!”
“What about Maya?” Elena asked.
“What about her?”
“Stefan…Maya’s not a normal Witch! She steals magic, from anything. Couldn’t she open the tomb?”
“…Of course,” Stefan breathed in realisation, “That’s why Damon’s with her, he wants her to open the tomb!”
“But wouldn’t she have done it by now? You couldn’t get it open.”
Stefan shook his head, “I don’t know, maybe she needs something for it, maybe the spells to big for her to take all in one go! Damon’s probably been working with her, trying to get her stronger! Now we really have to speak with Bonnie, and her grandmother.”
“Stefan-”
“Elena, Damon’s not going to care that opening the tomb, means releasing the other Vampires! We have to get there first and kill them all!”
Kol arrived in Maine, at the home that Elijah and Rebekah had compelled for themselves, the place was rather dreary if he did say so himself, God he was glad that Nik hadn’t chosen to stay somewhere like this when he'd woken them all up. Knocking on the door, a human man answered, “Let him in,” Elijah said, as he came down the stairs.
“Please come in,” the human spoke, and Kol stepped inside.
“Alright,” he said, walking into the living room, “I’m here, what’s the plan?”
Elijah gestured to the blueprints that had been laid out on the dining table, “Well based on our…reconnaissance, this is the most likely location of Lucien’s office.” He pointed at where he believed the office was, “The blueprints suggest that it’s heavily guarded, and based on our experience, he will have a small army of Vampires as security, ready to take down any intruders.”
Kol looked over the plans with a critical eye, “He’d need more than a small army to take down one Original, let alone three.”
“Maybe we should show him the error of his ways then brother.”
/ / /
All three of the Originals walked into the office that they believed housed Lucien, or at the very least, Lucien’s location, “Well isn’t this boring,” Kol commented, looking around the office.
“Does he just build these from a kit or something?” Rebekah asked, “It was the exact same for the last two offices. Same windows, same plants…”
“Same compellable receptionist,” Elijah finished.
Kol rolled his eyes, “Out of the way,” he pushed past his brother and marched up to the receptionist, “Hello love, we’re here for a spot of search and potentially destroy. Do tell, where’s your boss, and his office?” he compelled.
The receptionist offered him a wooden smile, “You just wait right here, and I’ll have someone out to you to help you with your enquiry.” Her hand drifted down, and pressed the panic button on the underside of her desk.
An alarm started blaring and guards were shouting, running into the room, “Well that’s a good sign,” Kol said.
“Gentlemen,” Rebekah watched the guards readied their weapons to fire, “Shall we?”
“Ladies first sister,” Elijah said, offering her first blood.
Rebekah smirked, her monster shining through, and she whooshed forward, taking out three of the guards, her brothers following suit shortly after. Causing the men and women to scream out in pain, shortly before they died. Kol sped over to the receptionist, hauling her up before she could escape, just as the last guard dropped dead, “Now, about your boss.” He smirked viciously at the terrified woman, blood dripping from his mouth, monster on full display, “Where is he?” Kol had his back to one of the doors that lead further into the building, the receptionist’s terrified panting in his ear, making it almost impossible for him to pick up any quieter sounds. He didn’t see it, he didn’t know, he should have.
Rebekah was the one to see it first, the door behind Kol slid open, and the olive skinned Vampire that had taken over from Lucien shot out, syringe in his hand, aiming for her brother. “KOL!” she screamed, whooshing over and shoving him out of the way, her arm raised to stop the Vampire from injecting her with anything. But mid movement, the Vampire, Arturo, changed direction and managed to stab her in the stomach with the syringe, and depress the plunger, flooding her system with whatever was housed within.
Rebekah gasped as she felt the burning pain in her abdomen, “REBEKAH!” Elijah yelled, appearing in front of the Vampire and snapping his neck in his moment of distraction, before turning to his sister.
“Rebekah,” Kol said, “What- What did you do?” she had just taken the blow for him, without a second thought.
She looked down, pulling her top up, exposing her stomach, and the injection sight, “Oh my God,” she gasped, the puncture wound was not only, not healing, but the skin around it quickly began to fester, in the exact same way it would, if a Werewolf had bitten her. The only problem was, this venom appeared to be working about a hundred times faster than regular venom. She looked up at Kol, who was now staring at her worriedly, “Kol?” she whispered, her vision blurring, before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed.
Kol dropped the receptionist and caught his baby sister before she hit the floor, “Elijah?” he asked, looking up at his brother in a panic, Werewolf toxin was not supposed to act this fast. Had Lucien actually managed to create his upgraded Werewolf venom? If he had, there was no cure!
Notes:
I know it was short, but if you have time, please leave a comment, they're awesome!
Chapter 44: Master not Mother
Notes:
Thanks for all the comments and kudos! I hope you enjoy this one!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Originals rushed back to the home that they’d compelled in Maine, Kol with Rebekah in his arms, and Elijah had taken possession of the Vampire that had infected his sister. He’d snapped his neck again, and tied him up with whatever he could find around the house and began to drain him of his blood. Kol placed his sister on a bed and lifted her shirt, taking a look at her wound, “It’s spreading too fast,” he said to his brother, “We need to know if she was injected with a completed venom.”
“I’m working on it,” Elijah replied, snapping the Vampire’s neck again as he heard the bones starting to heal, “He’s on vervain, I’m draining him.”
“That could take too long,” Kol breathed, “The upgraded venom can kill an Original in 24 hours, Rebekah may not have the time.”
“How do you know that?!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Kol shook his head, pulling out his phone, “We need help, call Nik!”
/ / /
Maya was eating lunch at school when her phone rang, putting up a quick silencing barrier, she answered it, “Kol? What’s up? You know I’m at school.”
“Rebekah’s been hurt!” Kol said, almost frantically.
“What?”
“We went to Kingmaker to find Lucien, Rebekah took a blow meant for me and she’s been infected with venom.”
Maya gasped, “Is it the upgraded venom?”
“I don’t know! But it’s moving through her system fast!”
“Do you have a dagger with you?”
“No, I locked them away!”
“Okay, okay,” Maya thought back to what she could remember about the venom, “Get her to New York, Freya can slow the venom with a sleep spell! Run there! I’ll meet you as soon as I can! And someone call Nik!” She hung up the phone and immediately called one of the Vampires that Klaus had stationed in town, she needed to get to New York quickly.
/ / /
Klaus was playing with the kids when he received a call from his brother, “Elijah, what can I do for you today?”
“Rebekah was injected with Werewolf venom, and she’s not healing!”
“WHAT?!” Klaus yelled, causing the children to freeze and look up at him curiously.
“We were looking for Lucien at one of his offices and she was attacked by his replacement, he injected her with the venom and she passed out! She hasn’t woken yet.”
“I’m on my way!”
“We’re taking her back to New York, meet us there.”
Klaus hung up the phone and looked down at the children who, thanks to their enhanced Werewolf senses, heard both sides of the conversation, “You’re going?” Luna asked with a frown.
Klaus crouched down to look them both in the eye, “My sister has been hurt,” he said, “You both know that family is everything, and I have to take care of her.”
Liam was quiet, but he understood, when Luna was hurt, he did everything in his power to watch out for her, “Go,” he said, “We’ll be fine daddy, but you need to see your sister.”
Klaus looked at Luna questioningly, and she nodded in response, family was important, you had to take care of them, he pulled them both to him, giving them a quick hug, and then whooshing them inside, to Cary, “Cary, I have to go! Watch the children!”
He shot to his room, calling Maya as he moved, “Nik, I’m already on the way to the airport, I’ll see you in New York in a few hours,” she said in lieu of a greeting.
“Hurry,” was all he said, he knew that if it was the upgraded venom, then Rebekah didn’t have much time, and he couldn’t help her.
Freya had been Kol’s second call, the moment he got of the phone with Maya, he filled his older sister in with what had happened, and she had immediately grabbed what she needed for a spell to stop the movement of the venom, and rushed over to the Penthouse, because neither Rebekah, nor Elijah had been invited into the Brownstone.
“Freya!” Finn called, surprised to see his sister at the house when she’d been so vocal about her displeasure with him.
“Not now Finn,” she said, practically sprinting up the stairs to Rebekah’s room.
“What are you doing?” he asked, “What’s going on?”
“I think our sister’s dying,” she replied, setting out her ingredients, and starting to prepare them.
“What?!” How could Rebekah be dying? She was an Original, and the only weapon on earth that could kill one had been destroyed by Niklaus when he killed their father. “What are you talking about?”
“Finn! I don’t have time to explain!” Freya exclaimed, “Either be quiet while I work or go!”
/ / /
Kol burst through the doors of the Penthouse, Rebekah in his arms, “FREYA!” he yelled, Rebekah hadn’t woken, and her wound had seriously worsened. He heard his eldest sister upstairs and whooshed up to Rebekah’s room, laying her the bed in front of the Mikaelson Witch.
Freya reached down, moving the bottom of Rebekah’s top, seeing the full extent of the wound, “How long ago did this happen?” she asked, aghast at the damage that had been done to her sister, venom had spread in all directions, the entire lower half of her stomach looked infected now.
“An hour,” Kol said, carrying his sister, he had to make several stops along the way. Elijah too, his older brother had brought along the Vampire that had attacked Rebekah, he was clearly old, as he was healing faster than expected. The moment that he’d arrived, he locked the Vampire in a room that Klaus had had spelled by a Witch, prisoners couldn’t leave without permission of a Mikaelson.
“An hour?! That’s impossible, the venom shouldn’t be moving through her system like this!”
“We think it’s the upgraded venom,” Elijah said, coming in once he’d gotten his prisoner situated.
“You said the upgraded venom can kill you.”
“Without the cure,” Elijah replied, “Yes.”
“I’d need a lot of time to come up with a cure,” she said, her hands hovering over Rebekah, trying to understand the magic that had been used to create the venom used, “At the rate this is spreading, I won’t be able to.”
“Don’t focus on the cure, focus on stopping the spread of the venom,” Kol said, “If you can do that, then we can get an idea of the cure.”
“How do you even know that I can stop the spread?”
“Nik’s Witch says you can, it means you can,” Kol replied.
/ / /
Maya was on the Mikaelson’s private jet, on her way to New York, with one of the Vampire bodyguards that Klaus had compelled. She’d lit out of Mystic Falls so fast, she hadn’t had a chance to speak to anyone or grab anything. The problem was, that no one knew whether or not Rebekah had been infected with a completed upgraded Werewolf venom, given what she knew about the venom, she was aware that it had taken Lucien years to find all the ingredients he needed to create it, he hadn’t even found all the different packs when he came to New Orleans in a few years time. So her gut was telling her that whatever they’d used on Rebekah, it wasn’t the finished product, but there was a small part of her that wasn’t quite sure about that, Mother Nature was working against her, what if she’d helped Lucien along with his plan? After all, he had no idea that when an Original died, so would the sire line.
/ / /
Klaus shot into the Penthouse, heading straight for Rebekah’s room, Elijah was inside with Kol and Freya, even Finn was hovering just outside, unwilling to enter, but also unwilling to leave. “Has she woken yet?” he asked.
Elijah shook his head, “Not yet.”
“What the hell happened?” Klaus growled.
“She took the hit for me Nik,” Kol said from his seat beside their sister, “My back was to the door, I didn’t see anyone enter but she did, she pushed me out of the way. Where’s Maya?”
“She’s on her way,” Klaus said, “We just need to keep Bekah alive until she gets here,” he looked at Freya who had just finished up her spell, “Can you make sure of that?”
“I can slow the spread of the venom, I can’t stop it yet.” She responded, looking worriedly up at him, she and Rebekah had bonded very quickly, even after her baby sister had left New York to places unknown with Elijah, they’d remained in touch. Calling, texting, video chats, she'd always wanted a sister and it seemed like Bekah felt the same way.
“Just keep her alive, my Witch will be here soon.”
“Are you sure that your Witch can help her?” Elijah asked, Klaus’s Witch was powerful yes, but she was also young, he didn’t believe that she’d be able to undo what had been done to his sister.
“I’m positive,” Klaus replied, pulling out his phone as it buzzed with an incoming message, “She’s landing, I’ll go get her.” He whooshed out of the room.
Rebekah groaned in pain as her eyes fluttered open, “What’s going on?” she whispered, her insides were in agony.
“Bekah!” Kol gripped her hand, kneeling at her side, “What were you thinking?!”
She shifted slightly, gasping as she felt the stinging burn of the venom, “He was going to attack you.”
“Then you let him attack me!” Kol insisted, “You’re the baby sister, it’s my job to protect you!”
She offered him a weak smile, “I’m sorry Kol,” she whimpered, “I’ve been such a terrible sister.”
“Hey,” he tightened his grasp on her hand, “None of that now,” he brushed her hair from her face, “I’ve not been the best brother either.”
She frowned, “But you protected me, in New Orleans, when I called our father, you tried to protect me, and I betrayed you.”
“I know, I know why you did it,” he replied, “And as long as you can promise me that you won’t go after Marcellus again, I’ll forgive you.”
“I won’t,” she shook her head, “I promise,” as much as she cared for Marcel, as much as she still loved him, he wasn’t worth losing her family over, and if she chose him, she was sure to lose her family, Kol and Nik especially. At that thought, she looked around the room, Elijah, Freya, even Finn standing just outside the door, but where was Nik? Moisture gathering in the corners of her eyes, “Where’s Nik?” she asked, feeling a tear fall, she was dying, but Nik hadn’t forgiven her, he was going to let her die without him.
Elijah’s eyes widened at the sight of her tears and moved to her other side, taking her other hand, “He was here,” he said, “Don’t fret sister, Niklaus would never leave you to die, he’s just gone to fetch his Witch, he said that she can help you.”
“I-”
“He’s telling the truth Bekah,” Kol reassured, “Nik was here, he rushed over the moment he heard you’d been hurt, he’s going to take care of you.”
Damon, Enzo and Caroline were at the Boarding House, the guys were training her in how best to use her new reflexes against a Vampire, they were there just in case Liz decided to stop by the Sommers residence. She didn’t know that they were Vampires, and stumbling across them working with her daughter, was not the way that anyone wanted her to find out.
“Okay, so Maya says that it’s best to work off of intent first,” Enzo said.
“What do you mean?” Caroline asked, unsure as to what he was getting at.
“Eventually your body will be able to know exactly how to react given the situation, it’ll become instinct. But to start off with, you need to focus on your intent, get your body used to what you need the reflexes for,” Enzo explained.
“So like, if I went like this,” Damon came up from behind her and reached from her arm, but she didn’t move, “The magic didn’t make you move, because you feel safe with me, you didn’t want to move. And that’s great, but we’re in a training session now, just because you feel safe with me, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be trying to get away. You need to make your intent clear. Do you understand?”
Caroline nodded, “I think so.”
“Okay, so we’re gonna start off by showing you some moves,” Enzo said, “And then you’re gonna try to used those moves to escape from the bid bad Vampire.” He nodded at Damon who smirked in response.
“You ready Care-Bear?”
“Show me what you’ve got.”
/ / /
Bonnie and Sheila arrived at the tomb with Stefan and Elena, Stefan had explained that he believed that Damon was in town to open the tomb, and Sheila had agreed, she knew that that was why he was in Mystic Falls. Neither Witch hadn’t wanted to open the tomb, but Stefan had pointed out that with Maya on his side, Damon would eventually be able to get into the tomb, and he probably wouldn’t care about releasing the rest of the Vampires along with Katherine.
“You promise that you’ll get rid of these Vampires?” Sheila asked.
“I swear,” Stefan replied, “I’ll get Katherine out, because if Damon finds out that she’s dead, he’ll slaughter the town, but I’ll stake the rest of the Vampires in there myself.”
Sheila nodded, “We won’t be able to open the tomb without Emily’s grimoire,” she said, “It’ll show us how to reverse the spell, but we can get a read on the magic today, see how powerful the spell is.”
Stefan helped all three women down to the entrance of the tomb, and Bonnie was the first to be drawn to the pentagram, she reached out a hand and gasped at what she felt, “Grams?”
“What is it Bonnie?”
“I-I’m not sure,” she said, “I don’t know, you said that Emily was our ancestor right?” Sheila nodded in response, “Then shouldn’t the magic feel…I dunno…familiar? This doesn’t feel right.”
Sheila came forward, and reached out with her own magic, furrowing her brow at what she found, this was Bennett magic, but it also wasn’t, almost like it had been twisted somehow, “Oh no,” she said.
“What is it?” Elena asked.
“I think we’re too late.”
“What?” Stefan asked.
“I think that Maya’s already been here.” The magic not only felt off, but it wasn’t strong, the spell keeping the tomb sealed was basic, one that with two of them here, could be easily undone. “Give me your hand Bonnie.”
Bonnie held out left hand, and Sheila took hold of it, both Bennett Witches placed their free hands on the stone covering, “Say it with me, phasmatos aperire sepulcrum, phasmatos aperire sepulcrum, phasmatos aperire sepulcrum,” they chanted together, until they felt a release of pressure. “It’s done,” Sheila said, and looked over at Stefan, “You’ll have to do the heavy lifting.”
Stefan walked up to the stone cautiously, he couldn’t move it before, but Sheila said that it was done. He tried moving the stone, and it shifted, scraping across the floor, Stefan pushed it so that it was leaning up against a wall, revealing the entrance to the tomb. “I don’t hear anything,” Stefan said, looking at the Witches.
“You said they were desiccated,” Elena pointed out.
“It doesn’t matter, I should still be able to hear something, but there’s nothing.”
“Let’s take a look then,” she said.
“What? Elena you can’t-” Bonnie started.
“Stefan and I are doing this together, right Stefan?” she looked at her boyfriend who took a moment before he nodded in response, the Vampires inside wouldn’t be able to move, so he could keep her safe.
He pulled a torch from his pocket, “You stay by my side at all times, do you understand?”
Elena nodded, and slipped her hand into his, the two of them made their way inside, Bonnie held her breath, she didn’t want anything to happen to her friend, “Uh, you may want to come in!” Elena called, looking around at the empty tomb.
Bonnie shot her Grams an uncertain look, should they? “What is it?” She asked.
“Shelia needs to see this,” Stefan said, “You’ll be safe, I promise!”
Bonnie and her grandmother, created a couple of torches out of some broken branches that fallen into the hole when the floor disappeared, and set the tops alight with some magic, they walked inside cautiously, Bonnie taking the rear, just in case. “I don’t understand,” Bonnie said, “There’s nothing here.”
Sheila looked around, finally reaching Stefan, “It’s worse than I thought,” she said, “Maya and Damon must have gotten in earlier, and freed the Vampires.”
Bonnie continued to look around, ignoring the discussion taking place behind her, something didn’t feel right, she stopped at some marks on the wall and her eyes widened, “Uh, guys!” she called.
“If the Vampires are all free, wouldn’t there have been a serious increase in animal attacks?” Elena asked.
“Guys?”
“They could have left,” Sheila said.
“Guys?”
“They wouldn’t just leave,” Stefan replied, “They were locked in here for a 145 years thanks to the founding families, there’s no way that they don’t want revenge.”
“GUYS!” Bonnie finally yelled, causing them all to snap their attention to her, “You need to see this.”
She gestured to the marks on the wall and Sheila crouched down to get a better look, “Are those-” Stefan started.
“Scorch marks,” Sheila finished, she moved further ahead, keeping the torch low, she could see the marks covered both sides of the tomb, “They’re everywhere.”
“The Vampires aren’t here, and it’s not because they were released,” Bonnie said, coming to the correct conclusion, “They’re not here, because they’re all dead. Maya killed them.”
“26 Vampires?” Stefan said in shock.
“Why would she do that?” Elena asked.
“And where’s Katherine?” Bonnie asked, “You all said that Damon was in town to get her out of the tomb, if the tomb was already opened, Katherine should be out, shouldn’t she? Wouldn’t Damon’ve left with her?”
“You really need to speak to Damon,” Elena said to her boyfriend.
“Grams, why would Maya kill all of these Vampires? If she’s as bad as you say, wouldn’t she have left them alive to terrorise the town?”
Sheila could feel her jaw clenched at the question, “Maybe she decided to drain them all of their magic, it would have killed them.”
“You-you think that Maya killed 26 people for power?” Bonnie asked incredulously, with everything she knew about Maya, that didn’t add up.
“Not people,” Sheila said, “Vampires, and yes I do, it’s the only explanation.”
Maya stepped out of the aeroplane, eyes locking with Klaus’s as he stood on the tarmac, waiting for her, “Hey,” she said, standing in front of him, “How is she?” She could be happy about seeing Klaus later, right now, her focus had to be Rebekah.
“Freya’s managed to slow the spread of the venom, she can’t stop it yet.”
“Do we know if it’s the real thing?”
Klaus shook his head, “We have the Vampire that attacked her in custody, Elijah’s draining him of his vervain as we speak, once its out of his system we’ll know for certain.”
“Okay,” she nodded, she’d get her answers soon enough, “Let’s go, I’ll take care of her.” Klaus lifted her into his arms and whooshed away.
/ / /
Klaus and Maya arrived back at the Penthouse in seconds, he put her down outside Rebekah’s room and she looked over at him, “You wanna see her first? She’s awake now."
“I-”
“It’s only been a few hours,” Maya said, “A couple of minutes now isn’t going to make a difference.”
He nodded and went inside while she waited for him to speak with Rebekah, Maya looked to her side and saw Finn, hovering close by, but not inside the room, “Hello Finn,” she smirked, “Still desperately trying to get your big sister away from the monsters in the family?”
Finn sneered at her, “I will not allow my sister to be used.”
“Your sister’s a big girl Finn, I know you were trapped in a box for nine centuries, but it’s the 21st century now, women don’t belong to anyone and it’s not your job to protect her, believe me, she’s stronger than you, she can protect herself just fine.”
/ / /
“Sister,” Klaus said, walking into Rebekah’s room.
Her eyes lit up at the sight of him, she hadn’t really believed Elijah when he said that Klaus had rushed to her side, she’d truly believed that she’d made him so angry that he didn’t care, but here he was, his Witch in tow. “Nik,” she breathed.
“You’ve gotten yourself into quite a mess,” he said, offering her a smile.
“It was either me or Kol,” she shot back.
“And I’m sure that our brother would have much rather it been him,” he glanced at Kol, who nodded in response, “You’re our baby sister, it’s our job to protect you,” he said, bending down and placing a kiss on her forehead, “Now, let’s get you fixed up shall we?” he turned to the doorway, where he could see his Siphon arguing with Finn. “Maya,” he said, causing her to snap to attention, “Must you antagonise Finn?”
She shot him a humorous look, before glancing back at Finn, “He kidnapped me once, and then tried again here, neither of which I’ve had an apology for, so yeah,” she nodded, “I must.”
“Well finish later, for now, my sister.” He gestured to Rebekah and Maya nodded, walking over to Rebekah’s bedside.
“Alright,” she rolled her sleeves up, “Everybody out!”
“What?” Elijah said, “I’m not leaving.”
“And I’m not showing you how I fix this. Out. I’m not healing her in front of you.” She looked over at Klaus who nodded, ushering his big brother and sister out of the room, “You too, Kol.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I said so!”
“But-”
“Do you wan me to fix this? Or do you want to continue arguing?” she asked, gesturing to the wound on Rebekah’s stomach.
Klaus rolled his eyes, pulling his baby brother away from his sister and pushing him out the door, “I’ll keep them outside Love.”
Maya smiled gratefully, before getting to her knees on the floor, next to Rebekah, once the door was closed, “You really believe that you can cure this?” the blonde asked.
Maya nodded, “Freya told you what I am didn’t she?” she knew that she could speak freely, because Klaus had had silencing spells put on each of the bedrooms in the Penthouse.
Rebekah nodded, “She did.”
“Well, I’m about to show you what I can do, but I’ll need your word Rebekah, you won’t tell a soul what I did.”
Rebekah looked at the girl for a moment, understanding the position that the Siphon was in, she didn’t want anyone to know that she could heal a Werewolf bite, less she becomes everyone’s go to when they had an encounter with a wolf. “If you can heal me, I swear, I won’t breathe a word.”
Maya nodded and placed her hands on the wound, “This may sting a little.” She began to siphon the magic from the venom, and things were going fine for a moment, but then, she stopped, suddenly feeling very sick. Paling slightly, she snatched the waste basket in the corner of the room and threw up, a disgusting black goo like substance.
“What the hell is that?!” Rebekah asked alarmed.
Maya straightened with a groan, and wiped her mouth, she looked at the substance on her hand in question, “That’s never happened before,” she said, looking back over at Rebekah, “There’s something other than Werewolf venom in there.”
“What is it?” Rebekah asked, she had started to feel better as Maya siphoned, but now that she’d stopped the venom had started to spread again.
Maya shook her head, “I have no idea.”
“Can you still do this?”
“Yeah,” Maya stood on shaky legs, “I just need a little boost first.” She went over to the door and opened it, “Nik,” she said.
“Is it done?” he asked.
“Not yet, I need a boost, blood and magic.”
He took in her pale complexion, “What happened?”
“I don’t know yet, but I need that boost.” He bit into his hand and she brought the bloody appendage to her mouth, drinking from him for as long as she could, her colour getting noticeably better the more she drank. Pulling away from him, she looked up at him, fully energised, “About that other thing.” She held out her hand and Kol placed his in hers.
“I’ve got you Darling.”
The other Originals watched curiously as a strange red glow emanated from her hand, for a few minutes before she pulled away, “Thanks,” she said, “I’ll be back in a few.”
Shutting the door, she turned to Rebekah, “Let’s try this again.”
Maya closed her eyes and started to siphon again, the venom disappearing from Rebekah, but this time, as she did, her mind was drawn away from the conscious plain. Opening her eyes at the abrupt change in feeling, she came face to face with a woman that she didn’t recognise, but felt like she should have.
“Who are you?” Maya asked.
The woman let out a musical laugh, “Don’t you remember me little one?” she asked. The sound of her voice sent chills down Maya’s spine, “I’m your Mother.”
Maya raised a brow at the woman, “My Mother?” she asked, eyeing her up and down, “No you’re not.”
“Yes, I am,” the woman insisted, her dark hair flowing down over caramel skin, “I gave you life, over and over again, you were mine first.”
“Yours first,” Maya repeated, understanding who the woman was, she let out a hollow laugh, “I may have been yours once, I may have even been your favourite. But you betrayed me. I cried out for help, and you never came!”
“I couldn’t-”
“YES YOU COULD!” Maya thundered, “You made this world! It’s yours to do with as you wish, you could have come to me when I needed you, but you didn’t.”
“You left me,” Mother Nature said, “I was your Mother and you vanished from my sight!”
“You were my Master, not my Mother, I was your servant, and either way you abandoned me,” Maya replied, pain evident on her featured, “You. Abandoned. Me. For your other followers, your other creations, they were newer, shinier, so much more fun, and you left me! But that’s all you do isn’t it? Get bored. Move on. Leave everyone that loves you behind. So, I did the only thing that I could, I reached out to someone else for help, and I got it.”
“Yes, my brother,” Mother Nature looked displeased, “He stole you.”
“I gave myself to him, I wasn’t stolen, I was discarded, and he picked me up, and he kept me safe, and when I wanted to spread my wings, he let me do that too. He broke your cycle, and made one for himself.” Her eyes started to bleed black, the plain that they were on trembled, “I was a servant, now I’m a Daughter, I had a Master, and now I have a Father.”
Nature looked around frantically, what was going on? “What are you doing?”
“You’re in my head, a place that no longer belongs to you, it belongs to Him. I’m not a ten-year-old girl anymore, my mind isn’t yours to manipulate! Here I have the power! Now get out!”
“You will not disrespect me!”
“I SAID OUT!” Maya screamed, throwing her hands out, shoving Mother Nature out of her mind, and building up her walls firmly, as she pulled out of her own mind, back to the conscious world, finding that while she’d been gone, her body had automatically continued to siphon the magic in the venom. It took a few more minutes, but the moment the last bit of magic from Rebekah had been removed, she stood up and rushed to the adjoining bathroom, slamming the door behind her as she fell to her knees and heaved, expelling far more black gunk than before.
/ / /
Kol paced the floor in front of Rebekah’s room, “What is taking so long?” he asked Klaus.
“The venom spread quite far Kol,” Klaus replied.
“What is she doing in there?”
“Kol-”
“No! You know! You know what it is that she’s doing! Why won’t you tell me?”
“Because it’s choice whether she tells you Kol,” Klaus replied.
“I find it odd that you’re putting such trust in this girl,” Elijah cut in, before his brothers started an actual argument.
“She’s powerful,” Klaus replied.
“So is our sister,” Elijah gestured at Freya, who was staring at the door brow furrowed in concentration, trying to figure out what Maya was doing in there, “And yet, you put your trust in an outsider.”
“SHE IS NOT- She is not an outsider,” Klaus said, trying to stay calm, “Not to me.”
Freya cocked her head as she thought about what it was the Maya could do, but she couldn’t, and her eyes widened, “Oh!” she realised exactly what Maya was doing.
“What?” Kol asked, looking at her suspiciously.
“Nothing!”
“You know what she’s doing don’t you?!” When Freya didn’t dispute that Kol threw his hands up, “Why can everyone know but me?!”
“To be fair, she just worked it out,” Klaus said, causing his little brother to growl at him.
“Now that’s just-”
Kol was cut off by the opening of the door, Rebekah stood on the other side, a smile on her face, “I’m barely off my deathbed and you two are arguing,” she said.
“Rebekah!” Elijah let out a sigh of relief, being the first to wrap his baby sister in a hug.
Caroline was picking things up very quickly working with Enzo and Damon, whenever someone told her that she couldn’t something, she made it her business to prove them wrong, and her defence instructor had told her that she wouldn’t be able to reach Maya’s level by the end of the school year. She wasn’t going to let that just lie, she was smart, and strong and flexible thanks to her cheerleading, she could do this. She laughed as she finally was able to get away from Damon and then Enzo, zipping past them at an enhanced pace.
“DAMON!” Stefan yelled, as he saw how fast Caroline moved, and came to completely the wrong conclusion, “What have you done?!” he rushed forward, leaving Elena and Bonnie stood on the stone balcony that overlooked the backyard. Damon rolled his eyes as Stefan came towards him, “You turned her?!” Stefan asked incredulously. “How could you?!” he gripped Damon’s shirt, and was going to throw him back, when his brother brushed him off, forever stronger than him when he wasn’t on human blood.
“Back off Stef,” Damon straightened his shirt as the blonde and the Brit came to stand next to him, “I didn’t do anything.”
“I’m not a Vampire, Stefan,” Caroline rolled her eyes in annoyance, “Maybe you should check that first before you rush in and attack your brother.”
Stefan looked over at her, “Wh-Yo-” he couldn’t see any lapis lazuli on her, and the sun was out in full, “I saw you!”
“I’m not a Vampire,” she reiterated, “I’ve been magically enhanced.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I was attacked by Logan Fell when I was all alone, Stefan, I didn’t want that to happen again, so Maya gave me a magic boost.”
“What are you talking about? That’s not possible.”
“You have no idea what’s possible in this world brother,” Damon said.
Caroline scowled at the younger Salvatore, “I’m gonna go wash up, now that our session’s been interrupted,” she knew that there was no way that she and the guys would be able to get back to work now that Stefan was here. She brushed past Bonnie and Elena, who had been staring at her dumbfounded, grabbed her back from downstairs and went up to Damon’s room, out of all the bathrooms in the Boarding House, Damon’s was the best.
Bonnie and Elena shook themselves from their stupor and chased after the blonde, but they didn’t get to her before she’d hopped into the shower. So both girls took a seat in Damon’s room, and waited for her. They needed to find out what was going on with Caroline, she said she wasn’t a Vampire, but then, how had she moved so fast?
Maya sat, leant up against the wall in Rebekah’s bathroom, her head in her hands as her stomach rolled. Klaus had already been to check on her, but she’d sent him away, not wanting him to see her, when she felt so terrible. She didn’t know what else was in the venom that she’d siphoned up, but whatever it was, seriously didn’t agree with her. She groaned as she felt her stomach rebel against her, she lunged over the toilet, trying to throw up again. This time nothing came up, she was dry heaving, she must have cleared whatever it was she’d absorbed, but her system probably still thought that it was still inside her. Pulling back, she leant against the wall again, whimpering in pain as her body tried to fix itself.
There was a knock at the door and Maya narrowed her eyes at the door, “Nik I told you to go away,” she said, assuming that it was either him or Kol, who was there to check on her.
“It’s not Niklaus,” the voice on the other end of the door said, “May I come in?”
“Ugh, I don’t actually think that I can stop you,” she muttered back, knowing full well that he could hear her.
The door opened and Elijah came in, holding two glasses, one with water inside, the other, clearly full of blood. “Elijah,” she said.
“Niklaus thought that you might want this,” he raised that glass of blood, just slightly, “I thought perhaps you might prefer water.”
“I’ll take the blood,” she said without hesitation. Elijah couldn’t hide his surprise as he handed her the glass, and she downed the drink in one go, almost immediately the blood took effect. Her stomach settled, her headache cleared, and her skin regained it’s healthy colour. “Vampire blood is a miracle drug,” she said, when she saw the question on Elijah’s face. Standing she took the water from him, and drained it too, “Thanks,” she said.
“Miss-”
“Maya,” she said.
“No last name?” he asked.
“Not for you,” she smirked.
“Maya,” Elijah said, “You saved my sister. I owe you a debt.”
Maya shrugged, “If you believe you owe me, then I’m not going to dispute it, but I didn’t do it for you. Nik asked for my help, and I gave it.”
“What exactly is your relationship with my brother?” Elijah asked, he’d never seen Klaus offer his blood so freely to anyone, and he’d definitely never seen him offer anyone his trust, the way he had with her. Leaving the Witch alone with their dying sister, Niklaus trusted her to save Rebekah, and she had.
“That’s a question that you should ask your brother,” she covered her mouth as she yawned, “Excuse me,” she said, “I guess saving Rebekah took a lot out of me. Is there somewhere I can lie down?”
Elijah nodded, “Niklaus has asked that I show you to his room,” he replied, “He has had some things brought up for you,” he gestured for her to follow him and he led her to Klaus’s bedroom. “If you need something, just press the buzzer, someone will be up to take care of you.”
“Thank you,” Maya said, closing the door behind her as Elijah walked away. She looked around, the room was very ‘Klaus’. The walls were a dark stained wood, with artwork on all sides. There was a large window to the right of the bed, providing him with an expansive view of New York. The bed itself was massive, and there was a chandelier dangling above (that she was sure was hell to clean).
Shaking her head, she found one of his shirts laying on the bed, along with a new toothbrush and a fresh towel for her. Getting a quick shower in the bathroom attached to Klaus’s bedroom, Maya brushed her teeth and slipped his shirt over her head, crawling into his bed, she practically melted into the mattress and quickly fell asleep.
/ / /
Arturo was hanging from the ceiling, the vervain had been completely drained from his system, “Now,” Kol gripped his chin, making him look at him, Arturo closed his eyes, knowing that the moment their eyes locked, they would compel the truth from him. “That won’t do,” Kol said, tearing the younger Vampire’s eyelids off, causing him to scream, “Much better.” He forced Arturo to look at him, this time with no way to stop it, Kol compelled him. “What was in that syringe that you injected my sister with?”
Arturo tried to fight it, but he couldn’t, “It contained 5 out of the 7 Werewolf venoms that are needed to make a venom that can kill an Original.”
“Why attack us with it, if you knew that it would kill us?”
Arturo struggled with his bonds, not wanting to give away his sire’s secrets, “There’s no point trying to get out,” Klaus said, “There’s no leaving here alive for you, so how about you answer my brother’s question.” He snarled, Vampire on full display.
“L-Lu-Lucien wanted to see what it would do to an Original,” he gasped out, in agony over betraying his sire bond.
“Why?” Klaus asked, “What possible reason would he have to expose something like that to us before it’s ready?”
“It hurt her yes?” Arturo panted as Kol reached inside of him, and tore out his innards, “It won’t stop! It won’t kill her, but she won’t heal!” Klaus snarled and ripped one of Arturo’s legs off, causing the younger Vampire to howl, “She’ll be in agony! Forever! Until you kill her!”
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken,” Rebekah walked in, looking perfectly put together, “I’m absolutely fine.”
Arturo’s eyes widened, “No!” he gasped, “No! That’s impossible,” he flailed, Vampires couldn’t grow limbs back, and he was too weak to heal.
“What’s impossible?” Kol asked, catching his eyes once more, “Why shouldn’t she have healed?”
“The seer saw it! She saw the Originals suffer!”
“What did you do with the tomb Vampires, Damon?” Stefan asked, standing across from his brother inside the house.
“What tomb Vampires?”
“Don’t play dumb Damon, I know that you came here to open the tomb under Fells Church, the tomb that Katherine was in.” Enzo’s jaw clenched as he heard the name of the woman he hated more than anything, “Where is she Damon?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Damon shrugged, taking a seat next to Enzo, pressing himself into his side, in an attempt to reassure the other Vampire.
“Damn it Damon! I spoke to Sheila Bennett! She told me what Emily promised you in return for keeping her family safe! I know the truth!”
“You don’t know anything!” Enzo exploded to a stand, “You don’t know a damn thing! And you never will!”
“Enzo!” Damon pulled the younger Vampire back toward him, running his fingers down Enzo’s back, trying to soothe him. He glared up at his brother, “The tomb was opened years ago,” he said.
“What happened to the Vampires?”
Damon shrugged, he didn’t want Stefan to know that Maya had killed them, she didn’t deserve whatever judgment she’d get from Stefan if he found out, “I killed them.”
“What?” Stefan was shocked.
“Katherine wasn’t in the tomb,” he said, “She faked it, I was pissed, so I set them all on fire.”
Stefan shook his head, “No, there wasn’t anything inside to indicate that they’re all dead!”
“Maya cleaned up for me, she didn’t want to leave those bodies for anyone to find, so she washed away all the evidence.”
“I don't believe you."
"I don't care."
Klaus walked out of the bathroom, he’d just showered all the blood off from his torture session with the Vampire that had attacked Rebekah, his sister had asked for some time alone with her attacker, she wanted to punish him herself, and Klaus had been all to happy to oblige. The revelation that Lucien had some sort of ‘seer’ was news to him, news that he would need to discuss with his Siphon, but that was something that they’d get to in the morning. Right now, he just wanted to crawl into bed beside her, and get some sleep. He put on some loose sweatpants and slid under the covers, pulling Maya to him.
“Mm,” Maya’s eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at him, “Hi Nik.” She hadn’t had the chance to properly greet him when she first arrived, both of them had larger concerns, but now, in the quiet, she could. She leant up and pressed her lips to his, moaning in delight as he deepened the kiss, one of his hands trailed up her bare thigh, hooking the leg around his hip as he rolled on top of her.
After a few minutes, he pulled back with a smirk, “Hello Love.” He stroked her cheek, enjoying the blush that bloomed along her skin, “I see you’re feeling better.”
“It’s not surprising, I’m full of your blood.” She reached up and ran a hand through his hair, it was cut short, reminiscent of what his hair looked like when he first arrived in Mystic Falls in the other world. “You cut your hair.”
“I thought that it was time for a change,” Klaus flipped them over, so that she was stretched out on his chest.
“I like it,” she replied, “It means that we’re getting closer to you finally coming back to Mystic Falls.”
“You remember my hair cut?” he asked, a little surprised.
“I remember everything about you, you were always the one I felt connected to.” Her fingers trailed along his bare chest, “I missed you,” she whispered.
“Really?” the idea anyone missed him, still baffled him, he should be used to it from her by now, but he wasn’t, he always liked hearing the sentiment fall from her lips.
Maya nodded, “I hate being away from you,” she admitted, “It feels wrong.”
Klaus threaded his fingers between her own, bringing her hand up and brushing his lips over her knuckles, “It won’t be long now.”
“I know,” she replied, “It doesn’t mean that I don’t wish that you could just come back with me now.” He felt her lips graze his chest and tightened his grip on her hand, “I guess I’ll just have to find something…or someone to distract myself with when I get back.”
He let out a little growl, tugging her hair back, forcing her to look up at him, “Don’t you even think about it!”
“You gonna stop me?” she asked cheekily.
“I won’t need to, you will.” He replied.
“Oh? What makes you so sure?” He moved them both onto their sides, flipping Maya over so that her back pressed against his front, “What are you-” she cut herself off, as she felt Klaus’s hand trail up the outside of her bare leg, dipping in between her thighs. She grabbed his hand with her own, "We can't."
“Do you want me to stop?” he whispered.
"No," she whimpered, "But you have to," she gasped as she felt his lips graze the back of neck, "Nik!"
"No touching," he said, allowing her to tighten her grip on his hand, "I understand," his gaze narrowed on her almost faded scar, he didn't like that, he hovered just over the mark, not touching it yet, waiting for her permission, "May I?"
She could feel his warm breath on her neck, she knew what he wanted, and the fact was, she wanted it to. She tilted her head to the side, offering up her throat to him, "Please."
Klaus smirked, sinking his fangs into the bite mark, throwing them both headfirst into a vision of the two of them together. Klaus had her bent over in bed, she looked exactly like she did, in that first boudoir shot that she’d sent him, he was pounding into her, causing her to cry out in delight. He barely drank from her, wanting to prolong the vision for as long as possible, and when he pulled his fangs from her, Maya moaned at the loss.
“Whenever you think about fucking someone else, you remember this,” he whispered in her ear, “Remember how you feel when you're with me," his lips grazed the shell of her ear, "Remember that no one will ever hold a candle to the way I make you feel."
Maya felt something cool slide onto her right ring finger, “Wh-” It was a beautiful gold ring, with a white stone in the middle, surrounded by luscious leaf detail, encrusted with tiny diamonds.
“It’s moonstone,” Klaus said, answering her unasked question, “Werewolves give them to members of their pack that don’t have wolves of their own, this is yours.”
“I don't understand,” he was giving her a ring? Why?
“Everything in me wants to mark every inch of your body, so that everyone knows who you belong to,” she felt his fangs scrape across her throat, causing her to shiver, “Until I can, this ring will have to do to remind you that you’re mine. You’re my pack, my Siphon,” he licked his lips as he looked deep into her eyes, “My Alpha Female.”
“Nik,” she whispered in shock, she couldn’t believe that he’d actually said that.
“You’re afraid that I’ll throw you away,” he said, “When Aurora comes back, you’re afraid that I’ll choose her, over you, I’m telling you now, that will never happen. I don’t know what I feel for her anymore, but I do know what I feel for you. You. Are. Mine. And. I. Am. Yours.”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, as they make me feel great!
Chapter 45: Nature's a Bitch
Notes:
Thank you all so much for all the comments and kudos!
I'm busy this weekend, so you won't be getting an update, hopefully this little snippet will tide you over until I can give you another long chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Maya had fallen into a deep sleep, smile on her lips, feeling as safe as she could possibly be, wrapped in Klaus’s arms. Unfortunately, her sleep wasn’t as calm or as restful as she wanted it to be. That night she was drawn into something she’d never experienced before, it started 6000 years ago, her life, not the whole thing, just the high lights, her family, her friends, her joy, her husband, and then of course her death. But her dream didn’t stop there, the next thing she knew, it was maybe a thousand years later when she had her first rebirth, as a human this time, at the end of the stone age. Her life was short, painful, bloody, almost like it was a punishment for coming back from the dead. Her first human life was agony, and the next life after that wasn’t much better, she was human again, treated like dirt, like she was worthless, and her death was just as horrific as her last two, and it just continued, life after life, death after death, they poured into her dream, unrelenting, unstoppable, uncaring of what they were doing to her.
Klaus woke to Maya tossing and turning, he called to her, he shook her, he tried as hard as he could to wake her, and in the end, he resorted to diving into her mindscape to find her. “Love,” he said, as he came across her, watching as another version of her, lived and died.
“Nik,” she gasped, seeing him, “What are you doing here?”
“You’re having a nightmare Love, I’m trying to wake you.”
The Siphon shook her head, “I’m not dreaming…I’m remembering.”
“Remembering what?”
“Everything,” she turned back to the vision behind her, “Every life, full of pain, and suffering, every death, an agony, a punishment! I can feel it all!”
“That’s impossible, no Old Soul remembers.” Klaus said, that was something that had been made very clear to him, centuries ago.
“Why is she doing this to me?” she asked.
“Who’s doing this?”
“Mother Nature,” she looked up at Klaus, wincing as she felt the sharp stab of an invisible knife in her gut, mirroring her 10th past life, “She came to me when I was healing Rebekah, this must be why-Aah!” she cried out and nearly collapsed, he gripped her tight to stop her from falling.
“Maya!”
“She couldn’t get to me the way she did before,” she panted, “I can-uh- I can feel everything happening to them!”
“Let’s get out of here!” he said, and tried to pull them both out of her mind, but he couldn’t “Bloody hell! I can’t!”
“She’s gonna make me live through it all! I can’t stop it Nik!” her fingers tightened on his arm, as she took the pain of yet another death. They were all relatively the same, sometimes she came back as a Witch, most of the time she came back as a human, and then there was one time that she came back as a Werewolf. It was a thousand years ago, and she gasped as she recognised one of the men in her village, “Oh God!”
“What is it?” Klaus asked, eyes flitting between both her, and the vision.
“I know him! This isn’t gonna be good.”
“What? Who is it?”
“It’s your father!” she whispered, staring at Ansel, who was holding council with his Werewolves.
“What?” Klaus’s eyes locked onto the man she was staring at.
“That’s Ansel, he’s your biological father, which means…”
“Mikael’s going to kill you,” Klaus said, coming to the grim realisation that she was about to suffer a terrible end, at the hands of his own tormentor.
“Here he comes,” she said, seeing The Destroyer, newly turned, furious, with a sword in hand, and he tore through the pack, “Don’t watch,” she said, “You shouldn’t see this!” She realised that she was going to stay alive long enough to witness Ansel’s violent death. She looked up at him, “Nik!” she pulled his attention to her, “Nik don’t watch!” He tried not to, but he couldn’t help it, his eyes were drawn to the scene before them, Mikael tore apart his father, and when he was dead, Mikael made his way to Maya’s past self, and drove a sword through her heart. Maya clutched her chest and cried out.
Klaus immediately focused his attention on her, and was reminded of his own death, of the feeling of the sword his father drove through his heart, and pulled her closer to him, “I’m here Love,” he whispered, "I've got you," his father had murdered her, just like he’d done to the rest of his family. In that moment, Klaus wished that he could feel the pain for her, she shouldn’t have to suffer like this because of him.
Maya rested her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around him and holding on as tight as she could, “It’s okay,” she panted, “It’s okay, there can’t be that many left.” But she was wrong, it wasn’t just one or two more lives, it was seven more times. 80 years after Mikael killed her, it was Finn, the family were on the run together, when Finn met Sage, the problem was, Maya’s past self was at odds with her, and because of it, Finn drained her dry.
60 years after that, in Greece, Maya’s past self was a Witch again, a part of the Gemini coven, and she fell in love with the daughter of the leader, Cassandra, a daughter that was a Siphon. They were happy, for two years, when Aurora, Tristan and Lucien came through her coven’s territory, Aurora in one of her moments of clarity, had taken a liking to Maya, wanted to keep her as a pet, and Lucien, wishing to indulge the woman that he loved, murdered Cassandra, but she died with Vampire blood in her system, and came back more powerful than ever. Cassandra couldn’t control the blood lust, she became a Ripper, and on a night, when she was overwhelmed by the thirst, she killed Maya. The red-head couldn’t help but shed a tear at that, she could feel everything, including the love she’d felt for Cassandra, and the betrayal she’d felt as her life was drained away.
150 years later, Maya came back as a human, a servant in a rich household, when Kol arrived, he was vile, vicious, violent without a care in the world, he murdered his way through the entire town, ending with the servants of the master. He broke her arms, and then compelled her to run, and she did, she ran as far and fast as she could, but he caught up with her, and sank his fangs into her neck, draining her of her life in an instant, and leaving her body to the elements. Maya whimpered in fear, she knew that Kol was bad, she knew that he was a monster of the highest order, but that he’d done this to her, he was her teacher, her friend, and he’d unleashed his savagery upon her in the worst way imaginable.
90 years after that, it was Rebekah that ended her life. Maya was engaged to a man whom Rebekah believed that she loved, and the blonde Original was not happy. Rebekah used Maya’s servants to lure her out of her home, she had written a note in the guise of her fiancé, asking to meet her at the nearby lake. The youngest of the Mikaelsons had been particularly cruel, she’d compelled Maya to walk into the lake, to hold herself under, even when she ran out of air, and the next morning Maya was found dead, floating in the water.
22 years later Maya was born a Witch again, but at the age of twenty was turned into a Vampire, this was the first, and only, time she’d been a Vampire, it had also been her longest life, she’d lived 70 years. Until she fell in with the Mikaelsons in England, was entrusted with being one of Katerina Petrova’s guards, the night Katherine escaped, Trevor had broken her neck, taken the doppelgänger and fled. Maya had woken in chains, hanging from the ceiling. Elijah had tortured her for information, believing that she had aided in the escape, and when he was finally satisfied with her answers, he’d removed her head from her shoulders.
A century after that, Maya met Freya for the first time, the Mikaelson Witch had just recently escaped Dahlia’s clutches, she didn’t trust anyone, mortal, Witch, Vampire, Werewolf, it didn’t matter, Freya had to make sure that anyone that had seen her, did not live to tell the tale. Freya had been as kind as she could be though, opting for a swift snap of her neck, nothing too painful but still, it was a shock to Maya’s system.
With each death that they witnessed, Klaus’s grasp on her tightened, every member of his family had murdered her at one point, Klaus didn’t like the way this was heading, “No,” he whispered, he recognised the surroundings, he remembered this night, “No, no, no!” 271 years later, it was 1863, one year before the Salvatores had been turned, and the closest to Katerina he’d been in over a century at the time. “Maya don’t look,” he said, trying to direct her gaze to him, but he couldn’t, neither one of them could move. Katherine was travelling with Maya’s past self, this version of her a young unskilled Witch who’d put Katherine on the path to locating the latest Bennett Witch. Katherine had heard rumours of Klaus being nearby, and fled, setting up Maya to take the fall for her, and take the fall she did. “Close your eyes,” Klaus said, as he watched a version of him stalk towards Maya.
“I can’t,” Maya whispered, feeling utterly broken, she knew what was about to happen, knew that she was about to witness the one thing that she didn’t know if she’d be able to get past. She tried to prepare herself, but nothing could have prepared her for what was to come.
“You’re the Witch that has been aiding Katerina,” the past version of Klaus spoke, watching in amusement as the Witch quaked in fear before him.
“I-I don-don’t know who you-you’re talking about,” Maya stuttered, trying to get away from the Original, but she couldn’t, she’d been backed into a corner, with no means of escape. She wasn’t powerful, and even if she was, she’d had barely any tutoring.
Klaus tutted as he came even closer to her, “You can’t lie to me Witch, I can hear your heartbeat. Where’s Katerina?”
Maya shook her head, “I-I don’t know.”
Klaus rolled his eyes, “I find that hard to believe, every rumour I’ve heard points to you Witch, she came to you for help.”
“I don’t know where she is!” Maya cried, her terror taking over, “I swear, I couldn’t help her!”
Klaus snarled, shooting forward, picking her up by her throat, choking her, his monster on full display, “WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!” he yelled.
“Nothing!”
“LIES!” Klaus buried his fangs in her throat, without an ounce of gentleness, and she screamed, he pulled back with a grin, face bloody, “I’ve been alive 800 years,” he whispered to her, causing her to whimper in fear, “The ways that I could hurt you are endless, such a shame your body won’t be able to handle it.” He watched her with a cruel glint in his eye, “I suppose I could always turn you, make your torment last for years.”
“No! Please! No!”
“Then TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW!”
“Katherine Pierce!” Maya cried out, “Her name’s Katherine Pierce now! She’s been searching for a Bennett Witch! That’s all I know! I swear!”
Klaus smiled, “That is enlightening,” he cocked his head, regarding the broken, bleeding Witch before him, she’d just provided him with invaluable information, he knew exactly what area in which he could start looking for a Bennett Witch. He supposed in return for her cooperation, he could give the Witch a swift death. In an instant his hand was buried in her chest, and he tore her heart out.
“NO!” Klaus yelled, finally able drag them both from the terrible visions that they’d been subject to. Maya woke with a cry, she tumbled out of the bed and scrambled backwards, until she was curled up against the wall. “Maya!” Klaus said, moving to her.
“GET AWAY FROM ME!”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel great, and this week, I definitely need the good feels.
Chapter 46: The Aftermath
Notes:
Sorry it's been so long! I had a very busy few weeks and didn't have time to sit down and write!
Thank you all for all of the Kudos and the Comments! I can't believe how many people responded to the last chapter, I'm so grateful!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Maya shrieked, she accessed her talisman instinctively and blasted Klaus through the bedroom door.
His siblings, upon hearing the noise of the crash, rushed to the upper hallway, to see their brother pushing himself to his feet and brushing broken bits of wood from his person. “Nik!” Kol said, looking into the room and seeing Maya with her eyes squeezed shut, her hands over her ears, as though she was trying to block everything out, while items in the room were shaking with the force of the spell she was casting. Not thinking, Kol rushed inside, but as soon as he got within a foot of Maya, he too, was blasted out of the room.
“What the bloody hell is going on?” Rebekah asked, peering into the room with a mixture of curiosity and just a touch of worry, the Witch had without a doubt saved her from agonising pain, and Klaus trusted her, but seeing this was definitely worrisome.
Elijah glanced at Klaus’s destroyed room and then over at his brother, “What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything!” Klaus snarled.
“She just threw me out of the room!” Kol said, standing up, “Why did she do that?!”
“Kol,” Klaus's eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out how to get close to Maya without being attacked.
“What’s going on Nik?!” Kol stopped Klaus from moving. Klaus growled and placed his hand on Kol’s temple, giving him an intense but compressed version of what had happened just prior. Kol pulled back with a gasp, had he really just seen what he thought he did? Had Maya truly re-lived her every life, and death? Was he really a cause of death for her? “That’s impossible,” he breathed.
“I don’t have time for this,” Klaus moved past his brother, towards his room.
Freya shuddered as she came close to her brother’s bedroom, “This magic,” she said quietly, “I’ve never felt this before,” the feel of the magic being cast sent an icy chill down her spine, it felt distinctly different from the magic that Maya cast when they first met. Something about it reminded her of the cold, and the dark, something about it made her instinctively think of death, causing her to unconsciously pull away from the room. “What happened to her?” she asked Klaus.
Klaus ignored her and stood in the doorway, he reached out one hand, just past the entrance and yanked it back with a hiss, looking down, he watched the skin heal from an obvious burn. “Bloody hell.”
“That’s not good,” Kol said, appearing at his brother’s side.
Freya reached out with her magic for a moment before looking at Klaus, “Whatever she’s doing, it’s getting stronger.”
Klaus saw things on his table explode, the windows in his room starting to crack under the pressure. Kol watched Maya with concern etched on his features, “Nik she can’t keep this up!” her nose had started to bleed, and he could see blood streaking down her face from her eyes, “Nik it’s going to kill her!”
“I can’t get in!” Klaus shot back, he reached out his hand again and then pulled it back as his skin burned.
“I could try,” Freya said, looking between her two youngest brothers.
Their attention snapped to her, “How?” Kol asked.
“I could try to cast a sleep spell,” she said, “If she’s unconscious then she’ll stop casting, it’ll give her body time to heal.”
Klaus looked at his baby brother, who nodded in response, it was a good idea, and seemed to be their only option. “Do it,” Klaus said.
Freya turned her gaze back to the red-head, “Gå og sov,” she started quietly, “Gå og sov! Gå og sov!” she tried, but it wouldn’t work.
“You’re not doing anything!” Klaus snarled.
“I’m trying!” Freya shot back, “Whatever she’s casting is powerful! I can’t break through!”
“Aren’t you supposed to be the first-born Mikaelson Witch? You’re a thousand! You should be able to break through!”
“I CAN’T!” Freya yelled back, “I’m a Witch without an anchor! With nothing to ground me, I have limits! And I’ve never felt that magic before!” she gestured over at Maya.
Klaus growled, his Vampire creeping out, but Kol stopped him, “She’s right Nik, a Witch needs an anchor to perform powerful magic, you could use one of us…to anchor to…couldn’t you?”
Freya nodded hesitantly, “It would work.”
Kol held out his hand for her to take, but Klaus pulled it back before it made contact with Freya’s. “Nik!”
“If Freya uses one of us as an anchor, then she will have access to our minds, everything we know she will know, including Maya’s secrets!” Klaus didn’t want to stop his brother, but he knew that Maya would never want her secrets in the hands of someone she didn’t trust.
“She’ll die if we don’t do something!” Kol protested, he didn’t want to give away Maya’s secrets either, but he'd always believed in apologising instead of asking permission, he was sure that Maya would forgive him.
Rebekah saw the genuine concern on both of her brother’s faces and stepped forward, “Then use me,” she said, causing Klaus to look at her in shock, “I don’t know her secrets, use me.”
“Are you sure?” Freya asked.
Rebekah hesitated, there were of course things that she’d rather keep to herself, but she did owe the girl, “She saved me,” Rebekah finally said, “I owe her.” She held out her hand and Freya took it, focusing on casting another sleep spell, “When this is over I expect some answers,” she said to her brothers.
Freya closed her eyes, using Rebekah as an anchor she cast a new, more powerful spell, “Ånder bringer søvn, søvn dyp, søvn sant. Ånder bringer søvn, søvn dyp, søvn sant.” Freya could feel power break through the shield of magic that the red-head had put up. Her spell enveloped the Siphon and Maya finally fell unconscious. “It should be safe now,” Freya said, opening her eyes.
Klaus didn’t even wait a second before he rushed inside, picked Maya up, and whooshed out of the Penthouse. “Where’s he going?” Rebekah asked.
Kol eyed his siblings for a moment, before following after Klaus, he had an idea where his brother was headed, Elijah shot after Kol, unwilling to let him disappear, Rebekah looked like she was going to follow but Freya gripped her arm, “Not without me!” Rebekah grabbed her sister, and raced after the rest of her siblings.
“What do you know about Katherine?” Stefan asked, cornering his brother, yet again, unwilling to believe that Damon didn’t know where she was, unwilling to believe that Damon wasn’t out chasing her.
“Ugh,” Damon rolled his eyes, “How many times do I have to tell you Stef? Nothing! I don’t know where she is, what she’s doing, who she’s doing it with. It turns out, neither one of really knew who she was.” Damon was in no mood to deal with his brother right now, he’d been feeling off for about an hour, which was weird, because Vampires didn’t get sick, there was nothing wrong with him, and yet, something didn’t feel right.
Stefan grabbed his arm before he could leave, “Damon-”
“What do you want me to say Stefan!” Damon exploded, shrugging off Stefan’s hand, “She tricked me! She didn’t love me! I was nothing but a toy for her, and I’ll be damned if I waste one more second of my time on that selfish, conniving, bitch!” He whooshed out of the Boarding House before Stefan could stop him, he was halfway to the Sommers home when his phone rang, causing him to pause and answer.
“Hel-” Damon cut himself off as he was interrupted by the person on the other side, “Wait what?” Damon felt a chill at the words, “Call the others, I’m on my way.” He hung up, and whooshed out of town.
Klaus gently laid Maya on her bed in Damon and Enzo’s New York apartment, other than the two younger Vampires, he was the only one with an invite, she would be safe from harm inside. He brushed some hair behind her ear and trailed a finger down from her temple to her cheek, he wanted so badly to enter her mind, to find her and wake her up. But given how she reacted to his presence only moments ago, the brief flash of sheer terror he’d seen in her eyes, he felt that she wouldn’t appreciate it. In fact, he didn’t think that she’d want him anywhere near her, and truthfully, he didn’t know what he would do if he saw that look in her eyes again.
Pulling away with a frown, Klaus headed out of the apartment, finding most of his family waiting outside, along with one of his compelled Vampires, ignoring his siblings for a moment, he turned to the Vampire, “Keep watch until her people get here,” he said, and the Vampire nodded, positioning himself in front of the door.
“Nik, what is going on?” Rebekah asked, refusing to wait any longer.
Klaus felt his jaw clench, he was going to have to give them something, he knew that none of them would be willing to just ignore what had gone on, he looked at Kol, “Did you call them?” he asked.
“Damon’s on his way.”
“You called Damon?”
“If Enzo sees what happened, he’ll try to kill you,” Kol shrugged.
“That’s true,” Klaus conceded.
“Hello!” The youngest Original cut in, frustrated at her brother’s lack of response, and their continuous need to leave everyone out of the loop, “What just happened?!”
“Fine! Follow me,” Klaus said, whooshing to the apartment directly underneath, that way he was close enough to hear Maya if she needed him, but far enough away to not scare her.
The rest of the Mikaelsons followed him, Kol took up the space next to Klaus, knowing that his brother was not in a good place emotionally, seeing yourself kill the one that you are coming to love would drive anyone mad, and Klaus was already crazy, he could tell that his brother was reigning himself in, waiting until he was sure that Maya had someone that would take care of her, before he could unleash his fury.
“Niklaus, we’ve waited long enough,” Elijah said, standing opposite his brothers, in between Rebekah and Freya. “What is going on?”
Klaus glanced at Kol, before saying something that would help to explain his actions, and Maya’s, “Maya, my Witch, is an Old Soul.”
Enzo was sat outside the coffee shop on main street, appreciating his ability to people watch, he’d spent so long locked away, with only his tormentors to talk to, it was nice to just sit back and watch the humans go about their normal day, knowing that if he wished, he could get up and join them. He was enjoying his coffee laced with blood (courtesy of the delicious barista), when Miranda Gilbert took a seat opposite him. Raising an eyebrow he eyed her in surprise, ‘this should be interesting’, he thought. “Mrs Gilbert,” he drawled, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“You’ve known my sister for a while now, right?”
“Years,” he replied.
“How long have you known about Maya?”
“About Maya?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, you know what I’m talking about.”
“I’m sorry,” Enzo shook his head, “I haven’t the foggiest idea of what you’re talking about, you’re going to have to elaborate.”
“You know that-” she cut herself off and conspicuously looked around to make sure that no one was listening in, “You know that she’s a Witch,” she hissed.
Enzo shot her a sceptical look, “What?” he almost laughed, “You’re kidding right? Witches don’t exist.”
“Don’t mess with me! I know you know!”
“Oh my God!” Enzo did laugh at that, wanting to make her feel foolish for saying it, because she had no real reason to suspect that he knew about Maya, and for all she knew, she could have just outed her niece. “You actually believe that!”
Miranda scowled, “Stop it! There’s no way that you aren’t aware of what she is! You live with her for god’s sake! How long have you known?! Because I’m her aunt, and I only just found out.”
Enzo narrowed his eyes and leant forward, “You know,” he said quietly, “That is a question that I’d be asking Jenna, if what you’re saying about Maya is true, why didn’t they trust you with such a huge secret? What could possibly be the reason?” Enzo finished his drink, and set the mug down, standing he offered her a condescending smirk, “Perhaps you should be asking, what’s wrong with you, that your own sister feels like you can’t be trusted.” He walked off, his smirk turning to a frown as he felt an uncomfortable tightness develop in his chest…what was that?
Miranda watched him go with a scowl, she picked up her bag and made to leave, by chance her eyes glanced down at the mug on the table and her scowl turned into a frown, what was that on the edge of the coffee cup? Was…was that blood?
/ / /
Caroline was going over cheer routines for the next time the squad would be needed, she knew what the girls were capable of, but with her new dexterity and reflexes, she was now capable of so much more, so she wanted to come up with something new. Football season had been cancelled, thanks to Damon and his need to prove himself to his brother, but the cheer team still had competitions to go to, and she was going to make sure that they won. She was figuring out what she and Maya could do, when she felt pain lance through her chest. “AAGH!”
/ / /
Jenna was working on her thesis, she’d been on edge for most of her night, but she thought that it was just the stress. Her paper was due in a week, and she’d fallen hopelessly behind, she wasn’t sure how, but she’d been seriously tempted to get Damon or Enzo to compel her professors, so that she’d have extra time to finish. She was just putting the final touches on her paper, when she felt a searing pain rip through her heart. “AAGH!” she screamed, holding on to her chest.
Enzo whooshed into the room, he was already on the way to the house after receiving a phone call from Kol, but hearing her scream, he sped up. “Jenna!” he rushed to her side.
“Enzo!” she gasped, “What-”
“It’s Maya,” he said. He’d felt something was wrong, even hundreds of miles away, he and Maya had a connection, but the one between Maya and her mother, it was infinitely stronger, and Jenna had just been overwhelmed by that connection. “We have to go.”
/ / /
Liz stormed into her office, she didn’t know why, but over the past couple of hours, her mood had turned foul, but there was no reason for it. As far as Mystic Falls was concerned, it had been a relatively quiet day, there were no emergencies, supernatural or otherwise, so she should have been feeling relaxed, but she wasn’t. Sitting at her desk there was a build-up of tension in her head, something was wrong, she could feel it in her gut. The phone in her office rang, and she picked up, it was Jenna.
“Liz?”
“Jenna, what’s wrong?”
“Something’s happened to Maya.” Jenna said.
Liz stiffened, she knew that something was wrong, “What happened?”
Jenna sniffed as Enzo zoomed around her room, packing her and Maya a bag, “I’m not-I’m not completely clear on it, but she went to help to a friend, and was attacked, whoever did it, they’re gone, but she’s hurt bad, I need to go and get her. She needs me.”
“Of course, what can I do?”
“I uh- I need Caroline, her friends said that whatever happened, Maya’s going to need support, she needs her sister.”
Liz paused at that, she wanted to let Caroline go, but would she be safe? What about the attacker? “Is it safe now?”
“Yeah, we’re going straight to an apartment that’s been heavily protected, it’s invite only, no one can get in without one. I would never put Caroline in harms way, please believe that.”
“I do,” Liz replied, she knew that Jenna wouldn’t ask for Caroline to go unless she believed that it was absolutely necessary. “I believe you. You can take her. Call me the moment you get there.”
“So you’re telling me, that this girl, this Witch, was attacked with visions of her past lives?” Elijah asked.
“They weren’t visions, she was made to relive it, each and every life, the pleasure, the joy, the inevitable pain and suffering, and of course violent death at the end of each life. She felt everything,” Klaus replied.
“That still doesn’t explain her sudden problem,” Rebekah pointed out, “And it doesn’t explain your reaction to her.”
Klaus looked away and Kol cut in, “Well it appears that she’s come across each and everyone of us in her past lives,” the siblings looked surprised, “And each time, apart from with Freya, her death was particularly painful.”
“What are you talking about Kol? We’ve never met her before, I think we would remember!” Rebekah protested.
Kol shook his head, “Old Souls are reincarnations, their souls are the same, but their bodies aren’t, we wouldn’t have recognised her, even if we’d wanted to.”
“You’re sure that we’ve come across her before?” Elijah asked.
Kol rolled his eyes, “In 1081, Finn killed her, drained her dry because she and Sage didn’t get along. In 1291 it was me,” he said, surprisingly solemn as he spoke about it, “I tore through her village, she was one of the last alive. I broke her arms, made her run, and then I gave chase.” He looked at Rebekah, “In 1381, you were unbelievably jealous of her sister, she was marrying a man that you wanted for yourself, you lured her out of the safety of her home, under the guise of meeting her fiancé at midnight, and then you compelled her to drown herself in the lake.” Rebekah startled at that, she remembered that night, but Kol couldn’t possibly have known that, he had been daggered at the time, in fact, none of her brothers knew about that particular time and her paramour of choice.
Kol then turned his attention to Elijah, his most noble of brothers, “In 1492, she was guarding that wench Katerina, Trevor snapped her neck to help the doppel-whore escape, and you found her on the floor. She woke in chains, you tortured her, mercilessly, demanding answers that she couldn’t give. And then finally you knocked her head from her shoulders.” Elijah looked away from his brother's intense stare, Katerina’s escape had been a low point for him in his life, for a short time after that, he was monstrous, in a way that he hadn’t been since he’d first been turned.
“About a century after that, she bumped into you, Freya.” He sighed, “It was the kindest of her deaths, you told her that you were sorry, but no one could know where you were, you snapped her neck. And then finally, Nik.” Rebekah looked over at her Klaus, took in the clench of his jaw, his balled up fists, the tenseness of his shoulders, this was painful for him, she realised. The reminder of the Witch’s deaths, the knowledge that he had been one of the causes, it was hurting him. “In 1863, she’d just pointed Katerina in the direction of a Bennett Witch, and Katherine ensured that her trail would end at Maya. Nik found her, frightened her, tormented her, hurt her, and then finally, when he received his answers, he tore her heart from her chest.”
“ENOUGH!” Klaus yelled, he didn’t want to be reminded of it.
/ / /
Damon had just arrived at his apartment building in New York, he’d run all the way there, had to stop off a few times in order to feed and replenish his energy, because travelling at top speed took a lot out of him. He rushed up to Klaus’s apartment, and let himself in, just as Kol was explaining what Maya had been through. “Is that true?” he asked, causing all the attention to shift to him, but he ignored the rest of the Originals, focusing on the two that he knew. “Nik?” Damon walked over to his friend, “Is that true?”
Klaus looked at Damon, guilt, evident in his eyes, “I didn’t know her then.”
Damon looked at his friend, his best friend, he could feel the anger rising within him, and his fist met Klaus’s face. Klaus, to his credit, just let it happen, “You stay away from her,” Damon said, pointing at Klaus, and then Kol, “Both of you.” He whooshed out of the apartment and went upstairs, he needed to see the Siphon.
/ / /
“Niklaus!”
“Klaus.”
“Nik!”
“I SAID ENOUGH!” Klaus yelled, “OUT! GET OUT!” he snarled, his Vampire rocketing to the surface.
Elijah could tell that he wasn’t going to get anywhere with his brother in the mood that he was in, and grabbed Freya, running them both back to the Penthouse. Kol left, because while he knew that Klaus wasn’t handling the revelation of Maya’s past lives well, neither was he. Kol had seen his own death twice, and it had caused him more pain than he thought possible, he’d seen himself be betrayed by his family. But he’d only seen it. Maya had lived it, all of it, and had been murdered by the very ones that she was meant to protect. He’d murdered her, and he’d enjoyed it. She was his student, the first person that he’d truly connected with over magic in a thousand years, and he’d killed her. He didn’t know what to do, what to say, he didn’t know how to feel, he didn’t know how he could fix it, so he left, he needed time alone to process what he’d seen, and figure out how to make it up to his favourite student.
Rebekah didn’t leave, after Klaus yelled, she chose to stay. He tried to hide it, but Rebekah could see real pain in his eyes, he truly cared for the Witch, in a way that she didn’t think was possible. She never thought her brother would ever fall in love after Aurora, but it was clear to her that he had. Perhaps he hadn’t realised it yet, but he had, and now he was terrified that he was going to lose his Witch because of his past actions. Ordinarily, she would have left him to his grief, believing that any pain he received, he deserved, after every terrible thing he’d done, turnabout was fair play after all. But seeing such raw agony in his eyes, it struck a cord within her. She couldn’t leave him to suffer on his own. She just couldn’t.
/ / /
Damon rushed into his apartment, and headed straight for Maya’s room, where he found her curled up in her bed, her body shaking as she tried to hold in her sobs. “Maya,” he spoke softly, and padded inside slowly so he didn’t spook her. He crouched down in front of her, her eyes locked onto his and she launched herself at him, her arms thrown around his neck as she gripped him, like he was a lifeline.
“Hey,” he whispered, standing and shifting her, so that he could crawl into the bed with her, and held her back tightly, “It’s okay, I’m right here.”
“I want mom,” she cried, her face buried in his chest.
“I know Red, she’s on her way.”
Death paced his reading room, even though he was stuck outside of the living plain, he could still see everything that happened to anyone on the living side, he’d seen exactly what his sister had done to Maya, and he hated it. He was one of the most powerful beings in existence, compared to him, Maya was nothing, or at least, she should have been nothing to him, but she wasn’t. He had no idea that from the moment he brought her into his embrace to spite his sister, that she would become more important to him than he could ever imagine, she was his daughter. And his sister had just tried to ruin her.
Stiffening he felt his sister’s presence, he turned and there she was, “Hello brother.” Because she was in his domain, she had instinctually taken her true form. A powerful woman, whose form consisted mostly of greenery, leaves, moss, tree branches. She was beautiful, but it was clear when looking upon her true form, who and what she was.
Death’s gaze hardened, it had been millennia since he’d come face to face with her, unlike his sister, who’d ensured that he had no way to get to the living plain when she’d created it, his reading room was his own space, but he’d never put up a barrier prohibiting her from entering. “Sister, you have some nerve coming here, after what you did.”
Nature offered him a soft smile, “It needed to be done, Vampires are destined for extinction, it is written. And your little ‘daughter’ was interfering.”
He sneered, “You wrote it, and unfortunately for you, Vampires don’t belong to you, nothing you write for them is set in stone. They belong to me, I will have the final say over them, not you.”
“They live in my world,” she shrugged.
“It won’t be just yours for much longer,” he replied, “If you think that a few dark visions of her infinite past lives are going to stop my daughter from completing her mission, you underestimate her, and me.”
“But it wasn’t just visions, brother,” Nature walked towards him, it had been so long since she’d seen his face, it was a bittersweet moment for her. She loved her brother dearly, but he was threatening her creation, and she couldn’t let it stand. “It was everything, everything that I prevented her from remembering, out of kindness, I gave it all back to her. If you had had your way, the Old Souls would have remembered everything that they had suffered through, I protected them from their painful pasts, I did that for you. And instead of thanking me for it, you created a race of beings that live off of mine, that kill and destroy without discrimination, you made monsters and unleashed them on my creation. So now they’ll remember, every bit of pain, every hurt, every sorrow, they will feel. I infected your first, and from her it will spread. And you will lose them, they'll beg to come back to me."
The reading room began to quake, Death’s form shifted, it burned away, until his true form was revealed, upon looking at him, you could see why the personification of death was so terrifying. His skin had melted away, to reveal a body of broken and twisted bones and sinew, resembling tree branches, he grew to three times his size, dwarfing his sister completely. Two protrusions grew from his skull, giving him the appearance of devilish horns, and a fire burned within him, the orange embers visible through every crack and opening in his body.
“HOW DARE YOU!” he roared, “ALL OF THEIR SUFFERING WAS AT YOUR HANDS!” his domain shook even more violently, causing Nature to catch herself, to stop from falling. “I HAD NO CONTROL OVER THEIR LIVES! BECAUSE OF YOU! I CREATED VAMPIRES TO PUT AN END TO THEIR TORMENT! EVERYTHING YOUR CREATIONS SUFFER AT THE VAMPIRES’ HANDS, EVERYTHING IS BECAUSE OF YOU!” The fire in his eyes grew, he wouldn’t let her torture of his children stand, storming up to her he gripped her throat, keeping her in place, “Nothing you do will stop me, my children will live, and you, dear sister, will rue the day that you locked me out of your world.” He tightened his grip on her, and threw her from his domain, fire exploding from him, burning away any trace of his sister that remained.
“Nik,” Rebekah spoke softly, when the rest of their siblings left, she and Klaus had both been able to hear the Witch’s sobs from upstairs, and as a result he had destroyed most of his apartment. She walked up to him cautiously, so much had changed with him, and it had happened without her. “Nik,” she placed her hand on his shoulder, ignoring how he tensed at her touch, and turned him to face her, “You need to stop this.”
He ripped his arm away from her, “Get out!” he growled, she didn’t know, she didn’t understand, she could never understand what he was feeling, and he didn’t want her to.
“No!” Rebekah replied stubbornly.
“Rebekah I am not in the mood. Leave!”
“I said no Nik!”
“Reb-”
“You listen to me!” she cut him off, gripping his face between her hands, “After all these years, after everything we’ve been through, it’s always been me at your side! Not Finn, nor Elijah, or Kol. Me! I loved you through everything! And I will not let you send me away now!” He was hurting and she could see it, the kind of pain that only she could understand, he needed her, even if he didn’t want to admit it.
“You sent Mikael after me!” Klaus said incredulously.
“And I’m sorry for that!” she finally said, causing him to pause, Elijah hadn’t apologised for the role he took with Aurora, Kol hadn’t apologised for trying to create a dagger to put him down, and he similarly hadn’t apologised for the numerous times that he had daggered his siblings, but here Rebekah was, apologising for the hurt that she’d caused him. “I’m sorry,” she repeated, “If I could change it, I would, I was in love, and angry, and I made a terrible decision. But I can’t change what I’ve done, and neither can you.”
“Rebekah-”
“I’m not going anywhere Nik, you need me.”
Klaus pulled himself away from his sister, “I am Klaus Mikaelson! I don’t need anyone!”
“Yes you do,” Rebekah insisted, stopping him from moving away from her, “You need me, just like you need that girl up there!”
“I-”
“You love her Nik!”
Klaus scowled, he didn’t, he wouldn’t, love was a weakness that he wouldn’t allow himself to feel, “Don’t be absurd.”
“Don’t take me for a fool Nik! I’m your sister, I have been with you through everything, and I know love when I see it! You love her! I can see it in your eyes, your actions,” she gestured to the room, “Your pain. I know love, Nik, and I know what it’s like to be the reason that the one you love dies.” She looked deep into his eyes, attempting to convey her sincerity, “Destroying things, killing people, it won’t stop what you’re feeling, it can’t. Let me help you, please.”
It took a few hours before Enzo, Jenna and Caroline arrived in New York. Damon had explained to them as best he could what had happened to Maya, what she’d gone through, and Jenna and Caroline had immediately made their way to the red-head, curling around her, offering her words of comfort and support, taking her into their embrace the only way a mother and a sister could. Enzo had wanted to kill Klaus, and Kol, and the rest of the Originals for what they’d done, and Damon had to act like the responsible one, and prevent his lover from going off the deep end and attempting to do something that would end up with him killed. He’d rushed Enzo away from the apartment, so that he could let out his anger before going to Maya and left the two humans to take care of the Siphon.
Jenna had her arms wrapped around her daughter, stroking her hair, “Whatever it is that you need honey, I’m right here.”
Maya had been very quiet since she’d arrived, for the most part, still stuck in her mind, on what she’d been reminded of, every life, every death, she didn’t know how to cope. Whenever she died, and remembered her lives, she went back into Death’s embrace, he was her comfort, her safety. But she hadn’t died this time around, she was alive, unable to heal like she was used to, this time around, she had developed feelings for some of her killers. Kol was her teacher, her friend, she loved him, even if she hadn’t told him. But Klaus, Klaus was more than a friend, he was the man that she saw herself spending the rest of her existence with, she was in love with him, and he’d killed her, even if they weren’t together then, even if they didn’t know each other, it still hurt her. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was the look of delight on his face when his hand was buried in her chest. All she could feel was the terror that he’d instilled in her, and she didn’t know what to do. How were they supposed to move forward from this? How could she even look at him after this?
She felt the ring on her finger, the ring that he’d given her as a declaration, she didn’t want it, not now, not with this hanging over them, but giving it back to him, was that even an option? Sliding it off she placed it in her mother’s hand, “I can’t- I can’t keep this,” she whispered brokenly.
Jenna took the ring, it was beautiful, and expensive, “Sweetheart?”
“Nik- he- he gave it to me…I can’t- I-” Maya could feel herself tear up.
“Hey,” Caroline said, squeezing Maya as hard as she could, “It’s okay, we’ll deal with it,” she nodded at Jenna, “You don’t have to see it again.”
“I can’t see him,” Maya shook her head, “Don’t make see him.”
“No one, is going to make you do anything,” Jenna said, “If you don’t want to see him, then you don’t have to.”
“He’s been invited in,” Maya whispered.
“I’ll take care of it,” Jenna said, “I promise.”
Bonnie had just dropped Elena off at home, (it was getting really inconvenient for her, she couldn't wait for Elena to be able to get her license again) and was driving back to her own place, when she fell into an almost trance like state, and instead of going home, she found herself parked just outside the closed gates of the Sommers house. Instead of pressing the buzzer and waiting for an answer, automatically her magic rose up, trying to open the gates. She wasn’t doing any of this by choice, she could feel something calling out to her, and everything in her had told her to try to get into the house. She was startled out of her trance by a knocking on her window. She jumped in surprise when she saw Stefan standing just outside of her car, “Stefan?” she said, after rolling her window down, “What-wher-what’s going on?”
“What are you doing here Bonnie?”
Bonnie looked ahead of her and was baffled, what was she doing here? Wasn’t she on her way home? “I-I don’t know. I was driving home, but somehow I’m here. Why, why are you here?”
“Damon didn’t come home last night, so I figured he’d be here, and I need some answers from him.”
“He’s not here.” Bonnie said.
“What?”
“Maya left town a couple days ago, and Caroline, Damon, Enzo, Jenna, they all left last night, there’s no one here.” She looked back at the closed gates, what had she been doing there? “Damon didn’t tell you he was leaving?”
Stefan shook his head, “No, how do you know they’re gone?”
“Maya’s not been in school for a couple days, I heard Caroline complaining about it, and now she’s not in school, plus I heard Sheriff Forbes tell one of the teachers that Caroline was visiting her dad out of state. Caroline hasn’t been to see her father since the divorce, Enzo wasn’t at his usual spot at the coffee house, Damon wasn’t at the Grill, plus Elena’s mom has been complaining about the fact that Jenna was ‘swanning off out of town whenever she felt like it’. So I just figured, they’re all gone.”
“Do you know why?”
Bonnie rolled her eyes, “Stefan, I’m not all knowing, why don’t you try calling Damon, see if he’ll tell you where he is.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going home.”
Bonnie woke with a start in the middle of the night, looking around frantically, she started to panic, she wasn’t in her bed, she wasn’t in her room, she wasn’t even in her house, she was standing outside of the empty Sommers house. She was in her thin tank top and shorts, barefoot, and bleeding, had she sleepwalked all the way there? What was happening to her? She needed to go home, she made to leave, but now that she was awake, the moment she put her foot on the gravel she nearly collapsed in pain, her feet had been cut open. “Aagh!” she gasped. She didn’t have her phone with her, how was she supposed to get home if she couldn’t walk?
As she was freaking out, she saw headlights appear in the driveway, and the Sheriff’s police cruiser drove up next to her. Liz had seen the gates to the Sommers home wide open as she was going home, she knew that they hadn’t come back yet, so had elected to check on the house, “Bonnie?” she asked suspiciously. Now that she knew about the differences between Sheila and Maya, she was very weary about Bonnie just appearing outside of the Sommers home, “What are you doing here?”
Bonnie looked up in confusion, “I don’t know,” she said, “I went to bed and I woke up here!”
Liz shone her flashlight at Bonnie, looking the young girl up and down, it certainly appeared as though she hadn’t planned on being out at night. “Come on,” Liz said, going up to her and helping her into the cruiser, “We need to take care of your feet, and then I’ll take you home.” As suspicious as she was, she wasn’t about to leave a teenager out in the middle of the night on her own, especially when she was clearly unprepared for the weather.
/ / /
Liz had taken Bonnie back to her place, cleaned and bandaged her feet, and then driven her to her grandmother’s house, because her father wasn’t home. “Grams,” Bonnie said, after Liz left, “What’s happening to me?”
“I don’t know,” Sheila replied, “Do you remember anything before you ended up at that house?”
Bonnie shook her head, “I can’t remember anything, it was just like after I dropped Elena off and then drove to Maya’s house except worse.”
“It sounds like something’s drawing you over there”
“Do you think it’s Emily’s grimoire?” Bonnie asked, “Maybe Emily put a spell on it before she died so that her descendants could find it?”
Sheila looked thoughtful at that, “I don’t know,” she said, “Maybe,” that wasn’t something she’d thought of, it wasn’t a spell she’d heard of before, but Emily was a powerful Witch, it was possible that she could have written a spell like that. She’d have to look into it, otherwise, she didn’t know what was drawing Bonnie to Maya’s house. Perhaps she should see if she could contact Emily, find out if her ancestor knew what the Sommers girl was up to, and find out how to stop her.
Notes:
Thanks for reading, if you could, please leave a comment, they make me feel amazing!
Chapter 47: Overwhelmed
Notes:
I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long, there was a death in my family, and I lost someone that I love so much. It’s been really hard for me and my family, and I honestly have no idea what I’m supposed to do without them in my life. So I haven’t been in a writing mood. I’m trying to get back in the swing of things, but please be patient with me.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The next day, Jenna was in the kitchen making lunch for the girls, she wasn’t a stellar cook like Maya was, but she could make the basics, and her daughter wasn’t really up for much at the moment. She was at the stove, when there was a knock at the front door. Damon and Enzo were out feeding, so she went to answer it, opening the door, she immediately moved to slam it shut when she saw who it was.
“Jenna wait!” Klaus exclaimed, his foot preventing the door from shutting all the way, “I just want to see her!”
“Well she doesn’t want to see you!” she replied with a scowl, one hand on her hip, the other on the door, ready to shut it.
Klaus frowned, “You can’t stop me from seeing her,” he made to move forward, but was stopped by an invisible barrier, he looked at Jenna incredulously.
Jenna glared at him, “Damon signed the apartment over to me, and I’m not inviting you in.” She slammed the door in his face, ignoring the snarl that he let out, and went back to making the girl’s lunch. If she had her way, Klaus Mikaelson wouldn't be allowed anywhere near her daughter, ever again.
Rebekah walked back into Klaus’s apartment, only to find her brother destroying everything in sight, “What’s happened?” she asked Kol.
“Maya’s mother arrived, and changed ownership of their place upstairs,” Kol replied wryly, “He can’t get in anymore.”
Rebekah turned to her elder brother, “Honestly Nik, do you really think that this is helping anything?”
Klaus snarled, and ignored his sister, intent on decimating everything. “He’s not really in the mood to talk,” Kol supplied, less than helpfully. Rolling her eyes, Rebekah turned on her heel and made to leave, “Where are you going?” Kol asked.
“I’m going to see what all the fuss is about,” she replied, and whooshed upstairs.
Realising what she meant, Kol sped after her.
/ / /
Caroline was closest to the door when she heard a knock, she opened it, her expression turning neutral when she was faced with the Original sister. “Can I help you?” she asked.
Rebekah raised an eyebrow at the girl’s impudence, “Where’s the Witch?” she asked.
“You mean Maya?” Caroline replied with a scowl, immediately recognising Rebekah’s ‘mean girl tactics’ dismissing Maya’s importance by not referring to her by name.
“Yes.”
“She can’t come to the door right now, and unfortunately, I’m not taking messages,” she slammed the door in the Original’s face, and made to move away, but there was another knock, letting out a displeased sound, she opened the door again, this time, Kol stood there with a smirk.
“Hello Darling.”
Caroline scowled and slammed the door shut again.
“Caroline!” Kol called and she sighed, opening the door for a third time.
“What?!”
“We just want to talk Darling.”
“You’re not speaking to Maya,” she looked between the two Originals, “Neither one of you are.”
“Love we don’t want to upset anyone, but we need to talk to her.”
Caroline scoffed, “After what you did, I don’t think so.”
“Ah, she told you,” Kol’s smirk disappeared.
“No, Damon told me, Maya’s too freaking traumatised to talk about it! She won’t even leave her room!”
Rebekah rolled her eyes, “Come now, don’t you think she’s being a tad dramatic? It’s not like Nik even knew her then!”
“Well when you’re tortured and then murdered by the people that you love, maybe you’ll think differently,” Caroline shot back.
“Nik never tortured her!”
“No, but he did,” Caroline nodded at Kol, and he grimaced in response, “You’re her teacher Kol, her confidant, one of her best friends, she loves you! And you tortured her. I know that you didn’t know each other, but she’s just lived it again, she felt it again, she doesn’t want to see you, she doesn’t want to see anyone right now.”
“Caroline-”
“I know Kol, but she’s not ready, and I’m not going to let you push her.”
Kol frowned, he knew that this would be hard for her, he knew that she wouldn’t react well, but he hoped that her experience as an Old Soul would have desensitised her to it, unfortunately it hadn’t, “You’ll let me know when I can speak to her?” he asked.
Caroline’s gaze softened, “Of course I will,” she replied, she heard movement from behind her, and knew that it was either Damon or Enzo who would be making their way over, “You have to go,” she said, she didn’t want to a fight to break out, and Enzo was still fuming.
Kol nodded, “I’ll see you soon Darling.” He whooshed out of sight, taking Rebekah with him.
“I think…I think I need a break,” Maya finally said from her place curled up on the bed.
Enzo perked up at the sound of her voice, “A break from what?”
“Magic,” she replied.
“Sweetheart-”
“Every time I do a big spell, it’s used to hurt me. Every time, Enzo. I found the moonstone, and Esther tried to kill me, I made moonlight rings, and Mother Nature tried to drown me, and now I save Rebekah and she reminds me of every bad thing that has ever happened to me!” She let out a disbelieving laugh, “I’m just lucky that you never killed me in a past life, otherwise I'd probably go completely insane!”
“Alright Love,” Enzo held his hands up placatingly, “Maybe you’re right, you do need a break.”
“Yeah! The only problem is I have no idea how to do that! Lexi told all her friends about the jewellery website, so my orders have gone through the roof! Bree wants another 15 cases of the hangover-less booze. There’s the Hybrid curse that needs to be broken and oh yeah, I still need to make sure that the Vampire race doesn’t go extinct!”
“Relax Love, I’m sure that Davina will be more than happy to pick up the slack of the website,” he held up a hand to stop her from interrupting, “And Caroline can design the pieces. Damon will let Bree know that you’re on a break and she’ll be fine with it, Kol and Freya can focus on the curse, you’ve given them more than enough information to work with. And as for making sure that Vampires don’t die out, you’ve taken care of all the White Oak.”
“But-”
“The Originals can take care of themselves, they have done so for a thousand years, they can do it for a little while longer.”
“You think so?” Maya asked, trying to predict what would happen if she left all the Originals to their own devices for a while, “What would I even do? I’ve never had a break before.”
Enzo shrugged, “How about you try just being a normal teenager for once.”
Maya made a face, “That doesn’t sound like fun.”
Elena paced her room, she was home alone for the first time in a while, things had been awkward for her since she found out that she was adopted, she didn’t know how to confront her mother about it, did Miranda know her birth parents? If she did, what happened to them? Why was her name down on the birth certificate if she was adopted? And how would Elena even explain how she knew? She couldn’t say that Stefan had looked into her life, because she looked exactly like a Vampire. And yet, she couldn’t keep avoiding her mother, she knew that Miranda was getting suspicious, but she had no idea what to say. What would she tell Jeremy? She and her baby brother hadn’t been on the best of terms lately, but they were still family. Would he feel the same way after he found out? Shaking her head, she needed to speak to Stefan, or Bonnie, she needed to talk to someone that knew what was going on.
Sheila was deep in the woods in Mystic Falls, she sat in a circle of white candles, with a single black candle in the middle, just in front of her. “Phasmatos incendia,” she said, lighting all the candles at the same time. Slicing her hand, she allowed some of her own blood to drip over the lit wick of the black candle, she closed her eyes and began to chant. “Audi haec verba, exaudi clamorem meum, spirituum, in altera parte, erunt veni ad me, ego te voco, transire nunc, magna divide.” A chill went through her, opening her eyes, she came face to face with her ancestor, Emily.
“Hello Sheila,” Emily smiled at her descendant.
“Emily,” Sheila breathed, after Bonnie had mysteriously ended up at the Sommers’ house, she needed to do something, and her gut told her that Emily Bennett was the one to go to. Sheila wasn’t sure that she would be able to summon her ancestor, she didn’t have the strength that she once did, but Emily must have been close, because she had come when called.
“Why have you called me here?”
“What’s happening to Bonnie? She’s going into trances, and sleepwalking, and every time she ends up outside the Sommers’ house.”
“Bonnie is being drawn to that house because something in there contains my magic, it’s reaching out to her, and until she gets it, she will keep being drawn to that house.”
“What’s there?” Sheila asked startled, she was aware that Emily’s grimoire was there, but grimoires didn’t have magic attached to them.
“My amulet, it’s a great source of power, destined for your granddaughter. Find a way for her to get it, and her trances will stop.”
Sheila frowned at that, first the Siphon had a grimoire that belonged to the Bennett family, and now she had Emily’s talisman. That proved it, Maya was nothing but a thief, who craved power. She would find Bonnie, and the two of them would come up with a plan to retrieve their belongings, and find a way to prevent Maya from growing any stronger. The Siphon had to be stopped.
It had been days since Mother Nature had revealed the past to Maya, she’d gone back to Mystic Falls without speaking with any of the Originals, and Klaus had retreated to his studio in the Penthouse, while his bedroom door had been replaced, the silencing spell had not. Everyday that he couldn’t speak with his Little Siphon, he got angrier, he knew that he had to get back to the pack, but he couldn’t return to his children in this state, it wouldn’t be fair to them, but he also couldn’t just abandon them until he felt better. What was he to do? As Klaus felt his temper raise ever higher, his phone rang, it was Caroline, frowning at the screen he debated answering, why was she calling him? Ultimately, Klaus decided to pick up, after all, it could be about Maya.
“Don’t say anything,” the voice on the other end said, it was Maya! “Nik,” she whispered, voice trembling slightly, as she struggled to get the words out. “I can’t see you, I can’t hear you. I can’t even think of you right now, because when I do, all I see is how happy you were, killing me. All I can hear, is the gleeful way you threaten to torture me…for years.” She sniffed, and it took everything in him not to say anything, “I don’t want that…but right now…nothing can change it.” Maya paused, she knew that he wouldn’t react well to what she said next, but it had to be said, “Damon left the ring in your apartment, before we left.” His sharp intake of breath was awful for her, she didn’t want to hurt him, but she couldn’t keep it, not when she felt like this, “I can’t look at it, because when I do, I think about you. And if I want us to get back to before, I can’t think about you. Not now. I’m broken Nik, and you can’t fix me, I wish you could, but you’d just make it worse.”
Klaus clenched his fist, the armrest of his chair exploding into shards of wood, he couldn’t let this happen, he couldn’t let her pull away from him. She’d made him care about her, made him care about her family, her friends, she didn’t get to do that, and just walk away!
“I know you don’t want to hear it, but it’s true.” Maya paused again, once again building up the courage to say something that she knew that he wasn’t ready to hear, but she had to say it, for herself, “I love you Nik… I’m in love with you, which is why this hurts so much. Don’t call me, don’t leave me messages, don’t send me letters, don’t send your brother to me. Leave me alone…please.”
Notes:
Thank you for being patient. If you have time, please leave a comment, I could do with as much support as you're all willing to give me.
Chapter 48: Niece and Nephew
Notes:
I just want to say thank you for all your support, some days are good, some are really bad. I'll continue to update when I can though.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Klaus was in a seedy bar in Brooklyn the day after his phone call with Maya, he’d already fed on several of the patrons, leaving them for his minions to clean up after he left. He had to take his rage out on something, he was about to kill another human when Rebekah found him. “There you are!” she exclaimed, stepping around the bodies as though they were nothing, she pulled him away from the terrified man, “Leave, remember nothing,” she compelled, before turning to her brother. “Honestly Nik, is this helping anything?”
“Rebekah, I don’t stop you when you feel like grabbing a bite to eat, I don’t expect you to stop me!” he growled.
“Nik,” Rebekah sighed, “You’re not eating because you’re hungry, you’re eating because you’re depressed, which from what I understand, is fairly common in people these days.”
Klaus’s eyes narrowed, “Don’t be ridiculous, what do I have to be depressed about?”
“Really?” Rebekah raised a brow, “Perhaps it’s to do with the fact that the woman you’re in love with wants nothing to do with you.”
“I’m not in love with her,” Klaus growled.
“Oh please! Maybe you could fool Kol, perhaps even Elijah, but you cannot fool me. As you have pointed out, many a time, love is my weakness, God help her, you are in love with that girl, and she doesn’t want to see you. That’s more than enough to be depressed about.” Rebekah’s gaze softened, seeing the hurt in her brother’s eyes, “Listen to me Nik,” she grabbed onto his hands, forcing him to look at her, “This isn’t the end of the world, from what Kol has told me, and from what I’ve seen, that girl is crazy about you. Just give her some time, she’ll work through her pain, and find her way back to you.”
Klaus stopped short at that, his baby sister, trying to comfort him, that hadn't happened since they were mortal. “She won’t even speak to me now.” He said, admitting his problem.
“She’ll get over it,” Rebekah shrugged.
“How could you possibly be sure of that?”
“Nik, you’ve killed my lovers, you’ve daggered me, you murdered our mother and then lied about it. Even one of these things should mean that I hate you. But I don’t, I may have been angry, and hurt, but I have always loved you. Your Witch is strong, I’ve seen it for myself. She will forgive you, just be patient.”
Klaus let out a laugh, “We both know that I am not well versed in patience little sister.”
“Well then, perhaps we should find you a distraction,” Rebekah smiled, holding up a hand to stop him from speaking, “One that isn’t murdering the locals.”
/ / /
Kol was playing on his phone in his room, when there was a knock on the door, pausing his game, Kol opened the door and came face to face with his brother, Elijah. “Elijah, what do you want?” he asked.
Elijah fought the urged to wince at Kol’s icy tone, never before had the fact that Kol used his entire first name cause him discomfort. “We need to talk.” He said.
Kol opened his door wider and Elijah stepped in, “What?”
“Kol this is getting absurd, I understand why Niklaus is upset with me, but you have no reason to be angry with me, at least none that should make your anger last this long.” Kol scoffed at that, shaking his head, “Tell me what is going on!”
“Come off it Elijah! Don’t act so surprised that I’m not your biggest fan, I’m not Nik!”
“Kol I can’t imagine doing anything to cause such ire, is this because I helped Niklaus dagger you in 1914?” Elijah asked, genuinely baffled at his brother’s anger, Kol had always been temperamental, but after his initial fury at his family, his youngest brother would let the betrayal roll off his back, and re-join his siblings.
“This has nothing to do with being daggered!”
“Then what is it?”
Kol shook his head, “Just leave it alone Elijah!”
“No!” Elijah grabbed Kol’s arm as he turned away from him, “What is it? I deserve to know!”
“YOU DIDN’T CARE!” Kol finally yelled, “I DIED AND YOU DIDN’T CARE!”
Elijah was taken aback, “What?! What are you talking about?”
Kol froze, he hadn’t meant to say that, he shouldn’t have said that, “Never mind, just leave.”
“No!” Elijah tightened his grip on Kol’s arm, “What do you mean?”
Kol looked away, how was he supposed to explain that outburst? Nik would dagger him if Elijah started sniffing around where he shouldn’t, but if he didn’t give Elijah an explanation that’s exactly what his brother would do. What could he do now? There was only one thing that he could think of, and in the next instant, a dagger was sticking out of Elijah’s chest.
Rebekah had threaded her arm through Klaus’s and the two were walking down the street, far away from the bar, when Klaus’s phone rang, he pulled it from his pocket and frowned, it was Cary, “I need to take this,” he said to his sister.
“Go ahead,” Rebekah replied, unwilling to let him go, he’d been secretive for long enough, she wanted to know what was going on with him, “I’m not stopping you.”
Klaus shot her an annoyed look, they had just started to get along again, if he pulled away now, he knew that his sister would act like a little brat. Biting the bullet he answered the call and his children popped up on screen, “Daddy!” Luna cheered, causing Rebekah’s eyes to widen in surprise as she stared at her brother in shock. “When are you coming home?”
Ignoring his sister’s stare, Klaus offered his daughter a small smile, “I’ll be back soon, I am just about finished here.”
“Bring me back something from ‘Artists and Fleas’ please,” Liam said.
“Wh-How do you even know about that?!” Klaus asked, surprised.
“Daddy I know how to Google.” Liam replied, rolling his eyes.
“Bring me back something too!” Luna cut in, not wanting to be left out, “Something pretty!” she demanded.
“I-” Klaus cut himself off as Rebekah started poking him in the side, trying to get his attention, “Just a minute,” he said, putting his phone on mute, “What?” he hissed at sister.
“You have children!” she exclaimed.
Klaus rolled his eyes, “It’s not a big deal, you’ve met them before.”
Rebekah thought back to her little spy mission in L.A, “The Werewolf children?! You kidnapped the Werewolf children?!”
“I didn’t kidnap them!” Klaus replied, affronted at the accusation. “I took them to the pack, just like I promised.”
“And then?”
“And then... I stayed with the pack for several months, sowed the seeds of discord among them and then took over when members of the pack murdered their Alpha,” he admitted.
“But you- The only reason you’d be so interested in a pack is if you were close to breaking your curse,” Rebekah said in realisation, “You’re going to break your curse, aren't you?”
“Yes,” he finally said.
“I can’t believe it!” Rebekah pulled away from him, “Is this what Kol has been working on? The curse? You trusted Kol with the curse and not me?!”
Klaus’s eyes imperceptibly widened as he realised that Rebekah was starting to spiral, “Rebekah-”
“Kol?! He’s more likely to ruin your chances than help you and you trusted him over me!”
He had to do something, and quickly, a hurt Rebekah was not something he needed at present, and she certainly wouldn’t bow to logic, “Do you want to meet my children?!” he blurted out, causing her to stop in her tracks.
“What?”
“I think it’s time for you to meet my children, you know, cement yourself as the favourite aunt now that I have two sisters.”
Rebekah cocked her head for a moment thinking, “I would,” she said, and Klaus relaxed, “This doesn’t mean that I’ve forgotten about the curse!” she gestured to his phone, “Now let me officially meet my niece and nephew.”
/ / /
Kol stared down at his brother’s body, panic in his eyes, he wasn’t supposed to dagger Elijah, he only kept one dagger with him, and that was to use on Finn just in case, instead, he’d shoved the dagger in his noble brother’s heart and he knew that he was screwed. He needed to figure out what to do, preferably before Nik came home. He needed to talk to someone, but the one person he’d usually speak to, wasn’t speaking to him. Maya would know what to do, but Nik had said that she had requested that neither of them contact her. What was he meant to do now? He couldn’t talk to Freya about this, there was no way that she would approve of him daggering Elijah and she’d immediately pull it out of him. Rebekah similarly was a no go, especially because at the present moment, she was with Nik. Damon and Enzo were both mad at the Originals and probably wouldn’t answer their phones, let alone offer any useful advice. In the end, there was only one person he could call. Grabbing his phone he called Caroline, perhaps the feisty blonde could give him a little perspective.
“Kol, I told you that Maya doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“IdaggeredElijah!” he rushed out.
Caroline paused, “What?!”
“I daggered Elijah!” he repeated, this time more clearly.
“I heard you the first time, I just wanted to know what the hell would posses you to do that!”
“I- he- I- he was an inconvenience!”
“You can’t just dagger someone because they're an inconvenience!” Caroline replied.
“Nik can,” Kol almost sulked.
“You’re not Klaus!” She exclaimed, “Besides, look at what daggering siblings has gotten him! A lifetime of resentment that he hasn’t even began to fix, not to mention a brother that is so angry at him, that he’ll do whatever he can to destroy even a sliver of Klaus’s happiness. You are not Klaus!”
“Well what am I supposed to do now?”
“Un-dagger him!”
“I can’t!”
“Why not?”
“Because!”
“Because…?”
“Because he wanted to know why I am so angry at him, and then I blurted out that he didn’t care that I died and he wanted to know what I meant by that, but I can’t exactly tell him can I?”
“Seriously?” Caroline asked annoyed, how could he have been so stupid?
“I was angry, he forced me!”
“Well now you have to figure out how to explain everything without outing Maya!”
“Rebekah what are you doing?!” Klaus demanded as his sister dragged him to ‘FAO Schwarz’.
“I’m going to meet this children in person, as their aunt,” she replied, “I need to bring them gifts.”
“They don’t need any toys Rebekah.”
“They’re children, all children need toys,” she dismissed.
“Not them,” he replied, “You think that I haven’t bought them everything that they could possibly want?”
Rebekah faltered at that, that was a good point, of course Klaus made sure their every want was met, but she couldn’t meet them empty handed. “Then what do you suggest I get them?”
“You don’t need to get them anything!”
“Freya has magic,” she said, “I can’t compete in that regard, but I can, I will, get them something, now are you going to help me or not?”
Sighing Klaus gave in, he did hate denying Rebekah anything, “Fine, Liam is an artist, like me, he wanted something from ‘Artists and Fleas’ it’s a market in Williamsburg, we’ll find something there for him.”
“And Luna?”
“Luna’s a princess, she enjoys anything girly, and shiny and expensive,” he said.
“Perfect!” Rebekah’s eyes lit up at the thought of being able to take her niece out shopping and actually making a dent in Klaus’s bank account. “I know just where to start!” she tugged on his hand, pulling him out of the toy shop, instead heading in the direction of ‘Tiffany & Co’.
/ / /
Elijah gasped for breath and shot up with a start, he hated being daggered, jumping to his feet, his eyes landed on his baby brother, “Kol,” he almost growled out.
“It’s only been half an hour!” Kol defended, he really hadn’t meant to dagger his brother, he’d just panicked.
“Why?”
“You weren’t supposed to hear what I said!”
“You yelled it at me,” Elijah replied, rather deadpan.
“Well-you-just- can we just forget I ever said anything and move on?!”
“You said you died Kol, what were you talking about?”
Sighing Kol knew there was no way that his brother would forget anything that had been said between them. “In addition to being an Old Soul, Nik’s Witch is a type of seer, she had vision of my death, she showed me my death, and you didn’t care.” He finally said.
“Kol that’s preposterous,” Elijah replied, “Seers are nothing but charlatans, preying on the week, they don’t exist.”
“They do,” Kol insisted, “Lucien has one, you heard his sireling.”
“I heard him say that the seer saw the downfall of the Originals, something that is not possible, given that there is no more White Oak in the world.”
“The knight that Nik carved for Rebekah when they were children was made out of White Oak,” Kol sighed.
“What?!” Elijah asked startled, it couldn’t be.
“You collected the wood, you didn’t know it was from the White Oak, but it was. In the future, the Stryx stole it, and fashioned it into bullets, one of which was used to murder you.”
If he could have, Elijah would have paled at that, “That’s not-”
“It is possible,” Kol replied, “Maya saw it happen, and I trust her.”
“Why? Why do you and Niklaus insist on trusting this Witch? She is not family, what motive does she has to help us?”
Kol scoffed, “You couldn’t see it?” he asked, “She loves Nik, and he loves her, she’s the reason that father is dead. She found his stake, and his location and gave them both to Nik, she’s the reason that we’re free.”
“But-”
“Besides, how do you think that Nik knew all of our secrets?” Kol asked, “She showed him, because she’s a seer…And she showed me my death. She showed me your reaction, the only one of my siblings that actually cared was Nik, he was the only one that tried to avenge me. You didn’t even react, and honestly, it doesn’t surprise me. You’ve always looked down on me, especially when we became Vampires.”
“Kol,” Elijah said, still trying to process the information that he’d been given, “I have never looked down on you,” he said, “You are my brother Kol, and if anything ever happened to you, I would do everything in my power to destroy those responsible. I would never let your death go un-punished.” He moved closer to Kol who was shaking his head in denial.
“But you did,” Kol insisted, “You didn’t care, you didn’t do anything, I died, and you just…continued on, as though nothing had happened!”
“Kol,” Elijah clasped the back of his brother's neck, pulling him close and wrapping his arms around him tightly, “Hear me now, you are my brother, and I love you. I swear to you, I. Would. Avenge. You. No one hurts my family and lives.” He finally said.
Rebekah and Klaus finally came back to the penthouse, laden with bags, if Klaus didn’t know his sister, he would have been surprised at the amount of money that she’d spent, but alas, he was deeply familiar with her habits and she’d only spent a fraction of what she usually did. “Honestly Rebekah, this was hardly necessary.”
“I keep telling you Nik, you never arrive somewhere new empty handed, and especially not when I’m meeting my new niece and nephew!”
“Uh, what’s going on?” Freya asked catching the tail end of the conversation.
“Nik has a son and daughter, they both refer to him as their father, and I’m going to meet them in person!”
“What?!” Freya exclaimed.
Upon hearing the noise, both Kol and Elijah appeared in the den, “What is going on?” Kol asked.
“Nik’s taking me to meet his son and daughter,” Rebekah replied rather smugly.
Kol rolled his eyes, “You know I’ve already met them, in fact, I’m their favourite Uncle!”
Elijah looked between his siblings, confused, “I’m sorry, what did you just say?” he asked, “Niklaus do you have children that we don’t know about?”
“I knew about them,” Kol cut in arrogantly, obscenely happy with the fact that he had access to Nik’s life before the rest of his siblings.
“Niklaus?”
Klaus rolled his eyes, “Yes, I have a son and daughter, technically Rebekah’s already met them, and you spoke to my daughter when she answered my phone and you thought I’d kidnapped her.”
“He did kidnap her,” Rebekah supplied helpfully.
“I bloody well did not!”
“Fine, he took them to a Werewolf pack, and then caused the pack to implode, picking up the pieces for himself,” she shot Klaus and annoyed look, “There, is that better?”
“Much,” Klaus sniffed, “At least that explanation lets people know how devious I am.”
“Everyone knows how devious you are Niklaus, what I fail to understand though, is why you haven’t informed us sooner of these children.”
Kol cleared his throat, “I knew! How many times do I have to say that?!”
“I wasn’t referring to you Kol.”
“No, you were referring to yourself, you want to know why you haven’t been told,” Kol crossed his arms annoyed, “I knew I should have left the dagger in.”
At that both Rebekah and Klaus shot their brother a rather alarmed look, “You daggered Elijah?!” Rebekah exclaimed.
“It was convenient,” Kol replied.
“Kol, you can’t just dagger Elijah because it’s convenient for you,” Klaus said, causing all of his siblings to shoot him incredulous looks, “I know what I said!” Klaus said, upon seeing the looks they were giving him.
“Yeah well, I didn’t leave it in,” Kol muttered.
“Wait, what do you mean that you get to meet the children?” Freya cut in, before an argument could erupt.
“I mean that Nik’s taking me with him to meet them! They need to know who their favourite aunt is.”
“That’s not fair!” Freya exclaimed, “You can’t just go and see them with all these presents! That will automatically make you the favourite! What about me?!”
Rebekah shrugged, “Oh well, you snooze, you lose.”
“That’s not fair!” Freya repeated, “Niklaus! As your older sister, I demand to meet my niece and nephew before Rebekah!”
“Oh no, he already said that I was going! Tell her Nik!”
Klaus’s eyes darted between his two sisters, he hadn’t even thought that this would cause an argument between the two, but apparently it had. “I think it’s best I introduce you one at a time.”
“Hah!” Rebekah was feeling terribly smug.
“Just remember not to fall in love with this nephew Rebekah!” Kol snarked.
“Kol!” Rebekah snarled, launching herself at him, her brother dodged her and whooshed out of the room laughing as she gave chase.
Elijah winced as he heard several things smash, and Rebekah shrieking, “Are you sure that you want to take Rebekah with you?”
Notes:
Thanks for reading, if you have time please leave a comment, they really help.
Chapter 49: Sisters, Meet the Pack
Notes:
Thank you so much for all the comments and well wishes, I really appreciate them. Hope you enjoy this longer chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Klaus sighed as he pulled up to the compound in Arizona, he couldn’t believe that he’d allowed Kol to talk him into taking Freya along with him and Rebekah. Thanks to the distance between his eldest sister and youngest brother, and the failsafe that Maya had placed on her spell to wake his sister up, he at least didn’t have to worry about Freya casting any unwanted magic. But that didn’t make him feel any better about the fact that he now had both of his sisters in his pack’s territory, about to meet his children and he wasn’t sure that he was ready for that, but he couldn’t turn back now.
He stepped out of the car, and was immediately met by the children racing over to him, “Daddy!” they yelled, reaching out for him.
For the first time since Maya left him, he felt himself smile as he crouched down, grabbed both of them and picked them up, one in each arm, “Hello my Little Wolves.”
Luna threw her arms around his neck, “Daddy you were gone forever!” she pouted.
Liam tugged on his collar, causing Klaus to look at him, “Don’t do that again," the boy far more solemn than his sister.
Rebekah marvelled at the way the pain had just melted off of her brother, the way that he looked at his children…it reminded her of how her mother and father once looked at her, it was beautiful and heart breaking all at the same time. Freya came to stand beside her, “I’ve never seen him look like that,” she whispered.
“Me neither,” Rebekah replied, not taking her eyes of her brother and his children.
“Right!” Klaus said, gently placing the children on the ground, “I’d like to introduce you to some people,” he guided the two towards the women, “You’ve already met one of them. This is Rebekah,” he gestured, “My baby sister, and Original Vampire.”
“Uh first,” Rebekah corrected, “The first Original Vampire.”
“Rebekah,” Klaus rolled his eyes.
“No Nik, if you’re going to introduce me to my new niece and nephew then you’re going to do it right! I was turned first, which makes me the first Original Vampire.”
“Fine, this is my baby sister, your Aunt Rebekah, the first Original Vampire. I’m sure you remember her from your rescue.” The children nodded, looking up at the blonde Original.
“We remember,” Liam said, rather stoically.
“And this,” he waved his hand at Freya, “is your Aunt Freya. She is my older sister, the eldest sibling in the family, and a very powerful Witch.”
“Like Maya?” Luna asked innocently.
Klaus ignored the pang in his heart and nodded, “Yes, like Maya.” He looked back at his sisters, “Rebekah, Freya, these are my children, Liam and Luna.”
Regina, Alexandra and Scott, three of Klaus’s Enforcers, stared at the dilapidated building in front of them, “This is where we’re going to live?” Alexandra stated in disbelief, “This?! It’s a dump!”
“I’m not even sure that it’s safe to live in,” Scott said, “And that’s coming from a Werewolf.”
Regina shook her head, “We can’t fix this.”
“But he asked us to,” Scott replied.
Regina pulled out a credit card from her back pocket, “We’re calling professionals.”
“What?! We can’t do that!” Alexandra exclaimed, “He said that we had to fix this, and that card is only for emergencies.”
“No, he said that we had to make this place liveable, he was non-specific as to how, besides, he put me in charge.”
“He was also non-specific as to what constitutes an emergency,” Scott pointed out, “And I’d classify this as an emergency.”
Regina nodded, “We’re calling contractors,” she said, “They’re gonna demolish this, and rebuild it, to our standards.”
“Regina,” Alexandra cut in, “Up until a year and a half ago our standards were tents and cabins, and caves deep in the forest!”
Regina shrugged, “Well, my standards have improved, and if we’re gonna have to stay in this rinky dink, civil war obsessed town of Mystic Falls, we’re doing it in style.”
“But…what you’re thinking is going to cost…thousands!”
“It’s a good thing for us that our Alpha’s had a thousand years to accumulate his riches then. Because I for one am not going to back to living life on the run.”
“Fine,” Scott sighed, “But when Klaus is pissed, we’re blaming you, after all, you are in charge.”
Rebekah and Freya had been shown to their room, the sisters preferring to share while they were in Werewolf territory. They had just finished unpacking when there was a knock at the door, opening it, revealed the blond Werewolf that had been stood with the children when they arrived.
“Hi,” he said, “I’m Cary, Klaus asked me to show you two around the compound, make a few introductions. I’m sure you can understand that most of us are fairly skittish when it comes to Vampires, especially the kids. So if you’re ready, we can head out now, and then meet Klaus and the kids for dinner.” He looked at both of them with a hint of nervousness in his eyes, being Klaus’s Beta, had toughened him up, his Alpha had a temper and had shown him what it was like to live with a Vampire, but he didn’t know Rebekah or Freya, he didn’t know what they were like, so had to be on guard. Something he hadn’t had to be in a while, now that the pack had their own home and permanent territory.
Rebekah glanced over at Freya who nodded in return, perhaps now was a chance to learn a little about Klaus, and his life away from his siblings. “Alright,” she and Freya stepped out of their room, closing the door behind them and gestured for him to lead the way.
“Great!” He guided them to the library first, pointing out the stairs to Klaus’s floor, which housed his office, his studio, his bedroom and Liam and Luna’s rooms. He then brought them down to the main part of the house, introducing them to Jessica, Emma and David, three of the pack’s Enforcers, and therefore the people in charge when neither he nor Klaus were available, and then to a couple of the Elders. Once that was done Cary brought them outside, “And here we have the pool, as you can see, it’s mostly a gathering place for the teens.” He spotted a couple of the teenagers balancing on the edge of the pool on just their hands. “Hey!” he yelled, “You flip back round! One of you is going to fall and die and I am not cleaning that up!”
They pouted, but righted themselves as they received an order from their Beta. Rebekah eyed the teens with interest, she’d noticed it in the Enforcers, the Elders and now some of these older teens, who could sense that she was a Vampire, “You know it’s odd, everyone here, I can see the fear in their eyes.” Cary looked over at her, but she continued, “Don’t get me wrong, they make a valiant effort at hiding it, but it’s there. And yet, you don’t show a sliver of fear for me. One would think that my brother has shown you that fear is the best way to respond to us.”
“Well I’m his Beta,” Cary shrugged, “I wouldn’t be a good one if I feared him.”
“Tell me, how did you become his Beta?”
“My father was the previous Alpha, besides, Klaus is family.”
Rebekah and Freya’s widened at that, and they stopped at stared at each other as he continued on, “What did he just say?” Freya asked.
“I-uh-” Rebekah shook her head and they both quickly caught up with Cary, stepping in front of him, “What do you mean ‘family’?”
“Uh…” his eyes flicked between the two and widened as he realised that he might have said too much, “I uh…I just mean that we’re Wolves, the pack is family and he’s part of the pack.”
Freya crossed her arms, and scowled, “He’s lying.”
“What did you mean, ‘family’?” Rebekah repeated.
“I told you, he’s part of the pack!” Cary shrugged, almost certain that Klaus was going to tear him a new one for letting that slip.
“I don’t do well with liars,” the Original stated, “Make me ask again, and I’ll eat you.” She growled and let the Vampire surface.
Cary steeled his spine and shook his head, “I said what I said, and if you want more information, then maybe you should ask your brother. Dinner’s at 6 in the private dining room off the west wing of the compound, we’ll see you then.” He left as quickly as he could, before he could lose all of his nerve, Klaus’s sister was terrifying, and he didn’t even want to think about what his Witch sister could do.
“What the bloody hell do you think he means?” Rebekah asked her sister.
Freya shook her head, “I have no idea,” she looked around, “But we have two hours before dinner and an entire pack to investigate.”
Rebekah smirked, “Split up and see what we can find?”
“Definitely,” Freya nodded, whatever Klaus was hiding, they would find it out.
Maya and Caroline were on a video call with Davina, “I know I said I was taking a break from magic for a while, but it’s only been two freaking days and I’m so bored!” Maya complained.
Davina gave her a smile, “Have you ever even done anything that’s ordinary?”
“Not since I was seven,” Maya shook her head.
“Then enjoy being a regular teenager,” Davina said, “Some of us don’t get that opportunity!”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell her!” Caroline exclaimed.
Maya frowned as she felt like she was missing something important, “What’s going on?”
“The Elders of the coven are really pushing the girls and I, and I don’t know why. I mean I know that they want us to be strong, but we’re the only ones getting pushed like this.”
“Are you okay?” Caroline asked, she didn’t like the sound of what Davina was saying.
The younger Witch shook her head, “They’re talking about pulling us out of school! Something’s going on and I don’t know what!”
“I’m missing something,” Maya said, “I can feel it.”
“You think you know something about this?” Davina asked, stunned to think that was important enough to have made it into Maya's foreknowledge.
“I do know something, but whatever it is, is stuck behind that stupid wall!” she threw her head in her hands, “I can’t, I can’t remember!”
“So what do I do?” Davina looked worried, if Maya thought something was wrong, then it probably was.
“Be careful, check in with us every week, we’re going to have to play this by ear.”
“What happens if her mom takes her computer?” Caroline asked, from what Davina had told them about her mother, it was very likely that she might take away Davina’s communication if she felt like it.
“Oh! Hang on!” Maya got up and rushed out of her room, she came back minutes later with the Bennett grimoire. “There’s a spell in here! It’s to communicate over long distances.” She took a picture and sent it through to her friend. “You’ll have to study the spell, make sure you know it by heart.”
“This says I need the hair of whoever I want to talk with.”
“I’ll send you a couple of strands of my hair.”
“Mine too!” Caroline chimed in.
“Caroline’s too,” Maya rolled her eyes, “As long as you know the spell, and you have our hair, you should always have a way to contact us. For now it’s gonna have to do, at least until I figure out what’s bugging me about New Orleans.”
“Or you know, you could run away to Mystic Falls,” Caroline threw in.
“Caroline!”
“I can’t just run away from my coven!”
Caroline shrugged, “Suit yourself, but know the offer’s out there.”
“I-”
“DAVINA!”
Davina flinched and looked towards the yelling, “I have to go! Mom’s been in a mood. I’ll try and call you guys later.”
“Anything?” Rebekah asked Freya as the two of them met in their room just before dinner.
The Mikealson Witch shook her head, “Everyone I’ve asked says that Klaus came to the pack to learn more about Werewolves because he’s going to unlock that part of him soon. But no one will tell me why this particular pack.”
“There’s something that they're hiding,” Rebekah agreed.
“They all said the same thing, if we want to know more, ask Klaus.”
“And of course my bullish brother has got them all scared enough not to betray him,” Rebekah rolled her eyes.
“So how do you want to play this?” Freya asked, “Do more sleuthing?”
“No, these wolves don’t seem to be stupid enough to let anything slip.”
“So we’re going to ask Niklaus directly?” Freya looked incredulous at the thought, “I may not have known him long, but I know enough to know that that won’t work.”
“Well... we do have a niece and a nephew… they might know something.”
“You’re not seriously suggesting that we should question the children?!”
“Not question,” Rebekah shrugged, “We’re here to get to know them, and if we happen to ask a few pointed questions that get us some answers…well, then that’s a happy coincidence.”
Freya sighed, she wasn’t sure about this plan of action, but she was certain that Klaus wouldn’t be open with them, and she was curious about why this particular pack allowed him into their ranks, “Fine, but if we get caught, I’m blaming you.”
After seeing the possible blood in Enzo’s cup, Miranda had been doing some investigating, she’s thought about going to Liz, after all the Sheriff was her best friend, but Liz was also close friends with Jenna, and Enzo was staying at Jenna’s house. She couldn’t go to the Sheriff without some concrete evidence that he wasn’t who he said he was, and so she’d done all her own research on the town’s newest arrival. But she hadn’t come up with anything of note, the only thing that she did know, was that according to his passport, Lorenzo St. John was apparently born in Southampton, England, on the 21st of March 1979, but there was also no record of him working anywhere. She had no idea how he made his money, or travelled the way he did, all of which made her more suspicious than ever.
Sighing Miranda took a seat in the small room Grayson had used as an office for his work. She hadn’t been in there since her husband had died, as evidenced by the thick layer of dust on every surface. But it was the only place that she could get any privacy, Jeremy was working on a project and Elena was hanging out with her boyfriend Stefan. Miranda huffed, she needed a drink, and she believed that Grayson kept an expensive bottle of scotch in one of his desk drawers, he’d been saving it for a special occasion, but now that he was gone, she didn’t feel much like celebrating anything. She started pulling out the drawers and searching through them. “Ah-ha!” Miranda pulled the bottle from one of them, but frowned when she saw an old journal that she didn’t recognise.
Grabbing it she flipped it open and started reading, “Nathaniel Gilbert, 1956,” it was Grayson’s grandfather’s journal. “Hmm…Augustine…what’s this?” she muttered to herself. As Miranda continued to thumb through the pages, her eyes widened at what she read, the descriptions of the experiments…the torture being done to the Vampire. As she turned the page, Miranda gasped, it was a picture, a picture of Enzo! She was right! He was a Vampire! She had to tell Liz right away!
Luna was running around the compound, giggling in delight as her brother chased her, “You’re not gonna get me!” she yelled.
“Yes I am!” Liam called back, she’d just dumped an entire box of sparkly pink glitter on top of him and made a mad dash out of the room. “You’re gonna pay Luna!” he would make sure of it.
She ran around the corner, looking back to see if she was getting away, “No you’re no-” she crashed into a pair of legs and fell on the floor, “Oof!” Looking up, she gasped as she saw her daddy’s sister Rebekah looking down at her with a smirk.
“What are you doing?” Rebekah asked with amusement.
Luna looked up at her with wide eyes, she was about to say something when Liam called out for her again “LUNA! GET BACK HERE!”
“Aah,” Rebekah said in understanding, “Tormenting your big brother I see, would you like some help escaping?”
“Yes please!” Luna replied and Rebekah reached down, picked her up and whooshed away.
Liam rounded the corner, stopping short and looking around in confusion, where did she just go? “Damnit!”
Freya came down the stairs and saw Liam, “What happened to you?” she asked with a laugh, the poor boy was covered in pink sparkles.
He looked at her with a scowl, “Luna,” he replied simply.
Freya bit her lip to stop her laughter, “Come on,” she grabbed his hand, “Let’s get you cleaned up, then you can go and find your sister.”
Maya had almost had a full week of no magic, and while she found being a regular teenager boring, there was no doubt in her mind that it was also kind of refreshing, she hadn’t had to worry about the Originals, the first three turned Vampires, Sheila, Bonnie or Elena, and it was almost relaxing. She wouldn’t get used to it, but it was a nice break, a well-deserved break. Every night she woke up screaming, thanks to nightmares brought on by memories of her past lives, and every morning she had to remind herself where she was, who she was, and what her purpose was, and she wasn’t sure whether they’d ever stop, but all she could do was try to get through it. It’s not like she could speak to a therapist about her past lives, about the pain she felt when she thought of Kol, the agony she was in when Klaus’s face drifted through her mind.
Shaking her head, Maya wasn’t going to allow herself to wallow, at least not where her mother or Caroline could see her, she’d put them through enough as it, she wasn’t going to worry them further. Coming down the stairs, she headed straight to the kitchen, it was her turn to make breakfast, and she was running late, “Morning Mom!” Maya paused when she saw breakfast already on the table, “Uh Mom?”
“Yes honey?” Jenna gave her a nervous smile.
“Those are croissants from 'Mike’s Bakery'…you only get these when you have bad news to give me…what’s going on?”
“Well…while you were away, Liz wanted to know more about you and your magic, and we may have discussed Augustine a bit, and I may have told her that we released a Vampire, who then came back to save your life.” Jenna replied hesitantly.
“MOM!”
“And now she’s coming over to talk to you about it!”
“Oh my God!” Maya threw her head in her hands.
The doorbell rang, “And there she is now!” Jenna smiled and rushed out to answer the door.
“Why is nothing ever simple?” Maya muttered, following her mother out of the kitchen, she’d have to eat breakfast later.
/ / /
Maya, Liz and Jenna were settled in the family room, the cosy little space was hidden away from the rest of the house, used for just the closest of their friends and family. “So what do you want to know?”
“Everything,” Liz replied.
Maya let out a little laugh, “I’m pretty sure we had this discussion before Liz, you need to be more specific.”
“Fine…tell me about Augustine. How you got involved, how you found out, how you thought it was a good idea to release a Vampire out into the world.”
Maya sighed, “Okay, I’ll start with the easiest… Augustine was a society that came about almost a hundred years ago, they kidnapped supernaturals, experimented on them in the name of ‘science’, and in some time in 1940, they kidnapped a Vampire when he left his post to go and feed. They were based out of Whitmore College. Key members of the staff on campus know about the society, it’s why most of the buildings aren’t under eminent domain. They’re privately owned, so Vampires can’t get in without an invitation.”
“And how did you find out about them? The Vampire that Grayson was experimenting on?”
“You mean the Vampire he was torturing? I was snooping through Aunt Miranda’s house when we went over for family night, and I found Uncle Grayson’s journal, detailing torture, like actual torture. But I didn’t believe it, I thought, Uncle Grayson could never do that, you know, he barbecues and goes to football games, and takes care of people. But…it was bugging me, so I snuck away one day, when the babysitter was watching us in the park, and slipped into the basement of the medical clinic. I found the Vampire there. He was almost completely desiccated-”
“Wh-What does that mean?”
“When a Vampire is drained of blood, they desiccate, they can’t die from not eating, but their bodies lose all fluids, their veins collapse in on themselves and turn to sandpaper, they’re basically living zombies. It’s an awful way to exist. I went up to him, and he told me to leave, said that he wouldn’t be able to control himself and that he didn’t want to hurt me. But he couldn’t hurt me, because he was tied down. I fed him some blood-”
“YOU WHAT?!”
“He couldn’t hurt me, he was as weak as a baby kitten, he needed my help so I helped him,” Maya defended.
“Maya you were a child, you fed him your blood! He could have killed you!”
“No he couldn’t!” Maya shook her head, “By the time I was seven, I had a good idea of how to use my abilities, Vampires are made of magic, so I siphoned him enough to stop him from going too far. I spent the next three years sneaking into that room, keeping him company, keeping him sane. He says that I was his hope. And then when I was ten, I was strong enough and confidant enough to save him, so I told Mom about what I could do, about the man in the basement, and she helped me free him.”
“He’s not a man, he’s a Vampire!” Liz said.
“And that’s why I didn’t tell you about him when you found out about me!”
“Ma-”
“No Liz!” Maya shook her head, “He fought in two world wars! He didn’t have to! He could have just ignored them, embraced life and leave the human race to fend for itself, but he didn’t! Because he’s a good man, Vampires started out as humans, all of them. They were human first, and then they turned.”
“Vampires kill.”
“So do humans!”
“Not like they have here!”
“Liz you just don’t get it, Vampires feel everything more deeply than humans do!”
“What does that have to do with their killing?”
“It has everything to do with it! With Vampires, happiness is euphoria, love is obsession, anger turns to wrath, dislike to hatred, and sadness to depression. Imagine for yourself Liz, if all of that anger that you felt when Bill left, turned to rage, turned to wrath, you would have killed him, violently.”
“No,” Liz shook her head, “I know right from wrong.”
“So do Vampires! Some of them care some of them don’t, just like humans. The only difference is that they are, by definition, a predatory species. Even the ones that care, will kill, because they’re the top of the food chain, and that’s what predators do.”
“We-”
“And don’t tell me that that’s not true. Lions and tigers and bears, eat those that are weaker than them, humans eat animals, and Vampires eat us. That’s life.”
“If that’s life, how can you trust a Vampire? How can you trust that the one you rescued won’t come for you one day?”
“Because he loves me. I gave him hope when he’d given up, I saved him-”
“A-hem,” Jenna cleared her throat.
“Sorry, we saved him,” Maya gestured at Jenna, “And for that he gave this family his loyalty. I mean without him, I’d be dead. He pulled me out of the car when it went into the water, he saved me, when he didn’t have to. When I’m in trouble he’s always there for me. Even if he’s half way across the world, he’d come for me. He’d come for Jenna, he’d come for Jeremy because I love Jeremy, he’d come for Caroline, because I adore her, he’d come for you, even though you’d probably try to kill him, but he knows how I feel about you, and because of that, he’d do everything in his power to keep you safe. Just like I will do everything in my power to save the ones that he loves.”
Liz wasn’t sure what to think, for most of her life she knew about Vampires, and she knew that they were monsters. But here Maya and Jenna were, telling her that while that may be the truth, it wasn’t all they were. Maya was saying that she trusted a Vampire, loved a Vampire, and that she would put her life, and the lives of the people that she loved, in this mystery Vampire’s hands, and she didn’t know how to process that.
Liz scrubbed her hands over her face, never in her life did she think that her goddaughter would cause her this kind of stress, she needed more information, and really, she believed that it would only come from one person. “I want to meet him.”
“What?”
“You say that you love him, that you trust him, I want to meet him.”
“No,” Maya shook her head.
“Maya if there’s a Vampire in this town, I deserve to know who he is, it’s my job to protect our home.”
“And that’s why I’m not going to tell you who he is, because while I trust you, and I love you, I can’t trust that you won't to try to kill him.”
“Maya-”
“I’m sorry Liz, I can’t take the risk. And I don’t think that you’re ready for a meeting like that. We can re-visit it at a later date, but not now, not when all of this is so fresh in your mind. You need time to process.”
“So tell me,” Rebekah said, putting her niece down on the grounds just outside the compound, “What did you do to your brother that made him chase after you like that?”
“I was bored,” Luna shrugged, sitting on the ground and pulling up the grass.
Rebekah sat with her, “And?”
“And…I don’t like arts and crafts, and Jessica bought loads of stuff, I just took some to mess with…”
“What did you do?”
“…Threw pink glitter on Liam,” she finally admitted, and Rebekah had to stifle a laugh.
“Really? I’ll have to remember that for when Nik upsets me.”
Luna looked up at that, “You’re not mad at me for it?”
“No sweet girl,” Rebekah shook her head, “I’m not angry, I think it’s rather funny…but don’t tell Nik I said that!” Luna was still looking at her with suspicion so she continued, “Do you want to know a secret?” Luna nodded, “I have four big brothers, and each one of them has annoyed me, and upset me at least once in their long lives. So I retaliate, on occasion, by pulling pranks.”
“Really?” Luna asked.
“Yes,” Rebekah replied, neglecting to mention that her version of ‘pranks’ were much more violent than anything the little girl could come up with, “I know that Nik’s your father, but believe me when I say that my brothers are annoying little so and so’s that need to be taken down a peg or two from time to time.”
Luna nodded, “I believe you, I’ve met Uncle Kol.”
Rebekah paused at the reminder that officially, Kol was the first one to meet the children, “Ah yes, Kol is probably the most mischievous out of us all.”
“…Aunt Rebekah?”
“Yes love?”
“When will we meet the rest of the family?”
“Ah,” Rebekah took a breath, “I believe that Nik just wants to make sure that you’re ready to meet the rest of us. I know that your short life has been…very hard, and I can’t imagine what you went through before I found you. But your father wants to make sure that you can handle meeting us all. We are a lot to deal with.”
“But when will we meet them?”
“I’m afraid that that is up to Nik, when he decides you’re ready.”
“Are you all going to be with us when we move?” Luna asked.
“When you move?” Rebekah repeated, “When are you moving? Why?”
“Daddy’s going to break his curse soon, and become a Werewolf like the rest of us! He said that when that happens, he wants to be closer to Mai,” Luna shrugged.
“Mai?” Rebekah thought for a moment, before deducing who her niece was talking about, “You mean Maya? The Witch?”
The little girl nodded, “Uh-huh, have you met her before? She’s so nice! She made me this.” Luna showed the Original her ring.
“What is that?”
“It’s my moonlight ring.”
“Moonlight ring? What is it for?”
“Well… The pack says that we’re not supposed to break our curse until we’re at least twelve,” Luna looked out at the vast expanse of lands in front of her, she could pick up the faint sounds of some of the teenagers being run through drills with the Enforcers. “They said that if you break it before then, you die…they were right.”
“That can’t be true, you and your brother broke your curse, and you’re not dead.” The blonde refuted.
“I was going to die…” the girl said quietly, she hadn’t told her daddy or Liam this, because she didn’t want to upset them, “I could feel it, I got weaker, every time I turned, and then the last time, it wouldn’t work. It hurt so bad I thought I was going to die, but then Daddy came, he fed me his blood, and helped me change, and let me sleep in his lap because I was too tired to move.”
Rebekah looked at her with sympathy, she couldn’t even begin to imagine the kind of pain the girl had gone through. She’d never seen Nik turn, but they had come across wolves later on in their lives, she’d seen what happened during the full moon, and she did not envy the wolves one bit for it. “Then what happened?” She spoke softly, unwilling to break Luna’s trail of thoughts.
“Daddy said he had a plan, and the next month, Mai came, and made me and Liam these rings, and we didn’t have to turn.”
“They stop you from changing into a wolf,” Rebekah said in understanding. She’d had but a small glimpse of the Witch’s power when she was saved by her, but this was completely different. Ever since Werewolves walked the earth, nothing like a moonlight ring existed, once Werewolves broke their curse, they were stuck. But now, after over a thousand years, the young Witch…or rather Old Soul had managed to make not one, but two.
“I can still feel my wolf,” Luna said, “I’m strong and fast, just like I was before, but I don’t have to change anymore.”
Upon hearing this, Rebekah realised that this was probably a large factor as to why the pack was so willing to bow before her brother. If the children could access their wolves, but not have to suffer the agony of the change every month, the rest of the pack must have been up in arms about it. They must want rings of their own, they must be envious…Rebekah’s eyes widened, “What stops others from taking your rings?” Surely her brother hadn’t given the children such a powerful gift without protecting it.
“They can’t,” Luna replied, “If they try it hurts them.”
“What do you mean?”
Luna looked over at Rebekah and held her hand out for the Original to take, “You can try if you want.”
Rebekah eyed the girl warily, before reaching out and tugging very gently on the ring, instead of it coming off like she believed it would, it shocked her, “Owe!” she snatched her hand back and looked down at her palm, where a nasty burn was healing.
Luna giggled, “Even if they take it, it won’t work for them.”
Rebekah rubbed her hand, still feeling a phantom sting of pain, “That’s a very powerful gift your father gave you.”
“Daddy saved my life, I know him,” she said, with a voice that betrayed how much she’d had to grow up, despite her age, “He didn’t have to, but he did. I don’t know why…”
“Because he loves you, sweet girl, you and your brother, he loves you both.”
/ / /
Liam hopped out of the shower, and quickly got dressed, he’d tried to get as much of the glitter off as possible, but there was still some clinging to his hair, and skin, it was going to take forever to get off. “Are you alright now?” Freya asked, attempting to brush the remaining glitter from his hair.
“No,” he scowled, “I’m still going to find Luna.”
“Of that I have no doubt,” she smiled, “But perhaps, you should cool off for a little before you go and find her.”
“But she needs to pay!”
“And how are you going to make her pay?” Freya asked, wanting to make sure that he wasn’t planning anything violent, she’d been on the other end of familial violence far too many times.
Liam frowned, he hadn’t even thought that far ahead, sitting on his bed with a huff, he moaned, “I don’t know!”
Freya did smile at that, “Well perhaps, I could provide you with some help.”
Liam perked up, “With your magic?”
“Absolutely not, I will not be using magic on your sister, Niklaus would kill me,” she replied, neglecting to mention that at this distance from Kol, she couldn’t practice.
“Then how?!”
Freya crouched down, eyes meeting his, “Let’s have a think shall we?”
/ / /
Rebekah sighed, and stood up, “Come on Sweetheart, it’s almost time for lunch, and I’m sure that Nik wouldn’t like it if I made you miss a meal.”
Luna looked up at her with her puppy dog eyes, “Will you carry me?” she asked sweetly, “Please?”
Rebekah melted at that look and scooped the young girl up immediately, “Of course Love, come on. You’re going to have to guide me, I haven’t quite figured the ins and outs of the compound just yet.”
“Okay,” Luna nodded, happy that her Aunt had picked her up.
“You know, you were afraid of me, and Nik not too long ago, what changed?”
Luna shrugged, “He’s my pack, you’re not supposed to be scared of your pack.”
“And yet, many of the Wolves here are scared of Nik.”
“They don’t know him,” Luna insisted, “Not really, Daddy was born to be the Alpha, so they bow to him, but they don’t know him yet. They’ll stop being scared soon.”
Rebekah froze, “What do you mean that ‘Daddy was born to be the Alpha?’ Nik may be a wolf, but we don’t know who his father was in his pack.”
Luna looked at her funnily, “Yes we do, Daddy’s daddy was the Alpha of this pack, which means that Daddy’s the Alpha, that’s how wolves work.”
Rebekah’s eyes widened as she processed the information, Nik’s father was the Alpha…the Alpha of this pack…that meant that this was Nik’s pack, not just in name, but by blood, this was the pack that Mikael had believed he wiped out! “And Cary?” she almost whispered, “How did he become Beta?”
“Cary’s daddy was Alpha too, but he didn’t wanna be in charge. Daddy said that he wanted to keep everything in the family, so he made Cary the Beta. He’s a good Beta.”
“Keep it in the family,” Rebekah repeated, “Cary is Nik’s family…oh my God!”
Miranda had called Liz over to the house, Elena had finally gone out with Bonnie and Jeremy was serving a detention in school for getting into another fight with Tyler Lockwood. Just when she thought that her son was shaping up, he’d fall back down again, causing her to be called into school, it was a vicious cycle that she wasn’t sure Jeremy could escape.
Shaking her head at the thought of her troubled son, she grabbed the journal that she had found in Grayson’s desk and paced the floor as she waited for Liz. It had been a while since she’d spoken to her best friend, with all the ‘animal attacks’ and her daughter’s accident, they hadn’t really had time to spend with one another. They’d tried on the night of Caroline’s birthday, but she and Jenna couldn’t stop arguing with each other, so Miranda had just left. Unfortunately, Miranda wasn’t in the mind to catch up with her friend, she needed to make sure that Liz knew exactly what Enzo was, and help her figure out how to get the Vampire out of her sister’s house.
There was a knock on the door and Miranda quickly let the Sheriff in “Liz.”
“I came as soon as I could, what’s the problem?” Liz asked, her Sheriff face on, when Miranda had called her that morning, she had sounded both frantic and scared.
“You need to see this,” Miranda opened the journal, and showed Miranda the one picture of Enzo, who was chained to a metal table, several sharp instruments on another.
“What is this?” Liz asked warily, her mind instantly going to what Jenna and Maya had told her about Augustine.
“What do you know about Augustine?” Miranda asked.
Liz paled, she was hoping that it wasn’t true, but that was a perfect likeness of Enzo, sure the photo was in black and white, and a little blurry from age, but it was definitely him. “I know they’re a group that tortures Vampires.”
“They don’t torture them!” Miranda refuted, “I read through this journal, they do medical experiments on Vampires, for the betterment of the human race!”
Liz was feeling a little sick, she knew Enzo, she’d had dinner with him, invited him into her home, he was close friends with Jenna and Maya, Caroline had spent plenty of time around him, hell her daughter had been to New York, and California with him and the rest of the family! But he’d always been so respectful, charming even, and yet here was concrete evidence that he was a Vampire… A Vampire that had been tortured over and over again, from, according to Maya, the 1940’s up until a few short years ago. He was a Vampire…and yet for not a single moment had she doubted that he was a regular human being. “When was this taken?” Liz whispered.
“1956! Liz do you know what this means?” Miranda asked. “He’s a Vampire! In our town, in our homes, Liz he’s staying with Jenna! He’s manipulated his way into her house! He could be doing all sorts of terrible things to them, and we wouldn’t even know it!”
Liz’s eyes locked with Miranda’s, “I have to go!” She grabbed the journal from Miranda’s hands, “Stay inside, lock your doors, I’m going to deal with this.” She turned on her heel, jumped in her police cruiser and peeled away. How could this be happening? Never for a moment would she have suspected Enzo as a Vampire, hardening her resolve, Liz stopped at the station and grabbed her wooden bullets.
Liam was showing Freya around his favourite places in the Compound, so far he’d shown her the pool, the games room, and the library. “I play inside with a few of the other kids,” Liam said, “But when I’m outside I train with the Enforcers,” he said proudly, it was rare for Enforcers to train someone of Liam’s age, and it wasn’t just because he was the Alpha’s son that he got special treatment, he had the instincts and reflexes of an Alpha himself, his time spent locked up, always on edge had seen to that.
“Why don’t you train with the other children?” Freya asked curiously, so far Liam had been rather tight-lipped about his life before Klaus.
“Because I’m stronger than them,” he said, “They haven’t triggered the curse, I have, it wouldn’t be fair to train with them. And the Enforcers say that I’m a natural.”
“You’re very young to have triggered your curse,” Freya mused.
“I didn’t get a choice,” he replied curtly, it wasn’t something that he wanted to talk about. He was eleven now, soon to be twelve. It had been a year and a half since Rebekah had found him and his sister, but it didn’t mean that he wanted to talk about it. Ever.
“I’m sorry,” Freya frowned, she was no stranger to painful childhoods, and her new nephew most definitely had one, she bent down so that she could look him in the eye, “I didn’t mean to pry, and I won’t ask you about what happened to you. But I would like you to know, that I understand what it’s like to be taken from your loved ones and then tormented by your captors. You never have to talk to anyone about what happened to you, but I am here if you do.”
Liam nodded in understanding, he wasn’t quite sure whether he would trust his Aunt Freya, his dad had said that she was new to his family, that they’d spent a thousand years without her, but he’d also said that he wanted to trust her. So Liam would give her a chance, see what she was like, and learn if she could be trusted. “Do you want to see my absolute favourite place?” he asked.
“I’d like that,” Freya nodded.
Liam guided her to the one place where he always felt comfortable, the art studio, he pushed the door open and they found Klaus inside, working on something new.
Klaus turned to face them, “What’s that in your hair?” he asked, his Vampire eyesight easily picking out the remnants of the shiny pink flecks in Liam’s mane.
“It’s still there!” Liam exclaimed, furiously brushing through his hair.
Klaus raised an eyebrow, amused at his son's actions, “What’s going on?” he whispered to Freya.
“Uh, he had an unfortunate run in with Luna, and a glitter bomb,” she whispered back.
Rolling his eyes, Klaus put down his brush, “Of course he did.” He placed a hand on Liam’s shoulder, stopping the boy from dropping anymore glitter on his floor, “Liam, I just got in some new oil paints, would you like me to show you how to use them?” he asked.
Liam’s eyes widened and he grinned excitedly, “Really?” at Klaus’s answering nod, Liam rushed over to where he kept his own art supplies, and started pulling out a canvas to work on.
Freya smiled as she saw the excitement on Liam’s features, “You know, you’re very good with them, your children.” She said, looking over at her brother.
Klaus shrugged, “I know what they need, so I give it to them.”
Freya knew that was a grand oversimplification, “You know, I’ve spoken to many members of this pack, your pack. They all know about your curse. I’m surprised that you told them.”
“Only a wolf can be the Alpha of a pack, soon I’ll be one, with or without your help.”
As she’d toured the grounds, and spoken to the pack, one thing had been made very clear to her, Klaus was providing these wolves with a better standard of life, and not just with money, for the most part, the wolves didn’t seem to be very materialistic, it was mostly the young and very old that spent most of their time inside, while the rest enjoyed the grounds. Klaus provided them with protection, a sense of purpose, and most of all, he gave them the hope that they wouldn’t have to always be on the run from Vampires, he gave them the hope of becoming something more. “They’re all waiting for your curse to be broken,” she said, and he nodded in response, “I’ve decided that I’m going to help you.”
Klaus raised a brow in question, “I thought you already were.”
“I was,” Freya conceded, “But don’t pretend like you weren't unsure of how well I was working with Kol, you and I both know that when a Witch is under duress, their spells aren’t as strong. Your curse was the final thing mother left on this earth. I’d like to see it broken…if only just to hurt her.”
Klaus smirked, “Revenge against mother? Now there’s a motive that I can trust.”
Enzo and Damon were enjoying a drink together at the Boarding House, Stefan was with Elena, so they got to have the house all to themselves. They were nestled together on the couch, Enzo running his fingers through Damon’s hair, while the older Vampire was stretched out like a cat, they were enjoying their alone time, no new drama, supernatural or otherwise, it was nice to take a break before things started getting complicated. There was a loud banging on the door, startling them both out of their relaxation.
“Who’s that?” Enzo asked.
“No idea,” Damon replied, “Everyone we know usually just barges in.”
“DAMON!” Sheriff Forbes yelled.
“The Sheriff?” Enzo asked perplexed, he was sure there were no emergencies that needed to be dealt with.
Damon sighed, hauling himself up, “I’ll guess I’ll get it then.” He sauntered over to the front door, opening it, “Liz what-”
She cut him off by barging straight in, upon seeing Enzo on the couch, she pulled out her gun and pointed it directly at his heart. “Don’t move!” She commanded, “These are wooden bullets!”
“Ah shit.”
Notes:
Thanks for reading! If you have time, please leave a comment, they really help!
Chapter 50: Liz finds out...again
Notes:
Sorry for the late update, I have family over which has made it difficult to get time to write.
Thanks for all the comments and kudos.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Enzo scrambled to his feet, holding his hands up in a non-threatening manner as the Sheriff refused to falter, “Now Liz-”
“I SAID DON’T MOVE!” she yelled.
Damon’s monster came to the surface, he was about to attack her, but Enzo gave a subtle shake of his head, “Why don’t we all calm down,” Enzo said, not taking his eyes from the woman, he needed to be ready to move should the Sheriff decide to shoot him. “Why don’t you explain what's going on?”
“I know you’re a Vampire!” Liz exclaimed, tightening her grip on her service weapon, she did not think this through properly, if Enzo really was a Vampire, then she was there without back up, what were the chances that she would be able fire off a bullet before he killed her? If he wanted to kill her, that is, but Maya seemed adamant that the Vampire she released was a good one.
“Come on now Liz, what would give you an idea like that?” the British Vampire asked. Liz pulled the journal out of her pocket and threw it at him, Enzo caught it against his chest, “What’s this?”
“Read it.”
“Liz-”
“Don’t get involved Damon! I’m not here for you!”
Damon scowled, he wasn’t going to take one more second of that weapon being pointed at the man he loved, “Actually,” he sped forward, taking the gun from her and throwing it away from them both, “You are.”
Liz’s eyes widened, “You’re one too? Jesus!” She collapsed into a chair and dropped her head in her hands, “Oh my God!” she mumbled. Damon raised an eyebrow, that wasn’t the reaction he was expecting, fear, anger maybe, but not this. “Is everybody a fucking Vampire?!”
“Liz!” Damon said scandalised, he’d never heard her swear before.
Enzo looked down at the journal, curious to know what had convinced the Sheriff that he was a Vampire, opening it, his eyes widened as he flipped through the pages, finally stopping on the picture of him. He had no idea that there were any photos of him from that time, he'd always thought that Augustine were too smart for that, but clearly not. “Shit.”
Damon looked up at that, and Enzo tossed him the journal, “Holy shit! What the hell is this?!” he looked at Liz, “Where did you get this?!”
Liz looked up at him, anger finally overcoming her shock, “You’ve been lying to me!” she stood, “You’ve all just been lying to me!” Damon was her friend, he saved her life, he saved her daughter! But then again, he was never in any real danger, was he? She made to leave but Damon grabbed her arm, pulling her back towards the couch, “You’re not going anywhere! Not until you tell us where you got this!”
There was a flash of fear in Liz’s eyes, and Enzo stepped in, “Damon,” he grabbed the older Vampire’s wrist, and he released Liz’s arm, “She’s our friend.”
Damon let his monster settle as he stared at the blonde, “I know,” he finally said, “Doesn’t mean that I’m not pissed! And even if she’s our friend, there’s a reason we never told her what we are.”
“That is true,” Enzo agreed, “How did you get this?”
“How long have you been a Vampire?” Liz replied.
“Okay,” Enzo sighed, glancing at Damon, “A question for a question, an answer for an answer, okay?” Liz didn’t reply, “Come on Sheriff, if we wanted you dead, you would be.”
Liz had to concede to that, they were stronger and faster than her, that much was obvious with the way that Damon had taken her gun from her. She really didn’t stand a chance if they wanted to kill her, “Fine.” She pulled away from them and dropped onto the couch, “How long have you been Vampires?” she asked again. If Maya wasn’t going to tell her about the Vampire that she’d freed, then she’d get the information from the source, especially since they seemed to just want to talk…for now.
Enzo sat on the loveseat on the side of the couch, Damon moved over lean against the fireplace, “Where did you get the journal?”
“How long have you been Vampires?”
Enzo sighed, “I was turned in 1903.”
“And you?” she glared up Damon.
“1864,” he replied.
“…Wait,” Liz did the math, more than that, she remembered the names for the first meeting of the Founders Council. “1864? But that means…”
“That Stefan and I aren’t named for the original Salvatore brothers, we are the original Salvatore brothers.” Damon finished her thought, “Yeah that’s true, it also means that if you intended to kill us, then you just made. A. Very. Stupid. Mistake.”
“Damon,” Enzo warned.
“Relax, I’m not gonna kill her,” the Salvatore shrugged, “I’m just gonna lock her up, wait for the vervain to pass out of her system and then compel her to forget all about us. At least that way she won’t try to kill us.” He cocked his head and took a step closer to her.
“I’m not trying to kill you!” Liz protested, tensing up as Damon moved towards her.
“Really? Because you showed up with a gun full of wooden bullets!” the older Vampire exclaimed.
“I needed to be sure that you wouldn’t kill me the second I stepped in here!”
Enzo straightened at that, “You had to have known that if we were the monsters that you thought we were, you would have only had seconds to pull that trigger. So why didn’t you?”
Liz looked at him, “Because, as much as I don’t trust Vampires, Maya told me all about the one that she saved, and then saved her. She told me about the Vampire that fought in two world wars, just because he thought it was the right thing to do. And then I find out that the man that is supposed to be my friend, the man that’s eaten with me, gone on vacation with my daughter, been invited into my home, is actually a Vampire! Both of you are!”
“Well now that we’ve answered your question, where did you get the journal?”
“I was given it.” Liz replied, crossing her arms.
“By who?”
She refused to say more, Damon wandered over to the journal and picked it up, leafing through, he stopped on the name, “Nathaniel Gilbert, hmm…I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that this came from the Gilberts. And the only Gilbert you’re friends with is Miranda.” He heard her heart beat speed up, “I was right, it was Miranda,” Damon said, looking over at Enzo, “I’m gonna get her.” He whooshed out of the house before anyone could say anything.
“You have to stop him!” Liz exclaimed, she didn’t know Damon the way that she thought she did, what if he killed her friend?
“Miranda can’t know our secret,” Enzo said, “Her hatred of our kind means that she won’t stop until we’re dead. But don’t worry, Damon and I actually like Jeremy, and killing his mum is the last resort. Damon’ll grab her, lock her up, and then compel her to forget what she knows.”
“And that’s what you’re going to do to me.”
“Well,” Enzo paused, “That really depends on you. You came here with a gun full of wooden bullets, which doesn’t make me trust you, but then again, you didn’t bring any back up, and I know you’re not stupid.”
“I wanted to know who you are, I asked Maya to arrange a meeting,” Liz replied.
“She said no.”
“She said no,” the Sheriff confirmed, “You’ve killed people before.”
Enzo nodded, “I’m a Vampire love, I’m a predator, I drink blood to survive, and people aren’t all good, some of them are just as monstrous as the Vampires that you’re afraid of.”
Liz paused at that, she was talking to someone that had spent almost six decades being tortured at the hands of humans, at the hands of a man that she called friend, a man that she grew up with, a man that she knew, and never would have thought him to have a sadistic bone in his body. “Did Grayson really torture you?”
Enzo frowned, he hated thinking about his time at Augustine, hated talking about it, but he had a feeling that he still needed to humanise himself to the Sheriff, he didn’t want to have to compel her, he would, but she was Caroline’s mother, Maya’s godmother, and his friend, he would prefer to be able to be himself around her. “For just over a decade,” he confirmed, “Spent all that time underneath the medical clinic in Mystic Falls.”
Before he could say anymore, Damon whooshed back in, with Miranda in tow, he headed straight for the basement and locked her the newly repaired cell.
“Rebekah, you were almost silent at dinner,” Freya said, “What’s wrong?”
The blonde Original sighed, taking a seat on her bed, “Luna told me something, and I’m not sure how to react.” She shook her head, “Well that’s not true, I wanted to go and yell at Nik, possibly throw him out of a window, but I don’t think our new niece and nephew would appreciate it.”
“What did she tell you?”
“This pack, Nik didn’t stumble across them by accident, he specifically searched for them. They’re not just his pack by design, their his pack by blood!”
Freya looked confused, “What do you mean?”
“We thought father had slaughtered Nik’s pack when he found out that Nik wasn’t his. But some of them must have survived, Nik’s bloodline survived, Nik’s father, his biological father was the Alpha of this pack a thousand years ago! Cary, the Beta, is a direct descendant from his father’s bloodline!”
“This pack is actually Niklaus’s family,” Freya replied in understanding.
“He never said anything!” the youngest Original exclaimed, “He didn’t tell me! But Kol knew! There’s no way that Nik kept this from him! How could he do this?!” she was working herself up into a frenzy, she hadn’t made it a secret that she hated Kol’s new found favouritism. She’d always been the favourite, and now, after a millennium it was like she’d been thrown out on her arse. She couldn’t hide her jealousy, but she had been able to hide her hurt, not anymore though.
“Rebekah,” Freya came over to her sister, and sat with her, “What can I do?” her baby sister was hurting, and she didn’t know how to help, but she’d try.
Rebekah shook her head, looking distraught, “I don’t know! Everything in me is telling me to hurt Klaus back! Everything, but if I do that, I’ll be no better than Nik! I promised myself that I wouldn’t fall into this old pattern again! I can’t! But all I want to do is hurt him, the way he’s hurt me!”
Freya sighed, “Rebekah, the last time you tried to hurt him, you called our father to your home, and he burnt it to the ground. Nothing comes from mindlessly lashing out except destruction. I mean look around, the sense of family here! Nothing good will come from trying to hurt Niklaus now. He’s trying to find peace, and I think that he has. These wolves, his children, he’s created a life for himself.”
“And I have never been allowed to do the same!” Rebekah cried, “I have never been allowed to find my own peace! To create my own family! Why does he get to, and I don’t?!”
Freya watched her sister, finally understanding, they’d come to the heart of Rebekah’s issues with their brother, she stood by Niklaus for centuries, and had never been afforded the luxury of having her own life. “I understand,” she said, pushing the hair away from Rebekah’s face, wiping at the tears that had managed to slip through her sister’s normally icy exterior. “But screaming, and throwing things, and violence…all it does is amplify your pain. You can’t go on like this.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
“You need to speak with our brother. And I don’t mean like you have been, both tiptoeing around your anger, and sorrow. I mean that you two need to sit down, and have a frank discussion about your past, your present, your expectations for the future. Because I want my family to be whole again.” Rebekah looked at her in question, “When I woke, I felt fear… and anger, and confusion, but…underneath it all, I have never felt joy, the way that I felt it, upon seeing all of our siblings together. But that joy was quickly shattered, when we all split apart. You two, need to make your peace with one another. Because I want my family back!”
Rebekah pulled back, brushed away the remnants of her tears and stood, “Well what do you suggest I do? Because there is no way that Nik is just going to sit there while I talk!”
“I have an idea!” Freya pulled out her phone.
“Sister!” Kol said, “To what do I owe the pleasure? Shouldn’t you be spending your time with our nephew and niece?”
“I need your help.”
“With what?”
“Klaus and Rebekah need to talk, but there’s no way that they’re going to just sit in a room and have a friendly chat…”
Rebekah shot her a puzzled look and Freya waved her away.
“You want to lock our sister and brother in a room together?” Kol caught on, thinking that it could be fun to trap Rebekah in with Nik.
“Yes,” Freya replied.
“But you can’t do that without me.”
“I need you here.” Freya couldn’t access her magic without Kol in close proximity to her.
Kol thought about it, was pissing off Nik worth the fun it would be? Of course it was! “I’ll be there tomorrow morning.”
/ / /
Klaus leant back against his headboard, closing his eyes, he let the stress of the day roll off of him. He’d only been gone from the pack for about a week, and yet the amount of work that he had to do to maintain the compound’s upkeep was ridiculous. Until his wolf was released, he was balanced in a very precarious position, if he offloaded too much of the work to his Beta and Enforcers, then he’d look like an incompetent Alpha, worse, the pack may start to believe that he was unworthy of being Alpha. He could rule them anyway, but Maya had made it clear that the only way his Hybrids would be successful, was if they were loyal to him, not out of fear, but respect. But at the same time, if he took on too much of the work, it would look like he didn’t trust his pack, thereby damaging the trust they had in him. He may have been an Original, but Pack maintenance was exhausting.
Opening one eye for a moment when he heard a rustle, his door opened, and the children crept in “You know I can hear you,” he said, the kids froze for a second, before rushing the rest of the way to the bed. Liam crawled under the covers on one side, and Luna came up on the other side, and started pushing at Klaus.
“Daddy,” she huffed, “Move over!”
Rolling his eyes, Klaus shifted over to the middle, and Luna crawled in after him, both children latching on to him, Luna was quick to fall asleep but Liam, Liam remained awake, he wanted to talk to his father in private, without the pack, or his new aunts or Luna listening in.
“You know if you don’t go to sleep soon, you’re going to be very cranky in the morning,” Klaus commented, one of his hands carding through Luna’s blonde locks.
Liam pressed himself into Klaus’s side, “I wanted to ask you something,” he started.
Klaus sighed, he had a feeling that something was on Liam’s mind, it had been for a while, he was just waiting for the young boy to gather the courage to talk about it. “What is it?”
“Why are you cursed?” he blurted out. Klaus had explained to the pack, in very vague detail, that he’d been cursed when he was first turned. His wolf had been locked away and he’d been searching for the ingredients to break the curse for a thousand years. And now, he’d found almost everything he needed, he would break the curse and release the members of his pack from their own terrible curse, it was something that he could see himself wanting. He loved being a wolf, but the pain that came with it was too much for him to bear. But the question of why Klaus was cursed had been running through his thoughts for a while, and he needed answers.
Klaus tensed at the question, the only people who knew his story besides his family, were Maya, Enzo, Damon…and Stefan. No one else knew his origin, but he should have known that eventually his children would want answers about it. “Why do you ask?”
“Curses are bad, they’re meant to hurt…I know that you’re not the good guy…Mom and Dad told stories, the Vampires that were holding us, told stories too. People are scared of you… so I understand that Witches and Vampires want to hurt you. But you said you were cursed when you were turned, I know you weren’t always bad, because you saved Luna, you saved us both, you took care of us…you’re our Dad now. Why did someone want to hurt you then?” Liam could understand why someone would try to curse Klaus now, he was powerful, and terrifying, he’d seen it for himself, when a Vampire had tried to attack him while he and his father were out together. Klaus hadn’t even blinked before ripping out the Vampire’s heart. But he’d also seen a side to his father that he was sure not many others had, a side that he believed showed him what Klaus was like before he became a Vampire.
Klaus looked away from his son, telling Liam about his life, that wasn’t something that he’d ever wanted to do, he’d suffered, been weak, he didn’t want anyone to see him that way. But it occurred to him that learning about his past, may help Liam traverse the trauma from his own. “My mother had seven children,” he started, “Freya was the oldest, then Finn, Elijah, myself, Kol, Rebekah, and finally my baby brother Henrik. Up until last year, I had never known Freya, no one but Finn had.”
“What do you mean?” Liam asked confused, how could he not have known Aunt Freya?
“When she was five, my father sailed with a raiding party from our village… and when he came back, Freya was gone. My mother, Esther, had told Mikael, my father, that she had died of the plague. Mikael became distraught, and refused to stay in our country. He didn’t want to lose anymore children. He heard about a land where the people were healthy, and strong, and never got sick.”
“He heard about Werewolves,” Liam interrupted, and Klaus nodded.
“Yes, he didn’t know about their curse, and so decided to move his family over to, what is now called America. My father was a brute. Freya says that he was a wonderful father, but truthfully I cannot remember a moment of my childhood that wasn’t filled with fear and pain thanks to him. The village they moved to, the village I was born in, was next to the village that this pack was from.” He inhaled shakily, he was about to relieve his darkest most terrible memory, Henrik was his little brother, a brother that looked up to him, that wanted to be just like him, his death was something that Klaus would never be able to get over, never be able to forget. “We used to hide ourselves in a network of caves every full moon, so that we would never be caught by the wolves. But I always felt a pull towards them. I never knew why, but there was something about them, that almost fell…familiar. One night I snuck out, to watch the men change into wolves, and my youngest brother, followed me. I don’t know what happened, the wolves changed and they saw me, but they didn’t make a move, not until they saw my brother and then they pounced.”
Liam looked up at his father with wide eyes, and threw his arms around his middle, squeezing Klaus as he realised what had happened.
“Henrik died, I carried his broken body home and begged my mother to fix it, you see, she was a powerful Witch, but it was too late, she couldn’t save him, she couldn’t bring him back. My father couldn’t take it, he couldn’t take losing another child and in response, my mother cast the immortality spell on her children and her husband, turning us into the first Vampires. It was only after I made my first kill, that my father discovered the truth…” Klaus sighed, “I was not his son. Upon making my first kill I triggered the Werewolf curse and shifted for the first and only time in my life.”
“You didn’t know you were a wolf?” Liam asked.
“No,” Klaus shook his head, “Times were very different back then, and as Vikings, any outbursts of temper weren’t unusual. When Mikael found out that I wasn’t his son, that I was a beast as he called it. He was furious, and in an effort to appease my father, my mother bound my wolf, cursing me to live half a life for the rest of my days.”
“Your mom cursed you?” Liam asked horrified, he couldn’t imagine his mother ever doing something like that to him, “But it wasn’t your fault!”
“It didn’t matter, all she wanted to do was make my father happy, so she cursed me. And now, I am so close to breaking my curse I can practically taste it.”
“I don’t understand,” Liam admitted, “How could your mom do that to you?”
Klaus shrugged, it was question that had plagued him since that night, a thousand years ago he wasn’t a monster, just a confused young man, and his mother had betrayed him, in an effort to cover up her own betrayal. “Some people just aren’t meant to be parents,” he finally said. It was the only excuse he could give, because honestly, no matter how hard he tried, he would never understand it himself.
“Damon!” Liz called as she rushed after the Vampire, Enzo said that they wouldn’t hurt Miranda, but she knew that neither of the Vampires liked the Gilbert woman and even though she couldn’t do anything should they choose to kill Miranda, she had to at least try. “Damon wait!” By the time she’d reached the basement, Miranda was already locked up in the cell, eyes wide in fright at the fact that she’d just been snatched from the safety of her home and trapped by a Vampire.
“Damon!” Liz said, “What are you doing?”
“Liz it’s fine,” Enzo cut in, “He’s not going to kill her, just make her forget.”
“You can’t do this!” Miranda exclaimed from the other side of the cell door, “I’m on vervain!”
Damon rolled his eyes, “That’s why you’re in the cell,” he replied, “The vervain will be out of your system in three days, and then I’ll compel you to forget all about us.”
“You think that I can just disappear from my home and no one will notice?!” Miranda asked incredulously, “Elena and Jeremy will notice! I can’t just go missing for three days!”
Enzo let out a little chuckle at that “Oh, poor Miranda, did you forget? Elena’s dating Damon’s brother. You think she doesn’t know about Vampires? You think Jeremy doesn’t? When he was the one to invite us into your home?”
Miranda paled at that, she hadn’t thought that Elena would know about Vampires, much less date one, but if Damon was a Vampire, then surely that meant that Stefan? No, no, no! This couldn’t be happening! She was supposed to protect her children, and she’d welcomed Stefan into her home, let him take Elena out, she hadn’t even thought to give her children any vervain. Oh God! What had Stefan done to her daughter?!
“Liz?” Miranda turned her fearful eyes to her best friend.
“Enzo you can’t just do this,” the Sheriff protested, “She-”
“She told you that I was a Vampire with the hopes that you would kill me, Liz. And you came here, not knowing whether everything that Maya told you was true. I could have killed you, Damon could have killed you. She got you riled up, and sent you headfirst into a potentially volatile situation without any thought. She’s dangerous.”
Liz paused at Enzo’s calm words, she hadn’t thought about it like that, but he was right, she’d come barrelling in with no real regard for her safety, and all because Miranda had gotten her riled up, Miranda had used Liz’s friendship with Jenna against her and she’d fallen for it.
“Liz…” Miranda whispered, “Don’t listen to them! They’re monsters!”
Liz closed her eyes as Miranda parroted what all council members had been taught. “I-”
“Liz,” Enzo said, “Perhaps we should go back upstairs and finish our discussion, Miranda will be safe here.” He guided her out of the room and Damon followed with a smirk.
“Liz?” Miranda asked confused, she couldn’t really be leaving her down here, could she? “Liz? Liz! LIZ!”
Elijah just got off the phone with Kol, apparently Freya had asked him to fly out to their mystery location, sighing he sat back in in his study. It seemed like his family was healing, slowly, but surely, the fracture within the Mikaelson siblings was repairing. He should have been happy about that, but…he was being left out…his baby brother believed that Elijah would do nothing, should something happen to him. His baby sister was finding her way back to Niklaus’s side, his older sister was forming new connections with the rest of the family, connections that hadn’t been tainted by the stink of betrayal that followed the Mikaelsons everywhere. And Klaus…well Niklaus had not only given up his daggers, but he’d adopted two children, children that Kol actually liked, and he knew nothing about it. He couldn’t remember the last time that he had been left out of the loop by Klaus. He needed to take his mind off of the family drama.
His phone rang, and Elijah smirked when he saw the name pop up on the screen, the perfect distraction had just fallen into his lap. “Jenna, what a pleasant surprise,” he answered the video call, “I wasn’t expecting your call for another few weeks.”
“Yeah well,” Jenna shrugged, “Maybe I missed you…or maybe I just missed having an intelligent conversation where I’m not being judged by people who aren’t parents for the decisions I make with my daughter.”
“It sounds like you are not having the best time at home…remind me of where it is again.”
Jenna let out a little laugh, “Nice try Elijah, you know the rules, no last names, no real background, we’re acquaintances…with occasional benefits.”
“My apologies, perhaps I just wished to know where you are so that I could purchase you a plane ticket out of there, and bring you to me.”
“I can pay for my own plane ticket, thank you very much! I am a strong, independent woman!”
“Of that I have no doubt.” Elijah agreed with a smile.
“What about you?” she asked, Elijah didn’t look himself, something about his eyes told of a sadness that hadn't been there the last time she saw him.
“Problems with my brothers, it’s nothing for you to worry yourself over.”
“Come on Elijah, you’re talking to a psych major here, I can see that’s it’s clearly bothering you, maybe you just need an impartial ear.”
She was right of course, he did want to talk to someone about his problems, but he would have to be careful what to say, “My brother’s and I used to be very close, and now I have found that my youngest brother, does not believe that I would be there should he be in trouble, and my other brother, has adopted children, and didn’t think it would be prudent to tell me. I found out by accident, when he offered to introduce my sisters to the newest members of the family.”
“Why do you think that your brother didn’t tell you about the kids he adopted?”
“I hurt him,” Elijah finally said after a pause, “It was…a long time ago, I was angry with him, and did something that I am not proud of. My brother didn’t find out what I’d done until recently. I believe that he wanted to hurt me back.”
“That sounds supremely messed up Elijah.”
“Yes, well, my family isn’t perfect.”
“Screw perfect! It sounds like your family is seriously dysfunctional!”
“That is one way to put it,” Elijah agreed, he loved his family and would stand with them against anything, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t aware that together they had serious problems, “But I don’t know what I am supposed to do now that I am on the outside of my siblings, I’ve never been on the outside before. I don’t much like it.”
Jenna gave him a sympathetic smile, “Maybe you need to be on the outside for a while.”
“What do you mean?”
“Elijah, from everything you’ve told me about your family, it sounds like you all need some space. Like Chaucer said, ‘Familiarity breeds contempt,’ you’ve clearly spent way too much time with each other. You need a break.”
“I can’t just take a break from being an older brother,” Elijah replied.
“Elijah all your siblings are grown ups! You can take a break! You deserve one! Do something just for yourself for a change! Your siblings are taking time for themselves, so you can too.”
“But…” Elijah started, he’d never just had time to himself, not really, even these past 50 years without Klaus, he’d been working towards something. He’d never just been able to relax. “I don’t think I know how.”
Jenna smiled, Elijah was definitely a buttoned up kind of guy, she wasn’t surprised that he had no idea how to relax, “Well, the holidays are coming up, why don’t you travel? It’s what we’re doing this year.”
“You’re not coming to New York?” he asked.
“No, we’re not really in the mood for New York this time around,” Jenna shrugged, Maya didn’t want to be near the Originals and she was more than happy to oblige.
“Where are you going?”
“Nothing’s set in stone yet, but we’re thinking Greece. My girl’s got a thing for ancient history. Pick a place, and just do the tourist thing, see what happens, maybe you’ll like it.”
“Perhaps I will, although, things may go better for me if I had a companion…”
Jenna laughed, “I won’t tell you my last name, I’m not going on vacation with you!”
“Ah well, I had to try,” Elijah smirked.
Kol had arrived early in the morning, causing the wolves of the pack all to whisper in concern, they knew that Klaus had Vampire siblings, and they knew that eventually they would have to be around the siblings, but over a year of being Vampire free had made them forget what it was like to be around the only other real predators on the planet. The youngest Mikaelson brother had appeared before breakfast, he’d rushed the children out of the private dining room, given Freya access to her magic, and she’d locked Klaus and Rebekah in together, saying that she wouldn’t let them out until they’d come to an understanding. So far the two had been trapped in the dining room for the past 4 hours arguing, and they had yet to get anywhere.
“Rebekah! I have forgiven you for calling Mikael to New Orleans what more could you possibly want from me?!”
“You don’t understand! You have never let me live my life! Every time I meet someone new you ruin it! I never get a chance!”
Klaus fought the urge to snarl as he was reminded of a conversation he’d had with Maya not to long ago.
/ / /
Flashback
“I don’t know what to do about Rebekah,” Klaus sighed, “I feel as though I am starting to forgive her, but there’s still this distance…between us.”
“Of course there is!” Maya replied, taking his hand in her own, “You may be forgiving her, but she still has to forgive you.”
“Forgive me?! For what?! The daggers? We’ve been over that!”
“Not the daggers Nik!” Maya shook her head, “You may have been on the run, but you have been allowed to do whatever you want, damn the consequences, and that includes hurting your sister, over and over again.” He made to interrupt, but Maya held up a hand to stop him, “Rebekah has never had the chance to find love, not truly, and that is because of you!”
“None of those boys were worthy of my sister,” he protested.
“Yeah, that’s probably true! Because Rebekah is a badass independent woman, who for most of her life, has lived through an era where men have been in charge, and women have been less than nothing! I bet not one of those men that she fell for would have been happy for her to be strong, and independent, they certainly wouldn’t have been happy whenever she decided to voice her opinion. But the problem is, you’ve never let her find that out for herself.”
“She’s my sister!”
“I know that! And I know that you don’t want stupid boys to hurt her. But if you don’t let her try, if you don’t let her discover what is wrong with those men, she’s gonna keep making the same mistakes, she’s gonna keep picking people that don’t deserve her! If you don’t let her learn, then she’ll never grow. You’re her brother, yeah, it’s your job to protect her, but at some point, you have to let her live her life, make mistakes, find out who she really is! And if it crashes and burns, then it’s your job to take care of her. She’s an Original Vampire, Nik, she’s one of the most powerful beings on the planet. She doesn’t need your protection; she needs your support!”
/ / /
He wasn’t willing to admit that Maya was right back then, but she was, of course at some point it had occurred to him that perhaps the reason Rebekah was always picking the wrong man could be because she was never able to learn from her mistakes. But he’d dismissed that sometime in the 17th century, believing that he knew best. And now, here Rebekah was, saying the same thing that Maya had said to him, she was begging him for a chance to live, a chance to be responsible. She was begging for a chance to be let back into the fold, but also to be seen, to be heard, to be trusted, the way that he now trusted Kol. He wasn’t sure that he was ready for that, and even if he was, how would he even begin to facilitate something like that?
“Rebekah,” he sighed, attempting to calm down, (as soon as he got out, he was going to push Kol off a cliff for his part in this) “I cannot fix the past! What’s done is done!”
“You made our lives- my life, a living hell! You tormented us! Never gave us a chance!”
“I love my family!” Klaus insisted. “You, Elijah, Kol, Finn, I love all of you! You rage about the things that I have done, and I know that I can be difficult, but I did not make myself this way. It was Mikael who ruined me.”
“He ruined me too,” Rebekah whispered, “That’s what you forget. Centuries later, each of us is broken. You with your anger and paranoia, me with my fear of abandonment, Kol with his rage and inability to trust, Finn with his hatred of what we are, and poor Elijah, he dedicates his life to everyone but himself. We are the strongest creatures in the world, and yet we are damaged beyond repair. We live without hope, yet we will never die, we are the definition of ‘cursed’. Always and forever.” She dropped into a chair, and couldn’t look at him.
But Klaus couldn’t look away, his baby sister looked so broken, never had they spoken so candidly with one another. Rebekah, terrified of his reactions, and him with his refusal to make himself vulnerable to anyone, even his family. His sister was right, they were, all of them, cursed. Broken by their father, betrayed by their mother, this was not what he’d hoped for when he woke his family. He knew they wouldn’t be happy with him, but their family was shattered, and he'd caused most of the damage as of late. The family couldn’t repair itself; he knew that he was the one that needed to take the first step.
“We don’t have to be,” he finally said.
“What do you suggest?” she scoffed.
“Perhaps it’s time I offered you a little trust, sister,” he replied, and she looked over at him in question. Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees and pulled her chair closer to his, so they were truly opposite one another.
Rebekah had no idea what he was about to say, “What are you talking about?”
He took a breath, “I found the doppelgänger,” Rebekah’s eyes widened, “She resides in a small town in Virginia, called Mystic Falls.”
“Where we were born,” Rebekah said.
“Maya…was also born there, the doppelgänger is her cousin.”
“Why haven’t you broken your curse then? Is it because of the Witch?” Was her brother truly putting off freeing himself, just because the doppelgänger was related to his Witch?
Klaus shook his head, “It appears that mother left one last gift in her curse. I kill the doppelgänger to become a Hybrid, and then I can’t make any others like me, because the wolves would need her blood to transition.”
“A failsafe,” the Original sister whispered.
“Exactly. Kol and Freya are working on a way to break my curse without triggering the failsafe, we believe that because Freya is of mother’s blood, she is the only one that could.”
“That doesn’t explain why you haven’t gone there, don’t you want to keep an eye on her while you wait?”
“I did, but Katerina hid the moonstone in that town, she’s unaware that the moonstone is now in my possession.”
“She’ll return there to retrieve it,” Rebekah said in understanding, “To try and bargain for her freedom, and you’re going to let her.”
“Well, it’s easier than hunting her down,” he shrugged, “I have several Vampires in the area who will inform me of her arrival.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I will be moving to Mystic Falls for at least a year after the sacrifice.”
“You’re staying for the Witch?” He'd never upended his life for anyone, but here he was, doing it for her.
Klaus didn’t answer that, “I have sent some of my wolves ahead, to get a home ready for us…all of us. I thought…perhaps you could go, keep an eye on things, take a shot at having a normal life…at least until the rest of the family shows up.”
“You’d really trust me with this?” she asked.
Klaus tried not to growl at the thought, reminding himself that he had to fix what he’d broken in their family. “I’m going to try to.” He finally said.
“What about Lucien…and his friends?”
“As long as my pack remains hidden, he will not have the final ingredient to create his upgraded Werewolf venom. And honestly, I would like to be at my full strength before we need to take on that particular trio.”
“Are you sure about this?” Rebekah pressed, she couldn’t believe that her brother was making the choice to trust her with the doppelgänger’s location, with the location of his Witch, when he had yet to trust Elijah with this information. Perhaps her brother really was trying.
“No, I’m not, don’t make me regret this sister.”
The next day Rebekah had left to go to Mysitc Falls, she had the chance to not only prove that she could be trusted by her brother, but she also had the chance to find out everything she could about Nik’s Witch. Discover whether or not the girl was worthy of Nik’s affections. Because if there was one thing that she was certain of, it was that no one wanted Nik to suffer another heartbreak like he had with Aurora.
She’d packed up quickly, said goodbye to her new niece and nephew, and rushed out of the compound before Klaus was even dressed. And it was a good thing that she was gone by the time he’d showered and clothed himself, because she’d left him a little surprise that was sure to make him angry. After all, she was still put out with him over the fact that he hadn’t told her about his pack.
/ / /
“REBEKAH!” Klaus bellowed.
His shout was so loud that it caused the pack to freeze, their wolves telling them to bow in submission to the Alpha who was clearly enraged. Liam and Luna shot their uncle and aunt alarmed looks, they’d only heard him yell like that once, and it had not been good. Kol and Freya glanced at each other, rolling their eyes, waiting for their brother to appear so that they could find out what their baby sister had done now.
Klaus came storming down the stairs, covered in glitter. Causing the children’s eyes to widen, Freya to try and stifle her giggles, and Kol to burst into laughter. “It’s the disco Hybrid!” Kol crowed, bent double as he didn’t even try to control himself.
Freya snorted in amusement and slapped her hand over her mouth when Klaus shot her a murderous look. “It is EVERYWHERE!” Klaus yelled.
Cary held his head in his hands, “Please tell me its not all over the compound,” he muttered, knowing that he would be the one that would have to deal with the clean-up.
Kol whipped out his phone and started snapping photos, he had to send them to Rebekah immediately, before Klaus realised and broke his phone, “WHERE IS SHE?!” Klaus shouted.
“Sorry your glittery highness, she’s already left!” Kol laughed.
Klaus growled, “This. Is. Not. Funny!”
“No, Niklaus,” Freya shook her head, “This is quite funny!”
“I know right!” Kol crowed.
“KOL! ANOTHER WORD AND I’LL TEAR OUT YOUR LIVER!”
“I cannot take you seriously right now,” he shook his head and took more photos, “You’re like 90% glitter and 10% Hybrid!”
Freya burst out laughing at that, the children falling into their own fits of giggles at the sight of their father, coated in pink sparkles. Klaus’s eyes narrowed on the phone in his brother’s hand, “Kol! Give that here!”
“Make me!” Kol shot back with a grin, already on the balls of his feet, ready to whoosh out of the compound the moment his brother gave chase. Klaus’s Vampire side bubbled to the surface and Kol sped out of the room, his older brother rushing after him.
“KOL! GET BACK HERE!”
“NO!” Kol yelled back, whooshing around the compound, and hitting send on the pictures so that someone had evidence of Klaus’s current state. Kol rushed back into the main living room, spotting his sister, “Freya! Save me!”
His older sister held her hands up, “Oh no,” she shook her head, “You got yourself into this mess, you get yourself out.”
“Betrayal!” Kol gasped in mock horror, “Whoa!” he ducked as a lamp was hurled in his direction, he rushed upstairs and Klaus followed, spreading glitter over almost every corner of the house.
Cary sighed as he eyed the trail of glitter that was no doubt everywhere by now, “This is gonna be a bitch to clean,” he muttered.
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel awesome.
Chapter 51: What the Fuck?!
Notes:
Thank you so much for all the comments and the kudos! I can't believe how many people are reading this story! I really appreciate each and everyone of you!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
After a much more in-depth talk, Damon and Enzo escorted Liz downstairs, to the cell in the basement, “We only have the one cell available, Liz,” Enzo said, with a little sympathy, he didn’t think that she’d want to stay in the same room as Miranda, but there wasn’t really another choice.
“It’s fine,” Liz replied, she wasn’t pleased with what had to be done, but Damon especially, didn’t feel like he could trust her with their secret yet, and she supposed he had a point, she wasn’t sure what she believed about them, but the only way that she would be able to get to know them was to agree to being compelled. “Will you call Caroline?”
“Maya’ll bring her over,” Damon replied, pulling out his phone, “They won’t be long.”
“I’ll get you something to drink,” Enzo said, locking the cell.
Both Vampires headed back upstairs and Miranda turned to her friend, “They locked you up here, just like me! You should have killed them! Now we’re both at their mercy!”
Liz scowled, she was not in the mood for Miranda’s crap, “I’m not at their mercy!” she snapped back, “Unlike you, I’m keeping all my memories!”
“What?!”
“They’re gonna compel you to forget about them, but they’re just going to compel me not to tell anyone that doesn’t already know about them.”
“How can you be okay with this?!” Miranda shook her head in horror, it was like she didn’t even know her best friend anymore, “They’re monsters!”
“They saved Caroline when Logan kidnapped her! Enzo saved Maya, when your daughter nearly murdered her!”
“Elena didn’t do anything! Stop saying that! It was an accident!”
“THAT SHE CAUSED!”
/ / /
“Oh boy,” Enzo winced at the volume of the women’s argument, “Maybe we should put Liz upstairs, keep her away from Miranda.”
“Nah,” Damon shook his head, “Let ‘em argue, with all these secrets being revealed, you don’t have to be a genius to see that Liz is eventually gonna blow. At least this way it’s nowhere near us.”
Stefan walked into the Boarding House, brows furrowed as his Vampire hearing picked up the sounds of two women fighting, “What’s going on?” he asked his brother.
“The Sheriff and Elena’s mom found out that we’re Vampires, now they’re locked in the basement while we wait for the vervain to leave their system so that we can compel them!” Damon replied cheerfully.
“WHAT?!”
“You heard me.” the elder Salvatore shrugged.
“Damon you can’t just lock people up whenever you feel like it!”
“Well if you wanna let your girlfriend’s mom go so that she runs off and tells the council all about us, that’s on you. But Liz agreed to be here, so do what you want Stef!”
Stefan scowled and rushed downstairs, he had to make sure that Elena’s mother was ok.
“Elena, we need to talk,” Stefan said, as she let him in the house.
“What is it?” she asked.
“It’s your mother…” he started.
“What about her?”
“She knows that Enzo, Damon and I are Vampires,” he sighed.
“What? What are you talking about? How did she find out?”
“I’m not sure, but she told the Sheriff, and she sent her to go and kill Enzo.”
“Oh my god! Where is she?” Elena realised that she hadn’t seen her mother since the morning.
“She’s locked up in the cellar at the Boarding House.”
“WHAT?! What the hell Stefan!”
Stefan held up his hands trying to placate her, “Damon locked her up, he’s waiting for the vervain to leave her system and then he’s going to compel her to forget about us being Vampires.”
“I want to see her!”
“Elena-”
“Now Stefan!”
/ / /
Caroline brought two bags full off stuff for her mother, “Mom!” she said, widening her eyes at cell, “Seriously Damon! Do you have to keep her in this thing?!”
Liz’s eyes widened, she couldn’t believe that her daughter was being so reckless as to argue with a Vampire. “Caroline-”
“No Mom! It’s not okay!” she glared over at Damon, “Take her upstairs! Now!” she demanded.
“Ugh Caroline!” Damon groaned, “If I do that then someone needs to be in the house all day until she can be compelled.”
“So hang around the house for three days,” she cocked an eyebrow at him, “It’s not like you have job.”
“I don’t like the tone you’re using with me,” Damon said.
“And I don’t like the fact that you have my mother locked up in a cell!”
“Fair enough,” Damon acquiesced, “Fine, as long as she promises not to try and escape, you can go pick out a room for her." He motioned upstairs and Caroline smirked.
“Great! Let her out will you.” She flounced off upstairs as Liz stared at her, her jaw practically on the floor.
Damon rolled his eyes and walked over to the cell, “You-you just let her talk to you like that?” Liz asked, she knew what her daughter was like, but she couldn’t believe that she felt comfortable enough around Damon to speak to him like that, especially when he could rip out their throats in a heartbeat.
Damon shrugged, “She’s Caroline, what am I gonna do?” he let her out, and gestured for her to follow him, “Come on, if I know Barbie, and I do, she’s picked the room on the third floor, on the west side of the house, it gets great sun.”
/ / /
Elena had Stefan bring her over to the Boarding House immediately, she needed to see for herself what was going on, see if she could convince Damon to let her mother go, and convince her mother to not tell anyone about Damon and Stefan. Her mom couldn’t be missing for three days, what would she tell Jeremy? “Mom!” she gasped as she saw her locked in a cell, “Damon!” she snapped at the older Vampire, who’d come back downstairs the moment he heard the Gilbert girl enter the house. “Let her out!”
“No,” Damon replied bluntly, in no mood to be delicate about it, and certainly in no mood to be spoken to like that, by someone who didn’t even know him.
“Damon!” She almost stomped her foot, “You can’t just keep her here!”
“Elena-” Stefan tried to cut in but Damon didn’t let him get out a sentence.
“I can, I will, and you can’t stop me.”
Elena let out a sound of frustration and pushed passed him, she reached for the door, but Damon snatched her hand away from the lock and twisted her arm, “Aah!”
“Damon!” Stefan snarled, he lunged for his brother but Enzo was down the stairs in an instant holding the older, yet weaker Vampire back.
“Don’t even think about it,” Enzo growled.
“Elena!” Miranda exclaimed in fright.
Damon snatched Elena’s necklace off, ignoring the burning in his hand his eyes narrowed in preparation to compel her.
“Damon no!” Stefan struggled against Enzo’s grip.
“You are not going to go anywhere near the cell door, you are not going to try to help your mother escape, you are not going to tell anyone about where she is.” He pulled back and let the compulsion settle in and she stumbled away from him in shock. Damon stalked over to his brother, shoved the necklace at him, and leant in close, “The next time she gets in my way, I’m gonna compel her. To. Forget. All. About. You.” He left the room and Enzo sped after him.
Damon sighed as he reached the top of the stairs and looked over at his lover, “I need a vacation.”
“You certainly do,” Enzo agreed.
/ / /
The moment Enzo let him go, Stefan took a shaking Elena into his arms, holding her close, it had been a long time since he felt fear like that, he was just glad Damon hadn’t chosen in that moment to do something worse. “Stefan!” she gasped, gripping him tightly.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I’m so sorry Elena.”
“Let her out Stefan.” Elena said, “Please!”
Stefan looked at the cell door, and the woman trapped behind it, he knew that his brother was right, Miranda clearly wouldn’t let go of the fact that they were Vampires, “I can’t,” he said, he knew that even if he didn’t believe that his brother was right, Damon would stop him the moment he tried to let Miranda out.
“Stefan!”
“I’m sorry Elena, I told you, as long as I feed on animals and not humans I will always be weaker than him! If I try to let her go, he’ll stop me, you saw it for yourself.
/ / /
Maya burst into Jeremy’s room with a grin, she was undeniably happy that her Aunt was locked up in the Salvatore basement, (it served her right, trying to kill Enzo by sending Liz to do her dirty work). “Jer Bear!” she said, “You’re Mom’s locked up in the Boarding House basement!”
“What?!” Jeremy exclaimed jumping up from his desk, “What are you talking about?”
Maya sighed and dropped onto his bed, “Your Mom found out that Enzo was a Vampire, and sent Aunt Liz to go and kill him.”
“WHAT?!” Jeremy’s eyes widened, he knew that when it came to Enzo, Maya didn’t play around, she wouldn’t let anyone hurt him, not even Damon, and she loved Damon. So the fact that his Mother had even attempted to try to kill Enzo, he had the feeling that the only reason that she was still alive was because of him. If Maya didn’t love him, then she would have killed his Mom, he knew that, deep in his gut.
“Yeah,” Maya nodded, “So she’s locked up for the next three days, the vervain will be out of her system then she'll be compelled to forget all about them being Vampires.”
“But-”
“Relax,” she waved him off, “She’s your Mom, they won’t hurt her.”
“Are you sure?” he asked sceptically.
“Of course I am,” Maya said, “As long as she doesn’t know that they’re Vampires, she’s not a threat. And if she’s not a threat, the guys won’t hurt her.”
Jeremy winced a little at the pragmatic way that Maya described her thought process, something had changed with his cousin recently, he didn’t now what it was, but she was different. She’d always had a degree of separation, when it came to anyone she didn’t care about, but this was something else, now she was almost…cold. Jeremy didn’t know what had happened to his favourite cousin, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
/ / /
Elena sat in the parlour in the Boarding House, curled into Stefan’s chest, she couldn’t believe that Damon had compelled her. Whenever she'd interacted with the elder Salvatore, she’d always counted on Stefan being able to protect her, she hadn’t really understood it when Stefan said that he was weaker than Damon, she’d thought he’d only meant weaker by a fraction. But Damon was terrifying, and clearly, anyone he didn’t care about, meant next to nothing to him. “Stefan, I can’t trust my Mom here alone with Damon,” she said.
“She won’t be alone,” Stefan replied, “I’ll stay here the whole time, I won’t leave for a second.”
Elena shook her head, “And if Damon does something? How are you going to stop him?”
Stefan paused at that, he never wanted Elena to see how strong Damon was compared to him, but now that she had, she was scared, “I think we’re going to have to go to Maya.”
“What?” she asked shocked.
“Hear me out,” he pulled back, “Maya loves Jeremy, we’ve both seen that she’s willing to set aside her differences with you in order to keep him safe. She can help protect your Mom, for Jeremy’s sake.”
Elena faltered, she didn’t like her cousin, she didn’t trust her cousin, but she knew that Maya adored Jeremy, she didn’t want to have to, but she’d suck it up and talk to her so that her Mom was safe.
Jenna sighed as she came home in the morning from Alaric’s apartment, she’d headed upstairs straight away, Alaric was a nice enough guy, they’d been dating for almost two months now, but she still had yet to bring him home with her, and it wasn’t because her house was supernatural central. Alaric was smart, and kind of funny, he could hold his liquor…but there was something missing between them. It wasn’t even that she was keeping secrets from him, because she knew that he was keeping secrets from her, she understood why. It was just…the spark that she’d felt for him had fizzled, and maybe she could bring it back, if she threw herself into their relationship…but did she really want to? Did she want to lose herself in a relationship with just a regular old History Teacher? Did she want to spend the rest of her life in the small town of Mystic Falls? No. She most certainly did not.
Jenna knew that her daughter had no plans of sticking around town for long after she graduated high school. Maya had a future that was embroiled with the supernatural, a plan that was 6000 years in the making, and a freaking Viking waiting on her to spend eternity with. Up until recently, when Maya talked about Klaus, she had a light in her eyes, and an excitement in her tone that told Jenna everything she needed to know about her daughter’s future. And damn it! Jenna wanted that for herself too! She had given everything to ensure that her daughter had the best childhood possible, and that was no easy feat for a 17 year old, for a single mother, in a small town, that still believed that getting a divorce was a scandal. Jenna had endured the slut shaming, the stares, the glares, the laughter at her expense. And she endured it, because she loved her daughter, and wasn’t going to let a town full of small minded people ruin Maya’s childhood. But Maya was 18 in less than a year, she already had a successful business up and running, more than one property in her name, Maya was going to get to do everything she ever wanted in her life, of that she was sure. So Jenna wasn’t going to settle for 'okay', she wanted more, she was going to get it. And she was going to start by breaking up with Alaric.
Maya walked into Damon’s place in the afternoon, bringing a litany of baked goods with her, she knew that Liz was not comfortable in the Boarding House, she needed time to be away from the Vampires in her life so that she could get used to them, but for the next two days, she couldn’t. Caroline was staying with her Mom in the west wing of the Boarding House, and Maya had come over to keep them company, (also so that Liz felt a little more protected). “Honey, I’m home!” she called, causing Damon to whoosh downstairs.
“Mmm, I smell goodies,” he practically sang.
“No!” Maya yanked them away from him, “These are not for big bad Vampires.”
“Oh come on!” he complained, following her upstairs.
She walked into Liz’s room, causing the two blonde occupants to direct their attention to her, “I said no Damon!”
He rolled his eyes and reached for them anyway, but yanked his hand back as he was shocked, “Hey!” he protested, “You’re mean, you know that?!” Damon spun on his heel and marched out of the room, pouting.
Liz watched the exchange with wide eyes, originally feeling alarmed, but then realising that not only could Maya protect herself, she could protect others, and she wasn’t shy about using her abilities. “Hi Aunt Liz, Sunshine!” Maya smiled, “I brought presents!” she presented them with the baked goods, which had Caroline immediately grabbing for them.
“My favourite!” Caroline smiled.
/ / /
Elena walked into the Boarding House, cautiously, no longer like she owned the place “Stefan?” she called hesitantly, and the younger Salvatore was in front of her in an instant.
“Elena, what are you doing? Damon’s still here.” With her new found fear of Damon, they’d agreed that she would only come over when he wasn’t there.
“I know,” she replied softly, “I have to talk to you.”
“What is it?”
She glanced around, “Can we talk somewhere…more private?”
Stefan whooshed them to his room, knowing that Elena would prefer to spend very little time in the communal areas of the house. “Okay, what did you want to talk about?”
“What exactly is Damon going to compel my Mom to forget?” she asked.
Stefan frowned, “The fact that we’re Vampires, any suspicions she’s had about us. And she’ll forget her time here.”
“So she’s not going to remember anything that’s happened here?”
Stefan shook his head, “No, I imagine that Damon will make her believe that she was sick and spent the last three days in bed. Elena, what’s going on?”
Elena sighed, “We’ve been looking for information on my adoptive parents, and so far we’ve come up with nothing. I’m gonna ask Mom about them.”
“And if she doesn’t tell you?”
She looked up at him with her big doe eyes, innocent and pleading, “I was hoping that you could help me.”
“Elena,” Stefan shook his head, “My compulsion is weak, it won’t stick.”
“It doesn’t need to,” she insisted, “You said Damon’s going to make her forget. I just want to know where I come from Stefan, why I look like Katherine, I need to know Stefan. Please.”
Two days later, Liz and Miranda were released from the Boarding House, fresh compulsion locked in both of their minds. Maya, Jenna, Damon and Enzo were packing for their upcoming trip to Greece, at Maya’s request they were headed to the coastal city of Kavala. What they didn’t know however, was why she’d picked that particular location. It was in that city, 800 years ago, that Maya had lived as a part of the Gemini Coven, lived in peace with the woman that she loved, Cassandra, the Siphon turned Heretic. Her memories of that time were mostly peaceful, right up until the Trinity had arrived and ruined everything. But that wasn’t the main reason why she was going, the moment she’d seen the name of the city, she’d felt a pull towards it. The last time she felt that pull, she’d ended up at one of the places where the veil between life and death was at its weakest. She believed that meant there was another veil there, she could see Death again, and she was desperate for an audience with her creator.
/ / /
Jenna had one thing left to do before the four of them left for the airport in the morning, and that was to break up with Alaric, maybe it wasn’t the greatest idea to break up with him before Christmas, but she didn’t want to leave him hanging over the holiday. “Thanks for meeting me,” she said as Alaric took a seat opposite her at the Grill.
“No problem Jenna,” Alaric smiled, “What did you want to talk about?”
“Ric I uh- I don’t want to beat around the bush, I don’t think that we’re working out.”
Alaric’s smile dropped when he realised what he was there for, she was breaking up with him, why? What had he done wrong? He thought that they were having a great time together. “What do you mean? We’ve been having fun together.” He reached for her hand but she pulled away from him.
She sighed, “I know it’s only been a few months, but, to be honest, I don’t see a future for us.”
Alaric shook his head, “What are you- I don’t-”
“When you think about the future, where do you see yourself?” she asked, trying for another angle.
“I dunno, married, a couple kids, tenure…I- I don’t know what you expect me to say.”
“Alaric, I had Maya when I was seventeen, I had to grow up really fast, and now that she’s old enough to take care of herself, I want to focus on me, have fun, and more kids, settling down, that’s not what I want. I deserve to have the life that I want, and so do you. I can’t give you the life that you want. I’m sorry.” She stood at that, she always hated breakups, but she didn’t want to drag things out, and there was no point wasting Alaric’s time. Her daughter had a literal eternity ahead of her, and Jenna, she didn’t know what her future looked like, she had more options than the average person, and she wanted to explore all of it. “Goodbye Alaric.” She left the Grill quickly after that, she didn’t have much time left before they needed to head to the airport, and she still had to finish packing.
Elijah had just slaughtered a bevy of Vampires and compelled humans that had targeted a family of five, three women and two men. Elijah had been tracking the members of the Malraux pack, every lead he had, had ended up at a dead end. Until now. These five were supposedly the last members of the Malraux pack in existence, but they didn’t appear to know it, they couldn’t fight back against the Vampires that were attacking them, they had no enhanced strength or senses. They were untriggered.
Elijah knocked the head off of one of the Vampires that had tried to attack him from behind, distracting him from the untriggered Werewolves plight. A compelled human had landed on top of one of the women. She cried out, scrabbled for a rock, and used it to hit her attacker in the head, killing him instantly. Elijah killed the last of the Vampires and made his way over to the battered and bloody group. The men stepped in front of the women in an effort to protect them, holding onto their ribs, panting heavily, there was no way that they would be able to stand for much longer.
“Who the hell are you?” one of the men managed to gasp.
Elijah dismissed the man, eyeing the woman who had just made her first kill, the next full moon wasn’t for another few weeks, which meant that she had time to adjust to her new reality, but he could tell that even with recent events, they would be hard to convince. “What’s your name?” Elijah asked the woman.
The woman narrowed her eyes, already starting to feel a little better, so she stood up straighter, “Keelin.”
“Well Keelin, your family and I have much to discuss.” He made to move in closer when his phone made a sound, indicating a new message. The noble Original pulled out the device and was met with a text message consisting of three lines, a time, a date, and a location.
It was the 14th December when the Sommers household (Jenna, Maya, Enzo and Damon) arrived at a beautiful coastal villa in Greece. Jenna looked around in wonder, dropping her suitcase on the floor, “Forget L.A, let’s move here!” she said, causing her daughter to laugh.
“It is beautiful,” Damon admitted, “Good choice Sabrina.”
Enzo was admiring the view, it turned out that winter in Greece was just as beautiful as the summer. He’d closed his eyes, taking in the fresh sea air, feeling Damon join him at his side, “Do you think, after we’re done with Mystic Falls, we could settle somewhere like this for a while?” he asked.
Damon looked over at his lover, “We can go wherever you want,” he said, he would do whatever he could to make up his past sins to Enzo, and if the younger Vampire wanted to spend his time unwinding in a Mediterranean country, then so be it.
Enzo smiled, and leant in for a kiss, Damon responding in kind, things getting quickly heated, “Hey, hey, hey!” Jenna snapped her fingers, causing the two to pull apart, “You know the rules! Anything above PG-13 is to be done strictly in your room!” Maya shot the two of them a smirk which turned into a startled expression as her mother rounded on her, “And you! Absolutely no activities that could be classed as over PG-13! Are we clear?!”
/ / /
It was the evening when Jenna went out into the old town of Kavala, Panagia, she was meeting someone for dinner, and she was dressed to impress, in an elegant, yet sexy, navy blue cocktail dress, her hair in a stylish updo, with silver dangly earrings, and a sparkling clutch. She smiled as she was guided towards a table on the patio of the restaurant, and Elijah stood to meet her. “Hello Elijah.”
“Jenna,” Elijah said, taking her hand, and leading her to her seat, “I must say, you look ravishing.”
Jenna fought a blush, “Your lines don’t work on me Elijah.”
“Ah, but it’s not a line, you are, in a word, stunning.” His eyes darkened as he took her in across from him, and she looked away, fighting a grin.
“Keep it up Elijah, I’m not sleeping with you.”
Elijah shrugged, “Good, I don’t plan on getting any sleeping done tonight.”
That finally caused Jenna to let out a peel of laughter and Elijah joined, “It’s hard to believe, but you are getting smoother!”
“You bring it out of me,” he smirked, settling back into his chair, “You know, I thought you said that you were not going to go on vacation with me.”
“I’m not on vacation with you, we just happen to be in the same city, halfway across the world,” she shrugged.
/ / /
Maya was walking the streets of Panagia by herself, a hot chocolate in one hand, just admiring the architecture of the old town. Not wanting to ruin their romantic evening, she’d elected to give Enzo and Damon time to themselves at the villa. As she traversed the streets, she wondered what her mother was getting up to, she’d rushed out of the villa, dressed to the nines that night, it was perplexing to say the least. They didn’t know anyone in Greece, so she couldn’t have been meeting anyone. Sighing, she turned the corner and dropped her hot chocolate in shock, as she stared at two people across from her, enjoying dinner together. She slowly walked over to them standing just in front of them, waiting to be acknowledged.
Elijah looked up the moment that he sensed another presence nearby, eyes narrowing as he took in Niklaus’s Witch. Jenna followed his line of sight the moment that she realised that his attention had diverted from their conversation. Her eyes widened, “Maya!”
“WHAT THE FUCK?!”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they really help to inspire me!
Chapter 52: Travellers
Notes:
Thank you so much for all of the comments and kudos! I know I haven't had the chance to reply to them all this time, but I hope this chapter makes up for it!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The restaurant had been cleared out, and Elijah, Jenna and Maya had moved inside, Jenna and Elijah were standing together, while Maya was pacing in front of them. Jenna tried to speak, “Ma-”
“Ah!” Maya held out her hand to stop her.
“Bu-”
“Gah!”
“Really just-”
“Ah, ah, ah!”
Maya put up a wall of silence between them and her. “I can’t believe this!” she muttered to herself, hands running through her hair, “How did this happen?” she covered her face as she tried to process what she’d just seen. Her mother and Elijah, Elijah of all people, together. “How is this happening? Why is this happening?” She paced in front of them some more, “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!”
/ / /
Jenna looked over at Elijah, “Can you hear what she’s saying?” she asked.
“No,” Elijah shook his head with a frown.
“Oh my God, she soundproofed me!” Jenna’s eyes widened, “She is so grounded!”
“Jenna,” Elijah started, “Am I right in thinking that…she is your daughter?”
“Yes,” Jenna said, giving him the side eye and watching his reaction, it was miniscule, but it was there, the slightest tightening of his jaw, and furrow of his brow. “You know who she is…” Jenna realised. “How do you know who she is? Why do you know who she is? She’s freaking out,” Jenna pointed at Maya, “Why is freaking out? Does she have reason to freak out? Should I be freaking out? What is going on?!” she let out rapid fire questions and Elijah’s eyes widened, he’d never seen her so flustered.
“She is…someone I am…aware of…” he said, unsure of exactly how much Jenna knew about her daughter’s affairs.
Jenna narrowed her eyes, “What do you know Elijah? Who are you, Elijah?” she moved closer to him, “Pretend like you’re talking to someone who knows everything… in fact, don’t pretend.”
“My name, is Elijah Mikaelson.”
“Mikaelson,” Jenna repeated, “Mikaelson,” she paused, “I know that name, why do I know that nam- Oh my God!” she took a step back from him, “You’re Klaus’s brother?!”
Elijah nodded heavily, he had hoped that Jenna knew nothing of his brother, nothing of his family, it was nice to just be 'Elijah' for once, and not The Noble Original. “Yes.”
“Oh my God! Oh my God! I’ve been sleeping with an Original!” she hissed, “No wonder Maya’s freaking out! I should be freaking out! Oh my God! I slept with Klaus’s brother! Oh my God! Oh my God! Elijah you’re like a thousand!” she was officially freaking out, her hands rushed to her hair, just like Maya’s had.
“Jenna-” This was certainly not the reaction he was expecting.
“Oh my God! Damon’s never gonna let me live this down!” her hands went to her mouth, “Oh God! Kol is never gonna let me live this down!”
Elijah raised an eyebrow, she knew his youngest brother too?
“You’re an Original Elijah! How could you not tell me that you’re an Original?!” she hissed.
“Jenna you wouldn’t even tell me your last name!”
“Don’t you turn this around on me Mister! You’re a thousand years old! How do you not tell a girl that you’re sleeping with that you’re a Vampire?!”
“Jenna I cannot just tell any woman that I sleep with that I am a Vampire, we are meant to be a secret.” She was being ridiculous, he knew it, and she knew it, but she was…panicking.
/ / /
Maya had to sit down, she needed to calm down before she started hyperventilating, what was she going to do? How could she possibly handle this? She had no idea how to deal with this situation, she never thought her mother’s sex life would have to be something that caused her worry, but now it had. Pulling out her phone, there was only one person she could talk to about this, even if she wasn’t ready to see him, he was the only one who could possibly understand what she was going through right now.
/ / /
Klaus looked at his phone in alarm as he saw Maya’s name pop up, he didn’t think that she’d want to speak to him so soon, something must have happened. He answered the call and her face popped up on the screen, “Maya-”
“Your brother is sleeping with my mother!” she cut him off.
“Kol?” Klaus asked, he was sure his brother had a thing for darling Caroline, but it didn’t surprise him, Kol was a bit of a womaniser. He picked up his bourbon and took a sip.
Maya shook her head, “No, Elijah!”
Klaus choked on his drink, “WHAT?!”
/ / /
“Family members making questionable sexual decisions is so not in my wheelhouse!” she said, she turned off the silencing barrier, and thrust the phone towards Elijah, “You talk to him.”
Elijah looked shocked as he saw his brother’s angry visage coming straight at him on the phone screen, he automatically took the phone from Maya’s hand, and she waved her hand to create a new silencing barrier between Elijah and her and her mother.
“Mom! What were you thinking?!”
“I didn’t know that he was an Original!”
“How could you not?!”
“I didn’t know his last name!” Jenna snapped back.
“Mom!” Maya exclaimed in shock, “What were you thinking? Do you know how dangerous that is?!”
“You have literally been flirting with the monster that monsters fear for years! You do not get to lecture me on dangerous!”
“At least I know who Nik is! How long have you known Elijah?!”
“Uh…”
“What?” Maya asked, shooting her mother a look, she got the feeling that she wasn’t going to like the answer.
“I met him… just after you turned 15…”
“TWO YEARS!” Maya yelled, “YOU’VE KNOWN ELIJAH FOR TWO YEARS AND YOU NEVER EXCHANGED LAST NAMES!”
“Okay,” Jenna winced at the volume, “I have to admit, that does sound bad…”
/ / /
“What the bloody hell is going on Elijah?”
“Niklaus,” Elijah sighed.
“No! Don’t you ‘Niklaus’ me! You’re sleeping with my- my…Maya’s mother! How did you even meet?!”
“We met in New York,” Elijah replied.
Klaus paused, the only time he could think of when Jenna and Elijah had been in New York at the same time was two years ago, when he and Maya met for the first time in person. “Two years ago?! You’ve been sleeping with her for two years!” How did he not know this? He made a point to know exactly what his siblings were up to, but he knew nothing off this!
“Don’t be ridiculous Niklaus,” he swept imaginary lint off of his suit, “If we’d been together for the last two years then I’d at least know her last name.”
“You don’t know her last name?! It’s like I’m speaking to Kol!”
“You take that back!” Elijah replied affronted.
“No! What the hell Elijah?!”
Elijah couldn’t explain it, but he found it refreshing that he didn’t have to be on his guard with Jenna, she was beautiful, and vibrant, and so easy-going that she made him feel alive again. And it didn’t escape his notice that Klaus had stumbled over explaining who Maya was to him. “I…didn’t need to know her last name.”
Klaus gave Elijah a look that he usually saved for Kol, “Oh because god forbid you get to know a woman before you bed her!”
Elijah furrowed his brow, “Oh when was the last time you got to know someone before you bed them?! And I didn’t just ‘bed’ her, we were on a date!”
/ / /
“You know of all the people that I have to worry about, I didn’t think that I would have to worry about you sleeping with an Original.” Maya paced.
“Considering everything you have going on with Klaus, you’re being very hypocritical.” Jenna replied, getting a little miffed that she was being told off by her daughter.
“Do as I say, not as I do!”
“Hey! I’m the mother here! You can’t use that against me!”
“I can when you’re being reckless! Do you know how many of Elijah’s girlfriends Nik has killed? Almost all of them! I don’t want you on the kill list!”
“I’m not gonna be on the kill list,” Jenna snapped back, “Klaus won’t touch me.”
“And what makes you think that?!” Maya threw her hands up in the air.
“Because he promised you he would never hurt me, remember?”
Maya paused at that, he had promised that he would never kill her mother, he’d promised to put her under his protection, “You’re right…he’s not gonna hurt you. In fact, you’re probably the only person in the world that Elijah could date without worrying that Nik’ll do something untoward.” She looked over at her mother’s satisfied expression, “But that doesn’t mean that you should date him!” she rushed out.
“Well it’s a good thing that you don’t control what I can and can’t do.”
“Come on Mom! Can’t you just…not have sex with Elijah?”
“Nope,” Jenna shook her head, “He’s amazing in the sack.”
“Ahh!” Maya covered her ears, “I can’t know that!”
Jenna snickered at her daughter, “Then I guess we shouldn’t talk about it anymore.”
“Oh you don’t have to look so smug about it!”
“I know, but it’s fun,” Jenna shrugged.
Maya groaned, she wasn’t going to be able to stop this, how could this happen? In her visions, Jenna and Elijah barely interacted, but apparently in this world, they had more in common than she thought. She couldn’t figure this out, her mother was fun and reckless, and Elijah was just so…so…Elijah! Maya’s eyes widened in realisation that now that they both knew who the other was, they would probably share more information, “You can’t tell him where we live!” she exclaimed.
“Wha-What?” Jenna asked, she wasn’t really expecting that response from her daughter. “What do you mean I can’t tell him where we live?”
“If he knows where we live, he’ll come, and he’ll ruin something that Nik and I have been planning for years!”
“What are you talking about?” Jenna asked, what were she and Klaus planning together? What did it have to do with their home?
“I can’t really…tell you.” Maya hedged, the only person outside of Nik’s circle that knew about the curse was Caroline, and that was because she couldn’t keep things from her best friend for long.
“Maya!”
“I can’t! It’s Nik’s secret! If he wants you to know he’ll tell you. I can’t take the chance that Elijah ruins this for him. Because while the Originals have a far from healthy relationship, Nik had been doing really well with not daggering any of them!”
“Oh my God, do you even hear yourself, you’re praising your boyfriend for not stabbing his siblings in the heart!” Jenna threw her hands up in exasperation.
“I am, because for him it’s serious progress! And if Elijah ruins this, even by accident, Nik will definitely dagger him…Oh my God!”
/ / /
Maya rushed over to Elijah’s side of the room, and into the silencing bubble she’d put around him, she walked up to him and quickly took the phone from his hands, “Nik! No daggering!”
“What am I supposed to do then?! You told me to deal with it!”
“Not by daggering!”
Elijah raised an eyebrow in surprise, from the way that she’d… reacted to him and Jenna, he was sure that she probably would have appreciated a dagger being shoved in his chest, and yet she was advocating for it not to be. “That is literally the only thing that works!” Klaus protested.
“Ugh,” Maya shot him an annoyed look, “I’ll do it myself then!” she hung up on him and looked up at Elijah. “I don’t like whatever you have going on with my mother,” she started, before taking a breath and steeling herself, “But she’s a grown woman, who can make her own choices. That being said,” her eyes and hair turned black, her skin paling, “If you do anything, and I do mean, anything, to hurt her, I will desiccate you, and throw you into a volcano.” She changed back to normal, spun on her heel, and in one move, brought down the silencing barrier and grabbed her mother, dragging her away. Just because she couldn’t stop her mom from seeing Elijah permanently, didn’t mean that she couldn’t stop it now.
“Wh-Hey!” Jenna exclaimed as her daughter dragged her out of the restaurant, “Ugh, bye Elijah!” she said, and then, just to piss Maya off, “Call me!”
Elijah was back in the hotel that he’d booked for his stay in Greece, Klaus had called him twice so far but he had ignored his brother, in no mood to be yelled at for something that he had no control over. How was he supposed to know that Jenna was Maya’s mother? They’d agreed early on to keep their lives to themselves, Jenna never told him the names of her friends and family, and he’d been the same. She was his escape from the blood, pain, and regrets surrounding his family, it had been so long since he’d had someone that he felt like he could be himself with. Jenna made him smile, made him laugh, she made him forget, just for a little while, about all the darkness in his life.
He had believed that she was just an average person, but she wasn’t, her daughter was a Witch, a powerful one at that, one so intertwined with the supernatural world that she was his brother’s personal Witch. A Witch that had exposed his family’s deepest darkest secrets to his brother, causing quite possibly irreparable damage to the Mikaelsons, and yet his brother kept her by his side.
And then there was Jenna, she knew Klaus, she knew Kol, she knew his family, but she didn’t know him, what was he meant to do? Should he call her? Should he stop what they were doing? There was no doubt that Klaus was unhappy with this development, if his now six missed calls and 12 text messages indicated. Was he putting Jenna in danger of his family just by being with her? It felt like Niklaus was angrier with him for getting involved with someone close to his Witch, and not actually angry with him for getting involved with someone. Usually Niklaus would have killed off his lover, citing that they were a distraction, they were a weakness, yet he had the feeling that if his brother did do something, it would be to him, and not to the very human woman that he’d been seeing.
Elijah didn’t know what to do, but he’d always valued intelligence, he needed more information and he’d get it, not from his brothers, or Jenna, but from the source.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Damon held up his hands, as he trailed after Jenna, who was most certainly trying to get away from the elder Salvatore’s mocking tone, “You’ve been sleeping with Elijah Mikaelson, Elijah Mikaelson, for two years, and you didn’t even know?!”
“Shut up Damon!”
“No but seriously Jenna, how did you not know that he was a Vampire?!” Enzo asked incredulously, “Did you not question it when he bit you?”
“He never bit me!” she exclaimed.
“Hold up,” Damon cut in, “What do you mean he never bit you? I mean sure not biting a girl on the first night, but when Vampires have sex, we bite.”
“Yeah,” Enzo said suspiciously, “Sex and blood kind of go hand in hand, I mean, sex is fun, you relax into it, and lose control. If he didn’t bite you, he had to have been totally in his own head.”
Jenna stopped short, “Are you trying to imply that Elijah wasn’t having fun, when we slept together?”
“Uh…”
“Are you trying to say that I’m not amazing in bed?! Because you only wish that you could be with someone as phenomenal as I am!” she spun on her heel and stormed out.
Enzo and Damon snickered as they watched her leave, “Oh my God that was so much fun!” Enzo said.
“I know! I wonder if Kol knows,” Enzo mused.
Damon mock gasped, “I’m gonna call him!”
“What? No! I’m calling him!” Enzo snatched the phone out of Damon’s hands and whooshed out of the room, with Damon hot on his heels.
“Get back here!”
Maya managed to keep Jenna inside the Villa for two days, before the older woman remembered that she was the mother, and no matter what her kid said, she could do whatever she wanted. Luckily for Maya though, when Jenna left the Villa for the first time since the 'Elijah bombshell', she took Enzo and Damon with her. And to Maya, that meant that Jenna wasn’t sneaking off to meet said Original, it also meant that she was free to fulfil a promise that she’d made to someone years ago.
The Siphon took out a map of the city and a vial of Elena’s blood that she’d stolen while her cousin was sleeping, she dripped some of the blood over her location on the map, her eyes turned black and she chanted in a language previously unknown to her, but thanks to Mother Nature’s meddling, a wealth of knowledge had been revealed. Including the magic she'd used when she was once Nature’s favourite. “Invenies primam huius sanguinis, invenies primam huius sanguinis, invenies primam huius sanguinis.” As she chanted, the blood on the map began to move, slowly but surely, it found its place in the highest point of the city, the Pangaion Hills, about 40 minutes away from where she currently was. It was a good thing that the Vampires had rented two cars for the family, Maya grabbed the keys, and a backpack, filled with supplies and headed out of the Villa.
About 45 minutes later, she arrived at the base of Mount Pangaio, getting out of the car, Maya slowly expanded her senses, there was a layer of magic surrounding the mountain, dark, twisted, unlike anything she’d ever tasted before, and it was growing, slowly but surely. “This is definitely the right place,” she muttered.
“The right place for what?” Elijah asked.
Maya spun around in shock, “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I did debate going to spend some time with your mother while you were away, but then I thought that you and I haven’t yet had the chance to talk.”
Maya narrowed her eyes, “We don’t have anything to talk about,” she turned back to the mountain, “You should leave.” She headed towards a path to the East.
“I believe we have plenty to talk about,” Elijah followed after her, “You know, if you wish to reach the summit, then I could have us up there in a second.”
Maya sighed in annoyance, “I have nothing more to say to you, now go away! I’m very busy.”
“You seemed so cavalier two days ago,” Elijah continued to follow her, “Threatening an Original.” There wasn’t a hint of fear from her when she threatened to desiccate him and throw him into a volcano, “Even now, you turn your back on me, as though I am no threat to you. I know of no one else that would do such a thing.” Elijah was curious, he’d seen snippets of how she interacted with his brother, seen how she spoke to him, without fear of retribution. He’d even felt how she could deal with Originals, she’d frozen both he and Rebekah in place for thirty minutes before they were free.
“Yeah well, I have something that others don’t.” She replied, resigning herself to having a companion.
“And what might that be?”
“The truth.”
Elijah eyed her with barely concealed curiosity, the truth, what truth was she referring to? What did she know that left her so confidant when dealing with beings of power greater than her own. “What truth?”
“I don’t think you could handle it,” she looked around, there were mountain huts near the peak, and that was where she felt her tracking spell was drawing her to.
“Try me,” Elijah said, as they left the path, and headed into the forest, honestly shocked at her hubris, her recklessness, here she was, alone with an Original, and she most certainly was not offering up the kind of respect that he was used to. It...irritated him, “And where are we going?”
“We aren’t going anywhere, I have business to attend to and you are following me, and if you really want the truth, you’re just gonna have to wait until Nik and Kol trust you enough to tell you.”
“You mean the truth about you being a seer?”
Maya stopped short at that, “Me being a what now?”
“Kol told me, he told me that you’d witnessed his death, showed it to him. I didn’t believe him at first, but then he told me of how you were the one to inform Niklaus of our family’s secrets.” He moved closer to her, she had shattered the fragile bond that they’d had as a family, and Klaus had chosen to stay by her side in spite of it.
Maya’s eyes hardened, “I wouldn’t have had to inform him of your misdeeds if your family decided, even once, to be healthy, open, and honest, but in a thousand years, all you do is lie to each other!”
“You know nothing of my family!”
“I KNOW EVERYTHING!” Maya yelled, “Every indiscretion, every betrayal! I know them all! But I’ve only ever told Nik what he needed to know.”
“And why do you get to be the one who decides what my brother needs to know?!” Elijah’s curiosity had turned to anger, she was a child, playing with forces far beyond her kin.
“BECAUSE I’M TRYING TO SAVE YOU ALL! You ungrateful prick! Mikael is dead, because of me! Your sister is safe, because of me! Nik is finally going to break a curse that has driven him to near insanity, because of me!” She waved her hand and Elijah was shoved backwards, “Who do you think is the reason that you and Rebekah have been investigating Lucien? Who do you think knew that a Werewolf venom that could kill an Original was even possible?! Me!” Elijah couldn’t move, rooted to his spot by the Siphon, “I sent you after Lucien before it could come into being, if I hadn’t, in a few short years your big brother Finn would be dead, and with him, his entire sireline.” She released him from her grip, “Let’s be honest here Elijah, did you really think that Aurora wouldn’t find him and tell him the truth one day? How do you think that would have gone?”
Elijah didn’t charge at her as was his initial plan, because she was right in that, Aurora was still alive, and eventually, she would make her way back to Niklaus, if not because she loved him, then because she wanted revenge, for what he did to her. “You broke my family.”
“Just because it’s broken, doesn’t mean that it can’t be fixed, look at Nik and Kol, did you ever think that their bond would have been repaired? That’s because of me too, and that’s not arrogance talking, that’s the truth, you can ask them yourself. I gave you all a clean slate, without me, you’d all still be in coffins.”
Freya and Kol had come to join Klaus in his study at the compound, they’d been finalising plans and were ready to tell Klaus all about them. “Why do you two look like that?” Klaus asked, they both had very suspicious looks on their faces.
“We’ve…made a discovery…about how to break the curse,” Freya said.
“And yet, you don’t look happy about that discovery.”
“Well, there are two extra ingredients that need to be used in the ritual, one of them is known…and the other…not so known…”
“What do you mean, not so known?” Klaus asked, not liking the way this was going.
“Well the first is Katerina, she’s a Vampire doppelgänger, and while her blood can’t be used like a human doppelgänger’s blood, we believe that her being a Vampire is actually fortunate for us, it can be used to combat Esther’s meddling,” Freya said.
“And the other thing?” Klaus asked, really disliking the fact that they were avoiding his question.
“The unknown ingredient, from what we’ve ascertained, is Death…”
“What?!”
Kol cut in, “Death is where we come from, mother drew from him, instead of Nature in order to create us, so we will need some of that same magic in order to break your curse permanently, and stop any failsafe’s mother has put in place. But the problem is, we don’t know how to get it.”
“You’re not suggesting that Maya be sacrificed?!” a glass tumbler smashing in his hand as he squeezed too hard.
“No!” Kol shook his head, “Maya’s a Siphon, with no magic of her own to speak of, the fact that she’s an Old Soul, doesn’t even register on the magical scale, which means that even if we wanted to use her, she won’t work. We need something else…the problem is, we’re not entirely sure of what that is.”
“Mother reached out to Death, all be it accidentally, but she did, and he answered, see if you can sister. Use Kol and I as connections, we’ve both been in his domain, see if you can speak with him.”
Maya marched away from Elijah, she didn’t have time for this, didn’t have time for his accusations, his questions, his anger, he needed to deal with his problems on his own time, not hers. She had work to do, and she wasn’t going to let the Noble Original derail her any longer. Elijah rushed after her, “Wait just a minute-”
Maya slapped her hand over his mouth and pushed him behind a set of trees as she sensed some of that dark and twisted magic moving in closer to her. “Quiet!” she hissed.
Seconds later, two, seemingly innocuous people appeared, “I thought I heard something,” one of the people said, “It was coming from over here.”
“Shit,” Maya muttered, she took her hand away from Elijah’s face, and grabbed his hand, “Invisique.”
Elijah glanced down at her, when he felt a sharp prick on his hand, but she gripped him tighter, he was distracted by the sight of the two people, right in front of him, in fact, one of the men was looking him directly in the eye, but it was as though he couldn’t see them.
“There’s no one here!” the man called, before heading back to his companion, “It must have been an animal.”
His partner didn’t look all that convinced but nodded, and the two of the left.
“They couldn’t see us,” Elijah said.
“Or hear us,” Maya confirmed, “As long as the spell is up, we’re completely invisible.”
“Just one question.”
“What?”
“Do we have to keep holding hands?”
Maya looked down at their joined hands and immediately let go, “The moment you move too far from me then you’ll be visible again. And I’m not coming after you, I have things to do, and I’m already way behind schedule.”
“What are you doing?” Elijah asked, he’d put his issues to the side for the moment, he wanted to know what she was doing out here in the middle of the forest, on the mountain side.
“I’m looking for something, very old, and very powerful, and it is being protected by a coven of zealots.”
“And you are out here on your own trying to steal from them? Don’t you think that you should have brought your friends with you?”
“Enzo and Damon are here on vacation, I’m not going to ruin that just because I have business to attend to. Besides, I told them that I was taking a break from magic.”
Elijah scoffed in amusement, “That’s working out well for you.”
“Normal is a setting on the dryer, I am not normal,” she shrugged. “Besides, I made a promise, and I intend to keep it.”
“Very well,” Elijah adjusted his cuffs, “What’s the plan?”
“Uh, what? You’re not-”
“You’re clearly about to enter a dangerous situation, and I do not think that Niklaus would be pleased to find that I left you alone to deal with it.”
“Well Niklaus doesn’t need to know,” she replied, “Just go.”
“I’m afraid that is something that I cannot do.”
“Ugh,” Maya rolled her eyes, she figured his noble nature would annoy her, “Fine! Just, don’t get in my way!”
/ / /
“Gabriel, there is someone out there,” a dark-haired man said, walking into the cabin.
“We don’t know that!” A blonde man said, coming in behind him, “We saw no one.”
“But I sensed them Ivan! Power! That is not our own!”
“Enough!” Gabriel said, “Oskar, gather the rest, if there is someone out there, we must protect the anchor!”
/ / /
Maya followed the pull of her tracking spell to a large cabin, deep in the forest, “It’s in there,” she said quietly.
“How can you be so sure?” Elijah asked.
“I did a tracking spell, plus, it’s where the highest concentration of magic is.”
“The coven that we’re stealing from, who are they?”
“The Travellers,” Maya said. “Ugh,” she shook of the feeling of wrongness that surrounded her.
“What is it?”
“Their magic, it’s dark, and twisted, it feels like I’m walking through a swamp.”
“And you came here alone?” Elijah reiterated.
“I’m not alone,” Maya shrugged, “You’re here, aren’t you?”
“I thought you didn’t want me here.”
“And you wouldn’t leave, so you might as well make yourself useful.”
Elijah rolled his eyes, there was something about her that reminded him so much of his brother, “Fine. What’s the plan?”
“I’m gonna go in, steal the relic right from under their noses, and then I’m gonna escape, leaving them none the wiser.”
“That’s it?” Elijah asked, “That’s the whole plan?”
“Pretty much,” she shrugged.
“That’s ridiculous,” he shook his head.
“Look when it comes to planning, I basically follow four rules,” she hissed as they moved in closer to the cabin, looking through the windows, “Damn it! I can’t see it!”
“What rules are those?” Elijah looked around, the cabin was only one floor, but Maya was certain that whatever it was she was searching for was here.
“It’s simple really. Make the plan. Execute the plan. Expect the plan to go of the rails. Throw away the plan.”
Elijah stopped what he was doing and stared at her, “That’s insane.”
“It’s worked so far.”
“Then where is this relic that you believe is here?”
She expanded her senses again, pushing through the murkiness of the dark magic in the air, and locked onto the ground, “It’s there.” She said, heading towards the spot that she was drawn to. She waved her hand, and revealed a hidden door in the ground.
“A cellar.”
“I told you it was here!”
“Perhaps you should leave the celebrating until you actually see it,” Elijah commented, he didn’t like this, she’d said that a coven of zealots was protecting what she was here for, but he couldn’t detect any of them. No scents, no heartbeats, nothing.
Maya used her magic to unlock the door, and they both went down the stairs.
/ / /
As the two of them headed downstairs, Maya felt her cloaking spell lift, “Shit!” she muttered, there must have been a barrier up to remove any foreign magic.
“What happened?” Elijah asked.
“My cloaking spell, Invisique.” She tried to get it back up, but it wouldn’t work, “There’s something blocking it.” In front of them was a room, with several hallways coming off of it, it was like they were in a secret underground base.
“Which means that we can be seen and heard.”
“I guess you actually get to make yourself useful," she sniped.
Elijah was walking ahead of her but he stopped, “If you have a problem with me, you should make it known.”
“I have plenty of problems with you!" she replied, she'd always wanted to confront Elijah for his part in making Nik who he was, "Starting with the fact that you helped your mother and father curse Nik!” she hissed.
Elijah clenched his jaw, had Niklaus told her? “You know.”
“I saw,” she said, taking his hand and showing him the very scene that she’d witnessed, Elijah holding Klaus down, while Mikael chained him. “I saw the pain in his eyes, the fear, and most of all the betrayal. He begged you for help, and you ignored him, worse, you helped Mikael! Do you even know what happens to a wolf that gets locked back up? It’s been tried several times, it drives the wolf insane, and then they die. Either by their own hand, or their pack’s. The only reason Nik is still coherent is his Vampire side! You did that to him Elijah!”
Elijah ripped his hand from hers, “I made a mistake!”
“You made a lot of those when you were human. Somehow, Nik was the one who suffered for them!” She walked away from him, down one of the hallways, “See if you can find anyone.” She whispered, leaving him standing there.
/ / /
Maya and Elijah separated and had searched most of the rooms underground. They had each come across a few Travelers and killed them with ease, alone Travelers weren’t much of a threat. They met up at the same time, at the entrance to one of the last rooms that needed to be searched.
“There are at least twelve people inside, this is most certainly a trap.”
“They’re Passengers, we kill the body, they return to their original body, which is far from here.” Maya had realised that with the first one she killed, she hadn't said to any of them what she was there for, hopefully, the Travelers that had returned to their bodies just believed that she was one of the many Witches that were hunting their kind.
“Then even if you get what you want, they will know you, and hunt you down.”
Maya searched her now expansive knowledge, and remembered what Finn had done to Kol, locked him in a body that wasn’t his own, so that when the body died, so did he. “Not if I lock them in first!" Her necklace was fully charged, and she had armed herself with several rings, each of which, had their own magic stored up in. “Phasmatos peregrini ligate ad has pelles,” she spoke lowly, and felt the tendrils of her magic reach out to the Travelers on the other side of the door, “Phasmatos peregrini ligate ad has pelles,” the magic wrapped around the Travelers spirits, intertwining them with their current bodies. “Phasmatos peregrini ligate ad has pelles!” Her eyes momentarily turned black as the spell cemented itself.
The two of them walked inside, but they could see no one. “There are definitely people here.” Elijah said, he couldn’t see them, but he could hear them.
They both took a look around the room, when a voice spoke up in Czech, “And who might you be?”
Maya and Elijah spun around, and twelve people revealed themselves, twelve Travelers, spread out in the vast expanse of the final room, Elijah leant down to Maya’s ear, “I take it, this is the part where the plan goes… off the rails?”
“Shut it Elijah,” she hissed.
“You have something that doesn’t belong to you.” She replied back, in the same language, surprising both the Original, and the leader of the Travelers.
Gabriel tilted his head in question, “And what might that be?”
Maya looked around, she couldn’t see the anchor, but she could feel it, “Revela te.” A large crate appeared, “That belongs to the woman your coven murdered. You stole it.”
Gabriel took a step forward, there was only one coven of Witches who could know about that, “You’re Gemini,” he sneered in English, the coven had been hunting the Travelers for the last 2000 years, to no avail. The rest of them straightened up, before they were just dealing with a Witch and a Vampire, but now, there was the potential that there was a coven coming for them.
Maya smirked, “Am I? Or maybe,” she moved to the centre of the room, Elijah keeping an eye on the Travelers who were moving to surround them, “You’re not as good at keeping things secret as you thought.” She eyed the crate, and those that surrounded her, this was going to end bloody. “The Anchor is coming with me.”
The Travelers began to chant and Elijah rushed over to one of them snapping their neck, “Maya, what now?”
“This is where I throw the plan away!” she replied, “Motus!” One of the Travelers flew across the room and she grabbed him, siphoning from him immediately, the person collapsed as the Passenger inside the body was killed, leaving the human breathing, but unconscious.
The leader instantly noticed the red glow, the Travelers knew exactly what she was, “Nobody let her touch you!” he yelled, putting the remaining nine other members on the defensive. “You,” he sneered, “You are an abomination! Gemini!” She was definitely a part of that cannibalistic coven, her kind only came from them.
Maya scoffed, “Like I haven’t heard that before.” She twisted her hand “Ossox!” and broke the neck of the one trying to sneak up on her.
“You are a perversion of pure magic. You don’t deserve to breathe the same air as us!”
“Well, if you don’t want to breathe the same air as me,” her eyes turned black, “Then stop breathing.” As she spoke, it was like all the oxygen was taken from the Travelers lungs, they began to gasp for air, it was like they were stuck in a vacuum. The remaining few, collapsed to the floor dead, leaving only Gabriel alive. She hated when people called her an abomination, just because she didn’t come from nature, didn’t mean that she was unnatural. She stalked towards him, Elijah whooshing past and grabbing him, stopped him from whatever he was trying.
“Look at you,” she scoffed, “Without your coven, you are nothing, weak as a baby kitten. You call me an abomination when you can do nothing on your own! Your magic is dark, and twisted! You are the unnatural thing. I am the balance!” He struggled against Elijah’s grip, but to no avail, he had barely any power without his coven, he couldn’t even get of an aneurism spell to distract the Vampire.
She raised her hand, “Give a Markos a message from me,” There was an aura of death around her, “Tell him, ‘you lose.’ Evellite!” Gabriel’s heart was torn from his chest, and Elijah dropped the body to the floor. He pulled out a handkerchief and cleaned the blood from his hands, dismayed that it had gotten on his suit, he would need to change.
“Maya,” he said, looking at the large crate, she hadn’t come in something that could transport it, neither of them had.
“What?”
“Exactly how do you plan on traveling with this?”
Maya looked back at the crate and blanched, “I know I forgot something!” she lamented.
Two hundred miles away, six Travelers woke with a gasp, "What was that?" One of the ones who'd been killed by the Vampire asked.
"The Gemini Coven," another said stoically, they recognised the tell tale red glow that could only come from one of the broken members of the coven, "They found us."
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, it's wonderful to hear what you think!
Chapter 53: Christmas
Notes:
Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos!
Next chapter is back in Mystic Falls!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Elijah had lifted the large crate with his Vampire strength and sped out of the cellar, taking it topside. Maya still hadn’t told him exactly what it was that she’d come for, and he was going to find out. Meanwhile, she was searching the area for a truck or box van, the Travelers had to have used something that could transport the anchor. “Aha!” she found an old white box van, and after a little bit of looking, she located the keys. “Elijah!” she called, “Over here!”
He whooshed over to her with the crate, and put it in the van, “What are you going to do about your car?” he asked, she’d driven it to the mountains, and she couldn’t take both vehicles with her.
Rolling her eyes, she shot a text to a familiar number, and a few minutes later, a Vampire appeared before them, “Yes?” he asked.
“Do me a favour,” she tossed the car keys at him, “Follow me in my car.”
The Vampire took the keys and whooshed back to her car, where he would wait for the van. “Who was that?!” Elijah asked.
“One of my bodyguards,” Maya shrugged.
“One of your what?!”
“Bodyguards,” she repeated slowly, as though he was stupid, “Aren’t you supposed to have excellent hearing? I shouldn’t have to repeat myself.”
Elijah pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, “If you had bodyguards, then why didn’t you use them to deal with the Travelers?!”
“Because you're indestructible, and they’re not,” she replied, as though it was obvious, and moved to the driver’s seat of the van.
Elijah rushed into the passenger seat, “Where did you get bodyguards?!”
“Nik’s had them watching me for a while,” she shrugged.
“And you’re just okay with that?” Maya seemed like she was very independent, he didn’t think that she would have been happy to have guards, that were likely reporting her every move to his brother.
“I’m seventeen, not stupid, I know there are things that they are better equipped for, if you hadn’t have followed me, they would have been the first ones in to deal with the Travelers. Besides, the guards and I have an arrangement, they don’t give Nik a play by play of my actions, and I don’t tell Nik how many times I have been able to ditch them. It’s a win-win.”
Elijah rolled his eyes at her explanation, of course she would make a deal with the guards, it sounded exactly like something that she would do, because it sounded like something Kol would have done in the past…in fact, it was something that Kol had done in the past! Back when they were human, and Kol had no chores to do, Klaus, or Elijah would have to watch him, and their baby brother would always escape. They never told their parents that Kol ran off, because then they would both be punished. “What’s in the crate?” Elijah asked.
“None of your business.” Maya replied.
“I think I deserve to know, considering you had me fighting your battle!”
“You inserted yourself in my business! I told you to leave and you didn’t, so no, you don’t get to know.”
Sighing Elijah tried a different tactic, “Tell me what’s in the crate, or I will phone your mother immediately and inform her that not only did you head off on a dangerous mission without telling her, but that you had the opportunity to have multiple Vampires by you side to protect you, and you chose not to.”
Maya slammed on the brakes and glared at the Noble Original, he was playing dirty, taking the chance that she wouldn’t want to get into trouble with her mother, and the fact was, she didn’t. “Fine.” She pulled off again, taking a left, and heading straight onto the motorway. “It’s the Anchor.”
“The Anchor to what?”
She sighed, “The Other Side isn’t a natural occurrence, it was created by a Witch 2000 years ago, now it’s pretty much cemented in nature, but it can still be destroyed. By destroying the Anchor. You see a spell of that size and magnitude needed to be bound to something powerful and eternal. The Anchor can only be destroyed by one thing, and no one knows where it is.”
“Why did the Travelers have it?”
“They killed the Witch that created the Other Side 2000 years ago, and stole the Anchor, they want to use it to resurrect their leader, who is stuck on the Other Side. With him, they would be able to erase all magic but their own from the world.”
“So you just took it upon yourself to retrieve the Anchor without telling anyone?! What if they had been better protected?!”
“One of the reasons that they want to destroy all magic, is because their coven was cursed by Witches, they can’t gather together in large groups for long without causing a host of natural disasters. They couldn’t have more people guarding it, plus, it’s in their name that they move around, the Anchor is never in one place for long, I couldn’t let the opportunity to escape me. And now I have it.”
“But they know you have it!” Elijah said, “I killed several of those Passengers, before you locked them in their bodies, which means that their spirits travelled to their original beings!”
Maya rolled her eyes, “They think that I’m a Gemini, they’re going to go after that coven, they’ll never be able to find me.”
“You set the Travelers on an innocent coven!”
“No, I set the Travelers on a coven that would try to kill me if given half the chance. With any luck, they’ll take each other out, so I don’t have to.”
Again, Elijah was reminded of Klaus, it was something his brother would most definitely do, point two factions that would cause him trouble at each other, and let one take out the other, leaving the remaining one, weakened and easy to destroy. “You’re just like Niklaus,” he muttered.
“What was that?!” she snapped.
“Nothing! Nothing!”
/ / /
“Where are we going?” Elijah asked impatiently, they’d been driving for an hour and a half, and not in the direction of the city.
“I’ll know it when I see it,” Maya replied, she was following a pull deep inside her, guiding her to exactly where she needed to be.
“We’ve been driving for over and hour and you don’t even know where we’re going?!”
“I know where we’re going!”
“You just said-”
“I know what I said! Just because I don’t know where I’m going, doesn’t mean that I don’t know where I’m going!”
Elijah shot her an incredulous look, “That makes no sense.”
“You make no sense!” Maya snapped back, the pull was getting insistent, and the longer it took her to reach her destination, the more of a headache she had.
“I-I don’t know what to say to that,” Elijah shook his head.
Maya rolled her eyes, and finally pulled near to her destination, “We’re going there,” she pointed.
“The Arch of Galerius?” He asked, “That’s a major tourist destination.” He could see all the people milling around.
“So was the Hollywood sign,” she muttered.
“What?”
“Never mind.”
She got out of the van, and climbed into the back, and Elijah followed, “Well I’m not taking the whole crate,” she said looking over at him, “Go on, do your thing.”
“What thing?” Elijah asked.
“Ugh, use your super strength to open the crate so I can get the anchor!” He just looked at her, “Chop, chop! I don’t have all day!”
Elijah raised a brow, and then pried open the crate, “Wh-Is that-”
“The doppelgänger? No, that’s not.”
“But that-”
“Is something I’ll explain later,” she said, “Now I’m taking this and putting it somewhere no one can ever find it, and you… well…you can do what you want but you’re not coming with me.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes, really.”
“How do you plan on moving this? It’s solid rock, and last I checked, you don’t have super strength. You need me.”
Maya smirked, “Levare,” the Anchor floated out of the crate.
“You could do that the whole time?!”
“Uh-huh.”
“Why did you make me cart around the bloody thing while you looked for the van?!”
Maya shrugged, “Because I could. Invisique.” Both she and the Anchor disappeared from sight.
Elijah looked around, he couldn’t sense her presence anymore, “Wh-Where did she go?” He spotted Maya’s Vampire bodyguard coming up to him, “Where did she go?”
The bodyguard shrugged, “Uh, I don’t know, she does this all the time, she’ll be back.”
“And if she doesn’t come back?”
“Then Klaus will kill me,” he crossed his fingers, “So here’s hoping she comes back!”
/ / /
Maya crossed the ancient gate and disappeared from the living world, and ended at anther weak spot in the veil. The cave, of course had no entrance or exit, this one glowed both blue and purple, with a vast lake that stretched out further than she could see. She pushed the Anchor in front of her, guiding it into the water, and she followed it in. She didn’t know why, but she felt like she needed to submerge herself in the water too. As the water covered her head, she was drawn straight into a dark, yet comforting space.
“Hi,” Maya said.
“Hello darling,” he replied, walking up to her, he cradled her face in one hand, stroking her cheek with a thumb.
“Your sister’s a bitch.”
“I know,” he gave her a sad smile, “How are you feeling?”
“Stupid, angry, hurt, sad, you know, like a crappier version of the seven dwarves. I miss Nik, and Kol. I just want everything to go back to normal, you know?”
“My sister did a lot of damage,” he said, running his fingers through her hair.
“I’m working through it, slowly.”
“Maybe I can help a little,” he shrugged.
“How?”
“Let’s figure it out.”
It was 11 a.m. back in Mystic Falls, Caroline was on her own, her mother was a little more relaxed knowing that Damon and Enzo were out of town, so she’d gone back to work and let Caroline have some free time by herself. She wasn’t enjoying it, almost every one of her Christmas breaks was spent with Maya, she’d only had one other Christmas without her in her memory, and that sucked to. But this was somehow worse. She was all alone, sure she had other friends, but none of them were like her best friend, and she missed her, God help her, she even missed Denzo! She was at home without anything to do.
Someone rang the doorbell, and when Caroline answered, she was surprised to find Bonnie on the other side. “Bonnie! What are you doing here?”
“Can we talk?” she asked, looking very unsure about being there.
“Alright,” she slowly, “But just so you know, if you try anything, someone will be here so fast your head will spin, literally.”
Bonnie nodded and stepped inside, “Where’s your mom?”
“At work. What did you want?”
“I-can I sit?”
Caroline nodded and guided her to the couch, “Sure.”
“I need to talk to Maya, but she’s-she’s not at home, do you know where she is?”
Caroline sighed, “She’s on vacation, why do you want to speak to her?”
Bonnie eyed Caroline for a moment, and realised that Maya wouldn’t have kept Caroline in the dark about anything, “She has something that belongs to my family.”
“And what would that be?”
“The talisman, it belonged to Emily Bennett, my ancestor.”
“Why do you think she has it?”
Bonnie crossed her arms, “I know she has it Caroline! I’ve ended up outside her house four times in a row thanks to that stupid talisman! It’s calling to me, and it won’t stop till I get it!”
“Huh,” Caroline said, “Maya said that might happen,” she went to her room, and brought out a little bag filled with ingredients.
“What is that?” Bonnie asked as Caroline handed it to her.
“It’s a hex bag, Maya thought that Emily might try to interfere with you, so she made you this. You put it under your pillow and you can sleep ancestor free.”
“Why would she do that for me?” Bonnie looked at Caroline in question, why would Maya try to help her? It wasn’t like they were friends, in fact, her grandmother had threatened Maya before, why would she do anything to benefit Bonnie?
Caroline rolled her eyes, “Because, when you’re not hanging around Elena, you’re not that bad, and you should be able to go to sleep, without people interfering in that.”
Bonnie narrowed her eyes at the blonde, “But, you know that Emily would stop, if I had the talisman? Why can’t I just have it?”
“That’s a question for Maya to field.”
“Caroline it belongs to my family anyway! Maya shouldn’t even have it!”
“Actually, Emily gave it to Damon, just before she died, and he gave it Maya. Emily may have made the talisman, but it’s not actually hers, which means that it’s not yours. But I wouldn’t worry about it, Maya’s not gonna use it.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because unlike you and Elena, Maya tells me everything. But if it makes you feel any better, then I will talk to her about it for you.”
“Why?”
“Like I said, when you’re not around Elena, you’re not terrible.”
Death had both of his hands placed on either side of Maya’s head, as he searched her mind for exactly what his sister had caused. There was a lot of damage, a mortal mind wasn’t supposed to hold all of those memories, at least not the way that it had been done. She had been falling into her past lives more often than not, and it was because her mind couldn’t handle it, and that meant all of his Old Souls were going through the same thing.
“Do you have an idea of what to do?” Maya asked.
“From what I can see, the problem is when my sister gave you back all your memories, she made you feel them again, and that’s the issue.”
“So…what? You’re gonna lock them back up again?”
“No,” he shook his head, “I can’t lock them away, she’s released them, in all of my Old Souls. What I can do, is separate them from your sense memory.”
“My what?”
“Your sense memory,” he said slowly, “You have your memory, and your senses are all intertwined with it, the problem is, you’re feeling what you remembered, if I can separate that out with your past lives, things will become easier for you.”
“So…I’d still remember what happened, but all the bad parts, all the things that hurt me, I won’t feel them anymore?”
“That’s the idea.”
“What about the rest of them? You said that she did this to all of us, so this has to be happening to them.”
Death nodded, “She used you as the key, to unlock all of their memories, I can use you as the key to fix them.”
“Okay, fix me.”
/ / /
Maya reappeared in the land of the living, but she was atop the Arch, and a storm gathered quickly in the area.
“What’s going on?” the Vampire bodyguard asked, looking around at the sudden onslaught of rain, that caused most of the people in the streets to run for cover. “Oh crap,” he muttered, looking at the top of the Arch, “How did she get up there?”
Elijah followed his gaze and spotted Maya, “I have no idea.”
As Maya stood on top of the Arch, her hair and eyes turned pitch black, she lifted her hand in the air, and the storm grew, lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled. “PHASMATOS MORTEM, SANARE CONTAGIONEM!” Her voice resonated in the air, and a bolt of lightning shot out of her hand, split apart, and spread through the sky, expanding further than anyone could see. Maya vanished from the Arch and reappeared in front of Elijah and her bodyguard. “Shall we go?”
All over the world, Old Souls felt a shockwave travel through them, and a clear picture of a woman, with dark hair, glowing green and black eyes appeared in their minds, and all of them knew that she was the one who had just taken away their pain.
Maya had called shotgun, so was sat in the passenger seat of her rented car, while the bodyguard drove, and Elijah had been relegated to the back seat. The bodyguard, Jonah, turned on the radio and started blasting pop music. “Oh my God!” Maya gasped, “Busted! How did you know I love British Pop?!”
“Must we listen to this drivel?” Elijah asked from the back.
“One rule in the car Elijah, driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole, and in this case, the back seat passengers!” Maya said.
“That’s the rule,” Jonah agreed, “And Klaus made us all read a binder on you, you know, so that we can make sure that we keep you happy.”
“Really? That’s so sweet!”
“Really? Must you blast this noise?” Elijah complained
“When we’re in the car Elijah, we do more than just listen.” ‘Crashed the Wedding’ came on, and Maya started belting it out with Jonah, “AND I’M GLAD I CRASHED THE WEDDING! IT’S BETTER THAN REGRETTING!”
“Alright enough! Stop the car!”
Jonah did and Elijah whooshed out of the car, disappearing from sight, “Oh my God!” Maya laughed, “I didn’t think that he would leave so fast, I figured we’d get at least two songs before he ran away.”
Jonah laughed, “He’s tightly wound that one.”
“I’m gonna climb in the back seat and take a nap, because all of that witch-woo really took it out of me, wake me when we get back to the Villa.”
Jenna sat across from Elijah in his hotel, “Jenna I want you to know, I truly wasn't aware that Maya was your daughter.”
“I believe you,” she said, “It doesn’t change the fact that it’s added a whole layer of complication to this.”
“Jenna-”
“I mean the other night was supposed to be our actual first date! I made a decision about what I wanted, and I want you. But I don’t know what we’re supposed to do now, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now! You being a Vampire didn’t really factor into my thinking!”
“Is the fact that I am a Vampire the real problem here?”
“No,” Jenna shook her head, “I don't care that you’re a Vampire Elijah! I care that you’re Klaus’s brother! And not because he’s like the ‘big bad wolf’! My daughter is insanely in love with him! And even if he won’t admit it, he feels the same way about her! If they get married, I’m gonna be his mother-in-law! And you’re his brother! Klaus’s mother-in-law can’t date his brother! That’s so weird!”
Elijah laughed, “Jenna I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself, Niklaus will never get married! At least not in this century, besides, he has just adopted children, he has no time for that.”
“Oh my God! He’s adopted kids,” Jenna gasped, “He’s gonna make me a grandma! I can’t be a grandma Elijah! I’m 34! I’m way too young to be a grandma!”
“Jenna! Jenna!” he reached over and grabbed her arms, “Calm down, you’re not going to be a grandmother, I know my brother and Niklaus isn’t going to get married.”
“Really, because I bet there was a time when you believed that your family would never wake up, and that your father would never die, but it happened, and it happened because of Maya, so if anyone can convince Klaus to get married, it’s her.”
“You believe that she’ll want to marry my brother?” Elijah asked disbelievingly, Maya was young, and she had her whole life ahead of her, she had so many things to do and explore, would she want to be tied down to his brother for the rest of her life?
“One day, in middle school, a new girl tried to make friends with Maya’s best friend, Sunshine. She was bright, and bubbly, and loved the Notebook, just like Maya’s best friend.” Elijah raised an eyebrow, wondering where she was going with this, “So anyway, the girl tried to take Sunshine away from Maya, and Maya did not react well…in fact, she made the girl see snakes coming out of everything anytime she got near Sunshine.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point, is that…Maya is extremely possessive. Especially with people, once Maya and your brother are together, she’s not gonna let him go. And to be honest, I don’t think Klaus wants to be let go. If anyone can convince him, Klaus Mikaelson, the big bad, to marry them, it’s her.”
“So where does that leave us?” Elijah asked, “Because I like you Jenna, when I see you, when we talk, I feel like I can just be me. I haven’t been me in so long, I…I have fun when I’m with you. And I don’t see why my brother and your daughter should be a reason for us to stop seeing one another.”
“Elijah it’s weird, don’t you think so?”
“To be fair, my sister dated Niklaus’s first adopted son.”
“What?! Your family is so messed up!”
Rebekah was slinking around Mystic Falls, she’d seen Stefan and the newest doppelgänger together, it sickened her, how could Stefan fall for such a duplicitous whore? All the doppelgängers were the same, and she had no doubt that this latest one would show her true colours eventually. Sighing she headed into the Grill, and took a seat in the blond boy’s section, he was nice to look at.
/ / /
Caroline walked into the Grill and zeroed in on the newest blonde that had been seen around Mystic Falls for the last few weeks. She looked familiar, and she wanted to know who the new girl was. She breezed up to the girl’s table and took a seat across from her. “Hi,” she said, “I’m Caroline Forbes, the Sheriff’s daughter, you must be new here.”
Rebekah raised a brow and the girl’s brazenness, “I’m Rebekah,” she said, eyeing her curiously.
Caroline gasped, “You’re Rebekah Mikaelson!” she whispered, “The Original!”
Rebekah narrowed her eyes, and reached across the table to grab the girl, but Caroline used her new magical reflexes to dodge her, “What- How?”
“I’m Maya’s best friend,” Caroline said, “I know who you are, I’m not your enemy.”
Rebekah pulled back, “You’re the Witch’s best friend?” she looked at her with interest.
“Yeah,” Caroline nodded, “And you’re the one that she saved.”
“She really doesn’t keep anything from you, does she?"
“I’ve met your brothers, not all of them, most of them, Finn threatened to kill me once, Kol helped make something that protects me, and Klaus…sent me a beautiful jewellery box for my birthday.”
“You’re not scared of me,” the Original said.
“Oh I am,” Caroline said, “More so because Maya’s not here right now, but, judging from the way you were glaring daggers at Elena, I’d like to think you and I have the same opinions on the doppelgänger.”
“You don’t like her?” Rebekah asked, from what she’d seen from most of the town, the doppelgänger was well liked, although there were a few notable exceptions.
“She’s a bitch,” Caroline said, “And she killed Maya.”
“What?!”
“Didn’t stick, but she did, and the only reason she cares, is that it made her look bad in front of the town.”
Rebekah felt a rush of satisfaction at that, her brothers had been obsessed with Tatia, and believed that she could do no wrong. Elijah was hopelessly in love with Katerina for centuries, and now here was Stefan, in love with the newest version of Tatia’s face. “What did you say your name was again?”
The Other Side
Qetsiyah was in her cabin in the woods, when there was a knock on the door, she startled as she looked towards the entrance, no one on the Other Side knew where she was, no one had ever come to her home of their own accord before. Opening the door she gasped, “Lord Death.” She said. Before she’d created the Other Side, Witches were much more in tune with the world, with life and with death, “You’re here.”
“Hello Qetsiyah.”
“How are you here? This place has been locked away from you since its creation.”
“It was, until Maya lived up to part of her deal with you.”
“She found the Anchor?”
“It’s in my possession. No one can get to it now, which means that you need to live up to your deal with her.”
Qetsiyah nodded, she didn’t want to anger one of the creators, “Of course, I will, immediately.”
Death smirked, “I’m looking for someone, and I’m sure you can help me find him.”
“Who?”
“Markos.”
It was the 21st, six days since Maya and Death had had their meeting and she’d been feeling much better, she’d stayed inside for most of that time, Damon and Enzo were spending time together, being romantic out in the city, her mother had been in and out of the Villa, Maya guessed that she was sneaking out and seeing Elijah behind her back.
Instead of worrying about it, Maya threw herself into a new project, and she’d finished it the day before, sending one of her bodyguards off with it, it would reach its destination very soon. So now, she’d slid into her bed, it was 10am where she was, but it was midnight somewhere else. Closing her eyes, she slowed her breathing and projected her spirit halfway across the world, to Arizona.
When she opened them again, she was in Klaus’s bedroom, he was asleep, and she smiled, it had been so long since she’d seen him and been happy about it, but she was! Maya couldn’t take her eyes off of him, he looked so peaceful, she wished that she could have projected her whole body there, but she wasn’t strong enough for teleportation. “Nik,” she whispered, “Nik!”
His eyes snapped open and faced her, “Maya?” he asked.
“Hi Nik.”
“How are you here?”
“I’m not,” she shook her head, “I’m on vacation, I’m astral projecting, you can see me, but I’m still in Greece.”
“What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you, but you made it clear that you needed time.”
“Yeah,” Maya nodded, “I did, I did need time, I um…I went to another veil, saw Death, he helped me separate out what happened to me in the past and who I am now. I’m sorry it took so long, and I’m not all the way better, but…but I miss you.”
Klaus ran a hand through his hair and smirked, “You missed me?”
“Yeah,” Maya nodded, “Did you…miss me?”
He reached for her, and his hand slipped through her projection, “You’re not here,” he reminded himself, “When will I see you, in person?”
“When you come to Mystic Falls, which will be in May.”
“Five months, you’re certain?”
“Yeah, Damon put the word out that the tomb was open, so Katherine should be making her way to town soon.”
“I don’t like leaving you alone with her.”
“I won’t be, Caroline says you’ve sent Rebekah to town.”
“She was supposed to keep a low profile,” Klaus muttered.
“It’s a small town, and she’s like super-hot, everyone noticed her.”
“Super…hot?”
“She’s a Mikaelson, you’re all ridiculously pretty.”
Klaus laughed, “I think I prefer handsome, sexy, ruggedly good looking.”
Maya giggled, “I have to go, but um, I got you a present for Christmas, two presents actually.”
“Really? What did you get me?”
“It’s a surprise,” she smiled, “Bye Nik... I love you.” She disappeared before he could respond.
There was a knock at Klaus’s door and he rushed to open it, “Cary, what are you doing here?”
“Um a Vampire just dropped this off,” he said, holding a large package, “I was just gonna put in your office, but I heard you moving around, it’s from your girlfriend.”
Klaus took the package, “She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Sorry! Your friend, that’s a girl.”
Klaus glared at him, “Go to bed!” he snapped, and Cary left before Klaus could get angry at him.
Other Side
Death and Qetsiyah walked the Other Side, heading to Markos. “He’s in Greece,” Qetsiyah said, “He likes to be wherever the Anchor is, and it’s last known location was Kavala.”
“Excellent, I can get to him, and you can go to Maya, keep your end of the deal.”
Qetsiyah nodded, she was powerful, but no one was more powerful than Death, except maybe Nature, she wasn’t going to anger him. When they reached the city on the Other Side, they parted ways, Death going towards the mountains, while Qetsiyah headed to the Siphon.
Death made his way into the underground area, where the Anchor had been hidden on the Living Plain, he could hear Markos losing his mind about losing the Anchor. He would usually follow the Anchor to wherever it was, it wasn’t the first time the Travelers had it taken from them, but it was the first time that he couldn’t follow.
“Hello Markos.”
The leader of the Travelers spun around as he came face to face with Death itself, “What are you doing here?” He took a step back, he could feel the raw power coming from the being before him, and he didn't know if he would be able to take him on.
“Your plans to destroy all Witch magic, 2000 years ago I would have helped you, alas, you took far too long to get all your ducks in order, and now my plans for the world differ. You’re no longer a part of them Markos, which means, you can no longer stay here.”
Markos frowned, he wasn’t going to let this man try to destroy him, “Krvácet!”
Death raised a brow as he felt the spell touch him, and do nothing, “I am Death,” he said, “What do you think you can do to me?” He grew in size, his skin melted off, and his true form came forth, all he had to do was lay a hand on Markos, and then the Travelers body disintegrated before him, before the eyes of his followers, not even giving him time to cry out in the agony that he had felt in that split second. Death turned to the Travelers that had gathered around Markos, only allowed to truly gather together on the Other Side, “Who’s next?”
/ / /
Qetsiyah found herself in the Villa, watching over Maya’s unconscious form, the girl had attempted astral projection for the first time, and it was successful, she wasn’t going to interrupt her. As she saw Maya’s consciousness find its way back to her body, she touched her forehead, and Maya’s eyes fluttered closed, and she ended up on the Other Side.
“What the- I did not just kill myself!” she whined.
“You didn’t.”
Maya spun round in shock, “Qetsiyah! Why am I here?”
“You lived up to the first part of the deal,” the ancient Witch said, and lifted her hands, placing them on either side of the Siphon’s head, “You’re here, so that I can live up to the first part of mine.”
Maya gasped as knowledge flooded her mind, and then she woke up, back on the Living Plain.
Caroline and Rebekah had met up several times over the week, and with a few ground rules, the cheerleader felt comfortable enough to introduce Rebekah to her mom. Normally she would wait for Maya to come back before she did something like this, but she’d found out that Rebekah was going to be in Mystic Falls until her brother showed up, which meant that she was going to be spending Christmas alone. “Okay, quick reminder, try not to be scary Vampire lady when you meet my Mom, just show her that you’re a regular teen, albeit, a thousand years old, but…just be nice. Because I can’t lie to my Mom about you being a Vampire, because she’s the Sheriff, and she’ll find out eventually, and ground me for lying, and inviting another Vampire into the house, and I can’t do that again.”
“Just…be a regular teenage girl,” Rebekah repeated, “I’ve never done that before.”
“Well here’s hoping that you can pull it off right now, because we’re here!”
The girls pulled up to Caroline’s home, her mother was waiting in the back garden, unwilling to let another Vampire in the house without knowing exactly who they were. “Caroline,” Liz said, as she saw her daughter come around the side of the house, “You must be Rebekah.”
Caroline elbowed Rebekah and the Original moved forward, suddenly very nervous, she’d never wanted a friend’s parents to like her before, it was a new feeling, “Sheriff Forbes, it’s lovely to meet you. Caroline has told me great things.”
“Well I doubt that,” Liz muttered, “Please sit,” she gestured to one of the swings on the back porch, and Rebekah sat down, Caroline followed, sitting with her mother, to make Liz feel better, and shot the Vampire a hopeful smile.
It was Christmas Eve, and Klaus was in his bedroom, with the door locked, he rarely locked the door, but he didn’t want either of the children bursting in while he was sorting out their presents. More than one large tree had been put up downstairs, and the children of the pack had decorated one, while the others had been done by the teens, and then one for the adults, and the presents had been split up accordingly under the trees. He’d finished wrapping his presents for Liam and Luna, and had even gotten one each for Freya and Kol, who’d decided that they wanted to stay for Christmas, when the parcel that Maya had sent to him caught his eye. He had opened the box when he first received it, only to find a note atop it, saying that he could go no further till Christmas, she’d spelled it shut. There were only a couple of minutes left until midnight, and then he could finally see what she’d gotten him.
He put the parcel in front of him, and watched the clock as the time ticked down, the moment the clock struck midnight, he opened the parcel, there were two things that had been wrapped for him, a small book, with a card on top, and a wooden box was next with a note stuck to it. He went for the wooden box first. ‘This is a little something for your Beta, and enforcers, if you feel they deserve them, they’ve all been individually marked.’ He opened the box and was met with moonlight rings, in their own individual bags, all of them named so they wouldn’t get mixed up. He wasn’t going to ask for any more moonlight rings, not when he knew what had happened to Maya the last time she did it, but she must have felt confidant enough in herself to make more, and she’d done it, without any prompting from him.
Jessica's ring
Emma's ring
Alexandra's ring
Regina's ring
Cary's ring
Scott's ring
David's ring
Smiling he moved to the card and the little book, ‘The album has been spelled for your eyes only. Merry Christmas Nik xxx’ He opened, what he now knew to be an album, and he couldn’t hold in his smirk, it was filled with all of the boudoir photos that she’d done. Including ones that he’d never seen before, all of them black and white, and not one of them showed her face, but it was perfect, each photo appealed to the artist in him.
Each one beautifully shot, and in one of them, she was definitely wearing his shirt, he’d wondered where it had gotten to, it was one of his favourites. He went through the album more than once, now he’d have to figure out what the perfect Christmas gift for Maya was.
It was Christmas morning, Maya woke up with a grin, it was her favourite time of the year, and it was the one day that she woke up early, earlier than everyone else in fact, “It’s Christmas!” she said excited and burst into her mother’s room, “It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas!” she chanted, jumping on the bed and waking her up, "Get up!". She rushed out of Jenna's room and banged on Denzo’s door, “It’s Christmas! Wake up!” she rushed downstairs after they woke up.
Everyone was downstairs in a few minutes, grumbling about how early they had to get up, “How is this literally the only day of the year that she’ll wake up early?” Damon groaned.
“Quit complaining,” Enzo said, “It’s one day a year.”
“Easy for you to say,” Jenna whispered, “All it takes is one sip of blood and you’re up for days! I’m the human one here!” she hissed.
“Hey!” Maya called, “Quit stalling! I wanna open presents!”
“This is gonna be a long day,” Damon sighed, and headed over to the tree.
Rebekah knocked on the door to the Sheriff’s house, with Liz’s favourite wine and a gift that she believed that she would appreciate. Liz opened the door and Rebekah smiled at her, “Hello Sheriff. Merry Christmas.” She handed over the wine and the wrapped gift, “I brought you something.”
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Liz said, eyeing the girl thoughtfully. Who would have thought that the innocent and young-looking girl would be a thousand-year-old, indestructible Vampire. But she was, and Liz was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Vampires were both the same, and very different from what she’d been taught.
“It was no trouble at all.”
“Well thank you, come in Rebekah.”
Rebekah’s smile widened and she cautiously took a step inside, not quite believing that she’d been invited in, “I already gave Caroline her present, hopefully she didn’t open it yet.”
“Oh you don’t have to worry about that, Caroline is very strict when it comes to Christmas, she doesn’t let anyone open anything early,” Liz said leading her inside. “Caroline! Rebekah’s here!”
Caroline came out of her room and grinned, “Rebekah! Hi! I’m so glad you could make it!” she dragged the girl to the couch in the living room, “Now that you’re here we can open presents! Right mom?”
Liz rolled here eyes, “Yes honey, we can open presents.”
It was so strange for Rebekah, to be in a regular home that actually housed a normal family, “Sheriff, why don’t you open yours first.”
“Okay,” she said slowly, she unwrapped the gift, it was book, that looked very old, “Uh what…”
“It’s a bestiary,” Rebekah said.
“What?!”
"Do you mean-" Caroline started.
“No Caroline, I said bestiary. It's a book on various kinds of creatures, in this case supernatural creatures. A lot of them are thought to be extinct, but so were Werewolves at one point in time. This not only has descriptions of those creatures, but also their weaknesses. I know that you are having a hard time with all this new information that you’ve been given about Vampires, and I thought that something like this would help. You know, keep you informed of what’s out there, and how to defeat it.”
Rebekah looked at her hopefully and Liz actually smiled. It was a practical gift, one that she could study and use to arm herself to keep everyone in town safe, “Thank you Rebekah, this is great.”
Caroline gave Rebekah a thumbs up and the Original grinned excitedly.
Luna burst into Klaus’s room, “It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas!” she chanted, bouncing on his bed, waking him up, “Daddy, wake up! Wake up!”
Klaus jumped up and grabbed her before she landed on him, “Luna love, it’s six in the morning.”
“It’s Christmas! I want my presents!”
“No one’s even awake yet,” he replied.
“Then wake them up!” she complained, “You're the Alpha! Please Daddy!” she gave him her puppy dog eyes and he sighed.
“Fine,” then he grinned, “Why don’t you go and wake up your Aunt Freya and your Uncle Kol,” he put her on the floor, “Oh, and Kol is very hard to wake up, I suggest you take bottle of cold water to use on him.”
“Okay!” Luna grinned and ran out of the room.
It was only a few minutes later when Klaus heard his brother scream his name, and laughed.
/ / /
An hour later everyone in the pack was up, still in their pyjamas, but everyone was downstairs, with the trees. Kol walked in, his hair still wet, “I’m going to get you back for that,” he muttered and Klaus smirked.
“Let’s do presents!” Luna insisted, and Klaus stood up, grabbing a bag of gifts that he had yet to put under the tree.
“Alright,” he said, moving to put the gifts away.
Kol got up and whooshed over to his brother, dropping a red velvet hat on Klaus’s head, and snapped a picture, “Look! It’s Santa Klaus!” he said, causing Freya to burst out laughing.
Santa Klaus!
Notes:
If you have time, please comment as they make me feel great!
Chapter 54: Damon...and Enzo?
Chapter Text
Christmas morning had gone very well for Klaus, barring the little 'Kol incident', but the pack had had fun, most of them couldn’t remember having a good Christmas, but this time, they’d all enjoyed it. They were safe, and warm, and all of them had presents, Klaus hadn’t gotten them, he’d just given his card to Cary, but it seemed to have worked. He had one last thing to give out, but not in front of the rest of the pack. All of the Enforcers were in Arizona, three of them would go back to Mystic Falls at New Years. “Cary,” Klaus said to his Beta, “Gather the Enforcers, and meet me in my office.”
Cary nodded and went to grab them, while Klaus headed upstairs, by the time he’d gathered all of them, Klaus had their rings ready for them in his office. Cary knocked, and then let himself in, “Klaus, what did you need?”
“Well it’s Christmas, and…I have presents for you…”
“Presents?” Regina raised a brow, Klaus definitely didn’t seem like the type to give out presents, unless you were his family.
“Yes Regina, is that so hard to believe?”
“Yes.”
“Totally.”
“Yeah.”
“No doubt.”
“Oh yeah.”
“Completely.”
“Uh-huh.”
All of the Enforcers, and the Beta answered and Klaus fought the urge to growl, “You know what, just take them!” he gestured to the boxes on his desk, “Before I change my mind!”
Alexandra snorted in amusement, and grabbed the box labelled for her, and the others followed suit, David was the first to say something after he opened it, “What’s with the rings boss? Are you proposing to us? I mean I’m flattered, but I don’t swing that way…I mean Scott’ll be all over you, but that’s-” he was cut off when Emma smacked him in the back of the head, “Owe! Hey!”
“Shut up idiot!”
“You have been spending far too much time with my brother,” Klaus snapped.
“Ignore him,” Cary said, “He’s an idiot. Are these what I think they are?” he took the ring out of the box.
“Moonlight rings,” Regina said in awe, “You’re giving us moonlight rings?”
“I-I can’t even…” Cary put the ring on, his eyes glowed briefly, he could feel his wolf rise up to the surface and settle in. He felt stronger and faster, “Whoa!” He’d never felt this before, they didn’t have control over themselves when they shifted, so they could never remember what it felt like to actually be free, but this, this was as close as it was going to get without becoming a Hybrid. “Klaus this is...”
“I can’t believe you did this for us,” Emma said, feeling the power of her wolf course through her.
“Until I break my curse, you don’t have access to your wolves, as my enforcers, I need you to be protected, and this is as close I can protect you until then.”
“Klaus,” Alexandra started, “This is amazing.” Her ring was perfect for her, in fact everyone’s was, all different styles, that matched each of their personalities. “How did you get these so perfect?” she asked.
Klaus shrugged, “I’ve had a thousand years to read people, and a very, very picky sister that makes my life hell should I get her something that she dislikes.”
“Thank you, Klaus.”
Maya came home just before January, Caroline had been gushing about Rebekah to her for days, and Maya was happy about it, in the other world, Caroline and Rebekah never got along, but that didn’t mean that she also wasn’t a little bit worried too. The Original and her best friend had so much more in common with each other than she and Caroline did, it wasn’t a stretch to think that they might start getting along better than she and Caroline.
“Okay so relax,” Caroline said, as they walked up the driveway to Maya’s house, “Everything’ll be fine, Maya’ll love you! I mean, she loves me, and you’re a lot like me…You’re also a lot like your brother too, but I guess that’s okay, because she loves Klaus, and she did say that they’d reconnected.”
“It sounds like you’re the one that needs to relax,” Rebekah replied amused, “I have nothing to worry about. It doesn’t matter whether she like me.”
“Really?” Caroline asked. “Because you and I both know that Klaus is in love with her, and she’s in love with Klaus. Don’t you want to get along with the person that’s gonna spend forever with your brother? Isn’t that all you wanted from Klaus? For him to get along with the man that you loved?”
Rebekah frowned, “She’s a Witch, she has maybe a hundred years, a hundred and fifty at best before time catches up with her. She can’t be a Vampire without losing her magic, and the way she acts, she loves her magic too much to ever give it up.”
“Maya’s not like that,” Caroline replied, “When it comes to your brother, she’d give up her magic for him, to be with him forever. She’d do it in a heartbeat.” Caroline wasn’t about to spill all of Maya’s secrets to the older blonde, not letting her know that Maya could in fact have both eternity and magic.
“Then why hasn’t she turned?”
“She has a lot to do first,” Caroline said, “Dahlia, the Trinity, and couple of other monsters that she needs to stop, in order to keep everyone she loves safe. But after that, you’re gonna be stuck with her forever Bekah, it’d be a lot easier if you got along.”
“Hmm, we’ll see about that.”
“Wait,” Stefan said, looking at Elena, “Alaric’s wife might have been your mother?”
Elena sighed as she cleaned up her room, “It can’t be true right? I mean the coincidence alone is crazy.” She turned to look at Stefan, “I have the address, for her friend Trudie.”
“You wanna talk to her,” Stefan concluded.
“I don’t know,” Elena shrugged, “If it’s true, and they are the same person, that means that my birth mother is…is dead. And I don’t know if I could handle that.”
“Elena,” Stefan started, he’d had a talk with Alaric not so long ago, when the man had been acting very suspicious, and the information that he’d received, had been unsettling to say the least, but it couldn’t be possible, there were too many coincidences for it to be true, “Listen, if you do decide to go talk to Isobel’s friend, I’ll go with you.”
“I just don’t know what I’m gonna do yet.” She hugged him, and Stefan held her close.
“I should get going, Damon’s back in town, and I need to make sure that he’s not up to anything.”
Stefan walked into the Boarding House, music was playing loudly upstairs and he sighed, he didn’t see Maya’s car here, so at least he wasn’t going to walk in on anything, but the loud music usually meant that Damon was in the middle of multiple feedings. He whooshed upstairs and opened Damon’s door, “OH MY GOD!” he slammed the door and rushed back downstairs, he couldn’t believe what he’d just seen, Damon and Enzo, in some very compromising positions!
“Ugh Stefan!” Damon had thrown on some jeans and rushed downstairs, “What the hell? Don’t you know how to knock?” he complained.
“Damon! What- were you- what about Maya?”
“That’s none of your business Stefan,” Damon rolled his eyes and poured himself a drink, “What was so important, that you had to interrupt me?”
Stefan sighed, he was not equipped to deal with whatever his brother and Enzo were doing behind Maya’s back, the Witch would probably fry them both, but he didn’t have time to deal with that right now. “There was a woman, you may have known a few years back, named Isobel, in North Carolina at Duke.”
Damon raised a brow, this was so not where he thought the conversation would go, “You wanna discuss the women of my past right now? Seriously? You don't wanna push about anything that you just saw?”
"I don't even want to think about what I just saw Damon!" Stefan hissed, "I wish I could bleach my brain of what I just saw! Because when your girlfriend finds out, and she will! She's going to lose her shit! And I'd prefer to have at least some plausible deniability!"
Damon fought the urge to laugh at his little brother, the mild panic on his face indicating that Stefan was about to have a meltdown, and was trying really hard not freak out, "Okay fine, what do you want?"
"Isobel." Stefan replied.
"What about her?"
“You killed her.”
“What’s your point?”
Stefan shrugged, “I just- just wanna know if you remember anything about her.”
“It’s like a needle in a haystack, Stefan,” Damon complained, honestly, if Maya hadn’t told him about Isobel, he doubted he would have remembered her at all, "You think I can remember anything about some chick I killed maybe years ago?! I can't even remember who I killed six months ago!"
“Well, think hard. It’s important.”
“I got nothing,” Damon whispered, he wondered what Stefan was up to, did he know who Isobel really was? “Great chat bro, but if you don’t mind, I’ve got someone waiting on me.”
“Hey Jenna!” Alaric said with a half-smile, she’d broken up with him before she went away, but he was determined to win her back, “I see you’re helping with the fundraiser.”
“Yeah,” she nodded, “In this town, fundraising is like indentured servitude. You don’t have a choice.”
“Yeah,” he nodded, “I’ve been put up for auction.”
“Good for you,” she replied, hanging up one end of the sign, she was dragged into helping by Caroline, who was determined to help on almost anything Mrs Lockwood was working on.
“So listen,” he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “I was wondering, I know we broke up, but I don’t really think that you gave me enough of a chance, I mean, we only dated for about a month and a half-”
Jenna sighed, she didn’t want to have this conversation with him again, especially not since she and Elijah were just starting something new. But she also didn’t want to have to hurt him, “Alaric, have you talked to Elena recently?” She was going to go with distracting him, and if that maybe pointed Alaric back in Damon’s direction…well, the Vampire could take care of himself, and Maya had made him promise not to kill the history teacher.
“Elena?” Alaric asked confused, “Why would I have?”
“Elena recently found out that she was adopted, and she’s been looking for her birth mother…whose name is Isobel.”
“Isobel? Like my wife?” Alaric asked incredulously, “No,” he shook his head, “Isobel never had a baby.”
“Are you sure? Not before you were together?”
“Nope, no way.”
Jenna sighed and pulled out her phone, pulling up the photo that Maya had texted her of Alaric’s wife, just in case she showed up to town, “This is Elena’s birth mother.”
“Uh,” Alaric paled, “She uh- she never told me, I uh…I’m gonna go.” Alaric said, handing the phone back to Jenna and walking off.
“That was cold,” Enzo said, appearing by Jenna’s side, when the human disappeared.
“Yeah well, he was gonna find out eventually.
"But using it to derail his attempts to get back together? That's mean Jenna."
"Well it was either that or let him deal with Elijah when he comes to town."
Enzo nodded, "Then maybe it wasn't so mean," he conceded.
"What are you even doing here? I thought you and Damon were on a date."
"Stefan walked in on us," Enzo replied.
"WHAT?!"
Alaric texted Stefan to meet him in the park, they needed to talk, “Thanks for meeting me. Something’s come up.”
Stefan looked at the teacher, “You know.”
“Yeah,” Alaric nodded.
“So it’s true then, your wife Isobel was Elena’s birth mother.”
“What does Elena know?”
“About your wife?”
“About everything! About you, your brother?”
Stefan blew out a frustrated breath, “She knows what I am, and she knows that you know about the Vampires.”
“Does she know about Damon and Isobel?”
“No,” the Vampire shook his head, “I couldn’t tell her, not until I was sure.”
“You said you’d help me!”
“I asked Damon without saying to much, he doesn’t remember.”
“Ask him again!” Alaric insisted.
“Damon, is not in the best place right now,” Stefan thought back to how he found his brother, he must have been going through something with Maya, to cheat on her, especially when he’d said that Maya would hex him, if he ever did.”
“You know he murdered my wife. Or at the very least made a meal out of her. He’s never in a good place!”
“I’m telling you not to push this.” Stefan implored, he liked Alaric, he didn’t want to see him as being more collateral damage.
“You’re survival, how’s that for a reason?” Stefan sighed, “Look, I’ll handle it, but for now, I need you to let it go.”
“Is that what you’ll tell Elena? To let it go?”
Stefan clenched his jaw, “Leave Elena out of this.”
“I need to know what happened, I think you would too.”
Stefan looked away, Alaric was right, if it were him in this position, he’d want to know, “Look I need something more than just your wife’s name, a picture, something I could show Damon.” Alaric pulled out his wallet, and offered Stefan an old creased photo of Isobel, “I’ll see what I can do.” He left the park, and Alaric standing there.
The month before the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, Caroline was going all out on her extra curriculars, she and Matt had gotten to know each other over the Christmas break, gone out a couple of times, and were now in a sort of… tentative relationship. Right now, she was helping to organise the charity auction, they were auctioning off people, which was totally tacky, in her opinion, but it’s what Mrs Lockwood wanted, and what Mrs Lockwood wanted, she got. She’d conscripted Jenna, Maya and Rebekah into helping. The Original and the Siphon had taken a bit, but it turned out, all the things that Maya loved about Caroline, she liked about Rebekah, after a few days, both girls bonded over shopping, and coming up with ways to torment Rebekah’s brothers.
They were busy arranging the last minute details of the auction, making sure the stage was set for the evening, while Damon and Enzo were sat at the bar, having a drink, “I cannot believe that we didn’t hear Stefan come in,” Enzo muttered in disgust, he was completely put out at the fact that Stefan had not only interrupted them, but ruined his mood, so their date finished early.
“Well the music was pretty loud,” Damon mused.
“Oh my God!” Enzo exclaimed.
“What?”
“You did it on purpose!”
“Huh?”
“You knew that Stefan would come find you, so you turned the music on and we could get caught! I can’t believe you!”
“Why would I do that?!” Damon asked.
“Because you want to get rid of my Battlestar Galactica helmet! I knew you always hated it!”
“Oh come on! That’s not even remotely the truth!”
“Gentlemen,” Liz said, coming up to them both, her Christmas spent with Rebekah, made her feel much more confident when talking with the Vampires that she knew, “Am I interrupting?”
“Liz!” Damon exclaimed, using her appearance to get out of a possible fight with his lover, “What can we do for you?”
“Listen, I need a favour…”
“Lay it on us,” Damon smirked, and Enzo rolled his eyes, the Salvatore was laying on the charm thick. “Sit!”
Liz eyed them both warily, getting the feeling that she was definitely interrupting something, “There’s a fundraiser here tonight, that the Founder’s Council is throwing. The town’s most eligible bachelors get raffled off for dates, and well…we’re short a couple of bachelors…”
“Is this what you do when there’s no um…Vampires? Organise bachelor raffles?” Enzo asked, sitting on the other side of the woman.
Liz let out a small laugh, “Oh trust me, at this point, I miss the Vampires. Look, we both know that you’re not dating anyone.”
“Ah-”
“Jenna told me all about your plan with Maya.”
Damon rolled his eyes, “She’s such a gossip.”
“And neither are you,” she said to Enzo, “Look, you’re both single, very handsome and you know it,” she said when she saw Damon smirk, “Come on, help me out. Carol Lockwood won’t let me live it down if I come up empty handed.” She looked at them both with this wide eyed stare that had Enzo wincing.
“Damn it! That’s exactly the look that Caroline gives us when she wants something!” Enzo complained.
“Please?” Liz said again and Damon sighed.
“You know, a room full of women, clamouring to win a date with me, sounds tasty.”
Enzo glared at him, but then looked back at Liz, “What the hell,” he said, “I’m in!”
Liz sighed in relief, “Thank you!”
“Stefan!” Elena called, walking into the Boarding House.
“Elena? I thought we were meeting at the Grill?”
“Yeah, I just…I needed to talk to you first.”
“What is it?”
“I went to go see Trudie Peterson,” Stefan’s face fell and she rushed to finish, “I know you said you’d go with me, I’m sorry, I didn’t plan it.”
“How was it?”
“She has vervain. Stefan she knows about Vampires, it can’t be a coincidence.”
Stefan sighed and took a picture out of his pocked, “It isn’t, this is Alaric’s wife.”
“This is her, Isobel, he gave this to you?”
“Everything that he knows about Vampires, he learned from her, he believes that she was killed by one.”
“Oh my God!”
Stefan needed time to speak to Damon, find out what he really knew about Isobel, there was no way his brother didn’t remember, Stefan remembered his victims. “Listen Elena, there’s a lot about Isobel that Alaric can tell you. But I need you to hold off a little while before you talk to him.”
“Why?” Elena shook her head.
“I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but will you do that for me?”
“Fine, but not for long Stefan.”
Caroline, Rebekah, Maya and Matt were at the Grill, talking, “He’s already been hit on like 35 times. He’s total cougar bait!” She may not have seen a future with Matt, but he was sweet and kind, and a good distraction until she went to college.
“Impressive,” Maya smirked.
“More like embarrassing,” Matt blushed.
Caroline laughed, and spotted Matt’s mother coming in, “Hi Mrs Donavan!”
Kelly ignored her and spotted Elena close by, “Elena!”
“Hi Kelly!” Elena smiled, hugging the older woman. “How are you doing?”
“Oh same old, same old. Matty tells me you broke his heart.”
“Mom!” Matt exclaimed.
“Just kidding,” Kelly smirked, and looked over at Caroline, “He found his rebound girl,” she pulled out some cash and handed it to Caroline, “Here you go. However many that’ll buy.” Caroline took the money, hurt and embarrassed at the way that she’d just been completely dismissed by Kelly Donovan. “I just hope I don’t get bachelor number 3, I dated him in high school. Not impressive, in any way.”
Caroline handed her the tickets and she walked off, Matt following, “Who the bloody hell was that wench?” Rebekah asked, sneering at the retreating woman’s back.
“Kelly Donavan,” Maya said, glaring at the human, “She’s Matt’s Mom, not that she ever sticks around long enough to be worthy of the title.”
“She’s never gonna like me,” Caroline sighed.
“So what?” Maya replied, “You’re friends with literally, some of the most powerful people on the planet. Kelly Donovan is nothing, she’ll always be nothing. Whereas you, are most definitely already something!” Caroline smiled.
“Maya’s right,” Rebekah agreed, “Plus if it helps, I could always just eat her,” she shrugged.
Caroline laughed, “No! You can’t do that!” Rebekah shot her a look, “Well, you shouldn’t, you’re tryna keep a low profile here, remember?”
“Fine, but I’d like it noted that I’m not happy about it,” the blonde Original crossed her arms.
“Bex may not be able to eat her, but…I can make her night a little less fun,” Maya said, shooting a quick glance at Kelly and making sure that her drink spilled all over her.
/ / /
“Oh look!” Jenna said, as the girls joined her at her table, “It’s Enzo’s turn!”
Caroline, Maya and Rebekah all looked up at the stage, Enzo was standing next to Damon, a smirk on his face, “Bachelor number 5, Lorenzo St. John,” Carol said, “It says here that you’re from England.”
“Why yes I am,” Enzo replied, with a flirty look.
“And what can you tell us about you?”
“Oh I’m an investor, you know, mostly stocks and shares, but I have a few places abroad too.”
“Oh my! Handsome and rich, ladies, you better hope you get this one!” Enzo shot Damon a smirk as Carol moved on to him. “And, last but not least, Damon Salvatore. We don’t have much on you.”
“Well, I’m tough to fit on a card.”
“Do you have any hobbies? Like to travel?”
“Oh yeah,” Damon nodded, “L.A, Ney York. Couple of years ago, I was in North Carolina though, near the Duke campus. Actually…I think Alaric went to school there, didn’t you Rick? Cause I know your wife did. I had a drink with her once, she was a great girl you know? Cause she was…she was just delicious.”
“What is he doing?” Jenna hissed.
“Being an idiot!” Maya said.
“What’s wrong?” Rebekah asked, she had no idea the significance of what Damon had just done.
Caroline sighed, “Alaric is a Vampire Hunter, and Damon, killed his wife.”
“Turned,” Jenna supplied, eyeing Alaric carefully, maybe she shouldn’t have brought up the whole Elena-Isobel connection.
“The point is, now Alaric knows for certain, and is going to try to kill Damon.”
“Well, can’t Damon handle himself? I mean, he’s not a baby,” Bekah commented.
“He can,” Maya said, “I was just hoping that this didn’t happen.”
/ / /
Alaric looked around the bar, Damon’s number had just been called by Carol Lockwood, and he disappeared. That was it, he was going to find Damon, and end this.
Damon was back at the Boarding House, he knew that the hunter would be coming for him, and he wanted to have some fun. He sensed Alaric’s presence and fought to keep the smirk off his face, “Are you really this stupid?” he turned around, glancing at the stake before taking a drink, “Guess so.” Damon put the glass down and shoved Alaric, making him fly through the air and land on the other side of the room, “You gonna put down the stake?” Alaric said nothing, and stood up, gripping the stake tighter, “Wow,” Damon said, slightly impressed, “That’s courage.”
“Where’s Isobel? What have you done to my wife?!”
“Want me to tell you I killed her?” Damon started walking towards Alaric, “Would that make you happy? Because I think you already know what happened.”
“I saw you feeding on her.”
“Yeah, I did,” Damon said, “And I wasn’t lying. She was delicious.” Alaric charged at him, but all Damon had to do was snap his hand out, hitting the teacher in his solar plexus, making him fall to the floor, “Come on! What do you think happened? Not an inkling?! Never considered the possibility?” Alaric pulled himself up, using a chair, “I turned her!”
“Why?”
“She came to me,” Damon shrugged, “All pathetic, looking for Vampires. But there was something about her, something that I liked.
“You turned her because you liked her?” Alaric panted, struggling to stay on his feet.
“No, I slept with her because I liked her. I turned her because she begged me to.” He took in the look on the hunter’s face and smirked, “But you knew that too, didn’t you? I guess, she wasn’t happy at home, wasn’t happy with life in general. Wasn’t happy with you.” Alaric charged at him again, but this time, Damon stabbed him with his own stake.
“AAH!”
“Ah, this is a shame,” Damon said, dropping him to the ground, “We’re kindred spirits, both abandoned by the women we love. Least I got over mine.” He moved over to the couch, “Sounds like I got a lung. Which means,” he sat down, “I get to sit here and watch you die.”
/ / /
Maya rushed into the Boarding House, hoping to get there before Damon killed Alaric, but it was too late, “Damon!” she exclaimed.
“In my defence,” Damon said, taking a sip of his drink, “I was left unsupervised.”
“Ugh,” Maya crossed her arms and dropped into the seat next to him, “You couldn’t have just…made him leave?”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“What happened?!” Stefan exclaimed, running over to the body of the now dead History Teacher.
“He attacked me.”
“Damon!”
“All I did was tell him the truth,” he shrugged, “His wife didn’t want him anymore. It’s not my fault he couldn’t handle it.” He got up, pulling Maya with him, “I’m assuming you’ll take care of this?” He made to walk off, but Maya stopped him.
“What?” he asked.
“Wait.”
“Wait for what?”
She nodded her head over at Alaric, Stefan was sat next to the body, he’d tried to keep Alaric from Damon, he knew that his brother would kill him, but it wasn’t enough. Stefan was about to get up to move the teacher, when his fingers twitched, and then all of a sudden, Alaric gasped back to life.
“What happened?” Alaric asked, “What’s going on?”
“You were just…Did Damon turn you?”
Alaric shook his head, “No I uh,” he put his hand on his chest, he couldn’t feel the wound anymore, “I went for him, and then he uh, he stabbed me.”
“No, no, no. You must have Vampire blood in your system, someone must have slipped it to you.”
“No. It’s…it’s something else.”
Stefan glanced at Damon and Maya, and then back at Alaric, “Then how?”
“Isobel.” Alaric said, looking down at the ring on his finger, the ring that she’d given to him, a ring that was supposed to ward off demons. “This ring protected me.”
Stefan shook his head, “That’s impossible.”
“I know.”
Katherine pulled out her phone as she received a text from Isobel, her descendant, and the mother of her shadow self. “The tomb’s open, rumours are flying.”
Gritting her teeth, Katherine fought the urge to throw her phone across the room, she hoped that she had more time, that Damon wouldn’t have opened it so soon, but clearly, she’d underestimated her former lover. Looks like she had to speed up her timeline, “Get the Gilbert device, kill the tomb Vampires. Leave the Salvatores.” She shot back, before stuffing her phone back into her pocket, and plastering a smile on her face, as her boy toy came in.
“Hey you ready to head out?” he asked, pulling her close.
“Of course I am,” she gave him a flirty look, kissing him, “Let’s go! Don’t want to be late Mason!”
Damon and Jenna were in a Council meeting, it seemed pretty run of the mill, but she’d received a text from Jeremy that morning, telling her that John Gilbert had shown up at the house. Miranda hadn’t been that receptive to him, and neither had Elena, and John wasn’t letting on to why he was in town.
“Alright,” Mayor Lockwood started, “We haven’t had any more Vampire incidences in town, it looks like Logan was the last of them. Thank you, Damon, for taking care of that problem, and with the Council’s new detection devices, we should be able to spot a Vampire immediately.”
“You mean our detection devices,” Jenna said, gesturing to herself, Liz and Damon, “They’re not the Council’s.”
“Right,” Richard bristled, “Your devices,” he confirmed. “On to more pressing matters, John Gilbert has asked to say a few words.”
Damon raised a brow, and leant over to Liz, “Gilbert?”
“Elena’s uncle, his name’s John, but I call him Jackass,” she whispered back, as the younger Gilbert brother walked in.
“Hello everyone,” John scanned the room, unable to hide his surprise when he spotted Jenna with a seat at the table, “It’s good to see you, and I wish it were on better circumstances. But as a founding family member, I found it’s my duty to report some very distressing news.” He eyed Damon, with barely concealed disgust, before continuing, “A hospital blood bank in the neighbouring county of Amherst has reported several break ins over the past few months. Seven hunters, four campers and two states employees have been reported missing as well. All of this was within a 75 mile radius of Mystic Falls.”
“Look there’s no need to get alarmed right at this moment,” the Mayor cut in.
Liz leant over to Damon, “Means he doesn’t want to cancel the Founders’ Day Kick-off Party.”
“You think all of your problems are over, but I’m here to tell you, nothing’s been solved.” John said.
Damon shifted in his seat uncomfortably, he pulled out his phone, and shot Maya a quick text, clearly the Vampires that Nik had left nearby, weren’t being subtle enough.
“You think there are still Vampires hanging around Mystic Falls?” Jenna asked.
John looked over at her, “I know there are.”
Maya was at her home, with Caroline, when Bonnie turned up, Caroline had said that Bonnie had come to her with questions, but she couldn’t really answer them, other than providing her with a hex bag to help the young Witch sleep uninterrupted. “Hi Bonnie,” Maya said, as the girl took a seat on the porch, opposite the two, unwilling to take a step inside, even though Maya had said that she wouldn’t be in a danger.
“Maya,” Bonnie replied slowly. “Did Caroline tell you what I wanted to talk to you about?”
“She did,” Maya nodded, “You’ve been having nightmares.”
“Nightmares that drag me here in the middle of the night!” Bonnie said, “Because you have something that belongs to me!”
“Emily’s talisman.”
“It’s not yours to keep, I want it back.”
Maya smirked, the little Bennett Witch was growing a spine, she guessed it was a good thing that the girl’s grandmother was still alive, it gave her the chance to actually guide Bonnie in the use of her magic. Hopefully it would stop her from falling into the wrong practices. “B+ for effort, but you don’t scare me Bonnie.”
“Maya it doesn’t belong to you.”
“It belongs to Damon, that’s who she gave it to, and not to temporarily hold on to, to use.”
“But he hasn’t used it,” Bonnie insisted, “The tomb is open, but you didn’t use the talisman, otherwise it wouldn’t be dragging me here!”
Maya regarded Bonnie for a moment, wondering if these words were coming from the baby Bennett or her Grams, “I’m gonna be real with you Bonnie, that talisman is wrapped up in Bennett energy. It would take far too much effort to get it to work for me. So I don’t plan on using it.”
“Then give it back!”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?!” Bonnie didn’t understand, if it was never Maya’s plan to use the talisman, then why wouldn’t she give it back, surely it would go a long way to mending fences between them.
“I have plans,” Maya replied, “I can’t take the chance that you or your Grams, will interfere, using that talisman.”
“We won’t!”
Maya shook her head, “You see, you say that now, but when it comes down to it, you will. I’m not going to let you ruin this for me…but if it makes you feel any better, then I’ll promise you that you can have it back, in the summer.”
“It doesn’t,” Bonnie crossed her arms.
“Maya,” Caroline said, “What about the other thing?”
“What other thing?”
“The other thing,” Caroline hissed, referring to the Bennett grimoire, “Why don’t you give her that? A sign of good faith.”
Maya nodded, she could, it’s not like she needed the grimoire anymore, she’d learned all she could from it. “How bout this, I give you Emily Bennett’s grimoire?”
“What?” Bonnie asked taken aback, she didn’t think that she would ever get that back, Emily was powerful, and her spells were legendary. She didn’t think that Maya would ever let something like that go. “You’d give me that?”
Maya shrugged, “It’s not like I need it, my studies have far surpassed yours. What do you say Bonnie? The grimoire in exchange for giving me enough time to execute my plan?”
Bonnie frowned, she wanted the grimoire, but what was she giving up in exchange for it? What was Maya up to? It couldn’t have been good, “What are you waiting for?”
“None of your business, you have my terms, are you gonna agree to them?”
“You swear you’ll give me the talisman in the summer?”
“I swear.”
Bonnie hesitated, before nodding, “Okay, deal.” Maya held out her hand for Bonnie to shake, the Bennett Witch hesitated for a moment before clasping her hand in Mayas, pulling back as she felt a shock travel through both of them. "What was that?!"
Maya smirked, "I just added a little magic to our deal, to keep us both honest," Bonnie paled at that, what would happen if she didn't stick to the deal? “Wait right there.” The red-head got up, and went inside, heading straight into her magic room, she pulled out the grimoire, and brought it down to Bonnie. “Here,” she handed it to the Bennett Witch. Bonnie took it from her, gripping it tightly to her chest, “Remember the deal Bonnie, no exceptions.”
Bonnie nodded jerkily, and almost raced back to her car, as though she wasn’t certain whether or not Maya would change her mind. Caroline frowned, “Does she think running from you would stop you if you wanted that back?”
“Eh- let her think that, it’ll be fun to shock her.”
Damon called a meeting at the Boarding House, yesterday’s Founder’s Kick Off Party had caused him quite the headache, John Gilbert not only knew about them, but he knew way more than he should.
“Damon?” Caroline asked, as she and Maya entered, eyeing Stefan, Elena and Alaric curiously, “What’s going on?”
“What are you doing here?” Maya asked Alaric, “I thought you hated Damon.”
“I do,” Alaric scowled.
“So, why are you here?”
“John Gilbert knows about Isobel,” he replied.
“Isobel, your dead not-dead wife?” Maya asked, as knowledge flooded her mind.
“Yeah.”
“And he’s really flaunting his knowledge,” Damon cut in.
“What happened?”
“John knows who Stefan and I are. He knows about the tomb, about Katherine, apparently he was the one that sent Isobel to me all those years back.”
“Why would he admit to that?” Caroline asked, “If he knows who you are, then he knows that you can kill him in an instant.”
“Yeah, that’s the other thing, guess who else has a nifty little ring that prevents death?”
“Supernatural death,” Maya said.
“What?” Alaric was the one to ask the question.
“The ring only brings you back if you’ve been killed by a supernatural. If a human kills you, then you’re just dead,” she sighed.
“Are you sure?” Alaric glanced at his ring, he knew that Isobel had told him that it would protect him from demons, but he didn’t think that she’d meant that literally.
“Positive, and I’m guessing John has one?”
“Inherited it from Grayson,” Damon nodded, ignoring Elena’s flinch at the mention of her father’s name.
“So, take the ring,” Enzo shrugged, “Then kill him.”
“No!” Elena exclaimed, “I may not like Uncle John, but he’s my family, you’re not killing him!” she glared at Enzo, who rolled his eyes in response.
“Doesn’t matter anyway,” Damon said, “He said that if anything happens to him, then all the information he has on us goes to the Council.”
“We need to find out what he wants,” Maya said.
“And that’s why you’re here Elena,” Damon turned to her, “You’re our best bet at finding out just exactly what he’s up to.”
Caroline smirked, “I don’t know about that, we could always ask Jenna, John’s always had a thing for her.”
“You want Mom to flirt with John? Like she’d ever go for that!” Maya protested, shuddering a little at the idea of Jonathan Gilbert wanting her mother in that way.
“Wait,” Alaric cut in, “Your mother knows about all of this?!” One of the things holding him back from Jenna was his assumption that she knew nothing of the supernatural, he kept a part of himself hidden from her, but if he didn't have to, then maybe, that would be enough to convince her to give him another chance.
“No,” Maya replied sarcastically, “I just involve myself in all things supernatural without telling her a thing. How stupid do you think I am? How stupid do you think my Mom is?”
“Jenna knows!” Elena exclaimed. “How could you tell her?! Don’t you know how much danger you’re putting her in?”
“Just because you can’t trust your mother with your secrets doesn’t mean that I can’t trust mine, Mom’s known about all of this since I was ten, so has Caroline. You’re the only one that seems to believe in the whole ‘ignorance is bliss’ thing.” Maya rolled her eyes, Elena always had to make everything about her.
Elena balled up her fists in anger, how dare Maya get to be honest with everyone that she loved! When she had to keep it a secret from her mother, her brother, up until recently her best friend (who was still mad at her for not saying anything earlier). “You can’t just do that! This is my life!”
“Your life?” Maya scoffed, “Your life?! You are nothing Elena! The only reason that you even know about the supernatural, is that you happen to have the unfortunate luck, to share the face with the bitch that sired these two.” She pointed to Stefan and Damon, “I mean, do you think that if you didn’t look like Katherine, Stefan would have given you a second look?”
“Maya!” Stefan exclaimed.
“Ah! You bitch!” Elena lunged for her but Caroline raced in front of her, using her new speed and reflexes and shoved the doppelgänger back.
“Back off Elena!”
Alaric’s eyes widened as he saw Caroline shoot across the room, “What the-” he glanced at her hands, but saw no daylight jewellery on her, “Is she a-”
“Vampire?” Damon finished, being the only one near enough to him to respond “No, Maya’s powerful.”
“Maya did that?” he eyed the girl who was stood behind blonde.
Damon nodded with a smug look in his eyes, “Imagine if you’d gotten lucky and killed me, I’d hate to think what she would have done to you then.” Damon walked towards Stefan, ready to jump in should his baby brother try anything.
“You think that you’re special because you’re a doppelgänger?” Caroline asked, “You’re a human, wearing the face of some girl that lived five hundred years ago! You’re nothing special!”
“Caroline stop!” Stefan said coming forward.
“Oh and you think you’re so special!” Elena spat back, “The most special thing about you is your best friend! You have no reason to be here!”
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Maya yelled, pushing Stefan, Elena and Alaric back with her magic, “If you’re not going to be a help Elena, you leave, but you will not disparage Caroline, especially not in front of me! Caroline is more important than you could ever hope to be.” Maya moved forward, freezing Elena in her place, “If you ever talk about her that way again,” Maya clenched her fist and Elena gasped as she felt an invisible grip around her throat, “Cousin or not. I. Will. End. You.” She let go of Elena, the brunette gasped, and Stefan rushed over to her.
“Stefan,” Elena whimpered.
The youngest Salvatore glared over at Maya, “Come on,” he said to Elena, “I’ll take you home.” He couldn’t leave his girlfriend here with her crazy cousin, and Damon certainly wasn’t going to kick Maya out, not with what he’d just found out about his brother and his friend.
“Caroline,” Maya moaned, it was February 2nd five days before the Miss Mystic Pageant, and Caroline was driving everything like she was a military general. “Why am I here?” Caroline had dragged her the Lockwood Mansion, because Matt, her date, had had to cancel on her, and she needed to make sure that she learned the perfect steps for the dance.
“Because, Matt dropped out, so I don’t have a date, and I need a partner! At least to learn this dance!” Caroline almost stomped her foot.
“You want someone for the dance?” Maya asked incredulously, “Why didn’t you just say so?” she pulled out her phone and shot a text to Damon. Two minutes later, he appeared walking up the driveway, “Thanks for coming.”
“You call, I come, I’m easy like that,” he shrugged, glancing at Caroline, whose eyes had just lit up, “Why am I here?”
“Need you to do me a favour D,” Maya started.
“Yeah. What?” he was getting suspicious now, especially with the glee he could see on Caroline’s face.
“You’re gonna be Caroline’s date to Miss Mystic Falls, and as such, you need to go in with her and practice the Founder’s dance with her!” Maya grinned, before running off.
“Wait, what?!” Damon asked, watching as Maya ran away, “Red? Red? MAYA?!” She ignored him, and Caroline grabbed his arm, dragging him inside causing him to yelp in surprise.
Damon sighed in frustration as he entered the Boarding House, he couldn’t believe that he’d been roped into going to Miss Mystic with Caroline. The blonde was loving it, going with someone that had actually been there for the invention of the dance, she was loving the fact that she would have someone to one up Elena, and Damon, was just wondering how he’d let himself be shanghaied into this. He took off his jacket and headed straight for the bar, when there was a knock at the door. Groaning he turned around and opened the front door, frowning when he saw John Gilbert.
“What do you want?”
“You haven’t returned any of my calls.”
“Most people would take that as a hint John.” He walked away from the door, and John followed him inside.
“Where do we start looking for Vampires?”
“What Vampires?” Damon asked.
“The Vampires that have been robbing the hospitals, and killing hikers, you know, the ones that you let out of the tomb."
Damon rolled his eyes, for everything that John thought he knew, he didn’t actually know anything really, “You obviously don’t care about catching Vampires, I mean, you’re here talking to me aren’t you?"
John crossed his arms, “Actually I care very much.”
Damon snorted in derision, “And what does Isobel say about that? I mean, considering that she is one."
“Isobel and I share a mutual interest.”
“Oh yeah?” Damon poured himself a drink, and then threw it back, if he didn’t know any better, he would say that he was getting a headache, “What’s that?”
“The original Jonathan Gilbert had an invention, it was stolen by a Vampire,” he walked into the living room, running his hand over some of the antiques, “That Vampire was then burned alive in Fell's church…or at least, that's what Jonathan thought and the invention was lost forever. But then… the Vampires weren't killed, were they? They were trapped and now they're free, thanks to you which means that the invention needs to be retrieved.”
“What is it?” Damon asked, he felt like Maya may have mentioned something about it, but he definitely wasn’t paying attention when she talked about it.
“The only thing that matters is that I want it back and you're going to help me if you want to keep your secret safe Damon.”
“Why bring me into it John? I mean, I don't know what you're talking about much less who has it.”
“Oh come on Damon! You were around back then, you know who these people are, what they look like. Jonathan was friendly with a woman who turned out to be a Vampire. Her name was Pearl. Does that ring a bell?”
“I'm not playing anymore.” Damon’s eyes hardened as he put his glass down, and walked towards the human, “Get out John.”
“I beg your pardon?” John was truly surprised, he’d heard that Damon was reckless, but he didn’t think that he’d risk his own brother.
“You know, I only entertained this whole blackmail schtick of yours because I thought you and Isobel could lead me to Katherine." He wanted to be able to get a location for Nik, but nothing had come of it, "But see, now I know that you've got no idea where Katherine is, because if you did you would know that Katherine and Pearl were best friends. Looks like you don’t know everything do you?”
John scowled, “I'll tell the entire Council what you are!”
“Go for it!” Damon goaded, “I'll kill every last one of them! Then I'll sever your hand, pull your ring off, and I'll kill you too. Do you understand that?”
/ / /
Damon rushed over to the Sommer’s residence, “Sabrina!” he called, “You here?”
“What’s up?” she asked coming down the stairs.
“Did Jonathan Gilbert have some special device?”
“What?” Maya asked.
“Back in 1864, apart from the compass, did he have anything else, something to use against Vampires?”
“Why?”
“Because the current Jonathan Gilbert wants it, and threatened to out me to the Council if I didn’t get it for him.”
“It was secondary piece,” Maya said, “A weapon to use against Vampires, it attacks their hearing, and Werewolves. He wants it?”
“Yes. Do you know where it is?”
“Pearl had it, I took it from her before I killed her, it doesn’t work anymore.”
Damon smirked, “Well then, I don’t have a problem handing it over to John, but I think I’m gonna make him work for it first.”
It was February 7th 2010, the day of the Miss Mystic Pageant, and Caroline had been up since five, making sure that she had everything perfect. Which meant that Maya was also up super early, even though she wasn’t in the pageant. There was a knock Caroline’s front door, and Liz opened it with a yawn, she had the day off and she wasn’t planning on waking so early, but Caroline couldn’t keep it down. “Rebekah,” Liz whispered, covering her mouth, “What are you doing here so early?”
The Original Vampire looked unfairly perfect, making Liz a little envious of her Vampire energy, “It’s the day of the pageant, I’m here to help Caroline.” She replied, her own dress hanging over her arm.
“Mm,” Liz’s eyes were fluttering closed, she was exhausted, “Okay, they’re in her room, try to keep it down, I’m going back to bed.” The Sheriff shuffled off towards her room, Rebekah shut the door behind her and sped into Caroline’s room.
“Ladies,” she said, walking in, eyeing Caroline’s wet hair, “Make up or hair first?”
/ / /
The girls had made it to the pageant with two hours to spare, which was good, because it meant that Maya could make sure that not a single thing was out of place downstairs, while Rebekah helped Caroline get into her dress, and ensure that her curls were perfect. Maya did a final check with the band, the caterer and the waitstaff. “Maya darling,” Carol said, coming up to the girl smiling, “Don’t you just look positively lovely.”
“Thanks Mrs Lockwood,” Maya was wearing a silvery grey long-sleeved floor length gown, with a bodice full of sparkles.
“You’ve done a wonderful job with everything, I’m surprised that you didn’t enter in the Pageant yourself.”
“Me! Oh no,” Maya shook her head, “All of this is Caroline, she tells me what to do and I do it, I’m just checking on things while she gets dressed,” making sure that Carol was fully aware of how much work her best friend had put into making sure that everything was perfect. “And now that I’ve checked on everything, I am going to check on her date.” She smiled at the Mayor’s wife and scurried out of the room, before she attempted to rope Maya into being in the next Miss Mystic Falls.
/ / /
Rebekah made a few last-minute adjustments to Caroline’s hair, making sure that it was perfectly set, “Honestly Caroline, you have nothing to be nervous about, your dress is impeccable, your singing will blow them all away, and you have done everything you possibly can to make yourself noticed by the Miss Mystic Committee.”
Caroline smoothed down her dress, an elegant green, off the shoulder, mermaid cut gown, “It’s Elena I’m worried about, she may not be as popular as she once was, but I don’t trust her not to try anything.”
“Well that’s what Maya and I are here for,” Rebekah replied, “Should the doppelgänger try anything untoward, we’ll stop her.”
Caroline smiled at the Original, “Thanks Bekah.”
/ / /
An hour later Rebekah appeared next to Damon downstairs, “Don’t you look handsome,” she said, looking the Vampire up and down.
Damon smirked, “Not bad yourself Blondie.”
Rebekah was wearing a royal blue, halter neckline dress, with a beaded bodice, looking sophisticated enough that she fit in perfectly, but not flashy so she didn’t draw any extra attention. “You know I heard an interesting bit of gossip around town,” she said.
“Oh yeah, and what might that be?”
“I heard that you and Maya were a couple,” she continued, arms crossed, “But that couldn’t possibly be true, given who she is to my brother…but then again, people are always betraying my family.”
Damon’s face turned grim at the implication that he would betray Nik, the man was his best friend, “Maya and I aren’t together,” he replied, “But you already know that don’t you? You’re hanging out with one of the biggest gossips in town. You know neither of us are betraying Nik.”
Rebekah offered him a cold smile, “Just making sure that you know what will happen if you ever betray my brother.”
Damon shrugged, “Out of the two of us,” he said, “Which one has actually betrayed Nik?” He walked away from the blonde, leaving her fuming, reminding herself not to kill her brother’s best friend.
/ / /
Maya and Rebekah were in the crowd, watching as the Miss Mystic Committee made their final decision as to the winner of the pageant. Their fingers crossed as Rebekah listened in on their whispering.
“She has to win,” Maya said, “She has no competition!”
“Except last year’s winner,” Rebekah remarked.
“Oh please, it’s so trashy that she’d enter again, you know it was actually her duty to host the event and she didn’t. That alone means that she’s not gonna win.”
“Yes!” Rebekah hissed.
“What? What did they say?”
“Caroline’s got the most points, they’re tallying the points for the final portion of the event, she’s a shoe in.”
One of the members handed an envelope to Mrs Lockwood, stood on stage in front of the girls, and announced the winner of the pageant. The moment the words had passed her lips, Maya, Rebekah, Damon and Enzo were cheering for Caroline. Winning Miss Mystic had been Caroline’s dream, to follow in the footsteps of the women of the Forbes family. Caroline beamed as the sash was put around her, and the crown placed on her head.
Notes:
So we have the arrival of Uncle John! We're waiting on Isobel, Mason and then finally...Katherine!
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel great!
Chapter 55: Isobel
Notes:
Surprise Chapter!!
Thanks for the comments and Kudos!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
John pulled out his phone and dialled his daughter’s mother, “I can’t find Pearl anywhere,” he said, “I haven’t seen any other Vampires apart from Damon and Stefan either. The tomb Vampires must be trying to keep a low profile.”
“I take it that means that you don’t have the device yet.”
“I don’t,” John admitted, “Damon says he knows nothing about it, and he told me to go ahead and give the Council all the information I had on him, he said he’ll just kill them.”
Isobel scoffed, “I warned you John, threatening a Vampire like Damon with exposure means nothing to him. You need to come at this from another angle.”
“What other angle?”
“Who does he hang around with? Who does he care about, other than his brother and Elena?”
John frowned, “He’s dating Elena’s cousin, or at least, that’s what’s being said around town.”
“Elena’s cousin?”
“She’s Jenna’s daughter, Miranda’s sister. Who, from what I understand, is dating your husband…”
“Hmm… Keep an eye on the girl, see if you can get her alone.”
“What are you gonna do?”
“I think it’s time I had a reunion with my husband, don’t you?”
Isobel walked into the Mystic Grill, spying Alaric at the bar, drinking, and grading papers. She sat down next to him, “Hello Ric.”
“Isobel.” Alaric straightened up as he was faced with the woman that he’d spent years searching for.
“It's good to see you. You look good. I hear that you're a high school history teacher. How is that?”
“Where have you been, Isobel?”
The Vampire shook her head, “I don't have any reasons that are gonna comfort you. I don't have any explanations that are gonna satisfy you. I wanted this.”
“It's just that simple for you?” he asked incredulously, she’d abandoned him, without a word!
“Yeah.” She nodded, “You were supposed to mourn me, and move on.”
“You were my wife!” he hissed, “And I loved you! How could I not search for you?!”
“Because I wasn't lost, Ric,” she took one of the pages that Alaric was marking and wrote something down, “I understand that you know my daughter, Elena, and I hear that she's been looking for me. So…” she handed the piece of paper back to him, “I want you to arrange for a meeting.”
Alaric looked at the writing, and then back at her, “You want me to deliver a message?”
Isobel smiled, “Yeah.”
Scowling, Alaric balled up the paper and threw it to the ground, “Screw you! You selfish bitch!” He grabbed his work, and stormed out, heading to his car, but Isobel whooshed in front of him before he could get inside, “What do you want from me?!”
“I told you.”
“I’m not gonna do anything for you!”
She gripped him by the neck and slammed him against his car, “You better tell Elena that I want to meet, or I’m gonna start killing the citizens of this town one by one, and I’ll start with your precious history students. Got it?” She released him and he dropped to the floor, crouching down, Isobel handed him the paper, and then disappeared from sight.
The next day, 30 or so students were in the gym, Caroline was in her element, having to design and build the main float for the Founder’s Day parade, “You know,” Rebekah commented, walking inside with Maya, “Don’t you think this town has far too many events?”
Maya snorted in amusement, “You’ve only been here a month, wait till you’ve lived here a year, besides, if you plan on becoming the next Miss Mystic, you need to involve yourself in everything. We’ll start by introducing you to Mrs Lockwood at the parade.” The girls headed over to Caroline, “We’re here Sunshine, put us to work.”
Caroline smiled and gestured for them to look at her plans, she’d roped Jeremy into helping her, seeing as how he was an artist, and he’d drawn something out for her reference, “Okay first, let's reference last year’s Miss Mystic float,” she pulled up a picture on her laptop and showed the girls and Jeremy, “This is what they did last year, and this is exactly what we don't want to do.”
“So what are we doing?” Jeremy asked.
“Southern classic elegance!”
“Gone with the Wind?” Rebekah asked with a raised brow.
“How’d you know?”
“You channel Scarlett daily,” the Original shrugged.
“So true!” They laughed and Jeremy started taking notes on exactly what she wanted.
Alaric came up to the group, “Maya,” he said, “I need your help with something.” He couldn’t say much more, he knew that Jeremy didn’t really know about Vampires, and he had no idea who the other blonde girl was, so he had to resort to being vague.
Maya frowned, casting a quick glance at her friends and cousin, “Okay,” she said, and followed him out of the room.
/ / /
Damon entered Alaric’s classroom, just as the history teacher and Maya came in, Elena and Stefan were already waiting for them, “What are you doing here?” Alaric asked.
“Maya texted me,” Damon shrugged, “What’s with all the frowns?” he looked at Elena and Stefan who both looked worried.
“I saw Isobel last night,” Alaric said.
“Isobel is here? In town?” He shot a quick look to Maya, who whipped out her phone and sent a text to Rebekah, telling her to get back to her place, and stay out of sight, they didn’t know whether Isobel knew who all the Originals were, and they didn’t want to take the chance of her tipping off Katherine.
“Yes,” Alaric replied.
“Did you ask her about Uncle John? Are they working together?” Damon asked.
“No.”
“No, they're not?” That didn’t sound right.
“No, I didn't ask.”
“What about the invention?”
“Didn't ask,” Alaric shook his head.
“Did she know about the tomb Vampires?”
“I don't know.”
“Did words completely escape you?!” Damon asked annoyed, really, if Alaric had no information, then why did he even call a meeting?!
“No, I was a little too distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask any questions!”
“Well what did she want?”
“She wants to see me,” Elena cut in.
“Alaric is supposed to arrange a meeting between them,” Stefan said, “We don't know why or what she wants.”
Damon glanced at Maya, who shook her head, she had the feeling that this was a bad idea, he looked at Elena, “You don't have to see her if you don't want to.”
“I don't really have choice.”
“She's threatening to going killing spree,” Alaric finished.
“…And I take it, that’s not okay with you guys?”
“I want to do it.” Elena said, “I want to meet her. If I don't I know I'll regret it.”
“You’ll regret it if you do Elena,” Maya finally said, and her cousin looked over at her in question, “Meeting Isobel isn’t going to be good for you, she’s not going to be anything like you hoped.”
“I need to do this,” Elena insisted, and Maya sighed in resignation, even though she’d rendered the Gilbert device useless, she still had a bad feeling, no visions to indicate what would happen, but something felt wrong.
Rebekah went back to Caroline’s place with her, if the Original couldn’t be out in public, the girls could at least work together behind closed doors. Caroline put her stuff in the dining room, and then headed straight to the fridge, sighing in frustration when she realised that what she was looking for had gone. “Damn it!”
“What is it?” Rebekah asked.
“I’m all out of blood,” she muttered.
“Oh!” Rebekah was surprised, she didn’t think the Sheriff would be okay with keeping blood in the fridge for the Vampires, “It’s okay, I’m not hungry.”
“No,” Caroline shook her head, “I didn’t mean for you, Mom won’t let me keep any blood bags in the house, something about stolen property and being the Sheriff. I meant Vampire blood.”
“Why do you have a stash of Vampire blood?”
“A while back, I was attacked by a Vampire, and when Kol found out, he told me that I had to drink a little Vampire blood every day, just in case. I told him I was fine, but he insisted, but he didn’t want me drinking Damon’s or Enzo’s. He sends me some that’s been magically preserved, but we haven’t been talking recently, and I’ve run out.”
Rebekah raised a brow, she didn’t realise that Kol and Caroline were close, she’d seen him flirt with her once, when they all thought that Nik had kidnapped a child, and then again when Kol had tried to see Maya after she freaked out on the Originals. But other than that, there’d been no communication between the two. “Kol wants you drinking his blood?” she asked, her brother may have had a large sire-line, but that wasn’t because he just gave his blood to anyone, he was rather selective about who he turned, but the members of his sire-line were less so. The fact that he wanted Caroline drinking his blood, made her curious, she liked Caroline, she was her friend, but Kol didn’t make friends, not with humans at least. He thought them below him.
“Yeah,” Caroline nodded, “And now I’m gonna have to call him, even though I don’t want to.”
“Why not?”
“I’m mad at him,” Caroline shrugged.
“Mad at him for what?”
“I…don’t want to talk about it.”
“Caroline.”
“Ugh fine!” Caroline dropped into a seat next to Rebekah, “He called the Miss Mystic Pageant pointless!”
Rebekah sighed, her brother was an idiot, “My brother’s an idiot,” she replied.
“Exactly! And I don’t want to call him first! It makes it seem like I’m giving in!”
“Well we can’t have that!” Rebekah said, Kol deserved to sweat a little for his thoughtless remark. She grabbed a glass, and made a cut on her hand, pouring a little blood in it, she handed it over to Caroline, “Until my brother is ready to apologise, you can have my blood.”
“I-really?”
“Yes,” Rebekah nodded, “I get to piss off my brother, while helping a friend.”
Caroline beamed, “Thanks Bekah!”
Elena was sitting alone at the Grill, Stefan was at the pool table watching her, but Damon, Maya and Alaric were waiting outside.
Isobel took a seat across from her, “Hello Elena. You look just like her, that's eerie.”
“You've met Katherine?” Elena asked surprised.
“She found me after I turned. Genetic curiosity I suppose. She would be fascinated by you.”
Elena glanced at Isobel’s necklace, “Is that how you can walk in the day?”
“Katherine helped me obtain it.”
“Who's my father?” Elena asked.
“Not important,” Isobel shook her head, “He was a teenage waste of space.”
“A name would be nice,” she replied frustrated.
“It would, wouldn't it? You ask a lot of questions.”
“Why did you have Trudie Peterson killed? I checked, she was thrown down the stairs, the day after I met her.”
“Dramatic impact. I wish it had been more effective.”
“Human life means that little to you?”
“It means nothing to me,” Isobel responded, “It's just a part of being what I am.”
“No it's not! I know other Vampires, that's not true!”
“Your new boyfriend over there by the pool table? Stefan Salvatore. Why Stefan? Why you didn't go for Damon? Or are you enjoying them both like Katherine did?”
Elena scowled, “I’m nothing like Katherine! And Damon doesn’t care about me, he has a girlfriend.”
/ / /
Damon scowled, Stefan may have needed to be inside to hear what Isobel was saying, but he didn’t, and he didn’t like the implication that he could be played again. “We should be in there.”
Alaric shook his head, “No, Isobel made it clear if we step a foot inside, she’ll retaliate.”
“I'm not going to kill her in a crowded restaurant!” he complained.
“You're not going to kill her period!”
Damon shook his head in disgust, “She ruined your life and you still want to protect her?”
“She's my wife- was my wife. I looked for the woman I married but she wasn't there. The woman over there is just cold and unattached.”
“Yeah, she's just given up her humanity.”
“You see, I don’t get that, Stefan has his humanity, he's a good guy. And you're a dick and you kill people, but I still see something in you. But with her there was… nothing.”
“You can turn it off,” Damon elaborated, “Like a button you can press. I mean, Stefan's different. He wants the whole human experience. He wants to feel every episode of How I Met Your Mother, so he doesn’t shut his feelings out. The problem is, as a Vampire, your instinct is not to feel. Isobel chose the easier road. No guilt, no shame, no regret. I mean, come on, if you could turn it off, wouldn't you?”
“You haven't,” Alaric commented.
“Of course I have. It's why I'm so much fun to be around.”
/ / /
Elena sighed, “Why did you want to meet me? Can't be just to catch up.”
“Because I was curious about you. But the real reason is, I want what your uncle wants. Jonathan Gilbert's invention.”
“How did you know my uncle?”
“I used to spend a lot of time here when I was younger. John had a crush on me for years. He was the first one that told me about Vampires.”
“So what made you want to be one?”
“A very long list of reasons,” Isobel replied bored, she was getting tired of Elena’s constant stream of questions.
“All of it I'm sure you've thought about.”
“No,” Elena denied.
“That was your first lie. It's inevitable, you're going to get old, Stefan won't.” Elena looked over at Stefan with a frown, he didn’t look happy where the conversation was headed, “Forever doesn't last very long when you're human.”
Elena didn’t want to talk about this anymore, ignoring the twinge in her gut telling her that her relationship with Stefan wasn’t as solid as she believed, “I'm sorry but I don't have what you're looking for.” She got up to leave, but Isobel grabbed her arm, and yanked her back down.
“Sit down.” Stefan started towards them, “And tell your boyfriend to walk away. I want the invention, Elena.”
“I don't have it.”
“Damon does,” Isobel insisted, it was the only thing that made sense, Damon was far too cool about dealing with John, “You're going get it for me.”
“He’s not going to give it to me.”
“Then tell him Maya’s blood will be on his hands,” Isobel got up to leave, “It was nice meeting you Elena.”
Damon was to Isobel’s house, he found a couple of humans inside, clearly compelled, he could hear the woman walking up the steps and grabbed the girl, feeding on her.
“And it’s just one blast from the past after another,” she sighed.
Damon dropped the woman to the ground, dead, “I was just having a little fun with your minion.”
“How did you find me?” she asked, ignoring the dead woman on the ground.
“Searched for the neighbourhood bank closures and found the most expensive one.”
“I should have known,” Isobel said, “You’re the one that taught me that. What are you really doing here?”
“Well you caused quite a stir when you blew into town.” Damon shrugged.
“Did you bring the device?”
“What do you want with it?”
“Oh, me personally? Nothing. I'm just doing what I'm told.” She looked at him with a glint in her eye, she knew exactly how to get to him, “You know Damon, we’re on the same side.”
“Oh yeah? What side is that?”
Isobel dropped the bomb, “Katherine's. She wants John Gilbert to have the device and I think that you know that she's not happy when she doesn't get what she wants.”
Damon scowled, he knew that Isobel thought that at the mention of Katherine, he would do anything, he was so sick of people assuming that he was still obsessed with sluttier version of Elena, he couldn’t wait until she came to town and he could lock her up for Nik, “Why are you doing her dirty work?”
“Don't kill the messenger. We both know that you can't control Katherine. She does what she wants.”
“So do I,” he replied.
“Really,” she said, walking towards him, “What shall we do now?” she leant up to kiss him, but just before their lips touched, Damon slammed her to the ground.
“Now that I have your attention, listen up. You do not come into my town; and threaten the people I care about! Going after Maya! Bad move. You leave her alone or I will rip you to pieces! Because I do believe in killing the messenger. You know why? Because it sends a message. Katherine wants something from me? You tell that little bitch to come get it herself!” he snarled, snapping her neck and then speeding off.
The next day, Elena was back at the high-school, “Maya!” she called, “Have you seen Stefan?”
The girl shook her head, “No, did you hear anything else from Isobel?” she asked.
“No, nothing yet.”
“Alright,” Maya replied and turned to leave, but paused and sighed, “If you see Isobel and you can’t get hold of Stefan, you can call me.” She needed to make sure that Elena stayed safe until Nik got there.
“Really?” Elena asked suspiciously.
“Yes.” Maya nodded, she turned to leave again and bumped into Isobel.
Elena froze, “Isobel, what are you doing here?”
Isobel smirked, “I’m your mother Elena, I want to be more involved in your life.”
“I don’t want you in my life!”
“I understand that,” Isobel nodded, “You already have a lot of people that you care about, I’ve been studying. Let’s see if I got this right,” she looked over at Bonnie, “There’s the Witch best friend, Bonnie, gonna stay away from that one. Oh,” she spotted Jeremy, “The little brother Jeremy, your mother Miranda.” Isobel looked at Maya then, “And you have no shortage of loved ones either, Caroline, Jenna, the Sheriff. So many to chose from!” Maya clenched her fist, holding herself back from killing Isobel where she stood. Damon, Enzo and her mother had agreed that she wouldn’t out herself as a Witch to Katherine’s minions for as long as possible. “And there's Matt, friend to you both, ex-boyfriend to you Elena, current boyfriend to Caroline, there’s lots of connections there.”
“Matt is not involved in this!” Elena exclaimed, looking over at Maya, wondering why she wasn’t doing anything to stop the Vampire.
“He’s involved with you, isn’t he?”
“You need to leave Isobel,” Maya said, she was very close to blowing her cover, if Isobel threatened Caroline or Jeremy again, there’s no telling what she would do.
“No, I have some friends here too. Look, you see that man over here, standing next to Matt by the float? His name is Frank.” They looked over to Matt, who was working on the back of the float by himself, with the man standing very near him, “He noticed that the braces are rusted on the float, which is very dangerous. I mean, all you have to do is apply a little bit of pressure…” Isobel nodded and the man jumped on the trailer above Matt, trapping the boys arm between bits of metal, causing him to cry out in pain.
“No!” Elena exclaimed, trying to run forward, but Isobel grabbed her, to stop her moving. Maya, however, evaded Isobel’s grasp with her magically enhanced reflexes, and rushed over to help get the trailer off of Matt. “Why are you doing this?” Elena cried, never in her life did she think that her birth mother would be this kind of person.
“I’m showing you how easy it is to hurt the people that you care about.”
“And you're doing this just because of Jonathan Gilbert's invention?” Elena struggled in the Vampire’s grip, desperately trying to get away.
“Hand it over, and this will all stop.”
“I told you! Damon is not going to give it to me.”
“I had noticed he doesn’t look at you the way you’d think, but he does look at Maya like that.”
“He’ll kill you before he gives it up!”
“Is that before, or after I kill Jeremy?”
“What? Jeremy?” Elena spun around, her brother had disappeared, “Jeremy!” she cried, turning around and finding Isobel gone too.
/ / /
Maya paused in her assistance of Matt when she felt a twinge in her heart, looking up, she couldn’t see Jeremy anywhere, “Jeremy?” she whispered. “No!”
Maya had Enzo rush her home, she needed the Gilbert device, she wasn’t about to put Jeremy in any more jeopardy, she knew that Isobel wouldn’t hesitate to kill him should she need to. “Enzo, you and Rebekah need to find Jeremy!” she pulled out a map, dripped her blood over it and cast a locator spell, she and Jeremy were cousins through their mothers, so she could use her own blood to find him. “Damn it!” she cursed, it looked like there was a Vampire with Jeremy, because he was being taken from place to place every thirty seconds. “Isobel’s not keeping him in one place!”
“Hey, take it easy,” Enzo grabbed her arms, “You keep Isobel busy, Rebekah and I will find your cousin, she’s faster than your average Vampire, we’ll find him. I promise.”
Maya panted in panic, she should have accounted for this, but she hadn’t, she should have just handed over the device, instead of wanting to play with Isobel, now Jeremy was in danger. “Please Enzo, I can’t let anything happen to him!”
Enzo grabbed the map, “I’ll bring him home,” he whooshed out of the room, to meet Rebekah and find the littlest Gilbert.
Maya grabbed the device from her magic room and raced out of the house, Isobel wanted Elena to deliver the device, outside of the Grill in the parking lot, plenty of foot traffic made for it to be the best place for an exchange.
/ / /
Elena was waiting in the Grill parking lot, the device tucked into her pocket, Maya was waiting in the wings, fuming that she’d allowed this to happen to Jeremy, “I’m gonna kill that bitch!” she growled.
“That’s my wife!” Alaric protested, “You’re not killing her!”
“She kidnapped my cousin! She’s fair game Alaric.”
“She doesn’t have her emotions on!”
“I don’t care!”
“I thought you wanted her to get to Katherine!” Alaric pointed out, “You can’t do that if she’s dead.”
Maya grit her teeth, she’d promised Nik that she’d get Katherine into town, and if she killed Isobel, she’d jeopardise that, but Jeremy was hers, and Isobel had taken him, she was torn between her duty to her family, and the promise she’d made to her love. And then her eyes lit up, she knew what to do, she shot Nik a text, telling him what was going on, and he responded back that he would take care of it for her. Isobel may leave Mystic Falls alive, but she wasn’t going to stay that way for long.
“If Jeremy’s hurt in any way, it won’t matter.”
/ / /
“Where is the device?” Isobel asked, appearing behind Elena, and she spun around.
“Where is my brother?”
“This is not negotiation. Where is the invention?”
“Where is my brother?!”
“Do you really think that I came alone?” two Vampires walked into the lot, at Elena’s back, she glanced behind her and then looked back at Isobel.
“Do you think that I came alone?” Damon and Stefan stood behind Isobel, both looking very stoic.
“For God’s sake,” Isobel rolled her eyes, “Call home.”
“What?!”
“Call home and ask to speak to your brother.”
Elena pulled out her phone and dialled her house, and Jeremy answered, “Jeremy! Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, Rebekah and Enzo had found him, just before Isobel’s minions were due to take him home, “What’s wrong?”
“I-I just had a bad feeling,” Elena said, thinking that he’d been compelled to forget what had happened to him. She said her goodbyes, and hung up the phone, “You were never gonna hurt him.”
“No I was going to kill him,” Isobel refuted, “Don’t go looking for any redeeming qualities in me. I don’t have any.”
Elena handed the device to Isobel, “Thank you,” she finally said.
Isobel paused, “For what?”
“For being such a monumental disappointment. I’ve never been happier to know that Miranda Gilbert is my real mother.”
“You don’t understand Nik,” Maya said, her astral form looking at the man stood next to her, “When Isobel took Jeremy…The only other time I’ve been that scared, is when Logan took Caroline and nearly killed her! I never felt more powerless than I did in that moment.”
Klaus turned to look at her head on, he reached out, his hand running down the outline of her cheek, and she wished, not for the first time, that she could feel him, “I’ll put one of my men on Jeremy, they’ll watch him 24/7 until I get into town. I’ll protect your cousin,” he said, “I swear.”
Maya closed her eyes, imagining the feel of his skin on hers, “Thank you Nik.”
"I have something for you anyway," he took out his phone and pulled up a video, Isobel was being chained up, by two of his people.
"You caught her!" Maya smiled.
"My men picked her up just as she was leaving town, Kol's on his way to her, he'll compel her to his bidding, and then kill herself when she's done."
Maya was very happy with that, "I love you," she whispered.
Klaus's eyes filled with heat, “Three months,” he said, “Three months and I’m coming for you. I promise.”
John kicked the door in his apartment in frustration, “The device doesn’t work!”
“What do you mean it doesn’t work?” Isobel asked.
“I tried it out around that Vampire you left tied up for me, nothing happened!”
“There’s only one person in that town that could fix it,” Isobel said, “Sheila Bennett, she’s a Witch, and the device was spelled by her ancestor.”
“You think she’ll help?”
“Word on the street is, she hates Vampires, almost as much as she hates Elena’s cousin…couldn’t figure out why that is, but…you can use it to your advantage. Don’t screw this up John, Katherine wants all the tomb Vampires dead. If you can’t do it, she’ll kill you.”
John hung up the phone and got in his car, it was late, but this couldn’t wait, he needed the device to work.
/ / /
There was a knock on Sheila’s door, and she frowned, she was just about to go to bed, looking out the window, she was perplexed, what was John Gilbert doing at her house at this time of night? Going downstairs, she opened the door a crack, “What are you doing here?”
“Ms Bennett, I need your help.”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they are awesome!
Chapter 56: The Gilbert Device
Notes:
Thanks for the comments and kudos!
Don't expect this to be the norm, I just had to get this scene out of my head! It's super short!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Grams?” Bonnie asked, spotting Sheila pouring over Emily’s grimoire, she has a small metal object on the table next to her, with several spell ingredients. “What are you doing?”
“Bonnie!” Sheila looked up, she didn’t have the power to recreate Emily’s spell, but with Bonnie’s help, perhaps they could fix it. “Come here! I want to show you this spell!”
Bonnie brightened, her Grams had been teaching her magic, but very slowly, she didn’t think that she’d get to do any of the spells in the grimoire for a long time. Putting down her bag, she came over to the table, “What is it?”
“Your ancestor, created a device to use as a weapon against Vampires.” Shelia gestured to the small metal object on the table, “Of course Maya Sommers got a hold of it, and siphoned out all the magic, rendering it useless!” Sheila frowned, she’d had enough of that girl, taking things that didn’t belong to her, destroying precious magical items that her ancestor had created. It was time to do something about her, she'd allowed an abomination to grow powerful in her town, but not any more, and she would start, by removing her Vampire protection.
“Why do you have it?” Bonnie asked, “What are we doing?”
“We’re going to re-spell it.”
“Wait, we?”
“Yes,” Sheila nodded, “You’re going to help me.”
Jeremy had been dragged to the Founder’s Day Parade by his mother and John, they’d abandoned him as soon as they saw the Mayor, all three of them looking very suspicious. The youngest Gilbert scowled; he was tired of being left out of the loop by his family. John kept dropping these un-subtle hints about Vampires, while his mother was trying to keep him far away from anything to do with them. They were obviously up to something, and he was going to find out what. He just needed a little help to do it, spotting his Aunt Jenna, he jogged over to her, catching her attention.
“Jeremy? What’s up?” she thought he looked concerned.
“I think Mom and Uncle John are up to something, they’ve been sneaking around, and they’ve just gone off with the Mayor.”
Jenna frowned, Maya had told her that she had a bad feeling about today, and a secret Council meeting didn’t sound good. “Where did they go?” she asked.
“Towards dad’s clinic.”
“I’ll deal with it.” She said, “Go find Maya.”
“What are you gonna do?” he asked.
“I’m on the Council now, I’m going to see what they’re up to.”
/ / /
Liz walked into the old clinic, after Jenna, her friend had texted her that there was some sort of Council meeting and they’d both raced over, just as John and Richard started talking.
“This is the key.” John held up the part of the device that Sheila had given him, “Once inserted, the device will be activated. It will work only once for an estimated time of 5 minutes.”
“How does it work?” Richard asked.
“It's a high pitched frequency that humans can't hear. Any vampires within a five-block radius will be incapacitated, exposing them. At that time, the Sheriff’s Deputies will inject them with vervain and bring them here, where we will finish them all.”
“There’s been no Vampire activity since Damon killed the last one,” Jenna said, “Don’t you think you’re wasting something you only have one shot with?”
John glared at her, “All signs indicate that there are Vampire’s in town, what are you even doing here Jenna? You’re not one of the Founding Families.”
“A lot has changed since you were last here,” Liz cut in, before Jenna went off on John, “She’s a part of the Council, and she’s right. There aren’t any Vampires in Mystic Falls.”
“And how can you be so sure?” John asked.
“Because I have this!” Liz pulled out her compass, “And unlike the Gilbert compass, mine covers the entire span of the town, as you can see, no movement what so ever. Which means, there's no Vampires here!”
“Where did you get that?” John asked, eyes widening.
“That’s none of your business,” Jenna replied, “You don’t live in town anymore, so you don’t get to know all of the Council’s secrets.”
“I’m inclined to agree,” Mayor Lockwood said.
“Richard,” Miranda admonished, “John’s here to help us.”
“By wasting a serious weapon that could be used against Vampires when there are none in town?” Jenna asked.
“The hospital-”
“There haven’t been any more dead hikers, robbed blood banks, or mysterious disappearances since John brought them to our attention. How many Vampires do you even think are here?” Jenna was unimpressed.
“Twenty-six,” John replied.
“What?” Liz asked, she knew that John was worried about Vampires, but to think that there were that many in town, that was ridiculous!
“In 1864, that church fire was a cover, in reality 26 Vampires were locked away in a tomb, they’ve just been let out.”
Liz looked over at Jenna worriedly, but the younger woman shook her head and rolled her eyes, “That’s what you’re worried about? The tomb Vampires?”
“You know about them?” John asked, perplexed, he was expecting more scepticism from Jenna, but it was like the information wasn’t new to her.
“Yeah,” Jenna nodded, “I know about them, I also know that they’re all dead.”
“What?”
“What are you talking about?” Miranda asked.
“This is my home, my daughter’s home, I couldn’t take the chance that someone was going to come to town and let a bunch of angry starving Vampires out. So I had the tomb opened, and burnt the Vampires to ash.”
“That’s impossible!” John protested.
“Did you get Maya to do it?!” Miranda asked, horrified.
“Someone had to protect this town,” Jenna shrugged.
“They can’t all be dead!”
“You think I let any of them out?” Jenna held her hand over her heart, “They’re vicious monsters John! I have a daughter, I’d never let her get hurt!”
John clenched his jaw, and moved to say something but Liz cut him off, “Is that all?” she asked, “Because if that’s all we were here for, I think we’re done. You should put the device back in the Council’s archives, so that when we actually have need of it, we can use it.”
“Agreed,” Richard nodded, at John’s look he elaborated, “You said the device will only work once, and we don’t have any proof that there are Vampires in town. Get proof, and then we can use the device.”
Maya pulled out her phone as it chirped with a notification she’d just received a message from her Mom, “The Gilbert device is working, get the guys out of here!”
Maya’s eyes widened, that was impossible, she’d drained the device of all of it’s magic, and Sheila wasn’t powerful enough to re-spell it, unless… oh shit! Maya’s eyes widened as she raced off to find her friends, Caroline and Damon were still on the float, she needed to find Enzo…and Rebekah! She put her phone to her ear, as she called her friends, “Rebekah!” Maya gasped as she picked up the phone, “Get home now! The Council is going to use a device to expose Vampires! Get out of here!”
“What about the boys?!” the Original asked alarmed, already headed home.
“I’ll take care of it,” Maya replied, “Just keep yourself safe, and make sure Nik’s wolves stay inside too!”
She hung up on Rebekah, she couldn’t find Enzo, but she did spot Stefan, “Stefan!” she called, he was stood with Elena.
“Maya?” Stefan was confused, she never really spoke to him without his brother.
“Stefan, you have to get out of here!”
“What?”
“What are you talking about Maya?” Elena asked.
“That device we gave to Isobel, John got the Bennett’s to re-spell it, it’s a weapon to use against Vampires, you need to get home, right now!” It was getting dark, and Maya could feel like she didn’t have much time left.
Jenna was driving Enzo and Damon back to her house, they didn’t trust that John would listen to her and needed to get inside before he set off the device. Liz and Maya had stayed behind at the parade to look for him, he’d disappeared shortly after they told him to give up the device. “Do you have any idea where he went?” Maya asked, looking around the people that had started to disperse.
Liz shook her head, “I checked the clinic, he’s gone, Richard said that John kept the device with him, and some of my deputies are missing as well.”
“Where’s Caroline?” Maya asked, if she’d gotten in a car with Tyler, she was going to be in trouble when John set off that weapon.
“I sent her home.”
“Alone?”
“Yeah,” Liz nodded.
“Oh thank God,” the red-head sighed in relief, there was no chance that Caroline would be in trouble tonight then. All they had to do was find John, and take the weapon from him.
/ / /
“John are you sure this is a good idea?” Miranda asked, they were in the apartment above the clinic, no one thinking to look there as it had been empty for years.
“Miranda I’m telling you, there are Vampires here, if we don’t get rid of them now, then Jeremy and Elena are going to be in trouble.”
Miranda froze, she couldn’t bear the thought of losing either one of her children, she’d lost her husband, she’d be damned if one of her kids ended up hurt. “Okay,” she nodded, “Are we ready?”
“The deputies are in place,” John confirmed, checking his phone, he switched on the device, and peaked out of the curtains in the apartment, seeing if he could spot any Vampires dropping to the ground in pain. “What?” he muttered.
“What is it?” Miranda asked, coming over to the window.
“No one’s dropping!”
/ / /
Maya spun around as she tried to get a lock on John, where could he possibly be? She resolved to head over to the clinic, and see if he’d left any clues, when she felt a stabbing pain in her chest. “AAH!” she screamed.
Liz grabbed her and pulled her up, and into the alley, “Maya! What is it? What happened?!”
Maya panted as she looked up at Liz in fear, “Caroline,” she whispered.
/ / /
Richard was driving himself home, he’d sent Tyler and Carol ahead of him, his car was speeding down a back road, when he heard an ear-splitting screech. “Argh!” he groaned, letting go of the wheel, the sound got louder as his car swerved out of control, he didn’t realise what had happened, but he’d sped up, he was going over twice the speed limit, and slammed into another car. Richard’s chest cracked against the steering wheel, his air bag didn’t deploy, as his car spun off and hit a tree.
/ / /
Caroline was on her way home, pissed because John Gilbert’s little idea had ruined the rest of the parade, there were supposed to be speeches and fireworks, but it had been shut down, and her Mom had sent her away. Sighing, she slowed down as she came up to a stop sign, and just before she pulled off, someone slammed into her from behind. Her car flipped over, the latch on her seatbelt snapping open, and she was thrown through the windshield, landing on the ground ten feet from her car. Caroline Forbes, died before she hit the floor.
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they're awesome!
Chapter 57: The Sun Sets
Chapter Text
Enzo grabbed his chest, wincing as he felt pain lance through him, “Maya,” he whispered, rushing out of the house and in the direction he felt she was in. He didn’t know what had happened, but it wasn’t good, Maya wasn’t in pain, she was in agony, he needed to find her.
/ / /
Liz and Maya sped down the back roads in her police cruiser, Maya was directing her to where she’d last felt Caroline’s presence. Liz slammed on the breaks as she came upon the scene of the accident. “Oh my God!” Liz whispered.
Maya raced out of the car the moment it stopped, “No! No! No!” she saw Caroline laid out on the ground, “CAROLINE!” Maya screamed, falling to her knees beside the body, “Caroline! No!”
Liz rushed up after her, and ended up on the other side of Caroline, “No! Caroline!” Liz reached for her daughter, checking her pulse. “NO!”
“Sunshine!” Maya gasped, “Sunshine please!” she shook Caroline’s shoulders hoping to rouse the girl, “Please wake up!” she cried, tears streaming down her face, “Please don’t do this!” she placed her hands on Caroline’s chest, “Wake up!”
“Caroline,” Liz was crying too, “Caroline, please I can’t lose you!”
Maya couldn’t stop crying, Caroline wasn’t breathing, she had no pulse, she didn’t know what to do, she threw herself over Caroline, sobbing, but just as she’d given up hope, her hands started to glow red, and she snatched them back in shock. “Oh my God!” she whispered.
Liz tried to hold back tears, “What is it?”
“There’s magic in her,” Maya gasped.
“What?! What does that mean?” Maya looked at Caroline’s body in astonishment, “Maya! What does that mean?!”
“It means that she has Vampire blood in her system,” Enzo said, appearing behind them.
Liz looked at him in shock, “What?”
“Rebekah’s been giving Caroline her blood, in case of emergency,” he looked down at Caroline’s bloody body, her cuts and abrasions were slowly healing, too slow for a human to see, but not for him, “It looks like there was an emergency.”
“Enzo?” Maya looked up at him, with tears in her eyes.
He looked at her with sympathy, “It will be okay,” he crouched down pulling her to him, “She’s healing, I can see it.” Liz and Maya looked back at Caroline, they couldn’t see it. “Trust me love, Liz, she’s going to wake up.”
“When?!”
“As soon as her body’s healed,” Enzo replied, “We need to get her out of here.”
“I-Wh-We can’t, we can’t move her,” Liz said, still not really understanding what was happening to her daughter.
“Liz,” he said, coming over to her, lifting the woman up, “The Council can’t know about this, and Caroline shouldn’t wake up here, she should wake up somewhere comfortable, safe.”
“But-” Liz sniffled, looking at the carnage, the other car that she hadn’t even checked on, “All of this…”
“I’ll take care if it,” he’d texted Rebekah and Damon the moment that he’d seen Caroline’s body, strewn on the ground, “We have to go.”
Rebekah appeared to see the disaster before her, “God!” she whooshed over to the women and Enzo, “What happened?!”
“Jesus,” Damon looked around surprise, how had this happened? They’d gotten everybody to safety before John’s plan could take fruition, they’d sent Caroline home to be safe, and now she was dead!
“Caroline’s dead,” Enzo said, taking charge of the situation, he knew that Maya and Liz wouldn't be in any shape to do anything, “You get her home,” he said to Damon, “Rebekah, take them,” he nodded at the two women, who hadn’t let go of Caroline, “I’ll take care of the car.”
The Vampires nodded, the Original grabbed Maya and Liz, and sped to the Sommers House, Damon gently lifted the blonde’s broken body, and took her back to their home. While Enzo grabbed Caroline’s car, and dragged it far from the accident site. He wanted to rush back to Maya, knowing that she wouldn’t be okay until Caroline woke up. But there was still the matter of Richard Lockwood, his car crumpled against a tree, the man himself, dead inside, he was the Mayor, Enzo couldn’t just make him disappear. Sighing, he whooshed over to the Boarding House, grabbed the keys for Damon’s car, and drove back to the accident, where he made a phone call to the Sheriff’s department, and waited for a deputy to show up.
Maya was curled up on the loveseat across from the couch, Damon had placed Caroline down in the living room, Liz was holding Caroline’s hand, sobbing, Enzo and Rebekah had assured her that her daughter would wake up, but she still hadn’t, and every moment that passed made her pain grow. “This is my fault,” Maya muttered, her hands in her hair as she shook her head, “This is my fault, this is my fault.”
“Hey,” Enzo said, grabbing hold of her, “This isn’t your fault, you didn’t do this!”
Maya shook her head, “I gave Bonnie the grimoire! The device didn’t work, I made sure of it! Bonnie and Sheila re-spelled it! That’s what made Richard crash his car!”
“Look at me!” Enzo demanded, “You didn’t do this! Sheila spelled it, John set off the device, even though he’d been told not to. They are the ones to blame for this, not you, do you understand me?!”
Maya’s eyes hardened as she realised that Enzo was right, there were two people responsible for Caroline’s death, and she would make them pay.
Katherine walked into the Gilbert house with a smile as Jeremy invited her inside, thinking that she was Elena. She was pissed, John was supposed to kill the tomb Vampires, without going after the Salvatores, but her little spy in the Sheriff’s Department told her that he’d set it off at the parade, when everyone was there. Not only had he betrayed her, but he screwed up, there were no Vampires in the town centre, she sighed, if she wanted something done right, then it looked like she was going to have to do it herself.
She walked into the kitchen and saw John opening the fridge, pulling out some milk, he shut the door and jumped when he saw her, “Elena! You scared me!”
“Sorry,” Katherine shrugged.
Sighing, John put the milk down, “You know, I first met Isobel when I was a teenager. I fell in love with her instantly, although I'm pretty sure she never loved me… She was special. A part of why I hate Vampires so much is because of what she became, how it ruined her. I never would have sent her to Damon if I had known that she wanted to turn.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Katherine asked, wondering what John was trying to accomplish, “It’s my fault, I’m telling you because I hoped maybe you’d understand why I did what I did.”
“It didn’t work, you didn’t catch any Vampires.”
“Yeah,” John nodded, “I’m starting to believe that Jenna was telling the truth.”
“Jenna?”
“She said that the tomb Vampires are all dead, said that they’d been killed before I came to town.”
“But you still used the device, you tried to kill Stefan and Damon!”
“I was just trying to protect you Elena! Wherever Vampires go, death and destruction follow, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I understand,” Katherine nodded. She was done playing Elena, she looked at John with a smirk as he turned his back on her, she was about to attack him, when the front door burst open.
John rushed to the hallway, where Maya stood with Enzo, eyes ablaze with fury. “Maya! What are-”
She cut him off with a punch to the face, and he fell to the ground, Maya followed him down, slamming her fist into his face again and again. John tried to defend himself, but she was too strong, Enzo glared at Elena, when it looked like she was going to get involved, “Don’t even think about it,” he growled.
Maya wasn’t even using her magic, her anger was what was fuelling her, “Maya!” Katherine gasped out, pretending that she was the human, in truth, Katherine was very interested in what was happening. Her spy didn’t have much information on her, “What are you doing?!” she made to move forward, but the man with her closed the door behind him, and whooshed over to her, slamming her against the wall, he was a Vampire, how interesting. “Not a word Elena,” he said, “John set off the device! It affected Richard Lockwood, and he crashed into Caroline’s car! She’s dead! Which means so is John!”
Katherine’s eyes widened, Caroline was the Sheriff’s daughter, if Richard had killed her, then he’d just activated his curse! That was very good news, “Stop her!” she mock struggled against the younger Vampire, she didn’t know his name, but she’d find out, she didn’t know that there was another Vampire in town.
Maya’s last punch knocked John out, his face was covered in blood, but instead of stopping there, she wordlessly cast a spell to enhance her strength momentarily, and used it to snap John’s neck. Standing up, she looked over at Enzo, “Let’s go,” she said, completely ignoring who she thought was Elena.
Enzo nodded and let go of Katherine, “Come on love,” they had one more stop to make.
Bonnie was walking up the steps to her Gram’s home, when she heard a noise from behind her, whirling around, she was met with a face full of powder, she coughed and realised that she couldn’t feel her magic, “What-” she cut herself off as she saw Enzo stood in front of her, and it was then that she noticed Maya coming up behind him, a cold mask of rage on her face.
Maya glanced at Bonnie, but continued up the steps, she held out her hand to the front door, “Concutere!” the door exploded, and the Siphon walked inside.
“No!” Bonnie yelled, struggling to get free, she couldn’t fight him off, her magic was gone!
“Struggling wont help,” Enzo said, looking at the baby Witch, “That powder mutes your magic, it won’t be back for hours.”
“What are you doing?!”
“Your grandmother meddled in something she had no business in. She re-spelled the device.”
“But you’re fine!” Bonnie protested, “No one got hurt!”
Enzo glared at her, “The device affected Richard Lockwood, he was driving home, and crashed his car into Caroline’s.”
“What?” Bonnie stilled, what was he saying?
“The Mayor’s dead, died on impact, and so did Caroline.”
“Oh God! We didn’t mean for-”
“I don't care what you meant, you took something that wasn't yours to take, destroyed something that was so much better than either of you! For that, someone needs to be punished.”
“What are you gonna do?” Bonnie asked, but Enzo didn’t reply, “Tell me!”
/ / /
Maya walked inside Sheila’s house, the woman threw a spell at her, that she just knocked away, “Do you know what you did?” she asked, her voice ice, eyes glowing black and green, dark veins crawling across her skin, hair turning to midnight. “DO YOU?!” she thundered.
Sheila tried to stop Maya from advancing, “Phasmatos muro construere!” she erected an invisible wall in front of her, hoping to stop the girl, but the Siphon merely raised her hand, absorbing the magic of the wall until it disappeared.
“You killed Caroline!” Sheila’s eyes widened, she hadn’t touched the girl.
“I didn’t!”
“You re-spelled the device! It didn’t hurt the Vampires! It hurt the Lockwoods!”
Sheila shook her head in denial, that wasn’t possible, neither of the Lockwoods were triggered, their hearing wasn’t supernatural, “That’s not possible!”
“Richard Lockwood drove his car into Caroline! She’s dead!” A storm gathered in the air as Maya revealed the truth, lightning struck Sheila’s garden, while thunder rocked the house.
“No!”
“SHE’S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!” Maya roared, knocking away the older woman’s hands and gripping her around her throat, “I SHOULD KILL BONNIE, I SHOULD MAKE YOU FEEL WHAT I FEEL!”
Sheila struggled against Maya’s grasp, “Mot-”
Maya cut her off, choking her, “I’m gonna take something that you love.”
Sheila couldn’t move, Maya’s abilities were so vastly superior to anything that she was prepared for, she couldn’t protect her granddaughter, Maya was going to take Bonnie from her, that was the only thing she could think off.
Maya’s hands glowed red, as she began to Siphon from the old woman, “Abscindere naturam, magicam accipere illam,” she chanted, and Sheila’s eyes widened, struggling as she realised what Maya was doing, “Abscindere naturam, magicam accipere illam!” she couldn’t stop the girl, her magic slowly draining away.
When Maya was finished, she dropped the Bennett Witch to the ground, “What have you done?!” Sheila cried out, she couldn’t feel her magic, couldn’t feel nature, she couldn’t feel anything.
“I contemplated turning you into a Vampire, making you live forever, without nature, it’s torture for a Witch, so few actually get through that loss. But then I thought, you don’t deserve forever. Without your magic to sustain you, you will fade away. You will never practice magic, you will never feel nature, you will suffer being human, you will die broken, and alone, knowing that when you leave this world, you will never see your family again.” Maya dragged Sheila over to the front, “Enzo,” she called.
Enzo appeared at the doorway, he’d knocked Bonnie out, leaving her on the porch swing, he sneered at the old woman, leaning in, pupils widening as he compelled her, “You will leave Mystic Falls tonight, you will never contact the Bennetts again, you will never tell anyone who and what Maya is, you will never work against her, or her allies, you will leave, knowing that your granddaughter will suffer without you. Because the Originals are coming,” he whispered, “And they’re loyal to Maya, Bonnie will be punished for your indiscretions, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Without her magic, Sheila was no longer protected against compulsion, Enzo’s words took hold, as tears streamed down her face, she couldn’t stop him, she couldn’t save Bonnie. The Original’s would destroy this town, they would break her granddaughter, and she was powerless to stop them. She should have left Maya alone.
Maya dropped Sheila to the floor when Enzo was finished, “Enjoy life as nothing, Sheila Bennett.”
Katherine walked over to John after Maya and Enzo left, it appeared that she had a lot to learn about the cousin and the new comer, she didn’t like being kept in the dark and she didn’t like wild cards, she would have to deal with them. She heard the door click and got on her knees, pretending to cry over John’s lifeless corpse. “Oh God! Uncle John!” she said.
Miranda walked in and saw her daughter kneeling over John, “Oh my God!” she rushed over to the two, “What happened?!”
“Mom!” Katherine cried, “I walked in and found him like this! I think he’s dead!”
“John!” Miranda reached for her brother-in-law, checking his pulse, “His heart’s not beating!” she started chest compressions, “Elena call 911.” She looked up at her daughter, “ELENA NOW!” Katherine jumped up and grabbed the phone, “I need an ambulance to 2104 Maple Street,” she looked over at Miranda, “They’re on the way.” Katherine looked down at John again, a smirk creeping across her face, but it dropped when John coughed, and came back to life, that was impossible! Unless…there was something supernatural about Elena’s cousin.
Maya and Enzo rushed back home, “Is she awake yet?” Maya asked.
“Maya!” Jenna exclaimed, her daughter was covered in blood, not to mention that her hand was all messed up, “What the hell happened?”
“I killed John,” she dismissed, walking over to Caroline, who was still dead, but her body looked much better, the cuts and bruises were all gone, meaning that she should be up very soon.
“What?!” Liz turned around, it was the first time that she’d taken her eyes off of her daughter, and was horrified at the sight. There was blood on Maya’s face, her clothes, her hands. Her right hand in particular looked severely damaged.
“He’ll wake up,” she said, “It was a supernatural death.”
Before Liz could reply, Caroline woke with a start, “What happened?” she asked.
/ / /
“I’m dead?” Caroline asked incredulously, as she looked around the room, at Damon, Enzo, Jenna, Maya, Rebekah and her mom. “I can’t be dead!” she said.
“Caroline,” Liz started.
“No! No! I’m not dead! I’m not! I can’t be I was just driving home! I’m fine!”
Maya went to move closer, but Enzo held her back, and Damon stepped forward, sitting down on the edge of the couch, reaching for Caroline, “Blondie, hey, look at me. Blondie. Caroline!” He took her arms in his hands, “Look at me. This is happening, Caroline, you’re dead.”
“But-but I’m awake! I’m breathing!”
“Car-Caroline,” Rebekah said, coming over to the young girl, “You died with my blood in your system, it brought you back, and now you have a decision to make.”
Caroline teared up, her life as she knew it was over, “Maya?” she asked, looking over at her friend.
Maya tried to come forward again, but Enzo stopped her, “Enzo let me go!”
“No!” he said, “It’s too dangerous!”
“I can take care of myself!”
“You’re covered in blood!”
Maya rolled her eyes, “Lautus!” the blood disappeared. Her hand was still a mess, but at least there wouldn’t be any extra temptation for Caroline, she shook off Enzo and rushed over to her best friend. “Sunshine, sweetheart,” she slipped her hand into Caroline’s.
“What am I supposed to do?” she asked.
Maya took a breath, she couldn’t believe she was going to say this, “You’re gonna do what you want to do, you have a choice too make. You drink human blood, and you become a Vampire, you’ll live, but you’ll be stuck at this age, forever, you won’t be able to have children, at least, ones that aren’t biologically yours, and then there’s the bloodlust.” She gripped Caroline’s hand tighter, “But you’ll live, you can see the world, do anything that you want to, be anyone you want to be.”
“What’s the alternative?” Caroline asked.
“You die,” Damon said simply, “Those are your only options.”
Caroline’s eyes slid to her mother, “Mom?”
“Caroline,” Liz said, brushing away her tears, “I can’t lose you,” she whispered.
Caroline looked between the Vampires, “Will you help me?” she asked, “Will you teach me?”
“Of course love,” Enzo came forward then, “We’ll show you how to survive as a Vampire. We promise.”
Caroline turned her attention back to Maya, knowing that her friend wouldn’t take away her choice, “I- I want to have a shower.”
Maya nodded, “Okay, okay, come on,” she got up, and helped her Sunshine stand up, “Aunt Liz, will you help me?” Liz got up and all three of them went upstairs.
Damon sighed, “I’ll get a blood bag,” he said, going to the basement, Jenna wouldn’t let them keep the blood in the kitchen fridge, because she thought it was gross.
/ / /
Caroline was fresh out of the shower, in bed, with her mother and Maya sat opposite her, “How long do I have left?” she asked.
“Best estimate,” Maya said, “A couple hours, you suffered a lot of damage in the car accident.”
Caroline looked at her mom, “Mom, can I have a minute alone with Maya?”
Liz glanced at her god-daughter, who nodded, “Of course honey, I’ll be right outside okay.”
When she left, the red-head moved closer to the blonde, “What is it Sunshine? We talked about being a Vampire, I mean, that’s why you have like four different pieces of daylight jewellery. What’s going on?”
“What if I can’t do this?” Caroline asked.
“What?”
“I’m not equipped to be a Vampire! I’m insecure, and neurotic, and a perfectionist! How is that going to translate into being a Vampire?!”
“Sunshine,” Maya said, “I think, you’re going to be amazing! And yes, it’s gonna be difficult, and I’m not gonna lie to you, no matter how much and how hard you try, you will end up killing someone, I won’t judge you for it, I’ll never judge you for it. I mean I’m not one to talk, I just beat John Gilbert to death.”
“WHAT?!”
“He killed you Caroline, what was I supposed to do?”
“You killed him for me?” she asked, her heart warming a little, which was a little worrying.
“Of course I did, I mean he was wearing his stupid ring, so he’ll come back to life, but I’ll do it again if you want.”
“Don’t kill him again! I’m sure Kol’s gonna want to have a go,” she shrugged, and Maya smiled.
“You want Kol to kill him?”
“I don’t want it, but I don’t see how I could stop it…”
Maya shook her head, “Okay, do you wanna run the clock out, or do you want some blood?”
“I don’t wanna die,” Caroline replied. Maya grabbed the glass from the nightstand, and cut open her hand, allowing blood to drip into it. “What are you doing?”
“Your first drink shouldn’t be from some stranger, or a blood bag, it should be from someone who loves you, and trusts you.” She handed the glass over, “Plus, I’m pretty sure that if you transition with my blood, it will seal the evasion spell on you. You’ll be a baby Vampire, I want you to be protected.”
Caroline looked at the glass, everything in her was telling her to drink it, so she did, her Vampire face coming to the surface the moment she swallowed the blood. She looked up at her best friend in worry, “I’m so hungry.”
Maya waved her hand and the door opened, “DAMON! BLOOD BAGS!” she yelled, the elder Salvatore whooshed in, carrying several.
“I’ll take it from here.” He said, ushering the Siphon out, knowing that Caroline wouldn't want Maya to see her during her first feed, it was never pretty for a newbie Vamp.
Elena came home with Stefan, she wanted to check on Jeremy, when she opened the door, she gasped, there was blood all over the floor, “Oh my God! Jeremy!” she called, racing upstairs, Stefan with her, “Jeremy!” she burst into her brother’s room, but he wasn’t there. “Stefan! Jeremy’s gone!”
“Elena calm down, we’ll call him, find out where he is, okay?”
Elena pulled out her phone and dialled her brother, “Jeremy? Where are you?”
“What do you mean, where am I?” he repeated, “We’re at the hospital! You were with us!”
“What?! No I wasn’t!”
“Yes, you were Elena! Mom drove us both! What’s wrong with you?” Stefan grabbed the phone and hung up on Jeremy.
“Stefan, what-”
“Elena, he thinks that you were there with him! There’s only one way he could possibly believe that.”
Elena’s eyes widened, “What are you-”
“Katherine’s here!”
“Where’s Caroline?” Jenna asked, it was first thing in the morning, and she saw Liz and Maya, but no one else, “Where are the guys?”
“Caroline needs to learn how to be a Vampire,” Maya answered, “Damon and Enzo took her to Richmond, a big city is the best place to learn.”
“And that’s better than her being here in case she kills someone,” Liz replied. Jenna and Maya looked at her in shock, “And I can’t believe I just said that, but I’m gonna focus on Carol Lockwood and the fact that the Mayor is dead!” she headed out of the house, ignoring breakfast.
“She’s not handling Vampire Caroline well, is she?” Jenna asked.
Maya shook her head, “Nope.”
“I should probably go with her huh?”
“Yep.”
Bonnie woke up with a start on the couch in her grandmother’s living room, “Grams?” she called in a panic, she ran upstairs, and found her grandmother things missing, “Grams!” She ran back downstairs and found a note on the coffee table. Enzo had compelled Sheila to leave, compelled her to have no future contact with any Bennett’s, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t leave a note, she didn’t want her granddaughter to think that she was dead.
Bonnie gasped as she read what her Grams had written, her mother had disappeared, her father was barely there, and now Grams was gone.
Maya and Rebekah walked up the drive to the Lockwood mansion, “I don’t see why I should have to go to this thing, I didn’t even know the Mayor.”
“This is the perfect environment to get you invited inside, Carol’s not going to be paying attention, and this place hosts most of the parties you need an invite.”
“Fine,” she sighed, “Let’s get this over with.”
“Tyler,” Maya said, hugging him, “I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks for coming Maya,” Tyler said, hugging her back, tightening his arms around her, as he tried to keep a hold of himself. His father was dead, and though they didn’t have a good relationship, it still hurt.
Maya pulled back, “This is my friend Rebekah, she moved to town recently.”
“I just wanted to offer my condolences,” the Original said, “I recently lost my father, I understand what you’re going through.”
Tyler nodded, “Thank you,” he replied, “Please come in, my mom’s inside with the Sheriff.”
Maya and Rebekah nodded, crossing the threshold and walking in.
/ / /
Tyler’s job was to greet everyone as they arrived to the wake, he hated it, but it was better than being inside, he was looking out at the driveway, when he spotted a black truck driving up, “So the black sheep returns,” he said as a man got out of the truck and walked up the steps.
“Tyler?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“What happened to you? In my mind you were twelve years old.”
“That’s two years older than the last time you saw me, Uncle Mason.”
Mason hugged his nephew, “It’s good to see you again.”
“You too, come inside.”
/ / /
Elena was outside of John’s hospital room, “Are you ready for this?” Stefan asked.
“Yeah, let’s do this,” Elena replied, they walked inside, “John?” she asked, and he opened his eyes. “It’s Elena, I’m not Katherine.”
John coughed, “Why- why would you think that? Katherine’s here?!”
“Didn’t she do this to you?” Elena asked confused.
“Maya did!”
“What?” Stefan asked, “Why would she do this?”
“She said the device affected the Mayor, he crashed his car into Caroline, she’s dead.”
“Oh my God!”
/ / /
“Who’s that man with Carol?” Rebekah asked, eyeing him up and down like a piece of meat.
“The late Mayor’s much younger, much hotter brother, Mason Lockwood.”
“He is something to look at, isn’t he?” Rebekah replied.
“If I wasn’t so into your brother, I would climb him like a tree.” Maya saw Mason smirk, he’d definitely heard her, but she wasn’t embarrassed, he knew that he was hot.
“Well, you are into my brother, and I’m very happily single,” Rebekah replied.
Maya pulled out her phone and typed in a text, showing it to the Original, “He’s sleeping with Katherine.”
Rebekah made a face, “Oh please, as if she can compete with me,” she tossed her hair over her shoulder and the girls walked away.
/ / /
Bonnie walked in to the Lockwood Mansion, looking for Maya, she spotted Katherine, posing as Elena and headed over to her, “Hey! Have you seen Maya?”
Katherine shook her head “No, why?”
“She came over to Gram’s house last night, and now she’s gone!”
“I’m sorry,” Katherine said, “I haven’t seen her. Are you okay?”
Bonnie touched her, and got the feeling that she’d gotten the first time that she’d touched Stefan, “I’m fine,” she said abruptly, “I should go find Tyler,” she turned around and headed into the next room, pulling out her phone, dialling Elena.
“Hello?”
“Elena? Where are you?”
“I know I’m late! I’ll be there in five,” Elena hung up.
Bonnie turned around, and came face-to-face with Katherine, “We haven't officially met, I'm Katherine.”
“I know who you are.”
“Of course you do. You're the best friend, right? I've been putting all the pieces of Elena's life together. Isobel told me it was a bit of a puzzle. I do know who Miranda and Jeremy are and I met that delicious ex-boyfriend Matt, he’s sweet on Caroline, who’s best friends with Maya, the Gilbert cousin, and then there's you, the Vampire-hating Bennett Witch. Did I do good?”
Bonnie tried to get out of Katherine’s grip, but the Vampire was too fast, so Bonnie tried to use an aneurism spell on her. Katherine feigned being hurt for a second, before straightening with a smirk, “I've been around a long time Bonnie; you have to do better than that,” she caught the Witch by the throat and slammed her against the wall, her face changed, moving to attack her. But Bonnie threw the doors of the room open, hoping to catch the attention of someone. “Nice,” Katherine shrugged, before going in for her again.
“Leave her alone Katherine!” Stefan said, charging in.
“Okay,” the doppelgänger shrugged. Dropping the Witch and walking out of the room.
The younger Salvatore followed her out, “What are you doing here?”
“I thought that a public place would be less violent,” Katherine replied.
“You're taking this a little far don't you think? Elena could walk in at any moment.”
“But that's part of the fun Stefan!”
“You need to leave now Katherine,” the two of them were outside by the pool, thanks to the nature of the gathering at the Lockwood’s, no one was there.
“You’re hurting my feelings, Stefan. I’m sure Damon would be much happier to see me, where is your brother, by the way?”
“Katherine, I'm not doing this with you!” Stefan hissed, pulling her further away from the house.
“Okay, how about we don't have a couple's fight in front of all of your friends?” she asked, “Walk with me.”
“Just tell me what you're doing here!”
“Maybe I missed you. Is that an acceptable reason?”
“What game are you playing?”
“Why?” Katherine asked, pressing herself against him, “You wanna play with me?”
“I don't know,” Stefan shook his head, “How can I play if I don't know the rules?”
“No rules,” Katherine pulled back, “Don't you remember?” She walked off and Stefan followed, “The Lockwood's have a lot more land than they used to. Those tomb Vampires built them quite a fortune.”
“Yeah,” Stefan said, “Why did you want them dead? You are the one who turned most of them,” he didn’t understand, why would Katherine want the tomb Vampires gone?
Katherine sighed, “There's nothing more annoying than vengeful Vampire Stefan. Just ask John Gilbert.”
“You didn’t hurt John, Elena’s cousin did,” Stefan shook his head, here Katherine was, trying to take credit for something that she hadn’t done. “You haven't changed at all have you?”
“But you have. You're stronger, meaner, sexy.”
“Don’t flirt with me Katherine, I’m not Damon; I haven’t spent 145 years obsessed with you…although, from what I’ve seen, he’s over you too. He killed all the tomb Vampires, way before you even thought of coming back to town. Did you know that?”
Katherine scoffed, “Well I guess Damon has a temper, he must have been upset when he found out I wasn’t in the tomb. And based on your choice of woman Stefan, I’d say that you’re just as obsessed with me as Damon is. Although I will admit, it does bother me that you're falling in love with someone else.”
“I was never in love with you, Katherine. You compelled me, so none of my feelings were real.”
“Believe what you want Stefan, but I know the truth and deep down so do you.”
“The truth? Well, the truth is, you're the same lying, selfish, manipulative bitch that you've always been. So, whatever it is that brought you here, why don't you just get on with it and leave town? Because if you don't, I will hunt you down and I will rip your heart out.” He snarled, he wasn’t going to have Katherine ruin his life any longer.
“You want to know why I'm here Stefan? I came back for you.”
“Well the problem Katherine, is that I hate you,” Stefan replied.
Katherine scowled, grabbing an iron rod, and stabbing him with it, causing him to groan in pain, “You hate me huh?” she twisted the pipe, causing him to fall to the ground, “That sound like the beginning of a love story Stefan, not the end of one.” She yanked out the rod and dropped it on the floor, storming off in anger.
/ / /
“Stefan!” Elena gasped, seeing blood on his shirt, “What happened?”
“Katherine was here.”
“What did she want?”
Stefan gave her a worried look, “She said she’s here for me,” he replied.
“What?!”
“She said that she came back for me, but she asked about Damon too, she was surprised that he wasn’t here. And she tried to hide it, but she was even more surprised when I told her that Damon already killed the tomb Vampires.”
“What are we supposed to do Stefan? I mean, can you even stop her?”
Stefan shook his head, “Not alone, Katherine’s 500 years old, she’s way too strong for me, we need help.”
“Bonnie,” Elena assumed.
“I was thinking more along the lines of Maya.”
“After what she did to John! You can’t be serious?!”
“She’s powerful! That spell she did on Caroline, I’ve never seen anything like it before, and from what Damon tells me, she’s been practicing magic since she was a kid. She has way more experience than Bonnie.”
“So we’ll ask Bonnie’s Grams!”
“We can try, but Sheila’s more likely to stop Bonnie from helping, she doesn’t want her granddaughter mixed up in Vampire business.”
“We have to try,” Elena insisted.
“Alright,” Stefan nodded, putting on his jacket, zipping it up to cover up the hole and blood on his shirt, “We can ask.”
/ / /
“Maya!” Bonnie stormed up to the girl, she was out back, alone for the most part, there were a few people milling around, not too far away. “What did you do to my Grams?!” she demanded.
“What do you mean?” Maya asked, nonchalantly, she was waiting for Bonnie to come and find her, she just didn’t think that Bennett Witch would confront her in such a public setting.
“She’s gone! She left a note, saying that she’s never coming back! She wouldn’t do that to me!”
Maya rolled her eyes, and cast a silencing bubble around the two of them, “Caroline died last night Bonnie, and your grandmother’s meddling was the cause. I stripped her of her magic, as a Siphon I can do that. Once she lost her Witch abilities, she was nothing more than a regular old human being. Enzo compelled her to leave, to live on her own, to never act against me, and to never contact her family again.”
“Why?”
“Why? Why? BECAUSE SHE MURDERED CAROLINE! THE ONLY REASON I DIDN’T KILL HER IN RETURN IS BECAUSE CAROLINE HAD VAMPIRE BLOOD IN HER SYSTEM!”
Bonnie stopped short at that, “What? She’s a Vampire?! Then she’s not dead! How could you do this?!”
“Caroline may be walking and talking, but she is most certainly dead,” Maya hissed, “Do you know what it means to be a Vampire? It means she’ll never grow old, she’ll never be able to settle in one place. She’ll never be able to fall in love without thinking that the one that she loves won’t want to be with her forever. She will have to watch everyone she loves die! And she’ll never be able to have children! You may not be friends with her, but you know how badly she wanted a family! Your grandmother took that from her, took her ability to choose how to live her life! You’re lucky that I didn’t strip you of your own magic Bonnie Bennett! Because I know that Sheila didn’t re-spell the device on her own. You helped her, you’re lucky you didn’t suffer the same fate!”
“People aren’t your playthings!” Bonnie yelled back, “You can’t just decide people’s fate!” she concentrated and tried to cast a pain spell on Maya, but the more experienced of the two stopped her.
Maya grabbed Bonnie’s top, yanking her close, her eyes turned black, and Bonnie shuddered in fear, all she felt surrounding her was death, “I can do whatever I want! Threaten me again, and see what I do to you.”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel great!
Chapter 58: Doppelbitch
Notes:
Thanks for all the comments, I know I haven't really had time to respond to them, I'm sorry.
I have a couple of exams coming up, and I work full time, so I'm really busy at the moment.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“So you know basics of being a Vampire,” Enzo started, looking over at Caroline, who was sat next to Damon in their hotel room in Richmond, “We’re stronger, faster, have heightened senses, we feel more, and we have the bloodlust.”
“Yeah I don’t really get that part,” Caroline replied.
“What part?” Enzo asked.
“The feeling part, what does that mean? I mean, really, how can you feel more? It doesn’t make sense! We’re Vampires! We’re predators! Shouldn’t we be feeling less, not more? It’s senseless! I don’t like things that are senseless!” She babbled and Damon chuckled, “What are you laughing at?”
“I’m not laughing at you Caroline,” Damon said, “It’s just…”
“What?”
“When someone becomes a Vampire, all of their natural behaviours get amplified.”
“What do you mean?” She looked at him in question, she had a feeling that she wouldn't like the answer.
“I mean that…when I was human, I had a very strong sense of loyalty to the people that I loved. I would take beatings for Stefan, cover for the stable boy when he was late finishing his duties…and when I became a Vampire, all of that got…magnified.”
“Which is why you spent 140 years in love with one woman, with a single-minded focus to rescuing her, regardless of who you hurt,” Caroline said in understanding.
Damon’s eyes slid over to Enzo in regret, Katherine was the reason that he’d left Enzo in that hell, all he could think of when the fire surrounded them, was that he needed to get out, otherwise no one would be there to save her. “Yeah,” he nodded, and Enzo shot him a look of understanding, showing Damon again, that he was forgiven.
“Wait…so that means that you're saying that now I'm basically an insecure, neurotic, control freak, on crack?” She asked horrified, realising what Damon was getting at.
“Pretty much,” Damon shrugged.
“But that’s okay love,” Enzo cut in, shooting Damon an annoyed look.
“How is that okay?! That sounds insane!”
“It’s okay, because your…control freak like tendencies, are clearly helping you with your bloodlust.”
“What?"
“You haven’t fresh-fed yet, but your control with blood bags, it’s beyond impressive, baby Vampires have little to no control over themselves. Not only did you not attack Maya after you transitioned, but you didn’t gorge yourself on blood bags. I’ve never seen a Vampire with that kind of control, so early on in their life. But you have it Caroline. And that’s why we’re here.”
“To test my control.”
“Yes,” Damon said, “We’re gonna show you how to snatch-eat-erase.”
“We’re also going to show you how to feed in public,” Enzo added.
“In public? Isn’t that dangerous?”
“It can be,” the British Vampire nodded, “If you don’t know what you’re doing. But the truth is, the bite can be very pleasurable for a human, especially when said human is…turned on.”
“Oh I don’t need to know that!” Caroline protested, making a face of disgust.
“You do,” Damon said, “Blood and sex go hand in hand for Vampires, you need to learn how to navigate that, especially with a human boyfriend.”
“So!” Enzo clapped his hands, “Get ready, we’re leaving in an hour.”
“An hour! That’s not enough time!” Caroline shot to her feet and whooshed across the room by accident, “Whoa! Maybe that is enough time!”
“Hey Maya?” Matt asked, walking up to her in the Grill.
“Hey Matt, what’s up?”
“Have you seen Caroline anywhere? We were supposed to meet after my shift tonight, but she kinda just blew me off with a text.”
“Matt-”
“I know you’re not gonna tell me anything personal,” he said hastily, “But is she okay? This isn’t really like her.”
“She’s fine,” Maya nodded, “She’s gone to see her dad, that’s all I can really tell you.”
“Okay,” Matt nodded, “Just tell her to call me?” he asked, walking away when she nodded.
Maya started to leave, when she felt a presence appear at her side, “What was that about?” Katherine asked, standing next to the girl. Her spy in the Sheriff’s department didn’t get her anything useful on Elena’s cousin, so now she was going straight to the source.
Maya’s senses picked up on the fact that the person standing next to her was a Vampire, and therefore, so not Elena. She glared at the Elena imposter, “What makes you think I’d tell you anything?” Maya walked off, and Katherine followed in surprise, clearly Elena and her cousin didn’t get along very well, she wondered if it had to do with the mystery Vampire.
“Maya wait!” Katherine called, chasing after the Siphon.
Maya sighed, “What Elena?”
“I need to talk to you!” she said.
“Oh,” Maya wrinkled her nose, “I don’t really care what you need.” She made to leave, but Katherine grabbed her arm. Maya looked at the hand on her, and then back up at the Vampire, “You really think that’s a good idea?” she raised a brow. Realising that she’s felt Katherine’s presence before, that night that she killed John. “Or do you want me to do to you what I did to John?”
Katherine released her grip, understanding that Elena probably wouldn’t be able to take the girl on in a fight, “You won’t hurt me, I didn’t kill Caroline, Uncle John did.”
The Siphon scoffed, if she wasn’t sure that the woman standing before her was Katherine, she sure was now. If Elena had seen her kill John, then she certainly wouldn’t be around her on her own, “But you did kill me, and I never really got you back for that.”
Katherine looked surprised, her idiot deputy really dropped the ball when it came to Maya and Elena’s relationship. Her boring shadow-self had killed her cousin? But then, her cousin was standing right there, “Bonnie said that you made her Grams disappear.”
Maya smirked, “What I did, or didn’t do to Bonnie’s Grams is none of your concern.”
“Bonnie-”
“Is your best friend, I know! And your best friend helped kill mine!” Maya shrugged, “You’re lucky Bonnie’s not dead! And that’s the last I’m gonna say on the matter,” she moved in closer to Katherine, and whispered in her ear, “Don’t forget Elena, just because we’re cousins, doesn’t mean that I give a shit about you.” She walked away after that, leaving Katherine to stew, she needed to let Rebekah know about the doppelbitch, she also needed to talk to Nik. He had to know that Katherine was in town.
Caroline stood inside a nightclub, with Enzo and Damon at her side, they’d had her do a couple of ‘snatch-eat-erases’ so that she would be in more control at the club, but it was time for the next phase of her training.
“Don’t worry love,” Enzo said, as she looked out at the crowd, “Damon and I are right here.”
“Are you sure I’m ready for this?” she asked worriedly.
“You are,” Damon nodded, “We wouldn’t be here, if we thought you needed more time to learn.”
“What do I do?”
“We’ll show you,” Damon said with a smirk, “But we need to warn you.”
“About what?”
“When Vampires hunt together, things can get a little…heated.”
“Heated?” she questioned.
“You remember we told you that blood and sex go hand in hand with each other for Vampires?” she nodded, “When Vampires hunt together, things get intense between them.”
Her eyes widened in shock, “You mean I might…”
“There’s no ‘might’ about it love,” Enzo said, moving closer to her, “You’ll hunt, you’ll get excited. You’ll see Damon and I hunt, and you might want to…join in.”
“You’re saying I’m gonna lose control?” For Caroline that was her biggest fear, even as a human, that loss of control always scared her.
Damon shook his head, “You won’t lose control, but you gonna want to give into your urges, if that happens, we don’t want you to worry,” he pushed some of her hair out of her face, “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, we’ll take care of you.”
“But,” Enzo finished, “If, knowing that, you don’t want to do this, we completely understand, we can go back to the hotel, enjoy some room service and try again later.”
Caroline bit her lip, this was a lot to take in for a baby Vampire, but she was curious, she’d pictured herself hunting with Kol after becoming a Vampire, and she didn’t want that to be the first time that she learnt about hunting with other Vampires. “Let’s do this!” she said confidently.
/ / /
About an hour later, Caroline was pressed up against a pretty girl, with silky skin and skimpy clothes. She’d watched Damon and Enzo feed on men and women, and she wasn’t going to lie, she found it hot, the guys were right, she did want to join in. She ran her lips along the woman’s collar bone, before biting the left side of her neck, Damon came up behind the woman, and sank his fangs into the opposite side. The three of them moving to the beat of the music, it being dark enough that no one noticed what they were doing.
The blonde pulled back as she felt the woman’s heart slow, Damon doing the same, giving the human a little blood and sending her on her way. Caroline couldn’t take her eyes from Damon, both of them had been messy with their food, and the girl latched onto Damon’s mouth. The older Vampire tugged her closer, returning her kiss with just as much ferocity. Caroline moaned as she felt Damon’s hands travel her body, she felt Enzo come up behind her, grip her waist tightly and graze his fangs over her neck, causing her to shiver in delight. Pulling away from Damon, Caroline spun around, and kissed Enzo, her fingers tightening in his hair, causing him to growl.
“What’s it gonna be love?” he asked, pulling away from her, panting, “It’s your choice.”
She looked between the two of them, eyes darkened with lust, and she smirked, “I think we should go back to the hotel.”
Elena headed up the steps to Sheila’s house, and paused, the front door was gone, she hadn’t seen Bonnie at the Mayor’s wake, had something happened? She talked to the Witch on the phone earlier, and her friend hadn’t said anything. Had Katherine come for her best friend? Rushing inside she sighed in relief as she saw Bonnie curled up on the couch, looking lost.
“Bonnie! Hey,” Elena said, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“She’s gone,” Bonnie whispered and Elena stepped inside.
“Wha-Who’s gone?”
“Grams,” Bonnie clarified, and then showed Elena the note that her grandmother had left for her.
Elena took it, reading the words and looked up at Bonnie in shock, “I don’t understand, what’s going on?”
“Maya came here last night, covered in blood, with Enzo. He blew some sort of powder in my face, and I couldn’t use my magic! She blew up the front door! I don’t know how, but…Grams couldn’t stop her. She took her magic away Elena!”
“What?!” Elena sat with Bonnie, and looked on concerned, “What do you mean?”
“She- she- Grams and I re-spelled the Gilbert device, your uncle asked us to, and he used it. She said the device affected the Lockwoods, the Mayor was driving his car, and crashed into Caroline’s, she died with Vampire blood in her system.”
“Oh my God,” Elena gasped in realisation, “Uncle John told me that she died! But he said nothing about her being a Vampire!”
Bonnie nodded, “Maya said the only reason that she didn’t kill Grams, was because Caroline came back to life. But she took Grams’ magic, without it, she was just a regular human. Enzo compelled her to leave, and never come back! I don’t know what to do Elena! I’m all alone!” Bonnie teared up, she hadn’t really processed it, but it was true, she had no one now.
Elena hugged her friend, “You’re not alone, Bonnie, you have me, we’ll get Maya to undo this!”
Bonnie shook her head in fright, “No! You can’t!”
“Bon-”
“No! I already confronted her! There’s something wrong with her! I tried to take her on, and when she grabbed me, all I could feel was death! And not like when I come into contact with a Vampire, there was no interpreting, no vague feelings. It was death, I’ve never felt anything like it, and I’ve never been so scared!”
Maya was pacing the length of Klaus’s room, he was in a meeting, so she was waiting on him, she didn’t have much time, she had to meet her mom and Liz, let them know that there was an Elena look-alike running around, then she had to let Jeremy know, and then, despite her best judgment, she had meeting with Stefan and Elena. They must have figured out that Katherine was in town, and who else would they go to? Now that Sheila Bennett was no longer available, Bonnie certainly didn’t have enough experience. She was the obvious choice.
The door opened, and Klaus smiled as he laid eyes on his Siphon, “Hello love.”
Maya turned to face him, “Hi,” she said softly, she liked being able to astral project to him, it made her feel closer to the Original, even when they were so far apart.
“You’re here early.”
Maya nodded, “Caroline died with Vampire blood in her system.”
“What?” Klaus asked, that wasn’t good, she’d told him that in her visions, Caroline had turned because of Katherine, “What happened?!”
“The Bennetts re-spelled the Gilbert device, John Gilbert set it off, and it affected the Mayor, because he’s an untriggered wolf. He crashed his car into her, killing himself instantly, and killing her too, she was lucky, she had Rebekah’s blood in her system.”
“Love are you-”
Maya waved away his concern, he couldn’t do much to comfort her while they were apart, “I beat John Gilbert to death,” Klaus paused at that, “He was wearing his magic ring though, so he came back from the dead.”
“And the Witches?” Klaus asked, curious as to what punishment she thought was suitable for ending the life of one so close to her, “I took away Sheila Bennett's magic, made her nothing more than human, and then Enzo compelled her, sent her away with the knowledge that the Originals are coming to town, and she can’t help her granddaughter.”
“Seems like they got off easy,” Klaus commented.
Maya shook her head, “My motto is, if you cross me, you’ll live to regret it, you just won’t live very long. Without her magic, Sheila’s body will shut down, she’ll die a painfully human death, she’ll never get to be with her ancestors, never see anyone in her family again.”
“And John?”
“He’s Elena’s biological father, I’ll link his life-force to hers, so when she’s sacrificed, she’ll come back, and he’ll die.”
“With what Freya and Kol have discovered, Elena doesn’t need to come back to life,” he pointed out. The whole point of them taking this long to break the curse, was to ensure that he could make Hybrids without needing the doppelgänger’s human blood, and now they had way.
“I know,” Maya replied, “But she’s still Jeremy’s sister, and I can’t do that to him.”
“You’re much kinder than I am,” Klaus said.
“That’s a given,” Maya shrugged, “But that’s not why I’m here.”
“Why are you?” he asked, moving in closer, wishing, and not for the first time, that he could touch her.
“Katherine just got into town.”
Klaus stiffened, there was a part of him that hadn’t really believed that Katherine would show up in Mystic Falls, she’d eluded him for so long, he hadn’t believed that it would be that easy to capture her, “You’re sure?”
Maya nodded, “And with her, comes a wolf, his pack will follow shortly after.”
Klaus smirked, “Everything’s falling into place.”
“Bekah say’s your place is nearly done, so you should get the Pack ready to move. They’ve been in one place for a long time, so they’ll probably have a lot more stuff to pack up than usual.”
Klaus nodded, she was right about that, they felt safe for the first time in years, they’d settled down, they’d bought knick-knacks, artwork, toys for the children. They would need time to gather their things. “How long before you have her in your grasp?”
“Shouldn’t be long, eventually she’ll reveal her hand, and we can use that to trap her.”
“Have you let Rebekah know about her?”
“Yeah,” Maya nodded, “I’ve just gotta tell Mom and Aunt Liz, I don’t want them accidentally inviting her inside. “Bekah’s gonna lay low for a bit, we’re gonna let Katherine think that she’s in control and then…”
“Then you’ll lock her up for me,” Klaus finished, a wicked look in his eyes, he couldn't wait to see Katerina Petrova and remind her of just how insignificant she truly was.
Caroline lay between Damon and Enzo, eyes wide, as she tried to process what had just happened, she’d just slept with the two Vampires, at the same time! But…she wasn’t freaking out, “I feel like I should be freaking out about this…” she said, causing Damon to snort in amusement, she sat up and glanced at both of them, “I should be freaking out about this! Why aren’t I freaking out?!”
“It sounds like you are,” Enzo pointed out.
“I’m freaking out about not freaking out! That’s not what I should be freaking out about!”
Damon looked at Enzo, “Do you have any idea what she just said?”
“Love,” Enzo sat up, “Calm down, and explain…slowly.”
“I just slept with you! Both of you! That should send me spiralling into a world of bad thoughts! But it’s not! And I don’t get why!”
Damon leant against the headboard, “Because you were prepared for this Blondie.”
“What?”
“Think about it, Enzo told you exactly what would happen if we went hunting together, you had the choice whether or not to hunt with us. You had the choice about how far you wanted to go. You made the decisions, and we didn’t second guess you.”
“But…you two are together! Didn’t this upset you?!”
Enzo shook his head, “No love, Damon and I are together, I know that Damon would never cheat on me, and I would never cheat on him. But we are old enough to know that we don’t mind having a third party every once in a while, and it’s much better if it’s with someone that you trust. And we trust you.”
“But that still doesn’t explain why I’m not a mess about this.”
Damon sighed, “When you were turned,” he started, “We could have called Kol straight away. He’s the big bad Vampire that makes you feel safer than anything, right?”
“Right,” Caroline nodded.
“But we also know that whatever is going on between you two, you have some kind of feelings for him. As a baby Vampire you had to learn how to hunt, how to revel in being a predator, so you don’t lose control and kill people whenever you get hungry. Imagine you were with Kol, he would take you out hunting, and you’d end up in bed with him. You’ve said it yourself, you’re not ready for a relationship with Kol. If you had gone hunting with him, if you had slept with him, where would that put you?”
“Seriously freaked out,” Caroline replied.
“Exactly,” Enzo said, “Because you care about him, in a…relationship-y way. You’re not freaking out that you spent the night with us, because you don’t feel anything for us…at least not like that.”
“Huh,” Caroline settled back against the headboard, pressing into Damon, “Is it always going to be like this?”
“Vampire sex is a lot of fun,” Enzo said, “You don’t have to hold back like you would with a human, you’ll wanna do it again, and you shouldn’t be ashamed of that.”
“We’re trying to show you that human hang ups when it comes to sex, are meaningless when you’re a Vampire,” Damon finished.
Caroline sighed, “I’m gonna have to break up with Matt.”
“Donavan?” Damon asked in surprise, he knew she was seeing someone, but he hadn't realised who it was, “We’re you two even dating?”
Caroline shook her head, “No, we were…hanging out, and making out. We never even went on a real date. But I should still end things with him. I don’t wanna accidentally eat him. He doesn’t deserve that.”
Maya drove up the road, heading towards a private area of land, at the centre of Mystic Falls, it was where Klaus’s home and the pack home was being built, two separate buildings because Klaus knew that the pack wouldn’t want to reside in the same home as all of the Originals.
She parked in the driveway of the mansion, it was the one that still had a little bit of work to do, eyeing the builders, she skirted round the house, and made her way to where she knew the pack’s Enforcers would be. Maya spotted all three of the Wolves, looking over the blueprints of the house, making sure that everything was up to their Alpha’s exacting standards. The man was the first one to pick up her scent, and he pointed her out to the other two.
Maya walked up to them cautiously, glancing at the rings that she had made for them, “You the Enforcers?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
Regina nodded, “You’re Klaus’s Witch,” she replied.
“Close enough,” Maya shrugged.
“How can we help you?” Scott asked.
“Has Nik told you about the doppelgänger?” she asked.
“You’re cousin?” Alexandra clarified, “Yeah.”
“No, has he told you about Katherine?”
The three Enforcers shook their heads, “Who’s Katherine?”
“Katherine was the doppelgänger 500 years ago, she was supposed to be his sacrifice, and turned herself into a Vampire so that she couldn’t be used in the ritual. As you can imagine that really pissed him off, and she’s spent her entire Vampire life running from him.”
“Why are you telling us this?” Scott asked.
“Katherine’s in town, I’ve already told Nik, and we have a plan for dealing with her, but it means that you have to stay out of town. She can’t know that there are Werewolves here.”
“Why not?” Regina asked, crossing her arms.
“Because I’m using her to lure in a particularly nasty Werewolf to town for the sacrifice. Also I want her to think that we have no idea what’s going on, when dealing with Katherine, you need the upper hand, or you’re dead.”
“Klaus hasn’t said anything to us about it,” Alexandra pointed out.
“Give him a call,” Maya shrugged, “He’ll tell you to defer to me on this.”
“We don’t take orders from you,” Regina said, stepping forward, “You’re not even a wolf.”
Maya took a step in her direction, and whispered in her ear, “You’re gonna have to get used to it. Because Nik, called me his Alpha Female,” she stepped back, “Pretty sure that means that you have to listen me, like you would him.” Maya’s eyes glinted dangerously, daring them to challenge her, “Besides, I’m the one that spelled your pretty little rings, I’m the one can take away their magic, just like that.” She snapped her fingers.
Regina smirked, the girl had spine, that was good, she wouldn’t survive pack life if she lacked backbone, Klaus had chosen well, “We’ll call the Alpha, confirm with him first,” she said.
“You do that.”
Rebekah knocked on a hotel room door in Richmond, and raised a brow when she walked in a smelled sex, “Well you three have been busy,” she said, eyeing the three Vampires, who were now just enjoying a night inside.
“Rebekah!” Caroline said, “What are you doing here?”
The Original sighed, “Nik asked me to leave town for a bit, and Maya asked me to send you two back to Mystic Falls.”
“Why?” Enzo frowned, he knew that Maya wouldn’t disrupt Caroline’s training unless it was for a good reason.
The blonde looked at Damon, “Your ex is back in town.”
“My ex?” Damon asked, before realising what she meant, “Katherine,” he scowled.
Rebekah nodded, “Yes, so Maya has asked for you two to go home, my brother and I will finish Caroline’s training.”
“Kol’s coming?!” Caroline asked in surprise, she didn’t think that he would come for her.
“Yes,” Rebekah replied, “So if I were you, I’d get a shower, get a new hotel room, and get ready to see him. He’s rather put out that it wasn’t his blood that turned you.”
Caroline looked at the two men in the room, “You guys should go. If Katherine’s in town, she’s gonna want to know where Damon is, and I don’t want her anywhere near me.”
Maya sat outside of the Boarding House in her car, Damon said that he would be there any minute, which was a good thing, because she did not have the patience to deal with Elena on her own.
She jumped as he knocked on the window and got out of the car, “Took you long enough,” she said.
“We were literally, just in Richmond,” Damon replied, rolling his eyes. “Are you ready for this?”
“Yeah,” Maya sighed, “Let’s get this over with. Where’s Enzo?”
“He went to go see Liz, give her an update on Caroline.”
“Great! Let’s go.”
The two of them walked in the Boarding House, to see Stefan and Elena waiting for them in the living room. “Damon!” Stefan exclaimed, “Where have you been?!”
Damon narrowed his eyes at his brother, Stefan was worried, “What happened?” Damon asked.
“Katherine’s back,” Stefan said.
“She’s more than back,” Maya cut in, “She’s been invited into the Gilbert's.”
“What?” Stefan asked.
“What?!” Elena exclaimed.
“How do you know that?” the younger Salvatore asked.
“She was there pretending to be Elena when I beat John to death,” Maya shrugged.
Elena gasped, “How could you do that?!” she asked, “He’s your family!”
“No,” Maya shook her head, “He’s your family, to me, he’s just the asshole that got Caroline killed.”
“She’s fine!” Elena insisted, “She had Vampire blood in her system!”
“She’s seventeen Elena! She had her whole life ahead of her! And now she doesn’t! She can never have children of her own! She’s frozen as a teenager! Is that something you want?!”
“What?” Elena recoiled, “I- No- I-”
“Then you can see why I’d be a little pissed that my best friend, just had everything taken from her!”
“Okay, okay,” Damon pulled her away from Elena, “Both of you, back to your corners, we have bigger problems to deal with. Namely, our psychotic ex-girlfriend.” He looked over at his brother, “Did she say what she wanted?”
Stefan shook his head, “She just spun some lies about how she came back for me.”
Damon ignored the slight pang his brother’s words caused, he didn’t love Katherine anymore, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt when it was confirmed that she didn’t care about him, especially when he wasted 140 years on her, “Well then I suggest you watch out Elena, Katherine’s after your man.”
“This isn’t funny Damon! She’s been invited into Elena’s home!”
“What are we gonna do?” Elena asked.
Maya shrugged, “Move.”
“That’s not helpful,” Elena hissed.
“Katherine wants you dead,” Damon poured himself a drink, “There’s zero you can do about it. You will be dead, but you’re not, so clearly, she has other plans.”
“Right,” Stefan nodded, “And we need to find out what those other plans are, and not provoke her in the process.”
“Maybe John knows something,” Elena said, “She told Stefan she was the one to attack him, but we all know that was a lie,” she shot Maya a withering glare.
“She’s Katherine,” Maya said, ignoring Elena, “She loves to play games, and you’re fooling yourself if you think you’re going to find out what she’s been up to before she wants you to know.”
“No,” Stefan shook his head, “Elena’s right, John could know something through Isobel, she was in touch with Katherine, so maybe we should try John again before he’s released from the hospital.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Damon said.
“What’s that?” Elena asked.
“I’m just gonna ignore the bitch.”
“Is that smart?” she looked over at Stefan in question, who shook his head in return.
Damon sighed, “If Katherine thinks she’s being ignored, it’ll lure her out, she’ll make a move.”
“Yeah,” Stefan asked, “And then what?”
“Stake her; rip her head off,” Damon shrugged, “Something poetic, we’ll see.”
“And you really think that you could do that?” Stefan scoffed, “You’ve been in love with her for 145 years!”
Damon bristled, “140 years,” he corrected, “And these last five years, without the spectre of her hanging over my head, have been perfection. So you do what you want Stefan, we’ll see which of us gets a rise out of her.” Damon went upstairs, leaving Maya downstairs, knowing that she’d be on her way out soon enough.
Maya turned to leave, but Stefan stopped her, “Maya wait! You can’t be okay with this, Katherina has full access to Jeremy,” he reminded her.
“So, he can stay at mine, Katherine’s not been invited in there.”
“Jeremy’s not staying with you!” Elena exclaimed, “You’re a psycho!”
Maya rolled her eyes, “Oh ouch! That really got me Elena. Jeremy can do what he wants, and I’m pretty sure that he doesn’t want to live in a house that Katherine can get in.”
“He knows?!” Elena exclaimed.
“Oh my God Elena! Jeremy’s known about Vampires since before Stefan even came to town!”
“WHAT?!” she shrieked.
“I told him all about them! Jeremy knows everything about the supernatural.”
“I can’t believe you! You had no right!”
“You’re not his mom Elena! You don’t get to make his decisions for him!”
“My mom does! And she’s not going to let him stay with you!”
“Why not?” Maya asked, “You haven’t told Miranda anything about the Vampires in town, she doesn’t know that you’re dating a Vampire, so what are you gonna tell her, to get her to stop Jeremy from seeing me?” Maya smirked when Elena didn’t say anything, “That’s right, nothing! You’re going to say nothing, because you don’t want your Mom killing your boyfriend!”
“Girls!” Stefan stepped in between them, “Stop, we have a real problem here! We have no idea where Katherine is, what she wants and she’s pretty good at playing Elena!” he looked at the Siphon, “We need your help Maya”
Maya crossed her arms, pretending to think about it, in actuality, she needed to be kept in the loop, so that she could get Katherine alone, in private and take her down. “Fine, but I’m only doing this for Damon, I know how much he wants to shove a stake in that cold dead heart of hers.”
Damon was in the Boarding House living room, Stefan and Elena had gone back to her house, the human being afraid that Katherine may try something with her mother had gotten Stefan to agree to stay over there. The house was eerily silent, and he never realised how much he hated it. He spent most of his time at the Sommers household, and had gotten used to the bustle of a full home, he wasn’t sticking around the Boarding House long, but he figured Katherine would make her appearance to him soon. She had to, she hadn’t seen him yet and she would have definitely be curious.
He heard the creak of the floorboards and reached for a drink, “Very brave of you to come here,” he said, turning to see the former object of his affection on the couch.
“I wanted to say goodbye,” Katherine said.
“Leaving so soon?” even if he didn’t know why she was in Mystic Falls, he wouldn’t have bought it.
“I know when I’m not wanted Damon, I mean, you heard I was in town and didn’t even look for me.”
“Don’t pout,” Damon replied, taking a sip of his drink and walked towards her, “It’s not attractive in a woman of your age.”
Katherine scoffed in surprise, she almost believed his hatred, “Ouch!” Damon put down his drink and made to leave, but she whooshed in front of him, “What? No goodbye kiss?”
“What are you doing here?” he asked, not willing to indulge her any longer, every second he spent in her presence, he had to fight the urge to rip her heart out.
“Nostalgia. Curiosity. Et cetera.”
“I’m better at the enigmatic one-liners Katherine.” Damon shook his head, “What are you up to?”
“Trust me, Damon, when I’m up to something, you’ll know it.” She took a step closer to him, leaning up as though she was going to kiss him, “I’ll admit, I am curious about your pretty little girlfriend, Elena’s cousin.” She laughed, “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you’re only with her so you can be around my little shadow-self.”
Damon scowled, “You think you’re so smart Katherine, but you don’t know anything. I bet you thought you’d come to town and what…play Stefan and I against each other? I bet you were hoping that we’d still be in love with you. But the fact is, we couldn’t care less about you. There’s nothing left here for you Katherine.”
Katherine glared at him, and had him by the throat, up against the wall, in an instant, “Well if there’s nothing here for me, then maybe, I should get rid of you.” Her Vampire rippled to the surface, “Tie up all my loose ends!”
Damon grabbed her hand, but he was no match for her strength, “Do it! I dare you! See what happens when you do.”
Before she could respond, she was thrown across the room, Enzo stood in front of Damon, adjusting his jacket, and glanced at his lover, “We got worried when you didn’t come home,” Enzo said, rage simmering in his eyes. The moment he saw Damon pressed up against the wall by Katherine, it had taken everything in him to not kill the older Vampire.
“Well, well,” Katherine stood up, eyeing Enzo with interest, “We haven’t been introduced, Katherine Pierce, at your service.”
Enzo sneered at her, “The next time you put your hands on Damon, I’ll be happy to cut them off.” His Vampire face out for the world to see.
Damon pushed off the wall, and patted Enzo on his shoulder, “This is Enzo,” Damon looked at him, “I’m good,” he confirmed, seeing the worry behind the anger, “I promise.”
Katherine eyed the dynamic between the two, something was definitely going on between the two of them, she wondered if Damon’s mysterious supernatural girlfriend knew about it.
Damon and Enzo looked back up, only to find that Katherine had vanished, “Let’s go home.” Enzo said, feeling the urge to stake his claim all over the elder Salvatore.
"Caroline,” Kol said, whooshing up to her, taking her face in his hands as he looked deep into her eyes, “Are you alright?” His heart had stopped when he heard from Nik that the blonde had died, in that instant, he remembered that he hadn’t given her any blood, and he nearly tore through the compound at the thought of her dead before her time. But then Nik had said that she’d had their sister’s blood in her system, Rebekah’s blood, and his heart had started beating again. He was furious that she’d died, angry that it had been someone else’s blood that had turned her, but he was so stupidly grateful that Rebekah had had the forethought to continue giving her blood, that he wasn’t sure what to do with himself.
Caroline nodded, taking his hands in hers, “I’m okay,” she said, “It was rough at first, but Damon and Enzo showed me the ropes, and Rebekah says that I have impressive control for someone so young.”
“It’s more than impressive,” Rebekah said, coming to join them, “Caroline’s only had to be coached once, she has yet to have a little accident, her control is impeccable.”
Kol froze for a moment, “Damon and Enzo,” he repeated, “Did they…take you on a group hunt?”
Rebekah shot the younger blonde an amused look, and she rolled her eyes, “I don’t think that’s really your business Kol.”
Kol clenched his jaw, that meant ‘yes’ and he knew what would have happened if they did, he growled, “I’m gonna kill them!” he made to speed off but Caroline grabbed him, her Vampire speed, enhanced by Maya’s spell.
“What for?” she asked, “What could you possibly have to be angry about?” He was refusing to admit that he had any real feelings for her, and she wasn’t about to just wait around for him to get a clue.
“I-they-they took advantage of you!” he finally got out.
Caroline shook her head, “No, they didn’t, they explained to me, in excruciating detail, what would happen, I’m the one that chose to go with them.”
“You…chose to go…with them?” he questioned, feeling something akin to jealousy.
“Yeah,” Caroline nodded, “Why? Did you think that I was gonna remain celibate waiting for you, Kol?” She released his arm, “It’s not like you’re stopping yourself from indulging,” she said, referring to the fact that just last week, he was in bed with three women.
“I… didn’t know you knew about that…”
Caroline snorted in amusement, and took out her phone, pulling up pictures, “You sent the photos to the group chat.”
Kol’s eyes widened, “Oh…” he gave her an almost sheepish look, “Whoops.”
Caroline rolled her eyes, threading her arm through Rebekah’s and pulled the Original out of the room, “Come on Bex, let’s test out my compulsion with a shopping trip!”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment because they are awesome!
Chapter 59: Lock-wolf
Notes:
Thanks for all the comments and Kudos!
My exams are next week, so no new chapter until after that, sorry!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Two days later, it was the night of the carnival, Damon and Enzo took Maya, all three of them had promised Caroline to make sure the event went off without a hitch. The newbie Vampire was seriously put out that she couldn’t be there in person, but both Rebekah and Kol had vetoed that, especially with Katherine in town, they needed to make sure that she had full control over herself without someone watching over her. The carnival was in full swing, and Maya noticed that Stefan was watching Tyler Lockwood at his arm-wrestling station, a puzzled look on his face, “What is Stefan doing?” Maya asked, Damon had been the one curious about the Lockwoods last time, but it was like, without Damon’s prodding, Stefan was the one who wanted to know about them.
“I dunno,” Damon shrugged, “I’m gonna see what’s up,” he walked over to his brother, watching as Stefan watched Tyler, “Whatcha doing there Stef?”
“I’m observing,” Stefan replied.
“You’re lurking,” Damon said.
“Why did the Gilbert device affect the Mayor?” Stefan asked, “They’re not Vampires.” Damon smirked and Stefan scowled, “Do you know something?”
“He’s got strength,” Damon gestured to Tyler.
Stefan narrowed his eyes, wondering what his brother was getting at, “He’s a triple varsity athlete.”
The brothers watched as Tyler beat another opponent, “Enter the uncle,” Damon said, as Mason stepped up to his nephew, and then won.
Tyler stepped away with a grin, “Okay! He’s the champ! Who wants to go next?”
“Stefan wants to go!” Damon called.
“What are you doing?” Stefan hissed.
“You said you wanted to know what was up with them, I’m just helping.”
Stefan walked over a little sheepishly, “My brother thinks I can beat you.”
“Your brother’s wrong,” Mason said, and they set up, the older Lockwood beating the Vampire, easily.
“That was ridiculous,” Damon said, as his brother came back over to him, “You didn’t even try.”
“Actually, I did,” Stefan replied, “He’s strong, it’s not our level, but…it’s definitely more than human.”
“Hmm.”
Stefan scowled, “You know something and you’re not going to tell me, are you?”
Damon shrugged and walked off with a smirk.
Elijah was guided inside the compound by the Beta of the pack, Cary. With Kol in Virginia, Klaus had finally decided to invite Elijah to Arizona to meet his children. He heard excited chattering not far away and tensed, the last time he’d met his brother’s child, it was Marcel, and Klaus had not taken it well when the young boy wanted to spend time with him. Seeing it as though Marcel preferred spending time with Elijah instead of him, Elijah understood why Klaus was so upset at the thought, and he didn’t want anything of the sort to happen again.
Cary stopped him just outside of the room, “The kids are inside with Freya, Klaus will be down in a minute,” he said and Elijah nodded, moving to go forward, but Cary put up a hand, “And…just a warning, the floor is lava.” He pointed to the room, and walked off, leaving a very confused Elijah in his wake.
“What?” Elijah asked, but Cary was already gone.
The Noble Original walked inside the living room to find two children, on the table, his sister stood on a chair, and a few teenagers, dotted around the room hanging from furniture, not allowing their feet to touch the ground. He did not understand what was going on at all, “What is going on?” Elijah asked, and Freya looked up with a smirk.
“Elijah! Didn’t you get the warning?” the blonde asked.
“What?”
“The floor is lava!” she said in explanation, narrowly avoiding Luna, who tried to shove her off the chair to the ground, “No cheating Luna! I was distracted!”
Luna rushed away from her aunt, and leapt onto on of the side tables in the room, “All’s fair in love and war!” she shot back with a giggle.
“Oh it’s war you want?” Freya asked, “It’s war you’ll get!” she jumped after her, but ended up knocking one of the teens to the floor.
“C’mon!” the teen complained.
“Sorry!”
“You’re dead!” Liam called.
The teenager grumbled headed to join the seating area that housed the losers, Elijah stopped him, “Why does everybody keep saying the floor is lava?” he asked, and the young boy looked at him in disbelief.
“Because the floor is lava, it’s pretty self-explanatory, you land in the lava, you’re dead.”
“It’s a game?” he looked at his sister, “Really Freya?” he wasn’t impressed.
Before she could respond, Klaus was at the doorway, about to walk in when Luna called out to him, “Daddy stop!” she yelled in a panic.
“What?” Klaus asked, suddenly alert.
“The floor is lava!”
“Oh,” Klaus looked around the room for a moment, before using his Vampire agility to jump across the room, landing right next to Freya. “Better?” he asked, causing his children to beam up at him.
“Honestly Niklaus, Freya,” Elijah stepped further into the room, “Must you be so childish?”
“Bold words coming from someone currently burning to death in lava,” Freya replied with a grin.
Stefan opened the front door, when he heard Alaric pull up, and welcomed the teacher inside, “Thanks for coming Ric.”
Damon walked into the living room, he hadn’t been paying attention, so was surprised to find his brother, Elena and the teacher there, “Alaric,” Damon said, heading to the drinks cabinet, “Can I get you something to drink?” he asked, “Coffee? Bourbon? Bourbon in your coffee?”
Alaric rolled his eyes and ignored him, turning to Stefan, “Elena mentioned you needed my help.”
“Yeah,” Stefan nodded, “We were hoping that you could help shed some light on the Lockwood family.”
“Why would I know anything about them?”
“You wouldn't,” Damon said, understanding what Stefan was up to, “But your dead, not dead Vampire wife might.”
Elena shot him a look, before turning to Alaric, “Isobel’s research from when you guys were at Duke together. You said that she spent years researching the town.”
He nodded, “Isobel's research here in Mystic Falls was based on folklore and legends, but at the time I thought much of that was fiction.”
“Like that amazing Vampire story,” Damon cut in, dropping a bourbon in Ric’s hand.
“Aside from Vampires, what else was there?”
“The lycanthrope.”
“Wait, like Werewolves?” Elena asked in surprise.
“Why do you suspect the Lockwood's?”
“Because the Gilbert device affected the Mayor, and we all know he wasn’t a Vampire,” Stefan said, “And his brother exhibited serious strength at the school carnival. It suggests that they’re some sort of a supernatural entity.”
“We were hoping that Isobel's research could help us figure it out what it is.”
“Well, all her things are still at Duke. I mean her office is still there, she's technically still missing.”
“Can we get access to it?” Stefan asked.
“Elijah,” Klaus said, bringing Luna and Liam with him, the two children eyeing him cautiously, “This is Liam, and Luna, my children. Little ones, this is your Uncle Elijah, my big brother.”
Luna crossed her arms with a pout, seeing that he’d come empty handed, “Auntie Bex, and Auntie Freya brought us presents, you didn’t bring us anything.”
Freya snickered while she got Kol on the phone as he said that he wanted to see what Elijah’s first interaction with the kids would be like. And Klaus had to stop himself from laughing at that, “Really,” Elijah crouched down so that he was eye level with her, “Did your Uncle Kol bring you anything when he first met you?”
“I brought them the gift of myself Elijah! I’m a delight!” Kol said over the phone. “And their favourite, so don’t even try!”
Elijah smirked and pulled out his wallet, “I must confess, I was unsure what to get you, since we’d never met, but then I thought,” he took out several hundred-dollar bills, “Who doesn’t like money?”
Luna’s eyes widened, and she snatched the bills from his fingers, “Thanks Uncle Elijah!” and she ran off.
“Hey!” Liam yelled and chased after her, “That’s not all for you!”
“Really Elijah!” Klaus scowled as he heard the children dodge members of the pack and argue, “Money?”
“It worked, didn’t it?”
“No I haven’t got the moonstone yet,” Mason said, “What do you want me to do Katherine?”
“I want you to get your hands on the moonstone, while I figure out what is going on with Elena’s cousin.”
“Who, Maya?”
“You know her?”
Mason shrugged, “I may have had a crush on her mom when I was sixteen and Jenna was 22, Maya, Tyler and Caroline Forbes used to spend a lot of time at the mansion.”
“Do you think you could get into their house?” Katherine asked, she hadn’t been able to score an invite into the Sommers residence yet, but if Mason could get in there, then he could snoop for her.
“I guess I could call Jenna, set something up. Why are you so interested?”
“Damon spent his entire Vampire life obsessed with me, and all of a sudden, he acts like he doesn’t care. I want to know why.”
Mason frowned, “Do you want him to be obsessed with you?” Katherine said that she loved him, but now she sounded jealous.
“Of course not!” Katherine rolled her eyes, the wolf was so needy, “But we came to town with a plan, we came here, knowing what were getting into. If Damon’s changed then we don’t know what else has changed. I just wanna be prepared.”
Mason sighed, “I can call Jenna, tell her that I wanna catch up.”
“Good, while you do that I’ll see if I can get some answers from the source.”
Maya was at the Grill with Damon and Enzo, when Katherine walked in, dressed exactly like Elena. She walked up to them, causing them to pause their conversation, and look up at her expectantly.
“Elena,” Maya said with a smirk, “It’s not like you to be out without your shadow.”
“Stefan’s busy,” Katherine said, “I wanted to talk to you.”
Enzo was glad that they knew that Elena was at the Duke campus with Stefan, because Katherine was doing a really good job at pretending to be Elena, “What makes you think we want to talk to you?” he asked.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Katherine made a face, she still had nothing on this new Vampire, her contacts told her that he was turned in the early 1900s and disappeared from public records in the 40s, but she had nothing on him after that.
“But in this case, Enzo speaks for me,” Maya said, with a smirk.
“Maya we need to talk about Katherine, Stefan told me she went after Damon,” she looked at the Salvatore, who had his arm around the red-head, “Aren’t you worried?!”
Maya burst into laughter, “I’m sorry-I can’t- I can’t keep a straight face! Seriously Katherine? Trying to undermine my relationship with Damon? That’s pathetic.”
“What are you- I’m not Katherine!” Katherine looked confused, trying to emphasise the fact that she was Elena.
Damon rolled his eyes, “Elena’s not in town Katherine.”
Hearing that, Katherine straightened up, “What?” her eyes narrowed.
Damon smirked, “Stefan and Elena went for a romantic weekend trip, my brother wanted to make sure that Elena knew that your appearance meant nothing to him.”
Katherine clenched her fists, she didn’t like this, why didn’t she know that Stefan and Elena had gone out of town? “What’s the matter Kat? Wondering why you didn’t have that information?” Maya asked, a smug look in her eyes.
“What did you do?” the doppelgänger growled.
“Well, we noticed that a deputy was acting a little weird, so the guys took a look, turns out,” she whispered the next part, “He was compelled!”
“So we got rid of him…” Enzo finished, they’d actually sent the man on a vacation, not that Katherine needed to know that.
“Sorry Kitty Kat,” Maya smiled, “Better luck next time!”
Katherine narrowed her eyes, “Making an enemy out of me, would be a really stupid idea.”
Maya didn’t let the smile fall of her face, there was so much she wanted to say to Katherine, but she wouldn’t, not until she knew that she had Katherine on lock, she wouldn’t forgive herself if she tipped Katherine off and the woman ran, “I would think, that threatening someone you know nothing about, is also a pretty stupid idea. You have no idea who I am Katherine, but I have a feeling, I know more than enough about you.”
Katherine hated to admit it, but the girl was right, knowledge was power, it was how she’d managed to stay one step ahead of Klaus all these years, and she knew nothing about the Sommers girl. She wasn’t human, but didn’t know what she was, Witch? Werewolf? Something else entirely? “Watch yourself Maya, being out in public will only keep you safe for so long.”
Jenna and Maya were having dinner together, just the two of them, because they needed some mother daughter time, “So you’ll never guess who called me today.” Jenna said.
“You better not say Elijah, I don’t want to know anything about you two!”
Jenna rolled her eyes, “No, I’m not gonna tell you whenever Elijah calls me, those are private!”
“Wait,” Maya narrowed her eyes, “How many times does he call you?”
“More than Klaus calls you,” Jenna replied sassily.
“Ah! You have no idea how many times I speak to Nik!”
“Honey I get your phone bill,” she said with mock sympathy.
“I astral project to see him!” Maya exclaimed, “I only call for emergencies!”
“Uh-huh,” Jenna nodded, entirely unconvinced.
“Oh shut up! Who called you?”
Jenna smirked, sometimes it was fun to mess with her daughter, “Mason Lockwood.”
“What did he want?”
“To catch up,” Jenna shrugged, “You know he had serious crush on me when he was in high school.”
“And now he’s sleeping with a woman that looks exactly like Elena,” Maya said.
“Oh,” Jenna frowned, “That makes him less attractive.”
Maya rolled her eyes, “He’s obviously doing Katherine’s bidding.”
“That does explain why he was so eager to have dinner over here, even though he knows that I can’t cook.”
“Hmm,” Maya looked at her mother for a moment, “Set it up.”
“What?”
“We’ll take Mason off the board for Katherine, provoke her into revealing her hand.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Caroline’s back soon, and Kol is refusing to leave her side, so if I can get Katherine before they come back, that would be best.”
“Fine, but no killing!”
“Oh come on!”
The next day, Mason went over to the Sommers house, unaware that he was falling into a trap set by Maya, Damon and Enzo. The barbeque had been fun, Maya and Jenna were delightful, Damon was charming, and Enzo, he was upstairs, keeping an ear out, they wanted to know what Mason was up to, and they didn’t have to wait long. Jenna was ‘helping’ Maya out in the kitchen, Damon had ‘disappeared’ to take a call, and Mason had slipped away to snoop through the house. He’d gone straight upstairs, following his nose, he found Maya’s bedroom, but after quick glance, determined there was nothing in there. However, there was another place in the house that smelled just as strongly of Maya, it was the room on the top floor, her magic room.
Mason listened to make sure that no one was there, before opening the door and walking in, eyes widening as he took in the magical artifacts, “She’s a Witch!” Mason whispered. He turned around to leave but hit a barrier, “What-”
“Well, well, what do we have here?” Enzo stood just outside the barrier, “A trespasser.”
“Let me out of here,” Mason growled.
Enzo shook his head in amusement, “You never should have come back to Mystic Falls Mason.”
Maya appeared from behind Enzo, “Somnus.” Mason collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
/ / /
Damon and Enzo had lifted Mason’s unconscious form and put him on a chair, securing him with chains that had been infused with wolfsbane, so he wouldn’t be able to get out of them. Enzo quickly went through Mason’s pockets, and found not just his phone, but the fake moonstone, “Alright,” Damon said, “Wake him up.”
“Excito.”
Mason woke with a gasp, “What- what did you do to me?”
“I knocked you out,” Maya said, “You shouldn’t have been snooping.”
“I was curious,” Mason said, “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry you got caught,” Maya replied.
“Look, whatever this is, you don’t need to do this.”
“Relax,” Damon said, “Jenna made us promise that we wouldn’t kill you, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t hurt you.”
He made to move forward, but Maya stopped him, “Damon.”
“Oh come on! I wanna see how fast it takes for a werewolf to heal!” he was still smarting over the Werewolf bite he'd received a few years ago.
She shot him a look and he crossed his arms, and leant against the wall, pouting, “We know you’re working with Katherine,” Maya said, and Mason’s eyes widened in shock, “Don’t be so surprised I’ve been ten steps ahead of Katherine this whole time. I know why you’re here Mason.”
“But we don’t know why you’d believe a single word, Katherine Pierce says. She’s a Vampire, Vampire’s hate Werewolves,” Enzo said.
Mason didn’t say anything, and Damon pushed off of the wall, “When did you two meet? Did she seduce you and tell she loved you? You're supernatural so she can't compel you. I'm sure she used her other charms. Katherine's good that way.”
Mason just scowled at him and Damon rolled his eyes, “Why are you with Katherine?” he asked again.
Enzo watched as Mason refused to speak, and realised why, “Damon,” he said, “He’s in love with her.”
“No, really?”
“And she loves me!” Mason finally said.
“Oh you’re pathetic!” Damon spat, “Katherine doesn’t love you, she’s using you! You moron!”
“You’re just jealous!”
Maya rolled her eyes, “She doesn’t love you Mason, and I’ll prove it to you!” she grabbed Mason’s phone, and handed it Damon, “Call her.”
Damon smirked, and hit re-dial on the last number called, while Maya silenced Mason, “Mason, what did you find out?”
“Wrong boy toy!”
“Damon,” Katherine said, “For once, you surprise me. I guess Mason’s with you.”
“Yep,” Damon replied, “He’s right beside me, although his heart is across the room.”
“Tell me you didn’t.”
“Well I wanted to spare him the heartbreak, the poor sap actually believed that you loved him, can you believe that?” Damon let out a sardonic laugh, while Mason struggled against his bonds, he didn’t want Katherine to reveal anything to them.
“You shouldn’t have done that Damon.”
“You know, I’ve had a really busy day, I killed a werewolf, found the moonstone, hey, did you know that he found the moonstone? And he didn’t tell you? I guess even in love, he didn’t really trust you. Poor guy.”
“You have no idea what you’ve just done!” Katherine snarled.
“Awe, did I put a kink in your master plan? I’m so sorry.”
Katherine laughed at that, “Do you honestly believe that I don’t have a plan B? And if that fails a plan C, then a plan D, you know how the alphabet works, don’t you? Mason may be dead, but there’s another potential wolf in town. Send my love to Stefan.” She hung up and the two Vampires and Siphon all looked at Mason as he stopped struggling, Katherine hadn’t been upset at the news of his death at all, and what was worse, she insinuated that she was going to make Tyler activate his curse. How could she do that to him?
Maya watched the light dim in Mason’s eyes, as he realised that Katherine didn’t really love him, now she just needed to bring it home, and get the Werewolf to agree to go into hiding, before the ritual.
/ / /
Katherine snarled and threw her phone across the room, she didn’t know what she was angrier at, herself for underestimating Damon and his little friends, Damon and his little friends for killing Mason, or Stefan, for sneaking out of town with her pathetic little shadow-self. She was going to make everyone suffer, but first, she needed to get herself a new Werewolf and then find a way to get her hands on the moonstone, well, Elena and Maya both had mothers that could be threatened…Katherine smirked, she knew exactly what she wanted to do.
Monday afternoon, Stefan and Elena called a meeting at the Boarding House, Alaric and Bonnie, were there, and Maya, Damon and Enzo joined them. “What is so important that you demanded that we come here right away?” Enzo asked.
“No one asked you to come,” Elena said.
“It’s all of us or none of us,” Maya rolled her eyes. “Now what is it?”
Alaric held out a hand to stop Elena from snapping back, “We found out that Werewolves exist, and we think that Mason Lockwood is one.”
Stefan eyed his brother with suspicion, he didn’t look surprised at all, “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
Damon shrugged, “Well I’ve done a little more travelling than you Stef.”
“Wait,” Elena said, “If you knew what they were this whole time then why didn’t you say anything?!”
“Because, I wanted to know what Katherine was doing with a Werewolf, especially because the bite of a wolf is lethal for a Vampire.”
“That’s true?” Alaric asked.
“Yeah, it’s not a pretty way to go, there’s no cure.”
“Well did you find out?” Stefan asked impatiently.
“She was looking for this,” Damon took the fake moonstone out of his pocket and tossed it to his brother, “It’s a moonstone, Mason thought she wanted it to break some curse.”
“The sun and the moon curse?” Elena asked.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“What do you mean, Mason thought?” Stefan asked, looking at his brother, “Damon, what did you do?”
“Well, I couldn’t just leave a Werewolf running around with Vampires in town, I don’t have a death wish.”
“You killed him?!” Elena exclaimed, “He was Tyler’s uncle!”
“He was a threat,” Enzo said.
“Ugh! You can’t just kill anyone that you want!” Elena exclaimed to her cousin.
“I don’t know why you’re yelling at me, I didn’t do it!”
“But you’re okay with it!” Bonnie cut in, “You’re a monster! Just like them!”
“Bonnie, if you want to be the kind of Witch that gets walked all over, that’s your problem, but when someone hurts me, or mine, I protect them, and retaliate. If that makes me a monster to you, then you’ve never met a real monster.”
Bonnie scowled, when she looked at Maya, she didn’t see an ounce of goodness in her, was this what her grandmother meant when she said that all Siphons were abominations? Or was this because of her long association with Vampires? Her Grams had said that both of their kinds were an affront to nature, and that she shouldn’t get mixed up in Vampire business, but she had, and it had cost her.
“What am I supposed to say to Tyler?” Elena asked.
“Nothing,” Maya replied, “We texted Carol from Mason’s phone, the Lockwoods think that he went back to Florida.”
Rebekah and Kol watched as Caroline fed on someone, pulling back without needing them to stop her. “I’ve never seen such control in a baby Vampire before.” Rebekah said.
“It’s truly remarkable,” Kol agreed, “You didn’t have that kind of control for at least a century.”
“You know I can hear you talking about me, right?” Caroline asked. Checking her makeup in a handheld mirror, and walking over to them. “And Damon said it’s because everything I am is amplified, which is a neurotic control freak on crack.”
Rebekah smirked, “He would say that.”
“You guys promised that I could go back home once I proved that I was in perfect control, it’s been weeks, I wanna go home! I miss my mom, and Maya!”
Kol bristled a little, “Are you sure that you don’t just want to go back because you miss Damon and Enzo?”
Caroline rolled her eyes, “There’s no need to be jealous Kol, maybe if you’d made the first move, then we would have gone hunting together.” Caroline tossed her hair over her shoulder and walked off.
“Wh-Bu-She just-” Kol looked at Rebekah in shock. His sister shook her head, and chased after the younger blonde.
“Aunt Jenna!” Katherine said, catching up to Maya’s mother as she walked up the driveway, “Can we talk?”
Jenna didn’t stop moving, “What is it Elena?” she glanced at her niece, before unlocking her front door.
“I need to talk to you about Maya, can I come inside?”
Jenna’s heart skipped a beat at that, she pushed the door open and stepped over the threshold, and turned around, looking at the woman who was pretending to be her niece. “I don’t think so Elena.” She needed to get away from the Vampire.
Katherine stepped forward and locked eyes with Jenna, “I’d really like to come in,” she compelled.
Maya had told her that the protections on the house would stop enemy Vampires from getting in, no matter what, but she didn’t want to chance it, “No can do Katherine.”
Katherine pulled back, “You know who I am.”
“My daughter and I have a very open relationship,” Jenna said, taking a step away from the doorway.
Katherine scowled, she grabbed some rocks from the ground, “Let me in now, or I’ll kill you.”
“You can’t get in without an invite, and I’m not giving you one!” Jenna ran her fingers over the bracelet that her daughter had given her, it was an early warning system, the moment she rubbed it, Maya would know that she was in trouble.
Katherine shrugged, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She threw the rocks straight for Jenna, but Maya’s protection spell made them explode before they crossed the threshold, “What?” Katherine looked shocked, “What was that?!” she demanded.
“You think I don’t know a Witch... Katerina.”
“How do you know that name?” Katherine asked, feeling a sliver of fear run through her.
“I’m very good at research, and I know that you’ve been running for centuries,” Jenna replied, her fist clenching, to stop herself from shaking in terror, “Unless you want me to call who you’ve been running from, you'll leave.”
“You’re lying, you don’t know anything!”
“Finn, Rebekah, Kol, Elijah and Klaus,” Jenna said, causing Katherine to take a step back, “You pissed off the Originals.” Katherine whooshed away before she could finish her sentence.
/ / /
“Mom!” Maya yelled, running inside with Damon and Enzo, she’d felt her mother’s distress call, and the boys rushed her home, “Mom!” She looked around their home frantically, and found Jenna on the couch in the living room, shaking. “Mom! What happened?” Maya raced over to her, dropping to her knees in front of her mother.
“Katherine was here,” Jenna whispered.
“Oh my God!” Maya gasped, “Did she touch you?”
Enzo and Damon looked at each other for a moment, before flashing out of the room, whooshing all over the property, making sure that the doppelgänger was nowhere to be seen.
Jenna shook her head, “I got inside before she realised that I knew who she was.”
Maya sighed in relief, “Okay, that’s good, that’s good!”
“Honey, I was scared, and I screwed up,” Jenna said.
“What? What is it?”
“She kept trying to get in, and I didn’t know how long it was going to take you to get here, so I- I said something.”
“What? Mom, what?”
“I told her that I knew she’d been running from the Originals, she ran before I finished my sentence. I’m so sorry, I know you wanted to keep her in the dark about them, but I was afraid.”
“Mom, Mom! Listen to me!” Maya grabbed her hands, “I don’t care! It doesn’t matter! You’re safe, that’s all that matters to me!”
“But your plan!”
“Is nothing compared to you! I’ll get Katherine another way, as long as you’re safe. I love you Mom, if anything happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do! I’d probably destroy the town! Really it’s a good thing you did what you did.”
Jenna hugged her daughter, “Nothing’s gonna happen to me.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Maya stood, “You stay inside,” and she turned to the guys, who’d just come back, “Can one of you get Aunt Liz and Jeremy? I don’t wanna take any chances.”
“We’ll be back soon,” Enzo said, and they both shot out of the house again.
“What are you gonna do?” Jenna asked.
“Move up my timeline, Katherine’s not gonna leave without the moonstone, or Elena, she needs them both to be free from Nik.”
The phone rang in the Gilbert home, and Miranda answered it, “Hello?”
“Give the phone to Elena, wait two minutes, then stab yourself with the carving knife,” Katherine said.
“I understand.” Miranda came over to Stefan and Elena, who were in the living room, “It’s for you honey.” She handed off the phone and went back into the kitchen.
“Hello?” Elena asked.
“Hello Elena.”
“Katherine!” Elena’s eyes widened, and Stefan stood up, tensing, in case the Vampire decided to show up at the house.
“You and your friends have something of mine.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play coy, the moonstone, I want it.”
“I don’t have it! Damon does!”
“Well you better get it from him,” Katherine said, “And don’t try to work against me, I will always be one step ahead of you.”
“Katherine, I can’t! Damon doesn’t even like me!”
“Do you know how easy it was to get inside of your house? To replace your mother’s vervain perfume? To stop her from drinking her special tea?”
“No, Katherine!”
“Your mother’s been mine for days, and she actually listens to me, so when I suggested that the world we be a much better place if she just…”
Elena looked up at her mother, just in time to see her stab herself with a knife, “Mom! No!”
“Well, you get the idea.”
Elena dropped the phone, and rushed to her mom, Stefan picked it up, “Katherine!”
“Next time, it’s fatal, I want that moonstone Stefan. The Historical Society is meeting tomorrow for tea, meet me there, give me the moonstone, or this town will rain blood!”
“What is this place?” Mason asked, as Maya stopped her car in front of the largest mansion that he’d ever seen.
“C’mon,” she said, getting out of the car.
Mason saw three people…no wolves, come out of the mansion, “Who’s this?” Regina asked.
“This is Mason Lockwood,” Maya replied, “Katherine wanted to use him as the Werewolf sacrifice.”
“Wait what?!” Mason exclaimed.
“They’ll tell you all about it, I don’t have time,” she looked at the Enforcers, “If Katherine sees him, she’ll kill him, and then force his nephew to become the new sacrifice. Can you keep him safe? Just until Nik gets to town.”
"What else?" Alexandra asked.
"And Mom said I can't kill him!" Maya admitted.
The wolves glanced at each other, before turning back to Maya and Mason, “How good are you with your hands?”
“Uh, I’m handy if that’s what you mean,” Mason said, still stuck on the whole, sacrifice thing.
“Fine,” Regina sighed, “He can help finish the pack house.”
“Katherine’s demanding the moonstone,” Stefan said from outside Maya’s house, she wouldn’t invite him inside, so he had to talk through an open window.
“So what?”
“She attacked your aunt!” Stefan said, “I know that your upset with her, but she’s still Jeremy’s mother!”
Maya sighed, “What did she say?”
“She wants us to meet her at the Historical Society’s monthly tea- Look this would be much easier if I could talk to you inside!”
Maya rolled her eyes, “Fine, come in.”
Stefan whooshed inside, “She said if we don’t bring her the moonstone, then the town will rain blood.”
“I’m not giving her the moonstone,” Maya said.
“I don’t think we should.”
“No?” Damon said, “I’m surprised at you! I figured you’d do anything to keep your precious Elena safe.”
“Giving Katherine what she wants won’t keep Elena safe.”
“So what’d you have in mind?” Maya asked.
“I want to kill her.”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they're awesome!
Chapter 60: Can't Get Out
Notes:
Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos!
I'm a little nervous about the ending of this chapter, I hope that you like it!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Elena and Bonnie burst into the Salvatore House, “Katherine attacked my Mom!” Elena exclaimed.
Maya rolled her eyes, “We know, that’s why we’re,” she motioned at herself, Damon and Enzo, “here.”
“What’s going on?” Bonnie asked.
“We’re gonna kill Katherine,” Damon said from his place on the couch.
“What?”
“Let me explain,” Stefan said, coming over to the young Witch.
“Please.”
“We’re gonna kill Katherine.”
“You can’t kill her! Stefan she’s older, stronger and faster than you!” Elena exclaimed, “We just need to give her the moonstone!”
“Are you crazy?” Maya said, “You can’t just give Katherine what she wants! She’s actually evil.”
“Yeah! And she went after my mom!” Elena said, “You don’t get it, because she never went after yours!”
“She did go after my mother!” Maya exclaimed.
“What?” Elena asked, this was the first time she’d heard of it.
“She came my house, thankfully I told Mom all about your look-alike, so she didn’t invite her in! It’s not my fault that you didn’t protect your mom!”
Elena gasped and Stefan grabbed her before she could do anything stupid, “Hey, hey! It’s okay, your mom’s okay, and we’re going to stop Katherine from hurting anyone else.”
Elena nodded at Stefan, “Okay, so what do we do?”
“You do nothing,” Maya said.
“Wait what? I’m not doing nothing!”
“Katherine wants to meet in a public place, what are people going to think when they see two Elena’s running around?”
“I-”
“No she’s right,” Stefan said, “Katherine hasn’t attacked you directly yet, but that doesn’t mean she won’t.”
“Besides, who’s gonna take care of your mom?” Damon asked, “Jeremy’s staying at Maya’s to be safe, and you’re mom has no idea what’s going on, not really.”
Elena frowned, Damon was right, who was going to protect her mom? “But Katherine is still invited in.”
“Relax Elena,” Maya rolled her eyes, “Katherine is going to be at the Historical Tea, as long you guys don’t invite in any more Vampires, it’ll be fine. If you’re really worried, invite Alaric over, he’s not going to the Tea, and he’s got enough weapons to hold off anyone long enough for one of the guys to get to you.”
Elena looked at Stefan in question, “Do you think that he’ll be okay with coming over? What am I supposed to say to Mom to explain him being there?”
“You could tell her that you want to learn more about your birth mother,” Stefan ventured.
“I really don’t feel good about this,” Elena shook her head and sighed.
“You know what, I’m not in the mood for this conversation!” Maya said, standing up, “I’m gonna go through my grimoire and see if I have anything for psycho Vampires that are over 500-years-old. Call me when you get a clue!” she stormed out of the house.
Stefan sighed as he watched her leave, and took Damon’s…whatever he was with her. “Look, we have three Vampires, a Witch and Siphon,” Stefan said, hands on Elena’s arms as she stood across from him, “And as much as I hate to say it, your cousin is powerful, she took me down without breaking a sweat, she opened the tomb without any of us knowing. Not to mention, that spell that she did on Caroline! We have a real shot to stop Katherine in her tracks!”
Katherine walked into her bedroom, putting down shopping bags, she had nothing that looked like Elena’s clothes, so she had to go to a few shops and find something that matched her shadow self’s dull personality. Once the bags were down she whooshed across the room, slamming an intruder against the wall.
“Oh Kat, chill.” The intruder said.
“Don’t sneak up on a Vampire, Lucy,” Katherine said, letting her go.
“Don’t attack a Witch, it’s good to see you girl!” Katherine embraced the woman.
“I’m glad you made it.”
“You called, I came,” Lucy shrugged.
“Like you had a choice.”
“Don’t get all boss lady on me, you know I love you. Now, what’s the plan?”
/ / /
Katherine straighten her hair, trying not to wince as her nose picked up the smell of burning, “What’s with the hair?” Lucy asked.
“I’m I'm impersonating my dull as dishwater doppelganger Elena. She has the worst taste.”
“Except in men. Isn't it a risk pretending to be her in front of the entire town?”
Katherine shrugged, “I've gotten quite good at it actually and I have a feeling that Stefan isn’t going to let Elena show up to the same place as me.”
“Okay,” Lucy replied, still unconvinced, “Tell me, have you actually seen the moonstone before? I always thought it was some made up legend.”
“I have seen it and I need you to help me get it back.”
“Oh yeah? What are you gonna do with it?” Katherine looked at her uncomfortably, and didn’t answer, “You want me to break the curse, don’t you?”
“Let's just get it first. All I need from you is to me my backup. I can't imagine that Damon and Stefan are just gonna hand it over without putting up a fight.”
“Have you got everything ready?” Damon asked, handing Maya her jacket.
“Yep,” the Siphon nodded, “You wait upstairs in the Lockwood’s reading room, I’ll put a spell on it as soon as I get there. Stefan can be the bait for Katherine, and Enzo,” she looked at the other Vampire, "You keep Tyler Lockwood from murdering anyone tonight!”
“Right, you two get to take down the evil bitch, and I’m on dog duty,” Enzo rolled his eyes.
“Do you really wanna attract Katherine’s attention?” Maya asked.
Katherine was five times Enzo’s age, “Fine, I don’t want a mutt running around here anyway.”
“Careful,” Damon smirked, “Don’t let Nik hear you say that.”
/ / /
Elena watched as Alaric helped her mother get settled on the couch with a frown, she couldn’t just stay in the house when Stefan was out there fighting Katherine for her. She had to be there, she had to support him, instead of just staying inside of her house, waiting it out. Elena snuck upstairs, she hadn’t used the trellis since that night she went off the bridge, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
/ / /
Bonnie set down her spell book in the reading room at Lockwood Manor, “You know we don’t actually need that,” Maya said.
“I don’t need your help!” Bonnie snapped.
“Really? Have fun putting up that boundary spell, I’m sure you’ll have enough energy in you in case of emergency.” Maya flounced out of the room, shooting Damon a smirk, “I’m gonna go find Enzo.”
Bonnie grit her teeth and flipped through her grimoire, she didn’t need help, she was fully capable of doing the spell herself.
/ / /
Katherine looked around the room and fought the urge to roll her eyes, these people were so boring, and she didn’t want to stay here for longer than she needed to. She spotted Stefan, and walked over with a smirk, “Hello Stefan.”
“Katherine,” he scowled.
“Do you have the moonstone?” she asked, threading her arm through his.
“Why this charade Katherine? Why do you need to pretend to be Elena? Why do you need the moonstone that badly?”
“Where is it?” she asked, ignoring his questions.
“I’m not giving it to you.”
“Fine,” Katherine stopped walking, “Then tell me who should I kill? Elena’s pretty little ex? On of those cheerleaders? Ah,” she spotted Maya on the other side of the room, “How about the cousin?”
“I don't want anyone to get hurt tonight.”
“Then give me the moonstone and nobody will.”
“Well you see, I don’t have the it on me, you and I will have to get it together.”
“Hmm, I have a better plan. You go fetch it and I will try not to kill anyone in the meantime.”
“We do this my way, or you don’t get it.”
Katherine scowled, walking away from Stefan to one of the few teenagers that were there, and after a few minutes of small talk, Katherine snapped her neck, Stefan gasped and caught the girl before she fell to the floor, “The moonstone, Stefan. Tic-toc.”
/ / /
“Bonnie!” Elena said, seeing her friend in the driveway, “What are you doing outside!”
“Katherine can’t see me!” Bonnie said, “But-”
“But what?”
“I think I felt another Witch here, what if Katherine came more prepared than we thought?”
“We have warn Stefan!” Elena exclaimed.
“You can’t go in there! Everyone already thinks you’re there! How are we going to explain two of you running around?!” Bonnie hissed.
/ / /
Katherine looked at Lucy, as her Witch came over, “You didn’t tell me there was another Witch here.”
“Didn’t I?” Katherine asked.
“No one is supposed to know that I’m involved, this changes things!”
“This changes nothing,” Katherine replied, “You’re here because you owe me a favour, you wouldn’t want to lose my friendship, would you?” Katherine looked at her watch, “Just be ready,” she said, before walking over to Maya, Stefan was taking way too long. She grabbed Maya’s wrist in a tight grip, feeling the bones shift in her arm.
Maya gasped in pain, taking care not to let out a scream, “Katherine!”
“What are Stefan and Damon up to?”
“What do you mean?” Maya clenched her jaw, as Katherine gripped her tighter.
“Stefan’s not one for the loss of innocent life, at least not when he’s on animal blood. What’s going on?”
“I don't know,” Maya shook her head, “Nothing.”
Katherine pushed Maya into a corner, “Don’t lie to me Maya! They're up to something, what is it?”
“I…” Katherine grabbed Maya’s hand and snapped one of her fingers, causing Maya to cry out, “Wait, no, no, no! Okay, they’re trying to kill you!”
“I wouldn't have guessed.” The older Vampire replied sarcastically, “Where is the moonstone?”
“Bonnie has it!”
“And where is Bonnie right now?”
“I don’t know!” Katherine broke another finger and Maya whimpered, “Okay! She's upstairs, she's upstairs!”
Katherine dragged Maya with her upstairs, “Why are you dragging me into this?! I don’t care about Elena!”
“Well, let’s just say, I don’t like the fact that Damon acts like he’s over me!”
“He is over you!” Maya hissed back.
“He’s sleeping with Enzo, did you know that?!” Katherine snapped back, yanking her to the landing upstairs, “Which room is it?!”
“It’s that one!” Maya nodded to the door to the reading room.
Katherine dropped Maya’s arm and walked inside, “Where is she?”
Maya smirked, “Fooled ya!”
Katherine rushed to the door, but slammed into a barrier, “What the-”
Stefan stepped out from around the corner, “Hello Katherine.”
“Goodbye Katherine,” Maya said, walking away, she needed to find Enzo and get her wrist and hand healed before anybody saw it.
“You don't really think that you can kill me with that now, do you?” She motioned at the stake in hand.
“Probably not,” Stefan replied, “But he can.”
Damon pulled out one of Alaric’s compressed air weapons and shot her in the shoulder, causing her to scream.
/ / /
“Aah!” Elena screamed,
“What's going on?” Maya asked, walking outside after Enzo healed her up.
“Oh my God!” Bonnie gasped, as Elena screamed again, “It’s Katherine! She’s linked to Katherine!” she looked at Maya, “Get them to stop! Now!”
Maya fought the urge to roll her eyes and rushed back inside, Katherine was so predictable.
“Bonnie!” Elena cried. “It hurts!”
/ / /
“Stop!” Maya said, not going inside, she was sure that Bonnie’s spell wouldn’t let her out if she went inside, “Everything you’re doing is hurting Elena! They’re linked!” Maya rushed away, she needed to make sure that Bonnie knew what she was doing.
Katherine smiled and got up from the floor, “You think you two are the only ones with a Witch on their side? Wrong, and something tells me that my Witch is better than your Witch!” She took the stake from Damon’s hand. “Let’s make sure poor Elena is okay,” she ran the stake over her hand, slicing it open, Stefan knocked the stake out of her hand, Katherine pushed him off her and picked up the stake, she was about to shove it in her stomach.
“Wait!” Stefan cried, stopping her.
Katherine smirked and dropped onto the sofa, “So how about that moonstone?”
/ / /
“Have you dealt with the spell?” Maya asked, coming out, Bonnie was gripping Elena’s hands as she finished muttering a spell.
“I took away her pain, but they're still linked,” Bonnie said.
“Bummer, you know there’s only so long the boys can stall, I think that you should figure something out…soon.”
“Help me!” Bonnie snapped.
“You said you didn’t need any help, especially not from me.”
Bonnie scowled, “This was other Witch, stay with Elena! I’m gonna find her!”
/ / /
“Look at this, the three of us together just like old times. The brother who loved me too much and the one that didn't love me enough.” Katherine smirked.
“And the evil slut Vampire who only loved herself,” Damon finished.
“What happened to you Damon? You used to be so sweet and polite.”
“Oh that Damon died a long time ago.”
“Good. He was a bore.”
“Oh, why don't you two stop antagonising each other!” Stefan snapped.
“Where’s the moonstone?”
“What do you want with it?”
“Does Elena enjoy having both of you worship at her alter?”
Damon snorted in amusement, “That was really desperate Katherine, don’t you think we can see right through you?”
“Oh please, we can all see that the only reason that you’re with Elena’s cousin is to be close to her. Although I have no idea what you see in Enzo! Is he good in bed?”
“Oh, stop it Katherine!” Stefan said.
“Or what? You'll hurt me?” she got up and walked over to him, “Come on, Stefan. Everything that I feel, Elena feels, so go ahead,” she turned to Damon, “Or better yet, kiss me Damon. She'll feel that too.”
“You know,” Stefan cut in, “This whole Mason thing has me a bit confused. Why a Werewolf? The moonstone can break a curse that would help them destroy all Vampires so what's in it for you?”
“Sorry about your pet wolf,” Damon said, “You should have been sure to keep him on a tighter leash.”
“I'll have to remember that for next time. He's not the only wolf in town.”
“Did you forget Enzo?” Damon said, “He took care of Tyler, I didn’t want another Werewolf running around.”
Katherine scowled, and Stefan spoke up, trying to distract her from her anger, “You bargained the moonstone.
“What are you murmuring about over there?”
“When you made a deal with George Lockwood, to help you fake your death, you told me that you gave George something he needed. It was the moonstone, wasn't it?”
“Good for you, Stefan. 2+2… And it would have worked except that people found out that I wasn't in the tomb,” she shot a look over at Damon, “Thanks for that by the way. Have I mentioned how inconvenient your little obsession with me have been?”
“It’s a good think I’m over you then.”
“Why do you need it back?” Stefan asked.
“I love you in a suit, so dashing.”
“What were you doing with it in the first place?”
“You're wasting your breath, Stefan.”
“Unless it wasn't yours to begin with. In 1864 you faked your death. Who were you running from, Katherine?”
“In 1987 you were in Chicago, at a concert of all places with that wench Lexi.” Stefan paled at that, while Damon clenched his fist, he hated the fact that she could still get to him. “Come on Stefan, don't look so surprised. Of course I checked on you over the years, you were standing in the front row, dancing all night. You were watching Bon Jovi and I was watching you.”
“Who were you running from?”
/ / /
Bonnie searched all over the party, looking for the other Witch, finally spotting her as she was about to leave, “You’re looking for me?” Lucy asked as she turned to face Bonnie.
“Who are you?”
“Lucy.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I should have known I'd run into a Bennett Witch.”
“How do you know me?” Bonnie asked.
“You'll figure it out.” Lucy shrugged, “Look, I have no interest in fighting you.”
“Then stop the spell you put on my friend!”
“Give Katherine the moonstone and I will.”
“Why are you helping her? Don't you know what she is?”
“Tell your friends to hand over the moonstone and all will be groovy.”
Bonnie grabbed her arm, “You're not leaving until you stop the spell!"
“Look, I don't want to hurt you.”
“I don't want to hurt you,” Bonnie shot back.
“I don't have a choice here. The bitch saved my life and now I owe her. I have to pay up, you have the moonstone. I can sense it on you.” The ground started to shake, and they both looked around, “Do you feel that? You can trust me. Give me the moonstone, it's okay.”
/ / /
Lucy walked into the room upstairs, moonstone in her hand, “Katherine, the spell in this room has been broken, you're free to leave.”
“Finally,” she stood up and walked over to the Witch.
“When I hand this over, my debt to you is over.”
“Done.”
“I owe you nothing.”
Katherine rolled her eyes, “I said done. Give it,” she wiggled her fingers and Lucy dropped the fake moonstone in Katherine’s hand.
The doppelgänger started to choke, and she collapsed, “You should have told me another Witch was involved. She's a Bennett Witch! But I'm sure you knew that.”
“Wait, Elena!” Stefan said.
“Elena's fine. The spell is broken. She'll heal quickly, Bonnie's with her.” She looked at the brothers, “I apologise for my involvement,” she left Katherine on the floor, and walked away, before one of the Vampires decided to try and attack her.
Damon bent down, and picked up the fake stone, “You distract Carol Lockwood and her friends, I’ll get her out of here.”
“What are you gonna do?” Stefan asked.
“The bitch let me think that she was rotting away in a tomb for over a century, I’m thinking I’m gonna put her in there.”
Katherine woke with a gasp, she spotted the moonstone on the ground next to her, she grabbed it and jumped up, she tried to leave, but she hit an invisible wall. “What?” Katherine slammed her hands against the barrier, but it was to no avail.
“Hello Katherine.” Damon said, appearing in front of her.
“Where are am I?”
“Where you should have been all along,” Damon shrugged, “Welcome to the tomb, Katherine.”
“You should have killed me when you had the chance!” Katherine snarled.
“Oh, but then that would really piss of Nik!” Maya said stepping out of the shadows.
“What?” Katherine asked, paling. “What did you say?”
“Nik,” Maya said again, “Oh that’s right! You’d know him better as Klaus!”
Katherine dropped the moonstone in shock, “What- what are you-?”
Damon shoved his hands in his pockets with a smirk, “She said Klaus. We prefer to call him Nik though. He’s my bestie, and this ones boyfriend,” he nodded at Maya.
“Do not let him hear you say boyfriend,” Maya snorted in amusement.
“I-wh-huh?”
Maya smirked, “Well you didn’t really think that we were dating, did you?” she motioned to herself and Damon with a laugh.
“Hey!” Damon said, offended.
“Oh please! You have to admit you’re a total slut.”
“That’s fair,” Damon conceded.
“What the hell is going on?!” Katherine snapped, interrupting them.
“Well it’s pretty simple Kat, I told Damon that I could open the tomb early, all he needed was to find something for me to store up the magic. He ran into Nik along the way, and the rest is history.”
“You? You opened the tomb?”
Maya lifted her hand and Katherine started choking, for just a moment before she dropped to the ground, “Yes, you wanted to know what I was, and the answer is, better than your Witch.”
“You locked me in here,” Katherine said angrily.
Maya held her hand to her heart, “What better present for Nik than the psycho bitch that ran from him for 500 years?”
“Damon! Damon you don’t understand, he’s not just after me! Elena’s in danger! He’ll kill her!”
"I wonder what he'll say when I tell him that you fractured my wrist and broke two of my fingers?" Maya pondered.
"You what?!" Damon growled.
"NO!" Katherine yelled, "NO! Damon! Let me out!"
“Goodbye Katherine,” he said, and he moved the cap stone, sealing the entrance of the tomb.
“Damon you need me! You need me, Damon! Damon!” Katherine slammed her fists against the entrance but it was no use.
Rebekah and Caroline arrived in Mystic Falls two weeks after Katherine was locked away, they went straight to Maya’s house, while Kol checked out the place that the Wolves had built, “I can’t believe that you locked Katherine away before I got to see her,” Rebekah complained.
“Oh please, you just wanted a chance to torment her!” Maya said from her place on the couch, wrapped up in Caroline’s arms, the Baby Vampire latched on to her the moment she saw her and refused to let her go.
“That was a little obvious Bex,” Caroline said.
Rebekah pouted, “Fine, I wanted to see the look of fear on her face when she realised that Nik was coming for her.”
“She was terrified,” Maya ginned, “I can’t wait for Nik to get here, he’s gonna be so happy!”
“It’ll be a great birthday for him,” Rebekah conceded.
“Wait what?” Maya jerked upwards, “What do you mean, birthday?”
“Didn’t Nik tell you?” Rebekah asked, “March 26th, it’s his birthday.”
“WHAT?!” Maya shrieked, “THAT’S IN TWO DAYS! He told me it was in April!”
Rebekah and Caroline winced at the volume of Maya’s shriek, “Calm down, you’ve already got him the best present he could ask for.”
“Katherine can’t be his birthday present! She was his present 500-years-ago and that didn’t exactly work out!”
“Why are you freaking out?” Caroline asked.
“This is his first birthday where there’s no supernatural drama, we’re talking again, and I don’t have to worry about the doppel-bitch!”
“Maya,” Rebekah said.
“Plus I may have had a plan…”
“What kind of plan?” Caroline asked, and Maya turned red, “A dirty plan?”
“No…”
Caroline’s eyes widened, “Oh my God! It is a dirty plan!” she exclaimed.
“Shut up Sunshine!” Maya hissed.
“Ugh!” Rebekah groaned in disgust, “I can’t hear this!”
“I need to hear everything,” Caroline grinned.
“Hi Mom,” Caroline said hesitantly, she was stood on the porch at the house, because she hadn’t been home since the night she’d turned, she couldn’t go inside without an invite.
“Caroline!” Liz exclaimed, stepping outside, she was about to go to work, “I didn’t think that you were coming back yet, Damon said it can take a while to get control.”
Caroline nodded, “Turns out my control freak tendencies are actually good for something. Rebekah says I have perfect control, I…I missed you Mom.”
“I missed you too honey,” Liz said, it had been a long month, she’d spent a lot of it getting to know Damon and Enzo, the two had given her so much to think about, the fact that Enzo, who’d spent half a century being tortured, was not only sane, but funny, intelligent and worldly, it had really changed her whole view on Vampires. Then of course, her time with Damon had her rethinking that, so she was at a cautious middle when it came to Vampires, much like how she felt when it came to regular people. She was feeling excited and anxious about Caroline coming back, she trusted her daughter, but she had no idea how being a Vampire would affect her.
“Really?” Caroline asked. “I know things are going to be weird between us now.”
“Of course I missed you honey,” Liz stepped forward, reaching out and holding her, “I know we’ve been off kilter since your father left, I’ve buried myself in work, and then I got mad because you’ve been doing all this supernatural stuff, without telling me, and I-”
“No Mom! I understand, Dad left and you were hurt! I get it, you didn’t want to be at home, and it wasn’t like I was alone, I had Maya, and Aunt Jenna.”
“Had them, you were practically living with them! And you shouldn’t have had to!”
“Mom, it’s okay, I’m not mad at you anymore.”
Liz sighed, sitting on the porch swing with Caroline, “We’ve really been a mess haven’t we?
“Yeah,” Caroline said, “We have.”
Liz’s phone buzzed and she groaned, “Oh I’m so sorry, we’ve just had four new deputies in, and it looks like my number two is screwing up.”
“It’s okay Mom, we’ll have dinner tonight!”
“Are you sure? I can call in!”
“Mom, if you’re not there to take care of those deputies, we both know that they’ll just screw up everything. Go!”
“Okay. No cooking tonight, I’ll pick up dinner!” Liz got up to leave.
“Great!” Caroline smiled, “Wait Mom!”
“Yes honey?”
“I can’t get in,” she pointed at the house.
“Oh right!” Liz said in realisation, “Caroline, please come in.” she said.
“Thanks Mom.”
Kol glared at Caroline, who was currently dancing with Jeremy Gilbert at the masquerade, he spun her on the dance floor and she giggled, all the while, Kol was getting angrier and angrier. Not only had Jeremy stolen his date for the night, (even though he hadn’t actually asked her to the party), but Kol had also realised that Jeremy was the one that had killed him in the future. (One that didn’t exist anymore, but it didn’t make him any less angry). Enzo was escorting Liz at the party, and Damon was with Jenna, keeping her company, warding off Alaric, who apparently still thought he had a shot with the oldest Sommers woman.
Kol grabbed Damon, and yanked him away from Jenna, “Wh-hey!” Damon shook Kol’s arm off, when they were in a more secluded area, “What?”
“Did you know?!” Kol demanded.
“Know what?” Damon asked.
“Did you know that Jeremy, Maya’s precious cousin, killed me?!”
“Uh…you’re not dead.” He said confused.
“You know what I mean!” Kol hissed.
“Oh! You mean before! Yeah, he was!” Damon nodded.
“And no one thought to tell me?!”
“Relax! It’s not gonna happen now!”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Uh how about because there’s no more white oak anywhere!” Damon hissed back, “When Jeremy killed you, it was because he was your enemy, this time around he’s not, because of Maya! So no killing him for something he hasn’t even done!”
/ / /
“Jenna, hey!” Alaric said, walking over to her.
“Alaric!” She gave him a small smile, “I haven’t seen you in a while, are you here with someone?”
“Uh no,” he shook his head, “I am going stag, but you! You’re here with Damon!” Alaric rubbed the back of his head, “Isn’t he your daughter’s boyfriend?”
Jenna raised a brow at him, “That doesn’t really sound like any of your business.”
“No you’re right,” Alaric back peddled, “I was just curious.”
“Maya has a boyfriend, and it’s not Damon,” she made to walk away, but stopped and turned back to him, “And I’m not dating him either!” she stormed off.
“That didn’t go well,” Alaric muttered.
Friday 26th of March, Maya stepped out of the taxi outside of the compound in Arizona, Nik was out with the kids, and the Wolves were almost ready to go. She walked through the front door, and bumped into Elijah, “Elijah! What are you doing here?”
“My brother lives here, and it's his birthday,” he replied, “What are you doing here?”
Maya raised a brow, “Your brother lives here, and it's his birthday,” she repeated, “Don’t tell him you saw me, it’s a surprise!” She smirked and flounced off upstairs.
“Uh, where are your bags?!” Elijah called after her.
“Don’t need any!” she yelled back.
Elijah shuddered when he realise what she was implying, and stopped Freya when she came into the hallway, “It’s probably best we leave for the night.”
“What?” Freya asked confused, “Why?”
“Freya, I am the noble brother, and as such, I don’t believe that I should allow you to be traumatised by anything that you may hear tonight.”
“What are you talking about Elijah?”
He pulled her towards the exit, “Just come with me, we’ll pick up the children from Niklaus and send him back here!”
“Wait, wha-” Elijah cut her off as he tugged her out of the compound.
/ / /
Klaus headed up to his room at the compound, he couldn’t believe it, it was his birthday and Elijah and Freya had swooped in and taken the children from him! He was actually having fun and his siblings had insisted that he come home immediately. Refusing to say why, he scowled, he was going to drop his things in his room, and go to his studio, at least he could work on some of his art without being disturbed.
He opened the door, and dropped his keys to the floor in surprise, Maya was leant against the dresser in his room, in a sexy, green, backless bodysuit, the lingerie was held up by spaghetti straps, with a bow just underneath the bust, holding the whole thing together. “Hi Nik,” she whispered, with a sexy smirk.
“Maya!” Klaus said, rushing to shut the door behind him and locking it, his eyes roamed over her exposed flesh, “I swear if you’re not actually here-”
“I’m here,” Maya interrupted, and Klaus whooshed forward, grabbing her by her waist and yanking her towards him.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, running his nose down her neck, taking in her scent, and latching onto her scar.
Maya gripped his shoulders as she felt his teeth sink into her neck, “It’s your birthday,” she replied breathily, “I’m your birthday present.”
Klaus pulled back, licking the blood from his lips, “And what a pretty little present you are,” his fingers trailed over the delicate lace, and ended up on the bow between her breasts, “What happens if I pull on this?” he tugged on the edge of the bow.
Maya looked up him, a wicked gleam in her eyes, “Why don’t you try it and see?”
Klaus grinned, and moved to undress her, but paused for a moment, “Are you certain?”
“I’m sure,” she whispered.
Klaus yanked on the bow, tearing the flimsy bodysuit from her body, pressing his lips against hers, Klaus gripped her thighs and lifted her up. Maya wrapped her legs around his waist and he pressed her against the bed, skimming his mouth over her skin, shaping her body with his hands. “God, I want you,” he growled, trailing kisses down her torso, and she yanked his shirt over his head. “Everything about you drives me mad.”
“Then take me,” Maya whispered, her back arching as his mouth found her breasts, and his tongue laved against her nipple, before taking it in his mouth. Klaus ran his hands down her stomach to her thighs, his thumb finding her clit, fingers sliding inside her, and she cried out, biting into his neck, his blood hot and thick on her tongue. His fingers curled up and Maya pulled him in for a kiss, slow and desperate, she’d missed his touch, his scent, she’d missed feeling him against her.
“Tell me what you want love,” he rocked against her, and her thighs tightened around his waist, as one hand massaged her breast.
“I want-” she broke off and gasped as her body trembled, his fingers moved faster, “I wanna- please- I want- Ah!”
“That’s right love, cum for me, Maya,” Klaus’s thumb pressed against her clit, and she tensed, she was right there, and as she fell over the edge, she cried out his name.
Klaus undid his belt, shoving his trousers off, and Maya felt him hard against her, she pressed her hands to his chest, flipping them over. Maya stroked his length and with every pump of her hands, his Vampire came closer and closer to the surface, “Maya,” he growled. Lifting her hips and she sank down on him.
“Nik!” she moaned, locking their eyes as she rode him, she wanted to draw this out for as long as possible, but he couldn’t take it anymore, turning them, Klaus picked up the pace, thrusting harder, and faster, she cried out, begging him for more. Maya arched, and Klaus’s eyes darkened, his fangs sinking into her again, tasting her once more. Maya trembled, calling out his name as another orgasm hit her.
Klaus pulled back with a smirk, “Don’t give out on me now,” he said, she looked dazed as she came down from her high, “We’re just getting started.”
Maya groaned as woke up in the morning, trying to stretch out, “Oh my God,” she muttered.
“I’m getting flashbacks to last night,” Klaus said, pulling her closer to him.
“Oh shut up,” she shot back, resting her head on his bare chest, “I think you forgot that I’m a fragile mortal.” Klaus laughed in response, “I’m serious! I think you broke me!”
Klaus grinned, biting into his wrist and presenting it to her, Maya lifted her head up and drank from him, sighing as she felt his healing blood move straight to her aches and pains, fixing the soreness, that she woke up with. “Better?” he asked.
“Yes.” She grinned, “Thank you.” She ran her bare leg up his, “You know, I wasn’t your only birthday present.”
“Really?” Klaus raised a brow, “What else could you possibly have gotten me?”
“Hand me my phone.” She replied, nodding to it on the nightstand. He grabbed it and gave it to her, and she pulled up a photo that she took of Katherine stuck in the tomb.
Klaus took the phone from her with a smirk, “You locked her in for me?”
“Best birthday ever, or what?”
He dropped the phone next to her, “I can think of something that can make it better.” He rolled on top of her, causing her to giggle. But before they could do anything, her phone buzzed, “Ignore it,” he muttered. But as soon as it stopped, it buzzed again, “Oh bloody hell!” he cursed.
Maya grabbed her phone and answered, “This better be important, Damon!” she hissed.
“Elena’s been kidnapped.” He said.
Notes:
Hope you enjoyed! If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel wonderful!
Chapter 61: Taken
Notes:
Thanks so much for all the comments, I still have exams to do so it might be a little longer before I post again.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Maya pushed Klaus off of her, and he sighed in frustration, “What?” Maya hissed.
“She’s been taken, Jeremy thought she was at the Boarding House, and Stefan thought she was home, but she’s gone. We found her phone on the Lockwood’s driveway.”
“Ugh!” Maya looked over at Klaus, “Call your brother.”
“Stefan’s right next to me.”
“Which one?” Klaus asked.
“Not you!” Maya replied, “Elijah, find out if someone’s reached out to him about the doppelgänger.”
“Why would someone tell him about the doppelgänger?”
“Why would Elijah know about this?”
“Because she’s been taken.” Maya replied to Klaus, “Because Rose and Trevor are looking for a way to get the Originals off their back! Gah! It’s too difficult having two conversations at once! Damon, you and Enzo get ready, I’ll call you back!” she turned back to Klaus, who was on the phone with Elijah, “What is he saying?” she whispered.
“He’s received a notification from one of his contacts,” Klaus confirmed.
“Okay,” she stood up and grabbed his shirt, sliding it over her head, “Get the location, and I’ll meet the guys there,” she sighed, she wanted just one weekend, one weekend, where she didn’t have to worry about anything, one weekend where she could just have fun, but it seemed like she would never get that. Picking up her jeans, she was about to put them on when Klaus sped over to her and made her stop, “What are you doing?”
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“What?!”
“You just said, Rose and Trevor will be there. The last time you two were in the same room, he snapped your neck.”
“Well that’s not gonna happen now, and we don’t have to enough time to debate about this! The jet will take two hours to be ready, and the flight time is like four hours! Damn it! By the time I get there, Elena and Stefan will have found out about the curse! I wanted to avoid that whole drama!”
“Exactly, Kol and Rebekah are there, and I will meet them at the location.”
“You can’t go! If anybody sees you then- oh wait I locked Katherine up,” Maya deflated, her weekend was officially ruined, “Right, you should go, I’ll call the pilot and tell him to get the jet ready.”
“I said you’re not going anywhere,” Klaus said.
“Well you’re leaving, I’m not staying here on my own.”
“I’ll be there and back in half a day, and you promised me the weekend. So,” he pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her waist, “I suggest you take this time to have a snack, and get in a nap, because when I return, I expect you’ll be very busy.”
“Huh?” Maya looked up at him with wide eyes and he pulled her in for a searing kiss, and then disappeared from sight, “I better get serious girlfriend points for this,” she muttered, closing the door to the Hybrid’s room, taking off the shirt and crawling back into bed.
“Come here my love!” Sage called, and Finn appeared by her side.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I found a way to get to your brother.” She motioned to the computer screen, showing him the message that she’d spotted on ‘Craigslist’.
“Does this mean what I think it does?”
“Someone’s captured Katerina, and Klaus will rush over there to retrieve her. If we can get to her first, then we can set a trap for him.”
Finn smirked, “How long will it take us to get there?”
“It’ll be faster if we run.”
“What do you need from me?” Jeremy asked Bonnie, they were in the Boarding House, looking at a map of the area.
“I’ll use your blood for the tracking spell for Elena,” the Witch replied.
“But Elena’s adopted, I’m not related to her,” Jeremy shook his head and Bonnie stared at him.
“She…didn’t tell you?” Bonnie asked.
“Tell me what?”
“Uh…” she glanced at the three Vampires in the room.
Damon rolled his eyes, “John is Elena’s biological father.”
“WHAT?! John! My Uncle John?!” Jeremy exclaimed, “Why didn’t anyone tell me?!”
“Because you can’t keep anything to yourself!” Damon snapped back.
“Of course I can! I didn’t tell anyone about you and Enzo!” He slapped a hand over his mouth in shock.
Stefan and Bonnie stared at Damon and Enzo with wide eyes, Bonnie because she had no idea about them, Stefan because he had no idea that people knew about that. “This is why we tell you nothing,” Enzo said.
Bonnie shook her head, “Guys! We still need to find Elena!”
“Right!” Jeremy came over to her and held out his hand.
She cut it and blood dripped over the map, she concentrated, with her hands over the map, and the blood slowly crawled across the map until it finally stopped. “There, she’s there.” Bonnie said.
“That’s 300 miles away!” Jeremy said.
“We need a more exact location,” Stefan said.
“It’s the closest I can get,” Bonnie replied helplessly.
Damon pulled out his phone when he felt it buzz, “I’ve got an exact location,” he said.
“What?”
“How?!”
“Maya just texted me,” he shrugged, “Let’s go.”
“How did she get Elena’s location?!” Bonnie demanded.
Enzo shrugged, “She’s been at this a lot longer than you Bonnie.” The Vampires whooshed out of the house, leaving Bonnie and Jeremy alone.
“Why am I here?” Elena demanded of the Vampires that had taken her.
“You keep asking me these questions, like I’m gonna answer them.” The female Vampire responded.
“Why won’t you?”
“That’s another.”
“Look you got me, okay? It’s not like I can go anywhere. The least you can do is tell me what you want with me.”
“Personally, I want nothing to do with you, I’m just a delivery service.”
“Delivery to who?” Elena asked, she’d heard the Vampires talking earlier, about someone named Elijah, the man seemed frightened when he spoke of him, “Elijah?”
“Two points for the eavesdropper.”
“Who is he? Is he a Vampire?”
“He’s one of the Vampires, the Originals.” Rose finally said, she didn’t like talking about them, as though just speaking one of their names would invoke their presence.
“What do you mean, Originals?” Elena asked, confused, she’d never heard that term before.
“Again with the questions,” Rose rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms as Elena sat down, “Haven’t the Salvatores been teaching you Vampire history?”
“So, you know Stefan and Damon?”
“I know of them. A hundred years back, a friend of mine tried to set me up with Stefan. She said he was one of the good ones. I'm more a sucker for the bad boys though, but I digress.”
“Who are the Originals?” Elena pressed.
“Trevor and I,” she gestured at the male Vampire, “Have been running from them for 500 years. We're tired, we want it over. We're using you to negotiate ourselves out of an old mess.”
“But why me?!”
“Because you are a Petrova doppelgänger. You're the key to breaking the curse.”
“Wait, the curse? The sun and the moon curse?” Elena asked, when she’d gone with Stefan and Alaric to the Duke campus, Isobel’s research talked about an Aztec curse, one affecting Werewolves and Vampires, and then Mason, and Katherine had confirmed its existence when they came to town, looking for the moonstone.
“Oh! You do know your history,” Rose was impressed, she didn’t think that the human would know anything about it.
“What do you mean I'm the key? The moonstone is what breaks the curse.”
“No,” Rose shook her head, “The moonstone is what binds the curse. The sacrifice is what breaks it.”
“The sacrifice?” Elena had a bad feeling.
“The blood of the doppelgänger. You are the doppelgänger. Which means, in order to break the curse, you are the one who has to die.”
Rebekah walked inside the mansion that Klaus’s wolves had built, her brother had given them very specific instructions on how to design the rooms, and hers was perfect, yet without her family being there, she felt alone… But now, with Kol in Mystic Falls, in their very first home, something changed, when he came to Richmond to help Caroline through her transition, she thought that things would remain the same with them. With Kol only tolerating her because she was his baby sister, but they’d really connected whilst helping Caroline.
“Your room is one floor up,” she said, looking at Kol, “Freya’s room is up there too, Nik made sure that a huge magic room was set up, up there.”
“Really?” Kol asked, before flashing upstairs to see what his brother had done with the place. She followed him, wanted to see the look on his face, Nik had never really taken Kol’s passion for magic seriously before, but now, he’d carved out a space for him, and Freya.
Kol looked around the room in surprise, it was everything that he’d wanted in a magic room, rare items on the shelves, a desk on either side of the room for both him and Freya, and above him, was a dome, filled with grimoires that had been shipped from all over the world. “It’s perfect,” he muttered, “How did he do this?” he asked, there was no way that Nik would know exactly what he wanted.
“Well,” Rebekah said, stepping inside, “I’m told that while Nik provided the over all plans, Maya was the one that actually decided on everything in here.”
“Maya?” Kol repeated.
“Yes,” Rebekah nodded, “Maya, you know, the girl you haven’t spoken to in months!”
“Well now you’re just exaggerating!”
“Kol! You’re her teacher! And you haven’t called her once!”
“What am I supposed to do?!” he snapped back, “I tortured and killed her! She is the only reason that Nik even tried to trust me! And I destroyed her! I have never felt guilty about anything I have done as a Vampire! And now…”
“Now you have no idea what to do, because the guilt you feel is unimaginable,” the blonde Original finished for him.
“What am I supposed to do Bekah?! How could she possibly forgive me for this?!”
“She forgave Nik,” Rebekah shrugged.
“She’s in love with Nik!” Kol threw his hands up.
Rebekah rolled her eyes, both of her brothers were so needy, “Kol,” she sighed, “She misses you.”
“Really?”
“She’s been so excited to have you come home.”
“Did she say that?”
“She didn’t have to! You should have seen the look on her face when she realised that you were in town, and hadn’t come to see her!”
“Oh.”
“Stop avoiding her Kol! She forgave Nik, she’ll forgive you. Just. Talk. To. Her.”
Elena stood up, she was reeling from the revelation that she had to die for the curse, “Tell me more!” She demanded.
Trevor smirked, “Captivity has made her pushy, huh? What do you want to know doppel-icious?”
“Who are you running from?”
“The Originals.”
“Yeah, she said that.” Elena gestured to Rose, “What does it mean?”
“The first family, the old world. Rose and I pissed them off.” Rose cleared her throat in annoyance, “Correction, I pissed them off, Rose had my back and for over half a millennium, they’ve wanted us dead.”
“What did you do?”
“He made the same mistake countless others did,” Rose cut in, “He trusted Katerina Petrova.”
“Katherine.”
“The one and only, the first Petrova doppelgänger.”
“I helped her to escape her fate and now I've-sorry, we've been marked ever since.”
“Which is why we're not gonna make the same mistake again,” Rose said, stopping Elena from thinking that she could find any help with them.
Finn and Sage were finally at the house, that was only a few hundred miles from Finn’s home town, the Original was about to walk in, when Sage yanked him back, and into the trees, “Wha-”
She put her finger to her lips, and gestured to the house, where they saw Elijah appear, and then Klaus.
“Elijah! What are you doing here?!” Klaus asked.
“You were busy with your, your- Maya, so I thought I should come and deal with this.”
“Who’s watching the children?!”
“Freya,” Elijah said, “What are you doing here?! Your Witch surprises you for your birthday, and you just left her there!”
“You really think that I was just going to leave this to anyone?!” Klaus hissed, “It’s the doppelgänger!”
“I can take care of it!”
“You’ve fallen in love with the last two!”
Elijah looked shocked, Klaus had never said that to him with snark before, it was usually just anger, Maya must have really been doing something right with his brother. “You fell in love with the first one!” he shot back.
“I didn’t know any better!” Klaus replied, “You did!”
Elijah clenched his jaw, this reminded him exactly of his time in Greece with Maya, “Oh you two are exactly the same,” he muttered.
“What was that?!” Klaus asked.
“Nothing! You know what, the message was for me, I’m going in there!”
“Not without me!”
Trevor heard footsteps on gravel, “He’s here! This was a mistake!” he moved to run, but Rose stopped him.
“No! I told you I would get us out of this. You have to trust me.”
“No! He wants me dead, Rose!”
“He wants her more,” she nodded at Elena.
Trevor shook his head, “I can't do this. You give her to him, he let you live, but I need to get out of here!”
“Hey,” Rose grabbed his arms, “What are we?
“We're family, forever,” Trevor breathed.
“You’re scared,” Elena said, feeling fear creep up her spine.
They heard a knock on the door, “Stay here with her and don't make a sound,” she left to open the door, and Elijah stepped inside.
“Rose-Marie,” he said, “Is there somewhere we can talk?”
Rose took a step back, “Yes, in here. You’ll have to forgive the house.”
Elijah closed the buttons on his suit, “Oh, no, what's a little dirt? I completely understand.” He looked around the room in distaste, “I hope you don’t mind, but I brought someone with me,” he turned to open the door, “Niklaus!” he called.
And Rose paled in fear, as she laid her eyes on her nightmare. “Klaus,” she whispered in terror.
Klaus smirked, he loved being feared, and Elijah rolled his eyes at his brother’s dramatics, “So, tell me, what is it that gave you the courage to call me?” Elijah asked, pulling Rose’s attention to him.
“I wanted my freedom. I'm tired of running.”
“A pardon for you and your little pet,” Klaus said, “What is his name these days? Trevor?”
Rose had a terrible feeling, she wasn’t expecting Klaus, “Katerina Petrova.”
“We’re listening,” Elijah said.
“She didn't burn in the church in 1864, she survived.”
“Where is she?” Elijah shot a look at Klaus who grinned, his big brother didn’t know that Katherine had been captured.
“You don't seem surprised by this,” Rose replied, that feeling she had getting worse.
Klaus rolled his eyes, “Alright, enough of this!” He grabbed Rose by the neck and pushed her up against the wall, “You took Elena, because you wanted to use her to bargain, yet you never thought, for even a second, that you were stealing from me, again!”
“Wh-what?” Rose struggled to get out.
“Elijah, the other one!” he said, and his brother disappeared for a moment, before coming back, with Trevor struggling in his grip. “You stole from me,” Klaus growled, “The doppelgänger lives in Mystic Falls, because I allow it. And you went and took her from me!”
“I-” Rose choked, “I didn’t-”
“What was that?” Klaus asked, “I can’t quite hear what you’re saying.”
“I think she’s trying to say that she didn’t know that the doppelgänger was already in your possession,” Elijah supplied.
“Mmm, but the question is, what shall we do about it?”
“I think the answer is quite simple,” Elijah said, “We should just kill them.”
“No!” Rose gasped, “Please.”
“Hmm, Elijah,” he looked at his brother, “Do you know that it was Trevor, that snapped Maya’s neck, before he helped Katerina escape?”
Elijah saw the anger in Klaus’s eyes, and knew that if he didn’t kill Trevor, then Klaus would, and Klaus would make it last. He pulled away from the struggling Vampire, “Trevor you helped Katerina escape and for what? She turned herself, and then ran, left you to suffer the consequences.”
“You trusted me with Katerina and I failed you,” Trevor said, looking over at his friend, who had stopped putting up a fight against Klaus, as it was no use, “I am truly sorry.”
“Oh yes you are the guilty one,” Elijah said, “And Rose helped you, because she was loyal to you and that I honour. Where was your loyalty?”
“I beg your forgiveness Elijah, Klaus.”
“So granted,” Elijah let him go, and for a moment Trevor smiled, believing himself to be free, in a way, he was, but then the older Original knocked his head off with his hand, causing Elena, who’d been hiding, to cry out in shock. Elijah whooshed over, to her, “Hello there,” he said, still astonished that she was human, he grabbed her arm, preventing her from running away.
Klaus released Rose, he had an option to kill her, but the idea of letting her live, without her companion, without the person that she loved so much, that she went against the Originals for, that sounded just cruel enough to cause her serious pain, at least for a little while, he’d kill her later. “You!” Rose made to rush forward, but Elijah stopped her.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Klaus said.
“Not now you’re free,” Elijah finished.
Rose stopped, and looked between the two, “What?”
“You’re free, but Niklaus is temperamental, I suggest you go, before he changes his mind.”
“Please don’t let them take me!” Elena gasped.
Rose locked eyes with her for a second, before she fled, leaving Elena to her fate.
Elijah looked at the doppelgänger, “What are we doing with her?” he asked his brother, Klaus clearly had a plan.
“It’s time to go,” Klaus replied, looking at his watch, he didn’t want to be there any longer, he had a birthday present to get back to.
“No!” Elena exclaimed, “What about the moonstone?”
The noble one raised a brow, “What do you know about the moonstone?” he asked.
“I know you need it, and I know where it is!”
Elijah shot Klaus a look, who subtly shook his head, but the older brother was curious, what did she think she knew about the moonstone? “Where is it?”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Elena shook her head.
The Original leant in, and tried to compel her, “Where is it?” he repeated, but she said nothing. “What is vervain doing around your neck?” he tore the necklace from her, and Klaus stopped him from throwing it away.
He recognised that necklace, Klaus took it from his brother, and eyed it for a moment, “This is Rebekah’s,” he said, “She looked for it everywhere when I woke her.”
Elijah turned back to Elena, and compelled her, “How did you come by this necklace?”
“My boyfriend Stefan gave it to me,” she replied.
“Interesting. Where’s the moonstone?”
“It’s underneath the church ruins, in the tomb.”
“What’s it doing there?”
“It’s with Katherine.”
/ / /
“We’re too late to take this doppelgänger,” Sage said quietly, hearing everything going on inside the dilapidated mansion.
“But not the moonstone,” Finn replied in realisation, “Come, before Elijah and Niklaus make their way to Mystic Falls.”
The whooshed away, so as to not get caught, stopping about 100 miles from the town in question, “We’ll need to find a Witch we can trust,” Sage said.
“We have Freya,” he replied, “I trust her.”
“She’s working with your brother,” Sage said, “You heard her! Destroying the last thing that your mother did in life would make her happy! We need someone else, because there’s no way that Katherine Pierce is trapped in a tomb, without being locked in with a spell.”
“They could have just gotten the better of her.”
Sage shook her head, “You don’t know Katherine, and truth be told neither do I, but she spent 500 years running from your brother, always stayed two steps ahead of him, Katherine Pierce earned a reputation for being clever and dangerous. We need a Witch.”
“I don’t know any.”
“I do.”
/ / /
Klaus walked over to Elena, “Do you know who I am?” he asked and she shook her head, “I’m Klaus.” He said, and Elena felt terror creep down her spine, but she didn’t know why. He smirked, “You’re going to forget that you ever saw me or Elijah,” he compelled, “You’re going to forget anything you know about the sun and the moon curse, and if you find out about it again, if you find out that you’re the one that has to die to break it. You will not run from me, you will not hide from me, when I come for you, to break my curse. You will simply…obey.”
She whimpered as she felt his compulsion take effect, “I-”
“Now go lie down on the couch, fall asleep, and don’t wake up until Stefan or Damon wake you.”
Elena couldn’t fight it, she walked over to the dusty couch, and lay down, closing her eyes, she fell asleep almost immediately. And Klaus turned to Elijah, “There should be three Vampires coming for her,” he took a quick look at his phone, and saw that Enzo had messaged that he wasn’t far, “Stay out of sight, but make sure she gets back to her home.”
“Where are you going?” Elijah asked.
“Well, like you said, I have someone waiting for me back at the compound.” He texted Elijah, “Rebekah and Kol are in town, I’ve sent you their address.” Klaus made to leave, but stopped, “Elijah, if you interfere in this, in any way, there will be no end to my rage.”
Elijah nodded, he knew that if anything happened to the doppelgänger before his brother could use her to break his curse, then he would be the one blamed for it. “I’ll make sure nothing happens.”
/ / /
“Stefan wait,” Damon said, before his brother had a chance to rush inside the old house.
“Damon we don’t have time!” Stefan exclaimed, Elena had been gone all night, and they had no idea who had her.
“Listen to me,” Damon hissed, “We have no idea what’s waiting for us in there, we need a plan.” Damon knew that they would be safe, but he could hear someone moving around in the house, it wasn’t Klaus, so it must be Elijah, he was stalling, just so he could make sure that the Original was out of the house. He really didn’t want his brother to find out about the fact that Elena was a target for the first Vampires in history.
“Damon she’s been gone all night, we have no idea how much time she has!”
“Look just- just let Enzo take a look around the back first, let’s find out if we can see anything before we rush in there and get killed.” He motioned to the younger Vampire and Enzo raced off to the back.
/ / /
Enzo walked inside the house, and stopped in front of Elijah, “Elijah,” he whispered, Stefan’s hearing wasn’t great, but he didn’t want to take any chances.
Elijah looked him up and down, “Which one are you? Damon, or Enzo?” he asked, Jenna had talked about them, he’d heard their names from Kol too. Not to mention, he recognised the young one from his trip to Greece.
“Enzo,” he replied, “Nik told us to come and get Elena. So you can go now.”
Elijah raised a brow, “Do I need to warn you what should happen if the doppelgänger doesn’t remain alive?”
“We’ve been working on breaking the curse for years, we’ve got her,” Enzo replied, not liking Elijah’s condescending tone.
“And yet, she was taken on your watch.”
“Technically, she was taken on Kol’s watch, so blame him. We’ve got it from here.” He repeated.
Maya woke up a couple of hours after Klaus left, her stomach rumbling, taking a quick shower, she grabbed one of Klaus’s shirts and slid it on, putting on her jeans, she poked her head out of the door (she didn’t think that it would be a good idea for the kids to see her sneaking out of Klaus’s room, especially when he wasn’t there). Not spotting anyone, Maya crept out of the room, and immediately bumped into Freya. “Damn it!”
“Maya!” the Mikaelson Witch smirked, taking the Siphon’s appearance, her hair was a mess, there were several marks dotted on her neck (obviously her brother’s doing). “I’m surprised Niklaus let you out of his room.”
“Nik’s…out on business. “He won’t be back for another few hours, and I got hungry.”
Amused Freya shook her head, “Come on, I’ll show you to the kitchen, I just took Liam and Luna downstairs, I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you.”
/ / /
Maya followed Freya downstairs, and grinned when she saw the kids at the table, “Hi guys!”
Luna perked up at the sound of her voice and whirled around, “Maya!” she squealed running over to her, jumping on her.
The Siphon wrapped her arms around the young wolf, “You didn’t say you were coming,” Liam said, coming over to give her a hug.
Maya shrugged, “It was a surprise for Nik’s birthday.”
“Where is daddy?” Luna asked, “He said he’d see us in the morning!”
“He had to deal with an emergency, he’ll be back in few hours.”
“Oh,” Luna looked disappointed.
“But, that just means that once we’ve all had breakfast, you two and I can have some fun!”
Elena gasped awake at the Boarding House, and Jeremy and Bonnie rushed over to her, “Are you okay?” Jeremy asked.
“I’m okay,” she reassured him, she couldn’t shake the underlying feeling of terror, but wasn’t going to tell him that, she felt bad that he’d been worrying about her, felt terrible that he’d been dragged into her mess. Elena looked at Bonnie and embraced her, “Thank you for finding me.”
“Well, uh,” Bonnie hesitated, “I can’t take all the credit, I could only get your general location, Maya’s the one that found you.”
“Maya?” Elena looked around, but couldn’t see her cousin anywhere, she was surprised that Maya would do anything to help her, she shouldn’t be though, the Siphon had said plenty of times before, Maya would keep her safe because of Jeremy. “Where is she?”
“Little Red’s out of town for the weekend, she’ll be back Monday,” Damon said, coming inside the living room.
“Damon,” Elena said, “Did-did you come for me?”
“Only because if I didn’t Stefan was liable to get himself killed,” he shrugged.
“Thank you.” She said.
“Elena,” Stefan interrupted, “When we found you there was no one there, except for one very dead Vampire.”
“What?!” she gasped.
“Elena, what happened?” Bonnie asked.
“I-there was a woman, and man,” she thought hard, “Trevor and Rose, they took me because I’m the doppelgänger. Rose-sh-she said that Trevor made a mistake, he’d trusted Katherine, and because of it, they’d been running, for 500 years.”
Stefan looked at his brother in alarm, “Katherine was running from someone,” he said, “She’s 500-years-old, that can’t be a coincidence.”
“Either way,” Enzo said, walking in with a two drinks in his hand, giving one to Damon, “That doesn’t make sense, why would taking you fix what they did?”
“Um…I-I don’t…they were going to hand me over to someone.”
“Who?” Stefan asked.
“I-I can’t remember!”
Bonnie looked at Stefan, “She’s been compelled.”
“I think that’s the least of your worries,” Enzo said, fighting the urge to smirk,
“What?”
“What you should be worried about, is the fact that apparently a 500-year-old Vampire got himself decapitated, without much of a struggle from the looks of it. Which means that whoever did it, was older and stronger than him, and significantly older and stronger than any of us.”
Elena looked at Stefan fearfully, “Stefan, what are we supposed to do?”
“We’ll figure it out,” he replied firmly, he wasn’t going to let anything happen to woman he loved. He turned back to his brother, “Can you call Maya?”
“Why?”
“I think we’re going to need as much help as possible with this.”
Mason Lockwood was in the den in the pack house, he’d been staying there for just over a month now, no contact with the outside world, just to make sure that Katherine didn’t find him. It was nicer than anywhere he’d ever lived, and he was a Lockwood, so that was saying something. The wolves staying there had all been very tight-lipped about which pack they were from, and who their Alpha was. He’d also noticed that he’d gone to chain himself up for the full moon, but they hadn’t, and there hadn’t been any mention of maulings or deaths the next day.
“Hey Lockwood!” Scott called, “Come on! I got to introduce you to the newest members of the mansion.” He wasn’t particularly pleased about having to babysit a relatively new wolf, one that so clearly didn’t enjoy being one, but Maya had told them to, and considering she was the reason they had access to their full strength all month and not just on one day, they listened.
Mason followed him out of the house, “Yeah about that, who exactly lives there?”
“It’s the home for our Alpha, and his family,” Scott replied.
“And where is this mysterious Alpha?” Mason asked, “Will I ever meet them?”
“In time,” he said, the mansion wasn’t far from the pack house. Klaus had wanted something separated for the wolves, but close enough so that he and the children could mingle with the pack easily.
“Ok, so who am I meeting?” Mason asked, he hadn’t seen anyone come or go from the mansion and was curious, “And why? I’m not part of your pack.”
“You’re definitely not, but Regina wants to make sure that you don’t mess with the mansion’s occupants.”
“I’m not gonna mess with anyone!”
“You worked with Katherine, anything’s possible.” Scott knocked on one of the French doors, and slid it open.
Rebekah flashed in front of them, causing Mason to startle, he recognised her from town, he’d seen her talking to Maya, “Scott,” she said, “How can I help you?” she eyed Mason with veiled interest.
“Regina thought that we should make sure that Mason, knew who was staying here.”
“You’re the one that was working with Katherine,” the blonde said.
“I wasn’t working with her!” Mason protested, “I loved her!”
“Hmm,” Rebekah sniffed, “A mistake many have made, allow me to tell you a little secret, Mason. Katerina Petrova, loves none but herself.” Tilting her head, she spoke softly, “Kol, Elijah, we have visitors.”
The two appeared downstairs in less than a second and Mason’s eyes widened, they were all Vampires, “Wait, but I thought-” he looked at Scott, “You said this place was for your Alpha’s family.”
“It is.”
“They’re Vampires!”
Scott smirked, “Meet Rebekah, Kol and Elijah, they are our Alpha’s siblings, and as such, you’ll treat all three of them with respect.”
“Kol, Elijah. This is Mason Lockwood, he’s Katherine’s latest plaything.”
Elijah frowned as he looked the wolf up an down, “Well there’s no accounting for taste.”
“Hey!” Mason exclaimed, offended at the look Elijah was giving him.
Kol snickered, “Elijah has jokes! I didn’t think you knew how to do that ‘Lijah!”
“There’s plenty you don’t know about me Kol.” Elijah rolled his eyes. The two Original brothers had sized Mason up and dismissed him, almost immediately, there was nothing remarkable about him.
“Oh you mean like the fact that you’re sleeping with our brother’s mother-in-law?” he asked cheekily.
“What?!” Rebekah gasped, smacking Kol on the arm, “You never told me that!”
“She’s not his mother-in-law!” Elijah protested.
“Hmm, I wonder, does she even know that you’re in town?”
Elijah’s eyes widened as he realised what Kol was implying, “Kol don’t you dare!”
“I think I will!” he cheered, “Afterall, I have been invited into her house, have you?” without waiting for an answer he whooshed out of the room.
Elijah looked back and forth between his sister and the empty space where his brother once was, and Rebekah sighed, “Just go Elijah.” And he disappeared from the room too.
“What…just happened?” Mason asked, still reeling from the fact that apparently the Alpha of a Werewolf pack had Vampire siblings.
“That, was my older brother, antagonising my even older brother, and now that you know who we are, you can leave,” she waved him off, “You’re of no interest to me.”
“Come on,” Scott said, pulling Mason out of the house.
“Scott, when you’ve taken him back, my brother has asked for one of you to call him,” Rebekah said to his retreating from.
Klaus arrived back at the compound just after 4pm, and immediately went in search of his Siphon, he’d been gone much longer than he’d planned, which meant that Maya had definitely had to leave his room in order to get some food. He found her in one of the smaller living rooms, one that most of the families in the pack liked, when they wanted a little alone time. She was there with his children, showing off bits of magic, causing them to laugh and smile.
Liam was the first one to notice Klaus was stood in the doorway, “Dad!” he smiled.
Luna jumped up and headed straight for him, “Daddy!” she cheered, throwing herself in his arms, “Maya’s showing us her magic! She can make fireworks! Look!” Klaus looked over at Maya with a smirk, motioning for her to show him what Luna was talking about.
“Go one then Love, show me.”
“They’re not actual fireworks, it’s just an illusion,” Maya shrugged, but still, she opened her hand, and tiny explosions of colour appeared in the space above it.
“Aren’t they pretty daddy?” Luna asked.
“Very pretty,” Klaus agreed, looking at Maya, and not the fireworks, causing her to blush.
“Is everything ok now?” Maya asked, closing her hand, making the fireworks disappear.
Klaus nodded, “Elijah’s taking care of it,” he replied, “I had much more pressing matters to get to.” His eyes were full of heat, causing Maya to look away and at Liam who was eyeing his father and the Siphon in suspicion.
The Hybrid walked further into the room, depositing his daughter on the couch, and coming over to Maya, “Hello Love,” he said, pressing a kiss to her lips, making a promise of what was to come for them.
“Ugh!” Liam wrinkled his nose.
“Ew Daddy!” Luna covered her eyes.
“Do you two have to do that here?” Liam asked exasperated.
Maya pulled back, “Yes we do!” she shot back.
“So gross,” Luna muttered.
“You know what!” Klaus said, “I do believe that you both have homework to finish for your tutor on Monday.”
“What?”
“No!”
“Yes,” he nodded, “Off you go, it’s not much.”
“Hey,” Maya said softly, “If you do your homework now, then we can watch a movie tonight after dinner.”
They both looked at each other for a moment, contemplating their options, before turning back to Maya and nodded, “Okay.” Liam said, and they both scurried off.
Klaus watched them leave in surprise, “They never just leave without a fight!” he complained, “They always spend at least 30 minutes arguing with me!”
Maya shrugged, “I guess they like me better than you.”
“You take that back!”
“Make me,” she smirked, standing up and backing towards the door.
Klaus let his Vampire come forth and he whooshed forward, grabbing her by waist, causing her to shriek, and raced them up to his room, “You asked for it!”
It was Sunday morning when Elena received several phone calls from Stefan, when she finally answered, he told her to meet him at Boarding House. She headed over his house, and knocked on the door, Damon opened it.
“Hello Elena,” he said.
“Is Stefan here?” she asked, “He called, said it was important.”
“Right this way,” Damon said, gesturing for her to follow him to the living room.
Stefan came over to her, “Hey.”
“What is it?” she asked, but before she could answer, Rose walked inside the room, “You!” she exclaimed.
“She’s here to help,” Stefan said.
“Help with what? She kidnapped me!”
“I know, but she came here to help you. Especially because you don’t remember anything that happened when she took you.”
“I don’t understand what she could possibly help with!”
“Rose told us all about the curse, and that you’re needed for it.”
“What curse?”
“The Sun and the Moon curse,” Stefan said.
“What? What is that?!”
He looked at Rose who shook her head, “They must have compelled you to forget about it.”
“What’s going on Stefan?” Elena asked.
Stefan filled her in about what they knew about the curse, why she was needed and Rose continued for him, “
“Okay, you have to understand, I only know what I've picked up over the years and I don't know what's true and what's not true. It's the problem with all this Vampire crap, but Klaus, he’s very real.”
“Who is he?”
“He’s one of the Originals,” Damon supplied, “He’s a legend.”
“From the first generation of Vampires.”
“Look, Elijah killed Trevor right in front of me,” Rose said, “Took his head from his shoulders, with a single swipe. Elijah’s an Original but compared to Klaus, he’s the Easter Bunny. A foot soldier.” Damon fought really hard not to laugh at that, he couldn’t wait to tell Klaus all about that, “Klaus is the real deal.”
“Klaus is known to be the oldest,” Stefan supplied.
Elena clenched her fists, every time someone said his name, she was filled with unmistakable terror, but she couldn’t tell anyone about it, and she didn’t know why. “So you're saying that the oldest Vampire in the history of time is coming after me?”
“Yes,” Rose said.
“No,” Stefan supplied.
So Elena looked at the third Vampire in the room, “Damon?” she asked.
“We’re looking at a solid maybe,” he finally said, he couldn’t say yes without making Stefan suspicious, equally he couldn’t agree with his brother, for the exact same reason.
“But, if they wanted me, then why leave me there?” Elena asked.
“You said the moonstone has been hidden here,” Rose confirmed, “My best guess, is that they’re hoping that you’ll lead them to it.”
“Look,” Stefan said, hearing Elena’s heartbeat elevate, and trying to soothe her, “I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him. I mean, we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know if he's real. For all we know he could just be some sort of stupid bedtime story.”
“He was there with Elijah, Stefan,” Rose said, frustrated that the brothers didn’t believe her, “He's real and he doesn't give up. If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus, then you're an idiot.”
“Alright,” Damon cut in, he couldn’t have them get too worked up, he needed Elena to stay in town, “We're shaking. You made your point.”
Elena stood up, “We don’t know what he really wants,” she said, refusing to say Klaus’s name, “But we know someone who does.”
“We’re not asking Katherine,” Stefan replied, realising what she was getting at.
“But she’s the reason they’re even here!”
“No Elena, you’re not going anywhere near her!”
“Okay calm down,” Damon said, “The tomb’s spelled shut, she can’t get in, even if she wanted to.”
Elena deflated at that, “Fine!”
“Where are you going?” Stefan asked as she grabbed her bag.
“Home.”
“Let me grab my stuff, I'll go with you.”
She held up a hand, “It's okay, I know how to get there,” and she walked out of the house.
/ / /
Rose had gone out for food, leaving Stefan and Damon alone at the Boarding House, “Here,” Damon said, handing his brother a drink.
“Thanks,” Stefan replied, looking up him, “Listen, what Rose told Elena about the curse…”
“I’ll help keep her safe,” Damon replied, Stefan didn’t need to know that he’d already promised Elena’s safety to someone else.”
“You know, the only way we're gonna be able to do this is if we're not fighting each other. We let Katherine come between us. If we can’t work together, then we can’t protect her.”
“Yes Stefan, I’m well aware, but I’m not fighting with you, I’ve messed with you, sure,” he shrugged, “But have I gone anywhere near Elena?”
Stefan shook his head, and Damon made to leave, “Hey,” Stefan said, stopping him.
“What?”
“I'm sorry.”
“About what?”
“For being the guy who made you turn 145 years ago,” It had been on his mind as of late, he’d caught glimpsed of the Damon he knew as a human, but it wasn’t with him, never with him, it was when Damon was with Maya, or Enzo, something had changed in his brother.
“Enough Stef, there’s no need to rehash that.”
“You know what? I've never said it at loud. I guess, I just needed to say it and you needed to hear it. I'm sorry. What I did was selfish. I didn't want to be alone. I guess, I just needed my brother.”
Damon left after that, feeling a little bit of guilt for what was coming, he knew that Elena would survive the sacrifice, but he couldn’t tell Stefan that, and his brother was going to be hurt, no matter what.
Klaus escorted Maya to the private airstrip, where his plane was waiting for her, after spending the last three nights with her in his bed, her scent in his nose, her taste in his mouth, he found that he didn’t like the idea of being separated from her, no matter how short a time it was going to be. He would be in Mystic Falls by the middle of April. They were both on the runway, the plane fuelled up and ready for take-off.
Maya had wrapped her arms around him, head buried in chest, as she breathed in the scent that was so distinctly him, “I don’t want to go,” she muttered.
“I’d much rather you stay,” he replied, holding her to him, “But you promised your mother that you’d be home by Monday. And I’d rather not have her call me to yell.”
Maya laughed into his chest, “Is this the first time you’ve had to worry about your girlfriend’s parents?”
“Girlfriend,” Klaus made a face at the word, “I’d much prefer lover, paramour, mine. And to answer your question, yes, I’ve never had to worry about parents before.”
She looked up at him, standing on her toes, pressing her lips to his, “I’m going to miss you.”
“It won’t be long now.” He replied, pulling back, and taking something out of his pocket.
“My ring!” she gasped, she was sure that he had thrown it out after she gave it back.
“I do believe that this, belongs to you,” he wouldn’t say it out loud, but there was question in his eyes, would she accept the ring? And all that it meant? Maya lifted her right hand, and he slid it onto her ring finger, “Perfect.” He said, eyes glinting as she accepted the ring. She hadn’t fought him, when he called her his, it made him slightly less apprehensive about sending her back to Mystic Falls, without him. Klaus pulled her in for an all consuming kiss, only letting go because she needed to breathe, “I’ll see you very soon, Little Siphon.”
He whooshed her into the plane, depositing her on the seat, “I’ll see you soon” she whispered back, and Klaus flashed away.
Damon arrived back at the Boarding House, as much as he wanted to stay with Enzo, in their room, back at the Sommers House, he couldn’t leave Stefan alone, especially because Rose was staying there. He came in, only to find Rose, in tears, “Oh please don't tell me you're crying cause your buddy Trevor lost his head.”
“You always been this sensitive?” Rose asked, brushing away tears.
“Vampire switch is there for a reason,” he replied, “Takes the emotion out of it.”
“Yeah, you switch yours, I'll switch mine.”
“Is that a dig?”
“It's an observation.” Rose answered, “I’ve seen how you look at Enzo, you’re in love with him.”
“Enzo and I have history,” Damon shrugged.
“So did Trevor and I.”
“Trevor was a weight around your neck,” he said, “He pissed off the most dangerous Vampire in existence and dragged you down with him.”
“Trevor was my family,” Rose defended, “I wasn’t going to let him suffer on his own.”
Damon shook his head, “Trevor was a coward, he was your family, so he never should have let you get caught up with him. You’re supposed to protect the ones you love.”
“You say that like you’re speaking from experience,” she replied.
“I am,” he said, he didn’t know why he was being so open with Rose, there was just something about her that made him feel like being truthful with her. “I know all about being a coward.”
“What?” she asked, thinking that he was going to tell her about when he protected his family, to his detriment.
“Enzo was suffering, and I couldn’t help him, but I also couldn’t leave him. We were surrounded by fire and I was too weak to get us out of there. So turned it off, and left him. He spent fifty years trapped in hell, because I was a coward. That’s how I know your friend was a coward. He should have let you go, let you be free, but he was too scared too.”
“I wouldn’t let him leave me alone,” Rose replied, not liking what Damon was saying, they were family, and family protected each other. “What do you want Damon?””
“I noticed you don’t have a daylight ring, what if I told you that I knew a Witch that could remedy that situation?”
“What?” Rose asked, “Why would you do that?”
“Simple,” he shrugged, “It’s a bribe.”
“A bribe?”
“I want you to leave town, and don’t come back.”
“Leave town? With Elijah and Klaus coming, you need all the help you can get to stop them.”
“Well, that’s just it, I don’t want to stop them.”
Rose froze, realising that Damon had never denied Klaus’s existence, he knew the Original! “You’re working for him!” she gasped, jumping away from him.
“I don’t work for Klaus,” he denied, they were friends, he wasn’t one of his minions, “But I do know him, and I know that I’m not going to let my brother die for a girl that’s going to break his heart.”
“Elena? She loves Stefan,” Rose could see it.
“Not enough to turn for him though, she wants to grow old, have children, die like a human. All things that Stefan can’t give her, because he’s a Vampire. Klaus knows that Elena’s here, he knows that the moonstone is here, he will level the town just to get to her. So I’m telling you, leave, and I’ll have a Witch I know make you a daylight ring for your trouble. Stay, and I’ll kill you before Klaus gets the chance.”
Rose snarled, and slammed him up against the wall, “I’m 500-years-old Damon, I’m stronger and faster, you can’t beat me!”
She was thrown across the room, Enzo and Kol were stood next to Damon, “This is becoming a habit with you,” Enzo said.
Rose’s eyes slid to the other Vampire, who had yet to say anything, he looked very familiar, but she didn’t know who he was. Kol smirked at her appraisal, she was a pretty little thing, it was shame she was thinking of plotting against his brother. “Allow me to introduce myself,” he said, “Kol Mikaelson, at your service.”
Rose’s eyes widened, Kol! He was another Original! That made three she’d encountered in less than three days. “The Original,” she said.
“You’ve heard of me, fantastic!” he moved closer to her, causing her to tense, “You have exactly five seconds to decide on whether you’ll be taking Damon’s offer to leave. After that, I’ll make the decision for you.”
Rose paled, Kol was known to be ruthless, genuinely psychotic, he was the only Original that rivalled Klaus’s reputation. “I’ll leave!” she said quickly, “I’ll leave and never come back! I swear!”
Kol glanced at Enzo, and Damon motioned for her to go, before Kol changed his mind, “What are you two doing here?”
“I’m bored,” Kol replied, as if that was reason enough for him to show up.
Finn and Sage arrived outside the tomb, with a warlock, Jonas Martin, he was powerful, and he believed most Vampires to be an abomination. All Sage had to do was mention that Klaus was going to become something even more powerful, and he’d been all too happy to help. “Can you open it?” Sage asked. As he scanned the tomb, getting a feel for the magic keeping it sealed.
Jonas nodded, “It’s a strong spell, I’ll need my children to assist me,” he said.
“I will retrieve them,” Finn said, whooshing away to get Luka and Greta, from the apartment that they’d rented out in town.
“I need some ingredients from the apartment too.”
“Come along then,” Sage sighed, grabbing the Warlock, and speeding him to the apartment so that he could gather supplies.
/ / /
The Vampires came back when the sun had set, along with the Martins, the three magic users set up their ingredients and began to chant. The spell on the tomb hadn’t been linked to a celestial event, which meant that, although powerful, it could be broken by the three of them, without putting themselves in danger. When the spell was down, Jonas nodded, and Finn removed the capstone, Finn walked inside, coming upon a starving doppelgänger, for a moment, he was startled with how identical she looked to Tatia. Out of all of his family, he had never met another doppelgänger. He lifted her by her neck, shoving her against the cave wall, “Hello Katherine,” he said, locking eyes with her, compelling her. “You are going to help me stop my brother from breaking the curse.” He said.
“What? No!” she gasped, if she prevented Klaus from breaking the curse again, there would be no hope for her.
“Yes,” Finn said, “The spell on the tomb is broken, when I go, you will leave the tomb. You are going to do everything I say, when I say it, and you will tell no one, that you’ve been compelled. You first order of business, is to get to the Salvatores, find out what there plan is for my brother, now where’s the moonstone?” he asked.
Katherine told him where to find it in the tomb, and he took it, and left, leaving her to drag herself from the tomb. The first thing she came across on her way back to town was a squirrel, making a disgusted face, she pounced on it, draining it dry. She had to attack a few more animals before finding her way into town, and getting her hands on a couple of humans.
Kol waited outside a car at the airstrip, Maya had just landed, and he’d volunteered to collect her from the airport. The two of them needed to talk, and he much preferred to do it alone. The Siphon stepped out of the plane, and made a b-line for the only car there. “Kol,” she said, freezing at the sight of him, they hadn’t spoken since she’d freaked out, he hadn’t called her, but she hadn’t reached out either, both of them unsure of how to proceed.
“Maya,” he said, looking at her, feeling very hesitant.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, Enzo was supposed to pick her up, and he hadn’t messaged to say he wouldn’t be.
“I told Enzo I was coming to get you; we should talk.” He replied, he wanted to get back to where they were before been given the memories of her past.
Maya nodded, he was right, they did need to talk, “Okay.” She got in the car and Kol followed, pulling out of the airstrip and getting on the highway towards Mystic Falls. They’d been on the road for ten minutes, and still, neither one of them had said anything, before Maya finally cracked, “I’m not mad at you anymore,” she said.
“You’re not?” he glanced at her, before turning his attention back to the road.
“I’m not. It was really hard for me Kol, everything I saw, everything I felt, it was overwhelming, painful. I had nightmares for weeks, replaying the things that were done to me, over and over again. And I’m sorry, but you featured pretty heavily in those nightmares.”
Kol gripped the steering wheel tighter, stopping himself from lashing out, “What changed?”
“I can’t feel it anymore, I uh, visited a veil over Christmas, spent some time with my father, he couldn’t make me forget again, but he did make it so that I couldn’t feel what happened to me. It helped me separate out my past and my present.”
“You know I wouldn’t do anything to you now, don’t you?” Kol asked. “I can’t make excuses for my past sins, you knew I was a monster when you met me, when I hurt you, you didn’t mean anything to me.”
“I know,” she replied, “It was the same for Nik, I knew who you both were when I let you into my life. And I know it was irrational, blaming you for hurting me, when you didn’t even know who I was. But it didn’t change the fact that it hurt me now.”
“You know I’m not going to change? There are things I do, that will remind you of what I did to you.”
“I know. But it’s what I signed up for,” she replied, “I can’t be in Nik’s life, in your life, without taking the chance that there will be some horrifying things that I witness, and I'm aware that if I turn, there will be horrifying things that I will do.” She looked at him, “I just hate this distance between us. I hate not being able to call you when I do something cool with my magic, I hate not being able to talk to you when Damon does something stupid, and I need to vent. I hate it!”
Kol pulled the car to the side of the road, switching off the engine, and he turned to her, “I hate it too, I spent months with Nik, months at his home with the Wolves, and there were so many things that I wanted to tell you, to show you! I mean, look at this!” He grabbed his phone, pulling up the picture of Nik, covered in bright pink glitter, “Rebekah did that! I wanted to tell you as soon as it happened!”
Maya’s eyes widened as she saw the picture, “Oh my God! When was this?!”
“Just before she cam here,” Kol said, “And It’s March now, you could have known this months ago! But we weren’t talking!” He skipped through pictures, “And look at this!” showing he the one he’d taken of Klaus at Christmas.
“Oh my God it’s Santa Klaus!”
“Exactly!” he exclaimed, “We need to be talking to each other again! Because otherwise, we’re going to miss so much!”
“Okay, okay, so I’m sorry I freaked out about everything, and you’re…not sorry that you did it, but you’re sorry that I found out about it?” and Kol nodded, “Then we’re fine, we can go back to how it was before!”
“Good,” Kol nodded, he was glad that they could get back to what they were, “Let’s get back on the road.”
He moved to start the car, but Maya grabbed her chest, “AAH!” she cried, feeling a stabbing pain in her heart.
“Maya! What is it?” Kol asked worried.
“Take me home!” she gasped. Kol grabbed her, and flashed out of the car.
Jules had been to several places around town, looking for Mason, she’d started at the Lockwood Mansion, but Mason’s sister-in-law had been under the impression that he’d gone back to Florida, his nephew had been the same. Neither of them knew that he was missing, she wouldn’t have been so worried if she hadn’t have caught the stench of Vampires all over the town. And then when she’d asked Tyler about his uncle, he’d told her that he’d come looking for the moonstone. Jules had heard stories about the moonstone, hell the whole pack had, which made her even more suspicious of his sudden disappearance.
She’d been to several places the last being the Grill, it was where the scent of Vampires was at its highest, which meant that they frequented the place and it was more than likely that she’d spot one. All she had to do then, was follow one of them to somewhere more private, she had a couple members of the pack hanging around outside, waiting for her. Jules was sitting in a booth in the back, when she spotted a blonde Vampire walk in with a human, a perfect target.
The blonde was there for an hour before she moved to leave, on her own, and Jules stood up, following her out, signalling to her guys to circle up. When the blonde reached her car, Jules called out, “Hey! Excuse me!”
Caroline turned around and was met by an unfamiliar woman, “Can I help you?” she asked.
“I’m looking for a friend of mine, Mason, I think you know where he is.”
“I’m sorry,” Caroline shook her head, this woman must be a Werewolf, “I thought he went back to Florida. That’s what Tyler said.”
“You’re lying,” Jules said, “I know you know he didn’t leave town.”
“What is that, one of your little Werewolf tricks?”
“Actually it is,” Jules scowled.
“Well I have one of my own!” Caroline’s Vampire came forth and she moved to attack Jules, only to be sprayed in the face with vervain. Caroline screamed and turned away from it, but was shot in the head by a wolf who’d come up behind her.
“Get her in the truck,” Jules said, "We’ll lock her up in the trailer, and get some answers out of her.”
Kol sped Maya back to her home, the gates had been left wide open, which wasn’t normal, Jenna always kept the property locked up tight when no one was home. He slowed to stop and put Maya down when he scented fresh blood in the air.
“Maya,” he said, “Get behind me.”
She looked at him for a moment, before freezing him in place, and bolting, she ran around him, up the driveway, towards the house and then froze as she came upon the devastation just outside her front door. “No,” she whispered. On the gravel driveway, there lay her mother, in puddle of her own blood, broken and battered, “No! No! Mom!” she rushed over to her, dropping to her knees, she shook her mother. “MOM!” she yelled. “MOM!”
Kol rushed up behind her, “Kol! Kol! She’s not- she’s not breathing!” Maya gasped and dropped down next to her, he looked over Jenna’s body, it was obvious that she’d been attacked by something much stronger than her. Her shoulder was broken, and her knee, there was a large slash down her abdomen, which accounted for the pool of blood, but what really told him that there was no hope for Jenna, was the fact that not only was her neck broken but he couldn’t hear her heartbeat. “Kol!” She cried, “Tell me she’s okay!”
Kol placed a hand on her shoulder “Maya,” he said.
“No! She’s okay, she has to be!”
“She’s not breathing.”
“No!” Maya shook her head, this couldn’t be happening, Kol and Nik had promised, they promised that they’d keep her alive. Maya hunched over her mother’s body, “NO! MOM!” she let out a scream of pure anguish that sent a shockwave through the whole town. And then, Kol, Maya, and Jenna, all disappeared.
Notes:
If you have a chance, please leave a comment, they are wonderful!
Chapter 62: A Death in the Family
Notes:
Thank you for all the comments and kudos, I'm still in exam mode, but this chapter didn't take me too long to write.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Jenna looked around the room she’d appeared in, the last thing she’d known was that she was on the ground of her driveway, bleeding out. She’d been looking up at the blue of the sky, noticed that there wasn’t a cloud in sight, feeling the sun beat down on her. In that moment, she’d known that she was going to die, as her vision was weakening, a blurry figure had appeared before her, and she knew that her time was up.
/ / /
Flashback – 2 years ago
“Tell me how it works,” Jenna asked Maya, the two of them curled up in her bed, just enjoying some mother-daughter time.
“How what works?” Maya asked, snuggled into her mother’s side.
“This reincarnation thing,” Jenna clarified, “Does it just happen for everyone? Is it random?”
“No,” Maya replied, “I was dying, it was literally the last moments of my life, I called out for help, but I didn’t ask Nature, I could feel cold embrace of death, creeping in, so I-”
“You what?”
“I asked Death to accept me, I asked it to welcome me because I was angry, and scared, and in pain, and I couldn’t feel Nature anymore. I made myself an offering, and he accepted me.”
“Do you…do you remember what it was like, being over there?”
Maya shook her head, “No, it’s one of the drawbacks, you don’t get to remember, until you’re there. But…”
“But what?”
“I think I felt safe.”
/ / /
In her final moments, as she took in the blurred figure in front of her, all Jenna wanted was to feel safe. She tried to get the words out, but she didn’t have the energy, her mouth moved, but no sound came out. ‘Please,’ she thought, ‘Please, I just want to be safe…Death.’
As she thought the final word, the figure before her snapped her neck.
/ / /
“Hello Jenna,” Death appeared before her and she startled.
“What-where am I?” she asked.
“You asked for me to keep you safe, welcome to my domain.” He said, gesturing to the room.
Jenna’s eyes darted around, “It’s so…homey,” she replied, it was like the small family room she had in her home, there was a log fireplace, comfy looking chairs, it looked nothing like she'd imagined.
“I’ve found that for the souls I welcome, something comforting is best.”
She nodded, “I think you were right.”
“Would you like to sit down?” he asked,. Death usually maintained a certain level of detachment from his souls, they were all his, and he cared for them, but getting invested in them on a personal level, he didn't do that for all of them, and usually it was another soul that greeted a new ones. But this was different, this was his daughter’s mother. Maya had had plenty of mothers in the past, but this was the first one that actually meant something to her. This was the mother that he’d chosen, specifically to care for his daughter, the one that was meant to help her grow stronger, more powerful, and it had worked.
Jenna took a seat on the couch, and waited for him to sit too, “So,” she said, “You’re Maya’s father.”
Kol’s eyes shot open as he woke with a gasp, getting up, he looked around, wherever he was, he’d never seen anything like it before, the walls glowed with an unearthly blue-green light, and he could hear water in the distance. “Where are we?” he whispered. “Maya, where are w-” he cut himself off when he saw her unconscious on the floor, “Maya! Maya!” he shook her but she wouldn’t wake up. Feeling for her pulse, it was slow, and weak, she was barely breathing, “Shit!” Kol bit into his wrist, lifted her up and pressed her lips to the open wound, “Come on Darling, drink!” He massaged her throat, and she swallowed his blood, she didn’t wake up, but her pulse got stronger, and her breathing steadied.
“Shit!” he muttered, running a hand through his hair, he needed to find a way out of there, but leaving Maya, and her mother’s body unprotected didn’t seem like a good idea. Sighing he picked Maya up, and put her over his shoulder, then he lifted Jenna’s body in his arms, and started walking. Heading towards the sound of water, the stream must lead to a way out.
Kol stopped when he heard a noise, it almost sounded like a voice, who was that? Tilting his head, he focused his hearing, he was sure that he heard his name. It was little more than a whisper, a woman’s voice, almost familiar, “Kol!”
Eyes widening he looked at the woman in his arms, her eyes still closed, her heart still un-beating, “Jenna?”
“Kol!” he shot off towards the voice, and found himself in the largest part of the cave, the stream widening, and taking up most of space. “Kol!” the voice was coming from the water! He placed Jenna down gently, and then Maya next to her, and walked up to the water, looking inside.
“Jenna?!” He asked incredulously, seeing her where his reflection should be, “Jenna what are you-” he cut himself off when he saw a familiar man walk up next to her. “Death!”
“Hello Kol.”
Enzo was with Rebekah and Elijah, the younger Vampire and blonde were letting him know all about the town council when Enzo paused mid-sentence, and grabbed his chest. “Enzo?” Rebekah asked, “What is it?”
“Something’s wrong,” he whispered, before flashing out of the room. Rebekah glanced at Elijah for a moment, and they both followed him.
/ / /
“Stefan! I’m not in the mood!” Damon said, pushing past his brother, he couldn’t take a second more of Stefan worrying about Elena, and trying to come up with terrible plans to stop Klaus.
“I’m just saying, maybe we should go and talk to Katherine.”
“You’re the one who said that Elena shouldn’t go and see her!” Damon groaned.
“Yeah, Elena, because it’s too dangerous for her, but not us! Since Rose ran off, she’s the only one who can even identify Klaus!”
“We’re not-” Damon stopped, grunting as he grabbed his chest, as he felt a stabbing pain lance through him.
“Damon?!” Stefan asked worriedly, “Damon what is it? What’s wrong?”
“Not good!” he muttered, before whooshing out of the house, Stefan trailing after him, he’d never seen his brother react like that, seeing Damon suddenly in pain like that, it had freaked him out.
/ / /
Enzo, Damon, Rebekah and Elijah all arrived outside the Sommers house, with Stefan showing up moments later. “My God!” Stefan gasped the scent of blood, fresh and potent, “What the hell happened?” he covered his nose, taking several steps back, hoping that the blood didn't send him over the edge.
Enzo looked around frantically, searching the house at speed, “No one’s here!”
“That’s impossible!” Damon replied, “I felt her here!”
“Damon!” Stefan ground out, “What’s going on?”
“Yes, Enzo, what is it?” Rebekah asked, not understanding how Enzo knew to come here.
“I felt her,” he muttered.
Damon crouched down, touching the blood, and bringing it up to his nose, “It’s Jenna’s” he said, scenting it, the way Klaus had taught him to.
Elijah snapped to attention then, “What?!” It had been two years, and he had yet to taste Jenna’s blood, he didn’t recognise the scent.
“There’s too much here for a human to survive!”
“Damon!” Enzo exclaimed, “Where’s Maya?!”
“She was here! She had to be!” Damon insisted, he felt her pain, and it drew him to the house.
Rebekah eyed them both, they were both beginning to panic and she realised that she wouldn’t be getting a straight answer out of them, “Kol went to pick her up.”
“Call him!” Damon said, and she took out her phone.
She dialled him, and ringing came from the somewhere in the grass nearby, speeding over to the phone, Rebekah picked it up, “It’s Kol’s,” she confirmed.
Enzo looked around all of them, and froze, “Where’s Caroline?” he asked.
“What?” Rebekah asked, “Why would she be here?”
“Damon,” he stared at Damon, unmistakable fear in his eyes, “We felt Maya, Caroline definitely would have felt her.”
“She would have been the first one here,” Damon agreed.
“Okay STOP!” Stefan stepped in, tired of not getting answers, “Tell us what’s going on!”
“We’re connected to Maya,” Enzo said, “If she’s hurt, or in pain, we can feel it, it works the other way round too. It means that we can always find each other. We both felt Maya’s agony. Caroline would have felt it.”
“So would Nik,” Damon realised, and as if he was being summoned, Damon’s phone began to ring.
“What is going on?!” Kol demanded, “How can I see you?! You’re dead.” He gestured to the body next to Maya.
“Yeah, I know,” she nodded solemnly, she hated this, calling out to Death was her only chance, but she didn't want to be dead, she wanted to her watch her daughter grow up, she wanted to see her get married, have children. She wanted to see Maya live her life, in way that she'd never had the option to do before!
“I don’t understand,” Kol shook his head “How are you there?”
“I was-” Jenna looked down for a second, thinking about what had happened to her, thinking about that moment when she was lying prone on the ground, bleeding out, thinking about that moment that she knew that she was going to die, “I was dying, and then I remembered, remembered what Maya told me about the first time she died. She said she called out to Death, so I took a chance.”
Kol looked at the man stood next to Jenna, “You brought her to you.”
“There was no other option,” he said, “By the time anyone would get there, it would have been too late.”
“Kol, how’s Maya?” Jenna asked, “I know this can’t be easy for her, losing me.”
“She’s unconscious.” Kol said.
“What?!”
“We found you, and she lost it, she sent out a wave of magic, it was strong it hit everything, and then we ended up here. But she won’t wake up. I gave her my blood, but it didn’t do anything.”
“Yes,” Death said, “That is a problem, you’re not supposed to be here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember when you both came to my reading room? The pain you felt?”
Kol nodded, “Because Maya wasn’t dead, and she couldn’t be there, without me bearing her weight.”
“It’s the same here, only this time, you’re the one that can’t be here.”
“She’s bearing my weight,” Kol said in understanding.
Death nodded, “Yes, but the problem is, she’s not immortal, she can’t take your weight, not for long.”
“What are you talking about?!” Jenna asked, looking between the two, and grabbing Death’s arm, “What’s going on?!”
“If Kol stays here with her for much longer, then she’ll die.”
“NO!” her baby couldn't die, she wouldn't let that happen!, "Kol get out of here! You're killing her!"
“There’s no way out,” Kol said, if he could leave, he would, but he didn't even know where they were, or how they got there, “She brought us here, she’s the only one who can get us out! Even if she does wake up, with Jenna dead-it’s like something in her broke!”
Death knew that Kol was telling the truth, she’d said as much to him, that the family she had now, was more than she could have ever hoped for. He knew that if Maya woke, without her mother, she would burn the world to ash, or as much of it as she could, before the sheer amount of magic she used ripped her apart. He couldn’t let that happen. “Where’s the body?”
“What?” Kol asked.
“Where’s Jenna’s body?”
“It’s here.”
“Bring her to me.”
“What?!”
“Bring her to me. NOW!”
Kol went to pick Jenna up, but he noticed that Maya’s heartbeat had slowed again, biting into his wrist he brought it to her mouth, making her swallow as much of his blood as possible. He waited until her heart strengthened, before picking up Jenna’s body and bringing it to the water. “What do you want me to do with it?”
“Walk into the water with her,” Death replied, he needed to see her, needed to know what damage Jenna had suffered, “As far as you can go.”
Kol didn’t question it, just walked until the water came up to his neck, “Is this far enough?” he asked, now he couldn’t see Death or Jenna, but he could still hear them.
“Yes,” Death said, with her body fully submerged, he could finally see her, and Death looked at Jenna, “I can’t just bring you back to life, my sister won’t let me, and even if I could, your body’s too damaged. My influence is over your soul, not the body.”
“What about Maya?” Jenna asked, “The last time you got involved, you changed something in her!”
He shook his head, “Maya was twice blessed, her soul, and her body were part of me, we had a connection.”
“Now you have one with me!” she exclaimed, “Bring me back!” she demanded.
“Jenna.”
“Bring me back to my daughter!” she pounded on his chest, “Bring my back to my daughter! Bring me back to my daughter!” she broke down.
Damon paced up and down the driveway as he was on the phone, while the others had fanned out to search the property. “Where is she Damon?” Klaus demanded; he had felt her pain from miles away. He was already packing his and the children's things, he would be there by the next morning.
“We don’t know,” he replied, “Kol, Jenna and Caroline are missing too. Kol’s phone was here, but he’s not.”
“Well, has anyone checked the security cameras?” Klaus asked impatiently.
“What security cameras?” Damon asked, they didn’t have cameras!
“I had one of my men set them up months ago, Maya and Jenna knew about them.”
“Hang on.” Damon covered the speaker, “ENZO!” he called out, and the younger Vampire appeared seconds later.
“Yeah?”
“Nik say’s there’s cameras here, he set them up.”
“What?!”
“Jenna and Maya knew; they didn’t tell you?” Enzo shook his head, “Yeah, me either.” He turned back to the phone, “They didn’t tell us about them.”
“The system is set up in the panic room.”
“There's a panic room?!” Damon exclaimed.
“Damon!” Klaus snapped back, “Go to Maya’s room, it’s behind the bookshelf.”
“What’s going on?” Rebekah asked, arriving next to Enzo, Elijah and Stefan not far behind her.
“Apparently Nik had security cameras and a panic room installed,” Enzo said, not sparing her a glance, "And he didn't tell us!"
“We don’t have time for this! Give the phone to my brother!” Damon looked over to Elijah, “He wants to speak to you.”
Elijah was wary of the younger Salvatore, he couldn’t say anything that would tip him off to who he was, “Brother?”
“Damon will take you to Maya’s room, the safe room is behind her bookshelf, the security system is the same as the one we have at the Penthouse.”
“Understood, the password?”
“I’ve already sent it to you.” Klaus paused, “Brother, as soon as you know something…”
“I will call you.” Elijah hung up, and handed the phone back to Damon, “Show me to Maya’s room.”
“Wait, when were you invited in?” Elijah rolled his eyes and crossed the threshold, every moment he didn’t know what had happened to Jenna, his worry was growing, he was holding himself together for the moment. But Jenna…he’d let her in, he never let people in anymore, Klaus either killed them, or they betrayed him, but with Jenna, Niklaus wouldn’t dare harm her, and he’d let his guard down. Now her blood was on the ground, and she was no where to be found.
"Uh, guys!" Stefan called as they went inside, and he hit a barrier, "I can't get in!" he'd been invited in before, he didn't know why he couldn't enter. Damon and Enzo ignored him, as well as the new Vampire that he'd never seen before, but Rebekah paused.
"It's a supernatural lockdown, when something bad happens to one of the Sommers women an extra protection goes up, preventing anyone who hasn't been expressly keyed into the protection from getting inside." She sighed as Stefan's eyes widened, "Look, if we see anything of import, we'll let you know." She said.
“Who the hell is that guy?!” Stefan exclaimed, pointing at Elijah’s retreating form.
“That’s my brother, he’s…seeing Jenna.” It was all the explanation she was willing to give, and she shot upstairs with the rest of them.
/ / /
Elijah let them into the panic room, and quickly pulled up the security footage, “The blood on the ground is at least an hour old.” Damon said. The pool of blood was still wet, but the shallower areas had begun to dry.
Elijah set the camera to two hours previously, and then fast forwarded until he saw Jenna, pressing play he grew grim as he watched what happened. How could this have happened? Jenna was supposed to be safe, Niklaus was the most dangerous thing out there, and she was under his protection! But watching, as the woman that he’d let in, was murdered, and not quickly, Elijah could feel his monster clawing its way to the surface, a monster that he’d kept a very tight leash on, for the better part of a millennium.
“Wait, is that-?”
Damon watched the footage, his face a mask of anger, as he watched Jenna die, and then Kol and Maya arrive. He watched Maya break down, and he watched her let out a scream, whatever she’d done hit the hidden camera, causing it to shake, and by the time the camera had settled, Kol, Maya and Jenna all disappeared from sight. “We need to search the town.” He said.
“Damon,” Enzo was trembling with rage at what he’d just seen, but he’d also noticed something else, “Caroline wasn’t with them.”
The Salvatore realised that something else had gone wrong, “Where the hell is she?!”
“Your body needs to have a connection to me in it to manipulate it,” Death said, he couldn’t see how he could bring her back, “Which, in case you haven’t noticed, it doesn’t.”
“What about me?” Kol asked, interrupting his conversation with Jenna.
“What?”
“What about me? As an Original, I have a connection to you. Can you use that?”
“I-I don’t know, I’ve never tried before.”
“So try,” Kol said, “It’s not like you have anything to lose here, but Maya does.”
“If it works, it may mean that you’ll change,” Death said, “Just like Maya changed when I brought her back to life without reincarnation. Do you want to take that risk? Especially when I have no idea what it could do to you?”
“I-” Kol looked back at the unconscious girl on the ground, she’d shifted… “She’s moving,” he whispered.
“What?” Jenna asked.
“She’s waking up!” he exclaimed, wading out of the water, as fast as possible, and he dropped Jenna to the floor in an effort to get to Maya faster.
“Hey! Watch my body!”
Kol hunched over Maya, as she came to, “Mom?” she asked as her eyes fluttered open, “Kol? What are you-” she turned her head to the side, and cut herself off as she spotted her mother, “Mom?!” she pushed herself up.
“Maya,” Kol said. But she shoved past him and fell to her mother’s side.
“Mom! No! Mom!” she cried. Kol pulled her into his arms, pulling her away from her mother’s body, “NO!” she screamed, struggling against his strength, “NO! MOM!” she kicked out, but it was no use, she was too weak.
He dragged her to the water, she needed to see her mother, before she fell unconscious again. “Stop fighting me!” he said.
“No! MOM! MOM!”
“Maya!” Jenna called and her daughter stilled.
When she stopped struggling, Kol let her go, and Maya turned around, eyes on the water, “Mom?” she asked, slowly walking to the edge, and dropping to her knees when she saw her mother, stood next to her creator.
“Hi baby,” Jenna replied, trying to get closer, but they were separated by the barrier of life and death.
“Mom!” Maya was sobbing, “I can’t- you can’t- please I can’t do this without you!”
Kol watched as the mother and daughter were kept apart, he couldn’t stand this, Maya was his family, and she was in agony. In that moment, Kol realised that there was something that he could do to make up for his past with the Siphon. “I’ll do it.” He said, picking up Jenna’s body again, and walking into the water.
“What-” Maya wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, “What’s going on?”
Jenna looked up at her daughter, “They’re going to try to bring me back.”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel amazing.
Chapter 63: Missing
Notes:
Thank you for all the comments and kudos!
Sorry it's been so long I had exams, but I passed!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Enzo rushed out of the panic room after seeing the footage, gasping for breath, “Hey!” Damon grabbed hold of his arms, “Enzo!”
“I can’t-I can’t breathe!” Enzo gasped out, bent double trying to calm down. “I can’t-”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, we’ll figure this out,” Damon tried to comfort him.
“It’s not okay!” Enzo snapped, “She’s dead! Jenna is dead! I promised to protect her! I promised to keep her safe! And now she’s gone! She saved my life! And now she’s gone!”
Damon could see not only the anguish in Enzo’s eyes, but the temptation to do something drastic, “Hey!” he demanded, “Look at me! Don’t you do it Enzo! Don’t you dare! You are not turning it off!”
“Damon-”
“NO! Maya is still out there! Caroline is still out there! Missing! We need to find them! If you turn it off, what good are you to them?!” Enzo snarled, “Maya saved your life too! You owe her!”
Enzo backed off, “We find them,” he said.
“We find them,” Damon nodded.
“Wh-what do you mean?” Maya asked, rubbing her face.
“Kol’s going to let your…uh…father…use him, to try to bring me back.”
“Mom, I don’t understand,” Maya shook her head.
“Neither do I baby, but they’re gonna try, I don’t want to leave you.”
Maya looked at Death, “Please bring her back,” she pled, “I don’t wanna go back without her, please.”
“I’ll do what I can,” he replied, hating the look on her face, it was a different face than her first, but the pain he felt from her, was the same pain he'd felt from her the very first time they'd met. He would find a way to bring her mother back to life, no matter what.
Enzo, Damon, and the two Originals had searched the town for the whole night, they’d come up with nothing, “This is ridiculous!” Enzo snapped, “Where the hell are they?!” They’d all agreed to meet at Mikaelson mansion, as it was the first place Klaus would go, considering he had the children with him, and he was due in at any moment.
“There’s no sign of them anywhere…or Katherine.” Damon said, when he’d seen the security footage, watched as Jenna had been murdered, he didn’t know that he was capable of feeling the way that he did. Katherine had come up behind Jenna, and not one to make the same mistake twice, she didn’t let the human get anywhere near the house, she’d played with Jenna for a while, she could have just killed her. But instead, Katherine broke her arm, and her leg, she’d cut open Jenna’s stomach to let her bleed out, presumably doing all of it to see if the woman had Vampire blood in her system, to see if there was a chance that she would come back, and when Jenna hadn’t healed, Katherine finally snapped her neck. Once he'd seen that, Damon had sent Stefan to stay with Elena and her mother, with Katherine free, there was no telling what she would do.
“What did the Sheriff say?” Rebekah asked softly, quickly realising that she was going to have to be the voice of reason, even Elijah was in a state, he’d tried to keep his anger in check, but it hadn’t worked very well, and he’d destroyed his bedroom. “Did she have any luck tracking their phones?” When they’d confirmed that Caroline was missing, Rebekah had gone straight to the Sherriff, seeing if the woman could track Maya and Caroline that way, because they were down a Witch, there was no way that they would trust Bonnie Bennett with this.
Enzo shook his head, “It’s like Maya’s phone is out of reach.”
“And Caroline’s?”
“We’re waiting for the trace to come back, Liz said that she would call the moment that she had something.” Enzo would have continued, but he heard the door slam, and Klaus rushed inside, with his sister at his side, “Nik!”
“Where are the children?” Elijah asked, needing something, anything, to distract him from his own anger.
“I dropped them at pack house,” Klaus replied, “What do we know?”
No one had wanted to tell Klaus what had happened over the phone, no one wanted to let him know that Katherine had escaped, let alone that she’d murdered his girlfriend’s mother. “Nik,” Damon said, “It was Katherine.”
“What?!” he growled.
“I don’t know how, but she got out of the tomb, she killed Jenna.”
Klaus shook his head, “That’s not possible,” there was no way that the Bennett Witch was strong enough to take down Maya's spell, and there was no reason for her to do so. But then he looked at his brother, Elijah was always the calm one, cool headed, yet, now, in his eyes, there was a simmering...rage, he wasn’t saying anything either.
“It’s true,” Enzo said, “Kol and Maya arrived not long after, they found her, and Maya sh-she did something, let out a powerful burst of magic, and then they were gone, they were just gone!” Enzo was trying to hold himself together, one of his saviours was dead, and the other missing, and he hadn’t been able to do a thing about it, “We’ve searched the town, they’re not here.”
Klaus looked around the room, noticing someone else that was missing, “Where the hell is Caroline?” From what he knew of the Baby Vampire, she would have been the first one at Maya's side, but she wasn't, and she wasn't even there to help with the search, something was very wrong in Mystic Falls.
“That’s the other thing,” Rebekah said, coming over to him, “She’s missing too, she didn’t show up at the house, but Damon and Enzo insist that she would have felt Maya’s pain and come for her.”
“She would have,” Klaus replied.
“We can’t find her, her mother is tracing her phone now, and will let us know as soon as she has something.”
“Freya,” he turned to his older sister, “The tracking spell that Maya came up with, can you do it?”
With Kol at such a distance, Freya hadn’t been able to do the locator spell in Arizona, but now that she was in Mystic Falls, she could feel her magic again, “I can,” she smiled.
“Why are you smiling?” Elijah asked, he didn’t really know about the restrictions on Freya’s magic.
“Because it means that Kol is somewhere in this town,” she replied, “I can’t do magic when we’re separated by more than that, it’s part of the failsafe that Maya put in place when she didn’t know whether or not I would be on her side.”
“Do the spell,” Klaus said, and Freya nodded.
“I will need some of your blood,” she said, and Klaus bit into his wrist, allowing it to drop into a small bowl that she’d produced, she’d gotten all the ingredients that she needed for the spell ready on the plane, so that she could do it as soon as she arrived in Mystic Falls. Lighting some herbs on fire, she dropped them into the blood, and began to chant, “Siphonem quaere, da locum suum ad sanguinem meum, invenio nexum meum.” She was calling out for the Siphon’s location to be brought to the owner of the blood, depending on how far away Maya was, would change how Klaus would receive her location.
They waited for a few minutes before Klaus took off, the Vampires following him as he raced through the trees, he came to an abrupt stop, in the middle of the woods. “Nik where-” Rebekah cut herself off as she looked around, she recognised this place.
“This is-” Elijah glanced at the area, it was far away from town, close to the Salvatore crypt.
“What?” Enzo said, looking between the two of them, “What is it?!”
“This is where our home was,” Elijah finally said.
Klaus had strained his senses, but he couldn’t detect a hint of where Maya could possibly be, he pulled out his phone and called Freya, “There’s no one here, do the spell again.” She did, but Klaus was provided the same location, “It's not working!”
“Wait,” Enzo said, realising something, “You said this was where you lived.”
“Yes,” Rebekah replied.
“Is this where you were all turned?” he asked.
Klaus gave him a sharp look, “Yes, this is where we died.”
“Then I know where she is!” Enzo exclaimed.
“Where?” Klaus demanded.
“She’s at the veil!”
“What the hell is that?” Rebekah asked.
“A point, where the veil between life and death is at is weakest. That has to be it!” he looked at Elijah, he knew that the oldest Original had seen Maya reappear out of a veil, but she probably hadn’t explained it, “When we were in LA, she walked into a veil, and disappeared from sight, and then just reappeared from nowhere. I couldn't see it, but she could. She did the same in Greece, didn’t she?”
Elijah nodded slowly, “She cloaked herself going in, but she reappeared as if coming from nowhere.”
“It’s a veil!” Enzo repeated.
Damon nodded in agreement, “It has to be! Think about it! Death’s magic crossed over here! To make Vampires, it would stand to reason, this is where the veil is at its weakest!" and then he frowned, "Which is probably why you could get a location.”
“A place that’s here, but not here,” Elijah said in understanding, finally realising the meaning behind Maya’s words in Greece.
“That doesn’t help us get to her, and Kol!” Klaus ground out.
“We can’t, she’s the only one that can access it.”
“Where’s Kol then?”
“She let out a powerful blast of magic, that must have helped him transport her!” Enzo reasoned, it was the only thing he could think of, the only thing that made any sense.
Klaus was about to say something, but Rebekah interrupted them when her phone went off. “It’s the Sheriff, she says she has the location of Caroline’s phone.”
Caroline woke with a start, the pain in her head was unbearable, she felt her forehead, and found the wound, digging her fingers in, she whimpered as she pulled a wooden bullet from her head. Struggling to get up, she made her way to the door of the cage and tried to unlock it, but one of the Werewolves came in, the one that had shot her in the first place.
“I see you got the bullet out.” He said, with an evil look in his eyes, “That was nasty. I got lots of wooden bullets, and other toys. It's gonna be a long night for you, sweet pea.” He shot her again and she screamed.
“Why are you doing this?!” she cried, she hadn’t done anything to anyone, since she’d transitioned, she hadn’t hurt anyone, not a single slip up.
He didn’t answer her, just shot her again, this time in both of her knee-caps, causing her to scream out, “How many Vampires are there in this town anyway?” he asked her.
But Caroline refused to answer, so he threw vervain at her. “AAH!” Caroline screamed in agony covering her face, as she tried to push herself further back in the cage, but there was no room for her to move, “Why are you doing this to me? Why?!”
“You're a Vampire. Why not?” he shrugged and picked up a wooden stick, throwing it at her, it embedded itself into her stomach, causing her to double over in pain. “I’m sorry, what was that?” he asked.
“Let me out!” she cried.
“Excuse me? What was that?”
“LET ME OUT!”
The Werewolf shot her in the head again, and then walked out of the room, meeting Jules outside, “Did you get it out of your system?” she asked.
“No, I'm just getting started,” he replied.
“Brady, let's be smart about this. I just want to find out what happened to Mason, and who killed him. It’s our duty to avenge him, it’s who we are.”
“You want to talk duty and honour? These are Vampires! They cross one of us, they cross all of us! That's who we are!”
Damon, Enzo and Rebekah had sped over to the Sheriff’s station as soon as they received Liz’s message, she hadn’t met Klaus or Elijah and they didn’t want to frighten her with their surprise presence. She looked upset, which wasn’t a good sign, “I tracked Caroline’s phone to outside the Grill, it was on the ground, by her car.”
“Did you check the cameras?” Rebekah asked, and Liz showed them the footage, a man and a woman had followed her out, looking very sketchy, “I don’t know who they are, but this is all the footage that we’ve got.” She looked at the Vampires, “I don’t know what to do, we don’t have any leads! Can Maya do a spell? Can she find her like that?”
Damon and Enzo glanced at each other for a moment, they hadn’t told Liz about Maya and Jenna yet, not with Caroline missing too, it would be too much for her. “Can you send us that footage?” Damon asked, and Liz sent it to his phone, “We’ll need blood of a relation for a locator spell.”
Liz grabbed her empty coffee mug, and then looked around for something to cut herself with, “Here,” Rebekah said, coming round to her, taking out a dagger that she kept on her, Rebekah took Liz’s hand and made a small cut, dripping the blood into the mug, “Is that enough?” Liz asked.
“We’ll be able to work with that,” Rebekah nodded, “Do you want me to heal that?”
“No,” Liz shook her head, she was very wary about having Vampire blood in her system, “I’ll be fine, please just find my daughter.”
/ / /
The three Vampires made their way back to the pack house, where Klaus, Elijah and Freya had gone, after finding nothing at the site of their first death. “Caroline’s been taken,” Enzo said, handing over the mug containing Liz’s blood to Freya, “This is her mother’s blood, can you use it for a locator spell?”
She glanced at Klaus, who nodded, “Of course,” she went to get a map of the area so that she could hopefully find the other missing person in town.
“Do we know who took her?” Klaus asked, upon his arrival to the pack house, his three Enforcers had gathered around him, but they’d also brought Mason, none of them willing to leave him alone, especially with Katherine on the loose now.
Damon pulled out his phone, “These two followed her out of the Grill, but we don’t have any other footage of her.” He showed Klaus the video and Mason paled, he knew who those two were, and he knew that the young Vampire wasn’t safe.
“I know them,” he whispered, and all eyes snapped to him.
“Who are they?!” Klaus demanded, his Vampire coming to the surface immediately, he couldn’t reach Maya, couldn’t help her, the least he could do is save her best friend.
Mason took a step back, only to bump into Scott, “That’s-that’s Jules, she’s my pack’s Alpha, and that’s Brady, her mate. If Caroline’s with them and she’s a Vampire…she’s not safe.”
“Why?!” Enzo asked, coming to stand by Klaus, his anger plain as day.
“Brady hates Vampires, I’ve never seen it, but I hear he keeps a cage in his trailer…”
Klaus snarled, he would be damned if Maya came back to find that her best friend had been tortured and killed by wolves, he looked to his Enforcers, “We’re leaving as soon as Freya gets a location, one of you needs to stay here with the children.” They nodded, eyes hardening, it had been a while since they’d had a clash with anyone, a fight with Werewolves could be fun.
Freya bust into the room, “I found her!” she brought the map with her, and showed them her location.
“That’s not far from the tomb," Damon said, perhaps when they'd gotten Caroline back, they could check it out, find a clue to how Katherine had escaped.
“Let’s go,” Klaus said, “Freya, are you ready?” he asked, she nodded and he grabbed her. He whooshed out, of the pack house. The other Vampires grabbed two of the Enforcers, leaving Scott and Mason alone.
“You know,” Brady said, with a sick grin, walking back inside the trailer after the rest of the pack had arrived, “I’m glad you decided to keep your mouth shut,” He pulled out his gun again, “It means I get to have so much more fun.” He shot her in her chest, close to her heart, but not close enough to kill her.
Caroline gasped in pain, pulling as far back into the cage as she could, she’d been taken the night before, and she knew that she wasn’t going to be there for much longer. Her friends would come for her soon, and when that happened…well she almost pitied the wolves…almost. “Enjoy it…while you can,” she struggled out.
“Oh?” Brady fired the gun into her shoulder, “And why’s that?”
“Because…I’m not the only Vampire in town…and it’s not a full moon.”
“Hmm,” he picked up a bottle full of vervain water, and tossed it at her face, and Caroline screamed as she felt her eyes burn, “You Vampires, you think you’re better than us, I’ll kill anyone that comes for you. Or better yet, I’ll put them right next to you.”
Caroline let out a weak laugh, despite being temporarily blind, “You have…no idea…what you’ve done.”
/ / /
The group of Vampires, Werewolves and one Witch stopped just outside where they’d gotten a location on Caroline. The wolves stretched out their senses, “There’s a whole pack here,” Regina smirked, she’d been itching for a fight.
Klaus focused his hearing, and heard Caroline cry out in pain, “Let’s introduce ourselves,” he said, a sinister look in his eyes, whoever was torturing Caroline would not have the privilege of a swift death. “Sister,” he looked at Freya, “Could you put up a barrier? To stop them from running?”
“Keep them distracted,” Freya nodded, planting her feet and beginning the spell.
“I’ll stay with Freya,” Elijah said, as much as he wished to let out his own monster, he wasn’t going to leave his sister unprotected whilst she cast a spell, even if the odds of her being injured were beyond tiny, he would protect her. Besides, he knew from just looking at his brother, Klaus needed to let out his anger first.
/ / /
“Well, well,” Klaus said, strolling in the middle of the Werewolf encampment, “What do we have here?” His sister beside him, Damon and Enzo behind them, with his two Enforcers bringing up the rear.
“Who are you?” Jules asked, stepping in front of her own Enforcers, she could smell the Vampire on them, but oddly enough, there were two wolves with them. They had to have been here for the girl, but she had no idea why the wolves stood at their side. They certainly weren’t hostages, being used to trade for the Vampire in their position, they stood tall next to the Vampires. She was more than wary, there were far more Vampires in town than she thought.
Rebekah straightened, this was one of the people that had followed Caroline out of the Grill, one of the ones that had taken her friend, Jules, is what Mason had called her, the Alpha, “Well if you can’t tell, we’re Vampires, and you’ve taken someone that belongs to us.”
“We didn’t take anyone,” Jules refuted, “Just picked up a leach when we were in town.”
Damon and Enzo snarled, letting their monsters come forth, Klaus barely reacted though, his eyes narrowing in anger, “If you don’t hand over the girl, I will wipe your pathetic pack from existence.”
Brady came out of the trailer, Caroline’s blood on shirt, and stood by his mate, “And what are you gonna do if we do hand her over?” He wasn’t about to trust the word of a Vampire, there were more of them than he’d anticipated, but capturing the blonde had given him a false sense of security, the pack outnumbered them.
“Then some of you may yet survive,” Klaus’s mind already brimming with the possibility of making a few members of this pack his test subjects, he wasn’t planning on turning his own pack in Hybrids, without knowing that it worked first. He could use them as cannon fodder, send them out in the world, to find more packs for him to turn.
Jules scoffed at that, signalling the other members of her pack to circle up, and surround the group, “There’s more of us than you,” she said, “And she wasn’t all that hard to take down, I doubt you’ll be any different.”
Klaus let out a humourless chuckle, “Oh? We’ll see about that,” he was losing his patience, waiting for Freya to finish her spell, a little more complicated than a simple barrier spell, if she wanted to make sure that only the wolves in the enemy pack were trapped. His smirk widened when he heard his sister’s whispered words that she was finished, and wordlessly signalled his Enforcers to attack. Damon and Enzo followed, and Rebekah headed straight for the trailer, she could smell a lot of Caroline’s blood, and the girl had barely made a noise since they’d arrived at the camp.
Jules and Brady were stunned, they’d never seen any Vampire move as fast as Klaus and Rebekah, and they’d severely underestimated the other two Vampires. “RUN!” Jules yelled, when she realised that her people wouldn’t survive.
The wolves attempted to scatter, but quickly hit the invisible wall that Freya had put up, Regina and Alexandra both dragged a couple of the wolves back to the centre of the camp, leaving them alive for their own Alpha to decide what to do with them. But any of the wolves that had crossed Klaus’s path were decimated, with ruthless efficiency, leaving only three wolves beside Jules and Brady alive.
Damon and Enzo grabbed the Alpha and her mate, shoving them to the ground, there was no way that the both of them were getting off as easily as most of the pack, they would suffer for what they’d done to Caroline.
Mason looked at Scott in question, “Okay, what the hell is going on?!” he demanded, “You said that I’d meet your Alpha! But I’m pretty certain that your Alpha is a Vampire! What the hell?!”
“We don’t owe you an explanation,” Scott dismissed, in truth, they weren’t expecting to have Mason meet Klaus before he broke his curse, given how much Mason hated turning ever month, they believed that he’d be an excellent candidate to be a Hybrid, not a high ranking one, but Klaus had planned to use someone from outside of the Pack to ensure that nothing would go wrong with the transition. Of course, that plan was all shot to hell now.
“The hell you don’t!”
Rebekah ripped the cage door off, crawling inside to see Caroline, she hadn’t moved, and Rebekah could only hope that the wolf hadn’t been foolish enough to kill the girl. Caroline groaned, as she felt her body pushing out the bullet in her skull, she no longer had the strength to take it out herself.
“Bloody hell!” Rebekah cursed, pulling the younger woman out of the cage, there was no way that Caroline could walk on her own, and none of them had thought to bring any blood with them. “Come on Caroline,” she muttered, lifting her into her arms.
“Rebekah?” Caroline whispered, confused and relieved, she’d told the wolves that someone was coming for her, but after a full day of her being missing, she was worried that she may have been far further from Mystic Falls than she’d originally thought.
“It’s alright, we’ll get you some blood, and it will fix you right up.” The Original walked outside, to find that her brother had already made the wolves pay. “Damn,” she said, “You could have left some for me.”
“Relax sister,” Klaus turned to face her, “These two are coming with us.” He knew that Kol would want to take his pound of flesh from each of them, not to mention that when Maya returned, she would need an outlet for her pain, while they searched the town for Katerina. He eyed the Baby Vampire in his sister’s arms thoughtfully, she would need to feed, and soon, if her greyish pallor was any indication. “Get her back to Maya’s house,” he said, “We’ll lock these two in the mansion.” Rebekah nodded, flashing away with Caroline, while the rest of them sped back to Mikaelson Mansion, leaving the few wolves that were still alive, trapped in their own camp.
Maya watched as the water in the cavern turned opaque, and crawled up Kol’s body, she was worried, but if this would bring her mother, then she wasn’t going to stop it. The Original choked as the dark water entered his mouth, blocking up his throat, and pulled him all the way down, and she fought the urge to pull him back. Kol was her friend, and whatever was happening to him, it was clearly painful.
Kol grunted as he felt himself burning from the inside out, trying to keep his struggles to a minimum. Death said that this would hurt, he just wasn’t very clear on how badly it would hurt, the pain was reminiscent of the first time that he’d been caught out in the sun, without his ring, it felt like his flesh was melting from bone, and he understood, he was being remade, not like Maya, but something else entirely. And just as he felt like he couldn’t take the pain any longer, a connection, a spark of life that could only be Jenna glowed within him. She was connected to him! The only question was, how much longer was he going to have endure this agony in order to ensure that Jenna came back with him?
Caroline curled up in her bed at the Sommers house, her mother at her side, she hadn’t seen Maya, or Jenna and no one would tell her where they were, but honestly she was too hurt and tired to push, she knew that the only reason they wouldn’t be there with her was for something good. “Mommy,” she whimpered, as her mother squeezed her tighter.
“Shh, shh, shh,” Liz rocked her daughter, “It’s okay, you’re okay,” Rebekah hadn’t been very descriptive with what had happened, just that Caroline had been taken by wolves that held a particular dislike for Vampires. But she supposed, she didn’t really need anyone to go into detail with what happened, she could see it on her daughter’s face, the pain, the suffering, that haunted look that she’d seen on her oldest deputy, one that had been to war. Liz’s heart broke for her daughter, she never wanted Caroline to ever feel like this, but she did, and she didn’t know what to do, how to help her, and to make matters worse, Jenna was…and Maya…she wasn't equipped for this, all this supernatural drama. She had no idea how to make things better.
Klaus, Enzo and Damon were dealing with the two Werewolves that they had brought back, Freya was with the children, and Elijah…Elijah was in the shadows of Mystic Falls, searching for the woman that he once loved, the woman who had just murdered one that he could potentially love. Katerina was somewhere, he would find her, and she would pay for what she’d done.
/ / /
Katherine raced back to a little apartment that she was hiding in, she’d been instructed by Finn to lay low, until he had need of her, the oldest Original was waiting for Klaus to come to town, so that he could destroy his brother’s chance of breaking the curse. And while she'd been told to stay hidden, she couldn’t resist causing a little mayhem, that Witch bitch Maya had gloated over her, locked away in the tomb, left as a ‘gift’ for the monster that she’d been running from for 500 years. And she’d gloated, because she didn’t know what a mistake it was to provoke her, so Katherine made her pay, at the same time, she’d punished that foolish woman, the one who’d thought to threaten her with the Originals, the one that acted like she knew so much.
It was like neither of the women had known, ‘you do not fuck with Katherine Pierce’, well, at least the Witch would know that now. She would know that it was her fault that her mother was dead, she would know that Katherine stood over her mother’s corpse, and gloated, Maya never should have crossed her, but she did. And because of it, she was suffering the consequences of her actions.
/ / /
Elijah watched from a roof two blocks away from the apartment, he could see Katherine through the window, the apartment was in a human’s name, so he couldn’t go in, he didn’t want to alert her to his presence, he knew that Niklaus would never forgive him if he let her escape, he wasn’t sure that he would forgive himself if that happened either.
He pulled out his phone, ready to call Niklaus, when he saw his eldest brother show up at the door, straightening Elijah focused his hearing, Finn was here, Finn knew Katherine, and that was a problem. So instead of calling his younger brother, he texted him, “I know how Katerina escaped the tomb.”
“What are you doing?” Jenna asked, watching as Kol was pulled down, further into the threshold.
“I need to connect him to you,” Death said, “Connect him to me more thoroughly.”
“It looks like it hurts,” she said, as the Original struggled against the burning pain.
“I’m changing him, at a molecular level, it hurt when he died, this will hurt worse, because this time he’s awake for it.”
“Is…is he going to be okay?” Jenna asked, she wanted to come back, she did, but this…this looked-it felt wrong, to be doing this to him, he was suffering.
“He’s an Original,” Death replied, rather clinically, “He has suffered before, he will suffer more,” Death used his influence on Kol, altering his very being, it was working, “But he will be better for it.”
“I-”
“You are a kind woman Jenna, when I gave you my most precious creation, I knew that you would have a…profound effect on her. If I can give you back to her, I will, even if it hurts him.”
“But-but you need him!” Jenna said, she was vaguely aware of the fact that Death needed the Originals to remain as they were on the Earth.
“It won’t kill him, and I’m not changing him too much, he will remain an Original, just be a little…different.” He took her hand in his, “Now, I need quiet.”
/ / /
Kol’s hand shot out the dark water, he grabbed hold of the ground, and dragged himself out of the water, coughing and spluttering as he choked on the black substance.
“Kol!” Maya gasped, scrambling to her feet, “Wh-what happened?!” She rushed over to him, pulling him out of the water, turning him on his side so that he could get rid of what was inside of him, “Kol where’s my mother?”
Kol pushed himself up, “Maya,” he started, it was odd, this connection he felt, two connections actually, one with his creator, and the other with the missing woman.
“Kol where’s-where’s my mom? Where is she?! Where is she Kol?!”
He looked back at the water, “I can feel her,” he replied.
/ / /
“What’s happening?” Jenna asked in a panic, all of a sudden, it was like she could feel everything, she was drenched in water, her stomach split open and her leg and arm broke, “Aah!” she fell to the floor, and then her neck snapped. Death watched as everything happened almost in slow motion, her spirit needed to match her body before he put her back in.
He reached out for her body, taking her spirit and placing it back inside her broken form, and then, her neck twisted back, righting itself, then her arm snapped back into place, followed by her leg, finally her stomach stitched itself back together. “There we go,” he smirked. Picking her body up, he strengthened the connection between her and Kol, and sent it back through the threshold.
/ / /
Maya and Kol stared at the water as it began to bubble up, as though it was being boiled, and then, Jenna’s body appeared, floating on the surface. “Mom!” Maya cried, racing into the water, to grab her.
“Maya!” Kol followed, they got to Jenna together, bringing her back to the land.
“Mom! Mom!” Maya gasped, shaking her.
“Maya!” Kol pulled her away from her mother, before she lost her mind, “I can hear her heart!”
“What?!” she looked up at the Original, “What did you say?”
“Her heart, it’s beating again.”
“But- but she’s not awake!”
Kol could feel Jenna’s consciousness, faintly humming in the back of his mind, “We need to leave.” Now that both he and Jenna were out of the water, he could see the Siphon becoming paler, “She’ll wake at home.” He lifted Jenna into his arms, “We need to go now! Do you know the way out?”
Maya looked around the cavern, really looked, “Where did we come in?” she asked.
Kol motioned for her to follow him, and they made their way to where they had first appeared. “There’s nothing here,” he said, “No way out.”
“There is,” Maya could see it, in her mind’s eye, the opening, the veil between worlds, “You have to hold onto me,” she said.
Kol shifted Jenna to over his shoulder, and took hold of Maya’s hand, “Alright, where are we going?”
“Close your eyes, you can’t see it, but I can,” he did as she said, and Maya guided him out of the cavern, through the invisible gateway, the one only she could see. And in seconds, they appeared in the forest in Mystic Falls. “You can open them now.”
Kol looked around the area, “This is where we died,” he said, “This was our home.”
Maya nodded, “That makes sense.” All she could see were trees, “Can you get us home?”
Kol grabbed her, and whooshed back to the Sommers household, not realising how long they’d been missing for, not realising that there would be a whole host of people waiting for them.
Klaus joined Elijah on the rooftop, staring at the apartment block that housed the wayward doppelgänger, “What the bloody hell is Finn doing here?” he demanded, “How did he know about this?!”
“The message that was sent to me was sent on a very open forum, it’s entirely possible that Sage saw it.”
“What are they even doing here, Elijah?!”
His brother looked at him, “Well, and this is only a guess, but I would think that they are here to prevent you from breaking the curse.”
Klaus growled, “I knew I should have left him in his box!”
“Niklaus please, that is what got you into this mess,” Elijah sighed.
“Need I remind you that they released Katerina, who just murdered your girlfriend!”
“And Katerina will be punished, but Finn is our brother.”
“It’s either I put him down, or when Maya returns, she will, and believe me, for once, I’m the more merciful option.”
Elijah clenched his jaw, the Old Soul had shown him glimpses of real darkness, a darkness that matched his younger brother, he’d seen how Klaus acted around her, he had a feeling that his brother would give her whatever she desired, and if she desired Finn’s head, then Klaus would give it to her. “Freya won’t be happy if you dagger Finn.”
“Freya would prefer him alive than truly dead,” Klaus dismissed.
“We still need to get into the apartment,” Elijah reminded him.
“Find the owner and get an invite,” the Hybrid replied, “Do not let Katerina escape, brother.”
Kol burst into the Sommers home, with both women in his arms, stopping short at everybody waiting inside, “What’s everyone doing here?”
“Kol! Maya!” Rebekah exclaimed, rushing over to her brother, “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
The Original released Maya from his hold, “Get her in bed,” she said, and Kol sped upstairs, putting Jenna in her room and coming back down.
“Maya, love you’ve been gone for almost two days!” Enzo said, rushing to her, wrapping her in his arms, he’d been on a rollercoaster of emotions he’d lost one of his saviours permanently, and he knew that Maya was going to be a mess.
Maya pulled back, “It’s okay, I’m- we’re okay.”
“Love,” Enzo said, “Your mother- Jenna she-”
“It’s fine,” Maya sniffed, straightening, “She’s fine.”
“No, love we saw everything that happened! I know it hurts but…Liz is here we have to deal with…the body.” Enzo was really struggling, he’d known Jenna for 10 years, he couldn’t believe that she was gone, his emotions were going haywire, all he wanted was to turn everything off, but he couldn’t, not when Maya was clearly in denial, she needed him.
Maya sighed as she realised that he had no idea what had gone on, he didn’t know that her mother wasn’t gone, “Enzo,” she reached for him, taking his hand in hers, “I know, Mom died, but we saw Death, she asked for him… he brought her back.”
“What?” Enzo looked confused, “What are you talking about?!”
“Come with me,” she took him to Jenna’s room, where Kol had placed her on top of the covers, “Listen,” she said.
Enzo focused his senses, and that’s when he heard it, a heartbeat, strong, steady, it didn’t sound like Jenna’s regular heartbeat, but it was coming from her, “What happened?”
Maya shook her head, “I don’t know, he said that he couldn’t bring her back, because she’d lost her link to this plain, so Kol…he had her linked to him. I don’t know what happened, and she hasn’t woken up yet.”
Enzo frowned, he didn’t really understand “Does Kol know what happened?”
“I think he’s waiting for Jenna to wake up too.” She looked over at her mother, “I’m gonna wait here, wait until she wakes up.”
“Love there’s something you should know, something else happened while you were gone…”
“What?” Maya asked, “What is it?”
He sighed, “…Caroline was taken, by Werewolves, tortured.”
“WHAT?! Where is she?!”
“It’s okay, we’ve got her, she’s in her room here, with Liz.”
“I-” Maya cut herself off, looking back at her mother, she wanted to check on Caroline, but she didn’t want to leave her mom.
“Go see her,” Enzo said, seeing the how torn she was. “I’ll stay here with Jenna, I won’t leave her side.”
“I-”
“Caroline is awake, your mother is not, I will stay, and call you the moment there is a change.” Maya nodded and rushed to Caroline’s room.
Klaus left Elijah to watch over Katherine, while waiting for Finn to take his leave, he’d gone back to his own mansion, wanting to see the children, while he tried to figure out how to get to Maya, “Nik!” Rebekah burst inside.
“Rebekah?”
“Maya’s back!”
“Watch the children?” he asked and when Rebekah nodded he whooshed out of the room, heading straight for Maya’s house.
/ / /
“Caroline!” Maya gasped as she burst into the young Vampire's room, Caroline and Liz both startled at her sudden arrival.
“Maya!” Caroline exclaimed, “Where have you been?” No one would tell her anything, Jenna wasn’t there either, something terrible must have happened, Caroline didn’t want to sound self-centred, but she had been in trouble and there was no way that Maya wouldn’t have been there to rescue her.
“Mom died,” the Siphon replied.
“WHAT?!” Caroline yelled.
“It’s fine, she’s alive now!” Maya rushed out, “But I- I was gone for a while. I couldn’t-I couldn’t feel you, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there Sunshine. Aunt Liz I’m so sorry!”
The Sheriff came over to her, bringing the young girl into a hug, “No honey,” she shook her head, “This wasn’t your fault,” she brought her over to the bed and Maya settled in with Caroline, Liz holding on to the best friends. “What happened with Jenna?”
“I don’t know,” Maya shook her head, “I haven’t-I haven’t asked yet, Mom’s not awake yet, I ha-I have to be with her,” she sniffed.
“Go be with her,” Caroline said quietly, she couldn’t even imagine what Maya was feeling, she didn’t know what she’d do if she lost her Mom, and now Jenna was back but not awake, the rollercoaster of emotions that she must have been on was insane.
“What?”
“Go be with her, Mom’s here, I’ll be fine, but Jenna shouldn’t wake up alone. Go sit with her."
“Caroline-”
“It’s okay,” Caroline said in understanding, “You need your Mom, and I need mine.”
Maya nodded, squeezing her best friend tightly, “I’ll come check on you later, okay?” she scooted out of the bed and went back to her Mom’s room, where Enzo had brought a chair to sit with her.
“Here love,” he moved to get up, but Maya shook her head.
“It’s fine, stay there.” She sat on the floor, her back to the wall, directly across from the bed, so that she could see Jenna, finally letting the drama from the past two days settle in.
/ / /
“What the hell happened Kol?” Damon demanded, the youngest Mikaelson brother was downstairs, staring at his hands as though they were foreign objects.
“We went to see Death,” he murmured.
“Yeah, we figured that part out!”
“Maya couldn’t be without her mother, but he couldn’t bring her back without a connection to this world…so I offered him myself.”
“You’re connected to Jenna,” Damon said in understanding, “What does that mean? What did she come back as? Is she a Vampire? Did-did you come back the same?”
Kol still hadn’t looked at the other Vampire, curling his fingers in fascination, he didn’t feel the same, he couldn’t feel nature like he could as a Witch, but he could feel…something, he reached out to touch one of the plants in the living room, pushing some of the energy he could feel towards to the plant, and watched as it withered before his eyes. But it didn’t just wither away, he could see the energy from the plant travel through him, and for a moment, it was like he could feel his magic again, “Incendia,” he whispered, and the dead plant burst into flames, startling both him and Damon. “No Damon,” he looked at the younger Vampire, “I did not come back the same.”
“Stefan are you sure Aunt Jenna’s dead?” Elena asked, “I mean really sure?” She didn’t want to tell Jeremy that she was gone without actual confirmation.
“She’s dead, but…her body’s gone, apparently Maya let out a blast of magic and disappeared.”
“What do you mean disappeared?”
“I mean, one moment they were there, the next, they were gone.”
“I can’t- I can’t tell Jeremy without a body!”
“Damon, Enzo and their friends are looking for Maya and Jenna right now,” Stefan replied, trying to calm his girlfriend down.
“Who are these friends?! Why are there so many Vampires in town?!”
“They all know Damon, but that’s good! He said that he would help protect you from Klaus, and they can help too!”
Elena shivered at the mention of Klaus’s name, “How can you be so sure?”
“Damon wouldn’t let them in town if he thought they would hurt you, not when he promised to keep you safe.”
“And you trust him?!” Elena asked, she didn’t know why Stefan would, he spend most of his time telling her how bad Damon was, how dangerous his brother could be, and now Stefan wanted to trust him!
Stefan sighed, “I hate to say it, but you look exactly like the woman that he spent loving for 145 years, I trust him to keep you safe.”
Maya was so tired, she had to keep shaking herself awake, every time she nodded off, “Love go to sleep,” Enzo said, “You’re exhausted, you need the rest.”
“I can’t,” Maya shook her head, “She’s not awake yet! What if she needs me?!”
“You’re two doors away love, if she needs you, I’ll come and get you, but you’ll be no good to her if you can’t stay awake.”
“But-”
“If it makes you feel any better then I’ll get Damon, he can stay up here with me.”
Maya frowned, she didn’t want to leave her mother, but she could barely keep her head up, “You call me the second she wakes up!”
“I promise,” he nodded, “Now go to bed.”
"Fine," Maya pulled herself off the floor, and stumbled to her own room, she nearly fell to the ground, but was caught by the Hybrid that had just sped in. “Nik?” she whispered.
“Hello love.”
/ / /
Klaus carried Maya to her room, depositing her on the bed “You caused quite a stir love.”
“You’re here early,” she murmured.
“You disappeared… without a trace, what did you expect?”
She pulled him to her, and Klaus settled next to her, letting her bury her face in his chest, “Caroline said you knew she was missing.”
“So did Damon and Enzo,” he shrugged.
“But you had Freya do a locator spell for her…”
“Your mother was dead, if you came back and so was Caroline…”
Maya gripped Klaus tightly, “Thank you,” she whispered.
Klaus ran his fingers through her hair, tugging her head back and pressing his lips against hers, “Go to sleep love, I’ll stay here.”
Jenna could feel her body changing, becoming something else entirely, it was both terrifying and exhilarating, Death had told her that he wouldn’t know how her body and his magic would react when she was sent back to the living plain, he told her that she would change, and that she would need re-learn her body, use her connection to Kol to understand what she had become, and she would need to train with Maya. Jenna could feel herself come around, and start to wake up, groaning a little as she woke, she gasped when she found Damon and Enzo passed out in her room, one in a chair and the other on the floor.
“Uh guys,” she said, but they didn’t wake, “Guys!” she said louder and they both startled awake. “What are you doing?”
“Uh we were watching… over you,” Damon said, glancing at Enzo.
“We wanted to make sure that you…stayed alive!” Enzo finished.
Jenna frowned, “But both of you were asleep.”
Enzo looked at Damon, “You were on watch last.”
Damon rubbed the back of his neck, “What are you talking about? You were on watch last!”
“No, you were on watch last!”
Damon’s eyes widened as he looked back at Jenna, “I might have been on watch last,” he agreed.
Jenna rolled her eyes, “My heroes!” she pulled back the covers and stood up, stretching out her sore muscles, “Where’s Maya?”
“I sent her to bed…and I…promised to wake her when you woke up, Ill go do that now!” Enzo exclaimed, rushing out of the room.
“I’m gonna get started on breakfast!” Damon said, before flashing out of the room, leaving Jenna to get dressed.
/ / /
Maya moaned as she woke up, snuggling deeper into Klaus’s arms, “I believe it’s time to wake up,” he whispered, tightening his hold on her.
“I-Is my Mom awake yet?” Maya asked.
Klaus shook his head, “No, not yet.”
“What if she doesn’t wake up?” Maya wouldn’t look up at him, “I don’t know what Death did to her, I don’t know how she’ll react here…what if she doesn’t wake up?”
“She will.”
Maya shook her head, “You can’t be sure of that.”
“I can,” he replied, “Because he never would have given her back to you if she wasn’t going to wake up.”
“When she was gone, when I got there, and Mom wasn’t breathing, when she was cold and she had bled out…I was…I wanted to burn everything…everyone. I wanted to destroy it all.” She looked up at him, “When I saw her, in that moment, I wanted everyone to feel what I did. And I would have done it, I am a terrible person Nik.”
“No,” he slid his hand behind her neck, thumb resting just below her ear, “You are the best person that I know.”
“I’m awful! I hurt people, and if they’re not mine, then I don’t care about anyone…I’m serving up my cousin to you on a silver platter and I don’t care! I’m a terrible person!”
“You are not a terrible person, I know terrible people, and you are not one. You said it yourself, I would have come for Elena anyway, I would have killed her, I would have used her, hurt her, hurt…many people. And because of you, these people, this town, they will suffer nothing. You know me, you know what I have done, the things that I will do. I am a terrible person, and I don’t care that I am, a terrible person doesn’t care, and you do.”
Maya looked up at him with wide eyes, this was rare, Nik wasn’t one for being comforting, it was a sign of weakness, but he was taking care of her, he was comforting her. And that was when she realised, that he wasn’t just comforting her, he was comforting himself, he hadn’t let go of her since he arrived, not once. “I disappeared,” she said, “And you came for me.”
“I searched for you,” he would never be able to describe the helplessness that he felt, when he couldn’t get to her, when he couldn’t fix the damage that had been done. And he would never admit that the fact that Kol was the one who could fix it, who did fix it, ate at him. Kol was his baby brother, and he was the best person to go to with magical problems, but that didn’t change the fact that Klaus hated that it was his brother that saved the day for Maya and not him.
“Thank you,” she said, brushing her mouth against his.
Klaus deepened the kiss, letting his hands drift down her body, but before either of them could go any further, Enzo burst in.
“May-Ah!” He covered his eyes, “I can’t see that!” he whined, “Get off of her Nik!”
“Oh my God! Enzo! Knock!” Maya complained, pulling back from the Original.
“You told me to get you when Jenna woke up!”
“She’s awake?!” Maya scrambled to her feet, rushing out of the room.
“Was that necessary?” Klaus glared.
“Seriously?! No boys allowed in here!”
/ / /
“Mom!” The Siphon exclaimed, rushing into her room, “You’re awake!”
Jenna’s smile lit up the room, “Honey!” she met her in the middle of the room, and wrapped her arms around her daughter. Despite what Death had said, she had been terrified that she would never get to see her little girl again, she was so afraid that she was going to have leave Maya to live her life alone, and she knew that this time round for Maya, it would have been a very long life. But here, now, she had her daughter in her arms, she was dead, and now she wasn’t, she was murdered, but she now she was back, she had a lot to do, a lot to learn, but she was here! She was alive! She had a second chance! And she wasn’t about to waste it.
“You’re awake! You’re okay!”
“I’m awake,” Jenna smiled.
“How-how are you feeling?”
“Weird, really weird,” Jenna thought about the odd connection that she felt with the Original downstairs, and that was even weirder, she could feel Kol, not a lot, but she knew where he was, like exactly where he was. And she could sort of…sense what he was feeling, he was excited, she didn’t know why, but she knew that she was going to find out soon. “But I’m alive, and I need to see Kol.”
“Really,” Maya made a face, “The first thing you want to do when you wake up is see Kol?”
“No the first thing I wanted to do was see you, the second thing I want to do is see Kol.”
Maya scrunched her nose, “Hmm, better not let Elijah know that.”
“Oh my God, Elijah!” Jenna breathed, “Does he know what happened?”
Elijah watched as his brother finally, finally left Katerina’s apartment, he’d seen Finn compel her, so he knew that she wasn’t on vervain. He waited until Finn was far enough away, and then he whooshed to her apartment, and knocked on the front door.
Katherine opened the door, like she’d been told to by Finn, if someone knocked, it would be either him, or Sage, he told her not to leave the apartment, and he really hadn’t been happy to find out what she’d been up to. “Elijah!” she whispered in surprise.
“Do not move, Katerina.”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel amazing!
Chapter 64: New Faces and Some Old
Notes:
Thanks for all the comments and Kudos, we are so close to the sacrifice!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Katherine tried to slam the door in his face, tried to run to the window and jump out of it, but she couldn’t, she wasn’t on vervain and Elijah’s compulsion had taken hold of her. “Do not speak unless I give you permission.” Katherine’s jaw clenched and she pursed her lips, she couldn’t say anything. “Now come with me.” Her body both tried to leave the apartment and stay exactly where it was, she struggled under the weight of the compulsion, both Elijah's and Finn's, it was tearing her apart, her muscles tightened and strained, but she still couldn’t move. “You’ve been compelled not to leave,” Elijah said in understanding, “Answer me.”
“Yes,” Katherine finally said, she knew Elijah, intimately, and he was furious, she figured he’d be angry at her the next time he saw her, after all, she left him high and dry two hundred years ago. Using him to get what she needed, but he was supposed to get over it, he always did. But this time... this time, the rage in his eyes, it was indescribable.
“Give me your hand.” Elijah said, Katherine may have been compelled to stay in the apartment, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t take her. She tried to stop herself, but her hand shot out, past the invisible barrier that kept her safe from Elijah, and he grabbed it, pulling her to him with all his strength, he snapped her neck. Elijah whooshed out of the apartment building, and took her straight to the mansion, locking her up in the basement with the two Werewolves.
When he was certain that she was locked up tight, he went to the pack house, to inform them of the new prisoner, and to make sure they didn't confuse her with the human doppelgänger, “What are you doing here?” Regina asked, she knew that the Originals were busy dealing with a Witch problem, she didn't expect to see any of them, let alone the 'noble one.
“Have you been informed about Katherine Pierce?” he asked.
“The Vampire doppelgänger that Klaus hates, yeah, why?”
“She has been captured, and I’ve locked her up with the Werewolves, she has been compelled to remain there, keep an eye on her, while I'm gone."
“Wait, where are you going?”
“I," he sighed, "Am going to inform my brother that she is here.”
“Mom, I need to know what happened.” Maya said, “Who killed you?”
“Uh…” Jenna hesitated, “No one told you?” She was surprised that Maya didn’t know, she was killed outside the front door, it would have been caught on the security system.
“No,” Maya shook her head, they wouldn’t even show her the footage from the cameras.
“Oh honey,” Jenna sighed, “It was Katherine.” She knew that eventually Maya would find out who it was, but she had been hoping that her daughter could have waited a little longer. She wouldn't tell her everything that happened though, Katherine had taken the time to be cruel, to taunt her, and in Jenna's final moments, all she'd heard, was that it was Maya’s fault. She’d never tell her daughter that, never make her live with that type of guilt.
Maya stiffened, “What?! She’s trapped in the cave, I made sure of it!”
Jenna shook her head, “She got out, she didn’t say how, we’ll have to ask the guys if they know how.”
Maya froze, “In the other timeline, Katherine got out.”
“Then maybe it was always meant to happen,” Jenna replied, she didn’t want her girl to dwell on this.
“No! She got out last time because Elijah compelled her to stay there, and when he was daggered, the compulsion broke. He didn’t do that this time! And my spell was flawless! Bonnie doesn’t have enough skill to take it down yet! And she wouldn't! Katherine's a danger to Elena.”
“Which means what?”
“It means that someone was helping her.”
Bonnie parked her car outside the Grill and moved to head inside, Elena had asked to meet her, as she was walking inside, she bumped into a young man, about her age. As they collided, she shivered, his magic reached out and brushed against hers, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. “Hi,” she breathed.
He smiled at her, “Hi.”
“You’re new here,” she said, not asking, but stating a fact.
“That obvious huh?” he looked a little sheepish.
“It’s a small town, I’m Bonnie, Bonnie Bennett.”
If anything, the man’s smile widened, “I’m Luka Martin, it’s nice to meet you Bonnie.” He held out his hand and she shook it, holding back a gasp when her magic responded to his touch.
“You’re-”
“So are you!” he glanced around, “Do you wanna sit, and talk?” he asked, Luka knew that Witches were rare in small towns, but maybe not so rare in Mystic Falls.
“I’d love to!” she replied, and caught a glimpse of Elena and Stefan in the window. “But I’m already late to meet my friends,” she gestured over to them and Luka’s eyes widened at the sight of the doppelgänger, the Bennett Witch knew the doppelgänger, he would need to let his dad know.
“That’s cool,” he shrugged, “How bout I give you my number and you can text me?”
“I’d like that,” she nodded, with her Grams gone, she had no one to teach her magic, she didn’t know whether she could trust him, but she’d like to find out.
Sheila Bennett had just arrived to motel off the beaten track, in a city on the other side of the country from Mystic Falls, she needed to figure out how to work around the compulsion and do it fast. Without her magic to keep her healthy, the years were taking a toll on her body, speeding her towards death. She couldn’t call Bonnie, or send her a letter, or email, she couldn’t ask for help regarding the compulsion, couldn’t tell anyone about it in fact. But that didn’t mean that she couldn’t contact other Witches, and it just so happened that there was a coven in the area that she’d worked with before.
Pulling out her phone, she made a call, “Hello Joshua? It’s Sheila Bennett, I need your help.”
“Elena, Stefan,” Bonnie greeted, sitting at the table across from them, “What’s up?”
“Who was that?” Elena asked.
“That was Luka Martin,” Bonnie replied, “I bumped into him and I got this feeling.”
“What feeling?” Stefan asked curiously.
“He’s like me, a Witch, or Warlock or whatever he likes to be called. I’m gonna call him later, set up a time to meet,” she smiled.
Stefan frowned, that sounded like too much of a coincidence, a new Witch or Warlock in town, just after Katherine escaped the tomb. What if this person helped get her out of the tomb? That would mean that they were indirectly responsible for Jenna’s death. “Bonnie,” Stefan started gently.
“What?”
“Katherine got free.”
“Wait what?!”
“She got out, a couple of days ago.”
“How is that possible?” Bonnie asked, she may not have liked Maya, but she was pretty sure that she wouldn’t have done a shoddy job on her spell. “Maya spelled her inside the tomb!”
“We think another Witch might have taken down the spell…”
“No,” Bonnie shook her head in denial, “You think-”
“It’s too much of a coincidence,” he replied, “Someone had to take down the spell, and a new magic user just blows into town…”
“God, why? Why would anyone do that?”
“Katherine had your cousin working for her, it’s possible that she has other Witches in her pocket.”
“Bonnie,” Elena said, “There’s something else. Something worse.”
“What could possibly be worse than Katherine getting out?!”
“She killed Aunt Jenna,” Elena whispered.
“Oh God,” Bonnie breathed, “Maya’s gonna lose her mind!”
“We think she already has, Maya found Jenna, and they both disappeared.”
“This isn’t good,” the Bennett Witch shook her head.
“Maybe you can help with that,” Stefan had gotten an idea, he would need Maya’s help to protect Elena, and she would want to know how Katherine got out.
“How?”
“Go on your date with Luka, see if you can find out if he knows anything about Katherine.”
“How will that help anything?”
“If your mother was murdered, wouldn’t you want to know who was responsible for it?”
Kol was setting up in Maya’s magic room, it was probably the safest place to test out whatever he and Maya had become. The Sommers women would join him shortly, but at the moment, they were both dealing with his brothers.
“I need to know everything Nik,” Maya said to the Original, “Katherine got out, which means that someone helped her, a Witch helped her. Because my spell wouldn’t have just stopped working! My spells don’t do that Nik! They just don’t!”
The Hybrid pulled her to him, before she could start spiralling, “I know, I know," he said. "Elijah’s got eyes on Katerina, he’s going to pick her up soon and the moment he does, I’ll take you to her. You can find out whatever you need, I promise.”
“But,” she looked up at him, “I got her for you, she’s supposed to be yours to punish.”
Klaus nodded, were it anyone else, he wouldn’t let them near Katerina, because Maya was right, the Vampire doppelgänger was his to punish, for forcing him to live for another 500 years cursed. But for Maya, he’d let her have her way with Katerina, up to a point, “I need her alive for the ritual,” he said, “But other than that, you do what you want.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Really,” he nodded, “The only reason that she was here, was for me, to be a part of my ritual. She killed your mother love, even if Jenna came back, she killed your mother. I’d be a pretty terrible person if I didn’t let you have your revenge. And though I am a terrible person,” he ran a thumb over her cheek, “I won't be one to you.”
Maya gave him a soft smile, Klaus wouldn’t do this for anyone else, he hadn’t even stopped his pursuit of Katherine for Elijah, and he knew his brother was in love with her, “I love you,” she said, causing him to smile, he wasn’t ready to say it back, but he loved hearing it.
“Elijah!” Jenna gasped as he appeared in front of her. He didn’t say anything to her, just dragged her to him, kissing her for all he was worth, “It’s nice to know that you missed me,” she breathed as she pulled back.
“I don’t, I- you were dead Jenna, I saw what happened, I saw everything, Katerina made you suffer before she killed you.”
“Kol helped bring me back,” she shrugged, "And Katherine's gonna get what's coming to her."
Elijah usually had impeccable control over his monster, but it came to the surface, and he surged forward, kissing her again, “Jenna Sommers, I do not know how, I do not know when, but I let you in, you have seen parts of me that I haven’t allowed anyone to see in centuries. And then you died, killed by a woman that I cared for, no less. I know this isn’t about me, but it felt like I was being punished for being happy, for loving you.”
Jenna’s eyes widened, “I- you love me?” she asked softly.
“It’s been two years Jenna,” Elijah smiled, “As wonderful as being with you is, that is not the reason that I keep coming back to you.”
“You love me?”
“Yes,” Elijah nodded, “I do.”
A blush bloomed on her cheeks, and she smiled, “I love you too.”
“Right!” Kol said, looking between the two Sommers women, “We need to figure out, exactly how we’ve changed, and what we can do. Because I don't fancy giving Nik a reason to put me back in a box for a century for losing control."
"He's not gonna put you in a box," Maya scolded, "Even if he wanted to, you have all the daggers!"
"Well, let's not test him."
“What have you figured out so far?” the Siphon asked, she was mainly only there to observe, and protect if something went wrong, learning your body after such a major change, which they needed to do on their own.
“I can do magic,” he said and Maya perked up.
“Really?”
“To a point," he continued, "I felt an energy, touched the house plant in the living room, drained it of it’s life, and felt it flow into me, and for a time I was able to do magic.”
“Did you kill the plant?” Maya asked.
“Yes.”
“Kol!” Jenna complained, “That was the only plant that I’ve been able to keep alive!”
“Not any more,” the youngest Original brother shrugged.
“So you took the life and converted it into magical energy?” Maya confirmed, tapping her chin thoughtfully, she rolled over her dry erase board, and pulled out a pen. Sometimes it helped her to visualise her problems when she wrote them down.
Kol shook his head, “It was more than taking it, it was like…the energy became mine.”
The Siphon paused for a moment, that sounded familiar, almost like…her…”You absorb it,” she whispered.
“What?”
“When I siphon magic from something, I’m not just turning it around and using the energy as my own, it becomes a part of me. That’s why, if I take in too much magic, it could kill me.” She grabbed one of her plants, one that she used as a common ingredient in her spells, “Can you show me what you did?”
Kol nodded, he reached his hand out to the plant, trying to feel the energy again, but nothing happened. “Damn it!” he growled, “I can’t do it!”
“Ok, calm down,” Jenna said, “You just need practice, you didn’t know what you were doing the first time, it happened by accident, now you’re actually trying.”
“Mom’s right,” Maya backed her up, “When I first used my siphoning, it was an accident, it took me weeks to figure out how to do it on purpose.”
“But that first time, it came so easily to me,” he replied, that first time, it was like it was instinctual.
“I think that was just to show you what you can do.” Maya said, “I think that maybe the first time you did it, it was just a taste, of what you could be.”
“How am I supposed to do this?!” Kol exclaimed, when he had magic, it had come to him as easily as breathing, he did it so much that he needed to hide it from his father, from the village. That had been lost to him for a thousand years, but now, for a split second, it felt like he could have it back again.
“You practice, Kol, natural magic, it was part of you, you were born with it. Your body was connected, had been, since the beginning. But this magic, it’s like being a Siphon, the magic's not connected to you. You’re reaching for the energy, but the energy isn’t there, the ability is. This is not going to be like learning how to use magic, that you already know how to do. I think for once, I’m gonna have to be the teacher here.”
“Great,” he muttered, he was so excited to even have the possibility of his magic back, but this he didn’t like, he’d been a magical prodigy, and now it was like he was a child again.
“Okay, so we have that to contend with, Mom,” Maya turned to look at Jenna, “How do you feel?”
“I feel fine,” she shrugged, “I mean…different, but fine.” She’d been feeling off since she came back, but she didn’t want to worry anyone.
“Mom,” Maya said, clearly not believing her, “You need to tell the truth, there’s no way that you came back human, and that means that we need to figure this out. We don't even know what you being connected to Kol means.”
Jenna sighed, sitting next to Kol, “I don’t know what it is, it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”
“But there is something different there?”
“Yeah,” Jenna nodded, “It’s like this…humming in the back of my mind, I can’t- I can’t turn it off.”
“A humming?” Maya asked.
“Or a buzzing, I’m not quite sure.”
“Is it disturbing? To your thoughts?” Kol asked intrigued, keen to get off of is problem and onto someone else’s.
“No,” Jenna shook her head, “It’s almost…comforting, but…it’s a little…unsettling.”
Maya shot Kol a concerned glance, the mind wasn’t exactly her specialty, “Perhaps I can assist you,” Kol said.
“How?” Jenna asked.
“As a Vampire I can enter your mind, I can see if I can find what’s in there.”
“Do it,” Jenna replied.
Kol placed a hand on her head, and closed his eyes, this was something Maya couldn’t be a part of, all she could do, was watch and wait.
/ / /
Jenna took in her surroundings, “What…is this place?”
“Your mind,” Kol said from next to her, “Very rarely are mortals able to see inside their own being like this, so I’m not surprised that you don’t recognise it.”
“Ok…What do we do now?”
“We find the source of that humming.”
Klaus walked into the basement where makeshift cells had been put, to house the wolves and Katherine. As he opened the door to Katherine’s cell, there was wicked gleam in his eyes when he saw the Vampire doppelgänger scramble to her feet, and try to hide her fear.
“Zdravei Katerina,” he smirked and she tried to pull herself back into the wall.
“Klaus,” she whispered, terror evident in her tone.
“Tell me Katerina, what did you think would happen when you killed Jenna Sommers?”
Katherine’s eyes widened, he was upset about that, she knew that Maya had said that she was Klaus’s lover, but the fact that Klaus was upset about that was ridiculous. “Why do you even care? If the Witch is out her mother, then it means that she’s more reliant on you.”
Klaus moved closer to her, “Ah, so you did know that Maya was mine! And yet you murdered her mother anyway. Did you think that you’d get away with it?”
“Oh please, you don’t care about anyone but yourself! Besides, she provoked me.”
Klaus pulled a knife from his pocket, the blade magically bound with vervain, “And you provoked me. Take this, and stab yourself in the leg with it,” he compelled. She took the knife, and cried out when she burned from the poisonous flower, “ Jenna Sommers is under my protection. For your misdeeds, there must be punishment. Keep stabbing yourself.”
Katherine grunted in pain, “Well too ba- you said is.”
“Oh I’d be less concerned with that, and more concerned with what Elijah is going to do with you.”
“Elijah?” she gasped.
“Enough, Niklaus,” The noble Original said, appearing in front of Katherine.
“Elijah, I thought you’d be spending your time with your lover, now that she’s back from the dead.”
“Leave us brother,” Elijah chose to ignore Klaus’s needling, keeping his eyes focused on Katerina.
Any other time, Klaus would have been upset at the dismissal, but he’d been away from his children all night, and he wanted to check in with the pack, find out how far away they were. Not to mention there was a new Werewolf at the house, Maya had chosen to save him, he wanted to see what she saw in him.
Rebekah watched the children play with a fond smile, when her brother had adopted Marcel into the family, there had always been an undercurrent of danger, there was always the fear that their father would find them, and destroy everything that they had built, and then she had been the one to call her father to their home. He’d burned it down, and with it, all of the friends, and allies they’d made, including Marcel... or at least, so she’d thought.
But this time, with these children, there was no lingering threat over their head, sure there was Dahlia, but she wouldn’t be after the cubs, and she had every confidence that her family could pull together to defeat their deranged Aunt, even Finn would help to kill the evil Witch. So until the Witch made herself known to them, Rebekah had resolved to enjoy her time, her freedom, and the fact that there were children in their lives again.
“So,” Mason said, coming up beside her, he hadn’t been allowed near the kids on his own, and he was so very curious about who they were, and why Werewolves, powerful Werewolves, would bow to Vampires, especially when there was such a terrible history between the two species. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” he leant in, decreasing the space between them, taking in her scent, and listening to her heartbeat.
Rebekah shot him an annoyed glance, he may have been pretty, but that didn’t mean that he would get anything from her. “Werewolf business is not mine,” she muttered.
“But here you are, looking after Werewolf kids, in a Werewolf pack house, and they all defer to you, and your brothers. But you’re all Vampires, I was told I’d meet the Alpha, but he’s just like you…unless there’s another sibling of yours I haven’t met.”
“Who we are, and why the pack answers to us, aren’t your concern. If my brother wishes for you to know what’s going on, then he’ll tell you, but I certainly won’t be giving you any information.”
Mason let out a low growl of frustration, no matter how hard he tried, no one would tell him anything, and he wasn’t allowed outside the house, he knew that Jenna’s kid had said it was for his protection, but he was feeling more and more like a prisoner every day. And no one was willing to ease his discomfort by offering him any answers. “I have been here for weeks, I deserve to know what’s going on!”
In an instant, Rebekah had him up against the wall, causing the kids to pause their play and watch what was going on, “Listen well, I am far older, and far stronger than you could ever hope to be.” Mason scrambled to find purchase on Rebekah’s hand, and tried to pry it off him, but it was hopeless, “You are here only because we allow it, you do not demand things of me, or my family, the next time you do, I will kill you.”
“What do we have here sister?” Klaus showed up behind her, and Liam and Luna rushed over to his side.
“He annoyed me,” she replied rather flippantly.
Klaus smirked, “Let him go, I wanna have a chat with the local Werewolf.”
Rebekah scowled, taking another moment to squeeze Mason’s neck, showing him that she could end him before anyone could stop her, and then let go, causing the Lockwood to drop to the ground, gasping for breath. She turned around and honed in on her niece and nephew. “Come along little loves,” she grasped their hands and tugged them with her, “Let’s go to the main house, and see how you like your new rooms.”
Klaus clenched his jaw, annoyed that his sister had taken his children away, but aware that it was probably for the best that they weren’t there for his chat with Mason, after all, just because Maya offered him a chance, didn’t mean that he would.
Kol and Jenna walked towards the sound of humming in her mindscape and came across a band of energy, that neither of them recognised, “What the hell is that?” Jenna asked.
“No idea.” He replied.
Jenna watched as bright colours intertwined and danced with each other, each strand almost pulsing with its own energy, and she felt herself drawn to it. As she got closer the noise grew louder, and she reached out to touch it, gasping as immediately she was pulled into a view of herself and Kol, in Maya’s magic room. She yanked her hand out and Kol was immediately at her side, sensing a change in her.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I- I don’t-” she gave into the urge to touch the energy again, this time, pulled to a view of Liz Forbes curled around Caroline, then she jumped to see Mason Lockwood, and then two little children, a boy and girl and finally a battered, bloody Katherine trapped in the darkness. A hand had reached out to Katherine, wrapping around her throat, and Jenna pulled back immediately, she recognised that ring!
“Jenna,” Kol shook her, “Jenna! What is it?!”
“I- I think I’m connected to them,” she whispered.
“To who?”
“To everyone!” she said in understanding, “To everyone like us! To everyone part of Death! I can see what they’re doing, like I am them! And I don’t think that they can tell.”
“How-Why do you think that?”
“Because I just saw Caroline and Liz downstairs, and I know that Enzo was with them, and then I saw Elijah torturing Katherine.”
Kol frowned at that, Elijah hadn’t noticed that someone was in his mind? “Did you do it on purpose, or by accident?”
“By accident.”
“Hmm,” he tapped his chin thoughtfully, “See if you can connect to Maya.”
“And then what?”
“We need to know if you can just see out of their eyes, or do anything else.” This could have both wonderous and terrible consequences depending on the outcome.
“Okay,” Jenna nodded, reaching back to the energy and concentrated on her daughter, she could see herself and Kol sitting next to each other, and then she focused on what she could feel, she thought about moving Maya’s arm and her right one lifted up.
/ / /
“Owe!” Maya exclaimed, staring at her own hand in betrayal.
“What happened?” Damon rushed inside.
“I just slapped myself in the face!”
Damon wrinkled his nose, “Why would you do that?”
“I don’t know!” Her other hand rose up and smacked the other cheek, “Owe!” Damon couldn’t help but laugh as she scowled, but when her right hand looked to move independent of her own thoughts again, he grabbed her arm, to stop her. “Thanks,” she sighed, she had no idea what was going on, and she didn’t like it.
“No prob-” he was cut off when she slapped him instead, “Hey!”
“I didn’t do it!” Maya exclaimed.
/ / /
Jenna pulled her hand from the energy giggling, Maya had always used her magic to get the better of her, but now there was something that she could do back.
“What happened?” Kol asked, eyeing the laughing woman in curiosity.
“Can you bring us back?” she shook her head, brushing off his question.
“Yes, but what happened?” he asked again, “Jenna!” he whined when it was apparent the woman wasn’t going to answer him.
“Oh relax! You’ll see when we wake up!”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they are awesome!
Chapter 65: Family Bonding Time
Notes:
Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos! I really love them, sorry I haven't had a chance to reply, I've got two more exams to do in Feb so doing a lot of revision.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Stefan, I just don’t know what to do,” Elena lamented in her room, “I know I should tell Mom, and Jeremy about Jenna, but how can I? I don’t want to hurt them.”
“Elena,” Stefan replied softly, this is what he loved the most about her, her compassion, it made her the complete opposite of Katherine, “I know you don’t want to hurt them, but Jenna was your mom’s sister, she was Jeremy’s aunt. They need to know that she’d dead, you don’t have to tell them how, but they need to know that she’s gone.”
“I-”
Jeremy burst into Elena’s room, they two of them hadn’t been as quiet as they thought, and he’d been in their joint bathroom, he’d heard everything, “Aunt Jenna’s dead?!” he exclaimed.
“Jeremy-”
The younger Gilbert held his hand up to stop Elena talking, “She’s dead?! What the hell are you talking about?!”
“Jeremy,” Stefan said, he hadn’t wanted the boy to find out like this.
“No! One of you better start talking before I lose my shit! What the hell is going on?!”
The Vampire sighed, “It looks like Katherine had someone working with her, she got out of the tomb... and killed your aunt.”
Jeremy felt his jaw clench and then he bolted out of the room, “Jeremy wait!” Elena called, running after him, but he was already out of the house. “Stefan!” she exclaimed.
“I’ve got him,” he said, chasing after the boy, using his Vampire speed he caught up easily, “Jeremy stop.”
“I swear to God Stefan! You are not stopping me from seeing Maya!” he shoved past Stefan and continued on, Maya didn’t live far from him, probably a ten minute walk, so at a run, he’d be there soon.
“But-” Stefan shook his head as he watched Jeremy run away, “She’s not even there,” he sighed, no one had told him that Maya had come back, so as far as he was concerned, both Maya and Jenna's body were still missing.
/ / /
Jeremy rushed inside the Sommers house, looking around frantically for a moment, “Jeremy?” Damon asked.
But he ignored the Salvatore, and ran upstairs, heading straight for Jenna’s room, not believing what Elena and Stefan had told him. When he opened the door, he gasped in relief.
/ / /
Jenna was sat on the edge of her bed, as Elijah guided her through a meditation, when the door opened, her eyes flew open, “Jeremy?” she asked. The young Gilbert threw his arms around her, causing her to fall back onto the bed. “Woah! Jer, honey, what is it?”
Jeremy tightened his arms around her, “I thought you were dead.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Jenna returned the hug, “It’s okay, I’m okay.”
He shook his head, “I heard Elena and Stefan talking, they said Katherine killed you! They didn’t even tell me! I just heard them talking about it!”
“Yeah, but I came back, I’m a little different now, but I’m alive.”
Jeremy sniffled and pulled back, “What happened?”
Jenna motioned for Elijah to leave, this was going to take a while to explain, she couldn’t believe that Elena hadn’t even told him about her death, it had been 4 days since it happened. Now she didn’t feel so bad about not telling her niece she’d come back to life.
Maya walked downstairs into the wine cellar of Mikaelson mansion, where Klaus and Elijah were waiting for her. “Huh,” she muttered looking around, it really was a wine cellar, she would have thought that the Mikaelsons would have had an actual torture chamber in the basement, but they didn’t. Clearly Klaus had had the place built to be a home, just a home, not only because he wanted a fresh start, but also because he had children now.
“Hey, those chains look like the ones in my dungeon,” she said, eyeing Katherine with distaste.
“In your what?” Elijah asked alarmed.
“Never mind,” Maya shook her head, and eyed the brothers, Elijah looked a little ruffled, but Klaus was covered in blood, “I see that you two have been busy.”
“Well, nothing brings this family together like a spot of torture.” the Hybrid shrugged.
“Where are the wolves?” she asked.
Klaus gestured to the left and she headed around the corner, they were covered in slowly healing bruises, they weren’t Vampires, so they had to remain fed, but they weren’t being fed well. “Use her for the ritual,” Maya gestured at Jules, and at Klaus’s questioning look, she elaborated, “She’s the Alpha, she may not have tortured Caroline, but she let it happen, she kidnapped her.” Klaus nodded in agreement, “Which one’s Brady?” she couldn’t remember what the sadistic wolf looked like.
“It’s this one,” Klaus said, not surprised that she’d singled him out, “He’s the one that hurt Caroline, and he enjoyed it.”
Maya walked up to the battered Werewolf, he pushed himself up to stand as tall as he could, even trapped, he had his pride. The Siphon sneered and twisted her hand, causing him to hunch over in pain, and Maya leant down to whisper in his ear, “I want you to suffer,” he groaned as her hold on his insides tightened, “But nothing I do to you, will compare to what’s coming for you.”
She backed off and released her hold, “What-”
“I believe she’s referring to me.” A voice said from behind her, Maya whirled round, and there stood Kol, he’d taken a break from his training, to deal with the mutts that had thought they could get away with harming his woman.
“Leave the girl, and one of the other wolves alive,” Maya said, “The rest are yours to play with.” She made to leave, but paused and turned back to her teacher, “Oh and Kol.”
“Hmm?”
“I thought perhaps, you could move on from plants to more…complex living creatures.”
The Original’s eyes shone with glee, as he understood her, he was going to test out his new found siphoning-esq ability on the wolves, to see if he could take life from anything, and convert it into magic.
/ / /
Maya left the Wolves to Kol, hearing their screams ring out, almost immediately, she turned back to the other Original brothers, “Elijah, are you sure that you’re okay with what’s going to happen to Katherine?” she asked, she knew the noble one had some pretty serious feelings for the doppelgänger, even willing to risk his brother’s wrath to be with her.
“I loved Katerina Petrova, yet time and time again, she has proven to me that she is no longer the woman that I once loved. She murdered Jenna, and I-" he paused, "I can never forgive that."
“Still, you shouldn’t be here for this,” she may not have liked the fact that Elijah and her mother were together, but she wasn’t going to stand in the way of her mother’s happiness, and Elijah made Jenna very, very, happy. “Maybe go and see your niece and nephew, use this time to try to supplant Kol as the favourite uncle.”
“I heard that!” came Kol’s annoyed voice, in between howls of agony.
Elijah regarded her for a moment, and then nodded, perhaps she was right, he may not be in love with Katherine Pierce, but that didn’t stop him from feeling a pang in his heart, for the girl she once was. Even as he’d taken his own pound of flesh from her, he knew that Maya and Niklaus would do much worse.
When he left, Klaus turned to Maya, “Remember love, no killing.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she dismissed, heading straight back to Katherine, “I know.”
Maya rounded the corner, with Klaus at her side, and Katherine stiffened in fear, “What’s the matter Kat? Didn’t believe me when I told you Nik and I were a thing?”
Katherine’s jaw clenched, as she fought the urge to say something, being talked down to by a Witch was never something that she just took, but Klaus was stood there, danger in his eyes, daring her to say something.
“It was pretty stupid of you,” Maya rolled up her sleeves, “Going after my mother. To think that you could do that, and get away unscathed, I mean... what did you think was going to happen?”
“Speak,” Klaus compelled.
“I…thought,” Katherine struggled to keep her words to herself, but there was no use, “That you would realise what happens when you mess with me. Your mother’s death was a punishment.”
“Hmm,” Maya cocked her head, “You’re lucky it didn’t stick, or unlucky, depends on how you look at it,” she shot a glance at Klaus who shrugged in response, “On the one hand, if my Mom had stayed dead, then I would have burned this world to ash, you included. But then again, now that she’s back, and stronger than ever, it means that your ultimate punishment with be dealt by my love here,” she pressed her back to Klaus’s chest, and he gripped her waist.
Katherine rolled her eyes at the girl’s confidence, in her belief that she would be anything more than a pawn to Klaus, he didn’t love anyone but himself.
“Something to say, Katerina?” Klaus asked. The Vampire was getting on his nerves, the sooner he could break his curse, the better.
The compulsion still had a hold off her, so she had no choice but to answer, “If you think Klaus could ever love you, then you’re the stupid one.” She spat, “The Originals love none but themselves, you’re nothing more than a plaything to them!”
Maya sighed, completely unfazed but Katherine’s vitriol, “Did you know that Elijah came to Nik after he fell in love with you, and begged him for a chance to keep you alive?”
“What?” Katherine pulled back, she’d never heard this before.
Maya nodded, “He begged Nik, and Nik was feeling generous, so he agreed to let his brother find a way to save your life. And Elijah did, had a Witch make him a potion that would bring you back from the dead. You could have a lived a long, care-free, life. You could have found your daughter, seen your sister again. But you ran, and turned yourself. Which was the worst thing you could have ever done! I mean,” Maya laughed, “Did you really think that Nik would have let you go? And if you wanted a guaranteed way of living, you could have just drunk Vampire blood the night of the ritual! Nik would have had what he wanted, you would have had what you wanted, and he would have been in such a good mood, that he probably wouldn’t have cared about you living!” Maya enjoyed twisting the metaphorical knife, there was no doubt that it was something Katherine had thought about many a time in her centuries on the run. If she’d been more patient, then she could have still been the badass bitch that she was, and probably would have had Klaus as an ally, instead of an enemy.
“Oh well,” Maya shrugged, “Hindsight’s 20/20, right?” She pulled out of Klaus’s hold, walking closer to the prisoner, “So, Nik’s gonna go,” she paused and the Hybrid flashed out of the cellar, “And I’m gonna try a few spells on you, spells that I’m not sure will even work! Because I pulled them from fiction! But hey," she shrugged, "I’m pretty good at this magic thing. And then, I’m going to remove the compulsion that Finn has placed on you, so that I know everything that Nik’s big brother is planning!”
Clapping her hands together she grinned at Katherine’s flinch, “Pulmo ut lapis!” She raised her hands, and Katherine started to gasp for breath, “Do you feel that?” Maya asked, “That’s your lungs, turning to stone! It’s my understanding that Vampires can suffocate, they just come back to life after, let’s see how long it takes for you to die!"
It didn’t take long for Katherine’s body to start to shake and then collapse, temporarily dead, Maya released the spell, and waited for her to revive, she had other things that she wanted to do, when Katherine woke, she tried a different spell, “Sanguis ad harenae!” Katherine cried out in agony and Maya smirked, “And that, that is your blood, atomising into sand, I have to say, I’m really gonna enjoy this!”
/ / /
Kol smirked as he heard Katherine scream, his protégé was very good at making the doppelgänger suffer. The wolves before him were not in much better shape, and now that he’d had his fill of blood, he was moving on to some experimentation. Maya had a theory about his abilities, that it wasn’t just plant life that he could take from. But even with that, Maya believed that he could evolve, at the moment, he needed life to convert into magic, she thought that that could change, that he could become like a her, a Siphon. But it would take time for him to figure out, luckily for him, he had five wolves that he could practice on.
Walking up to one of the random males, he was going to leave the one that had specifically tortured Caroline until last. Grabbing his arms, he concentrated on his new found ability and then could feel the energy in him well up, and reach out to the wolf’s lifeforce, and as it was dragged out of him, Kol could visibly see as his life disappeared, his body greyed just like a Vampire’s and eventually, the wolf collapsed.
“Hmm,” he cocked his head as he regarded the now deceased wolf, “How interesting.” He looked up at one of the other captives, “Shall we see how much magic that gave me?” he asked, not expecting an answer.
“Phasmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox!” The wolf’s blood turned to acid, and he cried out in agony.
Jenna ran her fingers through Jeremy’s hair as he was curled up on the bed, his head in her lap, “Why didn’t she tell me?” his voice broke in sadness.
“I think…I think that she just didn’t want to hurt you,” Jenna replied, she could understand where Elena was coming from, it hadn’t been that long since they’d lost their father, (not that Grayson was such a loss), the idea that Jenna had been killed, and by a Vampire no less, she could understand why Elena hadn’t wanted to tell Jeremy, and to be honest, it wasn’t really her place to say. But Stefan should have known better, he’d been alive for over 150 years, he should have said something to Jeremy, or Miranda, she and her sister had problems, but the idea that her sister had been walking around, not knowing that she was dead... it was unsettling.
“That wasn’t her choice to make!” he hissed, “We spend every week together! She should have told me!”
“I know honey,” Jenna sighed.
“And Caroline! Did she know about Caroline?! That she’d been taken? That she’d been tortured?”
“I don’t know,” Jenna frowned, “Stefan knew that she was missing, but I don’t think they knew what happened to her, the boys sent Stefan to your house as soon as they knew that Katherine was loose. To keep you safe.”
“Is she okay?” Jeremy asked.
“She will be,” Jenna said, holding on to him tightly, trying to soothe the boy, she knew that had been feeling a little left out with all the supernatural goings on lately, and wanted to reassure him that he was very much part of their family. “Hey, why don’t we have a family night?”
“Family night?” Jeremy perked up at that, it had been a while since they’d had a proper one, not since before Maya and Elena crashed through the bridge.
“Yeah,” Jenna nodded, they could afford to take a break from everything, in fact, they deserved it. “We can even invite the Originals, it’s been getting tiring beating you at every game,” Jenna shrugged and Jeremy couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter.
“You wish!”
Luna was sitting on Klaus’s lap in the living room of the mansion, she was playing with his necklaces while Elijah was reading book number two of the Harry Potter series, 'The Chamber of Secrets'. Liam was nestled on the couch with Rebekah, leaning into his new aunt as he lost himself in the story. His father hadn’t done this with them, he preferred to take them outside, teach them about the land. Not that there was a problem with that, he and his sister had loved spending time with their father, but it was nice to do something different with Klaus, and the rest of their new family. Something that didn’t remind them of what they’d lost, of who they’d lost, it was new tradition.
When Kol had finished with the wolves for the day, he joined Klaus and Rebekah inside sitting next to his nephew, raising a brow at how domestic the scene was, with Elijah reading from something he would never choose himself. While Elijah had no interest in Harry Potter, he did have an interest in being able to sit with his family, calmly, quietly, in just enjoying being with each other, that hadn’t happened since they were human, and Mikael would take Finn out on raids. He was going to cherish, especially because he knew that this peaceful time wasn’t going last.
He was just getting to the part where Harry was about to open the Chamber of Secrets, when Freya came in, she gave them a soft smile. This was what she wanted when she thought about her family over the centuries. Her brothers and sister, together, happy together. The picture that the four Originals made, with the children, it gave her hope for her family’s future, if only Finn could see what she saw. She understood his anger at Niklaus, he’d been locked away for ninety percent of his life, and the ten percent that he’d been alive he hadn’t enjoyed being a Vampire. Which had made her question why he’d even bothered to turn Sage, if he hated what he was so much. Shaking herself from her thoughts, she took a seat next to Klaus, causing Luna to wiggle out of his lap and crawl into hers.
Elijah paused as she moved but she looked up at him with a smile, “Keep going Uncle Lijah!” she demanded. Klaus smirked, at his brother, and he went back to reading.
Elena and Stefan knocked on the door of the Sommers house, Elena had wanted to go after Jeremy straight away, but Stefan had told her to give him a little time, that he needed to process the loss of his aunt, and her being there wouldn’t help him. She hated it, but she knew that he was right. She’d given him a few hours, but couldn’t wait any more. Enzo opened the door, shooting them both very unimpressed looks, “What do you two want?”
“Where’s Jeremy?” Elena asked, wanting to push past him, but something told her that that would have been a bad idea.
“He’s with Jenna,” Enzo shrugged.
“With Jen-” Elena looked confused for a moment, and then horrified, “You left him with her body?!” This time she did push past him, and rushed inside, but stopped short at what she saw in the living room. Jenna, laying out games on the coffee table. “Jenna?!”
Stefan followed after her, relieved that whatever magical ward Maya had put up was down, and he could actually enter, “Jenna?” he asked astonished, she was dead, Damon had been sure of it, had she had Vampire blood in her system? “Are you a-”
“A Vampire?” Jenna finished, shooting them both unimpressed looks, “No, I’m not.”
“But, how are you-” Elena looked at her boyfriend, “Stefan what-”
“How are you alive?” he asked, “Do you have a ring? Like Alaric’s?”
“No,” Jenna shook her head.
“Then how?” Elena asked, how could she possibly be alive?
Jenna wasn’t going to say, the things she knew about her daughter, the Originals, about Death, that wasn’t Elena’s business, she knew that there would be questions, but that didn’t mean that they would get answers. She shrugged, “I guess I have a guardian angel.”
“Jenna-”
“No Elena! I’m the adult here, and what happened to me, it’s my business.”
“But Jenna!” If Jenna came back to life, then Elena needed to know. Before Rose disappeared, she’d said that the sun and the moon curse involved a sacrifice, her sacrifice. If Jenna could come back from the dead, without being a Vampire then Elena needed to know, in case Bonnie couldn’t find a way to stop her from dying, then at least she could come back. “You don’t understand-”
“No you don’t understand! I died Elena! That, and everything that comes with it, that’s not something that I want to remember!”
“Elena?” Jeremy asked, walking out of the kitchen, “What are you doing here?”
“Jer, I just came to check on you-”
“Well I’m fine,” he said, “So you can leave now.”
“But Jeremy-”
“Go Elena! Before Maya gets home! We’re having a night in, relaxing, and you being here isn’t relaxing.”
“Jeremy, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m not okay, Elena! You didn’t tell me Aunt Jenna was dead! I had to find out on my own! And now that she’s back, you just wanna ask all these questions instead of being happy that she’s alive!”
“Jeremy,” Stefan started.
“Stefan you don’t get an opinion here! This isn’t your family, it’s mine! Both of you go! You’re ruining family night vibes!”
Bonnie smiled nervously at Luka as he took a seat in front of her at the Grill. “Um, are you sure that it’s okay to talk out here in the open?” she didn’t know any silencing spells like Maya did, and ever since she found out about the town council, she was wary of saying too much out loud.
Luka nodded, “Yeah, it’s fine, as long as we’re not shouting it from the rooftops, nobody really notices.”
“I-” Bonnie paused, Maya knew silencing spells, but she’d looked through Emily’s grimoire back to front there was nothing like that in there. Nothing in her Gram’s grimoires had anything like that in either, did that mean that, that type of spell could only come from someone like Maya? She wished that her Grams was here, to answer her questions, and she was tempted to ask Luka about Siphon’s, but she couldn’t get what Elena had said out of her head. Had he really helped Katherine escape? She needed to find out. “I need to know something,” she said.
“Sure, what is it?” he smiled.
“I- Are you working with Katherine?” she asked and Luka’s smile dropped.
“What? Who’s Katherine?”
Bonnie frowned, “The Vampire in the tomb, she was spelled inside, but she got out.”
“Maybe you did the spell wrong,” he replied carefully, “I can sense that you’re new, maybe you made a mistake.”
“I didn’t do the spell,” she snapped, “Another Witch did, a strong Witch, and I don’t think her spell would have just failed.”
Luka hesitated, “No,” he shook his head, “I’m not working with her.”
“But you let her out,” she said, saying what he was thinking.
“Yes.”
“Why?” she asked.
“I-”
“Do you have any idea what she did?! Why she was in there? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
“Bonnie-”
“Katherine tried to kill my best friend! She tried to kill my best friend’s mom, and the second she got out of that tomb she did kill my best friend’s aunt! You let out a monster! And now she’s in the wind.”
“No,” Luka shook his head, “No she’s not – I know where she is.” He said, feeling guilty over every word she said, he hadn’t wanted to get that Vampire out of the tomb, but his father was insistent. He said that he owed Sage, it was a life debt, and when a Witch or Warlock owed someone a life debt, they had no choice but to reciprocate. He and Greta hadn’t wanted to get involved in Vampire business, but they had no choice, and now, here was Bonnie, telling him that they had unleashed a monster in town, a monster that was terrorising the people that she loved.
Bonnie’s jaw clenched, she needed to find and stop Katherine, before she decided to go after Elena directly. “Take me to her.”
“Come on!” Maya complained, “How did you not get that?!” she scowled at Damon as the timer ran out, their team was losing by three points, and Damon had just missed the easiest clue ever. He was bringing them down against the other team, everyone had been invited for family game night, everyone. It was all of the Mikaelsons, Liam and Enzo, vs Maya, Jenna, Jeremy, Caroline, Damon, Liz and Luna.
“Look it’s okay,” Damon said standing, trying to motivate his team, “It looks like the Brits have got game night down to a ‘T’, but we’re American, and we threw all the tea overboard!”
“Oh come on!” Jenna groaned.
“That was awful Damon,” Klaus shook his head.
“Oh what do you know?! We’re making a comeback.”
“Really?” Rebekah asked, “Because the next game on the list, is Pictionary, and oh! Guess who has artists on their team!”
“Damn it!” Damon cursed.
“Hey, hey, hey! No!” Jenna shook her head, “You’re not the only one’s with an artist on their team,” she pointed to Jeremy who flushed.
“Yeah, she’s right!” Caroline piped up, “We have Jeremy! And he’s gonna kick your asses!”
“Really love?” Klaus smirked, “You think he can compete with my thousand years of experience?”
“A thousand years?!” Liz exclaimed and then looked at Jenna in shock, “You’re sleeping with a thousand year old?!”
“Gross!” Rebekah gagged and Jenna flushed with embarrassment.
She stuttered for a moment, before pointing at her smirking daughter, “So is Maya!”
“Mom!”
“Maya!” Liz exclaimed, whirling on her goddaughter.
Caroline couldn’t help but cackle at the Sommer’s women and Maya scowled, “Kol’s got a thing for Caroline!” she blurted out.
“Caroline!”
“Maya!” both Kol and Caroline snapped.
Jeremy leant over to Damon, “Should we get popcorn?” he asked.
“Totally,” the Vampire nodded, rushing to the kitchen to grab the snack.
“I missed this drama,” Jeremy grinned, taking a handful of popcorn from the bowl that Damon brought over.
Once family night was over, the Mikaelson’s made it back to their mansion, and Freya went to go and work on a little something in private. She lit some candles in a circle on the floor of her magic room, now that Kol and Jenna had come back, drenched in Death’s magic, she had an idea of what the final ingredient for her brother’s curse was. She just needed to make sure. The Mikaelson Witch took a seat in the circle, crossed her legs and closed her eyes, whispering words to a meditative spell.
When she opened her eyes, she was on the Other Side, and before her stood a very dapper looking man, he was different from everything and everyone else on the Other Side. Somehow, he seemed both darker and more vibrant at the same time.
“Freya Mikaelson,” he said, “You took your time.”
“Who are you?” she thought she knew, but she wanted confirmation.
“I’m Death.”
Freya stood up, “We need to talk.”
After all the Mikaelson’s were back at the mansion, Klaus sped back to the Sommers house, appearing in Maya’s room jut as she came out of the bathroom, startling her.
“Nik!” she gasped, “What are you doing here?”
He yanked her to him with a smirk, “The children are asleep, your mother’s safe, and you and I, haven’t had any alone time since my birthday.”
“Oh!” Maya gave him a coy smile, “So this is a booty call?”
“Don’t make it sound so crass love!”
She pushed herself on her toes, grabbed the back of his neck, and pulled him down for a kiss, “I’m not complaining,” she whispered, tugging him to the bed. She shimmied out of her sleep shorts and top, while he quickly removed his own clothes, pressing her to the bed, he kissed her again, hands trailing down her body. Klaus pulled back, following his hands, he threw her legs over his shoulders and Maya's eyes rolled back in pleasure, “God!” she gasped, her fingers gripping the sheets while her thighs tightened around him, “Nik!”
Klaus used his mouth to bring her to completion, and then his hands while his buried his fangs into a thigh, only taking a few sips of blood before climbing up her body, a kissing her, bloody mouth and all, but it didn’t bother her. “There was so much we didn’t get to do over my birthday.”
“Yeah,” she whispered, wrapping a hand around his hardness, causing his breath to hitch, “Like what?”
Klaus flipped her onto her stomach, gripping her hips and pulling them to his, he kept one hand on her hip, while the other wrapped around her throat. He leant in, whispering in her ear, “I never did get that answer on how much you liked to be choked.” Maya whimpered as he slid inside her, and his fingers pressed into the sides of her throat, “Tell me love, do you like that?” He snapped his hips against hers and she cried out. “Oh, I think you do...”
“Nik,” she moaned, nails digging into his flesh, she could feel herself get lightheaded as he thrust into her, over and over again, before he finally released his grip and she came with a shout, collapsing underneath him as he let her go.
Klaus lifted her up and she moaned in protest, “We just have to get you cleaned up, love.”
“I’m tired,” she mumbled into his neck, being with Klaus, when she was mortal and he was a Vampire, an Original Vampire, well it was exhausting, the weekend they’d spent together, she’d had an inordinate amount of his blood, it was the only thing that kept her going. She didn’t regret it, she just wished she had more stamina so that she could keep up with him.
“It’ll only be a moment,” he set her down next to the sink, cleaning the blood from her legs, wincing at the look of the raw bite he’d left on her, “My apologies love, that looks deep.” He bit into his wrist and pressed it to her lips, waiting until the bruises and bite mark healed.
“S’okay,” she replied as he picked her up, took her back to bed, and settled in next to her, “Love you.” Maya said, as she fell asleep in his arms, she’d taken to saying it as much as possible, hoping that he’d get used to it, and eventually say it back.
“Goodnight love,” he whispered, tightening his hold on her as she drifted off.
Bonnie and Luka looked around the empty apartment in horror, Katherine wasn’t there, “Where is she Luka?”
“I- I don’t know,” he replied. He pulled out his phone he had to tell his dad.
“Who are you calling?!” she demanded.
“My dad,” he said, “I have to tell him that Katherine’s gone!”
“Your dad?! Why does he need to know what’s going on?”
“I-”
“Tell me! Why does your dad need to know about this?!” the lights around them started flickering as her emotions got the best of her magic, sending it haywire.
“Bonnie!” Luka grabbed her arms, “Calm down!”
“Calm down! Calm down! Katherine is on the loose, again, which means that she’s gonna kill someone, again, and it’s your fault! Don’t tell me to calm down!”
“Look we’ll- we’ll figure it out okay! We just have to find her, before Finn finds out that she’s missing.”
“Who’s Finn?” Bonnie asked, she had a feeling that she wouldn’t like the answer.
“He- he’s an Original, he wants my dad’s help to stop Klaus from breaking his curse. He was using Katherine in his plan.
“An Original, like Elijah?”
Luka nodded, “Yeah, except, this Original hates the others, Klaus especially.” Bonnie pulled out her phone, “What are you doing?”
She needed to call Stefan and Elena, they needed to know exactly what was going on, especially if an Original was in town, “We need help.”
Maya stretched out as she woke up, Klaus wasn’t with her, she didn’t notice the sound of the shower, and just assumed that he was in the kitchen making breakfast. Picking up his shirt, she slipped it over her head and headed downstairs, being enticed by the scent of fresh cooked breakfast.
“Nik you didn’t have to make breakf-aah!” Maya jumped and covered her eyes.
/ / /
Jenna bit her lip at the sight of Elijah cooking breakfast, a shirtless Elijah, cooking breakfast, that was definitely her fault, things between them got a little rough and she may have destroyed his shirt, she always got a special type of pleasure whenever she could ruin his perfectly put together appearance. She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, “Good morning,” she murmured, causing the Original to smile.
He turned the stove off, and turned around kissing her, “Good morning Jenna.”
“You didn’t have to make breakfast,” she said.
“Nonsense, you fed me,” he stroked the side of her neck, where he could feel the pulse of her blood underneath her skin, she'd allowed his to feed from her last night, and the taste of her blood had been exquisite, nothing like he'd ever had before, “It’s only right that I feed you.”
Smiling, Jenna brought him in for another kiss, the both of them getting a little too into each other, so much so, that neither of them heard Maya enter the kitchen until she screamed in shock.
“Maya!” Jenna straightened up.
“Oh my God!” Maya had turned her head from the sight, even though her eyes were still covered, “Put some clothes on Elijah!”
/ / /
Klaus had just pulled on his jeans when he heard Maya scream, and whooshed downstairs at the sound, his monster already at the surface, “Maya what-” He froze when he saw Elijah and Jenna together in the kitchen.
Jenna immediately lifted her hands, blocking the sight of a shirtless Klaus from her view, “Where’s your shirt?!” she demanded and Klaus pointed at Maya.
“What you want me to give it to him?” Maya asked sarcastically, “Because I’ll end up flashing your boyfriend.”
Jenna frowned, marched towards Maya, grabbing her arm, she dragged her out of the kitchen. Meanwhile, Klaus stepped further inside and started the coffee machine.
“Niklaus,” the elder Original said a little stiffly, not liking it when he was seen before he was fully dressed.
“Brother,” Klaus said, grabbing a mug from the cabinet and a pouring his coffee, “I wasn’t aware that you were here last night.”
“I thought that you were with the children,” Elijah shot back.
“I put them to sleep and then came back here…when did you sneak in?”
“I don’t need to sneak, Niklaus,” Elijah bristled, “This is Jenna’s house.”
“That Maya paid for,” Klaus pointed out. The two brothers fell silent, they should have been used to situations like this, after a millennia, there was no way that they hadn’t caught each other in compromising positions, but truthfully, they’d never been in a situation like this before. Where one brother was with the mother and the other with the daughter. Not to mention, it still made Klaus uneasy, he knew that he had a history of preventing Elijah from finding love, but that wasn’t the only reason the noble one had such a problem finding a partner. He didn’t want to think about what would happen between him and Maya if Elijah and Jenna broke up. Inevitably they would both have to take sides, which would undoubtedly put their own relationship under strain.
/ / /
Jenna waved her hands in the air, indicating that Maya should soundproof the area, and the second she did, she told her daughter off. “What were you thinking?! You know there’s no boys allowed in your room!”
“Would you prefer we’d had sex on the couch?” Maya snarked back.
“I’d prefer if you didn’t have sex at all!”
“Oh come on! I literally went to him to have a dirty weekend!”
“That was different!” Jenna exclaimed.
“How?!”
“Have you never heard of ‘out of sight, out of mind’?”
“That makes no sense, you know exactly what I’m doing with him,” Maya rolled her eyes, her mother was being ridiculous.
“I don’t care! This is my house, and so you will live by my rules! Which means no boys in your room!”
Maya got a wicked gleam in her eye and shrugged, “Okay.”
“You-okay. Okay?” Jenna wasn’t expecting her to give in so easily.
“Yeah, okay, Nik won’t stay the night in my bed, and maybe I’ll accidentally remove the privacy spell on your room. I’m sure Damon would have a lot to say to you the next morning.”
Jenna scowled, “Oh don’t even try it, I have full access to you missy!”
“Oh yeah? You really wanna take that chance? You really want to take the chance that you gain access to me and you come face to face with Nik’s long, hard, di-”
“Ah okay, okay!” Jenna slapped a hand over Maya’s mouth, preventing her from saying anything else. “Fine! This isn’t gonna work, because I don’t want to know that you’re having sex, and you don’t wanna know I am.”
“Well what do you suggest then?”
“There’s two houses! Why don’t you just…spend the night with Klaus at the mansion?”
Maya shook her head, “No can do.”
“Why not?” Jenna asked exasperatedly.
“Uh, because Nik has two kids, and when they have nightmares, they like to sneak into his room to sleep. We can’t be having sex then. Why can’t you and Elijah go to the mansion?” Maya asked, crossing her arms.
“Because!”
“Because?”
Jenna rolled her eyes, “Because Kol’s there and he keeps making fun of me! That’s a perfect way to ruin a perfect morning.”
“Well, I guess we could trade off night’s here with them?”
Jenna huffed, it was the only way she could see things working, unless they expanded the house. “Fine, but I get tonight.”
“Oh not fair!”
“Life’s not fair,” Jenna said, and headed back to the kitchen. Maya cancelled her spell and followed her.
/ / /
Klaus looked up as both women came back, he’d just finished his coffee and was going to go to the mansion before the kids woke up. He came up to Maya, his hand at the small of her back, “Do you plan on giving me my shirt back?” he asked.
“No,” she replied cheekily and he smirked.
“I’ll see you tonight,” he said.
Maya hummed in contemplation for a second, “It’s not gonna happen, sorry.”
“What?”
“They’re doing it tonight,” she gestured to Elijah and Jenna, “We can do it tomorrow,” she finished before moving to the coffee maker.
“Wait…have you put us on a schedule?!”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel fantastic!
Chapter 66: A Were-Pire?
Notes:
Thank you so much for all the kudos and comments!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Other Side
“So am I right?” Freya asked. There was only one moonstone that had bound Klaus’s curse, which meant that she only had one shot to break it. One chance to do it correctly, so that her brother wouldn't be reliant on anyone else to make his Hybrids.
Death smiled, and she felt a chill down her spine, there was something about him that unsettled her, she supposed it was because he was the opposite of life, and she was very much alive. “You’re right.” He replied, “The next full moon is coming up.”
“In two weeks,” she confirmed.
“April 28th. It gives Kol a chance to get used to his new abilities, Freya…he will be integral to the spell. It’s what will truly unlock Niklaus’s other half.”
Freya was about to leave, re-enter her body, but she paused, “Maya told me that her job is to make sure that the Vampire race survives as a whole.”
“Yes," he nodded.
“Which means that Finn cannot die.” It was difficult, being stuck between her brother and the rest of the family, but to hear that he could not be killed, at least it made her worry less about what Niklaus would do to Finn.
“Well that's not entirely true,” Death replied.
“What? What do you mean?”
“Should the link between him and his sire line be severed, then he could die very easily.”
Freya paled at that, she couldn’t let Klaus know, with the knowledge that Finn was trying to derail the ritual, if Klaus knew that his brother could be killed without angering his creator... then he would definitely search for a way to do it, “I have to go.”
“Good luck Freya Mikaelson.” Death smirked as she vanished from sight, he knew that she would try to save her brother, any way that she could, it would be interesting.
“What do you mean that they had her and now she’s gone?” Elena asked, aghast at what Bonnie was telling her. The Witch had asked to meet her and Stefan, so they’d all gone to the Boarding House.
“Luka said that they freed Katherine because his dad owed a debt to an Original, an Original that wants Klaus dead.”
“But why would they need Katherine free?”
“He said that they wanted the moonstone, but…”
“But what, Bonnie?” Stefan asked.
“When his sister touched the moonstone…, she felt nothing."
"What does that mean?"
Bonnie sighed, "It means that... it’s a fake, it’s not the one that was used to bind the sun and the moon curse.”
“But we saw it! It was never out of our hands…” Elena drifted off, “Maya! She had it to cast the spell to knock out Katherine! Do you think she took it?”
Bonnie thought about it, “It’s an object that contains serious power, and Maya’s a Siphon, she’d be tempted to take that power.”
“Rose said that the moonstone binds the curse, if Maya siphoned the magic, then doesn’t that mean that the curse can’t be broken?” Elena asked hopefully, but Stefan shook his head.
“Maya’s smart, Elena. Really smart, a curse that old, with Klaus hunting Katherine for 500 years, there’s no way that she took the magic from that stone without doing some research. We won’t know what she’s done with the it, unless we ask.”
“So let’s ask,” Bonnie said, “But first, I think we should speak to this Original that the Martins are working with.”
“Really?”
“I think that the best way to get Maya to work with us, is to give her information. I don’t think she’ll help without it.”
“Elena shouldn’t be anywhere near this guy,” Stefan said.
“What, no Stefan!”
“Elena! This is an Original! The oldest of our kind, I can’t protect you from him, and we don’t know what he wants from you. He could try to use you as bait, or worse.”
“Worse?” Bonnie scoffed, “What could possibly be worse than using her as bait?”
“Well…” Stefan hesitated, “We know that a human doppelgänger is needed for the ritual. If you’re dead, he can’t use you.”
Elena dropped to the couch in shock, “You…you really think that he’d kill me?”
“The best way to stop the curse from being broken and stopping Klaus, is to take away the one thing that can’t be reproduced…Elena, you’re a teenager, Isobel’s a Vampire, you don’t have children…”
“I’m the last of my bloodline,” she realised, “If I die…another doppelgänger won’t be born.”
“Bonnie and I will go and talk to the Original, you stay at Bonnie’s house, we know that he hasn’t received an invite there.”
Elena nodded, “Okay... wait! Don’t tell them about Maya!” she stopped them from leaving, “We don’t trust him, so we shouldn’t let him know exactly who we have to help.”
Stefan looked at Bonnie, “Can you set up a meeting?”
She nodded, “Yeah.”
“Arrange it for a public place.”
“You got it.”
The Northeast Atlantic Pack arrived in Mystic Falls, and made their way straight to the Pack house. Looking around in awe, the house was a wasn’t a house, it was a mansion, this one, unlike the place in Arizona, was specifically designed for them. The perfect mixture of modern and rustic.
“All right,” Cary said, welcoming the pack to their new home, this place, it was permanent home, Klaus had said. The pack had come back to where it all began for them, and Klaus had said that even when he moved on, and he would, as an immortal, there were very few places that he could remain indefinitely, he had said that the pack would always have a place in Mystic Falls. “Rooms have already been set up, families in the east wing, adults in the west, teenagers in the north and south wing. Boys and girls separate, we don’t want kids making kids.” He said, “Any questions?”
“Where’s Klaus staying?” one of the Elders asked.
“He has a room here, as do Liam and Luna, but more often than not, they’ll be staying at the mansion on the other end of the property. This was his family’s home, just like it was ours, he figured that you wouldn’t be comfortable living in a house with his siblings, after all, they are a bunch of Vampires.”
“Our rooms are on the west side of the house?” The Elder bristled, he didn’t like being reminded that their Alpha was a Vampire, but since Cary refused to take control, they had very little choice. The Elder doubted that Klaus would have let them live if they refused him.
Bonnie and Stefan met with Jonas and Luka Martin at the park, it was public enough that no body would try anything, but open enough that they wouldn’t be overheard. The Original, wasn’t going to meet with them, he had Katherine to look for, the fact that she was missing told him that at least one of his brothers was in town, that had to be it, he hadn’t seen any vervain around town so she couldn’t have gotten a hold of it to resist his compulsion…could she?
“Where’s the Original?” Stefan asked.
“Looking for Katherine,” Jonas replied, “We’re here to talk with you.”
“What’s your plan?” Bonnie asked, “You’re here to stop the curse, to kill Klaus, how do you plan on doing that?”
“The Original’s are almost invincible,” Jonas replied, “Their heads can’t be removed, neither can their hearts, when they’re staked, they just walk it off. Even if they’re out in the sun without their daylight rings, they’ll burn, but they won’t die.”
“So how the hell can we kill Klaus?!” Bonnie exclaimed, all she was hearing was bad news.
“They have one major weakness, they can be killed at the hands of a servant of nature, a Witch, they were made by magic, thus they can be unmade by magic.”
“But if it were that easy, then they would have been dead centuries ago,” Stefan pointed out.
“No, its not easy, to kill an Original, we need a massive amount of power, power that can be found here.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Where’s the doppelgänger?” Jonas asked, “I was told that she lives here, she could be of use to us.”
“I’m not letting you anywhere near her.” Stefan growled.
“Klaus needs her, she would be excellent bait.”
Bonnie stepped forward with a scowl, “Try it, and see what happens.”
Stefan let his monster show, just for a second, “If you come for her, I will kill you.”
Jonas raised his hands in surrender as Luka stepped between them, “Hey, relax, he didn’t mean anything by it,” Luka defended, “My dad just wants to stop Klaus.”
“And be free from his life debt,” Stefan pointed out.
“Yes, once Klaus is gone, he’d be free," Luka confirmed.
“You’re not using Elena!”
“Okay, okay, we won’t use her,” Luka conceded, he glanced at his father, “But then we need to get our hands on that power.”
“And how do we do that?” Bonnie asked.
“In 1693, just as the Salem Witch Trials were coming to a close, there was a massacre around here, a hundred Witches were put on trial and burned at the stake.”
“Oh God,” Bonnie whispered, horrified.
“Death like that, it leaves a scar, the spirits of those Witches would remain in the area, their power would remain, if we find it, we can channel it! Use it to kill Klaus, once and for all.”
“There's one thing I don’t understand,” Bonnie said, “If Klaus breaks the sun and the moon curse, then doesn’t that stop the Werewolves from being slaves to the moon? Doesn’t that help Vampires? Why would an Original want to stop that?”
“Because, the sun and the moon curse is a fake,” Jonas replied, “It’s a curse that is much worse, one that puts the balance of everything at risk.”
Caroline found Kol pacing the garden in frustration, the plants around him in a small circle were all dead, “Hey!”
Kol’s head snapped up when he saw here, “Hello darling.”
“How’s it going?” she asked, motioning to the ring of dead plants.
He scowled, “I can’t get past killing the plants, and I can feel the magic in the stones,” he gestured to the gemstones that Maya had charmed for him, “But I can’t pull on it. It’s like I’m so close, but so far away!”
Caroline cocked her head to the side, regarding him for a moment before moving closer. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she sat down. “So, try using me.”
“What?”
“So far you’ve only been able to pull from living things, and converted that into magic, maybe before you can pull magic from inanimate objects, you need to try pulling it from something living.”
“I couldn’t do it with the Werewolves,” he shook his head.
“What Werewolves?”
Kol paused, didn’t she know? “The ones that took you.”
“You’re…you’re dealing with them?” she asked, she knew that Originals had taken them when they came for her, but she figured that Klaus had just killed them.
Kol sighed, “My brother knew that I would want them, so he saved them for me.”
“Oh,” Caroline paused, sometimes she forgot that Kol actually liked her, “Well…” she began hesitantly, “You didn’t care about them, but you do care about me.”
Kol raised a brow, not refuting what she said, “Are you sure?”
“I trust you not to hurt me.”
Stefan sighed as he, Elena and Bonnie arrived back at the Boarding House, after their meeting with the Martins. “We need to talk to Maya,” Bonnie finally said, and Elena shot her a look. “I don’t like her, but the oldest Vampire in history is coming for you, Elena, we need all the help we can get.”
“I’ll call Damon,” Stefan said, “Get him to bring her over.”
Elena fiddled with her hands, “Maybe…maybe we should call Jeremy too.”
“I thought you didn’t want him to be a part of this,” Stefan pointed out and the doppelgänger sighed.
“I know, but... he’s already a part of this, Maya told him everything and when I try to keep him out of it, it just makes him mad, besides, Maya doesn’t like me, but she loves Jeremy. She wouldn’t let anything happen to me because it would hurt Jeremy.”
“Alright,” Stefan nodded, “I’ll ask him to bring your brother too.”
/ / /
Damon pulled up to the Boarding House with Maya and Jeremy in the car, leaving the engine running so that Stefan couldn’t hear them, “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.
“Look if I can head off all of the bullshit with Bonnie trying to kill Nik and Stefan interfering in the ritual, I’m gonna take it. If Elena has a viable way to survive, then hopefully, they’ll back off.”
Jeremy shot her a disbelieving look, “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“I can hope, can’t I?”
Damon rolled his eyes, “Let’s just get this over with.” The three of them got out of the car and headed inside.
“Alright,” Maya said, eyeing the three people already there, “We’re here, what do you want?”
Elena and Bonnie looked at each other, deciding who was going to talk first, “We need to talk about the sun and the moon curse,” Bonnie started.
“What about it?”
“We know that the moonstone that was with Katherine was a fake.”
“Really?” Maya asked, eyebrows raised in mock question.
“We know that you have the real one,” Bonnie said.
“And how would you know that?” Maya took a seat on the couch, Damon handing her a glass of bourbon as he dropped down next to her, throwing his arm over her shoulders.
“Because we just talked to the people that freed Katherine from the tomb!” Elena cut in, “They told us that it was a fake!”
Maya glanced at Jeremy who looked mad, “You were talking to the people that freed Katherine?!” Jeremy exclaimed, “What the hell, Elena?!” he stalked over to his sister, “If they let her out of the tomb, then they’re the reason that Aunt Jenna was murdered!”
“She’s alive Jeremy!” Bonnie snapped, “And we needed information!”
“And what information did they give you?” The Siphon asked, not liking where this was going.
“The sun and the moon curse is a fake,” Stefan finally decided to speak, “Really it’s a curse placed on Klaus, apparently he was born a Werewolf, but he hadn’t triggered his curse before he was turned into a Vampire. The night of his first kill, he triggered his Werewolf side, and a powerful Witch, who believed that he was an affront to Nature, tried to fix it, by locking his Werewolf side away. Klaus wants to break his curse and be both again.”
Jeremy raised a brow, “So Klaus is a Werewolf…and a Vampire? A Were-pire you might say.”
Maya elbowed him in the side, and Damon choked on his drink in an effort to smother his laughter, a Were-pire, he was so using that later. “So what you’re saying is that all he’s trying to do is be who he was born to be.”
“He wasn’t born a Vampire!” Bonnie scoffed, “He’s an abomination!”
Maya’s eyes darkened, “You mean like I’m an abomination…right?”
Elena paused, she hadn’t considered what their use of words might mean to Maya, “No, that’s not what we meant.” As much as she hated her cousin, she would never hate her for being born a Siphon “Klaus was born a Werewolf, Vampires aren’t born, they were made, he’s not supposed to be both.”
“And what makes you the experts huh?” Maya hated that word, ‘abomination’ all it did was remind her of how dangerous the rest of the world was for her, the only place that she could be who she was, without having to cloak herself, without having to worry, was Mystic Falls. Everywhere else, she had to be on guard, as long as the Gemini Coven existed, she was in danger. “Why do you get to decide who should and shouldn’t exist?”
“Look it’s obvious, he goes against what Nature wants, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to be cursed,” Bonnie said.
“By that logic, if he went against what Nature wanted, he shouldn’t have been both to begin with,” Jeremy pointed out.
“What?”
“Think about it, if Nature didn’t want someone that was both Werewolf and Vampire to exist, then either when he became an Original, then he would have just been a Vampire, or he never would have been able to complete the transition in the first place. Unless you’re saying that there are Witches out there that are more powerful than Nature.”
Bonnie paled at that, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, Jeremy was making sense, shaking her head, she looked back at the youngest Gilbert, “Even if that’s true, he wants to sacrifice Elena to break the curse, he wants to kill your sister. We have to stop him.”
Damon snorted in derision, “That’s not gonna happen,” he said.
“Damon!” Stefan exclaimed, “You promised you’d help me!”
“And I will, but not like this, I’m not getting myself killed for your girlfriend!”
“What? What are you talking about?” Elena asked.
Damon kicked his feet up on the coffee table, “I did a little research on the curse after I found out that Katherine was running from Klaus.”
“What did you find out?” Stefan prodded, wishing his brother had spoken to him earlier about this.
“Katherine escaped Klaus five hundred years ago, she met him when she was human, but when she found out that he was going to sacrifice her, she turned herself into a Vampire and she ran, has been for her entire life. But do you know what the first thing Klaus did was?”
“What?” Elena asked, a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“Klaus knew exactly where she was going to go after she escaped, like everyone else, she went to her family. But he knew that, and got there before her.”
“What happened?” Bonnie asked.
“He slaughtered them all, left her father pinned to the wall with his own sword, and that was how Katherine found them, childhood home covered in blood, corpses rotting, he left them there for her to find. And even though he could have grabbed her then and there, so great was his rage, that he let her run, so that he could chase her. For five hundred years, she’s never been safe, never been able to settle down, never been able to trust anyone, and all that was just because she wanted to live. Imagine what he’ll do if he finds out that you’re actively trying to stop him from breaking his curse.”
Elena paled at that, “Klaus killed her whole family?”
Damon nodded, “And you have plenty of family here.”
“All the more reason to work with the other Warlocks and kill Klaus before he even gets the chance to break the curse!” Bonnie said.
“Do you even know how they plan to kill Klaus?” Maya asked, wondering what they were going to do.
“There’s a site somewhere in Mystic Falls, where Witches were massacred, they want to channel the Witches' power and use it to kill Klaus.”
Maya scoffed, “There’s only one way that will work. And that’s if they let the ritual happen!”
“What are you talking about?”
“The power of a hundred Witches isn’t enough to kill an Original without the Witch channelling that power dying themselves, and I’m pretty sure that these Warlocks don’t want to die. Which means that they would have to let the ritual take place. All of it. And only when Klaus has broken his curse, and is transforming for the first time, when he is at his weakest, will they be able to kill him without dying. Which means, just in case you’re not keeping up, that Elena still has to die. And even that, doesn’t guarantee that they won’t die channelling all that power.”
Bonnie and Elena looked at each other in horror, “Then you take the magic from the moonstone!” Stefan burst out, “No moonstone, means no curse breaking!”
“Were you not listening to what I just said Stefan?!” Damon asked, “If she interferes, then Klaus will kill her, her family, her friends, which, F.Y.I, includes me!”
“Yeah, I’m not doing that.”
“But if you don’t then I’ll die! Jeremey!” Elena looked at her brother in desperation, “Do you want me to die?!”
Jeremy shook his head, “Of course not, Elena, but I don’t want anything to happen to Maya and Aunt Jenna either! Wait…is that why you wanted me here? So that I would ask Maya to save your life? And you know that she would do it, because she doesn’t deny me anything!”
“That’s low Elena, even for you.”
“I just don’t want to die!” Elena whimpered.
The red-head rolled her eyes, “You’re not going to die, Elena. At least not permanently.”
“What?” Elena stopped short at that, what was she talking about?
Maya pulled a small phial from her bag, and dropped it on the table in front of them, “This is potion, it possesses the mystical properties of resuscitation.”
“Which means…”
“Which means that you drink this before the ritual, and then after Klaus drinks you dry, you come back to life, as a human.”
“That’s impossible,” Bonnie breathed, picking up the bottle, feeling a shiver go down her spine, whatever was inside, felt all kinds of wrong.
“No it’s not, it’s really dark magic, but it works.”
“Even if we trusted that this could work, what’s to say that Klaus wouldn’t stop her from using it?”
“Because,” Maya shrugged, “Like you said, I have the moonstone, Klaus needs it to break his curse, I trade it to him, in exchange for being able to bring you back to life.”
“And you’re actually willing to do that?” Bonnie asked in disbelief, “You just told us that you won’t go against him in case he kills you.”
“I wouldn’t be going against him, I’d be bargaining with him, trading something he wants for something I want. And to sweeten the pot, I’ll give him Katherine.”
Stefan furrowed his brow, “But Katherine’s long gone!”
“No," Maya looked at him like he was stupid, "I have her locked up, you didn’t think that I was gonna let her run free after what she did to my mom. Did you?”
“I want to speak to her!” Elena stood up, “I need to speak to her!”
“Why?” Damon asked, “What could you possibly think you’ll get from her?”
“The truth! You did research, but how do we know that all of that is true?”
“Besides,” Bonnie cut in, “Even if it is true, Klaus is dangerous, we should still try and find the Witch site first, if I can get access to that magic, then we have something to back us up!”
Maya shot Damon a glance, there was no way that she was going to let Bonnie get to that Witch site first, because Bonnie would definitely try to interfere in the ritual, “Well good luck with that,” the elder Salvatore said, “We have no idea where it could be.”
“I uh…” Stefan looked at Bonnie and Elena, “I was hoping that you would help me with that.” Damon raised a brow, “We’re gonna have to go through the Founder’s archives, see if there’s anything in them that hint at a location.”
“And what am I supposed to do?” Maya asked.
“You take me to see Katherine,” Elena insisted and her cousin shook her head.
“Not happening.”
“Maya!” Elena exclaimed, “This isn’t negotiable! If you want me to agree to your plan, then I want to speak to her!”
Maya scowled and Jeremy redirected their attention before his cousin said something that set Elena off, “What about me and Bonnie, what’s the plan for us?”
Bonnie bit her lip in contemplation, “Well, we should see if what Maya is saying about the Martin’s plan is the truth, Luka wanted to meet me at the Grill, I’m pretty sure there’s something in Emily’s grimoire that I could use on him.”
Maya rolled her eyes, at least that would give her the chance to deal with the Witch site before anyone got there, “Jeremy, go with her.” The two of them shot her disbelieving looks, “What? You’re telling me if you knocked the guy out, you’ll be able to get him out of there without help?” She gestured for them to leave, “Go, set it up.”
“Since when are we taking orders from you,” Bonnie hissed, the only reason she was in the room with Maya was because Elena was in danger.
“Since you all want something from me.”
“I want to see Katherine,” Elena pressed, she needed to talk to the Vampire, find out what Katherine was willing to tell her.
“Fine,” Maya snarled, “You can see her tonight.”
“Why not now?”
“Because I had her for over 24 hours,” she elaborated, “And I made sure, that that time wasn’t pleasant. I assume you’ll want her cleaned up for your little ‘talk’.”
Elena’s eyes widened in realisation at what she was implying, “Oh.”
“Yeah, ‘oh’.”
Joshua sat down with Sheila in a small diner on the outskirts of the town that he lived in, “Sheila,” he said, reaching across to lay his hand on top of hers, and he recoiled in horror when he found no magic in her whatsoever. “What happened to you?” he really took her in, noting that her hair had lost all of its sheen, greying rapidly, her face showed that she had lost weight, her cheeks looking hollow and her eyes…her eyes were almost lifeless. “Where is your magic?”
Sheila tried to fight against the compulsion that had been layered into her mind, she’d been compelled not to mention Maya, not to work against her, and she needed that compulsion broken. “I-I’ve be- I can’t,” she struggled, but she couldn’t get the words out.
Joshua’s eyes widened, “You’ve been compelled!” he realised, without her magic, she was clearly vulnerable to it, and there was only one kind of person that could strip a Witch of all her magic. Sheila nodded, and sighed in relief, at least she could confirm what he knew, even if she couldn’t tell him directly. “Do you know who did this to you?” he asked and she nodded again. “Can you tell me who?” The oldest Bennett shook her head in frustration.
“There is a way that we can remove the compulsion,” he said, regarding her sadly, Sheila Bennett was a force of nature, now she was just a shell. “It will be excruciating, but I’m not sure you’ll survive it. The only other way to get rid of it is to become a Vampire.”
“No!” Sheila said, “I will never become one of them!”
“Then we’ll have to take a chance with the spell to remove the compulsion.”
“Do it,” she managed to get out. She needed to be free, free to tell Joshua all about the Siphoner back home, free to help Bonnie with the Originals, she needed it.
Jenna was with Kol at Mikaelson mansion, he was guiding her downstairs, “Kol what are we doing here?” she asked. She could tell that he was taking her to where they’d kept the prisoners, “Don’t bring me down to torture anyone! You know I hate that!” she exclaimed.
“We’re not here to torture anyone,” Kol reassured her, “Well not really,” he shrugged.
The two of them bypassed Katherine’s empty cuffs, the woman had been removed from the wine cellar by his brothers twenty minutes ago, he wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t care enough to ask. They made their way to the wolves and Kol grinned at the sight they made, cowering away from him, from the second they heard his voice, the scent of their fear permeated the air, “Ugh,” Jenna wrinkled her nose in disgust, “I did not need to see this!” she protested.
“Just ignore it,” he waved his hand dismissively, there were only three wolves left after his last torture session, the Alpha, Jules, the one that Klaus was planning to use as the sacrifice, Brady, the one who’d tortured Caroline, and the spare wolf, the one that Klaus was going to use to test out his ability to turn Hybrids, “We’re here for him.”
He brought her to Brady, “What about him?” Jenna asked, feeling a little sorry at how pathetic he looked.
“This is the one that took and tortured Caroline, in fact, he took great pleasure in it.”
The oldest Sommers frowned, any sympathy she could have felt for the wolf vanished, “He what?” her voice was hard, unforgiving.
“Mm, he really liked it,” Kol eyed the wolf, barely concealed rage in his eyes, “We’re going to use him for a little experiment.”
“What?” Jenna asked curiously.
“Well, there has to be more to our connection. Let’s find out what that is.”
Elena took a breath before walking into the cellar at Maya’s home, and she startled at the sight before her, this wasn’t just a cellar, it was an actual dungeon, Katherine was chained to the wall and Maya was right there, “I’ll leave you to it,” Maya said, knowing that Klaus had compelled Katherine within an inch of her sanity to make sure that she didn’t say anything that she wasn’t supposed to. Elena shot her a startled look, she was going to leave her down here, with Katherine, alone? “You’re leaving?”
“Enzo’s right there,” she motioned to the stairs, “But nothing will happen, she’s been deprived of blood for too long to be a threat. Just don’t feed her.”
“And she’ll tell me the truth?”
Maya nodded, “She’ll tell you want you want to know, but I figured you wouldn’t want me here to listen.”
“She can’t hurt me?”
Maya crossed her arms, “I wouldn’t have her in the house if she could. Tell Enzo when you’re finished, he’ll lock up.” She walked out of the room, nodding at her best friend, she had a Witch house to get to.
/ / /
“Bekah?” Maya startled, upon seeing the blonde Original leaning against her car, “You’re my escort today?” Klaus had insisted a new level of protection for Maya, Jenna and Caroline, with Finn and Sage somewhere in town, he wasn't taking chances with their safety.
Rebekah pushed her sunglasses up, “Wherever we’re going better not be muddy, I just bought these pumps.”
Maya eyed the bright pink pumps with the smirk, “Those are great pumps.”
/ / /
“Hello, Elena,” Katherine whispered, her voice scratchy from her overuse, and lack of blood, “Have you come to watch me suffer?”
“I came for answers,” she took a hesitant step forward.
“Answers,” Katherine shifted closer to the scent of Elena’s blood pumping through her veins, “Whatever for?”
“I want you to tell me about the Originals, the one that’s been chasing you.” Elena couldn’t bring herself to say his name, the fear she felt, every time she heard his name was beyond terrifying.
“You mean Klaus?” Katherine said, and noted the flash of abject terror in her shadow self’s eyes.
Elena pulled a book from her bag, Stefan had found it in Isobel’s office at the Duke Campus, he’d said that it was about Katherine’s family. She threw it on the floor, just in front of the Vampire, “It’s your family history, it says that your family line ended with you, but that’s obviously not true.”
Katherine scoffed, “You think that if you brought me some family keepsake, then I’d open up?”
“Maya said that you would answer me,” Elena spoke confidently, “And I think you will.”
“Why would I do that?”
“You’re here because you went after Aunt Jenna, and you’re going to stay here, because Maya doesn’t let anything go.”
“Yeah? You learned that from when you killed her?” Katherine asked and Elena stiffened.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh but I hear things,” Katherine continued, “Pretending to be you, you’re not the town’s little darling anymore, not after what you pulled with the Sheriff’s goddaughter.”
Elena scowled, “I’m not here to talk about me!”
“No,” Katherine smirked, “You’re here to talk about me. I have something you want.”
“You’re gonna tell me everything you know, and Maya will stop with the torture. You don’t and I’m sure she’ll kill you for what you did to her mom.”
“You have that Petrova fire,” the Vampire complimented, finally she could see something in Elena that was actually worthy of her blood line.
“Tell me about him.”
“It's a long story… Klaus and I. It was all the way back in England, 1492. After I left Bulgaria or was thrown out-”
“Thrown out?”
“My family, your true ancestors, they disowned me. My indiscretions were not tolerated at that time. You see, I had a baby out of wedlock, a shame on them.
“It was kept secret?”
“Yeah,” Katherine nodded, thinking back to when she was human, “My baby was given away, and I was banished to England. I had to learn to adjust, so I quickly became English. It was there that I caught the eye of a nobleman named Klaus. I was taken with him at first,” she shrugged, that first meeting with the spectre from her nightmares was burned into her brain, “Until I found out what he was and what he wanted from me and then I ran like hell.”
“What happened next?”
“His brother came looking for me, I was hiding in the forest when I heard him, telling me that Klaus would find me, wherever I went. But he didn’t know that I had someone on my side.”
“Trevor,” Elena realised, remembering what he and Rose had told her.
“Right, he distracted the search party, and pointed me in the direction of a cottage, where his best friend lived.”
“Rose.”
“Yes.”
“Klaus wanted to sacrifice you, so that he could break his curse. But what does the Petrova bloodline have to do with Klaus?” The Martins hadn’t told Stefan and Bonnie what was so special about her blood.
“It’s really tedious but…the curse was bound by the sacrifice of Petrova blood. Witches are crafty with their spells, the doppelgänger was created as a way to be able to undo the spell. Once the doppelgänger reappears, then the curse can be broken.
“So you ran before he could kill you.” Elena sighed, so far everything she was saying was lining up with what Damon had said. She could only hope that what happened to Katherine’s family wasn’t true.
“Something like that…I found the cottage and Rose let me in, not that she wanted to. I showed her the moonstone that I’d stolen from Klaus, told her that I was meant to be his sacrifice, with the hopes that she would help me…”
“But that wasn’t the case,” Elena said.
“The moment that Rose knew what I was, she was determined to take me back to Klaus, she wasn’t going to risk her life for me. But I wasn’t about to die for Klaus, so I slit my wrist, and when Rose discovered it, she fed me her blood. When she was distracted by Trevor, I hung myself.”
“You killed yourself?!” Elena exclaimed.
“Klaus needed a human doppelgänger, as a Vampire, I was no longer of any use to him.” Katherine shrugged.
“But it didn’t work, you never really escaped from him, you’ve been running from Klaus ever since!”
“I underestimated his thirst for vengeance, but living out of a suitcase is better than dying over some silly little rock.” Elena looked sick, “What’s wrong?” Katherine mocked, “Afraid I’m right? You don’t want to die? There’s another way out you know?” she cut her arm with her nail and held it out to Elena, “Better hurry, your opportunity is going, going…gone!” She smirked at Elena when her arm healed, “I made the other choice.”
“Rose and Trevor spent the last 500 years running because you used them! Trevor was just killed!”
Katherine raised a brow in surprise, “I never thought he would last that long.”
“You don’t even care that you ruined their lives!”
“I was looking out for myself, Elena. I will always look out for myself. If you’re smart, you’ll do the same.”
“Yeah, and how did being smart work out for your family?”
Katherine’s jaw clenched, she wasn’t expecting that question, “I went back to Bulgaria, back to my family home, I found our neighbours, dead, outside, and when I went inside, my father was dead, pinned to the wall with his own sword. My mother, had her throat slashed, laid out on my bed, my aunt, my cousins...my sister. He’d slaughtered my entire family, and left them there for me to find.” And in that moment, Katherine realised something else, something that she should have centuries ago, “He knew where I was going, if he’d waited, he would have found me. Instead he let me find them, and he didn’t come for me…because he wanted me to run. Whatever you do to escape Klaus, he will get his vengeance, on your friends, your family, anyone that you’ve ever loved.”
“Maybe I don’t have to escape Klaus,” Elena said, making up her mind, not realising that it was the compulsion making her complaint.
“What?”
“Maya can bring me back to life,” she said.
Katherine shook her head in disbelief, “Why would she do that? She hates you.”
“But she loves my brother.” Elena snapped back, “I’ll give Klaus what he wants, I get to come back human, and you, you can stay here and rot for all I care,” she turned on her heel and stormed out, her mind made up after hearing that story, she wasn’t going to let anything happen to her family, she wasn’t like Katherine.
“This is what you’ve been looking for?” Rebekah asked, clearly unimpressed at the dilapidated house before her.
“Don’t get too close,” Maya said, “The Witch Spirits have a serious hate for Vampires.”
“So, what’s the plan?” the blonde sighed, “You’re going to Siphon all the magic from the site?”
Maya eyed the house, it was tempting, all that power in one place, “No,” she shook her head, “This power, it belongs to the Bennetts, to Bonnie, if I siphon the power, she’ll lose the connection to her ancestors here, an that’s not fair to her.”
“But if Bonnie or the Martins find this place, they’ll be able to kill Nik.”
Maya licked her lips in contemplation, “I’m locking the place down, no one will be able to access it until after the ritual.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I’ll link it to the moon; the spell won’t break until the full moon passes.”
“Are you sure?” Rebekah asked, “It would be easier to just drain it dry.”
“I took away Bonnie’s grandmother, I don’t regret it, but it means that she doesn’t have a link to her family. She’ll need them. Now hush, I need to concentrate."
"Fine, but you owe me new pumps."
The Other Side
Emily Bennett watched the Siphon with intrigue, “What’s going on?” she turned and found one of her ancestors had joined her.
“The Siphon isn’t taking our magic.”
“What do you mean?”
“She didn’t do it with my amulet either.”
“A Siphon wouldn’t give up that kind of power.”
“But she did,” a voice boomed from behind them, causing both Bennetts to whirl around in shock.
“Who are you?”
Death smirked, “It’s time to have a little chat ladies.”
“Klaus,” Cary said, walking into the library where the Original was sitting, reading through Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’, “Can we talk?”
“What is it?” he asked, looking up at his Beta.
The wolf sat across from him, clasping his hands together, “It’s about your curse…” he started hesitantly, he knew that it wasn’t something that the Hybrid liked talking about.
“What about it?”
“The Enforcers and I were talking, and we agreed that…we’d like to be there…when you break the curse…” Klaus narrowed his eyes and Cary hurriedly made to finish, “You’ve never changed with your kind before. The first time, it was without a pack, you had no one. But now you do. We want to be there for you!”
“Cary-”
“We all remember our first turn Klaus! Look two of us will stay behind with those who haven’t triggered the curse, two will go with the rest of the pack, keep them in line until you get there. And the rest of us will be with you. It’s the first time you’ve changed in a thousand years, it’ll be easier if there’s other wolves with you.” Cary could see that he was still hesitant about it, “Come on Klaus! Your family doesn’t understand this part of you! We do! We’re your pack, we should be there!”
“You know that the breaking of my curse will require the sacrifice of three people, a wolf included. Are you sure that you want to see that?”
“We’re Werewolves, Klaus. None of us are strangers to death.”
“Very well,” Klaus finally agreed, closing his book and placing it back on the shelf, “Freya tells me that we’ll be doing this on the next full moon.”
Liam and Luna were in the kitchen at the mansion with the Siphon, helping her with dinner, Maya rolled out some dough, she was making them pizza, Liam was taking great care to grate some cheese, while Luna was kneading the dough for the next pizza.
“Maya…” Luna started, looking over at the red-head, with wide eyes, ready to use them against her should she deny her what she wanted.
Maya paused at her tone, and turned to face her, “Luna…what?”
“You know…you’re really powerful…right?”
“What do you want Luna?” Maya gave the girl a wry smile, she definitely wanted something that Klaus either couldn’t or wouldn’t give her. She grabbed her glass of water and took a sip, while the girl formulated her answer.
“Can you make me a pterodactyl?”
Maya coughed, “What?!”
“Or a- a bro-brontr- a brontosaurus! Ooh or a T-Rex!” she exclamed.
Maya shot Liam a disbelieving look and he shrugged, “We watched ‘Jurassic Park’ with dad last night.”
She looked back at the girl, “No!”
“Please?!” she begged.
“Luna…there’s literally three movies proving why that’s a terrible idea!”
“But you don’t know the whole story!”
“Which is?”
“I love them!” she widened her eyes, clasping her hands in front of her.
“Honey, I taught you that look, it doesn’t work on me.”
“Please?!” she whined.
Kol walked in a raised a brow at the scene, “What’s going on?” he asked.
Liam leant over the counter towards his uncle, “Luna wants Maya to bring dinosaurs to life.”
“Huh,” Kol thought about it for a moment, “That could be fun.”
“What? Kol, no!”
“I’ve never seen one!” he protested, “And I was asleep when they were first discovered!”
“Damn it, Kol! Don’t encourage her!”
“But it could be awesome!”
“Kol dinosaurs will eat all the people and then there'll be no food for you!”
“Oh,” Kol made a face, “You may have point.” He looked at Luna, “No dinosaurs!”
Luna scowled at him, “You suck!” she stomped off, out of the kitchen.
Kol gaped at her, before regaining his wits, “Uh yeah! I’m a Vampire!”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel great!
Chapter 67: Interferance
Chapter Text
Elena sat with Bonnie and Stefan as she told them about the decision that she made, that she was going to go along with Maya’s plan. “Elena you can’t!” Stefan exclaimed, “It would mean that you would have to die!”
“And then I’ll come back!” she replied stubbornly, “If I don’t do this then he’ll kill everyone that I love!”
“I can’t let you do this Elena!”
“It’s my decision!”
“Look we can’t even be sure that her potion will work! Bonnie said that it felt wrong!”
“Elena, at least let us find the massacre site,” Bonnie cut in, “It gives us options, and maybe…I can try and talk to my ancestors, get some answers from them!”
Elena frowned, she had made her decision…but she guessed it wouldn’t hurt, “As long as you respect my wishes,” she finally said, “You have to understand, if anything happened to Mom, or Jeremy, or either of you to save me, I would never forgive myself.”
Bonnie shot Stefan a glance over Elena’s head, there was no way that she wasn’t going to try to stop this, but her friend didn’t have to know that, “Alright,” she nodded, “Now we just need to find the location.”
Just as she said that, Stefan’s phone rang, it was his brother, “Damon?”
“Hello brother.”
“What is it? Do you have something?”
“Wouldn’t be calling if I didn’t Stef.”
Stefan looked at the girls and put his brother on speaker, “Alright, I'm listening.”
“So I was thinking, about Emily, and her kids.”
“She made you promise to look after her family in return for preserving the Vampires in the tomb,” Stefan said, remembering what Damon had told him.
“Yep, so when I went to get her out of town, it was too late, she’d already been taken but her kids hadn’t. So I hid them and then went back for her, by the time I got there, they were tying her up and lighting her on fire.”
“Damon,” Stefan scolded, his brother was so crass sometimes.
“I was checking out one of the Founder’s journals, and it said that they burned Emily, where they burned all of her kind…”
“You know where it is!” Stefan said in realisation.
“I know where it is.” He confirmed.
Stefan glanced up at Bonnie, “Bonnie and I will meet you there, where is it?”
“It’s near our old home, I’ll meet you there, and take you the rest of the way.”
Finn snarled as he hit another dead end when looking for Katherine, he knew that one of his brothers was in town, but he hadn’t seen them, and now Freya wasn’t answering her phone. Leaving the home that he and Sage had compelled for themselves, he was going to go to the Mystic Grill, it seemed to be the centre of everything in town, it would make the most sense to find anything out about any new comers.
Closing the door, he stopped short to see Klaus and Kol in front of him, but they were ready for him, and he had a dagger in his heart before he could do anything. “Are you sure that Freya was alright with this?” Kol asked, no matter what he did, Freya would always love Finn.
“It was her idea,” Klaus replied, throwing the now dead weight of his brother over his shoulder, “With the promise that she can take the dagger out once my curse is broken.”
“I’m surprised that she suggested it.”
“She said it was better than taking the chance that I might kill him permanently for interfering in the curse.”
Kol stopped short, "But she knows that you wouldn't, because his death would lead to that of hundreds...unless..."
Klaus glanced at his brother, realising what Kol was getting at, "Unless she knows that there's a way to separate him from his sire line..." Klaus had never actually contemplated killing one of his siblings permanently before, but with the way that Finn had been acting, he had wondered if his brother maybe would prefer to die. "That's something that we will deal with after the curse is broken."
Kol nodded in agreement and the two of them sped out of the area and went straight to the mansion, where Klaus put his brother back in his coffin.
Jenna rushed inside the house, shaking, she ran upstairs, and slammed her bedroom door, “Mom?” Maya asked in concern. She followed her to her room and knocked on the door, “Mom?” she asked again, “Mom what happened? Are you okay?”
She didn’t receive an answer, so she opened the door, and saw Jenna curled up against the wall, sitting on the floor, “Mom!” she rushed over, “Mom, what happened?!”
Jenna shook her head, “I- I can’t,” she gasped, “I can’t breathe”
Maya wrapped her arms around her, “Hey,” she whispered, “I’m right here. Listen to the sound of my voice, okay. Can you tell me what happened?”
Jenna shook her head, she couldn’t believe what had just happened, she needed to work through it, but she didn’t know how, and she wasn’t about to burden her daughter with her own messy thoughts.
Sighing, Maya shot a quick text to Enzo, who showed up a few minutes later, blanching at the sight of the two women on the floor, “What happened?” he asked, coming inside, and falling to his knees next to them.
“She won’t say,” the red-head replied, Enzo took over for her, pulling Jenna into his arms, holding her tightly to him. “Mom was with Kol, I’ll find out what happened.” Maya detached herself from her mother and pulled out her phone, “I’ll be right back okay Mom?”
“Kol, what the hell happened with my mom?!” she demanded the moment that he answered the phone.
The Other Side
Ayana stared at the man before her and her most powerful descendants in disbelief, in a thousand years she’d never would have believed in a being just as powerful as Nature, if she wasn’t seeing him with her own eyes. One of her ancestors, arguably the most powerful of them, Qetsiyah, had come with him, and explained who he was. “What you’re saying…how could we not have known?”
Death shrugged, “You were created by Nature, anything I touch would have felt wrong to you. But you see the dilemma, should you, or any of your kind attempt to kill my children, I will erase you from existence.” He reached out and touched one of the Witch Spirits that surrounded him, and she disintegrated before she could even scream.
“We understand!” Ayana said, she’d always believed in the balance, and here was an actual creature of balance. “We won’t interfere!”
“You better have that discussion with your descendants, I suggest you spread the word to the others of your kind, but make sure that Esther and Mikael, do not hear of this.”
“Wh-why not?” Ayana asked, surely he’d want Esther to cease her attempts to get back to the living plain and eradicate all Vampires.
“I have plans for them.”
“Kol what the hell happened today?!” Maya demanded, her mother was shaken, beyond anything she’d ever seen before.
“What do you mean?” He asked confused.
“With my mother, Kol! What did you two do?”
“Oh that! We just explored the connection that exists between us now, with the help of the Werewolf that enjoyed torturing Caroline.”
“And?”
“And, he sort of ended up… completely…disintegrating…”
“You mean you killed him.”
“Actually I’m fairly certain that it was your mother that did the killing.”
“Damn it, Kol!” Maya was pacing the floor in agitation, “My mom isn’t like us! She’s not a killer! You should have called me the second it happened!”
“Well it’s not like I’m used to hanging out with people that aren’t killers! I didn’t think I needed to call!”
Maya huffed in frustration, “Just…send me Elijah’s phone number!” She had a feeling that this was something that she couldn’t help her mother with.
/ / /
Elijah arrived at the Sommers house shortly after he’d received a text from Maya, which was surprising to say the least, they didn’t really talk to one another. “What is it?” he asked as she greeted him downstairs.
Maya sighed, “Kol wanted to explore his and mom’s abilities, he took her to the Werewolves in your basement, and I don’t know what happened, but mom ended up killing one of the wolves.”
“What?” Elijah had been growing more and more concerned with her every word, “She killed someone?”
Maya nodded, “Obviously she didn’t mean to do it, but…she’s really freaked out, and…” she didn’t want to say it, but he was the only one she could think to help. “I don’t really care, when I kill someone, because I always do it for a reason. Mom’s not like that, Elijah, I don’t think I can help her with this.”
“Where is she?”
“In her room, with Enzo.” He was gone to tale care of her in an instant.
“Sheila, this is your last chance, you may not survive this.” Joshua said, sitting across from the oldest Bennett.
“I can’t live like this Joshua, and someone needs to protect my granddaughter.” She replied, “I’m ready.”
Joshua raised his hand, drawing on the power of his coven, “Fregerit necessitatem, veritatem solvet, liberat.” He began, and Sheila started screaming in agony as the spell burned through her brain.
“Jenna,” Elijah said, taking her hands in his, he’d sent Enzo out of the room so that he could comfort her, “Talk to me, what happened?”
Jenna sniffed, staring at their intertwined fingers, she couldn’t bare to look at him, couldn’t look at anyone, she’d just killed someone…not just killed him, she’d erased him, completely, she felt him die and then felt him just vanish. “I didn’t mean to, I-I didn’t even know what I was doing.”
Elijah’s eyes softened, he knew that feeling, intimately, “Oh Jenna,” he sighed, he pushed her hair out of her face, stroking her cheek, “I understand.” When he’d been human, the only time he’d ever killed was when he went hunting for food for the family. Finn had been taken on raids with his father, but he never had. “The first time I took a life, I had just been turned, I lost control,” His voice was quiet, understanding, “I tore apart an innocent women.”
Jenna looked up at him, “He wasn’t an innocent,” she said, “Shouldn’t that make it better?”
Elijah shook his head, “No, dear one, nothing makes your first kill…better. Innocent or guilty, it won’t change how you feel about it. You’re a good woman Jenna, any death by your hands would make you feel like this.”
“I hate this,” she whispered, her cheeks wet with tears, “I did something horrible, Elijah.”
The Original took her in his arms, carrying her to the bed, he held her against him, “What you did, it was an accident,” he said, “I never wanted you to feel like this, it’s why I was so hesitant to tell you anything about me, I never wanted to drag you into this world.”
Jenna clutched at his shirt, her face buried in his chest, “Are you saying that this was always going to happen? That it was inevitable?!”
“If I had my way, you never would have to experience this, but death goes hand in hand with supernaturals, especially Vampires.” Elijah sighed, “I wish it wasn’t true but this is what life is like for my family.”
Jenna sniffled, “When she was thirteen, Maya killed the Vampires in the tomb, and when she was fifteen she killed two people that wanted to experiment on her. She’s my daughter, Elijah, I’m supposed to be the one that protects her, I thought that with these abilities, I’d be better prepared to take care of her, but how can I? The Werewolf I killed, tortured Caroline, and I feel bad about what I did to him! Maya doesn’t hesitate, when it comes to protecting herself and the people around her! But I do, what kind of mother does that make me?”
“Oh Jenna, your daughter has lived through lifetimes of pain and cruelty, she’s the exception, not the rule. Everything you’re feeling right now is perfectly normal, I can’t tell you when you will feel better, when the guilt will go away. But I promise, I am here with you, through it all.”
“I’m here,” Maya sighed, walking into the Gilbert house, surprised when no one but Elena was there, “Elena? Where’s everyone else?”
“Stefan, Bonnie and Damon are out looking for the Witch site,” she replied, motioning for Maya to sit down.
“Oh…kay…why did you call me then?”
Elena paced the length of the living room, fists tight against her sides, “I think Bonnie and Stefan are going to try to stop the sacrifice.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because, I don’t think they’re gonna be able to stop it, and it’s only gonna make Klaus mad, and that puts mom, Jeremy, God even uncle John at risk! We have a plan and I think that they’re gonna get everybody I love killed!”
The Siphon crossed one leg over the other and regarded her cousin for a moment, “That still doesn’t explain why you called me.”
“You’re the only one that’s willing to let me go through with the sacrifice,” Elena said.
“Well I don’t particularly care to stop you,” she muttered.
The doppelgänger narrowed her eyes the red-head, “I want you to contact Klaus for me,” she ignored the fear that crept up her spine.
Maya raised a brow, “What? What makes you think I could do that?”
Elena put her hands on her hips and turned fully to her cousin, “Oh please, you’re friends with a bunch of Vampires! And Bonnie said that the grimoires in your…magic room were from all around the world, if anyone can contact him, it’s you.”
“You want me to tell him that you’re ready to surrender to him?” Maya asked in surprise, she knew that Nik had compelled Elena, but she didn’t think it would have pushed Elena to do this.
“I have to keep my family safe,” Elena replied, “And I trust you to keep me alive.”
Maya looked at her in shock, “You what?!”
“You love Jeremy too much to let me die.”
“Well you’re not wrong about that,” she conceded, Maya held in a smirk as she thought of something that would really piss Bonnie off, “I’ll make some calls, but you know…if Bonnie finds a way to access the magic at the Witch site, nothing will stop her from interfering in the sacrifice.”
Elena frowned, Maya was right, Bonnie would do everything in her power to stop her from being sacrificed, and she definitely didn’t trust Maya, not that Elena blamed her. “Can you stop them?” She asked.
Maya shrugged, fighting off a smirk, “I can try.”
“But don’t take away any of the magic from the site!” Elena exclaimed, “That magic belongs to Bonnie.”
Maya nodded, “I can do that,” she stood up, and made her way to the front door, “I’ll see if I can get a hold of someone who can get a hold of Klaus. But Elena, if I can get hold of him, he will not be forgiving to anyone that tries to interfere, you need to get that through Stefan’s head.”
Elena gave a stiff nod as her cousin left, not knowing that her willingness to go along with everything was all because of Klaus’s compulsion.
/ / /
“Hey,” Maya said when Klaus answered his phone.
“Hello love.”
“I know that you compelled Elena, but can I just say, perfect job!”
“What happened?”
“Elena not only asked me to get in contact with you, she also gave me the green light to stop Bonnie from accessing the massacre site!”
“But you already did that.”
“She doesn’t need to know that!” Maya shrugged, “Elena is all ready to hand herself over to you on a silver platter, and the best part is, she believes that it’s all her choice! And when Bonnie comes to complain to Elena that she can’t get in the house, Elena will tell her that it was her idea!”
Klaus laughed, “You’re a bit of an evil genius.”
“You line ‘em up, I knock ‘em down. We make an excellent team.”
“So what do you think that she did?” Freya asked Kol as he sifted through a spell book, marking ones that he wanted to try next.
He paused and looked over at his sister, “I-I think she destroyed his soul,” he finally said, “It was like, one moment he was there and the next, the wolf was gone.”
“What makes you think that?” Freya was genuinely curious about Jenna and Kol, whatever magic they possessed, it wasn’t like anything she’d ever seen before, and she wanted to know everything about it. Wanted to know its strengths, its limitations, wanted to know how it would work in conjunction with her own magic, because she and Kol would need to perform the ritual together.
“It was like…he disintegrated, one moment he was there, the next he was gone, and Jenna said that she felt him…vanish, completely.”
“You don’t think he went to the other side?”
Kol shook his head, “I’m sure of it.”
“You’re saying that Jenna has the ability to…what…soul shatter?” she asked incredulously.
“I don’t know…maybe.”
It took two hours for Damon, Stefan and Bonnie to find the Witch house, mainly because Damon was stalling, “I thought you knew where the site of the massacre was!” Bonnie huffed, pushing past tree branches as she tried to keep up with two Vampires.
“Gimmie a break Judgy, it was 170 year ago, this place has changed a lot since then.” Maya had shot him a text just after he left to meet his brother and the Witch, asking him to keep them away from the house for a while, because she had an idea. By the time he received the okay from Maya, the Witch and Stefan were both getting very irritated with him.
“Damon!” Stefan snapped, “You said you knew where it was!”
“I do!” Damon pushed past some trees, and stepped into a clearing, gesturing at the house on the other side, “It’s right there, looks like the Founders decided to build on it.”
Bonnie took one look at the house and rushed over to it, it was a link to her ancestors, maybe she could finally be taught how to use her magic and she wouldn’t have to feel so inferior to Maya. She tried to get into the house, but the door was locked tight. Frowning in concentration, she tried to use magic to open it, but she was thrown backwards, and Stefan ran over to her, “Bonnie! What happened?” he asked, helping her up.
“Something’s blocking me!” she exclaimed, and then looked over at Damon who didn’t look surprised at all, “What did she do?!”
“Bonnie?” Stefan asked confused.
She pulled away from him, and marched towards the eldest Salvatore, “Maya! She did something! That’s why it took so long to get here! You were stalling us!”
Damon shrugged, and gave them a little smirk, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Stefan rushed past Bonnie and slammed Damon up against a tree, “Damon! This is Elena’s life we’re talking about!”
Rolling his eyes, Damon flipped them around, holding Stefan up against the tree with one hand, “Exactly, and unlike you, I’m making rational decisions. We told you what Klaus is like, and yet here you are, trying to get enough power to try and stop him.”
Stefan shoved Damon off of him, “We agreed that Bonnie should do this so we’d have a back-up!”
The dark haired Salvatore scoffed, “Oh please, you don’t think that we knew that your plan was to do the exact opposite of what Maya and I told you!” He looked between them, “Maya would never put Jeremy at risk, but you two can’t be trusted, you’ll do anything to keep Elena alive, no matter the consequences.”
“That’s not true!” Bonnie protested, “I’ll keep everybody safe!”
“Oh really?” Damon asked in a condescending tone, “If you think Klaus doesn’t have Witches with decades of experience behind them, if you think that he doesn't have Vampires centuries older than us, then you’re both idiots. You can’t stop him, no matter how hard you try, you’ll just piss him off, and he’ll hit you where it hurts most, and for both of you, that’s Elena.”
“Tell me what she did, Damon,” Bonnie said, and tried to give him an aneurism, but it was no use, the protection spell that Maya put on his ring covered low level spells like that with ease.
He brushed past her, “Why don’t you go ask her?”
Maya was at the mansion, in Klaus’s arms in his studio, watching as Liam was working on a canvas, he wanted to try hand at painting portraits, and the two of them had agreed to model for him. She sighed as Klaus ran his fingers through her hair, “You know I kinda like this,” she said, leaning into him.
“Oh?”
“No drama, no fighting, sometimes I like it when it’s peaceful, especially because I know that Jeremy and Mom both have feelings about me literally leading Elena to the slaughter, and they’re not good feelings.”
“I thought you’d explained everything to them,” Klaus spoke softly, so as not to disturb Liam’s concentration.
“I did, but…Elena is still Jeremy’s sister, and despite what she’s done recently, Mom still loves her, Elena’s her niece.” Maya shrugged.
“Hey!” Liam complained, poking his head out from behind the canvas, “Stop moving!”
“Sorry,” Maya smiled and settled back into Klaus’s chest.
The Original smirked, “How are you getting on?” Klaus asked.
Liam looked between them and the canvas a few times, “I’m nearly done,” he replied.
“Take your time honey,” Maya said, “We have all day.”
Klaus tightened his grip around her waist, “She’s right, we have nothing to do today, we’re at your mercy.”
“KLAUS!” The Hybrid groaned as he heard Rebekah yell his name.
“Correction, you have nothing to do today,” he lifted her off of him and stood, “Sorry little wolf, it appears your aunt Rebekah is in need of some attention.”
“Oh, send me the little blonde princess! Liam can paint us and I will put it up in my magic room.”
“Really?” Liam asked, staring at her with wide eyes.
“Yeah, you’re good honey, I’d be proud to have some of your work in my home.”
The young wolf beamed at her, and Klaus couldn’t help but smile, “I’ll send Luna up,” he said, and left to find out what his baby sister was yelling about.
Bonnie stormed into the Gilbert house, looking for Elena, maybe once she told Elena what Maya had done, she wouldn’t listen to her cousin and actually work with her and Stefan to save her life, “Elena!”
“Bonnie?” Elena asked, coming downstairs, “What is it?”
“Do you know what Maya did?!”
“What?” Elena asked confused.
“She had Damon stall me and Stefan, so that she could get to the Witch site first, and now I can’t access it!”
“She took the magic?” Elena was alarmed, Maya had promised that she wouldn’t.
Bonnie shook her head, “No! She’s just blocking me from the site! I can’t get to it, which means that I can’t access the power!”
“Oh…I uh…told her to do that.”
“What?!”
“She pointed out that if you got access to the magic then you and Stefan would try to stop me from doing what I need to do to keep everyone safe.”
“Do what you need to do- Elena! Klaus will kill you!”
“And then I’ll come back to life!”
“You don’t know that!” Bonnie threw her hands in the air, “You can’t trust her!”
“I trust that she won’t hurt Jeremy!” Elena insisted, “So I told her to stop you from doing anything stupid.”
“You’re the one being stupid!” Bonnie protested, chasing after her friend as she went into the kitchen, “Klaus is going to kill you and he’s not going to let you live!”
“If I don’t do this, he will wipe out my whole family! Kill my friends, my boyfriend! Bonnie, you don’t have the experience to take on someone as old as an Original, he’ll kill you before you have a chance to do anything. I am keeping you safe!”
Mason was very surprised when a whole pack turned up at the large mansion that he’d been staying in, he knew the Enforcers had said that the pack was coming, but he hadn’t expected so many. This pack was larger than the one he’d come from, and clearly more deadly, he needed to know more, he needed to understand why such a strong pack worked in tandem with Vampires, but he knew that he wasn’t going to get anything out of the adults, so he figured he’d go to the teens, they acted like they were grown-up, but they were more likely to let something slip because of their age and inexperience.
He found a group of them hanging around in an indoor gaming room, which was ridiculous, he’d grown up rich but he’d never had anything like this. Shaking his head he joined them playing video games, striking up a conversation with them about football, and the latest action movie out, until they felt comfortable enough to start spilling secrets.
“So what’s the deal with Klaus?” Mason asked, as casually as possible.
“What do you mean?” one of the teens replied, tensing slightly at the mention of their Alpha.
Mason shrugged, “Well it’s just…most Werewolves I know hate Vampires, but…Klaus is your Alpha, it’s just a little weird.”
The teen rolled his eyes, “We’re his birth pack,” he said rather simply.
“But he’s like a million years old, and a Vampire.”
“Yeah, well he was a wolf first.”
Mason looked confused, “So what does that make him?”
Bonnie found Stefan at the Boarding House, “Hey, is your brother here?” she couldn’t say what she wanted to if Damon was around.
“No,” he shook his head, “He isn’t,” Stefan poured himself a drink, it was clear that he’d been drinking for some time, “He’s never here,” he frowned, “He’s at Maya’s, he’s always at Maya’s,” if she didn’t know any better, she’d think he sounded jealous.
“I talked to Elena, Stefan.” Bonnie said, sitting next to him.
“About what?”
“She told Maya to stop me from accessing the Witch house.”
“What?!”
“Yeah,” Bonnie nodded, “She said that she didn’t trust us, not to try and screw with the sacrifice, which of course, we were gonna do, but she doesn’t need to know that.”
“So what now? You need that power to stop Klaus.”
“Well…we do know someone capable of taking down Maya’s barrier spell…”
“The Martins!”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel great!
Chapter 68: She's Gone
Chapter Text
It had been eight days since Bonnie and Stefan had decided to contact the Martins, but they hadn’t had any luck, Luka wasn’t answering the phone, and they’d gone to the apartment where Katherine had been locked up, but there was no sign of the two men. “I don’t like this,” Bonnie said, “Luka should have answered me by now!”
“I’m gonna do a search around town, see if I can find out anything about where they’re staying,” Stefan replied, “Unless, you could do a locator spell for them?”
Bonnie shook her head, “I can’t do one without blood,” she sighed, “Maya probably could.”
“Well, we can’t trust Maya.”
“See if you can find them, I’ll try and talk Elena out of trusting her.”
Klaus scowled and shoved his phone in his pocket, he and Maya had Elena all ready to sacrifice herself but the Bennett Witch and his old friend were both determined to stop him. It was really pissing him off, it appeared that he needed to send them a message. He’d shot a text to one of his minions to have that message brought to Mystic Falls post haste. Stefan was going to regret interfering with his ritual, Klaus would make sure of that.
Luka sighed as he looked at his father and Sage and away from his phone, “Bonnie keeps calling me.”
“Ignore the Bennett Witch,” Sage said, “We need to find Finn.” Her beloved had been missing for days, “It has to be his brothers, at least one of them must be in town, it’s the only explanation.”
“You’re sure he didn’t just get cold feet? Luka asked, “Klaus is powerful, and seriously dangerous.”
Sage snarled, “My love would never leave me here! And he is not afraid of his brother! He wants Klaus to pay! Just as I do!”
“Kol is the one with the daggers, which means he’s in town, Klaus will not be far.”
“Are you sure?” Jonas asked, “Nothing indicates that Klaus and Kol are close, would Kol tell him about the doppelgänger?”
Sage frowned, “Now that Mikael is dead, Klaus and Kol have become very close, they’re working together on this.”
“Look,” Luka said, “If that’s true then there’s no way that we can do this! It was bad enough taking on one Original with one at our side! Now Finn’s gone and we’ve got two Originals to deal with!” he looked at his father, “Dad, Greta’s gone! She left because she thinks that helping them,” he gestured at Sage, “will get us killed! She’s not wrong!”
Jonas locked eyes with Sage, “Luka’s right, taking on two Originals, it’s suicide!”
“Then call that Witch back and get her to help you,” Sage insisted.
“What are you going to do?” Jonas asked as she turned to walk away.
Sage paused, there was one person that could help her, Freya would be furious when she found out that Finn had been daggered, she would help to get her brother back. “There’s someone I have to see.”
Jenna was a little nervous as Elijah brought two children up to her, they were the two that Klaus had adopted, Elijah’s niece and nephew, and if she was right about Klaus and Maya, her daughter’s future step-children. “Jenna,” Elijah said, “This is my niece, Luna, and my nephew, Liam.” The two children looked at her with caution, “Little ones, this is the woman I love, Jenna Sommers.”
Liam glanced at Luna, before speaking, “So…are you gonna be…like our new aunt?”
Jenna’s eyes widened in alarm, “Oh! Well-I-”
“Uh, Jenna is also Maya’s mother!” Elijah rushed out, in an effort to help.
Luna squinted at them, Maya was with her father, and she took care of them like a mother, “Does that mean you’re gonna be our grandma?” she asked innocently.
“What? No! Don’t call me grandma!” Jenna sputtered, “I’m way to young to be a grandma!”
Liam regarded both her and Elijah, taking in their frazzled looks, “But…Klaus is our dad and our Alpha, and Maya…she’s the Alpha female, which means that she’s basically Dad’s wife. And you are her mom, which kinda makes you our grandma.”
Jenna noted the gleam in his eyes and scowled, “Are you sure you’re not Kol’s kid?”
Liam responded with a smirk and Luna giggled at Jenna’s frustration.
“Elena please just listen to me,” Bonnie insisted, “You can’t go through with this! What happens if Maya’s potion can’t bring you back to life?”
“Then I’ll be dead,” Elena shrugged, “But at least my family will be alive.”
“Elena this isn’t right! Klaus is monster. You don’t deserve to suffer for him.”
“This isn’t a discussion Bonnie! If Klaus finds out that I’m trying to get out of the curse, he’ll punish me. And something tells me that he won’t differentiate between you trying to stop the curse and me trying to get out of it! So stop it Bonnie! I’ve made my decision!”
“I just want you to be safe!”
“And want you to be alive!” Elena’s phone chimed and she grabbed it from her bedside table, “It’s Stefan,” she said, looking at the text message, “He wants us to meet him at the old Fell’s church.”
Bonnie frowned, “That’s near the tomb, do you think he found something?”
“I don’t know,” Elena shook her head, calling him back but there was no answer, “He’s not answering the phone.”
“We should see what he wants.”
/ / /
Bonnie and Elena met the Vampire at the old church, “Stefan,” Elena came up to him, “What did you want to meet us out here for?”
“Me?” Stefan said, “You texted me.”
Elena pulled back, “No I didn’t, you texted me,” she pulled out her phone and showed it to him, “See?”
“I didn’t send that,” he replied, suddenly looking very worried, “We need to get out of here, now!” he grabbed Elena’s hand and moved to grab Bonnie and speed them out of the clearing, when someone stepped into view.
“Isobel!” Elena exclaimed, seeing her birth mother standing in front of them, “What are you doing here?”
“I have a message for you, from Klaus.” Elena froze and Bonnie and Stefan both took positions in front of her.
Isobel locked eyes with them, “He knows what you’re doing, the message is for you too, interfere again, and someone else will die.”
“Wh-who-who’s dead?” Stefan asked cautiously.
Instead of answering, she looked at Elena, “I’m so sorry Elena, that I was such a disappointment to you,” she looked regretful.
“What are you doing?” Elena asked. The Vampire took her daylight necklace off and dropped it to the ground, screaming as she burned in the sun, “No!”
Stefan lurched forward, but was too late, she was dead, he turned to his girlfriend, “Elena.”
She stared at him in betrayal, “This is your fault! I told you to stop, but Klaus knows what you’ve been doing, and now Isobel’s dead!”
“Elena I’m so-”
“No!” Elena shook her head, and ran off in the opposite direction of them, pulling out her phone to call for a ride, she didn’t want to go anywhere with Stefan or Bonnie, not now.
“So…what’s up with you and Kol?” Maya asked Caroline, throwing herself on the blonde’s bed.
“Nothing!” Caroline insisted, “Nothing’s going on!”
“Really, because you’ve been over to the mansion more times than you’ve been to mine lately," she pointed out.
The young Vampire frowned, “How did you know that?”
“I have my sources,” Maya shrugged.
“The kids told you, didn’t they?” Maya refused to answer, “Those little snitches! I knew they were spying on us! Did you put them up to it?!”
“What?! No!” Maya shook her head, “I would never use the kids like that!”
Caroline scowled at her friend, taking her in, determining whether or not she was lying and gasped, “It was Rebekah!”
“What?! No! It wasn’t!” Maya exclaimed, reaching out to her best friend, but it was too late, Caroline had already rushed out of the room, “Damn it!” she pulled out her phone and dialled the female Original, “Hey Bekah, just a head’s up, Care’s on the way to you. And she’s not happy.”
Freya gave Sage a small smile as the Vampire joined her for lunch in the town over from Mystic Falls, “Sage, you wanted to talk?” she had a feeling that she knew what the Vampire wanted. It definitely had to do with Finn’s disappearance, she must have deduced that he’d been daggered.
“It’s Finn,” Sage took a seat opposite the Witch, “I think he’s been daggered.”
“What makes you say that?”
“He disappeared,” Sage said, “There’s no way he would have just left! Not when we’re so close to his goal!”
“His goal being to prevent Niklaus from breaking his curse?” Freya replied, displeased.
“He doesn’t deserve to get his happy ending! Not after everything he’s done!”
“He didn’t deserve to be cursed in the first place!”
“He kept Finn daggered! For centuries! Just because he thought him to be a bore!”
Freya shook her head, “Perhaps you should stop and think about that for a moment. My father compelled you to stay away from Finn, you know that. And when you were gone, my brother became morose, suicidal even. My father hoped that Finn would search you out, it would have made him vulnerable, if father got his hands on Finn, it would have been very easy to draw out the rest of my siblings. Niklaus daggered Finn to keep him safe and woke him the moment our father was dead, which broke your compulsion, allowing you, to finally be with him.”
“Finn never said anything,” she replied, she hadn’t realised how bad Finn had gotten without her, she knew that he didn’t enjoy being a Vampire, he often said that she was the only one that made it worth it, but the idea that he'd become suicidal without her, it was unfathomable to her.
“My brother is a proud man, I doubt he would have wanted you to know.”
“It still doesn’t change the fact that Klaus has daggered him!”
Freya wasn’t going to tell Sage that she’d known about him being daggered, she knew it would only enrage the Vampire that was almost as ancient as her siblings, “I will speak to Niklaus, but as I recall, he’s not the one with the daggers.”
“You have to get him back!”
“I will.”
Elena knocked at the door of the Sommers house, waiting for someone to answer, “Elena,” Enzo said, when he opened the door, “What are you doing here?”
“Is Maya here?” she asked impatiently.
The Vampire nodded, “She is.”
“Well? Let me in!”
Enzo rolled his eyes, letting the door swing wider and stepping aside, “Wait here, I’ll go get her.” He whooshed off, and was back in seconds with the red-head at his side.
“Elena!” she exclaimed, “What are you doing here?”
“I need your help!” she replied, walking over to her cousin.
“I thought I was already doing that,” Maya said, looking at Enzo who nodded in agreement.
“You are," he agreed.
“Stefan and Bonnie pissed Klaus off!”
“What are you talking about?!” Maya asked, she hadn’t spoken to Nik all day, he must have done something. She raised a brow at Enzo who pulled out his phone to text the Original.
“He found out they were trying to stop the sacrifice, and then he-” she sniffed, “He sent Isobel to us, as a warning, he made her take of her daylight necklace. She burned to death…right in front of me.”
“I told you they’d screw things up.”
Enzo whistled, “Klaus is going to be pissed!”
“He said that the next time anyone interferes, he’ll kill someone much closer to me.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“You said you could make a deal with him!”
“Yeah, but now he’s angry!” Maya pointed out, she was definitely going to have to make a stop at the mansion, and cheer him up.
“Maya I don’t want anyone else to die!”
The Siphon scrubbed her hands over her face, “Okay, I’ll see what I can do, but chances are you’re not gonna like whatever we come up with now.”
“Please just do it, I can’t lose anyone else Maya!”
She nodded, “I’ll make some calls.”
Luka, and Jonas met Stefan and Bonnie at the Grill, “Where have you been?! I’ve been trying to call you for days!” Bonnie exclaimed.
“We were dealing with something," Luka replied, they weren't going to tell them that Finn had been, "What’s wrong?”
“Klaus knows what we’re up to! He killed Elena’s birth mother, right in front of us!”
“You saw him?” Jonas asked.
Stefan shook his head, “No, she showed up and took her daylight necklace off in the sun! How did he get her to do that?”
“They can compel Vampires.” Sage said joining them, startling the Witch and the Vampire.
“Who are you?” Bonnie asked, hostility in her voice.
“Uh, this is Sage,” Luka said, “She’s working with us to stop Klaus.”
“What did you say?” Stefan asked.
“Originals can compel Vampires,” Sage repeated, “Klaus loves using that trick.”
“Wait,” Stefan paused, “Sage…Damon knew a Sage.”
The red-headed Vampire smiled, “Ah yes, your brother, he was a lot of fun once I got him out of his shell.”
“You-you’re that Sage?!”
“I think we’re getting off topic here,” Bonnie cut in, “You said that Klaus can compel Vampires, my question is, how did he even know we were working against him?”
Sage scrunched her brow, “It was probably his red-headed Witch, she always seems to know what’s going on. Even when she shouldn’t.”
Bonnie glanced at Stefan in alarm, “A red-head!” she exclaimed.
“Yes.”
“Is the Witch’s name Maya by any chance?”
“How did you know?” Sage asked.
“Oh God!” Bonnie gasped.
“She’s been working for Klaus the whole time!” Stefan realised.
“You know his Witch?” Sage asked.
“She’s Elena’s cousin!” Stefan exclaimed, standing up, “I have to go! I have to tell Elena!”
Maya walked into Elena’s room, “You need to pack a bag,” she said to her cousin.
“Maya! What’s going on?”
“I made a deal with Klaus, but he doesn’t trust Stefan, or Bonnie.”
“What does he want?” Elena asked worriedly.
“He wants you locked down, the full moon is in six days, he wants you somewhere safe until then.”
“The sacrifice is happening in less than a week?” Elena paled.
Maya nodded, “Yeah, now pack up, quickly, we have to go.”
It took Elena twenty minutes to pack a bag for herself and they were gone before anyone could stop them.
Stefan slammed open the door to the Gilberts, rushing upstairs, calling out his girlfriend’s name, “ELENA?! ELENA!” Her room was empty, and her phone was gone. Growling, he whooshed out of the house and headed straight to the Sommers'.
He burst inside, startling Jenna, “Stefan?” she asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Where’s Maya?!” he demanded.
“Excuse me?”
“Where’s Maya?! Elena’s missing!” he stalked over to the woman.
“I can’t help you,” she shook her head.
Stefan grabbed her arms and shook her, “I know she’s working with Klaus! Now where the hell is she?!”
Jenna scowled, using her ability to take hold of Stefan and caused him to stumble back, “Back off!”
He ran for her again, but this time he was grabbed from behind and thrown across he room. “That’s enough of that.” Elijah buttoned his suit, holding back his rage.
Stefan scrambled to his feet, glaring at the man, and it suddenly occurred to him, he’d never asked this Vampire’s name. “Who are you?”
“I’m Elijah.”
Stefan’s eyes darted to Jenna in anger, she didn’t look at all surprised, “You’re working with Klaus too!”
Notes:
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Chapter 69: The Sacrifice
Notes:
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(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Maya sighed as she put her phone away, “That was Mom,” she said to Klaus, snuggling into his side, “Stefan and Bonnie know that I’m working with you now.”
“How did they find out?” he asked.
“I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that it was Sage, she must be spiralling now that Finn’s M.I.A.” she replied, “He went to my house, but Elijah stopped him before he could hurt anyone.”
“I suppose it’s good thing that you grabbed Elena before he found out, I’d hate to have to kill my old friend.”
“Plus Damon wouldn’t be too happy about it,” Maya pointed out.
Klaus rolled his eyes, “That too.”
“Have you picked out a place for the ritual?”
He nodded, and pulled up a map on his phone, pointing out the place where he’d chosen, “It’s still within the limits of the doppelgänger’s birthplace, but far enough out of town that we shouldn’t be disturbed.”
“Okay, I’ve put up barriers around my place, the Boarding House and Elena’s, they’ll activate the night of the ritual so that we can keep the Vampires and Werewolves separate all night. I’ll see if I can put one up around the woods where the pack is going to run so that we can minimise the chance of people getting caught in a hunting ground.”
“Freya says she has everything ready.”
“Oh?”
“I’d like you to take a look at the plan.”
“What you still don’t trust her?”
“I do…I’d just prefer it if you would…make sure that everything’s fine.”
“Yeah, okay, I’ll check with her in the morning,” Maya sighed, “Looks like I’m staying here until the sacrifice.”
“Leaving Damon and Enzo to deal with the youngest Salvatore?”
“Well, I’m not dealing with him.”
“Elena’s gone!” Bonnie exclaimed, bursting into Luka and Jonas’s apartment.
Sage was there with them, watching over them as they attempted to do a locator spell to find Finn, she was leaning against the wall, and straightened up when Bonnie and Stefan came in. “What happened?”
“By the time I got to her place, Elena was gone, I went to Maya’s and she’s gone too,” Stefan answered, “Oh, and Elijah was there!”
“What do you mean, he was there?” Sage frowned, she expected Klaus, and Kol, but Elijah had been on the outside the last time she saw him.
“I mean, he’s sleeping with Maya’s mother! Which means that they’re both working with Klaus!”
“If Elijah’s here then that could mean that so is Rebekah…” Sage mused.
“Rebekah?” Bonnie repeated, “Blonde? British?”
“Yes,” the red-head nodded, “Klaus’s sister.”
“She’s been hanging around Caroline and Maya,” Stefan said, stone faced, things were looking terrible for him, Bonnie and Elena, “You’re telling me that there are four Originals in town! And the one we had on our side is gone! How could we possibly take on four Originals?!”
“We need to find that massacre site,” Jonas said, “We need that power now more than ever.”
Bonnie and Stefan shared a look, and Stefan nodded, “We found the site,” she said, causing the Martins to stare in shock, “But…I can’t access it…”
“What do you mean you can’t access it?” Jonas asked concerned, that magic was mostly from her ancestors coven, it should have been easy for Bonnie use the magic.
“I mean that Maya got to it first, she put up some kind of barrier, I can’t get through.”
Jonas looked around the room, and then at his son, “We’ve broken her barrier before- I imagine she was the one who put up the barrier on the tomb?” he clarified and Bonnie nodded, “Then we can do it again.”
“We couldn’t break that spell without Greta, Dad!” Luka exclaimed, “And we’re all out of the ingredients we used last time!”
Jonas looked at Sage, “I can get some more!” she had gone with Greta to purchase the ingredients the first time.
“That doesn’t change the fact that we need Greta!” Luka said.
“We can break the spell,” Jonas replied, gesturing to Bonnie, “With the help of a Bennett Witch.”
“I’ll help,” Bonnie agreed, she needed to be able to get to that magic, she needed to be able to commune with her ancestors, both of which could only happen if she could get in that house.
“I’ll get the ingredients,” Sage sped out of the room, not willing to waste anymore time.
“I’m gonna see if I can find my brother, he has to have information on what's happening.” Stefan said to Bonnie, “Will you be alright with them?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she replied.
“Stefan,” Jonas stopped the Vampire before he could leave, “If the doppelgänger-” he paused at the look of derision Stefan shot him, “My apologies, if Elena has been taken, it’s because the ritual will happen in five days.”
“Five days?!” he asked alarmed.
“Klaus needs a full moon to break the curse, the next one’s in five days.”
“DAMON!” Stefan yelled, seeing his brother arrive at the Boarding House, he slammed him up against the wall, his brother hadn’t answered his calls and he was going out of his mind with worry.
“Woah Stef, ease off the goods,” he shoved his baby brother off of him.
“Where is she?” Stefan growled, charging at Damon again.
“Where’s who?” Damon dodged his brother, using his momentum to throw him aside.
“Elena!” Stefan snarled, he went for Damon again, but the elder Salvatore had him up against the wall, “Where is she?!” Stefan struggled against Damon’s grip.
“Calm down!” Damon exclaimed, “And maybe we’ll talk about it!”
“You’re working with him!” Stefan didn’t want to admit it, but he was hurt, he thought that, for once, he could trust his brother, but he was wrong, “Why?! How could you do this?! How could you work with him?!”
“We’ve been friends for years,” he shrugged.
“You and Klaus? He’s a monster!”
Damon let out a hollow laugh, “Oh brother, you’re one to talk!” Stefan thought he was referring to his ripper days, but in actuality he was talking about the fact the Stefan was once good friends with Klaus himself, not that the younger Salvatore could remember. “I’m doing everything I can to keep you safe! To keep you alive!”
“You’re killing Elena!”
“She’s coming back to life!” Damon threw Stefan across the room, “I’m keeping everyone alive! If Klaus didn’t like me so much, then you’d be dead for interfering! He’s known about Elena for months! He’s had the moonstone for years! He could have performed the sacrifice before you even got to speak to Elena!”
Stefan scowled at Damon, “If that’s so true, then why would he wait?!”
“Because Maya asked him to! She asked him to wait until she could find a way to bring Elena back to life! All you’re doing is pissing Klaus off, and eventually he’s going to ignore the fact that he likes his Witch, and he’s gonna do something to retaliate!”
“Retaliate?!” Stefan pushed himself up, “He already retaliated! He killed Elena’s birth mother!”
“But not her real mother!” Damon pointed out, “When you think about it, Klaus could have taken Miranda, if he wanted to he could turn her, and use her as his Vampire sacrifice.” Damon made to leave, shoulder checking him as he passed, “He could also use you.”
Sheila panted on the floor, as the last bit of compulsion was ripped from her mind, “Sheila!” Joshua exclaimed, bending over her, “Can you hear me?” He could tell that she didn’t have long to live, the strain the spell put on her was too much for her body, and it was giving out, quickly.
“J-Joshua,” she strained.
“You’ll have to be fast,” he said, “You don’t have much time.”
“Ss-Siphon, Mystic Falls,” she gasped out.
“The Siphon’s in your home town?!” he exclaimed.
“Working with Or-Originals.”
“Do you know who?”
“Klaus! Doppel-doppelg…” she trailed off as her body finally gave out, Sheila Bennett took her last breath on the floor of the Gemini leader’s home.
Joshua straightened up as his second came to stand next to him, “Are we going to Mystic Falls?” his second asked.
Joshua shook his head, “With our recent losses, we’re not equipped to take on an Original,” members of their Coven that had been outside of Oregon had been killed very recently, it looked like an uptick in Traveller activity which was very disturbing, and now with news of a Siphon, paired with at least one Original, it left him feeling uneasy.
“So, what do we do?”
Joshua sighed, “We need information, I will call Josette, she’s working at a university near to Mystic Falls.”
“Okay,” his second nodded, “What do you want me to do with her?” he gestured to Sheila.
Joshua eyed his old friend, dead at his feet, “We’ll need Bennett blood,” he looked at his second, “Take as much as you can, and then transport the body to her granddaughter.”
Bonnie let Stefan inside her home, it was the only place that she could trust not to be overheard, “The Martins are still gathering ingredients,” she said before he could ask, “Apparently a few of them are pretty rare.”
“Do you really think that you can get into that house?” he asked.
“I’m pretty sure…” she saw his worried visage, something was wrong, or rather, it was more wrong. “What is it?”
“I spoke to Damon,” he sighed, “He let slip that Klaus has had the moonstone for years.”
“That’s impossible, Mason found it at the Lockwood's.”
“He also said that Klaus has known about Elena for months, that he could have sacrificed her before I even got to know her.”
“What’s your point Stefan?”
“My point, is that Klaus is gonna have a back-up plan, and Damon said that if we keep angering him, he won’t let Elena live.”
“Stefan?”
“Can you find a spell to bring her back to life? Just in case?”
“The Martin’s have a lot of grimoires at their apartment, there has to be something.”
Maya grinned when she saw Liam and Luna come into the kitchen as she was cooking, “Hey! How are my two favourite wolves?” she asked, causing Klaus, who was sitting at the table with a newspaper to make a sound of protest.
“What are you making?” Liam asked, as Luna sat on Klaus’s lap, tugging at the newspaper, trying to get to the comics.
“We’re going with Mexican tonight, you wanna help?” she asked, and Liam nodded, going to wash his hands.
“Aunt Freya says you’re going to break the curse soon,” he said, looking at his father.
Klaus looked up from the paper, allowing Luna to grab it from him, “Yes, at the full moon.”
Maya noted the look on Liam’s face and jumped in, “Cary says that he and a couple of the Enforcers are going to wait with Klaus to break the curse, and then they’ll all go for a run with him.”
Liam’s eyes lightened at that, he and Luna had no one but each other when they’d changed for the first time, he didn’t want his dad to be alone. “Good, that’s…good.” He looked up at Maya, “Are you going to be there?”
“Oh well,” she glanced at Klaus, “Yeah, I’ll be there to make sure that everything goes right with the ritual, but then I’ll come back here! It’s probably not safe to stay out there when the pack’s running around.” She looked at the kids, “I’ll tell you how it went!”
“Really?” Luna perked up at that, she wanted to go out there with her father, but he’d immediately said no, he had no idea how much control he'd have over himself, and he didn't want to take the chance that he'd hurt one of the children, at least he knew that Maya could protect herself.
“I promise,” Maya said, directing Liam to the pots on the stove, showing him what to do.
Klaus watched the two with a hidden smile, and moved his attention back to Luna, pulling the newspaper out her hands, “Hey!”
Jo slammed the door to her car as she got out, and walked across the street to the Grill, she didn’t know what she was supposed to do, she didn’t have her magic, she didn’t know anyone in this town, but she was supposed to find a Siphon and at least one Original, when she didn’t know what either looked like.
The town was small and the Mystic Grill looked to be centre of all activity, she went inside, hopefully she’d pick up something from someone that could point her in the right direction. Sighing, Jo took a seat in the back, the best she could do was observe and hope that she saw a Vampire, or found the Bennett Witch. She couldn’t believe that she’d been dragged into this, the whole point of running away from home was that she wouldn’t have to deal with anymore magical crap, but now she’d been sucked back in.
It was three days until the ritual, when Sage brought back all the ingredients that the Martin’s needed to break the barrier spell that Maya put up. Both Martins, Bonnie, Sage and Stefan were at the house, setting up everything outside.
“Are you ready?” Stefan asked.
“Yeah,” Bonnie nodded, looking at the other two, “We’re ready.”
Luka took Bonnie and Jonas’s hands, and the three of them began chanting. The Vampires watched impatiently as the magic users attempted bring down the barrier. It took hours, and it wasn’t until it was dark, and the moon was high in the sky, it wasn't until they could harness the energy it put out did the spell fall.
Bonnie gasped, wiping at the blood from her nose, and glanced at Luka, the young man nodded at her, and she took the first step inside. Luka and Jonas followed, but as soon as they all entered the house, the door slammed shut behind them, barring the Vampires from entering.
“Bonnie!” Stefan exclaimed, rushing at the house, but he and Sage were thrown back by a blast of magic. Getting to his feet, he looked at Sage in askance, “What just happened?”
“It looks like the ancestors don’t want us here,” Sage replied.
“How do we know that it’s working?”
“Witches hate Vampires, especially Witch Spirits, they’ll help us,” she spoke confidently, belying none of her fear and doubt at the sight of the sealed house, she had to believe that the Spirits would help, she had no other option.
/ / /
The Other Side
Bonnie gasped as she woke up on the Other Side, Jonas and Luka followed, standing up and looking around in horror, “Where are we?” Bonnie asked.
“The Other Side,” Jonas said, paling as he took in his surroundings, “We’re dead…”
“WHAT?!”
The Living Plain
Stefan went back to the Boarding House, after it became clear that he wasn’t going to be able to get into the Witch house and talk to Bonnie anytime soon. He had made some calls after Isobel died, with the hopes of getting some help, Lexi was out of the country, on her honeymoon, and wasn’t answering her phone. He’d done a cursory look for Rose, but she was nowhere to be found, so he called for someone to come back to Mystic Falls, someone who hated him, but he hoped that their love for Elena would mean that it didn't matter.
There was a knock at the door, and Stefan rushed over to open it, “John!” he said in relief, “Thank you for coming.”
“I have to say, I really wasn’t expecting your call, especially since you and Elena ran me out of town,” John said, stepping inside.
“Isobel’s dead,” Stefan said.
“What?” John asked upset, he may have hated the fact that she’d become a Vampire, but she was still his first love, she was Elena’s mother, “What are you talking about?”
“Klaus compelled her to kill herself, right in front of us.”
“You know about Klaus?” John clarified, he’d brought the dagger and ash with him, just in case it was needed, but he’d hoped not.
“He’s taken Elena,” Stefan replied.
“How could you let this happen?!” John demanded, “Why didn’t you call me sooner?!”
“Bonnie and I had a plan!” Stefan defended, “She was going to channel a site of great power for Witches and use it to take Klaus down!”
“So what happened?!”
“Maya!”
“What?!”
“What do you know about her?”
“What the council’s told me, that she’s a Witch.”
“She’s not a Witch, she’s something else, something powerful, and she’s working for Klaus.”
John shook his head, “What are you talking about? She’s working with him? How did they even meet?”
Stefan nodded in resignation, “Yes, I think…I think my brother introduced them, Jenna’s working with him too, I don’t know how it happened, but Maya convinced Elena to go along with her plan, to let Klaus use her to break the curse. By the time I found out, Elena was gone.”
“How long do we have?” John asked, taking a step forward, “How long until my daughter is used as a sacrifice?!”
“We pretty sure that it’s the next full moon.”
“That’s in two days!”
“Bonnie is working on channelling the magic, we have other Witches helping us, but we need a back-up plan.”
John placed his bag on the table, and pulled out the dagger and the ash, he was fuming, his daughter had been led to the slaughter, and now he was being called at the last minute! When Elena was in the most danger! He never should have left Elena with Miranda when his brother died, he should have taken her then! He definitely should have taken her when he realised that she was dating a Vampire. “A regular stake won't kill an Original, but this dagger and ash will, you dip the dagger in the ash, and use it to stake the Original, all accounts say that it will put them down.”
“How did you find this?” Stefan asked, “Wait, how long have you known about this?! Did you know when you first came to town?!”
“Of course I knew! I should have taken Elena away from here the minute I saw you! I’ve been working for years to keep her safe, and you couldn’t do that for a few months!”
“Well maybe if you’d told us, we’d have been more prepared!”
“More prepared?! You just said that your brother is working with him!”
“You should have told Elena!” Stefan shot back, “She deserved to know! Instead, you came and went and left her vulnerable! Now Isobel is dead, Elena’s been taken, and her cousin has been working with an Original this whole time! Klaus has known about Elena for months.”
“What?” John asked aghast.
“Klaus has had the moonstone for years, he knew about Elena for months, he could have taken her at any time! He could have taken her before any of us even knew what was going on! But you knew, you knew that she was in danger, and you did nothing!”
“I WAS KEEPING HER SAFE!” John yelled back, “Isobel and I were working together for years to keep her safe! You come to town and she has been kidnapped, her mother is dead, and now she’s going to die to!” John was panting heavily, his daughter was going to die, and it felt like there was nothing he could do about it.
“Maya said that she could bring Elena back, she gave her a potion to drink, said that it would bring her back to life after the sacrifice.”
“You can’t trust her! If she’s working with Klaus, he won’t want Elena to live, he hates doppelgängers!”
“I know, I’ve asked Bonnie to find something else, find another way to bring her back if we can’t get to her first.”
John paused at that, he vaguely remembered something that he’d read in one of the Gilbert journals, “I might have something,” he whispered.
“What?”
“Get me Bonnie, I need to speak to her,” he said, leaving the ash and the dagger with Stefan.
“Where are you going?!”
“I need information, call me when you have Bonnie!”
The Other Side
“What do you mean we’re dead?!” Bonnie demanded, grabbing Jonas’s arm, “Where are we?”
“Look around,” he gestured, “This is the Other Side, it’s where every supernatural goes after they die.”
“We didn’t do anything! We didn’t strain ourselves that much! We can’t be dead!”
“You’re not,” Ayana said, appearing behind the three of them, causing them to whirl around in shock.
“Who are you?” Luka asked.
“My name is Ayana, I am your ancestor Bonnie," she moved forward, taking Bonnie's hand so that she could feel the familiar magic that coursed through them both, "I lived on this land, a thousand years ago. I witnessed the birth of the Originals.”
“Why are we here?” Jonas asked, taking the lead.
“Because you need to stop,” Ayana said.
“Stop? Stop what?”
“You cannot meddle in the affairs of the Originals, they are not our concern.”
“They are abominations!”
“They’re going to kill Elena!”
“ENOUGH!” Death shimmered into existence before them, causing them to jump back.
“You Witches are always so self-righteous! You speak of abomination, yet you know nothing!”
Everything in Jonas wanted to turn around and flee, he took a step back and his son took one forward, “Who are you?” Luka asked cautiously, he could feel the power radiating from the man, and he could tell that he wasn’t like Ayana, or anything else on the Other Side.
The man regarded Luka for a moment, before his human form burnt away and revealed the dark, twisted, skeletal creature, at least ten feet tall. “I am Death.”
“Oh God!” Bonnie whispered, looking very afraid, this wasn’t what she’d signed up for, whatever the creature before her was, she could feel that every inch of her being wanted to run.
“It’s time for a life lesson,” fire blazed in his eyes as he spoke.
The Living Plain
Regina, Alexandra and Freya were out in the clearing that had been chosen for the ritual, Freya was preparing the site, while the Enforcers were there in case Stefan showed up, “So what’s going to happen?” Regina asked curiously, she and Scott had to stay with the members of the pack that hadn’t broken their curse, so she wouldn’t get to see the ritual, or Klaus in his wolf form for the first time.
“The sacrifice happens in three parts,” Freya said, drawing circles on the ground where each sacrifice would be held, “First the wolf, Niklaus will take their heart, and crush it above the moonstone. Then it will be the Vampire, he will stake them next, and then finally the doppelgänger, he will need to drain every drop of blood in her body, which will complete the ritual.” Freya glanced at the Enforcers, to see if the talk of death left them uneasy, but they showed no sign of disquiet. “Kol and I will work in tandem to break the curse, this will be the first time my brother has had access to his wolf in a thousand years, it will be very painful for him.”
“It’s painful for us all,” Alexandra murmured, “But Cary and David will be there for him.”
“The ritual will take place when the moon is at it’s apex, which means that the pack will have already turned. I will have to cast a spell on the Werewolf to slow their change.”
“I’ve never heard of anything like that being done before,” Regina said.
“It’s rare, and it will mean that the wolf is in agony, but it’s the only way.”
/ / /
Maya was with Cary and Enzo in the area that the pack was due to run, “There’s about sixty acres to cover,” Cary said.
“The pack will have to be here before you feel the effects of the moon, as soon as you start to change, the barrier will go up,” Maya said, casting her spell on one side of the woods.
“Wait, how will you get out if the barrier is up?”
“It extends to the front of the mansion, Kol will be at the ritual, once its done he’ll take me back. I’ll be fine.” She looked over at Enzo, “You and Damon are going to be locked out of the area, I’d rather you not be eaten by a pack of hungry Werewolves.”
Enzo looked displeased, he didn’t want to leave her side, not with Stefan aware that she was on Klaus’s side, but logically, he knew that Kol wouldn’t let anything happen to her, “We’re staying at home,” he confirmed, referring to the Sommers residence, “We’ll stay with your mum, make sure that Stefan doesn’t make a surprise appearance.”
“Oh I’m pretty sure any surprise appearance he makes, will be at the ritual,” Maya replied, if felt like Nature was trying really hard to get things back on track, making Stefan aware of her allegiance, Liz had let her know that John had just come back to town, one of her deputies had spotted him driving to the Boarding House, which meant that Stefan had probably gotten his hands on a dagger. She was going to have to watch him, make sure that he didn’t try to use it, because if he did, he would die.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay out here?” Cary asked, “Klaus is going to have to kill your cousin.”
“She killed me once,” Maya shrugged, “At least she knows she’s coming back to life.”
The Other Side
“Wait your saying that there is a true balance, and Nature is only half of it?” Bonnie clarified, as the reality of her situation was explained to her, her Grams hadn't told her any of this, and judging by the looks on the Martin's faces, this wasn't common knowledge.
“Vampires feel wrong, because they come from me, Siphon’s come from me, they are mine, and if you do anything to disrupt that, your ancestors will be the first to pay the price.”
“My friend is going to die!” Bonnie exclaimed, she couldn’t just leave Elena to die, it wasn’t right.
“This isn’t me asking you to stop.” Death said, taking thundering steps forward, causing the ground to shake, “This is me telling you. If you do anything, and I do mean anything to work against my children, you will find out how little regard Nature has for her servants. I will destroy everything you have ever known! I will destroy your ancestors! I will make your world burn.”
The Living Plain
“John?” Miranda asked, seeing her brother-in-law digging through the old Gilbert family records, “I didn't know you were in town."
“Elena’s been taken,” he said, shortly, not taking attention away from the journals, flipping through them and tossing them to the side whenever he found it was the wrong one.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“What we feared Miranda, it’s happened.”
“Klaus?” she asked, after that Vampire had come for her child in 1994, she, John and Grayson had spent years researching, finding out exactly what her daughter was mixed up in, just by being born. And they’d discovered the Sun and the Moon curse, and Isobel had told them that Elena was being hunted by the oldest Vampire in the world, Klaus. Miranda had been terrified, but John and Isobel had promised that they would keep Elena safe.
“Yes,” he confirmed, “Isobel’s dead, he killed her, and he took Elena, we don’t have much time.”
“What are you doing?” Miranda asked.
“If we can’t stop the sacrifice, then we need to find a way to bring her back to life. I remember reading something in one of Jonathan Gilbert’s journals, about Emily Bennett bringing a child back from the dead, but I can’t find the journal.”
Miranda dropped to knees next to him, and began digging through the records, “How long do we have?”
“The full moon is in two days.”
Jonas, Luka and Bonnie gasped awake, back in the Witch House, “Did that really just happen?” Luka asked, and Jonas looked around, reaching out with his magic, trying to get a feel for the area.
“Yes,” he confirmed, helping both him and Bonnie to their feet, “The ancestors won’t lend us their power, they dare not mess with the balance.”
“What are we supposed to do?” Bonnie asked, “I can’t just let my friend die!”
“And you still have the life debt to Sage,” Luka pointed out, he wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of town, but he couldn’t leave his father to suffer.
“I’m changing the deal,” Jonas said.
“What?”
“Sage wants Finn back, we’ll find him, and trade him for our freedom from the debt.”
“But what about Elena?!” Bonnie demanded, she needed to save her best friend.
“We can’t go against the balance Bonnie,” Jonas shook his head, he wasn’t willing to allow his ancestors to suffer for one teenage girl.
“But she’s my friend!”
“It’s one life versus many, we cannot stop the sacrifice.”
“But maybe we can make sure that she comes back to life,” Luka pondered, standing between his father and Bonnie, “You said it yourself, Klaus’s Witch said that Elena could come back after she’s sacrificed, if we don’t trust her potion, then between the three of us, we can come up with something ourselves!”
Bonnie gave the older Martin a pleading look, and Jonas sighed with resignation, nodding, “Alright,” he looked at the girl, “Grab your grimoires, we will do the same, and meet you back here in an hour. We don’t have long to come up with something.”
“Found it!” John exclaimed, pulling out the journal from the pile and standing up, he grabbed his phone and dialled Stefan.
“Who are you calling?” Miranda asked.
“Stefan,” he replied.
“Elena’s boyfriend? Why?”
John fought the urge to roll his eyes, “He’s a Vampire, Miranda!”
Bonnie, Stefan, and the Martins met John Gilbert at the Witch house. They’d been going through their grimoires, searching for a way to bring Elena back, without messing with the balance, they’d had no luck until he’d arrived with the journal. They had 29 hours before the sacrifice, they really had no time to waste.
“I saw a section on resuscitative spells in Emily’s grimoire, but I’m not sure if it’ll work. It doesn’t really explain what she did,” Bonnie said.
John showed her the journal, “Jonathan journaled the story of a mother who called on Emily’s services. The woman’s baby was sick; dying. Emily cast a spell that would bind the woman’s life force with her child.”
“How does this help Elena?” Bonnie asked.
“The child died, but the mother’s life force flowed through her, restoring her to life.”
“But Miranda isn’t Elena’s birth mom,” Bonnie pointed out, “And even if she was, Elena wouldn’t want to be the cause of her mother’s death.”
“I’m not talking about linking Miranda to Elena, I’m talking about linking her to me,” John said, “I’m her father, I can do this.”
“But, it’ll kill you,” Bonnie said.
“It’ll save her.” He replied, “Do the linking spell, I know what I’m getting into.”
Bonnie looked toward the Martins, hoping that one of them would have a better option that needing someone else to die, “It’s the best option we have,” Jonas said, after seeing Death on the Other Side, he was not willing to do anything that may disrupt the balance, a life for a life, it was the only way.
Caroline and Liz arrived at the Sommers house, a few hours before the ritual was due to take place, Liz didn’t want to know what was going on, she'd only just about gotten used to Caroline being a Vampire, and Maya being a Siphon, anything else was really too much for her. But Caroline had told her that with the full moon, they needed to be at Maya’s, it was the only place safe to be when Werewolves were roaming the night, and didn’t that just freak Liz out? Werewolves! Next they’d be telling her that Unicorns and Santa Claus really existed!
“Hey!” Jenna said, welcoming them inside, “We have everything set up for a girls night in, movies, snacks, and booze for those of us over the age of 21.”
“What?! I’m forever stuck at 17!” Caroline complained.
“Oh well,” Jenna shrugged, “Looks like no drinking for you!”
Liz laughed at her daughter’s put out expression, “I’m gonna put these upstairs,” she said, gesturing to the bags, “Jenna open that bottle of wine for us.”
Stefan watched impatiently as Bonnie cast the spell on John, “Is it done?” he asked, he needed to know that Elena would be safe, even if it cost her, her birth father.
“Yeah,” Bonnie replied.
“Great!” he made to leave, making sure the dagger was secure in his jacket.
“Where are you going?” Luka asked.
“I’m going to get Elena,” he said, “You may have decided against stopping the sacrifice, but I’m still gonna try.”
Bonnie tried to stop him from leaving, but it was too late he was already gone.
Stefan ran through the woods, straining his hearing, listening out for Maya or other suspicious voices, he thought he heard something and turned towards the sound. Racing past trees, Stefan thought he heard Elena’s voice, and felt hope for the first time in days, only to slam into an invisible barrier. “No!” Stefan tried to get through the barrier, slamming into it again and again, and on his final try, something happened, the barrier shimmered, and Stefan past right through, heading straight for the sound of Elena's voice.
Elena was the last sacrifice to arrive at the ritual site, with Maya at her side, her terror was at an all time high, she was afraid of Klaus, afraid of the pain, afraid of death, she didn’t want to do this, but she had no choice. “Relax Elena,” Maya said, pulling a bottle from her pocket, and guiding her into the circle, “Drink this.”
“What is it?” she asked, she’d already drank the resurrection potion.
“It’ll put you to sleep,” Maya said, being uncharacteristically kind to her cousin, “You won’t feel a thing, and when you wake up, you’ll be safe and sound, in your home, with Stefan, and Jeremy, and Miranda. I promise.”
Elena took the bottle from Maya, and sat on the ground, noting Katherine and random woman in the other two circles, surrounded by fire, at least she would never have to deal with Katherine again, she thought, as she downed the sleeping draught, and quickly fell asleep.
Klaus stepped into the clearing, with Cary and David at his side, Freya and Kol were already there, moonstone in hand, ready to give their brother what he’d been waiting for, for a thousand years. Kol had used the final Werewolf in the wine cellar and drained him of his life, making sure that he was chock full of magic for the ritual.
Klaus paused at Maya’s side, planting a kiss on her lips, ignoring the painful groans of Jules, and Katherine's calculating gaze from her own circle of fire. “You ready for this?” Maya asked.
“I’ve been ready for a thousand years,” he replied.
Maya smiled as he let her go, and headed over to his siblings, she prowled over to Katherine, who was subtly trying to find a way out, “Don’t bother trying to get through, Freya spelled the circle, you’re trapped, no matter what.”
“You do this for him, and he won’t need you anymore,” Katherine spat, “He’s using you, and a soon as his curse is broken, he’ll throw you away. That’s what Originals do.”
Maya smirked, “Look at you, so bitter, just think, all you had to do was be here 500 years ago, and you would have had everything. Now me and my Mom, we have everything, and you won’t even be a bad memory.” She turned away from Katherine, and walked closer to Jules.
“What’s happening to me?” Jules groaned from her knees, it felt like she was being ripped apart, it was worse than anything she’d ever had to suffer as a Werewolf before.
“Freya cast a spell to slow down your transformation, your insides are trying to tear themselves free.” Maya crouched down, watching as Jules writhed in agony, “You know…Mason’s not dead.”
“What?” Jules gasped.
“I saved his life, helped him hide, so that Katherine wouldn’t kill him.”
“But-”
“If you hadn’t taken my friend, hadn’t let her be tortured, then you wouldn’t be here. You’d be free to rule your pack, but you came to my town, you hurt my best friend, and now you’re gonna die for it.”
“She’s cruel,” David whispered, impressed as he watched the red-head stalk around the sacrifices. Her loyalty was absolute, and it was to Klaus, which meant that even though she wasn’t a wolf, she was a worthy Alpha-female.
“Just be glad she’s on our side,” Cary shot back, straightening as she came over to them.
“When his curse is broken, you can give me your rings, you can’t transform with them on,” Maya said, and Cary nodded, the rings gave them access to their strength and their venom and prevented them from changing despite the moon, they didn't allow them to turn whenever they wanted, “There’s a change of clothes for you guys closer to the pack, for the morning.”
“Okay,” Cary said, “How long is this gonna take?” Their wolves were antsy, knowing that something amazing was about to happen, they were restless and wanted to break free.
“Not long,” Maya replied, looking over at Klaus, who was talking with his siblings.
/ / /
“I spent a thousand years waiting for this,” Klaus said, staring at his siblings, even though they’d all been on much better terms lately, he couldn’t help the slight twinge of uneasiness in him, as he put his faith in his long lost sister and his psychopathic baby brother, “Are you ready?”
Freya placed the moonstone in a bowl, “I’ll start the spell,” she said, “I have mother’s magic, so the curse should react well to me. Then Kol will mix his blood with the moonstone, and join me in breaking the curse.” She looked at Kol, “Are you sure you have enough magic in you?”
Kol nodded, “I’m sure.”
Freya felt the energy from the moon, and locked eyes with Klaus, “The moon has passed it’s apex. Do you remember everything you need to do?”
“I remember,” Klaus said, walking over to the sacrifices.
Kol took Freya’s hand and the both of them began to cast, causing the moonstone to erupt in flames, while the fire surrounding Jules disappeared. The Werewolf tried to run, but Klaus caught her, tearing her heart from her chest, squeezing the organ over the fiery moonstone, causing the flames to die out. “Tell me it’s working.”
“It’s working,” Kol confirmed, feeling the magic falling away from his brother, biting into his hand, and dripping his own blood over the moonstone, combining his magic with his sisters.
Dropping what was left of the heart, he turned his attention to Katherine, a sense of perverse glee causing through him, she should have died in this ritual 500 years ago, she wouldn’t get away again. Klaus moved towards her, but was stopped by the cry of his name. “KLAUS!” Stefan yelled, rushing into view, he had the dagger in hand as he charged at the Original.
Maya took a step forward and lifted a hand, "Revertere!" Stefan was thrown backwards, and dropped the dagger. Maya picked it up, sliding it into the side of her boot, "Thanks Stef, we were wondering where that dagger had gotten to."
Stefan growled, pushing himself to his feet, "How could you do this?! How could you betray your family like this?!"
Maya's eyes darkened, but Klaus was the one to step forward, "I'd show a little respect if I were you mate, she just saved your life."
The Siphon smirked at the perplexed look on the Vampire's face, "You didn't know that any Vampire that uses the dagger, dies themselves? It's how they were made."
Stefan's eyes widened as he took in what she said, "I don't believe you."
"No?" Maya cocked an eyebrow, "Did you get it from John? He hates Vampires, I'm sure he'd love to see you die."
Stefan looked hesitant, thinking that she was maybe telling the truth, before shaking his head, "Elena's your family, and you're letting her die!"
"I'm freeing her," Maya replied, "Now we have ritual to get back to, so if you don't mind," she waved him off, but Stefan didn't move.
"I'm not leaving without Elena."
"We don't have time for this," Klaus muttered, speeding behind Stefan, staking him in the back, sticking him to the ground. "If you don't want to leave, then you can watch!"
“It’s time for the next phase brother,” Kol called, and Klaus made his way over to Katherine.
“Katerina, it’s been a long time coming,” he said, “In the very place that you tried to escape all those years ago.”
Katherine stood strong, if she was going to go out, she wasn’t going to cower, she’d stare her fate head on, but of course, the second the flames went out, she’d run. “Killing the woman your brother loves, Elijah won’t forgive you for this,” it was a last-ditch attempt at saving her life.
Maya scoffed, “Elijah loves someone else, someone that would never put brother against brother like you. You’re nothing Katherine.”
“Whenever you’re ready brother,” Klaus said, and the flames disappeared, Katherine tried to run, but cursed as she realised she’d been compelled not to leave the circle, “I’m not taking any chances,” Klaus said, grabbing her by the throat and staking her. It took five hundred years, but Katerina Petrova was finally dead, and that satisfaction that Klaus felt, well, it was almost as great as the feeling that he got when he realised that he was going to finally be whole again. Klaus dropped her to the ground, and turned his attention to Elena, when someone else showed up.
"ENOUGH!" Sage yelled, as she stormed into the clearing, putting everyone on edge.
Maya rolled her eyes, "Honestly can't we have one sacrifice without interruption?!" she complained.
“Ah Sage, what an unpleasant surprise,” Klaus said, stepping closer to Maya, “You must know it’s suicide coming here.”
“Finn wanted this stopped, I will do everything to make sure his wish is fulfilled!” she exclaimed.
Klaus laughed, “You think you can stop me?” his fingers twitched and Cary and David were slowly moving to flank the ancient Vampire, “You’re lucky I haven’t killed you.”
Freya shot Maya a pleading glance, she couldn’t break her concentration from the curse, and Kol wouldn't help, he detested Sage, but she didn’t want her to die, she seemed to be the only reason that Finn wanted to live. Maya rolled her eyes, and placed her hand on Klaus’s arm, “Nik,” she whispered, trying to calm him down.
Klaus’s wolf was rising to the surface, even without the full moon it would have been a problem, but here, now, it was almost impossible to keep his temper in check. “I let you live, for nine centuries, I let you live, for my brother, but if you interfere now, I’ll let you die!”
Sage growled, took something out of her pocket, throwing it towards Elena and charged at Klaus. "NO!" Stefan cried seeing what her intention was, Maya cast a spell, slowing Sage down enough for Cary and David to pounce, Cary burying his fangs into Sage’s neck, pumping Werewolf venom through her, causing her to drop to the ground in shock.
The wolves had gotten to her before she attacked their Alpha, but not before whatever she’d thrown had hit Elena. The spell had changed the trajectory of the object, so it didn’t kill her, but it ended up tearing through her stomach. Kol was at Elena’s side in an instant, feeding her his blood, healing her. “The potion’s not gonna work now,” Kol said, he couldn’t stop the spell, not now, they had to finish.
Maya looked at Stefan who had tears in his eyes as he realised that he couldn't save her, "Did Bonnie cast the spell?" she asked, drawing his attention from Elena.
"What?"
"Did Bonnie link her to John?"
"Why?" Stefan asked, trying and failing to reach for the stake that was pinning him to the ground.
"Because my potion won't work with Vampire blood, that spell is the only thing that will stop her from becoming like you."
"Yes," Stefan replied, "She cast it!"
"Then let's hope it worked," Maya said, and looked back at Sage on the ground.
The wolves rushed back to Klaus’s side, and Sage grabbed her neck in agony, “No!” she whispered, she didn’t think he’d actually do it. Klaus had kept her alive for Finn, she never thought that he would actually kill her. Her eyes locked with Maya, coming to the realisation that the Witch could cure her, like she did Rebekah, but she probably wouldn’t, not after everything Sage had done to her.
Maya took a step forward, “You should go,” Maya said, “There’s a pack lose in these woods, and you’re easy prey now.”
It took a moment for Sage to understand what else had just happened, without her, Finn hadn’t wanted to live, and if she died, he would try to kill himself again, and this time, Klaus would probably let him, stumbling to her feet, she whooshed out of the clearing, looking for a place that she could re-group.
Freya cast Maya a worried glance, “It’s fine,” the Siphon whispered, from next to the Witch, “At her age, it’ll be four days before she dies. I’ll heal her later.” Freya gave her a grateful look, and put all of her concentration back on the breaking of the curse.
"If we're done with the interruptions," Klaus said, annoyed at all the extra drama, he moved on to Elena "I'd like to finish this." The flames dropped and he picked her up waiting for the nod from his siblings, he drained every last drop of blood in her, and released her. Klaus cried out as he felt his first transformation in a thousand years, “I can feel it! It’s happening! Yes! Yes!” he fell to his knees as his bones broke, shifting into a new formation.
Maya held out her hand to the wolves, and they gave her their rings, their bodies twisting up the second the protective magic left them.
“We should go,” Maya said, knowing the three wolves were very dangerous, she ripped the stake from Stefan, so that he could take Elena away, "You should get out of here, a Werewolf bite is lethal for Vampires."
Kol grabbed both women and whooshed away, leaving Stefan to take Elena back home and hope for her resurrection.
It had been a thousand years since Klaus had felt his wolf, since he’d been able to run through the woods, and be everything that he truly was. His bones cracked and shifted, his adrenaline was pumping and his body felt like it was on fire, but it was invigorating. It took about thirty minutes for him to complete the change, he ripped out of his clothes and shot off, faster than he’d ever been before.
The wolf was searching out food, when he heard rustling behind him, he turned around and let out a low growl. Causing the rustling to quieten as two more wolves came through the trees, their bodies were lowered towards the ground. Klaus took a step forward and the wolves tucked their tales beneath them, showing their submission to their Alpha. Klaus got closer to them, accepting their submission and taking off towards where he could hear a dear moving about. The wolves, Cary and David, followed him, with his superior speed, Klaus jumped on the deer, locking his jaw on its neck, bringing it down. Klaus feasted first, and then moved aside for his Beta and Enforcer to eat. When they were finished, he was going to move on to another animal he could sense in the distance, when they heard a howl in the night.
The three wolves headed straight for the howl, Klaus moving at a slower pace so that the others could keep up, they burst through the trees and came across the pack. Instinctually Klaus established dominance over the pack, and led them on the first true hunt that he'd ever been on.
Maya had been woken after only a few hours of sleep, after the kids had been told that Klaus was likely to stay in his wolf form for longer than the full moon, they'd been desperate to see him. Maya was reluctant to take them, but eventually relented at their insistence, taking them out to woods with Cary, who'd been tracking Klaus's progress across their new territory.
They heard a rustle and Cary stepped in front of them, a dark wolf stalking out from behind a tree, the wolf growled and Maya put her hand on Cary’s shoulder, stepping forward, “Maya,” he protested.
“It’s okay,” she said, “Just keep an eye on them,” she motioned at the kids who were both uncharacteristically silent as they stared at the large wolf. Maya crouched down, “Nik?” she asked. The wolf cocked its head to the side, before taking step forward. “Nik?” she asked again, nervously reaching out her hand, and the wolf sniffed at it, acclimating to her scent using his new senses. And then he licked it, causing her to squeal in disgust, “Nik! Gross!” He moved closer, knocking her down and licking her face, “Nik!” she complained, and children laughed, moving closer to them. Maya struggled up to a seated position, with Klaus’s weight on top of her, “Slowly,” she said to the kids, not knowing how much of Klaus was in control.
They came up to him, carefully, their eyes glowing yellow, and Klaus responded, recognising both his female and his children, his head motioned to them and with his permission they ran over to him, their hands running through his fur. Luna giggled when Klaus nuzzled her with his wet nose, and Maya stroked his fur, “Wow,” she said, his wolf form was beautiful.
"Daddy you're so pretty!" Luna squealed in excitement, causing Cary to snort in amusement and then step back as the wolf shot him, what could only be described as a glare.
Liam looked at his father in awe, he was so in tune with his wolf, and he realised that this is what he wanted, he wanted to be in full control of his wolf, he wanted to be strong and powerful like his father, he wanted to be a Hybrid.
Klaus pulled back from them, took a few steps back and his body started to shake, “What’s happening?” Maya looked at Cary in question.
“He’s changing back,” Cary said, “Maybe step back a little.” He said cautiously.
The Siphon moved backwards, bringing the children with her, changing back was fairly quick for Klaus, he wasn’t feeling the pull of the moon anymore, so it made it easier, no less painful, but that would disappear with time. Klaus groaned as he changed back, standing up, Maya quickly covered the children's eyes, “Nik!” she hissed, “You’re naked!”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel great!
Chapter 70: The True Alpha
Notes:
Thank you so much for all the comments and Kudos! They really make my day!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The children spent the journey back to the mansion peppering Klaus with questions about what he'd seen, what he'd done, what he'd felt, basically what it was like for him to turn after all this time, they were fascinated by the fact that he could remember everything about being a wolf, and truth be told, so was Cary. When they reached home, they ran off towards the Pack House, knowing that he would be over to see them all shortly, to officially take his place as the Alpha.
“Well, well, the mighty have returned,” Rebekah smiled and then wrinkled her nose, “Ugh! What’s that smell?”
“That would be me,” Maya replied, looking down at her body, Klaus wasn’t exactly clean when he’d jumped on her in wolf form, she had mud, leaves and blood stuck to her form, “I’m gonna go have a shower, I’m covered in Werewolf slobber!”
Klaus grinned, he wasn’t at all repentant, “You know what, I could use a shower too!”
“Hah! Nice try!” Maya pushed him away from her, “You have your own shower, use it.” She ran up the stairs and Klaus shook his head in amusement.
Rebekah watched as he moved closer to her, noticing the relaxation in his posture, the light in his eyes, it was so different from what she’d seen of him for the last millennia. “Congratulations Nik,” she said, kissing his cheek.
“Thank you, sister.”
Elena gasped awake from her spot on the couch at the Salvatore’s, Stefan had brought her to the Boarding House, he didn’t want to take her home, in case she didn’t wake, or in case she did, but as a Vampire. “S-Stefan?” she asked, seeing her boyfriend, she struggled to sit up, feeling very human…and she lit up, “It worked! I’m alive!”
“Yeah,” he looked unhappy, “Elena, we need to talk…” Stefan had a lot to tell her.
“Where’s Bonnie?” she asked.
“She’s at the Witch house,” he spoke gently, “Elena, something happened last night.”
“What?” she asked worriedly, “Stefan, what’s going on?”
“Your Uncle John is dead,” he said, producing a letter that John had left for her.
She took it from him, opening it, her eyes scanned the page, ‘Elena, it’s no easy task being an ordinary parent to an extraordinary child. I failed in that task.’ Elena began to tear up as she read, ‘Because of my prejudices, I failed you. I’m haunted by how things might have played out differently. If I’d been more willing to hear your side of things.’ She sniffled, ‘For me it’s the end. For you, a chance to grow old, and someday do better with your own child than I did with mine. It’s for that child, that I give my ring. I don’t ask for you forgiveness, or for you to forget. I ask only that you believe this, whether you are now reading this as a human, or if you’ve chosen to become a Vampire, I love you all the same, as I’ve always loved you, and always will. John.’
“I- I don’t understand,” Elena sniffled, “What happened? How did he die?”
“Bonnie and I…we didn’t trust that Maya could bring you back to life, so we looked for another way, and Bonnie found one! But…but it came at a price, to bring you back as a human, John had to die.”
Elena shook her head in shock, “What do you mean, human?! I was coming back human!”
“That’s not-” Stefan didn’t know how to tell her, when he’d broken through the barrier he’d felt something brush past him, he’d seen a flash of red, it had to have been Sage. She didn’t know where the curse was being broken, but Stefan had almost instinctually known where to find Elena, and he knew that Sage would follow him. He’d caused this, but how could he tell Elena? She wouldn’t look at him the same after this. “I came for you,” he sighed, “Maya must have put up a barrier, but something let me through, and Sage followed me… John brought me a dagger, to use on Klaus, to put him down, but…I didn’t even get close to him. Maya used her magic to throw me aside, and Klaus staked me through the back, to the ground. I couldn’t move…Sage came out, and she tried to stop the sacrifice, not to save you, but just so that Klaus couldn’t get what he wanted. She threw something at you… I don’t know what, Maya cast a spell, but it didn’t stop it, just made it change trajectory. Whatever it was, it tore through you, and you would have been dead in minutes, but Klaus’s brother gave you his blood...”
“That still doesn’t explain it Stefan!”
“Maya said that the potion wouldn’t work with Vampire blood in your system, that you’d come back, but you’d be a Vampire. John sacrificing himself, it kept you human, Elena.”
“No!” Elena shook her head, “No! No! This isn’t right! This isn’t fair! I went with Klaus so none of my family got hurt! And now you’re saying that if it hadn’t have been for you and Bonnie, John would still be alive!”
“But you’d be dead!” Stefan exclaimed, “Because you don’t want to be a Vampire!”
“This was my choice, Stefan! I told you not to interfere! And you did!”
“Because Maya’s been working for Klaus this whole time!”
Klaus walked inside the parlour, where he found Kol and Freya, he’d had a lightning-fast shower, and opted to see his baby brother and older sister while he waited for Maya to finish cleaning up. The two of them were relaxing after such a hectic, magic intensive night. Looking up from their position on the couch, they could see a marked difference in him, in the way he walked, the way he stood, just his overall demeanour. It was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It was inconceivable that the breaking of his curse would fundamentally change who Klaus was, who he’d become over the past thousand years, but Kol could see that his brother had a new sense of freedom. And he understood that, he’d spent a millennia longing for his magic, and now that he had it back, a part of him had been freed. “Nik!”
Klaus gave him a rare smile, one that had been reserved for his children, “Kol,” he pulled his younger brother to him, giving him a hug, “Thank you,” he finally said. A thousand years of planning had finally come to fruition, and he had his baby brother and older sister to thank for it, he squeezed him tight, both of them relishing in a camaraderie that hadn't existed for centuries.
Kol let go and took in the Hybrid, “You look better,” he said.
“I feel better,” Klaus nodded. He stepped towards Freya, and kissed her cheek, “Thank you, sister.”
Freya smiled at him, she was happy for him, happy that he'd been spared further torment at their mother's hand, and most of all, she was happy that he would finally trust her.
“What do you mean? What are you talking about?!” Elena demanded.
“Sage said that Klaus had a powerful Witch on his side, a red-headed Witch.”
“Maya.”
Stefan nodded, “We didn’t talk last night, but she recognised Maya, which means that she’s been working for Klaus this whole time. The curse, the sacrifice, she pretended to give you a choice, but you never had one Elena, she meant for you to die!”
“I was always meant to die!” Elena burst out. She didn’t know what it was, but the anger, the hate that she felt for Maya, it had faded. It wasn’t gone, but it was like she could think more clearly now, it was like…a fog had lifted. “Whether she was working for him or not, Klaus was always coming to kill me!”
“Elena, she betrayed you!”
“No Stefan! Katherine was here! She came for the moonstone! She came for me! With or without Maya, I was always going to end up dead! The difference- the difference is, with her, I was supposed to come back to life, and my family would be alive!” She stood, and started pacing the floor, “Maya didn’t betray me, she was never on my side! I knew that when I accepted her help! And I knew that she would never do anything to hurt Jeremy. So it didn’t matter! I told you not to do anything!”
“I know.”
“But you did!”
“I know,” Stefan repeated.
“And now John’s dead!”
“I know Elena! I get it! We screwed up! But it doesn’t change the fact that Klaus is in town! With your cousin by his side! More powerful that ever! We have no idea what they’re planning now!”
Elena threw her hands in the air, “Then let’s just ask her!”
Maya came out of Klaus’s room casting a quick spell to dry her hair, and bumped into the freshly showered Hybrid himself. “Hey!” she smiled, “I thought you were going to see the pack.”
“I’m going,” he replied, “And you’re coming with me.”
“Huh?”
He pulled her in close, “You’re my Alpha Female, we should greet the pack together.”
“Oh…” She was surprised at that, for someone who wasn’t ready to tell her that he loved her, he was definitely making a big declaration. Officially introducing her to the pack, it was a huge step for him, and she wasn’t about to pass this up, “Alright, let’s go.”
/ / /
Cary and the Enforcers had gathered the pack downstairs, Klaus would officially be taking his place as Alpha, now that his wolf was free, and no matter how much the Elders didn’t like it, this would be good for the pack.
“Alright everyone line up!” he called out, “Klaus is on his way!”
There were murmurs of excitement from the younger ones, the older ones hid it better, but they were all ready to see if it was true, they remembered running, they remembered being led by another wolf, but that was all really, that was the drawback to being a wolf, when they changed, they didn’t have much control over themselves, the wolves that had been changed longer had a little bit of agency when they transformed, but not much. Being able to see Klaus, see that he had his wolf, see him change at will, it would go a long way to settle those who still had doubts about him. The wolves lined up in rows, the Beta, the Enforcers and Liam and Luna, stood at the front, with the Elders directly behind them.
Upstairs, looking over the pack was Mason, he wasn’t one of them, but he had run with them the previous night. From what he’d learnt from the teenagers he’d interrogated, Klaus was supposed to be, what they called a ‘Hybrid’, half Vampire, half Wolf. He didn’t believe it, but it was clear that everyone around him did, and the wolves were all waiting for the moment that Klaus broke the Sun and the Moon curse, and was able to make more of his kind.
/ / /
Klaus appeared in front of the pack in a flash, with Maya at his side. The wolves all stiffened at his arrival, and the first thing he did, was allow his wolf to come forth. His eyes glowed yellow, calling to the pack, and they responded in kind. The veins appeared beneath his eyes, and he showed off double fangs, causing the younger ones to gasp, and the elders took a step back in shock, they hadn’t really believed it, they didn’t think that it was possible, the stories had been passed down the pack for centuries, it had been nothing but a legend for them. But it was true, it was actually true!
The Hybrid smirked, “As you can see, my wolf has been set free! I am the Alpha, is there anyone that disputes my right?”
There was a hushed murmuring in the pack, when one of the Elder’s called out, “You said that you’d be able to turn at will! We haven’t seen anything to indicate that!”
Maya shot him a worried glance, he’d only ever turned twice in his life, and both times, she knew was agony for him, both times, he hadn’t done it out of choice, it was just a reaction. But she wouldn’t undermine him, not in front of the pack.
Normally, Klaus would have just torn out the heart of whoever chose to speak out against him, but he knew that he needed to show the pack that he'd spoken the truth when he said that he could change at will. He took of his shirt, and handed it to Maya, moving to take of his trousers, she stopped him for a moment. She looked out at the pack, “He’s gonna be naked, all the kids, cover your eyes!” They made no move to do as she said, “NOW!” her voice reverberated through them, because Klaus had chosen her as his Alpha female, and quickly moved to do as she said.
Cary smirked, covering Liam and Luna’s eyes, without much protest from them. When Maya was satisfied that the younger ones couldn’t see anything, she let Klaus continue, ignoring his snicker of amusement.
Klaus handed her his trousers, he hadn’t bothered with underwear, unashamed of his nudity, he reached within himself, calling his wolf to the surface, Klaus doubled over, his arms cracking, and shifting, he held in his screams of agony, not willing to show them how much pain he was in. Maya had said that eventually he wouldn’t feel the pain, but he wasn’t anywhere near that point.
That pack watched with baited breath as the bones in face broke, and reformed into a snout, Maya gripped his clothes tightly, her knuckles turning white as she stopped herself from helping him, she hated to see him hurt, and at that moment, he was hurting himself.
The change didn’t take long, as Klaus forced his wolf through, the moment he did, the pack dropped to their knees, submitting to their Alpha.
Bonnie made her way back home, after spending hours in the Witch house, in and out of consciousness, she just wanted to take a shower, and go to sleep, she was exhausted. She should have checked on Elena, made sure that she came back alright, but she had been shaken to her core. The idea that Death was an actual being, it was earth shattering, but the knowledge that had she kept along her path, she would have clashed with Maya, the one who was apparently his first ever creation. That was unbelievable, but it made sense, how she always acted so much older than she was, how she knew things about magic, about the world that not even her grandmother knew.
And there was another blow to her psyche, her grandmother, the one person that she had a true connection with, had truly brought her fate onto herself. Death had showed her, what she hadn’t wanted to believe, showed her the truth, that Maya had killed every last Vampire from the tomb, in order to protect the Gilberts, he showed her that there was truly no reason for them to have re-spelled the compass, but they had. He’d even showed her what happened that night, to Caroline, to Richard Lockwood, deaths that weren’t just on her grandmother’s hands, but hers too. Bonnie realised that she’d gotten off so easy, compared to what Maya could have done to her. The Siphon was so much more knowledgeable, so much more powerful than she was. For Bonnie, it was chilling to know that Maya, and those she surrounded herself with could destroy her with a flick of the wrist. Bonnie didn’t know what she was thinking, believing that she could take down Originals, when she barely had any training, she’d been overconfident, and it could have gotten her killed.
/ / /
Jo sighed, as she parked her car outside of the Bennett house, her research hadn’t brought much to her attention, but what she had noticed was the distinct sound of wolves howling last night, during the full moon, it was a sound that she recognised from when she grew up in Portland, for as long as she could remember, there had always been a small pack that lived nearby.
She picked up the urn that had been delivered to her, this definitely wasn’t something that she wanted to do, but someone needed to deliver Sheila Bennett’s ashes to her granddaughter, and as much as she hated to admit it, it would give her an in with the Bennett Witch. Knocking on the door, Jo was startled by just how young the Bennett Witch was. “Bonnie Bennett?” she asked.
/ / /
Bonnie glanced down at the urn in the woman’s hands, and she began to tear up, “No,” she shook her head. Death had told her that she would never see her Grams again, but she had been hoping that he was wrong. “No!” her hands covered her mouth as she held back her despair.
“I’m so sorry,” the woman said, “May I come in?” she asked.
The Bennett Witch took a step back, offering a wordless invitation, and the woman stepped inside, “What happened?”
“My name is Josette Parker, your grandmother came to my coven for help.”
Bonnie’s eyes hardened at that, if her Grams had managed to find a way to tell someone what was going on in Mystic Falls, chances are, whoever this was, knew about Siphons, probably hated them, which didn’t mean anything good for her.
It had been a couple of hours since Klaus had made his declaration to the pack, and now he was holding court with the Beta and Enforcers. They were discussing the subject of turning, while there were plenty of benefits to becoming a Hybrid, there was one main drawback, children. When a Werewolf became a Hybrid, sure they gained control over their wolf, the became stronger, faster, deadlier, but they also lost the ability to have children of their own. And if Klaus wanted to ensure that the Werewolves were able to not just survive, but thrive, he couldn’t turn them all into Hybrids straight away.
“Immortality is a lot to take on,” Klaus said, “I won’t force you into turning.”
“It’s not that we don’t want to be Hybrids,” Cary said, “But some us haven’t had the chance to have families yet. I know that I want to be able to have kids, further our bloodline, before I turn.”
Klaus nodded, he could understand that, in fact, that was something that he could get behind, Cary was the last living member of his father’s bloodline, and he didn’t want that line to die out. “I understand that,” he looked around at all of them, “Do you all feel like this?”
Regina scoffed, “No, I’d be happy to be your first true Hybrid,” technically she wouldn’t be the first, Klaus was going to test out the transition on the Werewolf in the cellar, but she would be the first volunteer.
“I’m good too,” David said, he was the youngest of the Enforcers, like Regina, he had no interest in having children, and knew that if he ever changed his mind, he could always do what his Alpha had done, and adopt a kid, after all, there were so many Werewolves out there that had been displaced thanks to Vampires, there were bound to be other children that needed a home.
“I…don’t want to be a Hybrid,” Scott said, at 45, he was the oldest out of the Enforcers, and with his age, came the fact that he already had a family, a mate, and children. He’d discussed it with his husband already, they’d decided that they wanted to grow old together, immortality wasn’t something that they were prepared for.
Klaus fought the urge to growl, ideally, all of his Enforcers would become Hybrids, but Maya had been very clear that if he took a forceful approach, his pack would end in disaster. “Like I said, I won’t force you to be a Hybrid.”
“I’m ready to become a Hybrid,” Emma said, she had two children already, and wanted to be able to protect them, as a Hybrid she’d be stronger.
They all looked at Alexandra, only one left who had yet to speak, “I’d be a Hybrid,” she nodded, “But I want to get a little older first.”
“I’ll be testing out the transition tonight, if it works, Regina, David, I will turn you two tomorrow. I want the rest of you to speak to Maya, if you are to remain as you are, then we need to find a practical way to allow you to turn on a full moon, without needing to hide your rings away.”
Elena walked into Bonnie’s house, Stefan had managed to convince her to speak with Bonnie before going to see Maya, he was hoping that her friend would be able to talk Elena out of doing anything stupid.
“Bonnie?” she called, stepping inside the living room, where her friend was sat on the floor, her back to the couch, whatever Bonnie had been through, it had taken a lot out of her. “Bonnie?” she asked again, hesitating as she didn’t want to disturb her friend.
Bonnie’s eyes snapped open, seeing the brunette with Stefan, “Elena, we need to talk.” After everything she’d learned from her ancestors on the Other Side, after everything Death had told her, she needed to speak with the doppelgänger, she needed to tell her the truth, about everything.
“Bonnie!” Stefan said, “Elena wants to go and see Maya! Tell her that it’s a terrible idea!”
“Actually, it’s not,” Bonnie replied.
“What?”
“You left before I could tell you what I’d learned about Maya, about…everything!”
“What do you mean?”
“You should both sit down,” she gestured to the floor, and they glanced at one another before taking a seat. “I don’t really know where to start…” she bit her lip in contemplation.
“How about you start with why you decided not to help me stop Klaus?” Stefan asked, he was still upset about her decision last night.
“When the Martins and I first got to the massacre site, the ancestors brought us to the Other Side.”
“The Other Side?” Elena asked.
“It’s where the supernatural go after they die. They can see what goes on here, and in some cases, if they’re powerful enough, they can affect changes on the Living Plain. The ancestors brought us to them, they had a lot to say…” Bonnie sighed.
“About what exactly?” Stefan asked.
“About the balance. You know how Witches believe in balance, how we’ve thought that Vampires go against Nature and the balance of the world?”
“Yes,” Stefan nodded, he was all too familiar with Witches that believed him to be a monster, an abomination.
“We were wrong, about a lot of it, Vampires do go against Nature, because they were created by Death. There is a balance to the universe, Nature and Death. They both exist…as primordial beings, they’re the beginning and the end of existence. The short story is, Nature created the Earth, created Humans, and Witches and Werewolves, and Death…Death created Vampires, and Siphons…and Old Souls.”
“Old souls?” Elena asked puzzled, “What’s an Old Soul?”
“They are beings that, when they die, they don’t find peace, they don’t move on, Death takes them, and brings them back to life, as his own creations. Maya is one…”
“So, she’s part of Death twice over?” Stefan asked.
“It’s more than that, Stefan, she’s Death’s first Old Soul, his favourite, he showed me what happens to those who try to go against him, to those who try to go against her. Whatever happens with Maya, we just need to stay out of her way! Klaus and the rest of the Originals, they don’t care about us! Now that the curse is broken and Katherine’s dead, Elena, you’re free! As long as we leave them alone.”
“How can you say that, Bonnie?!” Stefan exclaimed, “After everything you’ve been through-”
“Don’t Stefan! You have no idea what I’ve been through!”
“Bonnie-” Elena tried.
“My Grams is dead Elena.”
“What?”
“A Witch showed up here, with her ashes. She said that Grams went to her coven for help.”
“What happened?” the Salvatore asked.
“The coven had a way to remove compulsion, but Grams…she was too weak, she couldn’t take it, and died there.”
“That never would have happened if not for Maya!” Stefan exclaimed.
“I know that, Stefan! I also know that it never would have happened if we hadn’t have gotten involved in Vampire business to begin with!”
“Bon-”
“The things that I have seen, the things that I know, I value my life Stefan, and I won’t go against Maya! Not again! I'm not prepared to lose more than I already have. You shouldn’t go against her either.”
Jo was sat back in her room at the Bed and Breakfast in Mystic Falls, mulling over what she’d learned from Bonnie, she didn’t know how she was going to tell her father that the Bennett Witch wouldn’t help them in dealing with a Siphon. After everything she’d been through with Kai, she didn’t believe that the Siphon, Maya, could be trusted, every time she even thought about the word, Siphon, she was brought back to that terrible night, when her brother, her twin, had almost murdered their entire family, brought back to a night when she was forced to give up her magic in order to help imprison him. She still had nightmares about Kai, and she couldn’t take the chance that someone like him was free in the world, especially if her allies included the Originals, that was a lot of magic at her finger tips.
Because of Kai, Jo left her family, left her coven, left her home, Olivia and Luke probably felt like she abandoned them, she didn’t even know what they looked like now! And because she wasn’t willing to take the chance that this Siphon was any different, she needed to let the coven know and she needed to decide whether it was time to get her magic back.
The Enforcers and Cary were down in the cellar at Mikaelson Mansion, the Werewolf left over from Mason’s pack was on the ground with a broken neck, Klaus had force-fed him his blood, and now they were all just waiting for him to awake, to see if the transition was truly possible. The wolf woke with a start, gasping for breath, and scrabbling at his neck, trying to fight off pain that no longer existed.
“Finally!” Regina yanked him to his feet, and David held his head steady, as Klaus poured some of his own blood, down the wolf’s throat. The wolf let out a choking cough, dropping to his knees, and the Werewolves took a step back in worry, as it seemed for a moment, like the wolf wanted to tear through the skin of the man. But then, he snapped his head up, looking at Klaus with glowing eyes, causing the Original to grin in victory.
“It worked,” Klaus said, he would never be able to describe the exuberance that he felt, knowing that Maya was right, knowing that not only could he create Hybrids, but that he wasn’t dependant on anyone or anything to create them but himself. It was exhilarating, it was… he was finally truly and completely free, free of Mikael, free of his mother’s machinations, free to create a species just like him.
“What- what happened? What did you do?” The Werewolf turned Hybrid panted, he’d been in the cellar for so long, he didn’t know which way was up, he’d suffered torture, and humiliation, and then finally, he thought that he’d received the sweet death that he’d been longing for, but instead he was back, with an odd feeling in his chest, as he stared at one of his tormentors.
“You’re a Hybrid now.”
“A what?” he scrubbed his face, feeling his wolf rise to the surface in a way it never had before.
“A Vampire, and a Werewolf, you’re both.”
“Impossible!”
Klaus took a step forward, his own eyes glowing a brilliant gold, his double fangs appearing, “Oh it’s very possible, and you’re my first. But you most certainly won’t be the last,” he said with a wicked grin. The newly turned Hybrid shook his head, what had he gotten himself into? “Now, let’s see what you can do...”
“Dad,” Jo said, the second Joshua Parker answered the phone.
“Josette, what have you found out?” There was no time for pleasantries, the leader of the Gemini Coven needed to know what was going on, needed to know what he was dealing with, how far gone was the Siphon? How powerful?
“Not enough,” she replied glumly, “Sheila’s granddaughter was very tight-lipped about the Siphon, she said that she wasn’t about to mess with the balance, so she wouldn’t help us against her.”
“That’s preposterous, Siphon’s are against the balance!”
“I know Dad, but that’s what she said, and she looked pretty terrified, the Siphon must have done a real number on her.”
“Or she must be very powerful,” Joshua mused.
“What the Bennett Witch did confirm, is that the Siphon is working with the Originals, one in particular.”
“Who?” Joshua was praying that it wasn’t who he thought it was.
“Klaus,” Jo replied, “You know the Sun and the Moon curse?”
“And old wives tale,” Joshua shrugged off, it was nothing more than a legend, an impossible one at that, one that had clearly been made up to find one thing and one thing alone, doppelgängers.
“It was a fake alright…”
“What do you mean?”
“One thing the Bennett Witch did let slip, was that the Sun and the Moon curse, was cooked up by Klaus, so that he could get his hands on the moonstone, and a living doppelg änger.”
“Why?” The doppelgängers were a zealously guarded secret, he always figured that the curse had been created by the Travellers, in order to find them.
“Because it turns out that Klaus isn’t just a Vampire, when he was turned, and made his first kill, he found out that he had been born a Werewolf, and with the first life he took, he became both…a Hybrid.”
“Impossible!”
“No,” Jo shook her head, “Upon seeing what he was, the Original Witch cursed Klaus, and locked away his Werewolf half, in order to prevent him from siring a new, even deadlier species. The problem was, she used doppelgänger blood to do it…”
“And to undo it, doppelgänger blood must be shed.” Joshua said in understanding.
“There’s one here, Klaus sacrificed her to break the curse, and now, he’s back to being a full blown Hybrid, stronger, faster, and even more deadly.”
“The Siphon helped him do this?”
“The doppelgänger was her cousin.” That was what had truly sealed the deal for Jo, the knowledge that the Siphon had willingly, if not eagerly, handed over her cousin on a silver platter, so that she could gain access to the most powerful sources of magic in existence.
“My God…”
“All of the Originals are here, Elijah, Finn, Rebekah, Kol and Klaus, we can’t take them on in Mystic Falls.”
“So what do you suggest?”
“Dad... Klaus is going to be looking for Werewolves to turn… and from what I’ve read about him, he would be unwilling to let something like the Siphon go…so she’ll be travelling with him.”
Joshua understood exactly what she was getting at there was a small pack of about twenty wolves nearby, all they had to do, was find a way to lure Klaus and the Siphon to them, then they would swiftly deal with them, “Find a way to get them here,” he said, “Quickly!”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they are such a boost!
Chapter 71: Gemini
Notes:
Thank you for all the comments and kudos! I'm sorry I can't update more frequently, I'm just busy, and tired all the time, it's really hard to get the energy to to write sometimes.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Klaus found Maya curled up under the covers in his bed, he’d been so busy with the pack that he hadn’t even had the chance to celebrate his new found freedom with her, and he wanted to celebrate. She smiled at him as he entered, “You took your time,” she said, holding the sheets up, covering herself from his view.
“I had to get a few things squared away,” he replied, pulling his shirt over his head, and dropping it to the floor, stalking towards her.
“Oh?”
“The children are staying at the pack house tonight.”
“Really?”
“So tonight, it’s just you and me.” He knelt on the bed, tugging the sheets from her grasp, and revealing her bare body to him.
Maya pulled him towards her, his lips found hers as he pressed his weight against her, Klaus traced every part of her with his mouth and his hands, before kissing her again. It seemed like it had been an age since they had been alone together, and Klaus, with his newly released wolf, was eager to mark his woman, and show her off as his.
Maya gripped his hair tight, as she kissed him back with a fervour, Klaus was about to sink his fangs into the familiar spot on her neck, but she was suddenly hit by a vision, gasping, she pulled away as her mind was flooded with images of a Werewolf by the name of Haley Marshall, a baby girl called Hope, and the death of the Mikaelsons.
“Oh my God!” Maya pulled away as Klaus reached for her, hopping out of the bed, and throwing a shirt back on.
“What?” Klaus asked, “Love, what is it?” it had been a while since he’d seen her so worried that she was literally trembling at the aftermath, had she seen something to do with Lucien? Dahlia? Whatever it was, it was clearly a problem.
“I uh…” she looked at him in shock, she couldn’t believe what she’d seen, logically, she knew that all of that knowledge was already there, but to see Nik father a child with someone, to see him give up his life for that child, it broke her heart. “It’s uh…” she wasn’t sure how to tell him what she’d seen, it was impossible and yet completely true.
Klaus could see her struggle to put her vision into words, “Show me,” he prompted, “You’ve done it before, show me what you saw.”
For a moment, Maya was unsure, she’d just about managed to get over her insecurities regarding Aurora, but this, this was bigger than that, this was a child, if he saw what she’d seen, would he want that child? A child with her mother’s good noble heart, and her father’s wicked eyes? Because Maya was many things, but she wasn’t noble, she wasn’t ‘good’. But Hope was, Maya wouldn’t be able to raise a child like that, one who was so willing to selflessly give up what she loved in order to protect the world. Maya would rather burn the world down, and any child she raised, well they would likely have the same temperament. Would Klaus know that? Know that any child she had, wouldn’t live up to who Hope Andrea Mikaelson could be? But she knew that she had no right to keep this from him, he deserved to make his choices with all the information, she would never want to blindside him with something like this, not like he would have been without her in his life.
“O-Okay,” she finally said. Coming back towards the bed, taking a seat next to him, and hugging her knees to her chest, she whispered, “Take a look.”
Klaus placed his hand on her temple, and let himself into her mind, immediately being met with the picture of a child, one that grew up too fast, one that was too powerful, one that was all alone, because her family of immortals were all dead. Her mother, burned alive in the sun, after enduring the same curse that he had been burdened with, her Uncle Finn, dead before she could even meet him, her Uncle Elijah dead by Klaus’s hand, and Klaus by Elijah’s in order to save her. Her Uncle Kol had taken the cure, to live and die with his wife, Freya followed shortly after. And Rebekah was the last, taking the cure to be mortal. Leaving the child, his daughter, as the only true immortal in existence, leaving her all alone, even though they'd promised to take care of her. He saw his daughter suffer without her family, saw her kill the man she loved to save a world that wished her dead, he saw the Triad - Vampires, Witches and Werewolves that believed in the purity of their species, try to kill his daughter over and over again. And he saw his child, Hope, lose a small part of herself every time she lost a companion, even the Vampires. She alone couldn’t be killed, and her family was gone. There was no Always and Forever for his daughter, and he couldn’t stand it.
Pulling back with his heart in his throat, he gave Maya a questioning look, “I guess I got the vision because you’ve freed your wolf now, which means that you could have a biological child.” She fidgeted with her fingers, not really ready for what the vison implied.
“You’re certain?” he finally asked, still processing the fact that it was even possible to have a child of his own blood.
She nodded hesitantly, “Malivore still exists here, his weakness was the original Werewolf, Witch and Vampire that created him. But he killed them. And…”
“And Nature says that everything must have a weakness,” Klaus finished.
“Yeah... so Malivore’s only weakness now... is a creature that is all three, which could only come from you.”
“From us,” Klaus said.
“What?” Maya looked up at him.
“The child I saw, she was beautiful, and powerful, but she suffered. Her mother’s blood allowed a being long dead to take her over, it separated her from her family, and to keep her safe I killed myself for her, and she still suffered! Every member of my family left her alone.”
“Nik-”
“I know that’s something that you would never let happen.”
“Wait, what are you-what are you saying?”
“I’m saying, that if I am going to have a child with anyone, it will be with you.”
“Nik…I’m not ready to have a child, I plan on becoming a Vampire in a few years! Having a baby of my own, never factored into that! I don’t know what I want.”
Klaus took her in his arms, he could see how unsure of herself she was in this, he knew that in all of her past lives, she’d never had children, dying before it was possible for her. But this life wasn’t like any other, and if this was something that she wanted, then he would give it to her. “I already have children, this is your choice, you don’t have to have an answer right now. You have plenty of time.”
“Do I?” she asked, “Because I’ve never passed the age of 27.”
“You never had me before.” Klaus held her close, and waited until she fell asleep before he slid out of bed, threw his clothes back on, and headed down to wine cellar. If Maya decided that she wanted to have his child, then he needed an army, ready to take on any and all enemies that would be coming for a vulnerable Mikaelson.
He found his newly turned Hybrid pacing the floor, he’d told him not to leave the room, so he couldn’t, but still, he’d left Regina and David on guard, just in case. “I see you’re still here.”
“It’s not like I had a choice,” the Hybrid frowned, they hadn’t even asked his name, but when Klaus told him to stay, that's exactly what he did.
Klaus smirked, having the Hybrid sired to him, because he wasn’t loyal was very convenient, “How would you like to get out of here?”
“What do you mean?” the Hybrid perked up at the thought of leaving his torture chamber.
“I want to make more of my kind, so I need you to go out and find me some Werewolves to turn.” There were the packs that his brother and sister had rescued, still staying at one of their properties, but Lucian had all but decimated those packs, they needed time to heal, and grow, before Klaus even attempted to convince some of them to turn.
“You have Werewolves,” the Hybrid gestured to the two wolves who stood by Klaus’s side, “Turn them.”
Klaus took a few steps forward, and the Hybrid couldn’t stop himself from flinching, “They’re my pack, if they wish to become like me, they get to choose.”
“But not anyone else,” the former wolf replied, sardonically.
“Anyone not with me, is by definition, against me.” Klaus replied, “Now,” he clapped his hands together, “You’re going to travel the country, locate packs, and report back to me, you will not engage with the packs, you will not tell them a thing about me. You will keep your distance from them, give me their locations and then wait for further instructions, is that clear?”
The Hybrid could feel the sire bond cement the command in place and he nodded, "Yes."
“Excellent!” Klaus gestured to the cellar’s entrance, “Off you go.”
He sped out of the room, leaving the Enforcers to look at their Alpha in question, “Klaus?” Regina asked, the last time they spoke, their Alpha was happy to only turn a few of them, but now all of a sudden, he wanted to change whole packs, “What’s going on?”
“Circumstances have changed, it appears that I need an army far sooner than expected.”
Elena and Bonnie had waited until the next morning before they’d decided to see Maya, Stefan of course tagged along, unwilling to let his girlfriend anywhere near her cousin on her own, they took Bonnie’s car to the Sommers’ house and knocked on the door, waiting for Maya to open up. None of them were expecting Enzo to be the one to answer, “Well, well, the Doppelgänger, the Witch and the Veggie Vampire, what brings you to my door?” he asked.
“I need to see Maya,” Elena said, “I need to speak to her.”
“She’s not here,” Enzo shrugged.
“Where is she?”
“With Nik.”
“Nik?”
“Klaus,” Enzo clarified, “She’s with him.”
Elena clenched her fist at her side, keeping herself from blowing up like she normally would, “Can you please get her?” She asked, “It’s important.”
“We know that she’s an Old Soul,” Bonnie said, hoping that would get Enzo’s attention, and it did.
His eyes hardened, and before he could say anything Damon appeared at his side, “I’ll get her, you watch them,” he said, ignoring his brother’s look of perpetual disapproval, so just for good measure, planted a kiss on Enzo's lips before rushing off.
/ / /
Maya was having breakfast with Freya, the two of them discussing ways to deal with Dahlia, the biggest thing that the Siphon was worried about, was the Witch’s ability to get into anyone’s mind, she knew the ingredients needed to defeat the Mikaelson’s evil aunt, but didn’t want to say anything, for fear that the ingredients would be plucked out of their heads.
“We need a way to protect ourselves from her mind manipulations,” Freya said.
“It needs to be powerful, we can’t take the chance of Dahlia knowing what our plans are, I don’t want to take the chance of ruining our shot at killing her.”
“She’s had a thousand years to better herself, and her magic will be at peak strength when she wakes,” the Witch pointed out.
“Not really,” Maya replied, “She’s only alive one year out of every hundred, but now, I have the memories of thousands of years of past lives, and I was Witch in plenty of them. With you, me and Kol working together, we’ll find a way to defeat her.”
“I’ve been trying to find a way to beat her for centuries,” Freya was worried, she was always worried when it came to Dahlia, the woman had been in her nightmares for as long as she could remember. A vile, power hungry, abusive woman, who’d only ever tormented her. She imagined that it must have been exactly how Niklaus felt, when he thought of her father, and that continued to break her heart.
“You’ve never had help before.”
The two of them were going to continue up to the magic room, to work more on their problem, but Damon appeared in the room, “Ladies, need to borrow our gal Friday here,” he motioned to Maya and Freya looked at them both confused at the turn of phrase.
“What?”
“Never mind,” Maya shook her head, and turned to Damon, “What’s up?”
“Your cousin is demanding to see you, along with the Bennett Witch.”
Maya rolled her eyes, “Of course she is.”
Davina was with Monique, Abigail and Cassie, they were sat with Bastianna and Agnes, the Elders of their Coven, but Regent LaRue was nowhere to be found. The Witches were explaining that the girls had been chosen for the Harvest, a special ritual, that would renew their link to the Ancestors, and increase their power, which would help them in dealing with the Vampires who'd all but taken over the French Quarter. They explained that it was a great honour to be chosen, but the girls would have to be sequestered, from now, until the night of the ritual, no technology, no contact with the outside world.
Davina didn’t know why, but the idea of the ritual, made her feel uncomfortable, before she met Maya, she probably would have been happy to go along with what her Coven told her to do. But something in her gut was telling her that something was off with the Harvest, she didn’t really want to be a part of it, but there was no way she could get out of it. The four of them had been taken to a house away from the rest of the Coven, she hadn’t been given a chance to pack anything, let alone grab her phone, or the hair from Maya and Caroline that she kept safe, in case she needed to contact them. She had no idea what to do, she was just happy that she still had her bracelet, she never took it off, and she had a feeling that she would need it to keep her safe.
Maya eyed Elena, Bonnie and Stefan with mistrust, Damon had brought her back home in order to speak to them, but they had yet to say a word. “What do you want?” Maya snapped impatiently, she wanted to go back to the mansion, back to Klaus, after her last vision, she was still feeling a little insecure, and she just wanted to be with him. Not to mention the fact that he’d already sent out his Hybrid test subject to find more wolves, she needed to find out what that was all about, because Klaus knew what would happen if he just forced a bunch of wolves to turn.
“I- I uh…” Elena paused, she really should have rehearsed this, she’d never had a civil conversation with her cousin, it was much harder than she thought.
Bonnie could see that her friend was struggling so blurted out the first thing that she could think of, “I spoke with Death!”
Maya raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Really?” she didn’t know what Death was planning on doing while he was on the Other Side, she certainly didn’t think that he would bother educating the Witches on the truth, mostly because he thought how wrong they were was hilarious.
“He told me what you are, what Vampires are…”
“And? Now that you know I’m actually part of the balance, you hate me less?”
“Well…" Bonnie shrugged, "All I knew was what my Grams told me! And it’s not like you were really doing much to dissuade what we believed!”
“I shouldn’t have to,” Maya shook her head, “The only reason anything that I do impacts you, is because you get involved in my business! You’re barely trained! You have no idea what I’m capable of!”
“Yeah,” Bonnie nodded, “Death showed me some things…I still hate the way that you dealt with my Grams, especially now she’s gone, but…I saw what happened that night…to Caroline, to Tyler’s dad…they both died because of us. We should have believed you, when you said that you got rid of the Vampires in the tomb.”
“So why are you here now?” Maya had to admit, it was nice to finally have that acknowledged, that she kept the town safe, even when the Bennetts didn’t believe that she would.
“We just…want to talk.”
“Are you really working with Klaus?” Elena finally asked, a familiar shot of terror going down her spine when she heard or spoke the name aloud, she didn’t think that she would ever get used to it, but chalked it up to Klaus killing her, and it being a natural response to that.
Maya nodded, “Yes.”
“Why?” she asked, “Isn’t he…like really dangerous?”
“When you live in a world where Witches hate you, and believe that you should be killed or imprisoned, why wouldn't you team up with the oldest, deadliest thing in existence?”
“But he’s not the oldest thing in existence…is he?” Elena asked pointedly, “How long have you been alive? Really?”
“I’m an Old Soul, I die, and then come back, which means that I’ve been alive a bunch of times…but my first life was about 6000 years ago.”
Elena shook her head, “That’s insane! How can you stand being alive that long? Don’t you hate it?”
“No,” Maya said, “I know what comes after, sometimes I spend a few centuries with Death, then I get bored and come back. Some people aren’t built for immortality, but I am.”
“That doesn’t explain why you lied to us!” Stefan exploded, “You pretended like you were doing what was best for Elena, when really you were just doing what was best for Klaus!”
Maya rolled her eyes, “If I was doing what was best for Klaus, he would have broken the curse as soon as he got the moonstone two years ago! And Elena would be dead, permanently dead. You’re the one that screwed up Stefan! If you hadn’t have been so desperate to kill Klaus, which by the way would kill you, Elena would be fine, Uncle John would be alive, but you just knew better, didn’t you?”
Stefan grit his teeth, “How could we possibly trust you, when all you’ve done is lie to us?!”
“Stefan your plan was to kill the strongest Vampire in history, when you can’t even take on Enzo, who’s younger than you! But you wanted to take on an Original, who literally cannot be killed! Why would I trust you with the truth?”
Elena held her hands up, separating the two, “Can we please stop arguing about this?! I didn’t come here to fight! I just want answers, and I can’t get them if you keep insisting on blaming Maya for something that wasn’t her fault!” She glared at Stefan.
Maya was taken aback, Elena had never, ever, defended her before, she wondered what had happened to her cousin that made her actually bearable. While Stefan and Elena were arguing, Bonnie had something that she wanted to know. “Maya, you said that you couldn’t give me Emily’s amulet back until you’d done something in the summer. Was it breaking the curse?”
“Yeah, it was, I knew you’d try to interfere, and I didn’t want to deal with it.”
“Well…does this mean that I can get it back now?”
Maya regarded the Witch for a moment, it was true that she had made that promise to Bonnie, and she didn’t want to break her word. “Okay,” she nodded, “I’ll go get it.”
After Klaus had set the new Hybrid on his path, he turned the three Enforcers, Regina first, like she’d asked, then David, and then Emma. If he was going to have an army of Hybrids, then he needed experienced Generals, he would teach them how to utilise their new found strength and speed to their advantage. As Werewolves they were strong, but as Hybrids, they were even stronger. Luckily, he'd found that the Hybrids had much more control over their bloodlust than freshly turned Vampires had, which meant that he didn’t need to worry about them chowing down on pack members.
Klaus had them spend the day getting used to their new senses, learning how to tune out all the extra sounds and smells that they were picking up on, and while they did that, he spent his time checking in with his spies in New Orleans, and the ones that he’d placed in Lucian’s organisation, and then finally on the two semi-ancient members of the Stryx that he’d managed to catch off guard, drain of vervain and then compel to be his inside men. The biggest problem he’d found, was that while he knew where Lucian and Tristan were, he’d had no word on Aurora, and that worried him. Especially with Maya’s newest vision showing him that Aurora was the head of the Vampires that wished to kill his child for not being purebred. He wouldn’t let her do what that vision showed, if he had a child with Maya, Aurora would never lay her hands on them.
Bonnie had left the Sommers house with some answers, but more questions, she’d overheard Damon mention to Enzo that Klaus had sent out a Hybrid, to hunt for Werewolves. She had wanted to say something, wanted to point out that he shouldn’t be turning wolves, because it was against the balance, but then again, maybe it wasn’t. Werewolves belonged to Nature, and Vampires to Death, maybe a Hybrid was the perfect mix, maybe their existence would actually restore something that had been torn asunder a thousand years ago.
Either way, she knew better than to say anything, at least now she did, she’d only just received Emily’s amulet back, and she a lot to learn by herself, but first, she needed a real night's sleep, without the herbs she'd been using to keep her ancestors at bay. As she pulled into her driveway, she found the Witch from earlier, Jo Parker, sitting on the front porch, waiting for her.
Bonnie got out of the car, the amulet clutched tightly in her hand, “Jo?” she asked, “What are you doing here?” she thought that they had discussed everything they needed to in their first encounter.
“Bonnie,” she spoke softly, “I’m going back to my home, I just wanted to clarify a few things before I left. May I come in?”
Bonnie unlocked the door, and gestured for Jo to go inside, “What did you need?”
“Are you safe?” Jo asked, “You said that the Siphon-”
“Maya,” Bonnie interrupted, using what she was, instead of her name, it did nothing but dehumanise Maya, which wasn’t a good thing, Jo hadn’t given her much information about what coven she was from, but if Grams had gone to them for help, then they probably believed that Siphons were just like Vampires, abominations. “Her name is Maya, and she’s not going to hurt me.”
“Your grandmother didn’t believe that, I mean, look at what happened to her!”
“I love my Grams,” Bonnie said, “But anything that Maya did to her, was in retaliation. Maya has never instigated a fight with us, even though it’s clear that it wouldn’t have been much of a fight. As long as we stay out of her way, she’ll stay out of ours.”
“And does that include the Originals as well?” Jo asked, “They’re a whole different type of monster.”
“You should leave them alone,” the Bennett replied, “Klaus is going have his own kind soon enough and Maya has plenty of magic on her side, they don’t care about us, and we shouldn’t aggravate them,” she repeated.
Jo looked at Bonnie in question, “What do you mean his own kind?”
Bonnie shook her head, she shouldn’t have said that, “Nothing, it doesn’t matter.”
“Bonnie, tell me, is he looking for Werewolves to turn? Is he planning on forcing them to change?”
“I…”
“Bonnie, it’s one thing to not help us, but not stopping him if he’s forcing others to become like him…”
“No! Yes! I don’t know! I just overheard that he’d sent out a Hybrid to look, that’s all!”
Jo took a breath, trying not to look eager at that information, she would have to call her father immediately, let him know that they had a way to lure out the Original, “You’re sure that you’re not going to help us deal with the Si- Maya?”
Bonnie gave Jo a hard look, after everything that she’d learned from Death, and the girl in question, she wasn’t going to go up against her, or Klaus, especially now that she knew that they were together, but she did feel the need to warn Jo. The woman was nice, kind, she’d been good to her when she’d brought her grandmother’s ashes to her, so Bonnie wanted to give her one last chance to stay safe. “Jo, anything you do to her, anything, Klaus will kill you, your family, your coven.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re together.”
When Maya went back to Mikaelson Mansion, Klaus had already turned his three Enforcers, there had been some initial worry for them, that they’d end up sired to him, but they hadn’t. The theory was that because Maya had given them moonlight rings, because they’d already felt what life was like without being forced to turn, that gratefulness that they would have felt, that tie to Klaus that should have happened, didn’t happen. Were they still loyal to him? Of course! In fact, the link that tethered wolves to their Alpha, had strengthened, they believed because they were now the exact same species as him. But there was nothing in their loyalty that would suggest that they no longer had full control over themselves, nothing to suggest that they would follow Klaus’s orders at a detriment to themselves, and they’d tested it out, Klaus had ordered them to do all manner of things, escalating in danger, and they hadn’t done them. They were safe from the sire bond, and so Klaus was outside with them, testing their mettle.
Maya ignored them outside, instead heading straight for the magic room, where she knew Freya to be, she needed some very rare ingredients for a contraception draught that would be strong enough to work against Nature, and fate and whatever else was at play that meant that Klaus could impregnate her. Which also meant that she would have to tell Freya what she’d seen in her vision, and then swear the eldest Mikaelson to secrecy, at least until Klaus told Rebekah, and she told Caroline and her mother.
/ / /
Maya walked into the Mikaelson’s magic chamber and found Freya working on the Dahlia problem, the Siphon sat down next to the Witch and cast a quick soundproofing bubble around them, just in case Kol decided to show up. “Freya,” Maya said, “I need to talk to you about something…”
The Witch turned to the red head, “What do you need?”
“Um…This is…gonna be hard to believe…”
“What is it, Maya?”
“So you know how sometimes I get visions?” Freya nodded slowly, “And sometimes they come true…”
“Maya just tell me what it is!”
“Now that Nik’s broken his curse, he has the ability to procreate…”
Freya blinked in surprise, “What?”
“You know…have babies…”
“I know what it means Maya! I just don’t understand why you’d think that!”
“Well it turns out, if I wasn’t here, then Klaus would have knocked up some Werewolf, and the birth of that kid is what would have woken you and Dahlia from your slumber…”
“You’re saying…”
“Nik could get me pregnant,” Maya confirmed.
“Are you-”
“Oh! No! No! As soon as I had the vision, I put the brakes on well…that.”
Freya grimaced a little at the thought of her brother having sex, and shook her head, “Then, what do you need from me?”
“Some herbs, Queen Anne’s Lace, Artemisia, and Asafoetida.”
“You want to make some kind of contraception, stronger than your average potion,” she said in understanding.
“Yeah, I figured that human methods of birth control wouldn’t really work for us, so I need to make something using magic. I remember those herbs being used centuries ago to prevent pregnancy.”
“What about Silphium? It’s arguable the best one to use.”
“It’s extinct,” Maya sighed, it was the one herb that she wanted in particular, because it was an excellent form of contraception. It was something that her past lives definitely used, with great efficacy. “The Greeks and Romans used it so much that it became really popular, really expensive, and then it was just…gone. Wait…how did you even know about that? It was extinct before you were even born!” It had been thought to have been wiped out by 2nd century B.C.
Freya shrugged, “Witches found that it was particularly useful, for many spells, so it endured, even though the wider population thought it was gone. Dahlia kept it on lockdown, to make sure that I couldn’t use it should I fall pregnant.”
“Wait…are you saying that you still have some?” Maya asked incredulously, “Really?”
Freya nodded, “I kept a lot of things hidden in my coffin,” she was, of course, referring to the glass coffin that she’d been found in, “I’ll get it sent down here and see if I can grow some for you. In the meantime, the other herbs are growing in the garden, we can use them to make a fairly potent contraception draught.”
“Oh thank God!” Maya sighed, “Seriously, you have no idea, if I was going to have to stop sleeping with Nik-”
Freya covered her ears, “La, la, la, la! If you want my help stop talking right now!” she exclaimed, not wanting to hear anything about Niklaus’s personal life.
Maya laughed, “Alright, alright! Sorry!”
Freya dropped her hands and shot a suspicious glance at the red-head, “I mean it, I don’t want to know anything!”
“Okay!” Maya held up her hands in surrender, “By the way, you also can’t tell anyone about this.”
“WHAT?!”
“Dad, a Hybrid has been sent out to look for packs,” Jo said.
“Good,” Joshua replied, “I’ll send someone to find the Hybrid and use it draw them out.”
“Dad…to create a prison world, we’re going to need more than a full moon, especially now that the Coven has suffered losses…there’s nothing powerful enough coming up to use…”
“I know,” Joshua sighed, “Josette I need you to come home…and bring the ascendant with you.”
Notes:
If you have time to leave a comment, please do, they make me feel amazing!
Chapter 72: Portland
Chapter Text
Klaus joined Maya at her home that night, he wanted to talk to her, but also guarantee their privacy, which could really only happen at the Sommers House. Shutting the door of her bedroom behind him, Klaus swept inside, gathering her in his arms and settling on the bed. “I hear you’ve been busy today,” she commented, worried about the fact that he’d made the decision to search for more wolfpacks, “I thought you weren’t going to go out looking for any more wolves, you have your pack.”
“I wasn’t planning on finding more packs just yet,” he admitted, he had a lot to deal with and putting the spotlight onto packs, by changing them into Hybrids wasn’t on the agenda.
“But…?”
“I know you haven’t made your decision, and I won’t make it for you,” he said, “But just in case you decide that you do want to have a child with me, I want an army to protect that child.”
Maya was taken aback, he was making plans for ‘just in case’ “And if I don’t want to have a kid of my own, what’ll they be for then?”
“Well, if you’ll recall, I do still have two very young, very vulnerable children, who need to be protected at all times.”
“…Are you sure that you won’t be upset with me…if I decide I don’t want…”
“Have you decided?” He asked, he wanted to know one way or another, mainly because if she wasn't going to have his biological child, then at least he wouldn't have to tell Rebekah that he would get the one thing that she had always wanted.
“No,” she shook her head, “I have no idea what I want, I never thought about it before, I never thought I’d be able to have kids!”
He stroked her cheek with his thumb, “Take your time, this isn’t something I can decide for you, and whatever your decision…I would never be angry at you for it.”
Maya relaxed into his arms, “Thank you,” she murmured, “You can’t force those wolves to turn Nik.”
“I know,” he replied, “I remember what you showed me, my Hybrids won’t betray me, not this time round.”
“Good,” she smiled, and kissed her, moving to lie her down, but her hand pressed against his chest, gently pushing him away, “Sorry Nik, no sex.”
“What? Why?” he complained, his wolf had yet to be satisfied, and it was beginning to cause him a little discomfort.
“Because you have freaky super sperm,” She replied, “I have a contraception…potion brewing, it’s not ready yet, and I’m definitely not making my Mom a 34 year old grandma.”
“Well how long will it take to be ready?”
“About a week,” she shrugged and Klaus groaned in frustration, “Oh relax!” Maya pushed him onto his back and straddled him, “I can still take care of you.” She gave him a cheeky grin, and his eyes followed her as she crawled down his body.
Freya went to Finn’s room, where her brother was lying on his bed, daggered. It had been three days, Sage didn’t have much time left to be healed from her Werewolf bite, and she knew that Finn would never forgive her if she died. Pulling the dagger out, she sat by Finn’s side, waiting for him to wake. Since he hadn’t been daggered long, it only took a few minutes for him to regain consciousness, and when he did, Freya explained to him what had happened with Sage.
“No!”
“Finn listen to me!” she stopped him from rushing out, “She still has time, you just need to bring her back here, and she can be cured!”
Finn frowned, “Niklaus’s Witch will not heal her! She holds nothing but contempt for Sage!”
“Our brother can heal her!” Freya replied.
“What?”
“Now that he has broken his curse, he is able to heal Werewolf bites, Niklaus will save her, for the right price…”
“…” Finn didn’t want to have to beg his brother for anything, but he knew that if he didn’t, then the only woman that gave him a reason to live, would die. “Where is she?” he asked in resignation.
“My tracking spell puts her deep in the woods, I can show you,” she offered, and Finn grabbed his sister, and sped out of the house.
Caroline and Kol were at the mansion, she wanted to continue her combat training, and Kol had agreed to train her, so they were outside, she was using her enhanced speed to try and get around him, but even with the extra boost from Maya’s magic, she was no match for an Original.
“Damnit!” she scowled as he caught her in his grip again, pulling her in close.
“I keep telling you not to rely on your speed, Darling,” Kol laughed, “It’s nothing compared to how fast I am.”
“Well what use is this then?!” she pouted.
“It adds about hundred years onto your speed,” the youngest Original brother replied, “There are plenty of Vampires around that age that you can easily outmatch, but there are also many of us that are much older. You need to use your wits as well as the element of surprise Caroline.”
Kol had his arm wrapped around her stomach, her back to his chest, and Caroline had an idea, “You mean like this?” she asked.
“Wha-”
She threw her head back to connect with his nose, and flipped him over her head, with the intention of throwing him to the ground, but Kol held on to her, dragging her down with him. He rolled on top of her, their lips millimetres apart. Kol could feel her breath on his lips, and for a moment he thought about kissing her, but he pulled back, standing up with a grin, “Nice try Darling, let’s go again!”
Maya and Klaus were outside of the mansion, he was sat up against a tree, with a sketchbook in his hands, working on something that he wouldn’t let her see, and she was lying on the grass, just in front of him, leaning up on her elbows, watching the children playing with each other with a smile on her face. A smile that quickly disappeared when she saw Finn and Freya appear in front of her, the Original was carrying a half dead Sage in his arms, and was walking towards them, with a determined look in his eye.
“Nik,” Maya said, causing Klaus to look up from his work.
Snapping the sketchbook shut, he frowned, “Well, well, look who it is.” He eyed Sage in his brother’s arms and sneered, “Here to beg us to save your lady love?”
“Niklaus,” Freya spoke softly, “Please,” she whispered.
“Niklaus,” Finn said, stiffly, eyeing both his brother and the red-head, “She’s dying.”
“She interfered in the ritual, tried to kill the doppelgänger before I could use her,” Klaus replied.
“She was only doing what she believed I wanted,” Finn retorted.
“That still doesn’t tell me why I should heal her.”
Finn’s eyes slid to Maya for a moment, and she shook her head, “Don’t look at me, she spilled my secrets to Stefan, it could have ruined everything.”
“Niklaus, please, save her.” Finn said.
“What do I get in return?”
“Nik-”
“No,” he cut Freya off, “I have been working for a thousand years to break my curse, he could have ruined it all! And now here he is, begging for my help. I gain nothing from saving his ‘reason for being’” he mocked, "Did it even occur to you that if I hadn't have broken my curse then I wouldn't be able to heal her?! And then you'd be begging Maya to save her and she never would!"
Maya sighed, she knew that ultimately, Klaus didn't want to be at odds with his brother, even if it was just so that it prevented him from being at odds with Freya. If Finn said the right thing, Klaus would save Sage, she gave Freya a subtle look, telling the Witch not to worry. “I will never work against you again,” Finn said, “I swear to you. You know I cannot live without her. Please brother, save her.”
Klaus took to his feet, and stood directly in front of Finn, “Now you call me brother?” Klaus sneered, “I saved you from a lifetime of trying to kill yourself without your ‘precious Sage’, and when father was dead, I woke you, so that you could be with her. And yet you still worked against me! I saved the only sibling that you ever cared about!” he gestured to Freya, “And you still tried to stop me from breaking my curse! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT FELT LIKE?!” he yelled. “Every full moon, I could feel it!” he revealed, “Every full moon was agony! All my wolf wanted was to be free! And when I finally, finally could be free, you tried to stop me!”
Maya got up, and came up behind him, brushing her hand against his, giving him her support, “Nik,” she whispered, noticing that the commotion had not only drawn the children’s attention, but also Kol’s, Caroline’s and Rebekah’s. “The kids,” she prompted.
Klaus felt himself deflate, just slightly, at the reminder, he wanted to give them a different childhood to the one he had, and to do that, he couldn’t fly off the handle in front of them. “You’ll do more than refrain from working against me, brother,” he hissed.
Finn nodded in response, “Anything.”
So far, Klaus’s search for Werewolves had only spanned the Americas, but he knew that packs had fled to the old world and had established territories in Europe. He didn’t know where they were, thanks to him and his siblings, Europe was full of Vampires, and the packs were even more hidden than they were in the USA. “You’re going to go to Europe, locate the Werewolf packs, tell me where they are, and keep them safe.”
Finn’s eyes widened, he had grown up with his father’s hatred for Werewolves, and in fact believed them to be savage beasts, ever since wolves had slain his youngest brother and now Klaus was demanding he protect them. “I…”
“Well, what’s it going to be Finn? She doesn’t have much time.”
The eldest Original glanced at his beloved, who was shaking, Klaus was right, Sage wouldn’t survive much longer, “Fine,” he looked at his brother, “Yes! We’ll do it!” he exclaimed.
Klaus gave him an evil smile, biting into his wrist and pressing the open wound to Sage’s mouth, the moment she swallowed his blood, she began to heal. Sage’s eyes fluttered open and she attempted to get out of Finn’s grip. The Original settled her onto her feet, but before he could say anything, Maya had pushed him back with her magic, holding him in place, whilst Klaus captured Sage’s gaze, and began to compel her.
“No!”
“Relax Finn,” Maya said, “It’s just an insurance policy.”
“Sage,” Klaus began, “You will never work against me, Maya, or our allies again,” she repeated his words and he smirked, “You will keep an eye on Finn, and if Finn tries anything to work against Maya, myself or our allies, you will tell me immediately, after which, you will rip out your own heart.”
“What have you done?!” Finn exclaimed after he’d be released from Maya’s spell, and Klaus had let Sage go.
“After everything you’ve done, I can’t trust you to keep your word, but from the look on your face when Sage nearly died, I can trust that you will never put her in danger again.” Finn scowled at Klaus, and the younger brother threw his arm around Maya’s shoulder, “Smile brother, you get to be free of our wretched family, just like you always wanted.”
In the evening, after Finn had been banished, Maya, Jenna and Jeremy joined Caroline and Liz at the Forbes residence, it was the only place where most Vampires in town didn’t have an invite. Maya wanted to speak to them all, without the Vampires bursting in and interrupting them.
She sat them all down, threw up a silencing bubble around the property, and then began to pace, she wasn’t really sure how to say what she wanted to say. Jeremy was the first to break the silence, getting impatient, “Well, what did you want to talk to us about that clearly had to be a secret?”
Maya paused in front of them, “Okay, okay, okay,” she sighed, “Okay, so you all know that Vampire’s can’t have children…biologically speaking, right?”
“Yeah,” Caroline nodded, it was a hard subject for her to get her head around, that she would never be able to have children of her own, when that had always been the plan.
Maya looked at the other three, who nodded, they were well aware of that fact, Jenna had been relieved when she found out, because it meant that she never had to worry about an accident, when she wasn’t ready to have another child. “So that’s only like…99% true.”
“What are you talking about?” Jenna asked.
“Um… so it turns out that now that Nik has released his Werewolf side from it’s curse, he can have children…biologically…”
“How would you know that?” Liz asked.
“Oh. My. God!” Jeremy stared at her, “ARE YOU PREGNANT?!”
Maya’s eyes widened, “What? No! No! No! No!” she rushed out, before her mother started freaking out, “I’m not pregnant!”
“Then how do you know?” Jenna asked, “Did Klaus cheat on you?!”
“No! There was no cheating, no one’s pregnant, it’s nothing like that!”
“How about you finish your story,” Caroline said, “Without the interruptions!” she shot the other three a glance, telling them to keep their mouths shut, so that they could get all the information.
“Right, thanks,” Maya sat in the arm chair opposite them, and gathered her thoughts, “So there’s this creature, Malivore, it’s existed for about 1000 years. It was created by a Witch, a Werewolf and a Vampire, it’s powerful, and it’s only weakness was it’s creators. But they’re all dead. We all know that Nature needs immortal things to have a something that can kill it.”
“So, what can kill this Malivore?” Liz asked.
“A creature that is Witch, Werewolf and Vampire, a Tribrid…”
“And Klaus is the only one in the world that could provide that,” Caroline said in understanding, continuing when she could see that the others were still confused. “Klaus is a Vampire, a Werewolf and the son of a Witch. He could get a regular human pregnant, and his kid would be all three.”
“Yeah,” Maya nodded, “So Nik can get people pregnant…he can get me pregnant…”
“Is that something that you want?” Jenna asked, her daughter had never spoken about kids, and when she had found out about Maya’s past lives she understood, she’d never been a mother before.
“I don’t know,” Maya shook her head, “I’ve never had to think about it before.”
“Is Klaus pressuring you into having his kid?” Jeremy asked.
“No,” she replied, “His exact words were that he already has kids, and that this would be completely my choice.”
“This is a once in lifetime opportunity for him,” Jenna said, she knew that her daughter was going to become a Vampire to be with the Original, and that would mean that he definitely couldn’t have a biological child later on.
“I know, he said it doesn’t matter, he wants me to think about it, he doesn’t want me to rush my decision.”
“Don’t you dare become a teenage mother!” Jenna exclaimed.
The Mikaelson siblings, minus Finn had gathered in the sitting room, Rebekah was flicking through a magazine, while Freya and Kol had their noses buried in grimoires. Elijah was reading one of his classics, and Klaus was busy sketching his children, who were sharing an armchair, whilst Liam was reading a fairy tale to Luna.
Rebekah finished her magazine and looked up at all of them with a wicked glint in her eye, she was bored, and that was never a good thing. “I saw you and Caroline outside today, Kol,” she said, causing her brothers to snap their eyes to her, “You two looked like you were getting close.”
Elijah raised a brow, “Did you kiss her?” he asked.
Kol shook his head, “The moment wasn’t right.”
“The moment?” Klaus said incredulously.
“Caroline’s special!” Kol said defensively, “Our first kiss should be…earthshattering for her!”
“Awe brother that’s so sweet,” Freya smiled, not believing him for a second.
Klaus cocked his head to the side with a smirk, “He chickened out like a little bitch didn’t he?”
“Yep!” Rebekah nodded; she’d had a front row seat to the two of them in the garden that day.
“I did not!” Kol protested.
“I have to agree with our siblings,” Elijah said.
“You weren’t even there!”
“Daddy?” Luna said sweetly.
“Yes, Little Love?”
“What’s a bitch?”
Klaus stared at his daughter, eyes widened as Freya snickered in amusement at the sudden panic on her brother’s face.
Maya was with Caroline in the blonde’s room, “Are you okay, Sunshine?” Maya asked, she knew that that what they’d just spoken about was tough for her.
“Yes,” Caroline nodded, “I love being a Vampire, and if I want kids in the future I can always adopt, Klaus has.”
“Yeah,” Maya nodded.
“What is it?” Caroline asked, becoming concerned at how quiet her friend was.
“It’s nothing,” she dismissed.
“Maya,”
“I just…I think that- I think that Nik loves me…” she said, she’d been thinking about it all day, after she and Nik had had a much more in depth conversation about their future, about him possibly giving something up forever to keep her happy.
“You think?”
“He’s giving me a choice,” Maya said, “Even when I know that he wants to have a kid with me…he’s letting me choose. He doesn’t do that for anyone! He could lose something that he never even dreamed of wanting until now, but he doesn’t care. He wants me to be happy! The only logical conclusion is that he loves me!”
“Is that a bad thing?” Caroline asked.
“No,” Maya shook her head, “It’s just…I wasn’t expecting that, I’m so used to telling him that I love him, and him not saying it back, I guess it’s kind of thrown me.”
“Why wouldn’t he love you?” Caroline asked, “You didn’t just help him break his curse, you’ve given him everything, his family, his pack, his freedom…if it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have his kids! You didn’t see him, when you got hurt, he was here in less than an hour, and he will never admit it, but he was terrified that you would die. I think that night…when he came to the hospital and saw you bruised and broken, he realised what he could lose, and he’s never let you be in that kind of position again, has he?”
“No.”
“Mai, I think Klaus has been telling you that he loves you, for a really long time, he’s just never been able to actually say it.”
It had a been a few weeks since Klaus had sent out the Hybrid to search for wolf packs, he’d been slowly making his way across America, and noticed that he’d picked up a tail, somewhere around Idaho. “Hi,” a member of the Gemini Coven, one who wasn’t particularly important, sat in front of Klaus’s Hybrid, Carter, “I’m Jack.”
“You’ve been following me,” Carter growled, his orders were simple, find the packs, tell Klaus about them, and stay out of the way, he just wanted to get this over with as fast as possible, and hopefully, when Klaus had other Hybrids, the Original would forget all about him. He didn’t know whether the man following him was one of Klaus’s people, or someone else, either way, he didn’t want to deal with it. “I suggest you leave, before I have to do something drastic.”
The Gemini was undeterred by the hostility, especially when he knew that the Hybrid wasn’t happy with his current predicament, “I’ve been watching you,” Jack confirmed, “And do you know what I’ve seen? Someone very reluctant to do what he’d been ordered to.”
“You tell Klaus that I am doing what he told me!” Carter snarled.
Jack laughed, “You misunderstand! I don’t work for Klaus! In fact, I’m working against him… and I’m here to help you…”
Elijah was at Jenna’s home, the two of them had planned a date night every week, and this week, he was cooking for her, she’d be home as soon as she finished work, the food was nearly done, when he heard a frustrated scream from upstairs. Raising a brow, he whooshed upstairs, finding Maya in her ‘Sanctum Sanctorum’ as she called it, throwing something across the room. “Something the matter?” he asked.
Maya jumped at the sound of his voice, she hadn’t realised that she hadn’t closed the door, “Elijah! What are you doing here?”
“It’s date night,” he replied rather simply, she knew that, and her agreement with her mother meant that she would be out of house tonight.
“Aren’t you early?”
“It’s six thirty,” he pointed out.
Maya looked at the clock in surprise, “I’m sorry, I got caught up.”
“Is there a problem?”
“No, yes, I- I’m not sure!” she sighed.
“Well what do you think is wrong?”
Maya ran a hand through her hair, pausing for a moment, should she talk to Elijah? It would be nice to get an objective perspective, “It’s not just one thing.”
“What do you believe is the most pressing?”
“I’m worried about Esther’s body being here,” she replied.
“Why? Mother is very dead. Not to mention her coffin is sealed.” Klaus had explained that one of the reasons that he couldn’t just bury their mother, was that he couldn’t take the chance that some Witch found her, and tried to channel their mother’s power.
“Yeah but Ayanna put a preservation spell on her body, and that seal, can easily be opened by two Bennett Witches.”
“There’s only one left,” Elijah shrugged.
“Not true! Lucy Bennett is Bonnie’s cousin, she’s still around, not to mention Bonnie’s mother, if she came back to Mystic Falls then she could get her magic back!”
“Why would she come back? And why would Miss Bennett even attempt to open mother’s coffin? I thought that you and she had a truce.”
“We do!” Maya exclaimed, “But your mother got to Bonnie through her dreams before, she was even able to take control of her body, if only for a short period, who’s to say she wouldn’t do it this time round?”
Elijah knew that she was referring to her visions of their family without her, and if his mother could get to the Bennetts, that was troubling, “So we move her body,” Elijah said, it was an easy enough fix, “The Martins owe us a life debt, since we spared them, we’ll have them spell wherever we choose, so that no one can get to her body.”
Maya deflated a little, that was a good plan, keeping Esther down until they needed her blood was crucial, “Okay,” she nodded.
“I will speak with my siblings, we shall decide where to keep her coffin.”
“Thank you.”
Elijah could see that his mother was only part of the problem, “What else is wrong?”
“You know that Caroline and I have a business, with our friend Davina from New Orleans?”
Elijah nodded, he did know that, he was the one that held degrees in accountancy, law and business, so both girls had come to him when their business had taken off, looking for advice on how to deal with all the financials and regulations that came with it. “I do.”
“I haven’t been able to get a hold of Davina, for like, the last month, and I know she said that she was busy with her Coven, that they had some rituals that were coming up, so she may not be in contact… but she was making our newest product, and she missed delivery. I’ve tried to contact her using the phone, email, magic! And she’s nowhere!”
“You believe she’s in trouble?”
“She’s got a way to contact me, or Caroline in an emergency, and she hasn’t used it…”
“But?”
“But every time I think of her, I get this pit in my stomach, I think something’s wrong, but it’s New Orleans! The last time I was there I pissed off Marcel, and then Kol did, and used my name! And I know that Nik is furious with him, but Marcel is still his son, I don’t want to be the reason they’re at odds…”
“You think that if you go to New Orleans then the results could damage their relationship,” Elijah was pleasantly surprised at her reasoning, given the last time he’d worked with her, out in the world, she was chaos, it was nice to see that she wouldn’t take that chance with his brother’s relationship with his estranged son. Elijah knew that Klaus still loved Marcel, if he didn’t, then the moment that he’d found out that the younger Vampire had been part of the reason why Mikael destroyed their lives in New Orleans, he would have killed him. Instead, Klaus had opted to hang back, allow his temper to cool.
“But if Davina’s in trouble, I can’t just hang her out to dry! She’s, my friend!”
“Would it make you feel better if I went to New Orleans to see if I can find her?”
“You?” Maya asked in surprise, “Why would you do that?”
“Because you’re worried, and if you’re worried, then Niklaus is worried, and I’d much prefer it if he wasn’t.”
“You’ve gotten comfortable with the peaceful life." she said in understanding, "You know it won’t last, right?”
“Well I’d like to keep it relatively peaceful for as long as possible,” Elijah replied, “And if checking on your friend helps, then I’m happy to do it.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
Elijah raised a brow, “Would you prefer Kol go?”
“No! Absolutely not!” If Kol went, he’d terrorise the whole town, especially because it would piss Marcel off, and Kol loved to do that.
“Then it’s settled, I’ll go, perhaps I’ll take your mother.”
Maya’s eyes widened, “I swear to you Elijah, if you introduce Marcel as her grandson, she will kill you!”
Klaus was packing a bag, he’d just received a call from his Hybrid, telling him about a pack he’d found in Portland. “What’s going on?” Maya asked, seeing him throwing his favourite shirt in the duffle, “Where are you going?”
“Carter called,” he said, “He found a pack.”
“I see, are you going on your own?”
He shook his head, “You have pressed upon me the importance of giving the Werewolves a choice, I believe they’ll make the right choice when presented with my successful Hybrids.”
“So you’re taking your Enforcers.”
“Just the Hybrids,” he shrugged.
“You still didn’t say where you’re going.”
“Portland,” he zipped up his duffle and turned to face her fully.
“Portland? That’s on the other side of the country! What about the kids?”
“The children will be fine, It'll be a few days and then I'll be back before they even notice that I’m gone.”
Maya opened her mouth, and then closed it, he seemed so sure that everything would be fine, and she wanted it to be fine, “I know you want this, I know you want an army, but we’re powerful, especially together, you don’t need this, not anymore.”
“And if I want this? If I want the security that an army of Hybrids will give me, will give us. Will you stop me?”
Maya shook her head, “Of course not! I love you!” She reached for him, “If you want this, then I’ll support you, but I need you to be sure. I just don’t want things to turn out like…”
“Like your vision,” he finished. “Love, you showed me the mistakes I made, and have I not learned from them? I’m giving Bekah her freedom, and Kol my trust, and I didn’t throw Finn into the ocean like I wanted to. Trust that I’ll do this the right way.”
“Okay,” she replied, looking up at him, “I’ll trust you.”
“Excellent, now,” he gripped her waist and pulled her in, “What would it take, to get you to come with me?”
“I can’t just up and leave! I have things to do, problems that need to be solved!”
“From what I understand, you have Elijah handling some of those problems.”
“He offered,” Maya shrugged, "It would have been rude to say no."
“My point, is that you are free now, and it will only be a couple of days. You and me, all alone.”
“With your Enforcers.”
“They’ll leave us alone, and you can put up a silencing bubble.”
Maya rolled her eyes, “How romantic, you really want me to come with you?”
“Portland is known for its food…” it was the perfect thing to say, she was a total foodie, she loved to cook, and go out to eat, it was something that she hadn't done in her past lives before.
"Fine! I'll go pack, and tell Mom."
Olivia and Luke were in their first year at Whitmore, they had no idea that their older sister worked on campus, so when they were asked to keep an eye on someone in the next town over, they didn't know that they weren’t the only ones. “Dad,” Luke said, as the alert he’d set up went off, “The girl’s left town. Is there something I should know? Why are we following her?”
“It’s none of your concern, go back to school, I’ll take it from here.” Joshua hung up the phone, and looked at his second in command, and the Hybrid that had spent days changing over, and over again, working to break his sire bond, “They’re coming.”
The group arrived in Portland two days later, Klaus and Maya heading in one direction, the Enforcers in another. They were walking in the woods, when they came across a clearing and Maya paused, “This…looks familiar,” she said.
Klaus looked around and couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, “What is it?”
“I don’t know…” her eyes darted across the area, “Something feels…off.” She took his hand and siphoned a little magic from him, “Revelate!” she whispered, but nothing happened, nothing changed, nothing revealed itself.
“I don’t hear anything,” Klaus said, he’d strained all of his senses but everything seemed exceptionally ordinary.
“I think we should go,” Maya said, “I don’t think this is right.” She made to leave, when a high pitched sound overtook her and she crumpled “AAH!” she screamed. Klaus caught her, and tried to speed out of the clearing, but he hit an invisible barrier. He turned around to head in the opposite direction, and was suddenly met with fifteen people, surrounding the two of them, chanting.
“Shit!”
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel great.
Chapter 73: Caught
Notes:
Thank you for all the comments and kudos, I'm sorry it's been a while, I've been studying for my exams, and didn't have any time to write!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Maya gripped Klaus’s shirt as she felt a red hot bolt of pain lance through her brain. “Maya!”
“I-I can’t!” she gasped, her eyes searching all around them, “There’s no way out!”
Klaus rushed across the clearing and slammed into a barrier again, “Damn it!"
Maya siphoned from the Original, and tried to concentrate on fortifying her mind from attack, it was a struggle while she was in so much pain, but if she didn’t do it, they were both screwed. It took minutes instead of seconds, precious minutes that neither of them could afford to lose, but finally, she managed to erect a shield to protect herself. And when she did, she pushed out of Klaus’s arms, and took a proper look around, eyes zeroing in on the leader of the coven. “It’s the Gemini,” she said, and Klaus’s gaze hardened, he’d heard all about the Gemini from her, he knew this was going to be more than an inconvenience.
“What do we do?” he asked, eyes darting from place to place, searching for any sign of weakness.
Maya listened to the words of the spell they were chanting, she recognised them, “They’re trying to send us to a prison world!”
Klaus saw his Enforcers show up from the behind a few of the Witches, they tried to get to them, but they couldn’t get close. “We were betrayed,” Klaus said in understanding, “Find Carter,” he muttered, his Hybrids nodded, they knew they had to find the traitor before he escaped, they wouldn’t be able to get past the barrier without help. Help they didn’t have right now.
“There’s no lunar event,” Maya whispered, “What are they channelling?” That was when she saw a very familiar metallic object in Joshua’s hand. “Oh God!”
“What? What is it?” Klaus asked.
“They’re using an existing ascendant!”
“Meaning?”
“The way to get in and out of a prison world is based on the lunar event,” the spell was different, not hugely different, but the change was there, “I…I think they’re going to destroy that world to try and put us in one without a way out!”
“Can you stop it?!”
“We’re trapped, and the spell’s too far gone…” but she had an idea, “But maybe I can redirect us…” the fear in her eyes was evident, she knew that they were in trouble, serious trouble, but if she could re-direct them, to an existing prison world, then maybe she’d be able to get them out. “Give me your hand.” She couldn't let them destroy the ascendant with their spell, it wasn't the physical lock they were trying to get rid of, it was the magic within…but if there was no physical lock for them to channel the spell through, they couldn't get rid of the magic that held that world together.
Klaus slid his hand into hers, and she reached out an arm, focusing on the ascendant in Joshua’s hand, using her magic to speed up the atoms in it, if she could get them to go fast enough then it would be vaporised, and they couldn’t destroy the prison world, no matter how hard they tried.
Noah was told to gather with the rest of his coven in preparation for the arrival of the Siphon, the plan was to lock her in a prison world, in order to prevent her from inflicting any more damage on the world. If he’d been told to do this last year, he would have followed orders like a good little soldier, but eight months ago, he’d gotten a flood of images piercing his brain, sense memories of his past lives that left him almost paralysed in agony. It was overwhelming, painful, heart-breaking, but then two months later all that pain stopped, and he’d seen a face, dark hair, glowing green eyes, it was the face of a saviour, of his saviour, and with it, cemented knowledge that he’d known, but had been hidden from him for centuries. Siphons weren’t abominations, they were just like him, creatures belonging to Death. He was only one man, he couldn't stop his coven, but he didn't have to work with them either. Not now that he knew the truth.
When Noah went outside with his coven he saw her, the hair was a different colour, but there was no mistaking those eyes, the Siphon was the saviour of his kind, he needed to try and help her. Noah pretended to go along with the spell, as he watched the woman inside the barrier frantically try work against their magic. She needed help. Closing his eyes, Noah focused on her, using mental magic, something his family specialised in, to talk with her, without anyone knowing.
“I can’t stop them,” he said in her mind.
Maya’s eyes snapped to him immediately, instinctually knowing who was talking to her, “You’re like me.”
“I want to help, but I don’t know how!”
Maya tightened her grip on Klaus’s hand, “Kol and Freya Mikaelson,” she replied, she knew that there was no way that one member of the coven would be able to stop this, not on his own. “You need to go to them, tell them what happened, in Mystic Falls. The other Hybrids are here, tell them what you are, my mother will know what you are. You need to help them get us back!”
“I’ll help,” he replied, “I swear.”
Jenna raced out of her car, and burst through the doors of the mansion, “KOL!” she yelled, “FREYA!” she ran up the stairs, they had to be in their magic room, it was sound proofed, so they wouldn't have heard her call.
“Jenna?” Rebekah asked, coming out of her room, following the woman upstairs.
“KOL! FREYA!” she yelled again, going into their magic room, and they looked up from their prospective workspaces, surprised to see her when she was supposed to be on her way to New Orleans.
“Jenna? What is it?” Freya asked worried at the frantic look on Jenna’s face.
“Prison world,” she panted.
Kol, suddenly looking very serious, stood up, “What?”
“Maya reached out,” Jenna elaborated, “She said it was trap, they’re being sent to a prison world!”
“Did she say anything else?” Kol demanded, he needed to know everything.
Jenna shook her head, “She was going to say more, but then she cut off. I think they’re gone.”
Rebekah pulled out her phone, frantically dialling her brother, and then Maya, “They’re not answering the phone!”
“The Hybrids were with them!” Freya said, “Call one of them.”
“I don’t have their number!” Rebekah exclaimed.
“Cary does.”
Klaus caught Maya as she fainted, she’d used a lot of magic, in a very short space of time, and it had taken its toll on her. But he needed to know if what she had done worked, there had been a flash of light, and the coven had disappeared. Klaus made to leave the clearing, to get her somewhere safe to recover, when something caught his eye, it looked like a house, buried in the heart of the forest. He whooshed over to it, and found a circle of homes. He went inside the largest one, only to find the place covered in fresh blood.
“What the hell happened here?” he muttered, checking the whole house for any signs of life, before putting Maya upstairs in the only clean bedroom he could find. He concentrated on his hearing, expanding his senses, seeing if he could pick up anything. If they were in an existing prison world, like Maya wanted, then that meant that there would be someone else in the world, and he needed to make sure that wherever they were, it wasn’t close by. He needed to search the surrounding homes, and find the nearest hospital, Maya may have used a large amount of magic, but she’d also taken a lot from him, and as a result, he was starving. Staying near her, with the scent of fresh blood everywhere, it wasn't a good idea.
Regina picked up the phone as David tackled Carter, the rogue Hybrid, to the ground, and snapped his neck. “It’s Cary,” she said.
“Pick it up,” David replied, “They need to know what’s going on.”
“What the hell happened?!” Cary snapped, Rebekah had come to him, and told him that something had happened to Klaus and Maya.
“Carter betrayed us.” Regina replied, “He set us up, Klaus and Maya got trapped in this barrier! A bunch of Witches surrounded them, Klaus told us to find Carter, and then…there was a flash of light and they were gone.”
“Tell me you have Carter!”
“And something else,” Emma said, coming inside, with Noah in her grasp.
“Who’s he?” Regina asked.
“He was part of the coven that attacked the Alphas, he said that Maya told him to come to us. Hasn’t said why though.”
Regina turned her attention back to her phone, “We’ve also got a member of the coven.”
“There’s a private airfield thirty minutes away from you. Get back here now!”
By the time Klaus came back from the hospital, Maya was stirring, he'd downed several blood bags, and then fed her from his wrist, waiting for her to truly wake up. “Did it work?” she whispered. “Do you know?”
“I found this,” he replied, handing her a calendar that had been hanging up at a nurse’s station, with the days crossed out, “10th of May, 1994.”
“Ther- There’s a way out…”
“But you don’t remember it.” He finished.
“Not yet. But I will," she was determined to get them back home, and make the Gemini Coven pay.
Jenna was pacing the magic room, waiting for answers, waiting to find out where her daughter was, when she saw Cary and Rebekah come back in, “Well? What happened?!”
“Regina said that the Hybrid, Carter, set a trap for them, Klaus and Maya walked into a clearing and then they couldn’t get out. They were surrounded by a barrier, and a coven, there was chanting, and then a flash of light and they were gone. The jet’s picking them up, they’ll be in Virginia in four hours, Jessica will pick them up, and bring them back.” Cary paused for a moment, “Jenna, they’re bringing a member of the coven back.”
“Which coven did this?” she asked.
“Regina said the Gemini Coven.”
Jenna paled, the last time she and her daughter had spoken about the Gemini she’d been terrified of them, she was hoping that when she’d heard the words ‘prison world’, that it wasn’t them, but no such luck. “Oh God!”
“Who’s the Gemini Coven?” Rebekah asked, seeing a new level of worry on Jenna’s face.
“They’re Maya’s birth coven,” Kol said, “They’re the only Witches in the world that spawn Siphons. And when it comes to Maya’s kind, the Gemini either kill or trap them in prison worlds.”
“What is a prison world, exactly?” Elijah asked, he’d secured the children with the Enforcers before joining the rest of the family at the main house.
Freya sighed, before answering, “It’s a prison that is on another plain of existence. It’s a perfect copy of this world, of a single day, that repeats, over and over. To create one, it requires three things, an object called an ascendant, Bennett blood, and a lunar event.”
“But there was no lunar event, how did it even get created?” Rebekah asked.
“I don’t know,” Freya shook her head, “It shouldn’t be possible.”
“We’ll have to wait for others to get back,” Kol said. “In the mean-time, Jenna, you and I should see if we can get in contact with Maya.”
“How?”
“You heard her all the way from Portland, maybe with me, we can boost your range.”
“To cross dimensions?!”
“It’s better than sitting around doing nothing,” Kol shrugged.
Rebekah had gone over to the pack house, she was full of nervous energy and thought that spending some time with her niece and nephew would help while she waited for the Hybrids and their prisoners to arrive. Liam was in the games room with some of the younger teens, and she didn’t want to disturb him, so she’d snatched up Luna while she was running around and the two of them were surfing the web, filling virtual shopping baskets with a ton of clothing, trying to put a dent in Klaus’s bank account.
“Aunt Bekah?” Luna asked, her eyes full of innocence.
“Yes love?”
“Have you spoken to Daddy?”
“What?”
“He said he’d call us everyday, but he hasn’t today.”
Klaus wasn’t due back for a few days, so Rebekah was hoping that the kids wouldn’t have to know that their father had gone missing, “Not yet sweetheart,” she smoothed Luna’s blonde curls, “But he’s very busy…I’m sure he’ll call when he can.” She didn’t like lying to her niece, but telling the girl the truth would do nothing but worry her, and they had every chance of getting her brother and her friend back before the truth was necessary.
“Where to first?” Klaus asked, he’d found a car, and he and Maya were heading towards the highway.
“Mystic Falls would be the best bet to find some Bennett blood…” Maya sighed.
“But?”
“But this place has been here for sixteen years, I’d have to believe that whoever’s been locked up here would have already tried looking in our home town.”
“Where else do you suggest then?”
“I need to do some research, I know there’s a pretty well stocked magic library in Salem, we could start there."
"And if there's nothing there?"
"New Orleans. It's the city of magic."
“It will take a few days to get there,” Klaus replied, putting his foot down, now that they were on the highway, there were several cars just sitting on the roads, Maya wasn’t kidding when she said that a prison world was a snapshot in time.
Maya pulled out one of the magazines that she’d picked up before they’d left the city, “The paper says that there’s an eclipse that’s due to happen today, at lunch time, we need to be in the car when that happens, otherwise the car will disappear when everything resets. Anything we’re not touching will just go back to where it started off.”
Klaus tightened his grip on the steering wheel, as if they didn’t have enough to contend with, the idea of needing to stop every day to get blood and food would mean that it would take them even longer to get to Salem. “Is there no way to stop that?”
“I’m sure there is, I’ve just got to figure out the spell.” Tossing the newspaper behind her, she pulled out her bag, in which she’d stuffed the three grimoires she’d found in the Gemini houses. “I’ll start looking into it now.”
The Hybrids and their prisoners arrived several hours later, they dragged the traitor inside, he was unconscious, because they'd taken to snapping his neck every time he moved, while the Gemini was more than happy to obey their instructions and went with them without complaint.
“Who’s this?” Jenna asked, joining the Mikaelson’s, Caroline, Damon and Enzo in the living room.
“You’re her mother!” Noah gasped, Maya had shown him an image of her in his head, but that didn’t prepare him from the instant connection he felt to her.
“This is Noah,” Emma frowned, “He’s part of the Gemini Coven.”
“What did you do to my daughter!” Jenna demanded.
“Nothing! I’m-I’m like her! She said to tell you! She said you’d understand!”
Jenna reached out with her abilities, and immediately felt his very essence, “You’re an Old Soul.”
Noah nodded, “Your daughter had a plan, and she wanted me to tell you all about it…”
“Why would you help her? Your coven thinks she’s an abomination.”
“When my life, my sanity were on the line, she saved me, every memory of every life was crushing me, killing me. She fixed it…I know what she is, and it’s not an abomination…it’s a saviour.”
Jo was back at Whitmore in a day, her father had assured her that the spell had worked, the ascendant had been destroyed, and along with it, the prison world that housed her brother. It should have hurt to hear, but in truth, all she was, was relieved. She didn’t have to worry about Kai anymore, and she hoped that her nightmares would disappear now that she knew that he would never come back and murder her in her sleep. She’d even brought the hunting knife that housed her magic with her, she wasn’t sure if she was ready to take her magic back, or even if she wanted it back, but it was nice to have the option. It was nice to be able to relax, for the first time in sixteen years.
She grabbed an iced coffee from a cart on campus and turned to go back to the hospital, Jo was in such a good mood that she didn’t notice that she’d stepped in someone’s way and ended up crashing into into them. “Oh my God!” she gasped as her coffee spilled all over them, incredibly thankful that she’d picked a cold drink instead of her usual order. “I’m so sorry!”
The guy she bumped into smiled at her, “It’s okay,” he said, “It’s my fault, I should have been watching where I was going.”
“No it’s totally my bad, and now I’ve ruined your shirt! I’ll pay for the dry cleaning.”
The guy shook his head, “It’s fine, it’ll come right out,” he brightened, “But I wouldn’t be opposed to buying you another coffee.”
“After I bumped into you?”
“If you wanna make it up to me,” he shrugged.
Jo laughed and nodded, “Okay, yeah, I’d like that. I’m Jo, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you Jo, I’m Alaric.”
“So you’re saying that my daughter and her boyfriend are stuck in an existing prison world, that already has a prisoner in, and there’s no way to get them out!” Jenna exclaimed.
“She vaporised the ascendant, its dust in the wind, it was the only way to make sure that they had a way of coming back, it means that my coven leader can’t destroy that world, but yeah, there’s no way to get to them from here,” Noah confirmed.
“Well how the bloody hell do we help them?” Enzo snarled, he was not about to let his two best friends rot in a prison world for eternity, he knew that being trapped there was Maya’s worst nightmare, and he would not stop until he found a way to get them back.
“Maya needs the ascendant, which will probably be with the prisoner, I mean he’s been there sixteen years, there’s no way that he doesn’t have it.”
“Wait, who are they trapped in there with?!”
“Uh…Malachi Parker.”
“And who exactly is Malachi Parker?” Damon asked, taking out his phone and putting the name into a search engine, eyes widening as he took in the picture on the news article, he recognised that face! Suddenly he felt like he wouldn’t be seeing Maya or his best friend for a while, he just didn’t know how to tell the others.
“He, uh- he’s the son of our coven leader, he would have taken over as the leader, if he hadn’t have been locked away.”
“What happened?” Caroline asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Noah cleared his throat, glancing around the room nervously, he’d never been around so many Vampires in his entire life, “He’s a Siphon, his sister, his twin however is not. I-I don’t know how much you know about our coven-”
“The leader has twins, and when they turn 22 they participate in the ‘Merge’ blah, blah magic, blah, blah death, only one survives and takes over as the big boss.” Damon said, “We know enough.”
Noah sighed, “When Joshua Parker, our leader, realised that his son was a Siphon, he and his wife decided to have more kids, until they had another pair of twins.” Noah looked away for a moment, “You know how Witches feel about Siphons, for centuries we’ve believed them to be abominations. It didn’t matter that Kai was his own child, he wasn’t good enough to take over the coven, and Joshua wouldn’t even consider that Kai could have been more than a mistake.”
“You’re stalling,” Enzo cut in.
“Kai had been isolated and ostracised from the coven his whole life, he wasn’t allowed to practice magic, or play with the other kids, because if he wanted to, it wouldn’t take much for him to kill one of them, I mean, he nearly killed his mother while in the womb! The only thing that kept Kai sane was the promise of the Merge, the chance to become our leader, to have our respect. When he found out that the twins were the ones going to do the Merge, and not him and Jo, his sister, he snapped. He killed almost all of his siblings; Jo managed to hide the twins and promised to do the Merge with him, and the coven used that as a cover to lock him up.”
Kol snorted in amusement, “So our brother, who is so fond of killing his own siblings, is trapped with someone who has done the same thing?”
Rebekah rolled her eyes, “Like that’s not going to end in disaster.”
“This still doesn’t help us figure out how to get them out of that damn place!” Jenna snapped, “I can’t reach her! No matter what I do!”
“I think I can help with that.” Noah replied, prison worlds operated at a different frequency than this world, Jenna just needed to know how to access it.
"It doesn't matter what we do!" Enzo exclaimed, "Not while that coven still exists! We know where they are, let's kill them all first!"
"You can't!" Noah cried.
Enzo growled, and had the Gemini Witch up against the wall in an instant, "Oh no? Why's that?"
"Because you'll kill Maya!"
"What are you talking about?" Damon asked.
"Every member of the Gemini Coven is linked to the leader, when the leader dies, so do we." he used a spell to push Enzo back a few feet, "Maya's a Siphon! They only come from my coven! Which means that she's a part of the Gemini Coven!"
"If we kill Joshua Parker, then we kill Maya," Elijah said in understanding.
"Not on my watch!" Freya exclaimed, she looked at her youngest brother, "You concentrate on contacting Maya, I'll work on breaking her connection to that coven!"
Thanks to the constant re-setting, it took Klaus and Maya four days to reach Salem, and they had spent a week there, searching for answers but Maya had found nothing. It took another two days to get to Louisiana from there, and then a further five days before she had found research on prison worlds, and finally manged to create a spell to undo the re-set of objects so that she could make lasting notes and keep any grimoires she found safe, without having to worry about losing them. Klaus, on the other hand, had taken advantage of the spell by actually being able to paint out in the open in the city he loved so much, it was something he'd always dreamed of, but he'd never been able to to, for fear of letting his guard down. At least in the prison world, he didn't have to worry about anyone tying to kill him.
They’d been in the prison world for eighteen days before Maya took a break, she’d been going at it full force, but was still no closer to finding a way out of their elaborate cell. She locked up the grimoires and her notes, and left the Abattoir. Locating the nearest jewellery store, Maya started to load up on all the precious stones that she could find, if she was stuck in a copy of the world, then she might as well take advantage of it.
Klaus was painting in Jackson Square, trying to take his mind off of the fact that he was trapped away from his family, his pack, his children, with no immediate way to escape. Painting outside was the only way he could stop himself from losing his temper with Maya, he knew that it wasn’t her fault that they were stuck there. In fact, it was mostly his, he was the one who insisted that they go to Portland to find more Werewolves when she thought it was a bad idea. He was the one that asked her to come with him, when she didn’t want to. He should have listened to her, but he didn’t, and now they were stuck, and they had no idea who was in the world with them.
Jenna closed her eyes and fell into a trance, it had taken nearly three weeks for them to figure out how to get her connected to Maya, and at last, she was going to try again. She prayed that she could speak to her daughter, because if she couldn’t then she would really lose it, she was barely holding it together as it was, another failure would kill her.
Reaching out into the vast unknown, she found the thread that connected her to Maya, and grabbed onto it, with Kol’s power boosting her, she followed the thread, until she found her missing daughter.
/ / /
“Mom!” Maya gasped, being drawn into her own mind, feeling their connection flare to life.
“Maya, sweetheart! You’re okay!” Jenna rushed to her, not releasing the thread, she grasped Maya’s hand and pulled them together. “I’ve been so worried!”
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t give you more warning! We walked into a trap!”
“I know baby, Noah and the Hybrids told us everything they could…but honey…”
“You can’t come and get us,” Maya sighed, “I know, I couldn’t take the chance of being killed so…”
“You made it a one way trip.” Jenna finished.
“I didn’t,” Maya shook her head, “There’s a way out, from inside, I just have to figure it out.”
“What do you know? And what do you need?”
“I know the ingredients, I can get the ascendant, eventually our cellmate will find us, but the Bennett blood, it’s not in Mystic Falls, I need to know where Sheila and Lucy Bennett were in May 1994, and any of their other Bennett relatives. Can you find out for me?”
“Of course!” Jenna nodded, she didn’t want to take her eyes off her daughter, the one thing that she’d been afraid of had happened, and she needed to find a way to save her.
Maya was happy that she had a way to contact the real world, but she realised that if her mom was still in Mystic Falls, then there was a good chance that so was Elijah, “Mom…is Elijah with you?”
“Yeah, we were on our way out of town when I heard your call.”
She ran her hand through her hair in frustration, Elijah was there to support her mom, but Davina needed help too. “Mom, Davina’s in trouble, someone needs to be there for her.”
“I know,” Jenna replied, “Elijah’s been here for me, we agreed that he’d stay until I knew you were safe. And now I know. He’ll head out in the morning, he’ll figure out what’s going on in New Orleans, I promise.”
“Thank you,” Maya sighed in relief, “How are the kids?” she asked, “We were supposed to be back in a couple of days…and- I don’t know how long we’re gonna be stuck here.”
“Rebekah’s taken to looking after them, but… it’s hard,” Jenna wasn’t going to lie, “They miss their father…they miss you. They won’t say anything but I can tell that they are so scared that they’re never gonna see you two again.”
Maya huffed, “This shouldn’t have happened, I’ve been so careful, I don’t know how the Gemini found out about me.”
“Bennett blood is needed to get in and out of a prison world,” Jenna said in realisation, “Which means that they had to have had some on hand!”
“Sheila?” Maya frowned, “She was compelled not to say a word about me.”
“But there are ways to get around that!” Freya had told her that, when they were having a philosophical discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of compulsion.
The Siphon scoffed, “Yeah but at her age-” her eyes widened “At her age it would have killed her! Someone brought Bonnie her Grams’ ashes! Whoever did that, I’ll bet they know something!”
Jenna's eyes hardened, “We’ll find out!”
“There’s something else you can do for me.”
“Name it!”
“I felt a connection with Noah, because he’s like me, an Old Soul, and he’s a Witch. I want you to see if you can find more Witches like that. If I had a coven, of my own, it would make us a hell of a lot safer.”
Jenna nodded, feeling her connection waver, her energy was waning, “I have to go, I’ll come back, but be careful, the prisoner here is a real nasty piece of work.”
“Have you got a name for me?” Maya asked, she couldn't believe that she hadn't asked in the whole time they'd talked.
“Kai Parker.”
Sophie Deveraux was at St Anne’s Church with her sister Jane-Anne, the Elders Bastiana and Agnes, and Father Kieran. All of them were arguing with one another.
“You’ve never cared about Witch business, Sophie,” Bastiana snapped, “And now you have the gall to reveal our private dealings to an outsider!”
Father Kieran stepped between them, “You have to find another way,” he insisted.
“You think we do this lightly?! The Vampire presence in the Quarter is growing stronger and we need more power to fight them off. Harsh times call for harsh measures.”
“This is more than harsh, Bastiana!” Sophie snapped back.
Jane-Anne grabbed her sister’s arm, “You don't understand, because you don't believe. You've never believed. But I believe enough to put everything on the line for this! And being chosen for the offering – it's an honour!”
“It's a myth, Jane-Anne!” Sophie shook her head, she couldn’t believe that her sister would even attempt to go through this, to put her niece's life on the line like this, it was insane.
“Enough!” the priest cut in, “What you are planning to do is not only wrong; in my city, it's illegal.”
“In your city full of Vampires?” Jane-Anne scoffed.
“The Vampires and the Human faction have an arrangement, just like we have with you. Protect the locals, protect our homes, and we look the other way. What you are planning goes too far!”
“We are simply taking what we need.” Bastiana dismissed, “Our connection to our ancestors weakens over time. You sow, and you reap; that's the way the Harvest works.”
“I am the only ally the Witches have in this town! Do you really wanna face Marcel without me? Because that is what you'll be dealing with if you go through with the Harvest.” The Father explained, cutting himself off as his nephew, Sean, came inside.
“Is everything okay in here, Uncle Kieran?” Sean asked.
“We're just finishing, Sean. Right?” Kieran glared at the Witches, “I believe I've made myself clear.”
Agnes stepped in before Bastina could say anything more, “We'll take this matter to the rest of the Elders.” She turned to Sean, grasping his hand in hers, and marking it, unknown to him, “Continue your studies, Sean. Your uncle is an excellent role model.” She smiled at him, turning away and muttering a hex under her breath as they walked out of the church.
Maya’s eyes opened, and she sat up with a gasp, Klaus wasn’t in bed with her, she needed to find him. She searched every room of the Abattoir, seeing him at the balcony of what was formerly his art studio, glaring into the distance. “Nik!” she said, coming to his side, trying to get his attention, “I know who we’re trapped here with, and you’re not gonna like it.” She sighed when he still wouldn’t look at her, “Nik, it’s-“
“Him!” Klaus pointed outside, to the street, where a lone figure stood, munching on a snack, grinning up at the two.
Maya followed his gaze, her jaw clenched as she tried to not to give anything away, but…it was the man from her visions, “Crap.” She muttered.
Notes:
Thanks for sticking with me for so long! If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel so happy!
Chapter 74: Who's There?
Chapter Text
1994 Prison World
Klaus grabbed Maya and both of them whooshed outside of the Abattoir but Kai was no where to be seen, “Where the hell did he go?!”
“He couldn’t have moved that fast,” Maya replied in Bulgarian, looking around in suspicion, “It’s a cloaking spell, the Gemini are the only ones with it.”
“He’s still here?” Klaus asked, he couldn’t hear anything besides Maya, and he’d never actually seen the spell in action, but Elijah had told him all about it, when she used it on him.
“Definitely, you should go back to the balcony.”
“I’m not leaving you down here on your own!”
“He could sneak up on you,” Maya shot back, “He can’t take anything from me, but he can from you.”
“He’ll barely get a chance to touch me, and then you take him down.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, thanks to her mother, she remembered everything about Kai, and he was dangerous.
“I’m sure.” He replied.
“Then let’s split up.”
Maya went down an alley to the left, while Klaus continued down Royal Street, acting like he was looking for the vanishing man, instead of being the bait.
/ / /
Kai frowned as Nik and Maya switched to a foreign language, did they know that he’d cloaked himself? He’d had to use his magic very sparingly for the last sixteen years, finding that when he’d drained something of magic, it was gone forever. But he’d seen the girl do magic, constantly, seen her siphon, not from objects, but the guy that was with her, and he wasn’t a Witch. He drank blood, from blood bags, he had fangs, he was a Vampire! He didn’t even know that Vampires existed when he’d been sent there, and from his research, there was so much lore, he had no idea what was real and what was fake, but he’d find out soon enough. He wanted magic, so going after the girl wasn’t an option.
He followed Nik down the street, figuring out where he was going, Kai cut through Conti Street and head the Vampire off at the top of Bourbon Street. Taking down the cloak, he went inside ‘Rousseau’s’ and sat at the back of the bar, his feet up on the table, he leant back in his chair while munching on pork rinds. Now all he had to do was wait for Nik to show up.
/ / /
“He’s in the bar,” Klaus murmured.
“If he’s smart, he will have spiked all the bourbon with vervain,” Maya replied.
“You want me to drink some, don’t you?” he frowned.
“You’re the one that wanted to draw him out!”
“Only if it’s necessary, but I’m certain that it won’t be.”
Klaus pushed open the door and stalked inside, he ignored the fact that Kai was sat in the corner, and went towards the bar, picking up a bottle. He heard crunching come from behind him, dropped the drink on the bar, and turned around, to see Kai munching away.
“Looking for me, Nik?” Kai asked, smirking at the startled look on the Vampire’s face, “Sorry, manners. I’m Kai. Nice to meet you.” He pointed the open bag of snacks at Klaus, “Pork rind?”
Klaus took a step closer, “I’m Klaus.”
“Hmm, that’s not what Maya calls you,” he shrugged.
“Maya lets me see her naked.”
“So could I!” Kai replied, tossing another pork rind into his mouth, loudly munching.
“Ok that’s gonna have to stop,” Klaus eyed the snack with distaste.
“Oh, you think this is annoying? Try listening to you and Maya bicker about what to have for dinner, every single night! I mean seriously! Do you have nothing better to do?”
“So, you have been following us.”
“Of course I have! You two are the closest thing I have to a TV. I mean, you’re hot, but you’re no ‘Baywatch,’ but…ah…remember ‘Baywatch?’”
Klaus fought the urge to roll his eyes, he should have just let Maya handle this guy straight away, “No, I don’t.”
“Oh! Oh man! You gotta watch it!” Kai dropped his snack on the table, and stood up eagerly, “You like lifeguards? Like…hot ones?”
“Ok, you’ve just about worn out my patience, so I’m going to need to know who you are, what you’re doing here, and how it relates to me. Or I’m gonna rip your throat out.”
“Does Maya like that temper of yours? I can’t imagine she does. It probably gets old, real fast. Hey you think she’d be interested in someone more like her?!”
Klaus let out a low growl and stalked forward, “Time’s up!”
“Okay, okay!” he held up his hands and took a step back, “Sorry! Seriously! I’m just…kind of rusty on the face-to face type human interactions.”
“Answers, now! Before I tear out your tongue and feed it to you.”
“Kinky!” Kai smirked, “Maybe you should have a drink, it’ll calm you down.”
Klaus scoffed, he grabbed his discarded bottle, and made like he was going to open it, but instead, threw it at the perfect angle, and with the perfect amount of force to knock out the annoying prisoner. “You can come in now!” Klaus called.
Maya stepped inside, and frowned, “I thought you were gonna have drink?”
He shrugged, “Only if he’d stayed cloaked,” That would have been the way to make Kai drop his guard, but showing himself to Klaus, that was a mistake.
“Well,” Maya nudged the unconscious man with the toe of her boot, “Now what?”
“You said that he’s the one that has the ascendant,” Klaus tossed him over his shoulder, “Let’s get him home.”
“The longer he stays knocked out, the more likely it will be that he’ll wake up without magic,” she pointed out.
“In that case, we’ll tie him up, and I’ll pick up something from the hospital to make sure he has nothing left in the tank.”
Present Day, Real World
Davina paced the floor within the confines of her small room, every personal belonging had been taken from her and the other girls, they had been given white cotton floor length dresses to wear. They’d even taken the girls protection bracelets, Davina had had a bad feeling, when her mother had insisted on isolating her further from the rest of her coven, so she’d made a copy of the bracelet that Maya had given her. Less powerful, but useful to fool anyone that was looking to take it from her. She’d worn the fake bracelet on her wrist, while wrapping her actual protection amulet around her upper thigh, the metal, magically expanding to fit wherever she chose to place it, just like Maya had said that it would.
But now she was locked in a house, with three other girls, and the only outsiders she had contact with were her mother, Bastiana, Agnes, Jane-Anne – Monique’s mother, Ingrid – Cassie’s mother, and Holly – Abigail’s Aunt. All of them, the Elders of the French Quarter Coven. She was in way over her head, and no matter what she tried, she couldn’t get out of the house, all Davina could do was hope that Maya could pick up on her distress, and come for her.
1994 Prison World
Kai groaned as he woke up, instinctually he tried to reach for the magic that he had stored within him, but it was all gone, “Yeah, you’ve been out for a while,” Maya said, sitting on the table in front of him, crossing one leg over the other, “There’s no magic left in you.”
“Now that’s not playing fair,” Kai pointed out, “You have all the magic you could possibly want, but little ole’ me doesn’t get any?”
“Who says I play fair?”
“You definitely don’t,” Kai replied, “Just like when you played ‘Monopoly’ with dear old Nik, and stole money from the bank, not cool, Maya.”
“I knew you cheated!” Klaus muttered; he’d had a feeling she had too many 500 dollar bills.
“Not the time Nik!” she hissed, “And you,” she turned back to Kai, “Why did you try to draw us out?”
“And keep in mind, if you choose not to answer, I’ll show you how dangerous I can be,” Klaus said.
“Relax!” Kai rolled his eyes, “We’re on the same side.”
“Yeah?” Klaus picked up a bottle of liquor he’d taken from the bar, spilling a touch of the liquid on his hand, causing it to sizzle, “Do you always try to poison your teammates?”
“I wanted to see how good you were.”
“And how did we measure up?” Maya crossed her arms, looking seriously displeased at the other Siphon.
“Better than I thought,” he shrugged, “After all, the only thing I’ve really seen of your boyfriend is that he likes to paint,” he glanced at Klaus, “You’re not entirely terrible at it.”
Klaus sneered, “If I kill him, what will that do?”
“I’m pretty sure that he’ll just come back when the world re-sets.”
“Look at you!” Kai acted impressed, “You know about prison worlds! What else do you know?”
Maya rolled her eyes, ignoring him, “Although, it could be a good way to burn off some of your energy. Oh! You could come up with new and inventive ways to kill him!”
Klaus’s eyes sparkled, “That sounds like fun.”
“Woah, woah, woah! If you kill me, you’ll never find out how to get out of here!”
Present Day, Real World
Father Kieran cried out as he walked into the sanctuary of the Church, all of the seminary students were dead, the whole place was covered in blood, and his nephew was at the heart of everything, gripping a knife. “Sean?” His nephew lifted the knife and the priest lurched for him, but it was too late, Sean had cut his own throat, “NO!”
/ / /
Diego rushed to find Marcel, his boss was due to meet Father Kieran tonight, but something terrible had just happened at the Church, and Marcel needed to know about it. “Marcel!”
“Diego? What is it?”
“It’s Father Kieran, there’s been a massacre at the Church!”
Marcel shot out of the Abattoir, speeding to St. Annes only to find police everywhere, and Father Kieran sat on a bench just outside of the cordoned off area, covered in blood that wasn’t his, in complete shock. “Kieran?” Marcel asked gently. He sat next to the leader of the Human faction, “What happened?”
“Sh- Th- They’re all dead,” he whispered.
“Who’s dead?”
“Sean…the boys…all of my students…”
“What- do you know who did it?” Marcel asked in shock, he knew Sean, seen him grow up at his uncle’s side.
“Sean did…”
“What the hell are you talking about?!”
“Sean killed them all, and then himself.”
1994 Prison World
Klaus glanced at Maya, as Kai continued to ramble on about the Oval Office, and other things that he’d been doing for the past sixteen years, all alone. “Will he ever shut up?”
Maya wrinkled her nose, “Is there something wrong with us?” she whispered back, “That we’d…you know…”
“I definitely suffered brain damage when I was mortal.” Klaus pointed out, still not quite believing that this was the man he’d seen in Maya’s vision.
“Well I didn’t!” she shot back.
Klaus shrugged, “Perhaps you’re just losing it in your old age, after all, you’re positively ancient.”
“Ass!”
Klaus smirked, and turned his attention back to Kai, “Alright that’s enough! You said something about getting out of here.”
Kai stopped his chatter, and grinned up at the two of them, “There’s a way out, but I’ll need a few things first.”
“Like what?”
“Hmm…a can-opener, shower drain, grinding wheel, jam…a pocket knife, uh volume ‘O’ of the Encyclopaedia, a nail…and a black marker.”
“Why?” Maya asked, “So that you can build a fake ascendant? Tell us we need to find the real thing?”
Kai actually looked startled by that, he didn’t know that they knew about the ascendant, but maybe he should have, she was like him, which meant that she came from his coven. “You know about that?” he asked hesitantly.
“You didn’t actually think that we were stupid…did you?” Maya replied. “We know all about the ascendant, and the Bennett blood.”
“We also know that you have the ascendant,” Klaus said, “So how’s about you hand it over.”
“Can’t hand anything over if I’m tied down.” Kai shrugged, “Let me go and it’s yours.”
Klaus leant forward, taking in the younger man’s features, “I’m a thousand years old, you can try to make a fool out of me, but you will fail.”
Kai had a wicked gleam in his eyes, “You don’t believe me?”
“Nik,” Maya gestured for Klaus to join her, and he did, “He hasn’t got it on him, which means he’s hidden it wherever he was staying. Do you think you can find it?”
“Even if I found where he’s staying, he would have cloaked it.”
Maya grabbed one of the larger diamonds that was in her possession, and whispered a few words, before handing it to him, “Keep this with you, I’ve spelled it to break through any rudimentary cloaking spell.” She said in Bulgarian, to make sure that Kai couldn’t understand anything he overheard.
“Wouldn’t he use a sophisticated spell?”
She shook her head, “Doubtful, he didn’t have much magic in him. He wouldn’t have been able to cast a strong spell.”
“Still, I’m not sure I’ll be able to catch his scent. I didn’t catch it before.”
“Maybe not as a Vampire…”
“The wolf has a stronger sense of smell,” Klaus realised what she was getting at, “But then I’ll need a place to put this.” He held up the diamond, and Maya took it off of him, going to the room she’d turned into her study, grabbed a long chain, and used magic to bind the two together.
She came back and placed the chain around his neck, “Go, I’ll watch him.”
Klaus gave her a bruising kiss, before stalking out of their home, he didn’t want to leave Maya alone with Kai for any longer than necessary, he’d removed his clothes as he went and quickly transformed into his wolf form, finding Kai’s faint scent, and followed it around the city.
Present Day, Real World
Marcel walked into the city mortuary, there was no way that Sean O’Connell had just gone nuts and offed himself and the students, something was amiss, and he wanted to find out what. He compelled the coroner to show him the bodies, inspecting each one, and then finally Sean, and that’s where he found it, an ‘X’ on his hand, the hand that Agnes had held, not that Marcel knew that. “Damn it!” he hissed.
He compelled the coroner to forget his presence and ran back to the Church, “Kieran!” he called, finding the man in the room in the attic, “Kieran.”
“Go away,” he whispered, he was so broken, his nephew was gone, and he had no idea why.
“Kieran,” Marcel said again, as he came inside, sitting opposite the Human. “Sean didn’t do this to himself.”
“What?” the priest looked up in question.
“I checked out the bodies," Marcel sighed, "I found something on Sean.”
“What? What did you find?”
“An ‘X’,” the Vampire finally said, “On his hand…his left.”
Kieran’s eyes widened as he remembered Agnes, holding Sean’s hand, smiling at him and then leaving, “The Witches,” he whispered.
“Yeah,” Marcel nodded, “It looks like a hex…but why would they do that to you?” When Kieran didn’t say anything, he pressed, “Something’s going on Kieran! Tell me!”
“Sophie Deveraux came to me,” the priest stood up, started pacing, “The French Quarter Coven, they’re planning on doing a ritual, they call it a Harvest.”
“What is it?”
Kieran shook his head, “It’s why I wanted to meet with you, they said it’s a way for them to reconnect with their ancestors, to gain more power…”
“…But?”
“But, the only way they can do that, is first by sacrificing four girls, between the ages of fifteen and sixteen.”
“WHAT?!”
“Sophie came to me because her niece is one of the girls who has been chosen, they’re adamant that they’re going to perform the Harvest, I told them I wouldn’t allow it.”
“So they hexed your boy…as a warning... When is the Harvest gonna take place?”
“You’re going to stop it?”
“I have a rule about kids,” Marcel replied, “You know that.”
“It’s happening tonight.”
1994 Prison World
“You know, I had no idea Vampires even existed!” Kai exclaimed, looking Maya up and down, “And then you and your boyfriend showed up! Why is that, you think?”
Maya scoffed, “Well that’s simple,” she leant back against the table in front of him, not taking her eyes from his, “I’ll bet the moment dear old Daddy knew you were a freak, he kept the knowledge of Vampires far away from you. Didn’t want you getting any ideas.”
“Ideas about what?” Kai tilted his head quizzically, what could his father have wanted to keep away from him?
“Well, that’s for me to know, and you to dot, dot, dot.”
“Oh, come on!” Kai exclaimed, “I’m all tied up! What are you worried about? I’m harmless,” he smirked.
Maya paused for a moment when she saw the look in his eyes, she’d dreamt about him, more than once, but his eyes were different, the ones she dreamt about, they had something to them, life…warmth. But the eyes she was looking into now, there was no life, no warmth, they were cold, calculating, and she wondered what could have happened to him, to change his eyes into the ones that she’d dreamt about. “I know all about you Kai…” she walked over to him, pulling a chair over, so she could sit, just a touch out of his reach.
“What do you know?” his eyes flashed dangerously.
Maya smirked, perhaps that would have scared her, if she didn’t keep company with the most dangerous creatures in existence. If she were just a regular person, hell a regular Siphon, maybe she would have had something to fear, but he was nothing compared to what she was used to. “Malachi Parker, born May 9th 1972, killer of Mary, Alice and Joey Parker, your siblings, you cut out Josette’s spleen, tried to kill Olivia and Luke, but couldn’t, because Jo had hidden them away from you. I know what you are…Kai.”
“And that doesn’t scare you?”
Maya laughed, “You killed what, three people? I’ve killed hundreds,” maybe not in this life, but when you added up all of her previous lives, she’d racked up plenty of bodies. “And Nik, he’s the most dangerous being in existence. Compared to us, you’re small potatoes.” She stood up, and walked away.
“Hey!” Kai called, “You’re just gonna leave me here?! What if I have to pee?”
“You’ll figure it out!” she called back, climbing the stairs and disappearing when she reached the second floor, using a cloaking spell to hide from his sight. She wasn’t about to leave him unsupervised, but she wanted to see if he would be able to escape from his bonds.
Present Day, Real World
Elijah was stood next to his car with Jenna, a moving van had already left, on it’s way to New Orleans, “Are you sure that you don’t need me to stay?” he asked softly.
“No,” Jenna shook her head, “I have everyone with me, and Davina has no one, she’s a little girl, who’s in trouble. She needs help. You need to go.”
“You’re certain?” he asked again, leaving her here wasn’t the plan, she was supposed to be with him in New Orleans, not just to save Davina, but to spend time with him, alone. But now her child and his brother were gone, and he couldn’t do anything to help.
“I’m sure,” she replied, her hand in his, and she stretched up and kissed him, “Go, and save that girl.”
“I love you,” he said.
Jenna smiled, “Love you too.”
It was night, when the four Harvest Girls were led into Lafayette Cemetery by the Elders, as they passed by stone basins filled with water, each of them lit on fire. The girls reached the alter and Davina shivered, her bad feeling was getting worse and worse.
Bastiana stepped up to the alter, a wicked looking knife in her hands, but the girls didn’t move, “Our magic fades as our ties to our ancestors weaken over time,” she said loudly, “We beseech them, accept this offering as a sign of our faith.” The girls knelt in a row, and the rest of their coven began to surround them, “I call upon the four elements to bind our past and future magic together. Earth to connect us to our ancestors. Water, to heal the community. Wind to carry us to our ancestors and back. Fire, to purify.”
Abigail stood up, to begin the ritual, but Sophie burst through the coven, “No! Stop! Bastiana, stop! You have to! Please! Don’t do this!” she pled.
Davina glanced at the older Witch, noting the panicked look on her face and grew cold, she knew something was wrong, she looked around, trying to see if there was a way she could get out without being stopped. A male Witch stepped forward and grabbed Sophie, restraining her and covering her mouth so that she couldn’t interrupt again. Davina looked at the other Harvest girls, surprised to see that they didn’t move, they didn’t care that Sophie had come to stop everything, not even Monique.
“To be born, you must sacrifice,” Bastina said, “Do you have faith?” Abigail nodded, and held her hand out to be cut for the blood sacrifice, like they’d been told. Instead, her throat was slit, and Abigail fell to the ground, dead.
Only then did the other Harvest girls scream, they tried to run, all of them, but they were restrained by other Witches, Davina’s mother reached for her, but was repelled, almost like a forcefield, and the young Witch realised that her protection amulet had saved her, she made to run, but was prevented by the ground opening up in front of her. She had to stop herself before she fell in.
Cassie was shoved forward, and despite her protest, Bastiana slashed her throat, “No!” Davina cried, dodging the hands of other Witches and threw a fire spell at someone trying to grab her.
“Monique Deveraux!” Bastina called, and a man pushed her forward.
“Monique, run away!” Davina yelled, dodging to the left and being thrown back by a gust of wind.
There was a shrill whistle that sounded and a group of Vampires appeared in the cemetery, led by Marcel, they started killing Witches, left and right, “Marcel!” Sophie whispered in shock.
One of the Vampires reached Bastiana, ripping her throat out, the sacrificial knife falling to the ground. Another Vampire attacked Davina’s mother, in all the chaos, Agnes picked up the knife, and slit Monique’s throat. Davina screamed and ran, but was stopped by another man.
Marcel, seeing this, whooshed forward, and killed the Witch, he grabbed Davina, looking into her eyes, “I got you.”
Sophie broke free from her captors and dropped to the ground, holding Monique’s body in her lap, and sobbing, she looked up, and saw Marcel with Davina, who had her hand held out towards her fallen friend, and that was when Sophie saw a light leak out of her niece’s body, and go straight into Davina, “Oh no,” Davina whispered, it actually worked, and she could see the look in Sophie’s eyes, she knew that the woman wasn’t going to protect her, not anymore.
Marcel gathered Davina in his arms, and flashed out of the cemetery, the rest of his Vampires following suit, leaving death and devastation in their wake.
1994 Prison World
Kai struggled against the ropes that had him secured to the chair, Maya hadn’t used magic on them, which was smart, it meant that he couldn’t siphon anything, “Fine,” he muttered, finally giving up, he would just have to wait for one of them to come back, there was no chance of antagonising one of them to kill him, because it wouldn’t take them by surprise when he woke up from it. He needed to figure something else out.
It was about an hour and half later when Klaus walked back inside, naked as the day he was born, and holding the ascendant. “Well hello,” Kai wiggled his eyebrows, “Didn’t know I was getting a show!”
Klaus ignored him, pulling his trousers up, and throwing his shirt on, and Maya came down the stairs, “I see you found it!”
He smirked, and handed it to her, “You were right, it was easy to find.”
“Hey!” Kai protested.
“If you wanted to keep it hidden then you should have cloaked it better,” Maya said. “It’s ours now though.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Kai said, “You can’t get out of here without the blood.”
“We’ll find the blood too, and then we’re out of here,” she gestured to herself and Klaus.
“Wait…you’re just gonna leave me here?!” Kai exclaimed; they couldn’t do that! He’d been stuck in this world, alone for sixteen years, and now, finally, he had people here with him, they couldn’t leave him alone.
Klaus shrugged, “Give us a reason to bring you with us.”
Present Day, Real World
Davina had her arms wrapped around her knees, tears still running down her face, she’d just seen her friends murdered, her mother, killed, and she knew the whole coven was gunning for her, she’d seen something working, she felt more powerful than she’d ever been, and the magic from Monique passed into her. “They’re gonna be looking for me,” she said to Marcel, “They’re gonna want to complete the Harvest.”
Marcel knelt before her, “Hey, I’m not gonna let that happen, I promise you.” He said, there was something about the way she fought to keep herself safe, it resonated with him, reminded him of himself, when he was a child.
“Why?” she asked, scrubbing her face with her hands, “Why did you stop them? Why did you help me?”
“I won’t lie to you, I stopped the Harvest because I can’t take the chance that the Witches will gain more power, it’ll put me, my guys, everything that I’ve built in jeopardy, and I won’t allow that to happen. But saving you, I did that because I saw you fight back, you’re a survivor, you deserved to be saved.”
“I’m Davina,” the young girl finally said, “Davina Clair.”
“Marcel Gerard,” the Vampire smiled.
“I can’t go back home,” she whispered, “They’ll come for me.”
Marcel thought back to where he could stash her, the Witches would come looking around his place first, “I have somewhere you can hide.”
Davina shivered, “But how are you going to stop them from finding me? They’re using a locator spell already; I can feel it!”
Marcel raised a brow, “You can feel them using magic?”
“Yes,” she nodded.
“Can you tell who it is?”
Davina frowned, concentrated on the image that was flashing in her mind, “I need a pen, and paper.”
1994 Prison World
Maya could feel Kai’s eyes on her and Klaus, as they discussed their options in regards to the homicidal Siphon. “Did you really have to flash him the goods?” she complained, noticing Kai’s eyes straying to Klaus far more than her for the moment.
“Why? Jealous?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Maya scoffed, “You adore me, you’d never stray. But now he can’t take his eyes off of you.”
“Aah, so your feeling left out?” Klaus smirked, hooking a finger in the waist of her jeans, pulling her closer to him.
“No! Yes! Maybe!” she shook her head, “The point is, you and I are equally as hot as one another, and I’m offended!”
Klaus laughed at that, but before he could say anything, Kai interrupted, “Uh, yoo hoo! I hate to be that guy, but it’s like, super rude to talk about people right in front of them, especially when you’re talking in a different language.”
Klaus and Maya rolled their eyes, almost in tandem, “This is gonna get old real fast.”
Present Day, Real World
Mason saw the Alpha’s children retreat to a little corner of the living area in the pack house, no one in the pack, apart from the Beta and the Enforcers knew what was going on with the Alpha, he was supposed to have been back in a few days, instead, he had been gone for almost three weeks. And Mason would bet that it wasn’t anything good keeping him from returning, he could tell that just from the look on the children’s faces. Something was going on, something that was keeping the Enforcers and the Beta really busy, and because if it, Mason had a chance to step up. His old pack was gone, decimated by the pack that he’d been staying with. He could have left, if he wanted to, Katherine was dead and gone, he was safe, that had been made clear to him the day after the sacrifice had taken place. But if he left then he’d be alone, and a wolf without a pack was more than likely going to die at the hands of a Vampire. He didn’t want to be alone, not to mention, Tyler was in Mystic Falls, and while his nephew hadn’t triggered his curse yet, there was a good chance that he would.
So, while the Beta and Enforcers were busy, Mason had taken on more responsibility, and now he was contemplating entering dangerous territory. Interacting with the Alpha’s children, was potentially deadly, he’d seen how Klaus was with them, and knew that if he screwed up, then when Klaus got back, he would kill him! But…the kids looked upset, really upset, and there was something about that, that he couldn’t stand.
“Hey,” he said, crouching in front of them, “You wanna talk about it?” he asked, knowing that asking if they were alright, would have been a stupid question.
“No!” Liam replied stubbornly, tightening his grip on his sister’s hand.
“Okay,” Mason held his hands up in surrender, he wasn’t going to push them, “You mind if I sit?” he gestured next to the boy, and was met with a shrug. Mason let them get used to his presence for a few minutes, before he opened his mouth again, “You know, no one in my family knows that I’m a Werewolf, they don't even know that they exist,” he started.
“No one?” Luna asked curiously, she and Liam had grown up always knowing about wolves, she didn’t understand how Mason’s family didn’t know about them.
“Nope, the last person in my family to have triggered their curse was in the 1800’s, my brother and I grew up not knowing anything about our Werewolf heritage. Hell I only found out that first full moon after I’d triggered my curse. I couldn’t tell my brother, because chances were, he would have thought that I was a monster, and tried to kill me. I couldn’t tell my nephew, because he probably would have triggered the curse on purpose, and I couldn’t tell my sister-in-law, because she would never have been able to handle it.”
“What’s your point?” Liam asked, not knowing where Mason was going with this.
“My point, is that I have never been able to talk about this huge thing that had happened to me, to anyone that I trust. I’m saying that if there’s ever something that you want to talk about, but feel like you can’t…I’m right here. I’m pretty good at keeping secrets.”
1994 Prison World
“I spoke to Mom,” Maya said, curling up in Klaus’s lap, “She’s got four possible locations where we could find the blood.”
“You don’t think we will?” Klaus asked, hearing a despondence in her voice.
“I think that we’re gonna be stuck here for more than a few weeks.”
Klaus tensed at that, he always hated to be away from his family, even when they were in coffins, he kept their bodies close to him, always within reach, always easy to access, and now he’d be ripped from his family, his children, he needed to get back to them, “The children?” he asked.
Maya shook her head, “Mom says they are not taking our absence well, no matter how many people tell them that we’re coming back, they just don’t believe it. They’re really upset, and for like the first time ever, I don’t know what to do!”
Klaus threaded his fingers through her hair, “You’ve always had a plan.”
“Yeah, but not for this! We were never supposed to be stuck here, you were never meant to be stuck here! Being here, away from our families, this is a direct result of my existence!”
Klaus made her look at him, “We’ll get out of here, of that I’m certain. And as much as I hate the fact that I am away from the children, I know that my siblings will care for them.”
“Oh God! I didn’t even think of that!” Maya gasped, “Bekah and Freya are gonna spoil them rotten! Kol’s gonna make them into even bigger trouble makers!”
“Elijah will take care of them.”
“Lijah’s in New Orleans, remember?!”
Klaus’s eyes widened at the realisation that Damon and Enzo were also in his home, quite possibly corrupting his children as they spoke, “We have to get back!”
/ / /
Kai woke with a start, the chair he was in had tipped back, and he was splayed out on the floor, whilst still being tied up. One of the two of his new companions must have killed him, because he had no idea how he’d landed on the floor, he looked around to see if there was anything he could use to free himself from the ropes, and that was when he spotted a tiny emerald on the floor, and he could feel the magic coming off of it, even from a distance. He listened for any movement around him, and when he was certain that there was no one near him, he shuffled over to the emerald, if he could just get one hand on it, he could siphon the magic, and release himself from his confines.
“Come on,” Kai muttered, as he pushed himself, and the chair along the floor. It took longer than he’d like, but finally, he got close enough, braced a foot against the wall, and pushed, rolling the chair from the back, to the side. Kai’s hand brushed against the stone, for just a moment, but it was enough for him to siphon a tiny amount of magic, enough to incinerate the ropes. Once they'd burned away, he stood up, picking up the emerald and siphoned the rest of the magic in it, and then went hunting for the other two, intent on surprising them, and getting the ascendant back.
Kai crept upstairs, pausing outside of a sitting room, where he could hear the other two talking, and rolled his eyes as they were lamenting over children of all things. Kai thought they would have been more interesting, but there they were, talking about family. When they got back on the topic of escaping, he decided to make his entrance.
/ / /
“Finally, something interesting!” Kai said, appearing in the doorway, but much to his dismay, neither of them looked surprised to see him.
“How long was that?” Maya asked, and Klaus made a show of looking at his watch, and calculating a time.
“An hour fifteen since he woke up,” Klaus said, “Better than I expected.”
“Uh…what are you talking about?” Kai frowned; he didn’t like where this was going.
Maya raised a brow at him, “You don’t actually think that I dropped that magically charged emerald on the floor by accident…do you?”
“You…left it there…on purpose?” he spoke slowly, “So that I could…come up here…and kill you?”
Maya laughed at that, “You could try, but like I said, you’re not the deadliest thing here, that’s him,” she nodded at Klaus, “And I’m a real close second.” Kai had an evil look in his eyes and took a menacing step forward, but Maya thrust her hand out, “Ossox!” she broke his neck.
“Really?” Klaus shot her an unimpressed look.
“You got to kill him last time!” she shrugged in response.
Elijah exited the plantation house in New Orleans, he needed to find Davina, Maya had no idea where the young Witch could be, but had given him a few places that he could begin his search. According to the Siphon, Davina was powerful, and perhaps she could help Freya and Kol in bringing his brother and Maya back from their imprisonment. His first stop was the Lafayette Cemetery, in the Garden District, it was where the Witches liked to congregate, and there was a good chance that he would find her there or at least some sign of where she could be.
The Other Side
On the Other Side, Esther watched as her son walked away from the house in New Orleans, watched as he left her body in the basement, and smiled. There were fresh Witches on the Ancestral Plain, Witches that she could reach out to. Witches that she could manipulate.
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me so happy!
Chapter 75: What Happened in Greece?
Notes:
I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to get this out, I haven't been in a good place mentally, and I just couldn't bring myself to write anything.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Present Day, Real World
Damon was in a foul mood, so was Enzo, but Damon was worse, it had been seven weeks since Klaus and Maya had been sent to the prison world, which meant that it was one week before his 170th birthday. A birthday that Maya had insisted on celebrating, but now neither she, nor his best friend were going to be there for him. Before he met Maya, he didn’t have friends to celebrate his birthday with, and then because of her, he’d met Klaus, and suddenly he had friends to celebrate with, Stefan had Lexi and finally, he had people of his own. But now, they weren’t here, and there was no way that they would be back in time for his birthday, and that really sucked.
He was at the Grill, sitting at the bar, drowning himself in drink, when Caroline parked herself next to him. “What are you doing?!” she demanded.
“What’s it look like Barbie?”
“Don’t you have anything better to do?”
“Like what?” Damon scoffed, “I’m not a Witch, I can’t help bring them back! I’d just get in the way.”
“Uh, hello! There’s still plenty of things that you can do, the least of which is take your turn at watching the kids.”
“Babysitting,” Damon wrinkled his nose, “They have a whole pack to look after them!”
“The pack isn’t their family Damon! Their family is currently trapped in a prison world, and we,” she gestured to themselves, “Are their family’s family, which makes us their family!”
Damon raised a brow “Okay, okay, I’ll go watch them!” he made to leave but Caroline stopped him.
“Not now! Rebekah’s with them!”
“Okay, then why are you bugging me?”
“We have a schedule and I’m letting you know that you’re on it.” Caroline replied.
“Ok, well when have I been scheduled?” Damon knew, just from the look on Caroline’s face, that fighting her and the schedule was a bad idea.
“June 18th,” Caroline replied.
“What? But-”
“But what?”
“Nothing,” he frowned, so what if he had to look after the kids on his birthday? Some of the most important people in his life wouldn't be there to celebrate it with him, “It’s fine.”
“Good! Pick ‘em up at 9!” Caroline said brightly, bouncing out of the Grill before he could protest anymore.
1994 Prison World
Kai groaned as he woke up in the middle of the street, they must have snapped his neck again when he followed them outside, pushing himself to his feet, his eyes landed on a sapphire the size of his fist, weighing a note down. He picked up the stone, and felt a good amount of magic thrumming inside of it, why would they leave him something filled with magic? He looked at the note next, ‘Catch us if you can’ it read, with the tiniest drop of blood in the bottom corner. Kai smirked; this would be fun.
/ / /
“Are you sure that you should have left him that note?” Klaus asked, not sure why she’d insisted on leaving Kai a way to find them.
Maya sighed as she stepped out of the car on Rue Saint-Dominique, in France, in 1994 Lucy Bennett and her mother were in Paris, and Jenna had given them the approximate area for where they had been staying. Lucy was ten in 1994 so hopefully they would find some of her blood and then they could get out of there, but Maya wasn’t very hopeful. “We need to know how good he is,” she said, “Especially if we’re gonna let him out of here.”
“Why would we let him out?” Klaus replied, he knew that Kai was there, in the visions that Maya had had about them, but he had no idea why, sure the man was handsome enough, but he was annoying, and chatty, and ate those terrible snacks, and had no personal boundaries, and all Klaus wanted to do was reach down his throat and pull out his insides...in fact, that was a good idea, maybe he would do that the next time he saw Kai.
Maya shot him a look, “Why do you think?”
“Oh, come on! You said yourself that you’re meant to stop your visions.”
“That was when I was pissed at you.”
“Well, you can prevent this one,” he replied.
Maya stopped, just before they walked inside an apartment building and turned to face him, “Even if those visions come true, it doesn’t matter.” She placed her hands on his chest, “He’s not- no matter what happens, he’s temporary, for me, for you, for us, he’s temporary. If I die, when I come back, it’s for you, you’re my forever, no matter what. I’ll say it as many times as I need to, as many times as you need me to, I love you.”
Klaus fought back a smile and refocused on the problem, “I don’t like him,” he said.
Maya shrugged, “Neither do I, but there’s a reason I had that vision.”
Klaus rolled his eyes, “I hate that vision!”
Present Day, Real World
Enzo brought Liam and Luna over to the Sommers house, it had a pool, and a games room that Maya had set up when Klaus had told her that the kids had called him ‘Daddy’. The house wasn’t nearly as big as the mansion, but it was much quieter than the Mikaelson home, or the pack house. Kol and Freya were yelling at each other about magic problems, Noah, the Gemini, was stuck in the middle of the two of them and Enzo decided that it was best that he get them out of the mansion for a while.
“What do you think?” he asked the two, “Swimming or games room?”
“Games room,” they said together, they ran off together and Enzo followed, he watched while they played for a while, before Luna moved on to the TV and put on a Disney movie, and Liam came over to him, while she was distracted.
“Are they ever coming back?” Liam asked, looking up at the Vampire.
“What?” Enzo asked startled, “Yes, of course they are.”
“It’s been two months,” Liam replied sadly, “It was supposed to be days, but it’s been months.”
“Liam-”
“I need to know if we’ve lost another Dad…and another Mom.”
Enzo sighed, and sat down next to the young Werewolf, “They’re coming back, there’s a way back, it might take some time, it…will take time, but they’ll be back, I know it.”
“How do you know it?” Liam pressed.
The Vampire paused, he didn’t know how much to tell the kid, not really, but he had to come up with something, “Maya she- okay..." he pulled out a quarter and put in the palm of Liam's hand, "The universe is like a coin, on the one side, you have Humans, and Witches, and Werewolves, and on the other are Vampires, Old Souls and Siphons. Life,” he pointed at Liam, and then gestured to himself, “And death.”
“…Okay…” Liam looked unsure, but he was following, sort of.
“And the universe has two beings that are in charge of everything…”
“Nature and Death?” Liam asked.
Enzo straightened at that, “Yeah, how did you know that?”
“I heard Aunt Bekah and Uncle ‘Lijah talk about it once, I didn’t know what it meant, I still don’t.”
“They’re all-powerful beings that created everything and everyone, and Maya, she’s connected to Death…but not like I’m connected to Death, and not like you’re connected to Nature. Maya… Death picked her, he gave her this life, he has a lot of plans for her, and she can’t do what he wants if she’s trapped in a prison world. So, Maya will get out, and she’ll never leave Nik behind. I promise you, your Dad…and your Mum, by the way I have to be there when you call her that, they’ll come back. Before the end of the year, they’ll come back.”
Klaus and Maya were at the top of the Eiffel Tower, he’d wrapped his arms around her as they watched the sunset, “I miss them,” he whispered, it had only been two months, he’d been without his family for far longer than that, but this was the first time since they were mortal, that his family was in a good place, they were happy. His siblings weren’t the ones that he missed though, he knew they would be unchanged when they eventually returned, his children however, they were mortal, and the longer he was stuck in the prison world, the more chance he had that he was going to miss them growing up.
“I know,” she replied, pressing her back to his chest, “I’m sorry it wasn’t here.”
He tightened his grip around her, “Do you really believe you can get us out of here?”
“It’s like the answer is just out of reach, like I can see it, but can’t reach it. But it is there.”
“You just need the right trigger,” he sighed, pressing a kiss to her neck, just above the scar.
The stress of being locked out of the real world was getting to them both, painting and stealing could only keep them relaxed for so long, Maya turned in Klaus’s arms, so that she could face him, “You know, we’ll be alone here, for at least another night.”
“And what did you have in mind? To pass the time?”
“Well…” she started coyly, “It’s a wonderful view…and sex on top of the Eiffel Tower…have you ever done that before?”
Klaus smirked, “I can’t say that I have.”
She raised a brow, “You wanna?”
Present Day, Real World
Rebekah was taking a walk through the park, she needed some time to herself, Kol and Freya were busy trying to find a way into the prison world, Elijah was in New Orleans, Jenna and Noah, the Gemini Witch were attempting to find every last trace of the Bennetts to pass on to Maya, and Enzo had the children today, which meant that she had nothing to do. There was nothing she could do, and she hated it, she wasn’t used to just sitting idly by with no way to help, it was driving her crazy, and it’s not like the small town had much to offer in the way of keeping her busy.
“Rebekah?”
The Original looked up at the voice, finding the Sheriff walking towards her, “Liz.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, “I thought you were busy trying to get Klaus and Maya back.”
Rebekah sighed, “That particular problem is a magical one, and as has been pointed out by Kol several times, I can’t help with it.”
“Oh, well, where are your niece and nephew?”
“With Enzo.”
“I get the feeling that you’re at a bit of a loose end?”
“Yeah,” the Original nodded.
Liz thought for a moment before shrugging, “Well I’m going to check out an ‘animal attack’ you can come with me if you want? It's probably nothing, but it could be a rogue Vampire."
Rebekah smiled at that, grateful that, at least for a moment, she had something to occupy her time, "I'd like that," it was nice being able to spend time with Liz, she'd seen the way that the Sheriff was with her daughter, with Maya, it was something that she'd longed for in her own mother.
1994 Prison World
“You were faster than I thought you’d be,” Maya said, not looking away from the view of the Eiffel Tower that she could see from her place on the balcony.
“How’d you know I was here?” Kai asked, walking towards her, not taking the time to be cautious, not when he knew that no matter what happened to him he would just come back.
She shrugged, “Nik and I have a connection, I always know where he is. Plus no matter how hard you try, your steps aren’t silent.”
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you? You’re not linked to this world, you die, you stay dead.”
Maya huffed out a laugh, “In 6000 years, I’ve never stayed dead…”
Kai quirked an eyebrow at that, “What?”
Maya shook her head, ignoring the question, “In sixteen years, how have you never found any Bennett blood?”
“I’ve been all over the world, if there was a way to get out of here, I’d know it.” Kai said,
“There’s a way out,” Maya said, finally glancing at him and gesturing for him to take a seat.
“And how are you so sure?”
“Your coven trapped Nik and I, tried to send me to a prison world of my own.”
“But you’re here now, guess dear old Dad screwed up.”
“I redirected the spell, sent us here instead.”
“Why?” Kai asked incredulously, “You said it’s been sixteen years, why get stuck here?”
“Because I know there’s a way out here,” Maya sighed, leaning back in the lounger, “I just can’t remember what it is.”
“You can’t remember?” Kai repeated, “As in, you knew before?! As in you forgot?!”
“I didn’t forget,” Maya protested, “All the information I need is right here,” she tapped her temple, “It’s just…not accessible.”
“Because that’s not crazy.”
“I’m not crazy.”
Kai looked around, noticing the distinct lack of the Vampire, “Where’s Nigel?” he asked.
Maya rolled her eyes, ignoring the incorrect name, “Nik, is working on his art, in the park across from the tower, he’ll never get another chance to see it lit up like this, without the people.”
“What’s the deal with that anyway?” He pulled out a snack, opened the packet and started munching away, “All that painting everyday, board games every night, he’s boring. I thought Vampires would be more fun.”
“Hah!” Maya couldn’t help but laugh at that, “Nik, boring?!” she shook her head, “This is a world without people, he can’t get us out of here, only I can, so he gets to relax for once. But out there, in the real world, Niklaus Mikaelson, Klaus, The Terror, The Butcher, The Abomination, he’s the devil.” She noticed the way he stiffened at the word, ‘abomination’, it meant something to him, and she knew exactly what.
“Abomination?” Kai had lost his playful demeanour, it was one of the few words that he truly hated, a word that made him feel like nothing.
“A little Werewolf, a little Vampire, life and death, he shouldn’t be able to exist as both…” Kai was quiet, and she felt like for once, she’d truly gotten his attention, “My mother loves me, adores me, when she found out what I was, she wasn’t disgusted, she learnt how to protect me, she threatened Sheila Bennett for me, when she knew just how powerful that woman was.”
Kai scoffed, looking at her scornfully, “Lucky you.”
“Nik’s mother, is the one that turned him into a Vampire, I think she was hoping that doing so, would mean he’d never unleash his wolf. But he did,” she finally looked over at Kai, “When a Werewolf makes their first kill, they trigger their curse…Nik’s brothers and sisters aren’t like him, he was the product of an affair, so when he triggered his curse, and became a Hybrid, to fix what she’d done, she cursed him, locked away the wolf, for a thousand years.”
“It’s not locked away now…”
“He broke the curse. He spent a thousand years treated as an abomination, with half of who he was locked away.” Kai was silent at that, as a Siphon, who was part of a coven that hated them, he spent his entire life being the broken, defective, abomination. He was never allowed near magic, so it was like he’d lived his whole life as half of who he was.
“Is this supposed to make me feel something? Get me on your side?” Kai finally scoffed, refusing to let her know that she got to him.
“No,” she shook her head, “I don’t need you on my side, and I don’t need you to feel anything,” that wasn’t true, ever since they’d arrived in the Prison World, Maya’s dreams frequently brought the subject of her vision to the surface, a vision where she could see the warmth in Kai, a warmth that wasn’t there now. It wasn’t a drastic change in him, it was more like what Kol was like, the Original was still a violent maniac, but he cared about his family, about her family. She knew that Kai had it in him to be the same, but she didn’t know how to get through to him. “Nik is more of a monster than you will ever be,” she said, “And if you ever want out of here, then you need to make yourself useful, because if he wants to leave you here to rot for eternity, he will not hesitate, and I won’t stop him.”
“She’s right about that,” Klaus said from behind them, causing Kai to whirl around in surprise, the Original joined Maya on the lounger, and she ignored the wet paint on his shirt as he shifted her into his lap, “You want out of here, then I need a reason to let you out.”
Present Day, Real World
Elijah frowned as he walked through the, as of now, abandoned apartment where the Claire family had been staying, the elder Claire was dead, and her daughter, Davina, the one that Maya had sent him to find, was missing. He thought about asking around the Quarter, but there were no Witches to be found, it was like they all went underground. Marcel was missing too, his men were still on the streets, they still held parties, and yet, his nephew was nowhere to be seen. So far the Original had remained out of sight from Marcel’s followers, but he felt like he was going to have to tip his hand, he needed to find Davina, he’d made a promise, and he intended to keep it.
/ / /
“Look I know that I can’t go out there,” Davina said, “But there are things in my apartment that I need!”
“D, if anyone goes near your apartment it’ll set off the Witches, they could follow me, my guys, and then get back to you,” Marcel said.
“Marcel-”
“If you need supplies, just make a list, and I’ll send someone out to get it for you, but we can’t go back to the apartment.”
“There are things in my room, that I can’t get out in the Quarter!”
“I’m sorry D,” Marcel shook his head, he really was, he didn’t want to keep her locked away, but he couldn’t think of any other way to keep her safe. The Witches were gunning for her, all of the Witches, including Sophie, who had wanted to stop the Harvest in the first place, and he wasn’t about to let them kill her.
Davina frowned, and dropped onto the bed, she couldn’t have her phone, for fear that the Witches might actually use old school methods to track her down, and she didn’t know Maya, or Caroline’s number by heart. The only other way to contact them was the spell that Maya had taught her, using their hair to direct her messages, but that was stored safely in her room, she needed to convince Marcel to get it for her. “Marcel, I have my own grimoire in my room, I need it.”
“I’m sorry Little D, we just can’t risk going back there,” Marcel sighed, he was going to say more, but a phone call interrupted him. “Yeah?” Marcel paused, his brow creasing in concentration, “What?!” he exclaimed, causing Davina to eye him curiously. She couldn’t hear whoever was on the other end of the call, but Maya had taught her a nifty little spell for that. She stood, and walked away from Marcel, towards the window, mouthing the words for the spell. Immediately, she could hear both sides of Marcel’s phone call, her eyes widening as she caught the word ‘Original’ there was an Original in town! She didn’t know who, but they all had to know about her, she hoped, they could help, again…she hoped.
/ / /
Elijah was sat at a table outside of a coffee shop, not even fifty feet away from the place called the ‘Abattoir’, he’d resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose in disgust at that, his home, the place where he and his siblings had been the most at peace, referred to as the slaughterhouse. He sipped his coffee, as he waited for Marcel to turn up, he’d caught at least three Vampires making phone calls, and there was one stood on the roof of the building behind him, staring holes into the back of his head.
“Elijah Mikaelson,” Marcel said, appearing in the seat opposite him, “What brings you to my little corner of the world?”
“Marcel Gerard,” Elijah spoke, as stoic as ever, giving nothing away, “Shouldn’t you be dead?”
Marcel gave Elijah a wide grin at that, “You’re one to talk.”
“The Abattoir, really Marcel? How gauche.”
“It’s apt," Marcel shrugged, the name was actually something the Witches had given the place, he'd just embraced it, "Now, how about you tell me what you’re doing in my city.”
That earned Marcel the slightest twitch of Elijah’s right eye, “Your city? Have you forgotten? Those M’s that you’ve scattered across this place, it’s not Marcel, they stand for.”
The younger Vampire’s smile disappeared at that, “This city belongs to me! It burned to the ground and you and your siblings fled, leaving me to rebuild, you never came back!”
It took everything in Elijah not to reach across the table and tear out Marcel’s heart, the boy may have been his nephew, but he was also partly responsible for Mikael finding them and destroying their peace. For years Elijah had blamed himself for Mikael’s reappearance into their lives, and it was Marcel and Rebekah who’d ruined everything instead. He wanted to reveal the truth to him, but that was for Niklaus to do, “Your issues, of which there are many,” Elijah began, “Are not my purpose here.”
“Then what is?”
“I’m looking for someone, a Witch, but wouldn’t you know it, all the Witches in town seem to have just disappeared.”
“I can’t help you,” Marcel shrugged, tensing at Elijah’s words, he couldn’t have been looking for Davina? Could he? “The Witches don’t answer to me.”
The Original took another sip of his coffee, “And yet, you claim the city belongs to you.”
“It does belong to me!”
“Then you’ll help, or I could just give Niklaus a call and let him know that you’re alive,” Elijah gave his nephew a little smirk, when he noticed Marcel visibly pale at that. Marcel knew his father well enough to know that Niklaus would be furious with him, liable to do something drastic, like destroy the city again, and rebuild it in his image. “Well, nephew, what’s it going to be?”
Caroline slammed open the door to the Boarding House, causing Stefan, Elena and Bonnie to all jump in surprise, “Caroline?” Elena asked in surprise.
“I know you’re like over a hundred years old, but when I call you, you’re supposed to answer!” Caroline said, glaring at Stefan.
“What?” he pulled out his phone, noticing multiple missed calls from the blonde, “How did you even get my phone number?” he asked in confusion.
“She’s Caroline,” Bonnie and Elena chorused, knowing that the young Vampire could get anything she wanted, and that was before she was turned.
“Right,” Stefan said slowly, “Uh…what is it you want?”
“Seriously?” she put her hands on her hips and frowned, “It’s the 18th in two days!” When Stefan still looked unsure of what was going on, her voice rose an octave, and she marched over, smacking him on the arm, “It’s Damon’s 170th birthday!”
“Oh, uh…okay…”
“Seriously?!” she exclaimed again, “He’s your brother!”
“We haven’t celebrated each other’s birthdays since we were turned.”
“Yeah because you hated each other! You should be past all your issues now! Katherine’s dead, you got the girl, Damon’s got the guy, you two haven’t fought in ages!”
“Because he’s never here!” Stefan replied, not willing to admit that he was feeling jealous of the fact that his brother had basically been ignoring him for months, for his new friends, and family.
“Well it’s time to fix your relationship, and you can start with helping me throw him the best birthday party he’ll ever have.”
“I’m not-”
“Stefan,” Elena said softly, thinking about her own previously strained relationship with Jeremy, “He’s your brother.”
Stefan sighed, trying not to look into Elena’s doe eyes, knowing that if he did, he would give in, “…Fine…”
1994 Prison World
“So we’re going to Greece next?” Kai asked, tossing popcorn in the air, and then expertly catching it in his mouth.
“That’s not what I said,” Maya replied, not looking up from one of the ancient historical texts she was looking through. After coming to an agreement, the three prisoners made their way to Rome next, and headed straight to the archives below the Vatican, finding all sorts of information relating to the Witches in Europe and North America, even some references to magics coming from the East, which Maya had put in a pile so that she could take them with her.
“Well what did you say?” Klaus asked, sifting through the artwork that had been kept hidden from the public, selecting pieces that he would be taking with him, his plan was to take them back to the real world, and then swap them out for the ones in the actual Vatican, no one would be the wiser, but he would have the truly original pieces.
“I said, there’s something about Greece, I didn’t say that we had to go,” she replied annoyed.
“What about Greece?”
“I don’t know!”
“So your visions are pretty much useless huh?” Kai said, unimpressed.
Maya scowled, and a small eight inch statue flew directly at the other Siphon’s head, only to be caught by Klaus, “This is Michelangelo’s David maquette!” Klaus exclaimed, when he received a dirty look from her, “Throw something else!”
“Don’t tell her to throw things at me!” Kai protested, straightening in his seat.
“He’s not the boss of me,” Maya replied, using an old book as a projectile this time, causing Kai to dodge out of the way, he wasn’t as used to just being able to use his magic on the fly like Maya, he needed to practice.
“Hey!”
“Children!” Klaus snapped, before they got completely off topic, “Love, what were you doing in Greece the last time you were there?”
Maya raised a brow, not believing that she’d forgotten about her last Christmas vacation, “What I was doing in Greece?”
“With Elijah?” Klaus clarified.
“I was taking care of the anchor.”
“The anchor?” Kai repeated, the name sparking something in his memory.
“The anchor to the Other Side,” Maya said.
“Wait…” Kai paused, looking thoughtful for a minute, vaguely recalling his history lessons with the coven, “…That’s a Gemini thing…isn’t it?”
“Yeah, she was supposed to be under their protection.”
“She?” Klaus asked, “The anchor’s a person?”
Maya nodded, “One of the first immortals, Amara…” Maya stopped, as she was hit with a flood of information at that, “Oh. My. God!”
“Love?”
Her eyes snapped to the Original, “We have to get to Nova Scotia…right now!”
Notes:
If you have time, I really appreciate any comments you have.
Thank you.
Chapter 76: Escape
Notes:
Thank you so much for the Kudos, and comments, your support means so much to me.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
1994 Prison World
“What are we looking for?” Kai asked, yelping as he was smacked in the face by a tree branch. Klaus stifled his laugh, he’d moved the branch out of the way for Maya, and then let it go as soon as she passed.
“A tombstone,” Maya replied, shaking her head at Klaus’s antics.
“A tombstone?” Kai looked sceptical, “Out here in the woods? Why?”
“Because, it’s exactly what we need to get out of here,” she stepped over twisted roots, and refocused on the magic she could feel pulsing around her.
“How’d you even expect to find some random rock around here?!” Kai panted, gesturing around to the surrounding wilderness.
Maya stopped and look over at him, “Are you serious? You can’t feel it?”
“Feel what?”
Shaking her head in disbelief she walked over to him, she couldn’t believe that he’d been alone for 16 years and had never tried to perfect his abilities, then again, she had a thousand year old Vampire as her teacher, and he had no one. “Okay, Siphon 101, close your eyes, and find that void inside of you, where the magic should be.”
“Huh?”
“You wanna know how I can find something brimming with magic, when I have no idea where it is, do what I tell you to!”
“Alright!” Kai closed his eyes, and tried to do what she said.
“Just concentrate, it’s like a vacuum, a black hole, that’s trying to latch on to any bit of magic that it can find."
Frowning, Kai tried to look within himself, he’d never done this before, he’d always been searching for magic, never taking the time to focus on himself, because how would that help him? It took him a few minutes, but he found the place where his magic should be, “Okay, now what?”
“What direction is it pulling you in? That void is gonna point you to the strongest source of magic it can find.” Maya watched as his brow crinkled in concentration, as he tried to sort through what he was feeling.
Opening his eyes, Kai looked towards Klaus, “Him,” he said.
“Yeah, the magic in Nik is a thousand years old, and it gets stronger everyday,” Maya nodded, “You work on that, and you’ll be able to differentiate between magics, hexes and curses. Just like I can differentiate between the thousand year old magic in Nik, and the two thousand year old magic that we’re looking for. Which is in that direction,” she pointed to her left, “Now let’s go.” She spun on her heel and marched off towards where she could sense Qetsiyah’s tombstone.
Present Day, Real World
Elijah was back at the plantation house when there was a knock at the door, he frowned, no one should know where he was staying, he was very careful about not being followed, and before he left, Freya had made sure to put a cloak him from attempts to find him. Opening the door he was surprised to find one of the his brother’s Vampires, Delia. “How long have you been here?” he asked, the Vampire was one of Klaus’s minions.
“Klaus has a couple of us spying on Marcel,” Delia replied, “He said nothing about you coming to New Orleans.”
“My brother is currently...occupied,” Elijah moved to the side and gestured for the younger Vampire to come in, “What is going on with the Witches in the French Quarter?”
“Sir?”
“They are nowhere to be found, and the young Miss Claire has gone missing.”
“Oh!” her eyes widened in realisation, “A couple months ago the French Quarter coven took part in a ritual, Marcel’s Vampires interrupted and it resulted in many from the coven ending up dead. Most of them are in hiding while they regroup.”
“What ritual?”
“Sacrifice.”
/ / /
Elijah wished that he could say he was surprised with the information that he’d been given, ritual sacrifice of young girls, children really, unfortunately, he wasn’t. He’d been alive a long time, and seen plenty of barbaric rituals in his life, but his family had prevented such practices in New Orleans. “Where is Miss Claire now?” he asked, after finding out that Marcel had rescued her, and had been keeping her hidden.
Delia shook her head, “I can’t be certain, but Marcel has been spending a lot of time at St Anne’s recently. The church was closed after a massacre, there’s no reason why he’d be there, unless he was using it to hide something, or someone.”
Elijah was tempted to go and see for himself, but he would be better served to be a distraction for Marcel, while Klaus’s minions made sure that Davina was there to begin with, “Find out for me,” he said, “I will hold Marcel’s attention, and if you do find Miss Claire, give her this,” he wrote a quick note, folding it over and handing it to her. He dismissed her and for the first time in two months, he felt like he was actually getting somewhere.
1994 Prison World
Maya, Klaus and Kai stopped in front of a cave that she’d led them to, and she grinned, she could see the tombstone that they needed, but before that, she was going to take the opportunity to collect the one thing that had caused most of the problems in Mystic Falls, the cure. She muttered a spell, to clear away the debris that was covering up the perfect circle on the ground.
“What is this place?” Kai asked, looking around curiously, he could feel an immense amount of magic coming from inside, and was itching to siphon it.
“This is the tomb belonging to the first ever immortal,” Maya said, trying to figure out how much magic she’d have to absorb in order to open it, figuring it was probably a good thing that she had another Siphon with her, “Do you have that emerald that I left you?” she questioned, looking over at him.
“Yeah.”
“You used all the magic in it, didn’t you?” she said, for once not annoyed at his lack of magical discipline.
“No!” Kai shook his head, but noticed that she wasn’t buying it, “Yes,” he finally said.
“Good, you’re gonna help me open this tomb,” she motioned to the ground, where the magical seal was, “And you’ll need a place to put all that extra magic.”
Klaus raised a brow, she hadn’t really mentioned why this was the place that had what she needed, “The first immortal?”
Maya glanced at him, she didn’t want to say what exactly she was there for, not in front of Kai, not when she knew that he couldn’t be trusted, “You remember the first night you found the daggers?”
Klaus stiffened at the reminder of that night, of what Rebekah had been promised, which had caused her to betray her family, a cure, “You mean…”
“It’s here,” she nodded.
“You want it? Why?” Was it to give to Rebekah? To keep it? To destroy? Something like that was a weapon that could be used against him, and he couldn’t allow that.
“It was made to kill Silas, and he needs to die,” Maya replied softly, she knew that he would be worried about this, his paranoia would be making him think that he couldn’t trust her.
“Silas is a myth.”
“We’re standing in a copy of his tomb,” Maya said, “I promise, this is just for him.”
“Maya-”
“I need you to trust me,” she said, “You know me, you know everything, please, trust me.”
Klaus clenched his fists, holding himself back from flying off the handle, he knew they needed to remain united while in front of Kai, “Um…” Kai glanced between the two, “What’s going on? Who’s Silas?”
Klaus gave her the tiniest of nods and she turned back to Kai, “Just someone I have to kill when I get back to the real world, kind of a kill him before he even knows I exist type thing.”
“Pre-emptive murder!” Kai gave her a wicked smile at that, “Sounds like fun!”
Rolling her eyes she shook her head, “Whatever, help me with this,” she motioned for him to join her, and he knelt on the ground next to her, taking out the emerald, he held it in one hand, while the other laid on the circle and he began to siphon. While Maya placed both hands on the ground, having more experience with re-directing the magic directly into her talisman.
Even with help, it took them two hours to siphon away the magic seal, with both of them casting random spells to burn off the excess magic. Once they’d finished, the stone covering the tomb crumbled and Maya raced inside, finding small brown box which held the cure. Kai and Klaus followed her and the other Siphon eyed the box with interest, “There’s a lot of power coming off of that,” he said, not even thinking when he reached for the box, but Maya yanked it out of his reach.
“Not for you to siphon Kai!”
“Alright, I get it!” he held up his hands in surrender.
“Let’s just get the tombstone and get the hell out of here.”
“Where is it?” Klaus asked.
“It’s the weird triangle rock back at the entrance.”
“Will you at least tell me how a rock is gonna help us get out of here?”
Maya rolled her eyes at that, and they all left the tomb, Klaus grabbing the stone and keeping it close, “It contains the calcified blood of an ancestor to the Bennetts.”
Kai stopped short at that, “Wait-Bennett blood?” he asked, not believing what he’d just heard. “We have Bennett blood?” That meant that there wasn’t just a chance of getting out of there, it was a certainty. “Bennett blood?”
“Yep,” Maya nodded, “Bennett blood.”
Klaus eyed the other man suspiciously, he needed to fly them back to Virginia, so that they would get back in time for the next eclipse, which meant that he couldn’t keep a hold of the tombstone, Maya would have to guard it, and the cure, making sure not to let Kai get his hands on either one, “This time tomorrow, we’ll be back in the real world.”
Present Day, Real World
Damon had just dropped Liam and Luna off at the pack house, he’d tried to be as present as he could with them, tried not to act like a total dick, because he knew they were missing Klaus and Maya. But was his birthday damn it! Maya was the one that convinced him to celebrate it, because he had friends now, he had best friends, and yes, he had other friends, he had Kol, and Jenna, and he had Enzo, but it wasn’t the same. All he wanted to do was head to the Grill and drink himself into a stupor, maybe hang around on the highway out of town, and indulge in a little murder. He was about to leave the pack house, when he received a 9-1-1 text from Caroline, causing him to frown, what could it be now?
/ / /
Damon sped over to the Sommers home, extending his senses as far as they could go, suspicious when he couldn’t hear a single heartbeat in the vicinity. Why would Caroline call him home if there was no one here? The house was dark, it definitely didn’t look like there was anyone there either, where was everyone? Shaking his head, he walked inside, flipping on the light he jumped in shock as the house was full of people, yelling “SURPRISE!”
“What the-” he looked around, wondering how the house had been decorated and where all these people came from, without him knowing.
Caroline and Enzo came up to him, smiling, “Happy Birthday!” the blonde exclaimed, wrapping him in a hug, before he could protest.
“Barbie, what did you-”
Caroline cut him off, “Maya and I had been planning your party for ages, she’d be pissed if you didn’t have a party just because she wasn’t here.”
“How did you even do all this?” Damon gestured to the party that was now in full swing around him, loud music playing, people dancing and joking, Caroline must have invited a bunch of college students from Whitmore, because he knew that most of these people didn’t live in Mystic Falls.
“I had a little help,” Caroline shrugged, nodding over to Stefan who was in a corner of the room, looking out of place around all of the people that were having a good time.
“Stefan?!” Damon exclaimed in surprise, “How did you-” he shook his head, “What am I saying? Nothing stops you when you want something.”
“Well?” She asked, gesturing at everything.
“Thank you, Caroline,” Damon smiled, and she shot him a grin, before flouncing off to make sure that everyone was being served.
“Happy birthday, Damon,” Enzo said, getting his attention and Damon laughed.
“I can’t believe you managed to keep this from me!”
“Give me some credit,” Enzo replied, “I’m not Jeremy!”
“Hey!” the young man in question came over, intent on wishing the birthday boy well, “I heard that!”
“You were meant to,” Enzo deadpanned.
1994 Prison World
“I can’t believe you made us stop for that,” Maya said, shaking her head as Klaus packed up Nefertiti’s bust, that up until then had been housed in the Ägyptisches Museum in Germany.
“This is one of the most beautiful faces in antiquities to ever have existed,” Klaus said, “Of course I was going to take it!”
“You know it’s just a copy right?” Kai asked, loading up on his own stuff that he’d deemed to be valuable, “Like it’s not the real thing.”
“And that’s why I plan on stealing the real one, and replacing it with this,” Klaus said, “So I can have the original.”
Maya rolled her eyes at that, “You know sometimes you’re such an art nerd,” she said, causing him to scowl at her. She waved her hand moving the crates of things that they’d decided that they wanted to take with them, into one area together. Klaus was the one who had the largest amount of stuff he wanted to take back, paintings and sculptures that had been meticulously boxed up, so that they would be safe during travel. Kai had mostly grabbed junk, his pager, a bunch of baseball cards, and some cassettes. Maya had stuff that she was bringing with her too, she’d been to every jewellery store in New Orleans, Rome, Salem, and New York, emptying their contents so that she could use them in her business. She also had stacks of grimoires that she never would have been able to get her hands on, and had broken into the Claire crypt in NOLA, taking every dark object that Kol had helped to create inside, not to mention that she had the cure with her.
Kai raised a brow as he finally looked at everything that they had gathered, “Uh…exactly how are you planning on getting all of this out of here?” he questioned, “Especially that,” he pointed at the baby blue Camaro that Maya had found and decided to bring back, she wanted to give it to Damon, she knew that he already had one, but she also knew that he’d be insanely happy to have a spare.
“Seriously?” Maya asked, doing an excellent impression of Caroline, “I’m magical, I’m gonna shrink ‘em down.”
“I’ve never seen a spell like that,” Kai replied.
“I made it up,” she shrugged, looking at the crates first and casting her spell, “Detrecto ad decimam in magnitudine,” she said, causing the crates to shrink down to one tenth of their size, and Klaus placed them into a bag, before loading them into the car. Maya repeated the spell on the car, so that Camaro became more manageable.
“You can just do that, make shit up?” Kai watched as the spell worked, intrigued, he'd never been afforded the opportunity of having magic lessons, everything he knew how to do, was trail and error for him, and he didn't have an endless source of magic to practice with, so it was mostly error for him.
“That’s how all spells are made, most magic is about intent…” she paused, “And a little about ingredients.”
“Alright,” Klaus said, handing the tombstone to Maya, and picking up the car, “The eclipse is coming, it’s time to go.”
Maya nodded and guided the two of them to a clearing, not far from the Boarding House, “You know that we need to get to the tunnels below,” Kai said, “We'll need shovels.”
“Oh Kai,” Maya sighed, “You have so much to learn about Vampires,” she glanced over at Klaus who smirked, he took a step forward, and slammed his foot down, causing the ground they were on to shake and collapse, revealing the tunnels, just in time, because it was starting to get darker. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Present Day, Real World
Damon sighed as he escaped the noise of the party and headed into the kitchen, where the servers were, refilling drinks and trays of food. He poured himself a drink and stepped just outside, sitting on the porch swing around back. He tried to have fun, he really did, but he missed his friends, and it sucked. He would go back in ten to fifteen minutes, before Enzo and Caroline could notice that he was missing, because they’d both worked hard on his party, and it was fun, he was just distracted.
“Damon,” Stefan said, following his brother out of the house, finding him sitting in the dark, “Why aren’t you inside?”
“Just needed a break,” he shrugged, taking a sip from his drink.
Stefan sat down next to him, glass in one hand and bottle of bourbon in the other, offering his brother the bottle, “I uh…noticed that Klaus and Maya aren’t here,” he hedged.
“They’re busy,” Damon muttered.
“Too busy to come to your birthday?”
Damon scowled, “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“So tell me!” Stefan exclaimed, “The entire time you’ve been here you’ve haven’t told me anything!”
“Why would I?” Damon asked, “We may be brothers, but it’s not like we’re family anymore! I promised you an eternity of misery remember? And you haven't trusted anything I've told you, hell you tried to lock me up because you thought I was murdering a bunch of locals!”
“Damon, your best friend came to town to sacrifice my girlfriend on an alter of fire, and your girlfriend helped! Who it turns out wasn’t actually your girlfriend!” Stefan replied.
Damon snickered a little at that last part, “That last thing was just because we wanted to mess with you, but it’s not like Elena stayed dead, she was never going to stay dead, I don’t get why you’re so upset about it.”
“Damon!” Stefan shook his head, “She’s my girlfriend, I love her, how could you not see the problem?”
“Your girlfriend that doesn’t want to be a Vampire,” Damon pointed out, causing Stefan to falter, “She made it clear when Maya asked her if she wanted to live like Caroline, didn’t she?”
“Yes, but what does that have to do with-”
“You’re a Vampire, Stefan, as much as you hate it, you are. You’re immortal, you’ll never get sick, never grow old, you can’t stay in a town like this for more than a couple of years. Elena doesn’t want to be a Vampire, and you’re just ignoring it. She wants to have kids, grandkids, she wants to grow old, you can’t do any of that, so why are you so upset about her dying?”
“Just because I can’t have that life with Elena, doesn’t mean that I don’t want her to have it,” Stefan replied, “She was going to lose the opportunity to even have a chance to live it, Damon.”
“But she wasn’t,” Damon said, “I kept things from you because I didn’t want you to screw everything up, and you proved that the moment that you had a little bit of information you almost did, and nearly got her killed permanently.”
“I know that now,” Stefan replied, “But think about it from my perspective, you promised an eternity of misery, what better way to do that than to hurt the woman I love?”
Damon shrugged, his brother may have had a point at that, it’s not like he’d been a bastion of good judgement over the years, and Stefan had been witness to his worst moment, “It’s not like it matters anymore,” Damon shook his head and stood to go back inside.
Kai, Klaus and Maya appeared in the woods, it was late at night, almost too dark for the two Siphons to see, they’d both stumbled, upon arriving back in the real world, tripping over tree branches that were sticking out of the ground. Klaus snagged Maya by the waist, preventing her from falling, but did no such thing for Kai, meaning that he landed flat on his face groaning, “Thanks for the help,” he sneered, seeing Klaus’s tight grip around her.
“It’s not my job to take care of you,” Klaus sniffed in disdain, ensuring that the miniature car he was holding was intact, along with the (now tiny) bag full of priceless artefacts, jewellery and magical objects, that they’d take from the prison world.
“Could you two stop arguing for five minutes!” Maya hissed, scowling at them both, and looking around, “Did it work? Are we back?” She thought they were, but she didn’t want to celebrate until she was sure.
Klaus tuned into his heightened hearing, and picked up the sounds of cars driving, and animals all around, and the inane chatter of the humans around them. “We’re back,” he confirmed, his happiness evident in his eyes.
Maya’s smile grew, “Mansion or the house first?” she asked, wanting to know who they were seeing first.
“The house,” Klaus replied, knowing that the moment he saw the children then he wasn’t going to leave them, he’d been keeping track of the days that they were in the Prison World and he was fairly certain that they’d arrived on Damon’s birthday, and there was no way that Caroline wouldn’t have given him a party.
“Okay,” she nodded, giving him her hand, “Let’s go.”
“Woah, woah, woah!” Kai stopped them before they sped off, “You can’t just leave me here!”
“Why not?” Klaus asked impatiently, he wanted to show up at Damon’s party, and then get to his children as fast as possible.
“I’ve been stuck in 1994 for sixteen years!” he exclaimed, “I don’t even know what year it is now!”
Maya raised a brow at him, “Just add sixteen, its 2010.”
“I don’t know anything about being in 2010!”
Rolling her eyes, she looked up at Klaus, “He’s not staying at the house.”
“He’s not staying at the mansion,” Klaus replied, not even contemplating letting Kai near Liam, Luna and the rest of the pack.
“We’ll drop you off at a bed and breakfast in town, and someone will come and get you in the morning,” Maya said.
“Why can’t I just stay with you and Nikky?”
Klaus growled at that, taking a step towards the annoying Siphon, only stopping when he felt Maya’s hand on his chest, “First of all, it’s Nik, secondly, it’s Klaus to you, and thirdly, we’ve been stuck with you for months, we want to be alone with our families, and you certainly can’t be trusted around them.”
Kai placed his hand over his heart mockingly, “That hurts, really, you don’t trust me?”
Maya looked up at Klaus pleadingly, she just wanted to go home, and Kai was slowing them down, his eyes turned golden, and grabbed the other Siphon, whooshing to Mrs Flowers Bed and Breakfast, and getting him a room, “I’ve paid for the room,” he dropped a couple of hundreds on the dresser, “Someone will meet you out front at 12 tomorrow.” Klaus whooshed back to Maya before Kai could say anything else, picking her up, and the car, and heading straight to her house.
/ / /
Klaus and Maya arrived at the back door of the Sommers house, just in time to see Damon stand up, “It doesn’t matter anymore,” Damon said, turning to go inside.
“What doesn’t matter anymore?” Maya asked, causing him to freeze, and spin back around, with wide eyes. Damon’s jaw dropped and smile began to make its way across his face, and he opened his arms. Maya grinned, letting go of Klaus, she raced over to Damon, and jumped into his arms, laughing in delight as he gripped her tightly.
“You’re back,” he breathed in disbelief.
She buried her face in his neck, “You didn’t think that we’d miss your birthday, did you?” she whispered, pulling back so that she could look him in the eye, “Happy Birthday Damon!”
Damon spun her around in excitement, “You’re back!” he cheered, finally letting her go, and he locked eyes with Klaus, who was watching the two with barely veiled amusement, “Nik! You really have a thing for birthdays, don’t you?” Damon asked, not one to be sentimental, especially in front of witnesses.
Klaus came over to them, “Happy birthday mate,” giving his friend, his best friend a rare hug.
Damon pulled back, “How are you-when did you get back?”
“Like five minutes ago,” Maya said, “We wanted to give you your present before we saw the kids and Mom.”
“You’re not my present?”
Maya shook her head and motioned for Klaus to hand over the miniature car, after he took the bag of antiquities out, “This is,” she said.
Damon took the car, giving it a slow once over, “Is this…a perfect replica of my car?”
“It’s a little more than that,” Klaus said.
“What do you mean?” Damon asked.
Maya glanced at Stefan, who was watching them curiously, “I’ll tell you tomorrow,” she said, “But uh, keep it safe, and uh, nice and level." Damon grinned and nodded, “Now, Enzo, Sunshine, Mom, where are they?”
“Blondie and ‘Zo are inside, Jenna’s at the mansion, watching the kids,” he said.
/ / /
Maya and Klaus made their way inside, followed by Damon and Stefan, Caroline was the first to spot them, shrieking in joy, and running over to them, grabbing Maya and spinning her around, catching Enzo’s attention, who followed immediately lifting both girls up. Klaus frowned, “I’m feeling decidedly left out.” He muttered, causing Damon to snicker in response.
Enzo planted a kiss on Maya’s cheek before letting her go, and grabbing Klaus in a hug, catching the Original off guard for once, “Why the bloody hell did it take you so long?!” Enzo demanded.
“Memory issues,” Klaus replied, letting go of Enzo, noticing that Stefan hadn’t left yet, so couldn’t elaborate further.
Enzo moved back to Maya, throwing his arm over her shoulder, pulling her to him, and because Caroline wouldn’t let her go, the blonde came with her, Enzo buried his nose into Maya’s fiery locks, taking in her unique scent, feeling a part of him settle now that his family was finally back together, “I missed you,” he whispered.
“I missed you so much,” Maya replied, one arm tight around Caroline while the other was wound around Enzo.
“Don’t ever do that again!” he ordered, pulling away as he could feel his emotions bubble to the surface.
“What are we standing around for?” Damon asked, finally in the mood to celebrate, even knowing that Maya and Klaus were leaving to see the rest of the family, “We’re at a party!”
Davina worried her lip, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do with the knowledge that there was an Original in town, she wanted to reach out to them, but couldn’t, not without Marcel getting suspicious. She stood and began to pace, trying to wear out her nervous energy, when she heard movement just outside the room. Her hands automatically came up, opening the door so that she could see who it was, and it was a Vampire she didn’t recognise. “Who are you?” she demanded, her magic holding the woman in place.
Delia was frozen where she stood, and fought instinct to struggle against the magic, “I have a message, from Elijah.”
“Elijah?” Davina raised a brow, she recognised the name, he was the one that was with Maya’s mother, or at least, she was pretty sure that’s who he was. “What’s the message?” Delia struggled a little, but managed to pull the note from her pocket and held it out to the Witch, Davina used her magic, to take the note from her without moving, and opened it. Elijah had written that he’d been sent by Maya, and that he wished to speak with her, “If he wants to speak with me, then where is he?”
“Elijah’s distracting Marcel, he also gave me this,” she took out a small vial of blood, “He said that you would know what to do with it.”
Davina cautiously took the sample of blood, knowing that she could use it to astral project to him, she would use it to determine whether he was telling her the truth, and if he was, she would tell him where she was, until then, this Vampire couldn’t remember where she was, just in case.
Klaus and Maya hadn’t stayed at the party for very long, wanting to get to the mansion, to see the rest of the family. They opened the door to the Mikaelson home, knowing it was late, so were unsurprised to find it dark and quiet. Klaus could hear quiet murmuring upstairs, Rebekah and Jenna’s voices, were coming from the family room upstairs, they couldn’t hear Freya or Kol, but that was probably because they were in the magic room, which had been soundproofed, for security reasons. He could also hear the steady breathing of his children, who were presumably fast asleep, he whooshed Maya upstairs to Rebekah and her mother first, “Maya!” Jenna gasped, being the first to notice the two of them, standing in the doorway, she jumped up and raced to her daughter, almost tripping over in her haste to get over to her, squeezing the life out of her as soon as she reached Maya.
“Nik!” Rebekah’s face lit up when she saw her brother, in his arms in less than a second.
“Sister,” Klaus whispered, eyes closing as he held her to him, he’d missed Rebekah desperately, out of all of his siblings, she was the one who’d remained by his side the most, the one who, no matter how terrible he’d been to her, she’d always been there.
“I thought you’d never come back,” Rebekah admitted, she’d been terrified, and unable to help in any way to get them back, she didn’t know what she would have done if she’d never seen her brother again. She’d had a taste of a world without Klaus, when he’d banished her out of his life, she couldn’t say that she’d liked it.
“In a thousand years, no one has ever been able to keep me from your side,” he said, “No one ever will, I promise you.”
Elijah was sat in the reading room of the plantation house, waiting to see if Davina would appear before him, Maya had said that Davina was talented, and she’d proved that by completely erasing her existence from the Vampire Delia’s mind. He took a sip of the wine he’d laced with blood, thinking about his family, his missing brother and potential sister-in-law, he thought about his paramour, trying desperately to get her daughter back, and he himself could do nothing to help her, but perhaps Davina could.
“You’re Elijah,” Davina said, stepping inside reading room, impressed when he didn’t startle at her appearance. He was certainly dressed as Maya had described, and she could see the resemblance he had to Kol.
“I am,” he nodded, placing the glass down, and standing.
“You look like your brother,” she said.
“I have been told that Kol and I share a resemblance.”
Davina shrugged a little at that, “You dress better.”
Elijah gave a half smile at that, “I’ll be sure to mention it to him.”
“Where’s Maya?” she asked, “I would have thought that she’d be here by now.”
His smile dropped at that, “Niklaus and Maya…how much do you know about Maya?” he asked, unsure of how much she was actually aware of, “Of…who she is?”
“You mean that she comes from the Gemini Coven? That she’s not quite like any other Witch that I’ve met?” she wouldn’t say it out loud, not when she didn’t know if the house had any protections up.
Elijah nodded, “She and Niklaus were drawn into a trap, by the Gemini Coven.”
Davina’s eyes widened in fright, “What happened? Is she Okay?”
“She’s alive,” Elijah replied, “But we cannot reach her, where she is…”
Davina knew what he was talking about, what he wouldn’t say in a city full of enemies, prison worlds were not well known, in fact, the only ones who were aware about them were the Gemini, as it was their spell, and the Bennetts, whose blood acted as a key, “How long?”
“Just over two months,” the Original said, “Kol and my sister are working on a way to get them back, but before she was taken, Maya was worried for you. I told her I would come looking for you, to ease her mind, and all I found were secrets and death.”
Davina frowned, motioning for him to take a seat, “My coven performed the Harvest.”
“Harvest?” Elijah questioned, “What is that?” Delia had told him what she could, but he wanted first hand knowledge of the sacrifice.
“It's a ritual our coven does every three centuries, so that the bond to our ancestral magic is restored. We appease our ancestors; they keep our ancestral power flowing.”
“I’ve never heard of it,” Elijah shook his head, making a mental note to ask Freya or Kol about it when he had a moment.
“Because a Harvest always seemed like a myth. A story, passed on through generations like Noah's ark. The kind some people take literally, and some people don't.” She looked away from him, crossing over to window, thinking back to that night, “They had the girls of our community preparing for months. Four would be chosen for the Harvest. They said that it was an honour, that we were special…”
“What happened?”
“They said our participation would bring our family strength, health... that we'd forever be celebrated as saviours of the community. But all they really wanted was more power. So, I left before they could get it. Soon they’ll run out of time, because after the Harvest, comes the Reaping. And if they don't complete the Harvest, there won't be a Reaping. Soon, all the Witches in the Quarter will start to lose their power. Eventually, they will cease to be Witches altogether.”
“So, what does it take to complete this ritual?”
“I have to die.”
“What?” Elijah was shocked, Delia had told him about the girl's deaths, but he'd been hoping that with the interruption, it would mean that Davina wouldn't have to die.
“That's was the Harvest was. They said they'd put us four girls in a state of, like, peaceful limbo as part of the offering. And then later, at the Reaping, we'd awaken and be reborn. I never got as far as the limbo part, which means the Harvest isn't complete. That's why the Witches are so freaked out. The Reaping is in a few months, and if they don't finish it before then, it's over. All I have to do is wait it out.”
“And then what?”
“They’re punished, and I’m free.”
“Of magic? I was under the impression that you loved being a Witch.”
Davina paused at that, “For a long time I didn’t, I felt alone, isolated, and I thought about leaving New Orleans, even though it meant that I wouldn’t be able to access my magic.”
“So what happened?”
“I met Maya,” she smiled, “She was kinder to me than any of my coven, she made sure that I was protected, even before she really knew me,” she fingered her bracelet, “And she let me in on her business…even without magic, I could live a comfortable life.”
“But not one that you want.”
“It’s a small price to pay for not dying…” she looked back at him, “My friend Monique. She was a part of the Harvest too. She's lucky. No one fought for me, my mother knew what would happen, and she didn’t care, but someone fought for Monique. The only one who ever spoke out against the Harvest was Monique's aunt, Sophie Deveraux. She was the only one who questioned the Harvest. We thought it was such an honour, we had such faith. We were so stupid,” Davina shook her head, giving a disbelieving laugh at her idiocy, “I should have been on my guard, I should have known something was wrong.”
“So how did it begin?” Elijah asked, walking over to her, standing next to her at the window, finding the need to comfort the young Witch, but he couldn’t.
“We were led out like princesses. My mother was so proud, and Bastianna, one of the Elders, called upon the four elements to bind our past and future magic together. Earth, to connect us to our ancestors. Water, to heal the community. Wind, to carry us to our ancestors and back. Fire, to purify. After all our preparations, we knew exactly what to expect. For weeks they told us that the magic in the knife they used to cut our palms would put us to sleep, and that later at the Reaping, we would all be resurrected. They said we'd awaken, and all be together and more powerful than ever. And it was just like we rehearsed it. All that was left was a little cut on our palms for the blood sacrifice…” She looked up at him, “To be born, you must sacrifice, Bastianna asked if we had faith, and then she slit the first girl’s throat. We screamed, and tried to get away. The only thing that stopped me from being grabbed by the Witches was this,” she showed him her bracelet.
Elijah nodded in understanding, “Maya made this for you.”
“She’s pretty great at protection spells, I guess because she’s been hunted her whole life.”
“Everyone involved in the ritual knew that the sacrifice would happen.”
“Except the four of us. They weren't putting us to sleep, they were slaughtering us,” Davina said emotionally, feeling all the fear that she’d felt that night rise up within her.
“I begged for someone to help. My own mother turned away from me. Sophie screamed and screamed for her sister, anyone, to do something. But the Witches did nothing.”
“Yet you survived. I have a feeling that it wasn’t just Maya’s protection that kept you safe.”
Davina nodded, “Marcel showed up, with his Vampires, and they started killing the Witches, he says that he has rules against hurting kids…but he was too late, when Bastianna was killed, Agnes tried to complete the ritual, killing the third girl, Marcel saw me fight of the Witches and helped me. The Witches fled, when the realised that they wouldn’t be able to finish the ritual, but Sophie remained, holding her niece’s body, and then was when we saw it.”
“What?”
“Monique’s magic left her body, but instead of flowing into the Earth, like we thought it would, it went into me. Every girl who died released her power on to the next… When I was the last one, I suddenly had all of it, all the power that was supposed to be released back into the earth to appease our ancestors.”
“So…the Harvest was actually working?”
“Something was working. And I knew that I was supposed to be killed so the Harvest could be completed and we would all be resurrected. But…they lied to us about how they were killing us. How do I know they weren't lying to us about coming back? But mostly, I just didn't want to die. So, I let him save me, I thought Maya forgot about me…when she didn’t come for me…I thought she didn’t care.”
“Maya cares very much for you Davina, and if she could, she’d be here,” Elijah reassured.
“Yeah, I’m getting that…I mean she sent you here.” Davina met his eyes, “What now?”
“Perhaps you could tell me where you are, so that we can meet in person, discuss our next steps.”
“What if Marcel finds out?” she asked, worried, she didn’t want to upset him, he saved her, he was continuing to keep her safe, but she didn’t like staying locked up in the attic, it made her feel like a prisoner, even though she knew he didn’t mean to make her feel like that.
“I think you’ll find that I can handle my nephew, Davina.”
“Marcel’s your nephew?!”
“I was so worried,” Jenna said, sitting down, not taking her eyes from her daughter, “We couldn’t figure out where to find Bennett blood in 1994, I-” Jenna broke off, tears welling in her eyes, her daughter had been gone for over two months, two months of sporadic contact, and not knowing if she would ever find her way home.
“I know,” Maya nodded, holding her mother tightly.
“Our worst freaking fear!” Jenna said, “When I heard you call for me…we worked so hard trying to keep you from the Gemini, and now they know you exist, they know where you are!”
“It’s why I sent Noah here,” Maya replied, “He did come here? Didn’t he? The Hybrids didn’t just kill him on sight, right?”
“He came here,” Jenna confirmed, “He, um…he told us who he was and I um…I confirmed it. He said he’d keep an eye on the coven for us, let us know if they were planning anything else…”
“I thought you two were looking for other people like us, that’s what you said the last time we talked.”
“Yeah,” Jenna nodded, “That was the plan, but Rebekah was worried about the coven coming here, so he went back, and she sent out her own Vampires to look for others…while Kol, Freya and I looked for ways to bring you back. How did you get back?” Jenna asked, scrubbing her face of all the remnants of tears that had leaked out at the arrival of her daughter. “The last place we sent you didn’t have any Bennett blood, you said that.”
Maya shrugged, “Nik reminded me about Greece, and then everything just sort of slot into place, I remembered where to find some blood, and also figured out how to take care of a major problem before it becomes a problem.”
“What about the Gemini? What are we going to do about them?”
Maya gave a little smile, and Jenna noted the calculating look in her eyes, “We may have brought something back to take care of that particular issue.”
“Something?” Jenna questioned.
“Someone,” Maya clarified.
“You brought back the prisoner?!” Jenna hissed, “He killed his brothers and sisters!”
“To be fair, Nik does that all the time,” Maya shrugged.
“Maya!”
/ / /
Klaus pulled back from his Rebekah, opting to see Kol and Freya next, but his baby sister wouldn’t let him go, gripping his hand in her own, almost afraid that he would disappear if she let him go. Klaus fought the urge to smile at that, it reminded him of when they were children, and Rebekah would demand to come with him when he was fetching wood in the forest, and she’d cling to him, to stop him from leaving without her. “Come sister,” he said, tugging her out of the room, giving Maya and her mother more privacy, “I should let Kol and Freya know that we’re back.” Rebekah tightened her hold on him, and followed him to the magic room, where he pushed the doors open, finding his other siblings bent over grimoires, attempting re-create the ascendant that had been destroyed.
“Missed me?” Klaus asked, smirking as their heads shot up in surprise, Kol was the first to regain his senses, and almost knocked Klaus over with the speed that he collided with his brother, hugging him for mere seconds, before pulling back and straightening up.
Kol punched Klaus in the arm, “What took you so long?!” he demanded.
Klaus let out a laugh at the question, allowing Freya to slot herself into his other side, wrapping her arms around his middle, “You’re back,” she breathed in relief, she and Kol had been working day and night to try and figure out how to retrieve Klaus and Maya from the prison world, barely sleeping, barely eating, killing themselves trying to get their family back. “How?!” She asked, she needed to know, they’d obviously found what they needed to escape, but she needed to know where they’d found their salvation, just in case the Gemini Coven managed to capture one of them again.
Elijah had been making his way over to the St. Anne’s Church, when he’d received a jubilant call from Jenna, making him aware that his brother and her daughter had come back to Mystic Falls. And it was like he could feel a literal weight lift from his shoulders, his relief was palpable, and as a result, he perhaps wasn’t paying enough attention to his surroundings, and therefore didn’t notice that one of Marcel’s nightwalkers had spotted him going into the church.
“Davina?” he asked, stepping into the doorway of the attic, spotting the young girl standing at an easel, frantically sketching something in charcoal.
Her head snapped up at the intrusion, tensing, before realising who it was, “Elijah,” she said, feeling a smidgen of hope at the sight of the Original, “Come in,” she didn’t stop her drawing, she needed to know who was casting a spell in the Quarter, unable to determine whether it was something being used to locate her, or something more benign, she had no choice but to provide Marcel with the images of any Witches that were doing magic in the Quarter, just to make sure that she was safe.
Elijah took measured steps inside, watching as her fingers smudged the charcoal, forming an image, and he was struck by the similarities between the way she concentrated on her artwork, and Klaus, when he found himself inspired to create, instead of destroy. “You’re very good,” Elijah spoke quietly, “Who is she?”
“I don’t know,” Davina shook her head, “I just know she’s doing magic in the Quarter.”
“Is she looking for you?” Elijah asked, concerned.
“I can’t tell,” She sighed as she put down the charcoal, and washed her hands, “Marcel will come by in the morning, and I’ll give him the sketch, he’ll find her and…I dunno what he’s gonna do, he just makes them stop.”
Elijah suppressed the urge to sigh, Marcel was using Davina’s ability to control the Witches no doubt, killing any that defied him, that would be the most likely, but he didn’t think that he should bring that up with Davina, not without knowing for certain. “I have good news,” he said, causing her to look up at him, away from her drawing, “Maya’s back.”
“What?!” Davina’s eyes widened in surprise, “She’s back?! When? How?”
“Jenna just called me, she and Niklaus arrived at mansion about an hour ago, although I wouldn’t expect her to contact you until tomorrow, I believe that her time is currently being split between Caroline and her mother.”
“I can’t believe it,” Davina shook her head, “Does she know that you found me?”
Elijah nodded, “I relayed the message to Jenna, I suspect that once she is settled, Maya will be rather anxious to speak with you.”
“I-” she took a step forward, but paused, “I wanted to tell you to take me to her,” she frowned, “But I don’t know if I’ll be able to sense the Witches in the Quarter if I leave New Orleans…If I can’t tell when the Witches are doing magic, how can I make sure that they can’t find me?”
The Original frowned, his plan was to convince the young Witch to go back to Mystic Falls with him, but she had a point, neither of them really knew the extent of her abilities, and that lack of knowledge really hampered their ability to make a safe decision for her. “You wish to stay here?”
Davina looked around the attic, she hated it there, it was cramped and hot, and dusty, and no matter how much Marcel had tried to fix it up, it didn’t change the fact that she felt like a prisoner, “I hate it in here, but I won’t be safe out there.”
Elijah looked thoughtful for a moment, there was one place she could go, he could take her back to the plantation house, it was a sanctuary away from the Quarter, but close enough that Davina would still have access to her magic, “I have an idea…”
Maya and Klaus had finally managed to peel themselves from their family, they’d peeked in to see the children, but both of them were fast asleep, and neither of them wanted to wake them, and so had fallen into Klaus’s bed, sleep coming to both of them easily.
In the morning, Klaus rolled to his side, eyes closed, his arm being thrown over Maya’s side, he sank deeper into the mattress, but unable to drift off, as his hand touched another body. Frowning, but refusing to open his eyes, not wanting to be pulled from the most peaceful night’s sleep he’d had in months, he felt around, bring his hand towards him, there were definitely extra bodies in the bed next to him, when there should have only been one. He opened his eyes, and pushed himself up on his elbow, shocked to find not only Caroline, with her arms firmly wrapped around the Siphon, but Jenna was also behind them both, sharing the bed with him.
Shaking his head, Klaus rolled out of bed, careful not to disturb them, and left the room, he’d wake the children and speak to his pack, while Maya rested with her mother and best friend.
The moment Marcel heard that Elijah was inside the church, where he’d hidden Davina, he’d raced over there, as fast as his age would allow, “DAVINA!” he yelled, bursting into the attic, frantically looking around for her, knowing she wasn’t there, because he couldn’t hear her heartbeat. She was gone, her clothes, her art, everything that he’d gotten her was gone. The only thing she’d left was the sketch that she’d done that night, and a note with two words, ‘I’m Okay.’
Notes:
If you have time, please leave a comment, they make me feel great!
Chapter 77: Stay out of Trouble
Notes:
Hi, so I've not abandoned this!
I've had some serious issues in my personal life, my depression got worse, and the idea of writing anything, just wouldn't work.
I'm really sorry that I've been away for so long, but I've been hit with some inspiration, so I'm going to try and write as much as I can for you readers.
Thank you all for the lovely words of support and for checking in on me, I really appreaciate it.
I haven't had a chance to reply to all the comments that were left on the last chapter, because I wanted to get this one out for you.
But I'll get to work on responding later today.Please enjoy.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
19th June 2010 – Mystic Falls
Klaus let himself into Liam’s room, which he and Luna had apparently been sharing since Maya and himself had disappeared. It was still early in the morning, but he couldn’t wait any longer to see his children, especially since Jenna had been able to see her own daughter almost immediately. Closing the door behind him, Klaus sat on the bed next to his son, for a moment he just looked at them both, taking in the small differences that he could see in them, he’d only been gone two months, but they were so young that two months was an age for them. Liam was 11 and Luna 9 years old now, they’d both gotten taller, Luna’s hair had grown longer, her favourite colour had clearly changed from pink to purple, judging by the colour of her pyjamas and the elastics in her hair, and Klaus hadn’t been there for any of it. Gently he tried to shake them awake, “Liam,” Klaus said, “Luna.”
Liam shifted in his sleep, letting out a little groan, he didn’t wake up, but Luna was a surprisingly light sleeper, her eyes fluttered open, being disturbed by the small movement and the sound of Klaus’s voice. It took a second for her to register who was sat there, before she shot out of the bed, leaping over her brother and shrieking in joy, “DADDY!” she yelled, throwing herself at Klaus, and he caught her.
“Hello, my Princess,” he said, feeling her try to bury herself deeper in his arms. The warmth he felt, at holding his daughter after so long, was inconceivable, he’d never felt anything like it before, except when Marcel had first referred to him as his father.
Liam’s eyes snapped open at Luna’s cry, seeing his father holding his sister, “Dad!” he exclaimed, using his Werewolf strength to jump at Klaus, causing the three of them to tumble backwards on the bed, “You’re back!”
“Little Wolf,” Klaus almost sagged in relief, his own wolf settling down now that he was with his children.
“You were gone so long!” Luna cried, and Klaus tightened his grip on her, feeling her tears dampen his shirt.
“I know love,” he shifted the three of them, so that he was sat against the headboard and he could hold onto them more securely.
“You said you’d be a week,” Liam said quietly.
“I know,” Klaus sighed.
“You were gone for two months.”
“I know , Liam.”
“You can’t do that again,” Liam said, “You can’t , Dad.” They’d already lost one set of parents, and it took them ages to come to terms with the fact that they had a new dad, they couldn’t lose him too.
Klaus moved the hair from Liam’s eyes, making a note that the boy needed a haircut soon, “Liam,” he pulled Luna onto his lap, so that he could address them both, “Luna.” The little girl looking up at him with sad blue eyes, shining with tears, “You both know who I am, your parents told you about me, you said it yourself. I am a monster, and I have been for a thousand years, and because of that, I have a thousand years’ worth of enemies, who will stop at nothing to try and hurt me.” He paused for a moment trying to let that sink into their minds, they were young but had suffered so much, they understood monstrosity. “And Maya has enemies too, because of what she is, there are Witches out there that hate her, and will do anything they can to kill her. We fell into a trap that had been set for her, but next time, it could be a trap for me, for Elijah, or Kol, or Rebekah. There isn’t a single one in this family that has clean hands, and because of it, I can’t promise that something like this won’t happen again. But I can promise you both, that I will never leave you. He took their smaller hands in his own, “I swear to you both, I will always come back , no matter what, I will never leave you alone.”
Maya furrowed her brow as she slowly woke up, feeling more than one set of arms around her, blinking the sleep from her eyes, she pursed her lips in an effort to hold her laughter at bay, on her right side, were Damon and Enzo, both of them wide awake, unable to take their eyes from her. On her other side were Caroline and her mother, who were waking up at her movements. Maya pushed herself up, leaning against the headboard, “Did you kick my boyfriend out of bed?” she asked Enzo.
“Nope,” he shook his head vehemently, denying it, “He was gone when we got here.”
“But your Mom and Blondie were already here,” Damon supplied, “They probably did.”
“We did not,” Jenna protested, “He was still here when we fell asleep.”
“Did you seriously just crawl into bed with Nik and I?” Maya asked incredulously.
“Yes,” Caroline replied nonplussed, she used to do it all the time with Maya growing up, becoming easier when her best friend moved just next door, there was no reason for her to stop now, just because she got herself a boyfriend.
“What if we’d been naked?” Maya asked.
“I would have been scarred for life,” Jenna replied seriously, sitting up along with Caroline, fully bracketing the young woman between the four of them.
“What are you guys even doing here?”
“You just got back,” Enzo said defensively, “We have to make sure that you don’t disappear again.”
Maya rolled her eyes, “I didn’t disappear the first time, and this is my town, they can’t get me here.”
“You can’t know that!” Enzo refuted, “That Gemini Witch Jo was able to come here and get to Bon-Bon! What’s to stop them coming here? They know where you live!”
“A couple things actually,” Maya murmured, “After we banished Sheila, I put up protections, no Witch intent on doing me harm can’t pass the town limits. Jo could get in because she wasn’t here to cause me harm, just protect Bonnie. The Gemini won’t be able to get to us here.”
“But you’re not planning on staying here,” Damon supplied, he knew that Maya was only staying in Mystic Falls because of her mother and Caroline. Caroline wanted to graduate with her best friend, and Maya wanted to graduate Mystic Falls high because no one in town had believed that Jenna would be able to raise her daughter the ‘right way’ they were always waiting for Maya to trip up, and show them all what an unfit mother Jenna was, and she wasn’t about to make them think that they were right by dropping out of high school.
Maya had more important things to focus on this year, she’d brought back Kai two years early, he was supposed to meet Olivia and Luke and Whitmore College, but she didn’t know when they were supposed to start there, Maya wasn’t sure if they showed up at Whitmore because of the Travellers, or because they were supposed to connect with the Bennett Witch. She needed more information about the twins before she let Kai rush out and find what remained of his family. She also had to deal with Silas, she had a cure that she could pour down his throat and hopefully, she would be able to kill him before he regained his senses. But then that would leave her with one dose of the cure, and she didn’t know what to do with it. She should offer it to Caroline first, she knew that her best friend wouldn’t take it. She liked being a Vampire, being ageless, fearless, having the world at her fingertips, but she deserved first shot at it, if Caroline took it, and someone else took the cure from her, she wouldn’t wither and die.
Then there was Damon, he’d mourned his human life, and he loved being a Vampire, but she was worried that there was a part of him that missed being human. And with only one dose of the cure he wouldn’t be able to share it with Enzo, or Stefan. Enzo never really had the chance to enjoy being a Vampire, he’d only spent 40 years turned before he was captured and tortured for decades. They’d never discussed whether he enjoyed his life now, or if he was just making due because he thought there was no other option. She could give the dose to Stefan, but would he take it? He hated what he was, but she knew for a fact that he didn’t want to be alone, without his brother, and she had no idea what not having Stefan would do to Damon.
There was Elena, who was human, but if she ever got herself turned into a Vampire (and let’s face it, there was a pretty good chance that Elena Gilbert would end up turned), she would make a crappy Vampire, she’d been the reason the search for the cure happened the first time. Been the mastermind behind killing Kol and decimating ¼ of the remaining Vampire population after Finn had died. Should Maya keep the cure on ice in case Elena ever needed it?
And of course there were the biggest two question marks on her list, Rebekah and Finn. Rebekah wanted to be human so that she could actually have children, give birth, the whole she-bang, and Finn hated what he was to the point of committing acts suicidal enough that he was clearly hoping that one of his brothers would kill him, even with Freya alive, he couldn’t stand to be what he was. But Maya had no idea what the cure would do to the sire lines if taken by an Original, would they all turn human? Would the cure simply break the sire line, leaving them free of their ties to an Original? If the immortal magic in the Original ceased to be before severing the sire line then would they all drop dead? She had no idea, and needed more information before anyone else could know about the cure.
At least she knew for a fact that Klaus and Kol would never want the cure, Kol had missed his magic, and now he had that back, there was no reason to go back to being a fragile, vulnerable human, especially with all the enemies the Originals had. Klaus loved being a Hybrid and would never take the cure, he’d rather die.
“No,” Maya said finally, “I’m not planning on sticking around for long.”
“Maya-” Jenna started.
“I’ll graduate,” Maya cut her mother off, “I promised myself that I would graduate here, for me, and for you . And I'm not going anywhere right away, I promise you that. But you can’t deny that things are different now. There are responsibilities that I have to take care of, and there are consequences of actions that I’ve taken that I’ll need to face. I swear to you, I’ll graduate, but first I need to keep this family safe.”
“Keeping this family safe isn’t just on you,” Enzo cut in, “It’s my job too, and Damon’s,” he glanced at his partner, “And your mother’s got serious power on her side now. Not to mention the very old, very powerful, temperamental hybrid that would burn the world to keep you safe.”
“It’s not even been 24 hours,” Jenna said, “I don’t even want to think about you leaving to do anything dangerous right now.”
“I’m not leaving right away,” Maya re-assured her, “I did just get back, and as much as I love spending time with Nik, I was also stuck over there with Kai, and that did leave me wanting more… intelligent company.”
“Really?” Damon raised a brow, giving her a knowing look, “I would have thought that you would have found it…fun…” and Maya shot him a glare, he was the only one besides Nik that knew about her vision.
Jenna scoffed, “What fun?! The man killed his siblings!”
“Which is exactly Maya’s type,” Damon shrugged, and then winced when he received multiple aneurysms, as punishment.
“Well one sibling killer in the family is enough!” Jenna replied, not quite believing what she’d just said.
“They all came back to life!” Maya protested.
“Maya!”
“Well, they did!”
Kai had chosen to ignore Klaus’s command to stay in his little hotel room until someone came and got him at lunch time. He was not a child to be told what to do, and he hadn’t had any real human interaction in sixteen years. Antagonising Klaus and Maya was fun, but what was decidedly less fun, was the amount of times that they’d killed him, just to get some ‘space’ or ‘peace and quiet’ as they’d said. So, he was outside, strolling through the centre of the town, interested to see all the changes that had taken place, and a little bored to find out that, apart from some signage, nothing had really changed since 1994. He shrugged; it was still better than being trapped in a prison world, he never once thought about what the killer couple would do to him when they found out that he didn’t do as he was told, didn’t even think about what might happen now that he was back in the real world, one where if he was killed, he didn’t get to magically come back to life.
New Orleans
Delia practically stood to attention as she relayed the goings on of the Quarter to Elijah and Davina, “Marcel has his guys searching every corner of the Quarter for you,” Delia said, causing the young girl to frown, she didn’t want to worry Marcel, he’d saved her life, kept her safe, but he’d also kept her locked away, refused to get her a phone that she could use to call Maya, or Caroline or Enzo. “Right now he’s acting like you left on your own, but he’s put the word out that he needs to speak to you,” she nodded at Elijah.
“Why is that I wonder…?” Elijah steepled his fingers, and hid a smirk.
“Well his Witch disappears and so have you, I imagine that he thinks you’re to blame. Which, you know, you are.”
“I’m not his Witch,” Davina frowned, “But I do feel bad,” she glanced over at Elijah, not wanting to upset the Original that she hardly knew, but Marcel had saved her when she couldn’t save herself, “He saved me, took care of me…”
Elijah sighed, Marcel had been taking advantage of the power that having Davina had offered him, but he knew his nephew, he hadn’t gone to that cemetery for power, he’d gone to stop the slaughter of children, and Elijah could respect that, even if he hated that Marcel had taken over the city that his family had built, he would give Marcel some piece of mind, or at least allow Davina to know that he’d tried.
Mystic Falls
Maya ended up kicking the boys out of her shared room with Nik, so that she could get dressed, Caroline had said that the kids were awake, and apparently, weren’t letting their father out of their sight. “You know, you’re stalling,” Jenna said, from her perch on the bed with Caroline, watching as her daughter seemingly agonised over clothing choices. She’d already spent 30 minutes in the shower, saying that she’d missed all of her moisturising products that apparently didn’t exist in 1994.
“I am not,” Maya protested, staring at the closet full of clothes that Klaus had provided for her, she was going to see the kids and she was freaking out, while she was gone, she’d thought about how much she missed them. She missed the way that any time Luna saw her, she’d ask her to do magic. She missed the way that Liam would quietly join her in the kitchen when he didn’t feel like talking, and just helped her cook. She missed the way that they both looked at her, even when Nik wasn’t there, they looked at her like she was part of their family. She was nervous to see them again, did they miss her as much as she’d missed them?
“You’ve been staring at your closet for the past 15 minutes,” Caroline commented, having already picked some clothes from her friend's wardrobe to wear. “When we all know, you’re just gonna wear the yoga pants and one of Nik’s jumpers. You’re not going anywhere today.”
Maya shot a glare at Caroline, hating the fact that she knew exactly what she was doing, “You don’t know that!”
“Honey, there’s no need to be nervous,” Jenna said, she didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what her daughter was so scared of. She’d seen the way that Maya interacted with Klaus’ children, her daughter had made it very clear that Klaus was her endgame, she wanted a life with him, a family with him, and Liam and Luna were very much a part of that family. “The kids missed you,” she got up and pulled out the clothes Maya was going to wear, handing them to her, “They’re your family now, my family now, it wasn’t just Klaus they were scared for, it was you too. Now, get dressed, come down to breakfast, and reassure the children that you’re safe. We’ll meet you downstairs.
///
Liam was the first one to spot Maya, as she came down the stairs for breakfast, he was following his father and Luna into the dining room, when she’d caught his eye. “Maya!” he almost whispered, rushing over to meet her just as she reached the ground floor. His arms automatically coming up to encircle her, and she immediately crouched so that she could meet his height.
“Oh,” she whispered, inconceivably surprised at how emotional just being able to hold Liam had made her. “I’m sorry I was so late,” she said, sitting on the bottom step, and tightening her grip on him, fingers carding through his hair.
“Missed you,” he whispered back, face buried in her shoulder.
“Oh sweetheart, I missed you so much,” she sniffed, feeling her eyes well up, but she didn’t want to cry. “Your father is a terrible sous chef,” Maya said, causing Liam to let out a little snort of laughter.
“Lies and slander,” Klaus said, he and Luna had come back into the hallway when they’d noticed that Liam wasn’t with them.
Luna came up behind him, eyes lighting up the moment she saw the young woman, “Maya!” she gasped excitedly, rushing over to her.
Maya lifted her head, releasing an arm from Liam, holding out her hand for Luna, bracing herself for the energetic little girl. “Hi honey.”
Luna burst into tears once she’d collided with Maya, causing her to shoot a panicked look at Nik, who was equally surprised. She’d cried when she’d seen him, so he’d thought that she wouldn’t get so emotional now, but it appeared all those feelings had finally overwhelmed her. Klaus immediately came up to the three of them, and got down to their level, “Princess,” he spoke softly, “There’s no need to cry love.”
“Mommy!” Luna cried out.
Maya gasped in shock, her jaw dropping as she tightened her grip on her, as she scrambled for something to say. “Uh-It-It’s okay baby, I’m here.”
She glanced up at Nik, who was stunned, this was something that he’d teased Maya with, but they’d never actually discussed it. Maya had opted to believe that she would just be seen as their father’s girlfriend, maybe their step-mother later on, when she got older. Nik just gave her a shrug, Liam and Luna were the ones that made the decision that he would be their father, he was just there for them and they made the choice, and now it appeared that Luna had made the decision that Maya would be her mother.
Liam nestled further into Maya, not quite ready to claim the Siphon like his sister had, but was still comfortable with Luna taking the lead here. He also wanted to see how Maya reacted to being called Mom, just like he’d waited and seen with Klaus, and her immediate reaction hadn’t disappointed. He couldn’t see her outwardly panicking (of course from his view, he couldn’t see the absolute terror that her eyes held. Maya had been given something precious, and she was terrified that she would screw it up.
“Uh…Klaus…” Cary had just come in, looking for his Alpha, and was hesitant to ruin whatever moment he’d stepped in.
Klaus looked up, “Yes?”
“Kai’s not at the hotel,” he said, having received a text from one of the Enforcers letting him know.
Klaus’ eyes hardened, and Maya looked up with a scowl, “I’m gonna kill him,” she hissed.
“Not if I get there first.”
///
Kai thought that he’d slipped out of the motel unnoticed, thought that he could get away with doing whatever he wanted, just like he’d done for the past decade and a half in the prison world. But he forgot that he wasn’t in the prison world anymore, he didn’t realise that this version of Mystic Falls wasn’t like his own, Kai wasn’t in charge anymore, and he was about to find out just how out of his depth he truly was.
He’d been to the terribly boring Mystic Grill, and the equally pedestrian high school, which was when he was practically snatched from the sidewalk. Feeling the familiar pressure that came with Vampire speed, and was suddenly deposited in the yard between what looked like two massive homes, and in front of a very pissed off looking power couple, with a few people flanking them on either side.
“He was outside the high school,” the woman who had dropped him on the ground said, looking decidedly annoyed at the fact that she’d had to search the whole town for him.
“Thank you Alexandra,” Klaus said, his enforcer joining the others at his side, and then turned his attention fully to the Siphon standing before him, looking as nonchalant as ever, “I thought we told you to stay put.”
“I got bored,” Kai shrugged, like he wasn’t talking back to the most deadly being on the planet.
New Orleans
Elijah watched Marcel and his men from the shadows of the ‘Abattoir’, he wanted to scoff at that, his home, the home that he, and Rebekah and Niklaus had built, reduced to being known as the Slaughterhouse. He hated it, it would be the first thing that would change when his family moved back to New Orleans, and they would move back, of that he had no doubt.
Once the final Vampire had left the building, Elijah stepped out of the shadows, “My, my, Marcellus, you have been busy.”
Marcel whirled around, not able to cover his surprise at the Original getting past the people he’d had stationed around his home, “Elijah,” he scowled, moving towards him, “Where is she?!”
Elijah raised a brow, “Who?”
Marcel snarled, “Don’t mess with me Elijah, where’s Davina? I know you have her!”
“Ah, Davina,” Elijah slid his hands into his pockets, taking in the changes that Marcel had made inside his home, clearly he hadn’t been all that concerned with the upkeep, “The poor girl that you kept locked up in that dreadful attic.”
“I kept her safe!” Marcel snapped, “Where is she?!”
“She can’t have been that safe if I managed to locate her in such a small amount of time,” Elijah replied with a hint of a smirk. He did enjoy riling up the so-called ‘King of the Quarter’.
“Damn it Elijah! She’s not something for you to manipulate! She’s a child!”
“Well, here I thought you were using her visions as a way to control the Witches of the Quarter. Any Witch caught doing magic dies, no?”
“Any Witch doing magic was trying to find her, I stopped that from happening!”
“And yet, you managed to use that to your advantage, squashing any form of rebellion from the Witches, taking full control of the Quarter. I would say out of the two of us, you’re the one using her.” Elijah replied.
“Like you’re not planning on using her against me,” Marcel sneered, “Let me guess, I give up my position, or you’ll kill her.”
Elijah raised a brow, “Now I would never do something so pedestrian,” he moved closer to Marcel, “Davina happens to be under the protection of a close personal friend, I hear you had a run in with her not too long ago…Maya.”
Marcel froze, he’d only just managed to bolster his numbers after Kol had killed nineteen of his guys, and another twenty had fled at the idea that an Original could rip through them like they were paper, “Kol’s Witch,” he said.
Elijah fought the urge to laugh, of course Marcel didn’t know, Klaus had kept away from New Orleans, and Marcel was still under the impression that his father was not aware of his continued existence. Therefore he hadn’t looked too deeply into the girl, especially after Kol had swung by, and made a very personal statement.
“Hmm, you see, she and…Kol’s Witch, made friends, and Maya had been terribly worried, when she received no communication from Davina. While she was busy, I offered to come and check on the poor girl. After all, it had been such a long time since I’d seen the city, imagine my surprise at knowing that she was trapped, under your thumb.”
Mystic Falls
Somehow, both Maya and Klaus had managed to stop themselves from tearing out Kai’s heart on the spot. It was a near thing, especially since news of his disappearance had come at such an inopportune time for them, but Enzo had managed to usher them all inside, into one of the small sitting rooms in the manor, Damon and Rebekah keeping the children occupied for the moment.
“Damn it Kai!” Maya exclaimed, “This isn’t the prison world! There are actual consequences to your actions here!”
Kai rolled his eyes, flinging himself into the loveseat, “It’s not like I did anything, I was just…looking around.”
“This isn’t the place where you can just go ‘looking around’!” Klaus said, “You’re bloody coven was here not too long ago, it’s how we got trapped in that damnable prison world with you! What if they have someone that’s still here? What if they saw you?”
“I’ll tell you what would happen,” Maya finished for him, “They would have notified their leader, and your father probably would have told his kids to start the merge early, making sure that you could never take over!”
“You can’t do the merge early,” Kai scoffed, “It has to be done when we turn 22.”
“And that’s where you’re wrong,” Maya replied, “If you’d actually bothered to do any research into the merge while you were locked away, you would know that it only needs to be completed in the twins twenty-second year, any longer and the coven starts losing their magic, but the twins can do it any time up until then. Is that what you want?” Maya asked, “For the replacements to take over the coven? Instead of you?”
Kai scowled, he wouldn’t let that happen, after everything that he’d gone through, he would gut the two replacements, before they tried to take his rightful place. “I spent 16 years locked up! I’m not about to stay hidden away now!”
“I’m not telling you to hide away!” Maya hissed, “Just have some damn sense! You wanna live your life, go do it somewhere the Gemini haven’t been spotted, we told you to wait, because you need new ID, social security! I have a plan to deal with the Gemini, and I’m not having you fuck it up!”
“I don’t care about your plan!” Kai snapped, “They took everything from me! They don’t get to just carry on like it doesn’t matter! Like I don’t matter!”
New Orleans
Elijah returned to the house, he could tell Davina that he’d let Marcel know that she was safe, she didn’t need to know that he’d also spent that time antagonising his nephew, but with no family around him, he had very little to do, and was getting rather impatient.
“Elijah,” Davina spoke, interrupting his school of thought, “There are people in the back.”
Frowning, he sped to the back of the house, only to see a few members of his brother’s pack beginning to set up tents, “What are you doing?” he asked, noticing that others were surveying the land.
“Klaus said something about moving to New Orleans, so we’re seeing if there’s enough space here for a pack house.”
“But you all just moved.”
The Werewolf shrugged, “We’re used to being on the move, and we’re not all coming. Mystic Falls is our territory now, just like the place in Arizona, but wherever the Alpha goes, most of the pack will follow.”
“Niklaus said nothing to me about this,” Elijah frowned.
“Technically he’s not told us to do anything yet, but we like to anticipate the Alpha’s orders, it means that we’ll be able to set up faster for the rest of us. Besides,” the Were continued, “Some of us have gotten used to living in an actual pack house, so it’s best we get to work on it.”
“Very well,” Elijah nodded, “There’s a Witch inside that is under Niklaus’ charge, she is to be protected at all cost.”
The Were nodded, “We’ll come and introduce ourselves as soon as we’re done here.”
/ / /
“Who is it?” Davina asked worriedly.
“Members of Niklaus’ pack, they are setting up lodgings, for when he comes here.”
Davina eyed the Original thoughtfully for a moment, “You want to see him don’t you?” At Elijah's questioning look she continued, “Klaus, you haven’t seen him since he disappeared, and now he’s back, he’s not far away, but you’re stuck here looking after me.”
“I’m not stuck Davina.”
“But you don’t think that you can leave, just to check on him.”
“Davina-”
“Go and see your brother,” she said firmly, “I’m safe here, I put up some wards that Maya showed me, and I have Delia, and now apparently some Werewolves here to protect me, go and see him, it’ll make you feel better.”
Mystic Falls
He could pretend in the prison world, when Klaus and Maya had shown up, he could act like the multiple times that they’d killed him, and left him to catch up with them, it was just a game, he could pretend that he still had the power there, because he would always come back, no matter what, the prison world was his, and he had the ultimate power. He couldn’t pretend anymore, he could die here, permanently, and he did not spend sixteen years trapped in a hell of his own making, just to die when he got out. He would not just fade into the background, hiding out while the Travellers and the Gemini wiped themselves out, and sweep in at the last moment like Maya wanted him to. He’d spent sixteen years stewing in the possibilities, sixteen years of plans, of thinking of different ways of making his family suffer. He wasn’t going to let the Travellers take his revenge from him.
So armed with a bank card and new identity from Klaus, a couple of seriously oversized jewels that had been filled to the brim with magic from Maya, and warning from both of them to stay out of trouble that would make them come to find him. Kai set out to find the Travellers. He would test out some of his plans, his control, and his cruelty on them, honing it all into a sharp dagger, which he would use to disembowel his coven.
His father would rue the day that he let him live.
Notes:
Thank you for reading.
Again I'm sorry it took so long, I hope this chapter hasn't dissappointed.
Please drop a comment or kudos if you feel like it!
Chapter 78: Grandma?!
Notes:
Thank you all so much for the comments in the previous chapter, I truly appreciate all the love and support that you've sent my way.
I know I've made you guys wait a long time, but I have at least some of my inspiration back.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Mystic Falls
“So is the whole Kai thing dealt with?” Enzo asked, handing a coffee to Damon, and taking a seat with the rest of the family for breakfast.
“It’s something,” Maya muttered, digging into her food.
“So, he’s not gonna screw things up?” Damon asked.
“No he’s definitely going to screw things up,” Klaus replied, lifting Luna into his lap, and stopping Liam from pushing his fruit onto his sister’s plate.
“And…we’re okay with that?” Cary inquired, mentally reminding himself to check in with Klaus’s Vampires and see if they could co-ordinate something to keep an eye on the man that had come back with his Alpha.
“Not in the slightest,” Klaus replied, moving the fruit juice away from Luna and handing her a glass of milk instead, frowning when he saw Maya smirk and at him, and the juice moved back into Luna’s line of sight without anyone touching it.
“So are we…” Cary’s eyes darted between the two children, “ taking care of him?”
“Nope,” Maya shook her head, gleefully avoiding the annoyed scowl that Klaus was now shooting in her direction.
Cary opened his mouth for a moment and then closed it, glancing at the others at the table, who didn’t seem to have any idea what was going on, “I’m confused.” Everything that he knew about Klaus from both stories and what he’d seen in person, told him that the Alpha did not just let people do what they wanted, especially when they were going to fuck things up for him.
“We’re going to let him screw some stuff up,” Maya said, taking pity on him, “Take the heat off of me for a while.”
“Alright,” Cary drew the word out, grabbing his cup of coffee and making to leave, “I’m gonna have someone follow him, because I did not like any part of what you just said.”
“Excellent plan,” Klaus said, definitely not paying attention to his Beta, “Luna that is far too much sugar in the morning, drink your milk!” he insisted, moving the mango juice away from her again.
Luna pouted at her father, and then looked over at Maya, “Mommy can I have some juice?” she asked sweetly.
“Course you can baby,” Maya replied, refusing to show how surprised she was at the use of the word ‘Mommy’ in front of everyone, sure Luna had said it once, but they’d been interrupted by Kai, so there was everye chance that the little girl had forgotten all about it.
The rest of the family however, were not able to hide any of that surprise. Jenna choked on her coffee, while Enzo practically coughed up his pancakes in shock. Rebekah had frozen mid pour of her own blood infused beverage, causing it to spill over the rim. Caroline slapped a hand over Damon's mouth in an effort smother his laughter, while Freya’s mouth dropped open in shock, but Kol’s grin turned into a wicked smirk. “Luna my love, do you know that if Maya is your Mummy, then dear Jenna over there is your Grandma?”
Luna gasped in amazement, even with her first Mommy and Daddy, she’d never had grandparents before, “For real?!”
Jenna shot Kol a withering glare, and reached out with her abilities, causing Kol to throw himself out of his chair, and then turned to Luna, who was staring at her with wide eyes, “You’re my Grandma?!”
“Oh my God,” Jenna whispered in horror, and Damon couldn’t hold back his laughter, gasping for breath as he took in the terrified look that Jenna was giving Luna.
After such a loud, and shocking breakfast, Rebekah had slipped quietly away from the family. Klaus had to re-establish himself, and his power with his pack, while Maya would not be let out of her mother’s sight. The blonde Original didn’t really have a place in mind to go, so instead she just wandered Mystic Falls, trying to sort out her feelings.
She was deep in the woods surrounding the town, when she heard movement, movement that most definitely wasn’t animal and was surprised when she saw Mason Lockwood emerge from behind some trees, a duffel bag full of chains in his hands. “Mason.”
He stopped short for a moment, despite the fact that he’d spent some time on the Original’s land with a wolf pack, he still wasn’t used to just seeing them just exist. “Rebekah.”
“I would have thought you would have left town by now,” she said, “From what I’ve heard around town, that’s kind of your thing, isn’t it?”
He walked towards her, the two of them moving in the same direction in the woods, “Well I thought about it,” he admitted. “I mean the woman I thought loved me, turned out to be a lying bitch who triggered my curse by making me kill my best friend, and wanted to use me as a sacrifice to save her own ass. But uh…my brother’s dead, and my nephew has no idea what will happen to him if he gives into the anger he feels all the time. Plus, you know, my whole Pack’s dead, so I don’t really have anywhere to go…”
“Yes unfortunately for your pack, my brothers are not one to just let things go, and your pack really pissed them off.”
Mason shrugged, “Oh I know, believe me I get it, but it’s not like I can just find another pack, they tend to stay hidden.”
“Nik has a pack,” Rebekah pointed out, expertly dodging tree branches as she traversed the terrain, heading closer to her first home.
Mason let out a self-deprecating laugh, “Yeah, even if I wanted to join his pack, those guys really don’t trust me, something about being stupid enough to fall for Katherine’s manipulations.” For someone who had had his whole world shattered only a few months ago, he was taking things remarkably well.
“Don’t feel too bad,” Rebekah shrugged, “It took Elijah far too long to understand that Katherine never really loved him either, of course he knew her when she was human, and was apparently…sweet, or at least that’s what he used to say. Personally I think that all doppelgangers are vicious, manipulative things that will do anything to survive. But I am an excellent judge of character.”
“Well the next time I wanna go out with someone, I’ll come to you to make sure they don’t want to sell me to an enemy they made hundreds of years ago,” Mason smirked, hefting the bag he was holding higher on his shoulder, he’d made sure that he’d got enough chains to hold his wolf down, so they were actually testing his Werewolf strength.
“That doesn’t explain why you’re out here though,” Rebekah pointed out, she didn’t know if it was the lingering magic in the land from when her family had been turned, but very few people came so deep into the woods, “There’s nothing around here for miles.”
“I was looking for a safe place to shift,” Mason replied, “The Lockwood Cellar is too close to home, I need to be deep enough into the woods to make sure I don’t hurt anyone.”
“You don’t just turn and run wild like the rest of them?” Rebekah asked, having seen how in tune with their wolves her brother’s pack were, she found it odd to meet a Werewolf that didn’t embrace the change.
Mason shook his head, “This was never something I wanted, even when I found a pack, changing was still…torture, if I could lock the wolf back up I would.” He was uncharacteristically serious, but ever since he’d triggered his curse his life had been miserable, Katherine had been the one spark of good, and that knowledge was more than humiliating for him. She’d ruined him, and then pretended to be his saviour, and to top it all off, he’d chosen to stay in a town where there was a girl that looked exactly like her walking around. So far Mason had been able to avoid her, but he doubted that would last, he had no idea what he would do when he was confronted with Elena Gilbert.
Elijah stepped inside the mansion, concentrating his hearing, so that he could find his brother. He would only give himself a day back in Mystic Falls before he would return to New Orleans, he’d made a promise to keep Davina safe, and leaving her alone for longer than a day seemed like a bad idea, especially with her coven hunting her. But he needed to see his brother, in person, not just through a screen, he needed it, so that he knew that he hadn’t failed his brother, like he had so many times before. And he wanted to see Jenna, he’d left her at her most vulnerable, and yes, he’d done so at her behest, because she knew that Davina was in trouble, because she was a mother, and felt some responsibility for the young girl, especially knowing that Davina’s own mother was someone that the young girl feared. But Elijah had missed her, they hadn’t had the chance to really speak while he was away, Jenna was focusing on being able to connect with Maya, and that hadn’t left her with much time to do anything else, not that she had wanted to; and Elijah understood that, if he hadn’t been protecting Davina, he would have done the same to try and get his brother back.
Elijah heard Klaus’ voice coming from the other side of the grounds, at the pack house, normally he would stay away from the house, knowing that the wolves there liked to know beforehand when Vampires would be in their space, but today, he didn’t care. He was outside in an instant, watching for a moment as Klaus mediated the sparring between his enforcers. His niece and nephew were in the shadow of their father, unwilling to step away from him, moving when he moved, so that there was no distance between them. Elijah took a step forward, and Klaus’ eyes snapped up to meet Elijah’s, the gold rising in his irises for a moment, as his wolf recognised the arrival of more of his family.
Klaus laid a hand on the children’s head, directing their attention to the uncle, so that they knew where he’d be, “Elijah,” he spoke softly, and was in front of his brother before he could blink. Whilst Elijah was usually the most in control of his siblings, he allowed himself a moment to shed that control and hugged his brother, in full view of his pack. It was only then that Elijah was able to relax, knowing that Klaus was alive, safe, and back with the family.
“So why are you wandering the woods?” Mason asked, glancing at the blonde Original, causing her to shoot him a glare. “What?” he smirked, “I’m baring my soul to you! The least you could do is reciprocate, you know, a little.” He pushed, he could tell that she was upset.
“No one made you talk to me,” she replied defensively.
“Nah, of course not, I mean it’s not like you could snap me like a twig if I displeased you,” Mason replied.
“You’re displeasing me now,” Rebekah shot back.
“Alright, fine,” he held his hands up, the picture of surrender, “I just thought you looked like you needed to talk, you know…to someone who doesn’t know any of your history, you know…someone who’s got no skin in the game.” He moved away from her, in order to go deeper into the woods, suppressing a smile when he heard her follow him.
The two walked in silence for a few minutes, before Rebekah finally spoke up, “Luna…” she started, “my niece, she- she called Maya her mother today, and Nik, he’s her father…”
Mason paused and looked at her, the tension in her shoulders, the shame hidden behind indifference in her eyes, “And that upset you,” he spoke quietly.
“Yes, no,” she shook her head, “I don’t know, I just…”
“Just what?” Mason asked carefully, “Whatever it is Rebekah,” he looked around and gave a shrug, “Who am I gonna tell?”
“For the past thousand years…there are only two things I’ve ever truly wanted in this life, freedom, to live, to love, and to be a mother. I’m free now, in a way I never thought I’d be, but my other dream,” she finally looked at him, “I’ll never be a mother, I’ll never have a family like that, and that my brother gets that, when he’s never wished for it-”
“You’re jealous,” Mason filled in the blanks, “And hurt, but you can’t tell your family that.”
“I just needed some time away from them.”
“But, the kids, they’re not Klaus’ biologically, they’re adopted, why can’t you do the same?”
“What are the odds that another pair of orphaned supernatural children will just cross my path?” Rebekah scoffed.
“Rebekah, there’s probably tens of thousands of children in the US alone waiting to be adopted. Why do they need to be supernatural?” Mason asked, confused.
The Original sighed, “Nik took in a human child once…about 200 years ago, he took him in and Marcel…grew up knowing that we were Vampires, he wanted to be a Vampire too, but Nik refused, he never wanted this life for his son, it can be a hard life, violent, bloody, and any Vampire that isn’t an Original…well they’re weak, especially in comparison to us, too easy to kill. Nik wanted Marcel to have a normal life, get married, have children, but Marcel was persistent. It became a bone of contention between the two…” she didn’t know the full story of how Marcel was turned, seeing as how she was in a coffin for that part of his life, but she did get the bare bones. “It took him being mortally wounded for Nik to turn him, and when that happened, he became a target…for every single one of our enemies, and he suffered the consequence.”
She knew that Marcel was alive, but when she fled New Orleans, she believed that he was dead, she had been devastated. “I can’t take the chance that something would happen to my child, not like that, I would never survive it.”
“A supernatural child already has a target on their back,” Mason said in understanding.
“We were lucky to find Liam and Luna alive, most supernatural children are killed with their parents, I doubt that will happen again.” She took a seat on a fallen log, hands folded in her lap, “I just…need some time and space.”
Mason stood in front of her, a little awkwardly, not really expecting their conversation to be so serious, “Do you want me to leave?” he asked, unsure of how to proceed.
Rebekah gave him an appraising look, searching for any signs of pity, and when she found none, she shrugged, “You can sit if you want.”
22nd June 2010 - New Orleans
Emma, one of Klaus’ Hybrid enforcers was careful when she walked the streets of New Orleans, the tension on the streets, especially in the French Quarter, was at an all time high, the Vampires were scouring every inch of the city looking for Davina, but so far they hadn’t found her.
She took a seat at a table at an outdoor table of a cafe, opposite one of the Vampires that her Alpha had placed inside Marcel’s organisation. “Jai, how are things?” she asked conversationally.
“Going pretty well,” he replied, flashing the daylight ring on his finger, not one of Maya’s, the lapis lazuli he got from her was on the inside of a bracelet, hidden, but safe. The one on his finger was from Marcel, indicating that he was trusted enough to be a part of the ‘King’s’ inner circle. Seeing as how it was the middle of the day, and Emma didn’t have any daylight jewellery to protect her, anyone who happened upon them would think that he was on a date with some regular woman.
“I’ve checked in with Del,” she said, sliding three drawings across the table, three Witches, all who were using magic in the quarter that Davina had sensed. He grabbed them up without looking, not wanting to draw attention to it, “She doesn’t know if they’re looking for her, but if they think that they’re safe…”
“I’ll take care of it,” he nodded, “quietly.” Marcel would typically make a show of going after the Witches publicly, but Jai couldn’t do that, not without showing his hand to Marcel.
“It’ll have them wondering about it,” Emma replied, and he shrugged in response.
“Don’t really have a way around that. What about things with you?” he hadn’t had contact from Klaus for longer than usual, and it had had him worried. He felt Emma slide her foot along his, and she leant forward, as though they were having an intimate moment.
“We had a temporary setback, everything’s okay now though, but with the way things are here…well…I’m setting up to move in.”
Jai let his brows smooth at the information, if the pack was getting ready to move in, that meant that it probably wouldn’t be long before Klaus came to town, and destroyed the very precarious balance that Marcel had created in the French Quarter. “Let me know if you need any help with boxes, I’m stronger than I look.”
Emma gave him an amused glance, before standing, “I’ve got to get back to work,” she said, aware that a couple of Marcel’s people had just spotted them, and were watching, “But I’ll call you,” she said flirtatiously, she leant down and brushed her mouth against his, eyes flashing gold for just a moment, signalling him to go with it. He relaxed into the kiss and smiled up at her when she pulled away.
“Looking forward to it,” he replied, watching her walk away.
Rousseau’s
Sophie Deveraux slid into the back of Rousseau’s, catching her sister’s attention, getting her to follow.
“What is it?” Jane-Anne, “We’re supposed to be keeping a low profile,” she hissed. “We shouldn’t be seen together.”
“We’re sisters, Marcel’s guys can’t say anything about that.”
“I’m not talking about Marcel’s guys,” Jane-Anne replied, “The coven, or rather what’s left of them are not happy with you, half of them want to string you up in the cemetery!”
“Well I may have something that will help,” Sophie replied.
Notes:
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