Hello, my lovely readers. We're going to get a taste of Lizzie getting touch with her dark side. On with the show…
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Calm. Steady. Deep breaths. In. And out. Just like her mother taught her. That is when her mother wasn't traveling the planet—playing ambassador for the school and looking for every poor little soul of the supernatural community. A fresh bout of indignation flowed through Lizzie Saltzman's brain and sent her nervous system into chaos.
"Damn it!" Lizzie cried. Taking a pillow, she tossed it at the wall across from her. If she could set it on fire and not send the rest of the room into flames as well, she'd do it.
"Having a hard time being you?" Penelope Park aka Satan inquired, examining her nails and then turning her gaze on Lizzie with her trademark smirk that made Lizzie want to make the other girl's head explode.
"Josie's not here. Try again when hell freezes over," Lizzie snarked back. Her fingers curled into the bedcover under her hands. She could feel magic on her fingertips. Just a few, choice words and no more Penelope.
Pausing, Penelope's eyebrows rose and then a smile appeared on her face. "Oh, right. Well, she's probably just too busy locking lips with Wolf Boy to be bothered with Twins-ie angst." Whirled on her heel, Penelope left the doorway.
Thoughts flicked through Lizzie's mind. "Wolf?" She felt beyond confused. "What wolf?" But Penelope was already gone.
Growling, Lizzie shot off the bed and ran out of her room and narrowed her eyes. She kept running down the hallway, dodging her fellow students until she caught sight of Penelope's short dark hair. "Satan!" she shouted.
Stopping in mid-stride, Penelope turned to greet Lizzie with a wicked smile. "Yes?"
"What wolf?" Lizzie demanded. Her heart hammered in her chest and her stomach rolled over. She thought she might be sick. Images of herself and Rafael…and…and Josie kissing…oh, no…
"I thought you already knew," Penelope titled her head with a mock sad expression, her lower lip pouting outward. But her eyes were twinkling. "Josie. And Raf. After their almost-death. There was kissing. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news." Laughing, Penelope turned her back on Lizzie and walked away.
Feeling her world spinning, Lizzie avoided the looks of the students who had overheard this little discussion. Jutting her chin outward, Lizzie kept on down the hall and toward the stairs. She ran down them and made her way for the gym. When she came toward the doors, she lifted both hands and they flew open before her.
"Rafael!" Lizzie shouted.
Stopping in the middle of a game with a group of the wolves, Rafael tossed a basketball to one of the other wolves and then moved to stand in front of her. "What's up, Lizzie?" He looked confused. They hadn't spoken since the dance.
"Get out!" Lizzie shouted at the wolves. At first they did nothing. Closing her eyes, Lizzie let out a piercing scream and the lights blinked on and off, sparks lit up the room and she heard the clatter of feet around her.
"Lizzie, stop it!" Rafael demanded. His hands were on her shoulders and Lizzie opened her eyes to look at him. She felt tears and she did not want to give him the benefit of seeing her cry. He did not deserve to see how much he hurt her.
Drawing in a deep breath, Lizzie tried to keep her voice steady. "Did you… Did you kiss my sister?" Her eyes held a question, a hope that Penelope was just being a vicious bitch, but the look on Rafael's face told her the truth before he even opened his mouth. "You did? Didn't you? And you act like you're a good guy? Huh? Good guys hook up with twins behind their backs?"
"I thought Josie would have told you." Rafael stopped talking as Lizzie began to shake with rage. "Should I get your dad?"
"Get out!" Lizzie snapped.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Lizzie hissed, her hands balled at her sides.
Without another word, the wolf left her in the same place they'd had sex. Remembering how happy she'd been during and after the act itself, Lizzie felt all of her pain building in her mind and then it began to pour out of her as she let out another scream. She wondered if they could hear in town, too.
No one came running. Not even Josie. She was alone. Tears began to course down her cheeks and Lizzie's legs gave way, so she slid to the wooden floor and she placed her face on her knee.
"What's got you all sad, little girl?" a voice came from behind Lizzie and her head spun to take in the man who smirked back at her. "You know what I do when I get mad?" he inquired, coming to crouch down in front of her, their eyes boring into each other's. "I get even."
"Who are you?" Lizzie snapped, pushing herself to her feet and turning to face the man.
"Oh, come on. You know who I am?" the man grinned and Lizzie felt a sense of unease crawl up her spine. Under other circumstances she would go running for her dad, or Josie, or her mom. But she didn't want to talk to Jo. And her mom was gone. Her dad… Maybe…
Trying not to show her fear; Lizzie kept her feet still. "You're Kai Parker. Hello, Uncle Kai. How's your endless hell-lope been? Fun?"
Kai stilled and then he grabbed Lizzie by the shoulders. "Family! You know I've spent my entire life thinking: No one in the whole Parker Clan will ever get you, Kai. But you know what, it's good to be wrong." His eyes burned into Lizzie's with a maniacal glee.
Lizzie shook Kai's hands off her, taking a large step back. "We're nothing alike!" she snapped, frowning at the man. "And I'm not a Parker. My father is a Saltzman. And my mother is Caroline Forbes." A prick of the pain she'd felt when Jo Laughlin appeared on her sweet sixteen pierced Lizzie and she felt the anger building again.
"Ah! There it is, Lizzie! My little niece. You're making me soooo proud!" Kai placed a hand over his heart. "You know, if I ever had a daughter, I'd want her to be just like you." He poked her on the tip of her nose and Lizzie gave him a mortified look, her eyes wide and her mouth gaping.
"How the hell are you here?" Lizzie questioned him, finally noting that he should so not be here.
"All thanks to you, my favorite niece-y! It makes me want to give you a big hug!" Kai reached out for her and Lizzie dodged away. "Okay. Let's settle for you pointing me in the direction of those who hurt you and we have some fun! What do ya say?"
Shaking her head, Lizzie folded her arms over her chest. "How about: NO! How about: We're sending you back to your hell-lope?"
Kai's smile fell. "How about you let Uncle Kai make it all better for you, and we'll call that playing nice? I think you remember what happens when I'm mad?" Lizzie felt a trickle of fear run up her back again. "Tell me you don't want revenge on those who wronged you, Lizzie Bear? I could feel your pain. Your rage. Use me! Let me help you!"
It took Lizzie another thirty seconds to take everything her parents had taught her and shove it into a remote corner of her mind. "I can think of someone we can start with."
A slow smile made Kai's mouth curl. "Lead the way."
Lizzie marched out of the room and went on her search. Of all the people she knew she really wanted to make suffer: this person was more deserving than most. Stopping in the middle of the library, Lizzie scanned the room. She felt a tiny shade of relief that her sister was not there.
"Penelope!" Lizzie called. "Could we talk?" She offered Penelope an innocent look.
Penelope looked to the girl she'd been talking to before turning back to Lizzie. "What do you want?" she demanded.
"Just you," Kai said and then they both disappeared.
"What the hell are you doing?" Penelope shouted.
"Oh, my God! Penelope! Where did she go! Who was that guy! Someone, get Alaric Saltzman!" the panicked voice cried around them. "Lizzie! Where are you?"
Lizzie noted that Kai must have cloaked them. "Let go of me, you freak!" Penelope shrieked as Kai dragged her out of the library. She was thrashing and kicking and trying to chant when Kai began to siphon her. "Stoooppp!" she screamed, in utter agony before she passed out.
Shrugging, Lizzie folded her lunatic uncle down the hall.
"You're not going to, like, kill her, are you?" Lizzie was not sure if she wanted Kai to kill Penelope or not. In spite of her disdain for the other girl, Lizzie was not sure she was up for murder. Maybe next year.
Kai looked back at Lizzie. "Nope. Not yet. After all, this is your revenge fantasy. So, we play by your rules. For now." Carrying Penelope out the front door, Kai led the way across the lawn and toward the woods.
"What are you going to do with her?" Lizzie asked.
"I thought we could hide her away for safe keeping. There are so many fish to fry. Don't want to use up all that anger on one little witch, do you?" Kai looked at Lizzie and she thought about it. He was right. She had other targets.
Dropping Penelope by a tree, Kai began to work a spell. "No one's going to be able to hear her scream for a long time. It's like a miniature version of my own hell. I had time to perfect the spell. Every time she thinks she can leave the woods, she's going to find that she's right where she was before. And the perfect twist is seeing people she cares about dying. Over and over again. Just a little vamp-witch trick."
"You're sick," Lizzie told Kai.
"Thanks," Kai said. "You know where your dad keeps the weapons? Knives? Axes? I'd love to get my hands on a chainsaw."
"No weapons!" Lizzie snapped. "Hands on her hips. Just these!" she held up her hands and wiggled her fingers at Kai.
Shaking his head, Kai sighed. "You never know what you're missing."
Rolling her eyes, Lizzie headed back into the school. She knew who she wanted to deal with next. Only someone else made the mistake of appearing first. "Landon!" Lizzie greeted Landon with a smile. "Just the human I least wanted to see. Landon, my Uncle Kai. Uncle Kai, Landon, our resident brother of my next target."
"Target?" Landon looked confused when Uncle Kai grabbed him by the shoulders.
"I needed a snack," Kai said.
Holding up a hand, Lizzie shook her head. "Not yet. He's bait."
~0~
Lizzie left a note for Rafael in his bedroom while the whole school searched for her and Uncle Kai. She'd even found herself smiling as she heard their frantic chatter. And Lizzie had made the mistake of thinking that being the hero would make her popular. Being a villain felt sooo much better.
"Lizzie!" Josie's voice made Lizzie hold still for a moment. Her sister had just turned a corner. Her dark eyes peering around her. "Lizzie, please, this is wrong. You know that."
"Lying to me was wrong, Jo!" Lizzie snapped.
Josie spun on her heel to face Lizzie but Lizzie had already darted past her twin and left Josie behind.
Stepping back into the gym, Lizzie waited for Rafael. Landon was sitting on the floor. His knees up to his chest. He looked worried and terrified. Kai wouldn't stop talking and Lizzie had already learned to tune out two-thirds of his endless chatter. Well, at least she knew who she favored in this family.
When Rafael did arrive, he was pissed off. "What the hell, Lizzie? Landon never did a damned thing to you!"
"No. He didn't. He's just collateral damage." Lizzie said, right behind Rafael. He turned, to grab her when Kai's arm slipped around her waist and they were right outside the doors of the gym.
"A gentleman never attacks a lady," Kai said. He sped in front of Rafael and held his shoulders. "Lizzie has a message for you: You don't get in between siblings, or you pay the price." Rafael looked at Lizzie before Kai squeezed the boy's shoulder. "Pay attention. This part is important. You need to shift. Right now. And you need to eat your brother."
"Wait! I didn't say: EAT! I said –" Lizzie did not get to finish.
Kai held up a hand. "Okay. Don't eat him. On purpose." Kai sped away and then grabbed Lizzie's hand. "Little barrier spell, so they can enjoy a little alone time during their family bonding time."
"Kai!" Lizzie had a bad feeling when Kai finished and closed the doors. She could already hear Landon trying to reason with Rafael.
Sighing, Lizzie shook her head and turned away from the gym. She didn't like Landon much. And she was not sure that a world without him in it would be a bad thing. Ever since he'd shown up, there'd been a lot of weird things happening around here.
"Lizzie, what are you doing?" Hope Mikaelson's voice made Lizzie turn to the girl who annoyed her the most at this school. Her parent's pet orphan. Poor little Hopeless. Give me a break already.
"This one you can kill," Lizzie said, folding her arms over her chest.
Kai grinned, cracking his knuckles and began to chant. Hope held up her hands and Lizzie watched the two begin a battle. Cracking his neck, Kai grinned. "Who is this?"
"Hope Mikaelson. Who are you?" Hope snapped.
"This is Kai Parker," Lizzie said. "My uncle."
"Oh, you mean you're crazy, evil uncle who tried to kill you, oh, I don't know, a couple of times?" Hope shook her head. "Lizzie, you're so in over your head."
"Oh, Landon's in over his head. Rafael probably already ate him," Lizzie replied.
Hope's jaw dropped. "What did you do?"
"They're fine," Josie's voice came from behind them.
Lizzie turned to face her twin sister. Their dad was right beside her. A crossbow was in her dad's hands and Lizzie gulped. "Hi, Daddy," she called with a weak smile.
"Lizzie, what in the hell are you doing?" Alaric shouted at her.
"No one cares what happens to me!" Lizzie shouted back. "Uncle Kai is the only one who even wanted to help me! He understands how I feel! What I am! I could learn from him!"
"To what? Be a murderer!" Alaric demanded.
"This is my cue to leave!" Kai told them. He began to chant when M. G. appeared behind him and snapped his neck. Even he looked disappointed in Lizzie.
"Now what?" Lizzie demanded, feeling annoyed.
"Nap time!" Hope said and Lizzie fell to the floor.
~0~
Waking up, Lizzie found herself in a cell, below the school. "Oh, shit," she groaned. She got up and looked out the window. Her uncle lay on a bed, in a room across from her.
"Good. You're awake," Alaric said, still looking pissed off.
"What did you do to him?" Lizzie asked.
"Performed the same sleep spell on him that he performed on Elena Gilbert, years ago. He's attached to you. And Josie. So, if he ever tries to harm either of you, he'll die, too. Hope perfected it so that there will be no hell-lope can't-die-in-here loophole." Alaric watched Lizzie digest this information. "You will stay away from him. Do you understand, Lizzie? Your… Kai Parker is a monster. What he did today…what you both did… It's going to take a lot of time for the others to trust you again. Do you get that?"
Lizzie nodded. Trying to look properly chastised. "Yes, Daddy."
"Good," Alaric said. "Get some sleep."
Turning away, Lizzie went to lie down. She faced the wall, a little smile on her face. She didn't care if they trusted her, because they knew to fear her now, and that meant something she would be savoring for a good, long time.
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Peace,
J