The Witch Behind the Hybrid - Excerpt - Preparation For the Ball

I'd like to clarify a few details before anyone accuses me of plagiarism. I'm not affiliated with CW's The Vampire Diaries or The Originals. So, while I don't own any of The Vampire Diaries characters, I do own Emma Bennett/Emma Mikaelson. Since I started writing this fan fiction in what appears to be the middle, as I now plan to write Emma into the entire show's storyline, here is a short biography:

Emma is a distant relation of the Original family of vampires and of the Bennett family of witches. One of her ancestors was a sister of Esther, the Original Witch. Another one of her ancestors was Ayana, Esther's mentor. Since Klaus and his siblings are publicly known as the Mikaelsons, Emma, too, has taken the surname. She has never known many Bennett witches because she was reared by Klaus to be the perfect bodyguard. It's a job she does without hesitation even if she has to protect Klaus from those she could've considered family in a different life.

Oblivious to the world, all that mattered to Emma Bennett were the books that surrounded her. She sat on the newly carpeted floor of the mansion that housed the Original Witch, the children she turned into the world's first vampires, and the young witch who considered herself the Original Witch's heir. The books nestled around her mostly consisted of grimoires - a large collection that Klaus had amassed over his many, many years. Among the assortment of grimoires was her only prized possession, her grimoire, which was a combination of grimoire and everything else. Taking a break from studying the grimoires, she eased her fingers idly through her grimoire.

Being around the reunited Original Family - albeit Mikael, Aaron* and Henrik, who hadn't returned to the world of the living like the others - brought memories of her own family to the surface of her mind. She concentrated on the photographs that graced the pages of her grimoire. There were photographs of her and various family members, most of whom were now deceased. The predominant person, besides herself, in the photographs was Klaus. Klaus... She and Klaus had a complicated relationship. Too complicated for words, she thought.

"Emma." She looked up to find Esther coming into the library. Closing her grimoire and slipping it beneath a pile of books, she turned her full attention to the Original Witch. Being in her presence was much better than laboring over grimoires.

"Yes?" she asked eagerly. Was the Original Witch going to give a lesson? she hoped.

"Why aren't you getting ready for the ball?"

"Oh," was all she could say. With the presence of the Original Witch, who was a student of her other ancestress Ayana, she had pushed the thoughts of the ball into the recess of her mind. She had forgotten that it was even today.

"Well, you are a Mikaelson, aren't you?"

"Yes." She smiled. "Yes, I am." And, as such, she would attend the ball with the rest of her family. She began to organize the books surrounding her when Esther stopped her.

"There's no need to do that since, no doubt, you'll return to them as soon as possible."

Nodding, she daintily stepped over the piles to Esther.

"Now, dear, is there someone special you'll be inviting to the ball?"

"No..."

"Neither are your cousins." Esther draped an arm around her shoulders as they started walking. "Surely, one of them will be happy to escort you."

She made a noise that sounded like a cross between a harumph and a hmm as she thought about Esther's suggestion. Would any of them be interested? she mused.

The sound of Esther's voice bringing her back to reality, she noticed that they had left the library and started walking down the long hallway.

"Why don't you join them and work out the details?"

"Sure."

Esther smiled and left her standing in the hallway. Still thinking about Esther's suggestion, she watched the direction in which Esther went. She finally went to find the others when she realized she couldn't decide on a date. Going to the room where her cousins were currently residing in, she stood in the doorway and watched them.

Immediately, she noticed one was missing. Klaus. No wonder there wasn't a ruckus going on between all of the siblings. Rebekah was the only one sitting down. A nail technician was at her side. Throughout the room stood Elijah, Finn and Kol. Elijah was trying to choose between several pairs of shoes. Finn was being fitted for a suit. Kol was standing in front of yet another mirror, admiring his reflection, of course. Where was Klaus? she wondered.

"There you are, Emmy," greeted Rebekah, who didn't even bother to look away from her freshly painted nails.

"Hello, Beky," Emma, who despised being called Emmy and Rebekah knew it, answered.

Rebekah, too enamored over the ball, ignored the slight. "I was starting to think that you'd miss the ball because those books."

Despite being the daughter of a witch, Rebekah never showed any signs of being one when she was a human. Therefore, she couldn't understand Emma's obsession with "those books," as she called them.

"I probably would've if your mother hadn't interrupted my study session."

Rebekah smiled at the words "your mother."

"Great, you won't miss all the fun."

Watching Kol's reflection, Emma saw him wink at her. "And what fun will that be?"

"That remains to be seen."

Kol laughed. Emma tried to keep her lips from forming a mischievous smile, but she failed. Apparently, Kol was over missing Rebekah's attempt to attack the human Doppelgänger and was ready to have some fun of his own.

"Kol!" Elijah's voice made her jump ever so slightly.

"What?" he asked innocently, not even bothering to stop admiring his reflection.

Watching the oldest Mikaelson brother chastise the youngest over his taste in fun, she walked over to where Rebekah sat, making sure not to disturb the nail technician. She didn't want to have another spat with Rebekah. She had enough of those.

"Esther just informed me that no one has a date for the ball either."

"Speak for yourself," taunted Rebekah.

"You have a date?" Kol snorted. "Who did you have to compel, Bekah?"

"That's none of your business. All that matters is that I have one."

"Well, if Bekah can get a date then you can get one, too," Kol consoled Emma. "I'll compel anyone for you."

Rebekah finally stopped apprising her nails. Angrily, she went to throw the nearest object at Kol. But she stopped when she realized she'd ruin her nails.

Trying to quell the laughter rising within her, Emma asked, "Who is invited to the ball?"

"Who isn't?" Kol replied enthusiastically.

"So the Bennetts will be attending?" Seeking an answer, she looked every one of them in the eyes. "They were invited, yes?"

This time it was Rebekah who snorted. "Why are you worrying over the Bennetts attending our ball when you should be worrying over what to wear, how to style your hair..."

Having decided to attend the ball only a little while ago, she had no idea what she was going to wear, etc. She wasn't Rebekah; she didn't live fashion. Yes, she had fashionable clothes and accessories, but that was because Klaus insisted that she had the best. She was his most trusted after all.

"Who are the Bennetts?" asked Finn, who hardly spoke. Emma, preparing to answer his question, turned her head to look at him.

But Elijah answered before she could, "The Bennetts are descendants of Ayana."

"Like Emma," Finn stated. He looked into her eyes and they shared a smile.

Kol finally stopped admiring his reflection and turned to face everyone. "More witches?" She turned her head to look at him and nodded. "Then they must be invited."

"As family, you should take care of their invitation personally," suggested Rebekah, who was apprising her nails again.

For centuries, she had been the only Mikaelson girl and now that she wasn't, she wasn't happy about it. It was made even worse when Esther, who treated Emma more like a daughter than a distant collateral descendant, took her under her tutelage. Rebekah made sure Emma didn't steal her limelight. Rather than get into a confrontation with the deadly Original, she allowed Rebekah to have all the attention she craved from her mother and her brothers.

She took Rebekah's hint and removed herself from their company. Before going through the doorway, she glanced at the Mikaelson brothers. Kol had returned to admiring his reflection. Elijah, who nodded, and Finn, who smiled, both acknowledged what she was doing for Rebekah.

"Esther," she called into the hallway on the second floor.

"Yes, my child?" responded Esther, whose voice floated down the hallway.

Emma followed Esther's voice to the room she had claimed as hers.

"I was wondering if the Bennetts are attending the ball."

Esther smiled. "I saw to their invitation, but I don't know if they're attending."

"Of course." She felt reassured, realizing that the Original Witch would never make the mistake of excluding the true protectors of Mystic Falls from anything. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about such details. Everything has been arranged. All you must do is get ready for the ball. It's going to be a magical evening."

The moment was ruined by the sudden sound of voices. Recognizing the ruckus that can only be heard when all of the Mikaelson siblings were in one room, Esther sighed. They shared a knowing look before the two witches decided to referee the dispute before it became a full on battle. Silently, she watched Esther diffuse the situation.

Once Esther had finished speaking to Klaus, she acknowledged him with respect.

"Emma," he paused at the sight of her, "you aren't getting ready for Mother's ball?"

"I don't know where to start," she admitted, a little embarrassed.

He stared at her for sometime, as if trying to decide an important matter, before speaking, "Well, I'm in the need of a modern woman's advice and Rebekah's no help in that area, would you join me? You will be able to buy anything you need for the ball."

*Aaron was Mikael and Esther's firstborn. He was the son who died of the Plague in the Old World, causing Mikael and Esther to move to the New World. His name is taken from the cave telling the story of the Original Family.

I've been thinking of editing the overall storyline, like the Mikael storyline in the show, that I had in mind since I wrote this part of my fan fiction so I might edit out mentioning how Mikael's dead. I now picture Esther releasing Mikael from his tomb, to have much more of a family reunion (aside from Aaron and Henrik), sometime following this excerpt instead of it being done on the show.