AN: Here I present you with my new story: Hunters and Preys! I had this idea running through my mind for quite some time and I just had to write it down.
As you'll see going on reading, I have been inspired for some things by The Originals. The story will in no way follow the plot of the TV show, but some of you might recognize some basics ideas.
Another source of inspiration as been an anime a friend of mine suggested me to watch: Shingeki no Kyojin. Now, for those of you who know what I'm talking about I have to say that you'll find no man-eating Titans here. Those of you who don't know what Shingeki no Kyojin is don't need to worry; what I took from that anime is simply the concept of feeling oneself as 'prey' while wanting to be the 'hunter'. I want to face in this fic the battle that those who feel like they have been enslaved have to face to go back to feel free again. The quote at the beginning comes from a translation of part of the Opening of the anime.
Those of you who have read my previous fic 'Game One' will notice that this chapter is a lot longer than those of that story. That is because I'm trying to step up my game writing a fic that will be more difficult to write for me. I'm sort of challenging myself. I'll try to update every week, but I can't know for sure if I'll always be on time, so bear with me. Let's see where I'll go!
Hunters and Preys
Chapter 1 – Changing Times
Praying won't change anything,
what will change the present is
how ready you are to fight...
Guren no Yumiya – Linked Horizon
The sun was shining brightly that morning in the small town of Mystic Falls. Men and women alike were walking toward their shops or workplaces, ready to start another day in their life. Soon children, accompanied by their parents, would reluctantly made their way toward the local schools. The town square would soon be filled with people from various committees, all intent on organizing the next big cultural event to take place in the small but lively town.
In the midst of all these people a young woman immersed in her own thoughts, slowly walked toward her future. She had no activity to mind for the next eight hours nor was she an employee in any of the local shops. She had long since finished her studies and had no intention of ever attending a single class in her life again. Even though she generally relished in town's events, this time she barely noticed the ongoing preparations. She was far too occupied to pay attention to such small things.
Stopping at a red light, waiting for the opportunity to cross the street, she observed the people around her. While these humans hurried about, all eager to start another day in their brief lives, she was about to embark in what was probably the most dangerous adventure of all. Sometimes she envied the normalcy of their lives. They didn't have to worry about being bitten by a werewolf on a full moon, nor did they risk being seriously burnt when picking flowers if they weren't careful. The sun was their precious ally, while for some of their species it was a dangerous, if not deadly, enemy.
Elena smiled bitterly. They didn't even imagine that coexisting with their normal, ordinary world, there was another one full of mysteries and supernatural events. They didn't know that vampires, witches, werewolves and all sorts of supernatural creatures walked alongside them every day. They didn't know what it felt like to run faster than the wind, they didn't experience the adrenaline high of a werewolf howling at the moon together with its brothers and sisters, they didn't feel the rush of magic surging through their bodies while chanting the next complicated enchantment.
But Elena did. She was a vampire. She had been for the past thirty-seven years of her life. Some days she relished in her powers. The ability to control minds surely was useful on occasion. Same could be said for her strength, speed and unnaturally fast healing. They were the kind of abilities that every human wished to have at least once in their life. The immortality bit could become troublesome after a while. At least that is what the older vampires had told her. She was still quite pleased of her eternal youthful appearance.
When the light finally became green, Elena swiftly crossed the street walking toward the residential area of Mystic Falls. There could be found only the villas and mansions of the most rich men and women of the town. That's exactly where she would be working from that day on, hopefully. She was supposed to meet her new boss in less than twenty minute at his Mansion. The Mikaelson Mansion.
Hurrying toward her destination she thought again about her mission. Yes, she wasn't simply looking for a job to get some money. God knew that she didn't have that kind of problems to worry about. No, things were quite more serious than that. She had on her shoulders the weight of the entire supernatural community.
What Elena had forgotten to mention was that, while it certainly wasn't bad being a supernatural creature, it wasn't easy living in their world lately. Once, their world had been a synonym of freedom, of life without rules except for one: don't let the humans know about their existence. Vampires used to prey on humans without fear. Some bled them dry, others decided to only drink what they needed, leaving the human alive. Sometimes thanks to compulsion Elena herself had drunk her share, simply erasing that particular memory from her victim's mind. However, she liked to leave them with the means to improve their lives. She would compel some to study harder, instead of wasting their years partying. To others she would tell to stop doubting themselves, others would suddenly find the courage to reveal their feelings to their crushes.
She knew that witches and werewolves did something similar, to the best of their abilities. A lot of werewolves she knew personally, had decided to work as rangers or had entered in the US Forest Service. While sometimes accident happened in which humans were killed, especially when the wolves were experiencing the first transformations, during their everyday life they liked to think that they re-payed their debts by safeguarding the environment, the animals that lived there and the people who found themselves in trouble while camping, or for whatever reason.
Witches tended to prefer to blend in with the humans, ending up mistaken for one themselves. They all lived in their separated clans, trying not to interfere with other witches businesses, and they absolutely refused to side with any other supernatural creature. They wanted nothing more than to be left to their own lives. They did like, however, to help those that they liked. More than one human had been miraculously healed, or had won the lottery just when it was needed more. They were small things, but since they all had to share the same world, they figured they had to help each other. It didn't matter that most people didn't know of their existence, most of them felt that they needed to help the humans, since sometimes they became collateral damage in this or that feud.
All this had changed twenty-five years ago. The night of the twenty-eight of June of twenty-five years before something unexplainable happened. All around the world witches had started to lose their magic. Even the most simple of enchantments had become unreachable even for the most skilled witches. They all had thought that what was happening was temporary, but during the following days they had discovered the awful truth: they could no longer practice magic. And without magic they had no way of finding out what exactly had happened.
Vampires and werewolves had not particularly cared about their problem. It was certainly regrettable that vampires could no longer count on witches to create daylight rings for them, but they could still survive. Most of them had lived in the darkness for so long that they had no problem continuing doing it. Werewolves had never really interacted with the witches to begin with, so while some of them were sympathetic with their plight, the majority of their community simply went on living as if nothing had ever happened. If only they had known what their indifference would lead to.
Six years after that night one of the Original Vampires, the one who had started the bloodlines of all vampires existing in the world, Klaus Mikaelson had come out of nowhere and had declared himself king of their world. No one had believed him. How could they? Even though he was an Original and a hybrid, how was he supposed to rule over their entire world? A pack of werewolves had dared to openly defy him, telling him that no werewolf would ever bow down to him. Klaus had only smiled. He had offered to everyone the possibility to swear loyalty to him right then and there. If they swore he would welcome them into his new kingdom, otherwise they would receive the proper punishment.
Some vampires had immediately knelt in front of him. Some of them respected him, knew what he was capable of and found him worthy of their allegiance. Others were simply afraid of him and had no desire to find themselves face to face with his anger. The rest, however, had simply gone away, refusing to consider him their king, a title that had no meaning in their world. There had never been a king of the supernaturals.
The following days everyone had to face the impossible. The daylight rings of all the vampires that had challenged him, stopped working leading their possessor to death in the sunlight. Those who didn't have a daylight ring, found themselves with the irresistible urge to walk into broad daylight. The werewolves that had refused to bow down to him, could no longer control their transformation: they started to turn even in the middle of the day, sometimes remaining stuck halfway in agony between man and wolf. No one knew how Klaus could do such a thing. No one was willing to challenge him further.
Thus Klaus became their king. During the following years everything changed. To prevent them from forming clans strong enough to defy him, Klaus ordered to everyone, vampires and werewolves alike, to not live in groups of more than five people. No more vampires were to be turned without his permission. No more werewolves were to trigger their curse if they didn't ask him to. If anyone disobeyed, they were immediately disposed of.
To make everyone follow these rules, Klaus created his own version of a guard corps. Vampires and werewolves alike who had sworn allegiance to him immediately. All of them had a tattoo on their right hand of a sun and a moon with fangs pointing toward each other: the symbol for hybrid so they always knew who was their master. It wasn't merely a decorative mark. No one knew how, but if they disobeyed his orders in any way that mark would also be the cause of their premature death.
They had all been enslaved. From proud hunters they had turned into scared preys.
That was where Elena came in. She was part of a secret society called Jäger created by Alaric Saltzman, a five hundred years old German vampire, that had the sole purpose of removing Klaus from his self appointed throne. Alaric had reunited every supernatural creature that wanted to be free of deciding their own future under the same cause. He had even been capable of bringing the witches on their side. It couldn't be a coincidence that Klaus had risen to power just six years after the loss of magic. Even the powers he displayed couldn't be normal. Somehow he had found a way to steal their magic and use it for his own purposes.
Elena's mission was simple: she had to become a part of Klaus's guard corps, find out what his secret weapon was and, if possible, destroy it. Why was she the one chosen for this particular mission? Well, let's say that she was the only one with even the slightest chance of success. She was determined, brave to the point of stupidity as the members of Jäger liked to say, quick of thoughts and simply put incredible at adapting to the situation. She would have to be bold if she wanted Klaus to notice her, but she also had to be careful if she wanted him to trust her. It was a fine line to walk but Alaric was sure she could manage it. She wasn't his right arm for nothing, despite her young age.
Elena was brought out of her grim thoughts by the sight in front of her. She was facing of the most majestic mansion she had ever seen: the white Mansion only had two stories, but what it lacked in height it made up in extension. From what she could see it had the form of a giant X with two small wings on the front, likely the old wings were the servants used to reside, and two bigger ones in the back. The pathway that lead to the front door was flanked by imposing trees only God knew how old. She could only imagine what the inside looked like.
The guards at the gate looked her up and down but let her pass when she showed them the little badge she had received when Klaus had decided to call her for a job interview. She slowly advanced toward the front door where she could see a woman waiting for her. Elena looked around in awe. She wasn't used to this kind of luxury. Her family hadn't been poor, but they certainly hadn't been this rich. She had lived half her life in her medium sized two stories house with her family, and the other half in underground facilities Alaric had had built for Jäger.
Once she had reached the front door, the woman waiting there silently motioned for her to follow her inside the Mansion. Once again Elena could do nothing more than gape at the sight in front of her: a white double staircase starting from the two sides of the hall led to the second floor, the marble floors where so clean you could actually see your reflection on them, above her was a splendid dome from which the bright morning light came streaming in. The woman quietly cleared her throat, shaking Elena out of her reverence.
They went through a door on the right which led into an enormous ballroom she could already imagine filled with people in elegant clothes, just waiting for the music to resound in it. They continued toward the opposite side of the ballroom, stepping out into the gardens of the Mansion. Elena immediately knew that, if she got the job, this would surely become her favorite place in no time. It was paradise. There was no other way to describe it. Elena didn't know if God really existed or if there was an afterlife for people like her, but she was absolutely certain that if it did exist it would look exactly like this place.
"Mr Mikaelson will be with you in a minute. Please remain here." Said the woman, formally.
Elena nodded to let her know she had been listening even if she was still intent on looking around. Once the catlike footsteps of the woman finally disappeared, Elena released a sigh of relief. The first step had been accomplished: she was inside the Mansion and apparently no one knew that she was a member of Jäger. All the members were always extremely cautious when it came to their identity, but one could never be too careful.
Suddenly she heard something she had not being expecting: a heartbeat. Elena furrowed her brows in confusion. Could it be that a human had manage to enter the Mansion without anyone noticing? The chances of that were so small she immediately dismissed the idea. Still, Klaus wasn't very fond of humans, he considered them bland. He didn't exactly think them inferior for to think that one had to have some kind of interest in them. He was simply indifferent to them. He only regarded them as a food source, nothing more nothing less. And yet what she was hearing was definitely a human's heartbeat.
When she turned in the direction of the sound, she paused, baffled. Thirty feet from her, sitting on a stone bench, there was a man. She could not see him clearly, since he was partly turned away from her, but he was clearly human. Elena didn't know how to explain it, but humans were always so easy to spot. It was like they radiated life from every pore while vampires always emanated this feeling of immobility. She kept observing him, his mere presence there puzzling. He was young, of that she had no doubt, probably in his early twenties and no older than twenty-eight. He had an healthy pale complexion, almost white, something that made the mop of black hair on his head stand particularly out. They were so black they reminded her of the wings of a crow.
When he changed position, crossing his legs, she saw that he had a drawing-block in hand. Sometimes he would raise his head to look at something somewhere on his left. He would then lower it again and his hand would lightly move over the white page, leaving black marks made with absolute precision. He was so focused on his drawing that he hadn't noticed her staring at him for the past five minutes. When she moved slightly to the side, she finally saw what he was sneaking glances at: perched on the branch of a nearby tree was a beautiful crow.
Elena continued to stare at that strange man. What was he doing there? Obviously he was drawing, but what was he doing at Mikaelson Mansion? Why would Klaus let a human live there? Was he the son of some important political figure that Klaus wanted to blackmail? Somehow Elena didn't think that was the case. He seemed relaxed, at home. He was clearly at ease where he was, like it was a normal thing for a human to live in a house full of vampires and werewolves. Elena had the feeling he really didn't feel threatened by the presence of so many different supernatural creatures mere feet away from him. It was like he was used to it.
Just when she was starting to move toward him to make his acquaintance a voice made her jump.
"You must be Ms Gilbert."
The man who had just spoken had a clear British accent, which gave him a sophisticated air. He had spoken in a casual way, nonetheless Elena could feel a shiver running up her spine. She knew exactly to whom that voice belonged: Klaus. She swallowed heavily then, steeling her nerves, she turned toward him.
As always she remained surprised by his appearance. He did not look like a threatening man. He was tall, but not so tall that you'd feel like he was towering over you. He wasn't particularly muscular though one could see the strength in his body by the way he moved with total confidence. His green eyes were serene, though she could see a glint of mischief in them. Last but not least, his curly short dirty-blond hair gave him a boyish look. No matter how many times she had seen him from afar, or in photos, Elena could never understand how someone who looked so charming and nice could be so cruel instead.
Since he was clearly waiting for an answer from her, she quickly replied, "Yes, Mr Mikaelson. I'm Elena Gilbert here for the job of security agent." She would have to start from there and then work her way up into his trusted group of minions.
He slightly nodded at her, then he looked behind her and raising his voice he said, "You should go inside. Elijah is waiting for you."
The man raised his head to look at Klaus. Though he seemed a little disappointed in having to stop his drawing, he quickly gathered his things and headed back inside. Everything had happened so quickly that Elena hadn't been able to catch a glimpse of his face. Why was she so disappointed? She shook her head and turned toward Klaus. He was regarding her intently.
"So you want to become one of my security agent." He said in an amused tone, clearly underestimating her because of her small body.
Her long straight brown hair, brown doe eyes and lithe form, even if with all the curves in the right places, had always made others underestimate her. Elena had grown used to it. Of people thought she was weak then so be it, she would take advantage of it. She didn't care what others thought of her, she knew what she was capable of and that was all that mattered. Ready to show him what she was made of she answered without a trace of fear.
"Yes. I believe I am the right person for this job." She said, confident. "I'm stronger than others think and I certainly don't scare easily. I bet I could stand out even in your Guard Corps." She knew she had to be bold if she wanted to make an impression on him.
Klaus softly laughed, shaking his head. "You are a feisty one. I like it." He said shaking his index finger in her direction. "We'll see how you'll do, Ms Gilbert."
Elena smiled, relieved that he seemed persuaded by her bravery. However, his voice suddenly dropped to a menacing rumble.
"You'll soon be aware of the fact that I don't like disappointments, so be sure not to let me down. I can easily find someone else to take your place." He looked her dead in the eyes, letting her know that he wasn't joking. "Although I have the feeling that won't be a problem for you." He finished in a lighter tone.
He gestured to someone inside the house to come out. The same woman who had greeted her at the front door appeared at his side as if coming out of thin air. Klaus regarded her with an amused stare, his eyes laughing at the speed with which she had come to cater to his needs.
"Show Ms Gilbert to her room." He ordered and then he went on his way, completely forgetting about their existence.
Elena followed the woman to her room on the second floor at the end of a long hallway. Once alone inside she let herself slowly slide to the floor, her back resting against the door. She ran her hands through her hair, setting her elbows on her knees. She had done it, she had gotten the job inside Klaus's Mansion. She had taken the first step toward her goal. Now was where things were going to get complicated, but she had to succeed. She had no choice. If she wanted the rest of their world to survive, to be free again, then she had to do this. For all their sake.