DISCLAIMER:
I OWN NOTHING FROM THE ORIGINALS.
That is property of The CW and the wonderful people involved.
I on the other hand do have sole rights to my character Jaycee Rose Carlson and anyone else I introduced.
This is a spin off of my Vampire Diaries Story: Dancing With Tears In My Eyes. It would be mighty helpful to read that but it's kinda long. So If you are interested in my story but don't wanna read DWTIME please just shoot me a message and I'll give you the cliff notes version :)
Chapter 1 - When The Darkness Comes
I guess there are a few things that I should explain. Two years ago I was your average every day witch who crept by under the radar thanks to an over protective father. I was sheltered, but not necessarily naive. I knew what else was out there in the world; vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures that had yet to reveal themselves. I knew there were bigger things out there than just me.
What I didn't know was how royally fucked up my life would turn out to be. There were good times, but there were just as many bad, if not more. I wanted to say that it all started when I had met Stefan Salvatore, but it hadn't. It all started with Niklaus Mikaelson. He was the one that started the downward spiral that turned my world upside down.
I was a hybrid; his last hybrid. My cousin, Tyler Lockwood was his first hybrid. Maybe it was poetic justice that I was his last. I have his sister, Rebekah, to thank for that. In a way Rebekah had saved me from a life of torturous transformations at the hands of the full moon, but it was Klaus' blood that had saved me and to him I will be forever in his debt, even if I didn't want to be.
What Klaus didn't know was I was working closely with Stefan to find a way to break the sire bond without having to go through all the transformations. The first time I went through it I felt like I was dying. I couldn't go through that again no matter how much I hated Klaus. So here I was in New Orleans with Klaus playing nice biding my time. I needed the witches, but that wasn't going to happen when they were at war with the vampires and last time I checked I was half vampire.
Once I got to New Orleans though everything had changed. It was a war zone hidden beneath the party atmosphere of the French Quarter. The same French Quarter that had been built up by Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah centuries before. The town was being run by a vampire known as Marcel, the same vampire that Klaus had raised as his protégé. Only Marcel had succeed in every aspect of rule that Klaus wanted. Marcel had a family, power, and fear over the supernatural in the Quarter. Now Klaus wanted it back. Oh the irony.
Oh right, I forgot to mention the miracle baby as Hayley likes to call it. Apparently Klaus knocked up the werewolf that betrayed my cousin. Hah, that's a karma bitch slap right to the face. The best part was the witches in New Orleans thought they could control Klaus by threatening me and the baby. If they were going from that angle I think they targeted the wrong brother.
Speaking of other brothers...Elijah. I loved him, but he was the most dense, hopeful, unrealistic vampire on the planet. He thought this baby was going to save Klaus, give him some sort of redemption. Klaus was a lost cause. Everyone knew that except for Elijah. But Klaus wasn't the only lost cause.
I've lost everything. My parents, my aunt and uncle, even Tyler. I lost my first love, Stefan and as much as I hated to admit it, I felt like I was going to lose Damon too. After this Elijah was going to pick up and move on without me like he had before and Matt...I had hurt Matt too many times to ever be forgiven. Then there's Jeremy...It was my fault. His death was my fault.
Not only had I watched people die, but I've done thing I regret. My hatred for Elena, which was completely justified, might I add. I guess I should just add it to my long list of regrets. Not giving Stefan another chance, leading Damon along for as long as I had, giving up my magic, turning into a werewolf then turning into a hybrid. My biggest regret was that somewhere along the road, I lost a piece of me. Maybe it was my soul, I don't know, but things were different. There was one thing I knew for sure...Once you lose yourself, you have two choices: find the person you used to be...or lose that person completely...
I wasn't going to be able to leave New Orleans even if I wanted to, I knew that. I had more ties to Klaus and the Originals, not to mention Hayley was involved now. The she-wolf had pissed me off in the past, hurt my family...but that's what it was. The past. She had a baby growing inside of her that shouldn't have even been possible. A baby that I was distantly related to. I felt obligated to make sure nothing happened to that baby.
Elijah was going to stick around, I knew he would. He would never let the chance of having a family again slip from him fingers. I would have an ally even if Klaus wouldn't agree to help. Not to mention my own life was at risk. Was that really a good enough reason to stay though?
Looking around I realized I had wandered into the busy square at the heart of Bourbon Street. The night was still bustling with late partiers, musicians and painters showcasing their art right there on the square some even demonstrating on the spot. Everything hustling and bustling, so full of life, so full of movement. It was a place I wouldn't mind calling home. A far cry from what Mystic Falls was like. Another good reason to stay was I had no ties to this city. When this was all over I could just pick up and move on. In Mystic Falls there were too many variables; Stefan, Damon, Tyler...Matty.
Coming to a stop next to a man who was playing the saxophone I pulled out my cell phone. I looked through my contacts before I found the person I was looking for. Dialing his number I could feel my chest constrict as I thought about what I was about to do. This was the right choice...It just had to be.
"The person you have reached is unavailable. Leave a message after the tone," the automated voice spoke mechanically before a loud beep sounded.
"Elijah," I started as I let out a heavy sigh. "I really wish I could do this differently. I love you so much...but it's not the right time. I'm not sure if it will ever be. You have been there my whole life and I want nothing more than to be there for you. You gave me hope, you taught me that fighting for what you love was the most important thing." I stopped for a moment as my voice broke. "But right now, they need me in Mystic Falls. I'm all Matt has left...and I'm not ready to give up on Damon. Someday I hope we come across each other again...and when we do things will be different. Protect that baby, Elijah. Get your family back...but don't let Nik rule your actions," I paused trying to keep the tears from falling. "Someday I'm sure we'll see each other again. Love, it never dies. It never goes away, it never fades, so long as you hang on to it. Love can make you immortal, but sometimes we have to let what we love go. I'll always love you. Always and forever, Elijah."
My voice broke as I pulled the phone away from my ear ending the call. Straightening my back I shoved the phone into my pocket before pulling some coins out of my pocket. I wiped the stray tears that had fallen before tossing the coins into the saxophone case of the man playing. He nodded gratefully to me as he continued playing. Nodding back before I turned my head towards the crowd of people watching other things going on before I saw Klaus standing there.
His head tilted slightly as he watched me his eyes seeming to tear up in understanding, like he was struggling with some internal battle. He was a good distance away, but even at that distance I knew he had heard everything I had said into that phone call. The last year of my life spent between Stefan and Damon and I wasn't ready to let it go just yet. It was my own doing, but I couldn't give up. This was my chance at happiness with Damon.
Klaus took a step towards me but I shook my head forcing him to stop. I didn't want his comfort right now. I had just said goodbye to the one person I wasn't sure I could live without. I didn't need the pity. Turning away from Klaus I walked further into the crowd placing distance between me and what I had just done.
I had made my way as far away from the square as I could before pressing my back to a brick wall. It was one of the things I loved about The French Quarter, the antique feel to everything was authentic. I could literally feel the power drifting around me.
"Funny meeting you here," a voice stated calmly from my left.
I slowly lowered myself to the wall keeping my back to the brick. Once I was on the ground with my knees pulled up to my chest I dared to look over at who had stumbled across me in the dead of night.
"I'm going home," I stated dryly watching as he lowered himself to the ground next to me.
He nodded, "I figured you wouldn't stick around long."
I was weary of the man next to me. A few weeks ago I was more than happy to be close enough to caress that beautiful mocha skin. The feel of his lips against mine before they moved down to my throat, then down to my chest. They were weeks spent in bliss that only a vampire could enjoy. Blood and sex were the only things that made my world go round the last time I was in New Orleans.
"And what made you think that?"
Marcel sighed as he turned his dark gaze from me to the empty street in front of us as he said, "I saw the look on your face when I killed Jane-Anne."
I scoffed trying to mask the actual fear that had settled in the pit of my stomach. There was something about Marcel that never settled right with me, but when my emotions were off I didn't care. Now I was beginning to pick up on the little things...The lingering stares, the double meaning behind his words, his blatant hatred for everything that wasn't a vampire.
"I never meant to make you fear what I was doing," Marcel added turning his gaze back to me.
"And what are you doing?" I asked tilting my head slightly.
Marcel shrugged before a confident smirk slide onto his lips showing some pearly white teeth. "I'm ruling the kingdom."
And that's what scared me, is what I wanted to say, but I knew better.
"What are you doing following Klaus around, Jace?" Marcel asked.
"Wow...Using my first name," I responded as I pushed my body up off the ground. "You are desperate."
"Every king needs a queen," Marcel stated as he stood up. "Think about it Jace, why fall under Klaus' shadow. I broke free and now look where I'm at," he said as he threw this arms out.
"You wanna know what I see?" I asked as I stood in my spot, not frozen but defiant. "I see a man desperately craving the attention of his disciples. You think you're better than Klaus, but the sad thing is...you're just like him."
Marcel nodded as he stuck out his lip almost like he was pouting. I knew better. Those smooth lips were taunting me and he was enjoying it. I could see it in his eyes that he didn't care what I had said. There was a part of him that saw me as a piece to the puzzle that was Niklaus Mikaelson. Those two were playing nice now, but there was tension there. Tension I knew I was going to get drawn into if I stayed.
"At least I protect my family!" Marcel responded with an angered tone. The anger I'm sure he picked up from Klaus over the years they had known each other.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I growled sliding my foot forward slightly bracing myself. I was becoming defensive and I wasn't sure why.
"You think I don't know about how many times he's hurt you? You think word doesn't get around about it? I've got people everywhere, you should know that by now," Marcel responded strongly his voice powerful.
"So this is about Klaus?" I scoffed. "You weren't concerned for me at all were you?"
"Why is he in New Orleans, Jaycee?" Marcel asked his voice low and demanding.
I smirked tilting my head slightly as I arched an eyebrow. "I could tell you, but where would the fun in that be?"
Marcel smirked before shaking his finger at me. "You may have your emotions on, but you're not that different from your emotionless self, are you? You still love playing games with people's heads."
I glared at him with the fiercest look I could muster. How dare he say that. I wanted nothing more than to shove my hand through his chest and...Wait. What was I doing? Why was I thinking like that. This wasn't who I was. I didn't like hurting people no matter how much they deserved it. That was where I drew the line. It was bad enough I was a vampire and now I was actually letting myself think about mindless killing?
"See you around, princess," Marcel stated softly before sending me a wink.
He then turned on his heels and began strolling away ever so slowly. I stood frozen in my spot waiting until he was out of view then let out the breath I had been holding. He was taunting me. He knew things and I wanted to know what he knew. Now that I knew his target was Klaus I had every intention of staying. Not because of Klaus or Marcel, but for the one person I just told I was leaving. Elijah would get stuck in the crosshairs because he wanted to protect his younger brother. Sure Elijah could handle his own, he was an Original after all, but it wasn't Marcel I was worried about...It was Klaus turning on Elijah that terrified me.
Klaus wandered slowly into the alleyway clutching at the glass bottle in his hand. His fingers wrapped around the delicate neck of the glass, just a slight twitch from being shattered into a million pieces. His anger was coursing through his veins like red hot lava waiting to burst from the Earth.
The witches were trying to use him. He should have expected it. He should have known they would pull something like that. Threatening the people he cared about, or rather the person he cared about. Jaycee was all he had left. She was the salvation, if there was anything that could be defined as such.
She had this tenacity about her that made people want to stop and listen to what she had to say. A way of reasoning with people even if the end result wasn't going to be that great. Jaycee had the ability to lead people and control them. The young hybrid had no idea of her abilities, but if things went Klaus' way, she was going to be his most valuable asset. He could teach her how to rule, how to control those around her in an effective enough manner that would help establish his rule back in the Quarter. Her past connections to the witches and her present ones to both vampires and werewolves made her the one to have in this war and he was bound to keep her on his side.
"Have I not made clear my desire to be left alone?" Klaus called out suddenly feeling the presence of his brother just behind him. His fingers clutched even tighter against the bottle's neck feeling it beginning to crack under his strength.
"Oh, you demand to be left alone at least once a decade," Elijah stated mildly. "Your words have ceased to have impact."
Klaus could feel the rage boiling beneath his skin. This was Elijah's play, the sympathy card. It had always been his brother's specialty when he tried appealing to the humanity in others. His older brother who swore to protect him through everything had stood back all these years and now when the person he loved deeply was threatened he decided it was time to search for his brother's soul. It was a clichéd attempt at salvation.
Klaus' reaction to his brother's words was him taking the nearly broken bottle and smashing it against the ground at their feet. The bottle shattered with such force glass shards flew up every which way at immense speed. The rage evident of the hybrid's face as he stared down his brother.
"Why must you keep harping on about the baby?" Klaus's yells echoed through the alley. "That child will never be born. In fact, Hayley is probably dead already, Jace surely being the one to do it for Hayley betraying poor Tyler-"
Elijah snapped. He raced up to Klaus grabbing him firmly by the throat before shoving him into the wall. He had enough of Klaus' blatant disregard for anyone else's life except for his own. He was tired of how often Klaus sat back and watched his actions destroy those around him with not a single care.
"You will not walk away from this!" Elijah growled.
"Let. Me. Go," Klaus shouted clawing at his brother's hand.
"I WILL NOT!"
As he yelled Elijah took Klaus and slammed him into some crates that littered the space. Elijah was instantly upon his brother grabbing him by the throat once more picking him up. He wrapped his arm around Klaus' throat keeping his brother in a sort of one armed headlock.
"Don't make me say it again," Klaus grunted pulling against his brother.
"I will not let go. I will never let go," Elijah vowed.
Klaus growled grabbing a hold of Elijah's arm before whipping the Original over his head and throwing him into some iron fencing that littered the area. This was no longer about Hayley and her baby or even Jaycee for that matter. This was about the tension between the brothers that had spanned over the centuries. All the pan and heartache both men went through to end up at this very point.
Elijah pulled himself off the ground grabbing on of the iron bars before ripping it from the fencing. He turned it in his hand as he began stalking towards his younger brother.
"Even if I have to spend eternity saving you from your own stubborn, petulant, vile self..." Elijah stated as he used his vampire speed to attack Klaus. Klaus was unprepared taking the full force of the hit to his jaw, his head snapping to the side as blood began trickling down his stubbled chin. "If I have to beat you as father used to beat you, to remind you of your own humanity," Elijah continued as he took another swing at Klaus. "To to care about anything..."
Elijah went to take another hit at Klaus, but this time Klaus was faster than his brother. He ripped the iron bar from Elijah's grasp before using it to knock Elijah down to the ground in just a few swings. Elijah, not expecting the sudden assault, laid on the ground for a moment as he gained his senses back.
With both men breathing heavily, Klaus let his hand fall to his side the iron bar falling aimlessly to the ground. The loud clanging of the metal against the ground cause a chill to run down Elijah's spine. The murderous look in Klaus' eyes was one he had seen before when his younger brother was ready to fly off the rails at record speeds.
"You're beyond pathetic, Elijah," Klaus spat as he walked closer to Elijah.
Elijah wiped some blood from his lip before saying, "Well who is more pathetic? The one who sees hope to make his family whole, or the coward who only see the world through his own fear?"
"I haven't cared about anything for centuries. Why on earth do you?" Klaus retorted like it was a silly question Elijah was asking.
"Because I failed you. Because the first time our father laid a hand on you, I should have struck him dead. I made a promise to you: always, forever, family above all."
Klaus started laugh in a mocking way as he reached his hand out to his brother. Elijah stared at the hand for a moment before he grasped onto it. Klaus pulled Elijah into a standing position allowing his older brother to fix his suit jacket.
"You are a sentimental fool," Klaus stated bitterly.
"Perhaps. But I've lasted this long in spite of it, haven't I?"
Elijah didn't give Klaus time to say much else because he turned and began walking away from his brother. He had dealt with Klaus...but now it was time to deal with the message Jaycee had left for him. She was leaving. It was her choice, but something in his heart was telling him if she went back to Mystic Falls he would never see her again. He had already lost her once. He wasn't going to lose her again.
To my readers from DWTIME...WELCOME BACK LOVELIES! To all my new readers welcome to my twisted little world! I know this is short but it is an introduction. If you need a detailed recap please read chapter 68 of DWTIME. Anyways PLEASE REVIEW IT IS IMPORTANT!