Quick Aside- This is the first story that I'm publishing, it's still taking me a bit to get used to all of this. Unfortunately the first chapter is more background than anything particularly interesting, and it may take a few chapters until the preface is fully explained. Please read and review! I'm already about halfway through chapter three and would love to know what you think, things you may want incorporated. While most of the story is planned out in my head I anticipate it being a long one and would love feedback. Thank you!

PREFACE

He saw her from across the parking lot, exiting the double doors. It was her. Not a knock-off doppelgänger like Elena had been. Her face, her movement, her mannerisms. All the same. He rolled down his window and breathed in slowly. Cold winter air filled his head but something floated underneath it. That perfume, the one he knew so well, the one that could never be mistaken for anything else. Impossibly, it was her.

SIX YEARS EARLIER

"And is there another plan, in case this one fails?" Mikael questioned s everyone was getting ready to embark upon there various tasks.

"It's nearly impossible to come up with one plan to kill an original, where are we going to get another one." Retorted Damon in a manner that was not really a question and more of a statement.

Mikael fixed him with an intimidating stare before Elena chimed in.

"Mikael's right. There are too many variables. If we could come up with a back-up plan, some other way of eliminating Klaus that would be comforting."

There was a short pause as everyone wracked their brains for something that had not yet been suggested.

"I have more than one trick up my sleeve," said Mikael after a sufficient amount of time had passed and everyone seemed to be staring at him for the answers. "Although I suppose it's less of a trick and more someone I know that may be able to help. How up to date are you on your religious mythology?" he questioned the group. Some glances and a few shrugs were exchanged but no one spoke up.

"I'll take that as not very up to date" Mikael said, shifting the weight in his legs as if to signal the beginning of a story. "You're all familiar with the story of Luzbel?"

More silence.

"More commonly referred to by the name Lucifer…"

A few grunts of recognition and then Alaric spoke up, "You mean like the devil?"

Mikael smirked to himself at some joke the rest of them had failed to get.

"No. Not at all. Lucifer and the devil are two completely separate beings although I will inform you that that seems to be a common misconception. The two of them are quite different and she would not be pleased that yet another person has made the two of them interchangeable."

Before Mikael could go on Katherine interrupted "Excuse me, she?" She said with incredulity.

"Yes, she. And very little is known about her, or at least the people who have knowledge about her and other religious entities do not go parading it around or writing it down in books for anyone to read." There was a slight hint of condescension in Mikael's voice. "Forget any associations you have with the name Lucifer. All you need to know is this; Luzbel is the fallen archangel who was banished and bound to Earth. Rumor has it that she is incredibly powerful, although I have never witnessed any show of this myself. It's been said that she can kill and original… and is more accessible then say, Satan himself."

"So is she bad or good?" asked Damon.

"It is my understanding that it is not as black and white as that," said Mikael. "I cannot say. As I said, I know very little about her."

"And your plan entails what exactly? Marching up to her and asking her to kill Klaus?" The harshness in Damon's voice caused Elena to speak up.

"Damon it's a good option. She has no connection to us. She'll either say yes or no. It seems that every… person we turn to for help has some alternative agenda." She glanced over to Mikael trying to gauge his reaction to this but his expression remained unchanged.

Damon seemed to ignore her but his tone was softer when he asked "Well how do we get her to come here?"

"There is one fairly easy option but I'm afraid it won't get her here until it's too late… Someone will have to go find her, ask her and bring her back here."

"Well, no one's going alone to go do something like that. You've admitted it yourself you barely know anything about this… person," said Alaric.

"We can't afford to send two people. We're instituting Plan A tonight and we need as many people here as possible," said Elena, the worry about tonights plan flooding back to her.

Everyone sat still and quiet while their brains absorbed everything they had just heard.

"So you know her?" said Alaric in an attempt to clarify recent information.

"We've met occasionally. When you've been roaming the same Earth for over 1,000 years it's hard not to cross paths."

"So why don't you go?"

"Because your plan needs me not to mention I'm not about to hand over this stake for you to kill Klaus with."

"Okay so I'll go," said Damon.

Alaric and Elena looked at each other.

"What?" snapped Damon, looking back and forth between the both of them.

"Well, you're not exactly the master of gentle persuasion," said Elena. "If all else fails we're definitely going to need her."

"I'm the fastest, I'm the strongest and it's not like I can take someone with better conversational skills with me," he retorted.

"Actually," said Katherine from behind him. "I'm the fastest and I'm the strongest, but you're right. I can't exactly go with you if I'm supposed to swap for Elena now can I."

"All right then, so where do I find her?" said Damon.

Elena and Alaric looked uncomfortable but were starting to realize that he was their only option.

"I have a general idea of where she's living now, but beyond that you'll have to track her. It should be easy."

"We can't all be originals, how am I supposed to track someone I've never met?"

Mikael gave Damon a look of extreme patience.

"She has a very distinctive smell. It will be a simple spell for Bonnie to take the memory of it from my head and transfer it to yours."

One hour later, Damon, Mikael and Elena had arrived at Bonnie's house. After a sufficient amount of time convincing Bonnie that this would help to end everything, they were all set up to do the spell. Mikael and Damon were standing facing each other on the inside of a circle formed from deep purple candles. Bonnie began her ancient chant and within seconds Damon was surrounded by something so unlike anything he had ever smelled before. It was the most delicious perfume you ever had the pleasure of inhaling-sickeningly sweet and full of something beautiful you couldn't quite place, but with a bitter undertone that warned of danger, that told you to stay away. The minute the spell was over Damon longed to repeat it. It was delicious, intoxicating and he felt that his mind would never focus on anything else. Despite the dark undertones, something drew you towards it and attached tiny strings to your muscles, pulling at will.

Damon remained with his eyes closed until every last trace of the scent had faded from the air. All he needed was one hint of that scent and it would be impossible not to route it back to its source. Finding her would not be the problem, getting her to come back would be.