Alright, sorry this chapter was delayed. I didn't really like the chapter I had written, so I decided to rewrite it. I hope you guys like this one!
Present Day
Fifteen miles north of Mystic Falls, a girl sat down on her bed to finish working on a college English paper she had started the night before. She was pretty, with long straight blonde hair, a pale complexion and warm brown eyes.
She opened her notebook to add what she thought would be the final touches on her paper. At least until she looked at the words written across the page in her own handwriting. They weren't an essay like they were supposed to be, or even part of one. Written in her messy script was a list of names. Ending with one that triggered something deep in her mind...Henrik.
Her whole body stilled and she had only enough time to gasp in a quick breath before memories flooded into her. First, the confusion nearly overwhelmed her, but it quickly gave way to clarity. She remembered everything.
Standing, she picked up her purse and a few things from around the room before heading down the stairs. She walked through the kitchen, but the woman who had raised her stopped her, "Nicola, where are you going? You're still grounded." Vera Carter put down the apple she was slicing with a scowl.
"We both know you're not my mother, so don't patronize me." The girl said harshly, a slight accent in her voice that hadn't been there before.
"You remember." The older woman stated her hands falling to the counter in front of her.
The girl nodded, packing a bag of food, "Yes, I do. Thank you for taking care of me for all these years. I'm sorry I've been such a pain."
The woman who had claimed for nineteen years to be her mother caught her in a hug, "Don't mention it. Raising you was my pleasure."
"Thank you."
Vera let the girl go, "Be safe, Anika."
A small smile flitted across her youthful face at the sound of her real name. "I'll try."
Vera grabbed her wrist, "No, Anika. You will be safe. I didn't raise you all these years so you could get yourself killed."
"Okay, goodbye, Vera." In just minutes, the girl had walked out of one life and into another.
She wasn't Nicola Carter, the irresponsible community college strapped daughter of a single mother, anymore, she was Anika Mikaelson. She had been raised the daughter of Mikael and of Esther. The memories were stirring around in her head like food in a blender, but she let her body take her to where she needed to be.
The five mile walk took her to where a young teenaged boy was standing on a street corner. His hair was shorter, but she would recognize him anywhere. "Henrik!" She yelled, garnering his attention.
The boy's face lit up and he ran to her, embracing her tightly, "Anika!"
She kissed the top of his head, "Oh, Hen."
He laughed, pulling away, "Ani, I'm not a baby anymore. Don't call me Hen!"
Anika smiled at the argument that seemed so recent, "Sorry, Henrik, but you'll always be Hen to me. Even after a thousand years."
"Why so long?" Henrik asked.
Anika shrugged, "I don't know, little brother. I didn't exactly put a timer on my spell. I just hoped it worked at all." She took in his jacket, plaid shirt and jeans, "Your family, were they nice to you?"
He nodded, looking at the home behind him with longing, "They were."
"We can come back, you know. If you wanted to." Anika offered with a kind smile.
Henrik shook his head, "No, I couldn't impose any longer."
"We weren't imposing, Henrik. They knew what they signed up for. They raised us in exchange for good fortune." She said, pulling his jacket closer around him as the breeze picked up.
"I know." He sighed, "Klaus must be so angry at me. He told me to be quiet and I tripped. I should have been quiet." He touched his chest, remembering the claws that had torn into his flesh, "It hurt."
"I wish I could have spared you from those memories." Anika said honestly.
Henrik laughed, "We're alive, Ani! I'll take those memories for being alive."
"I'm glad." She said.
He put his arm around her waist and they began walking. "How did you do it, Ani? How did you bring us back?"
"Ayana helped me. I begged her to give you your life back." She acknowledged.
Henrik made her stop, "Why don't you look any older?"
The smile fell from her face, "Henrik, it's not important."
"Yes, it is, Anika." He said, setting his jaw.
A smile worked it's way back onto her face as she looked at his face, "You look so much like Finn right now." He furrowed his brow, "Oh, Hen, don't look at me like that." She begged, touching his cheek.
"Tell me the truth!" He whined.
Anika sighed, starting to walk again. "I died right after Klaus brought you home."
"What? How?" He yelled, catching up with her.
"It was the only way I could bring you back, Hen. Alive, my magic wasn't strong enough, but with my death, I would be able to do it. With my death, I could bring both of us back." He looked at her for further explanation, "I jumped off the ridge."
"You killed yourself." He said softly.
"Yes." She admitted.
Henrik's face crumpled, "How could you do that to the family? You know how Father feels...felt about suicide."
Anika nodded, "Yes, I do. Trust me, Henrik. I knew what I was doing. To Father, from then on, it was as if I never existed. Don't fret, Hen. They probably mourned you enough for the both of us."
"I love you, Anika." He said solemnly, a very old expression on his young face.
Anika kissed his forehead, "I love you too, Beansprout. We need to get going."
"Where?"
"Home." She said as they walked past a sign reading 'Mystic Falls- 6 Miles'.
"Mystic Falls? That makes it sound like a happy place." He scoffed.
Anika scowled, "We were happy, Hen. Until that day at least."
"I messed it all up." Henrik moaned.
"We're going to make things right, Hen. You'll see." She said comforting him. As they walked, they approached a house surrounded by firemen. "What happened here?" Anika asked, peering into the setting sun to see the dying fire.
"Think it was some sort of gas leak." A passing fireman said.
"Were there people inside?" Henrik asked, clutching Anika's hand.
The man nodded, "Most of the Council."
Henrik looked up at his sister as if urging her to do something. Anika winced, "There's nothing either of us can do, Hen. We should go." The boy nodded and they began walking.
He suddenly pulled her to a stop, "Ani!"
"What, Hen?" She groused before realizing that he was staring into the distance. "Nik." She whispered, seeing the image of her brother staring back at them. The hallucination made a face, his lips moving, and vanished.
"You saw him too?" Henrik asked, she nodded, and he began running towards where the apparition had been standing.
"Hen, wait!" She yelled, grabbing his arm. "It couldn't have been him."
"You saw him!" Henrik yelled, tears filling his eyes.
Anika sighed, "I know, I did, Hen, but Niklaus is dead. They all are. Henrik, we've been dead for a thousand years. Our family has probably been gone just as long. Maybe it's a side effect of my spell. I don't know, but running into the woods this late is not a good idea. We know what could be living in them."
"Oh, something like Mathias?" Henrik snapped.
Anika stilled, gasping, "He's dead, Henrik." She said darkly, "His own mother killed him the night before you died. I don't want to talk about it."
Henrik appeared appropriately cowed, and took her hand back in his. "I'm sorry."
She didn't say anything. She couldn't. He'd brought her mind to memories she had been trying so hard to ignore. A hand flitting to her flat stomach, she pushed the emotion back. "Let's get something to eat, then we can find someplace to stay until we can get a house."
They walked to a place called Mystic Grill and Henrik laughed, "They weren't very creative when they named things in this place, were they?" Anika rolled her eyes and gave him a squeeze before he bounded off to the restrooms.
She went to the bar, hoping her old soul would counter act her young looks so she could get a drink. "Vodka please." She asked, sitting on one of the stools.
A man sitting next to her peered over at her, "Aren't you a little young to drink?"
Anika glared at him, not letting her surprise at how handsome he was soften the gaze, "I'm older than I look."
"Well good for you. So am I. Now scram, that spot's taken." He snapped, his blue eyes dancing.
"This seat was cold, so if there was someone there, I'm afraid you've been ditched." She retorted, settling in, downing the vodka the bartender had tapped down in front of her.
He scoffed at her, "Well aren't you a bright ray of sunshine. Do you have a name?"
Anika drug her gaze up to him, taking in the chiseled face, "Annie." She said, giving up a half truth. Going by Annie would make her stick out less than Anika would.
"Damon." He said, holding out a hand.
She didn't take it. Henrik had returned, hopping up onto the stool to her left with an almost eerie ease, letting her know that his physical abilities were still as honed. "What do you want to eat, Hen?" She asked him, carding a hand through his hair.
Henrik laughed, "They were vegetarians. I want a hamburger."
Anika nodded and flagged the bartender down, "Could you also get me two burgers? Rare. Thanks."
"Rare, unusual choice for a kid. Don't you think?" Damon commented, looking at the boy. With messy dark brown hair and dark eyes, there was something familiar about him. The girl was equally familiar. It was her hair, the golden blonde color, and the slight accent in her voice.
"My brother can handle it." She commented. "We're stronger than we look."
Henrik pulled on her arm, his near black eyes locked on Damon. "Ani, I'm hungry."
"Henri, I just ordered." She said, looking down at him, "What's up with you?"
"I miss them." He murmured, leaning into her side.
"I do too, Hen. We'll make it though. Together." She assured him, kissing the top of his head.
Damon took in a deep breath. They were both human. He sighed, it had been a long day, and after the cemetery, he was exhausted. "You two aren't from around here."
Anika laughed, "We were, but we've been away for a long time." Anika dug in her bag, "You haven't seen anything with this symbol around town, have you? A tree, maybe?"
Damon stared at the piece of paper in the girl's hand. The symbol was identical to the one on Esther's necklace. "Can't say I have."
The girl sighed, "That's too bad." Their food arrived, and Damon watched as they both ate like they'd been starved. Once done, the girl put money on the counter, and stood, "Ready to go, Hen?" The boy nodded, hopping off his stool. Anika smiled at Damon, "It was lovely to meet you, Damon. We're staying around, perhaps we'll see you again."
"Oh, I think we will." Damon said, putting on a smile.
She nodded, taking Henrik's hand. "Goodnight."
He followed them. They went to the Mystic Falls Motel, 'Annie' tucked the boy in after he took a shower, and went to take her own. She cried in the shower, but calmed herself before she went to sleep on the other twin bed in the room. Once he was certain they were both asleep, Damon headed back to the Boarding House.
"Wakey, wakey!" He called, and in seconds, Stephan was at the top of the stairs.
He glared at his older brother, "Damon, what are you up to? Elena needs rest."
"We've got other things to worry about." Damon growled, "I just met a very interesting set of siblings. They were asking about a symbol we're very familiar with."
Crossing his arms in impatience, Stephen said, "What symbol, Damon?"
"The one on Esther's necklace. She wanted to know if I'd seen one on a tree. I want to find that tree before she does." Damon said, his eyes alight.
"Why would we go looking for a tree?" Stephen asked, pulling a coat on.
"Because, she looked very familiar, and she called the boy Henri." Damon waggled his eyebrows, "Don't we know a set of siblings that had a brother by the name of Henrik?"
"Let's go." Stephen said.
"I'm going with you." Elena had come down the stairs. The Salvatore brothers both stared at her, "What? I'm not human anymore. You guys don't get to leave me behind. Let's find this tree."
What do you think? Leave me a review and let me know! The next chapter should be pretty interesting!
-Jenn