Chapter 1 - A Past That Shouldn't Be
Caroline woke up with a start and jumped to her feet, taking in a sharking Elena. The forest they were currently in was eerily similar to the one they had grown up with, but it was newer, and felt less corrupted somehow. Caroline thought the air smelled and tasted different, more pure than her heightened breathing had ever taken in before.
"Where do you think we are?" Elena asked, looking around her in confusion.
"I think we are still in Mystic Falls." Caroline answered, not even remotely sure if she was right, "I just don't think we are in the same century. The trees look different and the air tastes so much purer. I just want to point out, I knew trying this spell was a bad idea."
"I think we have more important things to worry about right now then you saying 'I told you so'." Elena replied, "We need to figure out where we are, when we are and then try to find someone to help us get back."
"Let's start walking then." Caroline responded with a sigh, and the two set off in whatever direction they were facing.
Elena felt like they had been walking for days, even though she was knew that wasn't the truth. She was still trying to figure out what had gone wrong with the plan but assumed it had something more to do with the spell than anything she had done. Elena was a little worried about how Caroline was going to handle this, she knew that her best friend liked to be in control, and that was probably not going to happen in this situation.
"I can hear something up ahead and there is a lingering human smell that is getting stronger." Caroline said suddenly and Elena found the way she said it slightly nerve wracking, like a hunter stalking its prey.
The village they came across was nothing special, a few modest huts and a large well, but the people they saw there was something else entirely. The women were dressed in simple dresses, either wool or cotton, and the men wore the sa0me fabric of pants, loose fitted shirts and leathers vests. Everyone seemed to be busy doing something or in a hurry, almost like there was always something that needed to be done and not enough time in the day to do it.
Elena suddenly heard Caroline gasp and ask, "Is that Elijah?" Looking at man with long hair walk about the village, he was carrying some cut logs.
"I think so." Elena responded, looking at the man that resembled her favorite Original. She looked at him closely, noticing that the air of confidence and respect that usually seemed to stand out from Elijah was not there.
"So if Elijah is here and he is human, which he is by the way, I can tell from here, does that mean we are almost one thousand years in the past?" Caroline asked, more for just saying it aloud than for an answer.
"Oh, this is really not good." Elena responded, watching as a woman that looked remarkably like herself walked up and started talking to Elijah.
"So, trying to figure out the originator of the bloodline brought us back to the time when it actually started...stupid magic..." Caroline muttered as they huddled together behind some trees on the edge of the village.
"Can't say I disagree." Elena responded, wrapping her arms closely around herself, it was slowly getting colder as night descended and the season seemed to have gone from summer to fall.
"We need to a find a place to sleep, something warmer for you to wear, and a way back to the future." Caroline stated, letting her near OCD planning mind take hold, mostly because when she had a plan she felt better.
"I can help with all those things." A voice said suddenly to their right.
Caroline immediately jumped into a defensive position in front of Elena, whom asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Ayanna." She answered, eying Caroline and Elena closely, "Would you two be responsible for the burst of power I felt earlier?"
"We are," Elena replied, "And you are a witch."
"Yes, but you are not. And you," She took another step and examined Caroline closer, "Are not of balance with nature, I have never seen or felt your like before."
"You will soon." Caroline responded, giving a smile, not relaxing her stance unless it became clear that Ayanna meant them no harm.
"Follow me." Was Ayanna's only reply, and started skirting around the village, staying in the woods and out of sight.
Caroline looked to Elena, who said, "I don't think we have a choice." They saw no other option than to follow the witch and hoped that they could trust her.
Elena was studying the woman closely, according to Esther this was an ancestor of Bonnie, but that didn't mean the she could be trusted. At the same time though, Elena didn't think they had any other options. They slowly approached a hut that had a slightly different look then the others and Ayanna gestured for them to go inside. Elena did without hesitation, but Caroline had to say, "I can't enter without an invitation."
"That is very interesting. You may enter…" She paused, realizing she had never asked for names.
"Caroline, and that is Elena." Caroline responded.
"You are welcome into my home Caroline, please come in." Ayanna said, and followed Caroline into the hut, closing the door behind her.
Elena looked around in wonder, it was a simple home, with a cot like bed against one wall, a long low table that was covered in herbs and bowls along another, with shelves above it, and a few simple chairs scattered around the room. There was a fire pit in the center of the room, with short stools positioned around it, and from the window hung various types of jewelry.
"Now, please, sit, tell me how you came to be here." Ayanna said, sitting on one side of the fire and stoking it with poker.
Caroline and Elena each sat on the opposite side across from her, and Caroline looked to Elena to tell the story, "We are from the future and we were sent here on accident by our friend Bonnie, one of your decedents. The spell was originally only supposed to send her mind back to the start of where her vampire bloodline began after the Original vampire. But something must have gone wrong because we were both sent here."
"Many of your words are confusing. Bloodline? Original? Vampire? What are you talking about?" Ayanna asked, looking at them with a look of confused, indifference.
"I am a vampire." Caroline spoke up, "Vampires are creatures that live off the blood of humans, have super human abilities and other such things. The Original vampires are from this time, we saw one of them earlier in the village, still human. Every vampire alive is descended from one of the six Originals. We wanted to find out from which one of these bloodlines I am descended from."
"Who are these vampires and how were they created?" Ayanna asked, suddenly she was very interested, and leaned forward.
"Esther turned her family into vampires to protect them." Elena replied, knowing that Ayanna would know of the people she spoke of.
"She would be the only one with such power." Ayanna whispered under her breath, "How far into the future are you from?"
"Nearly a thousand years." Elena told her.
"Why do you need to find the originator of your bloodline?" Ayanna asked next, looking directly at Caroline, her eyes unreadable.
"To know which of the Originals we can safely kill. You see, if you kill an Original, their entire bloodline dies as well." Caroline explained, "And I don't want to die."
"I see." Ayanna answered simply, then said, "I will help you find a way back to your time but it will not be easy and it will most likely take a lot of time."
"What are we supposed to do while we wait?" Caroline asked, not looking forward to the idea of being stuck in this hut for a long period of time.
"We will come up with a story for your presence in the village. That will be the easy part…" Ayanna said before standing quickly and searching through her herbs and bowls.
"What is the hard part?" Elena asked, nervous at the witch's movements.
"You look exactly like Tatia, that cannot be easily explained, and you will have to do that for me later. I will need to change your features, do not worry, it will not be a permanent spell, it will fade away with my death."
"So I will look different until I return to the future?" Elena asked.
"Yes." She simply answered, never stalling in her search.
"Well, it is good that is settled, but we do have another problem." Caroline pointed out, and got a sideways look from Elena, "If we start walking around town, eventually we will run into one of the Originals. Won't knowing us in the past somehow change the future?"
Elena didn't have an answer, so she just looked to Ayanna, who had finally stopped her looking to turn and face them. Elena didn't think she had the answer either.
Present
Bonnie came to in a haze, she looked at the woods that surrounded her, noticing that she was now completely alone. The fire and bowl were still sitting in front of her, and the bags that the girls had brought with them were also present. Bonnie began to panic as she released hours had passed and Elena and Caroline were nowhere to be seen. She knew that the two of them would never have left her alone, unconscious, in the middle of the woods. "This is not good." Bonnie chided herself out loud, and she started packing up her things quickly. Her calls to Caroline and Elena resulted in nothing but rings from the bags beside her.
Bonnie drove to the Salvatore house as fast as she could without killing herself. The sound of her frantic driving must have alerted the two vampires inside because they came running out of the house.
"Bonnie, what's wrong?" Stefan asked, taking in her panicked appearance as she got out of the car.
"I….we….something happened to…" Bonnie didn't know how to explain what had happened, she wasn't even really sure she knew herself.
"Bonnie, what happened?" Damon insisted, his voice calm but determined.
"Elena and Caroline, they….they…" Bonnie tried again, "Are gone."
"Gone where Bonnie?" Stefan asked, his voice different than before, it was now a mix of anger and panic.
"I don't know." She answered truthfully, looking between the two brothers with fear in her eyes.
"Oh, I think we could answer that question for you." Rebekah's voice said suddenly from their right.
The three of them turned quickly to look at the Original and noticed she wasn't alone, Klaus was standing next to her, and he did not look happy.
"What did you do?" Damon demanded of the Originals, looking more at Klaus than Rebekah for answers.
"I have done nothing." Klaus responded his voice short and clipped, "Your witch is the one responsible for the current problem. We simply have a solution to it." He and Rebekah stepped closer, "Now, are you going to keep slinging accusations at us, or would you like us to tell you where Caroline and Elena are?"
"How would you know where they are? I cast the spell and even I don't know what has become of them." Bonnie inquired, never taking her eyes off of the siblings.
"It really is a question more of when they are." Rebekah supplied, causing the three of them to become lost in thought.
"When are they?" Stefan asked, his voice back to its calm and reasonable state, though it held an edge of confusion and distrust.
"Nearly a thousand years in the past and we are the only ones you can help you get them back." Rebekah answered, looking sideways at Klaus before looking at Stefan once again.
Klaus watched the Salvatores and Bonnie take in their words, confusion and fear lacing their features. He did not think much of their problems, he was much more concerned about his own. There were now months' worth of memories flooding his brain, filling in gaps in his past that he hadn't even realized were there, and changing his emotions in ways he did not find acceptable. The ringing of his phone tore him, and everyone else, from their thoughts, "Hello brother, enjoying a few new memories? Rebekah and I are finding them quite enlightening."
"What has happened Niklaus? Why do I suddenly have these memories of Elena and Caroline spending time with us as humans?" Elijah asked, his tone suggesting he was not in the mood for games.
"Bonnie conducted a little spell, it backfired, sending Caroline and Elena to us in the past. I assume the memory loss is Ayanna's doing though." Klaus explained, and watched as everyone took in his answer, especially since only Bonnie could not hear the entire conversation.
"I will be back in Mystic Falls tomorrow. We can discuss this…development then, in more detail." Elijah informed him.
"I am looking forward to it." Klaus responded and hung up the phone.
"What do you mean memory loss?" Bonnie asked before she could stop herself.
"We didn't remember Elena and Caroline being with us in the past until you cast your spell that sent them back in time. It was as if a flood gate had opened and a bunch of fuzzy memories from the past became crystal clear." Rebekah explained, and looked at Klaus before continuing, "It is a very strange feeling."
"We are assuming that Bonnie's ancestor that we knew as humans must have locked our memories once we became vampires. As to not affect the future with any changes Caroline or Elena could have caused by being in a place they do not belong. The magic of Bonnie's spell in the present must have removed the memory spell." Klaus informed them, looking at them as they tried to process this information.
"How do you know this?" Bonnie asked again, finding all this magic with its perfect links hard to believe.
"We have been alive a long time." Rebekah said, "We know a lot more about magic then you do. Plus, I have a vague memory of Elena telling me this would happen."
"Why would they want you to forget them?" Stefan questioned, doing his best to remain calm.
"Because, for them to be sent back to the future, Bonnie needed to be able to cast the spell to send them back. If things didn't happen exactly as they were supposed to, then Bonnie wouldn't cast the spell. Time travel can be confusing," Klaus said, frustration evident in his voice, "I think at the moment it would be best if we focus at the problem at hand, and worry about that at a different time."
"Klaus is right." Damon admitted reluctantly, "What we need to do is focus on getting Elena and Barbie back. Now, how do we do that exactly?"
"It is complicated and requires precise lunar timing." Klaus said and removed a few pieces of paper from his pocket, handing it to Bonnie, "We have two weeks to accomplish everything on that list, or we have to wait six months to try again."
"And don't worry. We will help with this, every step of the way." Rebekah replied, smirking at the brothers and the witch.
"Why are you so eager to help?" Damon asked, looking at the blonde vampire with suspicion, "You don't like Elena or Caroline."
Rebekah gave a small laugh, "I have reasons that you will never be able to understand Damon, but I assure you, my intentions are strictly honorable."
"I'll believe that when I see it." Damon said through clenched teeth.
"Oh, you will." Rebekah answered before walking toward the house, and with a smirk asked, "Anyone else care for a drink?"
AN: Thanks to my wonderful reviewers ShayShay305, coffee14, ead9, and young-girl06! And to everyone who added this. I noticed that most reviewed about inquiry after the romances. I don't want to give too much away, but there will enough romance to go around, so no need to worry. The next chapter will reveal one of the couples, so stay tuned for that. Updates will be random, but I will try to at least once a week, depending on my work schedule.
Would you prefer that I keep the format like this chapter, with both the past and present? Or should I split it up into separate chapters for each time? Let me know what would like better.
Thanks for reading. And PLEASE let me know you think, reviews are the best present a writer can get.