Sharper Points

By Michael Weyer

Much like death, handling becoming a vampire involved several stages and right now, Felicity Smoak was in the first of them: Denial.

"No…No, there is no way…I cannot be a vampire! I mean, ignoring how there can't be such things as vampires, I cannot be one!"

"You had your neck broken a half hour ago and you just downed blood with no problem," Caroline said as kindly as she could. "Sorry, Felicity, but it's true."

"But…how?" Felicity gasped.

"She drank your blood, you drank hers, then she killed you." Klaus shrugged. "Simple biology."

Felicity stared at him. "You really said that with a straight face?" She rubbed her temples. "So…what, I have to worry about glittering in the sunlight?"

The others all shared sour looks. "Remind me again to put the death of that Meyers woman on my to-do list," Klaus growled.

"Only if you beat me to it," Rebekah snarled back.

"Hey, you think you vamps are the only ones pissed at that crap?" Haley remarked. "She didn't exactly portray us werewolves in the best light either!"

"Were…wolves?" Felicity gaped. "You're…"

"Ain't as fun as it looks, trust me," Haley snapped.

"You're...a werewolf..." Felicity looked to Rebekah. "And you're a vampire."

"No, we're bloody mermaids," Rebekah scoffed and Haley repeated the reaction.

Felicity put her hands to her head. "This can't be happening, cannot be happening…"

"Take a walk in daylight, darling, see how it happens," Rebekah snarked.

As always, Elijah tried to keep things as civil as possible. "I am sorry this has to happen, Ms. Smoak but you need to accept the reality of the situation. My siblings and myself are the Originals. The first vampires of our kind, turned over a thousand years ago. We have seen many a vampire made and made many ourselves. Right now, you have to adjust to this quickly for the better of us all."

Felicity could feel herself shaking as she sipped her drink again, realizing with a shudder it was blood. "How…How do I go back? To normal?"

"No such thing anymore," Klaus remarked. "Unless you want us to stake you, that'll solve your problem right off."

"I'm gonna be sick," Felicity moaned, bending over.

"For God's sake, not here!" Rebekah snapped. "That is a 300-year old Persian rug! I just got the stains out from the coed Klaus dropped there!"

Felicity stared at that. "You…killed someone here?"

Klaus chuckled. "If these walls could scream, my dear girl…"

"Klaus is the more reckless of us all," Rebekah stated. "He did kill the mother of dear Caroline's werewolf boyfriend."

"You're not helping, Rebekah," Caroline hissed.

"It wasn't my intention."

"And in that, you succeeded admirably."

"Why would Katherine turn a random stranger?" Elijah questioned.

"Who knows why the hell that woman does anything?" Rebekah fired back. She headed out of the room. "I'm going to finish my bath."

"Excuse me, I need help saving Elena!" Caroline barked.

"I'm placing things in need of priority." Rebekah sauntered out of the room as Caroline muttered under her breath.

"I can't…this is not…I need to go," Felicity turned and headed right for the front door. Her mind was buzzing so much that she didn't register how, to the others' eyes, she was a literal blur as she ran out.

Caroline sighed as she rose up. "I'll go get her." She passed Haley with a frown. "Again, why are you here?"

Rebekah suddenly stuck her head into the room. "Oh, you didn't know?" She had a wide smile on her face. "The werewolf happens to be carrying my darling brother's magical miracle child."

Caroline stared at her before looking to the two males in the room. Elijah stared right back while Klaus was busy examining his glass. Caroline's eyes widened as she realized what he was not saying. "You…but…how?! I mean, I know how but…how?!"

"Chalk it up to a bad night and plenty of vodka," Haley sighed. "And feel free to enjoy the karma I'm now getting as apparently this thing is wanted by the witches here who cast a spell so now I'm stuck in town."

Caroline barely heard that, still staring at Klaus. "You…" She shook her head as she walked off. "I need to get out of here." She raced out of the mansion to leave the siblings behind.

"And we're off to a wonderful start already," Haley remarked. The glares of the two brothers did little to sway her snide attitude.

It didn't take long for Caroline to catch up to Felicity. The other woman was standing under a street lamp a few blocks away from the mansion, staring at the city before them. She didn't look over as Caroline came up to her, just staring out. "I left…a minute ago," Felicity said in a flat tone. "And I just made it about ten blocks."

"Vamp speed," Caroline said. "Takes some getting used to but it's great to be able to sleep in and still be on time for classes. Not to mention room cleaning." She paused before rubbing Felicity's shoulder, the other woman jerking. "Hey…I know. Believe me, I've been there too. But it does get better."

"Really?"

"Sure. Look on the bright side, you're what, 23, 24? Me, I'm always going to be 17. A filler year. Not looking forward to still getting carded when I'm 170."

Felicity swallowed. "I have to…kill people?"

"Oh, no, no, no!" Caroline quickly said. "No, you don't have to! You can do animal blood and if you do need to feed on humans, you can just take a bit and leave them be."

"Oh. That's…a relief. Except for, you know, the actual biting and feeding…"

Caroline sighed. "Yeah. That…Okay, not going to say it's not gross the first few times but sadly, you do get used to it which is pretty scary." She saw Felicity waver at that and put an arm on her shoulder. "Come on. Something tells me you need a very stiff drink while we handle this."

"Good call."

The bar wasn't too fancy, one of numerous in the French Quarter. Felicity and Caroline found their way to a quiet booth away from most of the hustle and bustle. An attractive woman with dark blonde hair in jeans and a blouse came up to them. "Hey, I'm Cami. Orders?"

"Two bourbons," Caroline ordered.

"ID?"

Caroline looked her in the eye and Felicity saw the pupils seem to flash. "Just give us the bourbons."

Cami's face lost its smile and turned hard. "I'm on vervain, girl."

"Crap."

Cami leaned in. "Listen…I know about you vampires. I just happened to spend the last few weeks under the compulsion of an arrogant, insufferably self-involved sociopath."

"I think I just met him," Felicity said. "Klaus?"

Cami winced. "Bastard had it so I forgot all about him until he showed up, then remembered everything, then forgot as soon as he left. Felt like I was losing my mind."

"Sympathy," Caroline said. "First vamp I met used me for a blood bank/lover and I just rolled with it."

"At least he didn't have you writing his memoirs," Cami snapped. "You have no idea what it took for me to break free of that so just…" She rubbed her temples. "Just no trouble. I don't want anything from any of you."

She walked off, leaving Felicity staring at Caroline. "Is that…Is that how you…um…" She waved a hand, unable to actually finish the sentence.

"Turned?" Caroline shook her head. "Not exactly. Town I grew up in, Mystic Falls? Seems the adults knew for years about the supernatural, tried to hide it from us innocent kids, totally unaware we'd get pulled into it. I landed in the hospital with some vampire blood in me and then Katherine killed me so…here I am. 19 years old and immortal."

Felicity frowned. "That thing just now…were you trying to hypnotize her?"

"We call it compulsion. Sounds less B-movie. But vervain blocks it. It's basically our main weakness, burns on contact and if someone is ingesting it or carrying an item with it, they're immune to our control."

Cami returned, placing bourbon before Felicity and a coke before Caroline, leaving without a word. Felicity downed half her glass as Caroline sipped her own. Placing her glass down, Caroline brought her hands together. "Okay, let's get to it. You can still eat and drink regular food but it's blood that's our main need. Plus points to the deal: Enhanced senses, fast healing, super speed and strength. We have reflections, we can't fly, we don't need to sleep in coffins. Crosses, turning into bats or mist and running rivers are total crap, we can enter a church if we want to. Sadly, wooden stakes are true to the legends and so's beheading and, oh, we do have to be invited inside to enter a house."

"And…sunlight?"

"That too," Caroline said. "Unless you have one of these." She held up her hand, letting Felicity see the large ring on her finger. "Daylight rings. You can get them in a bracelet or necklace too if you want. They have spells that allow us to go about in daytime like normal."

"Spells?" Felicity snorted. "What, you're telling me witches are real too?" She sipped her drink before seeing Caroline's look and her jaw fell. "No way…"

"Way. Best friend happens to be a witch, powerful one too."

"Vampires, werewolves, witches, what next, zombies?"

"Oh, please, those don't exist." Caroline cocked her head. "You're taking this much better than I'd have thought."

Felicity shrugged. "Let's just say I've had to handle a rather…unusual job." She sipped her drink again. "You…have family?"

"My mom's sheriff of our town, knew about vampires." Caroline sighed. "It was…tough when she found out about me. Compelled her to forget the first time but after the second, decided it was better she knew. My dad.." She winced. "That's…complicated."

"I know the feeling," Felicity said. "So, you've never killed anyone?"

Caroline bit her lip. "Not…to feed." She saw Felicity's stare and took a breath. "Listen…I'm not going to lie, Felicity. It's going to be hard. You're going to find yourself overwhelmed at times. And there's a lot of dangerous stuff out there that's coming after you. And sometimes…Sometimes, you have to do things you don't want to do. That you thought you were never capable of doing. Sometimes…" She wiped at her brow. "Sometimes, you need to kill to survive. It's ugly but that's eternal life for you."

Felicity downed the last of her drink. On the one hand, this was more than troubling to her. On the other…Was it really so much different than Oliver on his quest and not having much problems at first taking lives? She had made peace with that so why not this? "So….you and Klaus…."

"Wow, that's a great way to jump the conversation."

"I learn from the best. So?"

Caroline shrugged. "Not much. He's got a bizarre obsession for me."

"Right…which is totally one-sided, I'm sure."

Caroline snorted. "The guy is a mass-murdering nutcase!"

"And yet, somehow, I got the feeling you and he…"

"Not having this conversation with someone I Just met."

"Sorry, I'm trying to change the subject to crush my growing abject terror at becoming a creature of the night." Felicity removed her glasses to rub the bridge of her nose. She was about to put them on but paused as she looked around. She lifted her glasses up to look through them, then lowered them again, repeating the process. "Wow. My eyesight just turned absolutely perfect."

"Enhanced senses are kicking in," Caroline said. "The hearing should be too, we'd better get out of here, that can get overwhelming in a crowd." She put some bills on the table to lead Felicity out of the bar. "So, Starling City?" Caroline asked as they walked out onto the New Orleans streets. "Sounds exciting. What do you do?"

"Oh, I work for Oliver Queen."

"Whoa!" Caroline gasped. "The Oliver Queen? The millionaire hottie who did the real life Survivor?"

"That's the one."

"Wow, that must be a fun job! Get to go to big parties, get to enjoy hanging with the rich and famous…"

"Let's just say it's a bit less glamorous than that," Felicity dryly said.

"Yeah but hanging with a hot boss can't be all bad," Caroline winked. She saw the light blush on Felicity's cheeks. "Oooooh, you like him!"

"Wow, you are still a teenager," Felicity intoned. "When you grow up…"

"I'm never going to."

"Okay, amended, when you get older, you'll realize you can't just throw yourself at guys no matter how you feel."

"Hey," Caroline put a hand to Felicity's arm to stop her. "I'm young but I've been through enough to realize a very important lesson: Just because we live centuries doesn't mean we have time for everything. And, contrary to how it often seems in Mystic Falls, you don't get second chances. So maybe worth taking a few now."

"Somehow, I doubt any future boyfriends are going to be total approving of my new life choices," Felicity remarked. She and Caroline were turning a corner when a familiar looking brunette appeared before them. "Well, if it isn't Romy and Michelle."

"Wow, 500 years old and that's the best movie reference you can come up with?" Caroline was instantly alert, Felicity stepping behind her. "I'd say get some new ones to watch but you won't be around long enough to do that."

"What are you going to do?" Katherine smirked. "Can't kill me without killing precious Elena's body."

In a blur, Caroline had Katherine pinned against the wall, hoisting her up by the throat. "I'm pretty sure Elena will forgive me for a broken neck and a smashed in nose. She'd only be upset if I tore out your hair."

Amazingly, Katherine smiled despite the hard grip. "Maybe. But you won't get the chance." She glanced over Caroline's shoulder. "Now would be a good time, Felicity."

Her face blank, the other blonde reached into her purse to pull out a syringe. She quickly jabbed it into Caroline's neck, depressing the plunger. Caroline yelled in both surprise and pain, dropping Katherine as she grabbed at her neck. She turned to face Felicity, whose face was now in mirroring shock. "Oh my God…oh, my God, what did I just do?"

Caroline felt her legs give way as she collapsed to the ground. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry!" Felicity said, kneeling down to her new friend. "I have no idea what I did that!"

"I guess she didn't get around to explaining how an Original can compel other vampires," Katherine said, back on her feet. "Now, I'm not an Original but thanks to a new friend, I can sure replicate that touch."

She looked over Felicity's shoulder and the other woman turned to see an attractive black woman with curly hair and a dark dress coming behind her. "I've had plenty of time to practice that spell," she said in a warm voice. "As well as the one to help Katherine and her new body."

"And I do appreciate it, Sabine."

"Please," the woman said, her smile growing. "Call me Celeste."

Katherine looked to Felicity with her smirk. "Thanks for the help, Ms. Smoak. Don't worry, you'll see how it works out." In a lightning-fast move, she raced forward to grab Felicity by her ponytail and yank back hard.

As her neck was snapped for the second time that evening, Felicity decided that the next time she had a vacation, she'd pick somewhere much safer. Like Gotham.

Rebekah stepped back into the parlor, wearing one of her usual designer dresses, always ready to present herself at her best. "Where are the two annoying babies?" she asked.

"No doubt Caroline helping Felicity with her nervous breakdown," Klaus stated, flipping through a book as he lounged on the couch. Elijah was nearby, studying a map of New Orleans.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and the nerd girl will commit suicide," Rebekah remarked as she made herself a drink.

A shrill tone cut through the air and Klaus reached to his pocket to get his cell phone. He glanced at the screen before answering it. "Marcel. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I'm guessing your siblings are around," came the warm voice of the self-proclaimed King of the Quarter. "Put me on speaker, you all need to hear this."

Intrigued, Klaus did so as he held the phone up. "I'll make this short and sweet," Marcel announced. "Out of respect for what you and your family have done for me, I'm willing to let you all leave New Orleans safely. You leave town, you don't come back And to make sure of that, you are going to hand over those special daggers of yours, the ones that can kill an Original."

Klaus chuckled. "Just out of amusement, how in this fantasy world of yours would you see us possibly conforming to such an outrageous demand?"

"It's funny, Klaus. I spent so long looking for a way to get at you, for something you might actually care enough about to give up your lust for power. I thought it'd be impossible given how you've never cared for anyone but yourself. But then, I met a certain acquaintance of yours from Mystic Falls."

Rebekah was the first to get it. "Katherine?!"

Klaus laughed loudly. "Oh my…Marcel, my dear old friend, I would never have imagined you'd be gullible enough to fall for Ms. Petrova."

"Please," the man scoffed. "You didn't raise a fool. It's purely business between us as we both have interests the other wants handled. And it's thanks to her that I finally have something you want. Or I should say…someone."

The smile vanished from Klaus' face as he sat straight up. "What?"

"Blondes always were a weakness for you, Klaus," Marcel went on, his voice mocking. "But I gotta admit, I never imagined you'd like them so young. Oh, she is a looker, even in the jeans and light blouse of hers but not the glamorous type you usually go for. Still, there is something about her…something special."

Klaus' jaw tightened and his words were snarled out like a rabid animal. "Marcel…If you harm her…If you touch her in any way…I will unleash a wave of death and destruction upon this city that will make Hurricane Katrina look like a summer squall. I will flood the streets with the blood of every one of your allies, vampire, human or otherwise. I will tear your heart out of your chest, put your head on a spike in the city square and leave your body pierced with every wooden stake I can get my hands on. That is my promise to you. And you know I keep my word on such things."

A dark chuckle echoed through the phone. "Always the poet, Klaus. You've got until midnight to hand over the daggers and get out of my city."

"Our city, Marcel," Elijah said, his own voice cold. "We founded it."

"And abandoned it. I've run this place for a century, I built it into a power and I'm not letting you just waltz right in and take it away from me. I'm just doing what you taught me, Klaus. I'm taking my power and doing what it takes to hold onto it. So if you care in the least about this Caroline, you do as I say or you start finding pieces of her around the Quarter."

The line went dead as Klaus growled, flexing his hand around the phone. Rebekah quickly grabbed it before he could crush it. "We can't keep buying new ones, you know."

Klaus was on his feet but Elijah quickly moved in front of him. "Niklaus," he began, holding up his hands. "Do not lose control."

"Might as well try to turn the tides, brother," Rebekah pointed out.

"He has Caroline," Klaus snarled. "What's worse is he is challenging us. Us, brother! You expect me to just take it?"

"No," Elijah agreed. "But going in a rage is not wise either. He'll kill Caroline in a moment, you know that. And Felicity. We need to handle this wisely."

Klaus took a deep breath before setting his jaw. "Fine. We handle this calmly and clearly." He backed up and began marching toward his study. "Tell Sophie and her witch friends it's time they finally pay their due to us." He stopped to look back at his siblings, eyes cold flints. "We're going to war."

Next chapter (provided there's enough interest in this to continue) will have Felicity forced in trial by fire with her new nature. All comments welcomed to help drive this more.