Chapter 1

As Bella packed everything she owned and got ready to move to her new office in Mystic Fall's, she was thankful for the fact her friend Isobel helped her get the perfect building for what she wanted to do. She'd have her office downstairs and a large apartment upstairs. She only knew that the building she had bought used to belong to Isobel's ex boyfriend's dead brother and that she got the man, John Gilbert, to sell it to her when he had refused to let it go for the past year, despite all the offers he got. Isobel had him wrapped around her little fingers because he had been in love with her since middle school and Bella didn't want to know what Isobel had to do in order to get him to sell it. Bella knew that right now, her friend was ready to go to great lengths to get what she wanted done.

Going to the wall, Bella grabbed her diplomas one by one. She had a doctorate in Psychology but she also had degrees in parapsychology and folklore. She even took a few courses in Occult here and there. If she didn't have any diplomas for this subject, she still knew enough to get around, especially in a town like Mystic Fall's.

She had documented herself on the town's history, on its founding members and their actual descendants, on its history, even beyond 1864 and its creation. She probably knew more about Mystic Fall's than most of their members right now. If there was a diploma for knowledge on the town, she'd have it.

Bella was very proud of her diplomas, she had always been top of her class and was one of the best when the supernatural subject was concerned. Unlike most of her peers who only suspected, she actually believed and got to meet several different species.

Of course it all started with Edward and his Cold One family, then with Jacob and the shape-shifters of La Push when she got out of her depression and Victoria went after her. Then she met a circle of witches when she was in college, and later on werewolves. After that, she encountered several travelers, a fallen angel and a hunter from the order of the 5. Later she met vampires, real ones (with fangs) and at some point she even met Klaus, the Original cursed vampire-werewolf hybrid, one night, the day before he was supposed to meet with her friend Isobel for her own personal researches.

Besides the supernatural, Bella had studied psychology because she wanted to be able to help people that were in the position she had been after Edward and his family left her. She would have liked to be able to speak with someone back then and had worked hard to be able to help people who knew of the supernatural but didn't know how to handle the effects it had on their lives.

Bella was brought out of her thoughts by her cell phone ringing. She smiled, it was her friend Isobel and sadly it would probably be the last time they would speak together.

"Hey, how is it going?" Bella asked her friend, trying to sound cheerful.

"Pretty well right now. Alaric is with Klaus and I have his word that he won't hurt him once he's done using his body and you know how Originals keep their word, we've heard enough about that to believe it. I'm about to get Elena now." Isobel replied.

"Are you sure you want to do it this way Isobel? You worked so hard…" Bella asked, thinking of her friend's plan to kill herself as soon as Klaus freed her from his compulsion.

"I'm sure… Don't worry, I'm happy. I'll be at peace." Isobel assured her.

"It doesn't make it any less sad." Bella sniffed.

"Don't cry, you know I'll still watch over you from the other side… But I have to ask…" Isobel started.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out on your daughter. I'll make sure she knows that you were not the monster you showed her." Bella replied, smiling over the phone.

"You know me too well. Will you keep an eye on Alaric also, please? Make sure he's happy, even if it's with Elena's aunt Jenna?"

"Of course. I wonder if he remembers me…" Bella wondered.

She had seen Alaric only once, the day he married Isobel and it had been a short encounter.

"He might not remember your face but he remembers you very well, we talked so much over the phone and internet, he knows who you are. When we talked earlier I told him that you were coming to Mystic Fall's and that you always pleaded with me to tell him the truth about me and what I became." Isobel chuckled.

"You still think it was the biggest mistake of your life?" Bella asked her.

"Becoming a vampire was always a mistake because I didn't have anyone to spend forever with but it was never my goal. I did it so I could help protect my daughter… It was all for her… I just wish she would understand it."

"Don't worry, she'll know. I'll tell her. I'll make sure she understands before it's too late." Bella smiled into the phone.

"Thank you. So, how is the packing going?" Isobel asked her friend.

"It's almost done. I can't believe I accumulated so many things… Especially the books and the artifacts…" Bella chuckled.

"You were always so good at this… even better than me… It makes sense that you have so much. Everything I had is already waiting for you in your new office by the way. You'll just have to decide on what to do with it. Whatever I knew you already had is still in my old office. You're so good at this... Don't think I forgot that you were the one who found out about the curse and Elena's role in it." Isobel replied.

"Yeah well, I'm not really proud of the way I got this information… If you remember, it didn't really involve piles of old dusty books and scrolls but a bar, you being late because of your roommate delaying you and alcohol." Bella replied with a blush over the phone, remembering the night she learned of the curse, from Klaus himself.

"Well, proud or not, I'm thankful. You've been a great friend to me Isabella, never doubt it. You were my best friend." Isobel told her.

"Now you're just trying to make me cry harder." Bella chuckled behind her tears.

"Is it working?" Isobel laughed.

"You know it is. And you know that you're mine. You should warn Elena about my arrival, tell her to come and find me when I come to town, it'll be easier for her." Bella suggested.

"I don't know if she'll trust you if I'm the one to tell her to come and see you. "Isobel warned her.

"Well, you should try it anyway, and tell John to do the same. I'll tell Elena everything you asked me to tell her, I promise she'll know her mother loved her and did everything to ensure her safety." Bella promised her.

"Do you have the potion? Is it safe?" Isobel asked in a more serious tone.

"It's in my computer bag so you know it has to be safe. And in case it gets lost, I have the recipe copied in 5 different places. Don't worry, she'll survive the ritual and I'll deal with Klaus so he doesn't blame her for it."

"Thank you Bella. I'll stay around, I'll be close in case there's a chance for me to talk to you or Elena." Isobel promised and Bella knew it was the last time she spoke to her friend before she met the sun and her final death.

"Your sacrifice won't be in vain Isobel. Your daughter will know how much you loved her and I'll do my best to keep her safe." Bella promised solemnly, trying to ignore the tears running down her cheeks.

"Try to convince Klaus to kill Katherine, okay? I don't want her risking my daughter's life any longer. She's bad news, she needs to die. I just know that if he doesn't kill her, she'll find a way to escape and take her anger out on my daughter." Isobel asked.

"I promise." Bella replied.

"Goodbye Bella. Thank you for being the best friend I could have ever hoped for. I'll look out for you." Isobel said before she hung up.

Bella forced herself to be strong. She had known for a while now that Isobel would kill herself once her daughter was safe. She would just have to keep her promises now.

Speak with Elena.

Speak with Alaric.

Speak with Klaus.

At that last thought, Bella blushed. She hadn't seen Klaus since the only time they met and she didn't know how to act when she saw him. Would he even remember her? Would it be tensed or awkward? Would he even want to listen to her? Isobel seemed to think so and she had spent several weeks with Klaus and even longer with his inner circle. Well, she'll just have to see what happened when she saw him again and in the mean time, she'd have to try and keep him out of her head, she didn't need that kind of distraction right now.

So, what's the verdict of this first real chapter?

If any of you wants to make a banner for this story, don't hesitate.

What do you think Bella did to get the information out of Klaus?

I wasn't expecting this kind of response from you. THANK YOU! You're the best.

Apparently, the most popular option for Bella's pairing according to your reviews is Elijah... I'll think about it but don't worry if you voted for someone else, she'll explore her options before she settles down and as you'll discover later, Bella will have some issues to sort through with Elijah before anything can happen between them.

Review?

Lorelei Candice Black