"Nothing weighs on us so heavily as a secret."
-Jean De La Fontaine
Mystic Falls, Present time:
Sunlight shone through the large windows of the Salvatore library, illuminating the chaotic room. Books, scrolls, journals and grimoires where spread around the vast area. One would have believe the room had been robbed was it not for the young women sitting in the middle of the hectic reading room. Bonnie Bennett sat cross legged on a large Persian rug, an ancient looking novel in her lap. Her eyes darted franticly across the pages of the book as she read in silence.
Bonnie didn't look up from her volume as the sound of footsteps entered the room. Caroline walked into the library, a dreary expression on her face. It looked as if the blonde hadn't slept all night. Caroline sighed as she took in the chaos of the room. "Bonnie, you need to go home."
"I can't. I'm onto something, I just know it."
Caroline took a few steps towards her friend and slumped down onto a plush sofa. She felt her eyes droop closed as she rested her head on the back of the chair. She had been tossing and turning all night thinking about the eventful pageant yesterday. First she had wondered about Professor Shane and what he had said, find Ayla and you will undoubtedly find Silas, but how could anyone possibly find the daughter of Silas when she herself didn't even know who she was. Caroline had then wondered about Ayla. What would it be like to live so many different lives and not even know it? Caroline guessed that the girl had no idea about her reincarnation and so lived a normal life, but that in itself still seemed strange. Could she really not remember anything from her past lives? Not even a vague memory or an unclear vision. Caroline sighed as she realized she would probably never know. It would be practically impossible to find the girl and so she could never ask her any of the questions which she had thought about.
"You look awful," Bonnie said, finally looking up from her book to glance at Caroline's exhausted expression.
"I didn't sleep a wink," was all Caroline said in reply.
Bonnie stood up and stretched her arms above her head. "Tell me about it! I've been trying to find information all night."
Bonnie had come straight to the Salvatore's after the pageant. She thought the vast library might hold a clue to finding Ayla, but she had barely found anything except for dead ends.
"Is there any new information?" Caroline asked.
Bonnie's expression sank a little and she shook her head. "Shane said that the curse brings Ayla back every 500 years, this means she would have been reincarnated at least 3 times since her transformation in the 1st century. I worked out that these reincarnations would have happened around the years 500, 1000 and 1500 CE; it is also possible that she has been reincarnated into the present time. I rifled through the whole library, focusing on the years I worked out, but I didn't find anything."
Caroline frowned. "Is there anywhere else you can look for information?" she asked.
"That's why I called you," Bonnie replied shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "You see, I did have an idea, but nobody is going to like it."
Caroline's brow creased slightly. "Go on." She prompted.
"I think I might be able to find some information at the Mikaelsons'. There over 1000 years old, that means they would have been alive during 2 of Ayla's reincarnations, surely they would know something about the girl."
Caroline grimaced, she knew Bonnie had a point, but she also knew it wasn't a good idea to interrogate the original vampires. Even if they had met Ayla, they probably didn't know it, plus Klaus had run off so quickly last night Caroline doubted he even wanted to speak about the daughter of Silas.
"Please Caroline, you're my only hope. No one else will even go near the Mikaelson's and Klaus will listen to you, I know he will." Bonnie pleaded as her eyes were wide with hope.
Caroline sighed. "Fine, but you owe me."
Caroline had never felt so intimidated in her life. She sat on a low, ornate sofa in the middle of the Mikaelsons' extensive library. Four Original vampires sat opposite her, all with intrigued looks on their faces.
Caroline didn't know what to do. Her blood was pumping rapidly through her body and her eyes darted franticly around the room. Why had she let Bonnie drag her into this house? What had she been thinking?
"I'm guessing you're not here for tea?" Kol asked, his mouth positioned in a mischievous grim. Rebekah smirked at the comment, but neither Caroline nor Bonnie saw the funny side of the remark.
"Hush Kol," Elijah interjected. "The girls obviously have something to ask us."
Caroline knew this was her queue to speak, but she didn't say a word. She merely stared across the room at the man opposite her. Klaus sat in between his two brothers, staring at the marble floor, not even acknowledging Caroline's presents. Caroline knew she shouldn't be shocked, Klaus wasn't really one for social interaction, but she found it quite unusual that he hadn't even looked at her since she arrived. This was not like him at all.
"We need to ask you a few questions." Bonnie finally spoke up, answering the eldest originals question. "I assume you have heard by now about the information we have acquired from Atticus Shane."
The four originals shifted slightly in their seats. "We have heard a few rumours." Elijah replied glancing quickly at Klaus. Bonnie and Caroline looked at each other confused. Surely Klaus had told his siblings about their confrontation with Professor Shane yesterday.
"So do you know about the daughter of Silas?" Bonnie asked, directing her attention back to Elijah.
The eldest original pursed his lips. "We know a little about her." He replied. "But only what our brother has told us."
Klaus finally looked up, his expression indecipherable. "We know nothing more them you." He mumbled.
Caroline watch as Rebekah and Kol exchange a look. They seemed slightly confused as if wondering why Klaus wasn't speaking the whole truth. "I don't believe you." Caroline spoke up, looking directly at Klaus.
The hybrid glared back at her. "Now now love, we've been getting along so well don't make me change my mind about you."
Caroline frowned at the remark wondering why Klaus was taking such a defensive stance. "We have nothing to say about Silas or his daughter, so if you've gotten what you came for I suggest you make your way out." Klaus exclaimed gruffly, standing up from the low seat.
Caroline and Bonnie exchanged another look, but stood up anyway. They hadn't gotten what they came for, but with Klaus' mood only worsening they decided to get out while they still could.
As Caroline made her way out of the house she couldn't help but glance back to the hybrid behind her. He stood at the front door, glaring down at Caroline and as she stared back at him she knew exactly why he had forced her out of the house. Klaus was hiding something and at that moment Caroline made it her goal to find out what it was.
A flame flickered in the fireplace of the Mikaelsons' home. Four ancient figures gathered around the fires warmth.
"We can't let them find out." Klaus exclaimed. He stood over the fire place his expression hard.
"They're going to keep digging for clues." Rebekah said. "What if they put the pieces together?"
"We can't let them find out the truth." Kol said frantically. "Silas can't be unleashed; it would be hell on earth."
"They won't find out, we will make sure of it. We are the only ones who know the truth and it is going to stay that way." Elijah said.
And with that the four Originals fall silent, vowing never to let out their shadowy secret.
I have been super excited for all of you to read this chapter and now its finally here! Yay! And what do we have here…A little secret? Any ideas what the originals are hiding? I'd love to hear your ideas!
I just wanted to answer a guest question from the last chapter. You wanted to know who Klaus was speaking of when he said he would give the cure to the person who needs it most. Well it isn't Silas that he would give it to…the answer to your question is part of the Originals secret! Think a little bit harder…can anyone guess who it might be and how Klaus might know the person? If you can't guess then you will just have to wait and see! :)
Please review!
