Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries! All rights remain with their respectful owners! The only element I own is Annmarie Gilbert.

Colorblind
Chapter Four – Reality

A/N: Hey everyone! Before I begin, I'd like to thank everyone for the favourites/alerts. I'm ever so thankful, but could I get a few more reviews please? I accept constructive criticism as I feel it helps me improve, and sweet comments always inspire me to write more too! Thank you so much! (:

After realizing he'd let his guard down in front of the doppelganger, Klaus had gone back to acting out in his ways of fury. It tormented him that he'd become defenceless to a petty human he'd known for five minutes, and knowing he hadn't realized it until after it had happened made him beyond contemptuous. Klaus had discovered her and now she was under his control until he figured out how he'd use her for making his hybrids. She was supposed to fear him, not pity him.

"Ow!" Annmarie complained of the sudden pain she felt from Klaus gripping tightly onto her arm, forcefully pulling her to wherever his destination was. "You're hurting me!" Her teeth were clenched. He was making her incredibly bitter.

"That's the point," Klaus replied, his tone low and grim as his grasp on her arm squeezed tighter.

Annmarie groaned in agony, his tense hold on her causing a blood clot in her upper right arm. She could feel it going numb. "Can you at least stop walking so damn fast?" She barked irritably. "You may as well drag me."

"Quit your whining, love, or you'll find me dragging you is a lot less painful to what I could really do to cause you pain," Klaus warned her ominously, immediately letting go of his grip and pushing her away with force.

His strength caused her to soar backwards and into a hard wall. Annmarie instantly dropped to the floor as she felt an inconceivable amount of pain twinge up her back and through her neck.

Klaus was suddenly at her side; an odd instinct had overcome him that told him to help her. He hadn't meant to push her so forcefully.

Annmarie struggled to shove herself away from him. At that moment, she didn't want him near her. "What the hell is your problem?" She spat at him. A familiar confusion conquered her; one moment he was calm and the next, rage had completely taken over again. She felt like she was back to square one. Inevitably, her eyes started welling up with tears from the distress she currently felt.

Klaus witnessed the agony in her eyes; the agony he'd caused her. Although she refused to look at him, he looked at her. His eyes emitted guilt.

"What happened?" A familiar voice crept up from behind the scene.

Immediately, Klaus became alert and stood up to meet the voice. "Just a little accident, Stefan. Nothing you need to be concerned about."

Annmarie turned herself to observe Stefan. Her vision became clouded as her mind's attempt at blocking out the pain begun to transpire. Promptly, her eyes rolled back and her eyelids closed as she became unconscious.

"But she's out cold," Stefan stated as he watched Annmarie loose consciousness. He could read the obvious pain she was in. Stefan wasn't as uncaring as Klaus, though he simply couldn't do anything without looking weak.

"I'm sure she'll be just fine and dandy, Stefan," Klaus spoke, his tone dire to what had just happened. "Now what I need you to do is wait out here while I go in and check on Rebekah. Don'tcome in until I say otherwise. Got it?"

"Yeah," Stefan nodded casually as he looked back up at Klaus, hiding his previous dismay over Annmarie. "Of course."

"Good," Klaus settled simply. "In the meantime, put her someone she'll be more comfortable," He paused, looking down at Annmarie impassively. "We wouldn't want our guest to be uncomfortable when she wakes up, would we?" He smirked, depriving the subject as he turned and walked off inside.

With her hands and feet tied tightly together by thick rope, Annmarie laid down utterly petrified on an old, shabby-chic styled couch. Her wide, chocolate eyes took in the carved ceiling of the magnificent room she was being held captive in. She didn't understand where she was or who she'd been captured by. The last thing Annmarie remembered was waiting outside 2104 Maple Street. She'd been contemplating on whether to go inside and confront Elena when a sudden pair of large hands had grabbed her from behind and taken her into a dark car. After that, it'd all been a blur.

All of a sudden, Annmarie could hear footsteps from outside in the hall. As she managed to sit upright in her position, she attempted at freeing herself from the ropes. They drew nearer, only causing Annie's heart to beat an extra notch. She struggled as the ropes were too tight, causing a burning sensation to arouse her skin. Then the footsteps were no more.

Annmarie slowly began to look up; her eyes meeting with a pair equally as dark as her own. Despite her strong character, she'd never experienced a kidnapping in her lifetime. She was terrified to think that her life may end any minute now. "W-who are you? W-why am I here?" She asked, her lips quivering.

Almost too instantly, his dark eyes had shot from starring at a distance to observing her close up. Annmarie blinked a few times, trying to uncover how he'd got to her side so quickly and even thinking she'd possibly blacked out for a mere second. Everything happening mystified her.

The man begun leaning into her, as if he was about to kiss her.

Annmarie found herself leaning back to avoid his contact. "W-what are you do-doing?" She spoke ever so delicately, her obvious lip quiver radiating fear.

"Keep still," He whispered in her ear, gripping her shoulders to stop her movement. His warm breathe against her skin made her shudder as he continued to lean in, though what he did was unexpected; he'd simply inhaled her scent before moving back to lock eyes with her. "Human," he concluded in a mumble. "It's impossible."

Annmarie shuddered as he spoke. His tone was soft, sincere yet his choices of words were fantasy in her world. She knew every being on this planet to be human. So why did he seem surprised when he'd figured she was a human?

His eyes remained transfixed on her, his head tilted slightly as he calmly scrutinised her. He'd distinguished the apprehension in her eye. But there was more to this girl before him. She was completely oblivious of their reality. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Elijah."

"Elijah? Elijah…" Annmarie murmured as she gently woke from being unconscious for the past few hours. Half-asleep, she smiled fleetingly from her dream, Elijah's image still burnt in her mind. She stretched and rolled over though she suddenly fell from the bed, the blanket going with her. Annmarie turned onto her stomach and screamed into it's warmth as the pain thundered through her back again. It was like being thrust into the wall twice.

"I wondered when you were going to wake up," A soothingly rough voice came from nowhere; the only soothingly rough voice that drove Annmarie to insanity.

"Klaus?" She whispered, enquiring to know that it was in fact him. Her head was spinning so immensely that she needed the reassurance that she wasn't hearing things.

"That's right, sweetheart," Klaus replied, his tone twisted with the usual hint of heartlessness.

Annmarie groaned as she swapped sides, now resting on her back. Her eyes caught sight of the room. Its walls were a pale yellow and the curtains were a magnolia colour to match. They were tightly shut, so Annmarie guessed it was night already. Finally, she gazed upon the hybrid who was seated carelessly in the corner. His shirt had bloodstains from where he'd obviously returned from a hunt. "What do you want now? To throw me out the window?" She choked coldly.

Klaus glowered at her comeback. "I don't appreciate your tone, Annie."

"You, Klaus,are not in anyplace to call me Annie," She spat at him, reaching her hands up to grip the side of the bed. She tried to hoist herself up, though in her weak state, she ended up falling down again. Her eyes watered as she desperately tried to contain the malady she felt.

Klaus couldn't watch her effortlessly any longer. He stood from the chair and walked over to her, gently lifting her up and placing her upon the bed. "I understand you're upset with me, so I'll let it go this once."

"Oh, how gracious of you," Annmarie retorted sarcastically, glaring daggers in his direction.

Her attitude made him want to rip her throat out, but deep down he knew he deserved it. Klaus chose to remain silent whilst he carefully studied her for the second time. She dreadfully reminded him of someone from his past.

Annmarie starred silently back at him. She was terribly fed up with this unreadable expression he gave her, as if he was trying to figure her out. She previously thought she'd seen something else in him, but maybe she'd been wrong. Abruptly, Annmarie closed her eyes to escape his stare. Elijah's image slipped back into her mind. "Where is he?" She mumbled. "When are you going to take me to him?"

Klaus grimaced. He suspected the subject of Elijah; he'd heard her murmur his name whilst she'd been dreaming. "Was the dream of Elijah not enough then?" He asked out of wry amusement.

Her eyes snapped open again, her soft features transitioned into a glare for a second time. "My business with Elijah is none of your concern."

"Business? So that's what you're calling it?" Klaus commented.

Annmarie's expression became frozen at Klaus' words. 'Business' had always been the term Elijah would refer to when he'd go away for a certain period, leaving her alone in his house. Hearing herself say it didn't really affect her, but hearing it from Klaus made a difference. It made her realize how much she longed to hear Elijah's voice again.

Klaus knew the instant Annmarie's expression froze what this 'business' was between his brother and this doppelganger he felt a strange connection with. It brought back to Klaus, fragments of a memory he'd wished to forget.

"She should die for your gain?" Elijah asked, after offering an alternative that would allow Katerina Petrova to survive the sacrifice.

Klaus gazed defiantly into a large fire place, dismissively smiling to himself. "She is human. A life means nothing."

Elijah turned at his brother's words. "I beg you to consider this." His words stressed a new tone; one of desperation.

Klaus also turned on Elijah's words, an element of surprise to his features. Slowly, he paced in the direction of his brother. "Are you so foolish as to care for her?" He asked.

"Of course not," Elijah replied, though he didn't convince Klaus.

"Love is a vampire's greatest weakness, and we are not weak," Klaus lectured, his voice disappointed by the sudden revelation of his brother's obvious feelings towards a human. "Elijah, we do not feel, and we do not care."

Elijah looked to the floor, a piece of him saddened that his younger brother could truly have lost his humanity. "We did once," He spoke up, his tone hopeful as he locked eyes with Klaus.

A pigment of truth could be unravelled in the way Klaus starred back; a pigment that suggested something was still there. However, his expression changed after a few moments; one of denial. "Too many lifetimes ago to matter."

Annmarie watched as Klaus seemed to fade out of reality. "Klaus?"

Without delay, his pale blue eyes were back on her. It suddenly occurred to him; what if he was becoming weak? Why had these memories come flooding back the minute Annmarie steps into the scene? It must have meant something, but Klaus couldn't allow this to happen, especially not at the mitts of siring his own race. He immediately looked away from her and stood up. He couldn't wreck the memory from his thoughts, though he urgently wanted to.

"Klaus?" Annmarie repeated, confused by his actions yet again. She so desperately didn't want him to look away. She wanted to see his beautiful eyes stare into her own again, so she could read just exactly what he was thinking; every time he looked away crushed her spirit just a little bit more.

Finally he'd gained the strength to connect his eyes with hers again; those chocolate brown eyes that made his expression become difficult to read, because it wasn't an emotion he was used to expressing. Annmarie brought something out in him that had been buried deep for a very long time. "I just wanted to apologize," Klaus spoke. His voice was different; still low, though honest.

Annmarie starred at him, no words leaving her mouth as he apologized. She was utterly fazed. There were signs in the way he looked at her that proved he meant it; Klaus had finally given her evidence to believe there was something beyond this façade he constantly had up.

"Get some rest. You need it," Klaus advised. His eyes remained on her and though he couldn't bring himself to say it, a part of him cared for this girl. He knew he wasn't supposed to, but he did.

The following day after Rebekah's resurrection, all four - the hybrid, the ripper, the doppelganger and the new original - are out in the buzzing of Chicago's high street stores. Both Klaus and Stefan are seated in two comfortable seats drinking champagne; while Klaus is having a blast getting re-fills of his drink from a beautiful shop assistant, Stefan is hunched over the seat bored out of his mind.

"There has to be more to this dress," Rebekah called from the changing room. The original, and Klaus' younger sister, had been trying various outfits all morning. Adjusting to the twenty-first century wasn't an easy task.

"There's not," Klaus called back, his tone tiresome, though he's too busy eyeing up the shop assistant to pay much attention to his sister's complaints.

Rebekah finally walks out, strutting up to the two boys and revealing a short, netted dress. A black bow under the bust completed the look. Stefan looked up out of interest. "So women in the twenty-first century dress like prostitutes then?" Rebekah commented sarcastically. Her accent was strong and British, much like Klaus'.

Annmarie intercepted a short laugh at Rebekah's comment. Currently, she was leant against a far-wall, observing from a distance. Although, she was much more pre-occupied by a magazine she was reading.

"And what are you laughing at?" Rebekah snaps as her gaze travels over to Annmarie. The two hadn't gotten along all morning. All Annmarie had heard last night was Rebekah's complaints through the wall when she had been trying to sleep. It was like the girl didn't stop!

"Oh," Annmarie pauses as she briefly looks up from the magazine. "Nothing. I just read something funny," She lied.

"Really? And what was it you found so amusing that you'd just so happened to read it the moment I'd walked out of the changing room?" Rebekah asked.

Annmarie raised an eyebrow at the original. She hated smart ass comments."Fine. You're right. You do look like a prostitute," Annmarie concluded, faking a smile at the blonde. "So in future, don't presume things when they're already true."

Klaus found himself grinning at Annmarie's intercepted comment before he took another drink of his champagne.

"Why are you smiling?" Rebekah asked her brother as she witnessed his grin. "I'm your sister. You're supposed to be on my side! And what is this music? It sounds like a cable car accident."

Klaus rolled his eyes as he looked over at Stefan. "It's dance music…" Stefan corrected Rebekah.

"People dance to this?" Rebekah frowned deeply. Stefan simply nodded.

Klaus sighed though. He'd had enough. Having Annmarie's attitude follow him around had been bad enough, though Rebekah's complaints proved to be twice as aggravating. "We done?" He asked his sister persistently.

Rebekah paced towards her brother. "And why are you so grumpy?"

"I needed one thing from you, for my witch to find out why my hybrids were dying. One thing. Your necklace, and you lost it." Klaus didn't sound happy again. And all the while Annmarie pretended to be lost in the magazine; she listened in on the conversation. Observing another one of Klaus' mood changes made her frown.

"I didn't loose it. It's just been missing for ninety years," Rebekah replied, causing Klaus simply to laugh. "So, what do you think?" She asked, turning her attention to Stefan as she changed the subject. She gave a little twirl in the dress.

"I… like it," Stefan commented, though his tone suggested otherwise. He automatically looked over at Annmarie, his mind setting back to the comment she'd made about the dress only a few moments ago. Though turning back to an annoyed Rebekah, he found it hard not to smile. "What? I said I like it."

"I can alwaystell when you're lying, Stefan," Rebekah remarked irritably before turning on her heel and heading back into the dressing room.

Stefan looked over at Klaus, while Klaus merely shrugged and poured himself another glass of champagne. "Nice one, good work," Klaus commented.

"You're the one that pulled the dagger out of her," Stefan chuckled.

"I heard that," Rebekah called back to them.

Annmarie rolled her eyes. This sister of Klaus' was such an attention seeker. However, the doppelganger was suddenly distracted when she could have sworn she'd seen Elena outside in the streets of Chicago. Placing the magazine back down where she'd originally found it, curiosity swept over Annmarie as she crept behind the others and made her way over to the shop window. A bus drove past, and there she was – Elena on the opposite side of the street. She locked eyes with Annmarie, signalling for her to meet her outside. Another vehicle brushed past and she'd disappeared.

Turning back, Annmarie briefly checked on the others. The hybrid and the ripper seemed too tied up in Blondie to pay much attention to her anyway.Without a second thought, Annmarie walked out the store and crossed the road. She turned the corner to the next street and saw Elena leaning against a post from a distance.

"Elena?" Annmarie called, taking a small jog over to her. "Elena, what are you still doing in Chicago? And where's Damon?" She asked, looking around for the blue-eyed heartthrob but finding no one else in sight. She crossed her arms stubbornly and waited for an excuse. However, the response she got was unforeseen.

"I'm not Elena. I'm Katherine."