Damon's Chance at Love
by Haldirsbaby
Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Vampire Diaries or the characters native to it. I DO however own my OFC and OCs, and the original plot lines laid out in this story. No money is being made from this work of fiction.
Note: Watched the Katerina Episode...have to say EXPLOSIVE. Man almost did not think I could follow my own story...but my story is AU...i get to do it my way. In this chapter is revealed a lot of the plot behind the story itself..Pay close attention, laying ground work here. There are some things mentioned in here that was mentioned in the latest episode, but shown as rumor or assumption. If you have not see the episodes, can you spot it. There is a juicy romance to this story, but I wanted to add interesting things to go with it...
VISUAL: Damon is off on his little brooding, cause he cannot have Elena, and wondering about his dreams...he completely misses the entiremeeting, so he has to be brought up to speed later.
Chapter Four: History Lesson...
Rose entered the room, all eyes on her. Stefan took his seat next to Elena who seemed to be on edge seeing her again so soon after her rescue. The others seeming passive and waiting to see what this woman had to say. Alaric lounged in the high arm-chair the sat to the middle, between the two matching couches.
"Hello everyone, I have asked to speak to you all and thank you for coming. I know this seems a little unorthodox seeing me here, considering that I foolishly kidnapped your friend. I am sorry for that, but what I have to tell you is greatly important, and key to keeping her, and this town safe." Rose's tone came out calm and collected. Everyone just stared at her. "First off, you all know me, so no introductions are necessary, cause I know who each one of you are."
Rose stood there a moment and huffed out a deep breath, trying to consider how to start this meeting. "Let's see, where should I begin?" she said out loud to herself as she looked into the fireplace. She turned. "First off, please just hear me out, then I will answer any questions you have." No one seemed to want to ask any questions. "Alright, let us get started. I think it would be best to begin with the beginning." She pulled the desk chair over to sit in front of the fireplace so that she could face them all.
"The Originals*, are the very first vampires to come out into existence. All descended from one vampire. His name is Klaus. Of the vampires in the world, he is the oldest, most powerful, and the most feared. Vampires the world over fear him above all things. Once he wants something, he will stop at nothing to get it. The Originals, being the first family sect of vampires, are organized, ruthless, and very well connected. They are the rule makers and breakers when it comes to vampires." she stopped a moment thinking. "Now I will say, that what I am about to tell you, has some controversy, I am not sure what is truth and what is false. But I will tell you all that I do know."
"You all know about the Curse of the Sun and Moon. It was said that the moonstone* was the key to breaking that curse, and that whomever holds the stone, controls the curse. But that is only part of it. Nearly a thousand years ago, humans began to be alerted to our existence and that of the Lycanthropes*. Seeing them as a threat to man. A Shaman cursed them. Vampires are weakened by the sun, and the Lycanthropes are controlled by the moon. But the myth that the stone breaks the curse, is WRONG. It only binds it and the one, being vampire or werewolf, can control it."
"The shaman bound the curse with blood. It is stated the shaman said the only way that it can be broken is to spill the blood of a Petrovan Doppleganger*. Why a Petrovan? Simple, it was a distant relative of the Petrovan family whose blood was used. Now there is not mention of what this person looked like or whether they were male or female, but speculation suggest it was female. A young woman, a virgin, pure and untainted." Rose breathed in and continued. "This is the part that is key for 'Why Elena?' Katherine is a Petrovan. She was supposed to be the last time chance to break the curse. But do to Trevor, my best friend, and his loyalty to Katerina (Katherine) and my loyalty to him, forced our near five hundred year hiding. Once Katerina came to me, in England after getting away from Klaus and Elijah, I was going to turn her back over to Klaus, but Trevor would not have it. Katerina, who was injured, I gave her my blood. But once my back was turned, she killed herself."
"That was how she became a vampire. The Originals, need the blood of a Doppleganger, a human one. Since Katherine was now a vampire, her blood became voided, but that did not stop their hunt for me,Trevor, or Katherine. She pissed off the one vampire that could destroy everything. During our run, Trevor and I began to search for ways to redeem ourselves, to rectify our mistake and in doing so, we discovered Elena. But before I go on about why we did it, I must back up. A hundred and forty-five years ago, we, Trevor and I, heard rumors from other vampires who had lived here, that Katherine had been caught and killed in a fire at Fell's Church. Seeing that done, our search was over, any solutions to our exile as being gone."
"When the tomb vampires were released, we got new hope. Finding out from our acquaintances, Pearl, that Katherine was never entombed. We went on our search again, finding out from her daughter Anna, that a young woman strikingly resembling Katherine, existed. We made it a point to learn about you. You, Elena, became our target, I am ashamed to say, a possible solution to our dilemma. In researching your background, we made some startling discoveries. Katherine's family history, was unclear. Assumptions made that cannot be discerned as truth or fiction. Katherine's family was completely wiped out and that the line suppsedly ended with her, but there was a rumor, not validated, that before she was found by Klaus, before she became a vampire, Katerina or Katherine she is called now, had a baby. A little girl, that she never saw, cause her father took it away. In those days, having a child out of wedlock was frowned upon and called disgraceful. But as I said, this was rumored." Rose looked at Elena, who sat there fidgeting. Stefan beside her holding her hand. Rose could sense her discomfort. The others looked at Elena, all showing different signs of realizations. Rose continued,"After targeting you, we had to know who you were. Who your friends were, what they were like, even finding out that you were adopted. That in its self, led us to your birth mother, and father."
"Your real mother, Isobel, from our research, was from an old family, that had been from Bulgaria, dating back to the 1300s. From a woman, who started out in life under strange circumstances. She suddenly came into the picture in 1490 as a newborn. Her name was never given, nor was it mentioned that her mother who birthed her, revealed. Considering, that, there could be no other explanation to your striking resemblance to Katherine, we assumed that Katherine, through many generations is your grandmother. Isobel, left you here in Mystic Falls, never looking back. Trevor and I, upon discovering about your mother being a vampire, managed to piece together the puzzle. It seems that Katherine, made it a point to keep up with both Damon and Stefan through the years. It was John Gilbert, your birth father, who then directed Isobel towards Damon, who was still being watched by Katherine, and then Katherine takes Isobel under her wings. Teaching her. That closeness, in turn, is how Katherine learned of you." Elena looked sick for a moment, but settled herself closer to Stefan. Rose felt compassion, this was more than one person could handle. The others in the room, looked positively shocked by what was revealed, but sat there only waiting to hear more.
Rose looked at Elena, "I know this is hard to swallow, but at the time, we could only see one solution. You. I am, again, truly sorry. You are not Katherine, and in my opinion better by far. But what I have told you is not where it ends. There is more to your family, but that will come. What I am about to tell is fact." Elena looked at her, all the emotion she was feeling coming through.
"In the early days of the Originals' existence, they experimented with their growing abilities. It was through these experiments they found out what they could and could not do. They learned how to develop, and control their powers. We all know that a normal vampire can run fast, so much as it seems like a blur, their eyesight and hearing are keen, the can smell blood stronger. Another ability of a vampire is that through their keen sense of smell, they can tell whether or not a human has clean blood, meaning no illness or disease. We can also tell when someone is lying or telling the truth, compel and control another. There are some vampires that develop extras sensory perceptions, which ranges from one vampire to the next. Vampires with extras are rare, but do exist. Some vampires, have the ability to control elements or even to appear to another as animal. Like Damon, he has the ability to control fog and to appear as a black grow. That is a gift." Rose saw the gasp from Alaric and Jeremy, it was apparent that this fact was not known. "There are only a few things vampires cannot do. One, protect themselves as they sleep through the day. Now only a few Vampires possess the ability of Day-walking, but that is only with the aid of an object, set with a spell of a witch, to be on their person at all times. Two, to enter a home of a human without an invitation first, once the invite occurs, they can come and go as they please. Three, compel another vampire."
"In the effort of their learning, The Originals wanted to find ways to get away with just about anything they wanted. The ideals came from the one, Klaus. He wanted to fina a more stable and steady kind of solution to even the slightest of problems. That is how the experimentation with Hybreeding came about." Rose looked at Stefan, he sat forward acutely interested in what she was about to say. Alaric held up a hand.
"Whoa there! Hybreeding*? Isobel's research never mentioned that. What is is?" he asked curiously.
"No, she would not have mentioned it. It is a taboo, and yet dangerous practice, no longer allowed and frowned upon, by the Originals, who even though they are ruthless and extremely strict, consider it abominable. The results abominations. They outlawed it after three hundred and fifty years of tried and failed attempts of it." she stopped for a moment. Alaric sat back, chewing on what he had just heard, Stefan's attention dead set on listening, Elena looked quite confused.
"What does this, hybreeding, have to do with me?' she asked curling up her nose in confusion.
"Everything, Elena." Rose told her as a matter of fact. "You see, when the Original family outlawed it, the family, who at the time with numbers nearing close to three hundred member, became outraged and a wedge was driven between them all. The vampires felt that it was their right to continue with the experimentation, to try and perfect it. You see, before, all the hybrids* failed before this law was came into play. This outlawing, resulted in the break up of the family into three parts. One, the Originals, who wanted to stay and keep the laws, living their lives as Klaus wanted them, the puritans. Two, the ones that was loyal to the Originals, but wanted no part in either ways, neutrals . To try and make their own family, which Klaus allowed. Three, the Renegades*. The renegade vampires were the lost children, cause they wanted to live their own lives make their own rules and keep the experiments going. Once they broke off, they then created sects*. Each having a leader, one of the founding members of the original family. At the time of the breaking of the family, the renegades, then made their own laws and broke into ten separate sects each containing ten members."
"These sects over time, have dwindled to a precious few, and the neutrals, well they have since rejoined the original family altogether. Most of the Renegades, have been either been wiped out by vampire wars, or have found good graces with the Originals again and rejoined." Rose took a breath, but continued, she had to get this out. "The renegades, began their quest of the perfect hybrid. For years, the many sects, tried and failed, and tried and failed again. Last count, of the original ten renegade sects, only one remains today. All the others have conformed back with the Originals. The one that remains separate is led by a vampire named Nigel."
"Nigel has led this sect since its founding and is the strongest and oldest of the Vampires outside the Original family." Rose said.
"Alright, you have explained about the Originals. We get that, but why is this important to the protection of Elena?" Caroline spoke up.
"Yes, this is all interesting, but quit beating around the bush. Out with it, please." Elena said perturbed. Stefan patted her leg to assure her.
"Now comes the, really fun part of this, meeting. Trust me it all ties together in the end. I promise." Rose assured them.
"Nigel's sect has been hybreeding for nearly seven hundred years. I know a long time, you would think he had been successful, but he is insane. Most of his hybrids never leave past forty years except one. Most of the hybrids would be exposed to the rituals. Which were simple. They would start off by finding a victim between the ages of twelve years old and fifteen. After finding the one they wanted, male or female, did not matter which, they would begin to earn the trust of the victim. Then when the victim turned the age of sixteen, they began the ritual of feeding. Feeding*. It was gradual at first, the leader of the sect would began to feed on the victim, draining a little, then replenish by giving his or her own vampire blood to the victim. They would do this for a time, usually for two years, everyday in fact, then when the victim reached aged 18, two more vampires would join in, daily, all three feeding and replenishing the victim. The victim during this time would be broken down by mentally, emotionally, this would go on for a year. At nineteen, the victim would endure more feeding and replenishment by more vampires. All the while, they were being broken down, then brainwashed. Told lies to regain the trust. This part of the ritual, is the most emotionally trying, and yet sets the stage for how they will act. It usually last two years."
Taking a deep breath Rose stopped, getting ready for the next. "At age twenty one, on the vary same date as the first part of the ritual took place, 'birth date' it is called, the victim is bombarded. It is at this bombardment, that the victim becomes immortal, but still human. This is the most barbaric part, every vampire in the sect is included. The victim would be fed on/ replenished, over and over again. This would go on for ten years. Why that long? To completely take away all traces of human blood and leaving nothing but vampire blood. The moment they feel that he or she is drained of their own human blood, that is when the ritual changed. Instead of feeding on the victim, they continue giving their blood. All who is in the sect. Daily, three time or more a day. This helps the vampire blood to keep going. Once the victims begin this final part, they are being built back up, to trust the sect again. But it does not always happen. Some do not make it past ten years. The reason is behind who they were before their capture. They are seen as duds, failures and are usually killed and staked to keep them from rising again."
"Those that make it past the ten year mark, are taken to the next round. They began training, exploring who they are, used as puppets, mindless so to speak. Com-pulsed. Between the twenty and forty year mark, these hybrids are beginning to develop who they are, it is at this time, that they either conform to the ideals and beliefs of the sects or is disposed of. Most failed hybrids, tend to become or considered liabilities to the sect. Their tempers usually flare, they become rebellious, hard to manage, and reckless. The powers they possess in them, makes them cocky, arrogant, and at times, rise above the leaders. It is at this point, the sect decides to destroy them." Rose stood and went to get herself a drink, when Stefan spoke.
"So you are saying these hybrids were sport, a race to make the perfect one. So who is the one that was different?' he clarified, "What does it have to do with protecting Elena, and this town?
Rose set down her glass, and looked at him, then glanced at the others. "Like I said earlier, everything. Nigel created a hybrid that, he thinks is perfect. But he has been deceived. It seems this hybrid has more to them then even he knows. They have lived well past all his others, and still had not conformed. It has to do with who they are, where they came from, and the memories they still carry."
Stefan cocked a brow in curiosity. Rose sat back down. "During the rituals, when the human blood is completely drained over time, the hybrid begins to lose its memories and feelings they had when fully human. But Nigel's hybrid, never lost it. Hybrids are essentially like a vampire, but are different. They are still human, have emotions, they have all the abilities of a vampire, but not as strong as a normal vampire, it is weaker. No hybrid has every made it to this point, so the full extent of their abilities are not fully known. The hybrid has a history that ties them to Elena, Katherine, Mystic Falls, and the curse."
"You said the other hybrids were failures. Did any of them ever get made into a full vampire?" Bonnie asked looking at Rose cautiously.
"Yes, one did, in the early days. But he was not one for very long. It was realized right away he was a mistake. Klaus killed him, he was the only one that could, cause he is the most powerful." Rose looked up to Stefan, and the others waiting for more questions.
"What happened when the hybrid was changed? How old was he?" Jeremy asked.
"That is the interesting part. It took a long time to fight him. He was almost as strong as Klaus. It was written, that the hybrid, died and came back within minutes after his neck was snapped. When he came back, his rage was amplified, ten folds. He killed twenty vampires and wounded thirty others. He went on a killing frenzy in the local village. Causing him to expose the vampires living there. He was staked, burned, and then brought down, when he was wrapped in chains, and Klaus beheaded him. But then it took his body longer to die. When they buried him, they had to bury him in an iron coffin, and cover it with concrete." Rose watched as eyes grew huge. "It was thought that a perfect hybrid, would conform to the sects ways, peacefully. Making them an asset to them, be used to walk in the daylight, gain access to places vampires would normally need invitations. That is their purpose, but history has found, that hybrids are much more."
"Does Klaus, know about this hybrid?" Alaric asked his eyes capturing Rose's.
"I am not certain. What I am certain of, is because Elijah is dead, that he has not been told of Elena and that rumors of this hybrid may have reached his ears. He knows that Katherine is still alive, but does not know she is has been entombed with the moonstone."
"So how is knowing this hybrid exist, supposed to help? I mean, you have told us a lot, but not of why or how?" Caroline pointed out.
"I believe that if we can get this hybrid to join us, we may be able to utilize them in our efforts. But there is one problem, after Elena was rescued, I received a call from a friend on the inside of this sect. This friend of mine, said that the hybrid was able to escape the sect. It seems Nigel is planning to rejoin the Originals and was going to use, the hybrid to gain interest from Klaus. A peace offering so to speak. Matter of fact I am to travel to meet with my friend after the meeting. To try and locate them."
Elena stood up, looking a little sickened. She stared at Rose. "Alright, so I have this psycho thousand year old vampire after me and that some hybrid may be my salvation and the protector of the town. Who are they and how are they tied to me?" Elena asked looking quite irritated.
Rose looked at Elena. "The Hybrid is one of Elena's relatives, from 1800s."
"Who?" Stefan asked. Elena grabbed her backpack from the coffee table. Stefan seeing this stood up. "Elena? Where you going?"
"To school. Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy, coming?" she looked at them.
"Elena, I have not told you why all of you needed to know this." Rose protested.
Elena scowled. "Look, Rose, as much as I am grateful, but this is all a bit much, can we talk more about it. I need to get out of here." Elena started for the door. Stefan understood what she was feeling. He let her and the others go. Alaric stood.
"I better get going. My first class starts at eleven." he held out a hand. "Rose it was good to meet you. Stefan I will see you later."
Stefan watched them all leave, Rose was climbing up the stairs when he turned. "Who is the hybrid?" he cocked a brow at her.
"Someone you least expect. But you know them." she continued up the stairs. Stefan let her go.
Stefan pulled out his cell to call Damon. He had to know what he had been told.
N/A: Over 3900 words..My god, thought it was more than that. Was going to reveal who the Hybrid was, but decided not to until later
PLEASE REVIEWTell me how I am doing...Please
Next up...More Damon/OFC...YAY finally. Things are revealed more in later chapters.
Definitions:
The Originals-Family of First Vampires. Led by Klaus the first Vampire.
Moonstone-binding stone in the Sun and Moon curse
Hybreeding- experiment, created by Originals, process of making Hybrids
Hybrid- name victim of Hybreeding experiment.
Renegades: group of vampires broken off from Originals to continue with outlawed experiemts
Sects- small families of vampires broken off from the Renegades.