I do not own TVD or TO.
I know, I know it's been a while, but now that Who Are You is done I've moved on to this one. I've got a clear idea of where I want this to go from here and I'm thinking it'll probably be around 20 chapters long, maybe a few more.
This is the morning after the ball. I left out the conversation with Elijah in the woods because that proceeded as it did in the show.
We've also got a little Elijah-Aurora-Klaus situation going on with Elena.
There was a heavy pounding behind her eyes and a dull ache in her body. Every limb felt like it had been weighed down to the point where she would need vampire strength to lift them. It certainly felt like she'd invoked some supernatural ability to force her eyes open.
She squinted against the light and rolled over; the action was the hardest one she had ever taken.
With the sun behind her she was able to stare at the open door to her bathroom and allow her mind to wander. It took a moment for everything to come back to her, and at first it came in flashes: Elijah, a blonde woman, a knife, and pink tinted champagne. She remembered dark eyes in a face devoid of emotions and the lie.
The guilt came back in a rush, turning her stomach. She launched out of bed with more speed than she should have possessed and scrambled into the bathroom in time for the bile to burn through her throat. She heaved over the toilet for several minutes until there was nothing else to come up and a last memory surfaced.
She wiped her mouth with a square of toilet paper and thought of how she had sat on her bed before going to sleep with a pregnancy test in her hands; she remembered it being positive.
Her hand shook as she flushed the evidence of her illness and spotted a cardboard box hiding under the claw foot tub. She flattened one hand on her stomach and swallowed before reaching for the box. There was an unopened package inside that she ripped into with shaking hands, not trusting her memory of the previous evening; there was too much chaos in her head.
The Boarding House loomed ahead, large and foreboding with secrets lodged in every nook and cranny.
She fiddled with the edge of her scarf and swallowed down her guilt induced morning sickness. There were other ways to assuage it than by purging her feelings – she hoped – because the nutrients she had managed to choke down at breakfast needed to stay in her body.
Part of her wanted to stay in the car and just stare at the building, but time wasn't on her side. She had no way of knowing how much time she had to fix the mess, but she just knew it had to be fixed before she could even start to think about anything else.
So she jumped out of the car, immediately regretting the swift action when her stomach churned. She paused and willed her stomach to settle while reaching for her vibrating cell phone. She stared at the screen for a moment before muting the device and putting it in her pocket.
A steadying breath passed through her lips before she walked up the steps and into the Boarding House. She made it three steps into the foyer before coming face to face with Rebekah.
The blonde just looked her over before smiling and walking out the door. She was gone before Elena could open her mouth in greeting.
"You missed the audio show," Damon's voice drifted out from the living room.
Elena followed it and stepped down to find him pouring himself a drink. She was mildly surprised when he didn't offer her one like he always did.
"What are you doing here?" He took a swig of his bourbon and narrowed his eyes. It was his second glass, and looking at her he knew that it would not be the last; he could hear an infuriating flutter and was determined to drink until the sound stopped assaulting his senses.
"I need help," she whispered.
"That's an understatement," he muttered so quietly that she didn't hear.
"It's Esther," she began.
His eyes narrowed further as he contemplated what the Original witch bitch was up to now.
"She's planning on killing her entire family," Elena continued, encouraged by the furrow in his brow to keep talking. "She linked them all together with a spell so whatever happens to one, happens to all."
His eyes widened momentarily as he remembered the previous evening.
"Do you remember how you got home last night?" His sudden question startled her.
"You drove me," she blinked. "How much did you drink last night? Don't you remember? You dropped me off at the door, and I went inside and went to bed thinking about Esther's ritual. She wants to kill her children, Damon!"
She couldn't stop herself from repeating the horrific statement.
"Great," he smirked, testing his sudden theory. "Klaus will finally be dead. We win." He tilted his head as her expression remained aghast. "Why do you look like someone just shot a panda bear?"
Her mind scrambled for an answer, for a reason that justified her all-consuming need to save the Original family. Rebekah had tried to kill her the other night. Finn had compelled her to comply with Esther. She didn't know Kol well enough to form an opinion. Klaus was a monster. Her brain lit on an acceptable answer that was true, but didn't feel like the full reason; she sensed there was more to it, but she couldn't figure it out.
"Because to kill Klaus she has to kill all of them, including Elijah," she gripped the back of the couch, "and he doesn't deserve this."
It was true. The Original in question had dealt with her fairly in the past. He had tried to save her life before the ritual, and he had saved her from Rebekah the other night. He didn't deserve to die – at least not for crimes committed against her. She had no reason to want him dead.
"I'm supposed to care about Elijah?" Damon scoffed.
"Shouldn't you at least care about Rebekah?" She cocked an eyebrow. "And if you don't then Stefan should. Where is he? I'm sure he'll want to help her."
"Did she try to kill you the other night?" He dropped his glass on the coffee table.
Elena spun on her heel with the intention of either hunting down Stefan or leaving to find someone else who would listen to her, but she'd barely made it to the step when Damon was in front of her.
"Don't do anything to screw this up, Elena." He had been hoping she would meet his eyes, assuming that she hadn't replaced the vervain trinket he had believed her to be wearing the previous evening, but she stared at his chest. The glare made him feel uncomfortably hot.
"Why are you doing this?" She finally looked up. The fire in her eyes would have melted ice.
"He's right, you know." Elena whipped her head around to where Stefan had entered the living room. "Klaus has to die." She saw something guarded, and possibly broken in his eyes when he sighed. "They all do."
"See?" She didn't have to look to know Damon was grinning from ear to ear. "Democracy in action."
Elena gritted her teeth and shouldered her way around Damon, knocking the vampire aside in her haste to get out of the Boarding House.
Elijah entered the study and circled the room slowly until he found what he was looking for. A small bundle of sage tied together with twine and blackened on one end. In his mind he heard the echo of a skipped heartbeat.
"He was giddy," Elena stared at Bonnie's grimoire and the tray where she was burning sage, "actually giddy over the impending deaths of five people."
"They're not people Elena," Bonnie frowned. "Is it working?"
Caroline opened Elena's bedroom door and walked in, shaking her head. "It's not working, I can hear every word you're saying."
"It's a tricky spell," Bonnie sighed.
"When Esther did it she kept the sage burning," Elena nodded to the tiny bundle. "There was a lot more smoke."
Bonnie relit the sage and motioned for Caroline to leave the room again which she did with a scoff.
"Speaking of Esther, you should know that she came to see me and Abby this morning," Bonnie watched the smoke rise.
"What did she want?" Elena felt her stomach churn at the possibilities.
"She just wanted to introduce herself," she shrugged one shoulder; "since we brought her back she's channeling our entire ancestral bloodline for power."
"Is there a way to stop her from channeling you?" Elena's brows rose as hope shone in her eyes.
"Why would I want to do that?" Bonnie looked up from the spell.
"I…" Elena floundered for a second before coming back to the first argument she had used at the Boarding House. "I just keep thinking about the ritual. Elijah found a way to keep me alive, and now I'm in the exact same position. Am I just supposed to let him die?" She shook her head. "It doesn't feel right."
Nothing felt right. She glanced up when Caroline came back in the room.
"Your privacy spell is totally not working," she began. "And Elena, you are not the one doing this; Esther is the one doing this."
"There's no time to do anything Elena," Bonnie blew out the candles. "He'll be dead by the end of the night."
"What?" Her head snapped up.
"It's a full moon," Bonnie's brows drew together. "Esther needs to harness the energy of a celestial event and she asked me and Abby to join her." She checked the time on her phone and stood up. "I'm actually supposed to meet Abby now."
Caroline watched her clean up and bid the witch goodbye before sitting on the bed across from Elena and leaning forward on her palms to watch the brunette.
Elena started to fidget after a moment under the vampire's stare. "What?" She whispered, tugging on her wrist.
"Have you told any of them what their mother wants to do?" She tilted her head. "I know you said Finn compelled you not to tell Elijah at the time, but he's hardly the only Original you could have spoken to."
"Who was I supposed to go to with this Care: Kol – I don't know him, and Rebekah tried to kill me?"
"What about Klaus?" Caroline looked at Elena slowly through inquisitive eyes. There was something different about her that she couldn't put her finger on, some change in her normal scent. She had noticed it off and on recently but it was more pronounced now that she wasn't wearing her perfume.
"Why would I tell Klaus anything?"
"Because…" Caroline frowned at the look in her eyes. There was a cloud covering the normally vibrant mahogany that unnerved the blonde. It reminded her of the daze she used to experience while she was human and Damon had been in her head.
"Tell me about the artist you've been seeing," she changed tactics. The cloud behind Elena's eyes grew, but there was a glimmer of light in the dark depths.
"You know who I've been seeing?" She dropped her voice to a whisper, as if afraid that someone on the street could hear the conversation. "Please tell me you know who because I'm very confused right now."
"You never told me his name," Caroline hesitated. Her eyes followed the brunette's subtle hand movement. "Elena… are you?"
She leaned forward and moved her friend's fingers away. She bent until she was close enough to hear the gentle thrum that sounded like a hummingbird's wings only it was coming from inside her friend. She sat back up with wide eyes.
"I guess that means it wasn't a false positive," Elena felt a hysterical sob bubble in her throat when Caroline shook her head. "I can't remember it, Care."
"Elena…" Caroline passed her some tissues, "… have you been drinking vervain?"
"I t-t-tried this morning," she sniffled. Fat tears started sliding from her eyes until she couldn't see anything. She managed to choke out how she had thrown it back up five minutes later.
She didn't hear Caroline's sigh, but she did hear what she said.
"I just want to apologize in advance for this." Elena felt her chin gripped and suddenly a pair of blue eyes came into focus; the pupils dilated. "Calm down."
Immediately her heart slowed and her breathing began to level out. She dried her tears and went to thank Caroline only to see her friend no longer on the bed. Elena spotted her a second later coming in from the hall with a familiar perfume bottle in hand.
"Here," she spritzed some behind Elena's ears and inside her wrists before adding a dab to her shirt collar for good measure. "You should start wearing it as perfume so you don't throw it back up."
"Probably a good idea," she sniffled.
"Probably," Caroline agreed. She stood up and deposited the perfume bottle on the nightstand. "Why don't you lie down and rest for a bit? You look like you could use it."
"I can't rest, Care," she shook her head. "Esther…"
"I'll make you a deal," Caroline cut her off. "You lay down for one hour and I will go out and try to find a solution."
"You'd do that?" Elena frowned.
"Sure," she nodded, "you said it yourself," she masked the worry in her voice, "Elijah tried to save you. Now lie down, and if you go out put on more of that perfume."
Elena followed her instructions, vowing to just stare at her ceiling until the time limit was up, but then the front door closed and everything went black for a while until she heard a decisive knock that roused her from sleep. She opened her eyes and rolled over to peer at the alarm clock revealing that she had been asleep for at least an hour and a half.
"Will you put that bloody device away?" Kol groaned at finding his brother once more with the tiny box pressed to his ear. He set their drinks down on the table and pulled an identical device from his jacket pocket. "I don't understand the draw of these contraptions."
A glance around the establishment showed everyone around his perceived age with some sort of mobile device in their hands.
"You've missed a lot," Klaus hung up his phone. It was the fourth call that had gone unanswered that morning.
"Whose fault is that?" Kol's smirk turned dark.
"Whatever happened to bygones?" Klaus sighed. He couldn't shake a feeling of worry in the back of his mind and had no desire to add Kol's anger to the things he was juggling.
"You shoved a mystical dagger through my heart, brother," his tone remained bright, "and you've made no attempt at an apology, so we have yet to reach bygones."
"I can put it back," he snapped, taking a long pull of his drink.
"I'd love to see you try," Kol's eyes narrowed as he tensed.
Klaus could tell his brother was prepared for a fight that would have been nearly evenly matched. He also knew that such a spectacle would have resulted in the deaths of everyone at the Grille which was simply unacceptable since three people inside were on the 'never-harm-a-hair-on-their-heads' list; one of them was currently storming towards their table.
"Not here Kol," he shook his head. He had barely gotten the words out when a pair of hands slammed down on the wood. He examined the lapis lazuli on her finger before looking up to her fiery eyes.
"Hello, love," he smiled the charming smile that always had Elena shivering. "What are you up to this wonderful afternoon?"
"Cut the crap," Caroline snapped, "and come with me." She spun on her heel and paused at the door when she realized he wasn't following. "Now," she looked back over her shoulder, "there's something I need to show you."
From any other baby vampire he would have ignored the request, or removed a few limbs for the insolent tone, but Caroline Forbes was different. She happened to be his mate's best friend, and she also happened to be one of the few people who knew of his involvement with his mate, so rather than do exactly what any of his siblings would have expected he drained his drink and stood up.
"I'll meet you back at the mansion."
"Gonna follow a baby vampire?" Kol sought Caroline with his eyes, knowing full well she could hear him when he smirked. "Is she the one you were out all night with?"
"Shut up, Kol," he growled, walking away from his brother. He shoved his hands in his pockets when he was close and fingered the broken charm.
He waited a few minutes before issuing a second knock and tilted his head to listen to the light footsteps as she came down the stairs from her room where she had been.
The door was pulled open a few seconds later and a small, tight smile lifted the corner of his mouth.
"Elena."
"Elijah," her mouth barely opened around his name before morphing into a soft smile.
"I don't mean to intrude," he glanced at the slight wrinkle in her shirt too quickly for her to see. It was the only evidence that betrayed the nap he knew she had been taking. "I was hoping you might accompany me." He lifted his chin when she hesitated. "I want to show you something."
"Just…" she nodded slowly. "Just give me a second."
He watched her walk back up the stairs to retrieve her jacket. The door remained open as she took the short trip, but he didn't cross the threshold.
"What could possibly be so important that you felt the need to interrupt an afternoon of brotherly bonding?" Klaus smirked when they came to a stop. It took him a second to realize where they were, but then he smelt the intoxicating combination that drifted from Elena's bedroom window.
"I was hoping here that you wouldn't pitch a fit," Caroline shrugged. She opened the door with the spare key Elena had given her years ago and stepped inside. She cocked an eyebrow when he stood outside. "Don't pretend you're waiting on an invitation."
He nodded before stepping inside and shutting the door. His nose wrinkled when he caught a lingering scent on the wood; he shook it off though and followed Caroline up the stairs.
His frown deepened when he was in Elena's empty bedroom and saw the flabbergasted expression on the blonde's face.
"She was right here," Caroline frowned. "I left her right here."
"Well, she's obviously stepped out." Klaus frowned. There was a lingering smell of anxiety and fear littering her room. He couldn't remember her ever wearing either scent, not even during the ritual. "What's going on Caroline?"
She wondered for a moment how far his concern for Elena extended to her friends before throwing caution to the wind and spilling everything she had learned during the morning. She told him everything Elena had revealed about his mother's intentions.
"Why didn't she tell me this herself?" His expression shifted. "Why hasn't she been answering my calls?"
"That's the other thing," Caroline swallowed. "She hasn't been drinking vervain – that's how your mother got her to fool Elijah, she got Finn to compel her. I think somebody found out about… well…" she gave him a pointed look. "Somebody compelled her because she has no memory of being with you, and she seemed downright confused when I asked why she didn't tell you everything."
He clenched his hands into fists and resisted the urge to shatter Elena's bedroom mirror.
"Why isn't she drinking vervain?" He pulled the charm bracelet from his pocket and set it on the vanity with deliberate care.
"She's pregnant," she held up her hand when his head whipped around, "and before you make some sort of accusation that she would most definitely slap you for you need to listen." She could see the rage in his eyes but he nodded all the same for her to continue. "She is pregnant, and my first instinct was – I'm certain – exactly what you're thinking, but she's not drinking vervain because she can't hold it down. Her body is rejecting it."
Through his rage flooded vision he saw the look on her face. It was pointed and said that he should have worked it out by now, so he did. The second her words registered he knew what she was implying.
"That's not possible," he growled through gritted teeth. Had he learned that any other lover had been with another he would have taken out his anger on them and anyone they cared about, but he couldn't bring himself to attack the blonde vampire.
"For vampires," she rolled her eyes, "but you're not one are you? I swear Elena has this smell lingering on her and it's you, or very similar to you." She had realized it when she'd walked up to him in the Grille. "I'm pretty sure you weren't here last night, and she definitely took a shower today, so there is no logical reason for her to still smell like you, but she does; plus I could hear the heartbeat. It sounded like a hummingbird."
His breath caught in his throat and he turned to look at the bed with wide eyes. He could see the image as clearly as if he'd had models on the bed: her thighs over his shoulders, her stomach below his chin, her face flushed above him, and the distinct sound of a hummingbird's wings fluttering near her naval.
"When is this ritual of my mother's, love?" He gritted his teeth.
"Tonight beneath the full moon," Caroline swallowed, "but I don't know where."
"Who would?" His eyes cut to her. He couldn't get the fluttering sound out of his head.
"Bonnie," she blinked. Klaus had yet to kill her and had even saved her life; Caroline prayed his do-no-harm mentality extended Bonnie as well. "Maybe…" she added.
"Thank you, Caroline," he turned to the door, already contemplating the ways to end his mother's plans, but he paused at the top of the stairs. His mother would need to be dealt with first, but once that was done he would need to take care of Elena. "How many vampires have an invitation to this house?"
"Including you," she tilted her head and thought about it, "five. There's me, the Salvatores and Elijah." She figured she knew what he was thinking so she made sure to add. "Finn had access as well during the ball."
"And Elijah was at the door," Klaus muttered. He took one last look at Caroline before flashing from the house to find his siblings.
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