Chapter 9
Welcome to the club
"Chloe?" Elijah's cautious voice said after a very long silence.
Chloe was sitting on the bed, trying to digest everything she had just heard. She was sure that she was having some very weird dream, this couldn't be real. There was no such thing than vampires or witches or…
"Chloe?"
Finally she managed to look up. All three brothers were staring at her. Kol was sitting on the armchair, Elijah was standing few steps away from the bed and Klaus was leaning on the wall.
"Okay…" she murmured. "Okay… So you three are vampires, your mother is a witch and she cursed me."
"Not exactly," Klaus replied. "Technically she didn't curse you, she cursed us. She used you as a tool."
"Right…"
Chloe buried her face in her hands and took a deep breath. This couldn't be happening. She hadn't really seen their faces changing; she was probably just losing her mind. Like this day wouldn't have been bad enough already.
"Listen, Chloe," Elijah said. "I understand this must be a lot to handle."
"You could say that," she murmured and looked at him. "Okay… Okay, if this…curse is real, what does that mean? What do you want from me?"
Elijah seemed uncomfortable, but Kol took over quickly.
"Well, darling, the thing is that our mother linked us to you. What will happen to you, will happen to us."
"What? How… That can't be possible…"
"Unfortunately it is," Klaus stated.
Chloe was more than confused, none of this made any sense to her. Things like this just weren't real.
"Why would your mother do something like this to you?"
"Because she wants us all dead," Klaus huffed. "This was her backup plan in case we wouldn't do what she wanted."
"Uh huh… And what was that?"
"She wanted to move our minds into human bodies, so we would become mortals again," Kol replied. "Her spell made us what we are and she wanted to correct her 'mistake'."
Chloe felt the need to break into a snigger.
"Right… That sounds perfectly logical."
"I know how all of this must sound, but perhaps I can help you to understand everything, if you let me," Elijah said.
Chloe looked at him cautiously.
"What do you mean?"
Elijah smiled calmingly while walking over to the bed.
"I can show you our family's history."
"I…"
"Is that really a good idea?" Klaus muttered tensely.
Elijah looked at him.
"I think that is the easiest way to help Chloe understand the situation." He paused and sat down next to her. "May I show you?"
"How?"
She startled when he cupped her face.
"This won't hurt," he assured. "I promise."
She gasped when her head was suddenly full of images. Memories that weren't hers. Those memories told a story about a family who had lived a long time ago. Five siblings who had become vampires. Their father and mother had wanted them dead. Chloe shivered when Elijah removed his hands. She had never been more confused in her life.
"So… Your mother wants you to die," she finally murmured.
"Yes," Elijah replied calmly.
"But… Why did she link you to me?"
"That's a good question," Elijah sighed. "We don't know why she chose you; perhaps you simply were in a wrong place in a wrong time."
"The sadistic bitch wanted to torment us," Klaus stated.
"Did she tell you about me?" Chloe asked. "How did you find me?"
Elijah cleared his throat.
"Well… Our mother recently passed away and after that we all started to experience some strange… symptoms. Fortunately our sister is also a witch and she managed to find out about our mother's curse."
"Okay. Can your sister break it?"
"She is trying to, but so far she hasn't succeeded. Perhaps you can understand now why we need you to stay here."
Their behavior did make a lot more sense now. If she would die, they would die. Not a very pleasant situation.
"So… Are there more people linked to me or just the three of you?"
"Just us," Elijah replied. "Our mother managed to get blood from all of us for the curse; thankfully our younger sister wasn't in New Orleans."
"What about your fourth brother? I mean, I saw there were five of you."
Elijah pressed his lips together, his brothers seemed to tense as well.
"Finn also wanted us dead," Elijah replied rigidly.
"Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"
"That's alright."
Chloe rubbed her temples, trying to clear her thoughts. This was a lot to digest; she didn't even know where to start.
"You really have a messed up family," she murmured.
"Darling, you don't know the half of it," Kol chuckled. "But I think this is enough information for a one day."
"Yeah, I agree."
Chloe had slept for hours after her ridiculous breakdown, but now she felt that she could go back to sleep. Maybe she would wake up in her own bed and realize that this had all been a dream.
"What now then? You want to keep me in this room until your sister finds a way to break the curse?"
"Pretty much," Klaus replied. "It's for your own safety, believe me, sweetheart. There are many people who would love to get their hands on you."
Chloe's eyes widened.
"What?"
"We have enemies," Kol explained. "Many enemies. So far we have managed to keep this hidden, but if a wrong person would find out about the link, they would come after you."
"Why? I mean, why don't they just attack you?"
"We are very hard to kill," Elijah explained. "You on the other hand…"
"Right, I see. No offence, but I don't think that I like your mother very much."
Klaus gave her an amused look.
"Welcome to the club, love."
Again Chloe tried to process the whole thing. That was easier said than done.
"We'll try our best to make this as easy as possible for you," Elijah said. "If there is anything you need, all you have to do is ask."
