I do not own Vampire Diaries or any of it's associated characters, thank you.

Alright, well there is a lot of information about Tessa's family within this chapter. Hopefully you guys like it! This chapter moves the story along nicely, and gives you quite the twist on things. It doesn't include much of the major characters, not quite yet anyways, if you hang in there with me I'm working it up to that. I know that in the next chapter they will! Tessa will be getting a taste of Mystic falls, and having the ability to explore it on her own. Anyways, please enjoy!

Chapter 10: The New Deal

Tessa had been pestering Klaus non-stop since the dance as to what it was that he meant, but he told her the same answer every time. "You shall have to wait, love. You will be present at the meeting." He wore a confident grin every time he answered her. It had been days since the Homecoming dance, and even though Klaus killed the one man he feared most, he returned the next morning fuming about Stefan.

She and Klaus had been staying in the house he was currently renovating. Tessa had just opened the door to her bedroom to find Klaus standing on the other side of it. "Late night then?" He asked wearing that permanent smirk on his face. Tessa rolled her eyes knowing he had one of his hybrids watching her, at least until he got the meeting with whoever from her family over with. Darkness was falling down around them, Tessa had slept through almost the whole day after being out hunting, and drinking well into the early morning hours.

"As if you don't know." She told him in a clipping tone, pushing him and making her way down the long hall towards the open living room and kitchen. She stopped at the counter to grab a mug from the cupboard, setting it down on the island.

"I'm well aware you know your being followed when you're not within my sight. The hybrids have told me how much of a fight you put up. More accurately, they complain about their broken necks." Klaus told her as he stood across the kitchen island. "In fact, I just had a chat with Tony at the pub about it this afternoon. He awoke early this morning still in the bushes you dumped him in." Tessa smirked as she turned away from him to grab a blood bag out of the fridge. "You know, I'm thinking I could forgo this whole meeting and, just leave you to train my hybrids, given the way you toss them around already it shan't be too hard for you."

Tessa looked up at him from sipping the blood she had poured into her mug. "Nope." She told him exiting the kitchen area quickly.

"I've compelled you to do as I say, Tessa. Or have you forgotten that?" He asked turning to follow her with his eyes. Tessa paused looking up at him from the step up he was on that separated the kitchen from the massive living room. She placed her mug down on the nearest decorative table and moved towards Klaus slowly. He stepped down meeting her just before the lip of the floor.

"Something to say, love?" He challenged. Tessa stared into his eyes, she knew deep under all those psychopathic, murderous layers of his was the core of his emotions.

"I do recall being compelled to do as you ask, and if you will it, your majesty, I shall help train your army of beastly hybrids, but I know that I did not have all the proper training I should have during my years as a vampire hunter."

Klaus chuckled at her calling him 'your majesty', but he listened quietly to the rest of her sentence, his grin never wavering. "Aw, no don't sell yourself, short sweetheart. You were chosen to take me down as a human so your skill set must've been rather impressive."

Tessa smirked now thinking that he did not know her mother. "My mother set me on that quest, simply because she was still hell-bent on avenging my father's death, and my sister Harper was by far too weak. I was simply the only one in the family left. Hence, why I called on Robbie for help. Hey, you know you could ask him to help train-." She paused before turning to grab her mug, "Oh. Oh no, wait you can't; because you killed him. That's right." She finished sarcastically before drinking some blood from the cup.

"What? Do you want an apology?" Klaus asked begrudgingly, his arms crossing over his chest.

Tessa shook her head with a grin, "No, not at all. I'm just making a point, Klaus. You ought to think about who you kill before you kill them. They could come in handy later on." She playing on one of her favorite past times when stuck in the house, which was irritating Klaus until he told her to leave him. Unfortunately for her, today wasn't one of those days.

"… Like you?" He asked suddenly standing behind her. Tessa was holding the mug with a small amount of blood in it with both hands. She felt Klaus's hands at her waist and knew he was feeling threatened by her somehow- it was the only times he paid her this kind of attention.

Tessa turned to face him quickly. "No. Klaus." She removed his hands from her body now. "I'm done with your mind games."

"Who said anything about games, love?" He asked her shortly before his mouth locked onto hers in one swift motion. Tessa was surprised, to say the least until the front door opened and an 'ahem' broke them apart. Tessa pulled away quickly her head snapping in the direction of the front hall through the open doorway.

"Ah, Charles. So good to finally meet with you. Come in. Please." Klaus said as a large figure emerged from the door. However, the figure stared right at Tessa. Tessa stared at the man unsure of how to react to his presence. She felt indifferent about everything now, it was her father. "I've heard a lot," Klaus said to him.

Tessa watched as her father moved from the front door to the doorway of the living room. His chestnut brown eyes never leaving his daughter. He was still the same strong silent man she could vaguely remember. Her dad always kept to himself, always rough, strong when out hunting. Yet in the home that he'd built with his family, he was an ordinary guy, sensitive towards his wife, and daughters.

"I'm here now, Klaus. You've got what you want. Release my daughter."

Tessa sniggered at his choice of words, "Daughter? Yeah, sorry, Dad. I must've missed all the fatherly bonding while you were recovering from death."

Her father, Charles didn't say a word in defense for himself. His eyes remained on Klaus like a lion stalking its prey. "Now. Klaus."

"Tut, tut, Charles. I shall release her after I get what I want from you. Even then, sir, you have to do as I ask otherwise, I'll just kill her and, be done with it all."

"I mean technically that was already done." Tessa interrupted looking to Klaus. Charles glare never wavered as he didn't budge an inch from the doorway. His thick arms crossed over his chest in defiance. He stood rigid and unmoving which struck Tessa as odd, it was one of the differences she could use on a hunt to guess who was human and, vampire. Vampires were unmoving, and stiff in comparison to a human. They could remain still for hours with their muscles never tiring, or experiencing a dull ache in their sore muscles.

"You-you're a vampire." She said her eyes moving over his tall frame.

Klaus sighed heavily, "Agh, alright. Now that you're here…" Klaus began as his hand was placed over Tessa's small shoulder. Tessa glanced at her father from Klaus, "Right here, love. Look at me, please." Tessa wasn't sure what Klaus had up his sleeve anymore but did as was told and met his gaze head-on.

"You're free will is being restored to you, Tessa. You are still bound to Mystic Falls, but you are no longer bound to me physically." Tessa blinked as she felt a weight lifting off of her she hadn't been aware she was holding. She felt more like herself again, her eyes moved over to the doorway now filled with the looming figure of her father.

"You're supposed to be dead." She said to him her shock blatant over her facial features. If her eyebrows went any higher they'd be in her hairline. Her father just stared at her blankly not saying a word.

"This is why I don't like emotions, they're so messy," Klaus said from behind her. She heard the sarcasm dripping with every word.

"I think your confusing feelings with murder," Tessa replied to him icily. Klaus shrugged next to her as he slid the coffee mug from her hands and walked into the kitchen placing it in the sink.

"Charles, I'll be awaiting you in the sitting room, to discuss business," Klaus said as he walked away pushing one of the glass double doors open.

"Tessa-." Her father began, but Tessa didn't want to talk right now.

"I don't care. Whatever made you fake your own death, or-or otherwise. I don't want to discuss it right now. Let's just focus on whatever it is Klaus wants so that I can be rid of him." With that Tessa walked into the room Klaus was seated in.

However, a blush crept up her neck and over her cheeks when she saw him grinning at her. She remembered the way his hands felt on her the other night at Tyler's half-thrown together Homecoming, she remembered the night at the Inn when she and Klaus had showered together, or more accurately, she showered, while he practically tortured her.

"Oh now, no need to get all modest on me, sweetheart. Not after all we've been through." Klaus's eyes followed Tessa as she walked around the table and poured herself a generous amount of bourbon. Her father was standing in the doorway while she muttered, "I'm not drunk enough for this."

Tessa threw back the bourbon before reaching back to grab the bottle and bring it to the table with her. Charles remained silent as he moved to sit as far as he could from Klaus-which wasn't much given that it was a medium-sized roundtable. Tessa took a seat between the pair as she took another shot.

"What do you want?" Charles asked finally after a moment of them sizing the other up.

"Your help, of course, why else would I spend weeks having people try to make contact with you. Every hybrid I sent seemed to mysteriously disappear."

"Klaus, you may not know this, but I've been hiding for the last 15 years. If I don't want to be found, I won't be."

"Oh, I am well-aware of you and your whereabouts. My Hybrids always managed to find you, didn't they? You can't be as good as the legends say if-."

"I was found when I allowed it." Charles cut in. Tessa's eyes scanned over her dad, she knew she should be feeling more emotions at this reunion, but they were dimmed down- which was an improvement in comparison to feeling nothing, but it was still weird for her, with that in mind she drank more.

He was paler than she could remember, but his short, spiked red-orange hair was the same, along with the stubble of a beard growing on his chin, it ran up around his mouth into a neatly trimmed mustache. "I was found when on the hunt for your hybrids. Notice how you'd lose contact with them right after they'd tell you my whereabouts?" Charles leaned forwards, threateningly.

Klaus sat up from relaxing in his chair as he leaned in, ever so slightly rising to the challenge Charles was throwing down. "Notice how you've walked into my home, Charles? Notice how I have your only daughter, here, under my thumb? I have the control here. Do not try to turn it around, because you can't."

Charles stared at Klaus long and, hard. His hard gaze made Tessa look away, back down to the bottle she held in her hands as she took another long swig. "Only?" Charles asked his eyebrows turning down at the center of his forehead.

"Yes, you see the other one was unfortunate enough to not make the cut. It was actually by mere coincidence that I'd ran into them with a couple of friends," Klaus began to explain the day they met. "Your daughter had ingested vampire blood in the recent days on a hunt. So when my associate at the time killed her, she awakened in transition. Like father, like daughter; or something to that effect."

"Har-Harpers' dead? You're a vampire now?" Tessa watched as her dad's eyes flicked over her direction. "But-but your mom-? Chevonne. She's-I mean- She's still-." His question trailed off unfinished.

"Dead," Tessa said emotionless. Her eyes looked away from her dad now turning back to the table. She could feel guilt trying to reach up and drag her down to wallow in it, but she gripped the bottle of bourbon tighter as she threw it back with a vigor.

"Easy there love," Klaus told her. She hadn't realized he was watching her closely when the mention of her mother came up.

"Chevonne, she- she's dead. How-?" Charles began as he looked down only to glare in Klaus's direction. He stood up, his eyes displaying the hatred he felt, "You bast-."

"Bastard?" Klaus supplied. He chuckled, "Yes, I do get that quite a lot." He glanced over at Tessa to see a frightened look in her eyes before continuing on, "I, however, did not bring you here to discuss your late wife's death. I lured you here because I want you to help train my hybrids."

"Give me one good reason to help you?" Charles growled out. His hand twitched towards the dark jeans he was wearing.

"Careful, Charles. You wouldn't want to lose the only family you have left, do you?" In a second. Klaus stood beside Tessa. In his hand, he held a stake. Tessa was pressed against the stiff, straight back of the chair she looked down at the stake with interest as she noted the design carved into the edge of it by the flat end.

Klaus had no idea what it was he was holding, but Tessa did. It was her stake, Tessa sat stock still knowing she could end Klaus with a simple movement, but probably not before he would stab her with it.

Charles smirked as his eyes fell on the weapon, "Let me clue in on something, Klaus. You must know the small fact that our line of hunters originated in Ireland."

"Red hair. Blue eyes. Yeah, I've managed to put that little fact together myself. I've also torn through your families village centuries ago. None of those lot were witches though. So far just your little family, or at least they were before their demise."

"You must know that the family name Dara… derives from the word Darach. Tell me, are you familiar with its meaning." Her dad continued on not allowing Klaus to get under his skin.

Klaus blinked staring at Charles with a new sense of seriousness. "It means, oak." He seethed through clenched jaws.

"Are you aware that Vikings had invaded Ireland, and settled there the eighth century? In fact, that's the 'war' your father was involved in was it not?" Charles questioned with a gleam in his eye. Tessa could see Klaus becoming increasingly agitated, and she was fearful of his temper considering he held a stake to her chest.

"Now, among the chaos of the raids, and murders to the good people of Ireland one of the Vikings fell in love with a girl living in the very monasteries' they raided, after taking her home to his village in what was then known as Scandinavia. He fled with her to the new world, on the very same ship your parents had used to flee from whatever plague was popular in the 10th century." Charles was grinning ear to ear as his tale continued.

"Now, I'll give you a minute to put the pieces together, but I'm thinking you already know that I do in fact have all the control I need over you and, your little 'immortal' family." Charles moved slowly around the table inching closer and closer to Klaus and Tessa.

"White oak," Klaus said softly. Tessa saw the fear in his eyes as they glazed over. Klaus's concentration snapped back into place as Charles got closer, "Don't." Klaus's voice rang out cold as ice now. He was being threatened and Tessa knew her father was playing a dangerous game. "You make one more move, and I'll kill her, here and, now. I swear it." Tessa flinched as Klaus's hand twitched closer. She felt fear easing its way into her, and knew more emotions were soon to follow.

Charles paused mid-step, "Alright. Okay. Klaus." He agreed his hands held up defensively.

"How in the bloody hell is it that you've come by white oak? We decimated every last inch of it." Klaus asked. She could see the gears in his head working.

"Not before my family planted its acorns." Charles explained, "We were hunter's in Ireland, Klaus. Once my family within the village learned of your mother's spell we began planting the acorns for protection. My family had a whole operation in a greenhouse hidden away well. It took a long time, but with the help of several arborists, I have finally had a successfully growing white oak tree; to continue making our family stakes. " With that said Charles nodded to the weapon in Klaus's hand. Tessa realized then that the real reason her family hadn't gone after the Originals all those centuries back; when they were propositioned by the witches the first time was because of the white oak. It hadn't grown and matured into usable stakes. It was a literal suicide mission to attack the originals without that weapon.

Klaus took in a breath still not moving the stake that he now held in a tighter grip, "I want the white oak, Charles. Today. All of it. Even the saplings, and acorns your irritatingly crafty family still has."

Charles smirked now "Now, what do I get out of that? You just expect me to hand over my entire bargaining chip to you?"

Klaus sighed now. He was clearly stressed by the fact that Tessa's father had a means of murdering him and his family. "We don't have to be enemies, Klaus." Her dad began at Klaus's silence. "Keep the stake in your hand as a peace offering."

"Am I to believe that you'll not stab me in the back with another the minute I turn around?!" Klaus shouted quickly. His hand trembled slightly with fear.

"You still have my daughter's life in your hands, Klaus." Charles pointed out.

Klaus paused with a glance down to Tessa, it was as if he forgot she was there. His mind was solely focused on the thought that an entire white oak tree was out there with his families name on it. "Right," Klaus said as he slowly pulled further away from Tessa's chest. Her body relaxed instantaneously, her arms fell to her sides as she took in a steadying breath.

"I'll-I'll train your hybrids, Klaus. In return, I want my daughter back." Klaus looked at him with a smirk.

"Nope sorry, the new deal is that you will train my hybrids, and give me the tree you've managed to have grown successfully. You may keep whatever little stakes you've made thus far, but I want to make sure none can be made in the future, am I clear, Mr. Dara?"

Charles glanced down to Tessa, and she gave him the slightest of nods. Charles sighed not wanting to give his and his families legacy away so easily, but he knew he had all the stakes made that he needed, along with plenty of opportunities coming to use them in the future."

"Deal," Charles said. "I also want her humanity restored, Klaus." Her father's deep voice was fierce. Tessa's eyes widened at his suggestion. Her father must've sensed something was off about her when he'd first seen her.

"She has her free will back, Charles. I can assure you that when she wants to flip it back on again, she can. If I force her to do it, the consequences could be far worse than you can imagine." Klaus's dismissive tone told Tessa he had had enough of being cornered for the day. "I have some business to attend to regarding the renovation. If there is nothing else to be discussed, I'll leave you two to chat." With that Klaus left the room quickly. Tessa watched him leave when an awkward tension filled the room.

"How-how're you feeling?" Charles asked her, his deep voice penetrating the silence. Tessa glanced in his direction.

"Not good, not bad. Just… simply existing." She replied before taking a big swallow of the bourbon.

"Are-are you sober?" He asked her suddenly as he moved to sit next to her.

"I'm moderately functional." She replied nearly finishing off the bottle. Charles chuckled softly as he reached over to take the bottle from her.

"I'll take that as a no." He said simply before he took a long drink from the bottle finishing it off. "Tessa…" He said suddenly catching her attention. He usually deep voice took on a softening edge to it causing her to look at him.

"Tessa, baby. I-I'm so sorry. I wasn't there for you. Any of you." She could hear her father's voice breaking. "I was turned, and- and I did not transition as smoothly as it seems you have. I went through a dark period for almost 5 years. The-the people I killed-. Some were friends." She listened to her father's tearful confession and felt her guilt rising. She thought of all the faces of the people she's killed. The young lives she ended early, the hunter's, her mother.

Tessa's gasping sob caught her father's attention, he turned looking at her, "Tessa, I'm-I'm so sorry." She felt his heavy arm move around her shoulders as he hugged her.

She shook her head slightly, "No. No. It isn't that-. I-I-I killed her." Her words weren't coming out right.

Her father didn't understand what she was saying. He hugged her tighter to him now that her sobs were wracking her body. "I killed mom." She'd said it so quickly that she hadn't thought he heard her, but the stiffness in him told her otherwise. "My-my humanity was turned off, I-she found me in the woods in Seager." Tears were streaming down Tessa's face as her dad pulled back to look at her. "I was hunting, and she-she-. Dad. Mom was out to kill me, and instead of just running like I should've. I kill-killed her."

Charles sat there feeling a sadness overcome him as he looked at his youngest daughter. Tears clung to her light eyelashes, "I'm so sorry dad. I-I don't know what to do. I don't-I don't." Her sobs were cutting into her words, and she couldn't talk anymore. Leaning on her father for support Tessa cried well into the night.

Thank you for your views! Hope you enjoyed the read.

XXTigerXEyesXX