The incident at the cafe had Sirena utterly shaken. Upon arriving back at the boarding house, she had decided to head out to the Grill for a much needed drink, not going alone be damned. Swinging off her leather jacket, she found a seat at the bar. Laying her jacket on her lap, she spoke to the bartender, "Amaretto Sour, please."
The bartender nodded with a smile, starting on the requested beverage. Leaning onto the bar, Sirena's eyes followed the pattern in the wood grain, letting her index finger trace the patterns. She was never one to drink, but everything was becoming too much and her nerves needed to calm a bit. So what the hell... she was a vampire now. She deserved to relax a little, right? A napkin was placed in front of her and the bartender set her drink down.
"Thanks." She played with the small black straw, stirring the liquid absentmindedly.
"Rough night?" a familiar voice questioned, making her stomach clench and looking to her right her eyes met Mark's. "Oh, don't look so shocked, sweetheart. You miss me?" he smiled cockily.
Something in the way he smiled, his teeth flashing, made her uneasy. Blinking in surprise, she said, "Mark, where have you been?"
"Oh, you know... around. Been enjoying the nice... delicious things this town has to offer," he chuckled mischievously, drawing out the word 'delicious'.
"What the hell happened to you?" she spat. "This isn't you."
"You're right," he nodded. "It's better than me. New and improved Mark." He held his arms out as if showing himself off. Sirena shook her head with disgust. "Come on. Be honest. You like the new power we've been given," Mark fished.
"No, Mark. It's more like a curse. I've hurt people," she whispered the last part. "I never wanted that. And this life is just so much more complicated."
"Sirena... we're better than those blood bags. They're nothing."
"How could you say that?" she asked incredulously. "Your family is human, our friends — Do they mean nothing to you now?"
"Nothing in the slightest," he grinned. Sirena couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"That can't be true," she said, setting some money on the table and getting up from her seat. She couldn't listen to him anymore. This wasn't Mark. He would never say such cruel things. He may have been an ass sometimes, but he was never this hurtful. Before she could go, he grabbed a hold of her wrist, squeezing tight.
"Sit down, Sirena."
Jerking her hand away, she narrowed her eyes. "Or what?" she challenged. "Are you going to kill me, Mark?"
"No. I can't," he hissed, wrinkling his nose up into a snarl. "It's orders. I'm actually supposed to make sure you don't come to any harm so play it smart, Sirena. You've been pretty dumb lately getting mixed up in other people's problems."
"What? Orders from who?" she asked, desperately wanting to know if he knew who had turned them.
"You'll know soon enough."
"Sirena!" Sirena turned to see Alaric working his way toward her. She turned back to question Mark some more, but wasn't all that surprised to see that he had vanished. Letting herself slump back down into her seat she went over everything in her head.
"Who was that?" Alaric took the seat next to her, looking around the Grill for any sign of the guy who had been with her.
"That was Mark."
Alaric's eyebrows rose and he gave a quick nod. "What did he want?"
"I— I don't know. He didn't say a whole lot." Looking back to the countertop she saw her drink still sitting there untouched. Snatching it, she downed the liquid in mere seconds, earning herself a concerned look from Alaric. "He talked about how he had orders not to hurt me, but he wouldn't say from who."
Alaric sat thinking it over. "You should tell Stefan and Damon."
"No, not yet. They have enough on their plates with Elena."
"Yeah, but this is a newbie vampire running around causing problems on behalf of God knows who."
"I will. I promise. I just think I should wait until the right time. Maybe if I find Mark again I can ask him more about who he's taking orders from."
Sighing, Alaric straightened up. "Well, be sure to do it before more people die."
Phone buzzing in her pocket, Sirena pulled it out and four words shone back at her. I need your help. It was from Elena.
"Something wrong?" He watched her carefully. He was afraid she was going to be getting herself into more danger than she knew of with this Mark guy.
Sirena smiled, reassuringly. "Nope, but I have to go. Talk to you later?"
Alaric nodded and she headed for the door. This should be good, she thought to herself. Sirena's car came to a halt right outside the Salvatore home. Reaching down she undid her seatbelt, but she didn't even know why she bothered anymore.
Elena was waiting for her inside, pacing in the library. She told Sirena that she was wanting answers and knowing that she couldn't go alone she wanted Sirena to go with her and Rose.
"How do you know she'll even help?" Sirena asked in regards to Rose.
Elena looked over to her. "She'll help."
Letting out a deep sigh, Sirena leaned onto the arm of the couch. "Elena, why couldn't you ask Stefan and Damon? I'm sure one of them would help you."
Elena stopped pacing. "Look, do you want to help me or not?"
Slightly taken aback by the attitude Elena was having with her, she shook her head. "I just don't think I'm the best choice."
"Didn't say you were my best choice. Just one of my only ones right now."
"Ouch," Sirena said, not really hurt by the comment.
Rose came around the corner, tying a maroon robe around herself saying, "It's not nice to leave a girl naked so early in the morning." Catching sight of who was really waiting for her, her jaw dropped. "Whoa, uh I—Sorry, I thought you were—"
Damon, Sirena thought. Elena averted her eyes and said, "I, uh— sorry..."
"There's no one else here," Rose looked to the two girls, both flushing.
Giving in, Elena finally met Rose's gaze, her focus now on her mission. "Actually I came to talk to you."
"Then I should probably get dressed," Rose smiled sheepishly, again looking to Sirena who forced a smile.
While Rose was off making herself more appropriate, Elena and Sirena continued to wait in the library. Sirena didn't know what to think of the whole Damon and Rose situation and even though she didn't have a reason to be angry, she was reeling. Seeing Rose come out in a robe had made her heart drop. She really had to get these feelings under control. For now she just chalked it up to new vampire feelings and whatnot. It didn't help that he had been the one taking care of her. But was it just that or was she becoming more and more attracted to him?
"Okay," Rose said, entering the room fully clothed. "What is it you want, Elena?"
"I want to go see Slater."
"Bad idea," Rose stated, pacing.
"No, it's not. From what Stefan told me, your friend Slater obviously has more information about Klaus. You and Damon just gave up before you got it."
Rose looked at Elena like she was crazy. "Because somebody blew up a coffee shop with us in it." Turning her attention to Sirena, she asked, "Are you okay with this?"
Sirena shrugged. "Would it really hurt to just go see him. I mean, he is your friend."
"There's more to learn," Elena interrupted. "We just have to find a way to learn it."
"And why are you bringing us into this?" Rose gestured between herself and Sirena.
"Because you owe me," Elena answered. Rose gave her an intrigued glance. "One word from me and Damon and Stefan could have killed you for kidnapping me."
"And Sirena? Why ask her?"
"Because she has nothing better to do."
Sirena rolled her eyes at Elena's assumption. "Nice of you to assume that."
"Or maybe it's because you know that what you're doing is something they wouldn't want you to do and their moonstone caper gives you a chance to sneak away," Rose fired and Sirena knew she had made a good point.
Elena was obviously caught. "We're having a disagreement, okay? They're willing to risk everyone I love and I'm not."
Sirena should've known. "Elena..."
Ignoring Sirena, Elena continued to address Rose. "You may not understand why I can't let anything happen to them, but it still stands."
"They're just trying to protect you."
"And you've proven that you couldn't care less whether I was protected or not. So, we're back to you taking me to Slater."
Sirena let her head fall. The look that had crossed Rose's face told her that Elena's statement might not actually be true. She did seem to care, but why?
Rose went up to Elena. "What exactly do you wish to achieve by this?"
"How would you like to be able to walk in the daylight?" Elena dodged the question. What was she hiding?
"I've been a slave to the shadows for 500 years, what do you think?"
"I think I know a witch who's willing to do whatever it takes to help, if you're willing to make a deal."
Sirena crossed her arms, not liking where this was going. Clearly Elena was manipulating Rose and Sirena wasn't sure how she felt about that. Rose's desire to walk in the sunshine was just overshadowing her good judgement.
"Alright then. Let's get going," Rose got to her feet.
Elena wasted no time. She jumped up and the two headed straight for the door, Sirena in tow wondering what in the hell she had gotten pulled into. Mark's words were ringing through her mind. You've been pretty dumb lately getting mixed up in other people's problems. Something was telling her Stefan and Damon weren't going to be happy when they found out.
It wasn't long before they had reached Slater's apartment. Walking in Sirena was surprised at how sleek and modern the place felt. The outside had hid it well with it's chipped paint and rusty door. She loved it.
Rose swept through the room. "Slater?"
Sirena stepped further in and saw Rose stop in her tracks.
"I don't think he's going to be much help." Rose frowned. Elena and Sirena rushed to her side, jaws dropping when they saw Slater lying rather dead in the middle of the floor with a stake jutting from his chest. Elena slumped in disappointment. Rose shrugged and grabbed onto Slater's hands, pulling him off to the side of the room. Elena stomped off into the living room, leaving Sirena alone with Rose.
Stepping closer, Sirena looked down at the lifeless, greyed out body that had been Slater. "So this is how we end up? If we die, I mean."
Letting Slater's arms fall to the floor, Rose straightened up. "Yep. Instant desiccation."
"It looks awful," Sirena observed, clutching at her own stomach.
"Could be worse,"shrugged Rose. "We could explode into a bloody mess or something." She headed out to where Elena was rummaging through Slater's stuff at his desk. Hearing Elena exclaim as Rose jerking the blinds up, Sirena joined them and saw Rose staring out through the glass at the sunlit city below.
"Tempered glass. UV rays can't penetrate," Rose explained. "I used to just come here to watch the day."
Sirena couldn't imagine 500 years without being able to go into the sunlight and felt extremely grateful to have found people like Stefan and Damon. She didn't know what she would've done if Damon hadn't given her the ring that now decorated her finger. Rubbing her finger over its precious blue stone she thought back to him saying it brought out her eyes and a small smile spread on her face. However, guilt took over. They did all this for her and now she was repaying them by going behind their back with Elena.
A noise from the closet drew their attention and Rose held out a hand saying, "Stay here." Checking it out, Rose stopped. "Alice?"
Suddenly a girl dressed in all black leapt into Rose's arms, crying. While Rose calmed the girl down, Elena made some tea and Sirena stared out the window. Her mind found its way to Mark. She couldn't help but wonder if the person who had given Mark orders was the same person who had turned them. It only made perfect sense and this just made her want to know more. She wanted to know who had turned her into this blood driven being. Even in deep thought, something Elena said caught Sirena's attention.
"What if I could convince Rose to turn you?"
Sirena's gaze jerked over to Rose, who didn't look too happy.
"Would you show us then?"
Looking back at the girl, Sirena saw her eyes brighten and suddenly the girl was on her feet, scrambling towards Slater's keyboard. This girl actually wanted to be turned. Desperately.
"Someone's been here. The hard drive is completely wiped out," Alice said as her fingers danced across the keyboard.
Rose stepped up next to Sirena. "Yeah, probably whoever killed him."
Elena ran a hand through her chestnut hair out of frustration, turning away.
"Lucky for you Slater was paranoid. Everything is backed up on a remote server," Alice told them and Elena turned back to her, seeing hope. They all waited while Alice tried several passwords until one finally worked.
"Kristen Stewart. God, he was obvious."
The screen lit up with numerous emails.
"These are all leads to vampires?" Elena asked, scanning over the words on the screen.
Alice scrolled through the emails. "Slater was obsessed. Almost as much as me." She smirked.
"Anything about someone turning new vamps in Mystic Falls?" Sirena asked, seizing the moment and Rose and Elena shot her strange looks.
"I remember seeing one but it isn't here anymore. There was one about a very old vampire in Mystic Falls, but Slater didn't know who it was. He was trying to figure it out. The older the vampire, the more interested Slater was. So this one must've been pretty old. Trust me... I would know."
Of course she would. Anyone who was that desperate to be turned would be jumping right on that. Sirena let out a sigh of annoyance at the dead end.
"There!" Rose pointed. "What about that one? Cody Webber. They exchanged numerous emails about Elijah."
"I could call him," Alice offered.
Elena handed her cell phone over saying, "Tell him that we're trying to send a message to Klaus. The doppelgänger is alive and she's ready to surrender."
Sirena and Rose both looked at her with shock. "What?!"
Alice, however, looked excited. "Oh, my God. I knew I recognized you!"
"Give him the message please." Elena walked out of the room with a fuming Rose close behind her.
Sirena tilted her head back, looking to the ceiling. Stefan was so going to be pissed at her. Stomping off to the kitchen with the others she said, "Elena, what the hell?"
"I'm getting Klaus' attention."
"If Klaus knows you're alive, he'll find you and kill you," Rose told her.
Elena turned and looked at them and Sirena could tell this was something of which she was perfectly aware.
"Which is what you wanted all along," Rose said in realization.
Sirena stepped up to the counter, leaning forward toward Elena. "Stefan is going to be —"
"It's either me or my family."
"So this whole charade is some suicide mission so that you could sacrifice yourself and save everyone else?"
Alice joined them, still beaming. "Cody is on his way and he really wants to meet you."
Rose and Sirena shared a look, knowing they were in deep shit. Elena pushed past them to return to staring out the window. "We have to call Damon," Sirena whispered to Rose.
"He isn't going to be happy," Rose shook her head.
"Well, duh. We still need to call him." Sirena pulled out her phone, but Rose put a hand over it.
"I'll do it." She took the phone from Sirena, dialing Damon. This peeved Sirena a little bit, but then again she wouldn't have to be the one to tell him what was going on. Damon's voice could be heard coming through the phone.
"Not a good time, Rose."
"Don't be angry with me," she started.
"Why, what did you do?"
"You need to come to Richmond immediately."
"Tell me."
"It's Elena," Rose stated, not wanting to elaborate. "We're at Slater's apartment."
"Who's we?"
"Me, Elena and Sirena."
Damon was silent.
"You have to get here quick because Elena sent a message out that she means to surrender to Klaus."
"You've got to be kidding me! I'll be right there. Don't. Move."