"All who live possess eternal life, and few would trade it for an immortal body, if they truly understood what it is to be alive."
― Audrey Auden, Realms Unreel
Mystic Falls, Present time
Caroline took a deep breath. Seven vampires and a witch all sat opposite her, they stared with anticipation wondering what was going through the blonde's mind.
"So," Rebekah asked impatiently from her spot on a long leather sofa. "Do you remember anything?"
Caroline frowned. It had been over twenty-four hours since Bonnie had completed the spell to retrieve Caroline's memory, but still the blonde was unable to remember a thing.
"No," Caroline replied with a deep sign. "I feel like everything's under the surface, but I still can't get to it."
"Very metaphorical Caroline, but it would be great if you could get a shovel to dig up those memories." Kol's remark immediately earned him a glare from both Elijah and Klaus. Kol rolled his eyes in response.
"It's ok Care," Elena said comfortingly. "You will remember eventually, you just need more time."
Caroline put her head in her hands, frustration filling her body. She did not want to wait any longer, she was ready for the memories to return now and the delay would only cause her more pain.
It seemed as though the whole room was just waiting for the moment when Caroline would suddenly remember. Everyone sat expectedly, wishing for the moment when the blonde would gasp in realisation, but it never came. Caroline sat in the Mikaelson's living room for hours, her friends moving through the house around her. But she was not concentration on the recovery of her memories or the time which was passing, she was thinking about the strange dream which had filled her mind the night before.
England, 1492
A young woman ran along a dusty road, the bright moon illuminating her frantic journey. She could feel the warm tears running down her porcelain cheeks as she moved as quickly as she could. Her heart cried out in pain for she had never felt so much agony or loss as she did in that moment.
The woman knew that she must arrive at her destination before the sun began to peak over the horizon, but she almost wanted to stop dead in her tracks and fall lifelessly to the ground. Was all this pain really worth it? Why must she be the one to be burden with this dreadful curse?
The woman fell onto the stone steps of a grand home. Men came to her aid as she struggled to get up.
"Are you ok Miss De Fleurigny?" A servant asked as he pulled Collette up off the cold ground.
Collette could barely respond as she hobbled into her home.
"I need my father." She wheezed as tear continued to fall from her bright blue eyes.
After less than a minute Lord De Fleurigny burst into the foyer and franticly made his way over to his youngest daughter.
"My dear, what has happened?" The Lord asked his voice full of concern.
"I…I am not well, father." Collette answered as she placed her soft hand on the man's cheek.
The Lord's eyes grew with distress. "What on earth do you mean my child?" He asked.
Collette felt her own eyes begin to grow heavy, but she urged them to stay opened. "You do not know me," Collette began. "You have never met Collette De Fleurigny and you only have one daughter, Geneviève."
"I do not know you." Collette heard her father repeat. She felt more tears begin to fall as he spoke.
"When Lord Niklaus comes you will give him this." Collette continued handing her father a diamond bracelet. "Tell him it belonged to a princess. Tell him you want him to give it to his one true love, when he finally finds her."
The Lord nodded and took the bracelet from his daughter. Collette leant forward and kissed her father on the cheek. She then used her last ounce of energy to compel her mother and sister to forget their youngest family member, Collette. The French woman then lay down on the silk sheets of her grand bed and let herself fall asleep for the last time. Her body disappeared and left nothing, but memories behind.
Mystic Falls, Present time
Caroline knew exactly what had happened in her dream. Collette had disappeared from Klaus' party, leaving only a letter behind. The reincarnation of Ayla had then compelled her family to forget the youngest De Fleurigny, but if she hadn't done the same to Klaus than why did he forget her?
As Caroline pondered on her dream she realised that everyone was beginning to re-enter the room. They wanted answers, but would Caroline simply give them out?
"I need to tell you something." Caroline said as she sat up in her seat. Everyone gathered around, interested in what the blonde had to say. "I had a dream."
"That's great Martin Luther King." Kol mumbled with sarcasm, this time he was merely ignored by the group.
"Well…it wasn't really a dream; it was more of the memory." Caroline continued hesitantly. "It was a memory from 1492."
All eyes when to Klaus as Caroline spoke the date of her recollection. The hybrid sat unusually still. He didn't speak, but merely looked at Caroline silently urging her to continue with her story.
"It was from the night of your birthday." The blonde said directing her remark at Klaus. "From after I disappeared."
Klaus immediately looked shocked. Even he did not know what events had unfolded after he said goodbye to Collette.
"I ran," Caroline said with a slight hint of guilt. "I compelled my family to believe that I had never existed and then I…I died."
Everyone seemed deflated by the story. Caroline herself still felt confused, mostly due to the fact that she still could not remember any more aspects of the tale.
"Wait," Klaus exclaimed abruptly. "You compelled your family?"
Caroline nodded hesitantly. Why did Klaus find the simple notion so unbelievable?
"How could that be?" The hybrid asked almost talking to himself as he questioned the story. "Collette had never been turned. She didn't drink blood and never once did I see her compel anyone. We know now that Collette was indeed immortal, but she didn't convey the attributes of a true vampire."
"What are you saying?" Damon asked sitting forward in his seat.
"I'm saying that Collette was immortal, but she couldn't compel. I'm thinking that that witch did a whole lot more than just bring back Collette's memory."
"You think she put a spell on Collette?" Bonnie asked the hybrid.
"No, I think she turned her."
Caroline thought about the notion for a moment before realising something about her current self.
"I was turned." The blonde commented. "That means that even though I was born immortal I can still become a vampire."
"The reincarnations can't be vampires." Stefan said. "But how does that work?"
"It's the spell!" Bonnie exclaimed. "The spell which Ayanna used on Ayla did not use the blood of a human. That means that Caroline and Collette didn't need to drink blood until they were turned like a regular vampire."
"So the reincarnations aren't born as vampires, they are just immortal." Rebekah asked.
"Yes," Bonnie replied to the Original. "The spell used on Ayla was not the same as the one used on you. Ayla is immortal but she does not require blood to survive. She isn't a vampire."
"But they can still be turned." Elena stated.
"Caroline was turned by Katherine, but who turned Collette? Do you believe the the witches' had something to do with it, brother?" Elijah asked.
Klaus frowned as he wondered whether to rebut his previous statement. "I don't know Elijah," The hybrid eventually replied slightly annoyed.
"But I do." Caroline spoke up. All eyes went to the blonde. She was correct, somewhere in that chaotic mind of hers there were many answers but whether she could retrieve them or not was a whole another story.
So she is beginning to get her memory back…what on earth will she remember? There will be more memories in the next chapter and hopefully she will remember more about a certain hybrid!
I just wanted to remind everyone that if you do have any question, ideas or inquiries about this story feel free to PM me! I am ALWAYS happy to respond!
I have had a few more questions in reviews so I will answers those. In response to whether Caroline can use magic…No she can't, she isn't a warlock like Silas and plus she can't be a witch once she has been turned into a vampire anyway! And I was asked whether Caroline is the map to the cure…well she will assist in finding Silas so she is part of the map but she isn't the only map as such.
As always thanks for all of the wonderful reviews…they make me oh so happy! :)