AN: So, here it is: the chapter of Elijah. It's one of the shorter chapters, but I hope this first original sighting might make up for that. Enjoy…
Nine. The Original
Caroline is nervous at school.
She is dreading the moment Tyler approaches her and demands answers she doesn't have.
Her dread is interrupted by a text from Stefan.
Elena is missing.
So, on top of the dread of seeing Tyler, Caroline is now also worried about Elena. Caroline wants to skip school and help in the search, but Stefan tells her there is no point. Bonnie is working on a locator spell, but until she has Elena's location there is nothing anyone can do but wait.
So, Caroline sits in class and when Tyler tries to confront her, she plays the clueless idiot. She can tell he doesn't buy her act, but she is confident he won't do anything stupid in front of so many witnesses.
She is wrong.
"What do you want, Tyler?" she demands when the boy intercepts her as she is leaving. She has yet to hear anything regarding Elena and is starting to get really worried. Caroline doesn't want to deal with Tyler right now.
"I want to know what you know," Tyler growls in reply. Go to class and watch MTV and Jeopardy, and you will. If that's all?"
Caroline turns to go, but Tyler grabs her arm to stop her.
And Caroline snaps.
She spins swiftly, her hand grasping Tyler's throat and she shoves him into the bus next to them. He struggles, but an un-changed werewolf's strength is nothing to Caroline's and she waits until Tyler stops his struggling.
"Done? Good. I don't have time for this, so you're going to leave me alone. Okay?"
Tyler is staring at her wide-eyed.
"You're stronger than me. How?"
"I just am. That's all you need to know," Caroline replies, releasing Tyler's neck. "I can't help you with your issues."
Caroline turns to leave again, not looking back even as she hears Tyler kick a garbage can behind her.
She is the last person who should be helping newbies to the supernatural world.
Caroline finally makes it home, only to come face to face with the Salvatore brothers.
"It's Elena," she says as soon as she sees them. "What's happened? Is she okay?"
"Calm down, Caroline. Bonnie's got a lock on her location. We're headed there now," Stefan replies, resting his hands on Caroline's shoulders to calm her panic.
"And you're coming with us," Damon adds from where he leans against the car.
"Okay," Caroline responds, opening the passenger door. Then she pauses and frowns at Damon. "Wait. Why would you want me to come? I thought you thought I was dangerous."
"You are dangerous," Damon responds. "But, you haven't killed anyone that wasn't a danger to us, and you seem to be able to resist trying to punch me every time you see me now. You're dangerous, but whoever has Elena will just see a pretty little cheerleader they assume is human. That makes you our perfect little weapon."
Caroline rolls her eyes because the explanation is just so… Damon. It's also true that she no longer feels the desire to punch him every time she sees him. Oh, Caroline will never like the eldest Salvatore, but she can respect that he cares for Elena. She will be his perfect little weapon if it means saving her friend.
"Fine. Let's go." She tosses her bag into the back seat and clambers in next to it. She ignores the look Stefan gives Damon over the top of the car and hits the back of the seat. "Come on, boys. Elena is a danger magnet. If we don't hurry, she'll be dead before we can save her."
That gets the pair moving.
The house is a mansion. It's also kind of run down.
Caroline figures that it's typical that Elena would be locked up in something right out of The House on Haunted Hill.
"Elijah is in there," Damon murmured quietly.
"Who is Elijah?" Caroline asked, equally quiet.
"One of the original vampires," Damon smirks at Caroline's look. "I've been doing my homework. This is where we'll need you, Barbie. You think Katherine is tough? This guy is twice as old and one of the vampires that spawned the rest of us."
Caroline has to reach out and grasp Stefan's arm as she is rocked by one the voice's memories. A village. And a family. Six children; five boys and a girl. And then blood. And there is sadness, and one of them is dead. Then there is reawakening and more blood, but this time it's the remaining five causing it, rather than mourning it.
"What's wrong?" Stefan asks, grasping her arm and steadying her.
"I… the voice knows the Originals, Stefan."
Damon raises his brows at her.
"Are you telling me this voice of yours isn't just your crazy coming out? It actually is something."
Caroline wants to say that it's her, but looking into Damon's blue eyes, she is quite positive that would be a bad idea. In Damon's eyes, she is a tool to be used. And as soon as she is anything but useful, she is something to be discarded.
"It's something, all right. Luckily for you, it's something that's older than this Elijah. I'll be able to handle him."
Damon accepts the statement as true though his eyes are more thoughtful, as if he is reconsidering "letting" Caroline live, but Stefan looks far less sold on Caroline's confidence. He mouths are you sure to her behind Damon's back, and Caroline nods. She isn't sure, of course. Oh, she knows she has the capability to defeat Elijah. She's just not sure she has the control. Caroline can utilize the power, but once she gets into the action, it becomes a lot less easy to control all her violent urges. And running on pure instinct against a creature who is a thousand years old?
Caroline will have to pull off a miracle.
Still, she moves with the Salvatore brothers. She can hear Elijah speaking with a female. She must be the one who took Elena. Caroline also hears the moment when Elijah kills the woman's companion. She hears Elena's gasp and her heart rate speed up in fear. She hears the unknown woman's broken breaths as she bites back sobs. She can hear Elena try to negotiate with Elijah using the moonstone, but negotiations fail when he rips off her necklace and compels her. Caroline shoots a glare at Damon and Stefan when she hears that the moonstone is with Katherine. She's trapped in that tomb, and they may need that moonstone. Idiots.
Then she hears Elijah move with Elena towards the exit. She looks to the Salvatore brothers who nod. They will be distracting Elijah, to give Caroline the upper hand. Both brothers take off, using their speed to move and call tauntingly at Elijah.
When Damon lures Elijah upstairs, Stefan takes the chance to grab Elena and hide her. Caroline isn't so nice. She grabs the unknown woman, a brunette vampire, and snaps her neck, tossing her down behind the stairs.
Sadly, the snap must have been louder than she expected, because she finds herself airbourne as Elijah tosses her like a doll across the room. Caroline lands hard on her back, sliding back several feet. Before she has time to gather her wits, Elijah is on her.
"Who else is with you?" Elijah hisses. He grasps her around the throat. "I doubt they sent the sweet little cheerleader to take me on all alone."
Damon was right. Even Elijah at a thousand years looks at her and sees the pretty blonde and underestimates.
And Caroline is sick of it.
"There's nothing wrong"—she grabs his wrist and forces it back from her throat, and Elijah's eyes widen in shock—"with being a cheerleader." She brings up her other hand and shoves it against his chest, sending the original into his own flight. He lands on a table across the room, splintering it.
This time, it's Caroline who is on top. Her carefully styled hair has become mussed and Caroline shoves it angrily from her face, not caring whether or not her ears are revealed. Elijah's eyes widen when he sees them.
"Valkyre," he whispers, his voice awed.
Close, murmurs the voice. So very close.
Caroline ignores the voice, reaching up and grabbing a piece of the splintered wood.
"No," she says, looking Elijah directly in the eye. "Cheerleader."
Then she shoves the makeshift stake into Elijah's undead heart.
AN: So, here it is. And a heads up? Elijah and Caroline's relationship is going to be quite different in the story compared to the show. As in they'll actually have one (not romantic, but they'll interact). Also, I'm now working on chapter 12 and if all goes as planned, we'll have a first meeting with Klaus (well, Klaus-in-Alaric). It should be fun. Please review!
