For the last part of this chapter I was inspired by the song So close by jon mclaughlin, if you feel like listening to something.
AshlynVarela asked a good question about Arawn: Will killing Arawn kill all other vampires, since he is the original Original? :) Only Arawn's line of sired vampires would die. Everyone connceted to Ester's children won't die because Klaus and Elijah and so on are all Originals too. They aren't connected through sireing to Arawn.
Oh and I made a tumblr profile where you can see pictures of OC characters and listen to the music that inspired me.
Stefan limped to his brother and nearly smothered him with a happy very un-Stefan-like hug. Damon resisted a second before giving in to the rare brotherly moment, for once not trying to hide his relief.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Stefan asked, regarding his brother with worry. Damon lifted up his arms, inviting Stefan to check for himself.
"Relax, it's not like I haven't died before," he replied more casual than he felt. "It all worked out fine."
"That's one way to look at it," Caroline said and glanced at Lea or Frigg - or whatever they were supposed to call her now.
If they hadn't known Lea, they wouldn't have been able to tell that something was wrong, but having spent so many hours with her everything about her seemed off. Where Lea would usually stand very straight, always ready to jump on to the next adventure, Frigg looked almost lazy her arms hanging aimlessly down her side. The eyes twinkled secretively, inviting them to solve her mystery, an expression completely foreign to Lea.
"What happened to Lea?" Damon demanded.
"She's alright, for now she is simply unable to take control of herself. I'm still trying to sort out what happened, but I have a pretty good idea." The voice sounded wrong in Lea's mouth.
"Who are you?" Jeremy questioned and tilted his head from side to side as if he was trying to catch a glimpse of Lea from behind a curtain.
"My name is Frigg, daughter of Fjørgun. I gather that a few years has passed since I died. I never thought Arawn would try to bring me back. What year is this?"
"2015," Bonnie said, obviously much more comfortable with this odd magical occurrence than the others.
"A thousand years," Frigg sighed. "You would think he would have gotten over me by now and frankly I thought more would have changed." She looked around the forest, searching for more signs of progress other than the manly and revealing clothes worn by the girls.
"It has changed plenty," Bonnie assured her. "You can come with us back to the Boarding House so we can work things out."
"Are you sure that's such a great idea?" Jeremy asked her.
"She won't hurt us. If she wanted to, we would have been killed during that quake."
"Right you are, young witch. I have no desire to reside in this body or this time but at least for now it seems I must intrude on your hospitality."
Damon grunted. He didn't want to wait to get back to the Boarding House. That woman was going to leave Lea's body now! "I think you should get out of her right now, and we'll take the real Lea back to the Boarding House." There was no doubt of his hostile attitude towards the invader but she merely began laughing.
"You have courage, for a young vampire who just saw me impale a dozen of your race without breaking a sweat. I suggest you be a good boy like your friends if you want to get Lea back. I say we go to this Boarding House as the witch suggested."
The threat left him little choice, although Damon wanted to kill her just for patronizing him in that way (and he probably would have tried if she wasn't in Leas body). He could see Bonnie was looking particularly smug and felt his temper rising and pulse quickening. Wait, what? Pulse? Damon forgot all about the argument he wanted start and listened to the unmistakable sound of his heart beating. He glared at Frigg who had exploited his moment of silence to encourage Bonnie to lead the way back to Mystic Falls.
His heart had never drummed this hard even when Lea's blood was in his system. It hadn't been beating like this since... since he was human. What the fuck!?
He saw Stefan was studying him and he immediately pretended to just be pouting and followed the others away from the glade. When his brother turned his attention to Elena, Damon put his hand on his chest to make sure that the abnormal heart beat hadn't stopped. It was still hammering on. Quickly he raised his chin catching Jeremy's blood scent and sniffed in hard. The familiar feeling of his extended incisors and the blood lust rushed over him. I am still a vampire then. What the hell have you done to me? He glared at Frigg, who was walking up in front with Bonnie asking the witch all of their names and what had led up to the ritual.
During the long walk home Damon didn't get any less confused or irritated. He hoped she wasn't turning him into a god damn human.
He had died with a sort of peace of mind, accepting his fate and even feeling a bit relieved to let go of all the shit that had filled his life. He never had the time to think of what would come next - Hell perhaps. Fortunately he wouldn't get to find out either. The pain from the dagger had passed quickly and the last thing he remembered feeling was satisfaction over the unadulterated sorrow reflected on Lea's face. Then the darkness had swallowed him, leaving him with no thoughts or feelings.
He had floated through a dark ocean, not knowing or caring where he ended up. It was a sleep without dreams or sense of self. Suddenly the pain, the awareness, returned to him in a flash. Then he had felt Lea. She was like a bonfire, blazing through the black ocean to find him. She was screaming for him. Damon had no will of his own to reach out and let her know where he was, but she found him anyway. Although the darkness struggled to prevent him from leaving she tore and tore until he was ripped into the light with a thundering headache and this strange drumming inside him.
He cursed Arawn for letting Frigg hijack Lea just when he needed her answers the most. Of course she wouldn't know what was happening to her, but still, it was better to have a bewildered Lea than this mysterious ghost. He didn't need a new puzzle on top of all the others. Damon decided to throw this bimbo from the past out on her ass as soon as he could come up with a way to get rid of her. Bonnie had managed something similar several times, but the witch seemed more excited than concerned about the situation.
Look at her strut like she owns that body. Even her hair bounced different than Lea's and she kept looking everywhere; up in the sky, at the trees, stopping to touch a particular stone. Even though Bonnie tried her best to get Frigg to tell her more about what had happened with Lea after the ritual, the ghost practically ignored the effort. Damon suspected Bonnie already had an idea as to what Lea was, and if she held out on them Damon would make her regret it.
When they saw the house the others realized how exhausted they all were. For the first time in five days they were all safe even Lea, physically anyway. As soon as they entered Frigg started acting like their joined mother, sending them straight to bed and only Caroline had the energy to argue. Frigg simply bossed the blond vampire up stairs like she was the mistress of the house and ignoring any protests. They were all flabbergasted, not sure how a thousand year old ghost even knew how to navigate the house, that must have looked like a spaceship to someone from the Viking Age. When Caroline finally broke through Frigg's stern care and asked if she wasn't freaked out by the modern surroundings the woman just smiled.
"One can only expect the unexpected under circumstances such as these. Do not try distract me from getting you to bed."
Caroline almost shrieked. "Why should we even listen to you?" Immidiately Lea's... Friggs' features softened.
"Are you not tired my sweetie?" she asked putting a reconciliatory hand on Caroline's shoulder and sounding like a grandmother. The tenderness perplexed the vampire.
"Well, a bit.. okay a lot, but,"
"Then go to sleep. We will talk come morning."
Elena watched the two, waiting for Caroline to flip. If there was one thing her friend hated it was when people ordered her around. A few seconds passed, then Caroline sighed, relenting and turned to the room she had been sharing with Bonnie these last days. The witched just smiled, tired, and promised Caroline that they would deal with the walking personality disorder in the morning.
Elena wasn't going to protest the orders as she wanted nothing more than to get out of the dirty linen rag and crawl into bed with Stefan.
"Have you eaten anything?" Stefan asked worried when he noticed her scrawny arms.
"I can't, I still feel so sick to my stomach." She tried to wave him off but he ran down stairs and returned with some bread and tea.
"You have to eat just a little before you go to sleep. I just got you back, and I don't want you to starve to death."
"Fine, fine," she said annoyed and swallowed a few pieces, barely able to keep it down. "Now can I sleep?"
"Sure." He kissed her lips and crawled in next to her. "Did Arawn hurt you?" His voice was full of regret of his failure to protect her. They had been held in separate places in Arawn's home the entire time and even though Stefan had been tortured most of the time, his only thoughts had been of Elena. It was what kept him going, even when Arawn finally had broken through his armor and he had spilled what little knowledge he had of Lea. It had been little insignificant details, that he didn't think could hurt her, but Arawn had hung on to every detail.
"I am okay, really. It was kind of cold in the dungeons, but I think I'll get off with just a minor flue. I'm more concerned about you."
"I got some blood when I got you the tea. I'll be healed by tomorrow."
"I have to admit, for a while I didn't think we would make it out of there," she whispered and cuddled close to him.
"Me neither. We have to be careful with Arawn. He'll be back to deal with Frigg. Hopefully she's up for protecting Lea."
"It's all very weird," Elena muttered half asleep. "But for once the big bad vampire isn't out to get me. It's kind of refreshing, even though we got ourselves caught in the crossfire anyway."
...
Damon sat in his room on the giant bed, touching his chest. Now that he was alone he could finally allow himself to marvel at what was happening to him. A heartbeat. He had been so occupied with trying to wrap his head around what was going on between Lea and Arawn. Only when the shock subsided did he feel it. He was still a vampire. That much was clear. Though his body felt like it had been forced through a wood chipper, he still had his superhuman strength. Damon had listened to Elena explain to Frigg what had happened when Lea killed and resurrected him, and he wanted to talk to Lea, but somehow this Frigg had invaded the Danish girl. It was very inconvenient and increasingly difficult having tod wait for dawn when Frigg had promised to tell them all she knew.
The others were already asleep by the sound of their snoring and he could hear Lea mumbling in her sleep. Damon rose resolutely and followed the sound of her voice. Apparently Frigg had decided to go to sleep outside on the lawn.
"Jeg.. ka ik," Lea mumbled, either in her own language or it might be jibberish. It seemed - at least for now - that Frigg had left the building and Lea was free to dream. Damon wanted to wake her up and question her, but she looked like she was dreaming about something unpleasant. He crouched beside her, putting his hand on his heart. What have you done to me?
After watching her ramble incoherently for a while he decided not to wake her. If even it was Lea and not Frigg that woke up, she would probably be more confused than he was. That would be useless. She had enough to deal with anyway. She was no good to him in this state. He considered walking back into his room, but after tonight he didn't like leaving Lea alone outside. Arawn was likely to stop by soon. Maybe he should just wait for morning beside her. That way he would be the first to know when Frigg was ready to share and he could take her inside if Arawn showed up.
...
The beautiful fortress-like house Shedu had spent the last four hundred years in was burning. The once so structured garden looked like a warzone, the scattered, mangled corpses of their servants spread like white bloodied rose petals in a cemetery. Every bush and tree was cut down, every flowerbed torn apart.
Shedu stood behind Arawn, his hands toying with a severed finger. He had been waiting for his master to finish raging without wanting to interfere. He and Arawn were the only survivors after Frigg's wrath.
On the bright side only few of Arawn's followers had been with them for the ritual, although Shedu was pretty sure Arawn didn't have a bright side. The bad part was that Arawn's last minute decision to let Lea drink Frigg's blood had backfired, and cost them many of their most loyal subjects. Shedu had advised against it, but Arawn always followed his own convictions and instinct. Shedu knew better than to tell him; I told you so.
"I want her dead!" Arawn roared on and grabbed another fallen tree, flinging it into the fires.
"If you kill Frigg now, you will kill Lea too," Shedu reminded him.
"I am aware. Lea is unbalanced by the power she wasn't ready for. I thought Frigg might be more reasonable after a millennia being dead, but obviously she is not worth my admiration." He halted his furious pacing when a thought crossed his mind. "I want Lea to regain control and send Frigg back to the void she came from."
"Of course."
"And from here on no more of thisss," Arawn hissed full of contempt and pointed at the burning building. "I was wrong to try and build a home for my children. They should be raised like I was, by the wild." His dramatic voice made the fire blaze higher. "We have betrayed ourselves, Shedu. Betrayed our nature, like the humans. No more mansions, no more civilty."
Shedu was tempted to ask if they should give up wearing clothes and shoes too. He held his tongue as always. Arawn had been his mentor ever since he changed Shedu in the land now know as India, many millennias ago. Shedu respected strength above all else and he would follow Arawn anywhere. Even into the sun. But the last thousand years had been a test of his loyalty. Arawn the family man... Pfff. He knew that this was all a part of the plan but Frigg had made Arawn soft, at least for a little while. The Original was not one to fall in love, but he did enjoy the epic stories of war, heroes and beauty. Shedu suspected that what Arawn felt for Frigg was never love, but a need to perform an epos of his own. After all what else is a vampire to do with his immortality?
Frigg's wrath had reminded the Original what truly mattered and his master was once again himself; angry, primordial, hungry.
"Did you find the young vampire I asked you to?" Arawn sneered.
"He will be here before sunrise,"Shedu promised.
"Get him to work straight away. I want Frigg dead as soon as possible."
If Arawn had been wearing one of those black capes that Dracula had paraded around in, he would have made it sweep after him like black wings as he ran full speed over the mountain side. Shedu followed him, gladly leaving behind the smoking ruin. He briefly thought of Mara, and how she would have shivered gleefully if she had seen Arawn's change of heart. She had been one amazing fuck, but he sure wasn't going to miss her stench.
...
By the first morning light most of they were all up, even though last night was painted on their faces. Even the vampires looked worn and as they gathered in the living room, most of them had found a blood bag to sip from. Bonnie and Frigg had eaten a quick breakfast, but Elena still didn't have any appetite. She had been dragging her feet around all morning and both Bonnie and Stefan had watched her with concern. Now Frigg had finally invited them to join her in the couch and they were waiting with dull anticipation.
"We're all here now," Elena said and put down a cup of morning coffee in front of Frigg. It was obvious that the ghost was still in full control of Lea's body because she was dressed in an uncharacteristic very romantic flowery dress, borrowed from Elena's closet. Her hair had been pinned up in an elaborate do and embellished with leaves from the garden. Frigg tasted the coffee and then stuck her tongue out like they had offered her something terrible.
"Eww, why do you drink this black water? It's dreadful. Don't you have any beer?" Stefan nodded with a smile and went to fetch one from the fridge. "It's incredible what humans have achieved in the last thousand years," Frigg spoke and poked the cell phone on the low table. She had embraced the whole futuristic experience with nothing but curiosity and kept on touching all the strange things around her and admiring the fabric of the curtains and the light bulbs.
"Here's your beer."
"Are you comfortable now? No need of an extra pillow to your back or maybe some woolen socks?" Damon asked with a strained sugar voice.
"No thank you," Frigg replied cheerily and marveled at the can of beer.
"Then get the fuck on with business and tell us what is happening."
Frigg wasn't intimidated by Damon's mood, but sent him a disdainful glare. "Vampires," she snorted. "One would think that eternal life would teach you patience."
"We're all just a bit shocked," Elena explained.
"Yeah, we never even got to ask you if you two are okay," Bonnie remembered looking at Elena and Stefan. "Are you okay?"
"We feel fine now. I just want some answers," Stefan replied, pulling Elena close. She was sitting in his lap and a fine layer of sweat on her brow revealed that she wasn't entirely fine.
"So I guess you're all a bit confused as to what happened to your friend last night," Frigg began but was quickly interrupted.
"Yes, why did you posses Lea?" Caroline spoke firmly. She had quickly decided that she liked Lea and that this turn of events was displeasing.
"I am not holding her hostage. She is too weak to take control of her own body right now. She wasn't ready for this kind of power, let alone Arawn's attempt to reinstate me into her body, but we're trying to teach her how to deal with it."
"We?"
"Teach her?" It was just too bizarre to talk to Lea about Lea being taught how to control Lea.
"Arawn opened a gate inside her, to all those who possessed her power before her, but mainly me, since it was my blood she drank."
"You're the skeleton from the grave," Bonnie gasped. "And it was Arawn who wanted to date you."
"Date?" Frigg asked.
"Ehm, he wooed you."
"Ah yes."
"Can't you just exorcise yourself or something?" Caroline asked.
"No, I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. Lea has to evict me herself. If she can't, I'll probably take over completely."
"We can't let you do that," Jeremy said.
"Don't worry, young hunter. I have no desire to go against Nature. My life has ended. It is Lea's time to wield the power," Frigg shrugged. "Although I am enjoying getting to taste food one more time. These are delicious." She waved an Oreo in the air and then stuffed in her mouth with a loud pleased moan.
"What are you anyway?" Stefan asked and they all leaned forward to hear the answer they had been searching for since they met Lea.
It was Bonnie who answered. "They're Geas," she spoke with great reverence and showed them a page in the book on her lap. "This is what they are." The photo featured a morbidly obese female statue. They all looked at it for a second, then most of them burst into loud laughter.
"Haha, for a minute I thought you were being serious," Caroline laughed hard and Jeremy was grinning till his eyes watered. "That is a really fat woman! Thanks Bonnie, we needed a good laugh." Caroline chuckled and Frigg smiled looking down Lea's fit body, not without a sense of self-irony.
Bonnie, however, was pissed that they weren't taking her seriously. "I wasn't making a joke. It's not a subtle hint to get Lea on a diet. This is one of her ancestors, another vessel for the power she holds." Frigg touched the photo, more interested in the futuristic technique. When Bonnie didn't stop fuming it slowly dawned on them that she was in fact serious.
"A Gea? I never heard of Geas," Stefan said to get past the awkward moment that ensued.
"Sure you have, we just go by different names. Nymphs, Demeter, Gaia, Antumn, Mater Magna," Frigg listed, "and Frigg of course."
Damon stiffened. "Arawn called Lea Antumn."
Bonnie nodded as if this was proof enough.
"Those are mostly Goddesses, I don't believe in Gods." Caroline said rebelliously with the tone of someone who had to defend this point of view often.
"I don't either," Bonnie shrugged, "You don't have to be religious to know that Geas or witches or vampires exists. People just thought they were gods, like vampires have been thought to be devils and demons."
"Okay but what does a Gea do?"
"If witches are the servants of nature, Geas are Nature," Bonnie explained and Frigg simply studied their reaction. "My Grams used to tell me that nature had a conscience, a will of its own and that is why it sometimes punishes witches by taking their power away when they abuse their magic to cause imbalance, like Esther. This conscience can sometimes take physical form if it feels threatened. Hence the Gea," she gestured Frigg sitting casually in the couch, as if Bonnie had simply told them that her hobby was tennis and stamp collecting. "Geas are not supernatural. They're - well - Nature."
"How?" Jeremy asked, unable to really understand the woman before them.
"They don't get their powers through genetics like werewolfes or transformation like vampires. Actually I don't know how you get your powers," Bonnie said turning to Frigg.
"We're born with a human soul in a human-like body, although there was a time when we were also born as animals and plants. When we get pregnant for the first time, the connection to our baby opens the connection to everything around us. We are given the mind of Nature and the ability to use the energy that links us all together. That is why they also call us the Body of Two Souls. Witches can acess and use Nature's power too to some extent, but they don't have the will of Nature, nor the full grasp of its power."
"So you're like a super witch?" Carline attempted.
"I don't do magic. I don't snap my fingers and say spells. I nurture and I bend the energy of life in the way it is supposed to be bent. If you imagine that the world is just a dead place of tangible things, from the tallest mountain to the smallest atom then the power of nature is the energy that gives life and movement to everything. A Gea has access to that energy and can shape it to help keep nature's balance."
"What does that mean? What can you do?"
"I am not fast or strong or a quick healer. I make things grow. That's why you are feeling so queasy Elena. I can sense you drank some of my blood, am I right?"
Elena nodded nervously.
"And you made love while it was still in your bloodstream, yes?"
Stefan shifted uncomfortably. "Is there something wrong with her?"
"Depends on how you both feel about children. My blood has that effect, even on the completely impotent, no offence Stefan."
"What are you saying?" Elena breathed with bulging eyes.
"I guess it's a bit early for you to discover it for yourself, but you're pregnant sweetie."
The room had been silent while they were trying to understand the Gea's disposition, but now a wave of reactions exploded. Stefan and Elena talked at the same time trying to ask Frigg if she was being serious, and how. Caroline did her adorable little scream that she always did when she was excited and Bonnie was flinging questions at Elena, to hear if she could feel the baby. Jeremy and Damon both looked like a pink elephant was soaring through the living room. No one noticed that all the noise caused a shimmer to cross over Frigg's features and for a moment Lea was back, watching and getting smitten by the panic. A second later she was gone though and Frigg rose to her feet trying to calm them down.
"Yes Elena, you are with child, and it is human. I'm the only one who can make vampire babies," she said like she had a bad taste in her mouth. Suddenly it seemed like Elena couldn't care less if Frigg was the embodiment of Nature, because a slightly green nuance was coloring her face.
"I need to sit down," she mumbled.
"You are sitting down," Stefan told her and took her hand.
"Maybe you guys need a moment?" Caroline suggested and Stefan agreed.
Frigg smiled at them, convinced that a baby was wonderful news and followed the others out of the room chatting like a bird to Damon who was trying to down an entire bottle of scotch in one go.
"Tell me what you're thinking," Stefan combed his hands through his hair and watched her when they were finally alone.
"I am thinking we both thought this could never happen."
"I know. It's impossible.. but it has happened. I could feel something was different with you, although I figured Arawn had done something bad to you."
She looked at him and saw there was a distinct gleam in his eyes. "How do you feel about it?"
"Honestly," he said, holding his breath, "I'm freaking happy." A stunned smile spread over his mouth and Elena thought it was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. But she had only just survived being a teenager, how were they supposed to care for a child while being hunted by Originals and all the other supernatural crap that stalked them? What were the odds that she would even make it through a pregnancy? The gloomy thoughts reflected in her eyes and Stefan stroked her hair.
"I know what you're thinking," he said "and don't. You would be an amazing mother and nothing would happen to that child without your permission. I gave up the idea of a family long ago, Elena. And then you came into my life and I tried to push you away, because I was afraid my lifestyle would mean that you would get hurt, remember?"
She nodded.
"But here we are 6 years later and you are still here with me." Tears were beginning to pool in the corners of his eyes. "And you make me so happy. If you don't want the baby I won't blame you. But if you do..." he couldn't finish the sentence.
"Hey," she put her hand on his cheek. "You're right. I have done so many more impossible things than get pregnant. I do want a family with you Stefan."
In the kitchen Caroline jumped up and down, unable to relax when she heard her two friends kissing each other.
"Are you eavesdropping? That's not nice Caroline," Bonnie said but her facial expression was curious. "I know it's wild, but why are you so happy?"
"Because Bonnie, I know what it's like to give up the dream of living like a human. That baby is a miracle."
"Hale-fucking-luja," Damon grunted and looked out the kitchen window to Frigg who had gone outside with naked feet. He was at the end of his rope trying to deal with the his noisy heart beat and this news had delayed him further from getting his answers.
"So is a Gea one of the good guys?" Jeremy asked Bonnie.
"Not good or bad by human standards. They protect only balance." The witch looked to the woman outside with much respect.
"So what? She's like this almighty powerful kind of thing?"
"She's only a fragment of Nature's conscience and she's mortal, so no, she is by no means all-powerful. And you heard her, she nurtures mostly. Everything Geas do takes time."
"She worked pretty fast last night with that earthquake," Damon noted silently, not sure how to act around the Lea that wasn't Lea or the disgustingly happy couple in the living room, who by the sound it was getting it on in the couch. He wondered why he hadn't moved out long ago, although this was the first time he had considered it. Maybe it was time to get a place of his own.
"The birth of a Gea is a powerful event. Frigg drew power from it as did Lea when she resurrected you. Also Frigg is old. I bet she learned a few things along the way." They sneaked a peek at the Gea dancing in the garden like she was a careless toddler.
"Do you think she's powerful enough to kill Arawn?" Jeremy wondered.
"We will have to ask her."
40 minutes later Stefan and Elena were finally done celebrating and the others returned to the living room. Bonnie and Caroline hugged Elena and Stefan, after Jeremy recovered from the initial shock he too congratulated his sister. It made him happy that his big sister would have as normal a relationship as possible when in love with a vampire. Elena was definitely meant to be a mum. It had been a while since they had spent time together but it was clear that she was adult enough to handle the responsibility.
"I am glad that it will be a loved child," Frigg admitted. "Without knowing that much about how you do thing here in this time I have seen too many drunken fathers and unwilling accidental mothers when I was alive." Her statement reminded them that it wasn't Lea sitting in the chair.
"We need to deal with Arawn. Now more than ever," Stefan smiled and put his hand on Elena's belly.
"Can you kill him?" Jeremy asked Frigg.
"No, Arawn is special. But he can't be completely immortal if he was created by a Gea. We can only work within the laws of nature. All that is born can die."
"How do you know that?" Bonnie asked. Obviously they had gotten on to a subject her books didn't cover.
"As a Gea is connected to everything, they are also connected to their predecessors. It is highly unusual that a predecessor actually takes over another Geas body, but we do have a limited, shared collective memory. That is why I know you and Lea kissed," Frigg smiled at Damon making everyone turn around to look at him with open mouths. "And that a Gea gave birth to Arawn." The pile of shocking announcements on top of each other left the group completely unable to decide who they should stare at.
"What!?"
"You kissed her?!"
"Your kind made the first vampire!?"
Stefan, Caroline and Bonnie spoke simultaneously. Damon resolved to go straight for the liquor cabinet for yet another bottle, not reacting to any of them. It was clearly necessary to be excessively drunk for this conversation. Frigg was openly enjoying the commotion.
"I could perhaps call upon the Gea who birthed Arawn. She's in here," Frigg pointed to Lea's head . "It was so long ago she is almost just an echo of what she once was." Bonnie was still distracted by Damon and Lea's little secret and only Jeremy really focused on the Gea before them.
"If she created the first vampire, I am not sure I want to meet her," Elena said worried remembering her meeting with Esther, but Frigg's eyes were already blank looking like there was a search going on inside her. Suddenly a voice started shouting from Lea's mouth so they all jumped in their seats and Damon dropped his glass.
"I see them, the sick mutation of nature! For all my power I cannot understand why Earth would allow such creatures - who will spit on their mother and mutilate her - to grow and thrive. They think themselves above all else. They do not know that killing their mother will kill them too. Humans. Disease. Murderers. I see how they have scarred the ground, how they cut and burn to make their fields. Fools. Do they not see that Earth provides for them, without this destruction? And they tell each other that they mount the Earth each year to force her to grow more food, so they can multiply. Does the wolf burn its home to feed its whelps? Does the swallow or the deer? They manage to create waste out of bounty, without acknowledging that they are a part of a delicate balance. Imbecils. Blasphemers. They must think themselves Gods for trying to dominate other animals. They bind them, they tame them. Disgraceful. Where did the hunter go? Why did men put down their bow and spear for plough and sickle? When did they leave their noble nature behind, to rape the Earth as if they could possess her? Do not worry, Squirrel and Owl and Lynx who was driven away when men claimed your forest. I bear within me Earth's revenge:
The Hunt master. He will restore the balance. He will be one of you. The shadow will be his home and the fire his enemy. My son will make men know that the Era of the hunt is not over. He will bring them back to the wild or wipe them all from the Earth. My Prince of the Untamed, the kill is yours. And men shall know you because of what they used to be and fear you because they recognize their own bright darkness: Their instinct.
You will not be nurtured by my breast. The forest, the shade will be your mother. You will never know love, for love is a trade belonging to men of plough and sickle. Your will only feel hunger!"
They all looked at Lea like she had lost her mind completely. During the brief window into her hateful predecessor's thoughts she had practically crawled up on the table roaring all the channeled anger into the face of a very pale Elena. None of them had seen Lea so ugly before But like a frown can be turned to a smile in the tiniest of moments, Frigg returned on Lea's face.
"Phfew, she was such a hateful woman," Frigg said and got down from the table like it was no big deal, she had crawled up there in the first place. "Not fond of humans, that one."
"You don't say," Jeremy smiled carefully and wiped off the drops of saliva she had spat in his face. This whole shifting personas thing was getting ridiculous.
"I am not sure I understood what just happened," Caroline frowned.
"Many thousands of years ago the humans lived only as hunters until some of them learned to be farmers, growing their food instead of hunting it. It meant a lot of changes to the earth, as humans cleared the forests to make room for fields. The Gea who was alive at the time wasn't very pleased with this change and she bred Arawn to stop them from ruining the lands. But he is a monster. Wanting to protect nature, she made something that went completely against nature."
They leaned back listening to her story.
"As it happened, Arawn and I crossed paths and neither of us knew what the other was. He courted me, and I fell for him. Until one night when his mother, my ancestor, came to me in a dream and told me who he was. He is the son of my power. That almost makes me his mother, and that detestable notion made me sick to my stomach. I could never love my own abomination of a child. The next day I told him everything. He didn't even know exactly who he was, but he was thrilled. I could see he realised the purpose of his existence. I told him that meant we couldn't be together. It would be wrong, incestuous, and our twisted love would result in children because of what I was. My rejection angered him. He killed me, even though he loved me. I guess he found the next Gea to fulfill what I refused, but he won't get her either." Frigg had a murderous look in her eyes.
"I think you're a special woman Frigg, but I don't believe he did all this just so he could marry you," Jeremy deducted. "He told Lea that all he wants is a family, but there's got to be more to it. He isn't just a broody vampire."
"And I think I know what he has planned, some of it at least," Stefan exclaimed. "When he tortured me he kept blabbing about his great mission. I actually think he talked more than I did," he snickered. "Arawn has gotten it into his head that he should lead this vampire army, tried to recruit me while torturing me. I think he wants to act out the genocide his mother had planned for him. He wants to kill all humans."
"That's just stupid," Damon sneered. "Every lion knows not to kill all the buffaloes for breakfast, then there'll be nothing left to eat for dinner."
"Did you just compare humans with cows?" Elena asked.
"Well, you are very heifer eyed Elena. There so big and brown," he jested and simulated massive sad eyes.
"Damon has a point," Stefan agreed.
Elena slapped her boyfriend accusingly.
"Not the heifer-eyed thing," he quickly added although Elena did not look like she was about to forgive him. "It's suicide to wage war on the humans. If he kills them all he won't survive."
"You survive on animal blood," Caroline reminded him.
"Yeah, but you know as well as I do that animals are a poor substitute for the real thing."
"I say we kill him. I can live without having to analyze the intentions of every damn Original we meet," Damon stated coldly.
"That requires a weapon that can actually kill him," Bonnie argued and looked to Frigg. "How are we supposed to kill Arawn?"
The Gea shook her head to tell them she didn't have an answer. "I wish I could tell you what to do, but his mother is blocking me. She doesn't want me to know how to get rid of him." Her voice sounded bitter. "I'll try to break her, but I doubt I'll succeed."
"Then we hit the books again," Jeremy announced and turned to Bonnie. "Would you mind doing some research with me?"
"No of course not," she smiled, winking her eyes much more than she need to.
"We can get back to normal then, for now?" Caroline asked.
"Yes, and don't worry about Arawn. He won't dare come close to me again after last night. I may not be able to end him, but I can surely make him suffer," Frigg promised with her lips pursed.
"What about Lea?" Damon said, not at all satisfied that the whole ghost-in-Lea's-body-thing couldn't be solved here and now.
"There's nothing you can do but wait for her to battle through her confusion," Frigg shrugged. "In the meantime I should like to what else the future has to offer, before I return to the eternal sleep."
...
Frigg didn't get to enjoy the future quite as much as she had hoped. Although Frigg was the dominating personality she often got tired and couldn't control a variation of other prior Geas messing with Lea's head. Lea's schizophrenia was getting to them. Damon had nearly killed Lea when this very cheery clingy Gea surfaced who thought Damon was "one hot goblet of nectar." Then she had shamelessly climbed onto his lap and told him he would look stunning with golden blond hair, perhaps a matching beard with braids and that he could plough her field any time.
In response he simply rose from the chair making her fall to the floor and then he halfway ran from the room trying to douse a certain urge to hurt. Frigg had regained control soon after and unknowingly made it worse when she confused had tried to call Damon back with the phrase "come, tell mamma what's wrong."
The real Lea didn't seem to be able to break through, or else she didn't want to, because her body continued to be a circus with different acts all day. The day passed by as multiple personalities borrowed Lea, not all of them as agreeable as Frigg. Damon resented the horny ones the most, because they wouldn't take no for an answer. Some other day he would probably have taken advantage of the situation, but he couldn't stand their sordid words on Lea's tongue. The only benefit was getting to watch Elena and Bonnie growing perplexed when other Geas turned attention on to Stefan or Jeremy. His brother was in a forgiving mood, dealing with the Geas without even one furrow on his brow. Even when a Gea started dragging in piles of dirt from the garden to make the house more homy, Stefan took on the task of explaining why she couldn't just do that. Elena and Bonnie had long since evacuated to the kitchen, discussing , magical protection during pregnancies. The olive-skinned girl seemed at peace with her condition and had already suggested a name for a boy. Both Damon, Stefan and Jeremy had vetoed her suggestion with one voice. No way in hell would they let a family member suffer the name of Amadeus. Jeremy took off for a couple of hours to visit a friend who knew a lot about vampire history, hoping he could help them. The girls suspected that he left because he hated waiting and doing very little as Lea struggled inside herself. So typical for men. They can slaughter each other but are lost when they are faced with a woman's craze.
Damon tried to remain out of sight but the Geas were especially attracted to him for some reason and he did not enjoy the repeated hide and seek. When Lea had snuck up on him for the second time he dragged her halfway to the basement before the objecting shouts was replaced with Frigg's stern demand that he let go and that she would try harder to control the other Geas. Reluctantly he released her and Stefan took her to the gardens, whilst chatting about hippie meditation bogus that could help her focus.
Only moments later two startled screams came from the kitchen. The sun had just descended below the horizon as a pair of eyes peeked through the kitchen window, accompanied by a creepy scraping on the glass. Bonnie quickly directed her painful embolism spell at Mara's hideous face and Elena opened the door clutching a stake she intended to use. As she raised it, Stefan came running and shouted: "No stop!" and Elena's hand stopped midair. Instead of countering Mara had lied down by her feet like a dog and watched them both frightfully. Stefan walked over to them and after hesitating briefly he patted Mara on the head. The wretched female purred under his touch.
"Stefan good," she said, attempting a grateful smile, but to Elena it looked like the vampire was choking on something.
"How did you know she wouldn't hurt me?" Elena asked and failed in keeping a bit of blame out of her voice. She wanted mostly to let the stake continue its course, but lowered it instead.
"Because I spared her life back when we were with Arawn."
"Honor among murderers," Elena mumbled wryly and watched with disgust as Mara worshipped Stefan's leg. "How did she even survive?"
"I don't know, but it would be stupid to send her back."
"Wouldn't it be more stupid to let her stay? She might be spying for Arawn?"
Stefan crouched till he came eye to eye with Mara. "Are you spying for Arawn?"
The female looked horrified. "No, no, Arawn want to kill Mara. Stefan good. Stefan save Mara."
"Invite her in, Elena."
"What!? No way!"
Damon appeared in the door, attracted by their conversation. "No Stefan! You can't keep the puppy," he imitated Elena's voice. Elena sent him a scorching glare.
"We have enough on our hands with an unbalanced Gea. No more lunatics," Elena rejected. Mara looked hurt but didn't speak. She only moved closer to Stefan.
"Come on Elena," Damon spoke, "how can you resist those ugly little eyes? Who's a good Mara? Who's a good Mara?" The female watched him warily but didn't seem to understand that he was making fun of her. Arawn and Shedu wasn't exactly humorous personalities. When he kept smiling at her like she was a puppy she crawled over to him and started touching his leg too. Damon just grinned. "Look how cute she is."
Elena wasn't convinced. Cute wasn't exactly the word one would use to describe Mara.
"Do you trust me?" Stefan said, an argument that had never failed to convince her.
"Of course I do."
"Then let her in."
"Okay," she huffed, not eager to comply. "Mara please come in."
Jeremy had returned to the house and nearly fired the stake-gun Alaric left him when Mara entered the living room. "What is she doing here?"
"Beats me," Elena glowered and scooted the chair as far away from Mara as possible.
"You let her in without asking why she came?" Jeremy gaped sending his sister a look of contempt.
"She's not here on Arawn's behalf," Stefan said and Mara shook her head to show her good will.
"Then why are you here?"
The female poked her lips like she was trying to wring words from them. In the dim light of the room, she resembled a mummified corpse with flickering eyes. "Arawn make Mara dead with words. Stefan show... mercy." The last word sounded clumsy, like she wasn't sure it was quite right.
Elena glanced to Stefan, who was nodding and encouraging Mara to go on.
"Mara serve Stefan now."
"Serve him?" Jeremy frowned. "You can't stay in the same house as my sister. You tried to kill her, remember?" The questioned was aimed at Stefan. In one impressive jump Mara reached Elena hand began petting her hand submissively.
"Skinny girl is Stefan's friend. So Mara's friend too."
Elena pulled away her hand, feeling a growing desire to stake the female. And if Stefan wouldn't help her, Damon surely would.
Frigg entered the living room but stopped in her tracks when she noticed the newcomer. "Mara? Is that you?" The Gea asked, squinting. Mara tipped her head like a bird. Last time she had met the blond girl was in the Hall of Mirrors, but it wasn't the young Antumn she remembered.
Frigg could feel her confusion. "I look different now, but so do you. You're a vampire?" The Gea's voice was sad.
Mara was trying hard to recall the memory she connected with Frigg's voice. When she suddenly realized who was addressing her, Mara threw herself on the floor, crumbling and mumbling incoherent apologies. "Sadness, forgiving Mara did only her Mistress command."
"I see you have suffered plenty for your sins, Mara." Frigg eyed the female's appearance with shock. "What is done, is done. You are surrounded by good people in this room, serve them from now on."
Mara tried to brush Frigg's legs in an attempt to make amends and show her gratitude. "Mara will serve."
"You know her?" Elena asked.
"Last time I saw her she was human and came to ask me for my blood because the family she served was smitten by a plague. It was a lie constructed by a woman named Esther, who wished to curse her own family to become vampires."
"Oh we know Esther very well," Bonnie snorted. Mara made herself very small, at the sound of the Original mother's name and covered her face in her hands.
"But she merely followed orders," Frigg mused and placed a reconiliatory hand on Mara's head.
"Then she can stay here," Stefan concluded. "She might even know some things about Arawn that can be helpful."
Mara started making a curious happy-dance, that mostly reminded them of a monkey trying to avoid getting bitten by ants.
Damon had been silently enjoying the show and couldn't help but joking. "Fine, Stefan. But she's your responsibility. You feed her, walk her and there will be no peeing on the carpet." Frigg nodded pleased and left them again, to continue whatever she was doing in the gardens. Elena's was far from happy and Jeremy wasn't pleased either. Only because Mara promised not to stray from Stefan's side, did they accept the arrangement.
"But she is not sleeping in our room," Elena stated and marched out.
Damon felt slightly uplifted by the chaos Mara had brought into the house. It was a nice distraction from his own need to get Lea back. When he realized Frigg was currently alone in the garden he saw his window of opportunity to ask her a few questions.
"How long before we can get the real Lea back? I need to talk to her," Damon announced as he found Frigg sitting on a small hill.
"I don't know. When she feels ready. She has been taking control two times today although only for a moment."
"She has?" He was upset that he hadn't noticed. "When?"
"When she gets emotional," Frigg spoke non-commitally and closed her eyes to feel the wind.
"Emotional? I thought she needed to gain control, not lose it?"
"We are closest to ourselves in moments of passion. It emphasizes a sense of self that control never can."
"So if we shocked her real good she would come out of hiding?"
"Probably, but in order for her to stay longer than a minute it would have to really appall her; Shake her to her very core."
"I bet seeing me naked could do the trick," he humored.
"It's worth a shot," Frigg grinned back. "It might not be a completely foolish suggestion."
He eyed her with surprise and a smirk. "Really?"
"She's very fond of you Damon. If anyone can encourage her to fight through the confusion it's you."
"Right," he replied with dry sarcasm.
"You don't believe me?"
"Lea and I have reached a state of acceptance towards each other. I wouldn't go as far as to say she's fond of me."
Frigg smiled knowingly. "If you're not that close, then why are you so eager to get her back to her body?"
"I have questions for her."
"Questions that I am surely much more qualified to answer, only you don't trust me like you trust her."
"She is a bad liar, that's all. It makes it easy to get the answers I want." He rolled his blue eyes at her suggestive winking.
"Some of your questions I have little chance of knowing the answer to, but there is one particular that you know I can help you with."
"Fair enough. Why is my heart beating?"
"Wrong question. The why only Lea can tell you. The how is more in line with what I can share. Arawn needed to force her to use her powers. All he did during the ritual would have been to get her in contact with that link she is supposed to discover later in life. When she took your life and gave it back it opened the connection to Nature and all of its power was given to her as she broke the laws of life and death to maintain balance. Take a life to make a life. She took it and she restored it. When she brought you back it shifted something inside you. You're still a vampire Damon, but you are something more now."
"What?"
"I don't know. This is unprecedented. As I said, the ritual is not necessary for a Gea to get her powers normally. But Arawn can't make dead babies with her before she has her powers and she wouldn't get her power until she got pregnant the old fashioned way with a human. Have you tried to experiment? Are you stronger? Faster?"
"I don't know. Are you volunteering for such an experiment?" he asked, not minding a chance to punish her a bit.
"I am sure Lea will help you all she can to find out. When I am gone you can get back to... accepting each other."
"You sound sure she will overpower you."
"She will. She is strong. We could help her on the way though."
"How?" he frowned, as always a little suspiciuos.
"Kiss me," she smiled.
"You wish!" No way was he kissing a ghost wearing Lea like a meat suit.
"You wanted to shock her back, right? I think a kiss might be her cure."
"If you want to snuggle me, you could just say so," he replied coolly.
Frigg's features remained neutral. Damon thought of Lea's reaction the last time he tried it. Yeah it would definitely shock her if I tried that again, he mused but hesitated. They had only just agreed to be friends and Damon wasn't keen on ruining that. He was also very aware that it was Frigg and not Lea he would be kissing and that wasn't an appealing idea. The old hag could just be messing with him.
As he sat weighing the pros and cons Frigg leaned over and grabbed his chin. "Too slow, bloodsucker," she grinned at his stunned expression and then smacked her lips onto his.
Damon was taken aback by her move and although the contours of her lips felt familiar it was definitely not Lea controlling them. The kiss was hard and emtionless. He wanted to pull away, but then the kiss shifted and became soft and warm. Damon didn't like Lea. It wasn't really an option liking her and his instinct rarely involved liking people in the first place. But he couldn't deny that the return of the real Lea in the green eyes was a very welcome and sorely missed homecoming. She had been willing to kill herself before hurting him and that was act of loyalty Damon rarely experienced. It made him want to thank her and so he invoked all that into the kiss they were sharing.
Lea winked her eyes, suddenly present in her body, suddenly feeling the overwhelming sensation of a Damon kiss. All the madness in her was silenced. There was no force or voices attempting to strangle her. There was peace.
Her lips gave in, unable to obey her reasoning. Such blissful quiet filled her mind as she leaned towards him, like one would lean from a shaded spot to catch the sun. His hands drew her closer still, and she was robbed of all thoughts. There was only clarity. Their lips found each other over and over, tasting the sweetness of unlikely attraction and she forgot how damaged they both were or maybe she finally embraced it.
When they broke the kiss and realized what they had done it took a while for them to react. Damon's eyes turned defensively cold and he cocked his head like he was waiting for her to strike him again. Lea tried to remember why she had turned him away the first time they found themselves in this situation but all she could think of was how Damon had managed to free her from the chaos inside herself. When she concentrated she could still hear the Geas, still feel the power flowing through her, but the dominant voice was her own, and it was panting and pointing out how swollen and soft his lips were at the moment. How could a kiss bring such clarity?
"Why did you kiss me?" she wondered and he seemed surprised that her tone was so gentle.
"I didn't kiss you. Frigg kissed me."
It took a second for the information to sink in then her mild expression changed dramatically. "She did what?! Are to two just exploiting my body for your own sick games?" She tore to free herself from the embarrassing hug they were positioned in, that she had obviously misinterpreted. Scumbag vampire!
Damon held her tight without much effort. "She did it because she knew kissing me would shock you back to your old self."
"That's ludicrous. Why should your kiss magically wake me? It's not like I'm Sleeping Beauty," she spat and ignored the fact that she had actually been thinking about just that only moments ago. Damn, why of all people, should he be the cure when I get the crazies?
Damon smiled his cocky smile. "Because you like me."
Lea's features turned incredulous. She had stopped fighting him and they were still sitting nose to nose with each other. "I still think it's just a poor excuse to exploit someone who is currently magically impaired. You wanted to get into my pants from the moment you met me."
"More like into your veins, but trust me I'm like that with all the girls." He licked his incisor demonstratively.
"You are incurably vulgar," she spoke harshly but couldn't help smiling slightly. The whole situation was kind of comical. He noticed her smile.
"You didn't seem to mind me kissing you though."
"You weren't exactly pushing me away either." Her eyes gleamed with green fire and she could feel the fine dark hair on his arms where her fingers had ended up. Damon didn't deny anything but simply lowered his chin, looking at her with a predatory stare. Perhaps he had expected her to leave because he jerked when she decided to give a damn about complicated jesting conversations and planted another kiss on his mouth. When she shifted between his lower and upper lip he sat very still, considering a course of action.
Then he yanked her backwards down on the grass and responded with an equal measure of fervor.
Damon was amazed, but fully devoted to feeling her feisty form sending his heart beat into a violent gallop. It was a marvelous painful pleasure, so deep and demanding. She wasn't entirely wrong. He did want her, and she wanted him.
"I am disappointed to see that your period of mourning is over so soon," a man's voice spoke to them and Damon felt Lea freeze under his touch. Damon was not pleased with the interruption. Slowly Lea sat up, tense as a bowstring. A young vampire stepped towards them, combing a hand through his bristle red blond hair. His straight posture told Damon that the vampire was from another era, like Stefan and himself. Damon immediatly disliked him.
He almost growled at the intruder. "A friend of yours, Lea?"
"Jasper.." she breathed.
"Har du savnet mig?" the vampire asked in Danish.
"You're a vampire?" Lea gasped when she recognized the fangs.
Damon tried holding her back as she rose, but she waved him off. Jasper waited for her to reach him with a dignified glare at Damon.
Lea studied her ex-boyfriend in disbelief. Then she pounded him right on the nose.
Yeah, I know - queen of cliffhangers ;-) I may not give you frequent chapters, but they are getting long :)Feel free to leave a comment with a question, if this chapter left you confused.