So just a reminder that the prequel to this story, The Interim, began after 4x09, before Elena and Rebekah became pseudo-friends and made amends. Also, we never got Rebekah's redemption arc. So in this story, they still intensely dislike each other.
"Mom was right. There's nothing in this town." Olivia downed the shot of whiskey she'd compelled out of the bartender. After fruitlessly wandering around Mystic Falls looking for something interesting to do, they were hiding out in the Mystic Grill until Damon and Elena could fly down and meet them. Unfortunately, Katherine was nowhere to be found. Alaric suggested that the first place she'd look for them when she realized they were missing was their father's old mansion, the Boardinghouse. So of course they couldn't even go there.
"There's the Boardinghouse." Alaric said dreamily. He loved that old, beautiful mansion.
"The Boardinghouse and nothing else. Why did you drag us down here? And how the hell did you do it so fast?" Olivia directed her question to the incredibly peeved Audrey, who was pouting while nursing a shirley temple at the bar.
"Alaric, I know you're against more death threats, but if she doesn't start to answer my questions I'm going to get handsy." Olivia growled, directing a menacing look at the witch. She popped a beer open with nothing but brute strength as emphasis. Audrey's eyes widened at the sound, but her mouth stayed sealed shut.
"Livy, no more alcohol for you." Alaric swiped the beer from her hands and lifted it to his own lips before she could protest. "You're underage. As your older brother, I cannot abide it." He grinned mischievously, equally underage. Olivia scowled, but she didn't order a replacement from the slightly dazed bartender.
"Look, can't we all just be friends?" Rose tried to reason with the angry witch but Audrey cast a hateful look at Alaric before stubbornly gluing her eyes to the ground.
"Not likely."
"Dad!" Olivia jumped at the sound of his voice.
Damon pulled Olivia into a fierce hug, kissing the top of her head all the while glaring at the now shaking blond witch. Alaric grunted at the strength with which Elena rushed him, patting her back soothingly. The parents traded children. Damon rested a hand on Alaric's shoulder while he pondered Audrey. Elena wrapped an arm around Rose as well as Olivia and held the girls close.
"What should I do with you?" Damon wondered aloud.
Alaric glanced at his father.
"I'm for eating her." Olivia voted with a sinister look at the witch. Damon grinned at her, but Elena frowned.
"Audrey, right?"
Audrey eyed her nervously.
"In this group of people, I would usually be your best bet for leniency. But you kidnapped my children and collaborated with Katherine, so you should start talking before I lose my patience as well."
Audrey swallowed hard, looking at the members of the Salvatore clan with visible fear.
"Torture it is." Damon rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the arm, yanking her off her stool with relish.
"I brought you here because of the witch spirits!" She burst out. Damon's jaw worked in frustration as he let her go. Olivia almost giggled. He was clearly hoping he'd get to torture her a bit before she admitted to anything.
"Dig a little deeper, witch. That's not going to cut it." He growled, menacing enough that the people eating a few tables away looked over warily.
"The site of the witch massacres. My father passed away recently, my mother died when I was young, and ever since he died my powers have been… unstable. The witch spirits are the only ones with enough power to help me keep them in control. I can't be away from them for very long."
"Define 'out of control'" Damon insisted with a threatening smile.
Audrey licked her lips.
"Just, you know, big wind gusts and flickering lights. All the usual witchy things."
Damon stared at her long and hard. Alaric's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"I don't believe you." Damon grabbed her arm again, pulling her behind him as he took strides to exit the restaurant. The Salvatores followed his fast pace.
"Wait, please, wait! I'll tell you what you want to know!" Audrey hissed, desperate. She dug her heels in and Damon slowed, drawing looks from more of the restaurant's customers as well as the suspicious bartender. He let go of her again and Audrey took a shaky breath. "Just, please, let's stay here."
"In a public place." Damon's eyes flashed and that same cynical smile lifted his lips.
"Let's give her a chance to talk." Elena sighed. She took Damon's hand in hers and the group headed over to an empty table.
As they sat down a waiter wandered over, nervously asking,
"Can I get you anything? Everything… ok here?"
"I'm fine. I ran away and my father's angry with me." Audrey said, addressing the waiter's unspoken question.
"Very angry." Damon smirked, his eyes raking over her like a predator would appraise a potential meal.
"We'll all have water, please." Elena said.
"Mom-"
"Don't try to tell me you aren't dehydrated!" Elena interrupted her, worry creasing her forehead. "I know you, Olivia."
When the waiter went to retrieve their waters, Audrey, very aware of their intense stares, cleared her throat.
"The witch spirits told me to find the half humans, that they might be able to help me understand what was… wrong with me."
"And you thought kidnap was the best course of action." Olivia drawled.
"Well, after watching you for a few days, I didn't think you would just come out and explain what you were to a stranger, much less if you knew who I- who my mother was. As a group, you're very cautious and guarded, not to mention private." She glanced at Alaric, almost against her will, and Elena shifted uncomfortably, "I couldn't risk losing the element of surprise if you refused to help me."
"And who was your mother?" Damon asked as though it was the most painfully obvious question that one could ask.
Audrey winced.
"Her name was Rebekah Mikaelson."
"What?" Elena sat straight up in her chair. Damon recoiled slightly and Alaric looked her over with renewed interest.
"Rebekah became human?" Olivia asked.
"But you said your mother died when you were young." Alaric leaned in, a rare show of interest for him.
"After she saw what you had accomplished, your happy little family, she was desperate to rid herself of the curse of vampirism. My mother longed to become human, to have a child, almost as long as she was a vampire. She did something, something I don't know, to accomplish it. Then she fell in love, married my father, and had me right away. Unfortunately, she died in a car accident when I was young and my father never even knew she used to be a vampire. It was only when I started lighting candles with a blink and parting water with my mind that he told me she had been a witch."
"Esther. She was a witch. Rebekah must have inherited her powers when she became human." Elena whispered to Damon.
"Right. Well, now my powers are out of control and I don't know why. The witch spirits don't know what's wrong with me, but they suspect it has something to do with my mother's unnatural origins, and perhaps due to how she became human. I thought we might have a common problem, since both our parents used to be vampires, but as it turns out your half-vampire condition is a separate matter from your parent's previous vampirism." Audrey addressed Olivia, still ignoring Alaric.
"You know your mom killed me, then." Elena said, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms.
Audrey gulped.
"Yes. But she left you alone after you became human, even though she could have hurt Klaus through you if she wanted to."
"Oh, what a noble creature!" Damon growled, his dangerous smile still in place.
"That's why you didn't want to approach us outright for help?" Alaric frowned.
"Why didn't Elijah tell us that Rebekah became human? Or that she died?" Elena turned to Damon, searching his eyes.
"My uncle didn't know I existed. I sought him out when my father died, that's how I found Katherine. He and Rebekah were estranged before she became human. To someone like my Uncle, sixteen years is the blink of an eye. I doubt he realized how long it's been since he and my mother were in contact."
"That does sound like Dracula…." Damon frowned. "Wait, what is Katherine doing with Elijah?"
"She's his partner."
Damon's expression darkened and Elena blanched.
"Wonderful." He muttered. "She dug her claws in the only Original I can stand."
"So how old are you?" Alaric asked suddenly.
"Fifteen." She replied without looking at him.
"Whoa. You look- you seem older." Surprise flickered through Alaric's eyes. Olivia looked between them, interested. One of the reasons he cited for ending things with Rose was the age difference, and Audrey was the same age as Rose. Alaric, in the infinite wisdom of his 17 years, considered 15 remarkably immature and therefore undatable.
"Anything else you'd like to share willingly before we find out, which we will, the hard way and my patience grows thinner than it already is?" Damon's eyes widened threateningly and he leaned over the table, causing her to lean back involuntarily. Audrey shivered.
"No." She sounded uncertain.
"Sure about that?" Damon asked, his voice low and terrifying.
"You know everything there is to know, I promise!"
Olivia didn't even believe her.
Wow, there is nothing more terrifying than no reviews. I'm going to assume that you lovely readers are following Thumper's advice, as I do on these sites: "If you can't say nothing nice, then don't say nothing at all.". I knew that using OCs was a risky move, but I felt the story needed them to continue. I don't lie in my author's notes (ok I notoriously lie about when I'm going to update, but not on purpose, more because I have a horrible sense of time and my perfectionism causes me to hold on to chapters until I'm 1000% sure they're to my standards), and Delena are still the main focus of this story, I promise . Even though I'm clearly in love with my OCs, I can assure you that they have only temporarily taken over the main plot.
That being said, I repeat, NO REVIEWS IS TERRIFYING TO MY VERY SOUL. Please go against your incredibly polite reflexes and leave me some constructive criticism, anonymously if that makes you more comfortable, so I know what you feel isn't working and I'm not completely confused about the resounding SILENCE. I lost several favorites for the story, so I could definitely benefit from suggestions.
Since this chapter was so short, I'm making another promise- the next one will be obnoxiously long, action packed, and full of sexual tension :D.