DECLAN

Klaus paced outside of the Mystic Falls hospital impatiently. After stopping Stefan from killing Elena, Klaus had taken some of her blood to test it out on Tyler Lockwood. Luckily for Klaus, keeping Elena alive had been a wise decision. Tyler was now Klaus' very first hybrid. Klaus was elated, but why couldn't he shake this feeling deep down inside him that was almost making this moment bittersweet?

"So the doppelganger being alive isn't the problem— her blood is the solution?" Rebekah thought out loud from where she sat on the hood of a Toyota parked in the lot.

"Seems so." Klaus approached her, placing his hands on the hood.

"How did you know?"

"Well, you know how much the original witch hated me. Do you honestly think I would do anything other than the opposite of what she says?"

Rebekah smiled down at her brother. "A thousand years in the grave and she's still screwing with you."

"It makes sense if you think about it from her perspective. It was her failsafe in case I ever broke the hybrid curse. The doppelganger had to die in order for me to become a hybrid, but if she was dead—"

"Then you couldn't use her blood to sire yourself a new species," Rebekah finished for him.

"Leaving me alone for all time."

"Is that what this is about? Your obsession with hybrids… You just don't want to be alone?" Rebekah shook her head, finally starting to understand her brother's motives after all these years.

Klaus stared back at her, trying to find the words, but he couldn't. Instead, he played it off. "What I want is to take my girl, take my hybrid and get out of this one pony town," Klaus spun away from her knowing gaze.

"This is about Sirena, isn't it?" she asked, staring at the back of his head as he stiffened and avoided looking at her. She knew she was right. "She's getting to you."

Klaus clenched his jaw. Turning to face her, he feigned a smile. "Hey, why don't you go get the truck? I'll get Elena."

Rebekah shook her head as she slid down the front of the vehicle. Klaus was never one to let his emotions take over. He was the complete opposite of her and she wondered if he could ever change as she left him alone. Just as his sister disappeared around the corner, Klaus sensed someone coming up behind him.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up to the party." Spinning around, he came face to face with Damon, who was stomping towards him, full of determination.

"Where is she?"

"Elena? She's making a donation to a greater cause. Oh, wait… or did you mean Sirena?" Klaus teased.

"Sirena can take care of herself," Damon stated as he tried to pass Klaus to the hospital.

"I'm well aware of that." Klaus pressed a hand against Damon's chest. "I can't let you interfere, mate."

"You'll have to kill me."

"Oh, I would love to kill you, but uh, I made a pledge to your brother and unlike him I keep my word. Although, you know what, thinking about it now he probably doesn't care that much anymore." Klaus slammed Damon back against a car, pinning him to the hood and reaching above his head to prepare to slam his fist down into the eldest Salvatore's chest to rip out his heart…

"Don't you wanna know about your friend Mikael?"

Klaus froze, filling with fear. "What do you know about Mikael?"

"Just that he knows you're here."

"You're bluffing."

"Katherine and I found him. Consider it our leverage."

His patience at an end, Klaus threw Damon against a nearby truck, but when Damon regained his composure, Klaus was gone.

"Well, isn't this cozy," Stefan observed as he leaned against the banister in the library of the Salvatore boarding house drawing the attention of both Elena and Damon as they sat close together in front of the fire. Damon got to his feet, eyes connecting with an icy blue pair staring at him from behind Stefan. "What are you doing here, brother?"

Stefan stepped down into the room to pour himself a drink. "Last I checked… we live here." Stefan looked down to Elena. "Klaus is gone but he asked me to keep watch on you until he returns." Seeing that Damon was staring after Sirena as she left to head up to her room, Stefan added, "Both of you." Returning his gaze to Elena, he said, "From now on… you are under my protection." Raising a glass, he turned to leave.

Damon and Elena eyed him with caution.

"Mmm. By all means, carry on." Stefan waved his hand as he walked out, leaving them alone.

"Maybe you should, um…head home. It's probably best for you to not be here."

Nodding, Elena grabbed up her things and headed out the door. "I'll um, see you tomorrow." Walking towards the exit, she passed Sirena who had just descended the staircase and now stood with her arms crossed. Elena didn't acknowledge the look she was receiving from the vampire and instead just walked out the door.

The door slamming shut, Sirena turned on Damon as he looked her up and down from the library doorway. "Looks like you two have been busy."

"It's nothing, Sirena." Damon reached out for her, but she grabbed onto his arm, thrusting him around into the wall.

"Don't you lie to me, Damon. I am not an idiot."

Damon put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay…"

Sirena let him go, but her face never softened.

"Honestly, that night… that was the only kiss. I swear."

Sirena shook her head. "There's still something between you two, Damon. You can't hide it."

Damon's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Klaus will be back for her, you know," she warned, her voice hard.

"I know."

"His hybrids mean way too much for him to just let her be."

"It's because he's a monster, Sirena."

"I've seen people do worse things…" Sirena shot at him. Sirena started up the stairs, but Damon was soon in front of her.

"Sirena, just let me— I just want to say I'm sorry. You should've never been there to see that."

"No, Damon. What should've never happened was you kissing her in the first place!" Sirena pushed past him, retreating to her room.

The next morning Sirena was drawn downstairs by the sound of girls laughing, and music blaring. Joining Damon at the entrance to the lounge, Sirena saw Stefan sitting on the couch in front of some girls she had never seen before playing on a blood splattered Twister mat. This was exactly what she had wanted so badly to prevent.

"Ooh! Sirena," Stefan greeted, holding up the Twister spin card. "Would you like to spin?"

Sirena cast him a repulsed look, stepping back. The smell of blood was strong and Sirena still didn't have a great hold on her temptations yet.

"Is this what Klaus had in mind when he compelled you to protect Elena?" Damon asked.

"These ladies are helping me be all that I can be."

There was a loud knock on the door. Sirena was surprised to see Rebekah come waltzing on in carrying numerous shopping bags, not even bothering to acknowledge Damon's presence at the door. Rebekah looked to Sirena for help. "Where's Stefan?"

Sirena held a hand up gesturing towards where Stefan sat.

"He left me here. My brother actually left me here."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Your tone implies I'm actually supposed to care," Stefan said meanly.

Sirena placed her hands on her hips. Damon stepped up next to her, a look of confusion painted on his face. "You're Klaus' sister?"

Rebekah looked back over her shoulder. "Rebekah. Pleasure, I'm sure." Returning back to Stefan, she asked, "Which one's my room?"

Stefan laughed. "You're not staying here."

Rebekah looked back between Damon and Sirena, who said nothing. Sirena had no clue as to how her staying here would work out. There was no doubting that she disliked Elena. It was only a matter of time before she came to feel the same way about Damon. And who knew how she really felt about Sirena.

"Rude. Well, I guess I'll see to it myself." Rebekah disappeared upstairs in search of somewhere to stay while Klaus was gone.

Jutting a thumb back over her shoulder toward where the blonde original had headed, Sirena said, "I guess I'll go help her."

She found Rebekah setting her things out on the bed in the room across from hers. From the looks of it she had at least been left all of the clothes she had bought after Klaus had undaggered her.

"What're you doing?" Sirena leaned against the door frame.

Rebekah smiled back at Sirena. "What do you mean?"

"You could've stayed anywhere. Why here?"

"What's wrong? I figured you would like another girl's company. Especially one who hates Elena as much as you do."

"I don't hate her. I just don't like her very much." Sirena entered the room, sitting down on the bed.

"Well, I do hate her and I fully intend to make her life a living hell."

"Why? I mean, other than your necklace…"

"She has what I want… Even though Stefan's humanity is off, he will never love someone like he loved her. Back in the twenties we were inseparable…now he has her." Rebekah rolled her eyes. "I'm an Original for goodness sake. You would think I would be held higher than a silly little human girl."

Sirena was starting to realize her and Rebekah were actually quite similar.

Holding two of the bags she had come in with out to Sirena, Rebekah smiled. "Here. These are yours, I believe."

Peering inside, Sirena saw the black dress that Klaus had liked so much. "All my clothes from the store?"

"Mhmm. They were in the car. Luckily Klaus left everything behind when he took off."

"Where did he go?" Sirena sat the bags down at her feet.

"No clue. And I don't care. He left me here. Now I'm mad at my dear brother," Rebekah sighed as she dug through the bags. "So," Rebekah turned to her holding up two shirts. "What should I wear on my first day of school?"

After Rebekah had left to go to school, Sirena had grown bored and found herself heading towards Damon's door. She could hear that he was on the phone. Pushing his door open, she stayed in the doorway. Damon's eyes found hers as he continued to speak into the phone.

"Is that the bell!?"

"Damon!"

"Ring! Ring! Don't wanna be late!" Damon slid his phone back into his pocket and crossed the room to Sirena. "Where's Barbie Klaus?"

"She decided that after over a thousand years it was time to start high school."

"What!? That's where Stefan went. They're following Elena."

"So what? Klaus won't let them kill her or even hurt her for that matter. She's his key to his hybrids." Sirena stepped past him, running her fingers along the edge of his dresser.

"Yeah, I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it. Any clue as to where Klaus went?"

"How would I know?"

"Well, you were off partying with him all summer…"

"Doesn't mean I knew what he was up to." Facing him again, she added, "I was just along for the ride to get away from here."

Damon stood, clearly aware of how it was all his fault. "There's a bonfire tonight, if you're interested. Want to go?"

Not giving him an answer, Sirena pushed past him, leaving his room.

"Sirena," Damon called after her from his door. "For what it's worth… I'm glad you're back."

With a slight nod, Sirena left the boarding house for a break away from all her Damon drama.

Sirena sat back trying to avoid getting swept up in the sea of drunken teenagers as the bonfire raged on. Leaning back against a tree she tried her hardest not to spy on Damon as he sat charming Rebekah with the melty goodness of roasted marshmallows.

"Still getting to you, huh?"

Sirena jumped as Declan handed her a cup of beer. "Would you stop just showing up like that? It's getting old. And he is NOT getting to me."

"Sorry," he laughed. "Whatever you say."

"What do you want?" Sirena gulped down her beer, grimacing at the bitter taste.

"I thought I would come say hi seeing as how Klaus left you behind and all."

"Well, hi."

Declan took a sip of his own beer, smirking away.

"So what has Mark been up to? I assume he's still in your little group."

"He is. He's just been keeping an eye on things for me while I've been watching over you."

Sirena cast a sideways glance at him. "You've been watching over me?"

"Of course. I needed to make sure you were safe."

Sirena didn't say a word. Damon fed Rebekah yet another marshmallow and the two sat licking the remaining sticky goodness from their fingers.

"Want to go for a walk?" Declan asked, following her gaze.

After a moment, she nodded. "Sure."

Placing a hand at the small of her back, Declan led her away from the group. Alone, the two walked as the sounds of the party disappeared in the distance. "I noticed Elijah wasn't with you on your journey."

"Klaus daggered him. He's keeping his family in these coffins that he travels with."

"Typical Klaus."

Sirena looked over at him. "It really wasn't that bad with him. Apart from everything with the hybrids it was actually kind of enjoyable."

Declan looked at her as if she was crazy. "You can't be serious?"

"He even took me to the Sears Tower," Sirena smiled, remembering how much fun she had.

Declan laughed. "You had fun with Klaus…"

"Yes." Sirena eyed him.

"That's something I haven't heard in awhile."

As they walked along, Sirena looked over at him out of the corner of her eye, unsure if she should ask about Charity. "Declan…"

"Hmm?"

"What happened to Charity?"

Declan's face dropped. "You don't want to hear about that." He went to turn away from her, but she caught his arm.

"I do."

Declan studied her face before deciding to give her what she wanted. "Charity was the love of my life. I met her in Klaus' court while we were in England."

"Was she a—"

"No… I had planned on turning her, but that chance was taken from me," Declan frowned. "When Klaus found out what Katerina had done, he went on a rampage. He blamed me and Elijah for not seeing what was going on with her and Trevor and letting them get away. To punish me, he killed her… right in front of me."

Sirena's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, my god… I'm so sorry."

Declan shook his head, fighting back tears. "It was a long time ago. He thought we took away his chance at breaking the curse so he took away my chance at love. So now you see why it is so funny to me that you enjoy his company."

"Maybe he's changed."

Declan chuckled. "Do you really believe that?"

"I don't know. It's just… I saw a different side to him in Chicago."

Declan grabbed her by the shoulders. Dropping his voice to a whisper, he leaned in close. "Don't let him fool you for a second, Sirena. Klaus only cares for himself, not even his family. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Sirena cocked her head to the side. "Why? You could always just turn someone else?"

Declan froze. "I care about you, Sirena. You may not believe it, but I do. You're special."

"Sirena!"

Declan and Sirena both spun to find Damon jogging toward them. Declan growled out of annoyance. "We're in the middle of something."

"Too bad. Something happened. Alaric's car exploded while he and Elena were trying to get Stefan back home vervained."

"Did they—"

"They got out. They're alright, but we should get home."

Sirena nodded. "I'll be right there." Turning back to Declan, she said, "Come over tomorrow?"

Declan gazed down at her, surprised.

"I have some questions," she clarified.

With a smirk, Declan nodded. "I'll see you then."

Walking toward Damon, Sirena looked back over her shoulder to Declan. "Good."

Damon awoke the next morning with a sharp pain in his abdomen. As he tried to move his hands to find the source of the pain, he realized that his hands were bound to the arm of the chair by chains. Opening his eyes, he saw a fire poker jutted out from his chest and winced in pain. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

He struggled against the chains, trying his best to get himself free. "Oh, Stefan," he grunted. His eyes dropping to the floor he saw his daylight ring laid on the rug before him. "Low blow, Stefan. Low blow."

Stefan appeared in the doorway and leaned against the banister, laughing. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Whatever twisted ripper game this is, leave me out of it."

Stefan shook his head with a grin. "I didn't do this."

"Quit screwin' around."

"I didn't," Stefan repeated, looking more closely at the situation his brother was in. "It's pretty messed up though, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Damon grimaced, screaming out in pain as Stefan ripped the poker from his chest, dropping it to the floor with a loud clang. Stefan also ripped the chains from one of Damon's hands before patting him on the shoulder and leaving.

"Yeah, not to worry. I'll just untangle myself!" Damon yelled after him. Before he knew what was happening, sunlight flooded him and his skin begin to burn and bubble, making him cry out.

"What the hell!?" Sirena dashed into the room, finding Damon all blistered and red. Grabbing onto the chains around his chest she easily broke them as well as the ones around his other wrist. Having him now free, Sirena flashed him over to the safety of the shade on the couch before rushing to close the curtain, but as soon as she began back towards Damon the curtain was pulled from it's rod, flooding the room with light.

Damon began to scream yet again. "My ring! It's on the floor! It's—"

Sirena's eyes went instantly to the rug and sure enough, there was his ring. She snatched it up and slid it back onto his finger. Slowly, he began to return to his normal color. "Better?"

Damon nodded and sat up, his eyes darting around suspiciously. "Yeah."

"What was that, Damon?" Sirena's voice was full of worry.

"It's Mason Lockwood. It's got to be."

"But how—"

"I don't know, but I'm guessing it has something to do with the spell Bonnie cast to send Vicki Donovan away."

There was a knock at the door and both looked at each other confused. Sirena jumped up. "I almost forgot. That's got to be Declan."

While she hurried off towards the door, Damon headed upstairs. "I guess I'm gonna go change into something a little less…messy."

Jerking the door open Sirena smiled a greeting to Declan. "Come on in. You want a drink?"

Declan held up a hand as he entered the house. "No, thanks."

"Alright," Damon called as he headed towards them. "I'm off to find out what the little witch did."

Declan shot Sirena a questioning look. As they passed by the lounge Declan caught sight of the chain-covered chair. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Fun night?"

"Damon thinks he was attacked by a ghost."

"Ah…"

"Yeah, so you kiddies have fun." Damon flashed a warning look at Sirena. He clearly still didn't trust Declan.

Damon left and Sirena smiled politely at Declan. "Do you want to—" She gestured towards the library.

"Sure," Declan grinned, following behind her. Sitting down in a chair across from Sirena, he said, "I'm assuming you want to know more about my history with Niklaus."

The corner of her mouth turned up slightly as she held up a hand. "You caught me."

"Well, where do you want me to start?"

"How about when you two met?"

"Let's see…I guess we would have to start in Ireland, a village outside of Dublin. Edward Bruce of Scotland had invaded Ireland… "

Ireland, 1318

Hooves pounded into the dirt as the black stallion sped across the grassy plains towards the village as smoke billowed above, darkening the sky. Long dark hair whipped around Declan's face as he drew nearer to his destination, his eyes filled with rage as he saw the bodies lying lifeless around his home. The huts still burned as a bearded man with red hair dressed in a full suit of armor thrust his sword down into the heart of the villager that remained.

"No!" Declan screamed, drawing the attackers attention to him. The man laughed as he slid his bloody weapon back into its sheath, flashing a decayed toothy grin. Declan kicked at the sides of his horse, urging him to push himself to go even faster. All he could think of was knocking the man's head from his shoulders, but before he could even draw his sword an arrow lodged itself into his chest. Groaning in pain, Declan clutched at the arrow, lost balance and fell hard to the ground.

He reached out for his sword, which had fallen a few feet from him, but an armored boot stepped hard onto his hand, threatening to break the bones. Declan growled up at the man, staring down at him with a dark grin.

"Don't even think about it, laddie." The man kicked the sword out of Declan's reach. "I'll be taking this back." The man ripped the arrow from Declan, tearing more flesh on its way out, making the man chuckle. "Waste not. End of the road, boy."

With one swift movement, the man's sword flew from its sheath and sliced down into Declan's chest. Every muscle in Declan's body tensed at the pain as he stared wide-eyed as the man stepped on his chest to pull his sword free. The man's laughter disappeared into the distance as he stalked off, leaving Declan to die alone.

Declan laid staring up at the passing clouds for what felt like a lifetime until he heard two men approaching.

"Look here, Elijah. This one is still breathing yet." A man with long blond hair came into view, smiling wolfishly down at Declan. "He's a strong one."

"What are you thinking, brother? He may prove to be useful in our ranks," a man with long flowing dark hair and strong features spoke, his hand resting on the hilt of his own sword.

"I think you may be right. Do you wish to do the honors or shall I?"

"You go ahead, Niklaus."

Niklaus knelt at Declan's side and just as Declan's vision was fading, he saw the man bite his wrist before placing it at his mouth. Declan didn't have it in him to fight it, so instead he just let the sweetness flow into his mouth. But in an instant everything went black.

Present Day

"So Klaus turned you?" Sirena didn't know what to say.

"Yes," Declan nodded.

"But he did it without your consent—"

"He saved me," Declan cut her off. "I am forever grateful for the new life he has given me. He made it possible for me to exact my revenge."

"On the man that killed you?" Sirena leaned forward, extremely interested in his story.

"Yes. It was Edward Bruce himself that had killed me. After I had awoken and completed my transition Klaus and Elijah informed me that they had come to take care of Bruce themselves because he had come to fight against the English rule in Ireland at the time. They offered me a chance to get revenge and I took it."

"What happened?"

"We hunted him down. Of course, he was no match for the three of us. At the Battle of Faughart Klaus saw it fitting to have him quartered and to top it off he had parts of his body sent off to various towns in Ireland while his head was delivered to King Edward II himself for good measure."

Sirena gulped. "You guys sound like monsters."

"This man terrorized and wiped out whole villages. Women, children… He had it coming to him." Declan's face was stony as he remembered his own village.

Sirena stared over at him with sympathy.

"And you must understand… I was not always as I am today. I can now control my hunger, my temper…but back when I was still new and lived in Klaus' castle…I was just as Stefan is now."

England, 1400's

Klaus' castle was full of guests who had come to celebrate the homecoming of their Lord Niklaus even though most of them had never even laid eyes on him. Cheers over mugs of ale and the laughter of the noblewomen filled the room while Elijah roamed the room in search of his comrade, Declan. It was in the dark corner behind the stairs that he found him, hidden away from the view of the guests, a young girl limp in his arms as he dug his fangs into her neck.

"Declan?"

Declan ignored him, continuing to feast on the young brunette.

"Declan!" Elijah said more forcefully.

Declan glanced up from his meal, face covered in blood. Taking a deep breath he wiped his face on his sleeve and let the girl fall to the floor, dead. "What is it, Elijah?"

"Niklaus is due to arrive any minute. You know he wouldn't like you feeding like this so close to our guests when we are trying to keep a low profile."

Declan rolled his eyes. "You're no fun." Dragging the girl off to another room, he hid her away with Elijah hot on his tail.

"You've got to get yourself in control, Declan."

"Why!?" Declan yelled. "No one is a match for us."

Elijah grabbed onto Declan's arm spinning him around and slamming him into the wall. "It wasn't your fault, Declan. There's nothing you could've done. Calm yourself and go enjoy the party," Elijah compelled him and Declan did as he was told.

As Elijah watched his friend leave, Klaus appeared in the doorway behind him. "Trouble, brother?"

"He is still pushing his humanity away. He doesn't want to deal with the guilt and pain of the loss of his village."

Klaus crossed the room to his brother. "Humanity is a joke."

Elijah watched him sadly, knowing he brother wasn't always so harsh and cold.

Present Day

"I was wreckless. I killed just for the fun of it. I enjoyed it, relished in it. It was my nature and it was driven by the hatred I had in my heart for a man that had already been killed." Declan stared down at his hands.

"But you eventually got your humanity back…"

"That I did," Declan smiled.

"But how?"

"Oh, in one of the most wonderful of ways." Declan got up from his seat and went to stand in front of the window, staring out at the trees surrounding the Salvatore, blowing in the wind. "There's only one thing that can truly accomplish something that magnificent."

Sirena eyed him, waiting.

Turning back to look over his shoulder at her, he smiled. "Love."

England, 1400's

Declan slumped back in one of the many chairs in Klaus' great hall as the party continued around him in a blur. He stared down into his goblet of wine as he tried to fight the urge to rip the throat out of the nearest noblewoman.

"Why so glum, friend?" Klaus asked, sitting across from him.

Declan just raised his brow, not bothering to look up. "You said it would be better once we killed him."

"I did. You got to see that man ripped apart just as he did to your village as well as many others. Did that not make you feel even the slightest bit better?"

"Not enough," Declan said, throwing back the rest of his wine.

With the snap of Klaus' fingers, a young maid appeared to refill Declan's goblet. "Thank you, my darling." Looking back to Declan, Klaus said, "There's nothing wrong with enjoying the splendors of being what we are. So enjoy them. Don't let your guilt make you waste this new life."

Klaus rose from his seat and headed off to mingle with his guests. He did love the attention. Thinking over what he said, Declan tried to think of ways he could push out the guilt and spend more time enjoying life, but nothing came to mind. In his anger he knocked his glass over, jumped from his seat and turned to storm off to his room; However, he ran right into the same young girl who had poured his drink, sending the pitcher she was carrying from her hands to the floor. Wine poured all over the place, wasted.

"Oh, my god… No! I'm so sorry," she fell to her knees, trying to fight back tears from fear that Klaus would punish her for wasting the precious liquid.

Declan lifted her up to her feet by her arms, but she averted her eyes. "Look at me, girl."

Hesitantly, the girl raised her eyes to his, taking him by surprise. She was so beautiful; Blonde curls peeked out from beneath her maid's hat while blue eyes shone up at him.

"Sir?" she asked, through blush pink lips.

"I'm- I'm sorry. I didn't see you."

"The wine, sir. I'm sorry. Lord Niklaus will not be happy—"

"Don't you worry about that. I will tell him I was the one to spill it."

"But why would you do that?"

The truth was Declan didn't know why he was willing to take the blame for this girl. It was as if she had cast a spell on him by just gazing into his eyes. "What's your name?" he asked softly.

Her voice was a mere whisper when she answered, "Charity, sir. Charity Sinclair."

Present Day

"You miss her," Sirena frowned.

"There isn't a day that I don't. She's the one who saved me. She's the reason my humanity came back."

Sirena wasn't at all shocked. When he spoke about her, his whole demeanor changed; He showed a longing for something long lost.

"I miss you as well, my love," a sweet voice sang from behind Sirena, making both of them spin around. A woman who looked like she fell out of a stitch in time stood dressed in a beautiful maroon medieval dress with blonde braids throughout her hair smiled back at Declan, tears in her eyes.

Declan furrowed his brow. "Charity?"

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