Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. No copyright infringement is intended.
There are several sides to every story. This is but a morsel of mine.
-Klaus
Transylvania Army, 1462
The battlefield was barren save for the burning pyres, and the rotting flesh. Bodies were piled high like the Tower of Babel with flies swarming the spiked heads of men, and vultures having a feast. Over twenty-three thousand lay dead from men to women to children. No one was spared, an entire generation wiped out. There were pools of blood on the ground which cast muted reflections of the sunless sky. Billows of smoke clogged the air and lifted up towards the heavens like a sacrilegious sacrifice.
His armor was heavy, the once silver gilt was stained with blood, and if he cared to look, bits of human entrails peppered his breastplate. This all should have sickened him—if he were human that is. But to him it was a form of honor, his own private chain of state. His once luminous blond hair was scraggly, the ends singed from the constant fires that burned. His face was free of lacerations, only the dried blood of his opponents marred it.
Niklaus clutched his sword in his right hand looking around the city located between Serbia and the Black Sea. He knew not a single face he slew, not like it mattered; this was all a sport to him. Hearing the cries of men was like a private symphony. But it was seeing the faces of the frightened children…that would take a day or two to forget.
The sound of a marching battalion caught his attention and he spun around, his sword held into the ready position to swing and cut down whoever dared to surprise him. But he lowered it tentatively when he saw it was The Prince approaching.
His long raven locks hung down to his shoulders in two braids that were coming unraveled. Blood was splattered over his deep olive skin, and was embedded into his thick beard. His dark brown eyes were nearly obsidian and just as soulless—like two black holes they were. The only other man who had the power to intimidate Niklaus was luckily several seas and oceans away, yet the Prince came close to inciting the fear in him that his father once did. But Niklaus had no reason to fear anyone, not anymore.
Not since his change.
The blood around him was hypnotic, but he had enough self-control not to turn feral and lay waste to the approaching Prince and his special guard.
The Prince laughed, a deep rumble that sounded more like thunder, his arms stretched out as if presenting a feast to a king. Niklaus sheathed his sword and straightened his spine.
The Prince began speaking in his native Romanian. "Here stands my fiercest fighter, nearly as cold-blooded as I am. Tell me, Niklaus, how many did you slay?"
Niklaus looked at a point over the Prince's shoulder. "Three thousand, Sire, and I did not always use my sword to lay them low."
The Prince laughed almost gleefully at that. He clapped his hands together once, turned to his general and whispered a command. Niklaus remained where he was because he knew The Prince would want to hear details of his nastiest kill. He would want to know who ran in fear, who cried for mercy, who begged for his life.
The general returned with two chalices. Niklaus watched as red wine flowed into the goblets. The first was given to The Prince; the other was begrudgingly handed to Niklaus. He did not bow or say thank you, merely took the cup and awaited the Prince's next move.
The Prince held up his goblet. "To the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. May their bones build our castles, and their blood," the Prince took a sip of his drink, "give us immortal life."
Niklaus took a deep breath, brought the chalice up and felt his fangs lengthening. He shielded them as best he could, but quickly gulped down the fluid that wasn't wine at all, but blood. Delicious human blood.
He could feel the frenzy and bloodlust overtake him, and Niklaus growled to contain it. He licked the cup clean, and had to restrain himself from asking for more.
Once the Prince was done with his cup, he threw it negligently to the ground and laughed again. "I have one more reward for you, Nikluas."
"Yes, Prince Vlad."
"Bring the girl forth!"
Two yeomen brought forth, in Niklaus' estimation, the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes upon. His history with women had never been very good or pleasant. He was hated and tolerated by his own mother, his sister was the only one in his family to show him true kindness, but he loved her how a brother ought to do. Since becoming what he was, he very well couldn't be with a mortal woman, the temptation to drain her dry was too great, and there were no females who walked the earth quite like him.
He was alone in the world.
The woman did not struggle in the yeomen's arms; she seemed content with her fate. This was the dark side to war. That when the enemy was slain, the spoils and booty were divided amongst the conquerors. Women and children were taken as slaves; no man was allowed to be left alive.
Niklaus dared not blink because if he were dreaming it would be a cruel thing for it to end. Her oval, cherub soft face was crowned with long mahogany locks that stopped below her cinched waistline. She had expressive and deep brown eyes, that he was sure would glow garnet in direct sunlight. The woman had smallish lips, but they reminded him of a rosebud. And her smell was simply exquisite. Skin—the color of freshly fallen snow, she was every bit an angel who had fallen from the heavens to come and make men fall down to their knees and worship her.
"I give you to my servant Niklaus," said Prince Vlad.
The yeomen released her and she gracefully walked over to him. Niklaus kept his eyes on her.
When she stood before him, he asked: "What do they call you?"
The young woman stared down at her feet demurely. "Erzsebet…Erzsebet Petrova, sir."
Niklaus reached for her hand and laid a feather-like kiss on it. "The pleasure is all mine, Erzsebet."
The New World, 1465
For two years he knew happiness, utter and complete happiness. He rose in the morning, went swimming in the sea, watched Erzsebet as she braided her hair, and cooked bread over the fire.
During the summer she would chase butterflies, or sing songs to the birds. She was as much as a child like he was discovering new things, and marveling in learning another strange mystery about the world. She made him forget his horrible childhood, made him feel like the man his father constantly said he'd never grow up to be.
Only Elijah and Rebekah knew of Erzsebet's existence and had promised to keep his secret. They wanted him—who had been the family leper to finally have a bit of happiness and peace. And Niklaus did.
He and Erzsebet lived a nice, simple life.
Until…
The first full moon came and Niklaus along with Erzsebet were seized in the night.
"You stupid boy!" Mikael chastised him as he ruthlessly pulled him from the mud house Niklaus had built with his own two hands.
"What have I done now to displease you?" he asked as he was forced to walk through the forest with his arm twisted painfully behind him.
Mikael struck him across the face. The blow was sufficient enough to cut into his skin and draw blood. He then brought his cold ocean blue eyes to Erzsebet who couldn't understand their language. She trembled with fear and asked Niklaus repeatedly what was happening, and why wasn't he doing anything to save them. He had the power to do it. She knew he did. For he had shared his darkest secret with her and she still loved him despite of it.
"Erzsebet," Niklaus whispered gently, "it will be all right. I will get us out of this. I promise."
Mikael scoffed rudely. "Do not make promises you cannot keep."
Surprise flew on Niklaus' face that he could understand what was spoken in confidence.
Mikael snarled a smile. "I know more than you will ever know, boy and don't you forget it."
"Father what have I done to you now?"
Mikael didn't answer. He merely looked through a spot between two trees as a figure emerged.
"Mother…?" for his efforts Niklaus received a sharp blow to the back of his neck. He fell to his knees, the wind rushed out him, the earth spun.
He watched helplessly as Erzsebet was taken and thrown on a crudely made altar. Fire erupted from the earth, the light burning his eyes momentarily.
"WHAT IS GOING ON? WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER?" Niklaus demanded but his demands had fallen on deaf ears.
He watched as his mother held a knife over Erzsebet in the air as she began an incantation.
Niklaus shifted his eyes to his father who watched with an impassive expression on his face. A tear slipped from the corner of Niklaus' eye. When he attempted to rise to his feet, he felt a pressure laying on him, weighing him down.
He couldn't move.
"Father…I beseech you! Please stop this! We will leave. You need not hurt her."
"There is something dark and dangerous in you Niklaus…and it can never get out," Mikael replied coldly. "This girl is the key to make certain it never happens."
Before he had the chance to question what rubbish his father was saying, he heard Erzsebet's blood curdling scream as his mother plunged the knife deep into her belly.
She snapped her head to look at Niklaus and he literally saw the life draining out of her.
"MOTHER!" Niklaus screamed, the tendons in his neck stretching with his fury. It doubled the moment his mother slit Erzsebet's throat, still reciting her incantation, murdering the woman he loved.
Niklaus attempted to move again, but then he felt fire erupt deep in his belly and he tried several times to fight it, deflect it away from himself—he had learned to do that in battle, but the pain was more powerful than he was and nothing he attempted to do would make the pain lessen.
And as soon as his mother finished the incantation, the pain evaporated, and the invisible chains that held him prisoner were loosened. The air around him was silent. Not even the fowl of the air flew, nothing moved except for the rapid rise and fall of Niklaus' chest.
He tensed slightly as his mother approached. He figured he was about to join his dear Erzsebet in the afterlife.
"What I did…I did for the whole of the earth, Niklaus. You can never know what you are."
"You took the one person from me who loved me. Why do you hate your son so much?"
"I do not hate you, Niklaus…but you are a monster."
"It through and by no fault of my own."
He was right, but he could never know what he truly was.
"I'm sorry."
He laughed bitterly at her half-sincere apology. "If you are going to kill me, kill me. Be done with it."
He searched his mother's eyes for any sign of finality and found none. They meant for him to walk this earth mourning Erzsebet forever.
"Perhaps one day you will forgive me for what I took from you…"
Niklaus made a noise in the back of his throat. "No, mother…I will never forgive you for this. Your death will be by my hands…I promise you," his eyes narrowed menacingly.
Mikael had heard enough, moved to his wife's side and began to draw her away. "It is finished."
And two days later, as Niklaus held his mother's once beating heart in his hands…it was finished.
Or merely beginning…
Present Day
Jesus my brother is a horrible dancer, Stefan thought as he sat at a small round table watching his brother get his groove on with several barmaids on top of said bar. It was like he was about to have an epileptic seizure or something. Stefan could do nothing but shake his head. There were many times he didn't want to claim Damon as blood, his lack of rhythm and staying on beat notwithstanding Damon had certain character traits that would not make him a desirable candidate for adoption. But he was his flesh and blood so he had no choice but to claim him. For tax purposes at least.
Stefan had heard once that the way a man dances could be indicative of how he performs in the bedroom.
It was a wonder Damon had the fan club he did considering he danced worse than a fish out of water.
Nevertheless he considered this as progress in the right direction for them. Two months ago it would have taken a lot to get them to stand in the same room. But Bonnie was right, like she typically was, things needed to change and for the better. And now that he knew how she viewed his brother as if he were her brother, he was willing to put in more of an effort.
Yet...
Stefan wasn't completely sure that sisterly love was what Damon felt towards his girlfriend.
For the past week he watched their interactions carefully.
Bonnie was real big on them all sitting down at the formal dining room table to eat breakfast. Why? He wasn't sure, but like he said whatever sweet pea wanted, sweet pea got. So on the days she stayed the night, she would whip up breakfast and insist that they all eat together. Not like human food was high on his and Damon's list of priorities, but Stefan could make this one concession. He ignored the sense of deja vu wanting to override him, and sat there at the table enduring it because really what else was he going to do? And he and Damon were raised during an era where families shared all meals around the table. Things were much more relaxed and a hell of a lot less formal in the 21st Century, but he didn't mind reliving old times as long as it was the good, old times he was reliving.
But he noticed that when Bonnie would set the table, Damon would be alongside her, and they'd trade barbs like they typically do, and occasionally bump one another with a shoulder or push each other. It was very sibling-like behavior, Stefan thought, but he would notice that Damon every so often would stare at Bonnie from the corner of his eye. A tell-tale sign that he was checking her out or having less-than-noble thoughts about her. And though he didn't just want to fly across the table and stab Damon's eyes out-wait a minute yes he did have that urge-he figured the only person who was liable to get hurt in this was Damon because Bonnie did not return his affections.
All of this should have satisfied Stefan, but he also couldn't deny the connection Damon and Bonnie shared.
They had their own synergy and it was in place long before Stefan took an interest in her.
Stefan couldn't be exactly sure...but if the events of last spring never happened, he was sure that Damon would have warmed up to Bonnie in more ways than one, and his unnatural love for Elena would have dissolved into a vat of nothingness.
Only with time all of that could have happened. But he and Bonnie were in love and there wasn't anything on the planet that could break them up.
Well maybe. Hopefully. Prayerfully?
Stefan finished his shot and then sauntered over to the bar for a refill since all of the bartenders were busy gazing at Damon and his manic dancing. Stefan tapped the bottom of his shot glass on the bar top three times to get someone's attention. Finally the hard rock song that was blasting from the speakers ended and Stefan could hear himself think more clearly.
A few people who watched the show clapped and returned to their chicken wings and flat beer.
Damon hopped off the bar but not without kissing a lot of hands and cheeks first.
Stefan stared at Damon, snorted, and picked up his shot glass once it was full.
"Are you done serenading us with your terrible dancing? I have a girlfriend back home who's waiting for me to ravish her."
Damon made a face, turned to face the bar and held up two fingers to signal how many shots of Wild Turkey he wanted. His order was quickly filled.
"What's the rush? It's not like you haven't seen her naked a million times already. And I hope the two of you have been using protection lately. Oh, and since we're on the topic of protection, looks like I'm going to have to get earthquake insurance taken out on the house because of your bedroom antics. You've officially cracked the ceiling in the living room."
Stefan chuckled and his smile was uber-smug. "I smell a hater."
Damon shrugged and tossed his shot back. "I'm not hating but there's no need for the roof to come down on my head because you want to push the limits of the internal structure of the boardinghouse."
"You know who you sound like?" Stefan asked. Damon waited impatiently for him to say it. "Giuseppe. It's official, you've turned into Giuseppe Salvatore and it only took you close to two hundred years for that to happen." Stefan held up his shot glass in salute. "Congratulations. It's hair plugs and bifocals for you."
Just as soon as Damon opened his mouth to retort he felt something ominous enter the bar. Damon covertly looked around and he noticed that Stefan went stone-still as well.
Soon a man wearing a finely tailored black suit with sandy blond hair and criticizing blue eyes stood before them. In the infamously spoken words of Maury Povich about to read the results of a paternity test...Mikael, you are not the father-has finally graced them with his presence.
"The Salvatore boys, I presume," the Original Mack Daddy said as he eyed them with contempt for their very existence. "And there's no need to ask how I found you. I'm a vampire hunter...it's what I do. Now," he turned to face Stefan completely disregarding Damon. Damon hated when people did that. "I heard you're Niklaus' errand boy. I need you to tell me where he is."
Stefan channeled his inner asshole which didn't take a lot of doing, as he leaned casually against the bar.
"I've been ordered to keep my mouth shut. And I know for a fact he doesn't want your ass to know where his ass is. That would defeat the purpose of running, don't you think?"
Mikael did not look amused. His smirk was sardonic at best. "And you mean to tell me you can't find a loophole?"
The younger Salvatore merely shrugged.
While they were so busy conversing, Damon took the opportunity to give the only man on the planet that was able to make Klaus tuck tail and run a good thorough once-over. Really? This was the guy? Damon snorted and reached for another shot. In his head Mikael was some ten foot tall three hundred pound Cyclops who caused earthquakes when he walked. The guy standing before him in a Brooks Brothers suit looked like an ordinary door-to-door salesman. And Mikael was quite possibly the only vampire Damon had encountered that he felt could benefit from a facelift. Seriously his face looked like a prune.
And of course while he was having his own inner monologue completely tuning out their conversation, the next thing he knew, a fist was being slammed into his chest and cold fingers gripped his heart.
WTF happened? Stefan you bastard. I knew hanging out with you was liable to get me killed.
Finally something close to humanity formed in Stefan's eyes as he kept shifting his gaze from Mikael's cold face to the hand planted deep in his brother's chest.
"All I'm asking, Stefan is that you find a way to lure Klaus. If not I take your brother's heart with me. You mean to tell me you wouldn't care if I killed your brother right in front of you? That's cold-blooded even I have to admit."
"Ah, he's been compelled not to care," Damon groaned.
"Then I guess that's a shame for you," and just to show what he meant by that, he squeezed Damon's heart tighter in his hands.
The older Salvatore's eyes rolled into the back of his head. So this is what this feels like. No one wonder Mason Lockwood wanted to return the favor. This shit hurts.
Finally Stefan muttered, "I can get a message to him."
It wasn't enough to get Mikael to release Damon.
"I can," Stefan reiterated.
"You have forty-eight hours, Stefan or..." he squeezed and gave a little pull and Damon's knees buckled. "I come back for both of your hearts." He pulled his hand clean out of Damon's chest and boldly licked his fingers. Vampire blood was ambrosia to him.
Stefan reached out for Damon and helped his brother on a bar stool. It was a good thing they were around so many humans. Damon would need to take blood from everyone in the bar—who had been compelled earlier—in order for him to recover from his injuries.
Half an hour later...
Damon and Stefan strolled silently to the car. They had just entered clusterfuck number one hundred and twenty something, whatever they lost count. But then anger overtook Damon and he punched Stefan's lights out.
"Thanks for letting that asshole just punch a hole in my chest while you stood there shooting the breeze!"
Stefan vamped out and flew at Damon, but being he was much angrier, Damon caught Stefan by the arm and flipped him on his back. He landed with a crunch on the pavement. Damon planted his heavy boot against his neck, crushing Stefan's windpipe.
"You're no different now than you were six months ago! You gotdamn dick!" Damon seethed.
"What the hell are you mad at me for? I saved your worthless ass again like I always do. You want to be mad at someone, be mad at yourself Damon because if you hadn't gotten bitten by Tyler, I wouldn't have had to go to Klaus in the first place, but c'est la vie I'm his bitch now because of it."
Damon's jaw ticked. His brother was right, but still Damon did not like being vulnerable to anyone. Nor did he like relying on people, namely Stefan to come to his rescue. He took his foot off Stefan's neck.
"Get on the ball and call your owner," he growled at Stefan. "I want his ass dead by the end of the week," Damon pointed at his brother and walked away.
Mystic Grill
Elena was all smiles and giggles as she headed towards the ladies room. And right before she made it to the door, a cold hand clamped around her arm and pulled her in a completely different direction.
Her back made contact with the wall, and just when she formed her lips to cuss the person out, her jaw dropped to her chest, and her already big doe-brown eyes widened in horror.
"Klaus," she said in that raspy voice that was a cross between being seductive and sounding as if she were fighting against a sore throat.
"Going somewhere, love?" He looked to his left and saw the door marked "Women".
Elena swallowed nervously. "What do you want?"
"Seems everyone likes asking me that question," he smiled very briefly. "And my answer will never change." He ran a finger along her neck. Elena attempted to slap his hand away. "I feel all the blood in your body rushing straight to your heart. Do I make you nervous, Elena?"
"No," she lied through her pearly white teeth. "I just don't like you."
All gaiety left his face and his veneer became hard. "Well, that's too bad. I came back for two reasons and two reasons only and currently I'm looking at one of them."
Hearing his proclamation made her skin crawl.
Klaus drew even closer to where there was only a modicum of space between his body and Elena's.
"I mean you no harm. I never have."
Elena rolled her eyes. "Yeah, except for when you tried to kill me."
"And lucky for you, you have a brigade of friends who went to any length to keep you alive. Yet I wonder…after the rumors I've heard…would they now hand you over to me on a silver platter? Being as you are no longer the center of Mystic Falls, ergo you no longer have the love of two vampire brothers. They now hold someone else in high regard."
As much as her mouth was growing dry, Elena did not like to be reminded of all she had lost last year no thanks to the troll standing in front of her.
"And she is a delicious little something."
"If you have a point please get to it," Elena demanded sharply.
Klaus laughed. "Have I touched a nerve? Good."
"If you came here to drag me across the world with you…you can go to hell."
"I've lived hell for the last thousand years, sweetheart, and believe me when I say it's a vacation compared to my life."
"Ooh, I feel so sorry for you," she mocked. Yep, she must be losing the blood flow to her brain because if she had half of one she'd know better than sassing Mr. Indestructible.
Fury flashed in his dark blue eyes for a second. "I'm not going to make the next few days pleasant for anyone, Elena. Spread that message around."
Just then his phone vibrated in his pocket. Klaus extracted it and smiled when he saw who was calling. He held it up so Elena could see the LCD screen. "It's Stefan." He answered the call. "Stefan…what do I owe this honor?"
"I have a gift for you."
"What a coincidence that I would be in town at the exact moment you want to bless me with a gift. What could it possibly be?" he winked at Elena.
There was a pause. Klaus figured Stefan hadn't expected him to already be in town. That made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
"What if I said I could give you Mikael's head on a platter?"
Klaus' eyebrows rose. "Really? And how exactly are you going to accomplish that feat, my friend?" his words were clipped.
"You let me worry about the particulars."
"I had every intention. If you are attempting to set me up into a trap…you will never see your girlfriend again, and no I'm not talking about the one you are currently with."
"Elena?"
Klaus heard there wasn't an overly concerned tone in Stefan's voice.
"Yes, my fair, beautiful doppelganger."
Stefan wanted to be flippant but refrained from doing so. "I'll call you back…when I have all of the particulars worked out."
"You do that, Stefan…and to have your insurance that you aren't setting me up to take a stake in the back…please allow me to escort Bonnie to dinner."
The crickets chirped.
"Why do you want to have dinner with Bonnie?"
"Because I like being random. Why the hell not? Don't force me to pull rank, Stefan. I like it when you willingly comply with my wishes. Refuse me…and I might pay your sweetheart a visit while she's sleeping at night."
Stefan growled on the other end of the phone. Klaus merely smiled.
This was probably by far the hardest sentence Stefan would ever have to speak. "Fine. What time should she be ready?"
Klaus looked at Elena. "Does seven sound good, love? And no I wasn't calling you love. Have her ready, Stefan."
Klaus disconnected the call, re-entered Elena's personal space, and kissed her cheek. "Now if you'll excuse me I have a date to prepare for. And if you try to run away or do something noble like leap off the highest cliff, you will never see Bonnie again…alive that is."
"Why are you doing this? Why are you dragging Bonnie into your madness? It's me you want."
"My ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts. If I were you I'd give up trying to get inside my head, Elena. It isn't a pleasant place for such a sweet girl like yourself to be."
And like the wind he was gone.
The Salvatore Boardinghouse
The entire house was silent like it was preparing for an ominous arrival and in a lot of ways it was. Stefan looked through his bedroom window watching the empty street while Bonnie reluctantly prepared for her evening with Klaus.
He turned the second he heard her heels clicking against the hardwood floor. Though she said she wouldn't put much effort into her attire, no matter what she sheathed herself in she looked amazing. Her hair was down and feathered around her shoulders. The olive green wrap dress showed off her curves amazingly well, almost too well in his humble opinion, and though she wore a pair of understated strappy heels, they made her calves look wonderfully sculpted.
Bonnie opted not to spray herself down with expensive perfume. Not that it mattered. Her natural scent was mouth-watering as it was. She wore minimal to almost no makeup save mascara and clear lip gloss. To his vampire eyes she still resembled a goddess.
"Do I really have to do this?" she asked for what felt like the millionth time.
Stefan tucked his lips in and approached her. "I'd hate to think of what the alternative might be if you don't."
Bonnie nodded her head. She wanted to laugh at the irony that was her life. She got rid of one psycho all for him to be replaced by another. But hopefully soon they would rid the world forever of Niklaus (insert last name). She knew that Mikael finally made an appearance, and that a preliminary plan was being implemented but Bonnie didn't want to know all of the particulars. The less she knew the less she'd have to lie about.
Stefan cupped her cheek, ran the pad of this thumb across her butter soft skin. "I know you can take care of yourself, but Klaus is…"
"I know exactly what he is, Stefan. I'll be glad when I can cut a jig over his grave."
Stefan smiled and quickly kissed her forehead. "You and me both. And we will. I give you my word on that."
The doorbell rang and for some strange reason to Bonnie it sounded louder than usual. The couple looked at one another silently before their heads came together in a mutual kiss. Her lips were warm and soft against his tepid mouth. When Stefan deepened the kiss by slipping his tongue inside to do a deep-sea exploration, the bell tolled again, louder and longer this time.
He reluctantly tore his lips away from Bonnie whose face was flushed with desire. Her loins hurt and she certainly couldn't go anywhere near Klaus in her current condition. He'd definitely get the wrong idea.
"I'll get the door…"
"And I'll get my hormones under control."
Stefan smiled, kissed her hand and slowly made his way downstairs.
He paused for a moment before swinging the front door open. He kept his face expressionless although his eyebrows wanted to rise to high heaven the moment his eyes took in Klaus' attire.
This would make Stefan's first time since the 20's seeing him in a suit. And like with most things pertaining to their kind, Klaus could wear couture very well.
"Stefan…have you missed me?"
"Not really," Stefan replied and folded his arms over his chest. "Would it be presumptuous of me to ask just where you're taking my girlfriend?"
Klaus fluffed the handkerchief he had stuffed in his dinner jacket breast pocket. He pulled his blood red lips into a tight line. "Yes, it would be, Stefan. And speaking of girlfriend's, where is she?"
"She's right here," Bonnie said from behind Stefan's back. He moved only infinitesimally so that Klaus could see her with his own two eyes.
Stefan kept his gaze locked on Klaus to gauge his response to Bonnie. He could definitely see his interest, but no lust which he found the most surprising. Did that mean he batted for the other team? Stefan didn't think so but then again…one could never be too sure.
Klaus held out his hand towards Bonnie who ignored it. Instead she brought her critical green eyes over to her boyfriend and soundly kissed him on the mouth.
"I love you," she declared.
"I love you, more," Stefan replied just as passionately. Klaus stared at them annoyingly.
"Our chariot awaits madam," Klaus interrupted their teenage dream fantasy. Bonnie flicked her eyes briefly at him before strutting out the house, bypassing his open palm.
Instead of immediately following her, Klaus looked dead into Stefan's eyes. "Do not follow us. You do and I'll send her back in delectable pieces. I give you my word, Stefan I won't hurt her."
Stefan felt his will being tampered with and he hated it. The powerlessness of having your emotions and ability to do for yourself being pushed aside as someone else imprinted their will on you. He tried to fight against it but Klaus was too strong, too old, and all it accomplished was giving Stefan a slight headache and a sick feeling in the back of his throat. He could compare compulsion to one minute you're walking in the sunshine and the next you're in a pitch-black room with only a voice in your head to guide you in where you need to go. And you had no choice but to trust that voice or you'd be screwed. But here's the screwy thing, you were already screwed from the get-go.
Later…
Bonnie sat across from Klaus while he carried on an animated conversation with their waiter who was dressed in a white double breasted jacket and black pants. Bonnie didn't think there were waiters anywhere in the world who still dressed in that sort of regalia but she guessed she was wrong.
Klaus spread his napkin over his legs and smiled across the table from Bonnie. "This is romantic, don't you think?"
"No," Bonnie deadpanned.
He continued speaking as if he hadn't heard her. "May I interest you in some wine?" he began to pour wine into his glass.
"Only if I get to crack the bottle over your head later."
Klaus looked up at her over the table. He lost the smile long ago, and the expression she had come to associate him with was being presented. Lethal calculation.
"Come now, I think you can be a little more hospitable to your dinner guest. I mean you no harm, Bonnie."
She scoffed loudly at that and watched with satisfaction as a tick began in Klaus' five o'clock shadow covered jaw.
"What's your angle, man? Why are we here? Why aren't you chasing Elena up and down Mystic Falls? Why waste your time and mine when we both know you're only back here for one reason?"
Klaus shook his head, and smiled, causing crescent moons to appear in both cheeks. "There are so many more important questions to ask me, Miss Bennett. So many more."
"I'm not interested in hearing your life story."
"And I'm not interested in telling it or reliving it. But I will tell you why I wanted to have dinner with you."
"Finally," Bonnie said under her breath which Klaus heard anyways.
"You know I have an affinity for witches and at present…all the witches I was fond off…have perished. Wastefully. I want to extend you a term of employment."
Bonnie stared at him unblinking for a moment before laughing dryly. "You know there's no way in hell I'd ever agree to work for you."
"I'm not saying you'd be my minion. You'd work alongside me. You'd be my queen."
"And would that make Elena your concubine?"
A devilish grin popped out on his face. "Of course not…this isn't, how you say, that type of party," he chuckled at his own use of present day vernacular. "I can offer you the world, Bonnie. We would be the unstoppable pair. We could rewrite history, become true rulers of the world. With you by my side, and my hybrids behind me there'd be nothing to stop us. You would become a true goddess."
Bonnie curled her lip in utter disgust. "You must have me confused with Omorosa, I don't long for world domination. That crap is for shitty Hollywood movies. I don't need anyone bowing at my feet or kissing my ass to spare their life. And to want to treat other people that way…it's despicable."
Now it was Klaus' turn to look disgusted. "Freaking judgmental witches," he said under his breath. "You're missing the point, my love."
"No pet names or endearments please."
He rolled his eyes. "I want you to think back to what your life used to be, Bonnie. Remember there was a time where life did not revolve around you. The only time someone called you was when they needed you to work a little magic to save Elena's life. She was the girl everyone loved, cherished, and put on a pedestal. She was the one who yet again pit two brothers against each other and who constantly placed their lives in danger all to save her. And used her friends to their advantage.
"According to Stefan, he said that Damon would have gladly traded your life for Elena and he'd do it any day of the week. To think the same Damon you appear to be so close with now…if it came down to you or Elena he would have gladly let you die. You think I'm a heartless bastard and I am, that I won't lie about…but to know the vampire whose life you saved a thousand times over, would let someone take you out if it meant saving the girl who would never love him the way she loved his brother… now that's cold."
Don't let him get inside your head and fuck with you, Bonnie. You and Damon and everyone else have come a long way.
But at the same time…she never knew that. Never knew that not that long ago she meant so little to Damon that he would have sacrificed her to save Elena.
However, Klaus could be lying.
Bonnie knew she had been foolish enough to toss her life aside if it meant saving her best friend. And she was also aware of how much Damon loved Elena…back then. But things were different now. Vastly different and that's what she needed to focus on.
"That's in the past," she said hoping her voice didn't quiver.
Klaus' smile was placatory at best. "With the flip of a coin everything could go back to the way it used to be. I could compel both Damon and Stefan to resume their rivalry over Elena's heart. Therefore that would leave you boyfriend-less, and friendless, and most importantly isolated. See," Klaus slid to the edge of his seat to place his elbows on the table. "You would never have to worry about my allegiance being tampered with or waning off. Once we're together, we'd be together for life. What more assurance do you need?"
"Klaus I rather you kill me and everyone I love than to spend the rest of my life beside you. You can play your little mind games, try to get me to second guess everyone I love and trust, but it won't work. And do you want to know why? Because you're just a sad little boy that no one ever gave a damn about so it pains you to see other people care about each other and have one another's back. Not once have you ever stood up and did something selfless for anyone else besides yourself. You don't know what it means to be a brother, or a friend, or someone decent. And it all boils down to this one cold hard fact…you don't even love or like yourself."
Their conversation came to an abrupt end and nothing could be heard outside of the violinist and piano player serenading the smartly dressed crowd inside the French restaurant.
Just as their entrees arrived, Bonnie looked up at their server. "Can I get a to-go box because this dinner is over?"
While she lectured him, Klaus could hear Bonnie's voice but it was Mikael's face he saw in his head, repeating not verbatim everything that asshole ever said about him.
But he be damned if he'd let a little teenage witch-bitch put him in his place. Klaus slammed his hand on top of hers, the force of it rattling the crystal flutes and silverware. The noise drew several curious glances their way.
Bonnie winced as he tightened his hold on her hand.
"That's where you're wrong," he said on a low growl. "I do know what it means to love someone, to have someone's back. I did love someone."
Bonnie rolled her eyes.
Klaus continued. "And she was taken from me."
"And that's the world's fault? Just because you lost someone doesn't give you the right to go around toying with and destroying peoples' lives. You're a waste of dead tissue, Klaus. And you always will be."
"You're a very brave but stupid girl."
"Go ahead and take me out, tough guy. I'm done shaking in my boots over you."
"You have no clue what I can do to your father…to your mother…yes I know exactly where she is…to Caroline who I know you favor more than Elena these past few months…and you don't know what I can do to Stefan."
Bonnie felt her throat tighten at the mention of her mother. How would Klaus know where she was? Bonnie kept her face one part pissed off the other part indifferent. She couldn't let him know how much hearing that he could hurt her mother affected her.
Bonnie smiled and giggled almost hysterically. She winked at Klaus. "Don't forget you have a family as well. Tit for tat, an eye for an eye. Don't bite off more than you can chew. And here's the most important proverb…don't piss off a Bennett witch!"
She abruptly rose from her seat and yelled "EVERYBODY GET DOWN!"
With just the twitch of her eye, all the windows of the restaurant shattered, shards of glass flying to and fro. People screamed and ducked under tables, many dove for the nearest exit. Klaus merely sat calmly at the table, his eyes locked on Bonnie but then…three large pieces of glass were hurtling towards her and he meant to leap up and snatch her out of the way, but Bonnie ducked a split second before they became imbedded in her head, and instead they became imbedded in his.
Klaus was flipped backwards out of his chair and landed with a thud against the carpeted floor.
Women screamed, people rushed to assist him, and all he could do was chuckle.
"This was the best date ever," he said and coughed up blood.
The Salvatore Boardinghouse
Damon entered the house and wondered for a second why it was so dark. He turned the volume up in his ears and didn't hear Bonnie or Stefan for that matter, yet he knew his brother was home because his car was parked in the driveway.
"Stefan?"
"Yeah," came the subdued reply.
Damon walked into the living room and found his brother stretched out on the couch staring aimlessly at the ceiling. Dumping his car keys in his leather jacket pocket, Damon hung up his coat on the high back chair and strolled over to the wet bar to pour himself a drink. From the lines playing Tic-Tac-Toe on Stefan's forehead it was plain to see he was still smarting over their "earlier disagreement". Let him stew because Damon didn't care. They could put their personal shit to the side because now it was time to implement Operation Kill Klaus, the updated version of that plan—that is.
Step one had already been accomplished and they didn't have to do anything. Now all they needed to do was for Mikael to make good on his promise, but Damon being the planner he is, had several contingency plans in place.
"Where's Bonnie?"
"She's with Klaus."
Damon swallowed his shot down the wrong pipe and began coughing violently. "WHAT? What do you mean 'She's with Klaus'? Did he take her? Did she go to him of her own freewill? Why are you just lying around on your ass, Stefan…"
Damon stopped and looked very carefully at his brother…his coolness about the situation. The elder Salvatore rolled his eyes before chucking the shot glass towards the fireplace.
"You've been compelled," Damon snarled.
"He won't hurt her. He's given his word."
"Oh, yes and we know how he lives to keep his word to people," Damon's tone dripped with sarcasm. He headed over for his jacket with a new mission in mind. "Where are they?"
Stefan sighed wishing he could get angry like Damon. "I don't know."
"You are the lousiest boyfriend in the world, Stefan! This is the second time you've allowed this to happen."
Now that buttered Stefan's toast. He hopped off the couch so fast and jacked Damon by the collar of his shirt before Damon even had time to really get this next sentence out.
Stefan slammed his brother up against the wall. He looked like a true vampire. "You think this is easy for me? Having my girlfriend running the streets with the biggest asshole on the planet and not being able to do a DAMNED thing about it? Leave it alone, Damon because every time you try to intervene thinking you're saving the day you make everything ten times worse. He said he'll bring her back and he won't hurt her, and I have to trust he'll do what he said."
Damon shook his head and Stefan released him.
"This can't keep going on," Stefan mumbled.
Damon lifted an eyebrow in the air. "What are you grumbling about?"
"Doesn't matter because it won't change a thing."
"Just say what's on your mind, Stefan. I'm a big boy I can take it."
Stefan bore into his brother while running a hand over his mouth. "You love...my girlfriend. Again."
Damon snorted. "I'm not in love with Bonnie."
Now it was Stefan's turn to snort. He walked over to the bar to pour himself a drink. "I'll give you props for not being so overt about it, but I see the way you look at her."
"I have eyes, Stefan and she's a hot girl what am I suppose to do when she walks into a room and ask me a question? Stare at my feet? Get real."
"Have you forgotten the last century and a half and the reason why you hated me for it? Don't do this."
"I'm not doing anything. But this is Klaus who is liable to do anything at any given time. I'm just worried about Bonnie's safety and that's all."
Stefan didn't buy that. In the past he allowed Damon to love Elena from afar because he knew Damon would do what was necessary to keep her safe, now all bets were off and he wasn't going to share any part of Bonnie with him.
"Just remember whose bed she'll be climbing into tonight."
Damon's lips flattened into a thin line. "So what you offer yourself up for stud services. Bonnie can get dick from anyone in this town. Bad dick, good dick doesn't matter. And I know she cares about more than that." He stared at Stefan for a moment before schlepping off to his room, cell phone in hand.
"Ric…we have a problem."
Two hours later Bonnie huffed and puffed her way inside the boardinghouse to find it was full of people. Which wasn't surprising. Bonnie imagined that once Damon found out she was with Klaus that he'd hop on the phone tree and call up Alaric, and Alaric would tell Elena, and Elena would tell Caroline, and they'd all be there waiting to interrogate her.
She wasn't in the mood. She was angry, tired after having to walk nearly two miles in heels to wait inside a crowded store to call a cab. Klaus had not taken her to a restaurant in Mystic Falls but in the next town over, so she almost had to flash a boob to get the cabbie to agree to knock twenty dollars off the cab fare. And to top it all off, she was hungry.
The minute Stefan caught her scent he jumped over the couch like an Olympic hurdler and bundled Bonnie up in his arms. Any other day that would have been welcomed but she was simply too emotionally drained and aggravated to care.
Bonnie worker her hands up to his chest and pushed Stefan off her. She peeled her aching shoes off her feet and chucked them into the roaring fireplace.
"Bonnie are you okay?" Caroline and Elena asked in unison.
She could do nothing more than nod like a bobblehead toy.
"We were worried about you," said Alaric. Bonnie flicked her eyes in his direction. So worried that instead of coming to look for me you decided to have a parent/teacher conference instead, Bonnie thought sardonically and returned her attention to the dancing flames in the fireplace.
However, she did plant her eyes on Damon who was being deceptively quiet. He didn't smile nor did he make a quirk about her having Flintstone feet.
She didn't care. She wasn't in the mood to ask him what his problem was.
But when he winked at her she couldn't help but smirk in return. Her boyfriend ignored that. Barely ignored it.
Stefan knew his girlfriend well enough to recognize the signs that screamed she wasn't in a sociable mood.
"Tired?" he asked.
Bonnie nodded again.
"Hungry?"
She really nodded her head.
"I'll get you something to eat," Caroline volunteered and whisked off into the kitchen.
Elena approached Bonnie and hugged her. Bonnie rolled her eyes and quickly detached herself. She didn't want to be coddled.
For a second she wondered where her irritation was stemming from, but Bonnie simply had too many other things on her mind like: when and how is Klaus going to retaliate for the stunt that I pulled?
Elena frowned the minute she noticed that Bonnie was stiff and tense while she hugged her. Was she thinking about the last time she saw her in the boardinghouse? Possibly, so Elena knew she'd have to tread very lightly.
"So…how was it?" Elena asked tentatively believing this was a safe question to ask.
Bonnie snorted. "He was a dick and I was a bitch. I shattered the windows in the restaurant; the night came to a close. I just want to eat and go to sleep."
Bonnie made a move towards the staircase but Elena stopped her. "Before your…date with Klaus…he cornered me at the Grill and when I told Ric he thought it might be a good idea if I stayed at the boardinghouse…for protection purposes. The house is still in my name."
Her irritation flared to new heights that Bonnie nearly blanked out. "Okay fine whatever. I'm tired. Please no one talk to me about Klaus for the next hundred years."
Before joining her, Stefan would give her some time to cool down. He didn't mind having his head bitten off but only when he had explicitly done something.
Twenty minutes later, Stefan walked into his bedroom with a serving tray not really sure what to expect. He did find Bonnie reading a book dressed in one of her favorite night gowns. She sat it aside as he approached.
Stefan placed the tray on the bed and reached over to cup her cheek. "Do you want to talk about it? I can tell something is bothering you. Is it Klaus or Elena's staying here?"
"Try both," Bonnie replied honestly and picked up the fork and began stabbing the macaroni noodles with it. "I get why Elena has to stay here but after what Klaus tried to do…I just don't want to see her."
Stefan took a seat on the edge of the bed. "What did he try to do?"
"He tried to tap into my insecurities and he said something's…I haven't thought about in a long time. Look, I rather just forget then to rehash it because I know he's a manipulator and an opportunist and that he's not to be trusted. But that wasn't all. He threatened my mother."
Now that Stefan didn't see coming.
"Your mother? How does he even know her?"
Bonnie shrugged. He might as well have asked Bonnie what her mother has been up to for the last fifteen years. She had no freaking clue.
He reached for Bonnie's left hand. "I'm not going to let him hurt anyone else you care about, Bonnie. I don't know how everything is going to work out, but I have faith we won't have to deal with his bullshit for much longer."
Bonnie gazed at her boyfriend and nodded her head in agreement.
She finished her meal in silence.
She woke up in the dead of night, rolling to a sitting position, her hair covering her exposed shoulders, the vision of seeing her mother's neck in Klaus' blood red mouth disturbed her sleep.
Bonnie blinked her eyes until they adjusted to the darkness of the room. Stefan slumbered quietly beside her and for a moment she had the sudden urge to hop in her car and drive across town to her house although it would have been pointless. Her father was out of town. Or maybe she would keep driving until she could find her mother.
All of this was irrational. Bonnie owed her mother nothing. She left her. But still…she was her mother.
Bonnie had not thought of her mother in years. Since she took off when she was no older than a toddler, whatever memory Bonnie had of her it was erased with lack of use and time. Sure there were photographs of Abby Bennett holding her just days after her birth, and one of Bonnie sitting on her mother's lap at her first birthday party, but that was it.
Did Bonnie envy her classmates who complained when their mothers wanted to do some mundane activity with them? Of course. Did it boil her blood that her mother didn't care enough about Bonnie to take her with her when she decided to split town? Naturally. For so long she had felt unwanted by her own blood and had relied on her friendships to replace her fundamental foundation that should have been established in her own household. Now even certain friendships were precarious and if Klaus made good on his promise to use compulsion to turn Stefan and Damon into the snarling pit bulls they had been before all to gain Elena's affection…Bonnie just might lose her mind. And lob off some heads while she was at.
She didn't want to address the possibility of losing Stefan. It literally made her feel sick. And as much as she didn't want to admit that Damon very well could have traded her life to save Elena's, she knew enough of his character back then to say it was a definite possibility.
But things were different between them now. Between all of them. With one comes all and that was the point Bonnie knew they'd have to make to Klaus.
"Hey," Stefan said groggily. He sat up in bed and wrapped an arm around Bonnie. "You can't sleep."
"I have a lot on my mind."
"Talk to me, baby. Lay it all out on the table."
Lord she wanted to, but she couldn't. She didn't want to give credence to the lies and/or truth Klaus tried to plant in her head. The time for second-guessing was over. It was now time for action. Instead of opening up, she angled her head to peer at Stefan. "Do you love me?"
"You know I do."
"Prove it." Pause. "Kill Klaus."
Stefan's grin was dangerous. "It would be my honor. But…I can think of another way to show you how much I love you."
He pulled her backwards, kissing her, planting her underneath him, and removing her night gown. His boxer briefs grew wings and took flight landing in a soft heap on the floor. Stefan kissed her lips, nibbled his way down her neck, before twirling his ruby red tongue around her chocolate tipped nipple. While teasing her he buried himself to the hilt in her heat.
Bonnie hissed and wrapped her legs around him, holding as tight as her human arms would allow.
No matter what it took, Klaus would have to die.
And she had the perfect card up her sleeve to make sure it was all accomplished.
Chapter end.
A/N: I'm sure you were hoping that Klaus' secret would be revealed this chapter. It's coming up. I wanted to give a little background and insight to how the first doppelganger (if she could be called that) all came about, and I wrote this chapter way before her name had been revealed in S3, so I'm keeping it as it in this story. Thank you guys so much for reading and leaving me your thoughts. Until next time...love you!