"Lady Forbes I would like to introduce you to my sister, Miss Rebeka Mikaelson. Rebeka, this gracious lady is Baroness Lancashire, Lady Elizabeth Forbes" Elijah gestured between Rebeka and my mother. Rebeka dipped into a curtsey and smiled brightly up at my mother.

"Lady Forbes it is an honor to meet the woman who has made my brothers stay most enjoyable. I regret to have arrived so unexpectedly, but alas my letter informing Elijah of my visit must have gone undelivered" Rebeka said, her expression forlorn, and I immediately felt badly for the girl who had traveled so far, only to find herself unexpected.

"Oh think nothing of it dear," my mother smiled kindly at her and took her hands, "we are delighted to meet you. And your timing really is superb, we are having a little house party for the next two weeks" my mother gushed and my father rolled his eyes good naturedly. We had both heard nothing out of my mother's mouth for the past week that didn't revolve around the house party.

"Oh how fun!" Rebeka laughed, "If there is anything that I can be of service with you will please let me know" she said

"Oh do not be silly dear, your only duty shall be keeping Caroline company and she shall entertain you" my mother gestured to me, where I sat next to her on the settee in the sitting room.

"I do not wish to be a burden to anyone-", Rebeka started to say as she looked at me.

"Oh no, I am looking forward to getting to know you so much better" I assured her with a smile, which she returned.

"And Elijah I am sure will want to spend time with you girls, but his work does keep him and my husband quite occupied" my mother said after she took a sip of her tea.

Mary and I had returned to the horses a half hour after we had made our way to the poor houses, our baskets empty and we saw Elijah and Rebeka deep in conversation.

"Who is the girl talking with Elijah?" Mary asked quietly

"That is his younger sister Rebeka"

"Ohh, she seems a bit haughty does she not…" Mary observed as we walked a bit closer. And it did appear that Elijah and Rebeka were having a heated discussion, but I didn't see a haughty exterior, I actually saw a hidden desperation in her eyes.

"I think she seems a bit… scared, or desperate. Hidden beneath the surface. I hope no unpleasant circumstances drove her here". But then we had to cease our observations because we had reached them.

"Caroline, Mary, we should return to the estate. My sister had sent a letter weeks ago asking to visit but it never arrived, so I was unable to inform your family" Elijah addressed us

"Oh think nothing of it Miss Rebeka, my parents will be delighted to meet you" I assured her, and a small uncertain smile entered her face. "How long will you be staying with us?"

"Oh not long I'm sure, I just need to track down my wayward brothers and then I shall be off" she said

"Oh, are Niklaus and Kol close too?" I asked with a smile, it would be so nice to meet the rest of the siblings that I had heard so much about. But instead of smiling Rebeka looked thoroughly shocked, her mouth had fallen open a bit. But then she snapped it close and shot Elijah a heated look before returning her gaze to me.

"No, unfortunately I do not believe so" her tone low.

"Oh" I say, not quite sure how to respond. We saddle the empty baskets and straddle our horses and set off back to the estate. Rebeka had her own horse, a beautiful dark brown mare, but there was no carriage in sight. After a few moments of riding I found myself riding beside her, with Elijah on the other side of her.

"Miss Mikaelson, do you not have a carriage?" I ask gently, I do not want to appear judging but I was genuinely curious.

"Oh yes, it shall arrive some time tomorrow. I decided to ride ahead, I could not wait a day longer to see my brother"

"I understand" I said smiling brightly at her, "And your mare is beautiful, what a unique dark coloring she has"

"Oh yes, she was bred Spanish but I bought and trained her in France"

"What is her name?"

"Orageux"

"Ohhh, French for Stormy, very appropriate" I laughed

"Yes I thought so, although my brothers complain that it is a much too predictable name"

"Oh? And what masterpieces have they come up with? Besides naming one of them after the oldest brother"

"Exactly! Well Kol's steed is named Lady, which is exactly what a rogue would name his horse. Finn's is named Fidelus, and Klaus named his Diablo…. How predictable is that?"

"Well from what Elijah has told me I would have to agree" and we were both laughing.

"And what is this beauty's name?" she asked as she gestured to my horse

"Oh this is Hope" and I patted her neck

"I do love animals" she said wistfully

"Oh you must meet Prince's puppies!" I say excitedly, much to her confusion, "Some years ago I found a mutt on the side of the road, injured and dirty. I hid him from my parents and nursed him back to health. He- well now we know it is in fact a she, just had a litter of puppies. They really are the most adorable creatures are they not Elijah?"

"Oh they truly are" Elijah responded wryly. We spoke animatedly for the remainder of the ride to the estate.

After we had housed our horses in the stables and unsaddled them I brought Rebeka and Elijah into the sitting room where my mother was writing her correspondence and my father was reading some letters. And that was how we arrived where we were now. A short while later my father and Elijah excused themselves to work on some business and my mother suggested that I show Rebeka to the chamber Mary had prepared for her.

"I have a nice warm dressing gown that I would be happy to lend you until your clothes arrive, as well as a few simple gowns. It has been quite hot these past few days, you shant need anything fancy."

"Oh thank you"

"I am sure you would like to rest now, after your long journey. Perhaps later I can take you downstairs and show you the puppies?" I asked excitedly

"I would love that" Rebeka replied with a tired smile, and I smiled in return. I brought her to the chamber on the other side of mine and we saw Mary inside busily readying the chamber for her.

"Mary will be happy to find anything you may need for your comfort, please do not ever hesitate to ask" I assured her

"Thank you so much" she said. I nodded and turned to leave the room and let her get some rest, but at the last minute I turned to her again.

"I'm glad you're here Miss Mikaelson, and I know Elijah is too" and her mouth dropped open a bit to form a surprised O. But then she regained her smile, "Oh please, do call me Rebeka"

"So long as you call me Caroline in return" I said. She smiled and nodded, and then I continued down the hall and the stairs to rejoin my mother in the sitting room.

Later that afternoon I was sitting in the gardens with a book when a large shadow fell over the page I was reading. I looked up to find Elijah standing next to me.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" he asked and he held out his arm for me to take

"Of course, but I would have thought you would want to spend the afternoon with your sister"

"Rebeka and I shall have time to speak later, right now I would simply like to walk with you" he smiled.

"You seem conflicted about seeing your sister" I observe quietly as we take turns about the garden

"I am… Of course I am very happy to see her and know she is well, I just fear that…" and I don't think he knew how to voice what he was thinking.

"What do you fear?" I asked gently, trying to coax him to be honest with me.

"I fear that she will complicate things for me here" he said

"I truly think Rebeka is here to see you and just be here with you Elijah, promise me you will give her a chance and not just to conclusions"

"Caroline, you do not know my siblings like I do, they never do anything without a private motivation"

"And maybe it is because you are always suspecting nefarious deeds on their part that it is what you always find. Give your siblings a chance to prove you wrong" I advise. I am not sure if I am overstepping my bounds, but from the extensive stories Elijah had told me of his siblings I felt as though I had discovered a pattern. He was silent for a while. Our steps brought us away from the manicured garden and we were ambling toward the edge of the forest on the west side of the east side of the estate. As we reached the cover of the trees Elijah still hadn't said anything, but the silence was contemplative than angry, so I let it be. And when Elijah grabbed for my hand I knew he wasn't angry with me.

After a few minutes of weaving in between trees on the forest path I heard Elijah laugh under his breath.

"What?" I ask

"Caroline, nobody else talks to me like you do. It's so refreshing to be told I am wrong, especially by someone as smart and as sweet as you" and he brought his free hand up to stroke my cheek as we stopped walking.

"You think I am smart?" I ask in shock. Nobody had ever said that to me before, in fact I got the impression that my tutors thought of me as a simple minded silly girl.

"Of course I do. You see people. You see even what people may not want you to see, and you are not afraid to point it out." He said gently as he bent his face closer to mine so he could look into my eyes, and I couldn't help my delighted smile at his words. "But the tragedy of it is that you have no idea how different you really are because you have seen so little of the world"

"Oh I am quite sure there is nothing special about me Elijah, I am a simple girl that happens to make inappropriate observations about people" quoting one of my governesses.

"You are so much more than that" and he kissed me. This kiss wasn't hurried or heated, it was slow and sweet and I felt my heart swell. When he leaned back and smiled at me, his thumbs still grazing my cheeks, I couldn't help the strong surge of love I felt. I had tried not to put a name to my feelings and I had tried not to analyze his or my actions too closely out of fear… fear that I would not be allowed to love him, but it was no use. I was in love with Elijah Mikaelson, and I think I had been for a while.


"Did you enjoy your walk brother?" I heard Rebeka's voice coming from a chair in front of the fireplace after I had entered my chamber.

"I did, thank you for noticing sister" I respond, annoyed

"Oh I did more than notice brother" she said smugly

"What do you mean?" I ask as I start to remove my doublet and boots.

"I heard everything Elijah. That girl is… different, isn't she?" she said quietly as she looked into the fire.

"That she is" I said quietly, trying not to betray anything with my tone.

"I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that you think I am here to ruin things for you Elijah, I just hoped that you would be happy to be reunited and away from Mikael for the time being…. But ultimately we need to stay together Elijah, even if you don't want to" and I could hear the subtle hint of hurt in her voice and I regretted what I had said earlier, even though I wasn't aware she was listening.

"Rebeka, I am happy that you are here with me and that you are safe," and I went to join her by the fire and I could tell that I surprised her by taking her hands in mine, "I simply meant that I have enjoyed a simple existence whilst here, and I wasn't sure if you would be content in such an environment. A year ago you were almost betrothed to the Prince of Portugal, and now you are at the seaside home of a Baron."

"But I am with you brother" and then she started to cry. I hadn't seen Rebeka cry in decades and I immediately gathered her against my chest and comforted her. I brushed her hair away from her face and let her cry.

"I was so scared for you Elijah" she choked out, "When we got the warning that Mikael had found us I didn't know what to do, and then you disappeared to your chamber and you didn't come back down. We waited as long as we could but Mikael kicked down the door and threw one of our sentry's heads through it. Klaus and Kol both grabbed me and we started to run, but then Klaus wasn't with us anymore. I looked back and saw that he was on the ground with a stake through his back. He shouted at me to keep running but I couldn't move Elijah! I saw Mikael heading toward us and then Kol pushed me to go down the back servant's stairs and he told me not to stop running until morning, and that he and Klaus would find me. And then he went to help Klaus." Her breath was coming in short gasps as she told me what I had missed while I had been in my chamber. I wrapped my arms more securely around her and kissed the top of her head.

"I am sure that Klaus and Kol made it to safety Rebeka, when I came down there was only Mikael to contend with" I tried to assure her.

"How did you escape?"

"I was always a better fighter than father is Rebeka, you must remember that," and she chuckled at the memory of all the times Mikael had stormed off, furious that I had bested him in a lesson. "I tried to track any of your scents but I fear we all may be too adept at disappearing, I couldn't find a trace. I then found myself at the nearby village one night and I found a very dirty and injured girl struggling by the side of the road, and-", by this point in the story I can't help the smile that creeps over my features, but we are interrupted by a gentle knock on the door.

"Elijah? Rebeka?" we hear Caroline's soft voice from the other side of the door. Rebeka immediately jumps from my embrace and wipes her tearstained eyes and I spring up and head to the door. I look back at Rebeka and she nods that she is ready, and I open the door to see her sweet face smiling shyly.

"I am so sorry to disturb your conversation, but Mary told me that Rebeka was in here and I was wondering if she might like to dress for dinner now? The bell should ring soon and I am sure she won't want to wear her riding outfit to dine." Caroline looked to Rebeka for an answer.

"Oh thank you Caroline, but I am afraid I brought no other gowns for this evening" Rebeka answered, a bit of pink entering her cheeks. I am sure Rebeka planned on compelling whoever she found me with to let her feed and help herself to their clothes.

"Don't be silly Rebeka! You shall have your pick of mine. Come!" and Caroline smiled and held out her small hand for Rebeka's. I was shocked to see a genuine smile cross Rebeka's lips and she eagerly grasped Caroline's hand and the two disappeared out the door and I could hear them chatting next door in Caroline's chambers. I shook my head and smiled as I closed my door.

I couldn't remember the last time I saw Rebeka with a female friend, chatting away about gowns and ribbons and laughing. But if there was one person who could crack down that armor around my sister, it was Caroline Forbes.


For those of you thinking "This is not how I pictured Rebeka acting!" keep in mind that this is still over 500 years before we see her in the present in TVD. At this point in time she is still sweet and a bit niave, but trust me she still does have her issues and Caroline may have her work cut out for her. Let me know what you think or if you have any ideas for situtations you'd like to see develope between the characters!

Read, Review, Enjoy!