Chapter 38:
Leila closed the cabin door behind her, looking around the living room. She hadn't been there in a while. And after the summer spent with Damon there, she couldn't say she missed the place. Too many memories. "Nettie?" She called, seeing that her sister wasn't in the living room, even though she'd messaged her, asking her to meet her there.
Nettie came down the stairwell a laundry basket in her hands. "Hey. I just need some help clearing some of our stuff out of the bedrooms." She said, shoving it under the stairs.
"Why?" Leila's tone was flat as she watched Nettie stash away her things.
"What is it? I thought you and Damon made up..." He seemed like he was feeling better...
Leila gave Nettie a cold, half-smile. "We broke up."
"No you didn't." Nettie said, not sure what the hell was going on.
"He said, we needed a break." Leila walked closer to Nettie, running her hand over the leather recliner. "So we're having a break. A permanent one." Leila's voice was still flat.
"Holy shit Lei, I'm so sorry. You want me to hurt him for you?" She asked, furrowing her brow. Fully meaning what she had said.
"No." Leila looked to her feet. "I can't cry about it, Nettie. No matter how much I think about this, no matter how much it hurts, I just can't cry."
"What can I do?" Nettie asked, hugging her sister close.
"I thought about it..." Leila started, hugging Nettie back. "And it made me hurt even more... Then I realized I'm never going to get better like this." Leila paused a moment. "Take it all away, Nettie... Please."
"A- Are you sure?" She asked her sister. "And what? I can't erase him completely."
Leila pulled away from her. "I want this. I can't love Damon as much as I do and see him with her, kissing her, holding her... I thought he and I had something real. I just want to forget about it all. I can't handle it anymore..." She swallowed a rising lump in her throat. "Make me forget I love him."
"Okay. I'll do it." Nettie said, moving back and taking Leila's head in her hands. "I want you to forget the love you feel for Damon. I want you to replace it with memories of you two being friends for Stefan and Elena. To make it easier on them. But he never loved you and you never loved him." She stopped and looked at Leila, "When I'm done you'll only remember that you and I have helped his family out of some dark situations. I saved you on Wickery bridge. And you're happy."
Leila's pupils dilated in return, and after a moment, she smiled at Nettie. "So you wanted me to help you clear the rooms, right?"
"Yeah, that would be great." Nettie said awkwardly in return.
Nettie grumbled, "We are out of milk here too." She said, slamming the fridge shut. "They'll all be here soon and I'm going to be in a bad mood because of this!" They had spent the night in the cabin one last time before Joseph and Samuel took it over for a while.
"Well, I can call Damon." Leila suggested. Nettie raised her eyebrow. "You're always asking him to go to the store for milk."
Nettie huffed, "No I need to do it. I should be able to do it, right?" She asked her sister.
"Uhm..." Leila gave her a worried look. "I don't know. The last time was... bad."
"Yeah but that was years ago. I can do this." She was determined this time. "I'm gonna do it." She grabbed her keys off the hook, "Just... Make sure everyone is here before we try to get into the attic. If I'm not back within the hour... Come get me."
Nettie stood in front of the automatic doors at the grocery market, starring inside, eyes narrowed. People passed in and out, eyeing her strangely. She'd been standing there for a good fifteen minutes.
She knew it, she couldn't do it. She was never going to do it.
Nettie pulled into the driveway, smiling at the four jugs of milk in the passenger seat next to her. She never actually made it into the building but she has figured out what compulsion was good for. She would never have to go in as long as she could make someone else do it for her.
She pulled into the long, winding driveway that led to the cabin. Nettie slowed down the car when her home came into view. The yard was full of cars. Guess that meant everyone was already there.
Nettie parked and climbed out of the Impala, hurrying to grab her milk. She closed the passenger's door with a bump of her hip. Nettie stood back up and stopped, wobbling back and forth a moment. "Whoa." She said, dropping two of the jugs and grabbing onto the metal of the car. "What the hell?" She mumbled before darkness took her and she hit the forest floor.
Leila looked up at the clock on the microwave, frowning. Everyone was here, and Nettie should have been back by now. She couldn't help but wonder if the incident at the supermarket had happened all over again. She glanced into the packed living room, eyeing the face of a blond man she didn't know. She glanced back at the clock. "Nettie... where are you?"
Klaus had arrived at the cabin moments before he saw Nettie's car pull into the driveway. He had promised to leave and never come back but the moment he tried to do it, he had stopped himself.
She was carrying milk jugs and he smiled at it. She was silly and it had bothered him at first. But the way she was when it was just them was different. It was when she hit the ground that he stopped hiding and moved towards her.
"Nettle." He said softly, reaching down and scooping the small fairy up into his arms. "Nettle!" He said again, panic stricken. He looked around at the cars around him and wondered if he should bring her into the house or take her to the mansion. He knew people who might be able to help. But at the same time he knew Elijah and his witch were on the other side of those walls.
He lift her carefully and raced for the door.
"What are you doing here?!" Leila exclaimed as Niklaus threw open the door and carried Nettie inside. Everyone in the room turned to look at him, and Leila came from out of the kitchen. Her eyes widened at her sister unconscious in Klaus's arms. "Nettie?!" She was across the living room and by her sister's side in seconds.
She pulled Nettie from his arms and took her to the couch and laying her down. "What did you do to her?" Leila asked angrily.
Damon glared at Niklaus. "What the hell happened?" His tone was venomous.
"I found her like this. Perhaps instead of yelling at the person who brought her in off the cold gravel you could ask yourself how long she was lying there unnoticed by her family." He smirked at Damon.
"We don't need you here. I think you have overstayed your welcome." Samuel said, stepping out in front of Klaus and blocking him. He looked down at Nettie. "Nettle." He said softly, kneeling down to her.
Klaus blinked a moment, realizing that he was being ignored. "I'll leave you to it. In fact, I'll leave you to Mystic Falls. Don't bother telling her I was here." He said, masking his sadness with smugness.
"Didn't plan on it," Joseph said, crossing his arms.
"Sophie." Elijah motioned to Nettie on the couch then followed Klaus outside.
The witch kneeled beside Leila and reached to put her hands on either side of Nettie's head. Closing her eyes she chanted under her breath. When she was done Nettie's eyes began to flicker open.
"Brother." Elijah said, following Nik out of the cabin.
"What?" Klaus said, spinning around and glaring at Elijah.
"She just needs time. For her it's been a few weeks. For you it's been almost four months." Elijah knew Klaus had no idea.
"It doesn't matter. I was wrong to come here at all. I'll be home dealing with Marcel. When you're done with Elena I'll be waiting."
Elijah sighed, watching as Klaus sped away at vampire speed.
"Oh my God, Nettie." Leila threw her arms around her sister as she came to. "What happened?"
"I..." Nettie grunted as she sat up. "I don't know. I got lightheaded. Next thing I know I'm here." She blinked and looked to Leila, confusion in her eyes.
"Have you fed recently?" Leila took Nettie's hand and squeezed it gently.
"Yeah, of course." Nettie glanced around at all the faces watching her worriedly. "I fed this morning." Normally that was enough to last her a day or two.
"You'll be fine," Sophie said, standing suddenly.
"You know what is wrong with her." Joseph said, watching her stand up.
"What makes you think I know?" Sophie Devereaux glanced at him. "She's fine. We should see if we can't open this attic."
"Yes, lets." Stefan said, moving from where he was leaning against the wall, arms crossed.
"Someone's an eager-beaver." Damon commented, glancing at his brother.
"Yeah well, this has been filling our days and I just want to get it all over with." He said back, following after the witch.
Everyone started up the steps, Damon and Elizabeth the last ones to go up. Damon glanced over at Nettie and Leila for a moment before disappearing up to the second floor.
"Do you want to just stay here and rest? I can make sure they don't take the shiny things in the attic," Leila said, giving Nettie a small smile.
Nettie's face grew pained, "I hadn't thought about that." She hadn't thought about it for a while now. The only shiny object she had kept close was the ring on her finger. She looked down at the dark blue sapphire.
"Rest," Leila said. "I'll take care of things." She stood up.
Nettie grumbled and passed the group by. She decided to lay down in one of the rooms until they were finished. Then she could head back to the dorms with Leila.
Leila watched from the top of the stairs as the group gathered around the hall closet. Her eyes fell on a familiar face, the man that looked remarkably similar to Damon. She glanced at the both of them, comparing. Damon was taller, for sure, by a good few inches. The man had eyes similar to Nettie's, blue and brown.
He glanced over at her.
Leila blinked, and looked away quickly, to the witch as she opened the closet door and stepped inside of it. "There is something here." She muttered, tracing the peeling wallpaper inside. "This wall is a door." She said to the group.
"Then open it," Damon said. "You can do that, right?"
"I would hope so seeing as she came all this way." Samuel said to Damon, "No use bringing witches into our lives if we don't have to."
"I can try." Sophie replied. "I don't see why I shouldn't be able to."
"Thank you, Sophie," Elizabeth said politely. "Samuel please." She eyed her son. He glared right back momentarily before turning on his heels and heading for the stairs again.
"I will check on Nettle." Joseph said, bowing out of the group.
Leila scooted against the wall, making room for the man to pass her. She watched as Samuel headed downstairs, then glanced at the group. Leila actually found this to be a bit boring. There was no telling how long it'd take for the witch to open the attic. She didn't really feel like sitting there and waiting.
Leila stood up and headed downstairs herself.
Joseph knocked lightly on Nettie's open bedroom door and looked in at her lying on the bed. "Are you awake?"
Nettie rolled over and looked up at him from the bed. " I am."
"Feeling better?" Joseph took a couple steps inside.
"Hunky-Dorey." Nettie said on a sigh. Sitting up she swung her legs over the edge and looked at him. "Is there something else you need?" She asked, not realizing it was rude.
"It's actually pretty boring watching a witch stare at a wall. Did you know that?" He smirked.
"I think it's boring to watch anyone stare at a wall." She eyed him a moment, smiling as her cheeks grew warmer.
"So this is your room is it?" He asked, looking around. There wasn't much to it. No posters on the walls or art of any sort. Just a room painted olive green, a desk and a bed.
"Yep, I moved my things out this morning so you guys would have a clean start." She climbed out of bed and slipped her boots back on. "I am honestly just happy that Sam is going to stay a while."
"Well, he's been searching for his mother for quite some time now. I doubt he's going to just leave Mystic Falls if she's here, at least for a while." Joseph shrugged one shoulder.
"And you? What are you searching for?" She asked him, searching his face.
"I saved Samuel back in 1988. And Sam saved my ass quite a few times in return. We watch each other's backs. I just want him to be happy."
Nettie nodded her head. "Alright. I buy that. It's a similar story with Leila and I." She said softly. "I'm glad Samuel had a friend when he needed." She smiled up at him as she passed him in the doorway.
Leila stopped in the kitchen, in front of the fridge, opening the freezer and pulling out a small carton of cookie dough ice cream. She fished through the silverware drawer to her right for a spoon.
"Snack for the show?" A voice came behind her.
Leila turned on her heels, looking up at Samuel. "Uhm, no, not really."
"I could use something." He said, opening the fridge and pulling out one of Nettie's jugs of milk.
"So you know a lot more than we do about fairy's." She said.
"I guess that's true." He told her, pouring the milk into the biggest glass he could find.
"So do you know why you all drink so much milk? I think I would almost rather Nettie smoked. It might cost less." She smiled, shoving another bite of ice cream into her mouth.
Samuel started downing his drink. He set it down on the counter empty. "Maybe there's just something in it we need." He shrugged, "We never really figured that part out." Until he had seen Nettie doing it he had thought it was something his mother had done and he had picked up on. Clearly he had been wrong.
"Oh..." Leila said softly. "So, what's it like having Damon as your dad?"
"I'm not really sure. It's only been about two days since I met him. I came here for my mother, not to meet a father I haven't known in over a hundred years."
"Your mother is really sweet. And a great artist." Leila smiled, scraping ice cream off the lid of the carton absentmindedly.
"Never underestimate a fairy." He told her, reciting something he had once heard. "My mother is a very capable person Leila."
"Were you waiting for her that day? When I ran into you at Whitmore?" The memory was really fuzzy.
"I had found out where she was. Joseph and I got on the first plane." He took the stool next to her, leaning on the counter.
"And how did you find that out? Where she was I mean." She clarified, entranced at how much he looked like Damon.
"It's a fairy thing I assume. That or a bonding thing. She popped from Fairy into this world and I knew. It's instantaneous." He told her.
"That's... Amazing," Leila said. She put the carton of ice cream down.
He pulled up the sleeve of his sweater, revealing a vampire bite scar. "Fairy's have a certain way of bonding with someone. They can do it with family, loved ones. My mother did this before she left." Leila's eyes widened, recognizing the story. "There's a small catch of course. A rule of sorts."
She looked up at him, wide eyed.
"The two people have to love each other." He pulled the sleeve down and smiled at her. He was thinking that he might like it here, and Leila was going to be a big part of that.
Nettie peeked into the closet. Sophie had her hands on the wall and was chanting loudly. Suddenly the lights in the house flickered on and off then on again. Sophie stepped back and the wall distorted, waving like the ocean until the staircase started to appear, like looking at it through water. Nettie's eyes lit up at the sight.
"It is done," Sophie opened her eyes and the waving stopped. The staircase was there in an instant. Like it had always been there. "And before I go I wish to speak with you in private." She said to Elijah. He nodded, following out towards the porch.
"So this is it?" Stefan asked her, eyes wandering up the long staircase.
"Yeah?" She said, "Earth to Stefan, there's the staircase." Nettie pointed to the winding stairs.
Leila and Samuel came up to the group. "What happened? The lights just flickered," Leila asked.
"The witch did it. She opened up the attic," Joseph said, glancing at Samuel.
"Let's get up there. I'm starting to get bored of all the dumb questions." Nettie said, pushing through and up the staircase. The others followed behind her.
"Wow." Damon said on a breath, "You've been holding out on us blondie."
"I wasn't holding out. The place only opens on a full moon. What did you want me to do broody, pull the door out of my ass?" He smiled at her comment. She was starting to sound like the old Nettie once again.
"So what exactly are we looking for?" Samuel asked, looking between his parents and Nettie. "There was a reason we needed to get in so urgently wasn't there?"
"Some of us still don't have enough information to feel comfortable with you all being here." Stefan said, moving towards the bookcase. Nettie's head shot up and she gave a strange look to Leila.
Leila watched Stefan with a look of confusion on her face. "Everything okay, Stefan?" She asked.
"It is now," He mumbled.
Damon crossed the room and put a hand on Stefan's shoulder. "What the hell are you doing?"
Stefan started piling books into a bag. "Just getting what I need."
"Who's Silas?" Elizabeth asked out of the blue.
Damon was pushed back against the table as Stefan turned on his heel. Before anyone could even react, he was gone. Nettie blinked, jaw falling open. "Holy shit. You've got to be kidding me."
"How did you not see that it was Silas, Nettie? I thought you could tell!" Leila looked over to her sister as Elizabeth and Samuel crossed the room to Damon.
"He must not have been hiding his face. When he was trying to be someone else he just flickered like an old movie. He wasn't flickering." Nettie ran a hand back through her hair.
Damon grunted as he got to his feet and he looked at Nettie, narrowing his eyes. "So where the hell is my brother?"