A Witches Journey

Alex sat across from Jenna at the dining room table. James had stepped outside to make a few calls, leaving Alex to explain. There were certain things that she was prevented from revealing, details she was magically bound to keep a secret, but Alex had to tell Jenna. She had already given Elena 'tell the truth' speech, and now it was her turn.

"What I'm about to tell you, you can't tell anyone else. Not Elena or Jeremy, not Alaric. No one!" said Alex.

Jenna nodded. "I promise."

"After I graduated from high school, I was a bit lost. I was at a point where I didn't know what I wanted to do. The idea of staying in Mystic Falls terrified me, but college didn't appeal to me either. I felt stuck in this town, working a crappy job. I spent most of my time practising my magic. Mum, after we worked out that I was a witch, gave me a grimoire. She told me that it had been one of my birth mother's possessions, and when she died, they kept them for me. I tried to teach myself what I could, but things can be tricky when you have no guidance.

"Turns out that my spell caster alerted a group of witches to my presence. A witch named Renee volunteered to come and find me, and so she did. She knew my birth parents. According to her, they were in the same coven, and after my father died, my mother went on the run. Renee had thought that I had been killed along with my mother.

"Renee explained to me that uncontrolled magic could be dangerous. Things can go wrong, and witches who can't control themselves have been known to kill people by accident. Renee promised to teach me, but we couldn't stay in Mystic Falls, our magic would attract vampires and werewolves."

"So you just left your family for a woman you hardly knew?" asked Jenna.

"No," said Alex. "I spent two or three months trying to make a decision. Renee taught me what she could while we were here, but then I had an accident. Elena and I got into an argument about a boy." Alex felt the tears swell in her eyes. "I got so angry at her that my magic reacted and I threw her through a window."

Jenna looked shocked. "I don't remember that."

"No one knows, not even Elena. I called Renee, she helped me heal Elena and then wiped it from her mind. All Elena would remember is our fight."

"So after that, you decided to go?"

Alex nodded. "I didn't want that to happen again, so I left. Renee took me to her coven and taught me everything I know."

"So you have been living with Renee's coven for the past five years?" asked Jenna.

"Yeah, kind of."

"How do you know so much about these originals? Elena said that even Damon and Stefan didn't know about them."

"The coven I'm in is bigger than most. We have connections all over the world and a big ass library full of books. We use the knowledge we have to make the world a safer place."

"Killing any and all vampires is your plan then?"

Alex and Jenna turned to see Stefan standing in the hallway.

"For a start," said Alex.

"Then why haven't you killed me, or Damon, or Caroline?" he asked.

"The only reason you are all still breathing is that for some reason Elena gives a crap about you," snapped Alex.

Stefan shook his head. "Not all vampires wanted to be this way. Some of us had this forced upon us."

Alex couldn't deny what Stefan had said. Many vampires were turned unwillingly, some didn't even know what they were when they woke up. But how could anyone justify killing innocent people? "No matter how vampires are created, your natural instincts are to hunt and kill. So many people have died because of vampires and if I have to kill a vampire to save a human life than I will, without a second thought." Alex pushed back her chair and moved closer to Stefan. "You may feel regret about your past and about the people who you have killed, but that won't bring them back. You are no better than any other vampire."

"Alex!" Elena appeared behind Stefan. She had changed into her pyjamas.

"No, she's right," said Stefan. "I am a monster. But at least I know I am." He turned and disappeared out the door.

"Alex, why would you say that?" Elena asked.

"Because it's the truth," Alex snapped. She loved Elena, but she knew how evil vampires were. The destruction, the carnage that they left behind was all avoidable. "I know that you think that you love him, but he is a monster. He has killed so many innocent people. How can you just ignore all of that?"

Elena frowned. "Everyone has a past, but everyone, supernatural or not, deserves a second chance. Stefan has done nothing but try to protect me since he got here."

"If he had never returned to Mystic Falls you wouldn't need protecting."

"If he hadn't come back, I would be dead," yelled Elena.

"What do you mean?" asked Alex.

"Stefan pulled me out of the car. He saw Dad's car go into the water. He saved me." Elena wrapped her arms around herself. "I would be dead right now if it wasn't for him."

Alex was struggling to accept it. Stefan was the reason that Elena had survived, and it made sense. Logically Elena should have drowned along with their parents, but she hadn't. A vampire pulling her out fit perfectly. "He saved you?" They were the only words Alex could get out.

"Yes." Elena stepped closer and grabbed both of Alex's hands. "I don't know why you have vampires so much. And yes, some of them should be killed. But Stefan has spent the last fifty years trying to make up for all his mistakes, he feeds on animal blood, and he has helped Caroline. Can't you just try? Get to know him."

Alex closed her eyes and squeezed Elena's hands. She wanted to say yes. Alex wanted to be her big sister and give Stefan a chance to prove himself to be a good guy, but her whole being wouldn't ever be okay with that.

"Elena, Alex's feelings regarding Stefan are separate from her actions towards vampires," said James. He had stepped back inside and was leaning against the kitchen bench.

"What do you mean?" Elena asked.

"Vampires were never apart of nature's plan. When the original witch created them, nature fort back. The reason vampires have different weaknesses like vervain, sunlight, etc. are all ways that nature has tried to maintain the balance that was disrupted. As witches, we are connected to nature, it is a part of who we are. Asking Alex to ignore the fact that Stefan is a vampire is like asking yourself not to breathe. We can't ignore it," said James.

"Are you saying that every time there is a vampire around, you feel the urge to kill them?" asked Jenna.

"No," said Alex. "But it repulses us."

"It's like have thousands of insects crawl across your skin, and your stomach is all tied up in knots," explained James.

Elena and Jenna both cringed.

"The more time you spend around them, the easier it becomes," said Alex.

Elena sighed. "I didn' know," she said.

"I don't blame you if fate had been kind it would have allowed you to live a peaceful, supernatural free life. But you are the doppelganger, a supernatural creature in your own right." Alex squeezed Elena's hands. "I should have never left."

"I don't think you would have made much of a difference," said James.

Alex looked over her shoulder at him.

"If anything was different, I would say that you would get along with vampires rather than causing arguments with them." James smiled, his voice teasing.

Alex smiled. "Me, get along with vampires, never."

"What's will all this laughter? What did we miss?" said Bonnie. She entered the kitchen, holding Jeremy's hand.

"A lot," said Alex. Looking at her family, she just thought about what she had told Jenna. She knew that Jenna would keep her secret but looking at Elena and Jeremy, she could feel the separation between them. Alex wanted to keep her family safe, and if her lies were keeping them apart, then the lies needed to end.

She glanced at James, and he was still smiling at her. He looked so comfortable in her childhood home. The look in his eyes seemed to say it all. Tell them everything. James had always told her that he supported her decisions. Staying away from Mystic Falls, keeping the truth about the Council. And he would support her know, she knew it.

"I think it's time that I shared some stuff with you about my life," said Alex. "I just told Jenna some stuff, swore her to secrecy and now I'm revoking that."

Jenna nodded. "I'm glad. I think honesty is going to go a long way for all of us."

"Should I stay?" asked Bonnie.

Elena, Jeremy and Alex all said, "Yes."

The group all laughed softly, and Bonnie smiled widely.

"You are family, Bonnie," said Alex. "There might not be any blood, but you are a sister witch."

"Thank you." Bonnie lent her head against Jeremy's shoulder.

They all sat around the table and listened. Alex told them everything from the start. How she found out she was a witch, meeting Renee, hurting Elena, her training with Renee, meeting James, and the events that led her back to Mystic Falls. The magical binding kept Alex from revealing the Council and the exact nature of their roles, but Alex told as much as she could, and by the end of it, everything felt lighter. Alex was pleasantly surprised how well Jeremy and Elena took it all in.

As they all headed to bed, tired and needing a good nights rest, Alex was hoping that all of this would help them stick together. Elijah being in town was a concern, and not knowing where Klaus was had Alex more on edge than she had ever felt.