Alex's P.O.V

~At Alaric's Apartment~

I walked into Ric's apartment, and there were photos scattered everywhere. Elena was practicing how to defend herself with Damon in the living room. Alaric was drinking coffee and looking at each one carefully when I closed the door. He looked up, and I gave him a confused look.

"Mornin'" Ric greeted me.

"Good morning," I said and walked closer to his desk. "So, are these all the photos?" I asked and gestured to the photos in front of him.

"Yup," Damon said as he disarms Elena, who was trying to stake him. "Sloppy!"

"Shut up; I'm new at this," Elena said as I looked at each photo closer.

"Just because you're new doesn't mean you have to be sloppy," I told her and watched Alaric label specific photos.

"Ghost of Christmas Past" Mason Lockwood set up the cave and led us to a weapon that can kill Klaus," Damon said as he blocked Elena's attacks.

"Yeah, but doesn't Mikael have a weapon?" Elena asked.

"Yes. Which probably means the wall will lead us to Mikael, who we have already found and lost." He said. Damon grabs Elena's wrist, twist her arm around her back, and holds her to his chest. "Bang! You're dead!" I turned around as my brother went to nibble on Elena's neck. She pushed him away playfully and walked over to Alaric and me.

"You lost Mikael?" I asked Damon as he made his way over to us.

"In all fairness, it's Katherine's fault." He answered, and I shrugged.

"These images at the very least might tell us what the weapon that Mikael has is," Alaric explained.

"Is there anything in these photos that say the weapon might be a sword?" I asked.

"Not that I can tell. Why?" Alaric asked me.

"Just wondering," I answered and didn't look up at him.

"Then all we have to do is find out what they mean," Elena said.

"Fine! Fine! If I am pretending to be as irritatingly optimistic like you two...how do you suppose we do that?" Damon said.

"Well, if the story is about the Original Family living here, then don't you think we should ask an original?" I asked them. "I mean Rebekah goes to Elena's school, she could ask her."

"Elena is not going anywhere near Rebekah." Damon sneered at me.

"Yes, but sadly it's not your choice," I told him and then looked at Elena. "It's hers." We all looked at Elena, and she returned our looks before answering.

"She has cheerleading practice today so that I could do it," Elena said and grabbed one of the photos from Alaric. I smiled at Elena as she looked at both men unsure if she made the right decision.

"Fantastic," I said. "Now go get ready for school." Elena looked down before walking to her bag and into the bathroom to change clothes. Damon turned to me with an angry expression.

"Why did you do that?" He asked with a furious expression.

"Because you and I can't walk into the high school and do it ourselves," I told him. "Elena's the best shot we have at getting the real story unless you want me to call my original hybrid stalker for answers." Damon looked even angrier at me for even bringing up Klaus. "But if I do that then he's going to start questioning why I want to know about his past. " I knew I won the argument and by the, and Elena was walking out of the bathroom all ready for school. She looked at us before leaving and closed the door behind her as I turned to Alaric. "You want to explain the labels?" I asked him.

"Well," Alaric pointed over to the photos that looked like names. "These are all the Originals names." He then proceeds to point at each photo as he said their names. "Elijah, Rebekah, and Niklaus, which we are assuming is Klaus's real name." I picked up the one with Klaus's name and stared at it as Alaric pointed to the other. "Then these translate out to Finn, Kol, Henrick, Esther, and Mikael."

"Mikael?"

"Yup, he's Klaus's father," Damon answered, and I looked at him. Klaus is afraid of his father? I looked around at the other symbols.

"So what do the symbols mean?" I asked.

"Well, this one is the moon cycle," Alaric said as he pointed to a photo with three crescent moons. "Then this is a werewolf," The photo he was pointing to was a circle with two fangs under it. "As for the others, I'm still figuring that out."

I looked back at Klaus's name in my hand and rubbed my thumb over it. I then looked over at Mikael's name, and then the men near me. Klaus told me about his father in the '20s and said Mikael was like mine. It's what we bonded over, and when he told me I didn't understand, he got angry. He was genuinely terrified of this man.

"Um," I said, becoming overwhelmed by recurring memories of Klaus and my father. "I'm going to go home, call me if you need anything."

"Alex-"

"Don't Damon," I said. "I need to know the full story before anything else." I walked out of Alaric's apartment with a photo of Klaus's name in my hand. Once I got in my car, I sat in the driver's seat and stared at the photo. "Maybe you and I aren't that different after all," I whispered to myself before driving home.

~The Boarding House in the Afternoon~

I was sitting in my bedroom, on the side of my bed, with a glass of bourbon sitting on the nightstand next to me. My elbows were resting on my knees as I tapped my right leg. After I left Alaric's apartment this morning, all I could think about was my dad. The way he treated me, the things he uses to say to me. The times he hurt my siblings and me before mom's death and how they worsen after. How he sold me off to another man to get rid of me. How he killed me, even though he knew I had a family to raise and then finding my brothers dead by his hand.

I didn't notice the front door open, or the music playing, until I heard Rebekah and Elena voices downstairs. Why are they here? I walked downstairs and watched as six girls in homecoming dresses walked past me and backed up the stairs without batting an eye towards me. I looked at them in confusion before stepping into the parlor room where the two girls where.

"Um," They turned to me. "Anyone want to explain the six girls in my house?" I asked, and Rebekah smiled.

"I need a homecoming dress." She answered and began to make her way to the stairs. I nodded once I realized the girls were just models and decided to follow Rebekah along with Elena.

We found our way to Stefan's room, and Rebekah walked in immediately with me following, though Elena stayed at the doorway. I looked at her confused; she acted as if she had never been here before which wasn't the case. "How fun is this…?" Rebekah asked, and I turned back towards her to see she was looking through Stefan drawers. I gave Elena one last look before walking over to Rebekah.

"We shouldn't be here…" Elena said, and I shrugged as a grabbed one of Stefan's journals. I sat at his desk with my feet crossed on the table.

"'Course we should! Come on, as if you've never wanted to snoop." Rebekah taunted and held up Stefan's underwear. "Boxer briefs. A lot has changed since the twenties." I looked at her in disgust as I closed the journal and put my feet down. I leaned against the table and slammed the book down on the table to get Rebekah's attention.

"Put those away. The last thing I want to see is my little brother's underwear." I told her, and she rolled her eyes before stuffing them back in the drawer.

"Are you gonna root through his stuff all night or are you gonna start to tell me your story?" Elena asked, and Rebekah sighed.

"Ah...you are no fun," Rebekah said and then looked at me.

"What? I want to hear the story too." I told her.

"What do you want to know?" Rebekah asked Elena as she looked back at her and Elena finally walked into the room.

"Well, Elijah said that your father was a landowner in Europe. How did you guys end up here?" Elena asked as she walked over to the desk and leaned against it, with her back to me. Rebekah was still going through my little brother's stuff.

"My parents had just started a family when a plague struck their homeland. They lost a child to it. They wanted to escape and protect their future family from the same fate." Rebekah explained.

"So, how did you end up here? This part of the world hadn't even been discovered yet." Elena asked her and Rebekah laughed.

"Not by anyone in your history books." I looked at Rebekah confused. "But my mother knew the witch Ayana, who heard from the spirits of a mystical land where everyone was healthy...blessed by the gifts of speed and strength. That lead my family here, where we lived amongst those people." She said as she turned to us.

"The werewolves?" I asked her.

"To us, they were just our neighbors. My family lived in peace with them for over 20 years, during which time my family had more children, including me." Rebekah said.

"You make it sound so normal," Elena commented.

"And it was." She said. "Once a month our family retreated into the caves beneath our village. The wolves would howl through the night and by morning we'd return home…" Rebekah looked heartbroken to tell this story. "One full moon, Klaus and my youngest brother, Henrik, snuck out to watch the men turn into beasts. That was forbidden. Henrik paid the price. - And that was the beginning of the end of peace with our neighbors." Rebekah paused before looking at us. "And one of the last moments my family had together as humans."

My phone began to vibrate in my back pocket, and the noise seemed to snap Rebekah out of her thoughts. "Is that my older brother?" Rebekah asked me, and I looked down at my phone with a groan.

"No, it's mine," I said and looked up at them. "Don't continue your story 'till I come back." I then walked out of Stefan's room while answering my phone. When the call connected, I heard loud music in the background. "Where are you?"

" No idea, but I'm pretty sure I'm overdressed. "

"Look, I can't talk right now," I said to him as I stood at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to Stefan's room.

" I'll be at the bar. " I heard a voice say. It sounded a lot like Stefan.

"Please tell me that's not Stefan," I said, and I didn't get an answer. "Are you insane?" I growled at him.

" Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. " Damon said.

I scoffed, "Yeah, like I haven't heard that before."

" Look, I've got his back, little sister. Don't worry. " Damon said and hung up. I stared at my phone and then another call came in. It was Klaus. I didn't answer it. I turned around and walked back up to Stefan's room. Rebekah was laying on Stefan's bed looking through one of his diaries.

"Are you done snooping yet?" I asked her as I walked in. She looked at me and seemed to notice I was suddenly in a bad mood.

"Older brother make you angry?" She asked.

"Look, can we just get on with the story?" I said to her. Rebekah got up from Stefan's bed and walked over to his desk and picked up a photo of Elena and Stefan.

"Honestly, I don't get you two as a couple," Rebekah said.

"Why would you? You don't know anything about who he really is." I looked at Elena with that comment. What?

"I know exactly who he is." No. No, you don't. "He's a vampire. We're a predatory species." Rebekah leans closer to Elena's face. "We don't have time to care about humans and their silly little lives." Ok, that I'll agree with you on.

"Ok," They both looked at me. "Can we all just agree that neither of you doesn't know shit about my little brother, " I stated. Rebekah back off of Elena and walked over to me.

"And what about you and my brother?" Rebekah asked. "Because I honestly don't understand why he's still so obsessed with you. Sure you two were a thing in the '20s, but I didn't think he would get that attached to you."

"You've got me. If you're not going to tell me the rest of the story we're leaving." I told her and Rebekah stood up.

"You haven't even heard half the story," Rebekah said.

"And you're not going to tell it. You're just bored and looking for someone to torment. Find someone else to play with - maybe you can compel yourself a friend." I sneered at her and walked towards the door as Elena grabbed her bag to leave with me as well.

"The necklace wasn't Stefan's to give." I stopped walking. "It belonged to the Original Witch." I turned around to Rebekah at the same time as Elena.

"The one who put the hybrid curse on Klaus?" Elena asked.

"Not just the hybrid curse. Mother was the one who turned us into vampires." She said and then walk towards the door, passed me. "I'm thirsty. Do you want a drink?" She made her way down to the library with Elena and I following her.