Johnathan Gilbert and Honoria and Thomas Fell were all sitting in a dining room, enjoying dinner and some wine. They were all laughing at something when suddenly, there was a noise just outside the window.

"Did you hear that?" Honoria asked worriedly. Thomas stood up and walked over to the window to peer out of it. There was nobody in sight, but still, he walked over and picked up a knife from the table.

"Stay here," he instructed.

"No, Thomas," Honoria tried to object, but he turned around and shook his head.

"It's alright, dear. The vampires are all dead."

"Yes, Honoria," Johnathan agreed. "They burned in the church. We're safe now."

Thomas walked to the front door and outside. Honoria tried to peer out to find Thomas.

"Please, Johnathan. I'm worried."

Johnathan sighed. "Very well. I shall go, too."

He got up from the table and followed Thomas outside. Thomas was in the yard, holding the knife out in defense. Johnathan made his way towards him.

"I can prove there are no vampires."

He pulled out the vampire compass to show Thomas. When nothing happened, he looked relieved. Then, out of nowhere, the compass started to turn wildly. Johnathan looked down at it and tried to follow the direction, but when he looked back at Thomas, he was gone.

"Thomas? Thomas?!"

Johnathan walked down from the porch hurriedly and looked all around, eyes wide with fear. Just behind him, Thomas's body fell from above. Honoria, hearing the noise, came out of the porch and ran towards Thomas's body when she saw it.

"Thomas!"

"No, stay inside!" Johnathan yelled. "Get back in the house!"

The unknown vampire closed in on Honoria and quickly bit into her neck, killing her. It tossed her body to the side and advanced on Johnathan. When it came out into the moonlight, it revealed Stefan's face.

Elowen put her head in her hands. Elena was reading the stupid Johnathan Gilbert journals in the living room and every few minutes, she'd get a premonition of whatever she was reading. There was a headache building behind her eyes and she couldn't find any aspirin. Toby put a comforting hand on her back.

"You okay?" He asked. Elowen shook her head.

"No. I'll live, I guess."

She glanced outside, where Stefan was talking outside on the dock.

"I need some air. Don't wait up."

xxxx

Jenna was taking Elijah to see some of the historical sights in town and had dragged Esmeralda along somehow. She was standing awfully far away from Elijah and tried to keep her distance. Truth be told, she wasn't sure if she could control herself if she were any closer. Yes, she may have been dating Alaric, but once upon a time, she was in love with Elijah. You don't just forget that sort of thing.

"The old Fell property actually starts just beyond that fence," Jenna was saying. Elijah let out a small laugh.

"Ah, the Fells. One of the 'founding families'."

Jenna furrowed her eyebrows. "Why do you say it like that?"

"The founding families weren't the first to settle here," Esmeralda answered without thinking of it. Jenna and Elijah's eyes turned to her and she shifted uncomfortably. Whoops. "When I first moved here, I was curious. Maybe it was the writer in me. Anyway, my research showed me that this area was actually settled almost two centuries earlier."

A soft smile crept onto Elijah's lips. Esmeralda had to quickly look away. She knew that smile.

"Very good, Esmeralda," he said. "It was a migration of townsfolk from northeast. Salem, to be precise."

"Massachusetts?" Jenna questioned. "As in the witch trials?"

"Which means that the ever lauded founding families didn't actually found anything."

"Well, I bet it was the men who made a big deal about being founders back in 1860," Jenna continued, not noticing the look Elijah was giving Esmeralda. "Men are very territorial."

They'd stopped walking and Elijah was able to get close enough to gently place his hand on Esmeralda's hip. She tensed and had to stop herself from leaning in towards him. She was trying so hard to deny that she missed this. Missed him. But, boy, did she. She just refused to admit it.

"Yes, they are."

Esmeralda saw Alaric walking towards them and tried to step away, but Elijah's grip tightened on her waist. Alaric noticed Elijah's hand and tried to act as casual as possible.

Jenna smiled at the sight of Alaric and stepped towards him. "Elijah, this is my friend, Alaric Saltzman."

"Yeah, I got your message about walking Elijah here through the old property lines," Alaric said. "I thought I would tag along. You know, being a history buff and all. Where to next?"

"I'm pretty curious about the freed slave property owners," Elijah answered. "Some say, y'know, the descendents of the slaves are the true keepers of American history."

Jenna gestured to the backpack she was wearing. "Well, I only brought the surveys. I got that list in the car. Just gimme a sec."

Jenna walked off towards her car, leaving Elijah, Alaric and Esmeralda alone.

"Alaric Saltzman," Elijah stated. "You're one of the people on Elena's list of loved ones to protect."

"I'd really appreciate it if you kept your hands to yourself," Alaric said instead. A look of intrigue came over Elijah's face. He glanced down at Esmeralda.

"So, this is the man you said you were seeing. Interesting."

Elijah removed his hand from Esmeralda's waist and put it in his pockets. Alaric's jaw clenched.

"You better back off-"

"Ric," came Esmeralda's dominating voice.

She'd gotten good at it in her years of being a mom. Alaric shut up and stood down. Elijah watched on with interest. This was surely not the same innocent, naive teenager just beginning her life he'd known 16 years ago. This was a strong, independent 34 year old woman who'd been through a lot of trauma and hardships and came out on top in the end. Elijah had never seen her more alive, more beautiful, than in that moment.

He was a man of honor, which usually meant that he wouldn't pursue a woman who was already taken, but this was the same woman who practically cheated on her husband just to be with him, the same woman who he wouldn't let admit that she loved him aloud, the same woman he knew still felt something for him, and all honor went out the window. Maybe he wouldn't actively make advances on her per se, but he had a feeling that she would break down sooner rather than later, and he would be there when it happened.

"Alright, I've got the list," Jenna announced a few moments later, completely oblivious to what was happening around her. "Let's go."

xxxx

Elowen had ended up sitting just outside of the cabin while Stefan paced around on the dock. He'd noticed her, but decided not to approach her. Elowen had been grateful.

They both entered the cabin around the same time. Elena was still rolled up on the couch reading Johnathan Gilbert's journals while Toby was sitting on the opposite side of the room, refusing to acknowledge her presence. Elena jumped when the door opened.

"... Are you still mad?" She asked quietly.

"I think we're all still pretty pissed," Elowen answered. She glanced at Toby. "Some more than others."

Elena followed her line of sight of actually looked like she felt bad. "We have a difference of opinion. We're not always going to agree on everything."

"This isn't just some disagreement about what color to paint the house, Elena," Toby spoke up angrily from his spot on an armchair. "You've agreed to sacrifice yourself to Klaus. To say we simply have a 'difference of opinion' is the understatement of the century."

A strained silence fell over the four of them. Stefan glanced down at the journal in Elena's hand and gestured towards it.

"What does Johnathan Gilbert have to say?"

"A lot," Elena replied. "It's insane the things he wrote in his journal." She handed it over to Stefan, who took it. Elowen peered over his shoulder in curiosity. "Things that he kept from the founding families. Stuff that nobody knows. Stuff that… you never told us."

"I don't see why Stefan would need to divulge in his past with you," Elowen told her. Elena crossed her arms and sunk into herself. She did that a lot when Elowen said things that were true to the situation. It made her look like a little child. It actually irked Elowen a bit. She only caught some of what was written before Stefan closed the journal.

"We were, uhh… we were angry at the founding families for what they did to Katherine," Stefan started to say quietly. "We wanted revenge. I didn't know about Johnathan Gilbert's ring yet. I didn't know that he would…" He trailed off and took a seat across from Elena. Elowen sat down next to him. "... that he would survive."

"He describes you as a monster," Elena replied. She had uncrossed her arms and tried to make herself seem bigger and more confident in her means to fish around for answers to something that didn't really concern her. Stefan either didn't notice or didn't mind.

"That's what I was. I'd rather you hear this from me than some journal. It feels almost like a violation of my privacy if you read it somewhere else." He sighed. "In the weeks after I became a vampire, I relished in it. I took it to the darkest place I could."

Elowen made a face of disdain as he started his story. Stefan saw this, paused and turned to her.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

She shrugged. "It's just, whenever you tell these stories, I see them play out in my head and if I have too many premonitions in one go, it gives me really bad headaches."

Stefan nodded his head and kissed her forehead. "Alright. I won't say anything."

Elena leaned forward in protest. "Wait! But-"

"You heard him, Elena," Toby commented hotly. "Read about it in the stupid journal if you're so curious."

Elena shut up. She didn't like the tone Toby was using on her, but really, could she blame him?

"Fine," she grumbled and snatched the journal off of the table.

Elowen got up and walked back towards the sliding door. Stefan followed her. They ended up on the dock. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Elowen broke it.

"Y'know… I'm actually a little curious." She turned her head to face him. "About the story you were gonna tell."

Stefan sighed loudly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Are you sure you want to hear it? I mean, like you said, the headaches-"

"I only said that because I didn't like how Elena was putting her nose in a place she shouldn't have been snooping in. I can handle the headaches."

Stefan let out a small laugh. "Well, I wasn't gonna say anything, but I didn't like it, either. It's not really her business."

"Exactly." Elowen looked away from Stefan and out at the water. "So, storytime?"

Stefan was sitting on the couch inside the Salvatore Estate in 1864. There was a woman draped over him as he drank her blood. He pulled away from her neck when it became apparent that she was dead and there was nothing left to drink. There were three other women in the room; two of them were dancing while the third was playing the piano.

"Who wants to die next?" Stefan asked as he stood up. The two women who were dancing eagerly dashed over to him.

"Me! I'm next!"

"Me! You promised me!"

Stefan grabbed each of their chins and lifted their heads to expose their necks. He stepped away and over to the woman playing the piano.

"What about you? You know, if you don't pick up the tempo, you're going to lose your head. Snap, snap!"

She changed songs and started to play something much more upbeat. Stefan rushed back over to one of the other women and sank his fangs into her throat. Damon chose this moment to walk into the room.

"Company, brother?"

Stefan pulled away from the woman's neck to look at Damon. "I brought enough to share." He tossed the second girl in Damon's direction, who caught her before she crashed and fell over.

"Are you mad bringing them here when the entire town is hunting us?"

"Damon, if you're worried about the founding families, please don't be. They're all dead or about to be."

Without so much as another glance in Damon's direction, Stefan resumed his drinking from the woman still in his arms. Damon took hold of the woman Stefan had thrown him and started to compel her.

"Leave this place. Never think of it again."

As she left, Damon crossed the room and tore the woman Stefan was drinking from away and did the same for her. Stefan growled.

"Same for you. Leave this place. Never think of it again."

"Damon, don't be like this. I'm just having some fun."

"Staying alive is more fun, Stefan. We have to be more careful than this. More clever. Like Katherine was."

"Look where that got her."

A short silence passed over them as that had felt like a slap to the face for Damon. He changed the subject before anything got too ugly.

"I'm done here. With you. I'm leaving town."

Damon walked passed Stefan, who quickly scrambled after him. He grabbed him by the shoulders to stop him from going any further.

"You hate me. I know, I know," Stefan said frantically. "An eternity of misery and on and on. I know, but you don't have to leave town. Damon, I'll do better. I promise."

"No, you will get us killed. I'd rather leave you to do that to yourself."

Stefan was visibly upset, but Damon didn't care. He pushed Stefan away and left the room.

"I wasn't myself then," Stefan in present time told Elowen. They were sitting with their feet dangling over the side of the dock, with his arm still wrapped around her shoulders. Elowen's head was resting in the crook of his neck. "I was full of guilt. What I did to my father, my brother. I had to turn it off. It was the only way I could survive."

"It almost sounds like you were Damon when he first came to town."

"I was worse. Much worse."

xxxx

Alaric and Damon were sitting alone at a booth in The Grill. They were talking about Alaric's trip to see Jenna, Esmeralda and Elijah from earlier that day.

"Other than your lecture on the history of Mystic Falls, did you get anything out of Elijah?" Damon asked. Alaric shook his head.

"No, it was boring. Of course, Jenna thinks he's charming and Esmeralda… well, let's just say she's trying really hard to not look his way."

"You sounded almost jealous. I'd be, too, if I found out my girlfriend was in love with someone as impressive as an Original. I wouldn't even stand a chance."

"Thanks for the words of encouragement."

In that moment, Andie Star, news reporter who really didn't know how to take a goddamn hint, came up to the table with a smile. Damon immediately groaned at the sight of her. She faltered at the sight of his reaction.

"Look, will you give it a rest?" Damon questioned rhetorically. "I already told you, I have a girlfriend."

"I thought that maybe you were just saying that to get me to go away," Andie replied. "I don't give up easily."

"Well, maybe you should."

"You're friends with Jenna, right?" Alaric asked. Andie nodded. "Okay, I'll put this nicely, then. Damon here is very much taken and I think he'd greatly appreciate it if you walked back to wherever you came from and stayed there."

Damon smiled mockingly at Andie, who still didn't want to seem to back down. She was getting to be really annoying at this point.

"Yeah? And how do I know you aren't just his buddy backing him up to be a good friend?"

"Because I'm dating his girlfriend's mom."

Andie blinked in surprise. "His girlfriend's mom? Wha- How old is your girlfriend?"

"Ah-ha! You finally admit that I have a girlfriend. Goodbye now."

Andie didn't move, either too starstruck at this new piece of information or just being her normal, irritating self. Damon spotted Jenna, Esmeralda and Elijah entering The Grill and nodded in their direction. Alaric turned to look.

"There's Esmeralda with her new-old boyfriend. Hi, guys."

The three of them walked up to their table. Esmeralda had made sure that Jenna stood in between her and Elijah.

"Hey!" Jenna greeted towards Alaric. She completely disregarded Damon. She saw Andie standing there and tilted her head. "Andie? What are you doing here?"

"Trying way too hard to score a date with me," Damon replied, setting his chin in his hands.

"I told you not to bother," Jenna told her. "He's not worth it."

"I do believe he also has a girlfriend," Elijah commented. "Don't you, Damon?"

Damon gestured to Elijah. "See? Even he knows I have a girlfriend."

Jenna looked almost shocked. "Someone is willingly dating you?"

"Oh, you mean you haven't heard?" Damon asked with a smirk. "Funny, considering your nephew is best friends with her brother."

Jenna's eyes became the size of two saucers. "Elowen? But, I thought she was with Stefan!"

Damon shrugged nonchalantly. "It's complicated."

Jenna looked at Esmeralda, absolutely flabbergasted. "And you mean to tell me that you're okay with this?"

Esmeralda shrugged helplessly. "Like Damon said, it's complicated. Just know that I would never let her do anything I thought would put her in any danger. I trust them."

"As much as I'd like to continue this awkward discovery, I've got papers to grade." Alaric put some money down on the table and got up. Esmeralda opened and closed her mouth as she watched him go. She knew he was feeling jealous and slightly betrayed ever since she told him about her history with Elijah. She felt it. Sometimes, she really hated being an empath.

"No, you know what?" Jenna spoke up before she could get a word out. "Surprising news aside, we should do something. Like a dinner party."

"Ooh, what a good idea," Damon noted. "I'll be happy to host. Say, tonight, maybe?"

"Tonight's good for me," Jenna replied. "Esmeralda?"

Esmeralda tore her eyes away from Alaric. "Huh? Oh, yeah, tonight works fine. Elowen's still with Stefan and Josiah said something about spending the night with Caroline."

Damon glanced at Andie. "If you're still so adamant about flirting with me, you can come, too."

She looked caught off guard, but Elijah spoke up before she could respond.

"It'd be a pleasure."

"I don't know if tonight works…" Alaric started to say, but trailed off.

Esmeralda's hopeful eyes were watching him carefully and he found it hard to say no. Besides, did he really want to leave her alone with Elijah? As he was thinking this over, Esmeralda thought of a way to maybe make him say yes. It was a dirty trick, she knew this, but she did it anyway. Inching towards Elijah, she let her hand brush up against his. Without any hesitation, Elijah, as subtly as possible, caressed her fingers with his own. She knew Alaric saw this based off of how he clenched his jaw and the new wave of jealousy and anger flaring through her chest.

"You know what?" He said tightly. "Tonight works great."

"Perfect!" Damon exclaimed. "See you all tonight, then."

xxxx

The sun was starting to go down and it was starting to get a little chilly. It was that time of the year where the weather fluctuated between warm and cold before it finally decided on a temperature. Elowen snuggled farther into Stefan's arms.

"For weeks, I kept spiraling," Stefan was telling her. "I was completely driven by the desire for blood. Hunt, prey, kill. That was all I knew."

"And you mean to tell me that nobody caught on? I mean, the founding families seemed pretty on top of it the first time around."

"There was a war going on. The thing about war time. Endless, anonymous blood supply."

A camp set up for the sick and injured men who were fighting in the Civil War was set up somewhere in the woods. Stefan was drinking the blood of a man who was already dead. He looked up and saw a hooded woman feeding a bowl of soup to a different injured soldier. She stood up and walked farther into the woods. Stefan stood as well and followed her, stalking her. The woman paused, sensing someone behind her, and turned to look. Stefan quickly sped out of her sight. Seeing nobody, she continued on.

Stefan chose this moment to drop down on her, but being older and faster, the woman caught Stefan and pinned him to the ground. The hood fell off and revealed Lexi.

"What kind of an idiot are you?"

"Alexia Branson, as she was known back then."

"Alexia? You mean Lexi?" Elowen asked. "That's how you met her? What was she even doing in Mystic Falls?"

"She had heard it was a good place for vampires. You know, had no idea that they'd all been massacred. Needed a place to crash, so I brought her home with me."

Elowen let out a small groan and rubbed at her temple with the heel of her palm. Stefan looked down at her and brushed some hair out of her face.

"You okay?" He asked quietly. "I can stop."

Elowen shook her head. "No. You're not done yet. I'm fine."

Stefan nodded and continued his story.

Stefan and Lexi entered the Salvatore Estate.

"I'd say it isn't necessary to take me in, but you did try to eat me, and, well, with dawn coming, beggars can't be choosers." Lexi walked farther in and saw all of the dead bodies lying around the parlor. "Or should they be?"

"I, um… I meant to dispose of those."

"My god, you're a ripper."

"A what?"

"There are good parts of being a vampire and there are bad parts. You're the bad parts. Well, we're going to have to change that."

Elowen sat up straight as a bad feeling washed over her. Stefan furrowed his eyebrows and watched as she detangled herself from his arms and start rushing back towards the cabin. He quickly got up and followed her.

"Elowen? What's wrong?"

"I don't know," she answered, but continued towards the house and didn't stop until she was upstairs and had her phone in her hands. Stefan was right behind her. Even Toby had followed when he saw her on a mission. They were both standing in the doorway and were watching her as she punched a phone number into her phone. She didn't even know who's number it was. It just popped into her head.

"Gimme a moment," she told Stefan and Toby, who both looked like she were about to protest. "Please. I think this is important."

They looked at each other, but left the room anyway. She pressed the call button and listened to the line ring. The line connected as they other person answered.

"May I ask who is calling?" Elijah's voice rang out on the other line. Elowen's eyes widened. She glanced out into the hall, where Stefan was no doubt listening in. Thinking on her toes, she quickly switched into Spanish and hoped to god Elijah would be able to understand her.

"It's Elowen. Please tell me you speak Spanish."

There was a pause and Elowen anxiously waited for Elijah to say something. Truthfully, Elijah was truly taken off guard at the sound of her voice and it took him a moment to recover.

"Of course I do," he said at last, now speaking Spanish. "I've been alive for a millennium. You pick up a few things after awhile. How did you get your hands on this number?"

"I don't know," Elowen answered honestly. "It's hard to explain."

"Hmm. In that case, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I can't really explain, but something bad is going to happen tonight and it includes you. I don't know what it is, but please be careful."

"Huh."

"What?"

"You have no reason to help me, yet here you are. Why is that?"

"I have questions and you have answers."

It was only a half lie. It was true. He could tell her about Marisol, but something in her wanted him to stay safe. She didn't want to see him get hurt. Maybe he could help her understand that, too.

"... I see. Very well. Before I let you go, I do have a question for you."

"I'll only answer it if you tell me something about her."

"Funny you say that, because my question is about her."

"What do you mean?"

"Marisol possessed the power of premonition. She knew things she never quite understood and saw things she wasn't always keen on sharing. Do you, perhaps, share her power?"

There was a pause. Finally, Elowen answered. "Yes. It's how I knew your number and how I know something is going to happen. It's also how I found out about her in the first place."

"I see. Well, regardless of the reason, thank you for the tip. I shall be careful tonight."

"Wait," Elowen said quickly before he could hang up. "You said I had your word that you would tell me about her."

"And I will, in due time. Right now, I have other matters to address. Take care, Elowen."

The line went dead, signaling the call was over. Stefan carefully crept back into the room again when he stopped hearing voices, followed by Toby.

"Who was that?" He asked. The voice sounded so familiar to him, yet he couldn't place it. Elowen tucked her phone into her pocket and shook her head.

"Nobody. Family from Puerto Rico. I thought something had happened, but I was wrong."

Stefan nodded his head. "Alright. I'll wait for you outside."

As Stefan left, Toby dropped his voice.

"I thought you didn't know any of your family that still lived in Puerto Rico."

"I don't. He doesn't need to know that."

Toby shot her a look, but dropped it. He led Elowen back downstairs and let her go back outside with Stefan.

xxxx

Jenna, Esmeralda and Andie, who really didn't need to be there, but showed up anyway, were all setting up the table.

"So, what's going on with you and Alaric?" Jenna asked Esmeralda. "I feel like there's some tension."

Esmeralda forced a small smile. "Nothing. It's noth…" She trailed off when Jenna shot her a pointed look. Jenna was really her only friend in town and by default, was the person she told a lot of things. Esmeralda sighed. "It's just… Lemme put it this way. Somebody from my past has recently come back into my life and Ric doesn't like it."

"Ooh," Andie cut in. "Juicy. Ex boyfriend, maybe?"

"You could say something like that."

In the library, Damon and Alaric were talking.

"This is a bad idea," Alaric was saying. Damon rolled his eyes.

"There's no such thing as a bad idea. Just poorly executed awesome ones. Here." He tried to hand Alaric a glass of bourbon, but he refused it.

"No. I really don't like the idea of Elijah being in the same house as Esmeralda. She obviously has a soft spot for him."

"You're sounding jealous again, Ric," Damon said with a sing song voice. Alaric scowled at him. "Besides, there's a reason she's not in here. I'm not filling her in on the plan. She'll just ruin it."

"She'll also know you're up to something in a heartbeat. She's an empath, remember? She can sniff out lies like that." He snapped his fingers. "Between her and Elowen, I don't know who's worse."

"Look, everyone is perfectly safe. It's just a fact finding mission. It's totally harmless."

"Just a fact finding mission?"

"Yeah."

"Listen, no sneak attacks. No surprise plans. Nothing that's gonna put anyone in harm's way. Okay?"

"Scouts honor."

Alaric still looked suspicious, but Andie entered the room and interrupted them.

"Hey, Jenna and Esmeralda need help with the wine."

Damon smiled at Alaric and patted his shoulder. He shot Damon one last look before walking up the stairs and leaving. Damon took a sip of the drink he'd prepared for Alaric and walked towards Andie. He grabbed onto her shoulders and started to compel her.

"You're to keep quiet about what I'm about to show you and do what I tell you. Okay?"

When Andie nodded, Damon peered out of the room to make sure Alaric was really gone, then walked over to a small trunk and opened it. He pulled out the silver dagger and the little bottle containing the white oak ash from inside.

"What's that?" She asked.

"Dessert." Damon dipped the dagger into the ash. "Elijah's stronger than me. Faster than me. It's all about the element of surprise."

"Aw, it's too bad. I like him. He's very old school. Classy."

"Which is why you should encourage the gentleman to take their after dinner drinks in here while you do coffee in the kitchen with the girls. I need help if this plan is going to work and Ric wants nothing to do with this. Esmeralda is too emotionally involved and Jenna, well… if I did so much as look at her, I'd get reamed. You, on the other hand, I don't care about, so you're the perfect candidate."

Damon placed the dagger with the glasses and all the bottles of alcohol, hiding it from view. Andie watched on.

"Hmm. That's a little too sexist for me."

"Stop talking."

The doorbell rang and Jenna went over to answer it. John was on the other side of the threshold. Damon came out of the library as John stepped inside.

"Who invited him?" Jenna asked distastefully.

"John. Surprise. Leave," Damon told him.

"When Jenna told me she was coming to a dinner party for Elijah, I decided I couldn't miss out on all the fun and games."

Alaric walked in, saw John and stopped.

"There aren't going to be any games tonight, John," he said. "It's just a friendly dinner party."

John looked between Alaric and Damon.

"Well, then, it shouldn't be a problem if I join."

He closed the door behind himself and walked into the house. Alaric, Jenna and Damon all shared identical looks of contempt.