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21 Years Later
Caroline Forbes wore her hair atop her head like a crown.
White flowers adorned her blonde curls, complementing the soft blue dress that had been specially gifted to her for her birthday. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever worn, with lace at the ends of the sleeves and a silk white belt.
The centrepiece was a blue diamond necklace, handed down through generations of Forbes women. It sparkled against her neck, elegant but not too flashy.
The 21st birthday of anyone was special, due to 21 being the blessed number in the religion of the Gods Old and New. Mortals celebrated it, but it was not special for them in the way it was for magic users. An entire coven would congregate in celebration.
Caroline always knew her birthday would be special. Being a Forbes had always opened doors for her in the magic community. Her family was well respected among mortals, but they were practically royalty among witches. A descendent of the High Witch Eve Forbes, they had blue blood. Nearly every coven leader in its history had been a Forbes, or someone closely related to them anyway. When she was older, it was known she would lead the coven. Said coven had gone all out for her 21st.
She was a Golden Blooded after all, a witch of extraordinary power.
Great Aunt Wanda, leader of the coven, was a superstitious type. Taught in the old ways, she was a firm believer in the old tale that turning 21 would open up the true extent of a person's powers. They would learn of their calling in life, a mission so to speak. However big, however small, it was what they would do.
Nobody else really believed all that, but nobody would dare to openly belittle the coven leader's beliefs.
Caroline stood in the centre of the circle, facing Great Aunt Wanda. The rest of the coven were cloaked in velvet, a lit candle squished between each hand, held exactly at the centre of their chests.
Wanda raised a hand to signal the beginning of the ritual. The coven levitated their candles, whilst Caroline kneeled down on the floor, head bowed.
"Caroline Forbes, descendent of the High Witch Eve, child of the Forbes line, daughter of William and Elizabeth, granddaughter of the late Yolanda, today reaches the age of twenty-one. The Mystic Falls Coven celebrates a member reaching this sacred day and becoming a fully fledged member. Do you Caroline Elizabeth Forbes, swear your full allegiance to the Mystic Falls Coven?"
"I do."
"Do you promise to use your powers wisely, carefully and not to harm an innocent soul undeserving of such might?"
"I do."
"Will you always be a sister of the coven, a friend and supporter of the other men and women?"
"I will."
"Will you accept the rules and laws of the earth?"
"I will."
"Child, now a woman, you may rise."
Caroline got up off the floor and walked towards her great aunt.
"On this sacred day, we congratulate Caroline Forbes, coven sister."
"To our sister," the others chanted, the candles levitating further up towards the ceiling.
Wanda snuck a smile at her great niece, who smiled back. She only wished her dear sister Yolanda could have been alive to see her beloved granddaughter reach this important age, but sadly she had died some years prior.
Still, a magic user always believed that death was not the end. Yolanda was watching in some form or the other.
"Take out your goblets and I will provide you with wine."
A twitch of Wanda's fingers and red wine poured heartily into each goblet.
"Come forward, Caroline."
Wanda held out a cup.
"By accepting the blood of the Gods Old and New, Caroline's spirit is reborn."
Caroline gulped down the wine, blanching slightly at the bitter taste. As soon as she did, the rest of the coven began to drink.
Buzzzzzzzzz
A mysterious sound hit everyone's ears like a tonne of bricks, sharp and low. Several goblets hit the floor, wine spilling everywhere as the discomfort grew. After a hiss, a puff of yellow smoke skirted around the room.
The call of the ancestors.
Wanda gained her composure first, standing up straight and opening her arms.
"Mothers and fathers of old, we welcome your spirit. Please show us the direction you wish for us to follow."
The yellow smoke twisted around before levitating itself above a shocked Caroline. When it had finally settled, the image of a woman with dull blonde hair appeared in front of her.
"Caroline Forbes, descendent of mine."
Everyone gasped- it was Eve Forbes, they could all feel it in their bones.
"H...High Witch," Caroline bowed deeply, "It is my great honour to serve you. What is it you wish for me to do?"
"I come to you on the night of your 21st Birthday to give you your fateful mission. This was written by the Gods Old and New when time began, mapped out among the stars for you specially. You see…"
The yellow smoke showed an image of a small house.
"On the night I learned of my magic, there was a woman. She had lost two children- the eldest in the cot and the youngest by men who could transform into wolves. This woman was so scared for the future of herself, her husband and her remaining five children that she did something that went against nature."
A middle aged woman appeared.
"A powerful witch, the woman created a spell that made the entire family immortal. They would not age or be felled by the things that could kill man. No witch has the power to start or stop life directly, and she was punished for this. The family craved the blood of people and even though they had powers that seemed to be a gift, they would kill innocents to satisfy their bloodlust. Women, men, children would all disappear. To avert suspicion, the family would move from place to place every so often."
Seven figures appeared.
"The witch is Esther. The witch's husband is Mikael. The eldest Freya died in the crib. The youngest Henrik was killed by a Wolf man. The remaining children are Finn, Elijah, Niklaus, Kol and Rebekah. They are all dangerous, but one member is feared more than anyone else."
The figure portraying the middle child, Niklaus, grew bigger and dwarfed the others.
"Niklaus had dormant wolf genetics from an unknown source. He became a hybrid upon becoming immortal, a mix of unnatural and wolf. They call him The Wolfman. Upon the full moon, he transforms into a beast who causes chaos and destruction wherever he goes. He does not seek blood like he does as an immortal, but all of his self-control and humanity disappears with each transformation. Victims die, are injured or are even turned themselves."
An image of a badly mangled child filled their sights.
"They have lived long before my death and still remain. The Mikaelson family are a danger to the entire world and will remain so for centuries. Your destiny is to destroy The Wolfman and end the immortality of his family."
"How do I do that?"
"They are within reach. You are a Golden Blooded, a Forbes, your power supersedes many. You will read and learn. When the time comes, you will use your abilities to end this sin against nature."
"I don't know what to say."
"I'm afraid that I cannot be more helpful, dearest descendent. It will all reveal itself. I have faith, dear Caroline. Goodbye for now."
The yellow smoke disappeared instantly
Caroline shook slightly and nearly crumbled over, her mother and her great aunt rushing over to help her up. The entire coven was in shock.
"Caroline?" Liz whispered, "Are you alright?"
"I cannot quite believe it."
"You should be proud, it's an honour."
"It sounds dangerous," Liz snapped back, "Caroline dear, it will be fine."
"It is written, Elizabeth. Caroline is fated to undertake this task."
Wanda looked around the room.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this great honour has befallen upon a member of our own coven. Let us converge in our support for her."
The coven surrounded Caroline, smiling and encouraging her. In the middle, Caroline felt sick. This sounded bad- she knew she had to protect innocent people, but engineering the destruction of other beings seemed wrong. Long ago, mortals thought that witches were against nature, how could they decide it was the same for another group?
Eve had said that they were bad people though, monsters even. That child had been mutilated and there would be thousands more who would have been robbed of life.
Terrified, she faked a smile.
—
The carriage rocked to a stop.
Esther Mikaelson stepped out first, muttering an incantation in order to create a protective barrier that surrounded the family. Once that was done, the rest of the family followed her out.
"I don't know why we had to leave Burnwood," Rebekah complained, "It was a nice place."
"We have to leave so that they don't get suspicious," Esther reminded her, "We wean down the killings so everyone thinks they're over and after a while, we move onto the next place."
"I liked it there, the people were nice."
"Mortals will turn on you, we cannot rely on them, Rebekah. Go sort out the blankets and pillows."
Rebekah sighed, doing as her mother asked.
She wished that she could stay somewhere for once. Friends were made, crushes were had but then they'd have to leave once their mother feared they'd be recognised. After so long, people would realise they hadn't changed or aged. It would be back in the carriage to a far off land where nobody would know who they were.
Rebekah would watch as her friends got married, beaming as they walked down the aisle in beautiful dresses towards the men they loved. They'd glow in pregnancy, their stomachs getting bigger and bigger with each moment. She would sit by them as they rocked their babies, utterly in love with their child.
She'd never have that. All she wanted was a husband and family, but her mother had robbed her of that centuries ago.
At least her idiot brothers acted like children from time to time.
Why did they have to move during a full moon?
Rebekah looked up at the sky. It was nearly time.
They did need rest sometimes, as invincible as they were. The forest floor wasn't the most comfortable of places, but the pillows and blankets were fairly warm, plus Esther would do some kind of sleeping spell to help them.
A loud grunt filled the air.
Niklaus Mikaelson was transforming.
It never got any easier, even with spells and herbs from Esther. He screamed in agony as every bone in his body broke and every muscle tightened all at once. The fur tore from his skin and the claws slowly brought themselves out of his knuckles. Every part of his humanity was ripped away along with his mortal body.
His eyes glowed gold. It was not beautiful, it was terrifying.
The Wolfman had come out.
"He's hungry for a kill," Elijah observed neutrally.
"Is it really the time for that?" Mikael asked, rolling his eyes. He had no time for this bastard that was apparently his son.
"He must," Esther confirmed.
Almost on cue, a family passed unaware, the protective barrier hiding the Mikaelsons. They looked poor, exhausted and most importantly, unimportant.
A poor family in the woods, attacked by a bear or wolf. Unfortunate but not uncommon, they left themselves exposed.
When the Mikaelsons chose prey, they chose prey that wouldn't kick up a bit of stink.
It wasn't like there was much they could do. The Wolfman stalked over to the protective barrier, sniffing the scent of fresh flesh. His snout moved around softly, nostrils flared. As soon as he got that scent, he was poised to move.
Something so monstrous should not be so elegant, but there was a beauty about his movements. This, however, did not take away from what he was being forced to by the wolfish elements. There was no beauty in this brutality.
Stepping through the barrier, The Wolfman bared his teeth.
"What's the name of the place we're going next again?" Rebekah asked.
"Mystic Falls, dear, Mystics Fall."
Hope you enjoyed it!
Next Time: The Mikaelsons make their home in Mystic Falls, Caroline and her friends make a social call which the young witch uses to sniff around.
Thanks again, hope to see you next time and don't forget to review xxx