Chapter Seven

Most of the sirens had gone silent by the time he arrived, he had made sure that Caroline was safe, she was at the grill with Bonnie, so he decided to head here first. He had known that this would happen sooner or later, it was one of those things. Elijah made his way through the many cop cars until he saw a familiar face, it took her a moment to see him, but once she did, she excused herself from the other officers and motioned for him to follow her into the edge of the woods. After a moment, he caught up,

"I didn't expect you to show up, but seeing as you did, I am guessing I am right about what it was?"

"You are very right. Elizabeth, allow me to apologize for the fact that I did not warn you of their presence here. I wasn't sure they would make any moves to attract certain people, I was clearly wrong to have made that assumption." Elijah remarked.

"There is no need to apologize. How long have they been here? And who are they?" Elizabeth Forbes asked.

"One of them has been here since the car wreck, the other just arrived. Their names are Damon and Stefan Salvatore. Stefan is harmless, he feeds on animals and is very in control of himself, Damon is the one that did this. His humanity has been turned off for quite some time, and he likes to walk the edge of getting caught and blending in. I know that it is asking a lot, but I would like you to ignore both of them. They will draw a woman named Katerina Petrova here, and she will draw Klaus, if you ignore them, cover up the fact that they exist. Keep everything to yourself, the rumors won't spread, and hopefully it will take longer for them to show, allowing me to form a plan to keep my daughter safe."

"Elijah, if you had just shown up in Caroline's life, maybe I would be hesitant, but you didn't you have been here since the moment she was old enough to learn about all of this, you have always shown up. I am not saying that it will be easy for me to ignore two vampires running around the town I protect, but I trust you. Form your plan, and do whatever you have to, I just want Caroline to be safe."

"She will be. You have my word."

Caroline's next few weeks were beyond stressful, she got into a relationship with Damon Salvatore, Bonnie told her about what her granny was telling her about witches and the supernatural, Elena got into a relationship with Stefan, and her father started to call more. Then she began to understand why, then her history teacher died, and she broke up with Damon. The last thing on her mind was school, then Halloween came and Vicki Donovan died. Elena wasn't really talking to her, and she knew that she should be there for her friend Matt, but she just couldn't push herself to do it. She felt like she was dying in the time she was in, the spell felt like a knife in the heart, and late that Halloween night she found herself on the porch of her father's old house tears falling down her cheeks, grasping the bracelet on her wrist like it would save her from the longing and pain in her heart. She had trouble catching her breath as she sobbed quietly, wishing beyond anything that she was in the time that this house had come from. Longing for her mother, as a child with a broken heart longs for theirs. Her phone rang, but she ignored it, sitting alone crying into the darkness. She didn't really care who was calling, because no matter who it was, it wouldn't change the one thing that she wanted to be changed. It would never be her mother answering on the other end.

Elijah cursed under his breath as the phone went to voicemail, he was on the other side of the world trying to pull his brother's attention away from Mystic Falls, and he knew that he couldn't get to her. He had called over four times, each one going to voicemail. Elizabeth Forbes had told him what had happened, and that she had disappeared to the village. He knew exactly what was happening, because he knew that Damon Salvatore, didn't have relationships, he had compulsion, and he never cared about anyone but himself, and even if Caroline didn't know for sure what had happened deep down she would still feel the hurt. He also knew that Elena had pulled away from Caroline recently, and that Vicki had been killed. None of this boded well for the town or Elijah's hope for keeping his brother away, but it also didn't bode well for his daughter. She was hurt and when she was hurt the spell went rampant. So Elijah gave up on calling his daughter, and called the only other person besides Elizabeth that knew the truth in Mystic Falls, Sheila Bennett. Thankfully, she picked up on the second ring,

"Hello."

"Mrs. Bennett, how lovely to hear your voice."

"Elijah, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I need a favor."

"Go on."

"I am sure you are aware of what is going on in your town currently."

"I am, the Salvatore's are back." Sheila replied.

"My daughter has been hurt by them, she has also been hurt by quite a few other things that are happening there currently. I am on the other side of the world trying to distract my brother from the rumors coming from Mystic Falls, therefore I cannot get there to help her. I know that when she gets upset, the spell grows stronger, and it makes everything worse. It happened when Elena's parents died, and I know it is happening again." Elijah explained.

"What do you want me to do?"

"She won't answer her phone, I know that she is hurting, I also know that she is at the houses I built her to help with the spells. Would you be willing to go be with her, hold her while she cries, and take my place? I know this is asking a lot, especially for me. But I promised her I would always be there for her, and I can't."

"Calm down, Elijah. I will help your daughter. I may not like your kind, but your daughter stands for more than the Mikaelson Vampires, she is the hope of your family, she is the only person that carries her mother's spirit, the only one that can change things. I will go and be with her, I will protect her, and I will help her with the spell." Sheila replied before hanging up. Elijah sighed in relief, he knew that Sheila Bennett would be able to help his daughter. There wasn't anyone he would trust more than the Bennett Witch. She was a powerful ally, and someone that made it easier for him to leave his daughter in the vampire ridden town.

It only took a few minutes before Sheila Bennett made her way across the border of the property owned by Elijah's daughter. Before long, she was walking towards the porch that held a crying girl. Sheila paused for a moment and studied the girl she had watched grow up. The usual bright light of Mystic Falls looked broken and tired. Her shoulders were slumped and shaking as she sobbed. One arm held the book from her father against her chest, the other grasped the bracelet on her opposite wrist. The young girl looked as if she carried the weight of worlds, and yet at the same time she looked as if she couldn't find her own place in the one she was in. Sheila stepped forward calmly before speaking to the girl.

"Caroline." At her name, Caroline looked up, she looked surprised to see her friends' grandmother standing in front of her. Her eyes held the question that wouldn't come from her broken voice, so Sheila continued to speak,

"Your Father sent me. He said you wouldn't answer his calls. He wants to be here, but he is on another continent, so he sent me."

"You know?" Caroline's voice was barely a whisper.

"Of course I know, I am a witch after all. Tell me what happened." Sheila beckoned as she sat down next to Caroline and pulled her into her arms.

"I don't know. It feels like I am being stabbed in the heart, I just want…"

"You just want what, Caroline?"

"I want her." Caroline's voice broke as she admitted out loud for the second time in her life that all she wanted was her mother.

"Caroline, did you know that your mother was a type of witch?"

"No, I didn't. Dad just told me she was a girl from Greece." Caroline replied, her voice still shaky, but wanting to know where Mrs. Bennett was going with this.

"She never used her magic, but it was there. My ancestor wrote about it, they were close friends. What do you know about magic, Caroline?"

"Not really anything."

"Magic can come from multiple things, there are many types of it, there are ones that are more popular than others, and there are ones that are forbidden to use. The most famous type of magic is ancestral magic." Sheila explained.

"What does that mean?"

"It means your power comes from the witches before you. Witches from powerful lines, like Bennet, or Claire, get their power from their ancestors. Your mother also had ancestral magic. If a witch is powerful enough, they can use their magic to commune with the ancestor, to get wisdom or to ask for help."

"Have you ever done that?" Caroline asked.

"A few times, typically I do it to connect with a specific ancestor, not the entirety of them. You want your mother, I am not promising anything, but if you would like I can try and summon her for you."

"You can do that?"

"I can try." With that they both stood and Sheila began to prepare for a spell she hadn't done in years. After everything was prepared, she called Caroline to her. There was a circle of salt surrounded by candles, Caroline looked on slightly confused, but she trusted her friend's grandmother.

"I will need a few drops of your blood, Caroline." Sheila explained.

"Okay." Caroline responded before holding out her hand to the woman in front of her. After Sheila took a little of Caroline's blood, she began the spell. The wind began to blow, it whistled through the surrounding trees. Caroline watched with slight fear as the fire from the candles grew. The wind began to blow dust into her eyes, so she had to close them tightly, she could still feel the heat from the fire in front of her. Then all of a sudden it all stopped, and slowly Caroline opened her eyes...