Chapter Two
Damon swerved as a loud thump shook the car.
"What is that?" Elena yelled, clutching the door handle.
"I think your friend's awake" Damon snapped, slowing to pull over. There was another thump and a pop and a crash and when Damon, Stefan and Elena made it around the car the trunk lid was completely ripped off the car laying in the road several feet behind them and the girl was nowhere to be seen. "Fuck." Damon cursed, hitting the car.
"Oh god" Elena gasped. "What did we do?"
They were screwed.
Aailyah ran as fast as she could towards her husband, the sight of his desiccated corpse making her choke up. She quickly removed the make-shift stake and carefully lowered him to the ground.
"I'm sorry my love." Aailyah whispered, kissing his cheek and pulling her phone out of his front pocket. She sat down beside him and played with his chestnut hair as she sent off a text and dialed a familiar number.
"What, Aailyah?" An irritated voice snapped.
"Well hello to you too Nik." Aailyah smiled, watching color slowly creep back into her husband's skin. "How's Australia?"
"Blisteringly hot and without a trace of my annoying little brother. I assume you know where he is?"
"Of course."
"And I assume you're going to assist him in this insolent game of hide and seek?"
"Right again."
"...Is he safe?"
"Of course he is Nik. He is with Rebekah on their cruise, not a vampire in sight. Except mine, of course." Aailyah smirked, She had spent much of their thousand years building up a truly epic legion of loyal spies. It had taken centuries to build her network, but now she had eyes and ears everywhere, Vampires, witches, werewolves, and humans alike. Her smirk softened when he sighed. "He just needs some time to himself, Niklaus, they both do. They will be back soon enough."
"I suppose."
"In the meantime, Eli and I have a present for you!" Aailyah chirped, smiling as Elijah's finger twitched.
"Do you?" Nik chuckled. "And what have you found for me this time, sister?"
"An absolutely dull human, with a rather fascinating lineage, and a striking resemblance to a runaway vampire and I.'' Niks breath caught and Aailyah smiled. "We found her, Nik. A human doppelganger."
"Do you have her?" Niklaus demanded.
"Not at the moment." Aailyah scowled. "She and her friends played a rather dirty trick on us and got away. I will have her location and eyes on her soon enough."
"Thank you sister." Nklaus breathed.
"We also have the location of Katerina and the moon stone." Nik made a noise of interest and Aailyah narrowed her eyes. "She's my friend Nik. She made a mistake and she's more than atoned for it. Leave her be."
"I could have ended this five hundred years ago if she hadn't-"
"What? Let herself be sacrificed? She had every right to run, wouldn't you have done the same?" Aailyah's eyes softened again when he sighed. "From what I've learned, she was trying to fix her mistake. Come to Mystic Falls, break your curse but let her be. Please. She's my friend."
"Very well. I'll call off the hunt after the curse is broken." Nik sighed, not wanting to fight his sister in law.
"Thank you."
"Anything for you. I'll be in Mystic Falls tomorrow, anything else I should know?"
"Bring a witch you're willing to lose, this doppelganger has some rather persistent body guards and I'm not risking mine. Oh, and I'm sending you a name and address, you'll need to pick him up before you get to Mystic Falls."
"Who?"
"Doctor Montgomery, he specialises in fertility preservation."
"Why do I need him?"
"So help me gods, we are going to have a backup plan. We'll take her as soon as you get into town and we'll draw some blood and take as many eggs as we can and make sure some are matched with couples in need and freeze the rest for future use. This will secure the doppelganger bloodline and the blood will help us track them if needed. We're not taking any risks this time."
"What would I do without you luv?"
"Live in complete isolation and misery."
"You're not wrong. Pick me up at the airport?"
"I'll send you a cab, Elijah and I will be busy."
"With?"
"Retribution."
"Dare I ask?"
"In order to save the doppelganger brat, a few vampires attacked Elijah and I. They killed Elijah and snapped my neck. Twice. As you can imagine, I'm rather cross with them." Aailyah snarled.
"Give them hell, sister. I'll see you soon." Klaus chuckled, hanging up.
"Welcome back darling." Aailyah smiled as Elijah's eyes snapped open.
Elena, Stefan, and Damon all sat in the living room of the Salvatore house listening to Rose.
"Okay, you have to understand I only know what I've picked up over the years. And I don't know what's true and what's not true. That's the problem with all this vampire crap. But Klaus, I know is real."
"Who is he?" Elana asked.
"One of the Originals. A legend." Damon answered.
"From the first generation of vampires." Stafan continued.
"Like Elijah and Aailyah?"
"No, they were like the easter bunny compared to Klaus and his other siblings. They are the most reasonable, Klaus is the real deal."
"Klaus is known to be the oldest." Stefan cut in.
"Okay so, you're saying the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me."
"No-"
"Yes- "
"What they're saying is- I mean if what she's saying is true-"
"Which it is."
"And you're not just saying it so we don't kill you-" Damon added.
"Which I'm not."
"Then we're looking at a solid maybe."
"Problem is, we killed Elijah and lost his wife." Stefan lamented, avoiding eye contact with Damon, who smirked at them.
"I told you so-" Rose cut him off.
"We don't have time for this. Klaus and his siblings are close. They've had legendary squabbles but they've always defended each other. They will come to avenge Elijah."
"That's not helping." Damon snapped at Rose.
"Look I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on them. I mean, we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. I mean we don't know what's real. For all we know he could just be some sort of stupid bedtime story."
"They are real. And if Klaus wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of them, you're an idiot."
"All right, we're shaking. You've made your point."Damon cut in.
"Hello Elena." Kathrine croaked, leaning heavily on the wall. "Come to watch me wither away?" Elena, Caroline, and Kathrine stood in silence for a moment. "Goodbye Caroline." she snapped, fed up with the silence.
"As long as I stay on this side of the door, she can't hurt me." Elena assured. "Please." Caroline hesitated but eventually left.
"Stefan know you're here?" Kathrine goaded.
"I brought you some things." Elena said, ignoring the jab.
"You came to bribe me? What is it that you want?" Elena threw a bundle over the doorway.
"I want you to tell about Klaus and Aailyah." Kathrine's eyes lit in interest.
"Mmm . You've been busy."
"I also brought you this." Elena presented a large old book."It's your family history. It says here that the family line ended with you. Obviously that's not true."
"You think that if you brought me some family keepsake, that I'd open up?" Elena smirked and pulled out a bottle of blood.
"I also brought this." Kathrine lost control and lunged, hitting the barrier. "You don't look so good. How long before your body shuts down. Ten, Twenty years? Must be painful to dessicate and mummify. I can't even imagine." Elena tuanted. Kathrine sighed and sat down, Elena following and pouring some blood into a plastic cup. She pushed it over to her double.
"You have the Petrova fire." Kathrine said before she downed it quickly, hands shaking.
"More blood?" Elena taunted. Kathrine glared but sent the cup back and watched Elena fill it.
"It's a long story. Klaus and Aailyah and I. It goes all the way back to England, 1492, after I left bulgaria. Or… was thrown out." She shrugged before drinking more, color flooding her cheeks.
"Thrown out?" Elena asked.
"My family. Your true ancestors. They disowned me. My indiscretions were not tolerated at that time. I had a baby out of wedlock. The shame." Kathrine mocked.
"It was kept secret?"
"Mmhm. My baby was given away. I was banished to England and I had to learn to adjust, so I quickly became English. It was there where I caught the eye of a nobleman named Klaus. I was taken with him first, until I found out what he was and what he wanted with me. And then I ran like hell."
Katerina ran through the woods, tripping and falling onto the floor, she hid quickly and heard the air shift nearby. She peeked over the ridge and saw Elijah and several other men with him.
"She's here. Katerina! I know you're near. I can smell your blood. It's pointless to run, we will find you wherever you are." Elijah called into the forest. Trever joined the group and pointed North.
"This way, there is more blood over there." The group followed him quickly. When Katerina was sure they were gone, she stood to run, only to come face to face with Aailyah.
"Please don't scream love." The woman smiled beautifully. "Come, Nik does not know that you've run yet and I'd rather not deal with his tantrum when he finds out." Kathrine took a fearful step back.
"No. Aailyah please, he'll kill me." Katerina begged. Her friend's eyes softened.
"Katerina, you are my friend. I have measures put in place for your safety, let's return to the castle. I'll tell you everything."
"No. I'm not going back."
"Katerina, I'm sorry, but you don't have a choice. We need to go." Kathrine shook her head fearfully and stepped backwards, only to run into Trevor, who gripped her arm tightly.
"I've got her my Lady, may I escort you both back to the castle?"
"Of course, thank you Trevor. I will see to it that you are rewarded handsomely for your assistance." She smiled gratefully and turned to lead them back to the castle, only for Trevor to whoosh forward and stake her in the heart. She choked soundlessly, staring accusingly at Trevor as she dessicated and died. He rushed back to Katerina, who stared at her friend's corpse, horrified.
"Head East. I cannot lead them astray much longer."
"I can't run anymore." Katerina gasped.
"Never mind. There is a cottage, you'll be safe there. Now go. Go!" Kathrine nodded and took off once more.
"So what did Klaus want?" Elena asked.
"Same thing that he'll want from you. He wants to break the curse."
"By sacrificing the Petrova doppelganger."
"He wanted to drain every single drop of blood from my body."
"What does the Petrova bloodline have to do with Klaus?"
"It's really tedious but the curse was bound by the sacrifice of Petrova blood. Witches are crafty with their spells. The doppelganger was created as a way to be able to undo the spell. Once a doppelganger reappears, the curse can be broken."
"So you ran before he killed you?"
"Something like that."
"You killed yourself?" Elena gasped.
"Klaus needed a human doppelganger. As a vampire I was no longer of any use to him." Kathrine drawled, bored.
"But it didn't work. You didn't really escape, you've been running from Klaus ever since."
"Not just Klaus, I was blacklisted by all of them. I underestimated his spirit for vengeance. But living out of a suitcase is better than dying so that you could have your blood spilled over some silly little rock." Elena looked away. "What's wrong?" Kathrine mocked. "Afraid I'm right? You don't wanna die? There's another way out." Kathrine smirked and cut her wrist, drawing blood. "Better hurry, your opportunity is going, going, going…" The cut closed. "And gone." Kathrine met Elena's eyes. "I made the other choice."
"Rose and Trevor spent the last five hundred years running because you used them. Trevor just got killed."
"Never thought he'd last that long."
"You don't even care that you ruined their lives."
"I was looking out for myself Elena. I will always look out for myself. If you're smart, you'll do the same, because no matter what you do, no matter where you go, she'll find you. After all, she found me." Kathrine chuckled.
Kathrine stumbled backwards, glancing around frantically for an escape from her mirror image.
"Please don't run. I've had an incredibly long day." Aailyah signed. Not seeing a way out, Kathrine straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin determinedly. Whatever came next, she'd face it with dignity.
"How'd you find me?" Kathrine demanded.
"Oh please. You may have fooled Nik, but the Katerina I know would never be caught by humans, let alone killed." Aailyah scoffed derisively.
"So what happens now?" Kathrine asked cautiously.
"Now, we talk." Seeing her skeptic look Aailyah smiled. "Four hundred years is a long time to hold a grudge, only Nik could be that stubborn. I got over it years ago." Kathrine slowly sat across from the older vampire.
"If you're over it, why are you here?"
"I don't think it's fair that you're on the run just because you wanted to live. And I wanted to clear the air. We were friends before you ran, I'm hoping that someday we could be again." Kathrine stared for a moment before letting out a small, tentative smile.
"Okay. Let's talk."
"You haven't told me anything about her. Where was she during all of this?" Elena said, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"She stood with Klaus, like she always has. Meeting her was surreal to be honest, coming face to face with my own reflection. But you know all about that." Kathrine chuckled, smirking at Elena, who rolled her eyes. "Except I didn't get any backstory like you did, no one would tell me anything. I thought that perhaps we were twins separated at birth, but obviously that wasn't the case." Kathrine shrugged. "Anyway, we became fast friends." She said with a small smile.
"Katerina!" Katerina turned and smiled, seeing Aailyah walking briskly towards her.
"Lady Mikaelson." She said, dropping into a curtsy. Aailyah waved her hands irritably, pulling Katerina to her feet.
"None of that now. You are my friend, you do not need to act like the stuffy ladies at court." Aailyah huffed, nose wrinkling at the very thought, making Katerina chuckle.
"They do seem to admire you." Katerina giggled.
"They admire my brother. I can't imagine why." Aailyah huffed, rolling her eyes.
"Is he causing trouble again, My Lady?" Katerina said with a playful grin.
"Always. Luckily, it's my husband's turn to deal with him, which means we get to go shopping." Aailyah giggled, showing off the money pouch she'd nicked from Elijah.
"Whatever for?"
"We're throwing a party for Niklaus' birthday tomorrow, and I intend to make you the belle of the ball."
"My Lady, I couldn't impose-"
"Nonsense, Katerina. It is the least we owe you-" Aailyah cut herself off feeling her brother-in laws glare across the courtyard. She recovered quickly and pasted on a playful grin for the curious girl before her. "I intend to use you as a shield. You can entertain the 'noble' ladies while I convince my husband to give me the dance he promised me. You know how Elijah loves to host." Aailyah said with an eye roll.
"Feeding me to the vultures are you?" Katerina giggled.
"An unfortunate casualty of war." Aailyah teased. "You'll be fine, you're a survivor."
"You care about her." Elena realised, recognising the fond smile on the vampire's face.
"She was my friend. She still is."
"But she betrayed you."
"So I thought. I ran for centuries, but she managed to track me down shortly after I left Mystic Falls. Here's what you need to know about Aailyah, she hasn't spent the last thousand years doing nothing. She's got an army at hand and eyes and ears everywhere. You can't hide from her, and runnings just gonna piss her off."
"And you're sure Elijahs dead?" Slater asked, shocked.
"Beyond dead." Damon assured.
"Not smart losing Aailyah, she's known for delivering some truly epic revenge." Slater smirked ruefully. "Trevor was a good man, he helped me with my dissertation on sexual deviance in the baroque period. I was going for my psych PhD."
"Slates been in college since '74." Rose explained as they all sat at a table near the window.
"When I was turned. I have eighteen degrees, three masters and four PhDs" Slater took a sip of his coffee, his daylight ring glimmering in the sunlight streaming through the window.
"The point?" Damon snapped.
"Exactly, I mean what is the point? What should I be doing with my eternity? If you have an answer please enlighten me because they've helped me out a lot so far." Slater snapped defensibly.
"We need your help." Rose intervened. "If someone wanted to get in touch with Klaus, how would you hook 'em up?"
"Craigslist."
"Really?"
"Seriously. I respond to a personal ad that gets sent to somebody who knows somebody who knows Aailyah, who is missing and probably mourning her husband. And that's where my connection ends."
Outside the cafe, a couple walked arm in arm down the sidewalk, stopping near a street player. The man knelt down and dropped a hundred dollar bill into his guitar case before scooping up a handful of coins. Elijah stood by his wife, shifting the coins between his hands as they peered inside the cafe across the street.
"One of my vampires is inside." Aailyah said idly, cocking her head to the side.
"Shall we remove them before we begin?" Elijah asked.
"No need, I gave him a daylight ring for his service a few years ago, he should be fine."
"Let's begin." Elijah smirked.
"So how much of your little story is true?" Elena asked as Kathrine idli flipped through her family's history.
"I have no reason to lie to Elena. I have no reason to do anything but sit here and read and rot."
"Okay so you mean it's even partially true, that's the reason why you came back isn't it?" Kathrine looked back at Elena. "Because you wanted to be the one to hand me over to Klaus." Kathrine closed her book and stood.
"Mm, five hundred years on the run, I figured maybe he'd be willing to strike a deal."
"So you got Mason Lockwood to find you the moonstone."
"Right again."
"What else is needed to break the curse?"
"Look who's getting smarter." Kathrine smirked, slightly impressed.
"It's not just me or the stone, is it? Otherwise there'd be no reason to trigger Tyler Lockwoods werewolf curse."
"Witches and their spells- so many ingredients, so many people to sacrifice."
"So you need a werewolf?"
"Believe it or not, they're hard to come by."
"What else?"
"A witch to do the spell. Mine bailed, but Bonnie will do just fine."
"What else?"
"Vampire." Elena's eyes widened as the pieces came together.
"Caroline."
"Could've been anyone I suppose. But I like the poetry of Caroline."
"So you were just gonna hang us all over to be killed?"
"Better you die then I. '' Kathrine said before she turned and walked back into the passage behind her, leaving Elena standing there, speechless.
"Here's what I don't get, Elijah and Aailyah moved around during the day, which means the Original people knew the secret of the daylight ring. Now why would Klaus want to lift the curse of the sun and the moon?" Damon asked Slater.
"To keep the werewolves from lifting it. If a vampire breaks the sun curse then the werewolves are stuck with the curse of the moon forever, and vice versa."
"But werewolves are all but extinct." Rose said.
"True I've never seen one but rumor has it…"
"Not such a rumor." Damon admitted. Slater and Rose both turned towards him, shocked.
"Mystic Falls?" Slater asked in awe. Damon nodded and Slater shook his head in awe.
"God I've got to visit this place, sounds awesome."
"Awesome doesn't even begin to describe it. Can we stop the curse from being broken at all?" Damon asked. Aailyah smirked at Elijah.
"He seems determined. Another brother wrapped around the dopplegangers pretty finger?"
"Perhaps…"
"Pity when history repeats itself." Aailyah laughed at Elijah's exasperated look.
"Once again darling, the only finger I'm wrapped around is yours." He kissed her cheek before focusing on the conversation inside once more.
"What do you mean?" Slater asked.
"Well if we rendered the moonstone useless and stopped the curse from being broken.'
"Well, yeah, probably, but why would you wanna do that? Daylight rings are hard to come by."
"Just tell me how." Damon coaxed.
"You think I'm gonna help you figure out how to do something that will piss off the Originals?" Damon continued to argue, but Elijah pulled his arm back and threw the coins at the window, shattering it. Everyone inside began screaming, Rose wailed as her skin started to burn. Slater saw Elijah and Aailyah turn and walk away outside and quickly followed them, leaving his friend to burn. Damon couldn't see who threw the coins or where Slater disappeared to, and scooped up Rose to bring her to the car to heal.
"You're gonna be okay." He assured her.
"I know. I just-"
"Who was behind that?"
"I don't know, Where's Slater?"
"Iowa by now, who the hell knows?"
"He's not behind this, he's a good guy. He wouldn't betray me"
"Then who did?"
"Don't you see? It's Klaus. You don't know this man, I'm dead." Rose began to sob. "We're all dead!" She cried as Damon closed the door.
Slater turned a corner and nearly ran into Aailyah and Elijah, who had stopped to wait for him.
"Mrs. Mikaelson, Mr. Mikaelson." He bowed his head respectfully.
"Slater." Aailyah smiled serenely at him. "Thank you so much for your assistance, did you make it out alright?"
"Yes Ma'am." He smiled back, starstruck. He'd met Aailyah a few times, and Elijah once before, but he still felt like a fanboy. The Mikealsons were legends. His sire had been a part of Aaliyah's spy network, and had eventually brought him in. When Rose had called him to meet at the cafe, Slater had called his contact and reached Aailyah shortly after.
"Did they see you leave?" Elijah asked seriously.
"No." Slater shook his head. "I was able to slip away in the confusion, Sir."
"Yes, I'm sorry that you got caught in that mess." Aailyah smiled apologetically. "We wanted to get their attention but we'd rather they believe that we are out of the picture for now. I assume you'll keep this quiet?"
"Of course Ma'am. Is there anything else I can assist you with?"
'No, but thank you Slater. Keep your head down for now, and I'd prefer if you moved locations just in case they return. I'll see to it that you get your reward soon enough."
"Thank you." He bowed his head formally.
"Come darling, we mustn't be late." Elijah interrupted, checking his watch. Klaus' flight will land soon, they'd agreed to meet at the mansion he and Aailyah had acquired just outside of Mystic Falls.
"Of course dear." Aailyah smiled and intertwined their hands as they turned to leave. "We'll be in touch, Slater." She called over her shoulder. All he could do was watch as they left, adrenaline pumping with fear and awe.
"I haven't even told you the best part." Kathrine smirked at Elena and Stefan. "Elijah and Aailyah may be the most reasonable of the bunch, but she's got a mean streak that rivals Klaus. She found my weak spot, and sent Klaus there. He killed them. My entire family. Just to get back at me for running. Whatever you do to escape Klaus, he will get his vengeance on your friends, your family, on anyone that you've ever loved. And even that won't be enough. There is nowhere that you can hide from Aailyah. You will never get away from this."