A.N.: Hello everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews! They inspire me to keep writing. Just a couple quick notes: I've made a bunch of changes throughout the course of my story, certain people live or die, canon couples can change, but I don't really explore the effects much unless it affects Aailyah, since this story is centered around her. I plan to explore a few things farther in the sequel when I get into the Originals, since I want to focus more on the relationships in the Mikaelson family when Aailyah is involved, because in my eyes, taking away the distrust and revenge plots with the Mikaelsons would change everything.
This is my least favorite chapter of this story, just because it didn't quite flow right for me. When I originally wrote this story I had Aailyah and Kathrine as enemies, and Kathrine died in this chapter and honestly I loved the way it was written. (let me know if I should post that version) But Kathrine is my absolute favorite character, and I realised that without her half the plot points in the series would never have happened. So I changed it but I've never been able to get it quite right. Please bear with me though, because Aailyah starts making power moves soon :)
Chapter Four
They hadn't let Klaus terrorise Rose for long. There was a full moon tonight and Kathrine mentioned there was a werewolf in town. While a bite wouldn't kill them, it would hurt like hell and none of them wanted to risk it. They took Elena to a hospital several hours away from Mystic Falls to avoid any trouble and start running some tests.
They returned to their mansion in Mystic Falls the next day and Aailyah started looking for a werewolf. A vampire was simple enough to make or find but werewolves were more difficult, and she wasn't willing to risk the few she had. Their content quiet was shattered when Elena came storming in.
"This is gonna be a long six weeks." Aailyah muttered. As soon as they'd returned from the hospital Elena had called her friends. Aailyah, Klaus and Elijah had only gotten a few moments of peace before the young girl had run into the room, screeching about her boyfriend being locked in a cave with Kathrine. Aailyah pitied the vampire they'd assign to watch her, who already looked exhausted.
"I suddenly have a much higher opinion of Kathrine." Klaus chuckled, watching the girl rant.
"Speaking of…" Aailyah stood, stretching. "Sophie should be done with the barrier spell by now. I'm gonna check in with her and go pick up Kathrine."
"What about Stefan?!" Elena demanded.
"Oh calm down, I'll let him out too." Aailyah said, waving a hand at her irritably.
"Would you like some company?" Elijah asked, taking her hand.
"Always." Aailyah grinned, pulling him to his feet. They checked in with Sophie then headed to the tomb to release the vampires. They arrived just after Damon but stayed in the shadows, observing.
"Did you find Elena?" Stefan demanded.
"No, and our laundry list of problems is growing." Damon sighed.
"What do you mean?"
"The was a werewolf in the woods last night."
"Caroline swears up and down he didn't get out last night, she stayed with him the whole time."
"So we've got a rogue werewolf now?"
"And a rogue Original."
"Sounds like a T.V. show. You've even got a love triangle. This could be a soap opera." Aailyah mused, showing herself. Damon rushed toward her but was thrown back by Elijah.
"We killed you." Stefan stated, staring at the man choking his brother. "We drove a stake through your heart."
"And ruined a $6500 dollar suit." Elijah drawled, tightening his grip maliciously.
"Where's Elena?" Damon choked out, struggling against Elijah's iron grip and failing.
"She's safe." Aailyah shrugged.
"If you have her then she's not." Stefan spat.
"She's safer with us then she ever was with you. When we first found her she had been kidnaped and was covered in blood, poor thing." Aailyah mock pouted at the blonde man.
"You kidnapped her, you're going to kill her." Stefan growled as Elijah whispered something into his brother's ear and released him. His brother, suddenly several shades paler, didn't attack again.
"Clearly you know nothing about what's going on, so allow us to educate you. Elena Gilbert came to us willingly to make a deal. In exchange for participating in the ritual and continuing the doppelganger line, her friends and family will remain untouched and we will give her a potion to ensure she survives the ritual."
"However, should any of you interfere with our plans, that will change. So long as everyone behaves themselves, we will be out of here before the summer starts and you will have your doppelganger back." Elijah warned.
"Wait, continue the doppelganger line? You're making her have a kid?" Stefan choked out.
"We're not monsters, Mr. Salvatore. Elena is donating her eggs. She can explain the details of our deal to you, she has her phone." Aailyah scoffed.
"And, she has requested your release." Elijah added.
"And what about me?" Kathine asked cautiously.
"Of course luv, you promised me a girls night." Aailyah said with a smile. KAthrine returned it and cautiously approached the barrier. She quickly crossed it and linked her arm with Aailyah's. Stefan slowly made his way out as well.
"Wait a minute, I thought you were afraid of the Originals. You spun a whole tale about how they were out for your blood, remember?" Damon snapped.
"Klaus was out for my blood, Aailyah and I settled our differences years ago. Lyah is my best friend." Kathrine said with a mean little grin, Aailyah matching it perfectly.
"And Kathrine earned her freedom, she delivered the moonstone." Aailyah added.
"What? But we have the moonstone!" Damon protested. Aailyah turned to Kathrine with a smirk.
"They bought it?"
"I can be very convincing." Kathrine laughed.
"Clearly. How did you manage to get Stefan inside the cave?" Aailyah asked as they turned and left the cave, ignoring the shell shocked brothers. Elijah nodded at the boys and followed the two women out of the tomb, listening to Katherine's story.
Elena woke slowly, a dull pain in her lower stomach.
"It's amazing what a few drops of blood can do." Aaliyah mused nearby. Elena closed her eyes and groaned.
Living with the Mikaelsons for the last five weeks had been… surreal. In an attempt to learn more about them, she had sought them out often in the beginning, not that it helped much. They'd either ignored her completely, occupied with each other or in Aaliyah's case, Katherine, (who they brought home the first day, much to Elenas dismay). If they did decide to indulge her and talk to her, they gave very little away and refused to answer her bigger questions. When discussing something important, they always had her guard (Who followed her everywhere) escort her from the room. She'd quickly given up.
Her conditions were not bad, the mansion was beautiful and she had full meals every day, and more movies, video games and books than she'd ever seen. She was allowed to call her family and friends whenever she wished. None of them were happy with her but there wasn't much they could do. Elena didn't know where she was, none of the Mikaelsons had shown their faces in town and the mansion was under a cloaking spell so Bonnie couldn't find her. She got pretty much everything she'd asked for, so long as she took her medication without complaint. She did three weeks of oral hormones and then two weeks of injections, which made her extremely emotional.
She'd burst into tears at random times, missing her friends and raging about her situation. Often she'd go looking for Aaliyah or Klaus, looking to pick a fight. Both were infuriating, they would either disappear, not caring enough to deal with her, or wait out her rant and speak to her like a child and point out the many flaws in her logic. Kathrine laughed at her and Elijah generally didn't care until she went after Aaliyah. Once Aaliyah had angered Elena so much with her apathy that Elena threw a book at her. Before it could make contact Elijah's hand snapped out and caught it. They all went silent, as Elijah glared murderously at Elena.
"I suggest you retire to your room Miss Gilbert." Elena returned to her room and didn't leave it for the next two days. Elijah was pretty calm most of the time, but all of the Mikaelsons were wary when he was well and truly pissed off, and Elena began walking on eggshells around him. The next week was tense until the injections were over and they'd taken her to the hospital for her surgery.
"Is it done?" Elena asked, exhausted.
"It is." KIaus announced, strolling in with Elijah. "Thirty-two healthy eggs harvested and frozen, two are in route to be donated to one of our couples in need."
"So what happens now?"
"Normally when you donate eggs there is a two week recovery period, but some of Klaus' blood took care of that. The full moon is in two days, after the sacrifice, you'll be free to go." Elijah said, joining his wife in the window seat.
"Assuming your potion works and I live through being drained of blood. " Elena snarked.
"Oh calm down, our brothers been studying and teaching witchcraft for two thousand years, if he says the potion will work than it'll work." Aaliyah drawled, leaning against Elijah as she messaged someone on her laptop. Elijah read over her shoulder for a moment before cocking his head to the side.
"Who is Lorenzo St. John?"
"One of mine. I changed him in 1869, he's on the cruise with Kol and 'Bekah. Apparently Bex has taken a liking to him."
"Did she?" Klaus growled protectively. Aaliyah's eyes snapped up as she glared at him.
"Lorenzo is one of mine and Rebekah hasn't talked to you in two months because you killed her last boyfriend. Do you really wanna piss off both women in your life?" Klaus stared at her for a moment, thinking of the many times Aailyah and Rebekah had teamed up against him and his brothers before.
"No!" He said quickly. Aaliyah smirked as Elena rolled her eyes. After five weeks she was more than used to being forgotten by the Original vampires. As much as it stung she'd quickly realised she was only worth her bloodline to the Mikaelsons. She closed her eyes and settled in to wait them out.
"Really?" Elena snapped as Elijah and Aailyah stepped into the clearing. "A fucking ring of fire?" Elena was done. She had been in isolation for six weeks, went through a surgery she never wanted, and had been dragged to the woods in the middle of the night to be killed by her captors. She was stressed, scared and pissed off and did not appreciate being stuck in a circle of fire by herself with only a silent guard nearby.
"Nothing personal love, its just in case you get cold feet." Klaus chuckled as he dragged two struggling women across the clearing. After he set them down, a ring of fire burst into existence around each of them.
"It's a bit late to back out now." Elena grumbled, only to be ignored. She watched him drop two woman to the floor and Greta, a witch she'd seen around the mansion, made two other rings of fire around them. "Rose!" Elena called out, stepping toward the sobbing vampire, but flames flared high around her, warning her to stay back. "What happened to you?" Elena whispered, watching her shake. Rose sobbed, shaking her head, and curled into an even tighter ball on the ground. "What did you do to her!" She shouted toward the three Originals, who stood together, talking quietly.
"Just had a bit of fun." Klaus chuckled, flashing her an unrepentant smirk.
"You-"
"She'll be out of her misery soon enough." Klaus dismissed her easily, turning back to his siblings as his witch taunted the agonised werewolf. Klaus watched the female writhing on the ground in agony, eyes distant. Aailyah nudged him gently, bringing him out of it.
"Are you sure about this? It almost doesn't seem worth it." She asked, wincing when Jules let out a bloodcurdling scream, body fighting the spell the young witch had cast on her.
"I have to do this Alli. I've been waiting a thousand years for this."
"Good luck, brother. '' Elijah said with a small smile, handing Niklaus the moonstone. Klaus stared at it for a moment, before glancing up at his family.
"Thank you." He said, sincerely.
"What else is family for?" Aailyah asked, leaning up to kiss his cheek. They'd all changed after they'd become vampires, Nik, more than anyone. After the dagger fiasco and the truly Epic fight that came after, Nik was forced to change. Without his way of punishing/silencing his family he was forced to work through his issues with them, causing several other legendary squabbles. He'd come a long way, they all had, but he still had a ways to go.
"My duty is to Klaus! To the new order." Greta snapped at Elena, bringing them back to the present. Aailyahed rolled her eyes.
"Fangirl." She muttered, making Elijah chuckle and Klaus shoot her a smug look, stepping into the light again.
"Glad to know I still have a dance partner." He said with a small smirk. All three women turned to him, scared. "Hello my lovelies, shall we begin?" Klaus turned to Greta, running his thumb over the moonstone. "I've spent five hundred years chasing this. I hate to part with it." He said, giving Greta a warning look before handing it over. The young witch took it with a confident grin.
"The moon is at its apex, do you remember what you need to do?"
"I remember." With that, Greta dropped the stone into the altar, making sparks fly. Elijah and Aailyah inched closer, watching curiously as the young witch started to chant.
"Everything I did… I was just trying to help Tyler!" The blonde werewolf moaned in pain.
"Are you Jules?" Elena asked, remembering the stories Caroline had told her of her capture.
"I didn't want him to be alone." Jules groaned.
"Shall we?" Klaus asked, approaching her circle. Her circle of fire went out and her eyes glowed amber. Klaus' flashed gold as well and Jules launched forward, attacking him. He managed to overpower her quickly and slammed her to the floor, ripping her heart out of her chest. He brought it to the altar and squeezed, dripping her blood over the stone and watching it sizzle. "Does that mean it's working?" He asked cautiously, glancing up at his witch.
"It's working." Greta assured, returning to chanting as Klaus approached the Rose's circle.
"Hello love." He said with a sharp grin, making the terrified girl flinch, crawling backwards, as far away from him as she possibly could.
"Please, please, no." She begged, pressing back against the barrier, uncaring of the flames singing her.
"Sorry love, nothing personal." Klaus chuckled, before pausing. "Well, I don't remember inviting you to the party." He said suddenly, turning and glancing up the cliff. Elenas breath caught, seeing Stefan staring down at them.
"I'm here to talk." Stefan called, glancing at Elena before glaring down at Klaus.
"Very well, then." Klaus began, rushing up the side of the cliff to meet him, Elijah by his side. "What can we do for you, Mr. Salvatore." He asked.
"Elena said you have a magic potion that will bring her back to life." Stefan said doubtful, glaring at the unfamiliar vampires. The day Elena went missing, Rose appeared on their doorstep, obviously compelled, and explained what happened, and what was next. She'd run then, straight back to her captors, and they'd been unable to stop her or find her after. They were horrified, but there was nothing they could do. Bonnie tried every tracking spell she could find, and they'd searched all of Mystic Falls and woods around it, trying to find Elena, to no avail. After Aailyah freed Stefan from the cave, they'd tried to call Kathrine, banking on her lingering feelings for Stefan, but she'd refused to help. 'I just got off Klaus' shit list, I'm not getting back on it to help Elena of all people.' Kathrine laughed. Elena had called them the day after her operation and begged them not to do anything stupid.
"Stupid like handing ourselves over to a psychopath or stupid like saving you from certain death?" Damon snarked, glaring at his phone furiously.
"They promised me they have a way to bring me back to life, Damon, I have to trust that."
"Right, you should always trust the people who are trying to kill you."
"You're all still alive, aren't you? They're keeping their end of the bargain, and I'm keeping mine. Leave it alone, Damon."
They couldn't trust Elena's life to people planning to kill her. They'd scoured Emily's grimoire and eventually found a revival spell. The only catch was, to save Elena's life they had to end someone else, and John insisted it be him. All Stefan could do at this point was pray to god that their plan worked, because there was no way they could compete with three Originals.
"We do. She'll wake in a few hours."
"If it works." Stefan snarked.
"It will." Elijah swore.
"Why are you here, Stefan?" Klaus demanded. "We're on a bit of a tight schedule here."
"You're about to kill my girlfriend-"
"Temporarily." Klaus interrupted.
"-I don't want her to die alone. I won't interfere, but I can't let her die alone." Stefan insisted. In the valley below then, Elena was trying to comfort Rose.
"It'll be alright Rose. I- it'll only hurt for a minute." Elena whispered, tears in her eyes, trying to find something to comfort the vampire. She was going to die, they all knew it. What could anyone say to make that better? A few feet away, Aailyah signed impatiently, and checked the time on her phone. "I'm sorry, are we not dying quick enough for you?" Elena snapped, glaring at her.
"To be honest, no. Unless we finish in time, all this will be pointless. We'll have to kill you all over again, and I'll be stuck in this dreary little town for even longer." Aailyah snarked, not taking her eyes off her phone.
"You're sick."
"Don't bother Elena. You can't reason with monsters." Rose spat, life returning to her eyes. Aailyah smirked sardonically, flashing her fangs, dark black veins creeping under her eyes.
"On the contrary, I think we've been perfectly reasonable. Everything that is happening to her could've been prevented if she'd done what she should've a thousand years ago and came to us when Katerina appeared at her door. I think it's rather fitting that she be part of the ritual that she prevented all those years ago."
"That ritual that was meant to kill Kathrine? Your best friend?"
"Had Katerina stayed, she would've gotten the same potion you had, and she'd've woken up the next morning perfectly human."
"You know she's using you right? She knows you would protect her from Klaus. She will leave as soon as she gets the chance." Elena taunted. Aailyah arched an eyebrow, unimpressed.
"Of course she was. You don't forgive someone who massacres your family just because they say sorry. She's not you, Elena. How many times has Damon killed Jeremy, exactly?" Elena snarled at her, furious, and she chuckled. "Neither Kathrine or I started our friendship with pure intentions, but after five hundred years of being the only consistency in her life, it's hard not to get close."
"So basically long distance stockholm syndrome?" Rose sniped, shaking her head. "You're heartless. Innocent people are dying tonight and you don't care."
"Innocent people die every night. As for being heartless, I prefer to think of it as doing anything to keep my family happy."
"Klaus you mean? Honestly I'm surprised you didn't marry him. I bet you'd toss your firstborn into a fire if he asked." Rose scoffed derisively. "You always like to think you're in charge, but really, you're Klaus' bitch." There was a furious snarl, and suddenly Elijah and Klaus were there. Not caring about the flames, Elijah lunged through the fire and grabbed the vampire by the throat, slamming her to the ground.
"You best watch your tongue, lest I tear it out." He growled.
"Elijah!" Klaus warned, fearing he'd kill the vampire. "Restrain yourself." He met Elijah's blazing brown eyes and they had a silent conversation before Elijah dropped the vampire and stood, wiping his hands on his pants like he had touched something filthy.
"Make her suffer." Elijah demanded, walking quickly through the flames to Aailyah and wrapping his arms around her.
"Oh, I intend to." Klaus growled. With a wave of his hand the circle fell and he lunged toward Rose. Elena watched, shocked. During her time with the Mikaelsons, she'd hurled every insult under the sun at them, and none of them had cared at all. Now, Klaus and Elijah looked furious, and Aailyah, who'd always seemed untouchable, was visibly shaken, looking smaller than she ever had before while Elijah held her. Elena's eyes widened, putting the pieces together.
"You had a baby." She whispered. Aailyah jolted, locking eyes with her double before quickly sliding a mask into place. She didn't answer, turning away to watch Nik drive a stake through Rose's heart. Elena turned away as well, jolting when she realised Stefan was here. "Stefan?" Elena asked. He gave her a heartbroken smile.
"Whatever happens, you won't be alone. I'll be here with you." Eyes watering, Elena gave him a grateful smile as he stood near her circle, before glancing at the Originals. Seeing they weren't paying attention, watching Klaus drip blood over the moonstone, she turned back to Stefan. 'Are they gonna kill them?' She mouthed silently. Stefan nodded and she did the same. They both tensed as Klaus turned to them, walking towards her circle. Unable to stop himself, Stefan stepped in front of her protectively.
"You are far too predictable, Mr. Salvatore." Klaus sighed, rushing forward and snapping his neck.
"No! Stefan!" Elena cried, watching him fall to the floor, lifeless.
"It's time." Klaus offered her a hand as her barrier disappeared. Elena ignored it, standing by herself and walking past him to the altar. "She's got fire." Klaus said with a smirk, trying to get a reaction from his sister-in-law. Aailyah offered him a weak smile, mind obviously far away. Elijah ran his hands up and down her arms, sharing a concerned look with Klaus. Promising himself he'd talk to her later, he followed Elena to the altar. He caught Elenas chin, turning her to meet his eyes. "Thank you, Elena." He said sincerely. The doppelganger glared at him defiantly.
"Go to hell." Elena spat. Stefan came too just in time to see Klaus sink his teeth into Elenas throat, draining the life out of her. He dropped her body to the ground as his eyes turned amber, dark veins underneath.
"No!" Stefan screamed as the fire at the altar went dark. Elijah and Aailyah watched as Niklaus stumbled towards them, limbs moving awkwardly.
"I can feel it. It's happening." He whispered, staring up at the full moon. He screamed in agony as his bones cracked, shifting under his skin. Suddenly, Klaus, Elijah, and Aailyah were thrown through the air by an invisible force, landing far away from Elena. Bonnie entered the clearing, chanting loudly with a blaze of fire following her. Greta raised a hand to attack, only to have her neck snapped by Damon, before he grabbed Elenas corpse and left. Bonnie's nose bleed as she screamed in Latin, struggling to keep all three Originals down. Stefan recovered just as she collapsed, catching Bonnie when she fell unconscious and fleeing quickly as the vampires struggled to their feet. Klaus fell again as his bones broke over and over again.
"Should we go after them?" Aailyah asked, staring after the Salvatores.
"No, Miss Gilbert will wake and they will have no reason to bother us. Right now, Niklaus needs us." Elijah said, watching his brother. Aailyah nodded slowly, still lost in thought. Eliajah sighed, taking her hand in his. "Alli." She glanced at him as he stepped closer. "What's on your mind?" Aailyah bit her lip.
"Rose."
"Do not think for a moment what she said is true. No one loved our boy like you did."
"I'd say you loved him just as much." Aailyah said with a small, heartbroken smile.
Aailyah sat near the fire, mending one of Elijah's tunics and keeping a close eye on her nearby son. He was only one and already a troublemaker, much to Kol's delight. Aailyah watched Daniel pull himself up to grab a shirt sleeve hanging over the side of the table and pull, sending a small pile of laundry over the edge and on top of himself.
"Daniel, no." Aailyah signed, pulling her giggling boy out of the pile of fabric and propping him on her hip as she picked their clothes up. Her son giggled unrepentantly, grabbing a fistful of hair and tugging. Aailyah winced and quickly detangled his sticky fingers, sitting with him on the floor. "No, Daniel. We don't pull hair." She said firmly. Daniel stared at her for a moment but was quickly distracted by the silver necklace Elijah had given her. Aailyah smiled when he grabbed at it, babbling at it mindlessly as it shined in the sun streaming through the window. They both glanced up when the door opened and Elijah strode in, setting his weapons on a nearby shelf, well out of his son's reach.
"Da-da!" Daniel squealed, quickly crawling toward his father, who beamed and scooped him up.
"Danny, were you good for your Mother today?" Elijah asked, kissing his wispy brown hair.
"Never." Aailyah said with a fond smile, walking over to Elijah and kissing him gently. "Welcome home." She breathed against his lips. Daniel let out a furious squeak when he realised he no longer had his parents' attention, yanking at his fathers collar. Elijah chuck;ed, pulling away from his wife to glance down at his son.
"You're not helping your case, little one." He murmured, bouncing his boy gently. His son giggled, chewing on his fingers, and Elijah smiled helplessly, kissing his head. "I missed you too, Daniel."
"Don't think on it for a moment my love." Elijah whispered, kissing her hair. Aailyah let out a shaky breath but quickly pulled herself together as Klaus neared the end of his transformation. They stepped back slightly, not wanting to get bit. It wouldn't kill them, but it would hurt, and they weren't sure how much control Nik had. Klaus, now a wolf, simply sniffed at them before taking off into the forest, letting out an ear splitting howl. Elijah and Aailyah followed.
A.N. Jenna lives! And Rebeckah and Enzo might be a thing! Like I said, I won't be focusing on them much until I start the Originals, where they will be much more significant. As for the Mystic Falls gang, you won't see much of them or their day to day lives going forward unless the Originals are involved, since this is mostly from Aaliyah's POV. Let me know what you think!