Alexandria Gilbert

by JChavz95

Vampires, witches, werewolves and doppelgangers, oh my! All Alexa Gilbert wanted was a quiet life, a free drink and to party the night away with her friends without being nagged by her twin sister Elena, but the arrival of the mysterious Salvatore brothers may just ruin those plans... Starts Season 1, Episode 1, Slowburn Damon/OC, Now on Season 4!

52. Ordinary People

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs

A/N: Flashback chapters are always annoying to write, but I think I did a good job with this one. It gave me the opportunity to explore some new relationships and to be slightly nicer to Stefan haha

XXX

It took us a couple of days to actually get Elena down to the cave. Despite her blatant curiosity, she was obsessed with doing the 'Lexi Method' of fixing Stefan. It was practically impossible to get her out of that cell. It took a combined effort of myself, Jenna and Damon to get her to leave. And of course, once she was out, I had no intention of letting her back in.

To compromise, I promised to show her what we had found in the cave. Ric had spent the past couple of days puzzling over it all, trying to piece it all together. I had been kind of helpful, even if it was just taking photos on my phone and showing them to Damon while he lurked at the entrance.

The mere concept of the secret tunnels intrigued my sister. She spent the entire time that we were walking just looking around at them. And that just gave me the perfect opportunity to have some fun…

"So, the Lockwoods really have no idea that these tunnels are underneath their property?" Elena asked, shining her light up towards the ceiling.

I exchanged a smirk with Ric while my sister was distracted. He shook his head at me, but played along anyway. I did love the way he indulged my childishness at times.

"Careful where you shine that thing," he sighed as I started to bounce in excitement. "Bats hate the lights."

Ellie froze, instantly moving the light of the torch down from the ceiling, "Wait, what?"

I watched in anticipation as the shadows behind my sister began to move. Damon gave me a wink before whispering, "Elena!" He waited until she jumped and spun around, the torchlight shining on his face before he raised his voice, "Boo!"

I burst out laughing as Elena stumbled back in shock, holding a hand to her chest, "Ah! God, Damon!"

The look on her face, on my god it was so funny. I had desperately wanted to do something to scare my sister while we were in the tunnels, and Damon was more than happily to indulge my whims. I was laughing so hard that I started hiccupping.

Elena gave me a dirty look while Damon chuckled, "Scaredy-cat!"

"Oh wow, that was perfect," I just about gasped out, holding my hand up for a high-five. My boyfriend shook his head at me, but I could see a smile tugging at his lips as he returned my high-five. Instead of letting go of my hand, he tangled his fingers with mine, tugging me close.

"Just ignore him," Ric sighed as Elena turned to face him with a disgruntled look. "In fact, ignore both of them. That's what I try to do."

"Don't be like that, Ric," I pouted, wrapping myself around Damon. "You thought that it was funny too."

The hunter rolled his eyes while Ellie shook her head, glancing back over at us, "So, you really can't get in?"

"No," Damon confirmed as Ric started to lead the way again. "Seems even the ancient Lockwoods were anti-vampire."

"What do you mean, ancient?" my sister frowned, a thoughtful look on her face.

Damon gestured for her to follow Ric, "See for yourself."

Ellie nodded before turning around, heading towards the cave. I could practically feel her mind spinning, trying to piece it all together.

"Do you think all werewolves are born hating vampires?" I mused aloud as we followed her. Damon's thumb stroked the back of my hand as I relaxed into his side. "Even if they don't realise it at the time?"

"It does feel that way," my vampire agreed absently. I glanced up to see him looking down at me, a distracted look on his face. He carefully gripped my chin, tilting my head back. I didn't even think about fighting it, eagerly meeting his lips. Even though we had been together for a while by now, his kisses still made me feel excited. And I really hoped that I never lost that excitement.

"Hurry up, you two!" my twin shouted down the tunnel, and I sighed.

"Damn that woman," I grumbled as I pulled back. "Just cos she isn't kissing anyone, doesn't mean that she gets to interrupt everyone else's kisses."

Damon chuckled, pressing a kiss to my forehead, "Don't worry, she isn't always around."

"Is that a promise?" I smirked, wiggling my eyebrows as we came to stop at the entrance to the cave.

"Cheeky," my vampire shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. "You'd best go in before they send out a search party."

"Ugh, I suppose you're right," I rolled my eyes before crossing the invisible barrier. "Hey Jenna."

My aunt glanced up and gave me a small smile before she went back to examining the pictures. Ever since we brought her down here, she had been fascinated by them. Jenna had always loved this sort of thing, and it gave her an opportunity to really get involved and help.

My sister was glancing around the walls, examining each of the drawings, "What is all this?"

"Well, as far as I can tell, it's a story," Ric answered, resuming his normal position in the center of the room. He fiddled with the lamp that he had brought down, providing some additional lighting. "In simple, archaeological terms; it's a really, really old story." He shone his flash light at a picture, "That right there, is the moon cycle." He flashed it over to another one nearby, "A man, a wolf."

"A werewolf," Ellie realised with a gasp.

"Yeah, it's the 'Lockwood Diaries: Pictionary-Style'," Damon pipped up from where he was leaning against the entrance. From where he was standing, he couldn't actually see the drawings. But I had helpfully shown him as much as I could, while describing the rest.

"I don't understand," Elena frowned, looking at the drawing. "I thought the Lockwoods came here with the original Founders in the 1860s."

"Maybe they lived close by," I suggested, leaning against the wall next to the entrance. I had seen these drawings multiple times, I didn't need to see them again. "And then they just hopped over when the other Founder's arrived."

"It is possible, but I don't know," Ric shrugged, his sharp eyes scanning the walls, looking for anything that he might have missed. "Maybe the Lockwoods did, but according to this wall, these werewolves have been here a lot longer than that."

"How long?" Elena asked as Jenna shooed her out of the way, adjusting the lighting.

"Long," Damon replied as I stuck my arm back through the entrance. He took my offered hand, tangling his fingers with mine. "It gets better. Show her, Ric."

The history teacher didn't need any extra prompting. He shone his flashlight at a different part of the wall, illuminating the carvings there. We had almost missed them in the dark. It was only when Jenna caught sight of them in the flash of a camera that we were able to find them. It was a list of names, carved into the wall.

"Names," Ric elaborated, his teacher voice coming out. "They're not native. They're written in Runic, a Viking script."

"Vikings?" Ellie repeated, sounding skeptical. Not that I could blame her. It was a bit of a mindfuck, seeing proof of Viking existence in Mystic Falls. But that was the life that we apparently lived.

The teacher hummed and nodded before flashing the light up to a specific name, "This name here, I translated it, and it reads Niklaus."

"Aka, Klaus the douchebag," I snorted, ignoring Jenna's exaggerated eyeroll.

Ric shook his head at me before shining the light at the other names, "And Elijah… and Rebekah."

Elena looked shocked as it clicked in her mind what we were showing her, "These are the names of the Original Family?"

"Insane, isn't it?" I agreed, thinking back to when we realised it. None of us were expecting that, but the more names that we translated, the more obvious that it became. The real question was, why did Mason lead us here?

"Carved into a cave that's been here since way before the founding of Mystic Falls," Ric nodded. "Or even the entire New World, for that matter."

Elena shook her head, stepping back, "Okay, this has gotta be one of Klaus' fakes."

"That's what I said," Damon spoke up. I had agreed with him. Klaus was sneaky and manipulative. And he was perfectly capable of creating something like this.

"It was a possibility," Jenna said, stepping forward to take the flashlight from Ric's hand. "But the last name on the wall made us think differently."

"What's the name?" Ellie asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Mikael," I answered while Jenna lit up the name on the wall.

"Mikael…" Ellie gasped, turning to look at us all. "Mikael, as in, the vampire hunter who knows how to kill Klaus?"

"Yep," Damon nodded, using his grip on my hand to tug me over to him. "I now like to call him 'Papa Original'."

XXX

Alaric and Jenna had taken a lot of photos of the wall, making sure to capture each little detail. While they got the photos printed, the rest of us retreated back to Ric's apartment. It had become the place to be when it came to training and examining the latest vampire hijinks. Jenna had wanted to keep it separate from our home, which could be somewhere that we could escape to in order to ignore all of this.

I sat on the counter while Damon helped Elena with her combat training. She had been working on building muscle and now that she was getting stronger, she was able to properly learn how to defend herself. My vampire had been teaching me the same so I thought I would let my sister have her lesson instead. She normally would have been taught by Ric, but sometimes, there was nothing that could be actual vampire experience.

They were still at it when Ric and Jenna arrived. They spread out the photos on the kitchen counter. I hadn't realised how many they had taken until they had covered the worktop. Jenna had even shooed me off of my seat in order to use the space.

Once he was able to see as many photos as he could, Ric stepped back. His sharp eyes scanned the images, his mind whirring with different options.

"These images tell a story," he mused aloud as I leant against Jenna's side. I could hear Elena grunting behind me as she tried to stake Damon. "To learn the story, you have to decipher these images."

"That's not gonna be easy," I shrugged, looking at the photos. "Some of these looks pretty damn weird."

"No, there's a pattern here," Ric shook his head before glancing over a with a smile. "Just think of it like code breaking. Once you know what you're looking for, it'll be easy."

"I was never any good at that," I laughed, as Damon disarmed Elena, twirling the stake around his fingers. "I always got Jeremy to do that part when we played spies."

"Sloppy!" Damon laughed as I glanced over my shoulder at them.

My sister narrowed her eyes at the vampire as she snapped, "Shut up! I'm new at this."

He rolled his eyes at her, "Alexa, come over here and show her how it's done."

"Yikes, putting me on the spot is not cool," I sighed, but walked over as requested. But before I did, I grabbed one of the stakes that was being used to prop up some of the photos. Damon didn't know that it was there, but since I had helped to spread out the photos, I did. Besides, Ric had weapons scattered all over the apartment, if it wasn't so helpful, it would be disturbing.

Damon passed me the stake, unaware of the one tucked into my back pocket, as I took my sister's place. I dodged to the left, slashing upwards with the stake. Damon grabbed my wrist, yanking me forward as he said, "'Ghost of Christmas Past' Mason Lockwood set up the cave and led us to a weapon that can kill Klaus."

My back slammed back against Damon's chest, one arm pinning me against him while the other yanked the stake from my grip.

"Yeah, but doesn't Mikael have a weapon?" Elena asked as I deliberately went limp in the vampire's arms. It was a trick that I had tried before. While it worked then, I wasn't sure if it would work again.

I slide sideways in his arms as he replied to my sister, "Yes. Which probably means the wall will lead us to Mikael, who we have already found… and lost."

I used the opportunity of Damon's relaxed grip to pull my backup stake from my back pocket. He yanked me back up and I felt his breath against my neck, "Got you."

"Got you too," I smirked softly, digging my stake into his side. If this was a real fight, it probably wouldn't have saved me. But it might have been enough of a distraction to give me a chance to get a kill shot. And that was all that I would need.

Damon laughed as he spun me around in his arms so that I was facing him, "Impressive. Where did you get that from?"

"Ric has so many scattered around that I just grabbed it," I shrugged, tucking the stake back into my pocket before reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck. "I remembered what you said. Vampires are fast, so I have to be sneaky."

My vampire looked impressed that I remembered his advice. I wasn't stubborn like my sister. I knew that if I had any chance of learning how to properly defend myself, I would have to listen to someone who had experience of doing so. And yeah, while Ric had survived as a vampire hunter, Damon knew how vampires thought. And training with him was fun. In between the actual serious learning, it was an opportunity to get my hands on his body. Not that I needed an excuse…

"These images, at the very least, might tell us what that weapon is," Ric shook his head. Elena leant against the counter, frowning down at the images.

"Then all we have to do is figure out what they mean," my sister shrugged as I rested my head against Damon's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around my waist, allowing me to relax against him.

"Fine, fine," Damon rolled his eyes, his fingers stroking my hip. "If I am being as irritatingly optimistic as you two are being, then how do you suppose we do that?"

"Well, if the story is about the Original Family living here," Ellie said, turning to face us. And I did not like the look on her face. It was one that often meant trouble for me. And for once, I wanted a trouble-free day. "Then we go straight to the source."

I knew that I didn't like the look on her face.

XXX

During school, Elena barely took her eyes off of Rebekah. She was itching to confront her about the drawings, but I had managed to persuade her to wait until school finished. If Rebekah did share her story with us, then we would need plenty of time to hear it. And the few minutes between classes was not going to be enough.

Once the final bell had rang, I was immediately abducted by my sister. She dragged me towards the cheerleading practice field. The female Original had managed to integrate herself in the team, becoming a favourite amongst the other girls. It was something that had Caroline seething, but there was nothing that she could do about it.

We saw Rebekah in the distance, laughing with the girls, but before my sister could approach her, I pulled her to a stop. Ellie glanced back at me with a frown and I sighed, "Look, try to be gentle with Rebekah, yeah? She doesn't do well with being pushed and we need to know what she knows, okay? I know you two have your issues, so just… chill, yeah?"

Ellie rolled her eyes but agreed, "I won't push her, I promise. I can handle Rebekah."

"As long as you're sure," I said doubtfully, but I knew that my idiot sister had already made up her mind on how she would approach this. "Because I really don't want to be pushing myself between the two of you."

"Lexa," my twin grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. "Trust me, it'll be fine."

I had no choice but to roll my eyes and give in, "Okay."

Elena smiled at me before tugging me forward, towards the blonde Original.

Rebekah was giggling with the girls before she stepped away from them. She took a deep breathing before performing an impressive set of flips. Despite the look of concentration on her face, you could see that the vampire was moving with ease. Damn, I really did wish that I could be that strong one day.

The Original came to a stop just in front of us. She took one look at my sister before rolling her eyes, "You! Goody."

"Rebekah, play nice," I scolded her lightly, shaking my head. "We've come in peace."

The blonde glanced over at me before shrugging, "Only because you're here, Alexa. So what do you want?"

"I was hoping that we could talk," Elena spoke up after glancing at me.

"About what?" Rebekah asked, resting a hand on her hip in a clear sign of attitude. "Stefan? Don't worry, I'm off of him until he starts treating me better. In fact, you should probably take a page out of my book, if I'm being honest."

I mean, she did have a point. But I knew that Elena would never do it. She had apparently made a point of not accepting any advice from Rebekah, even if was actually good advice. I had no idea why my sister hated the blonde so much, but I had a feeling that it was related to the younger Salvatore brother.

"Actually, I'd rather talk about this," Ellie retorted, pulling a photo from her bag. It was the one of Rebekah's name, written in Runic, carved into the wall. Rebekah froze the moment she saw the carving. I wonder how long it had been since she last saw it. "I'm curious why you and Klaus have spent a thousand years running from your father."

The blonde swallowed hard before gesturing to the rest of the cheer-squad behind her, "I should get back to the girls. Homecoming's right around the corner."

Rebekah turned around, clearly about to leave, when my sister spoke up, stopping her, "Well them, maybe we'll ask Mikael when we wake him."

"Stop dragging me into this," I hissed at my sister. "I'm here to keep the peace, that's it."

The Original paused before turning back around. She stepped closed to us, a fierce look on her face, "You're bluffing! You don't know where he is. No one does."

"So, then who's rotting in that old cemetery in Charlotte?" Elena retorted and I groaned.

"Next time you call me reckless, I'm going to bring up this moment," I rolled my eyes as I was completely ignored by the two girls. I knew that I was just there to keep the peace, but in order for me to do that, my idiot sister had to actually listen to me. I knew that it was something that she struggled to do when she was determined to get answers. But she wouldn't be able to get them if she got her head ripped off instead.

"If you wake Mikael, we are all doomed!" the Original hissed, sounding genuinely scared of the thought of us doing that. What had her father done to them for them to be that scared? Was he really that much of a monster?

"So then, tell me," Elena demanded and I placed a hand on her shoulder. She knew that Rebekah wouldn't give us any information right now. So why was she pushing it? She had already acknowledged that pushing wouldn't get her very far.

"Why do you want to know?" Rebekah snapped back, taking another step forward. I rolled my eyes and stepped in front of my sister. Just in case. Because these idiots would fight each other right in front of everyone. And that was the last thing that we needed.

"Why don't you want me to wake him?" my sister retorted, trying to get past me so that she could get right in the Original's face. I sighed and held her back.

"Why don't we both take a deep breath and calm down?" I suggested quietly. You knew that life was weird when I was the sensible and reasonable one. But these two, they just got under each other's skin.

Rebekah paused and stepped back, "I need to get back to the girls."

After a warning look from me, Elena let the Original go without trying to call her back. But in between all of the posturing, I did see that Rebekah was rattled by the mention of her father.

XXX

After her failed confrontation, Elena decided that we should head back to Ric's. With him and Jenna there, it was the natural place to regroup. I knew that Damon had gone to check on Stefan. He was the best one to do it, as Elena always got upset when she went to see him. My sister knew that this was the best way to help him, since we didn't actually have a way to kill Klaus right now, but it was hard. Despite her determination not to, my twin still loved Stefan. And seeing someone that you loved in that position was not easy.

In effort to distract herself, my sister forced me to check in with my vampire. She used the excuse that he was more likely to pick up to me than he was to her. And while that was true, it was annoying that I was the go-between.

"If Elena ever tries to pull the responsible twin card," I told my boyfriend, ignoring the dirty look from my twin. "Make sure that she remembers today. Because she was a reckless idiot and no one should let her forget it."

Ellie protested in the background while Damon chuckled, "You didn't get anything from Rebekah, then."

"Nah, but I knew that we wouldn't get it straight away," I shrugged as Elena opened the door to Ric's apartment. "But now we've gotten into her head and it's only a matter of time until she tells us. My main worry is how do I keep Elena patient until that happens, cos she is in full on plan mode, and that means that she will be unbearable until she gets her way." I paused before adding, "Even when she gets her way, she will be unbearable. Ugh, this is definitely not going to be fun for me."

"You think so?"

I nodded at Ric before settling down on the sofa to finish off my conversation, "Yep. It was obvious that she's scared of Mikael. Just like Klaus was that time you name dropped him. According to Elena the idiot, we just have to engage in a little 'mean girl' power struggle first. Which his just hilarious, cos the mean girl rules do not apply in this situation. Telling Rebekah that she looks fat in her jeans is not an appropriate way of handling this."

Damon laughed, "Just be careful. And make sure that she doesn't power struggle you into a wheelchair. Or a psychiatric unit."

"Aww, ain't you sweet?" I cooed before shrugging. "I'll be fine, she won't hurt me. And she won't risk our new friendship ending by ripping off Elena's head."

"Just don't put yourself in danger by interfering, I don't want you to get hurt. Even if it means that Rebekah puts Elena in her place."

"I won't get hurt, Day. But we need this to work. Killing Klaus is the only way to free Stefan from his compulsion. Which means that my sister will be happy and your brother won't be in danger of getting staked for saying something dickish," I sighed, seeing my sister glance over at me. "How is he, by the way?"

"Mmm, pasty and pouty," was the response, although you could hear the undercurrent of worry in his voice. Damon hated this more than anyone. He didn't feel that this was the right way to be dealing with Stefan's new diet and attitude. And I had to agree. But what could we do? We didn't have another way of dealing with it. And right now, Elena was determined to call the shots when it came to her ex-boyfriend. Even though, as his brother, Damon had more of a right. But he was content to let Elena deal with it for now. His main thing was keeping me away from Stefan. Not that I wanted to go and visit him.

"Lovely," I shook my head. "I'll keep you updated with what happens with Rebekah. Talk to you later."

"Be careful," Damon repeated before we ended the call.

I got up, tucking my phone into my pocket, before approaching the rest of the team, "So, Ellie, told them how much of a failure earlier was."

Elena gave me a dirty look before rolling her eyes, "Rebekah will come around. Not only does she feel the need to share her story and prove herself right, she wants you to like her."

"What does that to have to do with anything?" I frowned, fiddling with the edge of one of the pictures.

"Because she doesn't want you to be disappointed in her and stop being her friend," Ellie had a knowing tone in her voice as she spoke, and I shifted uncomfortably. I was pretty sensitive about my new friendship with the Original. Rebekah gave off the vibe that she needed to have a friend, someone that she could trust. And I didn't want that to be used against her. She was sweet, when we were alone. It was obvious that she had had a hard life, even though she had spent one thousand years as a vampire. A part of me wondered how much Klaus had made it hard for her.

"That doesn't mean that she will give in," I muttered, avoiding eye contact with my sister. "And even if she does, it won't be quick."

Ric agreed with me, "You're sure about that? I mean, a thousand-year-old vampire, I'm sure, has learned the art of patience."

I felt a buzz in my pocket and pulled out my phone. And immediately sighed. Damn, my sister had just been proven right. Which meant that she would be unbearable.

'Come over for a chat. Your sister can come too. Rebekah'

"In this situation," I groaned, holding up my phone so the others could see the Original's message. "Age has nothing to do with it."

"She's a thousand-year-old vampire, who's joined the cheerleader squad," Ellie immediately jumped on her opening, looking satisfied that everything was going the way that she wanted it. "There is a whole different set of rules at play here, Ric. We've got this."

XXX

Rebekah was back at the Boarding House. She had made herself comfortable there since she first declared that she would be staying with the Salvatore brothers. I didn't blame her really, she wasn't expecting to spend long in Mystic Falls, and then her brother ditched her. It was a dick move on his part, really. And there weren't really any nice hotels in the area. Since she had spent 90 years in a box, she had never learnt the foreclosure trick either.

Classical music was playing as we entered the ancient house. I knew that the Original was not fond of the music of the day, and had taken a liking to the classics. I think a part of it was because this was the music that she was used to hearing.

It only took a few seconds for Rebekah to appear. She walked into the foyer with a champagne bottle in her hand, accompanied with a few champagne flutes. Well, that certainly wasn't what I was expecting when she summoned us over.

"Hey," she greeted us cheerfully, placing the bottle into an ice filled bucket. "What's up?"

It was a good brand. And I couldn't help but wonder if she had liberated it from Damon's stock, or if she had compelled it out of some poor shmuck. It was a weird thing to concentrate on. But when one was feeling as stressed as I was, it was something easy to think about. I knew that Elena would push Rebekah's buttons today, it was just something that she did. It was that little bit of jealousy that she refused to acknowledge coming out to play.

"You invited us over?" Elena replied slowly, exchanging a look with me. "To talk?"

Rebekah nodded before raising her voice, "Alright girls, have at it!"

To my shock, and Elena's horror, six girls walked into the room. They stepped in unison, all of them garbed in various dresses. They were the sort of dress that you would wear to a homecoming dance. All of them looked expensive, and were a variety of colors. I had to admit they looked good, even if the way that she was showing them off was dodgy.

"Okay, now twirl please," the Original ordered the obviously compelled girls. They did as commanded and twirled, showing off the dresses. I had to concentrate on looking at the dresses, as the look in the girls' eyes unnerved me. It was a bit too desperate and if I focused on that, then I would want to go and save them. But there was no way that Rebekah would let that happen. These girls weren't going to leave until they were allowed to.

Elena shook her head in disgust, and looked at the smiling blonde, "You compelled your own private runway show?"

Rebekah shrugged, clearly not seeing anything wrong with what she's done, "I need a Homecoming dress. So, what do you think? Pick one. You too, Alexa."

I liked the look of the red one, and I knew that Rebekah wouldn't let the girls go without getting an answer. It was one of those situations where you just had to play along. To keep everyone safe But my sister obviously didn't get the memo.

"I'm not here to help you shop," she scoffed, shaking her head. "I'm here to talk about why you don't want me to wake up Mikael."

Rebekah's eyes narrowed in displeasure before she rushing over to the closest girl. Gripping her head, she yanked her head to the side before the veins beneath her eyes rippled and her fangs extended.

"I said 'pick one', Elena," the blonde growled, keeping the poor girl held in an iron grip.

"Oh, for," I shook my head before declaring, "The red one. We both like the red one."

Now that she had an answer, Rebekah let the girl go. Despite being compelled, you could see her trembling in her heels. All of them looked scared, and I couldn't help but wonder what Rebekah had done to them before we arrived. Did they know what was happening to them?

"There," the Original rolled her eyes. "That wasn't so hard, was it? Thank you, Alexa, for picking." She turned to the compelled humans, "Go away. Remember nothing."

As one, they all turned and left the room. It didn't take long for the clicking of their heels to fade into the distance. I hoped that they got home okay. I didn't recognize them, but that didn't mean that they weren't local.

Once they had disappeared from view, Rebekah walked over to the table. She picked up the bottle, pouring champagne into the glasses. Rebekah picked one up for herself before offering the other two to us. Elena immediately refused, still looking slightly disgusted. But I accepted mine. I knew that we would have to play along in order for Rebekah to feel inclined to tell us anything.

And I just didn't want to risk my friendship with the blonde. Despite her actions just now, she wasn't a bad person. It was that cavalier attitude towards humans that older vampires tended to exhibit. And she didn't hurt them, not that we know of. The blonde could be sweet when she wanted to, and she didn't do well being alone.

After Ellie's refusal, the Original stepped closer to us, her voice going low, "You do not threaten me. You'll learn what I allow you to learn. Is that clear?"

My sister nodded and the blonde stepped back, looking satisfied. She downed the glass in her hand before picking up my sister's rejected one.

"Now, let's go somewhere a bit more interesting," she said, sounding happy again. "It's a bit dull down here, isn't it?"

Without waiting for a reply, Rebekah walked past us, towards the stairs. I had no idea what she meant by somewhere more interesting. But the only way that we would find out is by following her. With a sigh, I grabbed my sister's hand and tugged her after me.

XXX

Rebekah led us up to Stefan's room with an excited look on her face. I got the feeling that this was the first time that she had actually been up here. She opened the room, placing her glass to the side in order to be able to properly explore. I followed her in, sitting down on the bed with a sigh. But my stubborn sister stayed by the doorway.

"How fun is this?" Rebekah smiled as she opened the first drawers that she found, rooting through the contents. I shook my head; my sister was not going to take this well. She had always been fiercely protective over Stefan's room. Even more so after he left with Klaus at the beginning of the summer. It was like this room was a reminder of Stefan, and if she was to spend the night at the Boarding House, then she would stay in here.

"We shouldn't be here…" Elena said slowly, looking reluctant to actually enter the room. I knew that she hadn't been up here since Stefan returned to town. Whenever she needed something, like the journals, she sent me or Damon up. But now Rebekah wasn't giving her much of a choice. And it must be painful for her. Rebekah was an old girlfriend, she had loved Stefan, and now she was rooting around his private property.

"Course we should!" the Original contradicted sharply, not even bothering to look up, but you could hear the playful edge in her voice. "Come on, like you've never wanted to snoop." She turned around, holding up Stefan's underwear. Which was something that I never wanted to see in my life. I cleared my throat and looked away. "Boxer briefs. A lot has changed since the twenties."

"What did people wear as underwear back then?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. Learning historical facts from somewhere who had actually lived it was a lot more interesting than reading it from a book. And you got more of the little details.

Before she could answer, my sister snapped, "Are you gonna root through his stuff all night or are you gonna start to tell us your story?"

Well, that was rude.

"Ah, you really are no fun, no wonder everyone calls Alexa the fun twin," Rebekah groaned, rolling her eyes as she turned to face her. "What do you want to know?"

Ellie sighed and finally walked into the room. Her discomfort was obvious to me so, like the good sister I was, I got off the bed to walk over to her. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze. Despite her desire to stay strong in front of Rebekah, my twin rested some of her weight against me, accepting my comfort.

"Well, Elijah said that your father was a landowner in Europe," Ellie started, looking relieved now that it looked like Rebekah was finally going to give us some answers. "How did you guys end up here?"

The Original had found another table to root through, looking at the papers and trinkets that were scattered across it. She didn't look up as she answered, "My parents had just started a family, when a plague struck their homeland. They lost a child to it. They wanted to escape and protect their future family from the same fate."

"That makes sense," I mused, shrugging when my sister glanced at me. "But how did you end up here, in this part of the world? I didn't think that it had even been discovered yet."

Rebekah laughed, "You are right, it hadn't been discovered by anyone in your history books. But my mother knew the witch Ayana, who heard from the spirits of a mystical land where everyone was healthy… bless by the gifts of speed and strength. That led my family here, where we lived amongst those people."

Oh wow, so werewolves were even older than vampires. Didn't really expect that. But really, nothing should be surprising me at this point. No wonder Mason was able to find that cave, it probably called to werewolves or some stupid shit like that.

Elena thought for a moment before frowning, "The werewolves?"

The Original shrugged, wandering over to the desk by the window, "To us, they were just our neighbors. My family leaved in peace with them for over 20 years, during which time my family had more children, including me."

I wonder how many children actually belonged to that family. I knew that they tended to have a lot of children, due to infant mortality rates and just cos unprotected sex does lead to children. But how many were actually part of the Original Family? We knew about Elijah and Rebekah and Klaus, but how many others were there? And were they assholes too?

"You make it sound so normal," Ellie said thoughtfully. She was probably thinking how the Original could have lived a normal family, considering what they had done over the years. But everyone started somewhere, even Klaus. People weren't born evil, something happens to them, for them to go down that path.

"It was," Rebekah said softly, looking out the window. "Once a month, our family retreated into the caves beneath our village. The wolves would howl through the night and by morning, we'd return home." A sad tone entered her voice, "One full moon, Klaus and my youngest brother, Henrik, snuck out to watch the men turn into beasts. That was forbidden. Henrik paid the price. Niklaus carried his body back into the village, calling for our mother. But she was powerless to help him, and the spirits wouldn't do anything either. He died in front of us, in our mother's arms."

She was silent for a moment, and neither of us dared to break it. This was something that we didn't expect. Their family had lost two children, one before Rebekah was even born. And from the sound of it, the blonde had seen her youngest brother's body.

Rebekah shook her head, "And that was the beginning of the end of peace with our neighbors. And one of the last moments my family had together as humans."

XXX

The tense moment was broken by the buzzing of my phone.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry," my hands shook slightly as I tried to pull my phone out of my pocket. I wasn't expecting to get any phone calls, otherwise I would have put my phone on silent.

"You better get that," Rebekah shrugged, turning away from us. "That'll be Damon checking up on you."

Well, she was right. Damon's name lit up the screen of my phone. I quickly left the room, answering his call as I walked down the stairs that led to Stefan's room.

"Heya," I answered, sitting down on the bottom step.

"Hey!" my boyfriend replied loudly, making me wince and pull the phone away from my ear slightly. Music played in the background, doing its best to drown out his voice. Was he at a bar? Not that I minded, but a bit rude that I didn't get an invitation.

"Day, where are you?" I laughed, shaking my head as he berated someone for their choice of drink.

"No idea," he replied and I snorted. "But I'm pretty sure that I'm overdressed. So, you and Elena still standing?"

"For now," I shrugged, leaning back against the stairs. "Although there was a tense moment at the start, but things seem to have settled now." I paused and squinted, listening intently. "And it doesn't sound like they're killing each other without me there either, which is nice."

Before I could say anything else, I heard an unexpected voice on the other end of the phone.

"I'll be at the bar."

"Woah, was that Stefan?" I asked, quickly getting up and moving away from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah, I kinda went off a bit," Damon winced as I let out a groan, resting my head in my hands. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"That's not the bit that I'm worried about," I mumbled, knowing that he could hear me. "I just know that Elena will find some way to blame me for this. And she'll yell at me until she can yell at you."

"Just pretend that you don't know," Damon suggested and I considered it. I mean, it could work. And there was no way that she would know that Damon told me. As far as she was concerned, Damon didn't actually tell me everything.

"I'll give it a go," I sighed, shaking my head. "Just tell me that you know what you're doing."

"I know what I'm doing," he repeated softly. "I've got to go now, but be careful. Rebekah is unpredictable, and Elena doesn't seem to be acting sensibly right now."

"I'll be careful," I promise, slowly walking back over to the stairs. "You be careful too."

I stayed downstairs for a few moments longer before sighing and shaking my head. Well, I really ought to go and make sure that they hadn't actually killed each other. Both of them were capable of being sneaky if they needed to be. Although I really did think that there would be a lot of yelling if something did happen.

I walked up the stairs and back into Stefan's room. Elena was lurking near the doorway, giving Rebekah dirty looks. The Original had managed to find Stefan's journal stash, and was flicking through them.

"Well, it's a relief that you didn't kill each other," I remarked loudly as I entered. "Damon feels the same, although he's obviously more relieved that I haven't been eaten yet."

"Oh please," Rebekah scoffed, laying down on the bed, a journal in hand. "I wouldn't eat you, Alexa. Elena? Well, we'll see…"

"Oh play nice, you two," I rolled my eyes, sitting down in the chair next to the desk. "It's very tedious having to be the sensible one. And I really don't like it."

"Haven't you always been the sensible one?" the blonde asked curiously as she looked over.

I gave her a sympathetic look, "Oh you sweet darling. I was never the sensible one. But then Elena decided that being reckless was a lot more fun. And if we were both like that, then we would be royally screwed." I sighed dramatically, "So I had to step into her shoes. It's been very annoying."

"Stop being silly, Alexa," Ellie rolled her eyes as she came up to stand behind me. "Even when I'm apparently being reckless, you tend to join in."

"A, there's no apparently about it," I scoffed, shaking my head. "And b, if I do decide to be reckless too, then it's normally because I have Damon around to bail me out."

"Does he do that a lot?" Rebekah asked, placing the journal to the side for a moment.

"More than I'm happy with," I snorted with a shrug. "But since I'm normally making sure that this one doesn't get herself killed, there's not really a lot that I can do about it." I ignored my sister's dirty look as I leant forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "Can I just say, I'm sorry for what happened to your family. Losing your brother sucks, and I'm sorry that you went through that."

Rebekah went quiet for a moment, looking down at the blanket. I don't think that she was expecting that. I wasn't really expecting to say it, if I was being honest. But it just felt like the right thing to say.

"Thank you," the Original replied softly, looking up. She looked so young, which was a weird thing to think, but she suddenly looked seventeen, and that ancient air that she normally had was gone. "You have a younger brother, don't you?"

"Jeremy," I nodded.

"Has anything ever happened to him?"

"Well, Katherine killed him once. He was wearing his magical ring that brought him back. But those few hours before he came back, they were among the most horrific hours that I've ever lived through," I glanced over at my sister. "The only times that could compete were when Ellie was in her coma after her accident and when we were waiting for her to come back after the sacrifice."

Rebekah nodded, picking up the journal as she cleared her throat, "I'm sorry that you had to go through that."

XXX

Things were quiet after that. I moved so that I was sitting on the desk and Ellie took my seat. Rebekah had occupied herself by reading through the journal that she had chosen. I had watched as my sister's patience slowly waned. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, but she eventually snapped, "Did you get your fill of snooping yet? Can we get on with the story?"

The Original rolled her eyes, throwing the journal to the side as she got off the bed. I could see that she had no intention of giving my sister what she wanted as she walked over to the nightstand. The blonde picked up a framed photo of Stefan and Elena. It was taken before the sacrifice drama took over our lives.

"Honestly, I don't get you two as a couple," she sniffed, placing it back down with a thud. I could see that her comment had gotten under my sister's skin.

"Why would you?" Elena snapped, crossing her arms. "You don't know anything about who he really is."

Rebekah narrowed her eyes as she walked over to us, "I know exactly who he is. He's a vampire. We're a predatory species." She leant down, getting right in my twin's face. "We don't have time to care about humans and their silly little lives."

I slid off the desk and placed a hand on my sister's shoulder. Rebekah glanced up at me before standing up and moving away. I carried on standing, placing myself between the Original and my sister.

"Is that why you did that runway show earlier?" Ellie asked, sounding so brave now that I was so obviously protecting her. "Cos you don't care about the Homecoming dance?" Rebekah stayed silent, keeping her back to us. Well, that hit a nerve. And things were going so well. My sister scoffed and shook her head, standing up, "You know what, we're just gonna go."

"You haven't even heard half the story," the Original protested, turning around.

"And you are not going to tell it," Ellie rolled her eyes, grabbing my hand. "You're just bored and looking for someone to push around. Find someone else to play with, maybe you can compel yourself a friend. Because I won't let you treat my sister like that."

Ellie took barely a step before Rebekah spoke up, "The necklace wasn't Stefan's to give. It belonged to the Original Witch."

I could see the smile form on my sister's face before she turned around to face the Original, "The one who put the hybrid curse on Klaus."

"Not just the hybrid curse," the blonde shook her head. "She's the one who turned us into vampires. Henrik's death broke them. Their desperation to protect their remaining children overrode any and all sense that they had. For my mother, all that mattered to her was that she didn't lose anyone else. I listened to them beg Ayana for her help, for her to cast the spell that my father wanted. But she refused, claimed that it was a crime against nature."

"A crime against nature?" I frowned, exchanging a look with my sister. "But surely she must have said yes, cos you guys are, you know, vampires."

Rebekah smirked, "I'm thirsty. Do you want a drink?"

With that said, she walked past us and down the stairs. We watched her leave with wide eyes before rushing after her. It took barely any time to catch up with the vampire. It was almost as though she was deliberately going slow, to let us catch up. Maybe she was actually enjoying tell her story. I can't imagine that she's had a chance to tell it to anyone over the years.

"So vampirism was a form of protection?" Ellie asked as we walked down the main staircase. I let Elena walk next to the blonde while I walked behind them. It made me feel better to have them both in my sight.

"What else would it be?" Rebekah frowned, glancing over at us. There was really only one way to answer that question. And I could tell that Elena didn't really want to say it. So, since I was the one who was least likely to get ripped apart, I did.

"Well, a curse, obviously," I shrugged and my sister gave me a look. "What, there's no nice way of saying that. And I know that you were thinking it too. So don't give me that."

The Original shook her head, "My parents only saw it as a way of keeping their children alive."

"Yeah, but why stay, if they were so afraid of the werewolves?" Elena asked, looking like she was thinking hard. "Why not… leave?"

"Pride," Rebekah answered simply as we reached the bottom of the stairs. "My father didn't want to run anymore. He wanted to fight and be superior to the wolves. Where they could bite, we had to bite harder. Where they had speed, we had to be faster. Agility, strength, sense. He wanted to live forever." The Original shrugged, "But Ayana would not help, she declared that this would be the makings of a plague. So my father turned to my mother, he said that it was in her hands to do this."

"In her hands?" Ellie frowned before I could. "How could she do anything?"

"Because my mother was also a witch," Rebekah answered and I let out a gasp of understanding. Oh dang. It made sense now. That's how the vampire curse was made. Their mom did it, when her witch friend wouldn't.

But it hadn't yet clicked for my sister, "What?"

"The witch of the Original Family," Rebekah rolled her eyes at her. "The Original Witch?"

The blonde carried on walking as my sister paused where she stood. There was a look of understanding on her face. That was one messed up family. Like for real. Their mom was a witch and she turned them all into vampires. Their father was hunting them. And betrayal was something that didn't seem to phase any of them. Like seriously, talk about fucked up.

XXX

Rebekah led us into the library, determined to find something to drink. Ellie was still processing what she just heard. I was just going with the flow for the time being, I would react to it all later. Sometimes, shit like this just took some time to digest. Especially since there was a lot to digest. It was a bit too much for my brain to handle. So I would focus on seeing how my sister was dealing with it. That was a lot easier for me.

The Original walked straight over to Damon's booze table and crouched down, looking through the shelves in the cupboard, "Where do they keep their best vintage?"

"It's right at the back," I answered, crouching down next to her. "What do you fancy? I think they have some wine tucked away back here."

I hadn't been this close to her before, well, not sober anyway. She had an expensive perfume on, but underneath it, I could smell that scent that I associated with all vampires. There was a subtle strength to her and I could feel an instinct buried deep telling me to stay away from her. It was one that I was used to ignoring. But at least my survival instincts weren't completely dead.

"Wine will do," Rebekah nodded, moving out of the way so I could reach to the back. I carefully pulled a bottle of red wine out and passed it over to the blonde. She smiled her thanks before we both stood up. I settled on the arm of the couch and glanced over at my sister.

Elena was still deep in thought, her mind whirring. I left her to it. Ellie knew what answers she wanted from Rebekah, my main job was to keep the peace and stop them from killing each other. It had gone surprisingly well so far, despite a few tetchy moments.

"But if your mother was a witch, then…" Ellie said slowly, trailing off when she didn't quite know how to gently ask what she wanted.

"Am I?" the Original finished for her before shrugging. "No, a witch is nature's servant; a vampire is an abomination of nature. You can either be one or the other, never both. My mother did this for us. She did not turn."

Oh wow, so they would have had to watch their mother die slowly, from old age? That's messed up. Did she even think about turning? Or did she love her magic too much? Even if it did sound like Mikael forced this upon them all, she still had a choice about turning.

"How did you turn?" Ellie prompted, coming over to stand next to me. I rested my head against her arm as I watched the blonde. She kept glancing over at us, looking away each time I caught her. I wonder if she had any sisters. If she enjoyed the casual intimacy that we shared. It was something that you couldn't do with your brother, they were too rough and tumble. And sisters quickly became uncool when you tried to hug them. If Rebekah was the only girl in a family of boys, it would explain a lot.

Rebekah sighed as she walked over to the fire, "She called upon the sun for life, and the ancient white oak tree, one of nature's eternal objects, for immortality. That night, my father offered us wine laced with blood. And then he drove his sword through our hearts."

My sister's shock matched my own. He killed his own kids to turn them? They must have been so scared. Did they know what was happening to them? God, this Mikael guy sounded like such a dick. If we didn't need him to take out Klaus, then I would have happily let him rot.

"He killed you?" Ellie whispered, reaching out to grab my hand. Our daddy issues were nothing compared to Rebekah's. He forced this curse upon them before killing his children. It was difficult to hear, and I knew what my sister was thinking about. Our parents, all of them, didn't want us dead. Even Isobel did everything she could to stop Klaus from killing Elena. But Mikael murdered all of his children in order to turn them.

"And he wasn't delicate about it either," Rebekah snorted softly, shaking her head. She gripped the neck of the bottle tightly before breaking it off. She threw the glass into the fire behind her, causing it to spark. "Nik was still with me when we awoke, I didn't know where the rest of my family was. Our father brought in one of the village girls, she was pliant and I know now that she had been compelled. How my father knew how to do that, I do not know. We had to drink more blood to complete the ritual, and that's what she was for. He cut open her wrist and ordered me to drink. But I couldn't do it, it went against every instinct in my body. Nik tried to intervene but our father pushed him away before forcing me to drink."

The Original's eyes fluttered shut as she remembered, "It was euphoric! The feeling of power was indescribable… but the witch Ayana was right about the consequences. The spirits turned on us, and nature fought back. For every strength, there would be a weakness. The sun became our enemy. It kept us indoors for weeks. And though my other found a solution, there were other problems. Neighbors who had opened their homes to us could now keep us out. The flowers at the base of the white oak burned, and prevented compulsion. And the spell decreed that the tree that gave us life could also take it away… so we burned it to the ground. But the darkest consequence was something that my parents never anticipated. The hunger. Blood had made us reborn, and it was blood that we craved above all us. We could not control it. And with that, the predatory species was born."

XXX

"Why did Mikael start hunting Klaus?" Elena asked quietly, breaking the silence. I never expected the birth of the vampire species to be because a mother wanted to protect her family. It was almost definitely going to be because of a spell, but I wasn't expecting that.

Rebekah shook her head and looked away from the fire, "When Nik made his first human kill, it triggered his werewolf gene. With that, he became my father's greatest shame."

Ellie nodded, "Yeah. Elijah told me this part of the story. Your mother had had an affair with one of the werewolf villagers. Klaus wasn't his son."

I gasped, having not been told this part before, "For real? Oh my god, that's so messed up. What happened?"

"She tried to make it right," the Original shrugged. "She put the hybrid curse on Nik to suppress his werewolf side, and then she turned her back on him. But Mikael's greatest weakness as a human was his pride. As a vampire, that was magnified. He went on a rampage and killed half the village. Then he came home and killed her."

"Oh my god," I whispered, itching to reach out and grab Rebekah's hand. But the blonde had her arms crossed, like she protecting herself from what she was saying. It must have been hard for her, reliving how her mother died. It was different, if she died from illness or old age, but being murdered by their father? That wasn't something that was easy to accept.

"He said she broke his heart, so he would break hers," Rebekah swallowed hard, glancing away from us for a second. "He tore it from her chest as Nik watched. Afterwards, my father took off in a rage, and the rest of my family scattered. Nik stayed, so he could help me bury her. He knew that I had to say goodbye to my mother." She sighed and shook her head, "I promised him, then, that I would never turn my back on him, like our mother had done. Elijah, who had returned without us knowing, promised him the same. We swore to stick together as one. Always and forever."

"Always and forever," Ellie frowned, gently letting go of my hand. "Even though he locked you in a coffin for ninety years?"

"We're vampires," the Original shrugged, sounding as though she didn't see an issue with that. "Our emotions are heightened. I'm stubborn, Elijah moral, and Nik… Nik has no tolerance for those who disappoint him. Over a thousand years as a family, we've all made that mistake at least once. I've made it several times."

"Disappointing him doesn't give him a reason to put you in a coffin," I said carefully, standing up and taking a step closer. "He doesn't have the right to do that to you, Rebekah."

"He's my brother," the blonde sighed, crossing her arms again, wrapping them around herself. "I'm immortal. I don't want to spend eternity alone. Spending time in a coffin is the price I'll pay for not being abandoned by my brother."

"But you have other family, don't you?" I pushed gently. I didn't want Rebekah to get mad, but I had to get her to realise the truth. The way Klaus was treating her was not cool. He didn't have the right to dagger her and leave her in a coffin for decades on end. That was cruel and downright vicious.

"I do, but I've never been close to them, not like I am with Nik. He has been my one constant over the years. The others have left or been daggered, but Nik has always been there," Rebekah shook her head sharply and I wisely stepped back. The bond between siblings was sacred, and people tended to get touchy if someone criticized it. Normally I wouldn't get involved. But Rebekah didn't deserve to be treated like she was. The Original was fiercely loyal, and was sweet, even if she tried to hide it. Klaus didn't have the right to take advantage of that.

"Just think about it, yeah?" I said softly, exchanging a look with my sister. "And if you need to talk, then I'm here."

The Original was silent for a moment before straightening up, "I think it's time for you to go. You've heard the story."

I nodded, "Come on, Ellie."

But my stubborn sister had other ideas, "No, not yet."

I groaned and shook my head. But before I could say anything Rebekah snapped, "I said leave, Elena! I don't know what you're up to, but I'm no longer playing along. Even if you do try to use your sister against me again."

"I'm just looking for one good reason why we shouldn't wake Mikael," Elena said firmly, holding her ground, despite Rebekah blurring over. I carefully eased myself in front of my twin, making sure that she stayed behind me. I was fairly confident that the blonde wouldn't attack me. But even if she did, it would give my sister enough time to run away.

"And I've given you a thousand!" she growled deeply, the veins beneath her eyes rippling. "But you will anyway. I know you want him to help you kill my brother, I'm not stupid."

"It's no secret that I want Klaus dead," Ellie conceded with a shrug, not even bothering to hide it. And I just had to roll my eyes at her foolishness. Rebekah was clearly not in the mood to be pushed, and her was my idiot sister, acknowledging that she wanted to kill one of her siblings. "He has a hold over Stefan's life, and over mine. Over everyone that I care about."

Rebekah snorted, shaking her head, "Do what you need. Wake Mikael at your own peril. But make no mistake, if you come after my brother, I will rip you apart. And I get my temper from my father. Now leave!"

I didn't give Elena time to protest. I grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her from the building. After Rebekah's little threat, I wasn't going to let my sister stay and continue to piss her off.

XXX

"Well, as interesting as that was," I sighed as Elena drove us away from the Boarding House. "That was a complete waste of time."

"I wouldn't say that," Ellie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. I knew that she agreed with me, even if she wouldn't admit it. Elena was so determined that speaking to Rebekah would be a good idea, she was incapable of admitting that it wasn't. I would need to work on her for a bit longer before she got to that stage. But hopefully Ellie discovered one thing today, Rebekah wasn't as bad as she wanted to believe. The Original Sister had a sweet side, she just needed to trust someone enough to show it.

"Oh my sweet sister," I shook my head and patted her knee. "The drawings on the wall would have told us the most important parts of the story. The rest was just interesting to find out. All we managed to confirm was that Rebekah will kill you if you kill Klaus. And we kinda knew that already."

"That didn't stop you from trying to get her on our side," my sister pointed out and I shrugged.

"That's cos Klaus is being a dick to her, and she doesn't deserve that," I shook my head. "And yes, if she is on our side, then she will be less likely to try to kill you for killing Klaus."

"Well, we first need to actually find Mikael. Until then, the rest of this is just conjecture."

"Yep," I agreed with a sigh. "Trust Katherine to fail in her plan the one time we actually need her to succeed."

"Maybe she did it on purpose," Ellie suggested with a wry smile. "Just to annoy you."

"That is something the spiteful bitch would do," I rolled my eyes. "Maybe she's hoping that Klaus will kill me soon and then she can stick Mikael on him."

"Fortunately for you, Katherine wouldn't risk her own life like that," my twin shook her head.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Where are we even going?" I squinted out the window. I had expected my sister to take us back to Ric's apartment, or even back home. But instead, she was driving further into the woods. If she wasn't my twin sister, I would have wondered if she was taking me somewhere to kill me. But I knew that Ellie wouldn't do that, no matter how much I pissed her off.

"Ric and Bonnie went back to the cave," Ellie shrugged and I shook my head as I realised that I had been left out of that conversation. "So I said we would meet them there."

"Oh joy," I snorted. "Let's go into the woods, through the creepy tunnels and into the creep cave, all while it is pitch black outside."

"Maybe you could call Damon," Elena suggested slyly, prodding my thigh. "I'm sure he'll come to protect you."

"Nah, he's busy with Stefan at some bar," I rolled my eyes, speaking without thinking. But I quickly realised what I said when my twin inhaled sharply, stopping the car. I closed my eyes and groaned, "Oh shit."

"Damon let Stefan out of the cell?" Ellie hissed, sounding pretty pissed off. I debated whether it was worth just jumping out of the car. Even if it was dark out, I would be safer out there, than in here. But it just wasn't worth the risk.

So I sighed and turned to face my sister, "Yeah, he did. I didn't know until it had already happened." Elena tried to speak, so I raised my voice, talking over her, "But, I trust his judgement. He's seen Stefan go through this a few times, he knows what Lexi used to do. And let's face it, he is Stefan's brother. He knows what he's doing, and he won't do anything to put Stefan at risk."

"He still should have told me," Elena said stubbornly, slumping back in her seat. I reached out to pat her thigh.

"If it helps, he wasn't exactly planning it," I offered, hoping that it would help calm my sister down. "He just kind of… decided in the moment."

"It doesn't help as much as you think it does," Ellie sighed but I could see her relaxing. "Thank you, though. And I promise I won't yell at Damon about it."

"What, why?" I frowned before quickly clearing my throat. "Not that I'm disappointed that you won't be yelling at Damon. I'm just really curious as to why you aren't."

"Because you're right," my sister said quietly, staring out into the night. "He is his brother. And in the end, he will be the one to save Stefan. That bond between siblings, nothing can beat that."

"You'll be there to help to," I added softly, grabbing her hand. "It will take all of us to get Stefan to realise what he is missing out on. We just need to give him hope, once we manage that, then it'll be easier."

"You think so?" Ellie frowned, glancing over. And I hated the vulnerable tone in my twin's voice.

"Yeah, I do," I nodded. "He fought Klaus' compulsion for you, Ellie. Yeah, he was forced to turn his humanity off. But he fought for you. That's how much he loves you. Trust me, Damon may get him to fight, but it will because he doesn't want to lose you that will get him to want to fight."

"I hope so, because I don't know what to do if he doesn't. Where do I go if Stefan gives up on everything?"

The defeated tone in my sister's voice killed me. She should never sound like that. Especially not over this. Love shouldn't be this painful, even when you love a vampire.

"You'll find something, Els," I leant over to press a kiss to her cheek. "You're one of the strongest people that I know. You can move on, if you need to. Trust me, Ellie, you can do this."

"Thank you, Lexa," my twin smiled softly, resting her head against mine.

"You're welcome, Ellie."

XXX

We met Ric and Bonnie down in the cave. They had brought all of the pictures with them. It was clear that they had been busy, as the pictures were covered in post-its notes. If they had decoded the symbols, then it meant that it would be a lot easier to work out the stories that they were telling.

Elena went straight over to Ric, but I lingered next to Bonnie. I cleared my throat and the witch glanced over at me, "I'm sorry for what my brother did. It was wrong and a huge betrayal. If it helps, he's been feeling guilty ever since."

Bonnie smiled softly, "Thank you, Alexa."

"I would have beaten him up, like I said he would if he broke your heart, but I figured that I ought to speak to you first," I gently nudged my friend with my elbow. "Just in case you have any requests, innit."

I could see a smile tugging at Bon's lips, even as she shook her head, "You don't have to beat him up. Not for me."

I gave her a look and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Bonnie, you are more than worth it. And if it is something that will make you feel better, then I'll do it. Just let me know."

"I don't want it," Bonnie nodded firmly before giving me a smile. "Not yet, anyway."

"Yes ma'am," I smiled back, gently tugging her over to the other two. "Just let me know if you change your mind." When we reached them, I glanced around, "Looks like you two spent your time wisely."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my sister roll her eyes at my sly dig. I still wasn't convinced that today's little adventure was worth it.

"We, uh, filled in what we could," Ric shrugged, moving closer to the wave to continue sticking post-it notes to the various symbols, listing them off as he did. "A vampire, werewolf, slaughter, mayhem, ect."

Elena scanned the drawings with sharp eyes, "That's the white oak tree that was used in the spell to create the vampires," she pointed to a nearby drawing, "Which means that was when they burned down the tree, destroying the only way that they could be killed."

"Okay," Ric nodded, scribbling a new post-it to add to the wall. "So tree equals weapon, sort of. We already knew that. What we are not sure about is this: we've got the witch symbol, and what looks like a bleeding heart. Upside down figures usually signified death, of some kind."

"Mikael killed the witch by ripping out her heart," my sister mused quietly, thinking deeply. "But… why is that one connected to the witch's death?"

"We don't know," Bonnie sighed. "We haven't got that far yet."

I frowned as I looked at the symbol. It was a combination of the vampire and werewolf symbols, which would make it…

"Is that the symbol for hybrid?" I asked, pointing at the werewolf and vampire symbols. "Cos it looks like those two mixed together."

"Oh my god," Ellie gasped suddenly, looking as though she had made the biggest revelation ever. "Rebekah doesn't know the real story."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie frowned, looking at my sister. I followed her gaze, wondering what my twin had put together. She had always been enviously good at puzzles, so it was no wonder that she had worked it out.

"Rebekah said that Mikael killed their mother, the Original witch, and that Klaus was there, watching," Ellie shook her head, flicking through the photos for the images that she wanted. "But Alexa's right, that symbol means hybrid. Which can only mean one thing, Klaus killed their mom, not Mikael."

"Elena, what are you planning on doing with this information?" I asked warily as my sister started to head towards the entrance.

"If Rebekah is told the truth, then she might turn against Klaus," Ellie said, pausing at the entrance to wait for me to catch up. "We can use her help to kill him."

"Oh lord," I sighed, shaking my head. "Ellie, please let me be the one to tell her. Because I know you, and I know her. She needs to be told this gently, while being shown the proof."

"I'll be gentle," my twin assured me as we made our way back through the caves. "We need to do this right, if we're to get Rebekah on our side. And," my sister paused and sighed, "I want her to know the truth. If she does, then maybe she won't let Klaus treat her like he does."

"It won't be easy for her to hear," I agreed softly. "And I don't think she'll believe it at first. Even if he didn't kill their mom, Mikael has been hunting them for centuries. She might stick with Klaus because he's been the one who has been there for her."

"Do you think that she would?" Elena paused thoughtfully and I shrugged.

"Sometime it's easier to go with that you know, rather than the truth. Especially if that truth is painful. She's always been desperate for Klaus' approval; you can tell by the way from how she admitted that she's disappointed him quite a few times over the years. That's not something that you can get over easily."

"You're sounding very wise," Ellie said, a teasing look in her eyes. But I could see that she was digesting my words.

"Well, it had to happen sometime," I rolled my eyes and my sister gave me a look. "Fine. It's just that, I don't want Klaus to take advantage of her, partly cos I hate him. But I don't want us to take advantage either. She deserves better than that. She's been alive for over a thousand years, and yet, I get the feeling that she hasn't been able to properly live."

"You like her, don't you?" my sister said shrewdly, making me clear my throat and glance away.

"I do, I can't help it. Despite what she did when she first came to town, and who her family is, I just want to be her friend."

Ellie nodded thoughtfully, staying silent as we continued our way to the car.

XXX

It didn't take long to get back to the Boarding House. Rebekah was still in the study, pouring herself a glass of scotch. She had clearly started to move onto the hard stuff since we left. I could see the empty wine bottle on the floor by the couch.

"I thought I told you to leave," the Original said, not even bothering to look around as we entered the room. "Twice."

I opened my mouth, hoping to say something to diffuse the already building tension, but my sister beat me to it, "How do you know that Mikael killed your mother?"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Well, that wasn't the best way to start this conversation. I knew that it would put Rebekah on edge. And I was right.

"Nik was there," the blonde said tensely, turning around to look at us. "He told me."

"He lied to you," Elena immediately countered, walking over the Original. I sighed and quickly followed. This was not our agreed game plan. And I just knew that this would not go well.

"And how do you know that?" Rebekah snapped, tensing up.

"The cave where you carved your family names is covered in symbols," Ellie began to explain, pulling out the pictures from her bag. She placed them down on the table, listing them out. "The story of your family: how your parents arrived, how they made peace, the spell that turned them into vampires, and this. This is the symbol for hybrid. It's a combination of the werewolf and the vampire symbol. And this is the one for your mother."

"Her necklace," Rebekah breathed, her fingers touching the photo for a moment. I saw the slight tremble in her fingers before she clenched her fist.

"And this is the story of her death," my sister finished, pointing to each symbol on the photo. "The hybrid killed the Original Witch. Not Mikael. Klaus."

"No!" the blonde immediately snapped, taking a couple of shaky steps back. "No, he wouldn't."

"She put the curse on him, made it so that he would be the only one of his kind, and then she rejected him," Elena pushed and I stepped forward, carefully easing myself between the upset Original and my sister. "With the werewolf gene comes aggression and violence, when he turned, all of that was heightened. He killed her, Rebekah. And then he made up this entire lie about your father, so that he wouldn't lose you."

"These mean nothing!" Rebekah yelled and it didn't take an idiot to hear that she was upset. She snatched the photos from the table, ripping them into pieces as she stormed over to the fireplace. "They're just stupid drawings, done by stupid people who had no idea who my family was!"

She threw them into the fire, watching them burn.

"Then why are you so upset?" Elena asked and I shook my head. This was definitely not the way that we agreed to handle this. And it was a dangerous way too. Rebekah clearly wasn't stable, and my sister just needed to back off.

"Why are you doing this to me?" the Original snapped tearfully, narrowing her eyes at my twin. "I've done nothing to you!"

"Klaus killed your mother," Elena retorted and I knew what was going to happen before it did. "He has a hold on you, on me, on everyone. He has for a thousand years. We have to make it stop!"

It was some kind of deeply buried instinct that had me darting forward before I even realised what was happening. Rebekah's face turned, her fangs extending as the veins beneath her eyes darkened. She went to attack my sister, but I got there first. Despite the sensible part of my brain telling me that I was an idiot for standing in front of an upset vampire, I placed my hands on her shoulders.

"Rebekah, you need to calm down," I said softly as the blonde latched onto my shoulders.

"Just make her shut up!" she exclaimed, her desperate eyes meeting mine. "Make her stop talking. No more talking. Nothing!"

"She's stopped, okay?" I hushed her, my thumbs stroking her shoulders. "It's okay."

I think it was the kindness that broke her. Rebekah's face crumpled and her shoulders shook as she began to gasp. Her legs collapsed beneath her and I was just about to gently lower her to the ground, tucking her head beneath my chin.

Rebekah clung onto me, sobbing into my shoulder. I gently ran my hand down the back of her head, pulling her slightly closer. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and glanced over to see Elena stepping closer.

"It's okay," I smiled at her, keeping my voice low in order to not disturb the sobbing blonde. "Go home, I've got this."

"Alexa," Ellie said quietly, looking as though she did not want to leave me alone with the Original. But I quickly shook my head.

"I'll be fine," I reassured her. "Just go home."

Ellie watched me for a few moments longer before sighing and leaving the room. I knew that she was feeling guilty, having essentially pushed Rebekah to this. But she had no way of knowing how she would react. The blonde was unpredictable. Her method of coping might have been fury, not tears. But at least I was able to help her through her tears.

I let Rebekah cry it out, gently hushing her and letting her know that she wasn't alone. It was something that she obviously feared, and I wouldn't let her think that she was alone while going through this. Finding out that your brother had been lying about something so important for so long, it wasn't easy to deal with. And she didn't even have the rest of her family around to help her through it.

"Why did she do this to me?" Rebekah asked through her tears, her voice muffled by my shoulder. "Why did she have to tell me this?"

"Because she doesn't want Klaus to control you anymore," I answered with a sigh. "Despite the way she went about it, my sister does actually have good intentions. She wanted to save you from your brother."

"I wish she never told me," the Original whispered and I winced.

What the hell did I say to that?

XXX

I had no memory after putting Rebekah to bed. One moment, I was walking out of the Boarding House, the next, I was standing on my porch. It wasn't even like I had forgotten. I literally had no memory of it. Was I that deep in my thoughts? I shook my head; it was something for me to think about once I had had some sleep.

Luckily everyone was already asleep, so I could head straight up to my room. But I wasn't alone when I entered.

"I should have known that you would be here," I shook my head with a smile as I saw Damon lying on my bed. He crooked an eyebrow as I slipped off my shoes and socks.

"You're back later than I would have expected," he said, slowly sitting up as I unzipped my jeans. I pushed them off before throwing them to the side. They landed on my clothes chair, where they would be put in the wash basket at some point. But I was too tired to do that now.

"Well, Elena managed to break the local Original vampire," I sighed, pulling off my top, throwing it in the same direction as my jeans. "And I couldn't bring myself to leave her while she was crying."

I could feel Damon's eyes on me as I stood there in my bra and panties, stretching my body. I didn't care that I was only in my underwear. He had seen me naked several times by this point, it wasn't something that I felt self-conscious about anymore.

"Did you get her on our side?" my boyfriend asked, getting up from my bed. He grabbed the beanbag from the corner of my room and placed it in front of the bed. I grabbed my pjs, slipping them on before he directed me to sit on the beanbag. I saw my pjs, they were actually an old t-shirt of Damon's that I had pinched. Not that he cared, I think it was some kind of ego boost for him, seeing me in his clothes.

"Miraculously, we did," I said as Damon picked up my brush. He gently began to brush out the tangles in my hair. "Although I don't exactly approve of my sister's methods. Did you manage to have a productive day with Stefan?"

There was just something comforting about someone else brushing your hair. Damon had only picked up on how much I loved it recently. But since he had, it was something that he had done when I had had a long day.

"Well, he's an even bigger dick than he was before," my vampire shrugged as my eyes fluttered closed at the soothing feeling. "He's just now a dick that's on our side."

"How did you manage that?" I mumbled, feeling my body relaxing. It was a combination of the feeling of my hair being brushed and Damon's presence. It was crazy how he was able to get me to relax by just being there.

"Mikael's unexpected visit probably helped with that," Damon mused and my eyes shot open in shock.

"Mikael?" I gasped, looking up at my boyfriend, eyes wide. I definitely wasn't expecting that. Looks like Katherine actually succeeded in waking him up. Well, at least she was good for something. It was still quite surprising though.

He gently hushed me, tilting my head back down, "It was quite unexpected. But he's agreed to help us."

"Wow, you definitely had a productive day."

"I think his weapon is a stake, cos he mentioned something about it," Damon mused as I felt myself getting tired. It had been a long day, and Rebekah's little breakdown had wiped me out. It was almost as though I had ran a marathon or some stupid shit like that.

"It wouldn't surprise me if he managed to carve it from the white oak tree before it was burned down," I mumbled, hearing Damon place my brush to the side. He gathered up my hair, tying it up for me. He knew that I didn't like to sleep with my hair down. It got way too tangled and was just a nightmare to deal with in the morning.

"Hm, so after all that, the wall led us to Mikael," Damon laughed softly and I hummed in agreement.

"Funny how that happens."

I was leaning back against Damon, my eyes closed. I knew that I was close to falling asleep. Even though I wanted to spend more time talking to Damon, I just couldn't fight the tiredness. My boyfriend must have sensed how tired I was as he carefully wrapped his arms around me. He picked me up before tucking me into my bed.

I snuggled beneath the blankets, moving only to grab Day's wrist when he began to move away.

"Stay with me?" I asked, opening my eyes to look up at him. Damon immediately nodded, shrugging off his leather jacket before getting under the blanket with me.

"I haven't seen you this tired for a while," he mused quietly, running a hand over my hair as I rested my head on his chest. His other arm held me close, making sure I was covered by the blanket.

"I don't even know why," I sighed, enjoying the feel of being in his arms. "It just hit me all of a sudden. I blame Elena. She kept doing stupid things all afternoon."

"Well, you managed to keep her alive, so Rebekah must really like you."

"Apparently so." Things were silent for a few seconds before I mumbled, in that sleep drunk way that made you say things that you normally wouldn't, "Day, you know I love you, right?" I barely registered Damon's intake of breath. "So promise me that you won't do something stupid in order to kill Klaus. Cos I really don't want to lose you."

"You won't lose me," my boyfriend reassured me gently, pulling me close. I hummed happily before allowing sleep to take me.

XXX

A/N: Can never resist writing some cute Dalexa time, breaks up the smut ;) I'm curious as to what your thoughts are on where the season is going, I've always loved season 3 and it's given me some interesting twists to fit in. Keep the reviews coming! And I might even start giving hints for what might be happening ;) hope you enjoyed xoxo