My face was beginning to melt into the kitchen table, it had been there so long.
The warmth had long since leached out of my cup of coffee that Ric had kindly made me. Kindly. Ha. I didn't even like coffee. I groaned as Ric slammed a few kitchen cupboard doors closed.
"Where's the aspirin?"
I mumbled something unintelligible. I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the previous night. Elena was currently out for a run as a part of Ric's training schedule for her, or maybe it gave her a sense of normality. Why she didn't spend her time doing something productive like watching Teen Wolf, I would never know.
"Morning." Elena said as she entered the kitchen. I removed my head from the table and looked up at her. Her hair was still perfect.
She has sooooooo not been running. "Morning, murderer."
"What?!"
"I didn't sleep much last night and— I had a vision about... Well, you'll see." I told her. My vision consisted of Liz revealing to Ric and Elena that Elena's fingerprints had been found on a murder weapon. Normal people would be much more... Well, they'd probably care more. This wasn't the most surprising thing to happen.
And I knew Elena wasn't a killer so the new development wasn't really on my list of priorities at the current time.
"I thought we had aspirin." Ric said rudely.
"Behind the vitamins." Elena replied. "Didn't Rain tell you? She of all people knows where they are— with all the headaches she gets."
Ric turned and glared at me.
"And were you ever planning on telling me?" he asked.
"... At some point, yeah."
Elena spotted the alcohol on the island. "You're hungover." she said to Ric.
And they call me the smart one!
"Yeah, sorry about that it was a bit of a weird night."
"I told you, you don't have to feel guilty about inviting Meredith over here." she said.
"I know, and I thank you for that. But I do feel a little guilty for whiskey dialling her at 2 in the am."
I gasped. "No, you didn't!"
"Oh, yes I did." he said, and I burst out laughing.
"Idiot. I'm sure she still loves you, though."
He whacked me on the back of the head as him and Elena walked towards the front door— seeing as it had just rung. Probably Liz. I stuck my tongue out at him, before allowing my head to drop back onto the table.
I must have gone to sleep, because I felt someone pull my hair, hard, and I sat bolt upright.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
"She doesn't like to be woken up." Elena explained to Ric.
"Yeah, I figured."
"So you're the prime suspect, huh?" Damon asked. His voice was coming from Elena's phone on the kitchen table.
I was busy trying to figure what was happening.
"She doesn't think that I did it she's just trying to find out why somebody used one of my family's weapons to kill a council member." she said as Ric put his bag of stakes and other vampire-killing contraptions on the table. "We don't have the same prints, do we?" she asked.
"Are you suggesting that the fingerprints on the murder weapon were mine?" I asked. "I am offended!"
"I meant—"
"Eighteen years of being twins and you're wondering this now? Really?" I shook my head and laughed. She grinned sheepishly. "No. We don't. Thank God— but what you should be asking, is why the hell they have your fingerprints on record. I mean— don't you have to have a criminal record for your prints to be on the database? And even then isn't that only on NCIS?"
"No, the question we should be asking," Damon interjected, "Is whether or not Ric's dirty little doctor had access to the weapons."
"You're on speaker phone, dick." Ric said, pulling his angry-face. I smirked, you tell em' Saltzman!
"I'm just saying, first suspect's usually the right one." "Brian Walters was killed days ago, alright," Ric said, "I didn't show Meredith this stuff until last night.
"It wasn't Meredith." I said adamantly.
"Yeah but Brian Walters is her ex boyfriend and Ric saw them fighting last night." Damon said.
"Well, Damon, unless she has a tardis that she could have used to go back in time with one of Ric's weapons, it wasn't Meredith."
"I refuse to believe that your luck with women is that tragic." Elena said, and I nodded my agreement.
"Who else knows about your secret little slayer stash?" Damon asked.
"Who doesn't? I've got weapons everywhere, here, the school, my loft, Rayna's room, your car..."
"My room?!"
"It's Klaus." Damon said. "It has to be, he's screwing with us."
"I think he can think of better ways to do that, Damon." I rolled my eyes, before sharing a look with Elena.
"What about Stefan?" she asked. "He was crazy that night, you know, he was trying to get underneath Klaus' skin... He was capable of pretty much anything."
"Elena, haven't the last few months taught you that you can never tell what a person is capable of? It could have been anyone, but... It wasn't Stefan. I know it wasn't."
"How?" she asked.
FLASHBACK
I squinted my eyes and slowly, using every piece of energy I had left I reached up to my face and moved the hair from my face, and concentrated on the clock hard. It was difficult to read the clock in the dark of the morning— as I didn't have a digital clock like Elena, I was too sophisticated for that. No, my analogue clock was bright yellow with a large Squidward on it's face.
A minute later my eyes had finally adjusted and I could just make out the time. 4: 26 AM.
Sighing, I buried my face back in the cushion and rolled over, my head knocking against something.
Blindly, my eyes still closed, I reached out with my hands and grabbed what felt like a small pouch.
Sitting bolt upright I reached for the lamp and turned it on before opening the tiny bag.
Inside was a bracelet. My vervain bracelet.
And a note with one word.
Stefan.
END OF FLASHBACK
"I just do."
"Gotta go." Damon said.
"Where are you going?" Ric asked.
"Tea with an old friend."
"But you don't have friends." I frowned, then my eyes widened. It must be Elijah! "Damon, who is the old friend? Damon?!"
The line went dead.
I leant against the wall of the hospital as I waited for Caroline with Elena. I hated hospitals...
"That was fast." I said, as she came back. "And I hope you know how good a friend I am, coming with you here of all places."
She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Yeah, he was already discharged." she frowned, dialling his number in her phone.
"Maybe he's at the Grill getting a drink." I said almost hopefully.
"And she's perfectly nice, by the way. Maybe a little intense. I think it's sweet you wanna make sure Alaric isn't dating a total psycho."
I breathed a sigh of relief. Meredith had the Caroline stamp of approval. This was a very good sign.
"Yeah. He's not dating you so I figured she couldn't be that crazy." I joked. But instead of receiving a mock glare, or an elbow in the arm, I saw her frown. Elena and I exchanged a worried look. "I'm not being serious, Care. I know teacher student relationships are against the rules... and you aren't that crazy."
"I can here his phone ringing." she said quietly, brow furrowed.
"What?" Elena asked.
"But I thought you said he was already discharged." I muttered, before receiving a text from Damon. "Oh, I gotta go. Sorry." I said. "Can you—"
"I'll stay with her." Elena said, and I grinned before patting Caroline on the shoulder.
"Later, Goldilocks."
I entered the Boarding House, not even bothering to scramble through my bag for a key.
They never locked the door.
I ran upstairs and found them in Stefan's bedroom.
"So that's your plan. Stall Klaus?" I heard Stefan ask. He was standing infront of the mirror, buttoning up his shirt.
I looked at Damon.
"Well if he didn't go postal on his hybrids maybe I'd have some options." Damon retorted.
"So you unleash an original to help him out?"
"Un-daggering Elijah was smart, Stefan. You kidding me? After what Klaus did to him he's in vengeance mode. It's perfect."
"There is nothing smart about trusting Elijah, Damon." Stefan said. They both seemed to be ignoring me, so I kept quiet. "He screwed us over the last time he promised to help kill Klaus."
And they wonder why I like Elijah.
"I trust him about as much as I trust you." Damon said.
"Well, guess that goes both ways, doesn't it?" Stefan asked.
"Oh, I get it, this is about me kissing Elena."
"It's not about that, Damon." Stefan said.
"Well then what's it ab— wait— WHAT?!" I shrieked. "You— oh my God. So this is like a proper love triangle now? What is with these Doppelgangers?!"
I received a sharp glare from Damon.
Stefan's eyes travelled down to the vervain bracelet on my wrist, and Damon looked between us both. "Are we going to make this fake truce or not?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest, sending Stefan a weird look.
After Damon left to go to his own room to get ready, it was just myself and Stefan.
"So— I got the, uh, bracelet... Where did you find it?"
"Cafeteria." he replied shortly. "I've been meaning to give it to you for a few days."
I nodded.
"Rayna, the other night on the bridge—"
"Please," I asked, "Can we not talk about that."
"I'm s—"
"I know." I told him, swallowing. "I know you still feel." The bracelet on my wrist was proof of that. "But I also know that you haven't let all your emotions back in."
He didn't reply.
"I'm gonna help you. I don't know how but I'll try and help you stay off human blood. That is— if you want to."
And then he smiled. I smiled back.
Later, I stood between the Salvatore's in front of the door, thinking over what I would say to Elena when I saw her next.
"So I talked to Damon today... Yeah, yeah. We didn't talk about much. Mainly about how YOU KISSED HIM AND DIDN'T EVEN TELL YOUR SISTER ABOUT IT!"
The door opened, and there stood Elijah, in a suit as always.
"You changed your hair." I said, smiling. "I like it."
"Hello, Rayna. It's good to see you again." "Likewise."
"Come in." he smiled, stepping aside and letting me pass. "Niklaus, our guests have arrived."
I walked in, Damon and Stefan on my tail. We were in a dining room, of sorts.
"Damon, Stefan." Klaus said, before his eyes landed on me. "Rayna. I didn't know you would be coming, sweetheart." he smirked. "You look breathtaking, as always."
Averting his gaze, I looked around the room.
I liked it.
I didn't like how there were three waitresses wearing hardly any clothes.
"Elijah tells me you seek an audience. Very bold. Lets discuss the terms of our agreement like civilized men, and women, shall we?" he gestured towards the table, which was only set for four.
"Jane, set another place for Rayna, would you?"
"It's better to indulge him." Elijah told us.
"I didn't come here to eat, Klaus." Stefan said, stepping forwards and in front of me. "I didn't wanna come here at all, but, I was told I had to 'cause you would hear us out."
The two blonde waitresses left and came back with a chair and some table settings. They set another place and I sat down in it.
"Well, we can sit and eat," Klaus said, sitting down opposite me, "Or I can reach down your throats and pull out your insides. Choice is yours."
They sat down.
I ended up being sat between Stefan and Elijah.
Never had I been to a more awkward dinner party. In my life.
Ever.
And no, it wasn't because of the fact I could hear the sound of cutlery banging against plates. Or even the sound of people eating... eugh.
No. It was the girls. The waitresses in skirts that were probably smaller than some of my underwear.
Disgusting.
And completely wrong.
It was so blatantly obvious they had no clue what was going on. They were Klaus' compelled slaves.
A blonde poured Damon some extra red wine, or maybe it was blood, but as she walked away he checked her out. "Thank you, love." he smirked.
I cringed, wanting nothing more than to be home. I'd even take an evening with Gloria over this.
Every few minutes, my phone would vibrate with either Elena or Caroline calling me. It had reached the point where I had had to turn it off.
A decision which later I would come to regret.
"You lost your appetite." Klaus said.
"Eat." Damon ordered Stefan. "I thought we agreed we would leave the grumpy Stefan at home."
Stefan smiled at Damon— but his eyes were filled with scarcely concealed rage. Damon smirked, and Stefan grabbed his knife and fork.
"Rayna." Damon said, as though he was talking to a small child.
I pierced a single peas with my fork and shoved it in my mouth before smirking sarcastically.
Klaus chuckled.
An awkward silence followed.
"Isn't this nice? The five of us dining together?" Klaus asked, definitely enjoying himself too much. "Such a treat. Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger out of my brother?"
"Well I knew how I felt about you, so, I figured the more the merrier." Damon replied.
"Well, Elijah and I have had our fair share of quarrels over the centuries but we always make it through."
"Like you and Rebekah, right?" Stefan asked, not missing a beat. "Where is she, by the way?"
"Last I checked she was still daggered because someone didn't have the balls to face her." I added.
Stefan smirked.
"If you are both referring to the fact that I killed our mother," Klaus began, "I have already come clean to Elijah."
"Hey, Stef, remember when you killed dad? Might wanna dial down the judgement until dessert." Damon said.
"That doesn't mean we have to kiss his ass for seven courses." Stefan replied.
"We have a long evening ahead of us." Damon said, looking from Stefan to me, giving us each a significant look. "Brace yourselves."
"Rayna," Elijah said after several moments of silence. "Where is the lovely Elena this evening?"
"I don't know." I shrugged. "Ask Damon. Or Stefan... Which ever she's dating this week."
Klaus laughed at Elijah's confused expression. "I'm sorry," he said, "You've missed so much... trouble in paradise."
"One more word about Elena, and this dinner is over." Stefan said.
"You know what— let's just keep Elena in the do-not-discuss pile."
"You're probably right." Klaus told Damon. I was glad he was going to drop the subject. "It's just..." or maybe not. "The allure of the Petrova Doppelganger. Still so strong. What do you say, brother? Shall we tell them about Tatia?"
"Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?" Elijah asked. Which translated into 'Shall we not?'
"Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, along with Rayna's obvious relation I think they would all be curious about the originator of the Petrova line, and, of course, Rayna's ancestor."
"Well, we're not going anywhere Elijah." Damon said. "Please, do tell."
"When our family first settled here there was a girl named Tatia. She was an exquisite beauty. Every boy of age desired to be her suitor, even though she'd had a child by another man."
Oh, the scandal.
"And," Elijah continued, "Non loved her more than Niklaus."
I looked at Klaus with wide eyes. He looked... Pissed off. "I'd say there was one who loved her at least as much."
"Wait— so, you both loved the same girl?" Stefan asked, smirking.
"That's pretty hypocritical, don't you think?" I snapped, suddenly in a bad mood.
Elijah looked at me almost gratefully, before continuing. "Our mother was a very powerful witch. She sought to end our feud over Tatia and so she took her. Klaus and I would soon learn that it was Tatia' blood that we consumed in the wine on the night which our mother performed a spell which turned us into vampires."
"So, Tatia looked like Elena and Katherine?" I asked.
"Yes." Elijah nodded.
"Was her hair curly or straight?"
"Wavy."
"Do you prefer Katherine, Tatia or Elena?"
"They are three very different women, Rayna." he explained patiently.
"So you fancied Katherine and Tatia. Do you fancy Elena too?"
"No, I do not."
"Which one of you did she choose?"
"Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us and so for a time, Niklaus and I... Grew estranged. Harsh words were traded, we even came to blows, didn't we, brother?"
"But in the end we recognized the sacred bond of family." Klaus said.
"Family above all." Elijah said, his tone almost amused as he reached for his wine glass to toast with Klaus'.
"Family above all." Klaus repeated.
I looked at Stefan and Damon who were looking at one another. "And the moral of the story is—"
"Rayna, just shut up." Damon said.
"So why don't we move this evening along and discuss the terms of this proposal?" Elijah asked.
"That's very simple." Damon replied. "Klaus gets his missing coffin back. In exchange, he and the original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever. Me, Stefan, Elena and Rain live happily ever after. No grudges."
"The deal sounds fair, brother." Elijah said. I nodded my head in agreement.
"I don't think you understand." Klaus said. "Elena's doppelgänger blood ensures that I will always have more hybrids to fight those that oppose me. Rayna's magical abilities ensure that I will see whom ever wishes to oppose me coming. I will never leave them behind." he said, leaning forward and looking at Stefan, before standing. "But lets say I do leave them here under your protection, what then? How long before one of you turns one of them into a vampire? Or worse, how long before one of them dies, caught between your feuds and you see each one of you truly believes that you can both protect one of them. But that is simply a delusion. Gentlemen, the worse thing for Rayna," he said, looking at Stefan, "And Elena Gilbert," his eyes flickered to Damon, "Is the two of you."
"I'm gonna get some air." Damon said before leaving.
"Let me deal with this." Elijah said before following Damon out.
"All this talk has made me thirsty." Klaus said, looking at the blonde in the corner. She walked towards him and he brushed hair form her neck.
"What do you say, Stefan? Join me for an after dinner drink?"
The veins underneath Klaus' eyes turned black before he bit into her neck.
I walked out of the room in search of a bathroom. Or, even better, an escape route.
I walked back into the dining room, to see Klaus and Stefan standing in front of the fireplace.
Klaus was gripping Stefan's shirt.
"You really have given up, haven't you?" Klaus asked. "Where's the fight? Where's the Ripper?!"
Growling, Stefan pushed him away.
Klaus looked past Stefan and even past me. I turned, following his gaze to see Elijah and Damon.
A tall blonde waitress walked beside Elijah, carrying a tray with a cloth over it.
"Elijah... Why haven't you left yet?" Klaus asked.
"Well where are your manners, brother?" he asked. "You forgot dessert." Elijah ripped the cloth from the tray to reveal two daggers.
Klaus' eyes widened in panic, and Stefan stepped to the side so that he was next to me. "What have you done?"
"What have you done?" Elijah countered. "See I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We're doing this on my terms now."
As if on queue, a tall man looking like a slightly younger version of Elijah appeared behind Elijah.
His eyes trained on Klaus.
"Kol." Klaus said, a look of fear on his face. "Long time, brother." Kol replied.
In a flash, a second strange face appeared. He grabbed a dagger and flashed towards Klaus.
"Finn, don't."
Klaus groaned in pain as Finn, who was obviously another brother of his stabbed the dagger into his hand.
I winced.
Klaus turned and tried to flash away, but stopped, and Rebekah appeared.
It was good to see her again.
She, using one of the daggers, stabbed Klaus in the stomach.
"This is for our mother."
Well, he definitely deserved that.
She pushed him and he stumbled backwards and into Kol who held him by the arms.
"You're free to go." Elijah said. Stefan grabbed my arm and dragged me out. I looked back at Klaus who was stood between his siblings— more scared than I had ever thought he, of all people, could be.
"This is family business."
I switched my phone back on as I walked up the driveway, and just before I opened the front door, I saw a text Caroline must have sent when it had been switched off.
I need you.
Frowning, I turned away from the house and walked the short distance to Caroline's house. I realized perhaps I should have answered her calls earlier.
I knocked on the door, and it opened.
"Liz," I smiled. "Is Caroline here? She texted me— is something wrong?"
Her face was pale, and she looked down at me. "You don't know." she stated.
"Know what?" I asked, frowning.
"It's Bill. Caroline's dad..." I noticed the tears that appeared in her eyes. "He's dead."
It was almost as though I wasn't in control of my body any more, as I pushed past Liz and ran into the house, searching through all the rooms until I found her.
He was lying on the bed, his hand tight in her grasp. She was sat on the bed beside him, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
She looked like a child. There was that blind hope in her eyes that this was all a dream — or that things were still going to be okay. That there was a way that she could save him.
And at the same time, in her eyes, I saw the realization that was yet to sink in.
"Daddy, wake up, Daddy, please wake up..."
She looked up and saw me, and we met each other half way in a tight embrace. I let her sob into my shoulder and I stared at Bill Forbes' body. His eyes were closed, as though he was sleeping.
Tears formed in my eyes.
"He's gone." she sobbed. "HE'S GONE!"
OG AUTHOR'S NOTE:
A/N— Thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much for all the support this story has received. Do I sound like a broken record when I say that?: P dankie! grazie! arigato! merci! tack!
gracias! There are a few changes I'm in the process of making to this story. It's nothing major, just a few things here and there so you guys don't have to read it again, but if you want to I'm not stopping you: P How did I do? I can't believe we're on chapter eleven already. This chapter is definitely one of my least favourites, though. I feel as though I iddn't do a good enough job on it. Next chapter— Elena and Rayna have a long awaited heart to heart, and of course— there's the ball. One more thing— has anyone read My Immortal, the Draco/OC ( Mary Sue!) story? I was literally crying after I read it. So funny! Until next time, which, hopefully, will be soon!
A/N— Thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much for all the support this story has received. Do I sound like a broken record when I say that?: P dankie! grazie! arigato! merci! tack!
gracias! There are a few changes I'm in the process of making to this story. It's nothing major, just a few things here and there so you guys don't have to read it again, but if you want to I'm not stopping you: P How did I do? I can't believe we're on chapter eleven already. This chapter is definitely one of my least favourites, though. I feel as though I iddn't do a good enough job on it. Next chapter— Elena and Rayna have a long awaited heart to heart, and of course— there's the ball. One more thing— has anyone read My Immortal, the Draco/OC ( Mary Sue!) story? I was literally crying after I read it. So funny! Until next time, which, hopefully, will be soon!
UPLOADER'S NOTE: YAY! Bold works again!