Note: Sorry for the late update; life has been hectic. Thank you all for the wonderful likes and comments! I also post this story on Archive of Our Own under the same title.

All Vampire Diaries and The Originals do not belong to me, I am just borrowing them for a bit!

Enjoy!-

Once back at the hotel after being dropped off, Liz told the girls she was going to rest. At the same time, Bonnie had taken over the couch, her nose in the grimoire that Miranda let her 'borrow.' It was a goodwill jester. Caroline knew her friend, and she would be reading that cover to cover. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do. After their so-called meeting, being kidnaped, and the conversations with two 600-year-old vampires, Caroline was exhausted. And it was only one o'clock. All she wanted to do was follow her mother's lead and lay down and sleep.

Heading to the mini kitchenette just off the living room section Caroline busied herself by warming up some blood they kept in the back of the fridge. Taking stock of how many were left and when they would need to make another run for more. While her mug was warming up, she set about making some sandwiches since they didn't have lunch while being 'kidnapped.' Adding chips to the plate, she grabbed two glasses and filled them with orange juice. Carefully balancing the plates and cups, Caroline went over and put one set in front of Bonnie. Who barely noticed the movement.

Giving a nug to Bonnies shoulder to get her attention. "Made some food, eat up before you get too lost in that book, okay?" Her teasing tone was lost on Bonnie.

"Oh, thanks. Yeah yeah." Bonnie said, only half paying attention to Caroline. But her friend reached for the food away. Caroline was sure her friend would eat at least something, she moved over to her mother's room. Knocking lightly, she heard a soft 'come in.'

"Hey, mom, I made some sandwiches for us." She said, entering the room. Moving towards the bed, she set the plate and cup on the bedside table.

"Thanks, sweetie." Liz smiled. "You must have read my mind; as soon as I laid down, my stomach growled at me."

Caroline leaned down and kissed her mom's head, "Figured we needed something to eat after everything." Liz nodded. "You rest; we can figure out a plan later, okay?"

"Sounds good,"

Moving, she closed the door and headed back to grab her food. Checking on Bonnie once more, she found her friend had been eating away, making Caroline smile.

Cleaning up after she had finished her food and cup of blood, Caroline headed to her room for that much-needed nap.

—-

"I would lay the world at your feet if you wished."

"I need not the world, my love." speaking softly, "I only want you. Now and till the end of time."

"Then you shall have it." He smiled, eyes shining bright in the firelight. "I promise you this, my love. I will love you till the end time. In this life or the next. Nothing will stop me from being with you." his words were true. She knew in her heart that he would keep his word, and that made her love him even more.

"Always?"

"Always and forever."

—

She felt herself being pulled from her dream. The more she tried to hold onto sleep and the dream, the faster it seemed to pull away from her. Caroline slowly opened her eyes to see her mother standing over her.

"Mom?" yawning. Caroline moved to stretch and sit up, giving her mother room to sit on the bed. "How long was I out?"

"Only an hour or so, I think," Liz spoke softly, looking like she might say more but couldn't find the words. Caroline knew something was up. Her mother got that look whenever she had time off of work, and they would spend it together, and she would then get a call that works needed her to come in.

"What's wrong? You have that bad news look." Caroline said with worry and a hint of annoyance.

Sighing, Liz took her daughter's hand. "I got a call from Depute Andrews."

With a frustrating sigh, Caroline spoke, "Let me guess. Something important came up that needs you."

"Caroline." her mother started, "They found a group of teens dead in the woods behind the school. The bodies are badly burnt. They won't know anything until they do the autopsy. And on top of that, Mayor Lockwood was attacked and is in the hospital."

Caroline sat silent. Their town was known for its deaths back when it was founded during the war. But nothing like that since, maybe, a few deaths a year? But to this extent? It was scary to think about. What was about her small hometown that attracted death and the supernatural?

She wondered who the teens were. If anyone of them were people she was close to? She made a mental list of all those she was close to and would send a text or email to. If Elena or Matt were one of them, her mother would have told her. But they wouldn't know for sure if the bodies were so burnt. So lost in thought, she missed most of what her mother said.

"We will need to get packed and get a flight home as soon as possible."

"Seriously?" She practically shouted, "We can't leave yet; we are so close to answers!" Her mother couldn't be serious. Could she? They had spent all their summer vacation traveling all over Europe, searching out covens for answers, and when they finally had found not only a coven that was willing to talk with them. They found a family of 600-year-old vampires willing to give them any information they had. They had more questions than answers at this point, but Caroline wasn't going to just leave.

Her mother had already moved and was out the door. Rushing her new speed, Caroline caught up and stopped in front of her mother. "Mom, we can't just leave. Not when we are so close to getting answers."

"Honey, I know. But this is something that I can't ignore."

"Yes, you can! At least for a few days." She knew she was over the top, but Caroline wouldn't lose this. Yes, it was horrible what was happening in town; she couldn't deny that. But there was nothing they could do about it now in another country. "Look, mom, this is the only real chance we have at answers. It can't slip between our fingers. We have to take it. I need you with me." She pleaded.

Her mother embraced her. "I'm sorry, Caroline. You are right." kissing her daughter's forehead, Liz said, "ill call them back and let them know we won't be able to head home right away."

A small smile spread on Caroline's face. "How about we make a compromise? You can work on the case, take phone calls, emails, and whatever else you can from here." hugging her mom once more before moving over to sit next to bonnie. "Besides, I doubt you would want 600-year-old vampires visiting Mystic Falls while this craziness is going on."

"Caroline."

"Just saying."

Sighing, the older blonde shook her head, heading back to her room. "I'm gonna make some calls."

"What was that all about?

After explaining everything to Bonnie, both girls decided to send messages out to their friends to check in on them. They expressed their desire to see them once they got back from vacation.

Caroline decided to help Bonnie look through the grimoires. Bonnie's gram had given her their family grimoire and one other that was given to Shela's grandmother. Another witch had no more descendants to pass it down to, so the witch had given it to the Bennetts.

The next few hours found the girls looking through the grimoires. Caroline had gotten her notebooks and pens out and was looking through the one gifted to the Bennetts while Bonnie looked through the one Meranda had 'loaned' them.

She turned to the next page when Caroline came across a passage that caught her interest. It read like a journal entry. Recounting a witch named Lorretta was tasked with finding where six missing girls from their village had been abducted. One of the lost girls was found nearly dead outside of town and had been compelled. Lorretta was tasked with finding a way to remove the compulsion without turning the girl. For a mortal, it would be excruciating and had a high possibility of causing death; since the girl was too weak and would most likely die if Lorretta used the spell, she found a workaround. She was making a potion that would do the exact thing as the spell, unlocking the hidden memories.

"Bonnie, look at this." Caroline pointed at the page she was on and slid it into view for her friend to read. "This could be something."

After a few moments, Bonnie smiled. " I think your right. We would have to have Miranda get the ingredients, but I think it's doable. I doubt we wanna put you through the painful part."

"Super fast healing." joking. "But I'd rather not go through that if possible."

"True," her friend laughed. "I'll message Miranda about it. I also found something interesting. It was a small entry that referenced one's bloodline or lineage. But I've been through this book twice and nothing else."

"Maybe it's in one of the other books they have?"

"It might. I'll send this and the memory spell to Miranda and ask."

"You think this spell might show some light on where the wolf gene came from in my family." Maybe if they found out which side, her mom could look into the family records.

"I'll go let my mom know we found a lead," Caroline said while heading to her mom's room; before she got to the door, her phone vibrated, alerting the young blonde that someone was calling. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, the caller ID showed it was Katerina.

Katerina and Caroline had exchanged numbers; Katerina had told her to let them know when they wanted to come back, and they would have a car pick them up.

"Hello," she answered.

"Hello, Caroline." Came the accented voice of Katerina. "I hope I am not disturbing you?"

"Not at all."

"Good. I wanted to call and invite the three of you to dinner tonight."

"I'm not sure. Is the rest of your family going to be there?" Caroline said hesitantly. She wasn't ready for that.

"No, my father has kept the family busy. So it will just be the five of us."

That didn't sound bad. The longer the rest of the family didn't find out about her, the better. At least until they could get the memory spell and maybe the lineage spell, Caroline wanted to get answers before dealing with the rest of the Matvyve family.

"That sounds reasonable. What time?"

"We will have a car come pick you up at five."

"Okay. We will be ready."

"Till then, Goodbye."

"Bye"

Hanging up, Caroline informed her mom and Bonnie about their new dinner plans.

—

When she heard her mother answer the phone, Caroline finished putting her boots on. Looking at the clock on her phone; it read five o'clock.

'Just on time,' she thought.

"Girls, our ride is here," Liz shouted.

Grabbing a small purse, Caroline looked in the mirror, checking everything was in place.

She had curled her hair in soft rings that bounced when she moved, going with little makeup, only mascara for her eyes and a golden lip gloss. Her outfit for the evening was a cream-colored long-sleeve blouse and navy blue skinny jeans with ankle-high boots. Deciding that the look was perfect, Caroline grabbed her jacket and walked out of her room. Once entering the living area, she saw her mother and Bonnie waiting.

"Wow, mom, you look great." It was nice seeing her mother in something other than her police uniform. Her mother wore a dark blue sleeveless blouse, black dress pants, and a matching black jacket.

"Thank you," Liz replied. "And so do you both."

Bonnie had gone with a dark green blouse that brought out her eyes, black jeans, a jacket, and simple flats. She had pulled her hair into a stylish ponytail. She also had her bag that looked like it would bust with the three grimoires.

Seeing Caroline look down at her bag, Bonnie replied, "Figured since we are going to dinner, might as well show them what we found. Maybe even get a start on making the potion."

"Alright, girls, let's get going," Liz said, ushering them out the door.

Once outside the hotel, they were met with what was supposed to be their ride.

"I thought you said they'd send a car?" Liz said in shock.

"Yes, that's what she said." Caroline looked up and saw that instead of a car, there was a limo parked right in front of the hotel. The driver was standing by the end of the limo. Stepping up to the limo, the driver spoke.

"Miss Caroline?"

"Uh, Yes, that's me."

"I'm Yuri; Miss Katerina sent me to pick you up." He smiled and opened the door for them.

Smiling, they thanked him and started to enter the limo. Before she could, Caroline heard a swoosh to her right. Turning to scan the street, she only saw a few people walking down the way. A mother with her two kids. A group of teens laughing at something on one of their phones.

Then there was a man dressed in a very nice suit with a brunette woman leaning against him, just a few feet away from the hotel door.

'Hmm, I could have sworn they weren't there a seconded ago." she thought. She couldn't see the brunette's face, but the man looked in their direction. Something about him that had Caroline on edge. She couldn't place it.

"Sweety is everything alright?" her mother called.

"Nothing. Sorry for the hold-up."

Once inside, the driver shut the door and moved to the driver's side. Caroline looked once more at the couple and saw that the brunette had turned, and Caroline could see her face.

"Elena?" It couldn't be. Her friend is in Mystic Falls.

"Caroline?" Bonnie asked.

"I could have sworn this lady standing over there looks exactly like Elena," Caroline said, looking away from the window.

"Let me see." Bonnie scooted over to look, but by that time, the brunette had already turned and was walking into the hotel. The man in the suite was right behind her. "I didn't see her face. Maybe she looked similar to Elena?" she asked.

"Or maybe I'm just going crazy." Sighing, Caroline moved away from the window. "I swear, it could have been her. Minus the curly hair and expensive clothes."

Laughing, "Then it's defiantly not our friend."

Smiling, Caroline agreed. But something was off about them. She was still learning about the supernatural world and what she could do. She didn't have a teacher in the first few weeks after turning. Learning to control her new strength and heightened senses, speed and hunger were all things she had to learn on her own. Her mother and Bonnie had helped her, but Caroline was on her own for the most part.

Bonnies gram had taught her the differences between humans and vampires. She could hear the heartbeats and blood pulsing within their veins with humans. In contrast, vampires had an almost nonexistent heartbeat and had cold skin. And that vervain was poisonous to a vampire. Shela had also warned her that some had daylight rings. Just like the one Bonnie had made for her. So they could walk in the daylight. Not all vampires had one because it required a witch to make one. And from experience, witches didn't like vampires very much.

When Caroline had met Leni's pack, she had learned some. Wolves had a faster heartbeat than humans and had almost hot skin. And that wolfsbane was poison to them. They also shifted on the full moon.

That was something Caroline hated the most. Breaking every bone in her body over and over again. She had only done it once. Her mother and Shela had taken her to the family cabin far away from town. Caroline had learned that being a hybrid meant she didn't turn on the full moon like normal wolves; she could shift at any time. Caroline could still feel the moon's pull, calling to the wolf within.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt her mother's hand on her knee. "Caroline, sweety, is everything alright?"

"I was just lost in thought. I didn't mean to worry you." blushing slightly. "Mom, when we get home, I wanna learn to shift."

"Oh, Caroline. Honey. Are you certain?" Liz asked. Caroline knew that it brought painful memories for her mom.

"Yeah. I am. Leni said that I needed to find the balance between the wolf and the vampire. Not to let one or the other control me. And I believe that if I can learn to shift with minimal pain, I will be closer to that balance. I know I can do it." Caroline said proudly.

Liz said, "Alright. Then we can still use the cabin for it." hugging her daughter; she said, "I know there isn't anything I can do or say to change your mind once you've made it up on something."

"Carolines gotta be the best at everything." Bonnie teased.

"It's not my fault that other people can't be bothered to see their potential. I wanna be the best and know I can do it." Caroline said.

Her mom and a best friend laughed at Caroline's little outburst, and she couldn't help but join in.

The driver spoke up over the speaker system. "Will be arriving in just a moment."

They took the time to collect themselves. Seeing that they were driving through an open gate and would be there shortly.

"Do you wonder if they will have the gardens lighted up?" She asked

"Oh, I hope so," Bonnie said excitedly. "Miranda said the coven has a house and garden somewhere on the property and one in the city." They found the answer was yes when they rounded the bend. Two large gardens sat on either side of the drive with many different flowers. The gardens were light with lanterns along pathways, making them look magical. On the left side, they could see a few smaller rectangular buildings, a large greenhouse, and a small open gazebo. On the right was a two-story square building with a dome roof. All the buildings had the same style structure. Made of red bricks and white pillars, from what Caroline could tell.

The limo pulled up around the circular driveway to stop at the front steps. The driver had gotten out once parked to open the door for them. There waiting for them was Nikolai standing at the bottom; this time, he was dressed in black dress slacks, a crimson shirt, and a cream-colored tie. Katerina was standing only a few steps up behind him. Dressed in a grey knee-length pencil skirt, short sleeve baby pink blouse, and matching high heels. Her hair was still in its long way curls.

'Are all vampires beautiful?' Caroline thought to herself. She hadn't dealt with any other vampires to compare to.

"Welcome, ladies," Nikolai said as he gave a half bow.

"Thank you for the invite," Caroline replied.

"Please follow me. Dinner will be ready shortly," he said, leading up the stairs and into the main entrance to the mansion. Palace was more like it with how large the outside structure was. They entered the greeting area. It was the only thought Caroline could come up with. It was an oval-shaped room with burgundy walls and a cream-colored ceiling with golden trim. The floor was a mix of dark and light polished wood. Pillars in the same color as the ceiling were around the room's edges. Two half-circle staircases sat at the opposite end of the room, leading up to the second-floor balcony. A long hallway could be seen under the stairs. A round dark table sat in the middle of the room with a vase full of colorful flowers. Miranda stood off to the side of the room.

"I asked Miranda if she would look over the spells you founds while we ate dinner," Nikolai said.

Bother Bonnie and Miranda moved towards the table and started talking. Bonnie pulled the books out to show her.

"Thank you again." Caroline turned to Nikolai.

"It is my pleasure, Miss Caroline." Giving what Caroline could only presume was a rare smile. She smiled back.

Katerina had been quiet since they arrived, only now choosing to speak. "The linage spell is something I believe is possible. There have been many rulers, nobles, and the like over the ages seeking a way of finding a legitimate way of proving who was of their blood or not. I am having a few of our contacts look into it if Miranda can't find it in our collection."

"We have everything here for the memory potion," Miranda spoke up. "It shouldn't take long to make. It should be ready after dinner. There is a limit on it, though." She said, looking at Caroline. "Once it's ready, you must take it immediately for the potion to take full effect."

There wouldn't be any time for second-guessing this. "I understand," she said.

Nodding in understanding, Miranda looked toward Nikolai.

"We will be in the summer dining room," he replied. With that, Miranda gathered the book and headed through one of the side doors to their left.

—-

Dinner had gone by at a comfortable pace. They spoke about all topics, including school, college, and their hometown. Nikolia and her mother had gotten into a long conversation that had something to do with her job as sheriff. Katerina had told the girls about the family interest when asked. Caroline was curious about what 600-year-old vampires do.

They found out the family is involved in a lot of different businesses. "You can't always rely on a compulsion to get what you want. And to blend in with the humans, you have to adapt." Katerina had told them. They were involved in everything from politics to fashion, medicine, education, mining, and so on.

There was a knock on the door, and they could hear a man speaking Russian on the other side.

"Enter'' Nikolia spoke. When they first met, the man entered, and Caroline recognized him as one of the men with Katerina. He moved to Nikolia's sides and spoke in a rushed tone. Sighing, Nikolia stood and waved the man away. "A family member is here, and other guests arrived unannounced. Please excuse us while we take care of this."

Without waiting for a reply, both he and Katerina exited the room.

"Well, we knew it would be only a matter of time before one of them showed up before we were ready," Caroline said. Was she ready to meet them?

"I know, sweety." her mother hugged her. "But it will be okay. At least we got through dinner without a problem."

"That's true; I was amazed about everything they are involved with," Bonnie said. So was Caroline.

Before anyone could reply, there was another slight knock on the door. They all looked at each other before Caroline spoke up. "Come in?"

It was Miranda who opened the door and entered. Giving a confused looked. Liz spoke. "They had to go deal with some guests."

"Oh, Well, I wanted to come by and give you this." pulling a medium bottle of what looked like a green liquid from her bag.

This was it. If it worked like the book said it would, then Caroline could finally get some answers. "I'm ready." She finally said. Miranda handed her the bottle.

"You'll need to drink it all at once."

"Do you know how it will affect her?" her mother asked.

"All it said was it was going to unlock hidden memories."

"It's okay, mom. You'll be looking out for me," Caroline reassured her mother. Taking the top off, Caroline quickly sniffed and found it smelled sweet. Heading Miranda's words, Caroline drank the whole bottle. It tasted like it smelled sweet with a hint of spice. Once the bottle was empty, she gave it back to Miranda.

"Now what?" she asked.

"We wait. It shouldn't take long for it to start taking effect. It might be best if we move you to a more comfortable room. Just in case it knocks you on your ass."

"Wouldnt that be funny." Bonnie teased.

There was a loud crash that startled them.

"What the in the world," Liz said with concern.

"I'm gonna go check it out," Caroline said, moving out of the room and towards the noise and ignoring her mother's requests for her to stay put. Something told her she needed to investigate. Moving her new hybrid speed, Caroline made it to the main hall in seconds. Peeking around the corner, she saw the large entrance now looked small with the number of people standing there. She saw the cause of the loud noise. The table that once sat in the middle had been broken in half. With the vase of flowers now shattered and its continents scattered across the floor.

As she watched the scene before her, her mind raced. She knew, for the most part, everyone in the room. Their names floated quickly in her mind, but she still did not understand how she knew them. Katerina was pushing a young man back away from the other group. His name floated quickly in her mind.

Kristof. As soon as she thought, it slipped away. Three out of the ten people in the room she didn't recognize. As she looked over each person, their names floated quickly to her mind and then slipped away.

The grinning trickster Kol, Rebekah concerned blonde. Finn, the annoyed oldest. The peacekeeper Elijah. And then the hothead Niklaus.

"Where is Hinrik?"

Her mind raced with names and images so fast that Caroline felt like she would be sick. She hadn't even realized that she had moved into the room and spoken. All ten sets of eyes turned and looked at her, each with a different reaction. Caroline didn't see them. Her vision blurred, and she felt herself fall to the ground. Expecting to hit the floor, she instead felt strong arms hold her. Caroline only saw the flash of blue eyes before everything went dark.