If you recognize it, I don't own it! I own the OCs and an unhealthy addiction to popcorn.
Some of the tv show plot points have been switched intentionally, so don't come at me for that. Also, this somehow became a Jenna-centric chapter and I'm not sorry at all.
Also, this story is now on AO3!
TW: Some non-graphic talk about Miriam's crappy experiences and for some not very graphic death.
KLAUS' POV
Klaus's life had become infinitely more difficult within the last week. Elijah was back in his life. His brother had found him, claiming he sought reconciliation. Then he had presented Klaus with the tools to break his curse. Klaus had half-given up on freeing himself, but Elijah was offering him the means to do so. And finally, Klaus had found his mate, whom he also shared with Elijah and two other mystery people. Now Klaus was two days away from unlocking his werewolf side, and the tension was boiling under his skin.
After dealing with the Florida wolf pack, Klaus had left the dinky little town that had once been his home. He had gone to the nearest town with a population of over ten thousand and went on a mini binge, killing and feeding on the homeless population. Elijah hadn't approved- when had he ever approved of Klaus's choices?- but Klaus hadn't cared. He had needed the release that hunting gave him, and he needed a full stomach to get through the next few days.
Now he was back in Mystic Falls. He felt compelled to be close to the Doppelganger, but also his new mate. She was a light and he was a moth, helplessly flying closer. Against his wishes, he found himself at the farmhouse that Elijah and Miriam were temporarily living in. Following the scent of flowers and rich earth, he walked around the house. He found his mate in the backyard, sitting on a blanket in the afternoon sun. One of her numerous knitting projects sat to the side while she worked on something in her lap. She was dressed in a yellow sundress with small white polka dots. Her dark skin glowed in the sunlight. Her hair was loose and moved whenever a breeze went by.
He didn't know how to act around Miriam. She was an enigma, his little mate. She wore colorful, handmade clothes and slept in a room filled with soft things. She spoke to him with kindness, and offered restaurant recommendations to him and his witches. And she also snapped at him, saying things like 'I refuse to be the rope that you and Elijah play tug-of-war with' and 'I don't want to be a toy that you argue over'. Though he doubted anyone would believe it, it had been Miriam who had suggested crushing the werewolf bitch to death, saying that "She should feel the weight of the lives she's destroyed".
In those moments, her darker moments, he could see why the gods had crafted her to be his and Elijah's mate. She hadn't balked at the fact that the werewolves had to die for their plot to kidnap her. She had watched stoically as he and Elijah had killed the wolves. She hadn't looked away in disgust or pity. When they killed the female wolf, Klaus had even spotted a flash of self-satisfaction on Miriam's face.
Miriam must have sensed him, because she looked up from whatever she was working on. A slow, cautious smile spread across her face. "Hi."
"Hello," he replied, and cursed himself for feeling like a teenager with a crush. He was glad his voice hadn't cracked on the word.
"Wanna join me?" she asked, and patted the blanket she was sitting on.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see the female vampire and the male witch watching him from the patio. He knew that if he made the wrong move, those two would try to attack him. He wanted to tear their throats out for assuming that he would hurt his mate.
"Sure," he slowly lowered himself to the blanket. "What are you working on?"
She lifted up her half-finished creation. "A flower crown! Yesterday Elijah brought home several bouquets of daisies to brighten up the house, and I wanted to see if I could make a flower crown out of one. It's going okay, if I do say so myself," she grinned cheekily.
Her smiles were going to disarm him if he wasn't careful. He had to be close to her, the mating bond demanded it. But he refused to be weak and fall in love with her. Still, it was hard to ignore her presence. Everything about her called to him. Her scent, floral and earthy, enchanted him. She was wine; intoxicating and delicious. Klaus wondered if her blood tasted as amazing as she smelled.
"Can you hand me another flower?" she asked and she bent and twisted the flower stems.
Klaus wordlessly held out a daisy to his mate. She smiled and reached for it, her leg curling under her to give her body leverage to move forward. The motion made her flinch, though she tried to mask it by accepting the flower and rocking back into her previous position. She rubbed her leg before continuing to incorporate the newest flower into the crown.
Klaus frowned. She shouldn't be hurt. He or Elijah had been feeding her their blood every night without fail. They had learned from the near catastrophe several days ago; they would not leave her vulnerable again.
"Are you… alright?" he asked hesitantly, afraid to offend his mate.
She didn't look him in the eyes; instead she focused on his shoulder. "Yep!"
It was the first time she had lied to him. Klaus found that he didn't like it one bit. His face hardened at her falsehood. "Tell me the truth, Miriam. Are you in pain?"
"No, I'm not," she said, then at his thunderous expression added, "I promise!"
"You will have to forgive me if I don't believe you." Without any remorse he reached out and snatched her leg. He gently but firmly pulled it toward him, ignoring her squawking. He knew the only reason her body guards weren't attacking was because they also wanted to know why she seemed to be in pain (though he heard June mutter that she wouldn't hesitate to castrate him if his hands wandered. He'd like to see her try). He examined the limb, not smelling any blood under the skin, or feeling any wounds. He pushed aside the warm feeling he got from touching her skin and forced his hands to release her.
Miriam glared at him without any real heat and she tucked her leg under her, as if she could protect it from him. "I told you, I'm not hurt. It's just… don't laugh."
He was still bothered by the fact that she seemed to be in pain, but he nodded in acquiescence.
"I told you that when Caroline and I were kidnapped by the werewolves we were tortured? Well, the wolf who hurt us, he broke my leg. He just… he snapped it like it was nothing to him, and it wasn't. I was healed by June soon after, but every now and then I get this phantom pain in my leg," she grimaced. "I know it's all in my head, but sometimes it just feels so real."
"Have you mentioned this to Elijah?" Klaus asked, feeling out of his league and wanting his brother to deal with Miriam's mental issues instead of him.
Miriam shook her head. "No. I don't want to bother him. I wouldn't have said anything to you, if you hadn't taken my leg hostage."
Against his will his lips twitched into a smile at her tense, slightly angry tone. She was like a kitten: adorable in her annoyance.
"And I know it's all in my head, but I still feel the pain in my leg, and sometimes in my neck," she self-consciously touched her neck. Barely visible to the human eye were scars of fang marks. She had been bitten, repeatedly, and at least once by someone who didn't care if she healed or not. "After we deal with your curse, I want to try to find a therapist. There's got to be someone in the supernatural community or associated with the supernatural community that has a degree in psychology."
If she had been anyone else, Klaus would have given her a snarky answer. Admitting to a stranger of any type of weakness was foolish, in his opinion. But her large brown eyes were so sincere, and he could see the weight of all her trials in the way she held her body. He was still reluctant to fully trust Miriam, but, he reasoned, he needed to do something to make her trust him. She had knowledge in her head that could keep him ahead of his enemies, and if she was ever going to share that knowledge, she had to trust him. That was the only reason why he was about to give her the piece of information.
(Denial was a beautiful thing, a small part of him whispered.)
"Ask Greta or Dr. Martin," Klaus said. "The Martins are a powerful coven, second only to the Bennett witches in the United States. Each witch focuses on one aspect of magic, the witch-version of a career path. Maddox is an expert at ancient spells, Greta dabbles in feminine magic, Dr. Martin in offensive magic, and I believe his sister, Goldie Martin, focuses on mind magic. Ask the Martins if she is the type of person you seek."
"I will, thank you," her eyes were soft.
Her gaze enthralled him… he had to get away before she fully ensnared him. He surged to his feet. "Well, it was nice to see you, but I'll have to be going now."
"Really?" Miriam stood up too. She looked disappointed, which both stroked his ego and confused him. "Elijah and I are going out to dinner tonight, and I was hoping that you would join us."
Klaus wanted to go to dinner with them. He wanted to be near her, he wanted to be close to his brother again. He wanted to have the both of them, without fear that Elijah would steal Miriam or that Miriam would choose Elijah over him. Klaus wanted to cave to Elijah's demands and release their siblings; he wanted his pack to be together and whole.
But Klaus also wanted to feel free. The curse kept his werewolf side contained, that was true, but Miriam was a different kind of curse. To love her, to care about her well-being, was just as stifling as the curse. He knew he was already in too deep (his actions several days ago was evidence that he would do anything to save her), but he could try to save himself before he fully drowned.
With that in mind, Klaus stepped back from his mate. "Sorry, love, but I've got plans. The full moon is two days away, and I've got to make sure that everything goes smoothly. See you around, Miriam."
And he sped away before he could cave to her sweet words.
Klaus checked on the werewolf and vampire sacrifices, which took several hours. After, he went by the Gilbert house to make sure that the doppelganger was still trapped in her house. The girl was sullen, but her martyr complex shone through, and she kept pleading for the life of her friends. He had agreed to keep her friends out of the sacrifice, but made sure Elena knew that he could and would change his mind if she tried to escape her fate. In reality, Klaus couldn't care less about her friends. He had looked into all of them, just in case there was a serious threat, but they had all been lackluster. There was a human who was still ignorant to the supernatural community and the doppelganger's younger brother who had the potential to become a hunter, but was too immature to actually be a good one. The Bennett witch was the only true threat; she would make a good ally, but she was hell-bent on fighting him. The Salvatore brothers were a nuisance, but not a true threat (He was still debating on what he was going to do about Stefan Salvatore; a like-minded friend would be nice, but the Ripper didn't have control, and Klaus didn't want an uncontrollable vampire near Miriam). The baby vamp, Caroline, was no threat at all. The girl was spunky and full of life, and devoutly loyal to Miriam. Klaus had heard that the young vampire had tried to protect Miriam when the werewolves attacked. She might not be powerful, but she was willing to take a bullet to the head to protect her friend and sister-bonded, and that type of loyalty had its own strength.
The adults of Mystic Falls were just as incompetent as the young ones. There was a Council that swore to kill vampires, but the Salvatore brothers were still alive. The sheriff hated vampires, but her own daughter was one. The mayor had no idea her son was a werewolf. The hunter, Alaric Saltzman, had broken every hunter code by befriending Damon Salvatore and allowing him to live. Saltzman willingly allowed Damon to live, despite the large body count the vampire held. Saltzman had no problem throwing the children into the line of fire, yet somehow Klaus was the Great Evil. That type of hypocrisy was dangerous. John Gilbert was a slimy weasel, and the less said about him the better.
All in all, the citizens of Mystic Falls held little threat to Klaus. The ones who could potentially ruin things, the Bennett witch and the Salvatores, were going to make a move to try to save Elena soon, Klaus could tell. But he had a plan in place to cut off any attempt to ruin the ritual. He hadn't survived as long as he had without backup plans. If the young ones thought they could fight him, they had another thing coming.
After he had intimidated the doppelganger, Klaus caved to his instincts and went to the restaurant that he knew Elijah and Miriam were going to for dinner. It was a little Italian place in a small town an hour or so away from Mystic Falls. He found it easily, and found his brother and mate sitting at a table on the warmly lit patio area. Klaus stayed in the shadows and observed them. His brother was surprisingly wearing an outfit that wasn't a suit. He wore a light blue pinstripe button down long-sleeved shirt with blue slacks and brown shoes. The outfit was casual, for Elijah. Klaus knew that Elijah's love for formal wear came from a desire to mask his inner demons. For him to dress more casually meant that he felt comfortable with Miriam.
Elijah said something funny and Miriam laughed. Klaus wanted to be the one who made her laugh, but he gritted his teeth and stayed just out of sight. He drank in the sight of his mate, like he hadn't seen her only a handful of hours ago. She looked lovely in the warm light. Her brown skin glowed, and Klaus wanted to taste it. She wore a baby pink cashmere sweater, and she looked so soft and touchable. Her curly hair had been swept into a bun, exposing her neck. For the second time in a day Klaus wondered what her blood tasted like.
Klaus tilted his head, tuning in to their conversation.
"I really hope that Kol forgave you for that," Miriam said, laughter evident in her voice.
"Oh, he never knew it was me," Elijah's tone was lighthearted. "I pinned the blame on Rebekah. She was always fighting with Kol, and he believed me when I told him I had seen her put the squirrel in his blankets."
"You're awful!" Miriam laughed. "Is that how all siblings are?"
"It is how my siblings were," Elijah said. "We teased and pranked each other, but we were also fiercely protective of each other. Klaus beat a man in our village bloody for propositioning Rebekah when she was only fourteen. She had only flowered the year previous, and she still had much growing to do. As the only girl in our family, our parents guarded her with equal fervor. Our father might not have been a good man, but he did hold some affection for Rebekah when she was younger. I believe that she reminded him of the daughter my parents lost before we came to America. When she was very little, Father would call Rebekah 'Freya'," Elijah sounded wistful, and Klaus felt a pang of longing for a simpler time. His father might not have ever had love for him, but when they were very little things weren't as bad.
"Hey," Klaus was close enough to see Miriam reach across the table and grab Elijah's hands. "I know you all have a horrible relationship with your father. He's a twisted man who has let hate fester in him like a disease. You don't have to defend him, and you also don't have to vilify him to me if you don't want to. It can't have been all bad, so if you have any good stories, I'm totally willing to listen."
"Thank you, vorgyðja. Even a thousand years later, I am still deeply affected by our father's actions. Isn't it strange how the actions of our parents shape us? Did you know that our grandfather was abusive to Mikael? Mikael would say things like 'do not cry, boy. My father did worse to me'. I can't help but think about grandfather- was his father abusive as well? How deep does this rot infect our family tree?" Elijah mused darkly.
"However deep the infection goes, it can stop with you and your siblings," Miriam said. "You don't have to carry what your father and your grandfather have handed down. You can bring new life to your family tree."
"Your faith in us is unwarranted, but much appreciated."
"I know you all are capable of so much, I just want you to be able to heal together. Once all of you are released, you need to be truthful. I've kept your secrets, and Klaus' and Rebekah's, but once you are all free, you need to talk. I won't out your respective secrets, but I also refuse to go further with you and Klaus burdened with the knowledge of your deepest secrets," Miriam's voice was soft but firm.
"That is fare," Elijah acknowledged. "But enough of the heavy topics. Let's enjoy our date. The next couple of days will be busy and stressful, and I want us to have one night of relative peace before it all starts."
"Alright. Wait, before we talk about date things, I really want to know: where did you hide the moonstone? I've been trying to figure it out," her tone was playfully serious.
"That would take the fun out of hiding it in a secret place," Elijah chuckled. "I will give you one clue: it is closer to you than you think."
"That's a sucky clue," Miriam fake-pouted.
Elijah laughed at her expression.
Klaus watched the entirety of their date. The proximity to his mate, to happiness, hurt in an addicting way. He was close enough to see, hear, and smell her, but too far away to touch her. He didn't dare get closer, for he was afraid that he would taint her and she would taint him. So instead he just stood in the shadows, watching his brother make her laugh and smile.
Elijah had known he was there the entire time. When Miriam went to the ladies' room, Elijah got up and joined Klaus.
"We both would have been fine with you joining us," he said nonchalantly. "Miriam was disappointed that you did not join us."
The piece of information was like a stake in the heart. "I had things to do," Klaus lied.
Elijah gave him an unimpressed look. "Of course you did. You know, Niklaus, you have a mate that is willing to open her life and heart to you. She's terrified of becoming, in her own words, useless. But she is trying to push her own fears to the side to deal with your curse and our family's dysfunctionality. She wants to get to know you. If you don't want to lose her, you might want to think about spending time with her."
"The ritual-"
"The ritual will be finished in two days. What will you do after? How do you want to spend your life after you are free of the wretched curse that binds you?"
Klaus didn't know how to answer.
Elijah clapped his hand on Klaus' shoulder. "I want you to stay with us after you are free, brother. I just hope you want the same thing."
And then he left to rejoin their beautiful mate, leaving Klaus in the dark.
MIRIAM'S POV
Miriam had a stressful few days.
She had been nearly kidnapped by a psychotic werewolf, had seen her friend killed in front of her, and had witnessed her first execution. But it hadn't been all bad. August and Caroline had survived. Klaus and Elijah had held her after the ordeal, and the feeling of them on either side of her had lulled her to sleep.
Of course, Klaus being Klaus, had left the bed sometime in the night, and had spent the next two days in another town. Elijah had been elusive about what Klaus was doing, but Miriam could read between the lines.
And then Klaus had returned. Miriam's stupid heart was stupid, and she felt a crush start to form on the Original Hybrid. She was still scared that he would turn on her, but the way he had defended her when Jules had taken her, her fear was slowly dissipating. So she had been stupid (stupid, stupid girl with a stupid crush) and had invited him to dinner with her and Elijah. She knew Elijah wouldn't mind, and she hoped Klaus would say yes. But instead he had given her a weak excuse and left before she could try to convince him.
August and June had given her sympathetic looks when she went into the house, but she ignored them. If Klaus didn't want to go to dinner with her and Elijah, then fine. She and Elijah would go themselves, and they would have a great time.
And they did. Elijah was charming and a good conversationalist. He wasn't scared to talk about his past or his childhood, and in turn Miriam tried to be more open with him. They kept the topics relatively light, and enjoyed the atmosphere and the good food.
It was the next day, the 26th of April. The full moon was in two days. Just two days. Miriam hoped she hadn't changed too much in the timeline to affect Klaus and the ritual. If she somehow messed up enough events to change the outcome of the ritual, she would never forgive herself.
Miriam was making herself lunch when her phone rang. Damon's name seemed to mock her, even in text form.
"Hello?" Miriam said warily.
"Miriam! Would you be so kind as to join us at Elena's prison-I mean house," Damon snarked.
Miriam sighed. "Why, Damon?"
"We need to talk about the ritual."
"What do we need to talk about? Elena agreed to her part in the ritual, you all agreed to let her do it."
"We both know that she made that choice under duress," Damon's emotions were starting to take over, Miriam could tell. This wasn't going to end well.
"What do you want me to do, Damon? I'm not going to let you use me as a pawn to force Klaus and Elijah's hands," she was firm in that. She had reached her quota of kidnappings and being used as Elijah's weak spot.
"Elena's threatening to kill herself," Damon said bluntly.
Well, that was bad. "I'll be over in an hour." She hung up before he could say anything else.
Miriam abandoned her lunch of choice- a variety of fruit and cheese and bread- and instead made herself a peanut butter sandwich. It was quick and full of calories, something she still needed to eat more of. While she ate she texted Elijah and Klaus.
"June, August!" Miriam called as she finished her sandwich. June came up from the basement and August came inside from the backyard. "Turns out we're going to have to enact the plan we were talking about. You guys ready?"
"Yep, just let me grab my bag," August said, disappearing into the dining room where all the witchy stuff was.
Within ten minutes they were on the road. They stopped just outside of town, and waited until two other cars joined them. The Martins with Elijah and Klaus with Maddox joined the car caravan to the Gilbert house.
Miriam's heart was beating rapidly in her chest. She hoped their plan would work, and that Damon or Bonnie wouldn't ruin it. She was pretty sure Damon had lied about Elena, but if he hadn't, that would add another element to worry about. This had to go perfect, or someone would get hurt or worse. Worse would be Elena dying and the friendships she made with Caroline and Jenna would go up in smoke.
"It'll be okay," August said from the passenger seat. He had twisted to look at Miriam in the back. "The Martins and Maddox know what to do, and Jenna won't stop us. In fact, I think she'll support our decision."
"Yeah, I'm just worried about Damon or Bonnie doing something stupid," Miriam admitted. "Damon has zero impulse control, and Bonnie believes it's her job to save everyone. That combination is deadly."
"All of us combined are enough to restrain a young vampire and a novice witch," June said. She was driving, since as a vampire her reaction time would be faster than August's.
Miriam knew that, but still her mind went to worst-case scenarios.
They arrived at the Gilbert house soon after. Damon, Stefan, and Bonnie were standing on the porch. They looked confident, until they realized that three cars were parking. Stefan, the most sensible of the three, blanched when he saw Klaus and Elijah get out of their respective cars.
"I see you brought a couple of friends, M&M," Damon said, nervousness in his eyes, though his posture remained cocky.
"Well, anything to do with the doppelganger concerns me," Klaus smiled sharply. "If darling Elena has cold feet, or if Bonnie Bennett thinks she has enough power to defy me, I need to know."
"Everything's fine, we just wanted to talk to Miriam," Stefan said before Damon could bait Klaus.
"Why would you need to talk to my mate over my brother or myself?" Elijah asked. The three Martins, Maddox, June, and August were all out of the cars and making their way towards the house. "Did you, perhaps, believe you could sway her to your cause?"
"Or," Klaus' eyes flashed, "did you believe you could use her to change our minds about this ritual? Because I can assure you, neither outcome would happen."
Miriam stepped forward, eager to stop a potential fight. "Whatever your plan is, it won't work. Please, just don't even try. Things won't end well if you do."
Her words did the opposite of what Miriam intended for them to do.
Bonnie, beautiful, bold Bonnie, thought she was powerful enough to take on two Originals, an ancient vampire, and five vampires. She thrust her hand out and those closest to her: Miriam, Elijah and Dr. Martin, were propelled backwards. Miriam screamed as she flew through the air. Before she could hit the ground Klaus was there, catching her. He set her down gently before racing back towards the house. Elijah had landed gracefully next to them and June caught Dr. Martin.
June set Dr. Martin and came up to Miriam, guarding her. From her relatively safe position, Miriam could see what was happening.
Klaus and Elijah raced up to Stefan and Damon, and before the younger vampires could even put up a fight, their necks were snapped. At the same time, Dr. Martin and his children were chanting as they walked up to Bonnie. She screamed and collapsed. Jenna, Jeremy, and Elena ran out of the house (The fact that Jeremy and Elena could leave the house confirmed Miriam's fears that Bonnie had been planning something). Jeremy knelt next to Bonnie and frantically checked her for injury.
"Bonnie!" Elena shouted. She glared at the witches. "What did you do?!"
"They took my powers!" Bonnie wailed.
"We blocked them," Dr. Martin corrected, his face hard. "The block won't last long, maybe a week. Until then, you won't be able to do magic."
"What Dr. Martin means to say is that you won't be able to interfere with the upcoming ritual," Klaus grinned.
"Consider this a punishment for your scheming," Elijah said. He flashed up to Jenna and Elena. "Now, you two wouldn't happen to know what Bonnie was planning?"
Elena glared at him, but Jenna shook her head. "I didn't know they were planning anything, but they did mention something about Bonnie getting a boost of magical power."
"Then it's a good thing we stopped that foolish plan," Klaus smiled as he approached Bonnie. "Hopefully for you, by this time two days from now I will be a full Hybrid. But, if for some reason I'm not, it's your head that I'm coming for. Understand?"
Still sobbing, Bonnie managed to glare at Klaus. Miriam had to admire her spunk.
"Jenna, I apologize for this, but we need to take Elena with us," Elijah said, causing Bonnie to sob harder and Elena to go pale. "This incident has shown that the children cannot be trusted with keeping their word."
Jenna gulped and looked over at Miriam, who nodded encouragingly.
"Fine, but I need frequent updates," Jenna said.
"Jenna!" Elena looked betrayed and Jeremy just looked sad and confused.
"We will not harm her," Elijah assured the guardian. "The plan is to put her in an enchanted sleep. We will not wake her until after the ritual. She will not be hurt or traumatized."
"Jenna, please don't let them take me," Elena sobbed.
"Elena, I have no power or control over this situation," Jenna snapped at her niece. "Elijah has been kind enough to promise a way to keep you alive, and Klaus has agreed to honor that promise. They didn't have to do that, Elena."
"We don't even know if the elixir will work," Jeremy said. Bonnie was still crying and shaking in his arms.
"It will," Greta Martin promised. "All five of us tested it and it will work. It's similar to your Gilbert ring. One all the blood is drained from her body and she dies, the elixir will be triggered, and her body will replenish her blood supply and her heart will beat again."
"I can't trust any of you!" Elena snapped. "You all want to kill me!"
"You just aren't listening, young one," Elijah shook his head. He went up to Elena and grabbed her by her arm, forcing her to walk into the house. "Come inside, now. We are drawing attention from the neighbors. June, can you compel them?"
"Of course," June left to deal with the noisy neighbors.
Maddox and August spelled Damon and Stefan's corpses before tossing them into the back of one of the cars. The plan for the Salvatores was imprisonment until after the ritual was completed. They would be compelled to stay inside their house. Miriam didn't feel bad grounding the two vampires. They were experts at getting into trouble, and she didn't want to give them the opportunity to mess up the ritual.
The witches had moved inside, as did Jenna and Jeremy, who had to practically drag a comatose Bonnie into the house.
Dr. Martin was explaining the spell to Jenna, who looked like she was going to be ill. But despite her sick pallor she was still listening to the witch. Elena was pacing frantically and alternating between screaming at Jenna and begging Elijah. An unhelpful Klaus was smirking at the whole scene.
Finally the time came for the spell. Elena's vervain necklace was taken off her by Elijah, and she was compelled to sit down. Luka Martin handed her a potion that Elijah compelled her to drink. Once all the contents were swallowed, the witches did the spell, and Elena slumped in her seat.
"We'll take good care of her," Greta promised Jenna. Elena would return to the house Klaus and Greta and Maddox were living in. She would stay there until the ritual.
Jenna just nodded. Miriam went over to her and hugged her. Jenna returned the hug, clutching desperately to Miriam's clothes. Miriam knew that this wasn't easy for Jenna, who felt like she was failing her niece. Miriam just hoped that Elena wouldn't hate Jenna for the tough decisions the older woman had to make.
The whole trip to the Gilbert house had been anticlimactic compared to the werewolf chase a few days ago. Miriam was thankful for that fact. Greta and Maddox moved Elena into the car, and then they left. The Martins, who had the Salvatores in their trunk, left with Klaus. They would return the vampires to their home and Klaus would compel them to stay in their house. After Miriam said goodbye to Jenna, she, Elijah, June, and August returned to the farm house.
Later that night, after dinner, Elijah came into Miriam's room. She was on her bed, knitting. The candle Elijah had given her a few weeks ago was on her nightstand, releasing a gentle smell of vanilla into the air.
Elijah peered down at the candle, checking how much of it had burned. "Don't let it burn much longer, vorgyðja."
"Alright," she agreed, knowing he was weird about the candle. She reached over and grabbed it and held it up to her face. With one blow the flame was extinguished. "Has everything been put in place for the ritual?"
"Yes," Elijah climbed into the bed with her. "The Salvatores have been compelled to stay in their home until after the full moon. The protection spells around the mansion that holds the sacrifices have been reinforced as a precaution. Greta called and said that Elena is doing fine."
Greta's name sparked the memory of Miriam's talk with Klaus.
"Klaus told me that Dr. Martin has a sister who focuses on mind magic," Miriam said.
Elijah nodded. "Yes, she is the witch equivalent to a therapist."
"I would like to get in touch with her," Miriam said slowly. Even though she wanted a therapist, the act of actually reaching out for help was surprisingly difficult. Miriam knew she had to face all the trauma and abuse she had been through, and she wanted to face it, but at the same time she didn't want to think about every shitty thing that had happened to her since she fell into this universe. There were the big incidents, like Mr. Schmitt attacking her, getting kidnapped and fed on by Trevor, and Brady attempting to rape her. There were also smaller acts of aggression towards her, like Damon biting her, Mr. Boggs intimidating her at every opportunity, and Ashley Williamson's feeding sessions. And nearly every person she cleaned for had looked down on her for either the job she worked or the color of her skin. And though she hadn't outwardly showed any emotion, watching the werewolves be executed earlier in the week had been difficult to watch. All in all, Miriam had experienced a lot of crappy things in the past two years.
"If that is what you desire, I shall see it done," he kissed her temple.
"I don't want to continue to have nightmares and flashbacks and phantom pains," Miriam knew she didn't need to explain to Elijah why she wanted a therapist, but she still felt like she had to. "And I know that therapy isn't a magical wand that can be waved over all my issues and make them go away, but I do want tools to help me manage and deal with everything."
"I understand, vorgyðja. You are brave to face your fears. And there is no shame in asking for help."
Miriam's wonderful mate always said the perfect thing to calm her fears. She smiled up at him, just so glad that she had him.
They sat in comfortable silence, her knitting and he on his phone, until a thought flitted across Miriam's mind. "Have you gotten any closer to finding your siblings?"
"Don't tell Niklaus, but yes. I have sent a couple of my men to hunt down a lead. If the gods are on my side, Finn, Kol, and Rebekah will be free within the next couple of days." There was tentative hope in Elijah's tone and that same hope was written across his face. He wanted his brothers and sisters back, and he wanted their family to be whole again. Miriam prayed that Klaus didn't catch wind of Elijah's plans or become vindictive if Elijah managed to free his siblings.
"It'll all work out," Miriam promised. She would make sure of it.
"I pray you are right, vorgyðja."
The next day Elijah and Miriam went shopping in town.
Elijah had been informed of an influx of visitors to Mystic Falls, which meant that the video he and Klaus had sent out to the leaders of the supernatural communities had done its job. Vampires, witches, and a small splattering of werewolves had descended on the small Virginian town to see Klaus fully transform into the world's first hybrid. These leaders, or the representatives they had sent in their place, were an unknown variable. Elijah's protective instincts were in overdrive, though he had agreed with Miriam that the supernatural community needed to witness the curse breaking if they wanted to curb any future attempts to break the false curse of the sun and the moon. His agreement to their plan to welcome the various leaders didn't mean he still wasn't guarding Miriam zealously as they walked down the street.
Miriam tried not to roll her eyes as they passed a person who was obviously a witch and Elijah let out a low rumble of a growl and tucked Miriam into his side.
"We can always head back if it gets too much for you," Miriam teased her stiff mate.
"You wanted more knitting supplies so we are getting you more knitting supplies," Elijah said with forced composure. He was scanning the people around them, looking for threats or hostile faces. "Just because we have more visitors than normal does not mean we cannot go into town for a simple errand."
"If you stop glaring at them, maybe someone would approach us and we could talk to them. It would be good PR," Miriam added when Elijah looked at her askance.
"If anyone dares to come close to you I will remove their spine through their nostrils," Elijah said. Miriam lost the battle and rolled her eyes. She knew that the vampires and werewolves could hear Elijah's threat.
"They will have to come close if I'm going to talk to them," Miriam pointed out.
Elijah ignored her words and led her across the street. Miriam rolled her eyes again.
They spent a long time in the shop. Elijah was paying for her materials so Miriam had no qualms about buying whatever she wanted (that was a lie. She still had qualms, but it was getting easier to fake it for Elijah's sake). Now that Elijah was paying Miriam could buy more expensive yarn and a wider variety of colors. She wanted to make Elijah something, but she was nervous to actually give him anything handmade. She wasn't a novice knitter (the past two years had really improved her skill) but she wasn't a master knitter by any means. Anything she gave him would be subpar. And how could she in good conscience give him a home-made gift? He had given her a car, a safe place to live, access to his bank account, and an overall healthier life than she had before. And she was thinking of giving him a knitted sweater made of materials that he had bought her as a thank you. She felt really pathetic and really poor.
Despite the rising self-hate Miriam bought- Elijah bought, her evil inner-voice whispered- a dozen skeins of yarn in bright colors. While she decided on whether or not to knit Elijah a sweater she was going to make a large patchwork rainbow quilt. She hoped that the cheerful colors would help her focus on happy things. She could feel darker thoughts closing in, like her feelings about making Elijah a sweater, and she wanted to combat those thoughts with happy ones.
Miriam and Elijah were walking out of the store when one of the visitors finally had the courage to approach them.
The woman was beautiful. She was black, and tall, with her hair cut close to her scalp. Her eyes were dark and intense. She was dressed in black clothing that was equal parts sultry and badass. She walked with grace and a feline quality that reminded Miriam of a black panther.
Elijah pulled up short, staring at the woman. "Aya," he breathed.
"Elijah," the ancient vampire dismissed her sire and focused her attention on Miriam. She held her hand out. "Aya Al-Rashid."
Miriam shook her hand. "Miriam Sanchez."
"You must be the mate that Elijah and Klaus killed for," Aya said, her intense eyes looking Miriam up and down. Miriam knew what Aya saw superficially: a short black-Hispanic girl in a mint colored polka dotted sundress and handmade white cardigan with her gold cross shining on her neck. She knew that she didn't look like whoever Aya probably pictured as Elijah's mate. Miriam tried not to fidget under the vampire's stare.
Miriam didn't really know how to reply to that description of herself, so she just said, "Yep, that's me."
Elijah had finally recovered. "Aya. I suppose you are here as a representative for the Strix?"
Aya turned her leonine eyes on him. "Yes. We wanted to validate the information given to us."
"If that is your goal you will not be disappointed. Now, if you will excuse us, we have a previous engagement," Elijah led Miriam away from his former lover.
They barely got to the end of the street before another leader approached and introduced themselves. Elijah sighed but Miriam smiled at the new person. She subtly elbowed Elijah and he begrudgingly entered the conversation.
Miriam believed that one of the Mikaelsons' biggest faults was their inability to keep allies. If she could convince them to be friendly with other vampire communities, witch covens, and werewolf pacts, maybe they could remain on top. With this thought in mind, Miriam ruthlessly dragged Elijah to every supernatural leader or representative they came across. She smiled and introduced herself and Elijah and asked questions about whoever they were talking to. She had a good memory and a good poker face, and she used both as she attempted to charm the people they were talking to. Miriam felt underdressed at times when they met a person in a sharp suit or fancy dress, but she shouldered on. Tomorrow Klaus would become the most powerful creature on the planet. Miriam's goal was for him to remain powerful for the next thousand years, both him and his family. If she had to act like a politician's wife to accomplish that, then so be it.
Elijah loosened up a bit as they met with people. He still didn't like them to be close to Miriam, but he seemed to understand what she was doing. He was charming and knowledgeable about every person they met. Most weren't thrilled to meet him, for his reputation preceded him. But he tried to reassure them that the Mikaelsons weren't breaking Klaus' curse as a mad grab for power but to release him from the chains their mother had placed on his werewolf side.
Finally, after a long time of greasing elbows, Elijah and Miriam returned to the farmhouse.
"I'm exhausted," Miriam declared as she dropped the bag of yarn on the coffee table. She kicked off her sandals and flopped face-first into the couch.
"After tomorrow they should all be gone," Elijah sat down next to her.
"Lord willing and the creek don't rise," Miriam muttered the phrase she had heard August say before. Elijah stroked a hand over her head in consolation.
Tomorrow was the ritual. Tomorrow Klaus' werewolf side would be free. Tomorrow Miriam would find out if the changes she had made to this universe would be good changes or bad changes.
Whatever happened, Miriam just hoped that she hadn't damned the Mikaelsons.
JENNA'S POV
Jenna's life had gone to shit on May 23rd, 2009. That had been the day Miranda and Grayson had died and Jeremy and Elena had been orphaned. She didn't care what John-stupid face-Gilbert and Isobel-wow-vampires-are-real-Flemming said, Elena's true parents had died almost a year ago.
There wasn't a day that went by that Jenna didn't miss Miranda. Her sister had been 10 years older than her, and had always been the mature one. Miranda hadn't shirked her responsibilities or turned in late homework or ducked out of doing chores. Miranda had never been caught with weed in her pocket, or making out with a boy in a car in the school parking lot, or gotten black-out drunk. Miranda had never sat in a CVS bathroom, praying for a negative pregnancy test (and it had been negative, thank god. Nineteen-year-old Jenna would be more responsible about birth control after than scare).
What Miranda had been was diligent, hardworking, and kind. She had married Grayson Gilbert just after her twenty-first birthday. They had been high school sweethearts, because of course Miranda would get the fairytale romance story. Jenna remembered the wedding vividly. Miranda had been beautiful in her poofy 1990s wedding dress. Jenna had been eleven, and had thought that her sister looked like a queen.
Miranda and Grayson 'had' Elena two years after their wedding. Now that Jenna knew that they had adopted Elena, her opinion of her sister and brother-in-law had only risen. They had unselfishly taken in Grayson's biological niece and raised her as their own. They had sheltered and clothed Elena and given her all the love and attention she needed. And two years later Miranda had given birth to Jeremy and had become the picture-perfect nuclear family.
Miranda had always wanted children. She had the temperament for motherhood; she had been patient, kind, and gentle. Jenna knew that moms came in all shapes and sizes, but Miranda had fit the stereotypical mold. Anyone who met Miranda knew that children were in her future.
Jenna hadn't wanted children. She liked living her life without attachments- she hadn't even owned a plant before becoming Elena and Jeremy's guardian! She had been totally comfortable being the cool aunt. She partied (though more responsibly than she did in high school). She hooked up with hot guys and a couple of hot girls. She went on trips with her friends and spent her money on single person shit, like an expensive pair of jeans and decent bottles of wine. There was nothing wrong with the way she had lived her life. She missed it, sometimes. But now she was in charge of two angsty teenagers, her sister's children. And she was trying her best not to let anything happen to them.
Yeah, she realized that she hadn't done the best job the past year. Jenna had gone from a single college student to a parent overnight. She had made a lot of mistakes (somehow she had missed the numerous vampires? Like, what the fuck? But, anyway, the mistakes). She should have gotten the kids into therapy. She should have quit school so that she could focus more on the kids. She should have staked Stefan-Fucking-Salvatore the instant he walked through the front door.
Jenna didn't know when her life had become a YA novel, but she was pissed that she wasn't the teenage protagonist with two hot supernatural suitors. Somehow that was Elena; Jenna was just the redundant parental figure. She had read enough books to realize that she and Jeremy were extra characters in the drama that was Elena's life, but she would be damned if she didn't try to keep Jeremy and herself alive.
Jenna might have been a party girl, but she wasn't a dumbass. She knew that having strong allies would keep her and her niece and nephew alive. That strong ally was Miriam Sanchez. The woman was barely over five feet tall, liked to wear colorful homemade clothes, and was the soulmate of at least two Originals. The evil one, Klaus, wasn't too close to Miriam yet, but the younger woman assured Jenna that the bond was in place, it just needed time. The dashing one, Elijah, was totally in love with Miriam. You only had to watch their interactions to know that. He would do anything to make Miriam happy, and Miriam had asked him to save Elena. Jenna knew that as long as Miriam wanted Elena alive, Elena would remain alive.
Elena, on the other hand, was doing her best to get the Mikaelsons to kill her. Jenna's stupid niece kept encouraging Bonnie to find loopholes and for the Salvatore brothers to fight for her. Elena ignored Caroline and the advice she had, even though the blond vampire was probably the most intelligent out of all of them. Elena also repeatedly tried to get Jenna off vervain. When Jenna found out she had shouted herself hoarse. In retrospect, her reaction hadn't been the most mature one ever, but Elena's actions had also been super immature, so Jenna was validated.
Miriam had promised that Elena would survive the ritual, but Jenna was convinced that the girl's actions would be her downfall, not a supernatural ritual. It was Elena's stupid actions that were getting her in trouble, not her magical blood that was needed for rituals.
Jenna didn't know what to do with Elena. The teenager was surrounded by dangerous people, most of her own volition: Alaric, Damon, Stefan, John, even Bonnie and Caroline. Elena was engaged in a ridiculous and dangerous love triangle that had no hope of resolving peacefully. Getting involved with brothers was never a good idea; getting involved with murderous vampire brothers was suicide.
Jenna had tried to talk some sense into her wayward niece, but it was like talking to a wall. Elena claimed she loved Stefan, but Jenna had seen the looks Elena had traded with Damon. Damon was obviously in love with Elena, and Elena was half-way in love with Damon. And if that wasn't enough drama, both men were hundreds of years old and had killed many people. Neither brother was a good match for Elena, in Jenna's opinion. She knew that Miranda and Grayson were rolling in their graves as Elena embedded herself further with the Salvatores. Their baby girl was in a relationship with a mass murderer (Jenna didn't care what everyone said, Stefan was no more innocent than Damon) and Jenna was helpless to stop it. Because when it came down to it, Elena was nearly an adult. Jenna could only do so much to keep her away from Stefan and Damon, especially when Elena wanted to be with them.
Alaric was no help, the jackass. He claimed to be a vampire hunter, but he was doing a piss-poor job at it. Yeah, he claimed that Damon had redeeming qualities and that Stefan wasn't a monster, but Jenna doubted his words. Alaric was the equivalent of a firefighter allowing an arsonist free range of his town. But instead of burning buildings the Salvatores were eating people and bringing trouble to Jenna's family. And Alaric was doing nothing about it.
Jenna had been told that their only hope against the bad guys was poor Bonnie. Bonnie fully believed it, because she was the only witch in town, and she was from a powerful witch bloodline. But she was untrained and too cocky for her own good. She was going to make a mistake one day that had serious repercussions.
She had only known about the existence of the supernatural community for three weeks now, and she already felt a decade older. She had grounded Elena and Jeremy in an effort to keep them safe. Elena was more likely to run into a burning building, but Jeremy was hanging around Bonnie, and that held its own type of danger. Both teenagers needed to be protected, so Jenna protected them.
Surprisingly, they were not grateful.
Jeremy complained about the unfairness of it. He wasn't the one being hunted for his blood, so why did he have to stay locked up? Jenna would have pitied him more if she hadn't caught him trying to convince Bonnie to let him out.
Elena was even worse. She switched between begging Jenna to let her out so she could run away and giving Jenna the cold shoulder. Jenna didn't know which option she preferred; they both sucked. The Salvatore brothers visited daily. Stefan tried to convince Jenna and Bonnie to take down the spell that kept Elena and Jeremy inside the property line while Damon made thinly veiled threats and obvious threats at Jenna. Elena never appreciated his help, so she always kicked him out. Bonnie would sometimes give him a brain aneurysm. There was a lot of drama in the house, and Jenna was so done.
(Jenna had discovered her first grey hair during this time. She was only barely thirty. She blamed Ric and John.)
Despite Elena, Bonnie, and the Salvatore brothers' efforts, the Mikaelsons still backed them into a corner. Klaus threatened to kill the entire population of Mystic Falls if Elena fled, and Elena-I'm-a-martyr-Gilbert promised to stay. Klaus and Elijah's witches had verified the elixir that would bring Elena back to life, which was one of the only reasons why Jenna hadn't just grabbed her kids and ran.
Now Jenna had to watch as Klaus took Elena from her childhood home. It had damn near torn her heart in two, watching her unconscious niece be carried out of the house and into a waiting car. Jeremy had glared at Jenna from his place next to a weeping, powerless Bonnie. Jenna knew he blamed her for their family's troubles, and she didn't know how to change his mind.
So instead of comforting Jeremy, Jenna just deflated on the couch.
"Hey," Miriam sat down next to her. "How are you doing?"
"I just sent my niece to the slaughterhouse," Jenna whispered, distraught.
"No, you didn't," Miriam grabbed her hand. "Elena will survive this ritual, I swear it."
Jenna really wants her to be right.
Miriam hugs her, then she and the rest of them leave. Jenna is now alone with Jeremy and Bonnie.
"I'm taking Bonnie home," Jeremy said as he pulled the girl to her feet. "And I'm staying there."
Jenna could only nod.
Jeremy left, and now Jenna was completely alone.
June showed up on her doorstep early the next morning.
Jenna had spent the previous night getting wine drunk and feeling sorry for herself. She had a mild hangover, greasy hair, and an empty stomach. It was early, too early, and she wasn't in the mood for vampire crap.
"What?" Jenna groused.
June raised a perfect eyebrow. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Please invite me in."
"You already have an invitation?" Jenna was confused; she had invited June in a while ago.
June rolled her eyes. "It's polite to ask to enter a house, as opposed to barging in. I was trying to be nice."
It was Jenna's turn to roll her eyes. She opened the door wider and stepped aside. "Please, come in."
"Thank you," June marched into the house.
Jenna closed the front door and followed June, who had made her way into the kitchen. Jenna finally noticed that June was holding several bags from the grocery store. June placed them onto the kitchen counter and started to unpack them.
"What's all that?" Jenna asked as she leaned against the counter.
"Food for breakfast today and food for the next couple of days," June said as she set aside a carton of eggs, a packet of bacon, and a box of pancake mix. She puts the rest of the groceries in the fridge, freezer, and pantry, and Jenna doesn't want to think about how June knows her way around their kitchen.
After she put away all the groceries, June started on breakfast. Jenna was surprised that a vampire could make human food, but she kept that comment to herself.
"So why are you here?" Jenna asked.
"To make you breakfast and to ask you something."
Jenna sighed. She was so done with vampire head games. "What?"
"The ritual is tomorrow, as you know. Leaders from a variety of supernatural communities are in town to see Klaus become a full hybrid. We don't believe anyone will try anything, but if someone does, we want a safe place that no one can enter. We are going to spell the farmhouse until it is impenetrable by werewolves, vampires, and witches. We want you and Jeremy to stay at the farmhouse tomorrow night. Will you come?"
Jenna mulls over the question as she goes to the fridge and retrieves the orange juice. She grabs two glasses from the cabinet. She pours one and hands it to June before pouring herself a glass. She took a few sips before speaking.
"I've got a question and a comment," Jenna began. "My question is this: what happens if I say no?"
"Nothing" June shrugged. "Miriam wants you safe, but the witches need to focus on the farmhouse, security for the ritual site, and the ritual itself. They don't have time to put protection spells on your house as well."
"Okay. And my comment: I'm going to the ritual tomorrow night."
June stopped scrambling eggs to look at her dubiously. "Are you sure? Klaus is going to drain Elena of all her blood. Medically, she will die. That's not going to be easy to watch."
"I know, but it's something I have to do," Jenna said firmly. She couldn't protect Elena from her fate, but at least she could be there to support her.
"Alright, if that is what you wish," June said.
June finished making breakfast and the two ate together. They discussed when Jeremy needed to be at the farmhouse and who would take Jenna to the site of the ritual. June was able to answer questions about the particulars of the ritual that Miriam had glossed over.
After the two women finished eating they cleaned up the kitchen and June left. Jenna puttered around the house for a little bit before making up her mind. She pulled all her courage together and got into her car. On the drive to Bonnie's house she rehearsed what she was going to say to the two teenagers.
All too soon she was at Bonnie's house. Jenna took a deep breath and got out of her car. She marched up to the door, feeling her confidence leave her with every step. With her last bit of strength she knocked on the door.
Jeremy answered, with a sickly looking Bonnie behind him.
"What do you want, Aunt Jenna?" Jeremy said, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Can I come in? I need to speak with you two about tomorrow."
The two teenagers traded looks and Bonnie nodded. "Yeah, come on in."
The three of them settled in the living room. Bonnie and Jeremy claimed seats on the same couch and Jenna sat across from them in a chair.
"What did you want to talk to us about?" Jeremy asked.
"Tomorrow is the ritual, and a bunch of supernatural people are going to be there. Klaus and Elijah want to protect Miriam, so they are going to spell the house she lives in so that she's protected. They have extended the offer to you, Jeremy. Bonnie, I think you should go, too," at the dubious look both teenagers gave her, Jenna rushed to continue, "Jeremy, I need you to be safe while I'm with Elena at the ritual. I need to focus completely on her, and I can't do that if I'm worried about you. Bonnie, you are a Bennett witch. Yeah, I know your powers are suppressed right now, but that just makes you vulnerable. Staying at the farmhouse for a night would keep you safe from anybody who wants to use your powers for their own gains. Please, guys, just spend the night at the farmhouse," Jenna practically begged.
There was a tense moment of silence before Jeremy nodded. "Fine."
Bonnie nodded as well. "Yeah, I'll go."
Relief coursed through Jenna. "Thanks, guys. I'll pick you up and take you over there about 7pm tomorrow."
"Okay," Jeremy said, then narrowed his eyes. "Wait, you're going to be with Elena during the ritual?"
"Yes. I know I'm not your favorite person right now, but I'm trying to keep the three of us alive," Jenna desperately wanted Jeremy to see things from her point of view. "Klaus would have killed everyone in Mystic Falls if Elena had run, and then killed her. But with Elijah's help Elena will live, and so will you, and Bonnie, and me, and everyone else in this town. I know it sucks, trust me, I feel like a failure of a parent. But I'm doing my best, Jer. And it fucking bites that we were backed into a corner and that Elena has to do this ritual, but the best I can do is be there with her."
Jeremy's eyes filled with tears but he furiously wiped them away. "This past year has been such a shit storm."
Jenna let out a wet laugh. "Yeah, it really has been. My goal is to get us through the next year."
"I get it. I don't like what Elena has to do for an evil person, but I get it. And I get why you've allied yourself with the Originals. They're powerful friends to have."
"Miriam is the powerful one," Jenna corrected. "That girl is on the cusp of becoming a queen, Jer. If she has this much sway with Elijah and Klaus now, can you imagine a year from now? She's a powerful ally and I truly like her as a friend, so behave yourself tomorrow."
Jeremy rolled his eyes. "I'll behave, Aunt Jenna."
"Good," Jenna grinned at her nephew. "I'll see you tomorrow, guys."
They walked her to the door and said goodbye. As she drove back to the house, she felt lighter than she had in a while. Everything was going to be fine.
Jenna had dressed warmly, though she didn't remember getting dressed. She only became aware of her surroundings when the toaster popped. It was late morning, but Jenna had stayed in bed, just staring at the ceiling for hours.
Today was the ritual.
Today Elena died.
Jenna's lower lip trembled, but she sucked in air and furiously shook her head. She couldn't break down; her kids needed her. She had to be strong for them.
She was so worried about her emotions that she didn't hear the front door open.
"Doubting yourself?" John's snide, nasty voice said from behind her.
"John, you bitch," Jenna clenched her teeth and turned around. "What are you doing in my house?"
John-a huge bag of dicks-Gilbert was standing in Jenna's kitchen, a guilty-looking Alaric standing beside him. Fuck, Jenna thought miserably. Alaric had a key to the house in case of emergencies.
"Well, it's not your house, it's my brother's house," John smirked.
"And Miranda's house. You remember Miranda, right, John? She's the woman who took in your child without a second thought, and who raised her for seventeen years of her life, while you were AWOL. Do you remember Miranda, my sister?" Jenna snarled and took a step forward.
"Woah, let's just all take it down a notch," Alaric said in what he probably thought was a soothing voice, but it just incensed Jenna. She whirled around and snatched up her phone, and managed to shoot off a quick text before the two assholes could say another word.
"Who are you texting?" John asked.
"None of your fucking business, Gilbert. Get the fuck out of my house," Jenna snapped.
"You use that type of language around my daughter, Jenna?" John tsked. "That's not very mature."
"I don't give a fuck. Leave."
"No. I'm here to tell you that I'm challenging you for Elena's guardianship. A girl should be with her father," John said, a malicious glint to his eyes.
Jenna blanched. "God, John, do you realize what day it is? You're really bringing this up now?"
"Today is exactly why I'm bringing it up," John's mocking façade cracked a little and anger was showing. "You're sending my daughter to that evil man like a pig to slaughter."
"She's not dying permanently, John. And what was I supposed to do?" Jenna threw her arms up in the air helplessly.
"You should have fought for her, like a true parent," John snapped.
"I've been more of a parent to Elena than you," Jenna shot back. "You're just a sperm donor."
"Maybe, but I would never use her to save my own life like you're doing," John said. "And besides that, how do you know the Mikaelsons won't just kill her?"
"We can't be one hundred percent sure, but I'm banking on Elijah and Miriam to keep their promise," Jenna said, and even she could hear the desperation in her own voice.
John scoffed. "You're going to trust an Original vampire over common sense?"
"I'm not doing this with you today," Jenna took a step back. She looked at Alaric. "And why are you here, Ric?"
"I think you need to face the reality that Elena isn't safe in your care anymore," Alaric said slowly. "As much as I hate him, she would be safer with John."
She was going to cry or kill him. "You're on John Gilbert's side? Really?"
"Really," he looked uncomfortable. "You aren't a fit guardian for someone as helpless and hunted like Elena."
"Go to hell, Alaric," Jenna growled. "You are no longer welcome here."
"You can't stop us, Jenna," John's stupid face contorted into a smirk again, and Jenna wanted to punch it off him.
"She might not be able to stop you, but I assure you, gentlemen, I can," an impeccably dressed Elijah Mikaelson walked into Jenna's house casually. "Hello, Jenna. How are you today?"
"I could be better," she glared at her unwelcome guests. "These two assholes don't understand the meaning of 'get the hell out of my house'."
Elijah came to stand beside Jenna, making John and Alaric move away. "Alaric Saltzman and John Gilbert not understanding simple words? What has this world come to?"
"We were just here to inform Jenna that I will be fighting her for full custody of Elena," John informed the Original.
"That is your prerogative, of course," Elijah nodded. "However, the lady asked you to leave. Kindly remove yourselves before I am forced to remove you."
Alaric and John both looked at Jenna, as if expecting her to turn down Elijah's help. She just glared at them. They were conspiring together to take Elena from her! They were the villains in Jenna's story, not Elijah. And wasn't that just a kick in the teeth? This "evil" man (vampire, whatever) was defending her while John and Alaric were antagonizing her.
Both human men shot her dirty looks before retreating. John slammed the door behind him out of spite. Once they were gone Jenna relaxed.
"Thank you, for coming so quickly. I was expecting June," Jenna said as she leaned against the kitchen counter.
"I was in the area talking with some visiting members of the supernatural community," Elijah said. "It was no trouble, especially for a friend of Miriam's."
Jenna poured herself a glass of orange juice, and Elijah declined politely when she offered him one. She took several fortifying sips, desperately wishing that the orange juice was happy juice.
"Everything is ready for tonight. All you need to do is show up," Elijah said.
She smiled weakly at him. "Thank you, Elijah, for everything. You didn't need to help Elena, especially after everything she and her friends did and tried to do."
"Perhaps. But by saving Elena's life, I have earned the goodwill of you, Caroline, and Miriam," he caught the 'what the fuck' look she shot him, and added wryly, "Sometimes making friends is more important than a show of strength."
Though she didn't feel like joking around, she did manage to infuse her voice with some teasing, "Oh, so Miriam is just a friend?"
Elijah chuckled. "Miriam is a very good friend."
"Is that what they're calling it nowadays?" Jenna grinned slyly.
Elijah was too refined to roll his eyes, but Jenna knew he wanted to.
Jeremy and Bonnie were silent on the drive to the farmhouse, and Jenna didn't blame them one bit.
Jenna had spent the rest of her afternoon puttering around the house, needlessly cleaning and preparing Elena's room for her return. She knew Elena was going to hate her, but that didn't stop her from fluffing Elena's pillows and airing out her room. Jenna had only stopped cleaning once her alarm rang and she had to go fetch the teenagers.
The drive to the farmhouse was filled with horrible, tense silence. All three of them were relieved once they reached the farmhouse.
Miriam was waiting for them on the porch. Her smile was soft, and a little sad. "Hi, guys. I've prepared a room upstairs for you two, if you don't want to hang out with Caroline and me. Dinner's in an hour, if you want."
"Okay," Jeremy said. He looked at Jenna. "Don't leave her side tonight, okay?"
"I won't leave her," Jenna promised. She hugged her nephew, and then he and Bonnie went into the house.
"They'll be safe, don't worry," Miriam reassured Jenna. "The barrier won't allow any werewolf, vampire, or witch inside that isn't of Mikaelson blood. As long as they stay inside, they'll be safe. Just focus on Elena."
"I will. Who is staying here with you?" Jenna asked.
"Just August and Luka."
"Not June?"
"No. Caroline is here for her safety and in case we need vampire speed, and…" Miriam hesitated. "June is on a mission for Elijah right now. She left late last night for Raleigh, North Carolina. He found out where Klaus is keeping his siblings."
Miriam had told Jenna a little bit about the Mikaelson family; how old they were, why Klaus daggered his siblings, and why Elijah was originally fighting against Klaus. Jenna was happy that Elijah was getting his family back, but she was unsure what having three additional Originals would do to Mystic Falls.
Elijah came out of the house at that moment, holding a glass-encased candle in one hand. He was dressed in a nice suit and a winter coat. Jenna was dressed more casually than Elijah, but just as warmly. A cold front had appeared, though it was supposed to warm up in the next couple of days. Jenna hoped that after tonight the weather would warm and the dramatics of her life would calm down.
"Jenna. It's nice to see you again," Elijah greeted.
"Elijah," Jenna nodded at him. She liked this Original, with his fancy clothes and old-timey manners. He was charming and elegant, but also cold and dangerous. He was the literal definition of 'tall, dark, and mysterious'. Sometimes he would look so freakin' scary, like he did at the dinner party where she learned about the supernatural world. But then he would act sweet, like he was doing right now with Miriam.
Elijah leaned down and kissed Miriam on the lips. It was a gentle kiss, almost chaste, but so, so sweet. Miriam smiled up at him when they broke apart.
"Stay safe tonight," she said.
"I will, vorgyðja. Please, stay inside the house tonight. No one should attack, but it would soothe my mind if I knew you were safe," he said, and Jenna melted a bit at his words. She wanted someone to say things like that to her and look at her the way Elijah was looking at Miriam, like she was his whole world.
"We'll be fine, Elijah. Now go help your brother," Miriam pecked his lips again before waving goodbye at Jenna and going back inside the house. Once she was inside the air shimmered and Jenna knew that the barrier they had been talking about had just been activated.
Elijah turned to Jenna and smiled slightly. "Let us go."
The drive to Steven's quarry was filled with last-minute information about the ritual. Since Elena was still magically asleep, she wouldn't be restrained. Jenna would stay with her until it was time for Klaus to drink her blood. Afterwards Greta Martin would help her bring Elena back to the Gilbert house and wait there until Elena woke up.
Elijah and Jenna had to park a little ways from the actual ritual site. Other cars littered the area; Jenna knew that these cars belonged to the visiting supernaturals. Since tonight was the full moon, there were no werewolves in attendance. However, there were several people with unactivated werewolf genes as representatives from a few packs.
Altogether there were maybe a hundred people congregated around the ritual site. They all watched as Jenna and Elijah approached the site. Elijah greeted several of them by name, and shook their hands. He introduced Jenna to many of them, though she had no idea why. Finally Elijah and Jenna made their way to the actual site.
Dr. Martin and Maddox were set up around a stone caldron. An anxious Klaus was hovering over them. Off to the side was the real attraction: the sacrifices. The two men were surrounded by circles of fire. The younger one was writhing on the ground, groaning in pain. The older, uglier one was shouting at the watching crowd to help him. When his pleas did nothing he began to curse at them.
Jenna didn't want to go near them, but Elena was over there. So with a fortifying breath she made her way over the rocky ground. Elena was laying on a blanket and Greta Martin was sitting with her. Greta got up when Jenna approached.
"She's fine," Greta said before Jenna could even ask. "She was given the elixir earlier today and she will sleep through the sacrifice. Elijah told you that I'm coming with you afterwards?"
"Yeah. He said you were 'trained in the feminine arts', whatever that means."
"I'm the witch version of an OB/GYN. I'm powerful, all Martin witches are, so before my dad and brother joined the cause I was here to provide extra power for Maddox, who is actually trained in ancient spells," Greta explained.
"So if anything happens you'll be able to help her?" Jenna asked fretfully. She sank to the ground next to Elena and picked up her limp hand.
"I'm not a doctor or a witch who specializes in the healing arts, but I know enough about the body to be able to do my best."
Jenna realized that Greta couldn't promise a miracle, so she just nodded.
"Jenna!" Klaus walked over and Elijah trailed behind, still carrying the candle from the farmhouse.
Jenna stood up. "Klaus."
"Thank you, for your help tonight," he said seriously.
How do you answer someone thanking you for sacrificing your niece? Jenna didn't know the answer to that, she just shrugged.
"And you, brother," Klaus turned to Elijah, "promised to deliver the moonstone. I don't see it anywhere. If you double-crossed me-"
"Peace, brother," Elijah presented the candle. With a loud crack the class jar broke and the candle wax split apart, revealing a milky white stone. Elijah brought out a pocket square and cleaned the stone of any residual wax and held it up for Klaus to see. "Miriam has been unknowingly hiding the moonstone for me in her room. You have probably walked by it several times."
Klaus looked like he wanted to be mad, but he was too excited to see the moonstone to do anything about his anger. He snatched the stone from Elijah. "Enough with your subterfuge, Elijah. Can we commence with ritual?"
"The moon has passed its apex. We can begin," Dr. Martin said.
Klaus gave Maddox the moonstone. Maddox went to the stone bowl and threw the moonstone in it, and sparks flew as the stone was destroyed. He and Dr. Martin began to chant in Latin. The crowd of watchers began to stir as the ritual began.
Jenna sat down next to Elena and stroked her hair away from her face. Jenna's heart was pounding in her chest, and she knew that if she was powerful enough she would just grab Elena and run. But she couldn't do that. All she could do was hold her unconscious niece and hope that Elijah hadn't lied to her.
As Jenna internally panicked Klaus made his way to the prisoners. The fire around the young werewolf receded. The kid- god, he was just a kid! He didn't look that much older than Jeremy- realized that he was free and made a break for the tree line.
He never made it.
Elijah cut him off and grabbed him by the neck and held him still, even as he thrashed violently. Klaus sauntered up to the kid. Without ceremony he plunged his hand into the kid's chest and ripped out his heart. Elijah carelessly dropped the kid's body.
Klaus went to the stone bowl and squeezed the blood out of the werewolf's heart and into the flames.
"Is it working?" he asked impatiently.
"Yes, it's working," Maddox confirmed. "Now the vampire."
The older man heard the words and began to fling himself against the flames, but they didn't burn him. The magic kept him contained, and Jenna could only gape.
"Let me out! I didn't do nothin'! Let me out!" the vampire howled. He made eye contact with Jenna. "Sweetheart, let me out. Tell them to let me out. I don't deserve to die!"
Tears welled in Jenna's eyes and she turned away from him.
"Mr. Boggs, you deserve your fate," Elijah said, a hint of anger in his voice. "No one belittles my mate and lives."
The vampire spat insults at Elijah and at Miriam. His words were venomous and hateful. By the time his flaming prison dissolved and Elijah grabbed him, Jenna wasn't too upset that he was going to die. She watched as Klaus produced a stake and pounced on the vampire. The stake was thrust into his chest, and his body immediately turned grey. He was dead.
And now it was Elena's turn to die.
Klaus approached, and Jenna was glad that his earlier bloodthirst was gone from his eyes. He seemed almost apologetic as he knelt next to her and Elena.
"I need to drink her blood now," he said.
Jenna nodded. "I know."
"I'll go fast; it'll only take a few minutes. I promise she won't feel any pain."
"Thank you," Jenna whispered. She reluctantly moved away, though she didn't let go of Elena's hand.
Klaus lowered his head to Elena's long, slender neck and bit. Tears leaked out of Jenna's eyes as she watched the blood- the life- drain out of the girl she was supposed to protect.
A couple minutes later it was done. Klaus lowered Elena back down on the blanket then stood up. Triumphantly, he walked over to the witches. "I can feel it! It's happening!"
Jenna didn't care. She focused her attention on Elena, who was dead.
Jenna didn't look away from Elena until someone in the crowd screamed. Then she looked up, and had to bite her tongue to keep herself from screaming as well.
A monster was standing in the middle of the clearing. He didn't look anything like the werewolves that were shown on TV shows. This creature was dog-like: he had dark shaggy hair and a canine-shaped head. But his lower jaw was protruded into a massive underbite, showing it's long, sharp teeth. His hind legs were longer than his front legs, but not by a lot. He was tall, almost six feet from the ground to his shoulder. He had a commanding, predatory air that made Jenna not want to blink. Jenna had never seen a werewolf before, and after tonight, she hoped she never would again.
The creature lumbered over to Elijah, who held himself stiffly. Jenna was still a novice to all this supernatural crap, but one of the big points that she remembered was that werewolves and vampires didn't get along and that werewolf bites were fatal to vampires. Jenna didn't know if a werewolf bite would do anything to Elijah (he was probably too well-mannered and elegant to allow a bite to stay on his skin), but she also knew that he probably didn't want to test that theory.
But the monster just sniffed Elijah, then took off into the forest. The instant he was gone everyone let out a collectively held breath. The crowd began muttering about the first hybrid ever. They sounded in awe of him. Jenna didn't blame them. She was in awe, too.
Elijah came over to Jenna.
"I have to go after him to make sure he doesn't do anything too rash. I will visit you as soon as I am able to."
With that, he was gone.
"That's our que to leave," Greta said. "Let's get Elena home."
Elena. Jenna looked down at her niece. She was a sickly pale color now that her body didn't have any blood in it. She was dead, technically. Realistically.
"It'll be okay," Greta reassured her once more.
"Yeah," Jenna said, and hoped with all her heart that Elena would be revived. She didn't care if the teenager hated her for the rest of her life, as long as she was alive. "It'll be okay."
ELIJAH'S POV
Elijah was trudging through the forest, trying in vain to follow Niklaus. His brother had always been fast, but as a hybrid he was now in a league of his own. Elijah could only follow the scent trail that Niklaus left behind.
Niklaus was rushing around the forest, reveling in the fact that he was now a full hybrid. He was strong, fast, and his senses were unparalleled. Elijah was jealous, but in a brotherly way. Now there was no way he could keep up, he thought dryly. Overwhelming the nugget of jealousy was pride and happiness, and an excess of both. Elijah was extremely proud of his brother for continuing his search to become his full self, and actually achieving his goal. And Elijah was happy that Niklaus was finally free. His brother was happily running in his hybrid form for the first time in a thousand years. How could he not be happy for his brother?
The bushes behind him rustled and he sighed good-naturedly. The whole night Niklaus had repeatedly backtracked and ambushed him from behind. It had been playful, yes, but Elijah liked the suit he was wearing, and it was now riddled with tears from him being slammed into the ground.
"Please, Niklaus, no more sneak attacks," Elijah near pleaded.
"That isn't any way to greet your long lost sister, dearest brother."
Elijah whirled around to see Rebekah. Rebekah, beautiful, always young Rebekah, in her white dress with a red stain and limp twenties curls was standing in the middle of the forest with him. She smiled at him, and something deep inside his shriveled heart melted.
"Sister," he breathed, before speeding over to her and sweeping her into a hug. He had believed Miriam when she told him that his siblings were alive, but to see his sister with his own eyes and feel the confirmation of her in his arms was euphoric.
"Oh, Elijah," Rebekah hugged him tightly.
"How sweet," a sarcastic voice said.
Elijah and Rebekah broke apart to find a smirking Kol standing a few feet away. Next to him was Finn. Both brothers held themselves like snakes coiled to strike.
"Kol, Finn. Welcome back," Elijah greeted. He would have hugged them as well, but their demeanors made him hesitate.
"Enough talk. Where is she?" Finn asked, but his words came out in their birth language. He had been daggered for nine hundred years; of course he hadn't learned new languages or watched old languages evolve.
"She?"
"Oh, don't play dumb, Elijah," Kol snarled, any trace of humor gone from his face. "Finn and I know you have our mate stashed away somewhere. We want her, now."
"Your mate?" A feeling of dread filled Elijah. He had wanted to share his mate with his brothers, but now that the confirmation was here that they were actually Miriam's mates, he wasn't sure if he actually wanted a reality in which Kol and he shared a lover. But still, he had to double check. "Who is your mate?"
Kol rolled his eyes. "Miriam, of course." He zoomed over to Elijah, grabbed him by his jacket and slammed him into the nearest tree.
"Kol! What the hell are you doing?!" Rebekah shouted. She made a move to help Elijah, but Finn grabbed her around the waist.
"I am truly sorry, sister, but you cannot interfere," Finn said, and pinned Rebekah's arms to her sides.
Elijah tried to break free of the hold he was in, but Kol kept him still. His youngest brother's face was completely vamped out, with the black veins around his eyes and his fangs distended.
"You will take us to our mate, then I am going to put a stake in our bastard brother's rotten heart."
A/N:
Hey all!
Hope you all liked this chapter!
Please leave a comment! Say hi, tell me your favorite cookie, whatever :)
Sorry this was so late! Real Life sucker-punched me and my family, and I honestly didn't mean to go a month without updating. I can't promise a regular update schedule, but hopefully once the spring semester ends (mid-May) I can work more on this fic.
So it's a small detail, but I aged up Miranda, Grayson, Isobel, and John, because I was uncomfortable with their canon ages. Jenna stayed the same, though.
(Whit's kitchen reno update that no one asked for: We tore out our old kitchen, broke a pipe and were without water for several days, had new cabinets and countertops placed, and the backsplash installed... twice, with a third try in the works. It's a whole deal. The new tile floors are being put in, but it's a slow process. But regardless, it's progress, people!)
