Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries and its related properties.
Comments
Kyra: I'm glad you like it.
Serena Salvatore: Thank you
TwilightHybrid: Caroline's powers will come in slowly. And Kai deserves all the happiness and people who care about him and love him. The next two chapters will be wholly dedicated to the Mikaelsons.
Place: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Date: August 25, 2010
Even though it was the city where everything began, Vera had not returned to Chicago in a long while. She preferred remaining in Massachusetts to do her research.
She had been in the city all summer, waiting for Klaus. She'd had her spies trailing him and the Ripper after Kai told her that Klaus had broken his curse. She knew Klaus would come to the city to ask why his Hybrids were failing, just as she had foreseen 90 years before. Although, she had no answer for him since Tara had taken her memories of the events of the future. All she had were the visions that came to her whenever Tara wished for her to interfere.
When she sent Kai to Mystic Falls, it was just a feeling she had that he needed to go there. Kai found the doppelganger, but he had become close with a girl named Caroline. Had she remembered, she would've never allowed Caroline to be raped by Damon. Perhaps to a being such as Tara, so long as the person lives, whatever else happens to them does not matter.
When she walked into Gloria's bar one day, she was pleasantly surprised to find Klaus pulverizing Damon Salvatore. She stood at the door, watching in amusement as Klaus raised the broken leg of a chair over Damon, which Gloria quickly lit on fire.
"Not in my bar. You take it outside."
"You ruin all my fun, Glory," Vera smirked at her two long-time friends. "It could also be said that the elder Salvatore deserves it. He tends to like having sex with compelled teenage girls."
When the witch and the Hybrid heard that, they all looked murderously at Damon, whose cocky attitude quickly disappeared. Klaus' hold on him had loosened when he heard Vera's voice so Damon quickly got up and disappeared out the door.
Klaus stood up with a smirk on his lips as he looked at Vera, his dimples on show. "Hello, love."
Vera returned the smirk with a brilliant smile on her youthful face. "Hello, darling. It's been -what?- 87 years, give or take a few months. Congratulations on becoming what you were always meant to be."
"Really? And how do you know that?"
"Darling, I've been keeping an eye on that little town for over a year now. Who do you think made sure you learned of the doppelganger's existence and ensured her safety?"
"And why would you do that?"
"I always keep my promises, Nik. And I'm here now to help you like I promised 90 years ago."
"Really? And here I thought you'd have changed your mind about me? I've left a trail of bodies up and down the East Coast in an effort to make more hybrids, another crime against Nature, I'm sure. The witches never allow me to forget it."
Vera sighed. "I have a fair amount of blood on my hands. Murder, extortion, blackmail, thievery. I'm not a stranger to any of them." She had lived in this unequal society for a century. Even if she had legitimate businesses, she, more often than not, liked to cut the red tape with violence, magic, and compulsion. The world wasn't fair and she wasn't noble enough not to use every advantage she had to stay on top.
She placed her palms on his chest in a calming manner as she looked directly into his eyes as though she was trying to compel him. "As I've told you before, witches are only humans who cannot know Nature's will. Even I don't. But Nature is not so fragile to require humans to balance it. No matter how powerful you are, you still have weaknesses, meaning Nature is balanced. And she does not make mistakes."
Klaus took a seat beside Vera at the bar. "You do wonders for my ego, love."
"I aim to please. Now, why have you come?"
"My hybrids are failing. I came to my favorite witch to find out why."
"Oh," she gushed, playfully. "I'm flattered, love, but you know I don't do the ritualistic juju Gloria performs. However, I do study magic. If you show me the spell, I can study it to try to find a loophole."
Klaus looked at Vera for a long moment. He was staring into her eyes and she didn't look away from him. No matter how much she tries to reassure him, Klaus couldn't let go of his paranoia. He's never had someone on his side completely and he just couldn't completely register that she would want to help him without wanting anything in return. "Gloria wants to contact the Original Witch."
"And… you're not expecting for the woman who cursed you to tell you truthfully about the nature of your curse, are you?" No, he was not. But, he needed to know if she really hated him as much as he believed she did. "Plus witches tend not to like it when people try to undo their spells."
Vera and Klaus talked for hours on end, catching up on the events of the past few decades. While Vera had lived an eventful life, Klaus hadn't done much other than searching for a way to break his curse. He already knew it would happen, but that didn't mean he would sit idle and expect the doppelganger to walk to his front door. Nature wasn't that kind to him. Then, word reached his ears about the doppelganger in Mystic Falls early in the year. 2010. Exactly as Vera had said.
For the first time in a long time, Klaus chose to trust someone. He handed the copy of the curse to Vera. "I'm trusting you with this. Do not disappoint me, Vera." She had yet to betray him. And, some small part of him he would never admit to having, was hoping she would not betray him in the future.
Vera sighed and turned to Klaus. She could understand how hard it was for him to trust her. Since she stepped foot in this world, she, too, had trouble trusting people. There were several whom she had trusted who had tried to take everything she built from her. They sought to use her to gain wealth and power, to steal from her. They caused strife between her people. They abandoned her.
Betrayal hurt.
She chose the ones she let in very carefully. Those she trusted, she trusted with her whole being. And with her trust, she gave them love and loyalty, only asking for the same in return. Only a few returned it.
Vera placed both hands on Klaus' cheeks and held his eyes with her own. She would give this broken young man her love and loyalty in return for him allowing her his trust. "Nik, you are my friend. I am not your minion, always at your beck and call, but I promise you, I will help you anytime you need, so long as it is within my capabilities. You'll only need to call."
There was a long silence between the two of them just before Vera let go of Klaus as he said to her, "I'll hold you to that." They share a soft laugh before Klaus stands up. "Come on. I'm sure Rebekah will be happy to see you."
When they arrived at the warehouse, Vera followed Klaus inside, not wanting to be in Stefan's presence longer than she needed. When she arrived, she found the two siblings arguing like always.
"Well, I'm glad to see some things never change." Rebekah's eyes lit up at the sight of Vera. "Although I'm not certain whether that's a good or a bad thing."
"Vera!" Rebekah flung herself at her friend, who wrapped her arms around the blonde's back. She grimaced. "I hope you haven't let my ass of a brother walk all over you while I was asleep."
"I haven't seen Niklaus since the night you were daggered." Vera looked at Klaus behind Rebekah. "He's been a bad friend. He never contacted me."
"Now, now. You ladies can catch up another time. Rebekah, Gloria tells me you have something to help her contact the Original Witch."
Rebekah touched her clavicle where her necklace once rested to find only smooth skin. She searched her casket before tossing it against the wall in her anger. The necklace had been lost in the chaos in 1922 and Klaus was displeased that the necklace was lost. Vera just stood to the side in silence, ignoring the two as she had gotten used to the two's many useless arguments. Seriously, they're arguing like this after only a thousand years together while she and Saga and her peers had been together for ten times as long. How on Terra were they going to last an eternity together?
"Vera?"
She looked at the two, who had been joined by Stefan, who was looking more confused than relieved at the memories Klaus had returned to him. He was looking at her strangely.
"Did you pick up my necklace?"
"I didn't get a chance to go inside the bar after I helped the two of you. He attacked me in the street and tried to kill me. Do you know how much energy I had to expend to prevent my wounds from healing? Ugh, I even had to act as though I was one of Nik's conquests and beg him not to kill me. It was humiliating." Vera's eyes never left Stefan, who seemed to be avoiding all talk of the necklace. "Who knows, maybe Stefan picked it up?"
The siblings looked at Stefan as Vera raised a brow with a smirk on her lips. "I uh I'm not sure. I didn't even remember you guys before today. But, now, I'm sure I don't have it."
Instead of going to a hotel, they drove to Vera's Obsidian Manor in the Gold Coast historic district. Even though it was smack in the middle of the city, surrounded by many other historic homes, the Regency Style manor stood out with the glimmering bath stone facade walls and tall black gates that kept the rest of the city out onto the sidewalk.
"Wow! Nik and I have never been here before." The car parked in the front driveway and everyone stepped out as the electronic gate closed behind them.
"And you had it built in 1915." Klaus, with his artist's eye, was observing the architecture of the house and the gardens that led to the black front door on the parlor floor, with the back door of the ground floor which was for servants to use in the past.
"I prefer the finer things in life. I haven't been here in a while, not since the fifties but I've had it renovated with modern amenities." They entered the house through a narrow foyer that led to a pair of french doors which led to stairs to the high floors, a large dining room on the left, and a beautiful sitting room on the right. In the early days when there wasn't central heating, the house was broken up into smaller rooms, with dozens of bedrooms for herself and the families of the people who worked closely with her, like Jonathan.
With central heating coming in, she had the house renovated in the 90s with modern technology, which allowed her to break down several of the interior walls to make larger sitting rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms with en suite bathrooms.
"Okay, rules. I had blood bags delivered. They're in the fridge. No live feeds in my house. I don't want blood all over the floors and walls." The walls were hand-carved white wooden panels. "If you want to feed from the vein, do it outside. That will be all, thank you."
Klaus chose a room on the fourth floor with the view of the sunken courtyard garden below, with corner windows giving him views of the lake and the city.
Stefan was assigned a room by Vera and Rebekah chose a room on the ground floor with direct access to the courtyard.
Vera brought Rebekah a white silk chemise to wear to sleep, with long sleeves and reached her ankles, in the more conservative style she was used to. With wine and snacks, they spent the whole night talking. Vera caught Rebekah up on the history of the past 87 years from the Great Depression to Obama winning the presidential election. She taught the vampire how to use modern technology and the wonders of the internet but Rebekah was mostly interested in women's suffrage and the civil rights movements.
The next morning, they went shopping to get Rebekah a new wardrobe. They went to a boutique where they were served wine and a platter of hors d'oeuvres as Rebekah changed into a tight black dress.
"There has to be more to this dress."
"There's not."
Rebekah strutted out of the fitting room. "So women in the 21st-century dress like prostitutes, then."
"Oh, darling. Only high-class prostitutes can afford that dress you're wearing," Vera said, sitting on the arm of Klaus' chair.
"You know, I got dirty looks for wearing trousers."
"You wore trousers so women today could wear nothing," Klaus said, looking over Vera, who was wearing long, tight-fitting black pants. She had on a corset tight around her waist, over a black top with lace trumpet sleeves with black high-heeled lace-up booties on her feet. Her long acrylic nails were painted black with a Victorian turquoise ring on her right ring finger. Her intricate necklace and earrings matched the ring. She had a crown of blue roses in her hair as her box braids dangled freely down her back. Her makeup, with her dark lipstick and blue eyeshadow, rounded out the goth style she always preferred.
"What? I think a corset works well for your old-world, misogynistic sensibilities. My outfit is very conservative and quite historical, I assure you."
Klaus chuckled at her statement as Rebekah and Stefan argued. "And what is this music? It sounds like a cable car accident."
"It's dance music."
"People dance to this?"
"Are we done?" Klaus jumped in.
"And why are you so grumpy?"
"I needed one thing from you for my witch to find out why my hybrids are dying. One thing: your necklace. And you lost it."
"I didn't lose it. It's just been missing for 90 years."
"Ignore him, Rebekah. It's technically his fault the necklace is missing in the first place. Isn't it, Nik?" Vera looked at Klaus conspiratorially with Rebekah. "You're the one who put the dagger in her heart. I'm surprised your siblings don't wake up with sentimental objects missing every time you do that."
Klaus simply rolled his eyes as his sister and his self-appointed best friend decided it was best to gang up on him. He poured himself another glass of champagne.
"So what do you think?" Rebekah asked Stefan, twirling to show him the dress.
"I like it," Stefan replied unconvincingly. Rebekah didn't believe him. "What? I said I like it."
"I can always tell when you're lying, Stefan." Rebekah returned to the dressing room. "Vera, are you just going to sit on my brother's lap all day, or are you going to help me with this selection?"
"I'm not sure what you want me to do, Bex. I don't usually shop in these stores. My tastes are a bit niche. The factory-made lace and corsets are not on par with my finer tastes. Everything I wear, other than shoes and underwear, is tailored."
"I know. Your style is too niche for my tastes. I simply need you to tell me what you think is appropriate and I'll make the selection."
Vera put her glass down on the side table and went to help Rebekah in the dressing room. "You're a thousand-year-old hag in a 17-year-old's body." They heard Klaus chuckling outside. "You need to dress like an elegant and sophisticated woman rather than a teenager chasing the latest cheap fashion trends."
She looked over the clothing choices and selected what she thought would work with Rebekah's teenage face but would also bring out the confidence she had gained over the past thousand years. Jeans were always a good choice. She knew Rebekah wouldn't like the graphic tees but some floral prints and patterns could work well for her. Rebekah didn't like bodycon so Vera removed them from the selection, leaving only flowing dresses and skirts. Rebekah would definitely rock it in heels but having a nice pair of sneakers would be good too.
Rebekah liked everything Vera chose, but added a few jackets, long-sleeve shirts, and some low-heeled booties because she liked Vera's shoes. Rebekah chose a pair of jean shorts, a white printed gilded leaf top, with a pair of high-heeled boho sandals for the day while the rest would be added to her wardrobe.
When they returned to Gloria's, the vampires crowded around the blonde witch while Vera sat at another table, snacking on a bowl of nachos while reading over the spell that cursed Klaus. She recognized the moonstone, the werewolf, the vampire, and the doppelganger sacrifice. But there was another part to the spell that wasn't obvious in the way it was written.
"I found it." Vera raised her head up when she heard Gloria.
"So, where is it?"
"It doesn't exactly work like that. I get images. A girl and her friends."
"Yes. A dead girl with dead friends if I don't get my necklace back."
"Well, I'll have to dive back in to get the details."
"So dive."
"That won't be necessary." Vera turned to Gloria as her eyes flashed. "Let me see, Glory." The witch turned and looked into Vera's eyes, which glowed a brilliant cobalt blue.
Klaus and Rebekah watched as light went from Vera's eyes into Gloria's and back into Vera. Klaus said to Stefan, "Brilliant, isn't she?"
They watched as Vera picked up a pen and paper and began to draw while her eyes continued to glow. "What is she?" Stefan asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice. "And how is she doing that?" He wasn't sure what the woman was doing but he knew it couldn't be good. Especially with all the insinuations she had been making as though she knew all the secrets he was keeping.
"She's a very special witch. And very powerful. She was known as Persephone to the supernatural world back in the 20s," Klaus explained. "Try not to get on her bad side, mate. She'll destroy you."
"I remember her from the 20s. Unlike Gloria, she doesn't look like she's aged a day."
Vera's eyes returned to their usual brown as she handed Klaus the piece of paper. Klaus' face immediately soured as he showed the drawing to Rebekah. They all turned to face Stefan. Klaus turned the drawing to show him the drawing of Elena with Rebekah's necklace around her neck. "Well, Stefan?" Klaus spoke in an almost nonchalant way, which only meant his temper was right below the surface.
Stefan kept his composure, his eyes were looking for an escape route. "I've never seen Katherine wear something like that before."
"It isn't Katherine. He picked it up in the chaos after you left in the 20s. He gave it to his girlfriend after adding vervain to it to protect her from his brother's compulsion," Vera explained. Whenever she was focused on something, she didn't see only what she needed but she would see everything about the object. She saw the moment the necklace was lost to its current location in the Gilbert kitchen. "From what I saw, she was with his brother in the mountains when you were making your hybrids. She was also hiding in his apartment and they talked outside the bar yesterday."
Klaus kicked a table across the room. Gloria wasn't pleased but she knew well not to anger the hybrid further when he was in one of his moods. "It's all lies, isn't it, Stefan?" Stefan turned to run only to come face to face with the angry hybrid who quickly snapped his neck. Klaus was huffing and puffing in anger as he looked at the limp body of his friend - well, the man only he considered a friend. It seemed the feeling wasn't mutual.
"So the doppelganger's still alive," Rebekah said. "And she has my necklace. Can I wring her neck, Nik?"
Vera placed a hand on Stefan's temple but Klaus quickly grasped her wrist and pulled her up to face him. He held onto her shoulders tightly, causing her to bruise, but Vera showed no discomfort as she looked at the angered hybrids. "What are you doing?" He growled.
"Casting a sleeping spell on him so you don't have to break his neck every time he starts to wake." She held Klaus' gaze, letting him read her. He was like a rubber band stretched taut and ready to snap at any moment. He had become more paranoid due to Stefan's betrayal. She waited and let him hold on to her until he decided to trust her on his own terms.
When he released her, his handprints healed immediately before their eyes as a wisp of blue light left Vera's hand and went into Stefan's forehead.
Klaus looked down at her. "You knew, didn't you?"
"I suspected. I never liked Stefan in the 20s. He was a Ripper and he turned his emotions off to deal with the guilt of killing people. No emotions. No guilt. No love. No loyalty." She saw Rebekah go stiff and her face mar with hurt for a moment before she quickly gathered herself. "And when you told me you killed his girlfriend and blackmailed him into coming with you or else let his brother die, I decided to be wary of him. You, of all people, should know, that the bond between brothers is not something that can be easily broken."
Klaus marched closer to Vera, using his superior height to try to intimidate her. "And why did you not tell me of your suspicions?"
Vera placed both hands on her hips as she puffed up her chest in front of the hybrids. She would not be cowed by Klaus. He was but a child a tenth her age who was throwing a tantrum. "And would you have believed me had I told you without any proof? It's more likely if I'd accused Stefan, he'd turn you against me, claiming me to be the traitor. And in your paranoia, you would've believed him over me."
Silence fell between them, neither backing down until Klaus said, "The doppelganger is alive. She must be the reason I can't make my hybrids." He kicked another table into the wall. "The ritual is incomplete."
"No," Vera said. "I don't think so."
Gloria added in her two cents. "If the ritual was incomplete, you wouldn't have been able to shift in the first place."
"There must've been something in the spell pertaining to the making of your hybrids." Vera looked into Klaus' eyes. "Though I don't think you've ever been in a college class, I hope you know general chemistry." Her quip almost brought a smile to his face, which was what she was going for. "Magic is more like chemistry. They have ingredients and spells that have to go together a certain way. The ingredients are the different chemical compounds and the spell is the chemical formula. Mix them together a certain way and you get a yield; a result. It would seem your chemistry problem has two steps rather than one to yield two different results. There was something else in the spell pertaining to the making of your hybrids. I just need time to figure it out."
Klaus thought for several moments before he spoke. "Fine. You'll have the ride back to Mystic Falls."
Vera huffed at his impatience but simply shook her head. What was she expecting?
Klaus had always been impatient as he dragged an unconscious Stefan out to the car.
Vera turned to Gloria and handed the witch a glowing blue stone. "Thank you for making the right choice, Glory."
"With the amount of power you're giving me, I'll choose you anytime."
Vera spent the whole ride studying Niklaus' curse. There were some additions to it that pertained to the making of the hybrids. It had to do with Klaus himself and the doppelganger. A lightbulb went on in her head and her eyes flashed blue just as they arrived at the Mystic Falls town sign.
Klaus wanted to make a grand entrance and had a compelled minion stake out the town while he settled into an old, dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of town. He planned on buying the mansion and having it renovated to his standards. When his minion comes back with news, he decides to crash senior prank night. What a drama queen.
When they arrive at the school, rather than letting him terrorize the teens that had nothing to do with his curse or the doppelganger, she spoke to them. "Hello, everyone. My name is Vera. Please ignore the blond manchild. He's just an arsehole." Klaus smirked as he watched her from the sidelines. Vera ignored him and turned to Bonnie. "Bonnie, right?"
"That's right." Bonnie looked at the woman warily. "I need you to help me. Contact the spirits on the Other Side to find out why he can't make his hybrids."
"No," Bonnie replied. "I won't help you."
Vera turned to look at Klaus, who was happy that his turn had come. Vera stepped aside, not at all against threatening the meddlesome children. What was happening in the high school gym was bigger than any of them and she wasn't going to let some selfish children get in the way. She stepped back and allowed Klaus to be his theatrical self when he flashed in front of Bonnie. "Your witchy interference seemed to have caused some undesirable side effects. And since you caused the problem, I'm gonna need you to find the fix."
"Ugh, get off me." Everyone turned to the gym door, where Rebekah was holding a thrashing Tyler.
"Hush now."
"I'd like you all to meet my sister, Rebekah. Word of warning, she can be quite mean."
"Don't be an arse." Rebekah threw Tyler at Klaus, who caught the werewolf by the scruff of his neck.
"Leave him alone." Elena was grabbed by Vera, to stop her from interfering.
"I'm gonna make this very simple. Every time I attempt to turn a werewolf into a vampire hybrid, they die during the transition. It's quite horrible, actually." Klaus bit into his wrist and brought it to Tyler's mouth, force-feeding the teen his blood. "I need you to find a way to save my hybrids, Bonnie. And for Tyler's sake, you better hurry." He snapped the boy's neck, letting his body fall on the linoleum with a loud thud. The teens gasped in horror as they watched their friend lying on the floor. "Go. Fetch your grimoires and spells and whatnot. I'll hold onto Elena for safe keeping."
When Bonnie left, Klaus dragged Elena with him as he spoke to Vera in a foreign language the doppelganger didn't understand. "Are you going to tell me why you need the Bennett witch to contact the spirits for confirmation of your theory? You know how much those dead witches hate me. And what is your theory anyway?"
"Had you never been cursed, you would've been able to make hybrids at will. However, the Original Witch used the Doppelganger's blood to curse you, which required you to drink her blood to break the curse. According to the spell, there's a link between you, which represents the hybrids, and the doppelganger. I think the Original Witch hates you enough to have added a failsafe to your curse. How much do you wanna bet you'll need the doppelganger's blood to make the hybrids?"
"The curse needed the death of the doppelganger to lift. If she had remained dead, I wouldn't have her blood to make my hybrids." Klaus knew his mother hated him, but it still hurt for her to constantly be working against him even after she's been dead on the Other Side for a thousand years. He wouldn't be surprised if she also had been the one who whispering Abomination in the ears of generations of witches.
Vera left Klaus to ponder as she went to sit on the bleachers with Elena. "It's nice to meet you, Elena."
"What do you want?" Elena put on a brave mask but her body was curled in and fear resounded in her voice.
"You're the first doppelganger I've ever met, but I am so sorry this happened to you. You didn't ask to be born in the lineage you were born in, but Nature doesn't care for individuals. You're too small."
"What do you mean?" she asked. She didn't understand the sincerity she was hearing in the woman's voice but she wanted as much information as she could get from her. "You say you're sorry, but why are you helping Klaus?"
"He is my friend. He has been suffering for a thousand years. You don't know how painful it is for someone who's triggered their curse to have it locked back up again. It's painful. Every full moon, they want to shift but the spell that binds their wolf won't allow it. They die. The only reason Klaus is still alive is because of his vampire side. If it had been your friend, Tyler, wouldn't you do everything in your power to help him?"
Elena swallowed. She was taken aback by the information but she did not dwell on it. She wouldn't allow herself to feel sorry for Klaus. "So what? He already broke his curse and now he wants to make hybrids. You're a witch who's supposed to protect the balance of nature. And hybrids are against that."
Vera burst out laughing, her voice echoing in the gym. No matter how many times she heard it, she still found it funny that humans believe that a divine being such as Tara requires the help of humans when in fact it's their meddling that often causes imbalance. "Really? And who told you that?"
Elena was embarrassed but replied, "Bonnie."
"And a witch who didn't know anything about witchcraft a year ago is suddenly the go-to expert on everything magic and the balance?"
Elena said nothing. "Did she tell you why you're a doppelganger?"
"No, but Elijah told me. He said, magic required a loophole to break Klaus' curse, which used the blood of my ancestor…"
"Wrong. Doppelgangers are a thousand years older than vampires. Tatia herself was a doppelganger and her ancestor was a doppelganger, who was a descendant of the first two immortals. Vampires are not the first True Immortals. It was a warlock and his lover who took the immortality spell made by a witch. They are True Immortals. They cannot be killed by any means, not by magic or any human weapons. Since they could not die, Nature created the doppelgangers, mortal shadow-selves to die in their place. It doesn't matter if you don't have children, so long as they remain immortal, Nature will find a branch in the bloodlines to create the next set of doppelgangers."
"Wait, there are two immortals? Well, where are they? And shouldn't there be two doppelganger bloodlines?"
"That's right. There are two doppelgangers. You and some man somewhere else in the world. However, no one knows what the second line of doppelgangers looks like or where they are. The two immortals however were imprisoned soon after they became immortal. No one knows where they are either."
"But Elijah said…"
"Elijah has no way of knowing the truth about something that happened a thousand years before he was born. And the only reason the Original witch used Tatia in her spell to curse Klaus was because her blood already had the magical binding properties of a doppelganger. Had she been a regular human, the blood would not have worked." Vera stood up and left Elena alone.
Klaus spoke with Bonnie to learn that the Original Witch declared the doppelganger should be dead. Klaus simply exchanged a glance with Vera as their theory was confirmed. They cut into Elena's wrists, collected her blood, and fed it to Tyler.
With his first successful hybrid, Klaus sent Elena to the hospital to donate blood for his future hybrids. Vera opened a portal to return to her laboratory with the bag of Elena's blood Klaus set aside for her. "I'll look deeper into the spell to try to find a way for you to turn your hybrids without the need for doppelganger blood."
Just as she turned to leave a voice resounded through the hospital parking lot. "You. What the hell did you do to Tyler?"
When Vera saw the curly-haired blonde, she immediately knew it was Caroline since Kai, Enzo, and Maggie had all spoken fondly of the blonde baby vampire. But it wasn't just her audacity to stand face to face with the thousand-year-old hybrid that drew Vera's attention. It was also the faint signature of her magic on a child that she had never met before. And it wasn't because it was Kai who turned her. The magic on Caroline was several decades old. One of her more powerful spells that span generations.
Klaus was in a good mood. Rather than feeling anger due to her disrespect, he was amused. It has been a long time since someone spoke to him without fear. "I fixed him. I made him better. What is your name sweetheart?"
"Caroline Forbes."
"She's your hybrid pup's girlfriend. She threw me into the school lockers," Rebekah explained, baring her fangs at Caroline.
"Well, you attacked first. I was just defending myself."
"If you were able to throw Rebekah who's a thousand times your age, I'm sure Enzo and Maggie will be proud."
"You're Vera."
"I am. It's lovely to finally meet you, Caroline. Kai, Maggie, and Enzo have grown to be quite fond of you. They won't stop talking about you. I..."
They all turned to the hybrid who cleared his throat like a petulant child ignored for too long.
"And you are?" Caroline asked. She knew very well who he was. There was no one else he could possibly be.
"Klaus. In the flesh." Klaus held his arms out wide, his chest and abdomen exposed to Caroline.
The young blonde's eyes raked over his body, analyzing him from head to toe and Klaus seemed to preen under her attention.
He had dirty blonde curly hair, deep ocean blue eyes, and dimples that gave his face a youthful and easygoing demeanor when she knew he was anything but. When she heard of Klaus, the monster monsters were afraid of, she was expecting someone with a darker aura, with the large build of a bodybuilder and more than seven feet tall. But he had a lithe form, much more similar to that of a swimmer and just a few inches taller than her - a pair of four-inch heels would make her taller than him. Then there's his voice. His smooth voice. He's barely said two sentences to her and yet she was already imagining all the dirty things his smooth accented voice could whisper in her ears in bed. She would never admit that to herself though.
The only thing that spoke of his age were his eyes. Eyes that saw too much. Eyes that were constantly looking for the next threat were now analyzing her. But Caroline wasn't cowed. "You're Klaus?" She raised a challenging eyebrow as she cocked her hips and crossed her arms over her chest. "And here I thought you'd be bigger."
Klaus chuckled amusedly, causing both Vera and Rebekah to look at him curiously.
The last time they heard Klaus chuckle like that was when he met Vera and learned that he would break his curse. With the making of his first hybrid though, he was in a good mood and entertained the sharp-tongued baby vampire. "Well, love, strength isn't just about physicality. It's about experience and strategy. I'm a thousand years old, Caroline. I've internalized the Art of War."
"Yeah, whatever. I just want to know that there aren't any side effects to your turning Tyler into a hybrid." Caroline's voice softened slightly. "I've seen how painful the transformations are for him."
Everyone's eyes widened at her words, Klaus especially. "You've watched him transform on the full moon?"
"Yeah. Damon killed his uncle and when Katherine forced him to trigger his curse, he didn't have anyone else. It was just a few video diaries Mason kept of his painful transformations. He's my friend so I couldn't let him go through that alone."
Klaus was at a loss for words. He couldn't help the memories of his own transformation coming to the forefront of his mind. The physical pain of his bones breaking in addition to the emotional pain of his father staring at him in disdain while his brother stood back, without offering him any help or comfort. He couldn't help the runaway thought of Caroline by his side, helping him during his transformation. He just as quickly perished the thought.
"But Elena's my friend too, and I don't want her to get hurt."
"I commend your loyalty, Caroline," Klaus said. "Lucky for you, love, I need the doppelganger alive to make my hybrids. I'll trust you to keep your friend safe, healthy, and out of danger, Caroline."
Her body trembled when he said her name but she pushed it down with a scoff instead. "Elena already has the two Salvatores for bodyguards, she doesn't need me. Those two would rather watch the world burn than let anything happen to her." Caroline turned to leave, but stopped. "I know you didn't do it out of the kindness of your heart but thanks for helping Tyler."
She left Klaus speechless as he watched her back disappear. Klaus had never been so thrown off his mark. When he heard she was the doppelganger's friend as well as his first hybrid's girlfriend, he was expecting a whiny teenager who'd be complaining about how much of an awful person he was. And then he was going to rip her heart out. He certainly wasn't expecting her.
Unlike most baby vampires, she didn't reek of blood. Vera explained to him that one of her people, Kai, had helped her in her transition. She was able to feed on her nurse, have enough control to stop herself, and compel the nurse while she was transitioning in the middle of a hospital. She killed only one man and that was because the man walked by her while he was bleeding and she lost control. It took her three days to learn not to react to an open wound. He couldn't help but be amazed. She was a natural vampire. Strong, ageless, fearless, and yet so full of light. He had never met anyone as exquisite as her.
She had a light whiff of vervain that burned his nostrils, which told him that she knew he could compel her and she was being cautious of him even though she wouldn't show it. Although she didn't seem to be in the doppelganger's inner circle like the Bennett witch and the Salvatore brothers, she was still loyal to her friends.
His body was vibrating with excitement. He wanted her. Klaus Mikaelson wanted Caroline Forbes. He wanted her strength, her quick wit, and above all, he wanted her loyalty.
When Liz Forbes returned home from a long day of work, she wasn't expecting a powerful witch to be waiting for her on her front porch. "Hello, Sheriff. I have something I'd like to speak to you about. Can you please call Caroline home?"
The Sheriff didn't verbally invite her inside, but she just smiled and stepped over the threshold. She could've been invited in so the Sheriff served her vervain tea, which she drank without so much as a grimace. "Smart, but I'm not a vampire." She held her fingers up, conjuring a dancing blue flame at the tips of her manicured nails.
The witch's eyes shone a cobalt blue as she looked at the Sheriff. "Sheriff, what do you know about vampires who've just transitioned?"
"I know they have trouble controlling their bloodlust which can lead them to commit massacres. Before Caroline, I believed that it was some type of demon who took over the person's body. I couldn't imagine a human being capable of the monstrous things that vampires do."
Vera laughed a harsh laugh. "You're rather naive for an officer. I'm sure you know humans are capable of the same atrocities vampires commit. Murderers, rapists, and serial killers. Most of them are human. You know, I was a nurse during the First World War and a French Resistance fighter in the Second." Liz's eyes widened at the insinuation of the seemingly young woman's age. "Millions were hunted and killed at the orders of madmen, warmongers. And none of them were vampires. They were human. Not even the Originals combined can boast a death count as high as Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin."
Elizabeth Forbes swallowed hard as she slightly lowered her head, cowed by the Umpire. "I'm not going to lecture you on the morals of humans and vampires. I only wanted to understand how much knowledge you had about vampire physiology and psychology. When humans transition into a vampire, their emotions are heightened. Someone with a slight temper may become wrathful, love becomes obsessive, and low self-esteem can become self-loathing. The reason Caroline didn't go on a murder spree when she turned was due to her neurotic and controlling tendencies, which were heightened. It allowed her to gain control of her bloodlust in just days instead of the years it would take most baby vampires. She also wanted to make you proud. She knew you were a vampire hunter and she didn't want to kill people to give you an excuse to want to kill her."
Liz brought her hands to her lips. "How… how do you know this?"
"Kai trained her and he told me. Kai is like a little brother to me. I took him out of an abusive family situation. He's the owner of the company Caroline gets her blood delivered from. She doesn't steal from blood banks or hospitals. She prefers to buy ethically sourced blood because she doesn't want you to be disappointed in her."
"And why are you telling me all of this?"
"I'm telling you this because I want you to take better care of yourself. How long has it been since you had your last medical checkup? When I saw Caroline today, the first thing I saw was her crying over your dead body laying on a hospital bed. Heightened emotions turned her grief into debilitating sorrow. She was pained with grief that she turned her humanity off. And this doesn't happen 20 years from now while you're in your old age. It happens in 3 years." Vera explained as tears fell from Liz's eyes at the thought of leaving her daughter so soon. She knew she was going to die as she didn't want to become a vampire, but she wasn't expecting it to be so soon. "Go to the hospital, Sheriff. Get a blood test. Start training up your replacement and slow down. You need to take better care of your health for your daughter's sake."
Liz nodded as tears continued to stream from her eyes. Vera handed the Sheriff a napkin as she awkwardly patted her back.
By the time Caroline returned home, Liz's tears had dried as though a witch didn't just prophecy her death. "Vera? What are you doing here?"
"Sit down, Caroline."
Caroline sat beside her mother, taking her hand. "Are you okay, mom?" She looked at Vera with clear suspicion in her eyes. "Klaus didn't send you here to threaten my mom, did he?"
"No."
Liz just patted her daughter's hand. "Really, Caroline. I'm fine. Vera just needs to tell us something. Let's listen."
Liz nodded to the witch. "When I first met you, Caroline, I could immediately sense my magic on you." Caroline opened her mouth but Vera raised her hand to stop the girl from interrupting. "No. I didn't put a spell on you. Today is the first time I'm meeting you and last year was the first time I had even heard of you. The spell is generational. I placed it on one of your ancestors." Vera pointed to Liz. "Your grandmother."
Liz's brows furrowed with confusion which was reflected in her daughter's face. "My grandmother? How could you have met her? And why would she need a spell cast on her and me and Caroline?"
"I met her in Europe before the Second World War. She asked me to cast a sealing spell, a cloaking spell, and a protection spell that would not only help her and would also transfer to her descendants to keep them safe. Your grandmother, Sheriff, was supernatural. A rare kind that are often hunted that most don't even think exists. They've been relegated to the pages of myths and legends. She was a Nature Spirit."
"And Nature Spirits are…"
"Nature Spirits are like the personifications of the spiritual forces of Nature. There are several: faeries, nymphs, devas, fauni, silvani, elementals, and more. I didn't know what type she was but I still cast the spells."
"Why? I mean I saw what Klaus was willing to do to unlock a piece of himself so why would my great-grandmother want to seal away a part of herself?"
"To protect herself and her offspring. A monster was created by one of each of the three major supernatural species: vampire, witch, and werewolf. This creature was made to kill only one supernatural Spectral Beast. But it was freed from its masters' controls and wandered the world, devouring every Spectral Beast there was. When the Spectral Beasts are devoured, they're forgotten from living memory. All that's left of them are stories people believe to be myths and legends. The creature can devour anything and everything except for vampires, witches, and werewolves, the three species that created it."
"So if you hadn't cast the spell…"
"My grandmother would've been hunted and devoured by that creature," Liz said as she held her head in her hands. "I'm guessing the power has passed down to myself and Caroline now. And it's only your spells protecting us, shielding us, to keep this creature from finding us."
"Yes. But every spell has a loophole. The only way the spell will break is when the creature is no longer a threat."
"And that will be…"
"When a creature is naturally born of the blood of a werewolf, witch, and vampire. A Tribrid."
Place: Mystic Falls, Virginia, USA
Date: August 31, 2010
Notes: This chapter was about Vera and Klaus. Although I didn't show it, Kai did come to Mystic Falls when Caroline was being tortured by her father. With help from Liz and Tyler, they were able to save Caroline. He doesn't approve of her relationship with Tyler because of Tyler's inaction when the werewolves were torturing Caroline. He leaves soon after Caroline recovers. I really like my idea for the confrontation between Bill and Kai. I might write it.