Hello, all! I give you guys the next chapter, which I hope you all enjoy. I would also like to say that I am very grateful and happy with the support that you guys give. Now, for the reviews response:

-Fidjie: Thanks, and I am so happy you liked it. Also, since I've been asking and I've received similar responses, I am working on gathering my previous "Fire In The Water" stories to publish them once more in the near future. Sadly, they'll be discontinued.

-Guest: I will publish the old story of "Fire In The Water" after I make sure I have every document. As I said, it will be discontinued, but you guys will be able to read it soon. And thank you very much, I am so grateful for the compliment and will aspire to do better.

-GhostGypsy: Thank you so much! I am glad you enjoyed. You will also notice that the Klaus/Gwen relationship changed and that Gwen's personality is somewhat different than the Gwen from my other story, which obviously includes her powers that will grow as time goes by. I am trying to do better in character developments and arcs and such, so yous guys have the green light to critique; it betters my writing.

-Love . Fiction . 2020: No, I am for sure NOT changing the pairing to Klaus/Gwen, but I did change the type of relationship from best friends to something else that is and WILL NOT be in any way romantic. It's staying Kol/Gwen, so don't worry about that.

Back to the story...

Disclaimer: I own nothing belonging to the Vampire Diaries and claim no ownership over anything pertaining to it. I only own my characters and whatever else that is not from the show.

gilded cage

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Morning light seeped into the apartment, illuminating the pale-colored walls of the living room in Gwen's home with the warm orange and pink tones of sunrise. The young girl paced around the room in a short-sleeved, pink nightdress that reached above her knees and had an allover print of T-rex dinosaurs, which she matched with ankle socks that were a light gray. She sipped some vanilla tea from a mug with the TV on a random channel due to her wanting to fill in the silence that spread throughout her home, which helped calm her anxiety. It didn't help that she had not been able to get a wink of sleep after her near-deadly encounter with Klaus' sister the night before. Klaus had sent her off with Juniper, while he dealt with his fuming sister but promising to come by her apartment in the morning.

There were too many scenarios going through Gwen's mind as she thought about how Klaus's mood was going to be when he came by, about what he might do. She would be an idiot if she said that Klaus didn't frighten her a bit, of what he was capable of. She was confident that he would never hurt her–not on purpose–but she was still afraid for Juniper's life since she could only conclude that Klaus would punish her by taking the only friend she had, leaving her alone without anyone else but him. Still, she understood why he became even more paranoid as the years passed. After so many years of threats and dangerous situations where her life was in danger, he only tightened his hold on her and sought to protect her from just about everyone and everything, even if it meant that he had to shelter her from the rest of the world.

Feeling a bit of an uncomfortable pressure around her neck every time she turned her head as if there was a lump wedged within her throat, Gwen reached up with her free hand and touched the discolored skin of her neck with delicate fingers. It was a bit painful, it even made drinking tea a little difficult for her due to how tender it felt. If she didn't want to have it for the next few days, she would have to use some of her herbs to make a paste and reduce the dark handprint that decorated her neck.

The knock on her door startled the young woman, her heart having almost jumped out of her chest. She shook her head and took a deep breath to calm herself down. She set her mug on the coffee table before walking to her front door while mentally preparing herself for what she knew was waiting for her on the other side of the wooden door, which was why she wasn't surprised to be met with a scowling Klaus leaning against her doorway with his arms folded over his chest.

"Good morning to you," Klaus greeted as he passed by her to enter the apartment, his voice dripping with a mix of sarcasm and a dangerous edge to it. He turned to face her as she closed the front door behind her. He approached her and carefully tilted her neck upward, sighing heavily when he saw the hand-sized bruise on her neck. "Pity that vampire blood doesn't work on you. It would have fixed your mistake in no time."

Gwen hummed as she nodded after he released her chin, unable to get a read on him due to the blank look in his eyes. "I'll still heal pretty quickly, just need to use some herbs."

"Have you never heard about what happened to the curious cat?" he asked as his eyebrow furrowed, waiting for her to answer.

Gwen sighed as she wrapped her arms around her abdomen to seek some form of comfort for the oncoming scolding. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, keeping her eyes on the floor.

"Sorry you did something stupid or that you got caught?" countered Klaus, his hands on his hips as he stared down at Gwen.

"Well," Gwen scoffed as she lifted her head, meeting his eyes for a moment before looking away, "what did you expect?" At his questioning look, she continued. "You didn't listen to me about Gloria, so I went to June."

"That's my next stop after I'm done with you," said Klaus.

Gwen's heart froze as she looked up at him with wide eyes. "What're you going to do?" Her voice almost trembled.

"What I should've done the day I met her," said Klaus, his eyes hardening.

"No, you won't!" Gwen countered, fear coursing through her.

"Why not?" asked Klaus, as if his idea of killing Juniper was the only possible solution.

Gwen scoffed, growing angry. "If you're going to punish anyone, punish me. The only reason she was there was because I asked her to help me find you or get ahead of what Gloria was doing."

Klaus' eyebrows furrowed, having thought that Juniper was the one who came up with the idea to get an advantage over him. "Now why did you feel the need to do such a thing when I specifically asked you to trust me?"

"You never tell me anything, so I apologize if I wanted to find out for myself that you were going to be okay. And," she laughed without any humor, "to top it all off, you never told me that you keep your family in freaking coffins!" She realized she had raised her voice at him–not for the first time–but she knew she had to calm down, noticing how her fingers tickled with the familiar feeling of her magic. "I was worried about you," she admitted, steeling herself to look up at him to find him staring at her. She felt her eyes water and the skin of her face become warm due to how frustrated she felt. "I just want to know what's going on. I want to help you."

Klaus stared down at the young girl, seeing the water gathering in her eyes and the desperation on full display. He understood that what happened the night before was his own doing, his own decisions. He should have known better, knowing that he shouldn't have been surprised to see her doing everything he told her not to do. Still, it was his responsibility to look after her. "That doesn't excuse the fact that you placed yourself in danger," he sighed, softening. "I can manage Gloria. I don't need you running around with a neurotic witch looking for trouble that isn't your business."

"We're family, so it is my business," Gwen countered, feeling a bit hurt by his words.

"Yes, but this is not the kind of business I want you to meddle in," Klaus argued, his own eyes glaring down at her. "You won't be able to handle it."

Gwen huffed with a mocking smile. "Oh, yeah, like watching you decapitate people in front of me," she said, sniffling but managing to keep her tears of exasperation at bay.

Klaus rolled his eyes as he turned away from her. "This again."

"Or when you slaughtered those people in Seattle," she added.

"They were witches and only wanted to use you," Klaus defended himself as he whipped around to face her. "That's what it's always about when it comes to you. People only want to use you because you are part-faerie, the last person to have such rare blood coursing through your veins." He knew he was pushing his luck, but he needed her to see his reasoning, having used the argument before to settle her down. "I protect you from the world that only looks to cause you harm."

"But you also keep me from it!" Gwen argued, ignoring falling for the guilt he was targeting. She approached him, giving him a small smile. "You've told me that there is more out there. Great cities and art and music."

Klaus looked away from her as he recalled those very same words he used to say when she was younger, and she couldn't fall asleep. He closed his eyes for a moment before settling them on her own with an impassive look. "That was a long time ago. I need to keep your life safe from any danger."

"I have no life!" She huffed as she ran her trembling fingers through her loose waves of cinnamon-brown hair. "Not only that, you even keep me from yours."

"Whatever do you mean?" he tried to deflect.

Gwen gave him an unimpressed look. "Oh, I don't know," she began, "let's go back to the fact that you have your family in caskets with daggers in their hearts. What's that about?"

Suddenly, the front door was shoved open, drawing Klaus' and Gwen's attention to the blonde standing at the doorway with a smirk on her lips. "I can take over from here."

Gwen recognized the young woman from the night before, but she wasn't wearing the bloodied flapper dress and her hair was more vibrant with a healthier shine. Her face also looked much better, having lost the gray color and veins that marred her smooth skin and made her look so ill. And she now wore a beige sweater dress with long sleeves that she matched with dark brown, knee-high boots.

"What are you doing here, sister?" Klaus asked as he walked over to Rebekah, given that she had yet to receive a proper invitation to be able to enter the apartment. "I sent Stefan to you to entertain you so that he could take you out shopping until I got back."

"Yes, but he took forever to arrive," said Rebekah, shrugging her shoulders. "I got bored, so I decided to see where you keep away such an exquisite creature." Her eyes landed on Gwen, smiling. She took a whiff of the air inside the apartment and her mouth slightly watered when she recognized Gwen's scent was all over the place, finding it quite euphoric. "She really is a lovely thing."

Raising an eyebrow, Klaus asked Rebekah, "How did you find this place?"

Rebekah shrugged her shoulders. "It's not too difficult to track you, Nik."

Klaus was at a loss. He knew that distracting his sister to keep her away from something only motivated her to get to what she wanted. He never intended for Gwen to meet his family like this–or at all. Any member of his family could see her as a potential way to get to him, so this predicament made him feel uneasy, which was something he had to keep in check and hide from the scrutinizing gaze of Rebekah. Now that his sister knew about Gwen, there was no way that he would be able to keep the young girl a secret.

"Hello," Gwen greeted the Original vampire at her door.

Rebekah huffed. "Oh, good, at least she has some manners, but I have yet to be invited in."

"You tried to kill me," Gwen reminded the blonde.

"Blame Nik," said Rebekah. "I wouldn't have been so parched and uncivilized if I hadn't been locked up for almost a century."

"You got a point," said Gwen, glancing at Klaus.

"Mind inviting me inside, sweet thing?" Rebekah asked Gwen with a polite smile.

"You can come in," Gwen said, stopping Klaus' attempt to keep his sister outside the apartment. The young girl ignored the pointed look the hybrid sent her way. "This is my home. I can invite and uninvite whoever I want," she told him. While it was probably a bad idea to allow a thousand-year-old vampire entry into her home, Gwen found no harm in giving Klaus's sister the benefit of the doubt. "Besides, she is your sister."

"That there is where the problem lies," said Klaus.

"Thank you, pet," Rebekah said, her gaze dropping to her feet as she stepped inside, finding no invisible wall to keep her from entering the cozy home. Once inside, she looked around. "This is a lovely place."

Klaus sighed heavily. "You have yet to tell me what you're doing here, Rebekah."

"Well," Rebekah began as she walked around the apartment, looking at all the different items she could recognize and the ones that she had no idea what they were. "I was thinking that going shopping today would go over so much better with a lady." She turned to smile at Gwen as she approached the much younger girl. "You'll do just fine."

Somehow, the vampire's smile unnerved Gwen to some extent. While she was used to Klaus' imposing presence, it was a whole different thing when it's another vampire who was just as old as he was. She recognized that Rebekah appeared to be just as intimidating as Klaus, but her way.

"She's not a tourist guide," Klaus said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll compel another girl to show you around and get whatever you need." He was slightly glaring at Rebekah. "I only ask that you try to behave."

"And why are you so grumpy?" Rebekah asked Klaus, having noticed how his mood was worsening.

Klaus scoffed. "I needed one thing from you for my witch to find out why my hybrids are dying, one thing." He lifted his arms and let them fall back to his sides. "Your necklace, which you lost."

"I didn't lose it," Rebekah countered. "It's just been missing for ninety years."

Gwen frowned at Klaus. "What do you mean that your hybrids are dying?"

Finding no need to not tell her at this point, Klaus said, "It appears that when I try to turn a werewolf into a hybrid, they die."

"Did Gloria tell you why they're dying?" Gwen asked him.

"I was going to get an answer for that, but this one here," he paused to gesture to Rebekah, "lost the only way for me to get the fix for my problem."

"Again, not my fault," said Rebekah. "It probably got lost when you put me in a box after shoving a dagger in my heart."

Klaus closed his eyes and restrained himself from falling into yet another bickering match with Rebekah. "We're getting off-topic here."

"Yes, we are," Rebekah agreed as she walked over to Gwen and touched the brunette's hair to push it behind an ear. "You go find Stefan and do whatever boys do these days, while your little pet helps me."

"'Pet'?" Gwen was not sure she liked or disliked the nickname, not with the tone Rebekah used while saying it.

"And why should I allow that?" asked Klaus, glaring at his sister. While he disliked the idea of leaving Gwen alone with Rebekah, he also didn't want to leave Stefan on his own for too long without knowing where he was. Even though he restored the young vampire's memories, Klaus had yet to fully trust him, since he was a different man from the one he knew back in the twenties.

"What's the harm?" Rebekah countered with a question. She sighed with a roll of her eyes. "I promise not to do anything to your little pet. She's in very good hands."

Klaus wanted to argue and keep Gwen away from Rebekah, but he had other matters to deal with. "Fine," he relented before grabbing Rebekah's arm and pulling her a bit away from Gwen. "Listen carefully, little sister," he whispered with a scowl on his features. "No harm comes to her. If there is so much as a hair out of place, you will find yourself back in your coffin to rot for another century."

Rebekah was taken aback by this, not understanding why Klaus was so protective of the girl. He didn't even bother to hide that he had a soft spot for the young girl. "Why is she so important to you, Nik?" She watched his body language as he released her arm. "It's been quite a while since I've seen you like this."

"She's my responsibility," he said as the only explanation he was willing to offer. "Besides, I don't need to remind you what happens to those of her kind. Keep an eye out."

"I know what to do, darling brother," said Rebekah. "This isn't my first time with a faerie."

"Half-faerie," Klaus corrected her, causing her to frown. "Her scent is not as strong as a full-fledged faerie, but it can still attract unwanted attention."

"Right," said Rebekah. "Go on, then. Run your errands."

Klaus glanced at Gwen. "Can you take the day to suffer my incorrigible sister?"

Rebekah glared at him. "Don't be an ass."

Gwen nodded at Klaus. "Yeah, I'll just call June and tell her to cover my shift."

"I'll do that myself when I stop by before meeting up with Stefan," Klaus said as he went to leave.

"Wait!" Gwen called, causing Klaus to pause at her doorway and turn to face her. "Promise me that her life is not in any danger."

"You wanted me to get a second opinion, didn't you?" asked Klaus, already disliking the idea forming in his mind.

Gwen was surprised by this, her lips slightly quirking up. "You won't hurt her?"

"Not unless she starts something that she won't be able to finish," he said with a smirk before taking his leave and closing the door behind him.

Once they were left alone, Gwen's attention went to Rebekah. "So, I'll just go get ready and we'll be on our way."

"I didn't catch your name, pet," Rebekah said, stopping Gwen from leaving the room.

"It's Gwendolyn Moone, but you can call me Gwen," said the young girl.

Rebekah nodded with a smile. "Right."

"I'll be quick," Gwen said before going into her room.

Rebekah watched as the young girl disappeared into a room, becoming quite curious with the girl her older brother was so keen on keeping protected. This curiosity was what caused her to ditch Stefan and find out more about the rare creature Klaus appeared to prefer to keep hidden, which only made her more determined to learn more about the half-breed her brother seemed to be so fond of.

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Juniper politely smiled as she waved at a customer leaving her store before she fell back on a chair behind the counter of her store as she exhaled a heavy sigh, her smile disappearing. She had contemplated closing for the day after having had a long night, but she had ends to meet. Also, it was a good way to keep her mind busy from worrying about Gwen, given that she just left the younger girl at her apartment. She had offered to stay the night, but Gwen insisted that it wasn't necessary. And now she needed to focus on staying alive, considering that she shouldn't count on Gwen managing to convince Klaus not to kill her.

Just then, every nerve in her body grew tense, causing her to look up when the bell on top of the front door chimed. She gasped when she found Klaus standing on the other side of the counter with a dimpled smile and his arms behind his back. He had been too fast for her senses to anticipate his arrival. She felt like her heart had come to a complete standstill, her body screaming to run. It was unbelievable what a single man evoked from others by simply existing, and it didn't help that her magic allowed her to sense the power that surrounded him. It made her wonder how anyone could think it was a good idea to go against him.

"So, am I dying today?" Juniper asked, trying to keep her voice steady. And while she managed to smile and appear relaxed in her seat, her spirit wanted to jump out of her body and escape.

"I have yet to decide," Klaus said, his smile disappearing as his lips tightened into a thin line. He turned around and went to the door. "The only reason your head is still attached to your shoulders is that I don't think Gwen will ever forgive me for killing a friend, not this time." He turned the sign of her store to say that they were closed. "So, for me to avoid a temperamental and pouty teenager, I have restrained myself from putting your head on a spike."

Juniper hummed, "Oh, what a gentleman."

Klaus turned back around to face her. "Now, why on earth would you help Gwen in her pursuit of doing the opposite of everything I tell her?"

"It's quite simple really," Juniper said as she stood up, folding her arms over her chest. "That girl is going to explode if you keep her locked up. Faeries are not meant to be sheltered from the world." Klaus scoffed in annoyance as he looked away from the witch. "You've isolated her. She's no different from a bird with clipped wings, Klaus."

"I do it to protect her!" Klaus argued as he glared at the brunette.

"I know that," Juniper raised her voice, but it still didn't match his. "But she is a young girl who has no life outside the walls you've built around her. She deserves to have a choice in what she wants. She has yet to live, to fall in love, to travel." She shook her head with a sigh. "You are taking all of that from her. And she's not asking for much, just that you loosen the leash a bit, which is a metaphor that I am not even supposed to use when talking about another human being."

Calming down and collecting his thoughts, Klaus breathed in and exhaled. He knew that Juniper was right, but he wasn't about to admit that. "I can't stop her, can I?" He leaned his hip against a nearby table. For so long, he thought he could give Gwen whatever she wanted and keep her happy in a safe place, but he also understood that he couldn't stop her anymore. She was growing into her own person, and that person wanted more than what he provided. "I just want her to be safe."

Juniper chuckled. "You're not a real parent until you go through the rebellious phase of a teenager and the fear of having to let go."

"You're not helping," countered Klaus. "Especially when you enable her mischief."

"I'm her friend, not her mom," she argued. "Also, faeries tend to be mischievous."

"Yet, you should have known better last night," said Klaus, his eyes narrowing.

Juniper saw what he was doing, which exasperated her. "I would never put her in any danger, Klaus. I also do not want anything from you," she explained. "We only wanted to figure out what Gloria was up to after Gwen told me about the bad feeling she got. The plan wasn't to find your weird fetish with daggers and coffins." She pointed a finger at Klaus. "I bet you have a lot of explaining to do now, huh?"

"No thanks to you, but I bet my sister will give her all of the juicy details," said Klaus, making a gesture with his hands.

Juniper's eyes widened. "You left Gwen with your sister?" she asked, frowning. "The same one who tried to kill us last night?"

"I had no choice," Klaus hissed at her. "My sister is someone who doesn't take 'no' very well. If I had told her to stay away from Gwen, she would have only been more intrigued and unpredictable. It's better when I know that they're together." He cleared his throat. "Besides, I trust my sister with Gwen more than I trust you."

Juniper gasped mockingly with a hand over her heat. "And here I thought we were connecting."

"Forgive me if I don't buy into your story about wanting Gwen's help to find your family," said Klaus, his lips pursed. "It's a bit too tragic and convenient."

"I don't care if you believe me or not," Juniper said with a shrug of her shoulders. "It's the truth. After so many years of searching for a clue as to what happened to my parents, a little spell told me that Gwen is somehow connected to them."

Klaus nodded. "Well, she's no family to you, and your DNA test proved that." At her surprised look, he smirked. "You don't think I won't find out every little thing you do when it concerns Gwen, do you?"

"Wow, you really are as paranoid as they say," huffed Juniper, feeling more awed than annoyed. "Still, all of your questions have probably been answered by Gwen and you could have killed me a while ago, but what I do wonder is why I'm still here." She tilted her head to the side. "I'm not alive because Gwen asked you not to kill me. There's something you want from me."

"When it comes to Gwen's intuition, I trust in it completely," he began to explain as he paced around the front of the establishment. "And I know Gloria isn't helping me out of the goodness of her heart, so I can deduce that she'll try to find a way to get one over me. And this brings me to this agonizing predicament." Juniper could tell that whatever he was going to say was something that physically bothered him by the scowl on his face. "I decided to listen to Gwen, so I came here to get a second opinion."

Juniper froze, her eyes wide in shock as she watched him reluctantly meet her gaze. This was the first time Klaus asked such a thing from her since he wanted her to simply disappear from Gwen's life, though he always made it known that he'd prefer for her to die. A wide smile slowly appeared on her face, growing from ear to ear, which reminded Klaus of the Cheshire cat. "Now this is something else," she chuckled, staring at him in disbelief. "Are you asking for my help?"

"No," Klaus turned to her as he sat down on a chair at a table. "This is just a second opinion."

"You need my help," Juniper cooed as she walked over to Klaus.

"Don't make me regret this," warned Klaus, looking up at her grinning face with hardened eyes.

Juniper raised her hands in surrender before placing them on her hips. "Why the change of heart?"

"Traditional witches tend to maintain the so-called 'Balance of Nature'," he began to explain. "And although Gloria deviates a bit from that practice, she's still not one to turn her back on all of it, but you're not like any of them."

Sighing, Juniper nodded, disliking where the conversation was headed. "You mean about my magic."

"Yes." He nodded. "Unlike most witches, you prefer to be alone and do your practice without needing to depend on the Spirits to give you their blessing for every spell you want to perform. I do wonder why that is."

"I think it has to do with the coven my parents belonged to. The only thing I've been able to find out about them is that they came from a line of pureblood witches, but they disappeared one day without a trace," Juniper said as she recalled vague memories of her mother from when she was small, but even the face was a blur when she tried to focus on what her mother's face looked like. "The magic they practiced was dark magic, which I seem to have inherited."

"Ah, the great taboo," said Klaus, now understanding her better.

"Exactly, so now you know why I don't need the Spirits, and why many witches turned me away when I was looking for answers," Juniper said with a nod of her head. "I also don't seem to suffer from the supposed side effects of my heart being corrupted and my mind being poisoned." She raised a hand and flexed her fingers, staring at her movements as she felt her power beneath her skin. "I would like to learn more about it, but I've run out of leads." She dropped her hand back to her side. "At some point, we all want to know more about ourselves, and the past is a good place to start."

"You should know that this family you're looking for may not be what you expect them to be. You could very well be better off without knowing anything about them," said Klaus, his eyes appearing to be looking at something far away, indicating that he was lost in his mind.

"I know," Juniper sighed. She tried not to imagine who her family was since it was better not to create expectations, but she did remember a bit of her mother. She remembered how warm and safe she felt whenever she thought about the woman who gave her life. "So, what do you need of me?" she asked, going back to what they were originally discussing.

"As you know, I broke my curse and became a hybrid," Klaus said as he stood to walk around the table, needing to be doing something as he spoke about what was frustrating him.

Juniper nodded as she sat on a chair at the table Klaus was pacing around, leaning back to watch him. "I know that part," she said. "What's the problem?"

"I can't sire more of my kind," Klaus answered, causing Juniper to frown in confusion. "We know that I can't turn a vampire into a werewolf because the werewolf gene is passed down from generation to generation through genes, so that means that I need to turn werewolves." He took a breath as he recalled the dead werewolf pack he found in the Rocky Mountains with Stefan. "The problem happened when they went into transition." He stopped pacing and turned to stare at Juniper. "They died, even after completing the steps of transition."

"So, you went to Gloria to find out what the problem is," Juniper said, connecting the dots on her own. "The fact that you're still not happy while talking about it means that she hasn't found the answer."

"Precisely," sighed Klaus. "It's the reason why I decided to listen to Gwen."

"How does Gloria plan on finding such a solution?" asked Juniper, needing more details to be able to find her own answer to Klaus' problem.

"She said she needed my sister's necklace to contact the witch who created my curse, but the bloody thing is lost with no idea of where it could be," Klaus told her, deciding that he could trust Juniper with the information. He hoped she would surprise him, which would then prove Gwen was right, but then he would never hear the end of it. "I'm going over to her bar later to see if she can find it."

Juniper hummed. "It's a good plan, and it shouldn't be hard to find the necklace."

Klaus paused at this, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"Your sister wore it for whoever knows how long, which makes her the key to finding it," Juniper explained, and what she told him was what she would do herself to locate the necklace he needed to contact the witch who created his curse. "But, if you want a solution to your problem with creating more puppies like you, I can look into it."

"What's in it for you?" he asked, growing wary.

Juniper rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Nothing." She hummed as she thought it over before a grin appeared on her lips. "But I have to admit that having you owe me one sounds rather exciting."

"Of course," Klaus scoffed. "What is it you want?"

"Ugh," Juniper groaned as she made a face of disgust. She stood up to walk over to the front door. "You make it sound like I want to take away your favorite toy." She turned over the sign to say that her establishment was open once more. "I haven't thought about it, but I assure you that I will try to keep it PG, so don't get pouty." She gestured for him to walk out of the store. "You can leave now. Unlike you, I can't compel away my bills."

"Fine, but you better come through," Klaus said as he strode over to the front door, standing a few inches in front of Juniper. "For your sake."

"Look, I know that I approached Gwen because I wanted answers about my family. I was so grateful when she offered to help without a second thought, which is something you need to watch out for. That girl can be too nice sometimes," she said, causing Klaus to give her a lopsided smile as he nodded in agreement. "As soon as I found out that she had no memory or encounter with a relative of mine, I thought that it was best to move on. She became my friend, and she's the closest thing I have to some semblance of family." She took a deep breath as she worked up her nerve to be nice to him after only receiving death threats every time that they saw one another, which she happily returned. "You're her family, so helping you is part of the package."

"Good to know," Klaus said, turning to leave, making the bell above the door chime.

Juniper released a heavy breath as she leaned against the door, finally calming down after Klaus left. She didn't know she had been so on edge when around Klaus, but this moment reminded her of the time after she first met him when Gwen introduced them to one another and he had been ready to kill her then and there, but he spared her. Even though she had spells and safety measures against Klaus, she knew not to underestimate the power the hybrid had, as should no one.

.

"Do all women in the 21st century dress like prostitutes?" Rebekah asked out loud from within a spacious dressing room, while Gwen waited outside with many shopping bags sitting on the floor with her purse beside the divan she sat on.

Gwen winced with pursed lips at Rebekah's words, glad that the Original vampire had compelled the store owner to close for only them to use, but it prompted Gwen to stare down at her outfit. She wore a cami dress in black with a cream floral print that had a V-neckline and a maxi skirt that had a ruffled, high-low hem. The dress also had front-button closures and an elasticized waist with self-tie closure. She had matched the outfit with cork wedges in cream with an open-toe style. She also wore an ivory scarf around her neck to cover up the bruises she didn't have time to heal up.

"I don't mean you," said Rebekah.

"Okay, and it's just the fashion nowadays," Gwen said, playing around with the pearl of her necklace that peeked out from beneath her scarf.

Rebekah stepped out from behind the curtain in a black mini dress, not liking the dress after having tried it on. "You know, I got dirty looks for wearing trousers."

"Really?" Gwen asked, not convinced that Rebekah would have gotten any sour looks with how beautiful she was. "Kind of hard to imagine."

Rebekah nodded, staring at herself in a mirror. "Yes, but I could care less."

"Fashions come and go," Gwen supplied. "You might even see bell-bottoms back in style." At the blonde's confused look, she elaborated. "It was the fashion style back in the sixties. It was not a good look for anyone, in my opinion."

"And what is this music?" Rebekah asked with a scrunched-up face, her heightened senses making working against her as she tried to block the store's music. "It sounds like a cable car accident."

"Well, it's dance music," Gwen answered, her ears failing to recognize the song. "I can help you find some music you might like later."

Rebekah raised an incredulous eyebrow. "People dance to this?"

Gwen shrugged her shoulders. "I think they do."

"You think?" Rebekah furrowed her eyebrows.

"I, uh," she paused and cleared her throat. "I don't really know what people dance to. I haven't gone to a party. Well, I have, but I wasn't there for long, which I don't think counts as having the experience of having gone to a party." She realized she was talking nonsense and stopped. "Sorry, I tend to ramble when I get nervous."

"You've never gone to a party?" asked Rebekah, her face portraying how she was at. "Don't you have friends to go out with?" She sat on the divan next to the one Gwen was using, crossing a leg over the other.

"I tried once, and it didn't end well," Gwen explained, her eyes falling to the floor as she toyed with her hands on her lap. The image of the face of a brown-haired boy with a fair skin complexion who had short but wavy hair and brown eyes entered her mind, but she forced herself not to remember. "You've known Nik for far longer than I have. I think you know what happens when his rules aren't followed."

Rebekah hummed, frowning as she stared at the young girl. She understood what Gwen meant in its entirety. Living with Klaus was no easy thing, and it felt like one couldn't live their own life outside of the boundaries he set. "I do," she said, gaining Gwen's attention. "More than you know, and I hope you never get to where I am." She smirked. "You're lucky he can't dagger you."

This reminded Gwen of what she had tried asking Klaus. "Does he have all of your family in coffins?"

"Apparently." Said Rebekah, breathing deeply. "It seems that Elijah was the last one to join us."

"How many of you are there?" asked Gwen.

"Well, there's Finn," Rebekah began as she leaned back against the divan's back, "he's the oldest. Then there's the noble Elijah, next is Nik, the mischievous Kol comes after, and finally…" she paused to gesture to herself, "yours truly."

Gwen's eyes were wide. "And they're all daggered?"

Rebekah nodded. "Yes, but this isn't the first time for any of us, except for Finn. He's been daggered for almost 900 years."

"What?" Gwen gasped, finding it hard to believe that the man had been in that state for so long, and who knew when he would awaken.

"My brother Finn was not very happy with our status as 'bloodsuckers'–as he so fondly called us–which was always a chore to listen to," said Rebekah. "When we were daggered for the first time, Nik decided to leave him asleep a bit longer." Her eyes became downcast, managing to push back the guilt trying to claw its way back to the forefront of her mind. "Time went by, and it didn't cross our minds to wake him."

Gwen stared at Rebekah, taking note of how the vampire composed herself with such ease as the emotions quickly shifted. She saw the guilt in the blonde's eyes, but it was a flitting thing, which she recognized as the ability to better manage emotions, something that all vampires were able to do. Gwen figured that it was probably the only way that vampires could go on living without letting their emotions drown them as the years passed.

Clearing her throat, Rebekah broke Gwen out of her thoughts. "So," said the smiling vampire, "how did you and Nik meet?"

"He raised me," Gwen answered, causing Rebekah to become confused once more. "Both of my parents are dead, and I have no living relatives. I was a few days old when he took me in."

Rebekah opened her mouth to say something, but then she closed it as she thought about what was best to say. "Are you sure you have no one?" she asked, taking care of how she phrased what she wanted to know since she didn't want to directly ask the girl if Klaus had a hand in the deaths of her parents. "I mean, you can't be completely alone."

"Well, my dad was human. He died before I was born," she said with a sigh, remembering how Klaus had looked for him as a favor to her, only to find that he had passed away. "My mom was a faerie, and Nik told me she died in the superstorm of 1994. He said he found me and my mom, but he couldn't save her."

"And he kept you?" asked Rebekah, surprised by what she was hearing about her brother.

Gwen nodded, slightly smiling. "I know it's something he wouldn't do unless he got something out of it, but he still took care of me. I still don't know why." She shrugged her shoulders. "He could have left me in someone else's care or some orphanage, but he didn't. He has never asked anything from me." She huffed out a laugh. "He was rough around the edges and paranoid and controlling, but I don't think I'll be able to ever repay him for everything he's done for me."

"I think that it's the other way around," said Rebekah.

Gwen raised an eyebrow at this. "What do you mean?"

Rebekah shook her head with a kind smile. "Forget I said anything. Let's get back to why we're here." She stood up and twirled to show Gwen the dress she forgot she was trying on. "So, what do you think?"

"Uh," Gwen hummed as she looked at the dress. "I wouldn't wear it."

"You're quite honest, and I can tell you're not lying," said Rebekah. "I like that. You haven't led me astray all day."

"Well, I have found that it's quite hard for me to lie," said Gwen.

"Oh, yes." Rebekah smiled. "Faeries can't lie, which means that can't."

"I can," Gwen told her. "It's just that I answer honestly by default without knowing. If I want to lie, I have to be prepared to do it."

"Can I help you ladies with anything?" a woman dressed in a black dress with blonde hair tied back in a ponytail asked after having approached Rebekah and Gwen.

Rebekah looked at the woman with a tight smile, locking eyes with the other blonde. "Now that you mention it, we'd like some champagne, so bring us a bottle and two glasses. It's getting a bit dreary around here."

"I don't drink," Gwen said. "I'm underage."

"Oh, don't be a downer. Just one glass won't kill you," Rebekah grinned at Gwen before sending the saleswoman away. "I'm not going to drink on my own. Besides, this will be practice for when we go to parties."

Gwen smiled at this, taking the glass of champagne the saleswoman brought for her and Rebekah. "All right."

"This is a girl's day out," Rebekah said as she walked over to Gwen to make a toast. "Now, here's to enjoying ourselves."

End of chapter!

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