Hello, all! I am happy to present another chapter for you all to hopefully enjoy in these hard times. I am finding a rhythm with updating, which I hope to maintain. I thank you guys for the continued support. Also, I would like to inform you guys that I am in the works of organizing my original story to post it again, but it might take a while, so please be patient with me.

Now let's respond to those awesome reviews:

-GhostGypsy: Thanks for the support! Yes, I plan for this little weakness of hers to be exploited later on. I am pretty nervous on writing her first interaction with Kol, but I already have many plans for them. Also, the many changes I have planned will involve a lot of drama and such that I hope you guys enjoy. And yes, Daddy Klaus is very protective, but their relationship will be shown as the story progresses.

-Love . Fiction . 2020: I am so glad you did! Thanks!

-Fidjie: Thanks for the support and love! I am glad you're liking the new Klaus/Gwen relationship, since it's a bit of a struggle and a lot of fun to write. And I will be posting the original story once I am done making sure I have all chapters. Also, please stay safe as best as you can.

-xenocanaan: And I hope not to disappoint. Lots of love for you!

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.

true colors

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Gwen was feeling a bit uncertain about the decision she made, but she still mustered up a smile as she looked down at the smooth strands of her hair that fell over her shoulders in soft waves that shined under the sunlight. "You really think it looks good?" she asked Rebekah as the vampire walked beside her. Both girls had left their shopping bags at the hotel where Rebekah was staying after receiving a call from Klaus to meet up with him at Gloria's bar. "I've never done something like this before."

"That's exactly why it looks good," Rebekah said as she smiled at Gwen's hair. "You need to be more confident in what you want. It'll help you get out of the shell my brother shoved you in."

The young girl hummed. "He means well."

Rebekah huffed out a laugh. "Nik always means well, but that doesn't mean that what he does is right." She grinned as she saw they were nearing Gloria's bar. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he gets a look at the new you."

"Yeah," Gwen mumbled as her eyes landed on their destination, feeling a bit nervous.

Once they stood in front of the entrance of Gloria's bar, Rebekah opened the door and stepped inside with Gwen following behind her with hesitant steps. The young girl still felt a bit uncomfortable entering the establishment, always getting a bad feeling. The bar was empty with the chairs placed on top of the tables, and the only people inside were Klaus and Gloria. While Klaus was behind the bar serving himself a drink, Gloria finished placing some candles around her grimoire that was placed on top of a table.

"There are my two favorite girls," Klaus greeted as he finally lifted his head to look at Rebekah and Gwen, but his eyes focused on the latter when he saw her hair. He had not expected the sudden change. "And what do we have here?" he asked as he walked around the bar with his drink in hand.

Rebekah smiled as she walked ahead of Gwen, standing in front of Klaus. "Doesn't she look nice?" She glanced back at Gwen. "I helped her. It's so fascinating how hair salons have evolved when they used to look like a mad scientist's lab." She walked around her brother to head over to the bar, whispering to him, "I like this one."

Klaus stopped his sister by grabbing her arm. "I thought I told you to take her home."

"Did you?" hummed Rebekah, pretending to try and remember her conversation with Klaus. "I must've heard wrong. I haven't gotten the hang of mobile phones." She pulled her arm from his grip and went on her way.

Klaus took a deep breath before he looked at Gwen as she approached him with a small, timid smile. "So, what do you think?" she asked him, her hands combing through her long bangs that were swept to the left. Her tresses that used to be a dark shade of brown were now lightened with golden blonde highlights all over her head, the wavy strands falling to the middle of her back in soft waves. The change went along well with her medium complexion and hazel-green eyes. "I've never done this before, so I gave Rebekah full control."

"You always look beautiful. The look suits you," he told her, taking a sip of his drink. "But I recommend you think twice before trusting my sister in such matters. I mean," he paused and looked to where Rebekah was now sitting on top of the bar, "she doesn't usually have good taste in anything, so this is a miracle."

"I heard that!" Rebekah spoke up before she watched as Gloria sat at the table with her large grimoire now open on a page and the candles having been lighted. "Where are we with my necklace?"

"I haven't even started, sweetheart," Gloria replied with slight exasperation, moving her arms to have her hands hover over her grimoire. "You might want to exercise some patience. This could take a while."

"Splendid," Rebekah huffed before she turned her attention to Klaus. "And where's Stefan?"

"We met up with some delightful girls for lunch," Klaus answered with a smirk, the meaning behind it not lost on anyone. "He needed a bit of fresh air." He grinned when he heard the front door of the bar open and close. "There he is," he said as he looked over Gwen's head to see Stefan enter.

Stefan nodded at Klaus with a tight smile, waving at a smiling Rebekah. The young vampire's nose picked up on a unique scent that had his eyes landing on Gwen, his eyebrows furrowing when he failed to recognize her. His mouth became dry just by staring at the smooth skin of her neck and collarbone, causing him to gulp down the thirst that was slowly growing. He could almost feel his fangs become sharp, but he managed to control himself by shaking his head and tearing his gaze away from Gwen for a moment. "Hi," he greeted with a forced smile and tense posture. "I don't believe we've met."

"Ah, yes." Klaus grinned as he stood beside Gwen while facing Stefan, keeping a careful eye on the young vampire. "Stefan Salvatore, I'd like you to meet Gwendolyn Moone," he began as he wrapped an arm around Gwen's shoulders to pull her close to his side. "Lyn, this is Stefan Salvatore, the friend I mentioned before."

Gwen gave Klaus a pointed look. "You're letting me meet your friend?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, receiving a huff as a response. Before he could say anything witty, she turned back to Stefan and extended her hand for the vampire to shake. "You can call me Gwen."

Stefan's brows were still furrowed as he shook Gwen's hand, the feel of her skin making it hard for him to stop thinking about what her blood would taste like. "Nice to meet you." He glanced at Klaus after releasing the young girl's hand, his eyes shifting between the hybrid and the girl standing in front of him. "How do you and Klaus know each other?"

Just as Gwen was about to answer, Klaus spoke up. "Someone I picked up some years ago. Her magic is rather special, so I couldn't resist myself." The fact that his answer was vague only made Stefan curious about the girl.

She knew he didn't mean his words, so Gwen didn't take them to heart. No one could know about the nature of their relationship, since she knew that it was something that could be used against him somehow. "I do some favors for him now and then," she told Stefan, offering him a kind smile. She wasn't technically lying, since he did ask her for simple things from time to time, so the words flowed out of her mouth with ease.

"Another witch?" asked Stefan, glancing at Klaus.

"Still learning the craft," answered Klaus, remaining vague.

Stefan glanced at Gloria from where they stood some distance behind the witch. "What's she doing?"

"She's failing," Klaus said sneeringly, taking another sip from his bourbon.

"It's hard to find something when you don't have anything to go on," Gloria retorted, keeping her eyes closed as she focused on the chanting she recited on her mind.

"Then use me. I only wore it for a thousand years," Rebekah piped up as she slid from the bar's counter, walking over to the table Gloria was at.

"See?" Gloria took a deep breath to calm herself, growing more and more annoyed with the vampires occupying her bar and her time. "Now this one," she gestured toward Rebekah with a wave of her hand, "offers a solution." She waited for the blonde vampire to make herself comfortable on the edge of the table. "All right, give me your hand, sweetheart." The Original vampire did as the witch asked, her hand being held between both of Gloria's, while everyone else watched on.

"She's, uh," Stefan began, clearing his throat, "she's looking for the necklace, huh?"

"Yes." Klaus' eyes narrowed on Gloria as he finished his drink and left the empty glass on top of the bar. He recalled what Juniper told him earlier in the day, so he needed to keep a close eye on her. "Let's hope that she can finally show her worth." He grinned when he saw the witch's shoulders become tense at his words before they relaxed.

Gloria took a deep breath and ignored everyone around her, focusing on Rebekah and the aura that surrounded the vampire as she searched for that faint connection that led to a hazy image of the necklace appearing in her mind. "I can sense something," she mumbled, keeping her eyes closed and a tight grip on Rebekah's hand. Once she saw a perfect image of the necklace that they were looking for, but everything else was still a bit blurry, which had her reinforcing her link to the necklace with a spell. "Anta Cotis Syrum, Anta Cotis Syrum," she whispered, and now she could finally hear and see everything around the necklace with clarity.

While Gwen stood beside Klaus, Stefan took a step closer to Gloria. The young vampire had to keep his nerves in check as he realized that he was running out of time in figuring out a way to find out what–or who–Klaus had been running from back in the 1920s, which had been the cause of why Klaus had erased any memory and evidence that they knew one another from his mind. He was hoping that Gloria wouldn't be able to find anything, given that the necklace they were looking for still hung around the neck of the most important person in his life. Also, his own life depended on Gloria being unsuccessful.

Gloria dropped Rebekah's hand with a sigh before glancing up at Klaus. "I found it," she breathed, causing Stefan's undead heart to drop.

"Really?" Klaus hummed, glancing at Gwen, seeing her mouth 'bad vibe'.

"So where is it?" Rebekah asked Gloria, desperate to get her hands on her necklace.

"It doesn't work like that, doll," Gloria replied to an annoyed Rebekah. "There's a girl with her friends–"

"Yes, a dead girl with dead friends, if I don't get my necklace back," Rebekah hissed as she cut off the witch.

Gloria sighed. "Well, I'll have to dive back in to get the details."

"So, dive," Klaus said as he walked over to Gloria, leaning his hands on the table while leering down at her. "What's the problem?"

"I need more time," Gloria told him, matching his gaze. When he refused to budge and remained staring down at her, she tried to shoo him away. "And space. You're harshing my ju-ju."

Klaus shrugged with pursed lips. "We can wait."

"I'm sure you can, but that's not what I asked," said Gloria, looking up at Klaus with unwavering eyes.

"I don't see why you can't do it now," Klaus argued, his frustration rising.

Gloria scowled at him. "As I said, I need more time."

Both Gwen and Stefan noticed the tense atmosphere growing between Klaus and Gloria, neither backing down, but they knew that Klaus could lose his temper and then Gloria would lose either her heart or her head. The hybrid was beginning to think that trusting Gloria with his problem was a mistake, and he could sense that she was keeping from him more than she was telling them.

"Hey," Stefan called as he approached Klaus, trying to diffuse the tension before it escalated any further. "You know," he whispered into Klaus's ear as he placed an arm across the older immortal's back, "why don't we just come back later. I'm hungry anyway." He saw that Klaus still refused to move. "I'll let you pick who we eat." He patted Klaus' back before making his way to the door.

Klaus and Rebekah shared a look, and they both knew that they could trust neither Gloria nor Stefan. Centuries of watching mortals taught them what to look out for regarding a person's body language, signs that would help them tell when a person was being deceitful or acting strangely. It didn't go unnoticed by Klaus and Rebekah that Gloria was keeping something from them and Stefan was not very eager to locate the necklace, but they opted to leave it be for the time being. Rebekah hopped off the table and went ahead of Klaus to follow behind Stefan, whereas her brother approached Gwen to grab her arm and pull her along with him to exit the establishment. Gloria watched the group leave and sighed in relief, but she was now left with a rather difficult decision to make.

Once they were outside of the bar, Klaus and Gwen stood in front of Rebekah and Stefan. "Well, that was a waste of time," the hybrid grumbled.

"Maybe she just needs some time to find it. I mean, who knows where that thing could be," Stefan supplied, his arms crossed over his chest. "And it's perfect for us." He smirked at the siblings. "I'm hungrier by the second."

"Well, I am a bit famished from all the retail therapy," said Rebekah.

"We ate almost two hours ago." Klaus grinned at Stefan. "How can you still be hungry?"

Stefan shrugged his shoulders. "It's been a long day and it's not close to being over."

"Try being related to her," Klaus chuckled as he nodded at a scowling Rebekah.

Gwen rolled her eyes at Klaus. "Really, Nik?"

"You're being mean," Rebekah hissed at her brother, but she was surprised when Stefan laughed. "And why are you being mean? You used to love me."

Klaus chuckled as he placed his hands on his hips. "It's been ninety years, Rebekah. Give him a minute."

Rebekah frowned at Klaus. "Why are you taking his side?"

"Because, my dear sister, I feel pity for any man who doesn't give you what you want," Klaus taunted his fuming sister.

"Will you stop making me out to be a brat? I am not a brat!" Rebekah argued, controlling herself from yelling any louder at her smirking brother.

"A thousand years of life experience says otherwise," Klaus almost sang, receiving a nudge to his side from Gwen's elbow.

"You know, bullying your little sister is not very attractive," Gwen scolded Klaus, but he still chuckled.

Stefan huffed out a laugh, his eyes landing on Klaus. "Well, you're no picnic, either," he told the hybrid, watching the latter lose his smile. "I mean, I've only spent one summer with you and I feel like I want to blow my head off." Both Rebekah and Gwen laughed at this, while Klaus became impassive.

"Fantastic," said a smiling Rebekah.

"Join the club," said Gwen, receiving a halfhearted glare from Klaus.

"So, how about that drink?" Stefan asked the siblings.

Klaus hummed before glancing down at Gwen. "You should go with Rebekah." He looked up and shared a quick but pointed look with his sister. "I've had my fill and I need to walk Lyn back home."

Rebekah nodded before looping an arm through Stefan's, pulling him with her before he could say anything. "So, who did you have in mind?" she asked Stefan, leading him away from Klaus and Gwen.

Klaus waited until Rebekah and Stefan were at a far enough distance, wanting some privacy to talk to Gwen freely. "We're going to pay your witch a visit," he told Gwen as he began to walk in the direction of Juniper's store.

Gwen frowned, completely caught off guard. "What?" She hurried her steps and matched his pace. "We're going to see June?"

"Yes, so call her," Klaus said, determined to get his answers. "I am done with giving others the benefit of the doubt."

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"You know," Juniper began as she placed her grimoire on a table she sat at, "I'm gonna have to start charging you guys for every hour you have me close the store. This is the second time today, not even past noon." She shared a smile with Gwen, who sat across from her, but then an idea came to her. "Oh! I know what favor I want from you," she said to Klaus as he stopped his pacing to stare down at her. "You can pay or compel away the store's debt."

Klaus raised an eyebrow at her, not having expected that request. "That's all?"

Juniper nodded. "Trust me, this would be a lifesaver." She glanced at Gwen. "I love what you did to the hair."

Gwen smiled as she reached up to stroke her wavy tresses over her shoulder. "Thanks."

"How long have you had this store?" Klaus asked offhandedly.

"Well, I moved here around two and a half years ago," Juniper hummed as she thought about when she moved to Chicago. "The actual owner of the store is a sweet old lady who took me in and left me her apartment upstairs. She is currently enjoying her retirement in Florida, leaving me to manage the place." She flipped a page in her grimoire, looking for a certain spell. "Technically, it's not my store 'cause it's still in Missus Bixby's name, but she left it all to me since she has no children to inherit."

"That was nice of her," Gwen said, having already heard the story.

"Or crazy," said Klaus. "That poor woman left a mental case in charge of her legacy."

Juniper glanced at him, smirking. "Well, I've raised her income with a bit of magical help. With my herbs, people who drink the coffee from here are always attracted to this place, so they'll be tempted to visit more frequently."

Klaus grinned, finding himself impressed. "Now that is quite the strategy."

"Thank you." Juniper hummed for a bit more until she finally found the page she was looking for. "Here it is. The spell that will help me look into that necklace of yours." She chuckled. "You know, I can't believe there's this much trouble for a tiny thing."

"Well, this 'tiny thing' is an item that the Original witch often wore and used for her spells," Klaus remarked as he stood beside the table. "What do you need?"

"Not much, except for one thing," Juniper said as she placed her hands on the smooth pages of her grimoire, looking up at Klaus. "Are you and the Original witch blood related or something?"

Klaus made a groan within his throat, his posture tensing as he folded his arms over his chest. "Is that important?"

"Well, you didn't bring your sister, so that makes things a bit difficult for me," Juniper explained, noticing Klaus' change in demeanor, so she knew not to push him too much. "I can use your connection with her and your sister to locate the necklace, but I need to know what relationship you guys have to know what I'm looking for."

Gwen glanced up at Klaus, her eyes softening. "You can tell her, Nik."

"She was my mother," Klaus breathed out heavily, seeming to have taken a hefty weight from his shoulders. It appeared that he had yet to believe he spoke words he dreaded to say out loud. "She was the witch who created the vampire species."

Juniper's mouth hung open in shock, eyes wide with shock. "Holy shit!"

"June," Gwen sighed.

"Your mother turned you and the rest of your family into vampires?" Juniper asked, still unable to come to terms with what Klaus told her. "I mean, I knew the Original witch had to have some sort of connection to you, but I thought she was like a distant relative or something. I never imagined she was your mother." She looked to Gwen with accusing eyes. "You knew about this and didn't think to tell me?"

Gwen hunched her shoulders, dropping her eyes to her fidgeting hands. "Well, I promised Nik I wouldn't say anything."

"And I would appreciate it if you did the same," Klaus told Juniper with a heated glare, his tone of voice already telling her that it was more of a warning than a friendly request.

Juniper raised her hands in surrender. "Fine by me, but this makes things a whole lot easier for me."

"How so?" asked Klaus.

"Gwen, go fetch me a world map I keep behind the counter, please," Juniper said to the young girl, the latter standing up to get what the witch asked for. She then turned her attention to Klaus. "Now I can just use the blood that you share with people who were owners of the necklace to pinpoint its location." She sighed as she turned back to her grimoire, picking up an empty vial from within her bag that was beside her spellbook. "This should take no time at all."

Klaus huffed. "And why would Gloria not come up with this?"

"Maybe we'll get an answer to that when we know where the necklace is," said Juniper.

"Here you go!" Gwen appeared with the map, struggling a bit to open the large parchment before placing it on the table with a bit of difficulty as she tried to smooth it over. "What now?"

Juniper simply presented the empty vial to Klaus. "A bit of your blood, please."

Klaus took the vial and lifted his hand to his mouth, his irises becoming yellow as they were surrounded by blackened sclera with protruded veins under his eyes. He opened his mouth to reveal his sharpened canines before biting into his palm, allowing his blood to drip into the vial and the floor. Once the vial was filled halfway, he took his hand back and thanked Gwen when she offered him a napkin to clean up his hand that had already healed.

"Thanks for that," Juniper huffed, scowling at the bloodstains on the floor. She took the vial Klaus returned to her and turned to stare down at the map of the world. "Now, I'll get a location, but I'm going to also try to see who has it."

"That's good," said Gwen.

Klaus and Gwen stood around the table, watching as Juniper poured Klaus' blood around the center of the map. She placed the vial to the side and closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. "Lorg an t-seud-muineil," she began to chant, and the blood responded with movement, "agus seall dhomh an neach-caitheamh." From the small puddle of blood that was covering the Atlantic Ocean, a thin line of the dark liquid stretched towards the state of Virginia. Juniper's eyes remained closed as the spell caused images to flash through her mind, showing her an endless forest before showing her a sign that she quickly read. She then saw a bustling town with many people before landing on what she assumed was the necklace Klaus was looking for, seeing that a young girl was wearing it. She gasped as her eyes flew open, her body jumping a bit as she settled back in her body, staring down at the map.

"June?" Gwen stepped closer to the witch, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. "You okay?"

"Did you find the necklace?" asked Klaus.

Gwen gave Klaus a disapproving look. "Can you give her a minute?"

"It's all right." Juniper waved off Gwen's worry before looking up to lock eyes with Klaus. "Does 'Mystic Falls' mean anything to you?"

Klaus's face turned sour at the mention of the one place he thought he would never have to hear from again, but then suspicion took over as he thought about the possibility that Stefan could know about Rebekah's necklace. "Bloody hell," he almost growled as he began to pace around the table, alarming both girls.

"What is it, Nik?" Gwen asked, her eyes following Klaus's tense posture.

"Back in the twenties, Rebekah and I spent some time with a vampire who became quite a dear friend of mine," Klaus began to explain as he stood in front of both girls. "He then struck up a relationship with my sister."

"What does that have to do with your lost jewelry?" asked Juniper.

"Rebekah always wore the damn necklace, so he always saw it. How could he not?" Klaus mumbled the last part to himself.

"Okay, then I'll ask a different question to better understand," said Juniper. "What does this friend of yours have anything to do with your problem?"

"Because that friend is Stefan Salvatore and he's from Mystic Falls. It's from where I picked him up after I sacrificed his bloody doppelgänger of a girlfriend to break my curse," Klaus ranted, his eyes hardening with growing anger as he slowly began to piece together a theory. He stared at Juniper. "Did you see who has the necklace now?"

Juniper raised her hand to make a so-so gesture with her hand, her lips pursed. "It was a bit blurry, but I saw that it was with a girl around Gwen's age. She had brown hair and brown eyes, but I couldn't get much else."

Just by the description that Juniper gave him, Klaus could no longer chalk everything up to pure coincidence, not when the traits matched those of the Petrova woman he had to kill for him to become a hybrid. "If the necklace is in Mystic Falls, then I can't believe that Stefan has not seen it."

"Too much of a coincidence," Juniper said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And Gloria probably knows more than she led you to believe."

"Exactly," sighed Klaus, growing furious at the thought of someone he considered a friend once upon a time lying to him.

Gwen stepped closer to Klaus. "What are you going to do?"

The conversation was cut short when Klaus's phone began to ring, prompting him to reach into his jacket's inner pocket to pull out the ringing device. He stared at the screen and found that it was his sister calling him, so he answered and placed the phone to his ear. "Yes, sister?"

"Hello, darling brother," Rebekah said, which Klaus found that it was too sweet of a greeting.

"Why do I feel like I am not going to like what you're going to say?" Klaus said, preparing himself for the bad news.

Rebekah hummed from the other end of the line. "Well, you see, I believe that my sweet Stefan has given me the slip. I also haven't the faintest idea as to where I should go."

"Hang tight," Klaus told her. "I'll come to get you after I take care of a few loose ends." He ended the call and turned back to face Juniper and Gwen. "Now, who wants to help me with a bit of clean-up?"

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Ditching a bored Original vampire with whom he had a romantic relationship was no easy fit for Stefan, but he somehow managed to do so by convincing Rebekah that he needed some time to himself when he reminded her of his ritual of writing names on walls. He and Rebekah had been feasting on girls in the same warehouse Klaus was using to store his coffins, which he was tempted to open, but not with Rebekah there watching him. She still hadn't looked convinced when he left, but he had to take the chance when Klaus wasn't breathing down his neck to do whatever was necessary to keep his loved ones safe.

Before anything else, he needed to ensure that there wouldn't be anything that would lead Klaus back to Mystic Falls, which was why he returned to Gloria's bar. He entered the establishment and spotted Gloria by the bar, so he approached her with wary steps, though he imagined that she had already sensed his presence.

"There you are," Gloria said as she stood behind the bar to look over the many bottles of liquor, giving him her back.

"Thought you were resting," Stefan countered as he approached the bar.

Gloria smirked at Stefan. "Well, now we both have a secret."

"What did you see?" Stefan asked her, huffing when he realized he was a bit too direct.

The witch chuckled as she turned to him, leaning her elbows on the counter that separated her from the vampire. "It's what I heard that's interesting," she said, watching him pour himself a glass of whiskey. "You know, the girls with the necklace, they were talking about you."

"Yet you didn't tell Klaus," Stefan stated as he leaned his side against the bar, frowning with his head slightly tilted to the side. "Why?"

"'Cause I wouldn't help that hybrid half-breed with anything," Gloria scoffed, going back to check that every bottle behind the bar was in the right place. "He already has quite an advantage with a half-breed of his own. I don't plan on adding more to his arsenal."

Stefan frowned, taking a sip of his drink before he asked, "What other half-breed?"

Gloria chuckled as she glanced at him. "Tell me you didn't fall for that cheap explanation of his about that girl Rebekah brought here." Due to the look of confusion still present on his face, she elaborated. "Gwen is not a witch, she's a hybrid but of a different kind. She's half-human and half-faerie."

Stefan's eyes widened at this, having not expected that. "I thought faeries went extinct."

"That's what everyone still thinks," said Gloria, inching closer to him. "It seems that she's the last one to have fae blood running through her veins. There can be many other descendants of faeries all around us but procreating with humans dulls the bloodline. A faerie half-breed still has an enormous value that is just priceless, but if she were to have children with anyone who is not a faerie then they would lose their connection to their faerie heritage."

"How does Klaus have one?" asked Stefan, now understanding why the young girl had smelled so enticing when he met her. The last time he heard about a faerie was many decades ago when a vampire was bragging about having drunk the blood of probably one of the last few faeries in the world. "I've heard of many people trying to get their hands on one, but there's been no trace of them. Their numbers dwindled through the years."

"I haven't the faintest idea how that man came about one," Gloria said as she shrugged her shoulders. "I've tried digging for information, but Klaus is too paranoid. If he had caught a whiff of me trying to get too close to Gwen, he would have chopped my head off in a second." She shook her head. "He's too protective of her, which I find abnormal for him."

Humming, Stefan took note of that for another time. "And what about the necklace?" he asked her, deciding to get back to what needs priority at the moment.

"Well, the necklace Klaus wants is a talisman from the Original witch herself, which holds a lot less value than the faerie half-breed, but I'll take what I can get," she explained. "I want it."

Stefan nodded as he downed his drink in one gulp. "Well, I'm sorry." He gave her a small smile, leaving the empty glass on the counter before he began to take his leave. "I can't help you."

"Don't be difficult," Gloria said, stopping him from taking another step toward the door. "You know," she began as she walked around the bar to stand on the other side, wiping a rag over the counter to clean the wood. "I'd hate to have to tell Klaus what a liar his sidekick is."

Stefan didn't have many options. Gloria knew that he had lied to Klaus, so he needed to take care of that. He couldn't risk being found out now, not when he was close to figuring out who Klaus had been running from back in the 1920s, so he was left with the choice of silencing the problem. He rotated a shoulder before he whipped around to rush at Gloria with supernatural speed. He was only a step away from her before an unseen force weighed heavy on his head, stopping him in his tracks. He lifted his hands to touch his temples, trying to fight through the growing pain that made it feel like his brain was going to explode.

"Guess I've got to get it out of you the hard way, huh?" Gloria sighed as she watched Stefan grunt before he dropped to the floor unconscious.

The white-haired witch was now annoyed that she had more work to do before Klaus caught wind of what she was doing. Having to move the limp vampire on top of a table was a struggle, but she managed. She also added a paralysis spell to keep him in place. She just had to speed things up, if she wanted to get the location of the necklace. Now, to get what she wanted from the youngest Salvatore, she had to prepare the room for the spell she needed to delve into the vampire's mind. After completely closing her bar and the windows to shroud the establishment in darkness and cut out the outside world, she lit candles all over the floor with a smaller table near the one Stefan was held to with many ingredients she would need for her spell. Gloria disappeared to a room at the back in search of large bowls, placing one beneath each of Stefan's arms that went over the edge of the table.

Stefan gasped awake and tried to lift himself from the table, only to find out that his body was being held down by an invisible force that felt like gravity had dropped twice his mass on him. He tried to fight against his restraints time and time again to no avail, which caused a sheen of perspiration coating his skin. "What is this?" he groaned as he tried to move his arms, but they remained unresponsive to his demands. He looked around the dimly lit establishment, finding himself shirtless. "Why can't I move?"

"Relax," she told him as she picked up a knife from the small table before approaching the vampire's right side. "It's nothing major, just a little paralysis spell." She placed a hand on his right arm and placed the tip of the knife on his skin, tearing open a line on his forearm, which allowed his blood to drip into the recipient she had placed below his arm. "Just got to get the information out of your pretty little head." She sighed as she walked to his left side and did the same to his left forearm. "You know," she mused, ignoring his shouts of pain, "witches nowadays, they're into that new age stuff, but I'm a little more old school voodoo." She went back to the small table and dropped the knife to pick up little iron hooks with plyers, showing them to him. "This will stop that pesky healing."

Stefan began to pant as he watched her approach his arms, screaming when she placed the hooks into his healing wounds to keep them open. "I won't tell you anything," he growled at her with a furious gaze before he screamed when she placed another hook into his other arm. He was beginning to feel a bit dizzy, managing to remain conscious as he stared at the ceiling.

"You don't have to," Gloria said with a shrug of her shoulders, noticing that there was vapor rising from the blood in the bowls. "You feel that?" she asked him, dropping the plyers on the table. "That's your essence. It's your spirit. It lets me make a connection. Herbs help, too." She walked toward the table, picking up an herb that she rubbed between her hands. "Diviners, sage, witch hazel, but my personal favorite," she paused as she went back to Stefan, smirking down at him, "vervain." She placed her hands on his chest and his skin began to burn, which had him screaming at the pain.

A few moments passed before Gloria released a heavy sigh when she couldn't break through his mind, even with the ingredients she was using to enhance her magic. The vervain should have been enough to weaken his mind and allow her access to his memories, but she found that she would need more than just vervain to break through his defense, so she pulled her hands from his chest, which allowed Stefan to breathe a sigh of temporary relief when his chest was no longer burning and there wasn't any prodding to his mind. Gloria walked back to the table, looking around at the items on it.

"You enjoying yourself?" Stefan hissed at her.

"I wouldn't have to, but you refuse to tell me where the necklace is," Gloria argued as she found some red powder that she began to rub on her hands. "I need that thing. It can be powerful enough to channel the magic I need to send that hybrid packing." She pursed her lips as she thought about something else. "I would prefer the heart of a faerie, but here we are."

Stefan frowned at this, remembering what he heard about faeries throughout the years. "So, it's true that getting the heart of a faerie boosts a witch's power?" While he tried to figure out how to escape, he would at least get information out of her.

"Oh, yes." Gloria nodded. "Faerie blood has so much potential. It can open limitless possibilities for a witch, like being able to perform any spell and have no equal in power. On the other hand, a vampire will find unimaginable bliss." She tilted her head to the side. "It's because of this pursuit for all faeries that they were nearly wiped out from the earth, except for the one under Klaus' protection. Being half-human helps her stay out of the radar."

"I thought that they lose their value if they're not pure," panted Stefan, his intent being on buying himself more time to keep her out of his mind.

"No, I said that a half-breed still has value," said Gloria. "The part of them that is faerie is still pure and priceless, especially her heart."

"And Klaus has her, so you can't get your hands on the heart," he stated, trying to keep the redundant conversation going.

"I'm impressed by your attempts to stall for time, but I need to get this done before Klaus decides to drop by," she told Stefan, chuckling. "I need you to let go, honey." She placed her hands on his chest once more, her hands that burned his skin making a sizzling sound, eliciting screams from him. "There you go," she said as she closed her eyes, finally breaking through his resistance. She was suddenly slammed with many images of moments that Stefan spent with a girl she recognized as the one he loved, even seeing him give her the necklace Klaus was after. "There's the girl with the necklace." He screamed as he tried to resist her pushing into his mind. "You love her." She could feel his strong emotions, especially the love he felt for the girl. "You'd do anything for her, and you have." She frowned. "A lot of darkness, a lot of guilt. All to keep her away from Klaus." Now this made her curious. "Why would he be interested in one girl?"

"Don't do this," Stefan gasped, sweat trickling down his skin. He was growing weaker with every memory Gloria fought to see. "Please, don't."

Gloria only needed to push one last time to see what he was trying to keep from her. Her eyes snapped open after seeing Stefan's memories of the ritual. "She's the doppelgänger." She took her hands off his chest. "She's supposed to be dead, and that's why Klaus can't make hybrids, isn't it?" She laughed to herself, finally having found the answers Klaus wanted, which placed her in a good position.

"Well, this is creepy," a familiar voice to Stefan's ears said from behind Gloria.

Frowning, Gloria turned around to be met with the same face she saw through Stefan's memories. Before the witch could do anything, her knife was plunged into her neck. The witch dropped to the floor as she struggled to breathe when blood poured into her windpipe, but she was soon dead.

Stefan's eyes landed on a smirking Katherine, who said, "Maybe you do need my help, after all."

Rough translation (Scottish-Gaelic to English):

Lorg an t-seud-muineil agus seall dhomh an neach-caitheamh.–Locate the necklace and show me the wearer.

End of chapter!

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