Happy new year, everyone.
I've been spending a lot of time pondering this past year and this weird journey of sharing my writing with people for the first time ever, and it has filled me with such profound gratitude that I do not know how to properly express it. Because of this, I wanted to especially give some thought to the readers who have been with me since the start in January of 2021 until now and beyond. You are so awesome, and I thank you for giving a crap about my work. And gosh I wish I could give you all big bear hugs for every review and all the kind words because a simple reply does not seem enough. Especially when you write as guests and FF doesn't let me answer your reviews – just please know that I appreciate you so much.
Also, I wanted to give some special attention to a very special reader. Someone whom I haven't heard from in a while but hope is doing well and staying healthy and happy. Thank you AnIntriguedIntrovert. Wherever you are in the world; know that a lot of my writing has happened because of you. Your encouraging words are the reason that I've even gotten this far with the fic, you're the reason I've managed to work through every single one of my writer's blocks - because every time I ask myself what you would think of the chapter, or what you would like to happen next, and that has shaped this entire story into what it is today.
For a long time before jumping into this world of the online fandom, I thought I was a little bit crazy for caring so deeply about fake people on the screen in a show that was pretty morbid and dark… But then you wrote to me and shared your thoughts and opinions on my(!) writing, and that made me feel so seen. Because I agreed with you on everything and felt as though we had a shared understanding of these characters and this story… And it meant a lot.
It is rare to find people like you, who not only care about some fake people on some morbid and dark show, but who care about helping and lifting up others. Who clearly understands the meaning of how small acts of kindness can change people's lives. So, just… Thanks. And sorry if your username is true to your personality and this all is very unwanted and awkward – I just had to show some kindness to you in return.
Anyways, this is my holiday gift to you all. The next chapter will be up shortly, see you soon.
xx.
Chapter 34: In the woods somewhere, part 2
November 20th, 1642
Novgorod, Russia
"Julian, please. Try to settle down. I am having trouble following you." Vera said as she watched him pace the salon maniacally.
"I cannot explain it, Vera. I feel such strength an-and power inside of me. It is all very confusing in my mind, I do not remember quite what happened." he rambled, stumbling over the words as he was sure he had never spoken so fast in his entire life. He stopped and turned to her with a wide grin. "He killed me."
"Who did?" she drawled in disbelief.
"My step-father. We argued, he won… I woke up in a grave, Vera. I woke up and I went after him and…" he shook his head with a chuckle. "I died, yet I feel so very much alive… And these images in my head are blending together, memories but not the way I remembered them being…"
He noted her silence, her averted eyes as she turned her head down. "What?" he pressed, sudden anger stirring in his stomach at the thought of her keeping something from him. Everything was so sensitive, so heightened… He couldn't quite grasp his self-control as he stepped closer with clenched teeth. "Tell me what you know!" he ordered firmly.
She raised her palms as she faced him then. "Julian, allow me to ask you something." she told him calmly. "That night when you ended up in here… do you remember anything having happened to you? Did you see something? O-or someone?"
Blinking at that, he looked away as he thought of the night in question. Nodding slowly as he began to see it clearly now. "Yes. I did. There was someone… They attacked me, I believe… And then they forced this awful liquid to my mouth, making me drink it…" he stuttered. "It smelled like blood."
She nodded in response, breathing slowly as she eyed him. "What did they look like, Julian? Do you remember?"
He tried to piece it together, the vision blurred by his fear, his pain as something sharp pierced his neck. "It was a woman." he breathed out, staring at Vera then. "A woman attacked me."
"Did you recognize her?" she pressed on, earning a shaking head from him.
"No, no I have never seen her before." he explained. "Nor after… I do not think she is from here. I would know her if she was."
"Do you remember anything else? Did she say anything to you?"
At the question, he remembered the dark eyes filling his sight. Her smooth words purring as she told him to forget of the night. To forget about her. "She spoke Russian." he relayed. "She told me to forget… How did she do that?"
"Julian, what happened tonight?" she asked him, avoiding his musings and bringing him to look at her with parted lips. Her eyes seemed to already know the truth before he spoke it, but he felt implored to answer anyway.
"I killed him." he said. "I found my mother, she-…" he gulped as the words refused to leave him. "I had to do it, Vera. I could not allow him to live after that."
"Did you feed on his blood?"
He flinched at that. "H-how did you know?" he asked in surprise.
"It would be the only explanation." she sighed, running a hand through her hair as she seemed to think something over shortly. Turning to him with a determined nod. "I need to confess something to you, Julian. Something about me… About you."
She walked closer to him, her gaze hard and analyzing as she cocked her head to the side. "Can I trust you?" she asked seriously.
"Yes." he replied with a nod, studying her as she took a deep breath before closing her eyes. Her skin seemed to change before him as she suddenly looked up at him with the same face that he had seen in his reflection…
His lips parted as he watched her in awe, moving forward and reaching for her cheek slowly. He brushed a thumb across the lines crawling over her skin, breathing deeply as he took her in. She was incredible.
"You are like me." he whispered gently, bringing her to smile with such a soft gaze that it heated his chest.
Suddenly a pulse of yearning hit him hard, bringing him to lean in and crash his lips to hers. Feeling like his body would burn into ashes if he did not. She reciprocated the kiss, her hands grabbing his shoulders as he threaded his through her hair. Pressing further into her, pinning her to the wall as he covered her body with his.
She tasted of fruits, smelled of sunshine and vanilla, her skin was soft like porcelain. He wasn't quite sure what had gotten into him, and he would have questioned it or even chastised himself for his actions - were it not for the ridiculously incredible feeling that filled him at the contact. The way her breathing hitched, the tiny moan that slipped past her lips… it all made his stomach jump as he pushed closer. Dragging his hands over her sides, tracing her shape slowly and rubbing against her with need.
There was a swift wind as he grabbed her by her waist and flashed across the room. Putting her down on one of the tables and settling between her legs. Letting his touch run past her long dress as he reached for her skin, for her warmth. His lips nipped at her throat, at the sensitive veins of her neck. Humming in delight as she pulled at his hair and arched her back into him.
A ripping sound reached him as she tore his clothes, revealing his chest to her and prompting him to buck his hips to hers with a groan. Relishing in her gentle hands as they moved over his shoulders, her nails scraping against his skin and causing shudders to spread through his body. He took her lead by ripping her dress, gaining access to run his palms down the bodice underneath. Meeting her eyes with a smirk as he noted the blush spreading over her chest, the lust in those green irises that shone through her fair skin.
Something hit his ears, confusing him as he shot up and stared at the door of the pub. Having heard someone walking towards it before they even reached the building and finding it very strange. "Do you hear that too?" he asked, glancing down at Vera as she nodded with a smile. Her lips so wonderfully swollen and pink and beautiful that he nearly ignored the evident crowd and indulged in her further instead. However, she pushed at his chest with her hand, sitting up as she grinned at him widely.
"Let me show you something." she crooned, the voice not allowing him to react in any other way than to nod in agreement.
She walked away from him and opened the door to the costumer outside, the man staring in shock and terror at her physical state. Muttering some profanities under his breath before she pulled him inside and closed the door. Holding him back by her grip on his throat.
"You have so many new abilities now, Julian." she chimed, looking at him with a nod as she beckoned him over. "Our senses are heightened. We can smell, feel, hear, taste and see things that no other can. We are stronger than ever before, faster than anything else…" she explained slowly as he came to join her. "And one of my favorites is our ability to bend others to our will."
"What do you mean?" he asked as she squeezed the stranger's throat so tightly that all the man could do was stare at the monsters before him.
She gave him a bright smile before leaning closer to the patron, her eyes seemingly locking him in as she did. "I focus on him, draw him close and take a deep breath." she instructed. "And then I tell him what I wish for him to do, to say, think or believe…"
"Like that woman did to me." Julian concluded.
"Exactly." she hummed before focusing on the stranger again. "I will need help with the tavern tonight, you shall take care of business for me. Make sure to be a good host and work efficiently." she ordered, the man watched her with wide eyes as she backed from him and nudged Julian's side. "However, I doubt his comprehensive skills of the English language is half as extensive as yours, love. So why don't you repeat that for me?"
He grinned eagerly at that, stepping forward and quickly mimicking her stance. His head bent close to the man's as he translated her words, feeling the pull between them as he spoke. As if the man was entranced by him.
When he was done, he pushed him away and turned to Vera again. "How do you wish to spend your free night?" he asked lowly, walking over to her with predatory steps as she smirked in response.
She glanced at the stranger as he scurried over to the bar and immediately began to take on his assignment. Turning to Julian again just as the distance between the two closed, she leaned into him and ghosted her lips over his. "I would love to show you everything about being a vampire, Julian." she purred.
"Vampire?" he echoed in curiosity as she began to pull him with her towards the stairs in the back of the locale. Leading him to the living quarters which he knew belonged to the owner of the tavern.
"Yes." she smiled as she brought him along, as if drawing him into the shadows. "Welcome to your new life, darling." she whispered in his ear, sending thrills through his spine in result. "Let us celebrate in the most pleasurable of ways, hm?"
Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana
Alaric was shown to the study, where Freya lit a couple of candles and burned some sage in the air. "Lay in the sofa." she told him. He nodded and followed the instructions, laying down with his hands clasped over his chest and his legs crossed.
"I still don't know what it is that you think I know." he admitted as she opened a book up and walked over to him.
"Our minds hold important information which our memories sometimes fail to depict. I am hoping there is something in your past with Caroline that will bring some much-needed clarity." she explained as she stood by him with a crystal pendant hanging off her hand and circling above his forehead. "You may not know what there is to find, but that doesn't exclude the possibility of there still being something."
He closed his eyes then with a sigh. "Ok, what do you want me to do?"
"Just breathe, relax. Try to focus on Caroline, on your past years with her. Memories that stand out or moments that seemed normal at the time but now in fact feel odd instead... Those are the kind of places where information like this would be stored."
"Alright." he exhaled as he began thinking of this incredible friend of his, the young girl that came and held his world from falling apart.
"I will put you into a trance of sorts, it will allow me to search your mind more freely. This may make your memories seem… real. So real that you feel like you are experiencing them all over again. But I will be right here to guide you through it all." she explained with a soft voice. "Just remember that they are only memories, they cannot hurt you. The people in them won't hear nor see you. You are simply reviewing them, like a flashback or a movie being played in the background."
He hummed lightly as the aromas and dimmed light worked to relax him, feeling like the moments before you fall asleep... When everything is still around you and all you focus on is your breathing and the heavy feel of your eyelids.
Silent chanting informed him that she had begun, causing him to tense up lightly but he tried to keep the relaxed feeling in his mind and body as she went on.
"Specto anima sentio itero, specto anima sentio itero, specto anima sentio itero..."
The words lulled him into a heavy darkness. He was floating on water, and as she finished the chant he was suddenly pulled down under the surface. He felt like he was drowning, falling deeply into the dark waters and fighting off a dreadful panic as he struggled to breathe.
"I am still with you, Alaric." a soft voice said, reminding him of what they were doing. It made him exhale deeply, forcing his mind to stop screaming with fear as she continued to pull him lower. "Breathe, Alaric. I am here. You are safe."
Finally, he managed to feel calm again. The darkness around him no longer threatening and the water not choking him anymore. There was instead just peace and silence. His feet touched something from below, making him lean over to study it.
A door.
"Open it, Alaric." Freya's voice told him.
He nodded to himself before swimming further down. Reaching for the handle, he pulled at it and was swiftly met with a blinding light. Covering his eyes in response, he soon realized that he was standing and that the water was gone.
When he lowered his hands and looked at the sight before him, his gut filled with gravel. Right there was Caroline, she stood watching over him as he slept on a couch. There were empty bottles of liquor spread around the floor and the table near him, informing him of this memory taking place while he was still drinking.
"This is Texas." he explained, earning a hum from Freya in response.
"Is this important to you?"
"Yes." he said and watched as Caroline pulled a blanket to cover him. Her hand brushed over his forehead softly as she whispered something to him.
"What is she saying?" Freya asked.
"That we'll survive this." he answered, feeling the hollow grief as strong as if the memory had been from the other day. "She told me that all we have to do is survive, and then one day it will all get better."
"What will?"
"The twins." he relayed, closing his eyes as he felt the pain tug at his heart. "My girls. They died just a few months prior."
Freya remained quiet as he watched the scene change before him. Finally, it showed another memory... People spread around in a barn, him standing by the altar as he studied the woman clad in a beautiful white gown.
Jo...
He watched as she stood in front of him, looking so gorgeous and incredible. And real. His cheeks warmed from the tears that had begun falling over them as his heart clenched with dread over what would soon happen.
"Why are you frightened?"
Remembering Freya then, he silenced a sob into his palm and shook his head. "She-she's about to die."
The scene turned into his most frequent nightmare at that. The horror on Jo's face when she stared at him, the blood from her abdominal wound, the chaos that ensued when Kai revealed himself.
And just like that, Ric was alone. The love of his life was dead in his arms, his future children dying with her.
"I can't watch this..." he whispered painfully.
"It's a memory, Alaric. It is already passed." she reminded him, making him roll his knuckles up into fists as he forced himself to relive the second-worst day of his life.
He turned to Caroline then, where she stood far away as the death and devastation passed around them. "Jo was pregnant when she died. The twins were part of this coven… The Gemini coven. In some last attempt of self-preservation, they transferred the babies into her." he explained as the Caroline before him changed. Days and months passed, and her stomach grew, her face smiling as she seemed to look back at him.
"Ric!" she squealed, making him wince in response as the memory of him came up to her and placed his hand on her stomach.
"They're kicking." he explained. "This was back before..." his voice trailed off as he dreaded the realization; now that he had relived the second-worst day, he would soon relive the first.
"Before what?" Freya asked, bringing him to groan.
"They started to grow powerful, and as siphoning witches - they fed off of her. Drained her..."
The memory changed then to Caroline in the hospital after the first real scare, where she had desiccated almost completely and just barely died.
"We found some short-term solutions." he explained as Valerie stood in his memory with magical objects in hand. "We tried to get the twins to siphon off other things instead."
"How long did that work before you had to replace the tokens?"
"It was different each time." he concluded with a shrug. "A few of them would last a whole night, others expired in just an hour or two. And eventually we were starting to run out of objects to use."
They were in the barn again then. Valerie and Bonnie stood among candles as Caroline sat in the middle of a circle.
"This..." he whispered but couldn't bring himself to utter the words. "Please, don't make me go through this again."
"Remember Alaric, this is not happening to you right now." Freya's voice chimed softly, prompting him to shake his head furiously in response.
"You don't understand... I can't..." he stuttered as he shut his eyes then, trying to move away from the memory.
"No!" Freya called. "Please, don't leave yet. Just listen to me, to my voice. You are safe, Alaric. This is not real."
His breathing hitched as he fought to listen to her words, forcing his eyes to open as the scene resumed in front of him. "We-… We tried to do a spell. It was supposed to be safe..."
The memory repeated everything that had gone wrong then... Valerie trying to strengthen Caroline as she started to desiccate. Bonnie fighting to find chants and spells to keep the connection between the twins and Caroline strong again. Caroline's body shaking as the magic absorbed by the former massacre in the very same barn started to run out...
And then she collapsed. A force in the wind spreading like an explosion and knocking all of them out as they were thrown far away from her. The memory of him struggled to move closer as the force kept him back. His eyes closing as he felt his head become hazy...
"I don't remember this." he murmured as he watched on. Caroline was suddenly staring into the empty air with white eyes as her face remained slack.
"Geminus praecantatio." The words came from Caroline, but the voice was warped and deep, not possibly belonging to her. A strong light covered her stomach as her hands came to rest over it. "Geminus praecantatio." she repeated, her hands glowing as her body seemed to absorb the light. "Geminus praecantatio. Vite se tutela adimal."
Glowing veins spread over her skin and across her neck, her whole body covered by the light. It was distinguished abruptly, her body falling apart again within the circle as a darkness spread over them.
That's when Valerie got up, followed by Bonnie and Ric as they ran to Caroline right away. He watched as the memory of him froze up and stared at the body in horror, the evidence of his future children suddenly absent.
They were gone.
His heart broke within his chest, crumbling into thousands of pieces. His knees buckled as he fell down to the ground in despair. "They're dead." he sobbed as the trauma hit him all over again. Making him cover his face with his palms as he bawled in pain. "They're gone!" he exclaimed, barely noting the hands that gripped at his shoulders.
"It's time, Alaric. Wake up."
"They're dead!" he yelled out, pushing away at the body behind him.
"Alaric!"
He shook his head violently. "I could have stopped them. I could have saved them!"
"Alaric, wake up now!"
The ordering tone pushed him to the surface, flying past the water and gasping for air as he was suddenly in his real body again.
He stared at the witch in front of him as she shook him with wide eyes. "It's ok." she breathed as he finally saw her and not the scene haunting behind his eyelids. "It's ok." she repeated as the tears continued to stream down his face.
She brought him into an embrace, bringing him to sob into her shoulder as he hugged her back. "I'm so sorry." she whispered to him as he tried to calm his breathing. "I'm sorry I made you relive that."
Sniffling softly, he finally got a handle of himself and took a few deep breaths. He pulled away from her and wiped his face with his hands quickly. "Did you get your answer?" he asked with a raspy voice.
Her eyes roamed over him with deep concern and empathy for a moment before she nodded in response. "I believe I did."
Something bitter and broken inside of him yearned for a drink, a feeling he was all too familiar with and was forced to find a distraction from. Clearing his throat as he dried his face quickly once more, he then nodded to her in determination. "Good."
Present day
Somewhere outside of New Orleans
Caroline pulled at the chain around her ankle, grunting as she assessed her possibilities of escaping it.
"I wouldn't waste my time if I were you." Rebekah chimed exasperatedly in response. "It has obviously been spelled."
Caroline looked back at her in confusion. "What? How do you know?"
"Can't you feel it?" she snickered, seemingly shrugging in nonchalance but it was hard for Caroline to be sure. "It has this... vibration to it."
"Are you hurt?"
The question elicited a cold and raspy laugh from her that lasted a little too long for the younger vampire's comfort. "Oh, you have no idea..." she muttered, the pain evident in her voice.
"What did they do to you?" the other blonde asked as her eyes finished adjusting to the darkness and allowed her then to see the Original better. She seemed tired, her hair was slightly messy, and her clothes were wrinkled. But there were no visible injuries that Caroline could depict.
"They gave me blood, so that's something at least." Rebekah grunted. "Do you know where we are?" she asked then, confusing Caroline who scoffed in reply.
"How would I know that?" she countered exasperatedly, defeat quickly threatening its way into her heart. She turned to the Mikaelson again, trying to read her pale face at first but deciding to voice her questions aloud. "Rebekah, how long have you been here?" she asked carefully.
A shuffling sound indicated that she changed her sitting position and turned to her again. "I don't know... Days? Centuries?" she said, the exhaustion clear as she closed her eyes and sighed. "What year is it, Caroline?"
The question seemed so filled with fear, pain... The young vampire looked back at her with nothing a strong sense of sympathy as she realized how vulnerable the woman must feel right now. Locked up here, her family not having any idea where she was nor how to help her...
Or did they? Caroline tried to remember if Elijah, Klaus or even Marcel had shown the slightest hint of knowledge of Rebekah's situation. Wondering if perhaps they had all known and kept it from her.
"Come on already… I may be old, but my patience is still quite thin!" the woman in question whined then, pulling Caroline out of her thoughts.
"It's 2021, we just went into May actually. I think it's the third or fourth... Not sure." she said as she noticed the Original seemingly shrinking at the response.
"Six years." she relayed finally, prompting Caroline to blink at her in confusion as she continued. "That is how long I have been daggered now."
"Daggered?" Caroline echoed. "D-did Klaus...?"
"Elijah." she corrected.
"So, you've been daggered this whole time?"
"Until a few hours ago, yes."
"But... Why? I mean, Klaus daggering you I would kind of get. I mean, no offense or anything. But Elijah?"
"He didn't have a choice. And seeing as they haven't been to wake me yet - they still must be at a loss for what to do with me." she explained, sighing lightly as a cold smile spread over her face. "Not that it will matter much longer anyway… Not after Nik tears me apart for killing you."
Caroline flinched at that. "What? I mean I know we were never really friends but, I don't know, that just seems a little extreme..." she chuckled nervously, earning another sigh from the other blonde.
"Wow, you're just as daft as I remembered!" she exclaimed venomously, bringing Caroline to scowl in return. The Original let out a long breath before speaking again.
"I'm sorry." she told the younger blonde, sounding genuine as she did. "I-… I am not entirely in control of my vices for the time being, you see."
"What happened to you?" Caroline asked gently, realizing there was much more to the vampire's story of being daggered by her brother than some trivial sibling rivalry.
There was some rustling as Rebekah folded her sleeve up, turning to show her arm to the opposite girl with a pointed nod. "This happened." she murmured silently.
The darkness was still making it hard for the Caroline to see, but she could depict the shape of what looked like a skull. The kind from the flags on pirate ships or on cartoon treasure chests…
"It's an old demonic curse." Rebekah explained as she covered her arm again. "We were unsuccessful in breaking it and inevitably ran out of time."
"What does the curse do exactly?" the other vampire asked carefully.
"Oh, it just makes me want to rip off heads and spew poison on everyone within my proximity." the Mikaelson quipped bitterly. "So that ought to be fun, huh?"
A short silence stretched out between them before Caroline cleared her throat. "Why would they undagger you?" she asked as she tried to piece it all together. "What do they need you for?"
"They?"
"Right... Uhm, Aya. And Aurora, actually."
"That's just great... Absolutely, bloody marvelous." Rebekah muttered quietly. "Here I am, finally awake in time to experience the new decade - only to be held prisoner by our oldest enemies who are evidently still attempting to fulfill that horrendous prophecy!"
"Prophecy?"
"Does Nik not tell you anything!?" she snapped and grimaced quickly at her own words. "Again, apologies." she added with a sigh, earning an understanding nod in response.
"So… prophecy?" Caroline repeated, studying the Mikaelson closely as she began to explain.
"Back before I was daggered, there was a prophecy cast upon us. The three last Mikaelson's were to die: one by friend, one by foe and one by family." she chuckled humorlessly before continuing. "I suppose the latter was always meant to be reserved for me."
"You mean Aya and Aurora are trying to fulfill this prophecy?"
"Either that, or they are attempting to sever the bloodlines - again." Rebekah shrugged exasperatedly. "My guess would be the latter, considering that the prophecy was foreseen to be fulfilled within the year… And clearly, we are all still alive."
"Do you think they could succeed?"
"I honestly don't see why not." The harsh words made Caroline flinch as Rebekah seemed to really mean it this time. The curse not egging her on as she didn't feel the need to take it back.
A long quiet lingered between them before the young vampire decided to share what she knew as well. "There's this vampire, Julian, he is probably working with them. He wanted to change the sire-lines too." she relayed, earning a sigh from the Original.
"Yes, that is turning into quite a perpetual dilemma, isn't it?" she snickered, shaking her head slowly before turning to her with curious eyes. "How do you fit into all of this?" she pressed. "Don't tell me the vampire population of Mystic Falls is imprudently going after my brother yet again?"
"No." Caroline replied firmly, gulping as the image of Klaus daggered and comatose still haunted her mind. "No, we were trying to save Bonnie. Julian abducted her some time ago and we caught a few leads in New Orleans."
"Ah, well that explains why I wasn't undaggered by my family." Rebekah muttered in retort. "Nik must have been quick to give up trying to save me the moment he heard of your presence in the Quarter."
Swallowing the lump of guilt in her throat, Caroline sighed before looking to her with a serious frown. "Rebekah, if I knew that you were in trouble-"
"Save it." she cut her off, waving a hand in the air dismissively. "I do not need an added incentive to take my heightened exacerbation out on you, Caroline. It's already difficult enough as it is – and that's without some mark on my arm."
"Right…" she snickered, shaking her head as she leaned back against the wall. Guessing that an awkward silence would be more preferable at the time being, rather than forcing conversation with someone who was trying not to kill her and all… However, it seemed Rebekah disagreed as she soon spoke up again.
"They are expecting Nik to come for you, aren't they? This is some sort of trap for him?" she guessed, earning a frown from Caroline in response.
"Probably, yeah." she sighed out. "Best-case scenario, you kill me before I can be used to hurt him instead. To hurt all of you, really."
"How are you going to do that exactly?" the Original pressed skeptically.
Caroline's response was interrupted as the noise of the cellar door opening echoed around them. Light seeped through and blinded them as the sound of feet neared the captives. Soon Aya stood before them, followed by a young woman with a kerosene lamp in hand.
"I see you have taken this time to make yourselves acquainted." Aya quipped. "How are you feeling, Caroline?"
"Peachy." the vampire replied in a scoff, catching an entertained smirk from Rebekah in the corner of her eye. "You already have the weapon, Aya. Why don't you let us go?"
"No, I have far grander plans for you, child." the woman crooned darkly before turning to the Original on the other side of the cell. "How about you, Rebekah? Are you experiencing any… irritability?"
"You are more than welcome to come in here and find out." the blonde spat back harshly. "I have been itching to rip you apart ever since you first slithered your way into Elijah's most trusted army of brats."
Aya snickered at that. "Ah, yes. Your infantile sense of jealousy, as well as that absurd need for constant affection, were always the aspects I least enjoyed about you." she retorted with a tilted head. "I am however curious; have your brothers ceased to put their respectively fleeting parades of women before you yet?"
The scowl on Rebekah's face viewed how close to home the comment had struck as the Original fell silent in result. Bringing Aya to nod at the other blonde then. "Caroline, I am going to need you to do something for me."
"Yeah, what's that?" the young vampire scoffed, earning a chilling smile from the older woman as the answer came with a slow drawl.
"Dagger Rebekah Mikaelson."
It took a second for the words to sink in before Caroline let out a snicker of disbelief. "Did you hit your head or lose your mind or something?" she quipped. "I mean, hell, if I'm daggering anyone here - it's going to be you."
"Oh, as much as I would enjoy going another round with you, dear girl..." Aya scoffed at her casually. "I am not the least bit concerned of you defying me on this."
The girl with the lamp was given a nod from Aya then, prompting her to pull a clothed item and dropping it into the cell. Caroline looked down at it with a gulp, knowing full well what it concealed as she could feel it in her blood.
The dagger. It was calling on her, tempting her as she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tightly. Blood dripping from her palms as she fought to keep herself from reaching for the weapon on the ground before her.
"Go on, Caroline." Aya nodded, traces of the compulsion-like manipulation vibrating through her body as it wanted her to listen. To do as the vampire said.
The blonde glared over at her in defiance, determined not to follow the woman's command. Because there was no way - whatsoever - that she would attempt to kill Rebekah Mikaelson. Not even on her worst day, when she was in a terrible mood and maybe starving and ready to tear anything and everything in sight apart… Not even then would she think to fight the Original. It didn't matter how many weapons or cursed objects they threw at her feet; her self-preservation would simply not allow it.
"No." she finally bit out, her eyes steeled as the older vampire merely grinned in response.
"Aurora." Aya called in a normal volume, but it was enough for the woman in question to hear. The cellar doors opened again and were immediately followed by the sound of smacking heels bouncing across the walls in loud echoes. The red-head soon stood before them, dressed in a long black dress and her face picture-perfect to match.
She is gorgeous. And scary as hell. No wonder Klaus liked her... Caroline muttered to herself before deciding to push that thought aside.
"I hear we have a problem." Aurora crooned, her hazel eyes glimmering even in the dark. Turning to the silent blonde in the other corner of the cell slowly. "Hello, Rebekah. It has been a while."
"You crazy bitch..." the Original spat back. "I advise you to let us out of here before there is a full-on massacre on these grounds."
"You have been gone for a long time, darling. You are bound to feel a little out of touch with yourself, to say the very least…" Aurora sighed out in a leisure shrug. "In fact, I feel sorry for you. Finally awakening after such a drawn-out slumber, finding yourself faced with death yet again… If only there was someone to relate to you, someone to care for your fate." she snickered lightly, flashing a wide grin at her prisoner as she continued. "You must have so many regrets. Such remorse for how you have lived your life and all of the choices which have brought you here today."
"My only regret is that I allowed you to live after your transition." Rebekah retorted coldly. "You should not test my willingness to rectify that mistake."
"Well, that's not much for last words. But it will have to do." Aurora merely shrugged in reply. Nodding to Caroline then, her eyes catching hers despite the younger vampire's best efforts. "Dagger her."
"N-" Caroline began, but the word barely left her mouth before the effects of the command washed over her body. She was fully entranced by the piercing eyes and demanding tone. Pushing her to bend down and pick up the weapon from the ground. Carefully unveiling it from the cloth as she cradled it in her hands. She felt her skin itch as she remembered how it had felt the last time she'd held the powerful object… Aching to experience it again. To feel strong… to be feared.
"Caroline?" Rebekah's voice was distant, but the question it held was clear. She was beginning to realize that the biggest threat within that cell hadn't been the Original vampire after all... But the young blonde with the cursed dagger and sparkling eyes who slowly turned to the Mikaelson with a small smirk.
"Zabít ji." Caroline whispered to herself, the magic of the Candle speaking through her - its powers flowing in her veins as she stared back at the vampire in question.
"You must be jok-" Rebekah began but was cut off as Caroline swiftly broke loose from her chains and threw herself at her. The Original dodged her attack skillfully, undoubtedly thanks to her centuries of experience. But Caroline wasn't down for long.
"Stop it already!" the Mikaelson called out as she pushed her attacker back, managing to throw her across the cell.
The younger vampire let out a grunt as she hit the wall, but soon straightened and glared over at her prey once more.
"Caroline, so help me... I will not be held responsible for your death." Rebekah beckoned as she raised her palms at her.
"Don't worry about it." Caroline countered softly, surprising the Original as she crashed into her and quickly plunged the dagger into Rebekah's chest.
No.
The expression on her face had triggered the word from deep within Caroline's mind. A quiet voice that begged her to stop as the Mikaelson stared in chock when the weapon began to siphon off her strength. Her blue eyes glazing over slowly as her face remained frozen in a gasp.
No!
With that, Caroline pulled back, taking the dagger with her in an attempt to save the other blonde. "No." she whispered, watching the Original's body fall to the ground as it was gradually covered in dark veins and grey skin.
"No, no… Rebekah?" she breathed out in a desperate plea, attempting to reach for the woman but quickly jumped back as she feared it would only bring her to finish the job.
She created some distance between them as she focused on the part of her which had managed to overrule the compulsion. Staring down at the dagger, she noticed her blood-stained hand shaking as a deep rush of adrenaline ran through her body.
"No..." she whispered again as she understood what she had done. A response appearing inside her head with an opposing view on the matter…
Yes, it said. As if it had waited forever for this moment. For this feeling.
The glowing veins began to crawl over her arm, the surge of energy made her gasp loudly as she felt like she was going to explode. Her chest shone with a golden light that covered her entire body. She vaguely noted the cell being unlocked as she fought to keep her mind clear from the strange voice which threatened to take it over…
"Did it work?" Aya pressed, nearing the blonde quickly. But as Caroline turned to the women in response, something on her face held the older vampires back. Aya's expression suddenly turning pale and still as dread filled her eyes. Aurora raising her palms as she slowly circled the two blondes and kneeled down by the unconscious one. Raising Rebekah's arm and examining it closely before looking over at her partner in delight.
"It did, it worked." Aurora noted with a wild grin, seeming very happy with the result. "The curse is gone. She absorbed its magic."
The words sounded alien to Caroline as she cocked her head to the side, eyeing the body on the ground with a sudden apathy in her chest. Not understanding why she had fought against this particular outcome as her entire being was suddenly striving. Her body felt stronger, her skin thicker, her sight sharper…
A foreign phrase rolled off her lips as if it was in her own tongue. "Jsem připraven hned." she proclaimed, smiling as she met Aurora's wide eyes. A dark chuckle escaping her as she turned to study the weapon in her hand once more. She gripped the dagger tightly and nodded to the women with a pointed glance. "This is only the beginning."
November 20th, 1642
Novgorod, Russia
He could hear the bustling crowd filling the pub from the bedroom, the thought fascinating him as he lied back in bed with Vera. Her naked body splayed over his as she drew patterns across his chest, his body still humming with satisfaction as his thoughts processed everything he had learned. She explained what his turning meant, how his life would be now, what he could and could not do…
Like walk in the sun, for example. That had been a disappointment… But Vera told him that she knew of a special witch who had the ability to help. That was apparently how she herself could appear in the bright light of the day without burning.
"You never told me why you were helping me." he murmured as he ran his hand through her silky, rust-red waves. Leaning down to meet her soft smile as she watched him with a shrug.
"Well…" she breathed, turning a little as she rested her chin onto his chest. "You remind me of someone I once knew…" she told him gently, reaching forward to stroke his cheek as she continued. "He was a lot like you. Beautiful light hair, bright eyes, charming smile… such a caring gentleman."
He chuckled at that, grinning as she continued with something slightly somber in her voice then. "And he too had the unfortunate displeasure of being raised by a man who never treated him right." she relayed, causing his smile to fall slightly as he listened in surprise. "He too had a step-father, and he lived every second of his life in fear under that monster's ruthless reign… And a lot like you, he was forced to make a difficult decision to finally free himself from that dark upbringing."
Julian nodded slowly, tracing her spine in thought as he mulled over her words. "You loved him." he concluded, earning a sad smile from her in confirmation. "What happened to him?"
"That is a long story, darling." she chimed with a sigh. "Perhaps I will share it with you one day."
He smiled as she leaned in and pecked his lips softly, bringing her closer for a warm kiss. A pulse of want filling him once more, surprising him as he felt taken-aback by the supernatural stamina he had suddenly gained. Along with the depth of every emotion, every sensation… He felt it all so strongly that he was convinced it would smother him at times. At others, it felt like he would die without it.
As he was about to press her into the mattress and aim for another round of pleasure, something rushed through the room like a storm and broke them apart. In the blink of an eye - he was held against the wall with a tight grip on his throat. He was met by a fiery glare as he finally focused on the attacker, staring as he barely recognized him with those monstrous features on.
"Lucien?" he coughed out.
"Lucien, stop." Vera called firmly, wrapping a sheet around her body as she got up and stood behind her friend with a weary frown.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lucien hissed in reply, staring back at her over his shoulder with sheer fury in his eyes.
"He's coming with us." she proclaimed with determination.
"Bloody hell he is!" he protested harshly at that, tightening his grip and causing loud cracks to fill Julian's ears in result. "We are already on thin ice here, are you consciously aiming to compromise it even further!?"
"You forget whom you are speaking to, Lucien." she hissed back, something in her face suddenly so authoritarian and powerful that it brought the attacker to ease his grip. "Know your place." she ordered in a slow drawl, prompting the man to drop his hand altogether. Bringing Julian to fall to the floor with wheezing gasps as he held his throat in shock.
"What was that!?" he yelled at Lucien, receiving a venomous glare from the man in reply.
"Be glad I refrained from ripping out your spleen and feeding it to you, mate." he scoffed.
"Enough, Lucien." Vera sighed then. "Why don't you stop antagonizing dear Julian here and instead return to your subpar charming techniques with that blonde little thing downstairs?"
Lucien's mood changed at that, a smirk spreading on his face as he walked over to her and stroked her cheek. "Does it bother you so, my love?" he purred, drawing lines down her jaw with his thumb as he leaned in close.
"I could not help but overhear." she shrugged casually. "And I find it insulting that you believe me invested enough to care whom you choose to bed or kill or however else you opt for passing the time."
He merely chuckled back at her, leaning in and placing a kiss to her cheek. "I shall keep that in mind." he murmured, causing her to raise a brow in disbelief. "Let me finish up for this evening and then you can explain why this lad has turned into a vampire overnight."
Julian pressed his lips together firmly at the mention of his transition, looking up at his attacker as he showed him one final glare. Lucien then turned away and stormed out of the room the same way as he had before. As soon as he was gone, Vera came to kneel by Julian on the floor, reaching out to help him stand. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yes, I believe so." he muttered, clearing his throat as it already started to feel better.
"You will heal much faster now." she smiled, voicing his thoughts as he nodded in response.
"What did you mean earlier?" he pressed as he remembered her statement to Lucien. "About taking me with you?"
She smiled brightly at him, pulling at his arm as she brought him back to the bed. "I was going to ask later but I suppose there is no time like the present." she snickered playfully as they sat down together. "Lucien and I are leaving. We will head for England in a few days."
"You are?" he asked with blinking eyes. "Were you planning on telling me?"
"No." she admitted, cupping his chin and turning him to her before he could turn away in a scowl. "But that has changed now. You have changed. I could not have brought you with me before, but I can now."
He studied her closely, trying to determine whether she was lying or not. Something stirring in his gut as it seemed to try and warn him, of what he was unsure. "When did you say you were leaving?" he asked, leaning into her touch as she cupped his cheek softly.
"By the end of this week." she said. "However, we can leave earlier if you wish. I understand that this was not what you meant when you asked me to help you disappear - but perhaps you would consider it?" she asked with a sweet smile, her voice sounding like honey as she crooned on. "I would hate to leave you behind now, Julian. Please, come with us. With me."
"To do what?" he pushed.
"We have friends in London whom we plan on asking for help with a rather delicate matter." she explained, sighing shortly. "Something happened to us when we were first turned, you see. We are planning on ensuring that no one will ever be able of doing something similar again."
"What happened?" he asked, drawing patterns on her arm as he listened, smiling shortly as she responded by stroking his hair. Scratching as his scalp and sending a shudder through his spine, nearly causing him to drop the matter altogether before she spoke again.
"People who we once trusted ended up using that trust to their advantage. They manipulated us and put us in grave danger - and all to save themselves." she relayed, a cold color filling her eyes. "We are going to seek our revenge on these individuals, but we need to prepare ourselves first. We need to change, become stronger and more powerful to make sure that we are protected from their abilities."
"Abilities?" he echoed.
"Yes… There are different beings out there, Julian. Ones who are stronger than us, who can hurt us… Kill us." she explained gravely. "You need to be careful of whom you choose to trust. Not everyone you meet will have your best interest at heart, and most will have ulterior motives for everything that they do."
He let out a soft snicker, nodding at her words as he leaned in to rest his forehead to hers. "I already know this, Vera." he sighed. "I have lived a life full of betrayal and pain. I understand that this world of yours, it involves dangers beyond my wildest imaginations. But I see that there are many wonderful aspects to it as well… To living forever."
"Yes. " she smiled in agreement. "You are truly the freest when you know that you have all the time in the world. That you can go wherever you want, do whatever you want, be and be with whoever you want…"
He nodded, looking down at her hand as he grasped it in his. "I accept." he chimed tenderly, meeting her eyes with a warm smile. "I will go with you to England and assist you in your quest in any way I can, just as you have helped me."
The beaming look on her face was an incredible reward as she quickly pulled him in for a deep kiss, molding her lips to his as she pressed into his body firmly. "I promise you will not regret this decision, darling." she promised as she straddled his hips and let the sheet fall from her form. "You have no idea what kind of life awaits you now."
His hands traced her skin, cupping her exposed breasts as he smirked up at her with a nod. "I look forward to experiencing it all." he relayed honestly.
She giggled playfully before leaning down and meeting his lips again, humming as he turned them and pinned her beneath him. Ready to enjoy her again and again as he looked forward to what she could show him. To everything that they could do together.
Five years ago
Albuquerque, New Mexico
"That was when I first encountered you." Julian concluded as the memory lingered in his mind. His glance moving to the companion next to him on the wide leather chaise that worked as the focus of the modern apartment Aya had brought him to.
They had spent quite some time talking of everything and nothing as they finally found the time to sit and safely consider their next step. A place to take a breath and catch up, since he especially had lots to catch up to. "I followed them to London, searching for these friends of theirs…" he mused as Aya nodded in confirmation.
"Yes." she smiled, something hopeful in her features as she studied him closely.
"What happened to her?" he asked. "To Vera?"
She averted her eyes in a frown, the look curious to him as he eyed her in silence. Her thoughts seeming to run amok as she looked back at him with a sigh. "After you came to London, you met with some witches. A coven belonging to The Strix."
"I remember." he said with a nod. "You were there, you told us that you were searching for special witches. Gathering them for a unique cause… And you asked me to help you."
"I did." she smirked, reaching forward and squeezing his arm affectionately. "We got to know each other rather well, and I brought you with me on my missions across the world. You were so curious and eager, you wanted to see everything there was to see. So, I made it a point to show it all to you." she relayed in remembrance. "Tristan allowed us to work freely for a long time, only every other decade would Lucien get involved. Especially when we searched for particular weapons."
"He collected them." he concluded, all the loose pieces finally starting to come together. "They were his objects, the ones I stole."
"Yes." she agreed. "Some of which I took as well."
He smirked shortly at that. "I suppose the apple doesn't fall far from the tree then." he joked, a wave of warmth washing over him as he met her bright smile. "You truly were my family, Aya."
"I was." she nodded. "Do you remember what I told you when we first met?"
Turning away shortly, he thought back to that day in London in 1643. "You told me that I was exactly what you needed." he recalled fondly. "And that, if I gave you the chance, you could end up being exactly what I needed as well."
"I believe I was right in the end." she crooned softly, prompting him to chuckle as he shook his head in amusement.
"Yes, I suppose you were." he crooned, studying her again as he felt the echo of old affections to the woman before him warm his chest. The person who had meant everything to him once. "You never answered my question, though." he pointed out slowly, realizing there must be a reason for that. "What happened to Vera? I remember going to London and meeting you, we parted ways and… And I never saw her again."
"Because Tristan sent her away." she answered solemnly. "It was a habit of his which he enacted whenever he felt someone was either defying him or coming close to doing so."
"And what exactly did Vera do?" he pressed, not enjoying the cold frown on her face as she sighed.
"Vera was never her real name, Julian." she told him with a serious nod for emphasis. "It was Aurora. Aurora De Martel." she added in a slow drawl, causing his lips to part as he blinked in surprise. Her voice sounding bitter as she continued. "Tristan sent her away because she was unreliable at best… It was his way of keeping his reins on her. On making sure that she followed his orders."
"I-I don't understand… why would she lie to me about her identity?" he asked silently.
"She was likely planning on using you to her favor at some point." she shrugged, another sad sigh leaving her lips. "That is how the De Martel's work, dear. They are your best friends when they need you, and your worst enemies when they no longer do."
"Then what exactly did she want from me?" he scoffed. "Especially considering that she never in fact came to collect."
"I honestly do not know." she told him with a shrug. "Perhaps she hadn't set out to fool you from the start… It is possible that an opportunity appeared itself to her along the way. She likely found a reason later on to keep lying to you."
He scratched at his forehead, wondering what her motives were for the charade. Why she had been so guarded, why she had pulled away when he started caring for her. Shaking his head at that, he turned to Aya with a smile. Deciding to focus on asking more questions about this person who had always been by his side, even when he hadn't known it. Even when he hadn't known her.
"So…" he smiled, leaning closer as he nodded at her. "What more can you tell me?" he asked gently. "I wish to remember everything, Aya."
She grinned at that, holding his hands in hers and squeezing them reassuringly. "Ask me anything, child." she said with a genuine color in her eyes. "I have nothing to hide from you." she assured him. "Never have, and never will."
March 4th, 1643
London, The United Kingdom
Aurora made sure to keep a good distance as she followed the stranger, watching her from afar. The woman moved through the city, past carriages and pedestrians, as if aware of someone following her. That thought only made the red-head smile as she flashed over to stand right before her prey, nodding at the woman as she looked up in surprise.
"Hello." she told the woman sweetly. "I have been looking for you."
"Who are you?" she stuttered in reply, glancing around as if trying to see if there were others with her. "What do you want from me?"
"Merely your cooperation for when the time is right." Aurora grinned with a leisure shrug. "Don't worry, dear. I do not plan on hurting you, so long as you do not give me a reason to."
"Okay…" the stranger scoffed. "How do you know me?"
"Because I know of every single vampire that the Mikaelson's have turned." she explained. "And furthermore, I know of someone whom you yourself have."
"And just what exactly does that have to do with you?" the woman pressed, looking anxious as she analyzed her with fidgeting hands.
"I only need to confirm that my theory is right." she told her, purring as she slowly leaned in before grabbing her throat tightly in her hand. Closing her eyes as she quickly dove into the woman's mind, searching for the memory in question.
Passing through the many visions in the woman's head, she soon found the one she needed… The image of her as she hid behind a tavern in a small village in western Russia, blending into the shadows as she attacked a young man in hunger. His hair blonde, his eyes crystal, his face twisted with pain and fear before she fed him her blood. She healed him, compelled him to forget the experience. To go to sleep and not remember anything when he woke again.
As Aurora slowly emerged from the stranger's mind, she watched her with a wide grin and chuckled deeply. "I knew it! You were the only other vampire anywhere near the region at the time, of course you were the one to turn him."
"I don't know what you are talking about." the woman stuttered.
"Oh, I know, darling." she scoffed. "After all, how could you have known that your deluded need for mercy would later cost him his mortal life?"
The woman's eyes widened as she watched her in fear. "You mean… You mean I actually turned someone?"
"Indeed." she nodded cheekily, noticing the terror that flickered over the woman's face in realization. "I imagine he was your first then." she concluded, earning a nod from her in question. "Well, that just about brings us to that favor I plan on taking from you; I am going to need you to forget about him."
"What?" the woman spat in confusion and shock, gasping as her arms was firmly squeezed by the other as she slowly leaned close in a whisper.
"You will forget your time in Russia." she ordered her. "Forget the man you healed, the man you incidentally turned. Forget meeting me, ever seeing my face."
The woman's slow and entranced nod was a delight to the older vampire as she grinned in result. "It worked!" she giggled, sighing happily as she couldn't wait to share her successful experiment with the others. Quickly turning away from the stranger and hurrying down the street as she headed back home.
He appeared before her as she turned the last corner, the smile spreading further over her lips in reaction. "Tristan!" she chimed in glee, sing-songing as she moved towards him. "You will never guess what I did…"
"Oh, I saw." he said with a hard face, studying her with anger in his eyes. "You disobeyed me, Aurora."
She blinked at that, shaking her head as she chuckled. "I thought you would be pleased to hear that the witches' trials were fruitful." she drawled slowly. "We can finally compel other vampires now, brother. And if that worked, it may also mean that we can finally resist being compelled ourselves!"
"Yes, that is all very fortunate." he sighed, cupping her cheek as he bent down to eye her closely. "However, you were told not to try our new abilities until we were certain of them working properly."
Stepping out of his hold, she turned a sour scowl to him. Confused by his dissatisfaction after what she had managed to do. "I do not wish to be spoken to as if I am one of your servants, brother." she scoffed through clenched teeth, a dangerous glint in her eyes as she squinted at him. "Now, please act as the supportive family member and congratulate me on my achievements today… Before you manage to truly anger me with your behavior."
She walked past him at that, not in the mood to be on the receiving end of his disapproving and judging glares. However, a sharp sting to her neck made her hiss as she quickly reached up to touch it. Finding the origin of the pain to be a needle, a familiar scent causing fear to follow the burning venom as it coursed through her veins.
"Tristan…" she whispered in dismay as his hands caught her body when her knees buckled.
"There, there, sister." he whispered softly in her ear, brushing her hair back as he held her in his arms. "I am only doing what is best for you, you know that, Aurora. Although, it is clear you may need a little rest from this mission to remember it."
She tried to protest, to break through his hold, but the vervain quickly worked to debilitate her. Bringing the world to turn into blurry specks of light as her body ached and her head spun, before she fell unconscious to the ground.
Present day
Somewhere outside of New Orleans
Every sound was heightened, every sight illuminated, everything felt raw and sensitive as she shied away into the corner of her cell. Trying to hide from it all as the screaming in her head refused to subside. Her eyes flickered over to the far side of the cave, spotting Rebekah's body where it remained on the ground. Left by the women who seemed disinterested in the Original all of a sudden.
As she ran a hand over her face in a sigh, she realized she was smiling. Her features not matching the sunken feeling in her chest… No, it wasn't her who was smiling. It was the ghost. She could feel her presence inside every vein of her body. The magic humming beneath her skin as every muscle seemed strengthened by it.
It all replayed behind her eyelids as she saw herself stabbing Rebekah, over and over again. The sight just as horrifying each time, her gasp silenced by the spirit controlling her as it crooned in delight. Absolutely jubilant, the voice sang in her ears. A pleased melody of foreign words in a strange language. She had been ecstatic about it, relished in the look on Rebekah's face when the dagger plunged into her chest…
The intensity of it all kept Caroline from feeling sickened by her actions as her entire physique seemed to no longer be in her control. But when footsteps neared her slowly, revealing a familiar form on the other side of her cell, the voice in her head seemed to be pushed back by the awful churning in her stomach.
Julian.
"Hello, Caroline. You look well." he chimed, the wicked smirk framing his lips causing her skin to crawl. Her teeth clenching as her eyes darkened at the man. "I hardly recognized you, dear." he mused with an easy shrug as he neared the metal bars separating them. "You know, you're very different from the last time I saw you." he quipped, his eyes gesturing to her abdomen pointedly.
Her entire body shook in pure unadulterated fury, the rage vibrating through her. Every source of light in her proximity seemed to flicker in response to her anger, Julian's gaze taking it all in with a pleased grin as he looked down the hallway silently.
You hate him, the voice whispered in the back of her mind. The sound causing the blonde to wince as she cocked her head to the side.
Gulping hard, she managed to divert her focus away from the venomous emotions in her soul and brought Julian's eyes back to her with one quiet question. "Where's Bonnie?"
He leaned against the bars leisurely, the face making her shudder as he smirked in response. "Come now, darling, let us have a polite conversation first before we start with the whole tiring routine…" he crooned with a malevolent fire in his eyes. "You know; you, throwing out some empty threats in every last attempt at sparing your friend's life - me, with the inevitable response that you have no way of saving anyone, much less yourself."
We can kill him, the voice hissed. Sounding as if the spirit was absorbing her anger and hatred, fueled by it all as it made her fingernails dig into her palms firmly.
"Shut up." she gritted, earning a raised eyebrow of surprise from the vampire before her. His lips moved but the words were drowned out by the ones in her mind as the spirit crooned on.
We are stronger than him, it said. You have magic now, my magic, you can put him down in a second. I can teach you how. How to make them all bow down to you. You needn't fear anyone ever again.
"Stop talking!" she burst out, punching her fist against the cave wall, breaking and the rocks apart into a wide crack. Earning a startled hiss from Julian as she watched him from the corner of her eye.
"Tell me where Bonnie is." she spat, barely hanging onto her sanity as she felt like her body and head was separated by a torn will. Fighting to focus on her friend, hoping she could still help her somehow. Despite her clearly scattered mind.
"She is close… Although, that will not matter much longer." he replied calmly, the answer provoking her as she snapped her head back to him with a predatory snarl.
A hint of fear flashed across his face as his mask of indifference shattered just barely, revealing something interesting that Caroline couldn't say she'd ever seen on someone like him. Someone older, stronger, than her. Someone who was a real threat, a danger. Someone clearly in power, but suddenly cowering under her gaze.
You have only begun to scratch at the surface of your powers, Caroline. She gulped as the voice began again, having hoped it had given up by now… You will be the strongest of them all, it promised her. All you need to do… is let me in.
"What?" she whispered, her confusion growing at the strange response.
Let me in, Caroline. Let me in and I will make you better than you have ever been.
"Aya was right to be concerned about you." Julian interrupted, his face in a harsh grimace as he watched her like some rabid animal inside a cage - threatening to break through and attack at any moment. "You are drawn to the power." he concluded in a slow drawl, his eyes scanning her for some reaction despite her still stance.
"It is such a seductive thing, isn't it?" he quipped, a dark frown forming his mouth. "To feel in control, truly, for the first time in your life… I felt that way once, so I know how tempting it is. How it claims you with its acute claws, digging into your soul and secures you. Hindering you from escaping its iron grip…"
She closed her eyes with a clenched jaw, fisting her hands as her body grew more tense with every fleeting moment. As if he had caught sight of something she'd desperately tried to hide away. His pointing it out somehow making it more prominent. "You don't know what you're talking about." she muttered darkly.
"Oh, but I do." he chimed, a sad tone to his voice. "It took me over, despite my fiercest efforts. Just as it has about every single vampire I have come across so far. It is what differentiates us from the humans, darling. It is a testimony to our true nature." he ranted on, the sound of it starting to grate at her patience as he merely smirked before continuing. "It is what molds us into the monsters we were always meant to be."
"You're wrong." she gritted. "I'm nothing like you."
"Aren't you?" he pressed, the look in his eyes silencing her protests as he seemed genuinely empathetic with her struggles swiftly. "Have you never shed innocent blood out of rage? Envy? Hunger?" he asked with a cocked head. "Have you not caused unprompted suffering onto others? Have you not done your best to convince yourself that you are indeed different? That you are… good?"
She scowled at him mutely, willing him to catch fire and burn to a crisp… Or go off into a puff of smoke. Anything that would get him to stop haranguing her. Because he wasn't saying anything she didn't already know, it was nothing that she hadn't already considered herself…
"If you really think we are anything alike… then let Bonnie go." she pleaded in a hoarse whisper, earning a sigh in reply.
"I couldn't even if I wanted to, sweetheart." he explained with a shrug. "Aya still requires her services."
"And what, you do whatever Aya tells you to?" she scoffed.
He smirked shortly at that. "I do not expect you to understand the reasons for my loyalties, Caroline. Just as I am sure you do not believe me capable of comprehending yours." he quipped. "I suppose, the true purpose of one's life has always been and will forever be the same; to find someone or something to believe in, and to fight like hell to never let it go."
She watched him as he turned away from her and began to leave, a sudden panic wrapping around her heart as she feared being left alone with her thoughts. Or rather, those not belonging to her at all. "What did you do?" she asked, stopping him in his steps as she hurried to clarify her question. "You said you fell victim to the feeling of power and control… what happened?"
His head turned as his eyes met hers over his shoulder, a cold smile on his face as he spoke. "I butchered my father." he revealed, causing a mute gasp to rush past her in surprise. "Though, only after I found my mother and myself buried on our own land due to his temper." he added, bringing her to furrow her eyebrows as she studied him closely. "And let me tell you something, Caroline… I have never regretted it for a single second." he shrugged. "In fact, if I could do it all over again; I would have ensured he suffered longer before I ended him for good."
With that, he nodded swiftly and disappeared from her sight. Prompting her to gulp as she sat back in her cell and covered her face with her hands. She brought her knees to her chest, tilting her head back as she looked up to meet the shadow that had been constantly haunting her mind ever since she took that damned dagger out of Klaus' chest.
"What do you want from me?" she sighed exasperatedly.
Your help, the voice replied though the shadow's lips remained sealed. Her head nodding pointedly as she turned a soft smile in her direction. In return, I promise to help you.
"Help me with what?" she scoffed, earning another meaningful glance from the silhouette before her as the voice filled her thoughts.
To find peace, it said. Once and for all.
"Peace?" Caroline echoed, shaking her head as she studied her hands with an incredulous chuckle. "What does that even-" her voice died as she looked up to find the ghost gone. The presence still stirred in the back of her head, but it seemed that for now; she was finally alone.
"… mean." she finished, the sound of her voice filling the empty cell as she closed her eyes and dropped her head onto her knees.
"Klaus… where are you?" she whispered, sniffling as she felt a rogue tear fall down her cheek. Her lip trembling as she quickly ran a hand over her face, braiding through her hair and straightening her back as she decided that no one was coming. Realizing that she had to stop expecting the opposite, and instead start working out a plan to get herself out.
Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana
"She was in contact with cursed objects on days on end. Constantly absorbing - siphoning off of their magic..." Freya relayed as she shared her hypothesis on the phenomena that was Caroline Forbes.
"The twins absorbed it." Ric corrected the Mikaelson in a slow drawl of confusion. "Caroline isn't a witch. She can't use magic."
"That's not entirely true." Cami interjected, shrugging as Marcel raised an eyebrow in question. "Vincent does a lot of spells, sometimes I help." she explained. "Vampires are magical after all. Even if we aren't witches; we can still act as sort of a lightning rod, guiding the magic in a certain direction."
"And this magic..." Freya filled in with a nod. "It likely laid dormant within Caroline all of these years; just waiting, building. Until she got in contact with something or even someone which worked as a catalyst of sorts, activating the siphoning once more."
"So, we would have never even known it was there?" Ric asked. "If Caroline had kept her head down, if we never came here-"
"I see where you're going…" Marcel sighed, meeting the man's eyes with a serious expression. "But I don't think that's true. Even if Caroline never touched another magical thing or being again for the rest of her life; it wouldn't have protected her. This… power… it was always inside of her. And it wasn't going to go away on its own."
"What do you know?" Alaric scoffed. "You met Caroline, what, a few weeks ago and now you're suddenly the expert here? You don't know anything about who she is or what she's been through, how strong and determined and smart she is."
"I'm not questioning any of that." the male vampire countered with a shaking head. "But I believe I do know Caroline, or at least parts of her… And I knew from the first moment I saw her that there was something there, something unique that goes way beyond some charming behavior or a high intelligence level." he concluded. "In fact, we were working on figuring it out before all of this happened."
"Figuring what out?" Cami asked, receiving a short smirk from Marcel before he clued them all in.
"Caroline had this strength within her, one that far outweighed her age. I was training her with the intention of finding what triggered it, since it only showed up in these odd occasions..." he mused, his voice dying out as he seemed to think of something then, perking up as he looked to Freya with a serious look. "Pain." he realized. "The recent trauma must have been what caused her strength to peak through like that. She was triggered by her pain; by loss and grief and distress."
"'Trauma' would be putting it mildly, she was stabbed with Papa Tunde's blade after all." Cami quipped, earning a nod from Freya.
"It could explain how she survived the torments of the blade." the witch said with a nod. "It, in particular, feeds off of pain. It puts the victim into a trance of unimaginable torment by tapping into the person's own suffering and anguish." she mused with a sigh. "It would also explain how she managed to fight off not only Aya but Lucien as well – and all on her own. The physical pain, along with the adrenaline and fear, it must have added to her powers. Just as the blade did, and now so has the Candle."
"So, you're saying that Caroline is like a supernatural sponge for magic now?" Ric asked in a scoff. "How exactly does that work?"
"When witches die, our magic does not necessarily die with us." she clarified, frowning with empathy as she continued. "And when your daughters… passed, I suspect they did not simply disappear. Instead, I reckon they were imbued within their host." she explained gently and reached for a book then, quickly turning a few pages before showing a chapter on supernatural and magical curses to him. "I've grown quite accustomed to different kinds of curses these past few years. And the one of the Gemini coven's is like no other."
"Curse? You mean the merging?" Ric drawled, making her nod.
"That transfer of power, taking the life of one first-born twin with every generation... It isn't by choice. It is the way that the coven was formed due to their original source of magic. Initially, it came from other supernatural beings, such as special objects and herbs along with other witches, shamans, werewolves-"
"Vampires." Alaric finished with wide eyes. "That's why they siphoned off of her."
"And those words in your memory..." Freya added. "'Geminus praecantatio'; it roughly translates to 'Gemini witchcraft'. Because again, the cycle took life with the purpose of their magic living on."
"And those last words? Vite ...?" he questioned.
"'Vite se tutela adimal.'" she clarified. "It signifies the end of a cycle. But just as I saw within your mind, the coven made one last effort to survive beyond the twins' deaths. And when your spell backfired that night, all of their magic was no longer anchored to anything living. Instead, it returned to one of the same magical beings which the coven spent centuries siphoning off of; a vampire, with all the powers of the coven."
"And the Candle..." Marcel added as he pointed to a passage in the book then: an underlined phrase that spoke of transferring magic between different sources of power. "It was used to absorb the magic of the Myslikova coven, right?"
"And then the Ortiga coven." Alaric filled in as the others started to realize what that meant.
"And now... Klaus." Freya breathed out and looked over at Marcel with a deep frown. "Not only does Caroline inhabit the magic of three powerful and ancient covens… Now the dagger has also tapped into the most resilient creature on the planet. The only being which cannot be destroyed by any regular weapon or magic."
"The Original Hybrid." Marcel concluded. "That's how she could undagger him... she had already started tapping into this magic and now-"
"Now it is connected to her." Freya shared. "It wants her to use it, to keep absorbing magic... And if she does, she will be corrupted just like the Marousek witch was in the legend."
Ric nodded in agreement, scoffing bitterly as he spoke. "It was used by a vengeful woman who lost everything due to magic... It couldn't have found a more fitting host than Caroline."
Freya grimaced in agreement as Cami grabbed the book and skimmed the pages. "So, what would happen if Klaus found Caroline?" she asked, causing the witch to sigh deeply as she brought her arms to cross over her chest.
"Well..." she drawled, swiftly going over the different scenarios in her head. "Either Caroline will continue siphoning off of him - eventually killing him."
"Or?" Marcel asked, not enjoying the thought of the head of his line dying.
"Or... " she exhaled in a daunting reply. "The power that Caroline ingests could be used for whatever spell, ritual or other kind of scheme that Aurora has planned for this family. Thereby allowing her the power to kill us all."
The vampires in the room shared a grim frown as Ric quickly jumped in then. "The Candle, it corrupted Marousek. That's why the Ortiga witch had to kill her entire coven just to gain the power needed to stop her." he recited from his memory of the legend. "And Caroline has both of their powers now, and then some..."
"Exactly." Freya gulped. "Which means that Aya, Aurora and Lucien... They may have found the weapon they need, but they likely do not understand the ramifications of allowing Caroline to continue siphoning magic this way." she mused, looking up at the others with a dark expression as she shared her conclusion. "The magic that she has connected with will push her to do unfathomable things and in the end… If Caroline is corrupted by the Candle, there will be no stopping her."
Present day
Mystic Falls, Virginia
The doors to the old Salvatore Boarding House had clearly been sealed and shut for years when Enzo and Damon helped open them up. Klaus stood with Hayley and his brothers; Davina having gone aside to check in with Freya quickly. The flight to Virginia had gone fast enough, it was the car rides to Mystic Falls from the airport that instead had felt like years to the hybrid. He listened as Freya told Davina about their theory, that Caroline was somehow toxic to him now. That he could risk dying by insisting on rescuing her...
Subtle glances around him made him aware that the others had listened too, possibly wondering the same thing as Klaus was at the moment: how was he going to save Caroline if being near her could kill him?
They soon entered the house, Damon turning on some generator on the side of the building as Enzo showed everyone to the living room.
"Let's drink, recuperate. And as soon as we have a closer location on Caroline's whereabouts: we get moving." Elijah ordered.
Always the big-brother, Klaus scoffed to himself. But he agreed nonetheless. The trip had taken a lot of energy out of all of them, especially him. As soon as they had landed in Virginia, he had begun to feel weak again. He had thrown up blood during the last few miles of the car ride. And now, he felt like his whole body was protesting him being here.
She must be close, he thought as he felt the sudden impulse to forget about Elijah's plan and go out into the woods and search for her himself. But he knew he would need to be stealth about it and sneak out when none of his brothers were paying attention.
"I should go rest." he announced, interrupting a conversation between the others of how the boarding house looked exactly the same, despite the amount of time since they'd been there last.
Elijah turned to him with a pleased smile. "Yes. You should." he agreed before turning to Damon. "Do you have a bedroom in which Niklaus can lie down for a few hours?"
"Sure, yeah. Come on." he replied and gestured for the hybrid to follow up the stairs. "You can use Stefan's room. It's close to the woods, figured a werewolf would care about that."
The words made him squint at the vampire, catching a glimpse of undertone that kept him from sniping back as he instead nodded in response. "Yes." Klaus said, playing along.
Damon let him in and quickly closed the door behind them, digging through the drawers of a nearby armoire before procuring some sage. Grabbing a lighter from his pocket and lighting it up, whispering a short chant - one very familiar to the Mikaelson - before turning to Klaus then.
"What?" the young vampire snickered with a shrug in response to the Original's raised brow. "You spend enough time traveling the world with a Bennett witch, you pick up a few things."
"And what's with the need for privacy?" he quipped back. "I'm certain you're quite privy to my repugnance to your company, Damon. Now, why would you volunteer to provoke me in such a way?"
"Alright, can we do the whole back-and-forth, frenemy-centric hostility later? For now, I have way more pressing subjects to discuss with you." he sneered.
"Well, then." Klaus shrugged. "Speak."
The dark-haired man crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the armoire with a frown. "If Caroline is here then it's a pretty big chance that Bonnie is too." he began with a pointed nod. "And I need to know that you'll keep her in mind when everything goes down…"
"Meaning?" the hybrid pressed in amusement.
"Meaning…" Damon snickered bitterly. "If she dies because you're too busy worrying about Blondie's safety-"
"Let me stop you right there." Klaus drawled with a raised palm in gesture. "If your hope was to convince me to extend my already thinly focused patience to your witch - well, then you are vastly over-estimating my tolerance to the sound of your voice."
"Great, and I love you too." the Salvatore replied with a smirk. "Although, I can't help but wonder what Caroline might think about your cold stance to her best-friend's life hanging in the balance here…"
With a swift move, Klaus flashed forward and caged the vampire against the wall by his throat. Earning protesting coughs as he leaned close with a lowered voice. "Believe you me, mate. I am painfully aware of Caroline's saintly care for the lot of you, and though I mostly admire it - I also cannot help but find it mildly irksome in times like this." he drawled with a dangerous grin. "Because I am barely refraining myself from ripping your intestines out through your throat right now, and your annoying habit of pissing me off is certainly not helping."
"Yeah?" Damon hissed as he struggled against the Mikaelson's grip around his windpipe. "How about you do us all a favor and save your strength there, hm? Since we really can't have you passing out in the middle of the big showdown and all."
"I advise you worry about yourself, Salvatore." Klaus scoffed in response. "Especially of your own life and safety once Caroline is secured and the dust has settled… After all, do you really believe she'd shed a single tear if you were to meet an inexplicably early demise under odd circumstances?" he shrugged. "I'd rather imagine she might feel relieved of no longer having to worry about you continuously showing up and burning her life to the ground every time you stub your toe…"
Grunts were stifled as Klaus added to his grip, keeping the man from speaking and narrowing his eyes as he continued. "Now, how about you get out of my way and allow me to clean up this mess of yours for the last time?" he smirked before quickly flipping his hand and snapping his neck.
Dropping the temporarily dead man to the floor, the hybrid straightened up and turned to the windows across the room. He glanced back over at the still burning sage, determining that it would allow him a few minutes of a head-start. Not wanting to waste any of it, he cracked the window open and jumped off the ledge of the tall wall. Finding the ground smoothly before he hurried through the woods, determined to do some recon on his own.
He headed towards where he felt the weakest, it being the only clue he had to go on at the time, and soon ended up on the old Lockwood Estate. A flash of memory hit him hard as he glanced back at the trees in the far end of the land.
The old cellars would be ideal for keeping prisoners out of sight, he thought to himself. Taking a moment to reassess his options. Painfully aware that the closer he got, the weaker he'd feel. It likely would be best to simply scope the place out, to locate Caroline and maybe even give her something to arm herself with. To make sure she had a way of escaping once he came back for her later with the others.
Assuming the Candle hadn't corrupted her yet...
He rejected the thought as soon as it popped into his head. Because in no version of his world could he possibly accept that Caroline Forbes would be corrupted. She was light and hope and everything good. She was strong enough to fight, he was sure of it.
"Are you lost, man?"
The voice made him smirk, turning around with a shrug. "Not at all." he replied casually as he looked over at the man before him.
"This is private territory." the lad muttered with a pointed scowl.
"Yes, I know." Klaus quipped. "In fact, I was present for when it was first established by the Lockwood's."
"Look, pal…" the man drawled. "I don't know who you think you are. But you need to leave. This city belongs to Julian."
The words made Klaus chuckle shortly. "What a small world then." he snickered as he quickly rushed forward and pressed his hand into the man's chest. "You see, I happen to be looking for this Julian. Or rather, someone whom he is supposedly working with."
The man grunted and twitched in agony as Klaus squeezed his heart, causing the hybrid to smirk as he spoke again. "Now, why don't you make yourself useful and tell me where he is, hm?" he crooned.
"He'll kill me." the man spat out, bringing another laugh out of the Mikaelson.
"Trust me, lad. You have much bigger issues than Julian right about now." he threatened as he flashed his eyes and bared his fangs. Digging into the man's neck with a sharp bite. He screamed and fought against him, but he was no match to the Original's strength.
As he dropped the already desiccating body from his grip, he was swiftly jumped from behind by two others. They managed to pin him to the ground and plunged a stake into his abdomen, little did they know it would do no lethal harm to him. He watched their eyes widen with fear as he swiftly pulled the stake out and pushed it into one of them instead. Turning to the other before he could run away, he grabbed his head and ripped it from his body.
He could sense the added company before he heard them. Another group of vampires rushing towards him with raised weapons, all running to their deaths. It didn't take long until everyone of them was slaughtered and scattered around the forest grounds, leaving the hybrid to breathe heavily as he felt his strength dissipating in result.
"And here I had hoped to save some energy for rescuing my damsel in distress." he joked to himself, wiping off some blood from the side of his face as he stepped over the corpses.
His legs wobbled and his knees gave out, bringing him to kneel by the trunk of a tree as his body protested. He let out a groan as he noted some leftover pieces from the wooden stakes still poking into the side of his ribs. Carefully, he plucked them out and sat back for a moment to catch his breath.
Had it not been for his tired state, he might have seen the man earlier. But as Klaus slowly got to his feet again, a strong force pushed at him and brought him to rush back into the tree. The impact breaking at the heavy trunk as he grunted in pain.
The alarm soon settled however when he identified his attacker, letting out a long breath as he smirked at him from the ground. "Brother…" he chimed as Elijah stepped forward with a displeased look on his face. "Come to lecture me for breaking curfew, have you?"
"Not at all." the older Mikaelson shrugged, surprising Klaus as he raised a brow in disbelief. "I am here to act as your back-up."
Digging into his jacket, Elijah pulled out a blood bag and threw it to his brother then. "Now, drink up." he instructed, earning a humored pout as the Original nodded at Klaus pointedly. "And let's go raise some hell."
Wake up.
The soft touch against her cheek brought a smile to Caroline's face, the familiar scent filling her with comfort as warmth drew her out of her sleep. Pulling her to the bright room, serene sunlight surrounding her as strong arms circled her waist.
"Good morning." she hummed in delight and reached for his hair, scratching at the back of his head as his lips met her jaw in a sweet kiss.
"Good morning." he murmured into her skin, the hoarse voice and gruff stubble giving a girl all kinds of ideas.
"You're up early." she noted as she threw a swift glance at the time piece by the nightstand.
He let out a soft sound in response as his weight covered her body, caging her in with his embrace and causing her blood to rush. A giggle escaped her as he nibbled on her bare shoulder, not quite remembering if she had been wearing clothes before going to sleep. Though her musings were quickly redirected as his lips traced her collarbones and dipped below her sternum.
Wake up.
She shook her head as the thought confused her, glancing down to meet Klaus' clear eyes and warm smirk. "Something wrong, love?" he asked teasingly.
"No, not at all." she assured him, cupping his cheek and bringing him back up for a deep kiss. "I-I just thought I… might have forgotten something..." she murmured.
"Mmh?" he hummed in question as his mouth followed her neck in taunting nips.
"I…" she began, still feeling as if something was off. "I could've sworn-"
He looked up and pressed a thumb to her lips, silencing her with a hush. "Let's not ruin this delightful morning, hm?" he chimed with mirth framing his flashing eyes.
"Yeah… No, you're right." she agreed with a nod, mirroring his smirk with a soft smile as she decided to put her overthinking on hold for now. Focusing instead on leaning back and enjoying the moment as he caused her body to melt with every touch, kiss, bite.
Her breath came out in a surprised hiss at the sharp sting of his fangs against her neck, not having expected it and blaming her scattered mind for the result. She brought a hand to stroke his back in soothing motions and another to braid through his hair as she let him feed.
The dazed smile on her face started to drop as she felt herself grow weak from the amount of blood he was ingesting. Intending on feeding off him in turn, she placed a kiss on his skin to let him know before baring her teeth. However, he was fast to react - and in a way she hadn't seen before. He held her head back by her chin and became more aggressive in his feeding.
"Klaus?" she drawled with a furrowed frown, flinching as his action began to turn painful with every passing second. Her hands pushed at his shoulders a few times, but he wouldn't budge.
"Hey, easy there." she chuckled nervously as she tried to push him off harder, but he swiftly grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head. "Klaus, maybe you should slow down." she told him with a strained voice as she barely kept herself from panicking in his hold. All too aware of the danger he posed if he chose to hurt her…
But he had never done anything similar before, so what had brought it on now?
She struggled against his weight and kicked and thrashed her legs in attempt to move him off. "Klaus, stop. It hurts…" she pleaded, dread causing her stomach to drop as she gained no response. "Klaus!" she called out more forcefully, drawing every bit of her strength as she managed to bring him flying across the room.
Her hand quickly covered her wound as she gaped at him, panting as she tried to calm down. "What the hell!?" she hissed but bit back any further words when she saw his dark eyes from the foot of the bed. "Klaus…" she stuttered, not at all liking the cavernous look on his face as he glared at her fiercely. "What's going on with you?"
He remained silent as he slowly neared the bed, one step at the time. Causing her to gulp as she sat up against the headboard and began eyeing the room for something to use on him. She reached for the lamp by her side and held it up in warning. "Hey, get back. You're clearly not yourself right now…" she tried, receiving only a grin in reply.
"Aren't I?" he crooned and continued walking again.
"Don't!" she yelled back, shaking the lamp in front of her as she glared at him. "You need to cool off, right now."
Wake up.
Something flickered before her and changed the sight momentarily, morphing Klaus' dangerous eyes into someone else's. The room turning into hers from back home. The scene suddenly an echo of an old memory…
"Don't do that." he warned, the voice no longer Klaus'.
"What?" she breathed out. "You-… No, this isn't right…" she stuttered, shaking her head as she tried to clear her head, the silhouette soon switched with the hybrid's once more. "Klaus, stop. What are you trying to do, kill me?" she asked, gasping as he reached for her ankle. Quickly jumping away from his touch before he could grab her.
She backed into a corner with her only weapon held before her, feeling her body shake as she tried to think of some way to talk him down. "Don't, okay… This isn't funny!" she stammered with an anxious scoff.
"Oh, but it is." he chuckled with a wicked grin that brought chills down her spine before he charged at her again.
She took off running through the door right away, flashing past strange hallways with the hybrid hot on her trail. Yanking on some doorhandles in attempt to put a wall between them, but they were all locked.
Reaching the end of the corridor, she turned to face him with ice in her veins. "Klaus… Please." she whimpered, barely holding the frightened sob from escaping her as she stared at the monster before her. "Don't do this."
Wake up, Caroline.
She winced as she turned to search for the source of the whisper, noticing a door ajar with a strong light peering through the threshold. Deciding to jump at the only salvation she could get, she eyed Klaus' form for a second before shooting off to the nearby room.
The door locked behind her as she turned to hold it in place, quickly gasping when Klaus banged against it with a loud growl. "Open up, Caroline!" he roared, hitting the door so hard she was sure it would be ripped off its hinges at any moment.
A strange touch made her jump back as she moved away from the stranger reaching for her. "Who are you?" she spat out, holding her palms up as she glanced between the woman to her right and the shaking door to her left. "What's going on?"
"I can help you." the woman said with a soft smile, nodding at her pointedly as she held out her hand in gesture. "Come on, I'll get you someplace safe."
"Where?" Caroline questioned, her heart drumming away in her chest as she realized she didn't have much time left before Klaus came barging through and-
And what? Killed her?
She shook her head as she tried to push the thought out, certain within her heart that Klaus would never-
"Caroline!" the threatening call from the hybrid in question pushed her into action as she quickly accepted the woman's hand. Letting her drag the blonde through another door and across some empty rooms.
"We need to hurry." her rescuer told her, not earning any protests from the vampire whatsoever. She let go of her hand and opened a window nodding towards it first and then to Caroline.
"What, there?" she pressed in disbelief.
"Do you have any other ideas?" the stranger quipped, causing her to frown in response.
Biting on her lower-lip and fidgeting with her hands, Caroline soon whispered out a 'what the hell' and climbed out through the window. Reaching a ledge as she waited for the woman, she felt her body fill with fear at the height and forced herself not to look down.
"What now?" she asked her companion as she joined her on the ledge.
"There." the woman said, gesturing to the building next to them. The distance not too far to be impossible to jump, but it still wasn't a tempting option.
"No way." Caroline scoffed, shaking her head profusely.
"We must." the stranger urged with a serious frown. "You need to trust me, or he will find you and hurt you." she added, referring to Klaus.
The thought brought the vampire to gulp, closing her eyes in a sigh as she couldn't believe what she was about to do - and whom she was doing it to escape from.
"Fine." she bit out as she opened her eyes before walking the length of the ledge and jumping towards the building swiftly.
Landing with a hard exhale, she rolled off onto the wide roof and awaited her savior. Only the woman wasn't there anymore.
"Hello!?" she called, realizing she never caught the stranger's name. "Hey, lady? Where did you go!?"
When no response came, she couldn't help but feel tricked. Staring out over the roof as her chest ached with every panicked heartbeat. She ran a hand over her face and leaned against a metal rod. Scanning the high buildings around her with a hard swallow as she realized that she was lost.
Wake up.
The words haunted her once more, prompting her to jump back as she spied for the person uttering them. Just as she concluded that she must have imagined it, the world began to shake. Violent shocks rippling through the city, causing the building beneath her to bend and crumble. She yelled out a cry as she tried to hold onto something, anything, but she wasn't fast enough. Staring down her fate as she was about to be swallowed by ruins, she suddenly opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness.
One quick look informed her of everything she needed to know; her body was intact, but she was in no way safe… Covering her face with her palms, she fought back tears that she hadn't been aware of and tried to shake the awful nightmare off.
"What is happening to me?" she whispered to herself, leaning back against the cave wall of her prison cell and stifling a deep sob.
The image of Klaus' cold eyes kept tearing at her soul, flickering behind her eyelids as it haunted her… and that was what made her realize what had happened. What had been happening ever since Aurora and Aya forced that weapon into her hands. "You're doing this on purpose." she concluded silently. "You're making me fear him… hate him. Why?"
As if summoned by her questions, she glanced up to find the woman from her dream standing in front of her. Watching her with a tilted head and sympathetic eyes. "I am only showing you the truth." she said calmly.
"No, you're not." Caroline croaked with a hoarse voice, shaking her head as she pulled at her shackles once more. Having found it to be the only thing for her to pass the time with while captured in her dark cell. "You're twisting everything… making him into some monster who's out to hurt me." she pressed with a glare. "It's not going to work."
The woman showed off a condescending smile at that. "Hasn't it already?" she challenged, bringing the blonde to struggle against her chains as she felt the urge to rip the stranger apart. "You used to be comforted by the thought of him, of knowing that he would come for you at any moment…" the woman mused. "But now, you shy away. You no longer believe in him, you no longer hope for him to burst through those walls. You no longer wait for him to save you."
"Stop talking." the vampire whispered pleadingly. "You're giving me a headache…"
"That is the inevitable price of enlightenment, Caroline." she crooned. "Pain."
"Just answer the question." she gritted out in reply, not willing to let the woman off the hook. "Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to… to make me afraid of him?"
"That is not my intention at all, dear." the ghost answered with a shrug. "It is merely a side-effect, I suppose."
"A side-effect of what?"
A chilling smile reached the woman's lips again as she replied. "This… you, me… it was never going to unfold without consequences." she relayed coyly. "We are two minds in one body, Caroline. Some parts of us will respectively be exchanged for another… It is all part of the process."
"Process?" Caroline echoed, dreading the meaning behind that word. "As in; you taking me over?"
"Yes." the woman confirmed without hesitation, sounding much too calm about it. "Your shortcomings are not your fault, child. They are only signs of your limitations, such as your age and strength… or rather, lack thereof."
"Wow." she scoffed bitterly. "Who are you calling weak? You're the one resorting to the lowest possible tactics here; mind-games, manipulations…" she snickered. "You're working so hard to win, harder than you had planned to. Because you didn't expect me to be able to resist you. You didn't expect me to still be fighting."
The ghost's silence was answer enough for the blonde as she smiled coldly to herself at that. "So…" she drawled, enjoying the temporary upper-hand as she studied the woman with narrowed eyes. "You're just going to make me do whatever they tell us to? You're going to turn me into their bitch, for what?"
"Those beings out there… to call them inferior would be an understatement. They are meaningless - just as ants are to giants." the stranger replied in a snicker, sounding offended by the mere thought. "They have nothing on the likes of me."
A chuckle fell off Caroline's lips at the realization as she shook her head in disbelief. "You're using them." she concluded. "They're giving you exactly what you need; access to magic and power… But the moment they stop being useful, you're going to make me slaughter all of them."
She met the woman's dark eyes with a sharp smirk, snickering as she continued. "As much as I would love to kill them, because don't get me wrong - I do, I just can't help but notice one teensy flaw in this little plan of yours…"
"Do you, now?" the stranger quipped in challenge. "And what's that?"
"You're working so hard to control me, to twist my mind and make me think what you want me to think. Feel what you want me to feel…" she mused with a shrug. "But reality is that you haven't won yet. Which means there's a chance that you never will."
The wide grin that faced her then caused the vampire to nearly cower back in result as she felt her stomach twist at the terrifying sight. "Reality?" the ghost echoed cheekily. "Caroline, where are we right now?"
The blonde blinked as she fought to keep a stoic expression. "What are you talking about?" she muttered.
"Where do you think we are?" the woman purred on, kneeling before her with a wicked spark in her eyes. "A cell in some underground cave, perhaps?" she asked, not awaiting a response before she continued. "Or is that only what I have made you believe? Maybe we are in fact in a casket, buried somewhere deep in the ground?"
The words prompted Caroline to panic as she looked around to find the room suddenly tiny, the walls hugging her close and the stones that had surrounded her now looking more like wood.
"What?" she whispered as she tried to understand how the spirit was doing this.
"Or perhaps in a dungeon, filled with rotting corpses and chilling weapons used for dreadful kinds of torture…?" the lady pressed on, bringing about such a strong wave of stench that made it nearly impossible not to throw up at.
A gasp rose from deep within Caroline's chest as she stared at the bodies around her, the flies buzzing about and the wretched stains of bodily fluids all over the walls… "Stop." she breathed out as she fought to keep her nausea in check.
"Oh, sweet child…" the silhouette before her chuckled coldly. "You have no grasp of reality anymore." she bragged with a scoff. "You do not even realize that this conversation, right now, it is all happening inside your mind… and me? I'm not even here."
Her eyes widening at that, Caroline gulped as she felt the tugs on her conscious morph the room once more. The darkness taking everything over again as the woman slowly disappeared into nothing.
"No, dear Caroline." her voice hovered in the air. "You are and always have been, in every sense of the matter; completely and utterly alone."
The storage container had been hard to find, even harder to ship across states without arising suspicion... But now it was finally here, and Aurora found herself with conflicting thoughts.
She placed her hand on the side of the metal with a scowl, her head filled with arguing voices.
You need to do it.
He's my brother.
He needs to die.
"Open it." Aurora demanded, the men by her side nodding before following her orders. Sea water and various shells and rocks poured through as they unsealed the cargo vessel. There were no sounds from inside, informing her that he was likely dead for the time being.
The voices began debating in her mind again at that.
I can't... she thought in protest. He is my whole world. He is all that I have left.
She remembered how the image of him had kept her company while in her own imprisonment. How she had followed him through the centuries, how he had pulled her back from the darkest parts of her mind and helped her during the most difficult times of her life… And it worked to lessen her resolve, bringing her to regret the plan as she desperately tried to think of a different way. A solution which did not require her brother's demise.
It has to be Tristan, the voices reminded her. He is the first of Elijah's line and the first of the ritual. He must die for the plan to work.
"Cast the spell." she muttered finally, turning away from the decaying storage unit as the witches began the process of binding him to the ritual. Knowing that the sacrifice, however profound and devastating, was unavoidable. For her to get her revenge, to get her life back, she needed to lose everything else.
"How are you holding up?" Aya asked as she walked up to her side, the chanting in the background too difficult to ignore as it grimly marked the end of her brother's future.
"You never did have the fortune of sharing your upbringing with siblings, correct?" Aurora drawled in response, cold eyes directed at the other woman as she spoke. "For if you had, you would know not to make such an inconsiderate query. Especially whilst my brother's corpse lies but mere meters away from us."
Aya straightened up with a mute nod, glancing over at the witches behind them before turning to the red-head again. "You are doing the right thing, Aurora." she said with a soft apprehension in her voice, sounding almost sympathetic to the older vampire. "I knew Tristan well enough to be certain that he would attest to it himself."
Meeting her eyes then, Aurora pressed her lips together firmly and sighed. "I know." she stated curtly, digging her nails into the palms of her balled-up hands. "Nevertheless, it does nothing to ease the pain of such a burden."
"It will be over soon." Aya promised with depth in her dark irises.
"Is she ready yet?" she pressed, in need of changing the difficult subject.
"Yes, simply say the word and he will bring her out."
Aurora nodded at that, finding the tiniest bit of comfort in the knowledge that they were nearing the end. However, Aya's voice broke her lightened mood as she spoke again.
"You seem unbothered by her powers." she noted carefully. "Are you so sure of your ability to control her that you do not fear the alternative?"
"I am." Aurora replied with a reassuring nod. "We were lucky to catch this before the others, even more so that my manipulations worked despite her already magnified strengths."
"You saw her in there." Aya countered. "Her eyes… they were white as chalk. And her skin... those veins... How do we know that she can contain this magic without it consuming both her and everyone in her proximity as well?"
"The Sisters have taken every precaution possible, and we need her only for one more day."
"Then, what?" she pressed. "Did you plan on disarming this bomb we have created before sending it off into the world, or does the risk of her bringing about endless destruction not frighten you?"
"We do not need to disarm her." Aurora retorted with a dark grin. "We shall simply point her in the right direction, and she will implode all on her own. Preferably whilst taking the Mikaelson's with her in the process."
"All of them?" Aya pressed. "Even Klaus?"
The name caused Aurora's face to fall as she felt the thick bile fill her chest in reaction. "No." she concluded, turning away as she shook her head to herself. "No, I have an entirely different plan for his demise."
"And you still intend to keep it to yourself?"
She scoffed incredulously at that, smiling as she met the woman's eyes firmly. "Don't worry, dear. I will keep good on my promise to you." she crooned. "Once the sire-lines are severed; Hope will be yours. Just as we agreed."
Aya raised a brow in response as she spoke. "And then?" she asked in a cautious drawl. "What will you do next?"
"Oh, I have dozens of ideas." Aurora smirked, inhaling deeply as the thought of her revenge brought the air to taste sweeter and her heart to feel lighter. "although for now, I look forward to seeing his face when I take everything away from him." she breathed out in a wild grin, stilling as the witches called on her in interruption.
"We are ready for her." one of the Sisters informed her as she nodded to the vampires with a shy nod.
"Splendid." the red-head chimed, suddenly feeling much stronger and more determined. "Bring her out."
The young vampires bowed in obedience, having been standing by during the spell and leaving to follow her orders then. Soon the sounds of protests and cursing was heard as Julian pushed Caroline through the cellars and directed her towards the crater.
"Hey! Get your hands off me!" the blonde screeched and hissed as she fought to wrestle herself out of the man's hold. Her eyes quickly meeting Aurora's then and widening with anger and fear. "What the hell do you want now!?" she spat out, her cheeks red and her teeth clenched as she glared over at the far superior woman.
Shaking her head in a light snicker, Aurora merely grinned as she watched the helpless vampire with malevolent mirth. Walking up to the girl as she remained held in place by Julian, gripping her jaw tightly and moving closer to enjoy the frightened color in her blue eyes. "How I long to see your end, sweet Caroline." she hummed in delight.
She turned the blonde's face to the side and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I hope you understand the gravity of your involvement here, darling." she giggled happily. "You, the object of Niklaus' current adoration, are going to aid in bringing him to his knees. You are going to stand by my side as I plunge my fist into his chest, and the last thing he will see just as the darkness falls will be my face while I take a bite out of his own heart… right before crushing yours."
The movement was so swift that Aurora nearly missed it, but while Caroline miraculously managed to break out of Julian's hold, the red-head had already wrapped her hand around her throat. Squeezing hard enough to bring a cracking sound to both their ears as it incapacitated the young vampire immediately. "Ah, ah, ah…" she sang with a wide grin on her lips as the blonde struggled to breathe against her hold.
Julian stood gritting his teeth as he seemed unable to fathom how the girl had fought him off. The sight merely made Aurora chuckle as she leaned in close to the vampire again. "I do not care how many new powers you acquire by that cursed little dagger, love. Truth of the matter still remains; you will never be strong enough to fight me." she drawled on cheekily, brushing her lips against hers as she spoke on. "But please… do try."
Aurora could see the struggle in her then, the stiff muscles by her jaw and the anger in those ocean eyes. The dread mixing with her will as well as an opposing one brought on by the compulsion. She pressed her nails deeper into the girl's skin and gasped out in surprised joy at the result.
Pushing her back into Julian's hold, she raised her hand to study the blood on her fingertips, bringing them to her lips and tasting the drops one by one. "Delicious." she crooned in a sigh of approval. "Fear always did manage to sweeten the taste in a particularly favorable way, and it surely makes for a thrilling chase… That is one of the first things I learned from the man you claim to love."
The sight of shock and horror on Caroline's face then caused her grin to widen brightly. "Would you look at that! You have yet to see just how dark the monster is that resides in Niklaus' soul." she stated with a shaking head, snickering as she continued.
"The stories I could tell you…" she giggled, her eyes lighting up as a thought occurred to her then. "Perhaps I should show you!" she clamored happily, laughing to herself as she considered it. "Oh, but I reckon no memory would be quite as conducive than if I were to leave you to your own imagination instead."
"Aurora…" Aya called on her with a pointed look, urging her to get on with it already.
"Yes, right!" she chuckled in response, shaking her head in humor. "When will I learn not to play with my food?" she snickered and nodded to Aya. "Will you do the honors?"
Smiling in response, the dark woman nodded and stepped towards Caroline then. Holding up the clothed dagger in her hands for the blonde to take. "Go on." she told her, receiving a defiant glare from the girl in return.
"Make me." Caroline spat out, causing Aya to turn to the red-head with a raised brow.
Aurora cleared her throat and straightened her back, flashing forward as she quickly locked eyes with the blonde. "Take the dagger, Caroline." she commanded, pushing the weapon into the vampire's hands. "Take it and use it on my brother."
A light flickered in Caroline's eyes at that, bringing Aurora to smirk darkly as she commented the change of interest. "You think I was just riling you up for my own amusement?" she quipped, shrugging shortly. "Well, yes. But I also needed you angry, dear… And in pain."
She grabbed the blonde's hand tightly then, breaking some bones in her wrist and eliciting gasps and grunts from the vampire in response. "Take the weapon." Aurora demanded again, holding onto it gently as she was careful not to let it touch her skin. Using the cloth to drop the dagger onto Caroline's palm before firmly closing her fingers around it.
The moment the young girl made contact with the cursed object, her eyes shifted and her skin began to glow in bright veins as they crawled over her skin. She let out a deep breath as the magic of the Candle tapped into her pain, into that which she carried deep inside. It fueled it, strengthened it… Strengthened her.
"Go on." Aurora pressed with an encouraging nod, studying the frightened look in the girl's eyes as she stared down at the weapon and gripped it tighter despite her own will.
Soon, Caroline turned away and moved to follow the order, but Aurora didn't have it in her heart to watch it happen. Instead, the thousand-year-old vampire closed her eyes and listened as the blonde stepped over the metal wall that had been brought down from the large shipping container. She heard her hesitate shortly as she stopped, undoubtedly standing above Tristan's body at that point.
The sound as Caroline stabbed the weapon into the desiccated vampire would surely follow Aurora for the rest of her years. There was a little gasp of breath from her brother's lips as his body reacted to the dagger, right before being drained of magic… and of life. Aurora knew as she felt it in her bones, with a tear falling down her cheek as her heart broke inside her chest - Tristan was gone.
Aya nudged her elbow and urged her to turn to the young girl with the dangerous dagger in her hands then. She saw how the blonde's eyes had shifted, her character changed, a slow smile spreading over her lips as she met both women with something foreign framing her face. Their suspicions being confirmed as it seemed that it was no longer Caroline looking back at them but something – someone – entirely different.
We did it, a voice said in Aurora's mind, creating a wonderous look on her face as she met Aya's equally triumphant smile. A joint understanding between them that they would undoubtedly be able to succeed with their plans now.
The Mikaelson's would finally die.
Klaus could feel it in his bones as they gradually neared the hiding vampires, his legs shaking and his heart beating like a drum from the effort. A ringing had begun to disorient him as it echoed in his ears, causing him to shake his head in attempt to refocus his sight.
That goddamn Candle… he cursed internally, prepared to hunt down every last descendent of the witches responsible for forging such a harrowing weapon. Ensuring it could never be remade nor used on him or his family ever again.
It was already tough struggling against the physical effects as the magic lingered in his body, but add to it the maddening detail where he was forced to feel weak and useless… Powerless. It was enough to make him want to set the world on fire, hating the way his brother was constantly glancing back over at him with worry as they trudged through the woods in silence.
"Would you stop with your uneasy check-ins while you await my inevitable collapse and focus on the path instead?" he grumbled darkly, earning a raised eyebrow from Elijah in response.
"Is my brotherly concern really of such a nuisance to you, Niklaus?" he scoffed.
"Yes." he gritted bitterly, taking quicker steps as he moved ahead of Elijah then. They walked quietly for a while longer before the older Mikaelson let out a sigh and spoke up.
"Should we discuss the implications of their plan in fact succeeding?" he asked in a slow drawl of apprehension as Klaus refused to turn around and meet his eyes. "Of them using Caroline and that surge of magic within her for whatever solicitous spell they have in mind…"
"I reckon it won't matter whatsoever so long as I arrive in time to rip those rebellious children apart." he shrugged back. "Which I believe difficult if they hear us coming due to your incessant need to overthink everything."
"As opposed to your lack thereof?" Elijah snickered, prompting the hybrid to stop in his steps. His shoulders rising in slow breaths before he spun around and glared at the other man.
"Is there something on your mind, brother?" he pressed with a pointed nod. "Or am I merely imagining this passive aggressive tone in your voice?"
The Original walked over to him with a frown, narrowing his eyes as he sized his younger brother closely. "Do I need to tell you the obvious solution to our problems, or have you already considered it yourself?" he asked, receiving a sneer from Klaus in result.
"I do not care for the look in your eyes, Elijah." he told him cautiously.
"I am only weighing our options here." the dark-haired Mikaelson sighed. "You certainly haven't had a problem taking the life of someone close to us in the past, why shouldn't it apply in this case as well?"
"Really!? Gia again?" Klaus scoffed in anger. "How is it that you manage to keep that grudge for so many years, even after having married someone else and all?"
"I was stating a fact, Niklaus."
"Well, it doesn't matter anyhow." he chuckled with a dark smirk on his lips as he continued with a serious and low voice. "No one is killing Caroline. Not Aurora, nor Aya, and certainly not you."
"She will die anyway if you insist on letting the Candle continue to drain you to the point where you perish altogether." Elijah pointed out calmly, unfazed by the anger flickering in Klaus' eyes.
"I suggest you stop talking now." he spat out before turning away and scowling as he walked on. A hand on his arm held him back however, bringing him to watch his brother in question as he noted the wide eyes on Elijah's face.
"Do you hear that?" he murmured silently, turning the hybrid's attention to the tiniest of sounds coming from deep in the woods. Likely hundreds of yards away, at the least, but it was there nonetheless and Klaus identified it immediately.
Chanting.
He sprung forward but was stopped as Elijah blocked his path. "Let me pass." he hissed, receiving a frown in response.
"You cannot go in this state, Niklaus." his brother drawled slowly.
"Caroline's in there!" he protested.
"That is precisely my point!" Elijah countered, sighing as he shook his head shortly. "We have their location now; let us go back and bring the others, instead of storming into a rival camp wounded and without any plan to speak of."
"Oh, I have a plan alright." Klaus scoffed. "Find Caroline, grab her, kill any vampire that dare cross my path and get her the hell out of there."
He attempted to escape his brother once more but was pushed back, groaning as the older Mikaelson twisted his arm behind him. "At the very least - let me go in alone." Elijah suggested as he drew pained protests from the hybrid. "We need to know exactly what we are up against."
"And what, allow you the chance to enact your apparently prolonged need for revenge on the love of my life for some perverted sense of symmetry!?" Klaus hissed bitterly.
Elijah's sudden withdrawal surprised him as the younger Mikaelson looked back over at his brother with wide eyes. "What did you say?" the vampire croaked out.
Klaus was about to speak but was silenced by the strange look on the man's face. Certain that he had never seen such an odd mix of emotions there for as long as he had known his brother. It took a moment for him to understand what Elijah had reacted to, looking away with a conflicted sigh as he ran a hand over his face.
"It cannot possibly be of such a surprise to you to hear of my feelings for her, can it?" he muttered, slowly turning to his brother again with a raised eyebrow in question. "What she means to me?"
They studied each other in silence for a long moment before the older of the two finally let out a sigh, nodding as if in understanding as he watched Klaus from the short distance between them. "Well, in that case… I sincerely hope you forgive me for this." he said, confusing the hybrid long enough for him to be caught by surprise as Elijah flashed over and reached for his neck.
Klaus managed to slither away just in time, turning around and letting his fist fly across his brother's jaw swiftly. Watching the vampire fall to the ground with a grunt as he coughed up blood in result. "I am only trying to protect you, Niklaus." the Original said, glancing up with a serious frown.
"Oh, I am sure you believe that to be true." the younger brother quipped bitterly. "However, that does not make it so." he corrected before kicking at his abdomen and causing him to fly off yards away. As he stalked towards his brother again however, he caught a scent which brought him to freeze.
A slow smirk spread over his features as he turned away from Elijah and towards the third man instead. "Lucien!" he chimed, his arms spread out in a welcoming gesture as he seized the vampire up and down slowly.
"You shouldn't be here, old friend." he countered in a slow drawl, his face gleaming with that crazy grin he always seemed to wear. Showing no trace of alarm or apprehension as he watched his sire with ease. "And I see you brought dear Elijah too." he noted, nodding towards the Original who quickly joined Klaus' side.
"Well…" the hybrid chimed, with a shrug. "You have something of mine. Since we happened to be in the neighborhood, we thought we'd just swing right on by and retrieve it."
Lucien chuckled in reply, shaking his head as he waved a finger at them in amusement. "Well, that's going to be a problem, you see…" he mused. "We need her for something, Nik. But it shan't take much time at all; just let us use her up and you can have whatever's left of her after we're done."
Klaus gritted his teeth, seething rage filling him as he glared back at the vampire. "You are already testing my patience, Lucien." he bit through a clenched jaw. "Lead me to her and I shall give you a swift and merciful death. Defy me, and I will make you suffer in ways that your imbecilic, delirious mind could not possibly imagine."
"The fact that you believe you have the upper-hand here, is uproarious to say the least!" Lucien chuckled, making Klaus' skin crawl.
Flashing forward, he aimed a twig at Lucien as he jumped at him. But the young man got away, stabbing the hybrid with a branch from the ground instead. Klaus let out a grunt of pained protest but quickly moved to attack him again. A low groan suddenly drawing his attention as he looked back to find his brother on his knees.
"Elijah?" he called out, watching him clutch his chest as if something had been ripped out of it.
"What is happening to me?" the Original hissed, earning a chuckle from Lucien then.
"It has begun." the younger vampire relayed, grinning as he studied the scene before him.
"What has?" Klaus pressed, quickly moving to grab onto Lucien's throat as he kept him in place. He received only a pleased and cold laughter in result.
"Well, the end of the wretched Mikaelson regime, of course! It is finally going to be over. Once and for all." Lucien crooned, swiftly pushing out of the hybrid's hold and bringing a stake to bury into his chest.
The tree burned and splintered against his heart, causing Klaus to faulter and giving the vampire the perfect opening. At once, Lucien had thrown him far off into the woods, striding over with triumph as the Mikaelson struggled to get up from his knee.
"You still fail to see the big picture, Nik!" Lucien exclaimed, moving closer to punch him across his already broken jaw. "You are nothing!" he yelled as he hit him in the stomach, eliciting another groan from the hybrid. "You are worthless!"
He gripped the stake again and pressed it further into the blonde man's heart, his eyes staring back into Klaus' with a dark smile. "After all this time, you still believe yourself to be some powerful and great being... Indestructible. A legend. A god! But the truth is; you are just a frightened, paranoid and sad little boy whose father didn't love him and whose mother rejected him from birth."
Klaus grunted as he fought to push him off with no result. Lucien leaning close to his ear then as he went on. "I count down the seconds until I can finally watch you die."
Lucien pulled away abruptly at that, standing in front of him with crazed eyes. "Look at you." he spewed. "How I ever wished to live up to your image is well beyond me."
With the stake still pressing into him, Klaus sat up and started at the man once more. But was stopped and frozen into the spot all of a sudden as blood dripped out of Lucien's mouth. An arm swiftly having crossed though his chest, his heart tightly in its bloody fist.
The body became grey and still as it was flung away, revealing a recovered Elijah as he brought a handkerchief out of his jacket and began wiping his hand clean. "I always did loathe his narcissistic rants." he sighed then as he frowned at the blood on his shirt. "Quite the drag."
Klaus grabbed the stake and pulled it out of his chest in a hissed groan. "Well, it was about time you came to my rescue." he muttered, accepting his brother's offered hand as he got onto his feet again. "What happened to you back there?"
"I… I'm not sure." Elijah replied with a frown. "Though, if I had to make an educated guess..."
"What?" Klaus pressed, earning a shaking head from his brother in result before he spoke again.
"I could feel them, all of them." he explained. "I felt them leave."
A long breath escaped the hybrid as he understood what that meant. "Your sires." he concluded, bringing a nod of agreement from Elijah in reply. "Meaning that we are running out of time, and if they have already begun severing our sire-lines…"
"There is no telling what they have planned next." the older Mikaelson finished grimly, sighing as he eyed Klaus closely then. "Well, what is our next move?"
He glanced over at Lucien's corpse before answering the question, smirking darkly as he did. "I might have an idea or two."
She had gotten much too familiar with the sense of it by now; the feeling of leaving her body as her spirit floated through the magical veil… Of her mind suddenly clearing up, her limbs being lighter and her sight much more focused as she hurried to act on the short window of opportunity. She had sensed her friend's presence for a while now but couldn't reach out so long as Julian's witches kept her incapacitated.
However, she was patient. She knew she only needed to wait until the spell evidently lifted and allowed her passage to the Other Side. And she needed only long enough to warn them.
Moving through the field of trees, she followed the tingling in her soul as it directed her to the right place. Finding the subbasement and passing the halls until appearing by the vampire's cell.
There she was. Her hair just as bright as she remembered, her skin just as fair, her voice sounding the same as it always had… The strange chanting however was new, and it unnerved the witch as she walked towards her friend with slow steps.
"Caroline." she called out gently, not receiving any reaction as the vampire remained in her cuddled-up position in the corner of the room. She seemed to become weaker the closer she looked, the nearer she could examine her. "Caroline?" she tried again, kneeling in front of the young blonde as she attempted to decipher the words repeatedly falling off the vampire's lips.
"Nezavírej mě, nezavírej mě, nezavírej mě…"
"What is that?" she asked herself, recognizing the language with a gulp. She reached for the vampire and tried to shake her shoulder, to let her know that she was there, but her hand passed right through and the vampire was too caught up in her whispers to notice.
"Who are you?"
The voice was unfamiliar as it came from behind her, prompting the witch to quickly stand up as she glared at the stranger with apprehension. Noting the vibrancy of the woman's presence, she realized she was another witch… However, she wasn't certain of whether that was a good thing or a bad one.
"I said, who are you?" the woman asked again with a firm tone, narrowed eyes scanning her from head to toe. Her question pushed at her with an invisible force, bringing her to reply despite wanting to stay silent.
"Bonnie." she said, answering with a frown as she struggled to keep from speaking again. "Bonnie Bennett."
"Yes." the stranger nodded, looking like she recognized her then which only confused the younger witch further. "I have seen you." she relayed with a little smile that would've brought shivers to Bonnie's spine if she had been in her physical form. "In Caroline's memories."
A sinking feeling filled her as the witch understood the implications then, putting it all together as she watched her friend still muttering words in a language she was certain Caroline did not know. "What are you doing to her?" she asked, turning to the woman with a dark scowl.
"I am helping her." the ghost replied, a manic look in her eyes that did not sit well with Bonnie at all. "You however… You will only muddle her mind further with your presence."
"Yeah?" she challenged, nodding at her with a pointed expression. "I know who you are."
"Do you?" the woman chimed, walking past her and kneeling beside Caroline then. The poor girl oblivious to either of the witches being there in the first place. "Or do you only know of what you have been told?" she pressed on, bringing a hand to gently stroke the vampire's hair slowly.
"I've met some of your great-great-whatevers..." Bonnie drawled, trying to assess the dark shadow seemingly soothing her friend. "They have a lot to say about you."
"I imagine they do." the spirit shrugged, pushing a strand of hair behind the blonde's ear before turning to the other witch again. "After all… I was the one who gave them everything."
"You mean by taking it from others?" she scoffed at that, earning a cold snarl in response.
"I can see that you are important to Caroline, so I will not hurt you." the woman told her as she stalked over with a threatening smirk. "However, I am afraid my mercy has its limits… and if you continue trying to break into her mind, I will not show the same kindness again." she drawled, nodding to the Bennett witch with glowing eyes before she raised her palm towards her.
"Odejít." she whispered, suddenly pushing the young woman out of the cell and back through the field as if having flicked a rubber band away.
Bonnie felt the impact of falling onto her own body and groaned in pain, sitting up carefully as she hoped she still had time to try something else. Her eyes closed and her fists rolled up, she took a long breath and focused hard before being transported through the veil once more. Following an entirely different connection now, she soon recognized the walls of the old Salvatore home as she stood beside Enzo's form. Turning to him with a smile as she reached for his hand, the frown on his face deepening as if he sensed it.
"Enzo." she called, watching him glance over with furrowed eyebrows. "I'm here." she added, earning another confused frown as she raised her hand and held it close to his cheek. Hoping she could emanate her emotions through the air as she watched him closely. "Enzo, can you hear me?" she asked, her chest constricting as she waited with bated breath for his reply.
He blinked shortly, seeming to reach out to her in response. Understanding that something was there, that it wasn't all in his head. But the crash of a door followed by hurried steps broke the connection as Damon stormed into the room with panic covering his face.
"He's gone!" he yelled, earning glances from some shadows around them which Bonnie struggled to identify through the veil. "Klaus, he went after them!"
"What?" a young girl that seemed familiar to the witch squeaked as she glared at the Salvatore. Turning suddenly to the side as she stayed silent for a moment before looking at him again. "Elijah's gone too."
"Damnit… They're going to get themselves killed!" a voice said, it sounded like something Bonnie had heard once in a dream but she couldn't quite put a name to it.
"We have to go after them." Damon hissed as he grabbed some weapons from a duffle bag on the floor. "Now!"
"No." she breathed as she realized what was about to happen, the trap they were going to walk into… "No, no wait!" she called desperately, her voice suddenly breaking as she felt her hands tingle with warmth. The tell-tale sign of the spell forcing her back to her body once more.
"No, no… No not yet, no!" she pleaded but was quickly thrown out of the veil and torn through space. Her toes and fingers moving lightly as she connected with her body again. Catching voices from nearby as she cursed internally and tried to force herself back to the others.
"We should begin now before Caroline becomes more unstable…" someone whispered.
"What about the others? Are they ready?" asked another.
"They have to be." the first voice replied firmly. "We only have a few hours until sunrise."
Bonnie struggled with herself then, realizing that she needed to reach her friends but also understanding that something was happening… and that time had run out.
