Day 5 of Trip
October 2, 998
Six days till the full moon.
Elena was rather annoyed. On this occasion, it wasn't anyone she could yell at or kick into motion. She was anxious to start the day. When Tatia had woken her up for the watch before dawn she had vigilantly watched the fire and fed it when needed to occupy her time and avoid waking her friends. When it finally hit her that during their shared journey had they become her friend, as she hoped they might consider her one too.
"To many questions and not enough answers," Elena muttered to herself.
She'd already rolled up her bedding and no surprise to her, she couldn't find the offending object she had been sleeping on. Glancing at the candle and then at the still dark sky, she estimated they had at least another hour before sunrise. With an exasperated sigh, Elena fed in a few more wood pieces to the fire. In the last few days, she had gotten better at estimating how long it would take to completely burn a branch or chunk of firewood to ash. It wasn't an exact science but judging on how much she had just added, the fire would last well past first light. Still, she knew better than to keep a vigilant eye on it. The road called to her, and she resisted the foolish notion of taking off on her own as she paced along the edge of the wolfsbane when a familiar voice nearly scared her out of her own skin.
"Why hello love, I see we meet yet again on the cusp of daylight," Ansel said, standing at the extreme edge of the wolfsbane. Elena breathed slowly, calming herself as if any of her experiences with the supernatural had taught her that fear should not be allowed to control you.
"Good morning to you too Ansel. I'm a little surprised you didn't choose this time to greet me as you did the first night I was alone," Elena answered stiffly. She knew the spell was in place, but she'd be the first to admit seeing him as he was had indeed slightly unnerved her. It still bothered her that she had a sense of familiarity with him, and she didn't understand why.
"I figured since this might be the last time we can speak amicably before you reached Mikael Mikaelson's abomination built on my people's land," he'd spoken so elegantly that it belied his physical appearance. So much for not judging a book by the cover, Elena chastised herself.
"Did I say something to amuse you?" he growled.
"Pardon?" Elena asked, suddenly feeling she might have offended him somehow.
"Yes, Elena, you made a rude sound during my last statement," he bristled. Elena had to recall exactly what he had said, and it only took a minute before she believed she understood.
"My apologies, but first a question: did I make this sound when you mentioned Mikael Mikaelson, perhaps?"
"Yes." Ansel answered his tone was still tense but his body noticeably relaxed. Which for her was a good sign, and she'd take whatever she could.
"I really haven't officially met the man," she stated, meanwhile rationalizing that he probably wouldn't understand what she had just said wasn't exactly true. Not unless you mentioned time travel, and that she wasn't even remotely prepared to do so.
"But based on what I first hand witnessed while I was wearing Ayana's charm bracelet, I want to add that the man is a brute and quite full of himself; but that is just my opinion."
The laugh she managed to entice from him actually concerned Elena that their conversation might have awoken her friends, but a quick glance at them and the fire proved otherwise. After collecting himself, Ansel peered at Elena and gave her a warm smile.
"I think I like you Elena, so this just makes it easier for me to say this. A few members of my pack and I have been following your trek out here and I have done my best keeping them away from you all. It was rather clever of Ayana to take this less than obvious direct route to the outpost. It was only blind luck I had come across your peculiar scent trail. But I just wanted to warn you about that as you make your way back to Mikael's village. Keep a close eye on your new colonists and don't let them stray too far from the herd. Members of my pack are pressing to separate at least a few of you from your group. I regret to say that my beta has set his attention on you."
"Me?!" Elena asked incredulously. "Why has your beta singled me out specifically for death?" She demanded.
"Oh, your death is not on his mind, Elena. In fact, if he had it his way he'd wish to claim you as his," his frank words stunned her, and it took a moment for it to sink in.
"Claim me? You don't mean?" Elena stammered. The look Ansel was returning from her question was answer enough, and an icy ball of dread formed in her gut.
"You don't actually mean he… he wants to breed with me?" She choked. "Why? What makes me so special?"
"Yes, and why, I forbade him from even attempting that with Tatia. We might be werewolves, but even we would try to not take another man's mate. As much as I hate to admit this, one thing our pack needs is fresh blood to keep it strong. That is why I believe that my father, the former alpha, welcomed Mikael and his people into our territory," his tone almost made her ask a question. She felt it was better to remain unanswered for now. So she did the only thing she reasonably could.
"Fuck! This is just freaking great!" she muttered aloud. Not caring if she looked foolish, or that she had spoken in English in front of a semi stranger, she glanced down at the front of her soiled dress, grimacing at the dirt smudges. She couldn't see a painted bullseye, but it had to be there, she figured. How in the hell else could she explain why another supernatural hiccup had set its sights directly on her.
"I will do all that I can to keep you out of Jade's claws because the spirits demand that much from me; but I highly suggest that you make it as quickly back to your new village as fast as you can and find a means of putting yourself out of Jade's reach," Ansel stated before making to move away. How the hell was she supposed to do that? A part of her knew, and she wasn't willing to pursue the line of reasoning just yet. Hopefully Ayana would find a way for her to return to her time.
"Wait, Ansel, what do you mean by spirits? You don't mean the spirits of nature?" Elena's body tensed. "What did Ayana tell you all those days ago?"
"Calm yourself Love Ayana only told me enough to satisfy my curiosity. I will let you in on a little secret regarding my kind. Once we are fully united with our beast, we can commune with nature, but as I still have trouble teaching some of my pack members. The individual must want to listen first."
Nodding to the lighting sky, Ansel waved goodbye before he disappeared into the tree line before she could think of another question. She already had too many unanswered questions and after her latest interaction with Ansel left her with more.
"Fuck. Fuck! Fuck!" she muttered aloud as she stomped her way back to her friends. Today was already shaping up to be a long one: best try to start the day off right, Elena thought. She did the same the first day of school after losing her parents and look where that got you, a voice mocked inside her head.
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Working together had almost become routine for them so it was by no small measure that they had secured their belongings and cleaned up the campsite. With any luck they would be spending the night here again in hopefully less than twenty-four hours but there were too many unknowns facing them. Elena had not yet shared her second, more productive encounter with Ansel. She already had enough on her mental plate to feed a small army. Instead, she focused on her pace, but unlike those previous four days, Ayana had noticeably slowed their pace.
"Girls, while we still have time I need to go over our plans, so please limit your interruptions as best as you can," Ayana stated. Sheepishly, both Tatia and Elena nodded their heads in reluctant acquiescence.
"As Tatia is already aware of part of this narrative, you Elena should be made aware of it before we get too far," Ayana paused, giving Elena a measured look. When she didn't respond, she continued.
"Last night when I was talking about Amara and her brothers, I mentioned they did have some allies and I'm proud to say that my family was one of their strongest supporters. In fact, from my family history I know that my direct ancestor named Qetsiyah was once a close personal friend and confidante to Amara herself," Ayana beamed with pride.
Elena didn't interrupt, but she privately considered the odd connection that Bonnie and she had formed as children. Had Bonnie known something and not shared it, but as quickly as that thought occurred to her, she rejected it. After all, she'd been the first to learn that her childhood friend was a real honest to goodness witch. So Elena at least knew to her very core that she would have told her the truth. But did Bonnie's mother Abby or Grams know something and didn't have time to share their family secret with the next Bennett witch? A thought tickled that back of her mind and when she pulled on it she recalled that even Katherine Pierce of all people had a Bennett witch in her retinue of friends, but did Emily know or had something been lost to time. There were just too many unknowns, so Elena refocused her attention on the nearest subject expert.
"Shortly before their defeat, Amara and Qetsiyah had performed a blood bonding ritual that forever tied my family to the Petrova Bloodline. What very few are aware of is the fact that Amara had a small daughter, and she was terrified of what might become of her. So Qetsiyah swore to do her utmost and safeguard her and all her future prodigy."
"B… But why place such a burden on your family?" Elena spoke and made to apologize, but Ayana's wan smile stopped her.
"Interesting question. One that I asked myself when my mother revealed our bond to me many years ago and speaking as a mother myself now. What mother wouldn't do everything they could for their child even when they are not around to do something themselves? It turned out that it was a good thing too, since one of Qetsiyah's descendants discovered the first, as you called them, doppelgänger and because quite by accident a group of witches at the same time had discovered the magical potential of your shared blood. If it hadn't been for her intervention, your line would have ceased as, but here is another aspect of the curse: so long as descendants of Amara breathe, another visage of hers will one day walk the earth. And that is what we will use to explain your unusual presence in our world."
Elena couldn't help herself; she stopped in her tracks. It took her new friends a few seconds to realize that they were minus one member. First Ayana and then Tatia turned around to face Elena, at least for her she did feel a small burst of self satisfaction when Ayana sighed and with a raised eyebrow gave her release, and Elena would not look a gift horse in the mouth. Still, she knew better than to press for too much info.
"While all that is useful to know, exactly how is this going to help us?" Elena asked. Ayana turned and started walking and Tatia and Elena, after a moment's hesitation, hurried to catch up. Only once they did would Ayana continue, Elena realized.
"For starters, we are going to take advantage of the fact that Tatia's mother had two other sisters that chose to remain in the old country. I regret to say that one of them my family has for now lost contact with, but the other sister, fortunately one of my own daughters is watching over her growing family. I've already been discussing the matter with my daughter via my crystal and we believe that this is the most likely one to succeed."
Elena held her tongue and simply waited till they took a break from walking to summarize what Ayana had outlined for them. Leaning against a tree, Elena drank the still cool water from her water skin. She waited until everyone's breathing had eased. Although Ayana was taking it slower, the pace was still intense.
"We are going to say that when I was four years old, I was very sick and if it wasn't for a traveling monk in our village, I would have died. But won't they ask why your daughter could not have saved me herself." Elena said. Which earned Elena a snort of laughter from her friends.
"Sorry Elena but I'm always telling others that even as witches we are not all powerful. Sometimes even we need a second option," Ayana answered.
"Okay so continuing since I was literally at death's door the Petrova curse triggers and Tatia's mother conceives the next doppelgänger, but by the time I had recovered she was already several months along and the spirits of nature refused to end the pregnancy."
"That is correct." Ayana beamed. Elena had to admit it did sound like a plausible explanation, but she still had a few nagging questions.
"But that means you will have to at least disclose the very existence of doppelgängers to the others back at the village, especially the other witches you'd mentioned. What is to prevent them from telling the world that there are now two of us and that magical properties of our blood are true?"
"True, but we were going to disclose something to them and we are not telling them exactly everything. Do you understand girls?" Ayana stated firmly. Tatia and Elena's heads moved automatically in agreement.
"As to spreading the news to the outside world we are in luck there," Ayana said with a smile and reached down and lifted a crystal secured to a leather strip tied around her neck. "This is my crystal I've been keeping in contact with my daughter overseas. The only other crystal that our community possesses belongs to my friend Esther, and she has for her own reasons cut all ties with her older sister Dahlia."
"Okay that's fine but, please explain how we are going to somehow convince forty-five people that they actually were a plus one throughout their voyage and no one noticed or even talked to me in that time. Lest we forget about the nearly twenty five strong garrison force assigned to this outpost in the middle of nowhere I've supposedly been waiting around under their watchful eyes for about at least a week now."
Ayana cracked a sly grin, which for Elena's brief experience with the older witch seemed out of character but who was she to judge. She held up a glass vial with a greenish liquid inside.
"Once we can all three agree on our, as you called it, cover story, I will only need at least three drops of blood from each of us and at the earliest opportunity I will pour this into the evening stew which by tradition will wait for us once we arrive. Afterwards they will believe everything we have laid out and we will use them to help spread the story of who you are and how you ended up as a would-be colonist to the new world."
"What happens if someone doesn't eat it, Ayana?" Tatia asked, studying the green liquid.
"That is one of the more remarkable aspects of this spell, even if they don't consume it if they interact with a person who has within the next full lunar month. The spell will be passed on to the human mind and will tailor it to fit their existing memories of events."
They argued over specific details like how were the three of them going to keep their stories straight to if Elena had been married and considering her age what had happened to her husband.
Elena didn't like the idea of manipulating others' minds, but they really had little choice, so they spent the next several hours fabricating a story that should work. Part of her wondered what the CIA would do if they learned magic actually existed and how it could be used to create a nearly perfect false identity for practically anyone. Witches would be gainfully employed, of course, given enough time the government would find a way to bureaucrat it into oblivion.
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"Well, here goes nothing." Elena muttered resisting the urge again to wrap her arms around her stomach as she habitually did when stressed.
She hoped desperately she'd remembered everything. Ayana had said they all needed to do exactly as she'd been instructed to do just literally a few minutes prior to leaving the cover provide by the tree line. It wasn't just her life on the line, but those of the only friends she had in this strange world.
All three of them as one stepped past the trees and it would be only just a matter of time before someone noticed them. Hopefully, they'd remember to order them to halt and be recognized before shooting an arrow or bolt at them. Based on the scene before them they had a snowball's chance in hell of escaping. Elena tried not to think about it as she stepped over yet another rotting corpse. With what appeared to a crossbow bolt buried deep in the man's heart. Whoever manned that outpost wall was deadly accurate. Just from her vantage point, she counted at least three other bodies scattered just outside the wolfsbane perimeter. Mostly, the clearings Ayana and the other witches had created only had enough room to plant a ring of wolfsbane at least six yards in depth. The one surrounding the outpost was, if Elena had to guess, about half the length of a football field.
Elena reminded herself to control her breathing as they stepped steadily towards the wooded fort. Ayana had instructed Elena to return the bracelet to her wrist. She'd forgotten she even had it after Ansel had seen or in his case picked up her scent through her would be a cloak of anonymity. She had to keep in mind that, although no one else could see her other than her friends. Well aware of this, she still needed to be careful and not draw attention to herself, or to the supposedly unoccupied space she was occupying. So with that in mind was the reason she was walking directly behind Ayana. Although the grass was knee high, her movement through it might be noticed.
Her friends with their arms held out, palms out as they took their time. Ayana had stressed that none of them made any unnecessary moves. It was jarring to know that even reaching for something as mundane as their water skin could be all that stands between them after a certain death.
Perimeter, Ayana had called it, had a fairly self sufficient outpost, being that considering it was several days' travel distance from the main village so it needed to be. But based on the amount of lumber they needed to construct the wall perimeter, whoever was garrisoned there had to have cleared a large section of trees next to what she knew would eventually be named the James river.
After they had completed everything with her would-be origin story, they had stopped well before leaving the safety of the trees and Ayana had performed the blood ritual where each of them in turn had added a few droplets of their blood to the once green colored potion that was now completely clear. Ayana had tried to reassure Elena that it would work and she in return had done her level best not to let her own skepticism show. Still, she worried they might have missed something. Although it was just a little past noon, they still had a full day and night to get through.
"HALT! Stand to and be recognized!" a voice called from the top of the outpost hall. Elena did as she'd been told and glanced high enough to catch sight of the individual who had issued the challenge. Elena and Tatia froze in place as they had discussed earlier: they would follow Ayana's lead. With her hands still raised, Ayana looked up and announced herself and Tatia. From Elena's vantage she could just see that the guard on duty appeared to be speaking with someone within the fort walls before finally turning back to address them.
"You may proceed to the gate and then wait!" The guard ordered.
As one they turned in the direction Ayana had already explained was the main entrance and carefully made their approach. Elena had to keep Ayana between her and whoever was watching them. That was at least until they reached the gate, but then she would have remembered to do as she had done in the village. At the start of their little trek into the untamed lands of her home state of Virginia.
"Elena, once we get inside, I suggest you find a quiet place to hold up in until the evening meal is being prepared. You'll probably be able to make your appearance after everyone has eaten the potion laced stew. To be safe, I think you should wait until morning." Ayana murmured only loud enough for Elena and Tatia to hear.
"Why!?" Elena whispered back.
"The longer my potion has to work, the more effective it will be, and since most of us should be asleep as well. You see, the magic will use the dream realm to create more realistic interlinking memories of your interactions with the other colonists here," Ayana responded, deliberately slowing their pace just enough. To Elena's growing irritation, Ayana's answer to her question only generated more questions. Did that mean that they were going to be linked and if so, what else could she expect? Temptation to push for more bloomed as their plan unfolded, she'd been warned that until Ayana performed the binding ritual Elena would need to remain unseen. Easier said than done with the outpost garrison and the nearly four dozen colonists. Elena wasn't sure that she could remain hidden. The bracelet helped, but as she had learned the hard way, it wasn't fool proof.
They were almost to the gate, and Elena did not know how long it would be until they could speak again. It only occurred to her she was going to deal with having fabricated memories implanted into her mind. She wanted to ask more about it, but the gate opened and a tall broad figure stepped out flanked by two other men, all of whom were armed.
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There were just too many excited voices talking somewhere out of her sight, and she'd be lying if she wished she could move to a more accommodating location to better eavesdrop on them. Fortunately, she had heard enough to know at least one aspect of their plan was going on without a hitch. The stew spiked with Ayana's potion apparently was being well received by everyone present, company excluded. She wasn't worried since she and her friends had supplied their own blood; they were already linked.
Elena had to stifle a groan as she tried her best to ease a stiff neck it wasn't much but was the best she could do at the moment. There was just barely enough room for her to sit with her back wedged firmly into the large wood frame. If Damon were here, he'd most likely be laughing at her expense before calling her stupid for getting into herself in her current situation. Her mentor Ric would probably have tried turning it into a lesson on how not to allow herself to get backed into the corner as she had. Not like she had little choice in the matter, either. It wasn't the little lamb fault it was hungry and rather persistent. To such a degree, its mother relented. Now she was stuck for the duration with a nursing sheep in front of her, blocking the only avenue of escape.
With a sigh, she settled back as best as she could to wait out the ordeal. At least the little lamb is cute, Elena mused absently. Still, it was really her fault, really the first moment she found her way inside she'd sought a quiet hiding place. At first everything had gone according to her plan. But that wasn't until the inhabitants of the outpost brought their domesticated animals inside for the night. Now she would just have to wait it out. Her thoughts drifted back to her past. She had to keep from drawing attention to herself by laughing at the irony of the situation.
It seemed like it was only yesterday, she thought, doing her own investigation after finding out the viking origins of the Original Family. Not that she wanted to get inside Klaus's head, but she needed to be doing something. To her annoyance what information she could find didn't prove very useful, but considering her current circumstances Elena wished she'd paid closer attention. Who would have thought she'd be stuck in an animal pen with nearly fifty vikings crowded into a Longhouse, of all places.
She once only had vague ruminations on what life might have been like living in a viking community. She'd thought knowing more about the environment which shaped their lives, she might understand them better. The telltale sound of the animal's pen gate creaking open snapped her back to, and she desperately wished she'd picked a better place to hide.
An unfamiliar young man pressed himself into his female companion with fevered abandon as they moved deeper into the supposed darkened privacy of the animal pen. With tightly shuttered eyes, Elena turned her head to the side, wishing she could cut out their muffled cries of pleasure as they started their tryst.
"Just shoot me now!" Elena mouthed. Feeling an odd shared comradely with an otherwise oblivious nursing lamb and its mother as they all had become impromptu spectators. If she ever got home, she'd could now add voyeur to her repertoire of life experiences in her journal.
"My journal," she choked off a muffled sob. But it was already too late.
"Wait! Stop Rom. Is there someone else in here with us?" A muted, breathy, feminine voice spoke in the barest of a whisper. Elena bit her lip and tried her utmost to block them out. Had she made a sound, she wondered? There was a momentary pause, and then a new voice spoke.
"Shh… I don't see anyone. It was nothing. Now my beautiful Leila, where were we?" a voice husky with desire drawled. It took little for them to get back into the mood, she noted. Soon the mingles sounds of the two lovers were all that Elena could hear. Elena rolled her eyes and did her best to get comfortable until it was going to be an unbearably long night.
