A/N I hope you all have a Happy Halloween or Samhain today. I have a little treat for you all and promise no tricks. Well maybe... Anyway I hope you enjoy the latest chapter it has ties into to today and sets the stage for later in the my story. Please leave a review it really helps.
Mikaelson Mansion
October 31, 2010
Katherine pulled over to the side well short of the final turn off onto the property Klaus had forwarded her days before, just in case she found his blasted coffins. He'd warned her that if she ever showed up at this address without a single coffin, he would tear out her heart right where she stood. No matter her excuse.
She didn't survive the last five hundred years by being stupid or not planning ahead. It didn't take long to find a quiet, secluded place to work with so many foreclosed estates in and around Mystic Falls. Sounds like they should be more worried about that than their pesky vampire problem, Katherine thought absently. Focus, Katherine. What she was about to do was just insurance, she rationalized as she turned off the ignition, then exited the truck and walked to the back. Looking around, she didn't see anyone, but she wasn't taking any chances. That was why she picked this unoccupied property to stop at. The walls were high enough to obscure the U-Haul truck from the road.
"Where or who did you get this from, Stefan?" Katherine muttered to herself as she snapped the lock with her bare hand. She had to find where the old witch house was, but thankfully Klaus had forwarded the address before he stopped communicating. Not that she was overtly surprised. Knowing Damon, he probably snapped Alaric's neck when he discovered Klaus's deception.
Not that she cared about Elena's and young Gilbert's only remaining father figure who more than likely had his Gilbert Ring on. She had been tempted to steal it from him but despite Isobel turning her over to Klaus she also knew that her friend and Petrova descendant had been compelled to do hand her over all those months ago. She often wondered what her final minutes with her estranged daughter had been like, but she didn't think sweet little Elena would share that particular detail with her. Such a shame they could have bonded in some macabre way.
The dead witches had tried to stop her, but strangely, as she penetrated the witch's house, she had the oddest feeling that someone other than the witches were with her. Whoever or whatever it was there with her, Katherine felt that someone was protecting her from the worst the witches could throw against her. She even could see three of the coffins and working as quickly as she could, she removed them one by one. Being an older vampire, her strength gave her the ability to move a coffin herself. She would have preferred to compel a few humans to do the dirty work, but time was of the essence.
After loading all three coffins into the truck and locking it, she went back inside and whatever was protecting her the previous three times was no longer present, so she only could make it halfway inside before the witches forced her to retreat.
"Three out of four isn't that bad," Katherine said, psyching herself for the good possibility that Klaus would demand to know where the last one was. She had a plan for that too, but right now, it was time to secure her insurance policy. Unlike Elena, she had learned to lie without giving herself away and she was going to use every advantage she had when it came to Niklaus Mikaelson.
She opened the first coffin and found an older man. His clothing looked old and although she never met the Original Vampire, her research had produced a name. Ironically, it had been a nine hundred-year-old vampire going by the name of Sage who had dropped the name of Finn Mikaelson. Sage knew that Klaus was looking for Katherine and Sage had promised to ignore Katherine so long as she did her a favor, and she always fulfilled her debts. She always hated favors owed to others and took every chance to keep her slate clean of them. However, people who owed her favors were entirely different animals.
Closing the lid, she moved on to the next coffin inside. She found a younger version of Elijah and she quickly shut the lid on the daggered Original. She'd heard of Kol and she wanted him to stay daggered. Before she opened the final coffin, she went through her contacts list and dialed the number.
"Hello Katerina, still running from Niklaus?" Sage asked.
"Well, you know me always keeping on my toes. Let's just say I'm upholding my side of our mutual agreement. I have visually identified one original vampire that fits Finn Mikaelson's description. Who even now is resting peacefully in his coffin. Unfortunately, he is still daggered, sorry it can't be helped. But he and his family are currently in Mystic Falls, Virginia. I'll leave it up to you to figure out how to get his body away from his pain in my ass younger brother, Niklaus."
"This better not be a trick Katerina." Sage warned.
"Sage, I don't have time to place silly games like that, so come or don't, it is really up to you. Look, I gotta go," Katherine said dryly and ended the call. Then, as a precaution, she also turned off her phone before taking in a deep breath and opening the final coffin. Elijah. There was the man she often fantasized about even when he was chasing her for his half brother. Katherine pulled out a slip of paper and scrawled out a message, then added a phone number thanks to Elena's borrowed cellphone. Once she was satisfied with the message's content, she tucked it into his coat pocket. Next, she pulled out the silver white oak ash dagger from his chest. She pulled out his handkerchief and carefully wiped the ash from the blade, then she carefully located the same entry hole in his shirt and carefully slid the dagger back into his heart.
She had done her own research on these daggers and while a vampire daggering an original would surely die, it was only applicable when ash was present in sufficient quantities on the blade. It was only a matter of time before he awoke from his months long slumber. Katherine was about to close the lid when she gave into temptation. She locked the lid in place and bent to peer over the deceased Original.
"When you get free of you brother, look me up. Maybe we can have a little fun together," Katherine purred and then leaned over to kiss his still lips. But during the kiss, all the other lids of the two closed coffins suddenly snapped open and a very intense wind shook the interior of the truck. Unnerved by the experience, Katherine re-closed all the coffin lids and then slammed the rolling door home. Climbing back into the drivers seat, she tried to piece together what just the hell happened?
20 Minutes Later:
Stefan's U-Haul was pulling into the ornate circular driveway of a large renovated mansion that, from what Katherine could guess by outward appearances, was nearing completion. There were two semi-trucks packed with antique furniture and other boxes of who knows what being carted inside by an army of people.
Katherine's first thought that they were compelled by humans proved incorrect when a tiny brunette wisp of a girl picked up a heavy, ornately carved bookshelf by herself and proceeded to move it inside.
"Just how much blood did you take from poor Elena Gilbert?"
Already guessing that answer would probably never be answered, she turned off the ignition and exited the vehicle. She didn't envy the life that Elena Gilbert was destined to live now that she was in the clutches of the Original Hybrid himself. Still, she did feel a slight flash of something for her Petrova descendant. If things had gone differently for her, Katherine would be in the same fix Elena Gilbert found herself in, but five hundred years in the past with few options available to her. Lost or most likely hidden away somewhere, her dull as dishwater Doppelgänger copy's fate was already sealed.
Katherine was tempted to retrieve the clipboard from the drivers cabin and act as she was here just to make a delivery. She promptly dumped the idea when a twenty something tall reddish hair hybrid blocked her path to the mansion's main entrance. Stupid hybrids Klaus really needed a better vetting process other than the single requirement that the candidate turn all furry every full moon.
"Where do you think you are going, vampire?" the hybrid snarled, grabbing hold of her arm. Katherine was very tempted to tear the man's heart out but thankfully their little confrontation was cut short when a British accented voice, which never ceased to haunt her nightmares, intervened.
"Daniel, be a mate and release her. Both she and I have business to conduct, but stick around. I may need you to haul some precious items of mine inside. However, you might want to find someone to help. I don't want you to drop them or I will end your life," Klaus drawled as he slowly moved towards Katherine Pierce.
"I see that you've returned to your body. Was that by choice or did someone make it for you?" Katherine asked conversationally.
"Somehow, Damon became aware that I was borrowing Elena's history teacher's body once again. You would think that these Salvatores brothers would wise up and start thinking, but apparently not."
"Well, I did pick Stefan to turn because he's cute and I happen to like his body. The problem with just turning him is it would have left him crippled if I had let his older brother to die," she said, as if offering an explanation. Surprisingly, to Katherine, he seemed intrigued.
"So you felt nothing for Damon before that?" he probed. She knew he was playing a game with her and she had time, but she wanted to be away by the time her insurance policy finally revived.
"Damon is much more skilled in the bed than his younger brother, and that was when they were still human. I can only imagine how skilled either brother is after over a century worth of experience under their belts."
"Perhaps you should ask Elena Gilbert once you found her for me and compare notes?"
Katherine sighed and pointed to the U-Haul. "I managed to intercept Stefan and Barbie Vampire before they could collect your coffins. I only managed to collect three of the four before I had to leave."
It was so quick Katherine's head slammed into the side of the truck as Klaus held her aloft with a single hand conveniently wrapped around her neck.
"Katerina, you had best start explaining yourself or I will tear out your heart right here!" Klaus thundered. Sometimes Katherine really hated when she was right.
"Th… The witches in the house were fighting me every step of the way. I still managed to get into the basement and found three of your coffins. It was just a matter of making four trips inside. I grabbed them and made a final sweep of the house before the witches threw me out! What do you expect me to do to burn the place down? They're dead. I don't think I could make them any deader than that!" Katherine explained.
Klaus let her body slide down, so she was standing on her feet once more, but he still hadn't released her neck.
"Which coffin is missing?" he demanded.
"I don't know. Some locked coffin, by the conversation I overheard Stefan discussing. They apparently needed a pair of Bennett witches to open it. Maybe Bonnie removed it before I got there. I don't really know."
"I guess I'm killing a Bennett witch then." Klaus seethed. He released her, and she followed him to the rear of the truck. One more card to play.
"I think you should hold off on that, I've learned that the Bennett bloodline and my own Petrova bloodline have a connection going back at least two thousand years. If you want to find Elena Gilbert, your odds of finding her are better if you have a Bennett helping you."
"Bonnie tried to find my Doppelgänger already!" he spat.
"That was before we knew about the Bennett and Petrova connection. I believe that if she is properly motivated and given access to a certain brother's grimoire collection. Elena Gilbert will once again be under you watchful gaze."
Klaus gave her a penetrating glare. "How do you know about Kol's grimoire collection? Nevermind, you must have learned something about my family while I was hunting you."
Katherine wasn't stupid enough to bait him now. She needed to get the hell out of here. She unlatched the door and lifted enough before the springs took over and it opened wide, revealing three highly polished black coffins.
"I'll do what I can to find where your last coffin is, as well as the location of Bonnie Bennett. We might have a problem since they now know I was pretending to be Elena."
"It's not a problem if you really think about it, Katerina. They might know better, but the founding families of Mystic Falls can't lose her since her remarkable return. Find a way to make it work," Klaus ordered. Katherine turned to leave, but Klaus stopped her by grabbing her arm.
"You're well on your way to gaining your freedom from me. Just don't fail me now, so I strongly recommend you redouble your efforts and return my last coffin and find my Doppelgänger. Now go and I don't want to see you around here till you have what I want."
Katherine was gone the second he released her arm. His features set in stone, indecipherable to lesser beings, Klaus turned to find Daniel and the new brunette hybrid he hadn't cared to learn the name of, waiting.
"Take my family inside."
Not having anything further to say, he returned to his art studio. He was struggling with a particularly stubborn shade of red that he wasn't quite happy with yet. Once red had been Tatia's favorite color, he remembered sadly back when he was still human and not a monster he'd become. She'd been taken from him, and he had always hated his parents for it. The fact her Doppelgänger blood had been used to first make them into vampires, then to bind his wolf nature, was never far from his thoughts.
She might be long gone, but he would be the one who ultimately preserved that last vestige of her bloodline.
Mikaelson Mansion
October 31, 2010
Still feeling frustrated with his blending of the colors, the red oak he just tried had been up to par with his needs. He found his way into the room he set aside for his siblings coffins. Apparently, he arrived just in time to watch his hybrid Daniel shoving the last of the coffins into the room.
Sensing his presence, Daniel turned to face his blood sire. It was a curious thing for Klaus to watch his minions test their supposed independence. But he knew better than them. Still, it was amusing to watch. Daniel had been a cocky werewolf when he located him in Settle. It remained to be seen how much of his cockiness survived the transition into a hybrid.
"You've got your family back. Finally. You're gonna open them?" Daniel asked. He didn't notice that Klaus sighed or the rolling of his eyes as turned to face his master. Klaus did notice that the other brunette who Daniel had enlisted was nowhere to be found. It seemed she had better sense not to dally than the current hybrid standing here trying to make small talk with him.
"Not just yet. I still have some unfinished business to take care of," Klaus answered, feeling oddly charitable for the moment. It didn't harm anyone if he humored his hybrid's familiarity for now.
"What business?"
The impertinence of the whelp, Klaus thought, and he was done humoring him. The game was already boring for him. Klaus set his jaw as he prepared to set the young hybrid straight once and for all when Daniel's body twitched, and even before Klaus could fathom what was transpiring, his body dropped to the marble floor in a heap. Leaving his older brother Elijah, who had must have been standing behind his now deceased hybrid minion. Klaus' annoyance increased when he took note of a bloodied heart held ever so casually in his brother's grasp. Bloody hell, there goes another one!
"So, Niklaus..." Elijah started as an introduction. Klaus could see the hidden anger seething behind his brother's eyes and felt fear. Everyone always assumed that he was the one to be feared. As much as he liked the notion when it suited him, they both knew different. Elijah was like a sleeping giant, and the look in his stoic brown eyes belied the fury raging behind them.
"Elijah!"
"So, dear brother, what did I miss?" Elijah asked pleasantly. Bloody hell, this is not going to end well at all.
Elijah's expression was conciliatory, and that terrified Klaus to know the end. His brother was a man of his word and, although well hidden, his anger was near legendary. His older brother had their father's anger, but unlike Mikael, Elijah's was focused and held on a very tight leash. In their shared one thousand year existence together, Klaus only rarely saw Elijah's anger unleashed, and it absolutely terrified him.
Klaus still hadn't uttered a single word. He didn't quite know how to begin, if he was being honest with himself. Unperturbed by his younger brother's shocked refusal to answer him, Elijah pulled out his white handkerchief from his breast pocket to wipe the hybrid blood from his single bloodied hand. Klaus was too busy watching his brother; he didn't notice the ash streaks marring his handkerchief. He'd worry about that at a later time.
"You look surprised to see me. So it wasn't you that removed the dagger from my chest?"
The flash of comprehension on his younger brother's features almost brought a smile to his own, Katerina unique scent was hard to miss.
"Katerina, I should have known." Klaus muttered with a sigh, he'd deal with her later. As if he already knew how this encounter with his elder brother was going down. A peace offering might be called for. He turned to pick up a tumbler he held it up for his brother to see. "You look like you could do with a drink. And we have a lot to discuss, so shall we?"
Elijah's expression never wavered, so he didn't notice how Elijah's body telegraphed his near lethal intent. Klaus's body slammed into the antique liquor bar cabinet, reducing it to a pile of splintered wood fragments and shattered bottles of expensive alcohol. A respectably sized shard of crystal from a now shattered Victorian era decanter was embedded in his side. Pulling it out with a sickening squelch, he tossed it into the rest of the destruction. In an attempt to climb to his feet, hopefully to and try to defuse the situation, Elijah was on him and before he could utter his brother's name he was flying through the air. He crashed through a glass interior French set of doors for the room he ordered the former Daniel to place his family inside of until their rooms were ready for them.
"Easy. I just finished renovating." Klaus spat in borderline frustration and rushed at his brother. Elijah either misjudged the distance or didn't consider what Klaus's Original Hybrid capabilities granted him, but the result was watching with grim satisfaction as his brother crashed into a table, breaking it. Yet one more piece of furniture he'd need to replace.
"You know you have every right to be mad at me. But I kept my word, I reunited you with our family."
When his brother's eyes turned cold, Klaus backpedaled, but it was too little too late. Elijah slammed into him again, and Klaus was knocked against a coffin. Acting on instinct, he opened the one next to it, undaggered Kol who was lying inside, rushed Elijah and pinned his older brother against a closed coffin by his throat as he pressed the dagger up into Elijah's chest.
"Don't make me do this to you again Elijah!" Klaus pleaded. He didn't miss how Elijah's cold gaze flicked to the posed dagger, then he moved closer as if daring him to plunge it home.
"Come on. Use it. I dare you. You'll have Kol to deal with," Elijah taunted. He had spent the last thousand years looking out for his self centered younger brother and he was getting tired of it. Let Niklaus deal with Kol for a while.
"Mikael is dead." Klaus declared, without any trace of deception in his voice. It must have had some impact on his brother's intent, when Elijah looked back at him in curiosity. Klaus lowered the dagger and relaxed his grip on his brother's neck.
"What did you say?" Elijah probed. He didn't want to, but Klaus had intended to surprise him. Still, he wasn't about to let his entire guard down without a plausible explanation.
"I killed him. With his own weapon. He's gone Elijah. Forever."
Elijah straightened his clothing and pointed an accusatory finger at Kol, then the other occupied coffin. Elijah did perceptibly pause when he only counted four coffins. Naturally, he could eliminate his and Kol's coffin, so guessing that Rebekah and Finn occupied the other two was a no brainier. Wasn't there a fifth coffin? Just as quick he recovered from his personal reverie and glared at his brother.
"Why do our family remain in these coffins? Finn for over nine hundred years, Kol for over a century." Elijah demanded, not bothering to lessen the venom in his vitriol of how his step brother had treated their sibling for the last millennium was outright appalling.
"Because of Stefan Salvatore and his older brother, Damon. They possess the one thing keeping me from freeing our other siblings. Stefan also has taken something more specifically very important to me that is rightfully mine as well. Brother, there are things that you do not know about our past, Elijah. Our mother's death. Things I never wanted you to know, but I'm ready to tell you now. I only ask that you remember the oath of loyalty you once swore to me."
His eyes followed his brother as Niklaus moved to stand by a small table that, surprisingly, had survived the spirited debate between adult siblings. Elijah's body tensed when Klaus removed the lid of a small urn before dipping the dagger inside, then walked over to Kol's coffin, which stood open. Kol's dark veins were fading and the first signs of life were returning when realization struck.
"What are you doing?" Elijah demanded. But he did nothing, as once again his brother daggered another sibling once more.
"Always and forever. I need you to stand by my side. Be my brother. Help me destroy Stefan and I promise you our family will be whole again." Klaus stated solemnly before he closed Kol's coffin lid once again.
Mikaelson Mansion
October 31, 2010
"It's been a long day for me, so I'll just leave you to freshen up, then. If you have a need for anything, one of my hybrids will get whatever you desire. They have already filled a concealed refrigerator beside the bed with your preferred selection of blood waiting for you. I'll be in my art studio," Klaus finally stated after giving him a tour of their new home before leaving his brother to his own devices.
Elijah watched in his atypical uncommunicative way as his brother made a rather quick departure before he warily closed his main suite door. It both annoyed and frustrated him that his half brother thought everything could be so easily forgiven so quickly. Family was both a curse and a blessing, he came to realize over the centuries. Yes, they were family, albeit dysfunctional at times and then there was the promise of always and forever, but it had somehow morphed into the Mikaelson siblings being beholden to one of them when it hadn't been the intention. How Niklaus had come to interpret 'Always and Forever' as an oath of loyalty to him alone truly bothered him to some extent. Even so, Elijah had been impressed by how much thought his troubled brother had put into making a home for him and their siblings.
They each had their own suite of rooms and he'd been pleasantly surprised to discover many of his prized books he had collected over the last millennium could be found neatly shelved in his rooms bookshelves. It seemed to Elijah that every room had at least one set of bookshelves with a leather reading chair waiting for him. The office's walls he eventually found himself in were covered with them. But he wasn't here to read. He was looking for a specific book. It took him a few minutes. Before he pulled the thick tome from its spot with its companions and carefully set the book on the desk before opening it to a place he knew should be there, considering he made the alteration himself. He reached behind him, lifting up his suit jacket, and pulled his White Oak Ash Dagger from its hiding spot. The book's hidden compartment was a temporary solution, but it would work for the time being.
He couldn't resist smiling at the memory of Kol making snide commentary about him having some of the most boring books in his collection, such as a tome he was just now returning to its shelf, which was blandly titled 'The Collected Taxation Edicts for the British Colonial Territories from Seventeenth to Eighteenth Century.' To this day he didn't know what had possessed him to hollow out a book he very seldom perused through. But he was relieved that he'd given in to the urge and put forth the effort to hollow it out himself. Such as the rare occasions he wished to hide something from his siblings. The last time he used the book was for a Christmas present for his sister.
There was always the possibility that his brother had already found this particular hiding spot. However, it was highly doubtful that Niklaus would have wasted his time on even perusing through the book and that was the whole point. With the threat of the dagger temporarily suspended for now, Elijah decided that he should freshen up, as his brother had suggested. Wearing the same clothing for months even while quasi dead only served to remind him that Niklaus vulgar promises of reuniting him with their family had meant something entirely different from his own conception of such a reunion.
Moving into the bedroom, he started to remove his jacket when he heard the sound of crinkling paper emanating from it. Strange that he hadn't noticed it before, he observed as he sought out the source and retrieved a folded piece of paper. Which was unusual. He didn't remember putting it there. Curious, he unfolded the note and, after reading its contents, folded it back and headed for his shower. He needed time to consider his next course of action, and a hot shower would help.
As he moved under the hot refreshing spray of water, his mind started to wander as a neglected, forgotten memory returned to the forefront of his thoughts.
Mystic Falls:
Late Fall 1889
Elijah set his journal off to the side as he waited for his recently inked entry to dry enough before closing the leather-bound book. As he did, he recapped his prized fountain pen, which had been a recent Christmas present from his sister, Rebekah. He smiled at the memory of her handing the clothed wrapped present she gifted him as a thank you for being there for the last two years, after Niklaus had finally relented and undaggered her. Rebekah was still adjusting to the loss of time after spending over fifty years being neutralized by their brother for daring to fall in love with Niklaus's protege Marcellus Gerard.
He wouldn't have done as Niklaus had when he gave his acolyte a choice. Marcellus could choose love and no one would stop him from removing Rebekah's dagger, but he then would live out the rest of his human life with her, or he could leave her daggered and Klaus would finally agree to turn him into a vampire. Something that Marcellus had wanted ever since he'd been saved from the slave master's whip for daring to eat an apple from the then Governor's plantation apple tree. Disregarding the fact that apple had fallen from said tree, it was according to his master to still be property the slave owner.
Niklaus hadn't even hesitated when he killed the slave master where he stood. From that moment on, Marcellus had idolized his savior.
Feeling the ache in the back of his throat, he needed to feed soon. It had been a long but necessary trip up north from their home in New Orleans. He'd been able to feed during on the river steamboats as they made their way on both the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers before he transferred to a railway, stopping at Charlottesville the last place he had a chance to feed. The carriage ride was nearing his destination. Maybe he could grab a quick bite. After a quick glance outside, he signaled for the driver to stop.
"Sir, we are almost at your destination. Is there something you need?"
Elijah felt guilty that he should have fed sooner, but the train had been running late and he wanted to get to his destination before nightfall. He peered into the man's eyes and compelled him to climb into the back with him.
Later, after he was finished with the driver, Elijah ordered him not to remember what had just transpired. They continued on the final leg of their journey, which, much to his annoyance, arrived in Mystic Falls just after the sun had retreated just below the horizon.
Unsure what to do, he chose for now to wait outside the carriage house as the street gas lighting was switched on. To take his mind off why he was summoned here, he tried to guess how long before the Edison electric light replaced the gaslight lighting.
"Elijah Mikaelson?"
Considering who he had traveled all the way from New Orleans for had contacted him in such an unusual manner, he wasn't surprised by the simple truth that someone had approached him without him being cognizant of their arrival. He tried to put it out of his mind as he turned to find a young woman with mocha colored skin holding an unlit oil lantern at her side.
"Are you the witch that sent me this message?" he held up a folded sheet of paper.
"Whoever you are, I must say I've never had someone attempt to contact me in such an unusual manner. May I ask, what is your name?" Elijah asked. Unlike his brother, he was willing to give this witch a chance to explain herself. For the time being, he would be patient. Still, it didn't mean he wouldn't extract a heavy price from her if the attempt to draw him to where his family once lived wasn't as beneficial to his family as the message had indicated.
"My name is Maya Bennett. My apologies for contacting you in such a usual manner, but I needed an enticing manner of bringing you to where you spent your childhood. I have something, or I should say someone, waiting for you to take back to your family."
Maya held up her lantern, which was not all that surprising to him when she lit it with her magic.
"A Bennett witch? I've personally met a rather distant ancestor of yours. She was a friend of my mothers when we once lived here."
"I know… Uh Mister Mikaelson?"
"Elijah is fine Miss Bennett."
"Elijah, if you will follow me. I take you now to show you what I need to and then you can decide what you want to do with what you find." Maya said before she turned and started to walk away. Elijah had no choice but to follow the young witch.
They walked in companionable silence until they arrived at vaguely familiar surroundings. It still took Elijah a minute or two to recognize where they were.
"Miss Bennett, why are you taking me to the entrance of the cave network my family used to play for and shelter inside?" Elijah asked, his concern growing, but he didn't stop following her inside.
"What you have been feeling the pull towards resides inside. Be patient, I will help guide you to it," Maya's voice echoed as she pressed onward, heedless of the fact that her words had stunned the Original Vampire. Elijah recovered quickly and caught up with her, catching her by the elbow to turn her to face him.
"How do you know about this pull I've felt?" he demanded. It had started off a few weeks ago, but he had resisted the urge to follow it. But that was until Maya's magically delivered message. Niklaus had been curious about his sudden need to check on their financial holdings, not that he would have come, anyway. Ever since news of Katerina's demise at the hands of an angry mob nearly twenty-five years ago, he had become withdrawn and his temper had only increased in magnitude. Although Elijah had sworn to retrieve Katerina and make her pay for her betrayal, even he was starting to doubt that his half brother would break the curse their mother had placed on him.
"Because I, too, have felt the same pull. No offense, but I didn't resist quite as long as you did. It helps that I live on these lands as a sharecropper for the Lockwoods," Maya answered, then indicated that they should continue their journey. Elijah was more than content to follow. He was genuinely curious about this Bennett witch before him.
"No offense was taken Miss Bennett, but might I ask why have you remained a mere sharecropper when by the laws of this republic of ours you are a free person, not to mention a witch?" Elijah asked, curious. He had never liked the direction the southern states had been founded, but as an immortal being, he didn't feel it was his place to change things. Fortunately, the republic and the tenets on which it was founded on by its founders had ultimately prevailed.
"That is true, but it also helps to remain in the region, and my family's magic does offer us a degree of protection. Although it doesn't hurt that one of the Salvatore brothers has been protecting my bloodline for the last twenty-five years and, the Spirits willing, for another hundred years or so," Maya explained, reaching a crossroads in the tunnel network before selecting the right passage.
Elijah's interest was piqued by her explanation, but he couldn't quite put a reason to why it mattered to him. As he focused on her last remark, it was then he felt that he knew why, or at least thought he did, but he still needed to address the question burning within him.
"My pardon, Miss Bennett, but what is the significance of the twenty-five years of protection?" Elijah asked casually. He believed he already knew the answer. After all, he had heard what had transpired here with Katerina after the fact; but like Niklaus, he had believed all the vampires here in Mystic Falls had perished when the townsfolk had set the church ablaze. Over the last couple of years, there had been disturbing reports of a newborn ripper answering to the surname of Salvatore. He had no interest in such creatures; his brother was a different story.
"Back in eighteen sixty-four, Katherine Pierce was feeding her blood to them and after they died, trying to ironically save her from the fate of the other vampires here at the time. So both Damon and his younger brother Stefan were turned before Katherine disappeared," Maya explained.
Elijah was a careful man. When he spoke, he was very precise in his wording in his speech, so he didn't miss her meaning. He felt guilty for grabbing her again, but he had to know.
"Are you saying what I think you are saying?" he demanded.
Maya didn't even blink. "That Katherine Pierce or better known to you as Katerina Petrova, is still alive? Yes, but before you ask, I don't know or care to find out her current whereabouts." Maya answered in a succinct tone that made Elijah stop short before he asked his follow on question.
"You don't seem to care about Katerina. May I ask why is that?"
"Before Katherine or Katerina, as you call her, made her escape. She arranged for all the vampires with her to be killed to cover her escape. My mother told me that some of them had been with her for decades, yet she turned on them without a second glance. As a final insurance for her continued freedom, she somehow revealed the fact that my mother was a witch. They killed her shortly thereafter. If it wasn't for Damon's promise to protect my family, I would be dead, too. He found a way to put me into the care of the servants owned by the Lockwoods, and I have been here ever since. I have no love lost for Katherine Pierce. She burned her bridges between our family bloodlines as far as I'm concerned. And before you ask neither Salvatore brother are yet aware of her continued existence."
Elijah took a step back to give the woman her space. The venomous vitriol when she'd spoken Katherine's name and her betrayal to her own mother made him feel a sort of kinship with the Bennett witch.
"My apologies for her actions, Maya Bennett."
"Thank you… But you shouldn't need to apologize for the likes of her. Come, we are almost there," Maya said, pointing in the direction of their intended journey.
As they walked, he tried to consider the implications of the things he had learned so far, and yet it still left him with a strange feeling that something else was going on behind the scene.
"We've arrived Elijah Mikaelson. What you seek rests inside. You may enter this one time but after this your permission will be rescinded, do you understand?" Maya asked, her tone rigid and for a scant second Elijah felt as if the one speaking was not Maya herself.
"You're not Maya Bennett, are you?"
"You were always a very observant child, Elijah. While this body is of my blood, it's not my own, considering that the earth has already reclaimed it. If you think about it, you'll understand who I am."
"Ayana?" Elijah asked with no degree of hesitation. He felt sure of it, and the smile she gave him only confirmed it.
"It's good to see you again… Now come child, we don't have much time left." Ayana spoke. It felt strange for Elijah to hear Maya's voice but also know the young witch was being controlled by her long dead ancestor. Someone he had known when he was still human an connection to his past.
Elijah stepped into the once forgotten but still familiar antechamber and froze at the sight that greeted him.
Hours Later the Following Afternoon:
"Nunc oblivisceris, tempore satis dato memineris," a woman's voice chanted. Elijah didn't want to close the lid. This would be the last time he saw her, but the witch had made him promise. So he did as he was instructed. He didn't feel the slightest hint of pity for the man's intended coffin he'd so quickly acquired at the local funeral home. His time in Mystic Falls was coming to an end, and he wished to return to his family back in New Orleans. He had been warned that he might have minor discomfort and loss of time, but he was willing to make that sacrifice. It was just too bad he wouldn't recall very much about the events that transpired here for the last day or so until, as the witch promised him, the time was right.
Elijah carefully closed the lid of his mother's coffin, whilst feeling a wetness on his face. His hand went automatically to his face and touched his still damp check. Tears? When was the last time he cried? It had to have been centuries ago. He looked up and gave a tentative smile at the young woman it took him a second to recall he couldn't remember what her name was and while that initially worried him the longer his mind pondered the problem the concern he felt slowly eroded away as well.
"Thank you, miss uh… sorry, what is your name again?" Elijah asked.
"My name is Maya, Mister Mikaelson and I'm relieved that you have recovered your mother's body as you had so expressed in your correspondence with me."
"Ah… Yes, thanks to your magic. Her body has been uncorrupted for all this time and thank you again for sealing my mother's coffin to preserve her as she is," Elijah said, holding out his hand in friendship. Maya took his hand and smiled with understanding clear in her eyes. She felt a degree of sadness for the man. The burdens of taking care of his family weighed heavy on his shoulders and having these intact memories could prove detrimental so she had no other choice but to conceal his memories from himself. Both for her safety and his, she would be long dead when he finally remembered parts of what he had been made to forget. After his departure, she'd return control of this body to its proper owner. Even Maya Bennett wouldn't have the memory of her ancestor assuming control of her body in such a manner. Ayana's promise to the Mikaelson clan now complete, she can finally rest in peace.
Mikaelson Mansion
October 31, 2010
Elijah stood under the freezing cold water of the shower, but he paid it no mind. His mind was still reeling from the formerly hidden memories that Maya or, more accurately, Ayana controlling her descendants body, had hidden from him of the two days he'd taken to recover his mother's intact body.
"Nunc oblivisceris, tempore satis dato memineris," he muttered in fascination at the sheer audacity of the ancient witch. He'd never heard of a ghost possessing the body of another person, but that was exactly what Ayana had done with Maya Bennett's body. A small part of him wondered if it had been voluntary or not and hoped for both of them, it hadn't been the later. That fateful summer night in eighteen eighty nine he had found the still intact body of his mother, Esther Mikaelson. More importantly, he had learned the truth that their father had not been responsible for her death but instead his very own brother had killed her in revenge for not only binding his werewolf side but killing the woman he loved. It frustrated him that his memories had been tampered with, but in retrospect isn't that what his kind have done to humans for centuries now? After shutting off the freezing water, he toweled himself dry as he contemplated his next move. One option was the note that had been secreted into his coat pocket, still resting on the sink countertop.
Yes, he needed to run some errands tomorrow, but perhaps he'd get a chance to visit Elena Gilbert's grave to pay his respects before that. Klaus was being rather evasive about his continued activities in the hometown of the lovely Elena. Based on what he knew of the brave yet compassionate human girl, she hadn't wanted to become a vampire, and he highly doubted she'd willingly completed the transition. Not without a reason to live, her brother perhaps, but he wouldn't know for sure until he did some checking around tomorrow. Damon had robbed her of the chance to remain human when he'd forced his blood down her throat. After all, he had failed her when he couldn't kill his own brother. He still hadn't quite figured out why Niklaus would decide to create a home here for their family or how their father had met his end.
How had his own brother forgotten the pain they all felt when Henrik died that fateful day? The fact that today marked the day over a thousand years ago he and his siblings died and became the monsters they were now didn't escape his notice as well. How ironic that humans dress up as monsters on Halloween when the day also marks the birth of the creatures they should fear.
It truly bothered him that he didn't yet know the reasoning behind his brother's actions. Things were not quite adding up, but he was determined to find out.
