Location Unknown:
Time Unknown:

Elena closed her eyes and slowly reopened them for what felt like the hundredth time, but she still couldn't believe what she was seeing. It looked like her bedroom, the same one that she had since she was a little girl, but how was that possible? However, try as she might, she couldn't remember how she even arrived let alone ended laying on her bed and that bothered her considering when she first awoke here she almost immediately noticed that her clothing wasn't her pajamas. In fact it looked far more rustic and fit, as if she had worn the homespun linen dress for years. She felt oddly disconnected, as if her memory had several large gaps in it.

She tentatively sat up, relieved when nothing felt different about the act then soon afterwards she eased herself off the bed, walking with some trepidation over to her mirror receiving a new shock at her reflection. Her entire appearance had changed somewhat. She was still her, but aspects of herself had changed such as her hair was longer too, the length was just past the top of her thighs. Touching her hips and first turning to her profile side, then facing front again, she could have sworn that her hips looked wider somehow. Even her bustline had increased. Why hadn't she noticed any of these changes before now? She peered closer in the mirror, studying her features and only then noticing that even her face looked different, still the same, but more mature looking. What the hell is going on?

"Hello?" she called out.

Feeling a little unnerved, she next checked on the bathroom she shared with Jeremy. The door on his side was unlocked and after knocking on the adjoining door she carefully opened it, not surprisingly finding the usual mess her younger brother kept his room in nowadays. Aunt Jenna was always on him to clean up his room. It only added to the drama that their aunt was not pleased with her unpleasant discovery that Jeremy had been doing drugs ever since their parents died.

"Jeremy? Hello?" Elena called out and after leaving her brother's room she headed downstairs, not finding anyone there as well. Feeling a little freaked out about the odd feeling that she was being watched, she headed for the door when a voice she never expected to hear ever again stopped her before she could even touch the door handle.

"Elena, wait!" Isobel begged. A rebellious part of her wanted to disregard the entreaty to stop from a woman who had all but abandoned her the day she was born. Still, she had to consider that maybe her birth mother might know what the hell was going on. Where was everybody?

"Why Isobel? How are you even here?" Elena demanded, spinning on her heel to face the vampire. Half expecting to see the same emotionless vampire that was regrettably her birth mother, instead she found a woman with tear rivulets running down her cheeks.

"Isobel?" Elena asked. She still held her ground, wary this was just another vampire trick she'd grown accustomed to, but even as she thought that it just felt wrong to her and she hadn't quite figured out why. Something was missing, and she knew it was important. But it was rather hard to deny that her vampire mother, who'd been compelled to remove her daylight necklace then burned alive by the light from the sun in front of her, was somehow back.

"I guess you are trying to understand what is going on?" her mother suggested, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Umm… Yeah, where is everybody?" Elena asked, looking about as if she expected to suddenly find her family and friends jumping out shouting surprise. When it didn't happen, she couldn't stop the feeling that something was wrong, very, very wrong.

"It's just us Elena. Can I ask what was the last thing you remember?" Isobel asked, edging closer to her daughter, but not still not too close. She had the distinct opinion that she might be in denial and only needed a little prompting to get to the truth.

"What do you mean 'it's just us'?" Elena demanded. Isobel, watching the torrent of emotions in her daughters eyes, took a step towards her but stopped immediately when Elena threw up her hand. An uneasy silence settled between them before, with a look of resigned hurt, Isobel was the first to break their shared silence.

"Elena, I will get to the first part after you answer my question. What is the last thing you remember?" Isobel asked.

Elena opened her mouth to tell her mother off, but snapped it shut when she really thought about the question. What was the last thing she remembered? She was at a party, no, a dinner with her family and her husband- Husband?!- was seated next to her and everyone was talking while enjoying the meal and something happened. Elena reflexively looked down at the front of her dress but found nothing, but now, as she thought about it, there was a dull ache just over her heart. Elena gasped as her hand flew up to touch her breastbone.

"My father-in-law killed us all! Wait, does this mean I'm dead?" Elena uttered in shock as the sad nod from Isobel finally broke the denial she only then realized was protecting her from the truth. Feeling the weight of her failure and her last thoughts before dying, she collapsed to the wood floor of her childhood home.

"I… I… Failed them all! Some Child of Destiny I've turned out to be!" she sobbed. Isobel, deciding to endure whatever rejection her daughter gave because of her actions, moved with vampiric speed and was kneeling next to her daughter with her arms wrapped protectively around her. Elena struggled at first, but her mother's strength and the gentle rocking of their combined bodies helped to calm her down enough to accept what comfort her deceased mother could provide to her.

"Sshhh. It will be okay, dear, and you didn't fail them," Isobel cooed into her daughter's long hair. She had for so long wanted to hold her daughter that a part of her felt unworthy to even touch her perfect child, but she pushed that feeling away.

"I did fail them. I… I don't understand. Ayana called me a Child of Destiny. But nothing changed! Poor Henrik died and so did my family!" Elena cried, her sobs becoming more infrequent, but she felt broken, an utter failure.

"Elena, my precious little girl, you did exactly what you were supposed to do. As much as I hate it myself, you did what the Spirits of Nature wanted," Isobel choked out and was not surprised in the least when her own tears started up again. She had argued with her friend Ayana for days if not weeks about this particular issue, but being a ghost, she could do nothing to change it. But right here and right now, she was determined to be here for her daughter.

Elena pushed away and jumped to her feet, looking wildly around her home as if in search of someone, anyone, else but her mother. And that hurt Isobel, but she understood too.

"Supposed to do!" Elena screamed. Pulling at her hair and on impulse she grabbed the nearest item, which happened to be a vase that once belonged to her grandmother. Partially regretting her childish actions, she threw it at the nearest wall and watched in horrid satisfaction as it shattered into a hundred or so pieces of broken ceramic shards. But when she looked again, they were suddenly gone, and the vase was back where it had been before she even picked it up.

"Isobel! Just what the hell is this place! And why in God's name are you even here?"

Isobel sighed and motioned for them both to sit on the couch in the living room. Initially Elena seemed to refuse but eventually relented, taking the far side of the couch. Her mother motioned to the space between them.

"I'm here just for the same reason you are. We are both technically dead. As for this place, I guess that the Spirits wanted something familiar to you and-"

"And what?"

"And share something that you and Aunt Jenna created the last time you were here," Isobel finished.

"Jenna!?" Elena blurted and her eyes lit up with hope as she looked about, expecting to see her beloved aunt.

"She's no longer here Elena, I'm sorry?"

"I… I don't understand. Why isn't she here? And how come I don't remember this place? I was never here."

"Honey… I mean Elena, when both of you were here was when both of died during the ritual that ultimately unlocked Klaus's werewolf side. I'm not sure why you don't or can't remember this place, but I do know that while you waited to see if you'd come back to life your Aunt was here with you to keep you company, and when you returned to the living world, she moved on," Isobel explained.

"I… I don't remember any of that. What do you mean she moved on? Was John here, or what about my adoptive parents?" Elena asked, the hope in her voice clearly evident.

"When you awoke in the living world, Jenna found her peace and moved on to whatever is beyond this place. I guess you'd call it a way station. You've read 'Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows' have you not?"

"Um… Yes I have, but what about my parents or Uncle John?" Elena pressed.

"Elena, only the supernatural can go to this place, I'm afraid. And before you ask the reason, your Aunt found peace and I haven't is one simple point. Despite your Aunt's attempt to kill the witch to stop the ritual, she hadn't killed anyone yet, so the Spirits allowed her to move on. As for myself, on the other hand, I have killed and this is my penance."

"Okay… I think I'm starting to understand. Pardon me for saying this, but you're not how I remember you. What's changed? Hell, are you even still a vampire?" Elena couldn't help herself, her mother's behavior seemed almost human, but she still felt different. It might have bothered her if she considered that detail more closely, but she wasn't quite ready to tackle that problem yet.

"I'm still a vampire as far as I can tell, with two minor exceptions," Isobel answered, looking down at her hands, avoiding eye contact with the one person she wanted so desperately to connect to.

"That being?"

"Well, for one which I'm quite thankful for, I no longer suffer from the blood lust that plagued me the very moment I turned. The other is that as part of my penance I am no longer able to manipulate my emotions," Isobel sighed, rubbing her hands along her upper arms. Elena was stunned by her mother's admission; she was experiencing a sudden loss of words.

"Elena… Honey, will you say something? If it is an apology you want from me for, well, everything, I will give whatever you want just… Just talk to me please!" Isobel pleaded, reaching over to her daughter but dropping her hand as if only remembering there was more than just physical distance separating them. So she was surprised when her stubborn yet brave daughter put her hand over her own. She looked up with hope and met the searching gaze of her only daughter.

"Say it. I want to hear you say it first. Before we go any further," Elena declared. And if she had asked this before Isobel died, she might have laughed at her daughter's attempt to coerce anything from her, but not now.

"Oh… God Elena, I'm so… so sorry for everything! I really do mean it, I swear! Abandoning you as an infant I… I was scared! Then finding out the truth about vampires and convincing Damon Salvatore to turn me. Threatening you or your friends, I was an uncaring monster. I… wanted to save you from Klaus, really I did, but-"

Elena blinked and stared at her mother, trying to sort out her own emotions at that moment. Although it had been a while for her, she remembered what it was like facing Stefan with and without his emotions. Then there was Damon and finally her own mother, the same person sitting on the same coach. Not to mention all the other vampires she'd encountered intentionally or not in her previous life before traveling back in time. As much as she wanted to deny it, the look in her mother's eyes felt so real she honestly hoped she wasn't making a terrible mistake.

"Isobel… I mean, mom, I really want to believe you. But I want you to tell me three things and depending on how you decide to share them with me will help me decide if I can believe you," Elena said cautiously, and she'd have to be blind not to see how her mother's eyes had lit up when she called her mom. That had to mean something, right?

"Anything! What would you like to hear first?"


Salvatore Boarding House
April 27, 2007

Isobel flipped through her notepad, going through her notes for perhaps the twentieth time. She stopped when she finally admitted that she was procrastinating, but she was about to either make the biggest mistake in her life or join the supernatural world and count herself amongst their number. It had been hard driving by the school this morning, although she didn't get a chance to see her outside. She arrived too late for that. Still Isobel knew that her daughter was most likely sitting in her French class about the time she drove by Mystic Falls High School. Her daughter was a cheerleader just like she had been, and she felt pride that although she watched her daughter from afar, they shared that connection, at least. It was better this way. Her daughter was safe and although she didn't agree with Grayson and Miranda on some issues thanks to John keeping her appraised of Elena's life; it was enough.

Taking a deep breath before holding for a ten count she slowly let the air out of her lungs. Her husband had taught her that trick when she nearly had a panic attack before a major exam that unfortunately had been fifty percent of her final grade for a core class for her degree. For added security, she even borrowed her best friend Trudie Peterson's vehicle. Of all her high school friends at Grove Hill, the small township they both had grown up together, Trudie was the only person who knew the real reason why she ran off when she was sixteen.

She'd been in a state of denial after finding out she gotten pregnant during either a one-night stand during an out-of-state cheerleading competition or with her boyfriend the very next day. Even to this day, she really didn't know why she gave in to her baser needs, but seeing him watching her at the pizza parlor afterwards was without a doubt one of the most handsomely rugged tall athletic strangers she had ever set her eyes on.

Morgan, who'd, according to him, originally hailed from New Orleans, who apparently left his home in the middle of the night after some family drama, which he refused to elaborate on. It really didn't help matters that on the bus ride home, all she could think about was the simple fact she'd just cheated on her boyfriend, John Gilbert. Whose family, ironically, was a founding member of Mystic Falls, the same place she was meeting someone that should have been a myth.

She closed her notes and shut off her phone so if Ric called her it would go straight to voicemail. Thanks to John, she even had three pieces of jewelry with hopefully enough vervain inside each of them to protect her from a vampire's compulsion.

Vampires. Never did she dream that her obsession with researching the paranormal would ultimately lead to actually meeting a real, honest to god vampire.

"Now or later Izzie," she muttered derisively. Then, before changing her mind, she exited the borrowed vehicle and with a set determination that would have made her confederate great grandfather proud, she marched forward, one foot in front of the other. It wasn't long before she stood in front of the large, thick wood door. She hesitated on her first attempt to knock, but the second try did the trick.

It felt like forever, but when the door swung partially open, revealing the individual who ultimately arranged for her meeting with Damon Salvatore. When she contacted John, he had thought she just wanted to continue her research into the Vampires of Mystic Falls. He hadn't exactly given her Damon's contact information. Instead, she had to work through his distant nephew Zach. The same relative that was standing on the other side of the door, blocking her entry. Unlike the other times, he now just shook his head in sad resignation.

"I really hope that you know what you're getting yourself into. It's nothing like it is in the movies. He is nothing like Louis or Lestat and most definitely neither is he Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise," Zach warned. He let it hang in the air for longer than she liked, but eventually he stepped away, allowing her entry.

"Thank you and for your information, I'm not Kristen Stewart either," Isobel replied.

"Oh… Now I'm even more intrigued to meet the charming lady who is supposed to be my ten o' clock this morning," a stranger spoke, interrupting Zach before he responded to her snide reply. First glance of the interloper revealed a tall dark haired man with penetrating blue eyes. He was no Ric Saltzman, but even she had to admit that he was an attractive specimen of manhood.

"Damon, this is Izzie Peterson," Zach introduced. Damon smiled at her but made no move to approach her, as if he was waiting for something. When she first interviewed Zach Salvatore over a month ago trying to arrange a meeting with Damon, she used her nickname and although it was probably a bad idea, she used her best friend's last name as well. Although John was still infatuated with her, he did caution her to not use her real name. She promised herself that she was going to tell him the truth only when she knew he was going to do what she wanted.

"Hello Mister Salvatore, your nephew never told me how handsome you are." Isobel felt like kicking herself for sounding so cheesy. All the practicing in front of the mirror had been pointless apparently, she thought ruefully.

"Thank you, but calling me Mister Salvatore makes me feel like my father and he has been dead for a very long time now," Damon answered smoothly. He approached her and peered into her eyes. Somehow she kept from flinching when he traced his finger tip along her jaw bone.

"Damon, remember what I said," Zach interrupted. Damon sighed and shifted his gaze to his mortal descendant.

"Yes Zach… Now I strongly suggest you leave and don't come back for several hours at the minimum. Understand?"

"Yes Damon, I understand. I have errands to run anyway. I need to pick up building supplies for maintenance tasks around here," Zach huffed, then quickly exited the boarding house before anyone could stop him. Not that anyone would; Damon was studying the newest interloper into his home.

"Now that my so called nephew is gone, would you mind telling me your real name?"

"H… How did you-?!" Isobel stammered. How had he known?

"Easy. A vampire has tricks when it comes to knowing when a human is lying. I'm still waiting?"

"Isobel," she relented, although she wasn't going to give him her last name, not quite yet. She didn't know if she could trust him yet. He regarded her for a solid minute before he turned and walked deeper into the boarding house.

"So what do you want to know, Isobel?"

"Everything!" she breathed. Isobel followed him into a library or study, she wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but that was where she found him pouring a drink for himself, and to her surprise, one for her. She accepted the drink and took a sip. The Bourbon burned as it slid down her suddenly parched throat.

"Easy there, take a seat," he ordered. That fact wasn't missed by her but she also was well aware that she was in his domain now. She found a seat nearby and took another sip. This time it didn't burn as much as the previous time.

"Let's see where should I begin?"

45 Minutes Later:

"So you're saying that vampires can eat food, and holy objects and garlic have no effect on you either," Isobel summed up three points she thought he glossed over.

"I should hope so. Regarding garlic, my family originally immigrated from Italy, so food and garlic are kind of our things," Damon smirked and Isobel found herself smiling in response. She really did like Italian food.

"Can I ask you a question Isobel No last name?" Damon asked, teasing her that she continued to refuse giving her last name to him. She didn't want him going after her husband or, worse, her parents. They still lived in their hometown of Grove Hill.

"Sure, but if it's about my last name again, I'll pass."

"Fair enough. What exactly are you after? I mean, you seem rather knowledgeable about my kind. What do you want?" Damon's demeanor changed to more serious. Her heart rate quickened. When she didn't respond quickly enough, he stood up then looked coolly down at her.

"No answer? Well then, I think it's time that you leave. Do yourself a favor and never come back here. If you're looking for something, you might find me in a less charitable mood to humor a human," Damon's voice rose as he grabbed her by the forearm.

"Wait! Damon, I… I want you to turn me into a vampire!" she blurted, and to her own surprise, he froze. Then he shook himself out of his stupor and pulled her to her feet to peer into her eyes.

"Why do you want to become like me?" Damon demanded. As if to emphasize what he meant, he allowed his true face to appear. Isobel watched awestruck as the dark veins surrounding his eyes enlarged, followed by the sclera of Damon's eyes turning blood-red. Isobel's heart rate climbed, for some people when faced with a sight might have run in terror. Isobel had always been different. For her the rush of endorphins and adrenaline flooding into her bloodstream was intense.

"May I touch your face?" Isobel asked, her eyes never shifting away from his true nature. Curious, Damon nodded and allowed her to tentatively at first, but she became more daring with exploring his face with her probing fingers. Then, without warning, her hand sought out one of his and, not saying a word, she placed his palm over her bounding heart.

"Because I want excitement in my life. Damon Salvatore, I want a life filled with passion, an adventure and even a little danger. I'm a professor of folklore and spend my days reading about others' lives, but I haven't yet lived. I'm thirty-two years old and I hate it!" Isobel yelled. It wasn't until the words were out that Damon finally smiled at her outburst. She didn't know it until later in the week, but that was what he was looking for. Still, he wasn't going to give her what she wanted until he had a little fun with her.

"I see. Well I have to ask, what about kids? Don't you want to become a mother?" Damon asked. He really didn't care, but he was strangely curious. He didn't know why, but he somehow felt a connection with her.

"I had a daughter when I was still sixteen, but I gave her up for adoption."

Damon tilted his head, doing the math in his head. "That would make her sixteen now, aren't you curious about her?"

"Yes, but she doesn't even know I exist and I want to keep it like that." There must have been something in her tone, because Damon backed off.

"I'll give you a week to think about it and to get your human affairs in order, but I want something from you first."

"Wh… What do you want?" Isobel asked. She had no idea what he might want, but she was willing to give him anything just for the chance at immortality.

"You." His lips were on hers before Isobel could react, but it wasn't long before she easily melted into his embrace, pressing her soft body into his hard one.


Location Unknown:
Time Unknown:

"Then exactly a week later in my apartment, he fed me enough of his blood to ensure I'd become a vampire, just as I asked him to do. Next Damon Salvatore drained me to the point of my death. Afterwards I woke up in a motel room I'd later learned he reserved under the name Ann Rice. Apparently he thought it was funny. Then he left me alone with all the drapes closed tight and he even left me about a half a dozen blood bags. I was stupid to think that would be enough to get by until it was dark. I was sorely mistaken. It didn't help that I accidentally peaked outside and had my first exposure to sunlight. By nightfall I was craving blood to the point I couldn't think straight. He apologized but I don't think he really gave a damn or not. Although he did teach me how to hunt, feed without killing someone, and the crown jewel of vampirism compulsion, in my opinion, really. It turned out that I was, I guess you'd call it, a natural talent in that skill. In retrospect, it must have bothered him that I was far better at it than the very vampire who sired me. Rather ironic, isn't it? The last night he was with me, he told me about daylight amulets and how it required a willing witch to craft one for me. While I was hunting on my own for the very first time, I want to point out, he abandoned me. When I returned to Mystic Falls, his nephew wouldn't invite me in and informed me that Damon had moved on," Isobel finished and glanced at her daughter, waiting.

"Whoa! Umm… that is a lot to process, just give me a minute," Elena breathed out.

"Take your time. We should still have plenty of time yet," Isobel said. She knew her daughter had questions but wasn't quite ready to ask the more important ones just yet. And after her last statement, she already thought she knew what her first question would be, but Elena surprised her with a question she hadn't prepared herself for.

"How often did you watch me from afar?"

Isobel was slightly at a loss for words and had to be prompted again by her daughter who wore a strange expression of worry. Was that meant for her she wondered?

"Isobel?"

"Sorry Um… what was the question?"

"How often did you watch me from afar?" Elena repeated.

"Honestly, not as often as I would have liked with my professorship at Duke, and my research kept me busy more than I liked when it came to you. Then there was my marriage to Ric. Elena I tried to see you as much as I could before I turned I did make a point of going to the football games just to see you cheering from the sidelines. But after Damon turned me, it took me six months afterwards to get a daylight pendant made for me."

"Really? You came to our games just for me?" Elena asked. Which surprised Isobel, and she nodded, her tears threatening to return.

"Yes, Why? Does that surprise you?"

"I… well, yes, I thought… I still have- or had- your daylight pendant after you-"

Isobel reached out and put her hand over Elena's own. "I know… Ever since I died in that cemetery, I've been with you. Although you weren't aware of it, I was with you during the ritual and every day since. The only time I lost you was when you stepped into Ayana's Chamber. I was so frantic to find you I searched everywhere, but in the end your friends did it for me."

"My friends, how did- The note that Bonnie sent me all those years ago? I… I still have it in my journal!" Elena started but stopped herself when she remembered finding the note one day. It was like the time when Trevor and Rose kidnapped her.

"Yes I was there watching as Jeremy, Caroline and Bonnie attempted to send a message to you. Somehow it opened a crack in time and something, or maybe someone pushed me in, and to my everlasting joy I found you and discovered you'd become friends with the Original Family."

Elena considered her mother's explanation. It made sense, but why would a ghost being sent back in time matter so much? Hopefully there would be time to ponder this later. She wanted to ask a question that she was always curious about when it came to vampires and daylight amulets. Bonnie had been so reluctant to give Caroline her ring, nor did Elena think it was just her witch friend that felt that way either.

"How… How did you get your daylight pendent then? It sounded to me that Damon wasn't willing to help you get one?"

"Actually, it was Katherine who helped me after we met for the first time. It turns out that while I knew Katherine Pierce was a vampire based on the Gilbert Journals, which I borrowed from your Uncle prior to me being turned. I had no idea that she was, or more accurately, you were, her Doppelgänger. Try to imagine finding out and at first thinking that somehow my daughter had been turned into a vampire like me? Apparently, she has been watching you for years and had become quite good at impersonating you in town. She was naturally curious why another vampire was lurking around, as she put it. If I hadn't explained myself as I did once she confronted me one night, I might have ended up being staked as she intended."

"Seriously? I mean, it sounds like Katherine. But you knew her better than me. Can you tell me what she had against me? Yes, I did sleep with Stefan and knew he had an ex, but the way he described it to me, I honestly thought she was dead. I didn't even know I was a Doppelgänger at that point!"

"I think she was aware of that, but try to see it from her perspective. Vampires are a territorial predator species and you were encroaching on something she claimed. Yes, I know she left both brothers behind, but as you know, she had her reasons. But I think it was more than that."

"How so?" Elena asked, feeling somewhat mollified by her mother's gentle rebuke.

"You had a life that Katherine, even after five centuries, craved to have. A family and loved ones and a seemingly normal happy childhood. Although Katherine would never admit this to me or anyone else, I believe she misses being human."

Elena considered her mothers explanation and although she wanted to disagree, she found that she couldn't, really. Even a part of her might have suspected already. An old, nearly forgotten memory occurred to her, and she looked up at her mother.

"If you didn't know of my connection to Katherine before, then how did you have research on Doppelgänger's, and the Sun and the Moon Curse? Or the Petrova Family book? We, I, found it when we went to your old office at Duke."

"I… Didn't have any of that. If I had to guess, I think Katherine must have planted that information for you to find and probably compelled my student assistant as well," Isobel said after a minute of silent reflection.

"Well, it does sound exactly like something that Katherine would be up to doing. But I don't want to talk about her just yet. How about you tell me something about after you changed, did you ever come back to Mystic Falls?"

"Yes, would you like to hear about one such occasion?" Isobel smiled.


October 24, 2008
Mystic Falls High School Football Field

It was dark, and the weather was getting colder. Isobel wondered when the first frost would be coming this year. Not that it bothered her any longer. The thick coat was more so she wouldn't stand out but the number of young adult teenagers wearing nothing but body paint in their school colors made her seriously wonder about humanity in general. Taking a page out of Katherine Pierce's book of blending in, she even had an insulated cup of heated blood to sip on to help curb her cravings for it. To anyone watching, it simply looked as if she was enjoying a nice hot cup of coffee. Quite ingenious, but that's what she had come to expect and admire about her vampire ancestor. Katherine was a load of helpful tips and sage advice.

Although she was seated alone in the upper corner of the bleachers, where it was colder from the breeze and it wasn't the best seating to watch the field. Isobel didn't mind. Besides she wasn't there to watch a bunch of teenage boys throw a football around, she was there to watch her daughter. She had never felt more proud of her daughter. It angered her that Miranda and her husband refused to even introduce her to Elena. And that was before she had become a vampire, not that anyone in Mystic Falls was aware of that fact.

She clapped enthusiastically as Elena and her teammates took to the field for the halftime show. Her eyes were not the only pair that were following her daughter. As much as she disliked Miranda, she did have to admit that she had done a good job raising her girl and was in the stands, although closer to the action. From her vantage point, she also noticed that Grayson wasn't present, but he was a doctor, so she really could hold that against him not being there. Isobel's eyes drifted to the players and smirked when she caught a blond haired boy watching Elena very intently.

"Where have you been Isobel? I've tried reaching you and what do I find out in the process? You're a missing person! I've had to lie to the police that I was just reaching out to an old girlfriend, hoping to reconnect. Would you care to explain why you've been missing for almost the last eighteen months?" John Gilbert demanded.

Isobel took a sip of her blood and wiped her mouth free of any sign of what was really in her cup. She could openly drink it now and not have her true face give her away. Katherine had been impressed with her level of control for such a young vampire; the praise had felt wonderful.

"Hello John Let's just say that I've been busy with my research, but I needed to come see my daughter then afterwards talk to you." Isobel said pleasantly.

"I thought you'd been killed! It wasn't until Zach eventually told me you pressured him to arrange a meeting with Damon Salvatore! Tell me, what the hell were you thinking?"

Isobel sighed and put her cup down and pointed to her daughter. "John, I was researching and Damon was the source I needed the most. Can I enjoy a moment of watching Elena happy out there with her friends? I… I need it."

Her attention was fixated on her daughter and she was only watching him out of the corner of her periphery vision. In retrospect, she should have been more observant and Katherine would chastise her for her mistake, but it was already too late. Her former high school boyfriend had reached down and raised her insulated cup, expecting hot coffee. Instead, the warm rich coppery taste of blood touched his tongue, and he dropped it, spilling its contents. Fortunately, it was dark enough that no one would notice. Still, she needed to take care of the situation before it blew out of hand.

"Wh…. Whoa!" John spluttered. One of the nicest aspects about being a vampire was her speed. Isobel pulled her former boyfriend close to her and jumped over the side of the bleachers. Luckily everyone's attention was focused on the game field so their departure went unnoticed. She didn't stop until they were far enough away that they were alone.

"You… You… I… Why?" he coughed, backing away from her, fumbling for something in his pocket.

"Yes John, I'm a vampire and as for why, because I wanted this," she spoke gently. His reaction made her feel guilty and although she'd given up a lot, it ultimately had been worth it. She just needed to convince him of that first.

She was expecting it and although she was more than a match for him, it still hurt that he would've given her the benefit of the doubt. Her reaction time was quicker than his and she pulled the wood stake from his hand and threw it into a tree. As a testament to her new status as a vampire, not only had her aim been true but the wood stake was buried halfway into the tree itself.

"JOHN! I'm not going to hurt you. PLEASE stop trying to kill me. I have something important to tell you!" She raised her voice, but she didn't compel him. Chances were he was wearing vervain. It hurt that he wasn't listening; instead he was backing away from her looking for a safe avenue of escape. Sadly, with her new abilities, that wasn't even an option anymore.

"JOHN! Please just listen to me Elena is in danger!"

He stopped and glared daggers at her as the taste of his fear filled her nostrils and the predator stirred inside of her, but she tamped it down. She needed to be as non-threatening to him as she could. It wasn't easy, but she needed for him to understand.

"Of course she is in danger. Her birth mother is a blood-sucking vampire now. Just leave Elena out of this! God, what are you planning to do? Kidnap her? I know you don't approve of how Grayson is raising her, neither do I, but I won't let you take her! I… I'd rather die first!"

"Goddamn it John, will you fucking listen to me? Elena is in Danger but not from me!" She yelled and a part of her reveled in the small victory that he snapped his mouth shut from her outburst.

"What do you mean?" he said finally, and she gave him credit when he managed to regain his composure and seemed to be waiting on her now. Although she didn't need to, she breathed in and did a ten count before she released her breath. With the feeling of calm control, she started to explain everything she learned in the last eighteen months. Starting with Katherine Pierce and her Doppelgänger connection with Elena.

The look of horror on his face would have matched her own inner feelings if she were still human, as it turned out, it was far worse for a vampire. Her baby girl would die if they didn't find a way of stopping it.


Location Unknown:
Time Unknown:

"That is how your uncle John had learned about you being a Petrova Doppelgänger, how Katherine Pierce, who supposedly died in eighteen sixty-four, was still alive and was a Doppelgänger herself. It was only natural that the name Klaus came up and what the sun and the moon curse was meant to do," Isobel finished.

"So you were trying to save me?" Elena asked incredulously. Had she misjudged everything about her birth mother or had she been tainted by her animosity towards Katherine?

"Yes… I swear I was trying everything I could to find a way of keeping you safe. Keeping the tomb vampires from escaping and thereby drawing the Originals' attention to your hometown. Having your Uncle as an ally. He didn't fully trust me, but he knew that I loved you, so that was enough for him. Unfortunately, when I was trying to find a way of defeating Klaus and keeping him away from you, I accidentally drew to his notice of me, so he set a trap," Isobel said. Elena didn't want to ask the distressed expression her mother carried was enough to know it wasn't a pleasant experience.

"After that he compelled me to betray Katherine and then to do nothing that would prevent him from completing the ritual to unbind his werewolf side. Elena, I felt like I was a trapped animal in a cage. I… I wanted to take you and just run! But I couldn't."

"I… don't know what to say?" Elena finally said.

"And you don't need to, Elena. I've been with you ever since. During the ritual, I was with your body, waiting for you to wake up. I've never been so proud of you Elena. You have faced things that would have broken others, even me, since I'm being honest with you."

Elena didn't understand why but she felt that her mother was telling her the truth. Still, something was bothering her and she needed it answered.

"If you only wanted the best for me and to protect me, why did you turn off your humanity? I mean, when I left our time, Stefan still hadn't turned on his emotions. What changed?"

"It all changed the very day John Gilbert called me out of the blue. After I turned, he only talked when he absolutely had no other choice. So it was a shock when he told me what happened that fateful night on Wickery Bridge," Isobel started, then started to explain once more.


June 22, 2009
Willoughby, Pennsylvania:
Willoughby Lake Bar

Isobel waited until the waitress with the name tag that read Jolene finished filling both her and Katherine's coffee cups. The young woman smiled at her mentor and friend before moving on to the next table.

"Kat, I almost didn't believe you when you told me about this town. Like seriously, just how long did it take to compel everyone that lives here and, more importantly, why? What is so special about this place?"

Katherine smiled and, after doctoring her coffee, she took a long sip before she carefully placed her cup back on the cheap Formica tabletop.

"This is my refuge from the world outside and as to its importance... Believe it or not there are descendants of the people Klaus missed when he killed my family and the village they were apart. From my ongoing efforts to find what had happened to my lost but not forgotten daughter I was forced to give up, I discovered that some of them had immigrated here."

Her finger flicked towards the waitress that was now taking a food order. "For instance, Jolene is a direct descendant of a childhood friend that I used to play with in the forest near our home in Bulgaria. As for how long? It took years to compel everyone here and I have to check in every decade or so to take care of any new faces," Katherine smirked.

Isobel was impressed. She never thought about compelling an entire town, mostly she did it so she could feed without interference and to occasionally acquire things she needed, but only when she had no other choice. She still felt guilty but Katherine told her that her humanity was showing and that almost felt like a put down of sorts. Whether it was or wasn't did matter, they had business to discuss.

"Today marks Elena's birthday. Did you know that?"

"Is it? I had no idea," Katherine said with mock amazement, then her demeanor changed to a more serious one. "Of course I know, Isobel. She is my Doppelgänger after all. For some unknown reason I've learned that we are all bound to be born in this particular month. I really have no idea why that is the case. What was the urgency for you to come find me? Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on things?"

Isobel's hand shook as she picked up her own cup and took a sip. She was still adjusting to how heightened her senses had become. She much preferred tea, but as both Damon and Katherine had advised her that drinking coffee would improve her color and help to heat up her body temperature more towards the human range. As if waiting, Katherine picked up a recently deposited water glass courtesy of their waitress Jolene.

"I have been, but I needed to leave town last May to avoid suspicion from rising about me hanging around. I swear everyone on the council in that town is on vervain. I know the sheriff is and suspect most of her deputies are as well. It took John Gilbert calling my burner phone to inform me that Elena and her adoptive parents accidentally drove off Wickery Bridge on June twenty third."

Katherine's water glass shattered in her hand, a large shard of it embedded in her palm. Isobel watched despite herself with fascination as her ancestor pulled it out and then watched with some annoyance as her cut healed. Even though she had been a vampire for a while now, it still amazed her how their injuries healed and the older they got, the quicker it was, too. Something to look forward to. She wondered what she'd be like after her first century of immortality.

"Why, Isobel, did you only see fit to tell me about this now!?" Katherine snarled, taking a particularly longer than the normal amount of time to enunciate her name. Isobel's eyes darted up and immediately noticed the black veins forming around her daughter's Doppelgänger eyes.

"Easy Kat, I would have told you sooner. Besides it was only Grayson and Miranda that died. Elena, thank god, was rescued. Speaking of which, her would-be rescuer is someone who you might be rather familiar with," Isobel answered, trying to assuage her friend's odd behavior she herself found unsettling, which was part of the reason she wanted to see Katherine but seemed that her ancestor was perhaps more disturbed than her. Strange. Elena was her daughter, after all.

Katherine, who only was starting to relax after hearing that Elena had survived, immediately tensed yet again when Isobel mentioned that she had been rescued and her ancestor was familiar with who it had been. What was going on? It wasn't like Klaus had accidentally found Elena. Her mind seized on that thought train and she almost laughed.

"No… It wasn't him. It's Stefan Salvatore and after doing a little investigation of my own, I believe Damon is lurking nearby."

Katherine perked up the instant she heard Stefan's name, but gave her an exasperated sigh at the mention of his older brother. Before Katherine could explain, Jolene returned to clean up the mess she had made as well as pick up the broken glass, being careful not to cut herself. Isobel could hear the young girl's blood rushing through her veins and she was tempted, but didn't want to make a scene. Although Katherine had explained that everyone in town was compelled to give a blood donation if asked nicely.

"Of course it would be him that swoops in and saves the day. It is a surprise, to be honest. I should have expected Damon to make an appearance first, it's getting closer to the comet's return. Remember, we can't let that tomb under the old church be opened. It will only draw Klaus to Mystic Falls and to Elena as well," Katherine sighed.

Isobel looked down at her hands and then up at the woman that her daughter looked so similar, if not identical, to if anybody saw them side by side.

"About that; I want to take my daughter and run. We can hide her better if we are not tied to Mystic Falls waiting for him to find her," Isobel spoke quickly. She needed to get this out in one breath.

"Isobel, we talked about this. Her staying there is the safest place for her, not running around with two vampires. That would draw too much attention."

"But- She is my daughter!" Isobel cried out loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in the dinner, but after a moment everyone returned to their own business. Isobel blushed in embarrassment at her outburst. She was still trying to get a handle on her emotions and extreme ones tended to break free more often than she liked.

"And this is why I suggested that you turn them off, at least till the threat to Elena has passed," Katherine said in dulcet tones meant to soothe her into doing as she suggested.

"But-"

"Isobel, your emotions aren't fully under your control yet and while you're making remarkable progress, it could pose a threat to our protection of Elena. Just assume for a moment if you had kidnapped Elena before or after her adoptive parents' demise. The townsfolk would have alerted the authorities and possibly the media. Both guarantees that Klaus or one of his cronies would've been drawn to Mystic Falls, by then all bets are off. Elena's safety is rooted in her anonymity," Katherine reasoned.

She wanted to disagree but Katherine had yet given her bad advice and the logic was sound put that way.

"If I were to turn them off, is it easy to get them back?" Isobel asked cautiously.

"I'll help you bring them back after Elena is safe, I promise," Katherine said, reaching over the tabletop patting the top of her hand. Isobel appreciated the physical reassurance. She hoped that she didn't regret it, but she asked Katherine to explain how to turn off her humanity. A lesson which Katherine didn't hesitate in teaching her. It took a solid minute, but when Isobel reopened her eyes, all her worries, concerns, and surprisingly her inhibitions faded in the background, suppressed. Once again, Katherine was a load of helpful tips and sage advice. It had been as easy as flipping a switch.

A slow predatory smile formed on her lips as she watched Jolene heading back to their table.

"Can I get any of you anything else?" Jolene asked cheerfully.

"Why yes Jolene I'm afraid that I'm feeling rather famished. I could really use a drink," Isobel Flemming asked pleasantly, but her eyes were those of a predator who'd just been unleashed.

"Why, of course!" Jolene said in the same tone as before, then held out her wrist for Isobel to take hold of. Even the feel of her eye teeth extending no longer phased her anymore. She relished the feel of them piercing the girl's flesh. Because this human might mean something to her best friend, she only took two languishing long pulls, drawing a mouth full of the delicious nectar into her. It was like liquid sex and now that her inhibitions were unlocked she might finally trying feeding and fucking at the first opportunity that presents itself to her. Finished, she licked the wound until it was free of blood.

"Thank you dear, that will be all," Katherine broke the silence.

"What do you want me to do now?" Isobel asked.

"Keep an eye on your daughter and the two brothers. Knowing them, they will be fighting over her and will be somewhat distracted. I recommend if you're worried about being discovered, perhaps you start compelling spies that can move in and out of town. If we want to protect Elena, we need to keep the tomb sealed and, barring that, we need to kill any vampire that escapes. Remind me what was that thing you told me about in the Gilbert Journals? Some sort of machine, I believe?"

"Yes, the Gilbert Device. Not very original of name really, but it can supposedly render us helpless, and in the process, also identify us for what we are. Should I get John Gilbert working on acquiring it for us?" Isobel asked. Katherine considered her explanation before answering.

"Yes, but it should only be used as a last resort and I meant what I said. Isobel the Salvatore brothers are mine to deal with," Katherine warned.

"As you wish, might I ask what you'll be doing while I'm playing nursemaid to my daughter?"

Katherine seemed hesitant in giving her friend an answer, but finally relented and smiled devilishly back at Isobel. "Oh… There is a handsome surfer hanging out along the Emerald Coast by the name of Mason that I've become quite familiar with. I thought maybe I should take a side trip and see if he is missing my company yet."

"Do tell?"

"Sometimes it is good to keep a few secrets." Katherine suggested very coyly.


Location Unknown:
Time Unknown:

"How do I know that you're not lying to me?" Elena asked after her birth mother concluded her last story. She wanted to believe her, but dealing with vampires and everything else she had to put up with over the years, she wasn't the same naïve teenage girl anymore.

"I can show you my memories if that's what you need from me, both the good and the bad. I want you to believe me Elena I still have so much to tell you but our time here together is finite." Isobel answered quickly and, although she was severely tempted, she still felt it would be an intrusion.

"Are you sure I don't want you to be embarrassed or upset by what I see?"

"Elena, I'm dead I think I'm well past that." Isobel chuckled then moved closer to her daughter as she reached out, taking Elena's head gently and leaned towards her till their foreheads touched. "It helps if you clear your mind and then concentrate on me."

Elena sighed but did as her mother had suggested. At first she didn't see anything, but as the world faded to black she started seeing familiar faces but younger, and it took her a second to realize these memories were from Isobel's perspective when she was younger. She watched as if she was watching a movie and she backed away when she saw something she wasn't expecting.

"Do you mean that John Gilbert might not even be my real father but instead this Morgan Labonair person?" Elena gasped.

"Maybe. Do you have a birthmark of a crescent moon on your right shoulder?" Isobel asked calmly, making Elena furrow her eyebrows in puzzlement.

"Um… I think I would've noticed a birthmark. Why does it matter?"

"If you were related to Morgan, you would've been born with it. He had one. To this day I still recall the story behind it when I umm.. Noticed it after we…" Isobel coughed and if Elena needed a physical sign from her mother's humanity being restored was the blush spreading on her mother's face.

"Umm… Okay then, moving on, what did you mean earlier that our time here is finite?" Elena asked, desperate to change the subject. She really did need to hear about her mother's past sexual rendezvous despite her being dead now. Thankfully, Isobel appeared to be uneasy about bringing up the issue herself, so she at first appeared relieved to move onto something else, but the subject Elena had suggested seemed to only make her mother reluctant to speak.

"Isobel?"

"Elena, I know how much you feel about this, but Ayana warned me that it was supposed to happen. That is why the Spirits sent you back in time," Isobel cautioned. Which only made Elena feel more confused. She just knew that the gaps in her memory might be related somehow, but didn't understand why it might matter.

"Feel about what? I'm sorry, but I… I… not following you," Elena stammered. She wanted to know, but it was as if a part of her didn't and that was worrisome, at least to herself.

"Do you remember when Ayana told you about the eternal curse placed on the entire Petrova line?"

"Umm… Yeah, I think so. It had to do with Amara Petrova, I believe. But what does that have to do with me?" Elena asked. She shifted on the couch, not wanting to continue this seemingly off topic conversation. Was her subconscious trying to protect her but what was there that it might feel the need to do so for her conscious mind she wondered?

"Elena, when Ayana told me about the Eternal Curse on the Petrova bloodline, there is only one way that the curse could have been broken," Isobel paused, as if hesitant to even mention it, yet she somehow found the courage to continue. Elena felt like running, as if she didn't want to hear it, but where would she go? "When a Petrova Doppelgänger drinks the blood of another Doppelgänger, the curse is forever broken."

"That sounds almost as cruel as the loophole Nik had when it came to successfully siring hybrids! But I've never consumed any Petrova Doppelgänger's blood-" Elena stopped mid sentence as the sudden memory of lingering pain in her chest. She didn't want to, but she glanced down and to her horror discovered that the front panel of her dress was soaked with blood, her blood to be precise. Memories her subconscious was trying to shield herself from came cascading back in waves. The dinner, Mikael thrusting his sword into her brother and sister-in-laws. Her Elijah. The wine that Mikael insisted everyone partake of in honor of Henrik.

"Oh God! I… I… I'm going to become an Original too?" Elena squeaked. Her emotions were a turbulent storm of conflicted feelings. How? Would she get to see her long-lost friends again? Her family? Should she even complete the transition, but what about her babies? Her babies!

"Elena I know what you must be feeling but there is one more thing I need to share with you. Our time is growing short. I can feel it and so can you!" Isobel said firmly and her mother's voice did help to center herself somewhat.

"Okay?"

"The Immortality Spell Esther used on her children as well as you was almost entirely based on Amara Petrova's original spell. Our ancestor Amara, according to Ayana, was a certifiable genius when it came to spell crafting. I don't know everything about it, but it's not just one spell but hundreds of tiny spells crafted together to appear as one."

"But?" Elena tried to interrupt, but her mother waved her off.

"No time Elena! The way she described it to me sounded like not even she could understand all of it! She, or more accurately Esther, could only change minor aspects of it. Elena, try to think of it as changing the desktop theme of your computer. It might look and behave differently but at its heart it's still the same."

"I still don't think I'm following you."

"The Immortality spell Esther used was originally tailored for family members of the Petrova Bloodline. That means it will have different effects on you!"

"Oh God, does that mean I won't be an Original Vampire?"

"I don't really know, and neither did Ayana when I pressed her about it. Elena, I think you'll be a hybrid of the two." Isobel answered solemnly.

"I… I…" Elena uttered aloud but couldn't finish her protest. She felt an odd tugging sensation and with each second, it grew more and more intense.

"Isobel?" Elena asked, panic filling her. The sad expression on her mother's face was answer enough but her words only confirmed it. She was returning to the real world.

"It's time honey. Remember, I'm so proud of you! You made me a Grandmother and I love you so very much Elena Mikaelson." Isobel started to cry. Elena reached out and finally embraced her mother.

"Mom!"

"Remember, I will always be with you," Isobel whispered into her daughter's hair. Elena wanted to say more but the world started turning a bright white and she watched as her mother and the house of her childhood was blotted out from her sight.