Reviews:

AriesFireQn - Yeah. Freaking Rosalie. That last statement is beyond true, XD.

lazygirl89 - You'll get your wish, it just might not be in the form of what you may expect.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All rights go to Stephenie Meyer.


Forks, Washington

Rosalie waited, unconsciously holding her breath as she watched the veins fade first from Isabel's face then her lower body. It had taken her family far too long - Edward was being incessant in his argument that 'she could hurt' them - to agree to wake Isabel. At her side, her finger twitched. It was taking longer for her to wake up than last time. Was it the vervain?

Jasper, who had been the one to remove the broken wooden beam, stood to her right, holding the stake in his crossed arms. His posture was stiff, his eyes guarded; it was enough for her to tell The Major was Jasper as much as Jasper was himself.

Other than Emmett standing on her right, the rest of her family were all but pressing themselves against the walls. They didn't want to spook or agitate her but also didn't want to miss their chance to see an Original. Apparently, they were a pretty reclusive but powerful family, making Rose wonder why this one had been going to high school. If Jasper's story from that other vampire was correct, they weren't vampires who bothered themselves with mundane, human things.

A minute after the veins completely vanished, Rose's concerned and frustrated gaze met with Carlisle's eyes. The brilliant vampire doctor, who knew almost everything, could only shrug helplessly. Of course, the one subject that fascinated her, the one person, he knew nothing about.

She looked back to Isabel's still body, taking in her long, shiny chestnut hair, her porcelain skin, her peaceful, resting face. The clothes she wore were casual but looked right. Her shirt was plain-white and her jeans were simple with sad rips. Her eyes were a beautiful and wondrous shade of brown.

Eyes!

A whoosh filled the room and suddenly Isabel was crouched, spinning to face every member of the Cullen family. There were red, black, and grey veins moving angrily under her eyes, and the sclera was a very vivid, very dark shade of red.

She snarled at Carlisle when he took a step forward, though his arms were raised in what Rose knew was supposed to be in a calm, placating way. Carlisle may be brilliant, but he was rather stupid if he believed Isabel would simply talk to the people who all but kidnapped and staked her. Wait, no, that's exactly what they did.

When feral eyes landed on her, Isabel's defensive stance relaxed. The veins faded and she stood, fixing her rumpled shirt. She spoke at last, her crystal-like voice tinged with barely concealed anger. "I know what you are, but what I don't know is why you staked me." Her hand rubbed at her heart. "That freaking hurts."

"Maybe that was the point," Rose said snidely, crossing her arms. Of course, why wouldn't her less than desirable personality shine at the worst possible moment? A part of her actually liked this girl, though she had no idea why.

After catching a very brief and faint flash of hurt, she realized that some miracle had occurred and that Isabel somehow liked her too. It was beyond strange.

"I ask again, who are you and how did you know to stake me?" Her tone was slipping from the land of sugar and rainbows to the depths of the Underworld.

Carlisle spoke for them as he was coven leader. "We only wish to talk."

Isabel scowled. "You could've just asked," she grumbled. Her statement was aimed directly at Rose though she gave no sign of it. The blonde was, after all, the one who had staked her without even asking anyone. Isabel sighed and looked at the Cullen patriarch warily. "What do you wanna talk about?"

He opened his mouth to speak but Edward cut him off, practically drooling as he looked at her. Did Alice not tell him she wasn't his mate? "I think the most obvious question is: what are you doing here?"

The eldest in the room rolled her eyes, sitting herself on the couch. "Living," she answered dryly. "No, I'm blending in. Isn't that what you lot are doing?" Her Old English accent slipped into her words as she spoke, something she thought she had lost over the years.

"So you're not here to kill entire towns," Emmett clarified, only half-joking.

"Jeez, you do that one time!" she whined. When she noticed their mirrored expressions of horror, she huffed. "In my defense, I had just escaped after spending a century in a box."

That did nothing to lessen their horror, though the reason behind it changed from believing Isabel was a murderer to imagining being trapped for that long.

"How did that…what?" Alice asked, flabbergasted.

Isabel sighed. "I know as much about it as you do. Some poor crew of humans opened the box and I kinda went all 'Carrie' on them." She snorted, "Well, that movie didn't exist at the time, obviously, but you get my point."

"So why are you here?" Edward asked curiously, if a bit rudely.

He was met with a glare. So much for her being his mate, Rose's internal voice said dryly. "If you must know, my daylight ring was taken a few months ago, so I came here to hide from the sun." It was obvious she didn't like admitting a weakness, but her unexplainable anger toward Edward overrided any sensible, reasonable thought.

"And we're just supposed to believe how convenient it was that you fit the profile of the Chief's dead daughter," he said hotly.

Her glare morphed into a sheepish expression. "I honestly don't like making him believe that Isabella never died, because he's not as happy as you might think. Any change he's accomplished because of her death was erased, because in his mind, she never died."

"Is Chief Swan the only person you've compelled?" Carlisle asked, his mind on the helpless humans of Forks.

"Yes," she answered immediately.

Jasper held up a finger, remembering that the word was mentioned multiple times in Damon's letter. It was so long ago that the meaning escaped him. "Compel?"

Both Isabel and Carlisle answered at the same time:

"Mind compulsion."

"A complex reaction in the brain due to the pheromones the vampire gives off."

Guess who said what? It's hard. I don't think you've ever come across a more difficult question. If you said it was Carlisle who delved into the sciency, doctor stuff, then you'd be correct.

"How does that work?" Alice asked as she tucked herself into Jasper's side.

Carlisle opened his mouth to respond, but Isabel held up a hand to cut him off. "I've got this…" she trailed off, not knowing his name. A second later, after studying his face, her eyes lit up with recognition. "I know you!" she exclaimed suddenly.

"You do?" the Cullens said collectively; Carlisle was the most surprised.

Isabel nodded. "1729, Italy. You were staying with the Cold One Kings." She snorted to herself then. "CO-Kings. Oddly, it fits. Everything about them is odd, so it works." She shook her head, dark curls bouncing with the movement. "I think you were trying to teach one of the guard members how to feed from animals, but he broke and ran after me since he thought I was human."

If Carlisle could blush, he would have. "That was you?" he asked with a weak chuckle.

"Yup," she nodded, popping the 'p'. Isabel leaned into the couch, a dreamy smile on her face. "Since Aro had agreed to try your way, the vampire that went after me was on his orders, meaning that going against them was death." Her smile faded. "You couldn't do it, so I did." The smile was back full-fledged. "Your face was priceless."

"I bet it was," he replied, ignoring the snickering from his family, even from his own wife.

"Sorry," Isabel said, turning to Alice. "I got a little side-tracked. What did you ask?"

Alice smiled. "I was just wondering how compulsion works."

"Well, in the words of your father, it is a 'complex reaction in the brain due to the pheromones that we vampires give off'. I've lived a very long time and I've never found a reason why it works the way it does. All of the vampires I have met can only compel humans whereas I can compel basically everyone but witches."

Rose balked, unable to close her gaping mouth. "There are witches?"

"Of course there are." Isabel smiled, though it seemed much darker than before. She lifted a hand, wiggling her fingers. "Kembe po transi."

The Cullens didn't feel any different though they had a feeling they were supposed to. Isabel stood from the couch, moving her hair behind her shoulders. She strutted to the door, where Edward idiotically decided to block her. "Move," she commanded and he shook his head. Isabel sighed. "Gadyen nan balans, Gadyen nan la foi. Se pou nou fe sa yo dwe fe."

She was surprised to see him fight it, but only for a few seconds. He stumbled, falling back until he landed on the ground, unconscious.

The Cullens, who had never seen this before; A vampire sleeping; Edward sleeping, looked from Isabel to the unconscious Edward several times in shock.

Isabel opened the front door and stepped through, and Rose tried to follow. She was stopped at the door's entrance as if it were a wall. Her incredulous gaze landed on an unaffected Isabel. "What did you expect?" she asked. "You staked me, and I told you it hurts. Why would I stay and chat with people who would do me harm?"

"Isab-"

She cut Rose off. "Broody there will wake up, and once I'm far away, the boundary spell will fall." Isabel smiled to herself. "That spell wasn't my own. It belonged to someone from…before. This is the closest I've come to remembering, and for that, I thank you. Tell me, what do you know of the name 'Finn'?"

"Nothing," Rosalie answered, still trying to get through the door to no avail.

Isabel frowned, which was quickly followed by a shrug. "Figures the one person I remember would be long dead by now. Good day to you," she said, turning and walking down the Cullens' long road. Without looking back, she called, "Try not to stake any other vampires. They won't come back."


Sequim, Washington

"Klaus!" Rebekah shouted again, walking over the uneven ground with her heels. "Niklaus!"

Finally her brother stopped, turning to face her with an air of feigned annoyance. "What is it, dear sister?"

She stopped and crossed her arms. "I'm worried," she stated.

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "Why would that be?" Curious. Truly curious. His sister felt her emotions on an exaggerated, off-the-charts level but she was never one to speak of them. So why now?

"Well, for starters, Nik, no one's stopped to think that maybe Isabel isn't being held by a witch." She then spoke her fear in a smaller, vulnerable voice. "What if she stayed away because she didn't want to come back?"

In a flash he had his arms on her shoulders. "We mustn't think that way." He sighed, seeing the true insecurities that often resided behind his sister's eyes replaced by true fear. "If she is staying away of her own will, we'll bring her home even if she doesn't want to."

Rebekah's eyes clouded over with steel, her glare so fierce that Klaus believed he would've fallen dead had he the ability. "This is a perfect example of why she would keep away! All our family consists of is backstabbing, lying, and deceit! Why would Isabel want to come back to our broken family?"

Klaus turned away quickly, continuing down the path he was on. He didn't believe, he refused to believe his youngest sister would not want to be a part of the Mikaelson family. Were they dysfunctional, topped with a millennium of parental issues and constant betrayal? Yes. But they fought for each other, each loyal to the death.

His thoughts strayed to his eldest sister. She was alive as well, though he had no clue how. If, and that's a big if, Isabel purposefully stayed away, did that mean Freya kept away, too? And what of Henrik? When his mother somehow resurrected him, would the youngest leave after seeing the mess his family had become?


Port Angeles, Washington

Esther, Finn, and Mikael were walking along the edges of Port Angeles, keeping their noses out for Isabel's scent when Finn suddenly stumbled. With the support from his parents on both sides of his body, he righted himself, and brought a hand to his head.

He slowed to a stop, standing in front of his parents as he looked at them. "This is what I meant by sudden energy depletion." Something tickled his skin just below his nose and he brought his hand up, coming away with a fresh trail of blood. "It's been happening even before I awoke, though it was less severe." His eyes met Esther's. "I created a fair amount of spells before I became a vampire, and I remember the feeling of magic well enough to recognize when someone else is using it."

"Someone is using your spells," Mikael said, mostly to himself. "Who knew other than your mother and myself?"

Finn thought for a moment. "Only the family," he answered, and his eyes lit up with realization. "It has to be Freya!" he exclaimed. His grin faded when he caught his parents' expressions. "What is it?" he asked after seeing the two exchange worried glances.

"It may not be," Esther said without any further explanation, causing Finn to turn to his father.

Mikael tried to swallow the sudden lump in his throat. "There was a group of people called the Heretics. They were a coven of witches that retained their powers after the transition. To do magic, they had to siphon it. They were considered an abomination to their own coven and were exiled to a prison world later on."

"Yes, I've heard of them. Elijah said a Bennett witch, the doppleganger, and Damon Salvatore freed them. The leader was Damon's mother, I believe."

Esther nodded. "Because of the tension between Damon, his brother, and their mother, the heretics died."

"All except one," Mikael finished.

"Are we really saying that Isabel is both a witch and a vampire? She's an Original, but she's not a siphoner. How can that be?"

"I"

"The truth is, we don't know," Esther cut off her husband. "Isabel was always good at surprising us, and it would be so very like her to keep her powers even if she didn't expect to."

Mikael surveyed his son, noticing the sadness in his eyes. "What is it, son?"

He hung his head, mumbling, "I thought it was Freya."

"It might still be," Mikael said, hoping to cheer Finn. "We won't know until we find them." He looked around, seeing the same trees they had passed before. "Speaking of, she's not here."

Finn removed his phone from his pocket, dialing Rebekah, hoping they had better news.


Forks, Washington

"Are you quite done?" Elijah asked calmly as Kol alternated between raving about the horrors of the family to cursing witches. "You are aware you have been one once upon a time."

Kol slowed, allowing Elijah to catch up, and glared at his older brother. "Of course I know that," he grumbled. He sped up once more, eager to try and find his sister. Isabel was always his favorite sibling. She never daggered him or cursed him or taunted him or mocked him. She never did anything Klaus does. If she hadn't been taken by the wolves, he wondered if she would, had she been given the chance. He shrugged it off and focused on his search for his sister.

Behind him, Elijah sighed, playing the role of 'tired old man' perfectly. "Kol," he said, causing the younger of the two to stop, if only for a moment.

"Bloody hell," he muttered to himself before turning to face Elijah. "What could you possibly want at this exact moment?"

"I certainly haven't missed your impertinence," he spoke to himself. He walked up and grabbed Kol's wrist, bringing him back from the edge of the cliff he had been so close to falling off of. "I understand your desire to find our sister, but please do keep your head." He backed away and walked down the dirt path they had walked up.

"Do you?" Kol challenged. "Because from where I stand, you don't seem to care about her at all!" Before he could blink, his brother had the collar of his shirt in his fist; the only thing keeping him from falling from the cliff he was back on the edge of.

"Don't you ever," he hissed, "question my love for our sister. If we lose ourselves to worry, we lessen our chances of success." He pulled his brother forward, releasing his grip on his collar, smoothing out the bunched material. Elijah patted his chest like a man who had just received terrible news and stumbled away.

Kol moved to turn when he caught a breeze, his skin electrified as if he was struck by lightning. He spun around, watching a blurry form dive right off the cliff into the choppy waters. He could only stand in shock, gobsmacked.

It had been Isabel. He was sure of it. He only felt the electricity with one person; when he was with her as a human.

The first time he had seen his sister in a thousand years and all he glimpsed was a ball of blurry color.


Isabel dove off the cliff, and after landing in the water she recalled the heat she had felt. It was almost like a million tiny sparks on her skin. The sparks did not bring pain, but rather the rare feeling of home.

She shook her head under the water, shooting through the opposing current at rocket speed. When she supposed she was far enough away for the boundary to drop - she didn't like leaving the Cullens trapped in their house - she hauled herself out of the water. She was sopping wet and her forgotten phone was destroyed. Isabel probably should've thought ahead but all that was on her mind was getting away so the Cullens could be free.

As she looked around, she noticed she was on a beach. A rather empty beach, which was odd. She didn't know where she was but she saw two people sitting on a beached tree trunk. She decided she could simply ask.

Though she couldn't see their eyes, she knew they had been on her since the moment she rose from the water. She approached them, clearing her throat to speak, and froze when her eyes met with beautiful hazelnut ones. Her breath caught in her throat, and despite knowing it was beyond rude, all she could do was stare and fall into their depths.


15 - Written: 12/5/21 - 12/12/21

Posted - 12/12/21