A/N: Sorry I wasn't able to update last week. I wasn't feeling well :( So I made a longer chapter this week instead :)

~Recap from Chapter 5~

"Nooooo!"

Bonnie and everyone else turned in the direction of the scream and saw Faith running towards the flame.

As Faith passed her, Bonnie instinctively stopped her from rushing into the flames.

Klaus turned away from the fire and saw Bonnie struggling with a girl who was screaming.

Recognition and disbelief fell on Klaus' face.

"Faith?"

~TGITW~

Chapter 9: Night of the Ball

MYSTIC FALLS. 2010 A.D.

It had been a week since Mikael had died.

It had been a week since Klaus found out that Faith was alive.

Since then, many things had happened. His family had been undaggered and his mother was back. His mother whom he had killed.

While his siblings knew he killed his mother, they had yet to uncover the real reason why.

Fortunately, Esther was being quiet on the subject.

Klaus had lied to his siblings about it so of course he would not easily tell them the truth. They can never find out his secret. The reason why he had killed Esther. Especially Elijah. He can never know the truth.

Niklaus walked around his room filled with treasures. He was looking for something specific.

Ah, there it was. Klaus pulled out a blue gown from one of his chests. This is perfect.

He will send this to Faith together with an invitation to tonight's ball.

~TGITW~

Caroline had second thoughts about coming to the Original family's ball. After the whole fiasco with Mikael dying and the rest of the family coming back, she was questioning why she even stuck around.

Tonight, she had come as Tyler's date. She was wearing a soft red dress lined with glitters. Her dress had an off the shoulder bodice with a sweetheart neckline. Its fabric hugged her at the waist then came down to a mermaid silhouette with a flare bottom. Anyone could see that she rocked that dress. Standing beside Tyler in his classic tuxedo, they looked like a power couple.

They stood around in the foyer mingling with guests before Tyler had to leave on some matter. Caroline stood and watched the crowd, occasionally sipping the champagne in her hand.

It was then that a handsome looking man approached her. He had brown hair and brown eyes and like Tyler, was wearing a classic tux.

"Caroline Forbes, I presume," He greeted her with a slight accent. "We haven't formally met. Kol Mikaelson."

He stretched out his hand which Caroline eyed cautiously.

"You're one of the Mikaelsons." She stated rather than asked.

"That's right." He grinned then pulled his hand back when he realized that she wasn't going to shake it.

Caroline didn't know if it was because he was Mikaelson or not, but there was a dangerous glint in his eyes, a hunger almost.

"How do you know my name?" She asked him suspiciously.

"Gorgeous blonde vampire coming in with my brother's hybrid dog, who else could it be?" He replied charmingly.

"Don't call him that!" Caroline snapped back.

"Oooh, a bit of a spitfire, aren't we?" Kol looked amused.

This irritated Caroline all the more and it showed all over her face.

"I need another drink." She left her empty glass on one of the cocktail tables then brushed past him.

Kol caught her hand as she passed by and pulled her towards him.

"I'll see you around darling." He smiled mischievously then brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

Caroline yanked her hand away as if something disgusting had just touched her.

Kol disappeared into the crowd leaving a stunned-looking blonde. Caroline held one hand in the other and drew it close to her chest. She would never admit it but the moment the Mikaelson's lips touched her hand, a shot of electricity course through her.

~TGITW~

After the incident with Mikael, Faith had moved in with Alaric. Disgruntled by the actions of Elena and the Salvatores, she had moved out almost immediately.

Earlier that day, she had arrived home to find a package waiting outside the apartment. Very few people knew she was staying with Alaric, so she was surprised to find it addressed to her.

Curious, she carried it in and set it down on her bed. Opening it, she found a blue gown together with a pair of white elbow-length gloves.

She recognized it as the dress that Klaus had sent Caroline in the show. She wondered why it was sent to her instead and opened the letter to find out.

Klaus had invited Faith to tonight's ball. Of course, Klaus would know everything that happened in this small town. He would have known where she was staying.

What was surprising was the blue dress inside. In the show, Klaus had sent it to Caroline, so how did it end up going to her?

With the invitation in hand, she remembered pacing back and forth, questioning whether she should go or not. She wasn't sure if she should go as she felt ashamed to face the siblings. She had not only failed to rescue Mikael, add to that her being the reason that they were all vampires. She had failed to save them.

At last, she decided to go. And so here she was, blue gown and all, arriving late to the ball.

The ball was exactly like the scene in the show. People crowded the foyer in their suits and gowns. Two spiraling staircases on each side with a grand chandelier in the middle of it all.

She searched the room and finally her eyes landed on the figure of the man she came for. Elijah Mikaelson.

He was the reason she came. She had longed to see him.

She watched as he grabbed a glass and walked up the stairs.

"If everyone could gather please." He spoke to the crowd as his family gathered around him.

Finn, Rebekah, Niklaus, Kol, and Esther. They were all there except for Mikael and Henrik.

Faith stood with the rest of the crowd with her gaze fixed on Elijah.

Elijah was in the middle of his speech when his eyes landed on Faith. He paused in surprise then recovered immediately. But not before the Original family noticed what had had distracted him.

Following his gaze, Niklaus found Faith looking up at them. He grinned happily to see the black-haired girl in the gown he had hand-picked for her. It fitted her perfectly. The only odd thing was a conspicuous necklace of a wooden wolf around her neck. It stood out because it was out of place with the rest of her formal gown. But it was a necklace that he had hand-carved for her. And it pleased him to no end to see that she still wore it everywhere as she always had.

The rest of the family hid their surprise at seeing the girl they thought dead. However, their eyes glinted with anger and hurt. Faith was oblivious to their reactions, having only eyes for her beloved. She didn't notice how the other Originals looked as though they had seen ghost, nor did she see their expressions turn to hate.

She was fixated on Elijah Mikaelson. When their eyes met, Faith beamed at him, her eyes filled with love. A flashed of anger and hurt crossed Elijah's face before going back to his usual stoic face. Upon seeing this, Faith's smile faltered a bit, but she shrugged it off. She must have seen it wrongly.

The guests started pouring into the ballroom as the waltz began. Faith found herself suddenly whisked away unto the dance floor by a Stefan Salvatore.

As he led the surprised girl, Stefan whispered into her ears: "So…why does the Original family look like they all want to murder you?"

~TGITW~

Stefan had been with Elena and Damon when Elijah was making his speech. He had noticed the reactions of the Original family to Faith's appearance.

When the waltz started, Stefan had reluctantly left the side of his dearly loved Elena and went over to Faith. The girl had looked like a deer stuck in the headlights.

Stefan danced with Faith as Damon danced with Elena. In hushed tones, he conversed with Faith, all too aware that there were vampires around who could hear them if they listened hard enough.

The music changed indicating the change in partners and Stefan found himself faced with his girlfriend Elena.

To Stefan, Elena was as beautiful as the day he first saw her. The light danced playfully on her brown hair and she smiled at him with adoration. Likewise, Stefan gazed at her with great affection. He would do anything and everything for her. That was why he got pulled into her plans again. Plans to sneak out and meet with Esther alone. Although Stefan didn't want to put his lover in danger, he knew he had to respect her choices.

Once again, the music changed to indicate the change in partners. Only this time, Stefan and Elena snuck out of the ballroom inconspicuously. They needed to avoid any unwanted attention.

As careful as they were though, their actions did not escape Damon's watch. Damon noticed them sneak out as he was dancing with Bonnie.

He scowled and jerked suddenly causing Bonnie to almost fall.

"What the heck Damon?" Bonnie asked him in annoyance as she regained her balance.

"Oh, sorry." Damon replied back absent-mindedly.

Bonnie smirked at his words.

"What?" Damon asked in wonder.

"The great Damon Salvatore actually knows how to apologize." Bonnie's words dripped with playful sarcasm.

Picking up on the sarcasm, Damon pulled Bonnie closer to him and whispered seductively into her ears, "Careful now, don't get used to it."

Bonnie blushed furiously and tried to create some distance between them, but Damon held her close firmly.

He studied the girl in his arms. She had her black hair up with two wavy strands that framed her face. Bonnie was wearing a one shoulder blush pink satin dress. The dress was fitted and emphasized all her body's curves. He held the small of her back with one hand and her hand in his other hand. Damon found himself liking the feel of her tiny frame in his arms.

As the song ended, Damon smirked then leaned in and kissed Bonnie's hand.

"Thank you for the dance Ms. Bonnet."

~TGITW~

After several dances, Elijah stepped out of the house for a breath of fresh air.

He was starring at the evening sky when he heard footsteps approached him. He turned and saw Faith walking towards him.

"Elijah," She called out with a smile.

The sound of her melodious voice echoed in his ears. He clenched his jaw in anger and walked past her without so much as a glance.

"Wait."

He stopped in his tracks. She had reached out and grabbed his wrist.

Elijah turned to face her, his eyes filled with hate.

Taken aback by his anger, Faith took a step back unconsciously.

She hesitated then ventured again, "Aren't you glad to see me?"

Elijah could no longer hold back his anger.

"See you?! See you?!" He burst out, his voice rising with each sentence. "Why would I?!"

Feeling the full brunt of his hate, she looked away from his gaze.

Meekly, she asked: "Do you blame me?"

"Yes. Yes, I blame you!"

His spoke quieter this time but the rage in his voice was evident.

"Because of you, our family is like this! Because of you, we've become these…these monsters."

He whispered the last word, almost afraid that it might be true somehow.

Faith bit her lips and looked like she was about to cry.

"I'm sorry." She managed two words. Her eyes downcast to avoid his eyes filled with hate.

Elijah was outraged.

"Sorry?! Sorry?! That's all you have to say?" He roared at her.

He looked at her incredulously before breaking free from her hand that was holding him all along. He walked away without so much as a backward glance, leaving Faith out in the cold alone.

For a while, Faith wandered the grounds outside until she found a horse-drawn carriage. She stopped in front of the horse and just watched it paw the ground.

It was there that Klaus found her, immersed in the creature in front of her.

Klaus grinned and approached her with his usual swagger.

Faith lifted her head up and looked at him with sadness.

"Do you hate me too?" She asked him.

Klaus drew close to her and rested his hands on her shoulders. He pulled her close and whispered affectionately, "I could never hate you, love."

With watery eyes, Faith smiled at him thankfully. She went on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the cheek.

"Thank you." She whispered before walking away.