Chapter 29: The Other Side

MYSTIC FALLS. 2011 A.D.

The weeks passed quickly and with the passing of time, Faith recovered her health and strength. Elijah and Rebekah were with her at every step, trying their best to help.

Every now and then, the sounds of laughter would be heard. Faith, Elijah, and Rebekah would be catching up and reminiscing about the past.

Klaus would hear them and feel envious. He had been avoiding Faith ever since she had awoken.

So it was by chance really that he came across her at all.

No one but the two of them were home that day.

Klaus found Faith sitting outside on one of the garden benches.

She was staring into the distance while fiddling with something around her neck. It was the wooden wolf pendant he had carved all those years ago. She had kept it all this time.

Klaus froze, not knowing if he should leave or approach her.

She was too absorbed with her thoughts and did not notice his presence. But just when he had decided to go back into the house, she looked up and saw him.

He tried to look busy but only ended up looking awkward. Faith couldn't help but smile at his attempts. However, the sadness was evident in her eyes.

Knowing he had no excuse now, and that he couldn't avoid her anymore, Klaus approached Faith embarrassingly.

"Remember this?" Faith held out the necklace to him.

She wore that carved wooden wolf everywhere. Even when dressed formally, she never took it off. In fact, when someone had attempted to take it off – saying it didn't match her outfit – she had slapped their hand away.

Klaus nodded silently.

"I still remember when you made this for me." Faith continued. "You knew I didn't have a birthday, so you decided – on your own – to have my birthday be the same day as yours."

They both chuckled at the memory.

"It was my first birthday present so to speak." Faith looked to him and smiled melancholically. Then her smile faded and she turned away from him.

The silence that ensued was deafening.

Finally, without looking at him, she asked: "Why Klaus? Why?"

Again, there was silence.

Then Klaus swallowed nervously and began speaking, "I wanted you…and I let that blind me…"

"How could you do that to me?"

Klaus stammered as he tried again to explain.

"You know I'd never hurt you."

"You've done enough." Faith interjected. She stood up and was ready to leave when Klaus started speaking.

"I've done more than enough." His voice turned cold. "I've stepped back, shown mercy, was patient, all because of you Faith. It was all for you."

His tone reminded her of the Klaus in her nightmares. She shivered and embraced herself in response, trying to comfort herself.

"Really?" She turned back and asked him in disbelief. Her eyes started to get watery as she became frustrated. That was one of the things she hated about herself. She becomes teary-eyed when she's angry. She didn't like it because it made her feel and look weak.

"How'd you came to that conclusion?!" Faith could still remember the Klaus in her nightmares. Part of it terrified her and part of it made her angry. Those dreams now affected the way she was interacting with Klaus.

"You always do this…" Faith cried out. She was becoming very vexed at him for failing to see the truth. "You hurt people Klaus. You hurt the ones you love again and again."

"Like you've never hurt anyone." Klaus stood up in indignation.

"What do you mean by that?!"

"I loved you." Klaus spoke slowly and with great difficulty. "I love you."

Klaus had a pained expression on his face as he gestured to her then himself.

"But you hurt me." His eyes were red and watery. His mouth agape but speechless.

Klaus' words startled Faith, like cold water being splashed in her face.

"I could never hurt you." Faith responded quietly. The anger was gone as quickly as it had come. Now, all she could feel was apologetic.

"But you did!" Klaus roared as his emotions heightened. "You hurt me! You hurt me when you chose my brother! You hurt me when you died.""

Shouting at first, his voice died down to a softer tone as he said the last line. He sounded defeated, evidence of the extreme pain and sadness he was feeling.

"I hate you." He glared at Faith fiercely.

Faith was speechless. She didn't know how to respond.

There was a pause then Klaus' gaze on her softened.

"But why is it…that after all this time…" Klaus continued, stammering as he revealed his true emotions. "I still love you."

He said that last part in a such a soft whisper that if you were not listening, you would have missed it.

At a time like this, Caroline's words to Klaus came to Faith's mind. Before she knew it, the words fell out of her mouth: "I know that you're in love with me. And anyone capable of love is capable of being saved."

"But I," Faith sighed. "I can't be the person to save you."

~TGITW~

It happened some time after Faith had recovered.

Bonnie had come to visit her. It was then that Bonnie told Faith all about what she had discovered. Piecing together the clues from her research and what Adam had revealed to Faith, they came to the conclusion that one of Faith's ancestor had come to the TVD world before. It was a man called Caleb and he had crossed paths with Qetsiyah in ancient Greece.

According to what Bonnie found, Caleb had left traces of his blood which Qetsiyah had used. There was something very potent about the blood in interdimensional beings. It held such power that Qetsiyah was able to use it to create the Immortality Spell and the Other Side.

The spells linked Caleb and Faith's bloodline to the TVD world. As such, it acted like a gateway and anchored Faith to the TVD world. Faith couldn't really die in the TVD world because she didn't belong there. When Faith was "killed" by Esther a thousand years ago, Faith had ended up being trapped on the Other Side instead.

When Bonnie dropped the veil during the Night of Illumination, it had released Faith's spirit from the Other Side and allowed her to return to her body. With Silas gone, the Other Side was the last remnant that tied Caleb and Faith's bloodline to the TVD world.

"So, what are you saying?" Faith asked as Bonnie finished explaining.

"The power that Qetsiyah drew upon to create the Other Side had actually come from your ancestor." Bonnie continued. "I think I can use your blood to do the same. We found Qetsiyah's tombstone, and I think with your blood and it, we can bring the veil to the Other Side down. We can get back Jeremy, Kol, Alaric–"

Bonnie started ranting excitedly but was interrupted by Faith.

"But won't that bring back people like Silas as well?"

"We'll put it back right away," Bonnie promised. "We're just gonna give it enough time for our people to come home then I'll put the veil back up."

Faith pondered over the plan quietly.

"Also," Bonnie voiced out, breaking the silence. "I think there's a way we can change the spell a bit. Instead of you being trapped again on the Other Side when the veil goes down, I think I can make it so that you return back to your world."

Faith could not hide the surprise from her face. Bonnie's words were not something she had expected. Faith had lived in the TVD world for so long that she had not thought about going home for some time now. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to go back.

"That's…great?" Faith replied uncertainly.

Bonnie did not seem to notice the lack of enthusiasm in Faith's voice because she kept going.

""Faith, I know I can do it." Bonnie reassured her then bit her lips in hesitation. "There's just one thing…"

"What is it?" Faith asked worriedly.

"If on the offchance…something does go wrong…there would be consequences. Our world could move forward as if you never existed or it could be something worst. I don't know."

Bonnie shrugged and continued.

"You might not make it."