"So, the Lockwoods really have no idea that these tunnels are underneath their property?" Elena asked as the three of us walked back down to the pictures cave.
"Careful where you shine that thing. Bats hate the light." Ric said as we moved further into the tunnels.
"Wait, what?" Elena asked after a moment.
"It's a dark cave Elena. There just might be bats down here." I told her.
"Elena" someone whispered.
"Ah! God, Damon!" Elena said, hitting him.
"Scaredy-cat." Damon said to her.
"Just ignore him. That's what I do." Ric told him before he continued walking.
"So, you really can't get in?" Elena asked him.
"No. Seems even the ancient Lockwoods were anti-vampire." Damon said walking in front of her.
"What do you mean, ancient?" Elena asked him.
"See for yourself." Damon told her as we moved further into the tunnels to the cave with the drawing on the walls. "Well, this is as far as I get to go." Elena and I joined Ric in the cave and we pointed the flashlights at the walls, looking at all the pictures.
"What is all this?" Elena asked us.
"Well, as far as we can tell, it's a story. In simple, archaeological terms, it's a really, really old story." Ric told her before pointing at the wall. "That right there, is the moon cycle." he then pointed at another drawing. "A man, a wolf."
"A werewolf." I told her.
"It's the "Lockwood Diaries: Pictionary-Style."" Damon said.
"I don't understand. I thought the Lockwoods came here with the Original Founders in the 1860s." Elena said turning to us.
"The Lockwoods did, but according to this wall, these werewolves have been here a lot longer than that." I said pointing to the wall full of wolf pictures.
"How long?" Elena asked and I shrugged my shoulders.
"Long. It gets better. Show them, Ric." Damon said and we turned to Ric as he walked to another wall.
"Names. They're not native. They're written in Runic, a Viking script." he told us.
"Vikings?" I asked him.
"This name here, I translated it and it reads Niklaus." he told us and I looked up at the name.
"Nik." I whispered.
"Klaus." Elena said.
"And Elijah...and Rebekah." Ric said, pointing to two other names.
"These are the names of the Original Family." I said, rubbing my hand over Nikolas.
"Carved into a cave that's been here since way before the founding of Mystic Falls. Or even the entire New World, for that matter." Ric said.
"Okay, this has gotta be one of Klaus's fakes." Elena told him.
"That's what I said." Damon agreed with her.
"That could be true, except the last name up here made us think otherwise." Ric told us pointing his flashlight at another name.
"What's the name?" Elena asked him.
"Mikael." Ric said after a beat.
"Mikael?" I asked looking between the two of them. "Mikael, as in, the vampire hunter who knows how to kill an original?"
"Yep. I now like to call him, "Papa Original"." Damon told us and I looked back at the names. We waited before leaving as Ric took photos of the drawings. We all went back to his loft which they'd been using as a gym since he moved in with Aunt Jenna.
"These images tell a story... to learn the story, you have to decipher these images." Ric told us as he and I leaned over the table looking at the pictures.
"Sloppy!" Damon said from behind us as he helped train her behind us.
"Shut up! I'm new at this." Elena told him.
"Why don't both of you shut up." I suggested, grumpy and frustrated. I hated mood swings.
""Ghost of Christmas Past" Mason Lockwood set up the cave and lead us to a weapon that can kill Klaus." Damon said, ignoring my snippy attitude.
"Yeah, but doesn't Mikael have a weapon?" Elena asked.
"Yes. Which probably means the wall will lead us to Mikael, who we have already found... and lost." Damon said and I rolled my eyes. "Bang! You're dead!" Damon told her.
"These images at the very least might tell us what that weapon is." Ric told them.
"Then all we have to do is find out what they mean." Elena said walking to the two of us.
"Fine! Fine! If I am being irritatingly optimistic like you two...how do you suppose we do that?" Damon asked, joining us and I thought of something.
"Well, if the story is about the Original Family living here, then we go straight to the source." I offered and Damon groaned.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"I walked with Elena to the cheerleading squad, practicing.
"Elena! Goody." Rebekah said sarcastically. "Nikky, how are you dear?" she asked me.
"I've been okay. Ready for the baby to be born though." I told her and she smiled at me.
"We all are." she told me.
"I was hoping we could talk." Elena told her.
"About what? Stefan? Don't worry, I'm off him until he starts treating me better. In fact, you should probably take a page out of my book, if I'm being honest." Rebekah told her.
"Actually, we'd rather talk about this." I said, giving her a copy of her name written in Runic on the cave wall.
"We're curious why you and Klaus have spent a thousand years running from your father." Elena said.
"I should get back to the girls. Homecoming's right around the corner."Rebekah said, turning to leave.
"Well then, maybe I'll ask Mikael when we wake him." Elena told her and I gave Elena a curious look. What was she playing.
"You're bluffing! You don't know where he is. No one does." Rebekah said turning to us.
"So, then who's rotting in that old cemetery in Charlotte?" Elena asked her and Rebekah looked at her in fear.
"If you wake Mikael, we are all doomed! He will kill your sister for carrying Nik's son and the rest of your family just for supporting her!" Rebekah warned her.
"So then, tell us." Elena told her.
"Why do you want to know?" Rebekah asked her.
"Why don't you want me to wake him?" Elena asked her.
"I need to get back to the girls." Rebekah said after a beat before walking away from us.
Elena and I walked back up to Ric's apartment where he and Jenna were going over those pictures of the carvings. Elena had gotten a phone call from Damon and put it on speaker so we could talk with him.
"She's going to tell us. She's scared of him, Damon. We saw her face. Nikky and I just have to engage in a little "mean girl" power struggle first." Elena told him.
"Well, make sure she doesn't power struggle you into a wheelchair and your sister into the hospital." Damon told her.
"We've got this, Damon." I told him.
"If we can figure out a way to kill Klaus, Stefan will be free of his compulsion." Elena said and I picked up the pace ahead of her. "So... how does he look?"
"Mmm...pasty and pouty." Damon said.
"He'll have to get over it. Call me later." Elena said as we walked into the loft.
"How'd it go with Rebekah?" Jenna asked us.
"Rebekah will come around." Elena said.
"You're sure about that? I mean a thousand year old vampire, I'm sure, has learned the art of patience." Ric said as my phone went off. I looked at the message from Rebekah and smiled.
"She's a thousand year old vampire, who's joined the cheerleader squad." Elena reminded them.
"There is a whole different set of rules that we play." I said showing them my phone. I smiled before Elena and I left to go to the boarding house. When we walked in we say Rebekah in the foyer with champagne glasses.
"Hey! What's up?" she asked us. She gave me a glass and I raised my eyebrow at her. "Water." I took the glance with a thanks.
"You invited us over? To talk?" Elena said.
"All right girls, have at it!" Rebekah called out. Six girls in various jewel-toned colored homecoming dresses walked in the room. "Okay, now twirl please." they did.
"You compelled your own private runway show?" Elena asked her.
"I need a Homecoming dress. So, what do you think? Pick one." she said looking at me.
"We're not here to help you shop. We're here to talk about why you don't want me to wake up Mikael." Elena told her.
"I like the red one." I told her, ignoring Elena.
"So do I. Go away. Remember nothing." Rebekah compelled the girls and they left. "You do not threaten me, Elena. You'll learn what I allow you to learn. Is that clear?" she asked my sister. Elena nodded and we followed Rebekah further into the house. The three of us wandered into Stefan's room. "How fun is this...?" she said, opening drawers.
"We shouldn't be here..." Elena told her.
"'Course we should! Come on, like you've never wanted to snoop." Rebekah said before holding up Stefan's underwear. "Boxer briefs. A lot has changed since the twenties."
"I so did not need to see or know that." I told her.
"Are you gonna root through his stuff all night or are you gonna start to tell us your story?" Elena asked her.
"Ah... you really are no fun. What do you want to know?" Rebekah asked her.
"Well, Elijah said that your father was a landowner in Europe. How did you guys end up here?" Elena asked her.
"My parents had just started a family, when a plague struck their homeland. They lost a child to it. They wanted to escape and protect their future family from the same fate." Rebekah answered.
"So, how did you end up here? This part of the world hadn't even been discovered yet." I said.
"Not by anyone in your history books. But my mother knew the witch Ayana, who heard from the spirits of a mystical land where everyone was healthy... blessed by the gifts of speed and strength; that lead my family here, where we lived among those people." she told me.
"The werewolves?" I asked her.
"To us, they were just our neighbors. My family lived in peace with them for over 20 years, during which time my family had more children, including me." she told me.
"You make it sound so normal." Elena said.
"It was." she told us. "Once a month our family retreated into the caves beneath our village. The wolves would howl through the night and by morning we'd return home. One full moon, Klaus and my youngest brother Henrik snuck out to watch the men turn into beasts. That was forbidden. Henrik payed the price. And that was the beginning of the end of peace with our neighbors, and one of the last moments my family had together as humans." Elena's phone started ringing, snapping Rebekah out of her memories. "You better get that. That'll be Damon checking up on you."
"Hello? Damon, where are you? Yes, I'm fine, but I can't talk right now. Is that Stefan?" I always did hate hearing one half of a conversation. "Damon! How could you let him out?" after a short pause she hung up her phone and shook her head. We turned to Rebekah and watched her ruffle through Stefan's things.
"Did you get your fill of snooping yet? Can we get on with the story?" Elena asked her, getting annoyed. Rebekah got up and picked up a photo of Elena and Stefan from the table.
"Honestly, I don't get you two as a couple." she told my sister.
"Why would you? You don't know anything about who he really is." Elena said to the blond vampire.
"I know exactly who he is. He's a vampire. We're a predatory species. We don't have time to care about humans and their silly little lives." Rebekah told her.
"Is that why you did that runway show earlier? 'Cause you don't care about the Homecoming Dance? You know what, I'm just gonna go." Elena said getting up.
"Elena." I called after her.
"You haven't even heard half the story." Rebekah told her.
"And you are not going to tell it. You're just bored and looking for someone to push around. Find someone else to play with...maybe you can compel yourself a friend." Elena told her harshly.
"Elena!" I warned as she started to leave.
"The necklace wasn't Stefan's to give. It belonged to the Original Witch." Rebekah told her.
"The one who put the hybrid curse on Klaus?" I asked as Elena turned back to us.
"Not just the hybrid curse. She's the one who turned us into vampires." Rebekah revealed. "I'm thirsty. Do you want a drink?" she walked down to the library with Elena and I following her.
"So, vampirism was a form of protection?" I asked her.
"What else would it be?" she asked me.
"A curse." Elena told her.
"My parents only saw a way of keeping their children alive." Rebekah told her.
"Yeah, but why stay, if they were so afraid of the werewolves? Why not... leave?" elena asked her.
"Pride... My father didn't want to run anymore. He wanted to fight and be superior to the wolves. Where they could bite, we had to bite harder. Where they had speed, we had to be faster. Agility, strength, senses..." Rebekah listed. "Because Ayana did not help everything was left in my mother's hands."
"In her hands? How could she do anything?" Elena asked her.
"Because my mother was also a witch." Rebekah told us.
"What?" Elena asked her in shock.
"The Original Witch was part of the Original Family." I said, putting it all together.
"Where do they keep their best vintage?" Rebekah asked once we got in the library.
"But if your mother was a witch, then..." Elena asked looking at her.
"Am I?" Rebekah finished for her. "No, a witch is nature's servant; a vampire is an abomination of nature. You can either be one or the other, never both. My mother did this for us. She did not turn."
"How did you turn?" I asked her.
"She called upon the sun for life, and the ancient white oak tree, one of nature's eternal objects, for immortality. That night, my father offered us wine laced with blood. And then he drove his sword through our hearts." she told us and my mouth dropped open.
"Your father killed you?" I asked her. I couldn't believe it.
"And he wasn't delicate about it either." she said taking a bottle of wine and breaking its neck off and throwing the pieces into the fire. "We had to drink more blood to complete the ritual. It was euphoric! The feeling of power was indescribable, but the witch Ayana was right about the consequences. The spirits turned on us, and nature fought back. For every strength there would be a weakness. The sun became our enemy. It kept us indoors for weeks, and though my mother found a solution, there were other problems. Neighbors who had opened their homes to us could now keep us out. Flowers at the base of the white oak burned, and prevented compulsion. And the spell decreed that the tree that gave us life could also take it away, so we burned it to the ground. But the darkest consequence was something my parents never anticipated. The hunger. Blood had made us reborn and it was blood that we craved above all else. We could not control it, and with that, the predatory species was born."
"Why did Mikael start hunting Nik?" I asked he.
"When Nik made his first human kill, it triggered his werewolf gene. With that, he became my father's greatest shame." Rebekah told me.
"Yeah... Elijah told me this part of the story. Your mother had had an affair with one of the werewolf villagers. Klaus wasn't his son." Elena told us.
"She tried to make it right. She put the hybrid curse on Nik to suppress his werewolf side, and then she turned her back on him. But Mikael's greatest weakness as a human was his pride. As a vampire, that was magnified. He went on a rampage and killed half the village. Then he came home and killed her." Rebekah told us.
"Mikael killed your mother?" Elena asked her, stunned.
"He said she broke his heart so he would break hers. He tore it from her chest as Nik watched." Rebekah said. "Elijah and I swore on her grave we would stand by Nik's side. Always and forever."
"Always and forever... sounds nice." I told her and she smiled at me.
"Even though Klaus locked you in a coffin for 90 years?" Elena asked.
"We're vampires. Our emotions are heightened. I'm stubborn, Elijah moral, and Nik... Nik has no tolerance for those who disappoint him. Over a thousand years as a family we've all made that mistake at least once. I've made it several times." Rebekah told her.
"But you still love him?" Elena asked her.
"He's my brother. And I'm immortal. Should I spend an eternity alone instead?" Rebekah asked her. "You've heard the story, it's time to go. I said leave, Elena! I don't know what you're up to, but I'm no longer playing along."
"I'm just looking for one good reason why we shouldn't wake Mikael." Elena told us and I gave her a look.
"And she's given us a thousand!" I yelled at her.
"But you will anyway. I know you want him to help you kill my brother, I'm not stupid." Rebekah told Elena.
"It's no secret that I want Klaus dead. He has a hold over Stefan's life, and over mine." Elena told her, like Rebekah should care.
"Do what you need. Wake Mikael at your own peril. But make no mistake, if you come after my brother, I will rip you apart. And I get my temper from my father. Now leave!" Rebekah shouted at her and we left. "I thought better of you Nicole."
"I don't want him dead, Bekah, but Elena's my sister" I told her. She nodded her head in understanding. "I'll do what I can to keep them from waking Mikael. I promise." Elena and I both got messages to meet Ric, Bonnie and Jenna in the old Lockwood caves.
"We, uh, filled in what we could. (He sticks post-its to the different symbols) A Vampire, werewolf, slaughter, mayhem, etc." Ric told us once we arrived.
"That's the white oak tree that was used in the spell to create the vampires... which means that was when they burned down the tree, destroying the only way that they could be killed." Elena said looking at the picture of the tree.
"Ok. so tree equals weapon, sort of. We already knew that." Jenna said.
"What we are not sure about is this: we've got the witch symbol, and what looks like a bleeding heart. Upside down figures usually signified death, of some kind." Ric told us.
"Mikael killed the witch by ripping out her heart. But... why is that one connected to the witch's death?" I asked pointing to the symbol.
"We don't know. We haven't gotten that far." Bonnie said.
"That symbolizes vampire." I said pointing to the sun over two small triangles, matching it partially to the unknown symbol. I looked at the other symbols and their post it notes and my face fell.
"Oh my god..." Elena said, and I turned to her.
"Rebekah doesn't know the real story." I told them and they drew their own conclusions.
I made my way back to the boarding house and found Rebekah pouring herself a glass of scotch. I held the photos close to me and walked to her.
"What do you want Nikky?" she asked me.
"How do you know that Mikael killed your mother?" I asked her.
"Nik was there. He told me." she told me.
"He lied to you." I said quietly, knowing she'd hear me.
"And how do you know that?" she asked me.
"The cave where you carved your family's names is covered in symbols." I said, showing Rebekah the photos. "The story of your family: how your parents arrived, how they made peace, the spell that turned them into vampires, and this. This is the symbol for hybrid. It's a combination of the werewolf and the vampire symbol. And this is the one for your mother."
"Her necklace." Rebekah said, recognizing it instantly.
"And this is the story of her death." I said, laying down the final photo. "The hybrid killed the Original Witch. Not Mikael. Nik."
"No!" she yelled at me. "No, he wouldn't."
"She put the curse on him, made it so that he would be the only one of his kind, and then she rejected him. With the werewolf gene comes aggression and violence... when he turned, all of that was heightened. He killed her, Rebekah. And then he made up this entire lie about your father, so that he wouldn't lose you. He didn't want to be alone." I told her.
"These mean nothing!" she said taking the photos and throwing them in the fire. "They're just stupid drawings, done by stupid people who had no idea who my family was!"
"Then why are you so upset?" I asked her, holding back my tears.
"Why are you doing this to me? I've done nothing to you! I thought you loved Nik!" she shouted at me.
"I do love him, but I thought you should know that Nik killed your mother. He has a hold on you, on me, on everyone." I told her. She grabbed me by the throat and her fangs descended.
"Shut up! Shut up! Don't talk anymore! Nothing!" she shouted at me. She calmed down and let me go and I gasped for air. I watched as Rebekah fell to her knees and started to sob. I wrapped my arms around her and she turned to me, holding me close to her.
"I'm sorry." I said to her, crying. "I'm so sorry Bekah." We stayed that way all night, until her tears stopped flowing.
