Ella sat in the living room of the Salvatore home. Stefan, Elena, and Damon were there as well. The group was talking about the possibility of werewolves in Mystic Falls. Ella thought the entire idea was crazy, Damon and Stefan had been vampires for hundreds of years yet they've never come across one? It just didn't add up.
The door to the Salvatore house was opened by Damon, there was a man on the other side of the doorway that Ella presumed to be Alaric.
"Thanks for coming, Ric. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, bourbon? Bourbon in your coffee?" Damon asked as the man called Alaric stepped through the threshold. "Elena mentioned you needed my help," Alaric said. "Yeah, we were hoping you could shed some light on the Lockwood family," Stefan added.
Alaric sat down on a chair adjacent to Damon's. "Now, why would I know anything about the Lockwood's?" Alaric questioned. "Well, you wouldn't. But your dead, not-dead vampire wife might." Damon shrugged.
"His what? A girl goes to college early and suddenly she just misses everything." Ella rolled her eyes. "How would you feel about having a new mommy?" Damon joked. Ella's brown eyes widened. "A what?" Damon's eyes darted towards Alaric who gave him a nod. "Well, you and Elena are adopted; Which you already know. What you don't know, is this one here married your birth mother. Isobel. Which I turned, so A plus B equals Alaric's your stepdad." Damon explained.
"Oh." Ella was at a loss for words. Alaric gave her an awkward wave. "Okay, let's continue." Ella smiled awkwardly. "Isobel's research from when you guys were at Duke together." Elena finished her train of thought. "You said she had spent years researching this town," Stefan added. "Isobel's research here in Mystic Falls rooted in folklores and legends but at the time I thought much of which was fiction." Alaric continued. "Like that amazing vampire story," Damon smirked. "Aside from vampires, what else?" Elena raised an eyebrow.
"The lycanthrope," Alaric revealed. "Wait, like werewolves?" Ella's eyes widened in surprise.
"No way, impossible, way too Lon Chaney." Damon shook his head in disbelief. "Is it?" Stefan questioned. "I've been on this planet one hundred and sixty some odd years, never came across one. If werewolves exist, where the hell are they?" Damon wondered.
"Why do you suspect the Lockwood's?" Alaric asked. "Because vervain didn't affect the mayor at Founders' Day but the Gilbert device did and it affected his son Tyler," Damon said. "And at the school carnival his uncle Mason exhibited inhuman behavior when he fought with one of the carnival's workers," Stefan added. "What if he's just a vampire?" Ella pondered.
"No, I arm-wrestled him and it wasn't vampire strength. But it was supernatural." Stefan said. A look of disbelief washed over Ella's face. " It suggests it's some sort of a supernatural entity." Stefan continued. "We were hoping that Isobel's research could help us figure out what it is," Elena said. Alaric nodded his head, "Well, all her things are still at Duke. I mean her office is still there. She's technically still missing." Ella glanced down sadly, she hadn't even gotten a chance to meet her birth mother. "So can we get access to it?" Damon asked. Alaric seemed to be at a loss for words. "Ric, we need to know what we are dealing with. If this wolfman thing is true, I've seen enough movies to know it's not good." Damon persisted.
"It means Mason Lockwood is a real-life Lon Chaney and that little Tyler punk may just very well be Lon Chaney junior, which means Bella Lugosi, meaning me, is screwed." Damon continued with a worried expression.
Alaric gave in and nodded. "Okay, we can go down to duke today and see what we can find out."
"I'm coming with you," Ella stated firmly. "No, Ella, don't involve yourself." Elena protested. "I'm already involved! Isobel is my birth mother, Alaric is my step-dad, and I'm a vampire and I want to know if I should feel threatened about the wild dogs that we may or may not have running around." Ella stood her ground. "Ella's right, she's just as involved in this as you are." Damon agreed. Elena narrowed her eyes at him and scoffed. Ella and Damon looked at each other for a moment before Ric broke the silence. "Alright, I'll get the car."
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Damon, Elena, Stefan, and Ella are outside waiting by the car. "Sorry, you can't come too, Stef." Damon smiled sarcastically. "Call me if you need anything," Stefan said to Elena, ignoring Damon. "Oh, I'll take really good care of her," Damon smirked.
Elena glared at him and grabbed Stefan by the neck, kissing him, he kissed her back as Damon watches glumly. Ella takes Damon's hand in hers, pulling his attention away from Stefan and Elena. He smiles softly at her. "Okay, time to go," Damon said.
Damon opens the door for Ella and she gets in. He closes it behind her and he gets in on the other side. Elena goes into the car as well, Stefan looks at her, "Goodbye."
Alaric begins to drive and the car is filled with silence until Damon breaks it. " How are you doing back there? You know, this whole pretending to hate me thing is getting a little silly." Damon said, looking at Elena. Elena stayed silent while Ric interjected, " I don't think she's pretending. You did kill her brother." Damon rolled his eyes, "Ella forgave me."
Ella looked up from her phone and everyone in the car directed their gaze towards her. "I- Okay, don't bring me into this." She ignored the statement. "Ella always falls for the wrong ones," Elena muttered under her breath, forgetting Damon could hear. Ella slapped her sister on the shoulder. "Ow!" Elena exclaimed. Damon smirked at Ella and she shook her head. "Anyways, There is a huge asterisk next to that statement: he came back to life," Damon said.
Elena scoffed, "Yeah, thanks to a ring you didn't know he was wearing."
"Why are you so sure I didn't know?" Damon retorted. "Did you?" Elena asked. "Yes," Damon responded. She swirled her tongue on the inside of her mouth and shook her head, "Your lying." Damon sighed, "Elena, I saw the ring! It's a big tacky thing. Hard to miss." Alaric gazed down at the ring on his finger and sighed.
The conversation faded as Alaric pulled into Duke University. The group entered the large building and Alaric started up a new conversation, "So Isobel was officially employed by the anthropology department given that most paranormal phenomenon is rooted in folklore." Alaric said as the group walked into an office. A woman sat behind a desk, typing on her computer.
"Excuse me, hi. I'm Alaric Saltzman, I called earlier." Alaric introduced himself to the woman.
"Yes, of course. I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant, comparative folklore." Vanessa smiled. She had wavy light-brown hair and doe eyes. Vanessa glances towards Ella and Elena with a hint of shock on her face.
"Uh, let me just grab Isobel's keys," Vanessa said, standing up. "These are my friends Elena, Ella, and Damon. I hope this isn't too much of an imposition." Alaric made awkward chit-chat with the woman. " Oh please, Isobel's office is right through there. Isobel was one of my first professors. I'm a grad student. She was brilliant, and one of the reasons I went into folklore. Uh, I have to ask - has there been any news?" Vanessa said as the group followed her into Isobel's office. Alaric felt guilty for having to lie to the nice woman but continued, "No, I'm afraid not."
" I'll grab the light, feel free to look around. It's fascinating isn't it?" Vanessa smiled, disappearing behind a dark corridor.
Ella, Damon, Alaric, and Elena began to look around Isobel's office. " Where'd she go?" Damon asked. Like clockwork, Vanessa reappeared with a crossbow in her hand. She shoots an arrow at Ella but Damon rushes over and puts himself in front of Ella to protect her. He receives the arrow in his back, grunts, and falls to the floor. Alaric catches Vanessa and pushes her against the wall, restraining her.
Alaric grabs Vanessa by the arm and leads her out of the room, Elena follows after him leaving Ella and Damon alone. Ella slings Damon's arm over her shoulder and leads him to a table. Damon leans on the table and Ella slowly attempts to pull the arrow out of his back but hesitates. "Pull it out. I can't reach it, Ella. Just pull the damn thing out. It hurts." Damon groaned.
Ella swiftly removes the arrow. Damon stands up straight and shakes himself while grimacing.
Damon sighs, "That bitch is dead." He smirked and turned around. Ella stops him and places her finger on his chest, "You're not going to kill her, Damon. We need her for more information on Isobel." Ella demanded. "Watch me." Damon rolled his eyes.
"If you kill her we'll never know if the Lockwood's are werewolves, and we've both seen enough movies to know they don't particularly like vampires," Ella said. Damon continued walking. "Do it and I'll never speak to you again," Ella added, causing Damon to stop in his tracks. "What makes you think that has any power over me? Because I took an arrow in the back for you? You're severely overestimating yourself." Damon said, sliding his hand suggestively around Ella's waist. She teased him by allowing him to, surprising him.
"Right. I forgot I'm talking to someone who acts impulsively and kills people." Ella cocked her head to the side. "You're trying to manipulate me." Damon placed his other hand on her waist causing Ella's breath to hitch in her throat. "If by "manipulate" you mean "tell the truth" okay, guilty." Ella retorted, pretending like she wasn't affected by his hands on her waist. Feeling his skin on hers made Ella hungry with desire, his skin touching hers lit a fire inside her that only he could put out. She turned around and slipped out of his grasp, meeting up with Alaric and Elena in the other room. Alaric is with Vanessa. She starts to stand up but Alaric pushes her back down. "Please! I freaked out, okay? Alright, you would have done the same thing, it's not possible! Katherine Pierce can't be alive and Damon Salvatore died in 1864. Okay? I read Isobel's research." Vanessa pleaded.
"Well, then you should know just how possible this is." Alaric said sternly.
Ella and Damon walk up towards them. "I'm Ella Gilbert and this is my twin Elena, We're Isobel's daughters and a descendant of Katherine Pierce. And this is Damon Salvatore who you just shot." Ella explained. Elena gave the woman a shy wave.
"I'd be extra nice to me right now," Damon warned her. Ella wondered why he gave in. A part of her thought that what she said wouldn't get to him and he'd just kill Vanessa anyways.
"Look, we need your help okay? We need to see all of Isobel's research, anything related to Mystic Falls." Elena said. The woman's eyes darted from Ella, Elena, and Damon to Alaric and then back to Elena. She gave Elena a small nod and grabbed a box from under her desk. Damon walks over to a closet and searches it alongside Ella. "This box checks Katherine's arrival to Mystic Falls in April 1864," Vanessa said, placing the box down. "Is that all there is about her?" Elena asked, looking through the box for new pieces of information.
"All that I'm aware of," Vanessa said. Vanessa and Elena both come across Vervain in the box. Elena looks at Damon who is bickering with Ella and gives some of it to Vanessa. "Here, take this." She handed the purple plant to the woman. "Does vervain work?" Vanessa whispered. "Nope, not at all," Damon said from the other room. Ella smirked and shook her head. "Can they hear us?" Vanessa asked Elena. Ella interjected, "No, that would be creepy."
Damon and Ella laughed at each other's antics and went back to their search. "Can they read minds too?" Vanessa joked. "You know, if you want to see me naked, all you have to do is ask," Damon said, causing Elena to tilt her head at his words.
"No, that he can't do. He is very capable of being a first-rate jackass." Elena retorted. Vanessa puts the vervain in her pocket, Damon smiles.
As time passes, no new information comes to rise. Damon makes his way over to where Elena is standing. "Any luck?" Damon asks. " There's nothing in here about Katherine that we don't already know." Elena sighed. "Ah, man, you know, it's a bummer we're not friends anymore because I could tell you what I know," Damon said. Elena scoffed and ignored him.
"Hey guys, check this out," Ella calls. "There's no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls, but here are some records of some of the lesser-known legends. Everything from Scandinavian skin-walkers to the Maréchal de Retz." Vanessa says as Damon and Elena listen in. Vanessa hands Ella a book with ancient drawings in them. " Tonartsliitsii Metslii, which roughly translates into the "curse of the sun and the moon".'' She explained.
"It's native American," Alaric concluded. "Aztec. It explains one origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia. The short story: 600 years ago, the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires. They terrorized the countryside, made farming and hunting impossible until an Aztec shaman cursed them, making vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves servants of the moon. As a result, vampires could only prowl at night and werewolves could only turn on a full moon. When the full moon crests in the sky, who are ever unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse turns into a wolf." Vanessa revealed.
"Can they control the transformation?" Ella wondered.
"If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse," Vanessa said. " Werewolves will attack humans but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them to hunt their prey of choice: vampires."
"Well, if werewolves were hunting vampires, I would know about it." Damon countered.
" Not if there aren't that many werewolves left alive. Hundreds of years ago, vampires hunted them almost to extinction." Vanessa pointed out.
"Why would they do that?" Elena asked. "To protect themselves. Legend has it that a werewolf bite is fatal to vampires." Vanessa revealed, causing a concerned look to fall over the group's faces. Elena quickly called Stefan and stepped out to the other room to take the call.
"Damon, if your theory's right about the Lockwood's and tonight is a full moon; Then we're in danger," Ella said nervously. Damon took Ella's hands in his. "Ella, Listen. I won't let anything happen to you." He reassured her. Ella relaxed and found comfort in him.
Elena walks back into the room after ending her phone call with Stefan. "Hey, have you done any research on dopplegängers?" Elena asked.
"Well, the word means a lot of different things to different cultures, but typically a doppelgänger is a living, breathing double of oneself," Vanessa said. "Did Isobel have anything that explained the link between me, Ella, and Katherine?" Elena pondered. "That's all she had on Katherine, unfortunately, but I can tell you that doppelgängers usually torment the people they look like, trying to undo their lives. It's not exactly uplifting." Vanessa added.
"And more things we already know. Just...I want to know why we look alike." Elena sighed.
Ella and Damon shared a look but then continued looking around.
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Elena gets in the car and Ella follows close behind. She's about to open the door when Damon stops her. "You didn't dig deep enough." He said, handing her a book. Ella examines it and sees the word PETROVA written on the spine. "Petrova. I saw this on the shelf but I didn't think anything of it." Ella said. "Katherine originally came from Europe. Petrova was her real name. Katerina Petrova, to be exact." Damon told her.
"How did you find all this out?" Ella asked.
"Back when I saw it engraved on an old heirloom. Men snoop too, you know. Let me know what you find, I'm very curious myself." Damon said.
Ella attempts to open the car door again but Damon stops her. "You're acting like everything's okay between us but I want to know if it's just an act. I killed your brother, you found out, and you said you needed time to think. I want to know what your thinking." Damon took her hand in his.
"I'm thinking that I'm supposed to be mad at you but for some reason, I just can't bring myself to. I'm thinking that I want an explanation for the feeling I get whenever I'm around you, Damon. The only thing that I'm sure of is this, us. That's it." Ella admitted. Damon smiled softly at the brunette and opened the car door for her. Damon gets in the car and the group begins to drive off, armed with new information. Sure enough, it wasn't such a bad moon rising.