Chapter 2

The door was unlocked, and the sound of stereo echoed through the apartment as Alex strolled in. She placed the duffle bag full of files by the couch and stopped off in the kitchen to grab some water. Following the sound of the music, she walked down the hall, up the stairs to the lofted office space that was mainly used for storage. Taking a sip of her water, she couldn't help but smirk at the annoyed look on Rebekah's face.

Alex said, "You both look well acquainted."

Rebekah was sitting on the railing that looked down over the dining room, swinging her legs as she used a nail file. She glanced up and glared. "And you took your time," Rebekah said.

"My apologies, I made a quick stop at our friend's hotel room. I found all sorts of interesting information."

"You still owe me."

"I know."

Alex looked at Roman, who was hanging from the ceiling by two chains. His shirt was torn open, and fresh cuts on his chest showed that Rebekah had done more than just standing around for the past hour.

"Has he said anything?" Alex asked.

"Other than cursing the ground I walk on, threatening to burn me to ash, and promising that the Council would kill us all, not a whole damn lot."

"Didn't think it would be easy."

Rebekah huffed. "Why not try your little mind trick?"

Alex winced and said, "It's a spell, not a mind trick. And it doesn't always work on witches; our minds are a little more complex than humans or other supernatural."

"Torture it is!"

Alex held out her hand. "Just hold your horses. Why don't you take a break, and I'm going to have a chat with him?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes and walked away.

Alex looked at Roman and frowned. This was the part she liked least about all of this. Rebekah and Kol enjoyed the torture; it's a way that they both liked to relieve stress; but for Alex, it was unpleasant. If she had any other options, then she would use those first. Walking over to a dresser that sat along the wall, Alex placed down her phone and opened the first draw. She pulled out five large candles and collected a few other ingredients.

Roman was out cold, no doubt passed out from the pain Rebekah had been inflicting on him. She was glad that Rebekah had laid down a sheet before breaking the skin. Alex placed the five candles evenly spaced around Roman and sprinkled the different herbs. The space around Roman was already spelled to block any form of magic, and if Alex stepped inside, her own would be blocked. But without knowing Roman's abilities, she added another few layers of protection and then lit the candles.

Grabbing the bottle of water she had collected when she had gotten home, she unscrewed the lid and splashed Roman. He sputtered and shook his head, eyes blinking, the shock of being forced awake covering his face. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts before his shock faded and was replaced by a look of disgust and hatred.

"Comfortable?" Alex asked.

Roman just glared.

"If this is how you responded to Rebekah, no wonder she carved into you like a pumpkin. She does hate to be ignored."

Still nothing. The only sort of change was a heavy breath and a flare of his nostrils.

Alex sighed. "You can hate me all you want; it doesn't bother me. But if you want someone to blame, then blame the Council. They sent you here, they have used and abused the witches under their thumbs for generations, and I am not going to let their bias beliefs control me."

Roman spat at her. "The Council have honoured their pledge to rid the world of the vampire menace and will continue to do so until every single one is nothing more than a pile of ash."

She said, "Wow. Is that what I used to sound like?" She laughed. "No wonder vampires hated me." Alex walked around Roman's hanging body and stopped when she faced him again. "In doing your part of ridding the world of the vampire menace, as you put it, have you ever considered those who get caught in the crossfire. Humans and witches, many will continue to die needlessly for the Council's vendetta."

He looked away and said, "Sacrifices must be made for the greater good."

"You sound crazy," said Alex.

Even when she had believed in the Council, an innocent life was never worth the risk to kill a vampire; there was always another way.

"I'm not here to argue about our morals. I would like to know why in the last five years, I have only seen a handful of witches bold enough to come after me and then in these last few months, the number seems to have double. Any idea why?"

He shook his head.

Alex scoffed. "Really? Because I found an awful amount of information about myself and the Originals in your hotel room."

The flash of worry appeared for only a mere second, but Alex caught it.

"Has the Council found a way to kill the Originals? Or did you have a crush on me?"

Roman glared and pulled at the chains.

Alex frowned. "What do they know? What are they planning?"

"I'm not telling you anything," he yelled.

"Fine, I tried being nice." Alex walked around behind Roman and broke the circle blocking his magic. Before he could react, she grasped his head and started to chant. "In mentem, in mentem, in mentem."

Entering someone else's mind was a rush. Memories would flash past, and if you lacked the strength, you could lose yourself. Alex had only done the spell in a relaxed environment. The first time with Sarah, both testing it on each other. They experienced memories together that they had felt comfortable sharing. The second time, with Elijah, he showed her more emotions than actual memories; an overwhelming sense of love surrounded her.

Pushing into Roman's mind, she could feel the resistance. Mental barriers were pushing against her in an attempt to knock her back. She didn't let it stop her. Alex broke through the main shield and found herself moving through memories, all from the last few weeks. She saw herself, Elijah, Rebekah, and those from Raven's. He had followed and watched for days before he had walked into the bar. Moving past them, she tried to focus on the Council.

Roman pushed against her, and she stumbled, unable to get past the barriers blocking the deeper parts of his mind. Alex dug in her hands and took a breath. She forced herself through a block and gasped as the air felt suffocating on the other side. Roman was a powerful witch and wouldn't just give up.

Alex reached for the memories that surround the Council, but she couldn't breakthrough. A sharp pain shot through her skull and threw her from Roman's mind. Her body was thrown across the room and into the wall. She hit the wall and slid to the ground; with a groan, she laid there for a second, her brain fuzzy from the forced exit.

Shaking her head, she looked up and watched as Roman broke his restraints and stood. He stumbled but managed to keep himself upright before turning to glare at her.

He smirked and said, "Not so powerful after all."

She felt as his magic wrapped around her, and she was dragged across the floor and thrown through the wooden bannister and down onto the table below. The table broke from the impact and sent wood flying across the floor.

"What the bloody hell?" Rebekah appeared beside her. "Are you okay?"

Alex groaned and pushed herself to sit up. "I think so."

Rebekah looked up and glared at Roman, who was looking down at them.

He said, "And you, you're going to pay for cutting me up."

He swung his arm and threw Rebekah back in the wall. She recovered quickly and charged at him but was stopped. She dropped to her knees and cried out, holding her head.

Alex pushed herself to stand and broke Roman's concentration. Rebekah slumped and whimpered. Alex swung her arm, using her magic to pull Roman down to their level.

"Don't make me kill you," she said.

Roman threw a table leg at her. "Let me kill you," he said.

Alex sidestepped the leg and cringed as she twisted her wrist. The loud crack that followed, as Roman's head turned further than it ever should, sent chills down Alex's spine. She closed her eyes and felt the guilt wash over her, another witch's life she had taken. His body hit the ground with a thud and Alex felt sick.

Leaning forward, she placed her hands onto her knees and let out a breath; she glanced over to Rebekah and asked, "You okay?"

Rebekah nodded. "Bloody witches and their spells." She pushed herself to stand up. "Did you at least get anything out of him, or was the damage all for nothing."

Alex sighed. "No details, but the Council is up to something, and I will find out what."

"I need a drink," said Rebekah.

Alex nodded. "Make mine a double."

Alex had watched as Rebekah picked up Roman's dead body and slung him over her shoulder. She huffed and said that there would be a long day of shopping that Alex would suffer through to make up for the constant task of dragging bodies around, and even though the idea of spending a whole day having Rebekah take her from designer store to designer store sounded dreadful, she did owe the Original a thank you.

A few waves of her hand cleaned up the mess of broken furniture and broken walls; her apartment had suffered one too many fights between witches for her bank account to be able to afford new things. Elijah was always willing to pay, but Alex wasn't going to let herself become a kept woman. Their agreement was simple, you break it, you replace it, or in Alex's case, magically glue it back together like nothing happened. After having to replace the coffee table that her feet were resting on, she taught herself how to fix broken objects; it was an honest waste of magic, something children would do to cover their tracks from their parents, but she was thankful for the money-saving trick.

Sipping her glass of scotch that Rebekah had poured for her, she tasted the few drops of blood that Rebekah had popped into the glass. Her ribs were no doubt badly bruised, if not broken, and while she could fix it with magic, she was feeling exhausted after her attempt into Roman's mind. The idea of drinking vampire blood was still off-putting. Alex had taken significant steps in her life to accept vampires; after all, she was in a happy relationship with one, her best friend was one, and she had even accepted the rest of his siblings, all but one. Klaus could become a saint and sacrifice himself for everyone, but it would never be enough for her to forgive him. Alex had only come to terms with occasionally taking blood to heal her wounds when she was weakened.

The first time after her first encounter with a Council witch, she had been wounded. The witch had come from nowhere and had literally stabbed her in the back, in the middle of the street with witnesses. The wound would have taken a long time to kill her, but it was clear that the witches' goal had been to weaken her. Alex had protected herself using her own weight to push the witch away, but she had stumbled back into oncoming traffic and was hit by a car. It had all happened so quickly that Alex hadn't been able to understand what had happened until after she had been loaded up into an ambulance. She had been fixed up and discharged, against doctors' orders, taken home and convinced by Elijah to just have a few drops.

Alex had never seen such fear in his eyes. Elijah didn't tend to show his emotions; he wasn't rash and didn't act on instinct. He always absorbed the information before him before figuring out his next step. Getting him to open up and share things with her had been one of their many hurdles; he had always kept everything in because everyone else in his family was already reacting rashly. There had been very few moments where he responded with such emotion that it had shaken her; the fear had let her accept that a few drops of vampire blood would give him peace of mind.

The ringing of her phone pulled her from her thoughts. She smiled as she noticed Elijah's name. "Two calls in less than a few hours; I'm feeling very loved right now."

Elijah's chuckled echoed softly through the line, and he said, "Once I'm done here, I will call you every hour if you like."

Alex laughed and said, "Yeah, no. That is heading into overbearing territory."

"I thought so. Any luck tracking Kol?" he asked.

Alex almost dropped her phone. "Oh crap, I got side-tracked." Roman had made her forget all about the missing Original. She jumped up and put her drink on the table.

Elijah asked, "Did your interrogation go well?"

Alex huffed. "No, in fact, I got nothing of use." She walked over to the side table and pulled open the draw; she pulled out a map and threw it onto the coffee table. "The result was a few bruised ribs for me and a broken neck for him." She headed down the hall to Elijah's office and grabbed a small vial of blood, labelled Kol, out of the mini-fridge.

"What happened?"

The edge in his voice made Alex pause.

Closing her eyes and biting down on her lip, she felt ashamed. Elijah had been working on his ability to open up about his feelings, but Alex had been working on controlling her emotional responses. Elijah had referred to her being remarkably like Klaus with how she reacted to certain things; the comparison had been a big push to get her to try and learn some control. Slipping as she had done and letting her emotions take over left her feeling like she had failed.

"He pissed me off, and I tried to force my way into his mind."

Elijah sighed. "I thought you told me that attempting that on a witch would be a dreadful waste of time and energy."

Alex said, "Yeah, I know." She walked back to the lounge area and placed the blood onto the table before dropping onto the couch. "I learnt my lesson after he knocked me out of his head and over the balustrade and onto the dining table."

He asked, "Are you sure your ribs are only bruised?"

She touched her stomach and took a breath. The pain from before was gone; thanks to the blood, she was all healed up. "All healed. Rebekah snuck a few drops of blood in my drink. She thinks she was being sneaky."

Elijah was quiet for a moment. She could imagine him as his brow would furrow as he would try to think of what next to say. He said, "I may have asked her to make sure you stay in one piece."

Alex sat forward and tried to lighten their talk; she teased, "You're using my best friend against me, how rude!"

"No, I'm using my sister against you. Simple strategy, really," he teased back.

"Mmmhmmm." Alex smiled and opened the map on the table.

Elijah tone shifted deeper, and she could just feel his mood change. He said, "I know you don't like the whole blood thing, but I don't want to lose you."

It was a conversation that had been ongoing since their relationship had started.

"And I don't want to lose you, but we have gone over this. If I'm bleeding out on the floor, pour it down my throat, but I can survive a few cracked ribs."

Elijah always wanted her safe, scared that she wouldn't be able to fight back one day, and he would lose her. But she knew that becoming a vampire wasn't an option for her; being cut off from her magic would destroy her, and she didn't know if she would survive that.

"What are you going to do when I'm old and dying of old age? Vampire blood won't do me much good then?" she asked.

The line was quiet. He hated it when she brought up any mention of her ageing. He wanted her to stay the same, just like he did, but it wasn't something you could just do.

"Elijah, don't be mad at me," she said.

"I'm not mad," he said, his voice cracking. Elijah cleared his throat and then asked, "Can we talk about this when I'm home?"

Alex nodded and said, "Sure, let me track Kol."

She wasn't going to push this, not when they were so far apart. It was a discussion for another day.

She put down her phone and turned on the speakerphone. Grabbing the vile of blood, she dropped a few drops onto the page and corked the rest. Holding up her hands, she began to chant and watched as the drops merged and slid down the map to Virginia. They stopped directly on top of Mystic Falls.

Dropping her hands, she said, "It says Mystic Falls."

"Why would he go back? He hates it there," said Elijah.

The front door swung open, and Rebekah strutted in. "I need another drink; want a refill?"

Alex nodded. "Without the blood this time."

Rebekah paused and cringed.

"Don't worry, sister," said Elijah, "I have told her to blame me."

Rebekah walked over and sat down beside her. "We are both to blame, and I'm happy to have you mad at me as long as your still alive to do so."

Alex reached over and grabbed her hand. She smiled, "And as I told Elijah, if I'm dying, go for it, cracked ribs, I'll survive."

Rebekah nodded. "Okay, promise. Not more sneaky additions to your morning coffee or alcoholic beverages."

Alex frowned. "My coffee?"

Rebekah gave her a cheeky grin before running out of the room.

"My coffee, huh?" she directed to Elijah.

"That was all her; I didn't encourage that," he said.

Alex just shook her head and laughed.

"Can you ask Rebekah why Kol might go back to Mystic Falls and let me know? I'm going to head there now and see what I can find," he said.

"Sure, I'll tell her to call you. Be safe, I love you," said Alex.

He said, "I love you too."

Alex ended the call and slouched back into the couch. Rebekah reappeared and handed her a glass of scotch.

She smiled and said, "I raided Elijah's stash; he always keeps the good stuff locked up."

Alex smirked and took a sip. "He told me to ask you if you knew any reason why Kol would go back to Mystic Falls."

She shook her head. "Kol hated it there. He did nothing but complain about how bored he was while we were there."

Alex frowned. "Well, something got him to go back. Dropped everything in New York and headed on back." She took a sip of her fresh drink and looked at the map.

Rebekah placed her cup down on the table. "Maybe he followed a girl. He may be a lady's man, but he loves the chase more than anything. If a girl told him no, he would chase them down."

Alex scrunched up her nose. "That is borderline stalker."

Rebekah shrugged. "You've met him, right?"

Alex rolled her eyes at her sarcasm.

Whatever the reason that dragged him back, Alex hoped that it was nothing more than a silly girl and that Elijah would be home in a few days. She also needed a few days to go over what she found at Roman's hotel. The folders were still sitting in the duffle bag, waiting for her to dive in, but as she nursed her drink, she couldn't help but feel exhausted, and it was only five o'clock.

The beat of her music matched her pace as her feet hit the pavement. Elena Gilbert was closing in on the entrances to her dorm, and she was ready for a nice hot shower and a big breakfast before class. There were few students about, as it was still early, but the morning sun rarely woke the students who didn't have early classes. It took her three years to understand that morning classes were for crazy people, and all-nighters were common when studying for a degree in medicine. It didn't help that her two roommates loved to party late. That didn't stop her from picking the morning classes, though.

While dedicated to her studies, Caroline didn't require as much sleep as Elena. She was always ready to head out to a party or have a girl's night, and they always included alcohol. While not as keen to party, Bonnie spent a lot of her free time working on her magic and tended to cause constant distraction when she succeeded in doing new spells.

Elena wouldn't have it any other way, though. She loved them both, and having spent fours years at Whitmore together had just been the best situation. They had even thought about moving into an apartment during their final year. The living expenses was the only concern. Caroline had compelled the housing people and made sure they had a large room with plenty of space for all three of them.

She climbed the steps and stopped at the top to take a moment to catch her breath. Running had been something she always enjoyed doing. First, it was to keep fit when she had been a cheerleader, and second, it was something that she and Alex had always enjoyed. Elena missed racing Alex down the streets. Really, she just missed her sister. The last chance that she had seen Alex was at Christmas; Elijah and Alex had driven down and spent the whole break with them. But she wished she were able to see her more.

Elena stretched her arm and jumped when a hand touched her shoulder. She pulled her headphone out and frowned at Caroline.

"Don't do that," she said.

Caroline chuckled. "Sorry, just wanted to let you know that I'm headed to stock up my supply. Bonnie has requested snacks; anything you want?"

Elena thought for a moment, then said, "Can you get me some orange juice, please."

Caroline nodded. "You got it. Also, you had a missed call on your phone from Stefan."

"Okay, thanks."

Caroline headed towards the car park, and Elena turned to head inside. She waved at a few of the other students she had met over the past few years, familiar faces and some she would refer to as friends, but none that were as close as she was with Bonnie and Caroline.

Elena reached their room and unlocked the door. In the middle of the floor sat Bonnie, candles around her and a floating book in front of her. She smiled at Elena.

Elena asked, "What is today's spell?"

Bonnie said, "Multitasking. Alex has been badgering me that I need to learn to be able to do two things at once with my magic." The book fell to the ground, and Bonnie huffed.

"Not going well?" Elena asked.

Bonnie nodded and stood up. "I can do small things, float a book and light a candle. But when I try to do bigger things like a tracking spell, it just falls apart."

"What has Alex said?" she asked.

Bonnie shrugged. "What she always says, practice."

Elena had struggled at first when the relationship between Bonnie and Alex blossomed. Bonnie had needed a proper teacher, and after she lost her Grams, Bonnie had been left on her own. Elena had been thrilled that Alex could teach her but watching the two of them bond over something that she would never completely understand or do left her feeling jealous. It had taken a tub of ice cream and a long chat with Stefan to understand that she wasn't jealous of the magic they shared; she was jealous of their bond. Learning that Alex had been adopted and wasn't her sister by blood allowed fear to develop that Alex could simply replace her with someone else. Stefan had encouraged her to talk to Alex about it, but she never had. After all, Elena didn't want to bother her sister with something so silly.

"Have you spoken to her?" Elena asked.

"Yeah," said Bonnie. "Yesterday. She was trying to reach Sarah. Apparently, she wouldn't answer her phone. She also told me to tell you that she misses you."

Elena smiled. "I miss her too. Why does she have to live in Atlanta?"

"Tell me about it." Bonnie sat back down in her circle. "Okay, focus time."

Elena left her too it.

Once in her room, she stripped and jumped into the shower. She had plenty of time before her class to eat and get in a few extra minutes of study. Even after knowing that only crazy people took morning classes, she had to admit that they suited her.

She sat on her bed and picked up a cup of coffee that had appeared while she was in the shower, no doubt, thanks to Bonnie, and she checked her phone. Stefan had called her and then sent her a message that Matt had been trying to reach her. She noticed that she had two missed calls from him.

It was strange. Matt hadn't left Mystic Falls like most of them. He had stayed and ended up working with Caroline's mum as a cop. He fit right in and seemed to always suit the small-town lifestyle; he wasn't one to head off to the big city.

Elena rang him back and was glad to hear his voice.

"Elena, thanks for ringing me back," he said.

Elena smiled. "No problem, its good to hear from you."

"You too. I miss you girls," said Matt.

Elena said, "You had the chance to join us."

She could hear him shrug. He said, "College wasn't for me; besides, Mystic Falls needs this handsome mug keeping them safe from the few crazy vamps."

Elena smiled and nodded. "That they do." Even without having to be concerned about original vampires coming after her, Mystic Falls seemed to attract all sorts of strays. She asked, "So, what's going on?"

Matt sighed and said, "Well, speaking of crazy vamps, Kol Mikaelson, Elijah's brother, showed up two nights ago. He was acting all strange."

"Did he hurt someone?" asked Elena.

"I don't think so. No one has gone missing, and there haven't been any bodies, but he was all over the place. Can vampires have mental breaks?"

"I have no idea. Did you ring Alex or Elijah?"

"No, I didn't want to freak them out if it was nothing, and also, I don't have a contact number for them."

Elena's hand clenched around her coffee cup. Kol was known to be a little strange; he was unpredictable. Alex had said he could be just like Klaus, minus the paranoia. But what was he doing back in Mystic Falls? She remembered seeing him argue with Elijah that the place was a dump and that he'd rather be back in a coffin that stay there.

"I wonder why he went back?" she said.

"What do you mean?" asked Matt.

"He hated Mystic Falls. I heard him complain about it enough." Elena took a sip of her coffee. "Did Caroline's mum see him?"

"No."

Elena sighed with relief.

"I thought best to leave the whole Original family thing out of it. She is still adjusting to Caroline being a vampire."

"Yeah, good idea," she said.

The reveal of Caroline's vampirism had come after a nasty encounter with Caroline's father. Somehow, her new lifestyle had gotten back to him. They had never been able to find out who, but after he kidnapped and tortured her, Liz Forbes had stormed the cell he had her locked in and saved her. It had been overwhelming for them both, but Liz promised Caroline to keep her safe. It had been the best outcome Caroline could have hoped for.

"Look, I'll give Alex a call and let her know about Kol. If something does happen, just in case, I'll send you her number," said Elena.

She didn't know Kol well enough to know if it was a normal situation. Alex would probably have a better understanding of what the Original vampire was up to, or at least she could ask Elijah.

"Thanks, Elena. I'll let you know if I see him again," said Matt.

Elena smiled. "Thanks, also be careful. If something has happened to him, he could be dangerous."

Matt laughed. "Aren't they always. Bye, Elena."

"Bye, Matt."

Elena had been grateful that after Alex had locked up Klaus, the past few years had been normal. Well, as normal as they could be when your life revolved around witches, werewolves and vampires. The whole Kol situation was probably nothing, but Elena couldn't help the doubt stirring in her chest.

Elena scrolled through her phone until she found Alex's number. She clicked dial and frowned when the call rang through; normally, Alex always answered. She left her a message and asked her to call back and then decided to text her as well. Hopefully, she would call back before class started.