its been awhile. Sorry y'all. :'(. but I'm back with a new chapter. i hope you all enjoy it.
Midnight came and went bringing new life to the Crescent City long after the residents of Mystic Falls had turned to the safety of their beds.
The rational part of Caroline, the part that clung to her ever receding mortality, the part that shrunk a little more every day, reminded her she was small and taunted her with her own vulnerability. A much larger part wanted to bask in the numerous possibilities such a city presented; she could get lost in the endless supply of art and culture and anonymity.
She could blossom and flourish, never having to worry about blood because of the constant influx of tourists.
She vowed to take a closer look at Tulane, but it would have to wait.
"What makes you so sure she's in the French Quarter?" Caroline's mind worked overtime, calculating the city's size, population and their odds of locating Elena in the urban sprawl without the invocation of supernatural aid.
"The background noise," Klaus said in clipped syllables. He closed his eyes and breathed in the essence of New Orleans. Time had flowed and he had changed but his city remained the same.
"You're starting the search based on 'background noise'?" She snorted, unable to hide her derision. "And the trail is hours cold. You do realize our probability of success right?"
He clenched his fists and she looked down to the white knuckles.
"In ideal conditions the chances are less than three percent," she circled around to stand in front of him, unhampered by the flash of gold in his eyes. "But then you need to factor in the tourists and the length of time, and lets not forget the maniac that by your own admission wants to tear her apart. Put all of that together and we're down to a little below one percent."
He gritted his teeth, tensing lest he give in to a baser instinct and lunge.
Elijah watched carefully in the event the baby vampire required protection; he had watched Klaus destroy stronger than her for more trivial things.
"Is your goal to vex me Caroline?" He growled low.
Bonnie's fingers twitched.
"My 'goal'," she crooked her fingers in midair, "is to have you pull your head out of your ass."
Rebekah balked, unsure if she should laugh, intervene or roll her eyes; the last person to talk like that lost their head.
"If the locator spell doesn't work then we're all going to have to work together, and working together is hard to do when you won't speak to your siblings."
"Do I look like the forgiving sort?" His eyes narrowed.
"Who said anything about forgiveness?" She snapped. Fury laced her words. "Hate them until kingdom come for all I care, but Elena is my family and I'm not gonna lose her because you won't work with yours."
She met him glare for glare as two Originals and a witch watched to see which would break first. Before either could a lilting voice interrupted the staring contest.
"Did I miss something?" Kol pointed a folded map between the simmering pair. He had a suspicion Caroline knew how rare her position was and had used it to light into his temperamental brother.
"Just Caroline ripping Klaus a new one," Bonnie reached for the map, "and shockingly living to tell the tale."
"Elena would never forgive him," he smirked. "The two of you could get away with anything."
"I'll remember that."
"Are you sure this is the best spot?" Kaleb frowned. Dozens of eyes watched them from the shadows, raising the fine hair on the back of his neck. He slapped a firm hand on his cheek and wiped the dead mosquito on his jeans; another buzzed against his ear.
"You got a better suggestion?" Jackson stared into the flickering flames in an attempt to focus on something tangible and pull his mind from the realm of the unseen. His ears picked up everything from the fast whir of mosquito wings to the steady thump of beating hearts.
A twig snapped.
Kaleb whipped his body towards the sound, jumping at the hoot of an owl.
"Something closer to civilization would be nice," he grumbled.
"Not one for camping, city boy?" Jackson pressed his lips together.
"Where would I have gone camping? The bayou is full of wild animals," his eyes cut to the cabin.
"If the 'gators don't get you then the wolves will."
"Accurate," Kaleb ignored the pointed drawl and dry expression. "I wasn't gonna say it though."
Jackson dragged a hand over his beard and up into his hair. He suspected he knew what Kaleb was getting at.
"Do you really think this is the best place for a pregnant woman?"
"Better than the cemetery," he nodded. "If magic is banned and the vampires start looking how long would it have taken to corner us there?"
"They couldn't get in."
"And we wouldn't have been able to get out."
A lone wolf edged out from the trees, approaching the circle of light on silent paws. It's coat gleamed with bare hints of gold.
"None of the wolves will harm her, even without my protection they can sense the wolf in her baby."
"That's good for her," he watched the wolf with a wary eye.
"You helped us get out," Jackson glanced over his shoulder where her heartbeat raced, "you don't have to stay."
"Helping you painted a target on my back, so as long as Marcel is in control I'm safer surrounded by wolves than in the city."
The wolf snarled, feigning towards the young warlock.
Kaleb jerked, tumbling off the log onto the cold ground. Insects skittered away from the disturbance as he scrambled up on hands and knees to the sound of a laughing alpha.
"That's not how we treat guests, Ollie."
"You ever think this might be why you don't get visitors?" Kaleb glowered, eyes darting from Jackson to Eve.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Eve grinned. "We got two visitors tonight."
She never meant to fall asleep. They had both told her to sleep, and she knew that she should sleep for the sake of the baby at the very least.
She had never meant to fall asleep, but the day had taken a toll on her body. Running from a maniac and antagonizing the local supernatural population while carrying a disturbingly still infant was exhausting work.
She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but Dr. Page gave her a clean bill of health, and the little shack in the heart of the bayou was surprisingly cozy, so when the warm quilt settled over her shoulders she let go and drifted off to the sound of water lapping near the porch.
She had to be asleep. There was no other explanation for the too bright world she found herself in.
Sunlight bathed a field of flowers behind the house, sparkled off the lake and turned the child's hair to fine spun gold.
As far as dreams went it wasn't half bad, so she leaned back and cradled the mug in her hands. Her thumb traced the infant footprint while her eyes tracked the child's path.
She cut a straight line through grass that reached her shoulder as she raced, leading her father on a merry chase that she knew she would lose and sure enough she did.
The laughter peeled out as she was scooped up and smothered in kisses. She pushed his cheek and he made a great show of stumbling backwards, taking her with him into the tall grass.
They disappeared beneath a layer of waving flowers.
She stood, no longer content to be a spectator in their joyful fun.
The grass grew tall as she walked, higher and higher until it covered her head. She laughed, calling out to them and following the answering giggles as storm clouds rolled overhead, casting the backyard in shadow.
"Time to go inside," she crossed her arms, holding her cardigan closed. A brisk north wind found a path through the indigo wool; goosebumps erupted over her arms and thighs.
"Where are you?"
An accented voice came from everywhere and nowhere, calling her name. The thick Scottish brogue formed a knot in her stomach.
"Mummy?"
No, stay with him; she wanted to scream the words but her mouth wouldn't open.
The tiny voice came again, farther away and calling for 'daddy', but that couldn't be right; she was with her father.
"Elena?" Klaus' call came from the opposite direction, loud and filled with a desperate wave of panic that had no business being in his voice.
When Alaister spoke again she could pinpoint the sound. His crooning words set her heart to racing in time with her feet.
"Mummy and daddy are over here lass."
Grass whipped her cheeks, but no matter how fast she ran she couldn't gain ground.
A blood curdling scream came seconds before she stepped free of the grass only to be sprayed in crimson. A small body fell at her feet and she stood frozen in the stare of lifeless brown eyes, unable to do anything until bloody hands gripped her.
Then she screamed.
She turned over the length of metal, running a nail over the bumps leading toward the end. The simple everyday object could have belonged to anyone, but if the vampire was to be believed then it came from the woman he sought.
"Why are you helping him?"
"He says his girl's in trouble," he shrugged. "He came home and she was missing."
"And the only thing left was a bobby pin?" She raised an eyebrow and leaned over on her bed to peek out the door. "Are you sure she didn't run away?"
"She did run away, lass," he leaned in the open doorway, "and now I need to find the young doppelganger before the Originals on her trail do."
"You didn't mention she was a doppelganger."
She looked between them, twirling the pin between her fingers. "What are doppelgängers and Originals?"
He didn't answer right away, choosing to stare at their 'guest' to measure the value of his words. The way he had inhaled on the sentence told her that those two little words were very important.
"Originals are the world's first vampires," he twisted to watch her, "and doppelgängers are extremely rare. If the Originals find her they'll use her as a blood sacrifice."
"Then I'll have to find her first," she closed her fingers over the pin. The air around her body shimmered with power; it assaulted her mind with images. "There's someone practicing magic..." she closed her eyes.
"Same person as before?"
"No..." she tilted her head. "It feels different, more... focused." A face came into focus along with a familiar sign. "She's outside of Rousseau's."
"Not the smartest, is she? You find the doppelganger and I'll deal with this. Come on," he motioned to the vampire.
"I think I'll wait." his eyes watched her. She could feel the weight of his stare.
"I think you'll go," she snapped. "I work better without an audience. I'll have a location when you get back."
Bonnie scowled at the map, white, blue, green and blood that refused to move. Three failed locator spells of increasing strength left her feeling emotionally drained.
"It looks like we're searching the old fashioned way," she pushed her hands into her hair. "Someone's cloaking her."
"If that last spell didn't break through then nothing will." Kol reached for the map, mentally dividing the city. "Bex, take the eastern side of the Quarter. Elijah, west. What do you think the odds are she's underground?"
"Underground?" Caroline crossed her arms.
"Prohibition tunnels," Klaus said, glancing over his shoulder. "We had them built nearly a century ago; they're a labyrinth."
"We?" Bonnie sighed.
"They lived here," a man's voice broke through their gathered group, "before daddy came to town and they ran away." His hard tone taunted them.
"We met Mikael," Caroline glanced at Bonnie. "Seems like a good enough reason to run. Who exactly are you?"
"Marcel?" Rebekah breathed, voice nearly drowned out by Klaus' growl.
He lunged for the man at Marcel's side, and the pair of them hit pavement.
Slowly the pin warmed to her touch, getting hotter as she poured power into it. The energy knocked up the temperature until the balmy room was stifling.
Copper assaulted her nose, so strong that when she parted her lips to breath she tasted pennies. Her eyes popped open, and she forced herself to breathe slowly and not panic at the sight of blood.
Her ears led her to the right. She followed the scream until she broke into a small clearing where feet had trampled the towering grass.
There was so much more blood here, pouring from a small body, too small for so much blood.
But a woman was still screaming. Her eyes lit on the man preparing to sink razor sharp fangs into a vulnerable throat and she acted without thinking, using magic to toss the assailant backwards.
Then she grabbed the woman's arm and dragged her bodily through the grass, far from the sound of pursuit.
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