An Eclipse in time
Chapter 1:Arriving in Mystic Falls
When she arrived in Mystic Falls, it was the middle of the afternoon and she was late. Bella had told her grandmother she would be there by 3pm but she had been stuck on the road behind a slow car driven by a middle aged man who looked over careful and she was now over an hour late.
Both her parents had decided to put their money together and buy her a better car, one that would actually survive the trip from Forks to Mystic Falls, so the truck had stayed home where they had decided to retire it for good. It would die in her father's driveway, or maybe he would give it to someone who liked risking his life on a daily basis.
As she drove away from Forks, she felt like she was freeing herself from the pain Edward and the rest of the Cullen's had brought her by leaving. The farther away she went, the better she was, the less it hurt to think of them and their betrayal. She could actually feel a strange pull directing her toward Mystic Falls. It was strange how she instinctively knew what road to take when she arrived at a crossroad. She shook it off, after all, what could be expected of a place called Mystic Falls except for mystical stuff? It simply meant that she had been right to want to get away from Forks, it was obviously what she had needed.
Bella was also a bit nervous about what she would find once she arrived at her grandmother's place. Would everyone be okay? Would she actually be safe or would she make things worst by bringing another problem to their plate?
Both Elena and her grandmother had told her of the small war that was happening in town. Klaus against the Salvatore's, Bill Forbes against his own daughter and the council, evil Alaric against the council members, hybrids against everyone but the master they were sired to, witches against hybrids, Esther against every magical creature that wasn't a witch, Tyler against other hybrids and everyone against Klaus and his hybrids...
She was afraid something bad had happened, actually, she could feel something coming. She wasn't sure how bad it would be for her, but she could feel a big change coming for her and that made her even more nervous. Her life was about to change drastically.
She was surpsied at how easily she found her way in Mystic Falls. It was the first time she came on her own, the first time she had to drive there by herself and she had never paid much attention to the directions that had to be taken. Once again, she had instinctively found the right way before she even checked on a map.
She parked her new car in her grandmother's driveway and looked at the house. Isabelle had always loved her flowers, it had always been her pride and she had obviously been neglecting them for some time now since they were all dried up and dying.
This was the proof Bella needed: Things were bad!
The only flowers that seemed to have survived were the Vervain and wolf's bane, the ones they needed and probably used to defend themselves.
Bella got out of the car, grabbing her purse and the two main bags, planning to go back for her books later. She came to the door when it opened before she could even knock. Her grandmother was there, a tired smile on her face. The old woman looked tired but obviously happy.
"Oh, Bella, I'm so happy to see you sweetheart! How was the drive? I was getting worried, you're never late..." She asked her granddaughter as she pulled her inside her house.
"The drive was… long, I got stuck behind slow drivers a few times. I'm happy to see you too Granny. What is going on?" Bella answered as she let her bags fall to the floor so she could hug the woman she had so dearly missed.
"You always did have good instincts. Come on in, I'll introduce you to everyone and tell you everything." The elder Swan answered, pulling the younger one along, forgetting the bags that had been dropped.
As she came in, Bella was introduced to the Salvatore brothers and all the people she had heard about that she didn't know yet. After several minutes of hugging her old friends, she turned back to her Granny, only to see that the vampires had brought the rest of her stuff, not only in the house but in her room also.
This little gesture reminded her of the Cullen's, of the things they did for her to gain some time, to help her and it brought a little heart ache to her. She did her best to hide it and she shook herself off.
"So, what is going on here?" Bella asked.
"Things are very bad Bella." Bonny told her gravely.
"I can sense that." Bella replied while rolling her eyes.
She tried to think back to the streets she had driven though in town, she hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. Everything had been normal for a normal town.
"Klaus has grown out of control..." Stefan added as if it explained everything.
Bella turned to look at Elijah. Ever since she had been introduced to him, she could feel his eyes on her. She got her courage together and asked him softly:
"Is there a problem? Why are you staring at me like that? Do I have something on my face?" He smiled slightly to answer her but she could see that t didn't reach his eyes:
"Not at all… But I've seen you before."
"I've never met you!" Bella contradicted him, shaking her head in her exclamation.
She would definitely have remembered him…he was, after all, a very attractive man. She pushed that thought away. Now wasn't the time to think about that.
"Not yet, no." He answered.
"You're confusing me, I don't understand... It doesn't make sense..." Bella shook her head.
"Bella, we had a plan to save everything, everyone, and stop Klaus but according to Elijah we did it already…It's not going to work." Bonny explained.
"What was your plan?" Bella asked, curious.
"We wanted to send you in the past to prevent things from turning out that bad by changing things from the very beginning…" Elena replied.
"You can do that?" Bella asked, shocked.
"Yes, Bonnie can channel the power of a hundred dead witches along with the power of the full moon next week." Damon answered.
"That's a lot of power, isn't it? Won't it be all too much for you to handle?" Bella asked concerned.
"Yes, I will probably die doing it… But you need to understand that if I don't do it we will all die, one way or another." Bonny insisted.
"Bonny will be able to last longer if she draws life energy from us… I will stand with her, along with Jeremy and your grandmother…" Elena added nervously.
"So why is that plan put in the past tense now? What changed?" Bella asked, turning to Elijah for details.
Somehow, she felt he was the one with all the answers at the moment.
"I remember, back when I was human, our mother telling us that the spirits had warned her about the arrival of a young woman that would save our family from the evil about to happen. We didn't know what it meant but we were ready for her to come, we were ready to welcome her in our home and in our lives for as long as she needed to stay. When you arrived, it was a full moon and Finn, my father and I were fighting off the wolves coming towards your arrival place. We managed to stop them all, at least that's what we thought, but a small one snuck behind us and managed to kill you beofre we could stop it." Elijah explained, stopping himself from saying more so he could keep control over his voice.
Bella tried not to think about the fact that Elijah's voice attracted her in. She felt like there was something missing, a detail he was keeping for himself that should be important to her but she decided not to ask about it right no. If it really was important for her to know, he'd tell her.
"But now that I am warned I will be able to defend myself, I just have to go there armed. I can take a wolf banes spray or a gun or a grenade… something…" Bella suggested, wanting to help as much as she could.
She didn't understand the fact that she wanted Elijah's approval.
"It could work…" Granny Swan nodded with a new sparkle of hope in her eyes.
"Maybe… You will have to take a knife with you too…" Elijah whispered with worried eyes but a small nod of approval.
"Given how clumsy I am, you'd have to train me though, or I could end up killing myself and them with the weapons." Bella chuckled, making everyone chuckle along with her.
"What do we send with her?" Caroline wondered, already packing several suitcases in her head.
"We can only send a small bag with her Caroline. Nothing too big…" Bonny warned, making Caroline frown and Tyler chuckle.
"My mother and sister had prepared some clothes for the guest. We had planed to say that mother was her godmother and that her parents died recently. If we do this, everything will be ready for Bella." Elijah replied with hidden emotion in his voice.
"Well, let's get ready then, we don't have time to waste. Bella, you have one week to learn how to defend yourself against a werewolf and the history of the originals." Granny Swan told her.
"Damon should give her defense lessons, he is quite good at them." Elena suggested before she could stop herself, blushing slightly.
Damon smirked. Stefan looked like he smelt something really bad or like he was having stomach pains. Bella figured that things were probably complicated between them at the moment, given the fact that they were in a love triangle.
"I will tell her everything she needs to know about my family." Elijah said, wondering how he would be able to stop himself from being with her.
He had to turn his emotions off soon if he didn't want to spoil everything.
"No, we need you to keep watch over this house to make sure it is still safe for everyone. You're the best at killing hybrids and Tyler will need to help Damon in Bella's training. You told me everything a long time ago, I wrote it down in my diaries, along with what Rebekah and Sage told me. I will fill her in." Isabelle Swan decided, taking charge of things.
Elijah nodded his agreement, he needed to make sure no hybrid would come and hurt Bella, he coudln't lose her a second time in the same lifetime. He could remember exactly how she died and it hurt way too much. The wolf jumping on top of her, her pretty eyes scared, her hair full of blood and dirt, her dress torn apart and full of her own blood, her screams filling the air… And then the micro second it took for him to fall in love with her when she first appeared out of the fog… The great pain he felt when he realised that in less than 5 minutes he had met love and lost it. The anger he had against the wolves…his sadness…
He shook his head and looked at her again. He had done his best since she arrived earlier not to look her in the eyes, she couldn't fall in love with him now. He had to make this sacrifice so she could survive and meet his past self. He would help her, he would protect her! She would go in the past and this time she would survive. This time she would live and he would be happy.
He had to clear his head, he couldn't be thinking about that now. If his brother heard about what they were about to do he would kill her and they would all be lost. She was the only one who could do it, the spell Bonnie found was very specific and they didn't have time to look for another hypothetic perfect candidate.
"What I don't understand is why it has to be me that goes in the past? If you sent Elena, she could take Tatia's place… Or Bonnie could be with her ancestor…" Bella asked, confused about why it had to be her hen she had just arrived.
"Bonnie can't go because she is the only one who can do this spell under the circumstances and Elena can't take Tatia's place because the doppelganger is needed in the time travel ritual." Isabelle replied.
"What about one of the vampires?" Bella asked.
"Ayana is a powerful witch Bella, she will sense that they are not natural and so will the wolves… We don't know what kind of reaction they will have if we send them." Elijah declared.
"What about you? Can't you go there and take your place?" Bella asked.
"And what am I supposed to do with my past self?" He asked her.
"Right… I guess you have a great reason why it can't be Jeremy…" She said, resigned.
"I need to link my energy with Elena's so we can send you so far in the past…" He replied with a small smirk.
"You don't want to do this?" Damon asked with a frown on his face.
"It's not that, it's just that I'm worried about what would happen if I screw things up. What will I do when I find myself all alone back there? Will I be able to come back or will I be stuck all alone 1000 years in the past?" She asked, starting to panic.
"You won't be alone. I promise you that." Elijah declared in an intense tone that surprised everyone.
"How can you know that? You were probably all different back then and…" Bella started to say but she was cut off by Elijah.
"I know that because I remember how I felt in the few seconds you were alive. If you live, you won't be alone. You'll be safe and never lonely, I can promise you that!"
There was such a strong wave of emotion behind his words that she blushed and stuttered:
"Oh…hum…I don't know…Okay…" She was really red now and that made the other chuckle.
"Don't worry…You don't have to say anything now. With everything that's going on it's not the right time. Just bare in mind that from the first time I'll look at you I will love you, a love that will last through time and that nothing will destroy or replace. A love I will be forever faithful to…" Elijah declared, trying not to look at her in the eyes.
After that, he straightened up, muttered something about keeping watch and left the house before Bella could say anyhting. He didn't look at her or let her look him in the eyes, turned his emotions off and left to stand guard.
The minute he was out, he turned his emotions off. He couldn't have her falling for him now. If she was to fall in love with him, it would have to be in the past, when happiness was still possible for them, when all wasn't doomed.
"Well, that was intense…" Damon said lightly before pouring himself another Bourbon Isabelle had bought just for him.
"Not now Damon… Elijah's right, it's not the time." Elena commented in an annoyed voice.
"What, are you jealous to learn that Elijah never had a crush on you like you belived he did?" Tyler teased as Bella turned her head to look at her doppelganger friend with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course not, I'm relieved." Elena replied, not knowing that every vampire in the room could hear her heart jump as she lied.
"Yeah right, we'll act like we believe that one!" Stefan muttered before joining Elijah in his patrol as Damon directed Bella to the training room they had installed in the basement of the house.
During that training session, Bella learned that everyone was living in her grandmother's house because it was easier to defend it in case of an attack. She would be rooming with Elena and Bonnie, while Caroline and Tyler had a room of their own and the other boys shared another room.
The next week went by very fast for Bella and she didn't have time to be bored or to think too much about what Elijah had told her. Actually, she hadn't seen him again. Every time she wasn't training or learning, he was out "guarding" the place. She could guess that he was trying not to see her so she could keep a clear mind on her "mission"... She could already feel some attraction toward him and she was afraid of falling in love so soon before leaving for her long journey.
One day, Bonnie came to talk to her. They were all alone in the living room.
"What's going on Bonnie?" Bella asked.
"I need to confess something to you… Ayana, my ancestor, I think she is serving the wrong forces…" Bonnie informed her friend.
"You mean she's not serving nature like a witch is supposed to do?" Bella asked.
"I have very strong suspicions that she is serving some dark forces, I think she's the one who influenced Mickeal into terrorising his children. Don't trust her!" Bonnie said forcefully.
"That's very strong accusations… Are you sure?" Bella asked her, wanting to be sure she doesn't shut out soemone who doesn't deserve to be shut out.
"I don't have a lot of evidence, but I do believe it strongly. I think she's the one possessing Esther's body right now…" Bonnie replied very seriously.
Bella nodded:
"Very well, I'll be on my guards then and I'll warn Esther as soon as I arrive." Bella promised.
Bonnie hugged her and they both went back to their preparations.
Now they were in the morning of her last day in this timeline.
Elijah had brought for her a dress that she would need to wear during the trip in order to blend in when she arrived. She had learned pretty fast from Damon and she now was capable of defending herself pretty well. They had trained with the help of Tyler and she was proud when he ended up on the ground hurt and she was finally unarmed. She had some wolf banes darts hidden in the pockets of her dress along with a few knives. She had learned all she could about the Original's history and she was ready to go and do her best. She was confident that she had a good chance at surviving this time around and Elijah seemed to think so too. He looked hopeful.
She also knew she was arriving during a very special night, she was arriving during the night were Henrik was supposed to die. She really hoped she got the chance to save his young life before everything took a darker turn.
During the day, she packed a small bag to take with her. Not knowing how things were done back then and too embarrassed to ask Elijah about women things, Bella decided that packing tampons and pads was a priority. Caroline chuckled but decided that she was right. She also packed some wolfs bane grenades, a picture of her parents and her Granny and a very full first aid kit.
"Why are you taking a first aid kit? You filled it so much it takes up all the space…" Caroline complained as they got in the living room with the others.
"Yes, I'm sure they have what is necessary to take care of small injuries Bella." Elena added.
"I'm sure they do… But I'm very clumsy and I don't want to leave anything to chance. We never know what could happen!" Bella replied.
Elijah chuckled slightly. He had turned his emotions back on and was trying not to look at Bella in the eyes so she didn't feel anything more that small attraction for him.
After glancing at him, Bella thought about what he told her on her first day here. If she was going to be sent back in the future and leave him alone, waiting for her, he deserved to have a picture of her. She grabbed one that wasn't too old and that she liked.
They had no idea what would happen…
Maybe nature would send her back to her time once her task was complete, but there also was a chance she would have to stay back there. In any case, she knew that there would be something big between her and Elijah and that's why she decided to pack a good picture of herself. In the back of it, she had written her full name, her date of birth and the place she was born at. She hoped that whatever she changed wouldn't changer her existing or any of the informations she had written.
"So, there is one question that I have and that hasn't been answered yet…" Bella stated after she packed the picture without anyone seeing it.
"What is it?" Isabelle asked her granddaughter.
"Let's say I arrive unarmed in the past and survive the night, let's say I manage to change things like I'm supposed to… What will happen to me? Do I stay stuck in the past or do I go back? And if I go back, do I have to go through another ritual, meaning other people will die or is it automatic? Because I don't feel comfortable being the cause of people dying for me..." She asked.
Everybody fell silent.
Elijah hadn't thought about this.
"I've researched it. I asked the spirits." Bonnie started, attracting the attention of everyone to her.
"They said that once everything you're supposed to change is changed, some sort of portal will appear. You will be sucked in it and brought back to us. We will be warned and gathered in the location of the portal to welcome you back and help you get acclimated with everything… We will be informed of what you did and you'll be brought up to date with what your changes brought in the world and in our lives." Bonnie explained.
"Oh, okay then… Did the spirits tell you when it will be?" Bella asked.
"No, it all depends on you and on how fast you change things." Bonnie told her.
Bella nodded.
"You better eat something now Bella, you don't know when the next time you'll eat will be!" Isabelle told her.
Bella nodded once again and served herself a big portion of the pasta Damon had been cooking.
Over the past week, she had spend a lot of time with Damon and found him to be a very nice person when he wasn't trying to piss someone off or to make his brother jealous. They had grown quite close and she was happy to say he was her friend.
"Damon, if I change the past, there is a chance you'll never meet Katherine…You'd never become vampires with your brother… Do you want that to happen?" Bella asked him as she ate.
"It's not like I have a choice is it?" He asked her.
"Well… Maybe I could ask the Originals to make sure Katherine is still changed and acts the same. I don't think that would be too hard… Or I could just ask one of them to come and change you in 1864. That's why I'm asking you. You're my friend and the choice is yours." She suggested with a small smile, giving him options he hadn't thought about.
"I would like to be a vampire, I don't know about Stefan but I'm pretty sure he wants to be one too… Maybe let them be the judge and do what's best…" Damon answered.
"I'll make sure you get your chance at Forever Damon!" Bella told him before she kissed his cheek.
When the night finally fell, everyone was ready.
Bella could feel the tension in the air and she knew that a lot of people she cared about were going to give their lives so she could make it to the past. She had to do a good job, she couldn't fail. She couldn't screw things up or they'd be dead for good.
They were installed in a clearing were Bonnie could draw some additional power from the ancient trees that were somehow connected to each others. She was standing in the middle, surrounded by Jeremy, Elena, Isabella and Bonnie who formed a triangle with her. Elena and Jeremy were in the same spot, holding hands. Caroline, Tyler, Stefan, Damon and Elijah were positioned all around them, always moving and keeping things unpredictable.
Suddenly, Elijah rushed to the east side of the clearing and pushed vampire Alaric against the closest tree.
"What do you want?" Elijah asked with venom in his voice.
"I want to help you. Esther died after she created me, and slowly she lost her grip on me. I still think every vampire should die, but I think that sending Miss Swan in the past to change things is a good idea. I'm here to help." Alaric offered.
As he spoke, Damon could see traces of the man that was his friend once upon a time.
"Alright then, you can keep watch with us Rick." Damon agreed.
"Are you sure about this Damon? I don't feel comfortable risking Bella's life with him…" Elijah protested.
"I know my friend Elijah. I can see the difference. This Alaric is on our side." Damon assured, looking at Elijah in the eyes.
He cared about Bella's life just as much as he did and wouldn't risk her either, that much was obvious in his look.
"Ok then… Fine." Elijah nodded before adding: "I don't want to see you close to Bella do I make myself clear?" He said looking Alaric in the eyes.
The man nodded and they all went back to patrolling while Bonnie started her chanting in an ancient language long forgotten by time.
Suddenly, there was movement behind the trees and before they could voice their concern they were surrounded by hybrids, led into this clearing by none other than Klaus, who had obviously turned his emotions off.
"Brother, I see you're still trying to kill me…The dagger in your heart wasn't enough of a lesson for you?" Klaus asked Elijah with an emotionless smirk.
"Killing you is not part of our plan tonight brother." Elijah assured his brother truthfully.
Klaus turned his head towards the ritual and asked:
"And who might that charming lady be?"
"Stay away from her!" Elijah growled, showing true ferocity for the first time.
"You do seem familiar… What's your name Love? Have we met before?" Klaus asked Bella as he tried to get closer.
"No, you've never met me before…" Bella shook her head before locking eyes with Elijah.
She understood he didn't want Klaus to know where she was going and she wasn't lying anyway. According to what she had been told, Klaus wasn't with them when she arrived and died.
She was actually afraid of that man. Bella had thought they were all exaggerating about Klaus being evil but now she could see it… There was absolutely no humanity or anything good left in that man's eyes. It was the eyes of a man capable of anything to reach his goal.
"Oh, I recognize you now! Isn't she some double of the girl you fell madly in love with back when we were human? You know… the one who was supposed to help us and ended up dead…" Klaus said, smirking with a mischievous spark in his eyes at the idea of hurting his brother with this memory.
Elijah didn't answer, instead he launched himself at his brother, starting the hostilities for everyone else.
Everyone else jumped in the fight. Tyler and Caroline fought well together and managed to kill a lot of hybrids. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. One of them managed to rip Caroline's heart out before Tyler could get to him. After yelling in rage, the young hybrid fought even harder, tears rolling down his cheeks. Bella could see he had turned his emotions off immediately and saw him with one goal: kill hybrids and protect Bella so she could save Caroline in another present.
Alaric was impossible to kill unless Elena died and the hybrids being sired to protect Elena made him a good weapon. He fought well but couldn't stop Stefan from being staked in the heart.
For a moment, Bella swore she saw a hint of regret in Klaus' eyes. He really cared about Stefan and wanted him as a friend. Also she saw regret crossing Klaus' face when he saw Caroline's dead body… Maybe he wasn't lost after all… Maybe she could find a way to save him and make him a better man…
Elena did her best to stay calm but as she watched first Caroline, then Stefan being killed, she knew that Bella really was their last chance. She held her brother's hand tighter and kept on looking around her with tears in her eyes as well. Damon locked eyes with her as he felt a hybrid ripping his heart out. He managed to kill him before he dropped to the ground, dead as well.
Bella saw everyone die, one by one and was scared. She was crying for them all…
She could see the life draining away from her grandmother and the Gilbert's as Bonnie went on with the ritual. Bella locked eyes with Elijah as he fought with his brother. She had tears in her eyes, she was crying out of sadness and out of fear. He was losing his fight and she knew it.
So did he.
As Klaus took a white oak stake out of his pocket, two of his hybrids holding Elijah tightly, Bella could see and feel that she was about to move to the past. She locked eyes with Elijah and saw in them that he had hope for her, he had hope for them both to be together, finally.
As Klaus staked his brother and watched Elijah burn, Bella was sucked away in a tick supernatural fog that pushed her back, sending her to the past.
She didn't get to see Tyler being killed, or her grandmother dropping dead along with Jeremy, Bonnie, Elena and Alaric. Elijah was dead along with every vampire of his bloodline, she was sent back in time just before Klaus threw everything out of balance.
As she traveled, Bella got a knife and a wolf bane's grenade out, ready to defend her life as best as she could. She didn't dry off the tears from her face, it would be no good since she was still crying for them all.
She was nervous at the thought of meeting human Elijah. The knowledge of his love surviving her a thousand years was both romantic and scary…
She knew the minute she'd look in his eyes when she arrived, they would fall in love with each other and never be apart again.
Suddenly, as the fog dissipated, Bella realised she stood in the same clearing, with the same group of trees looking much younger (tinnier) and 3 men waiting for her, standing in the shadow of the moon.
Rewritten in May 2020
Lorelei Candice Black