I do not own TVD or TO.
I have come to a decision about which pairing this story will be for. I'm not going to tell you which one it is you have to figure it out and I'm not going to write the other one until this one is done because that threatens to get really messed up in my brain.
He leaned against the wooden post and surveyed the street. A cocky smile crossed his face when he spotted the young witch he had been sent to watch. She was pulling open the door to Second Life records.
Davina Claire was the Harvest Girl who told them all to shove it. She was the Harvest Girl his mother brought him back to follow around.
He was finishing his apple with the intention of joining her in the store. He froze midway across the crowded street when a familiar face caught his eye.
He glanced at the record store once before cutting through a crowd of tourists and moving towards Rousseau's.
How many times would he get an opportunity like this one?
"Do you have any idea where we are?" She glanced to the left where Caroline was steering the car through the crowded streets.
"Of course," Caroline grinned, "we're in the French Quarter of New Orleans."
"Do you know where we are going?" 'Elena' rolled her eyes. She shifted in her seat and grimaced at the sharp pain when she drew in a deeper breath than she had meant to.
"I thought that was clear," Caroline pulled into a parking spot. "I'm taking you to Klaus just like you asked."
"I know that," she took a shallow breath. "What I meant was do you know how to get there?"
"Well that's a completely different question," Caroline opened the door of the car, "and the short answer is no."
She stepped out with the blonde and carefully rolled her shoulders back. She nodded when Caroline said she was going to dart inside and ask for directions but declined joining her.
She couldn't remember the last time she had seen such an assembly of people. The only things that came close were her memories of the market, but even that was a pale comparison to the bustling streets. People were everywhere. She ignored them in favour of leaning against the hood of the car and facing the dark alley alongside the building.
She tipped her head back and smiled softly when the sun's rays warmed her face. Her eyes, which had drifted shut, snapped open when a hand closed over her elbow.
There was no time to react, let alone evade, before her back collided with the cool bricks in the shaded alcove that was the alley. The last thing she saw blue eyes before her consciousness faded away.
Caroline pressed her cell phone to her ear.
"Okay," she gripped the edge of the bar, "now is really not the time to decide you are over me. Now is the time to answer your phone. I'm in New Orleans and I don't know where to go, so call me back because the odds that the bartender at…" she tilted her head to read the menu, "… Rousseaus can give me accurate directions to your house are unlikely."
Caroline's thumb pushed the touchscreen with a force that almost dented the phone before pasting on a sunny smile and waving to the blonde on the other side of the bar.
"Hi…" her eyes dropped to the nametag, "… Camille. I wonder if you might help me."
"Cami," she nodded, "I seriously need to change the tag."
"Drunk guys hit on you in French?" Caroline smirked.
"All the time," Cami shook her head and laughed, "gets old real fast."
"I bet," she nodded, "I'm Caroline."
"Well, Caroline," Cami folded a white cloth and set it on the bar, "what can I do for you?"
Caroline tilted her head and smiled brightly. "I'm looking for somebody. He's an old… 'friend', and it's kind of urgent that I find him."
Cami's eyes darted to Caroline's flat stomach. She quirked an eyebrow when she lifted her gaze back to Caroline.
"Not that kind of friend," Caroline held up her hands, "… maybe that kind… no… no, not that kind of friend. That's not why I'm looking for him."
"What's his name?" Cami tried not to laugh at the flustered woman. "If he's local I probably know him, or someone who does."
"His name is Klaus," Caroline cleared her throat and leaned over the bar. "I think you would know if you knew him. He's got a classic bad boy smirk, crystal clear blue eyes, an English accent, and a cocky attitude."
"Don't I know it," Cami scoffed. "I'm very familiar with that attitude."
"I don't suppose you're familiar with where that attitude calls home?" Caroline raised her eyebrows hopefully. "He's not answering his phone."
Klaus threw the blank canvas across the room, with a roar, causing several standing paintings to collapse.
Elijah knelt and grasped the canvas before standing quickly and tilting his head. "I suppose we shall have to call this your white period," he cocked an eyebrow and turned to his fuming brother.
"I am missing a crucial color in my palette," Klaus lifted his finger and paced, "that of my enemies' blood." He glared at the assembly of paints.
"Well," Elijah righted the canvas and held up his hand in a helpful gesture, "I recommend a Venetian red, with a dash of rust…"
"It's been months," Klaus snapped. He kicked over several canvases. "I've adhered to your plan for months: sit and do nothing, sell our grief. And now, my child is safely away, and another full moon is upon us – another night of pathetic weakness as the moonlight rings steal my strength!"
"The nursery is killing me," Klaus calmed slightly when Elijah laid a hand on his shoulder and offered a sympathetic look. "I need to act. I… I… I need… I need to spill blood."
"Then you'll be pleased to know," Elijah's lips lifted in a smile, "that I've located the last of the twelve rings forged with your blood."
Klaus' smile was weak when he lifted his eyes. "Then, it's time!"
"And none too soon," Elijah nodded. "I'm concerned about Hayley."
"She looks well enough," Klaus turned to the art. He flipped through the canvases tensely.
"She looks no better than you, brother." Elijah took a deep breath. "Now, if the two of you would treat each other as more than just… passing acquaintances…"
"She has you for that," Klaus interrupted.
"Sadly," Elijah frowned, "like the father of her child, she prefers to fight her demons alone." He picked up the buzzing cell phone from the table. "You appear to have missed a few calls."
"Do I look like I'm in the mood to talk to anyone?" Klaus growled.
"I never thought I would see the day," Elijah peered at the screen, "when you ignored Caroline Forbes."
It was almost comical how fast the phone was lifted from Elijah's palm.
Before Klaus had a chance to listen to the voicemails or return the call the phone rang. He was tempted to ignore the call from Rousseau's but there was only one person who would call him from the bar.
"Camille," he walked away from his older brother, "to what do I owe the pleasure?" His voice was gruff.
"I just thought I'd give you a heads up. Some blonde came into the bar looking for you… your address specifically. Since she could have gotten it from almost anyone on the street I gave it to her."
"You didn't happen to get a name, love?" Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Just the first: Caroline."
He hung up before she could ask how he was holding up. He had heard the question in her quick intake of breath.
Her head rolled forward as consciousness slowly returned to her body. She wrinkled her nose and blinked rapidly against the dim light. Her wrist caught when she moved to lift her hand.
She shook her head against the last of the sleeping spell and narrowed her eyes at the thin strips of plastic holding her wrists to the arms of the wooden chair.
"Sorry about that, darling," a male voice droned from the shadows, "I would have done this in that alley, but I had someone to follow."
"Done what?" She tugged her arms experimentally. "Who are you?"
"Oh, that hurts darling," he stepped out into the light. "It physically pains me to know that you've forgotten already, but I guess eight months is all it takes."
"What are you talking about?" She blew a strand of hair from her eyes. "Who are you?" She glared at the line of white plastic. Two thousand years ago she would have broken the ties with a muttered spell; two thousand years ago it would have been ropes or chains.
She closed her eyes and immediately opened them when the memory of the last time she had been bound and helpless flooded her mind. Her heart pounded in her chest as she banished the curved blade.
"Seriously, darling," his hands covered her struggling wrists, "have you really forgotten me? I'd be seriously offended if I were in my own body."
A small jolt of electricity raced through her veins when he touched her bare skin. She stared at his hands for a minute while trying to make sense of the situation. She had no idea who he was which led her to believe he had known Elena, but what could Elena have possibly done to him.
"I don't think you have," he tilted his head and lifted one hand to her chin. It was almost gentle the way he lifted her face.
"Are you going to tell me your name or not?" She felt her heart slow when she looked into his blue eyes.
"Kol," he frowned when a line appeared between her brows.
"Who?" She searched his eyes for any sign of recognition. He had said he wasn't in his own body so it was possible she had met him during her foray into the twenty-first century, but she doubted it; she hadn't done anything to deserve being tied to a chair in what appeared to be a greenhouse of some kind.
Her heart ached with longing when she smelt the flowers.
"Kol Mikaelson," he lifted his eyebrows when hers narrowed in confusion. "Really Elena? It's only been seven months."
"You'll have to forgive me," she blinked slowly, "I have no memory of anything that happened before April." Her voice dropped to a murmur as her eyes landed on a brilliant purple crocus: "not in this life."
"You expect me to believe you don't remember teaming up with your brother to kill me?" His scoff caught when he saw the way her horrified eyes swiveled back around to him. What surprised him was the fact that the horror was not for her endangered life.
"I what?" Her mouth popped open in shock. She was not a violent person. She had never been a violent person. She couldn't even bring herself to think of killing Qetsiyah
"Knock, knock," Caroline called when she stepped into the open air courtyard. "You're security system is a joke," she rolled her eyes, "any vampire can break through a chain."
"You could have simply knocked, Miss Forbes," Elijah appeared on the staircase.
"I did," she arched an eyebrow, "nobody answered."
"You didn't give time, love," Klaus descended the stairs with his trademark smirk.
"I find I'm running short on time," Caroline crossed her arms.
"Not staying then?" Klaus came to a stop in front of her. "What brings you to my city?"
"Haven't you heard?" Caroline held out her hands. "I'm the continental taxi service, and I've lost my passenger."
"I'm afraid I'm not following, sweetheart," a line appeared between his eyebrows.
"I brought her down here," Caroline waved her hands. "I went inside Rousseau's to ask for directions only to come out and find Elena gone."
"Why would I care about the doppelganger?" Klaus rolled his eyes.
"Because she's human," Caroline placed her hands on her hips, "and scared. She was coming down here for your protection."
"Elena is human?" Elijah paused on his journey to the study.
"Yeah," Caroline nodded, "I'm surprised Rebekah didn't mention it. We found the cure. She took the cure and now she is down here."
"We haven't seen Rebekah in months. Elena came down here of her own free will knowing exactly what Niklaus would want from her?" Elijah paced towards them. He frowned when Caroline nodded. "And now she's gone?"
"Perhaps she had a change of heart," Klaus expression shifted to one of suppressed anger.
"If she had a change of heart and ran, which I highly doubt by the way, I would have been able to track her. She's human, has three cracked ribs and has a touch of amnesia so she can't drive; I would have been able to find her if she left on her own." Caroline ranted. "Somebody took her."
"Such wonderful timing," Klaus grumbled. He spun on his heel and stormed towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Elijah called after him.
"To find the doppelganger," Klaus' jaw clenched when Elijah flashed in front of him.
"Stay here," he calmly urged, "I will go with Miss Forbes to find her."
"I… um… I saw Rebekah a few days ago," Caroline paused on her way by Klaus, "complete fluke really; I just happened to pass by." They had caught sight of the blond while passing through a sleepy little town. "She seemed to be doing fine. I didn't stop to say hello, but she looked fine."
Klaus' mouth went slack. He tilted his head slightly to watch her expression.
"I just thought you'd like to know," Caroline followed Elijah outside, "since you haven't seen her in months."
Kol's eyes grew wide when he saw the truth in her gaze. She didn't remember any of it.
"How is that even possible?" He leaned back a bit. "How could you forget your entire life?"
"It was quite easy," she swallowed. The soft thrum of suppressed magic hummed in her bones. Maybe if I concentrate all of it I can break the ties… "I just took the cure."
"Ah… the cure," his expression twisted. "The entire reason I died was so you lot could find the cure." He hung his head and exhaled slowly. "Tell me darling," he swallowed, "did you wake Silas with it?"
"Silas?" She paled at the name.
"The cure lied with Silas," Kol frowned at her reaction to the name. He could feel her pulse racing when he pressed his fingers to her wrist.
"He didn't wake," she shook her head.
"Would you even know if he had?" Kol shook his head.
"I would know," her expression hardened.
"Nobody knows what the man actually looks like."
"I would know," she inhaled sharply and winced at the pain in her ribs. "I didn't forget my whole life, Kol. I just forgot this life. Believe me when I say I would know if Silas were walking the earth again."
"This life?" Kol watched the pained grimace cross her face. "What do you mean this life? You lived before?"
"Yes," she took shallow breaths. "You didn't happen to take my bag when you took me?"
"No," he frowned.
"Of course not," she murmured, "Because I left it in Caroline's car." She blinked in surprise when the ties loosened and her hands and legs were free. Did I do that?
"What happened darling?" The concern in his voice surprised them both.
"I was attacked, I came down here for protection," she shook her head and brought her hands to her ribs. She looked around the room to the various plants. "I don't suppose there is any capsaicin in here. It's excellent for pain relief when applied topically." It would have been better when infused with magic, but on its own it was still pretty good; she needed something now that the pain medication was wearing off.
"How do you know that?" Kol moved her hands and gently lifted her shirt until he could see the mottled skin.
"I was a witch." She didn't see any point lying about it now. According to Kol she had killed him; surely he intended to kill her. She might as well be honest. "A rather gifted one at that," she exhaled when his fingers ghosted over her ribs, "mother called me a protégé, and my brother thought it was hilarious that my twin sister could barely light a fire."
"What is your name?" Kol pressed his palm to her rib cage.
"Alenka," her eyes squeezed tightly when the pain spread through her. It was pronounced almost the same save for the added letter.
"And you knew Silas?" He peeked up from her midsection in time to see her nod. "Then I assume you knew the witch who made the immortality spell as well, and Silas' lover… Amara."
"I was intimately familiar with that witch," she blinked back a few tears and nodded. Her doe eyes fluttered open when the pain vanished. She straightened in the chair and examined the previously mottled skin. Lifting the collar of her shirt she saw the marks along her breast were gone as well.
"You healed me…" she drew in a deep breath and relished the feeling in her lungs. "Why did you do that? I thought you wanted to kill me."
"Make no mistake," he lifted a finger to level at her, "I do want you dead, but you are not you right now. I'm not going to kill you until you remember why I'm doing it."
She blinked slowly.
"It takes all of the joy out of revenge, darling," he smirked.
"Sure," she nodded slowly, "of course… I get that… kind of…" She chewed on her bottom lip. "So… what happens now?"
"For now you go," he took her hand and helped her to her feet, "until I can find a way to bring your memories I'm not going to kill you."
"Good luck," she huffed, "I've been looking for months with no results."
"I've been around a while, love," he reached for his buzzing phone. "Don't worry I'll find a way." He stepped out into the afternoon sunlight with her.
"Well," she blinked against the sudden shift, "while you're at it try and find a way to get rid of my current memories."
"Why?" He lowered his phone. His mother could wait a moment.
"I'd love to forget who I am," she crossed her arms, "and what I've seen. I can't have it back so I want to forget. Remembering is painful," she swiped at a few tears.
"Pain is how you know you're alive, Alenka. It will ease eventually," he cleared his throat and nodded to the left. "If you follow this path and don't stray you'll eventually wind up in the Quarter."
"Thank you," she sniffled when he pressed a tissue into her palm, "I suppose I'll see you around."
"I suppose you will," Kol nodded, "seeing as you came down here for my brother's protection." He smirked when he saw her glistening eyes widen. "Don't look so surprised, darling. Klaus is the only one who would struggle to keep you alive and human."
"Will you do me a favour?"
"Will I do the man who wants to kill me a favour?" She tilted her head and ran her eyes over his tall frame. "Why not?" She shrugged.
"Don't tell my siblings I'm alive," he lifted his eyebrows hopefully.
She met his guarded blue eyes before nodding once.
Davina rolled her eyes when the stake embedded itself in the wall by her head.
"I don't know why you keep showing off," she sighed. "You know you can't hurt me."
"Oh," he chuckled darkly, "but the desire I have to do so." He gestured with his hands.
Davina merely sighed before holding her wrist in front of his face before commanding him to feed.
"Stop," her voice was annoyed.
Mikael pulled back and wiped the blood from his mouth before gently tapping her bracelet.
"I wish I could rip this from you, break that which binds me to you," he inhaled deeply, "and complete the task you brought me back to do. Kill the bastard who calls himself my son."
Davina rolled her eyes and knelt beside a large trunk on the floor. "You can't take off the bracelet, and you can't kill Klaus. Not until I find a way to save my friends from dying too." She lifted the ancient grimoire. "I've studied their mother's spell book for weeks. I'm getting close. Once I unlink my friends from his sire line, I will unleash you," her voice turned dry, "to be the monster you are so eager to be."
"Music to my ears, little witch," Mikael smirked.
She took sure steps when she reached the bustling streets and struggled to remember the name of the establishment Caroline had stopped at; it eluded her.
The question of whether she should stop and wait or keep going didn't matter when she lifted her eyes.
Her entire body froze when she saw Caroline, but the blond was not the one who had the blood draining from her face and the air rushing from her lungs.
It was the man beside the vampire. It was the man who had turned his dark eyes on her.
"That was remarkably easy," Elijah remarked when they approached. "Elena," his eyes flickered over her pale face, "are you alright?"
Her eyes were red rimmed as her throat clenched tightly.
"Elena?" Caroline reached out for her arm. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I… umm…" She swallowed and focused on the blond. "I'm fine. I… umm… I got lost."
"You vanished," Caroline tilted her head.
"I'm fine, Caroline," she took a deep breath, "perfectly fine."
"I thought you had some cracked ribs," Elijah frowned when the breath passed through her body easily.
"They got better," she smiled tightly.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Elijah placed his hand on the small of her back when she nodded. "The compound is this way."
Later, while Caroline was helping her unpack, her attention was caught by the raised voices down the hall.
She was unfamiliar with everything in this century but she recognized the remnants of the crib. She saw the concealed pain in the brunette's eyes when she all but screamed at Elijah to get out.
"Are you okay?" Her stomach clenched painfully when she approached Hayley.
"I'm fine," Hayley's reply was short before she slammed the door.
She spent the rest of the day and night with Caroline settling in to the compound. The only time she looked up from unpacking the bag was when Klaus himself knocked on the bedroom door.
"I hear you've got some amnesia, love," he leaned in her door.
"A bit," she nodded. "I hear you need me alive."
"Yes," he frowned as the first of the rings activated, "your blood is very useful to me. It's the only way I can make hybrids thanks to my mother."
"I'm getting the impression she was a bit of a mad genius," she stilled when she saw Klaus stumble.
Caroline was across the room when he knelt on the floor.
"Should I be concerned that the person supposed to keep me alive is slumped on the floor?"
"Don't worry, love," he grimaced, "this shall pass, and if Elijah's plan works it'll never happen again."
"Care to explain that," Caroline fell to sit cross legged. "Cause you don't look so good."
"A particularly creative witch created twelve moonlight rings," Klaus rocked back on his knees as his strength began to return. "They keep werewolves from turning but allow them to retain their abilities during a full moon."
"Would I be correct in assuming it's possible by drawing power from you?" She dropped to sit with them.
"You're clever, Elena," he nodded slowly, "tell me: when you lost your memory did you gain an understanding of magic? Or is that something you've picked up?"
"She's always been a quick study," Caroline murmured.
"Okay then," he nodded. "I'm going to need you both to stay in here and lock the door. Do not open it for anything until the sun comes up."
"Why not?" She rose to her feet with Caroline.
"Because you asked me to keep you alive," Klaus smirked. He felt a little more strength return when he closed the door and made his way to the art studio. "Lock it, love." He sighed when he heard Caroline comply.
The sun was high in the sky when Davina crossed the street to stand in front of Second Life Records. Her mouth turned down in a frown when she read the sign.
"Well, this sucks no trades today."
Davina turned around to see the young man she had spotted the previous day in the store.
"I mean, it's worse for you, of course," he waved to the store, "guy had the market cornered on the ancient Icelandic folk scene."
"Those weren't for me," Davina shook her head and laughed.
"I'm Kaleb," he held out his hand for her to shake and chuckled.
"Davina," she smiled.
"Wow. Cool name… terrible taste in music." He smiled and leaned forward. "You obviously need me."
His mind flashed back to the greenhouse when Davina blushed and smiled.
"I had forgotten what it felt like to be this vulnerable." The tall man held his hand over the flame of the candle.
"At least you're not stuck in the body of a teenager," she rolled her eyes.
"Well," Kol strode into the room with a smirk, "I for one love my body, Mother. I'm pretty sure Davina does too." He took a seat with them at the table.
"Don't be puerile. We have work to do," she shook her head and lifted her tea cup. "Your brothers did me a favour by killing Francesca. Now, I will control the witches and the werewolves. With the vampires in exile, we can begin to take root in our new home. Finn, Kol," she nodded to each of her sons, "let's get to work. We have a family reunion to plan." She smiled brightly.
What do you think?
This chapter got a lot longer than I meant for it to.