I do not own TVD or TO.
I'm only going to reply to one of the comments asking questions on here because I don't want to give anything away in this story. I have a very clear idea of where I want it to go.
It's the comment about Amara. As of now I do have plans to have her play a role later in the story. A very important role and I don't think anyone is going to guess it.
October 2012
There was so much she didn't understand. So much that made no sense. She had never held trouble understanding before.
She was starting to think coming to New Orleans might have been a mistake, but it had nothing to do with the hybrid. Klaus was polite enough and showed no signs of malignant intent; he was in short the perfect host. He hadn't even asked for her blood yet; though she suspected that had more to do with his all-consuming desire to clean up the mess that was the French Quarter. Nobody had told her what that was about yet.
It was the other brother: Elijah Mikaelson.
She couldn't understand how it had it had happened. She didn't know what it meant.
She knew why she wore her own face. She knew why she saw herself when she looked in the mirror. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. Her soul had been reborn into the body of her sister's doppelganger.
The elixir she had created spawned a line of doppelgangers. Two lines: one for Amara and one for Silas. Her sister and her secret lover lost the ability to die so nature needed a version that could.
What she didn't understand was why he looked so much like her husband. It made no sense, and it was all kinds of confusing.
The brother's had been busy with the supernatural factions she had made a point to ignore by remaining inside.
Caroline had been hesitant to leave her after the week spent settling in.
She knew the blonde had been able to see the way her body was on edge in spite of her efforts to hide it. She had insisted that she was fine and her nerves were merely due to the sudden crowd of people she found herself in; she told Caroline she felt as safe as she could feel considering what she was.
Hayley… she didn't know what to think about Hayley. She had surmised that she had lost a child and was suffering from some sort of depression. It was the nursery though that gave her pause.
She knew that everyone handled their grief in different ways, but to actively destroy a room and tear the furniture apart.
She could sense a secret being concealed within the confines of the house, and it wasn't hers.
She felt her eyes grow wide when she stepped from her bedroom. It shouldn't have surprised her given the nature of her housemates but a chill still ran down her spine when she spotted the bloody footprints that had been tracked through the hall.
She stared at the outline of the slim foot and only looked up when she felt a warm hand on her arm. She lifted her gaze from the mixture of blood and mud to see Elijah gently guiding her back from the mess.
He didn't say a word but she could see the clear annoyance in his shoulders. It was at once familiar and foreign.
She knew by the way he had pushed her back that he wanted her to stay put, but she had never been one to listen to instructions.
She waited a beat before following Elijah and the footprints into a bathroom. Her eyes locked on the body propped against the wall beside the tub.
"Come to check up on me?" Hayley looked at them through the corner of her eyes. She scoffed when she saw Elena.
"You've had an eventful evening," Elijah nodded to the body.
"I was having a crappy day," Hayley tipped her head back to stare at the ceiling. A slow smile spread over her lips when she rolled her neck to look at him. "Klaus took me out to the Cauldron. Wouldn't you know," the smile turned to a dark smirk, "we ran into some witches!"
"So," Elijah's voice turned dry, "would you like me to remove your leftovers?" He stepped over the body.
Hayley rolled her eyes before standing. The water sloshed up the sides of the tub when she was on her feet.
Alenka finally lifted her gaze when she heard the snap of a towel. She immediately looked away when she saw that Hayley was naked and covered in bubbles; her jaw ticked when she spun on her heel and realized Elijah had not averted his gaze.
She was staring at the body in the courtyard ten minutes later and wondering how she would really react to the witch that had killed her husband and her baby.
She had never been a violent person but suddenly the rage was all encompassing. She knew Qetsiyah was dead, but damn it, she wanted her alive again so she could make the bitch suffer.
Death was too kind for her.
Unfortunately she no longer had the ability to make her suffer.
She spun around and marched back into her bedroom when she saw Elijah watching her curiously from the courtyard.
The glass tinkled when he replaced the vial on the table. The display was covered in all manner of herbs in various states: fresh, dried, flaked and powdered. He thought an herb was what he would need for her memories, but plants and their properties had never been his strong suit. He was good, but the brunt of his strength had always been the more physical side of magic.
The herbs had required more patience and study. He had put the time in as a human being, but had let it lapse over the centuries. He became more interested in the end goal and less the capabilities of each plant.
"If you're looking for something to heal your head you might try the shelf for medicinal herbs."
"I'm not actually looking for that," Kol shook his head. Truthfully he would have healed the wound himself if his mother hadn't hexed him so it would heal at a normal rate; she didn't want Davina knowing the extent of his abilities. It was very annoying; mainly because of the headaches that aspirin was doing nothing for.
"No?" Davina tilted her head and stepped up beside him. "Then what are you looking for?"
"Something for a friend," Kol smirked, "she's got a tiny case of amnesia; missing a few memories."
"What happened?" Concern flashed in her dark eyes.
"Accident," he turned his attention to the dried chamomile. "Maybe you can help me," he picked up an empty bottle.
She didn't know why she could barely breathe when she stepped into the library. The trepidation settled in her chest and curled around her heart.
It didn't make sense to her why she was suddenly afraid. Klaus had all but given her free rein in the house, but for whatever reason the study she had stumbled upon made her nervous.
Rather than leave she made a slow circle through the room. Her fingers trailed over the spines of leather bound books and the smooth wood of the shelves before she came to a stop by the desk.
Her eyes zeroed in on the cherry wood. She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes as she approached the surface.
Whatever was causing her anxiety was in the desk; she knew it as surely as she knew her name.
She was too curious for her own good. She knew that too, but she was mildly surprised when the drawer opened easily.
Carefully she reached inside and lifted the slim dagger. She rested the point on her index finger and shivered. Even with the mute on her abilities she could sense the dark power contained in the object. She fell into the chair and felt bead of sweat trickle down her spine.
That was how Elijah found her: sitting in the chair staring at a white oak ash dagger.
"Elena?" He frowned at the brunette.
The last time she had held one of those daggers she had been placing it in his hand, but now she was looking at it with a mixture of fascination and trepidation. She looked like she thought it was going to grow teeth and bite her.
He crossed the room slowly and came to a stop in front of her before repeating her name.
She lifted her gaze when she saw him in front of her and felt her heart stutter.
"What are you doing?" Elijah nodded to the dagger. He doubted she was readying herself to use it, but he was prepared to snatch it from her hands if she did.
"I found it," she followed his eyes to her hands. She lowered it to the smooth surface of the desk. "What is it?"
"You know exactly what that is?" Elijah picked up the dagger and leaned against the desk.
"No, I don't," she shook her head.
Elijah tilted his head and watched her flashing eyes. He wasn't sure what emotion it was. "You and I haven't had a chance to talk, have we?"
"You and Klaus have been busy," she shrugged. Her eyes fell to the desk top. "I've been left to my own devices."
"That is true," he nodded once, "but I have tried to approach you. You've been avoiding me."
"No I haven't," she rose from the chair and turned towards the shelves. Elijah had placed the dagger in his pocket, but the knowledge that it was still there had her on edge.
"You can barely look at me," Elijah listened to her heart. "The other day you fled the courtyard when you saw me watching you. Would you mind telling me why you looked so angry?"
"I wasn't angry," she shook her head. I was murderous. I was finally letting myself think about the things I lost; the things that were stolen from me. I never should have made that potion.
Elijah watched her pull her hair into a low ponytail.
"Miss Forbes mentioned amnesia," his eyes slid down the exposed curve of her throat. He saw her carotid artery flutter with a skipped heartbeat. "She said you couldn't drive."
She was barely able to breathe when he stood and took a step towards her. She was acutely aware of his body a few inches from hers and the dagger in his pocket.
"She was right," she blinked slowly, "but I can walk, and I think I'm going to go take one."
She froze when his hand closed around her elbow. It was a halting motion only and not tight enough to hurt or even hold her back but she stopped anyway.
"You haven't been out of the house since you arrived," Elijah turned her gently so she was facing him. "You don't know anything about the city."
"No time like the present to learn," she tipped her head back and smiled. "I have my phone if I get lost."
"This should do the trick," Davina placed the bottle in his palm. "Any memories that were lost or that have faded away will come screaming back."
"Hopefully she hasn't forgotten anything overly traumatizing," Kol examined the fine powder. "I'll tell her to dissolve it in a bottle of water."
He tucked the spell into his pocket before and watched Davina start to tidy the table she had been using. His eyes landed on a sheet of heavy parchment.
"A spell of unlinking," his eyebrow rose when he turned to look at her sceptically, "what are you up to darling?"
Davina moved to snatch the spell from his hands. In her haste she tripped and lowered her hands to steady herself on the table. She hissed in pain when her palm hit the edge of a knife she had been using to shave pieces off a root.
Kol dropped the spell and grabbed a rag to stop the bleeding in her hand.
"You should really be more careful," he held her arm and lifted the cloth to inspect the cut. "It's not too deep." He led her towards the small bathroom and rinsed her hand under the flow of water.
"Are you going to tell me why you were so hasty to get that spell back?" He glanced up to see the hesitation in her eyes. He didn't require an answer he had seen enough of the page to know she was trying to unlink a sire line. The run in with his father and the white oak stake that had ended his life told him she was preparing to kill an Original.
"I'm just protective of my spells," Davina swallowed. She closed her eyes against the burn when he applied the antiseptic.
Kol took the previously white cloth and tucked it into his jacket pocket. When she opened her eyes he instructed her to hold the gauze in place while he wrapped it.
"Are you having any luck with it?"
"Not yet," she shook her head, "it's complex, and I told my coven to 'shove it' so it's just me."
"It's taking some time," Kol nodded. "You might try asking someone for help, love. A witch needs a coven."
"I'll keep that in mind," Davina shook her head.
Kol pulled out his phone when it vibrated in his pocket.
"You have to go?" Davina's frown mirrored his.
"Yes I do," he laughed. "Thanks for amnesia cure."
"Let me know if it works," she dropped the bloody knife into the sink. She called out when he opened the door. "Kaleb?"
"Yeah?" He paused with his one foot outside.
"Thanks," she held up her injured palm to show what she meant.
"Anytime," he grinned.
"Mother," Kol's smile was tight when he stepped into the room.
"What have you found out?" Esther looked up from the moonlight ring she was spelling.
Kol watched her set the ring aside. She added a few more stones to the drawn circle.
"I might have learned more," he grumbled, "if I hadn't been called away so suddenly." He sighed when his mother fixed him with the look. It didn't matter that she was in the body of a teenage girl she was still capable of the stern look that meant 'tell me what you've done or else'; he had always feared the or else, it was only made worse by the knowledge that she could banish him back to the other side with ease if he didn't comply with her wishes.
"She's working on a spell," he glared at the moonlight rings, "to unlink a sire line."
Esther's head snapped up at his words. The storm in her eyes was enough to give him sea legs.
"That cannot be allowed to come to fruition," Esther's voice was calm but her eyes were full of a fierce fury. "You'll have to stop her."
"How exactly would you propose I do that?" Kol scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Kill her," Esther shrugged. "It is second nature for you at this point. Or you can kill the spell; I don't care which."
"Where are you going?" Klaus flashed into her path when she reached the door.
"For a walk?" She looked pointedly from him to the door and back. She glanced down at her sneakers and sweater before meeting his eyes with a raised brow.
She moved to step around him and resisted the urge to roll her eyes when he blocked her way.
"Am I not allowed to go for a walk?" She tilted her head and placed her hands on her hips. "Last I checked I was not a prisoner. Was I misinformed?"
"Of course not," a line appeared between his brows, "I'm just concerned you'll get lost."
"I have a phone," she lifted the device from her pocket. It was one of the few things she had thrown herself into understanding when she first 'woke up' for those very frequent occasions when she did get lost. "I can read street signs; if I do get lost I will call for help."
"The quarter is full of wolves," he warned her.
"I would have thought there was more to fear from vampires," she smirked.
Klaus weighed the options of trying to keep her from leaving. She would certainly be easier to keep track of if she felt she had the freedom to at least leave the house.
"Just be back before nightfall, Elena," he stepped out of her path. "You don't want to be out when the nightwalkers emerge."
She was in the middle of Dauphine Street when she heard her name. Not Elena's name her name.
She looked through the corner of her eye to find Kol walking alongside her. Maybe she should have felt afraid to have him walking in step beside her, but she couldn't bring herself to even shiver. A strange sense of calm washed over her when he fell into step with her.
The electric jolt raced from her elbow down to her fingers and up to her heart when he brushed her arm and steered her towards the cemetery.
They walked in silence for fifteen minutes with less than a foot of space between them before Kol came to a stop outside of a moss and wax covered tomb in the oldest part of Lafayette cemetery.
"I want to show you something."
"A bloody handkerchief?" She cast him an inquisitive look when he pulled a bloody cloth from his pocket.
"Yes," he smirked, "I brought you out here to show you a bloody handkerchief. Field trip is over now; you can go home."
"Field trip?" Her eyes narrowed when she tilted her head. "We're not in a field," she glanced around at the mausoleums.
Kol's mouth popped open when he saw the genuine confusion on her face. "Sorry," he laughed quietly, "I forgot for a moment that I know more about this century then you. A field trip is a 'learning excursion' of sorts usually taken by students."
"Am I meant to be learning something from the bloody rag?" She nodded in understanding.
"No," he shook his head, "it's what the bloody rag will reveal." He held his hand over the cloth and chanted quietly: "Mihi veniunt sanguinis," when the blood lifted to hover in the air he directed it towards the door of the tomb, "et sanguinem vincere sigillum."
She watched with fascination, and just a wee bit of envy, as the door swung inwards with the use of magic. She arched an eyebrow when he offered her a hand.
"Isn't there a saying about following vampires into tombs?" Her eyes sparkled with amusement.
"Not to my knowledge," he chuckled, "and I am not a vampire at the moment, darling."
"There is that," she hesitated for a moment before taking his hand. Her cold fingers warmed in his palm.
The next chapter will pick up immediately after this one. I think I will bring Caroline back later, but it will be a few months before she returns.