I do not own TVD or TO.
I'm really enjoying reading people's guesses about the plot and pairing.
Alenka took slow sips from the bottle of water and leaned against the kitchen counter. Every time she closed her eyes she remembered a new detail that kept the memory fresh. She doubted it had been Kol's intention, but the memory she had repressed returned in living colour.
Whatever Klaus and Elijah had done helped her return to sleep but when she woke again the vision returned.
She could read the outrage, horror and pain in the fading light of Elias' eyes. She could hear the distant sounds of Amara begging Qetsiyah to stop; she hadn't remembered that at first. The promise to leave her husband her heart echoed in her mind even as the faint smell of his blood reached her nose. She could almost feel the bowl brushing her shoulder.
Alenka shook herself from the darkness of her memories and forced herself to remove her hand from her chest. Her heart was still in place. Her heart was going to remain in her body.
"Alright," Klaus sighed, "what is it?" He could feel the annoyance coming off Hayley in waves.
"Something is clearly bothering you," Elijah looked up from the contracts he had been perusing to the rigid set of Hayley's shoulders.
"Really?" Hayley crossed her arms. "Are you really asking me that?" Her voice was a deadly hiss when she glared at them. "My child can't come home because of the mess in this damn city. I haven't held her since the day she was born and you've got the nerve to ask me what's wrong?"
Hayley's annoyance only flared when she heard the approaching footsteps on the cobblestones. She never would have chosen the Mikaelsons before her pregnancy. She wouldn't have picked these two as men in her life; she'd been on the fence for a while about them, but she now saw them as hers and she was a very possessive person. Seeing them tending to a woman who was clearly just using them, she had even admitted to coming down there for the protection they could give, with such gentleness made her heart swell with anger.
They were hers not Elena Gilberts.
She pivoted on her heel when they began arguing between themselves over the best course of action to return Hope to them. It was futile; New Orleans would never be safe. They had too many enemies.
Tearing her eyes from the knife block she left the kitchen and crossed the courtyard. She paused outside the entrance to the dining room when Hayley stormed out and nearly ran her over. She just held in her shudder when she saw the hostility in the hybrid's eyes and managed to stand her ground under the heavy glare until Hayley moved around her and stomped up the stairs.
"Did I do something to her?" She swallowed when she stepped into the room and saw the brothers locked in a staring contest. "Before the whole amnesia thing because I get the sense she doesn't like me and would gleefully push me into the middle of a busy street."
"Not that I am aware of, love," Klaus tore his eyes from his brother.
"Try not to take Hayley's mood personally, Elena," Elijah met her eyes and frowned at the dark circles there, "she's been having a difficult time."
Alenka nodded. She drew her lip between her teeth not quite believing it had nothing to do with her. She had been around women in difficult situations, and yes they could be hostile but it was more generalized; typically if she felt anger being directed at her it was because it was being directed at her.
"How did you sleep?"
"Fine," she cleared her throat when she saw Elijah had crossed the room to stand a few paces in front of her. Her eyes met his involuntarily and her heart stuttered in her chest; for a moment she saw the life draining from his face again.
"Elena?" He lifted her chin with his knuckle. He had heard her heart skip.
"More nightmares, love?" Klaus tilted his head and raked his eyes over her pale face.
"No," she shook her head and managed a small smile, "no more nightmares." She wondered if Klaus called everyone 'love'; she wasn't particularly fond of the nickname but she preferred it to hearing the name that wasn't hers.
"Would that be because you didn't sleep?" Elijah cocked an eyebrow.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and played with the label on the bottle. "Can't have nightmares if you don't go to sleep."
"You didn't sleep at all last night?" Elijah watched her carefully when she took a seat on the leather couch. He could see her eyes drooping.
"I couldn't," she was too tired to attempt a lie. "I kept seeing it."
"I can help with that if you like," Elijah offered when Klaus slipped from the room.
She chewed on her lip and stared at the table. She knew he could help her maintain a more pleasant dream, but she wasn't sure if she wanted him in her mind. It might raise questions she wasn't ready to answer if he were to see the extent of the dream keeping her up at night.
"No," she shook her head, "it'll pass."
"Nightmares don't just stop Elena," Elijah took a seat across from her. "It does help to talk about them."
"I think I'd prefer to banish it from my mind," she laughed quietly.
"If only it were that easy," he shook his head.
"Sometimes it is," her nail stopped scraping the label from the bottle. The memory of the brilliant sun soaking into her husband's skin as he lifted a violet coloured flower for her inspection flooded her mind.
She swallowed and stood up with a small nod. "I think I'm going to go for a walk and clear my head."
Her eyes watched the ground as she walked down the street. She still wasn't used to the crowd of people in the city, but she found herself grateful for their presence around her.
It was distracting to say the least and distracting was just what she wanted.
She caught snippets of inane conversations about work, dinner, and picking up the dry cleaning. Each clear word made her head feel a little lighter. She didn't stop walking until she saw a stall of flowers.
Her fingers drummed over her thigh. She raked her eyes over the colourful blossoms looking for anything purple.
"Can I help you, miss?"
She looked up when a young man in a green apron came up beside her. She nodded slowly but before she got a chance to ask he held up a few flowers for her inspection.
"Lily of the valley perhaps?"
"I actually have something in mind," she sighed and shook her head, "I just don't see it."
"Oh," he lowered the white flower, "what were you in the market for today?"
"Crocus," she smiled hopefully.
The stone had long since warmed behind his back. Still, he shifted and bent his knee to rest the book on. The sun beat down on the aged pages and made the handwritten notes easier to read; thankfully he had learned Bulgarian several centuries before. If he hadn't he wouldn't have been able to understand the instructions for breaking a traveller curse; unfortunately it appeared unlikely she would ever be able to do it.
There were seven and a half billion people in the world spread out over seven continents; the odds of ever finding a soulmate were unlikely: one in seven and a half billion… less than one percent.
A shadow passed over the page and drew his eyes upwards. The sun was behind her head so it took a moment for her features to come into focus.
"Did it work?" He marked the page and closed the leather bound volume.
"No," she shook her head and dropped to sit on the stone steps of the mausoleum. "Well… yes and no…"
"I'm afraid I don't understand, darling," he stood and took a seat beside her. His eyes fell to the bag she had set on the cobblestones.
"I don't remember anything from this lifetime, but," she took a steadying breath, "I now remember, in vivid detail, the events of my death."
"Bloody hell," he breathed. "Can I ask what happened?"
"You just did," she snickered.
"I'm wondering if you'll tell me though," he watched her pale features. "I know you were murdered… you let that slip a few days back."
Alenka smoothed her hair behind her ears and leaned forward to prop her chin in her hand. She turned her head slightly so she could look at him.
"Do you want to tell me what's bugging you?" She easily spotted the circles under his eyes.
"I thought we were discussing you," he braced his elbows on his knees. He sighed when she remained quiet before explaining the order he had been given to either kill a girl or her spell.
"You don't want to kill her?" Her eyes flickered over his features.
"Contrary to popular belief I am not a monster," he shook his head. "Unless my humanity was off I only killed when I had to; or in the attempted case of your brother for the greater good."
"You tried to kill Jeremy?" Her brows shot up. "You want to kill me."
"No," he shook his head, "I didn't want to deal with Qetsiyah's hunter's curse, but I did want him to stop searching for the cure and as for you… blind rage has a way of passing quickly."
"Because of Silas," she nodded. "I really hate that guy."
"Is he the one keeping you up at night?" Kol inspected the flowers in the bag.
"What makes you think I'm up at night?" She smirked.
"The dark circles under your eyes," he nodded to her face and pulled a flower from the bag, "and the crocus sativus," he held it to her face, "it's been said to banish nightmares when ingested as a tea."
"How do you know that?" Her fingers grazed his skin when she lifted the flower to her nose.
"Someone told me about it," he shrugged, "a long time ago; feels like a dream now. It always kind of felt like a dream, but it was one of the things I used to use in the days before turning off my emotions; brewing tea doesn't require magic."
"You had some nightmares you wanted to banish," she nodded.
"As do you," he pressed his lips into a thin line, "I've told you the source of my anxiety. Will you share yours?"
"I was murdered," she stared at the opposite tomb, "by Qetsiyah. Every time I close my eyes I see," she blinked back her tears, "the knife. I see… I see," her breath shook, "the blood pouring from my… my husband, and I hear… I hear my sister screaming."
He should have been surprised by his lack of hesitation. His hand settled between her shoulders and rubbed smooth circles over her back.
Alenka swiped at the tears rubbed her lips together. It seemed once she started she couldn't stop.
"It's so much harder to forget in that house," she exhaled.
"Nik's being a dick?" Kol attempted to make her laugh.
"No," she shook her head.
"Elijah?" He ventured when she went quiet. "What's he doing? Do you want me to beat him senseless?"
She finally managed a laugh through her tears. "I'm pretty sure you don't have the strength for that."
"You're right," he grinned, "but I can give him one hell of a headache."
"He hasn't done anything but help me settle in," she inhaled slowly. "It's just that… he looks like my husband."
"And that makes it hard to forget," Kol's smile fell. "You could try focusing on the differences in their appearance… that might make it easier."
"No, Kol," she hugged her upper body, "you don't get it. He's a little older but… he looks just like my husband."
"Your…" his eyes widened.
"Husband…" she shook her head and laughed without any humor, "… over two thousand years later. I don't understand why either."
"Reincarnation?" Kol didn't know why the thought bothered him.
"That's not how reincarnation works," she shook her head sadly. "You don't get the same body… I mean… it's not possible. It has to be a coincidence right? It just makes it hard to forget."
"I don't believe in coincidences, Alenka," Kol reached for the leather bound volume he had been reading, "but maybe I can help distract you."
"You could help by making me forget," she sighed.
"Well I was going to tell you about the way to break a travellers curse," he tried not to smile when he saw the muted light of excitement in her eyes.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" She tilted her head when he passed her the pages and finished explaining what he had learned.
"I don't know," he chuckled, "if you want to double check my translations it's in Bulgarian."
"Try tampering with the root," she folded the pages and placed them in her bag. "For the spell," she clarified when he looked confused. "The root would be instrumental in its completion. If you wreck the root you destroy the spell and then you don't have to kill the girl." She slowly climbed to her feet and hooked the bag over her arm. "If it's keeping you awake you clearly don't want to do it, so…"
"Wreck the root," he nodded. His eyes sparkled when he smiled up at her, "thank you."
What do you think so far?
The next chapter is going to have a time jump. Everything that's been happening in the Originals Season 2 is happening during this story.