I do not own TVD or TO. If I did ELEJAH and KLAROLINE would be canon and that finale (which I still haven't watched) would have never happened.
On a side note I found this app that lets me make collages on my phone, so obviously a lot of my long haul fics have gotten new covers.
Caroline stared in wide eyed wonderment as Alenka triple checked the contents of her purse. In a lifetime of friendship, that had been both strained and strong, Caroline had learned one thing; it was a lesson that had never changed: Elena Gilbert would do anything for the people she loved. She had even been willing to sacrifice herself for her family and friends.
She wondered if that was something left over from her first life because Alenka was exactly the same. She was forgoing her own safety to save someone she loved. Caroline never would have thought of Kol Mikaelson as her friend's soulmate.
She was likely going to get herself killed in the process. From what Caroline could see things were about to get very dangerous for the brunette.
"Why don't you just tell them the truth?" Caroline caught the bag before it could topple over. She arched her brow when Alenka gave her Elena's patented 'are-you-fucking-serious' look complete with: scrunched nose, raised brows, tilted head and pursed lips.
"You don't think they would want to help?" Caroline gave her a sceptical look. "He's their brother. This family might fight like cats and dogs, but they are family; they stick together like glue."
"It's not that Caroline," she fingered the bag of rose petals. "I know they would help, but I would have to convince them first. I'd have to convince them of everything, and that I can do it, and it would… it would just take too long."
"You can't take the time to explain?" Caroline held the bag open. "I think they'd believe you, and it's not like Kol's going anywhere."
"That's it though," Alenka ran her fingers through her hair, "he is. If Davina or Rebekah succeeds first he'll be ripped back through the ancestral plain, and if that happens those witches will saddle him with a curse." A determined light entered her eyes. "I won't let that happen."
Caroline's eyes flickered over her friend's mouth. "Doesn't your spell do the same thing?"
"No," she shook her head, "mine opens a door. Two thousand years ago I could have opened it anywhere, but now I need the key, and if I have any hope of saving his soul I need to do this under the planetary alignment in two days in the presence of the key."
"Okay," Caroline held up her hands, "take a breath before you pass out."
Alenka did as instructed and took several shallow breaths before meeting Caroline's worried eyes.
"Do you really think I can convince them in time to find the key?"
"No," Caroline tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "it would take at least that long just to convince Klaus." She searched Alenka's dark eyes before nodding once. "How do we find Amara?"
Alenka's eyes grew round. "You didn't pull back."
"No I did not," Caroline frowned at some of the images she had seen. "I'm going to help you so tell me what we have to do."
"I have almost everything," Alenka patted the bag. "I just need to get out of town; she's not here. Before I leave I need one thing to make sure Davina doesn't succeed first."
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Caroline muttered under her breath. She fingered the necklace Alenka had given her before lifting her foot; half-expecting her path to be blocked her movement was hesitant.
She released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and adjusted her bag when she crossed into the cemetery. Alenka had spelled the necklace so it would trick the threshold into believing Caroline was human.
It was ingenious really, so Caroline vowed to keep her mouth shut. Vampires would hunt Alenka to the ends of the earth for this spell.
No door would ever be closed to them; the world would become an all-you-can-eat buffet.
She followed her ears until she could make out the distinct sound of chanting and waited for a lull. It didn't take long for the Latin to be replaced with expressive English.
"Damn it!" Glass shattered against the wall of the tomb. Delicate feet stomped outside into the open air.
Caroline waited until she saw Davina's retreating back and flashed into the tomb. If she still were human she would have told herself the symbols on the floor were red paint – venetian red with a hint of rust – but she was a vampire so she knew better.
Willing her capillaries to cease their hypnotic dance she refocused on the task at hand. Her movement was precise, without disturbing a single molecule of dust; she swapped the crystal urns and flashed out of the cemetery.
Alenka jumped a foot in the air and shrieked. She couldn't remember the last time she had done that. Instinct told her it had been in her first lifetime and that she had likely laughed with the prankster; she wasn't laughing now.
"Going somewhere, love?" Klaus stood a few feet away and arched an eyebrow. "Elijah believed you would be confined to your room for the foreseeable future."
"I thought I'd stretch my legs," Alenka adjusted the strap of her purse. Her feet tapped out an even beat on the downward path to the open air courtyard.
"Will you tell me what's been bothering you?" He fell into step beside her.
"What makes you think something is bothering me?" She kept her tone clipped.
"Because this is the first you've emerged in four days," Klaus narrowed his eyes at her defensive tone. He had no proof, no reason to believe, that her recent confinement was a result of Kol's demise; save the fact that it happened immediately after his death.
That you've seen.
"I'm fine," she denied the accusation that anything was wrong. She didn't have time for the argument.
Klaus let her gain several paces before flashing into her path and blocking the door with his arms.
"I thought you wanted me to leave my room," her hands settled on her hips. "Isn't that why you sent Elijah and Caroline?" She cocked her head and held out her hand in a 'look-and-see' gesture. "Here I am: out. I'm returning to my daily routine of walking, so why are you blocking my path?"
Because you're hiding something from me. Because you're in pain. Because I care about you. Because I'm afraid you're going to do something incredibly foolish. Because you're my friend.
The reasons were numerous, but he didn't voice any of them. His concerned gaze searched her stubborn expression as he sidestepped out of the way.
She was gone four minutes when he received the answering text.
"You let her leave?" Elijah's mouth was set in a firm line.
"What was I supposed to do?" Klaus shrugged. "Stop her? Confine her to the house? She's back on a routine. She's out of her room." He inhaled and met his brother's eyes. "What happened between the two of you anyway? You came out of her room looking like a kicked puppy."
"Nothing," Elijah rolled his eyes at the comparison. "She made a decision and I'm going to respect that."
"That's more than any of her other ex's have ever done," Klaus smirked while walking by. He rolled his eyes when Elijah's head snapped around to him. "I'm not an idiot, Elijah. I saw her leave your room the other day."
She glanced over her shoulder. The feeling of eyes on her back made the hair on her neck stand on end. They weren't malicious in any way, but it was still a disconcerting feeling.
She came to a stop in the middle of a quiet street. She could see the gates to the garden in the distance where Caroline was waiting; she was so close, but she couldn't go without knowing who was behind her.
Stealing another glance over her shoulder she spotted the vampire. She waited until she was sure he was within earshot to spin on her heel.
"Who are you?" She met his eyes.
"Wow," the guy came to a stop a couple feet away, "I've been following you around for like," his eyebrows drew together, "months now. I didn't think you could see me."
"I couldn't," Alenka crossed her arms. She sighed and drew her bottom lip between her teeth. "You're the person Klaus has following me around."
"Yup," he pressed his lips together and nodded, "I'm Josh."
"Why does Klaus have you following me?" Her eyes narrowed.
"Honestly?" Josh tipped his head down to meet her angry eyes. "He was worried about you." He pulled out his cell phone and showed her the message. "He thought you were going to do something dangerous, like," he tilted his head and offered a half smile while shrugging one shoulder, "… jump in the middle of traffic."
Alenka's brows shot up. Her mouth popped open. She read the message again before meeting his dark eyes.
"He thinks I'm suicidal?" She didn't wait for him to respond before throwing up her hands. "That is completely ridiculous," she spun on her heel and started away.
Josh clenched his fist and rolled his eyes heavenward before sighing. He'd kept his mouth shut for months while watching her; truth was he kind of liked her. Maybe that was why he hadn't told Klaus everything.
"I know about Kol," he shoved his hands in his pockets when he saw her shoulders stiffened. His shoulders hunched under her heavy glare. He swallowed and closed the distance so he could drop his voice to a whisper. "I know… I mean I didn't know it was him until… until everyone else did," he cleared his throat and lifted his brows. "I might not have been able to enter the cemetery but I saw you with him."
Alenka blinked back her tears and met his eyes.
"Did you tell him?" She swallowed thickly.
"Nah," Josh shook his head, "didn't seem like his business. Klaus…" he shrugged, "… he wanted me to make sure you were safe. In case you haven't noticed," he waved to the street, "this isn't exactly a safe city."
"I didn't tell him when you made a friend," he fell into step beside her, "or when that friend became more than a friend."
Alenka's steps faltered. "Are you going to tell him?"
Josh glanced at her through the corner of his eye. "No, but I think you should."
"I can't," she caught a glimpse of Caroline from the corner of her eyes, "not yet. I'm on a bit of a deadline and don't have time to stop and talk it out."
"Deadline?" Josh blinked when he followed her darting eyes to a blonde holding a set of keys.
"Can you keep a secret Josh?" Alenka pressed her lips together.
"I've been keeping them for months," he smiled.
"I have to leave town for a few days," she tipped her head back, "and Klaus can't know because…"
"He'll hunt you down?" Josh cocked an eyebrow.
"Yeah," she pressed her tongue to her cheek and inhaled sharply. "I'm planning on coming back, but I need to leave now or I'll run out of time."
"You're not, like, suicidal or whatever?" He cocked his head. "You did lose somebody who meant something to you."
"I'm not suicidal," Alenka shook her head, "I'm going to bring him back."
"So you're, like, crazy delusional?" Josh gave her a disbelieving look.
"No, Josh," Alenka set her jaw, "I'm a crazy powerful witch."
"Does Klaus…"
"He has no idea," she shook her head. Doubt began to creep in to the corners of her mind. "Are you going to reveal my intentions? Are you going to tell Klaus before I have a chance to get to where I need to be?" She took a deep breath and met his eyes; in the back of her mind she remembered a spell from one of Kol's grimoires that would let her remove a memory.
Was she going to have to use it?
"I find it hard to believe you're really coming back," Josh walked alongside her again towards the blonde, "but I won't tell. Just try to stay out of trouble."
Alenka met his dark eyes before nodding and smiling gently.
"Thank you, Josh."
Alenka lifted her head from the slip of paper. She had been studying the archaic symbols since sliding into the car with Caroline. She wasn't sure how long it had been only that when she looked up the sky was growing dark.
"Where are we?" She folded the paper and slid it into her bag.
"Coming up on Montgomery," Caroline nodded to a passing street sign. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?"
She chewed her bottom lip and tilted her head. She knew they were getting closer. The moment she had realized her sister was alive she had reached into her mind. It had taken some time before she heard the quietest whisper; little more than a breath of air in the back of her mind, but it was there. The further they moved from New Orleans the louder the voice became, but it was still little more than a whisper; a sense of direction. Caroline would need more than that.
She remembered little of the path down, but she knew it had twisted and turned. Her connection moved in more of a straight line.
Caroline needed a clear destination. That would be a lot easier than having to redirect Caroline each time they took a wrong turn.
"I know we are going in the right direction," she ventured after a long pause, "but I don't know for sure where the final stop is."
"Any chance you can get that?" Caroline looked at her through the corner of her eyes.
"Maybe…" she nodded slowly. "Any chance you can get us off the road and a map of the country?"
"There's a map in the glove compartment," Caroline reached over and opened the box so she could place the map in Alenka's hands. "As for off the road…" She signaled before taking an off ramp and finding a rest area along the pavement. "How's this?"
"Perfect," she unfastened her seatbelt and pushed open the door. "This will be perfect."
Caroline stopped the car and followed her towards the bench.
Alenka flattened the map over the warped wood and inhaled slowly. The last time she had done a spell like this the map had been smaller with fewer cities filled in.
"I'm no expert," Caroline crossed her arms, "but don't you need something belonging to the person you're looking for?"
"I have something," Alenka nodded. "My blood. Amara is my sister; she's my family. I can use my own blood to track her down."
"It's been two thousand years," Caroline pointed out.
"Doesn't matter," Alenka shook her head. "My blood is her blood; literally." She lifted her wrist towards Caroline. "Would you mind?" She offered a small smile. "I don't have anything sharp."
"I've got a pocket knife in the car," Caroline regarded the offered wrist. "I probably shouldn't get any of your blood in my system; who knows what it would do to me."
"Why would it do anything?" Alenka tilted her head and took the knife when Caroline returned.
"You took the cure, Ellie," she perched on the edge of the bench, "and it brought you back from the dead, so to speak. I don't want to chance that it does something to me. Where would we be if I was affected by your blood and forgot who I am? Neither one of us would know how to drive."
"Fair point," she nodded slowly. Carefully she pressed the cold steel to her palm. It was so sharp she didn't immediately feel the sting and the blood took several seconds to well up; or maybe she was just seeing things in slow motion.
She curled her fingers into a fist and grimaced as the blood created a small pool in the center of the map. She murmured a few words under her breath and watched her skin knit itself back together before holding her hands over the intersecting lines of the map.
"Deixe Mouti dia dromi," she watched the blood create a long trail. It settled over the area they were huddled in. She repeated the incantation with more force and watched a line track upwards before coming to a stop along the coast towards the top of the map.
"Fingers crossed you haven't found Katherine," Caroline tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and read the map. She programed the address into the GPS in her phone before steering the brunette back to the car.
"Who?" Alenka wiped off her wrist with a moist cloth from her purse.
"Another doppelganger," Caroline turned over the engine, "she is a real bitch."
Up next: a reunion, Josh goes to ground, a failed spell and an angry hybrid.