I do not own TVD or TO.

Most of this chapter is Elijah and Amara. Alijah? Elira? I don't think these two actually have a ship name...

She knew her sister's personality well. She knew Alenka was the type to observe and think before acting on anything… usually. Kol was the exception to her rule, but even with him she had thought through her second attempt.

She had always admired Alenka's quiet strength, been envious of her personality and coveted her abilities.

By comparison she was a compulsive whirlwind; a chaotic tornado that destroyed everything she touched. Everything that had gone wrong in Alenka's life could be traced back to Amara; she had completely destroyed her sister's happiness. One too many cups of wine had loosened her tongue and revealed the knowledge of immortality to Silas and Qetsiyah. That was the moment things had started to change, but even drunk she hadn't named her sister.

Qetsiyah had laughed about the secret, at first. It was her lover that had made her see the merits of the idea. Amara had been tipsy but she had seen the way Silas had looked at her then. She had thought it had resembled the looks she would receive from men in the market; the kind of look that made chills race down her spine and heat settle low in her belly.

Only now, two thousand years later, after centuries of pain and years of reflection did she recognize the light that had illuminated his eyes. It wasn't love; she had seen love and desire directed at her sister. No… Silas' eyes had reflected hunger and greed. From the many times, and the vigour with which, he had taken her body she knew he had found her desirable, but it had not been love.

She only wished she had seen it before; before he had coaxed the name from her lips with gentle caresses, lofty promises and sweet nothings.

She had been blind. She had jumped off the cliff headfirst and been shocked when the sea had wrapped her in an icy embrace. She had leapt towards what she thought was love and received nothing but pain.

She wasn't blind anymore.

Weeks spent masquerading as her sister had instilled a few of her twin's traits. She was overanalyzing everything… overthinking. Had Silas ever truly loved her, or had she been a means to an end? Had he only given her the other half of the elixir to avoid an eternity with the woman he'd once called a clingy, jealous bitch?

She didn't know the answer. The solutions were buried under layers of dust deep in her past and she much preferred to look towards the present.

What she did know was that Elijah was avoiding her.

She had tried emulating Alenka but it was driving her crazy.

She couldn't wait.

She needed answers.

She needed to know if he was a true danger to her sister. And if he wasn't she needed to know why he had attacked her.

The edge of her nail caught the thin chain of her necklace. It had become a habit to toy with the thin metal whenever she passed another person. There was no way for her to physically distinguish the living from the dead so she addressed nobody until they were spoken to by someone else. Caroline had made a habit of greeting everyone; she had gained a reputation as the overly friendly vampire. It helped that often she had Hope and went through the process of getting the baby to say 'hi'; she hadn't quite gotten the word but she would wave.

Whenever the child was not with Hayley she was with Klaus and Caroline; Hope had taken a real shine to the vampire.

She passed by a few people. Two men gave her strange looks when she didn't return their greetings but the woman in the white shift seemed unsurprised. Not for the first time she wondered who the woman was and why she seemed to spend all of her time cursing Klaus and Elijah in what sounded like French: the language used by the witches of the French Quarter.

She ignored the enraged mutterings and skirted the pale wall on her way to the study. She had learned that she could hear hearts beating from anywhere in the house, and for want of anything to do she had memorized the unique patterns of each person. Everyone was slightly different; Caroline couldn't make the distinctions but Amara could.

She knew Elijah was in the study, and he was alone.

The thought that her sister would have knocked first crossed her mind after she had opened the door and stepped inside. It was too late to take it back though so she pushed the door shut and crossed the study to stand in front of his desk.

"Elena…"

"You're avoiding me," she crossed her arms over her chest and cocked an eyebrow. "Why?"

His eyes flickered to her slim throat as he recovered from his surprise at finding her in his study. He hadn't even heard her in the hall.

"Are you really asking me that?" He gave a pointed look to his hand. "I tried to kill you. I should think I'd be the last person you want to be anywhere near."

"Why?" Amara stood her ground. She was an exceptionally stubborn person and she would not be leaving that room without answers.

"I was hallucinating," his fingers tapped a folded sheet of paper on his desk. He stood and fastened the button on his jacket. "You shouldn't be around me."

"Why?" She turned with him so he was always in her sights as he circled around the desk. "Are you planning on attacking me again?"

"I didn't plan on attacking you the first time," Elijah stopped a foot away from her. "I'm certain you've heard from somebody by now what happened with my mother." A line appeared between his brows when she shook her head. "She spent days torturing me before your return to the city; forcing me to relive the memory of when I killed Tatia. For centuries I believed she had done it, and once that memory came back so did the rest. Every heinous act I've ever committed, and there have been many. I was lost in one of those visions when you found me. You need to leave now before I hurt you."

"You can't hurt me, Elijah," she tipped her head back and met his eyes. A small gasp escaped her lips when he closed the space between them in an instant. Her hands were held behind her back in one of his wrists; it was a firm grip, but not enough to hurt.

"I could easily break you in two," he caught her chin with his free hand and lifted it. His eyes narrowed when he saw no fear in her dark eyes. Does she have a bloody death wish?

"No," her cool breath fanned across his chin as she searched his gaze, "if you wanted to hurt me you would have done it by now."

She found it hard to believe that he had actually killed Tatia. Caroline had told her how the Originals had come to be during the long drive back to New Orleans; Amara might not have been a protégé like her sister but she did know that a spell of that magnitude would have taken all of the blood a person had to give. There would have been just enough left to bind Klaus' werewolf side.

He hadn't killed her, but Amara doubted he would have listened to her logic.

"You seem awfully certain of that fact," his eyes flickered to her lips when she spoke. He slowly released her hands and slid his hand from her chin to the smooth column of her throat.

Perhaps it should have felt strange having a man who looked so much like her brother-in-law caressing her soft skin but it didn't. She wasn't sure how she was making the distinction. Maybe it was the knowledge that Elias had been reincarnated and the time she had spent with Kol, but she didn't associate Elijah with the immortal that had triggered his doppelganger line.

"I am," she breathed.

He knew he should have pulled away and let her leave, or even left himself. She had said she didn't want him, but the physiological responses of her body were saying something else.

He should have lowered his hand to his side before he lost himself in another memory and she took on the live role of his victim, but he couldn't tear his fingers from her soft skin or move his eyes from her hypnotic gaze. There was something mesmerizing in her mahogany eyes; something different.

When he drew in the deep breath he wasn't sure if it was to steady his nerves to close the distance, or to gain the strength to back away from her gravitational pull. But by the time her scent registered with him he realized what was different; she smelled sweet like vanilla. Elena had always favored a floral perfume of jasmine.

He lowered his hand and took a step back. Tatia had always smelled sweet like the honey mixed in with her soap. Katerina had preferred sweet smells as well. Elena had been different in her perfume choices.

"Perhaps you can help me with something," he smoothed his features in to an indifferent mask and reached around her to a folded paper on the table.

"Uh…" Amara's eyes narrowed. She had been certain he was going to kiss her for a moment. "Sure… I guess…"

"What is this?" He unfolded the paper and held it a foot away from her.

She glanced at the page covered in the language of her people. Wasn't his mother a witch? Shouldn't he have been brought up reading it?

"I'm not sure," she squinted at the tiny handwriting. It would have taken her a while to decipher the markings; she never had paid attention to her mother's lessons. "I've never seen it before in my life."

"Strange," Elijah looked at the page and kept an ear on her steady heart. She hadn't lied to him. "It's in your handwriting," he heard her heart skip a beat, "and it was in your desk drawer."

"I've never seen that before in my life," she spoke with a sturdy authority. "Somebody else must have left it; it's not my handwriting." She exhaled slowly and made to leave the room; she had the door halfway open when there was a rush of wind.

Elijah pressed the door closed and pinned her to the smooth wood with his arms. He was expecting fear to finally rear its head, but when he looked into her dark eyes he saw nothing but mild annoyance.

"I thought you wanted me to leave," she looked up into his eyes.

"I wanted Elena to leave because she was not safe, but you're not Elena." He felt the smallest amount of triumph when her eyes flickered. "Who are you?"

"Who else could I possibly be?" She crossed her arms defiantly, but her blood was running cold. She could see it in his eyes; he knew.

"I knew there was something different the night you came here with Caroline," Elijah's hands settled on either side of her head a few inches from her luscious curls. "Does she know? I believe she does. Tatia is dead, and Katerina wouldn't dare set foot in this house, so who are you?" His eyes dropped to the necklace around her neck. "Are you even human?" He hooked a finger under the chain. "Are you a vampire? Does this hide you from us?"

"Don't touch that!" Her hand rose instantly and curled protectively around the stone.

He blinked at the sting when she slapped his hand and he saw fear finally enter her dark eyes.

"Tell me who you are," he peered into her bewitching eyes. "Why are you pretending to be her?"

Amara swallowed once before pushing him back and opening the door. She caught it before he could slam it shut again and gave him a pointed look before motioning him to follow her. She took the stairs two at a time and entered 'her' room; she held the door open and waited with a hand on her hip for him to walk in behind her.

There was the softest click when she closed the door. She crossed the room and sealed the windows and the double doors leading out to the balcony. She made sure her sister's spell was in place over the door before meeting his eyes.

"This doesn't leave this room."

"You're not afraid I'll kill you?" His eyes widened when she disappeared from his view. A moment later he was on his stomach with his arm twisted painfully behind his back and a knee in his spine.

"I said you couldn't hurt me," she loosened her hold and allowed him to stand back up, "and I meant that."

Elijah set his shoulder back in its socket and watched her with wide eyes. That one display had been more than enough to demonstrate that she was much stronger than him, but only someone older than him could have held more power.

"Who are you?"

"Amara," she crossed her arms and leaned back against the nightstand. "The world's first immortal woman… according to the history books anyway."

"Why are you here?" Elijah nodded slowly. Her heart remained perfectly steady as she delivered the truth.

"She asked me to be her for a while," Amara shrugged.

"And you agreed because…?"

"I owed her one," Amara tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I ruined her life once; this was the least that I could do."

"Where's Elena?"

"My sister is in Greece," she saw his eyes grow round as he processed all of the information.

"Your sister?" His brows rose.

"My sister," Amara nodded. "She was reincarnated in the body of my doppelganger as a traveller; a cursed gypsy. When Elena took the cure she forgot everything that had happened to her in this life and remembered the first one. She broke her curse before leaving town on a mission."

"And what was this mission?" Elijah rubbed his temples. He could feel the beginning strains of a headache; he couldn't remember the last time he's had a headache.

"Resurrecting her soulmate," Amara sat and ran her fingers over the soft bedspread. She still wasn't over the wonderful material that was both light and warm at the same time. "She came to this town a cursed woman, found her soulmate… lost her soulmate and then set about trying to save him again."

Elijah watched her stare at the wall absentmindedly for a moment before taking a tentative seat beside her. He followed her gaze to the faint outline of a shape that had been drawn over the door; he hadn't noticed it before.

She had been frantic before she'd vanished, and returned incredibly calm. He should have seen it much sooner. He had a feeling he already knew the answer to his next question; it was the only thing that would have explained her behaviour. Klaus' words echoed in his mind: she hasn't come out of her room since she saw him die.

"Who was her soulmate?"

"Is…" Amara corrected his tense. "And I think you already know." She sighed before nodding to the paper in his hands. "That there is a spell of some kind. I wasn't lying; it's not my writing, but given enough time I could decipher it. I highly doubt it's the one she planned for him which leads me to believe it's the spell she made for Caroline."

"Caroline knows," Elijah examined the paper. Of course she knew everything. "Why didn't she tell us the truth?"

"Would you have believed her?" Amara countered. "That's why I think she never mentioned it. Josh knew about her as well, and he… the first thing he asked me was where he was."

"Where exactly is my brother?" He tried not to let his mouth twist with jealousy. "That's who it was, wasn't it? That's why she was so distraught when he died?"

"As far as I know he's with her," Amara caught his arm before he could leave. "They will come back; they just needed some time to readjust. What I've told you needs to stay between us until they come back."

"Why would I ever agree to that?"

"Because if Klaus knows he'll hunt her down," Amara stood from the bed and looked down into his eyes. "I know my sister, and I know she'll come back as will he; love, loyalty, family… the three things she's always valued most. She'll return."

"And what of Rebekah and Davina?" He cocked an eyebrow. "They are working tirelessly to do what your sister has already accomplished."

"I don't think that's something we need to worry about," Amara smirked. "They haven't spared much time for the spell lately with your aunt on her way for Hope; they'll be back long before Rebekah has a chance to return to the spell."

In the end Amara had been right. Rebekah never did get back to the spell. Her witch body was destroyed when she slit her own throat. Davina continued to work away at it but she didn't have enough power on her own and had to put the spell aside until she could find something powerful enough to draw magic from.

And so they went. There day to day lives passed eventless. Elijah continued to ask Amara questions when they were alone, and she answered as honestly as she could without revealing the full extent of her sister's spell that had returned his brother from the other side.

Days turned into weeks as they grew closer. Caroline spent a lot of time with Klaus trying to help figure out a way to protect Hope. She had been present when Dahlia finally found Hayley and the baby at St. James Infirmary where the witches had created a safe zone that would tolerate no magic. Unfortunately she was out gathering ingredients with Klaus and Freya when Hayley made a run for it.

By the time Klaus found the Crescent wolves they had been massacred. Not a single wolf remained alive to tell him how Hayley had lost her heart or where his child was.

That was the day Amara became acquainted with his temper. It was the day she received a fire message from Alenka saying she would be back in town the next day. There had been a phone number scrawled at the bottom of the page that she had used to update her sister on the most recent events of the city. Freya had been working around the clock to try and break through Dahlia's spell with no luck; Amara had thought Alenka might have better luck.

"How in Hades did this happen?" Her exhalation of air drew the attention of two sets of eyes; one malicious and the other full of innocent curiosity.

She blinked down into blue eyes and schooled her features into an indifferent mask.

Don't cry Alenka! For the love of Zeus do not cry!

She turned her head sharply to the left when her chauffer spun the truck around and came to a complete stop.

"What are you doing?" Her voice was tight; whether with anger, tears or some combination of the two she didn't know.

"I am not cruel, my dear," the woman smiled with false sincerity. "I will afford you one final look at your husband before you are made a widow."

"You swore you wouldn't kill him," her blood boiled in her veins. She moved to open the door.

"I gave you my word," the locks clicked in place. "When I make a promise I keep it. I won't kill him, but with that wound he is unlikely to survive the night." She pointed to the rising moon. "Do not forget your own promise."

Alenka dropped her gaze to the rune on her palm. How could she forget? Her deal was twofold. Her deal was what kept her in the truck cab.

She lowered her hand slowly while willing Kol to stand back up; to fight through his wounds; to survive.

"How in Hades did I get here?" She muttered under her breath.

Get up! Get up! Get up!

She closed her eyes and laid her head against the seat as they drove away. She knew logically that she didn't have to use every ounce of magic, but she was desperate so when the images left her mind and raced across the stars they were crystal clear.

AMARA!

Her eyes snapped open from where she had managed to drift off into an uneasy sleep on; she hadn't slept in a few days with all of the commotion going on at the compound. A familiar voice had screamed in her mind and roused her from the uneasy slumber.

"Klaus," Caroline caught his arm to stop his frantic pacing, "stop pacing and glaring daggers at your sister. She's trying to help and this animosity is not making the process any easier."

"My daughter is missing!"

"I know," Caroline voice was just as loud as his, "and we will find her, but you need to let Freya do her work."

Amara climbed to her feet and took Elijah's arm as the images began to clear in her mind; the completed picture made panic grip her heart. Elijah clearly saw it in her eyes because he followed her wordlessly into the garage and started the car when she passed him the keys.