I do not own TVD or TO.
I'm really sorry for the delay everyone. I've got so many stories on the go.
"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" Elijah tapped out an impatient beat against the steering wheel.
They had been driving in near silence for fifteen minutes; the only interruptions to the tense quiet were Amara's occasional directions which seemed to be leading them in circles deeper and deeper into the Bayou. They had left behind paved roads several minutes before and were now driving over what could only be described as a rutted path.
"I don't know," Amara worried her bottom lip. Whatever her sister had done had placed a direction firmly in her mind, but she had no idea where that location was.
She gasped and braced her hands on the dash when he slammed on the brakes.
"We're in the middle of a crisis and you don't know where we're going?" He shifted in his seat to face her, so far she had told him nothing.
"I know where we're going," Amara crossed her arms. "I just don't know where exactly it is." She closed her eyes and inhaled slowly as the location solidified in her mind. She felt it in her heart; it was a tugging sensation urging her closer and closer to her end goal.
"It's that way," she pointed out to the left through a thick layer of trees, "about a half mile."
Elijah peered into the gloom where the trees reached high overhead to create an inky pattern of lace against the night sky.
"In case you haven't noticed," he cocked an eyebrow, "there is no road."
"Then we're going on foot," she unbuckled her seatbelt and jumped from the car. "We're about to find out how fast I can run."
"What exactly are we running towards?" Elijah killed the engine and came to stand beside her after locking the car.
Amara took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before rolling her neck around and looking at him.
"Kol," she looked out to the trees with renewed determination, "follow me."
He blinked once and she was gone. His eyes narrowed in confusion for a moment when he found only the faintest of trails. He had once thought there was nobody in the world stronger or faster than him, but Amara was different.
"Hurry up now," her soft voice reached him from a distance, "we don't have all night."
He took off in the direction she had gone until the soft smell of her perfume grew stronger.
Elijah froze when he emerged in a small clearing at the end of an old country road. The heavy smell of blood made his canines extend instinctively, but it was the source of the smell that made his heart stutter.
Amara knelt on the ground beside the prone body of the baby brother he had thought dead for months before she had told him the truth. Her hands pressed down firmly against his stomach to staunch the flow of blood that had nearly stopped.
Kol was unconscious and pale from blood loss when Elijah knelt down beside him.
"I may have left something out," Amara pressed her lips together and glanced up at him through her lashes.
"Why don't you explain?" Elijah bit into his wrist and pressed it to Kol's lips. He could smell it in the blood seeping into the earth; his baby brother had rejoined the land of the living in every sense.
"When she brought him back she brought him back as a human," Amara watched the stab wounds on his stomach heal. "Part of the reason I think she ran so suddenly. She was racing against time and didn't think she'd have enough to convince all of you; she just got everything together in time…"
Amara trailed off when Kol sputtered and pushed Elijah's wrist from his mouth before rolling and coughing up the blood still remaining in his mouth. She pressed her palm between his shoulders.
"Kol," she attempted to keep her voice calm, "I know you nearly died and all that but I need to know where my sister is?"
Kol pushed himself to his feet and swayed under his own weight. The world spun around him making it clear that his body was still healing. The frenzy with which he searched the clearing only made his weary body that much more tired.
"Kol," Amara snapped while steadying him. She waited until he turned to face her before speaking and enunciating each word carefully. "Where is my sister?"
"I… I…" panic gripped his chest. The last he had seen her she had been foolishly jumping in front of him; her voice had reached him from underwater. "I don't know. We had her, and then she came…"
Kol took a few calming breaths before closing his eyes and concentrating, but the soul link they shared appeared to have been muted; he could only assume his aunt had been behind it. His only solace was the cool band around his ring finger, and the knowledge that she would find a way to contact him soon.
Elijah followed his brother's eyes to the wedding band. He noticed when Amara did the same.
"You're very lucky that I was at the first one," she tapped the ring, "or I might be very angry with the two of you." She attempted to lighten his mood, but his worried frown seemed to be infectious. "What happened?"
"Dahlia took her and Hope," Kol straightened his spine and waved off her hand. "I couldn't stop her…"
"I should think not," Amara scoffed, "with the wounds you took."
"Why would Dahlia take Alenka?" Elijah narrowed his eyes.
"You know?" Kol turned to his older brother with a surprised look. Whatever jealousy he had felt vanished with his missing wife.
"In my defence," Amara shrugged sheepishly, "I managed to fool everyone else. He's asked a valid question tho…" Her eyes grew round with the sudden realization. "Oh…"
Freya stared at the upended contents of the table. Magical paraphernalia littered the floor. An overturned candle spilled thick white wax to merge with the crimson blood in a swirling mess that put her in mind of Christmas.
"That's going to make finding her decidedly harder," Rebekah crossed her arms. Her dark eyes flickered from Klaus to the window.
A fierce wind had picked up. Rain pattered against the glass in thick sheets.
"We're we expecting poor weather?" Caroline followed Rebekah's eyes.
"No," Freya frowned, "there is nothing natural about this storm.
Elijah glanced over his shoulder when Kol blew the mixture of blood, sage and stones. The herbs and liquid shifted violently in the bowl between the tall candles.
Outside the tomb the clear sky clouded over with a roiling mass of black clouds. Lightening flashed illuminating the entrance and shelves nearest the door.
"I'm assuming this is your doing," Elijah nodded.
"Yes," Kol pulled further ingredients from the shelves, "I couldn't have been lying in that clearing for more than an hour. There is no way she made it out of the state in that time."
"You placed a storm over the entire state?" Amara gaped. He had been powerful in their first life, but she didn't think he could have done that then.
"Yes," he laid out the tools he would need for the locator spell. "She'll have to stop and wait it out."
"How sure are you?"
"Well I summoned a bloody hurricane so they should," he looked up from the map, "she wants Hope alive so she won't risk her life in a storm."
"Let's hope so," Elijah eyed the spell that had summoned the storm; "otherwise Niklaus will kill you… again."
"Third times the charm," Kol drew a thin line across his palm with a knife.
"Careful, Kol," Amara crossed her arms, "Ellie's not here to bring you back this time."
She gripped the handle over the door with one hand and draped her other arm over the car seat protectively. Violent winds buffeted the trees on either side of the road. They bowed over the pavement.
There was nothing natural about the storm. It had come out of nowhere.
Casting her eyes to the side she could see Dahlia glaring out at the rain where it pounded against the windshield. The downpour made it difficult to see more than ten feet in front of the truck. She could tell the other witch was aware of the hurricane's origins.
"Shouldn't we stop?"
"The storm only extends as far as the state line," Dahlia shook her head. "We will be clear of it soon."
She didn't know for sure what witch had called up the clouds, but she chose to hope that it was him. She chose to believe that her sister had found him in time. If only he had called the rain sooner he might have kept them close enough to find.
Turning her gaze back to the road when the vehicle slowed to a crawl she set her sights on a massive oak in the distance. It was little more than a shadow.
She inhaled sharply and exhaled in a rush.
They hadn't been driving fast, but when Dahlia slammed on the brakes Alenka still jerked forward against the belt.
"Damn it," Dahlia cursed.
Alenka rubbed the back of her neck. She placed her hand on Hope's stomach to calm the child down. Her eyes grew round when Dahlia took her arm and the handle of the car seat. Her vision was flooded with white; when it faded she was staring at the roughhewn walls of an oak cabin.
"Worried that they would find you and kill you in the middle of the road?" Alenka took the baby carrier from Dahlia.
"Don't be ridiculous Ellie," Dahlia waved her hand and started the fire in the hearth. "It would require a very specific combination of things to kill me. The final ingredient is impossible to get."
"And what would that be?" Alenka placed the carrier on the table and began unfastening the straps. Through the window she caught a glimpse of winter flowers: yellow and blood red.
"The blood of my deceased sister," Dahlia hung her black coat on a hook by the door. "She's been dead these last thousand years."
"Damn it," Kol kicked over the low table full of ingredients.
"That's going to make this so much easier," Elijah leaned in an archway.
"I had her," Kol clenched his hands into fists. "I had her and then she disappeared."
Alenka opened the cabin door and stepped out onto the porch with Hope on her hip. She glanced over her shoulder to the sharp voice within.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Nowhere," she held up her hand so the rune caught the light. "Don't worry," her lips twisted in a grimace, "I haven't forgotten."
She would have loved nothing more than to run with the child in her arms; to run back to the relative safety of New Orleans, but she couldn't. She had given her word in a witch's oath. She had sworn not to run from Dahlia until such a time as she was released so long as Dahlia did not harm any of her loved ones.
"Then what are you doing?" Dahlia shivered in the doorframe.
"It's so dark and dismal," she bounced Hope gently and plucked a flower from the box. "I'm brightening up the room," she passed the white blossom to Hope; "she should have something cheerful to look at."
Dahlia raised no objection to her midnight flower picking, and felt no need to stand their watching her create a bouquet from the boxes on the screened in porch.
Alenka broke off the stem of a yellow flower that appeared to be bleeding out across the petals. She placed it in the middle of the flowers and angled the handful towards Hope who babbled happily.
Several hours later she was staring at the ceiling in the tiny bedroom. Her fingers ran lightly over the tartan bedspread as she strained her ears listening for any sign of life outside the room.
The only sound that reached her was the gentle breathing of the baby sleeping between her and the wall.
Once she was convinced she was the only person awake she sat up on the edge of the bed and pulled back the heavy quilt. She folded the thick material at the end of the bed and carefully maneuvered Hope so she was in the center of the blue sheet.
Alenka pulled flower after flower from the vase and arranged them in a five pointed star. Heather and alyssum were angled in each corner for protection and grounding.
She lifted the last flower from the vase and caressed the petals. Pulling the zipper of Hope's sleeper down a few inches she threaded the stem through the metal loop and tied it in a loose knot.
"Please be nearby," she breathed before closing her eyes and holding her hands over Hope. "Párte tin tóra apó aftó to méros mas, kai na tin steílete píso stin ankaliá tous."
The door crashed open when the magic crested, but the spell finished before Dahlia could stop her.
"What have you done?" Dahlia gaped at the brunette and the now empty bed. "What the hell have you done?"
"I sent her away," she lowered her hands to her turning stomach and shifted to face her captor.
Dahlia acted without thinking and brought the back of her hand up to strike the younger woman's cheek.
A loud gasp fell from her lips. She had been in the process of turning so the slap offset her balance. Alenka crashed onto the mattress. The hard stems of the heather cut into her palm. She lifted her bleeding hand to her burning face.
"You gave your word," Dahlia seethed.
"I did," she sat up and swallowed her nausea. "I swore not to run. I never said I'd make this easy for you; I never said I wouldn't fight you every step of the way."
Fire flashed in her eyes. Alenka glared at the witch attempting to tower over her on the bed. She would not be intimidated by the other woman. Dahlia had manipulated her once, and the only reason had been Kol. Dahlia had been ready to strike her own nephew dead. She'd grown hysterical when she'd seen her husband's blood.
"You are going to be a thorn in my side, aren't you?" Dahlia rocked back on her heels and looked Alenka up and down. "What am I going to do with you?"
Dahlia crossed her arms and tilted her head. She hadn't thought much of the magic flowing around her nephew's bride after all there was a reason for it. It seemed that reason was deeper than she had initially thought.
"The only way to quiet me is to kill me," Alenka sat on the corner of the bed and swept the remnants of her spell to the floor, "and you won't do that."
A slow smirk lifted the edges of Dahlia's lips.
"Oh no, my dear," she cupped Alenka's cheeks, "there is one other way."
Her eyes grew round when she felt the magic pulse from Dahlia into her body. It swirled in her mind and made her head swim. Swaying on the bed she gasped for breath. The room twisted and turned until it disappeared entirely and she was left staring into bottomless brown eyes.
Alenka's eyes closed. She slipped away into the realm of dreams.
"There's one other way," Dahlia repeated.
She pulled the stake from her thigh and flashed into the kitchen where she saw him approaching her brother. Jumping onto his back she wrapped her arms around his neck.
He backed her into a wall and drove the stake into her gut causing her to wince.
She blinked at the brief light she caught in his eyes. It almost looked like remorse. She didn't get enough time to examine it though before Jeremy drove the stake through his heart.
A sob tore through her throat that had nothing to do with the pain.
"No," she managed to yank the wood from her abdomen. Falling to her knees beside the burning body of Kol Mikaelson she felt her stomach turn. What have I done?
Her wide eyes locked on the small fire.
"Absolutely not," Damon crossed his arms and glared at Bonnie. "Elena's not giving up her one chance to be human again just so Barbie Klaus can have her way."
"Damon…" She shook her head and narrowed her eyes. The slim phial was slapped into her hand. The red liquid caught the flickering light from the fire.
Did she want this? Did she deserve this? What was real and what was the bond?
She cast her eyes to the blonde before holding out the dose. She might not have liked her new life, but she could adjust; she could find a way to break the link. Rebekah had suffered for centuries; condemned by her own parents to a life she would have never chosen.
"No," Damon growled and stomped towards her, "drink the damn cure. Now."
Her eyes widened. She couldn't stop her hands from pulling the cork and pouring the contents into her mouth.
Her knees buckled and her eyes drifted shut to the outraged shriek of Rebekah Mikaelson.
She bolted upright in the bed and held her hand to her pounding heart. Her eyes searched the corners of the unfamiliar room frantically.
Sunlight streamed through the dew covered glass creating rainbow patterns against her skin wherever it touched.
She climbed to her feet and swallowed a sudden wave of nausea. She pressed her right hand to her stomach, her left to her mouth and drew in several deep breaths. Exhaling slowly on the last she opened her eyes and lowered her hand.
She froze when the sun caught the gem on her hand. She tilted her head and stared for a long moment at the glittering purple stone and silver bands around her left ring finger. Her eyes darted to her right hand that was bare of jewelry, bare of everything save a rune made of dark lines, and back to the streaming sunlight.
"What…" She looked up to the sound of movement on the opposite side of the door. Swallowing she reached out and pulled open the door.
"Ah," a tall woman with long dark hair smiled sweetly from the kitchen, "you're awake." She strode forward and pressed a glass of thick green liquid into her hand. "Sleeping in is of course alright in your condition, but you should try not to make a habit of it dear."
"Condition?" She sniffed the rising smell of oranges. Her stomach turned violently. Dropping the glass onto the counter she bent over the sink and heaved. The bile burned her throat. She pressed her hand to her stomach and turned back around slowly.
"Who are you?" She breathed slowly through her nose. "Where am I?"
"Ah yes," the woman nodded slowly, "they said you might suffer some memory loss; I was hoping the phase of forgetting was done, but I see it's not yet."
"Who are you?" The counter dug into her lower back.
The woman stepped forward with an overly sweet smile. The light didn't quite reach her dark eyes; her bottomless brown eyes.
"I'm Dahlia, dear," Dahlia touched her shoulder. "You were in an accident. It claimed the life of your husband, my nephew, but you survived with a head wound. Your memory kept resetting, but the doctor was comfortable sending you home with me; I was a nurse."
"Husband…" A line appeared between her brows. "My husband… no, no… I'm not…" her eyes fell to her rings. She looked back up into the woman's dark eyes and saw a secret flash there. There was definitely something familiar about Dahlia, but she couldn't place it.
"What month is it?" She inhaled slowly.
"It's February," Dahlia smiled. It was the sweet smile that made her skin prickle. "February 17, 2013."
Her eyes were wide when the glass was pressed back into her palm.
"Drink your smoothie, Ellie," Dahlia hummed to a gentle tune, "it's good for you."
"Elena," she stared suspiciously at the liquid.
"If you would feel more comfortable making another," Dahlia lifted the glass and nodded to the counter behind her, "all of the ingredients are there, but you do need to drink it Elena."
Elena jolted when Dahlia's hand settled on her stomach. She could practically feel the energy swirling beneath the woman's skin.
"The baby needs the nutrients."
I had this idea for another story while I was on my lunch break yesterday at work. I got so excited about it I went and made mood boards for each of the characters in it. It's an ELEJAH story that might feature KLAROLINE and will definitly feature Katherine and Tatia. It's kind of inspired by Alice in Wonderland, and will have a wonderland vibe to it. I could go on and on about it, but I feel like if I do I'll give it all away. All I will say is that I have created roughly 12 mood boards and filled three pages with notes for the tale.
I have no idea when I'm going to get around to writing this or the ElijahxElenaxKlaus oneshot that's entered my mind to. The oneshot might show up first though, cause it's a oneshot... at most two chapters. Just got to sit down and write it.