A/N: Okay, this chapter kind of came out later than I was expecting it. But here's the rest of Plan B and we'll finally see what happens to Mason in this chapter. Hope you enjoy!
Warnings: Language. Violence.
Stormdancer
Chapter 21
Plan B: Part II
"She's this amazing girl, one minute, and then this raging, jealous freak, the next." Matt scowled.
"Look, you know what I think of Caroline Forbes. She's an insecure, neurotic, bitchy little twit." Tyler muttered.
"Hey!" Matt protested.
"But the girl's got heart and I'm not allowed to say things like that about my girlfriend's best friend." Tyler explained, sheepishly.
Matt smirked. "Bonnie's got you on a tight leash, huh?"
"Shut up." Tyler mumbled. "Look, she means well. You just gotta take the good with the bad sometimes." He said, pointedly.
The door suddenly swung open and Bonnie stepped inside, nervously twisting her hands together.
"Hey, Matt, sorry," Bonnie smiled, slowly. "Do you mind if I have a minute with Ty?"
Matt grinned back at her. "No problem, Bonnie. I'm going to go get an extension cord. I'll… see you guys later." He said, slowly, excusing himself from the room and leaving them alone.
Tyler frowned, his eyes searching Bonnie's form thoughtfully. He observed tight eyes, tense shoulders and full, pale pink lips set in a hard line. He pursed his lips and his eyes softened, knowing that Bonnie was upset for some reason. He felt the anger rush through him in a powerful wave that made him want to sink his fist into whatever had made his Bonnie feel so low. But he forced himself to calm down, reminding himself that he had to be there for Bonnie and make her feel better before he could go out there and search for something as stupid as revenge.
"What's wrong, Bonnie Rabbit?" Tyler asked, worriedly. "What happened?" Anger coloured his eyes.
Bonnie pursed her lips, tears threatening to fall down her cheeks, and she shook her head, the heels of her palms pressing forcibly against her temples. She trembled for a moment and she exhaled, looking as though all of the strength had left her body in one, quick swoop.
"It's Elena." She said, wearily. "She was just outside and she was trying to convince me that Aliyah couldn't be trusted and I…" She trailed off, feeling the telltale dampness of a few tears slid down her cheek.
Tyler's eyes hardened and he nodded, knowingly, moving closer to her. He clucked his tongue and he took her small, slim hands in his, his fingers rubbing against hers comfortingly.
"Come here, sweet baby." He crooned, soothingly, pulling a tense Bonnie into his strong arms and allowing her to soften in his embrace, burrowing into his chest, her hands splayed across his broad shoulder blades.
"I just… I'm sick of everything being so hard." Bonnie whispered, her voice muffled by Tyler's strong arms. "I want to say that I wish everything was like it used to be, but I don't." She confessed. "If… If Aliyah hadn't been there when my Grams died, I don't know how I would've reacted to everything that's happening now. I think I probably would've lost it after Founder's Day. Probably wouldn't have talked to anyone, just shut myself in." She whispered.
"I wouldn't have let that happen." Tyler said, quietly.
"And Elena just keeps attacking her, as if it's her fault that all these horrible things keep happening. If it weren't for Aliyah, so many of us would probably be dead by now and she doesn't seem to get that. I'm so sick of her going after Aliyah, like it's some crime that a vampire doesn't immediately defend her." She spat. "All Aliyah's done since she got to Mystic Falls is protect all of us." She shook her head. "She doesn't deserve the suspicion. She doesn't. She's my family and for some stupid reason, Elena just refuses to accept that." She muttered. "And I don't have much of that left. I have you and Caroline and Aliyah. That's pretty much it." She whispered. She looked up at him with wide, moss green eyes. "I can't lose any of you. I think I would break." She confessed.
"You won't ever lose me." Tyler said, seriously, his arms tightening around Bonnie's small frame. "And who the hell cares what Elena Gilbert thinks? I never liked her." He declared, stubbornly.
Bonnie snickered. "Oh, come on." She gave him a withering look.
"What, I never did." Tyler protested. "Aside from the fact that she made my Bonnie Rabbit so upset, she broke Matt's heart and she can be whiny and selfish and self-absorbed. She always thinks she knows what's best for everyone and I hate her now that she made my sweet baby feel bad about things she knows she's right about." He said, adamantly.
Bonnie rolled her eyes and sniffled. "How do you always know what to say to make me feel better?" She hummed, pressing her lips against his breastbone over his t-shirt.
"Well," Tyler shrugged, rubbing Bonnie's back, soothingly. "I'm your boyfriend, aren't I? It's kind of in the job description." He said, pointedly.
"Well, I definitely made the right decision when choosing the right person to fill that position." Bonnie muttered.
"Yep, you definitely did." Tyler dipped his head down and kissed the crown of her head, softly, his hands rubbing up and down her back.
"I just wish… Elena would stop giving me grief over this. She looks at me like I've done something horrifyingly wrong by living with her, by putting my trust in Aliyah. She keeps coming to me with those doe eyes as if she's going to change my mind and I know she doesn't trust Aliyah, but that isn't my problem and I'm so freaking sick of listening to all of her stupid complaints. Aliyah's my family and I just wish that Elena would stop second-guessing my judgement of her. Aliyah's done everything she possible can to protect me and she genuinely cares about me. I trust her and I'm so sick of having to defend her to everyone." Bonnie hissed out. "Just because she's not on board with 'the Elena show', Elena shows up with pitchforks and demands that we burn her at the stake." She shook her head. "My life cannot revolve around what Elena Gilbert feels is best." She said, determinedly.
Bonnie felt herself soften, dramatically, as Tyler's strong arms tightened around her. And then she remembered what she had found out about Mason and the moonstone and the terrifying dread rushed at her once again, momentarily blinding her.
"Is there anything else going on, Bonnie Rabbit?" Tyler's voice rumbled in her ear. "You and Elena have been having problems for months, and she's been giving you grief over Aliyah for months, hasn't she? This can't be everything that's making you upset."
Bonnie groaned and dragged her palms over her sore eyes. Her face felt as if she hadn't scrubbed it in days and she suddenly had the urge to run sandpaper over it. She ran her hands through her hair, subtly tugging at the ends, wondering exactly how she was going to bring up what she had found out to Tyler. Her hands slid, self-consciously, along her clothes. Her thick, cotton motorcycle jacket fluttered in the slim breeze, which was flowing through the crack in the window. The silky material of her abstract, green, strapless top stuck, uncomfortably, to her body and her denim jeans itched at her skin.
"There's something you need to know that Aliyah forgot to tell you." Bonnie swallowed hard.
Tyler narrowed his eyes. "What is it?" He asked, carefully.
"She didn't do it on purpose." Bonnie said, quickly. "She just… honestly, she forgot." She said, wearily.
Immediately, Tyler felt as if he had been punched in the gut when he saw the tired look enter Bonnie's eyes.
"Sorry, sweet baby. I didn't mean for it to sound like that." He said, apologetically. "What's going on?"
"Well, Aliyah and her husband created this… fake curse so that the vampires and the werewolves would be on the lookout for a doppelganger like Elena." Bonnie explained, slowly. "This curse basically explained why vampires burn in the sun and why werewolves only turn on the full moon. And whoever breaks the curse, that species… their weakness won't exist anymore. Aliyah thinks that Mason doesn't actually know why Katherine really wants the moonstone. She thinks that Mason doesn't really trust her. But Mason was just passing by me and I accidentally brushed past him and I saw something."
Tyler frowned, his hands sliding up and down her arms. "Like a vision?" He asked, confused.
"Yeah," Bonnie nodded. "But not like of the future or anything." She paused. "Although, I do get those sometimes too." She shook her head. "Not important. I'll explain later. Anyway, I touched Mason and I saw a vision of him with Katherine – which was super creepy because Katherine looks exactly like Elena, so I basically just saw one of my best friends kissing your uncle – and I also saw him drop the moonstone into that well near your family's ruins. So, yeah, Aliyah thinks that Stefan and Damon will want to get the moonstone for themselves and we need to make sure that they get there first."
"Do you want to leave, Bonnie Rabbit?" Tyler asked, worriedly. "I could probably sneak us out of here without my mom catching us." He joked.
Bonnie giggled into his chest and pulled back, resting her chin against his chest. "No, it's okay. I mean, I promised your mom that I'd help and I want to do it." She said, determinedly. "I'm not going to let anything get in the way of me doing normal, human things like setting up for the Masquerade Ball." She tipped her head up and squared her shoulders. "And Aliyah will let me know if anything happens."
A grin curled on Tyler's lips, lighting up his face, as he ducked his head to kiss her softly yet firmly on the mouth. "There's my sweet baby." He said, proudly, nuzzling into the crook of her neck, soothing himself with the scent of honey and vanilla that always seemed to come from her skin.
"Okay, okay, you two," Carol brushed them apart, glaring at them, fondly. "I realise that the two of you are in the honeymoon period of your relationship, but there's a time and place for canoodling and this isn't it." She said, sternly. "Now, I need those boxes put over there and Tyler, I have some of the centrepieces coming in for the Ball, so you and Matt can help carry them in and I'll let you know where I want them. Now, get to it!" She chided, gently.
But a smile remained on her face as the two walked away in opposite directions, still sneaking glances at each other over their shoulders, a smug grin plastered across Tyler's face and a brilliant blush tinting Bonnie's cheeks.
"Hey, man." Jeremy called out to Tyler, who was busy hanging up a lantern outside.
"Hey!" Tyler greeted with surprise.
"Hey, so I did a little research on that stone you showed me." Jeremy said, slowly.
Tyler frowned and tensed, his shoulders squaring as if he were preparing himself for a fight. "What? Why?" He asked, defensively.
Jeremy shrugged, nonchalantly. "I don't know. Curiosity, boredom." He replied.
Tyler raised an eyebrow, trying to keep his face as inconspicuous as possible. "What did he say?" He asked, carefully.
"Well, it turns out that it's part of this Aztec legend, but I want to make sure it's the same kind of stone. You think I could check it out again?" Jeremy asked, curiously.
Tyler frowned in confusion. Why is Jeremy asking about the Sun and the Moon curse? "Nope." He answered, firmly. "I gave it to my uncle." He explained.
Jeremy's eyes widened, comically, and Tyler tensed at the reaction. "Why did you do that?"
Tyler shrugged, nonchalantly, years of wearing the mask of a son of a Founding Family in Mystic Falls working in his favour at the moment. "Because I'm done with legends and curses. I don't want anything to do with it, okay?" He said, sharply.
Jeremy visibly floundered. "Yeah, yeah, sure. It's probably…" He blinked. "Just, uh, stupid folklore anyways. Forget it." He waved off, watching Tyler walk away from him.
He made to turn around and head over back to Stefan and Damon and tell them exactly what Tyler had told them. When he turned around, he reeled back in shock as he was suddenly met Aliyah's stony face.
"Hello, Jeremy, mind if we have a little chat?" Aliyah purred, her fingers curling around Jeremy's forearm and steering him in a specific direction with her firm grip until they were well away from anyone listening into them. "Why are you so interested in the moonstone?" She cocked her head.
"Look, I, uh…" Jeremy stammered. "Tyler showed me the moonstone and I was doing some research on it and I found a bunch of this stuff." He lied.
Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?" She crooned. "Be very careful when you lie to me, because I've been told I have exquisite instincts and I can tell that you aren't asking for moonstone for your… research," She bit her lower lip which had spread into a smile. "Something tells me that you're doing this for the Salvatore brothers." She murmured.
Jeremy blinked and swallowed hard.
"While I admire your loyalty to the vampire brothers that are responsible for pretty much every single death in this town since they arrived, I have to protest." Aliyah said, sweetly.
"I don't… I'm not…" Jeremy's mouth opened and closed a few times as he searched for something to say.
"Listen to me, little boy," Aliyah advanced on him, threateningly. "You may think that just because you shagged two vampires and you come from a family of wannabe vampire hunters that you're suddenly an expert on the supernatural. But you're not. You're far from it. There are things that go bump in the night that are capable of decimating this town without breaking a sweat and I am one of them." She said, coldly, watching his eyes tighten with fear with a great deal of personal pride. "So, do me a favour and don't be stupid like your sister. Stay out of it and you may end up alive at the end of all of this." She snapped. "The moonstone is none of your business. Stick to doing your SATs or something."
Aliyah turned around and stalked away, intent of finding Bonnie so that they could go and fetch the moonstone before Damon and Stefan figured out where it is.
"So, I mainly drink from blood bags." Caroline explained. "It's not as good as the fresh stuff, but Aliyah doesn't think I'm ready to go hunting on my own and we've been kind of busy lately so…" She trailed off. Her eyes brightened. "Of course, it definitely beats the animal blood that Stefan's been trying to get me drink." She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like I'm gonna take advice about drinking blood from a guy who goes cuckoo for Cocoa Pops when he tastes a drop of human blood." She said, sarcastically.
Liz blinked. "So, you steal the blood from the hospital?" She asked, hesitantly.
Caroline nodded, slowly. "Aliyah does. But not from Mystic Falls." She explained. "She says that it draws too much attention if blood bags keep getting stolen from the local hospital. So, she gets it from a few towns over and she lets me have free reign over them." She shrugged, a fond smile curling on her lips as she thought of her sire.
"But, you hunt?" Liz's lips pursed in disapproval.
"Well," Caroline drawled, "It's a little more complicated than that, so don't judge." She said, warningly. She sighed, playing with the curls at the end of her hair. "Aliyah, after I turned, she took me to this… bar… in Charlottesville and there was this guy who was about to roofie a drunk girl and I compelled him to come with me outside and I bit him."
Liz swallowed hard. "Did you kill him?" She asked, worriedly.
"No." Caroline said, adamantly. "I bit him, I drank some of his blood and I let him go. I compelled him to forget everything that had happened." She explained, hesitantly, swallowing hard.
"And as long as you have blood, you don't need to kill?" Liz wondered out loud.
Caroline nodded. "I'm not going to lie to you and say that I don't want to lose control sometimes. But, on a healthy diet, I can control it." She said, determinedly. "Aliyah says I'm getting better at it. I'm better than Stefan." She said, proudly. "He's a bit of a problem drinker. A blood-aholic." She joked.
"And Aliyah, what does she have to do with all of this?" Liz asked, carefully.
"She's… my sire." Caroline explained. "Her blood was in my system when I was killed. So, her blood turned me." She drawled.
"So, this is her fault." Liz muttered.
"No." Caroline said, sternly. "No, it isn't. Aliyah had nothing to do with this and she didn't do it on purpose. It happened after the accident, mom. I was injured real bad in the accident and Aliyah gave me her blood to heal me, but I was killed before the blood could leave my system. I woke up in transition and I was hungry, so I drank a blood bag and I became a vampire. Aliyah's the one who's been taking care of me since I became a vampire. She's… I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for Aliyah." She said, earnestly, thinking of twinkling black eyes that softened in her presence. "She's… good and she genuinely cares about me. She told me that just because I became a vampire out of the blue doesn't mean she's going to abandon me. If it wasn't for her, I'd be permanently dead."
Liz blinked. "Permanently… dead?" She asked, confused.
"Damon tried to kill me the night I turned. He thought I'd be weak and I'd go nuts and wouldn't make it as a vampire, so he thought he'd get rid of the problem. If Aliyah hadn't pretty much beaten the crap out of him that night, I wouldn't even be here. None of this is Aliyah's fault. She's… important, mom. She really is. She's like part of my family now. Like Bonnie. She taught me how to fight. How to feed without killing. She doesn't like to kill either, mom. She said just because we're vampires, we don't have to be monsters. She protects me and she'd never do anything to hurt me." Caroline murmured.
Liz shook her head. "I don't want this for you." She whispered.
Caroline bit back a flinch that rocked her whole body, feeling the pain of rejection like an ice-cold spike driving through her veins. "I know. But when life gives you lemons…" She giggled, weakly, trying to diffuse the seriousness of the situation.
Suddenly, both Caroline and Liz walked up to see Aliyah and Bonnie enter the house, the former cocking her head as she caught sight of Liz and Caroline on the couch together.
"I don't mean to interrupt this lovely chat, but we found out where the moonstone is." Aliyah told Caroline, grimly.
Liz watched in awe as her previously-shallow, superficial teenage daughter jumped to her feet, a determined look etched on her porcelain face.
"Where is it? And how'd you find out?" Caroline wondered.
Bonnie blinked. "Um, you remember that old well we used to play when we were kids?" She asked, hesitantly, sneaking a tense glance at a shocked Liz on the couch.
Caroline nodded. "The one on the edge of the old Lockwood property. Yeah, why?" She frowned.
"Mason dropped it in the well." Aliyah explained. "And we have to get it before Stefan, Damon and Elena do."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Caroline asked.
Aliyah looked at Liz. "If you want, darling. But, if there's something else you'd rather do…" She trailed off, awkwardly.
"No," Liz interjected, looking up at Caroline, pursing her lips. "You should go."
Caroline nodded, a small smile quirking up the ends of her lips. She looked back at Bonnie and Aliyah. "Let's go."
Aliyah turned to Liz, chewing on her lower lip. "I'm going to lock the door behind us, Liz. I'm asking you not to leave. It's for your own protection." She said, grimly.
She ushered Bonnie and Caroline out the door and lifted Bonnie into her arms, much to the witch's surprise, and she and Caroline flashed forwards in the direction of the well.
Caroline, Aliyah and Bonnie reached the well just in time to see Elena struggle on the floor with the heavy chain on the ground. Her normally pretty face was desperate beyond belief, her brown eyes wet with tears and her lower lip quivering.
"Stefan!" Elena shouted, helplessly.
"Elena!" Caroline called out.
Elena rounded on the three. "Caroline, Bonnie, Aliyah, Stefan's down there and the chain's rusted." She explained, hurriedly.
Caroline motioned to start climbing into the well, but Aliyah curled her fingers around the blonde girl's wrist and pulled her off, making sure she was firmly at her side before speaking.
"No, you cannot." Aliyah said, lowly. "The well is filled with vervain. If you concentrate, you can smell it."
Caroline closed her eyes, hearing the splashes of Stefan writhing in the water grow louder before her eyes widened, a sudden sour smell filling her senses, much like the sharp taste of vinegar, and she flinched.
"We have to get him out. Now!" Elena shouted.
"Bonnie," Aliyah rounded on the witch, who was gazing thoughtfully at the well. "I shouldn't ask you to do this, but-"
Bonnie pursed her lips. "You want me to go down in the well and get Stefan." She said, knowingly.
She took a step closer to Bonnie, ducking her head down so that Elena would miss their conversation. "We need the moonstone, Bonnie. Saving Stefan Salvatore now is a small price to pay. I can assure you that he will pay for every single injustice he has dealt to you, but we need the moonstone." She pursed her lips. "It's my only leverage against Niklaus." She said, grimly.
Bonnie nodded and placed a comforting hand on Aliyah's arm, telling her silently that she was glad to do this for her, despite her misgivings about saving one of the vampires that was responsible for her grandmother's death. Her hand squeezed Aliyah's forearm and Aliyah relaxed, feeling the guilt fall away from her shoulders as Bonnie showed her that she was, indeed, not taking advantage of her. Black eyes met green and the witch glowed with absolute warmth for the vampire standing in front of her.
She loved Aliyah. Saving Stefan now was a small price to pay to stop Klaus from killing Mason or Tyler or Elena or daggering Aliyah.
She blinked, thinking that she had to get stronger with her magic. Klaus would come to town and come for Aliyah and her and she had to be enough to protect those she loved.
Caroline blinked and rushed over and grabbed the chain. She made to wrap it around Elena, who had already climbed onto the edge of the well, when she watched in shock and amusement as a composed Aliyah simply dragged a furious Elena off the rim of the well.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Elena shrieked.
Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Watch your tone, little girl. I'll take that as your concern for your boytoy and forgive your misstep this time. The next time you mouth off to me, I'll break your arm." She growled. "You're not going down in the well. Bonnie will go in your place."
"What, why?" Elena's eyes shifted from Aliyah to Bonnie, quickly, her doe eyes widening.
"Because I don't trust you and I'm not invested in keeping you unharmed. Alive, yes, but not unharmed." Aliyah said, simply. "Bonnie, on the other hand, I do trust and I intend on keeping her alive for a very long time."
Elena opened her mouth to argue further, but shut her mouth as she realized that all the time she spent arguing with Aliyah was time wasted from saving Stefan from the burning vervain. Bonnie wrapped the chain that Caroline was holding and hooked it against one of the links, looking over at Caroline.
"I've got you, okay?" Caroline said, firmly.
Bonnie nodded, grimly. "Yeah." She looked at Aliyah, who gave her a reassuring look.
"I'm right here, Bonnie. I'll come and get you." Aliyah promised.
Aliyah grabbed Bonnie's hand and helped lower her into the well, her hands grasping onto the edge of the well.
"Are you ready?" Caroline asked, worriedly.
Bonnie took a deep breath. "Yeah." She said, quietly.
Aliyah and Caroline helped Bonnie lower into the well, Bonnie's hands grasping at the slick bricks that lined the well, Caroline slowly reeling her down with the chain. Caroline suddenly lost hold off the chain for a second, Bonnie slipping down a few inches quicker than she was comfortable with.
"Care, what the hell!" Bonnie shrieked, her hands smacking against the bricks for purchase.
Caroline managed to grab the chain before Bonnie hurtled right down to the bottle of the well.
"Sorrysorrysorry." Caroline winced, apologetically.
Bonnie sighed, deeply. "It's okay, keep going. Come on!"
Caroline lowered Bonnie down into the well until Bonnie could squint her eyes and see Stefan floating on top of the water that filled a considerable part of the bottom of the well. He was unconscious and badly rotted, his skin blotchy and bloody and peeling and scabby and Bonnie gagged at the side, shaking her head as the nausea threatened to overwhelm her. She took deep breaths, in and out, and unhooked the chain from around her waist, wrapping it around Stefan.
And if she took just a bit too much pleasure when choking him with it, well that was something between her, an unconscious Stefan and a smirking Aliyah from above.
"Oh, my God." Bonnie breathed, her fingers skimming over Stefan's diseased skin, slipping over the slimy, peeling bits of skin, making her shudder to the tips of her toes.
"Bonnie, what's going on?" Elena called out, her hands gripping the side of the well and her nails digging into the bricks, her hair dipping into the cavern.
"Pull him up!" Bonnie ordered.
Caroline started to pull the chain up from the well, finding it surprisingly easy with her grip on the links of the chain. She suddenly remembered Aliyah telling her that she would be stronger than most vampires because of the lack of diluted vampire blood running through her veins. Since she was turned directly by an Original vampire, she would possess the same amount of strength as a vampire who was two-hundred to three-hundred years her senior. Finally, Stefan reached the top of the well and Aliyah pulled herself and Caroline away from the vervain-soaked Stefan. Elena grabbed onto her boyfriend and pulled him away from the well, dropping him haphazardly onto the ground when the weight became too much for her to handle.
Bonnie turned her flashlight on, wading in the water as she spun around.
"Bonnie? Ready for you!" Caroline called out.
"Hold on! I need to find the stone." Bonnie shouted back, twisting her body in the water.
Bonnie's hands slipped against the cracks in the well, as her eyes scanned for any sign of the milky-white stone.
"Hurry!" Caroline called out.
"Bonnie, be careful!" Aliyah shouted.
Bonnie's hands moved through the vervain-filled water until they landed upon a small, wooden box. She picked it up, her hands skimming against the wood until she could feel a thrum of magic emanate from the box. Her shoulders relaxed and she could feel the spell on the moonstone reaching out for her, trying to pull at her powers, until she let out a wrecked gasp, blinking as she shoved the strange feeling away.
"I've got it, Lee-Lee!" Bonnie shouted.
In her daze, Bonnie didn't notice a snake inch towards and slid onto her body, slithering up her wet arm. Bonnie screamed at the top of her lungs and threw the snake off of her with a great deal of disgust, feeling her skin crawl as she saw another snake slinking up her arm. She backed herself up against the wall and tied the fallen chain around herself once more.
"Bonnie!" Aliyah shouted, her eyes burning with fear. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
Bonnie shook her head. "I got it. Come on! Bring me up!"
Caroline tugged on the chain until she managed to reel Bonnie out of the well, Elena helping her out of the well, as Caroline and Aliyah could not touch her without getting stung by the vervain. Elena's eyes fell onto Stefan and she landed on the ground beside him.
"Oh, god! Stefan!" Elena cried out, cradling his head under her arm.
Much to Aliyah's bemusement, Caroline and Bonnie rushed over to her, intent on helping their best friend, despite their resentment of the doppelganger and their anger at the vampire she had fallen in love with.
"Stefan! Stefan." Elena sobbed out.
"He needs human blood." Aliyah said, grimly, motioning Caroline and Bonnie away.
Elena's eyes searched the ground and found a rock lying on the ground beside Stefan's limp head. She picked it up and sliced her palm with, watching the blood well up above the cut. Caroline flinched and turned away into Aliyah's shoulder, feeling the older vampire's hands come to thread through her blonde curls, as the gut-wrenching, gnawing hunger yanked at the threads that were keeping her together. Elena shoved her wrist against Stefan's mouth and Bonnie watched with a grimace as Stefan's eyes fluttered open and he started to drink from her wrist.
"Don't look." Aliyah ordered Bonnie, gently. "Bloodsharing is an intimate process." She murmured.
A blush rose in Bonnie's cheeks and she turned away from the sight, blinking when she looked at Aliyah. She swallowed hard and opened the box that she was holding. Aliyah licked her lips, staring down at the small, white stone that had been the bane of her existence for over a thousand years. Her fingers slipped inside and snatched the stone out off the box.
"We've got the stone, Stefan. Stefan, it's gonna be okay, everything's gonna be okay." Elena muttered, furiously, into Stefan's hair.
Aliyah motioned for Bonnie and Caroline to leave and they nodded. Elena, noticing their swift departure and the stone in Aliyah's hands, jumped to her feet and stormed over.
"Where the hell do you think you're going with that?" Elena snapped, shoving herself so that she was standing in front of them.
A slow, vicious smile slid onto Aliyah's face and she ran her thumb over her lower lip. "Don't tell me, Bambi, you actually thought I'd give you the moonstone?" She raised an eyebrow. "You can't honestly be that stupid. Why do you think I asked Bonnie to go into the well?" She asked, cocking her head.
Elena sent a hurt, betrayed look towards Bonnie and Caroline, who met her headway, their eyes dark and determined and never faltering. Elena rounded on Bonnie. "See! I told you that you couldn't trust her! She tricked you!" She snarled.
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you have such a low opinion of my intelligence, Elena." She said, pointedly. "I knew exactly why Aliyah wanted me to go in after Stefan. In fact, I did it on purpose. You'll have to forgive me if I don't feel all that safe knowing that Damon Salvatore has his hands on something like the moonstone."
"That's not fair, Bonnie. Damon hasn't done anything in ages." Elena protested.
Caroline snorted. "That doesn't exactly stop him from being a sociopathic, rapist bastard, now, does it?" She raised an eyebrow.
Aliyah paused. "How did you two even know that the moonstone was in the well?" She asked, curiously
Elena tensed. She swallowed hard. "Mason." She whispered. "Mason Lockwood. He told us."
Bonnie advanced on her, her fists clenched at her side. "Now, tell me something, Elena. Why would a werewolf – one who hates the Salvatores – tell you where he stashed the moonstone?" She asked, coldly.
Elena bit her lip. "Bonnie, I-"
Bonnie held up her hand and Elena's mouth fell shut immediately, stunned by the stony look on Bonnie's face. "If anything, anything happens to Mason, Elena, I'm going after Damon and Stefan. That was me warning you." She said, coldly. She pursed her lips. "The moonstone stays with us."
Caroline and Liz were sitting on the couch, together, in Aliyah's living room.
"So, I pulled Stefan out of this well and he's all vervained and just rotted," Caroline grimaced. "But we got the moonstone!" She said, cheerfully. "And you should've seen Bonnie, she totally told Elena off. I just…" Caroline paused, seeing the look on her mother's face. She sighed, her face falling. "I'm freaking you out." She murmured, looking away determinedly.
Liz shook her head. "It's just that you've become this person…" She trailed off.
Caroline flinched. "Don't. Don't. We... We're just starting to get along..." She whispered.
"This strong, this confident person." Liz said, firmly.
Caroline started to smile, her light blue eyes lighting up. "Oh." She said, lamely. "Thank you." She said, shyly.
Liz licked her lips. "You don't have to take my memories away." She said, earnestly. "I'll keep your secret, yours and Aliyah's. Look, if you're worried about them, just say you compelled me. I won't tell. I'll never do anything to hurt you." She said, determinedly, squeezing Caroline's hands.
"We never talk like this. Ever. And today meant so much to me." Caroline murmured, feeling tears come to her eyes.
"Me, too." Liz whispered.
"I know." Caroline squeezed Liz's hands in her own. "I know I can trust you, but you're never going to trust them." She leaned in, her eyes turning firm. "And you shouldn't, mom. Damon Salvatore… he's not a good guy." She whispered. She sniffled and looked her mother in the eye, her pupils dilating. "I'm going to take you home. You're going to forget that I'm a vampire." She whispered, resting her forehead against her mother's.
"I'm going to forget that you're a vampire." Liz intoned.
"You'll remember you got sick with the flu. You had a fever, chills and ickiness," She chuckled, wetly. "But I made you soup and it was really salty. We bickered. You got better and then your selfish little daughter, who loves you no matter what, went right back to ignoring you and all is right in the world. I want you to go to sleep now."
"I can't get a hold of Mason." Tyler said, furiously. "My mom told me he headed back to Florida, but that doesn't make any sense."
Bonnie rubbed his back, comfortingly, her face etched in worry.
"It doesn't," Aliyah said, slowly, entering Bonnie's bedroom, her eyes drawn and intent on her phone. She looked up, wearily. "Unfortunately, there's some bad news. Tyler, I need you to sit down." She murmured.
Tyler frowned. "What? Why?" He asked, tersely.
"Please, just sit down." Aliyah said, firmly.
Without much protest, Tyler allowed Bonnie to push him down to sit on the bed.
"What's going on, Lee-Lee?" Bonnie asked, worriedly.
"I…" Aliyah cleared her throat. "I got a text from Damon Salvatore. Apparently, he and Stefan captured Mason earlier today and tortured the moonstone's location out of him. And, while we were busy getting the moonstone out of the well," She licked her lips. "Damon ripped his heart out."
Bonnie and Tyler's eyes widened, dramatically, the former's hand coming to cover her mouth as tears well up in her eyes. Tyler's face was etched in shock, his face like stone, as his mouth gasped for words he couldn't find. Tyler swallowed hard and felt himself go limp, the blood roaring in his ears.
"That… Why? Why would he do something like that?" Tyler muttered. He looked up at Aliyah, his eyes red.
Aliyah pursed her lips. "They found out that Mason was working with Katerina, and they thought he was a threat and Damon killed him." She whispered.
Tyler's eyes drew into slits and he jumped to his feet. "I'm going to kill him." He hissed.
Tyler made to storm over to the door, but Aliyah placed a hand on his chest and subtly pushed him back.
"No." Aliyah said, finally. "You can't kill Damon."
"Why?" Tyler roared. "You just told me that he killed my uncle! How am I supposed to let this go?" He snarled.
Aliyah swallowed hard, seeing Tyler's eyes flash an eerie gold. "You need to calm down." She said, sternly, narrowing her eyes. "I understand that you feel angry and you would like nothing more than to rip Damon Salvatore's heart out and I fully support that idea, Tyler, but you are seconds away from absolutely exploding and Bonnie is the only one here that can be killed by you." She snapped. "So, you need to calm down and we can discuss this."
Tyler's shoulders slumped, seeing the logic in her words, and felt a rush of fear that he could have seriously hurt Bonnie. He closed his eyes.
"Sit down." Aliyah said, sternly.
Tyler did as she asked, settling into Bonnie's warm arms as her hands slid, comfortably, up and down his strong arms.
"There are two reasons why you simply cannot just go and kill the Salvatores. One, you are human. You may be a werewolf, but an untriggered werewolf is just slightly stronger than a human. You're no match for a vampire, especially a vampire that has over a century on you. You'd be killed in an instant and Damon has absolutely no qualms about ending you. Two, I need Damon and Stefan alive."
"What?" Tyler growled. "Why?"
Aliyah closed her eyes, briefly. "I need them to protect Bonnie. They're perfect shields when Niklaus comes to town. I won't shed a tear if they die, Tyler. And I'd like to think that you want Bonnie as safe I want her to be. I need them alive just for a little while."
"You need them to protect Bonnie?" Tyler growled out, his eyes bloodshot and suspiciously wet.
Aliyah nodded, grimly. "Elena isn't so far gone that she would deny protection to her best friend." She murmured. "I need them as canon fodder until I can be sure that Niklaus won't use Bonnie to get to me and use Elena in his sacrifice."
"And after that?" Tyler raised an eyebrow.
"They're fair game." Aliyah purred, her eyes flashing. She walked over to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, feeling his hand tighten around her. Bonnie snuggled back into Tyler's arm, offering him her warmth as well. "Tell you what, I'll hold them down while you stake them in the heart."
"For Bonnie and Mason." Tyler swore, a hint of gold circling his eyes.
"For Bonnie and Mason." Aliyah agreed, patting him on the shoulder and turning to leave Bonnie and Tyler alone for her to comfort him.
"Hey, Aliyah," Aliyah turned around to see Bonnie frowning. "Why would they even tell you any of this? They don't even trust you." She asked, confused.
Aliyah tensed. "When I first came to Mystic Falls after Sheila died, I compelled Damon and Stefan to tell me anything and everything that happens in this town, Bonnie." She explained. "That's how I know half of what I know. They've been feeding me information without them even knowing for months." She said, simply.
Bonnie blinked. "That's actually quite smart." She whispered.
A slow, sad smile slid onto her face. "I'm going to protect you, Bonnie. Whatever it takes." She swore.
Tyler cleared his throat and wiped his eyes until they were dry. "So, uh, did you guys get the moonstone?" He asked, hoarsely.
Aliyah nodded and dug into her pocket, pulling out the sleek stone. "Would you look at that?" She purred, tossing the moonstone in her hand, a sly smile curling on her lips. "After five hundred years, this thing has finally come home and I don't plan on letting it out of my sight anytime soon." She looked at the young couple on the bed and her black eyes softened, considerably, her face warming at the picture they made.
They looked so much like what she and Niklaus used to that it made her heart ache just to look at them.
"I'll… um… I'll leave you two to it, then." Aliyah murmured.
Bonnie and Tyler cracked a smile and ducked their heads down, Bonnie pulling a weary and wounded Tyler back into her soothing arms, her fingers of her left and stroking through Tyler's choppy, thick hair, while her right hand cupped his jaw, softly, as he rested his head on her collarbone, letting the scent of honey and vanilla from Bonnie's skin lull him to serenity. Both of them were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't even see Aliyah excuse herself and close the bedroom door behind them.
Aliyah was passing through the corridors towards her bedroom when she heard quiet sobs coming from Caroline's room. A pang of fear settled in her stomach and she spun in that direction, rushing towards Caroline's room with fright burning in her eyes. She slid into the room and saw Caroline curled up on her bed, her arms clutching at her pillow, as she sobbed into the cotton of her bed sheets.
Aliyah sighed and crawled onto the bed, pulling a distraught Caroline into her arms. Caroline softened, crying desperately into Aliyah's shoulder, feeling Aliyah's hand come behind her to stroke comfortingly down her back.
"I compelled her to forget." Caroline whispered. "She told me that she'd keep my secret and that she'd never do anything to hurt and I compelled her." She nuzzled into the crook of Aliyah's neck and she sniffled, tears wetting Aliyah's skin. "All she's going to see when she looks at me is her bitchy, neurotic, shallow, human cheerleader daughter." She whispered. "She's not going to see me."
Aliyah rubbed her back soothingly. She sighed. "I know, pretty girl." She tugged on Caroline's curls so that the younger girl would look her in the eye. "We… can… tell her later, if you'd like. We can compel her to remember everything she forgot. If you said that she accepted you, maybe she would accept in the future. And she's the sheriff of Mystic Falls, Caroline, she's bound to find out sooner or later." She murmured.
"She started off today hating me." Caroline breathed. "And then tonight, she called me 'strong' and 'confident'." She sniffled. "She told me that she wouldn't tell anyone." Her face twisted as the sobs wracked her body.
Aliyah hushed her and shifted her so that Caroline was lying down on the bed, her back to her. Aliyah watched with a heavy heart as Caroline curled into a ball and she knew that she just had to let Caroline cry it out. She patted the curve of her ribcage in a slow rhythm, rocking her to sleep as the slow, whimpering cries slipping from Caroline's mouth tugged at every single one of her dead heartstrings until her hands was shaking and Caroline was in a deep slumber, her cheeks still wet from the tears.
All she could see was sickened and shattered black eyes exactly like her own as they stared down at her weeping, newly-turned form.
"Little dove, come inside now. It is time to eat."
It was only after she saw that Bonnie and Tyler were nestled together in Bonnie's soft bed, both of them facing one another, Tyler's arms wrapped around Bonnie's small, lithe form as if he were trying to protect her from the world. She smiled, fondly, at the picture they made, Bonnie's fists planted on Tyler's chest, her head tucked underneath Tyler's chin as his warm hands were splayed across the smooth skin of her back, which had been exposed as the cotton of her tank top rode up.
She took one last look at Caroline's sleeping form before she proceeded over to her room. The corridor seemed to stretch out in front of her, never seeming to end. By the end of the corridor, she was taking in harsh, choppy breaths and her lungs started to burn with every step she could. Her legs were shaky and she stumbled on every third step she took, holding onto the wall as she moved forwards. She absentmindedly felt the breeze flow through the too many windows that lined the open house. She threw her open the door and rushed through it, shutting it quietly behind her.
It was only when the door had shut behind her that her back slammed against the wood, as she slid down to her knees on the floor. She wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face into her forearms. The sobs rose in her throat but she viciously shoved them down. It had been centuries since she had allowed herself to cry because her mother hadn't loved her anymore after she turned, and she wouldn't let herself dissolve into that weak, little girl again.
She banged her head against the wall, the sharp pain like a shock down her spine. She dragged her hands down her face, drying her face of any tears. Her hand jammed into her pockets and she pulled out her phone, switching it on, her thumb flicking through her messages until they fell onto a specific one.
She pursed her lips, wondering if she were strong enough to do something like this.
Aliyah dragged her teeth over her lower lip, biting down into the soft flesh. You know, when you separate, it means no contact.
Hello, Liya. I thought you would ignore this number forever. What can I do for you?
Aliyah chuckled, wetly. She could imagine the slow purr of his voice sinking into every inch of her body, his accent flaring and setting her on fire from the inside out.
She licked her lips. I just… I needed to talk to you.
The phone vibrated almost immediately. Are you hurt, hellcat? You're crying.
Aliyah swallowed hard. A thousand years later and she still marvelled at Niklaus' ability to know her so well.
I was just thinking about my mother.
Ah.
Aliyah's fingers curled around her slim throat, skimming down her lean neck. Even on her deathbed, she couldn't look me in the eye.
There was a pause and Aliyah watched her phone with baited breath.
Do you remember right after we were turned and we were talking about my mother? You told me that she never deserved someone like me as her son. That it was her own weakness.
A whimper left Aliyah's throat, remembering exactly what she had said after that and how she had gone back on her promise.
She had turned her back on him, after all.
Niklaus had never needed much to hate people. His fury burned quick and relentless. The single decision she had made in 1925 to leave him was enough for him to hate her, which she knew at the time she walked away from him.
I will repeat that sentiment to you. Your mother's weakness was that she could not see her daughter in you, when we all could. Her weakness meant that she did not deserve to be your mother, hellcat.
Aliyah bit her lip. How are you so sure?
How were you so sure a thousand years ago when you told me something similar?
Aliyah scowled. He had managed to one-up her this time. Oh, shut up.
You never appreciated any of my snappy retorts.
Aliyah rolled her eyes. You sound like a child.
Speaking of children, how is your little witch and that delightful little blonde that you turned?
Aliyah bared her teeth in a snarl. Don't you dare, Niklaus.
What?
She could almost imagine Niklaus' dimpled, innocent grin as he spoke the question. Prick.
Don't be rude, Liya. You were taught to honour your husband.
Aliyah rolled her eyes. I'll honour my husband when he stops threatening teenage girls.
I will only threaten teenage girls if they stand in my way. After spending such a long time married to me, you should know that, hellcat.
Aliyah huffed. Goodnight, Niklaus. Her message was as firm as her words were.
She could hear Klaus' warm chuckle in her ear, like a tickle down her spine. Sweet dreams, my love.
Aliyah shut the phone off with a grind of her teeth and swept off the floor, throwing the phone down somewhere on the bed. She dug into her pockets and pulled out the moonstone, twisting it in her palm. She picked it up and raised it to the height of her eyes, the blackness of her pupils narrowing.
1024 AD, Hafrsfjord, Norway
"You are not welcome here, abomination." The witch hissed, her eyes narrowing at Niklaus and Aliyah.
The two Originals, along with the rest of their family, found themselves in Hafrsfjord, seeking the counsel of a local völva to find out exactly what would break the curse that Esther had placed upon me.
"That is a shame, woman." Niklaus smiled, his grin as sharp as the blade of a knife. "That is a true shame. And what is truly another shame is how alone you are in this big village. Of course, you are not completely alone, are you?" His grin was wide and toothy and promised violence. "There was that lovely, little girl that invited us into your home." His eyes brightened
"Don't you dare threaten her, abomination." The woman snarled, baring her teeth at the Hybrid. "Not if you desire my assistance."
"No one will hurt the girl." Aliyah said, soothingly, placing a warning hand on Niklaus' arm, stilling him. "All you have to do is help us break this curse, völva." She crooned.
The witch gritted her teeth, reading the honesty in Aliyah's black eyes. "Very well, then. I will need the moonstone." She said, pointedly.
Aliyah smiled, beatifically and blindingly, handing her the slim, milky-white stone into the witch's withered hand.
"You better find a solution to this curse on me, crone, or your failure will be the very last thing you comprehend before I slit your girl's throat in front of you." Niklaus said, coldly, before taking Aliyah's hand in his and leading her away from the hut.
1024 AD, Hafrsfjord, Norway
"The curse is breakable." The witch said, finally, her eyes hard. "The moonstone will be required for the spell to work as the Original Witch bound your curse to this stone." She explained.
"So, how must we break the curse?" Niklaus snapped, his hands jittery.
"A witch, like myself, can remove the curse on the moonstone by guiding the power of the full moon into the moonstone." The woman said, coldly.
Aliyah blinked. "Then, you can remove the curse yourself, can you not?" She asked, curiously.
The woman shook her head. "Oh, there is more to this curse than simply the moonstone." She licked her dry lips. "On a full moon, he must kill a creature like yourself and a man that turns into a wolf on the full moon – both sides of his nature. Then, he must drink the blood of the girl who was used in the original spell to the point of the girl's death in her birthplace."
Aliyah swallowed hard and exchanged a look with Niklaus, whose face had paled considerably.
Niklaus turned back to the witch. "That is impossible, crone, the girl who was used in the first spell died that night as well." He said, coldly, the hopelessness sinking into his skin until Aliyah curled her fingers around his wrist, soothingly.
The witch shook her head. "The spell that the Original Witch cast on you contains a loophole. The spell ensured that a doppelganger would be created in the future."
"A… doppelganger?" Aliyah breathed. "Like her vardøger?" She shook her head. "How is that even possible?"
"Did the girl have offspring?" The witch asked, simply.
Aliyah nodded. "Yes. She had a daughter."
"Then, her bloodline will produce the doppelganger. She will be the exact image of the girl whose blood was used for the original curse. She must be human when the ritual is done." The witch hissed. "The ritual must be done on a full moon. A witch will first use the power of the full moon to release the spell bound within the moonstone. Then, the Hybrid must sacrifice the two creatures that make up his nature: an abomination like yourself and one who turns into a wolf on the full moon. Finally, the Hybrid must drink the blood of the human doppelganger till the point of her death in her birthplace." She pushed herself away from them, as if it hurt her physically to be anywhere near them, something that ached at Aliyah, whose loss of magic still pained her after five decades. "Now, you will leave my home and you will never return."
Aliyah pulled Niklaus along until they were firmly out of the witch's home. She pursed her lips and looked at him, curiously, her black eyes boring into his royal blue ones.
"Well?" She raised an eyebrow.
Niklaus chuckled and tugged the ends of her curls. "Well, what, hellcat?"
Aliyah huffed. "Now we must wait for Tatia's doppelganger to arise so that we can complete your ritual. Turning a human into one of us is simple, as Kol as shown us already. It should not be too difficult to find one of those wolves." She sighed. "It is a pity, though."
Niklaus frowned, his fingers grazing the small of her back, his touch like a heated flame on her skin, even through the material of her dress. "What is?" He asked, confused.
"I thought I would be done with Tatia Petrova the moment she perished, but it seems it is my affliction and my destiny that I will be haunted by her very image until we can break this curse." Aliyah muttered under her breath.
Niklaus simply laughed and leaned down, kissing the pout off her lips.
A/N: Well, another really long chapter! But the bright side is that Masquerade is the next chapter! Who's been looking forward to that chapter as much as I have? Especially since Rose and Elijah is the chapter after that.
This episode was really weird for me. I don't know. I felt like so many things were OOC in this chapter. I mean, the Mystic Falls gang, with the exception of Damon, are supposed to be the good guys, except they're all okay with Mason getting tortured and killed. Tyler had every right to get angry when he found out. Damon's a sociopath so that's just his character. It doesn't excuse what he did but it's expected. But Elena, Bonnie and Caroline and Stefan keep getting called compassionate and nice and sweet and they were all horrible people in this chapter, especially Bonnie and Elena. These seventeen-year-old girls aided and abetted torture and death of someone who's related to a guy they grew up with, a guy that went to high school with Jenna. Nothing that happened was Mason's fault and he died for nothing. And what the hell was Jeremy doing? Just sitting there and watching Damon torture Mason. To be honest, I don't even like Jeremy (he's frankly useless in my eyes), but this episode really made me sick to my stomach, so I changed it around.
I hope you guys liked the way I characterised the Nikliyah stuff in this chapter. Not just the flashbacks, but the text message talk. I hope it was suspenseful enough for guys that you really want Klaus to hurry up and come to Mystic Falls. I really loved writing those texts because I think it really captures their relationship. Not to mention, how sweet it is when Aliyah's upset and the first person she thinks to call is Klaus, even though they're pretty much separated.
A few things that I wanted to say about this chapter:
1. There were more Nikliyah flashbacks in the chapters, detailing how they found out how to break the hybrid curse. It took them a couple of decades but canon says they travelled back to the Old World after they left their village, after Mikael slaughtered everyone and Esther died, so I had them go to Norway to find a witch who practiced the same sort of magic as Esther did. I thought it would be interesting to show how they found out about the curse and how to break it and their initial reactions to it. I like showing Klaus as the hothead and Aliyah as the calming force in his life. And I hope Aliyah's distaste for anything concerning Tatia is evident. We'll see more in depth why she hates Tatia so much in later chapters and how that affects her relationships with the other two doppelgangers.
2. I changed quite a bit in this chapter, especially regarding Caroline and Bonnie's change in allegiance with them siding with Aliyah over Elena when Bonnie gave her the moonstone and the part that Bonnie played in Mason's death. There's no way in hell I'd have her as an accessory to the murder of her boyfriend's uncle. In all honesty, I had a lot of trouble with Bonnie in this episode. I mean, she was so quick to turn her back on Caroline for something that was actually more Bonnie's fault than Caroline's. If Bonnie had done the right thing and killed Damon back in Season 1 or vetoed him giving blood to Caroline back in the hospital, Caroline would never have been turned. So, I had no sympathy for Bonnie in this episode, that's why I had to change things in this chapter. Not to mention, I wasn't so happy with how Bonnie was so quick to hurt Mason Lockwood when he hadn't actually done anything wrong other than shack up with Katherine. I mean, this is the uncle of a guy they've known since they were babies. Bonnie should have been more considerate about that.
3. I hope you guys liked the way I characterised Liz and Caroline's relationship in this chapter. And I hope you found it interesting the parallels between Caroline and Liz and Aliyah and Ayanna. Unfortunately for Aliyah, Ayanna didn't come around the way Liz did and that still hurts her now. And she got so upset after comforting Caroline that she had to just call Klaus.
Some of the Norse stuff in that final flashback:
Hafrsfjord – It's a bay located in Norway and it's famous for some Viking battle in 872.
Völva – The equivalent of a witch in Viking times.
Vardøger – The Old Norse equivalent of a doppelganger, but it has a less sinister connotation. It's usually described as a spirit with the subject's footsteps, voice, scent, or appearance and overall demeanour precedes them in a location or activity, resulting in witnesses believing they've seen or heard the actual person before the person physically arrives.
Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter and drop me a line with some feedback or something you wanted to tell me, I enjoy talking to everyone about my stories or TVD/TO in general. (Either in a review, or you can catch me on Tumblr anytime!)
Reviews:
mrs Tall Blonde and Dead: You have no idea how much fun it was to write that confrontation!
castielris: Thank you so much! Don't worry, they'll be heaps of Tyliyah, Barolina and Alijah as well coming up!
HPuni101: Thanks! Happy New Year!
HCookie: Thank you so much! Don't worry, Masquerade is going to be such a fun time, I promise.
Alexandta27: Me too, dear. Me too.
NicoleR85: Thank you!
AndrianaWarrior7: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, I've really shoved Elena and the Salvatores into the background because, honestly, Bonnie and Caroline are way more interesting. And don't worry, I am such a rambler! And you're way too sweet! It's gonna be a fun time when the Mikaelsons enter, I promise. They're gonna raze Mystic Falls. As for Jenna, I'm keeping her fate under wraps, 'cause I'm still trying to figure it out myself. But I can't promise anything, sorry!
slexieotpforever: Thank you! See, the way I think it is, Klaus does have a dark side, and I kind of modelled his relationship with Aliyah after his relationship with Rebekah, which is infinitely more twisted than any interactions he had with Caroline and Cami. And one thing to remember is that this is all before Klaus breaks his curse. His attitude may change after he does, but he's also one to hoard what he loves and punish when they disobey them. I think if Klaus were in a relationship, he would be like that with his wife/lover, because frankly, I don't think he's capable of a healthy relationship. But I'm so glad you like Aliyah! Um, well, Aliyah's kind of ambivalent towards Alaric right now. I mean, she considers him a friend through Jenna, and probably sympathises with him as the only other adult in on the secret, but he does some shady stuff in season 3 that won't sit well with Aliyah, so we'll have to se…
domsijohn: Thanks!
kuppcake: Oh, it's not that I haven't seen people be best friends for life, I just think it's very hard to find that kind of friendship and as you said, it has to be very selfless. Whereas, I feel like Elena has done way too much wrong to Bonnie to be her best friend for life.
Babaksmiles: Thank you so much!
jordanjanellejoy: You're so sweet!
Guest: It's gonna be a wild ride when Elijah and Klaus enter the story, I promise!
PrincessMagic: Well, two great minds think alike, lol! I'm so glad you liked it!
CrystalVixen93: Don't worry, the Elijah entrance is going to be epic.
Kylie Winchester: I KNOW. AREN'T THEY SO CUTE?
black hearted me: Well, let's just say she's not really going to let anything slide ;)
Queen24824: I can promise you that it'll be intense!
ThatBadassDragonLady: Well, I can assure you I plan to go into The Originals, so if that's any indicator as to how long this story's going to be… But, of course, I won't be covering every single storyline that crops up, and I will be changing things, but I foresee it'll go on for a while. And arguments and make-up sex pretty much exemplify Klaus and Aliyah, so we'll definitely have to see.
Margi: Thank you!
IRunWithWolves18: Don't worry lol. Klaus will be a major arse towards Aliyah still, before he gets to Mystic Falls and even when he's there. He's still smarting over her leaving him, so he's not about to let it go anytime soon.
smileyanne: Honestly, I hadn't really given a lot of thought as to Rebekah's love interest, but I do like your OC idea. We'll definitely have to see.
DoctorWho9: Actress wise, the girl in the cover I made for the story is an Indian actress named Asin Thottumkal. She's got the innocence/wickedness duality I really picture for Aliyah when I write her.
selgomezcsimpsonlover: Don't worry, I promise it's coming up soon!
Guest1001: I'm really sorry that you're not a fan of Bonnie and Tyler, but I have mentioned that this story's not just Aliyah and Klaus centric, but it also focuses on Bonnie and Caroline's character development as well, and sex was necessary for her storyline in the last chapter.
Adhara Snow: I just figured that Klaus and a love interest that he's had since he was human, right through his whole vampire transition, then all the hybrid drama and Esther's infidelity, Mikael hunting them, a thousand years of vampire life, spanning to present day, would be an interesting dynamic to explore. Especially when Aliyah gets a little too claustrophobic and runs, and how Klaus reacts to that. Both of the scenes you mentioned, I've actually already written, so I'll definitely try and add it into a flashback or an interlude chapter if I can. Yeah, I totally understand. I've already written Rose, so I'm really keen for all of you to read it to. But I can promise you it'll be intense!