Disclaimer: Don't own anything you recognise.
Thanks for all the reviews and follows!
Dark Angels and Light Angels: Thank you! I never intended for Bonnie to be the bad guy for the whole story, and I'm trying to carefully show how, while she's learning about herself, she's also learning to think for herself. Which wasn't something that she got to do for a long time in TVD, because she was just constantly thrown from one disaster to another, and they all centred around Elena. I'm glad that it's coming across as believable, I didn't want to make the changes to abrupt. I totally get why Bonnie was hateful and distrustful of Vampires and Siphoners, thanks to her past experience, but now her experiences have changed, which forces her to see these 'monsters' as people. Bonnie will definitely never be like Caroline and Maya, but she's going to be more independent, more understanding that sometimes people do bad things and while she doesn't approve, it's not her job to stop them from happening. I mostly don't want her to be the Witch that sacrifices her life, her family and her happiness for Elena without a second thought, and I believe that having Maya and Caroline in town with her, will help her draw the parallels between them and understand that sometimes Elena doesn't treat her the way she deserves. She's not connected to the coven leader, and it is because of her father, he's obviously not a part of her life and she doesn't even know who he is, to her he's not relevant, but there is a reason why, even though she's come from a bloodline that's a part of the coven, she's not connected. It's something that will be addressed later one, when the Gemini coven comes into play.
LifePrice1412: …Maybe…
Felinegreat: Thank you so much! I really appreciate that, I try my hardest with these chapters and it's wonderful to know that you enjoy them that much.
xotinkerbella: I wanted to show a little parallel between Kol/Caroline and Maya/Klaus, when Klaus found out Maya was hurt, he headed there straight away, and it's the same for Kol, he chose to do the same. Maya had to do it! She's missing him and wants to make sure that he misses her too! I just thought to myself that as both a police officer and a mother, there's no way that Liz would just let the fact that Sheila threatened Maya go, she'd be pissed, especially because she's Maya's godmother. Liz and Jenna are going to connect even more, because Jenna needs the backup and Liz needs to learn how to let loose a little so that she can reconnect with Caroline.
Guest: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Omega-Maharan: Oh yes, the fact that Maya just came out and practically said it, is really going to throw Klaus, because that's certainly not something that he's had in a very long time. We're like at the back end of November now, so it would be 10 months!
Hearteyesmf: I wouldn't hold your breath for that!
WiseGirlDivergence46: You liked that did you?
Careena1: It was a selfish thing for Elena, and Bonnie always overlooked it, or ended up brushing off her selfishness, intentional or not, Bonnie didn't deserve it. So I'm trying to make it better.
lillen20: Something is definitely happening!
sammyleann: Protective Liz is becoming my favourite, I get the feeling Maya's going to get into so much more trouble now that Liz knows, Jenna can be persuaded, but Liz isn't going to let Maya double talk her way out of things!
NaRuKo-InuTaiSHo-XD: Thank you!
Blu3b3rryT3a: Jenna finally has someone to be an adult with! Dunno if Miranda will ever get there to be honest, terrified Bree was kinda fun to write, we mostly get interactions between Maya and the Originals, and she's not scared of them, so it's fun to write a different kind of interaction. Klaus being teased was also one of my favourite things to write, I love that Maya can throw him off without even trying.
Rose1414: Thanks!
Nozomi Akiyama: You're welcome.
Heroina: The bird is canon, Caroline asked him if he ever thought about being human, and he told her about the time he was in the Andes and saw a hummingbird, and he could hear it's heart beating, Klaus thought about what it must be like to have to fight to live everyday like that. It was the only time he thought about being human again. I definitely don't want Bonnie to end up dying over and over just to save Elena, she needs to know that her life is worth just as much as Elena's.
Amara56098745: John Gilbert's arrival is going to be fun to write, because it was like he was always one step ahead of the Salvatores, but this time around, Maya is one step ahead! There'll be a Jenna – Miranda showdown eventually, but not just yet, I really appreciate that you like my writing! Thank you!
sam: You're welcome
NonBinaryAceKitten: Thanks! I didn't post twice, I replaced Chapter 39, because I accidentally put 2008 in the dates instead of 2009. But thank you for letting me know that another notification was sent out.
On Sunday, Kol and Caroline were together in a booth near the back of the bar, Caroline wanted to spend time with him before she had to go back home, and Maya was more than happy to let her best friend have some time with the Original while she worked on the spell. It also gave Damon and Enzo a little time to just be together, before Stefan and Lexi showed up, which they would be doing in a few hours. "I still can't get over the fact that you know the Originals," Bree said, "How did you even meet them?"
"D and Zo met Klaus a few years back, they kept in touch and at some point Klaus needed a spell done and didn't have a Witch available to do it. I offered and in exchange I got a favour in return, it just went on like that," Maya shrugged.
"And what, now you're his personal Witch?"
"I mean-" Maya shook her head, "He has plenty of Witches, but he likes D and Zo, so we ended up crossing paths way more than expected…and he likes my attitude, likes that I'm trustworthy, and that I have a vested interest in keeping the guys alive, so he knows that I wouldn't take the chance and betray him. Which is also why you should keep your mouth shut about it, he doesn't take kindly to anyone messing in his affairs."
"Hey, I don't want any problems with the Originals," Bree held her hand up, "I have a good thing going here, and any involvement with the Originals would mess that up. So you do you and I won't say a word." Bree wasn't stupid, she knew that she wasn't a powerful Witch by any means, people came to her because she mostly traded in knowledge, her easy going nature made it a breeze for her to collect information on pretty much anything. She wasn't about to go and make enemies with the most feared being on the planet, especially now that his brother knew who she was.
"Cool, did you figure out what was missing for the spell?"
She nodded, "Yeah, you can't just exponentially increase how fast her reflexes work, you need to base it off something."
"Meaning what exactly?"
"Think of it like this, if you wanted to become faster, you'd base your spell off of something that's really fast, like a cheetah. So, however fast you want these reflexes to be, you need to base them off of something with fast reflexes."
Maya nodded, "I don't think I have anything that I could use as a base."
"There's shop in town, it's not far from here, they'll be open for three more hours, you could see what they've got."
"Stefan and Lexi are due to show up soon."
Bree rolled her eyes, "I'm sure I can keep them occupied while you're busy, it's not like I run a bar or anything," she said sarcastically.
"Alright! Alright! I get it, I'll go!" She made a move to leave, she'd take Enzo's SUV, and let the guys have their time together.
"And how bout you bring back whatever you need to make that 'hangover-less booze'!"
"Damon's got such a big mouth!" Maya complained.
Bree laughed, "I'll test it out here, if the customers like it, I'll make it a standing order, it could be another revenue stream for you."
Jenna and Liz were at the Grill having lunch together, now that Liz knew about Maya, it felt like a weight had been lifted from her chest, obviously Liz didn't know everything, Vampires, especially, was going to be a topic that the Sommers girls would have to broach with a lot of care and sensitivity, because if Liz found out on her own, there was no telling how she would react.
"Is it always like this?" Liz asked.
"Like what?"
"Like as her Mom, I'm worried about Caroline, I always will be, but with Maya it feels like…"
"Like there's a whole extra layer of extreme worry on top of what would already be there?" Jenna finished, "Yeah it does."
"How have you just dealt with this on your own? I mean for six years, you've had to do this alone!"
"Well," Jenna started, "I haven't been completely on my own, I know I said that Damon and Enzo are like kids, but they have been a big help."
"And that's another thing! How old is Damon? And how are you letting Maya date him?!"
Jenna laughed, "You know you're the first person in town that's even questioned their age gap? Don't worry, they're not actually dating."
"What do you mean they're not dating?! I've seen them out together! They went to the Founder's party together!"
"Long story short, Elena's dating Damon's brother and Maya being Maya, just wanted to upset her. And Damon's cool with it because well, it upsets Stefan and he thinks it's hilarious, and he's not a fan of Elena…for obvious reasons."
Liz rolled her eyes at the explanation, of course that was Maya's plan, "Wait…when did you meet Damon? And Enzo? You never really mentioned them before."
"I met Enzo shortly after I found out about Maya, and Damon and Enzo have known each other for, what seems like forever. I met him three years ago. He's the one that uh…arrange for Mai to be moved to that hospital in New York. It saved her life," Jenna replied.
"What happened? You said that…" Liz looked around to make sure that no one was listening and lowered her voice just in case, "Witches were trying to kill her."
"Yeah," Jenna nodded, her face turning as she thought about that day, "She did a pretty big spell, that left her weak, vulnerable to psychic attack, a Witch that wanted to stop her, used that to their advantage and mentally attacked her. It took a while to find someone who could help, and Damon and Enzo set it up."
"Why didn't you ever tell Miranda?"
"What?"
"Up until May, you and Miranda were like best friends, you shared everything, why not tell her? She could have helped you."
Jenna paused at that, she couldn't tell Liz that it was because Maya had asked her not to, because then she'd ask why, and they were keeping the fact that Maya was an Old Soul under wraps. Sighing she realised that she had to give Liz something. "Did you know that Grayson was working another job, other than just being a doctor?"
"What? No. What does that have to do with anything?"
"It has everything to do with it. He worked for Augustine, do you know what that is?"
Liz shook her head, "No, I've never heard of it before."
Jenna bit her lip, she looked around, there wasn't anyone near them, but she still felt too exposed, "I'd prefer to do this somewhere more private, you never know who's listening in." Liz nodded, the two of them paid for their food and headed out.
/ / /
Liz and Jenna were sat together in the Sommers' home, and Jenna felt much more comfortable talking to her friend, "When Maya was seven, she found a journal belonging to Grayson, detailing some of the work that he was doing…hang on, we have it somewhere." She got up and headed to the little office that she'd set up for her own work, rifling through her drawers, she pulled out the worn journal. Every time that she felt bad about lying to her sister, she'd pull out that journal and read a few pages, it reminded her of who exactly Grayson was, and reminded her of what could have happened to her daughter if she hadn't been careful. Enzo had never been referred to in the book, except as his numerical designation, so she knew that Liz wouldn't know who was being tortured. "Here," she handed it over and Liz opened it.
Her eyes scanned several of the pages, visibly recoiling at some of the descriptions of 'experiments' that had been detailed, "I don't understand, who's 12144?"
"He was a prisoner, a Vampire," Jenna replied and Liz looked shocked at the information, "He was turned in 1903, he fought for the allies in World War One, and then again in World War Two. Augustine kidnapped him, sometime during the Second World War, they didn't just keep him locked up, they tortured him, for sixty years. All in the name of 'science'. Liz I know how you feel about Vampires, but Augustine was literally cutting pieces out of this man, burning him with vervain, acid, sunlight, breaking him open again, and again, and again."
"That's not…this was a Vampire," Liz tried to say.
"And a man, Vampire's aren't born, they're made, I mean, he literally fought for the good guys in two world wars! How many humans can say that they've done that?"
Liz shook her head, "This still doesn't explain anything!"
"After Maya found that journal, read those words, she snuck into Grayson's clinic, into the basement, there she found that Vampire, tied up, after his latest round of torture. It terrified her, not the Vampire, but that her uncle could do something so horrific. Apparently she spent the next three years, sneaking into that basement, talking to the Vampire, giving him hope that he would one day be free…When she told me about the magic, she told me about the Vampire in the basement…"
"What did you do?" Liz had a feeling she knew exactly what Jenna did, she knew what type of person Jenna was.
"I set him free."
"Jenna!"
"Are you telling me that you would have left him there? I know how the Council feels about Vampires, but they are not all monsters, they are people! And he did not deserve what happened to him. Grayson participated in the torture of another being! If Grayson was capable of doing that, what would he have done to Maya? I couldn't take the chance, so I never told Miranda." Jenna leant forward, taking Liz's hands in her own, "We don't like it when it happens to animals, so why would I like it when it happened to someone that walks and talks and literally fought for our freedom? Would you have left him there Liz?"
Liz shook her head, she wouldn't have, as much as she hated Vampires, she wouldn't have let one be tortured like that, "I would have staked him," Liz replied, "I can't stomach the idea of torture, but I wouldn't have set him free."
"It's a good thing that I'm not you then," Jenna said, "Because that Vampire, is the only reason Maya is alive today."
"What?! What are you talking about?"
"She gave him hope, and freedom, he gave her his loyalty, forever. The night of the accident he was in town…Maya hit her head, before even going into the water she was unconscious, I called him, and told him about the accident," She couldn't tell Liz that Jeremy was the one who made that call, otherwise there would be even more questions from her friend, "Liz how do you think that the girls got out of the car? It was a Vampire that saved both girls. It was a Vampire, that dragged Maya out of that car, got her onto to dry land, and gave her CPR until she could breathe on her own. Without him, my daughter would be dead."
"I-I-" Liz shook her head, "I have to think," the Sheriff stood, the knowledge that it was a Vampire that had saved her goddaughter had her reeling. Vampires were monsters, why would they try to save anyone?
"Liz-"
"No Jenna. It's too much, I- I need time, I need you to give me that."
"Okay," Jenna frowned, and watched as her friend left her home, she didn't want Liz to hate her, but she needed to know that Vampires weren't just monsters, she needed to understand that they were people, with hopes and dreams, and real feelings.
Klaus was taking a walk along the perimeter of the compound's grounds, he was out alone for the first time in months, that was the thing about packs, you were never alone, added to that, apparently he had two children, his time was no longer his own to do with as he wished. He'd raised a child before, but that was in New Orleans, with Elijah and Rebekah at his side, if he wanted to do something, he just did it, knowing that one of his siblings would ensure that nothing happened to Marcel. But here, with the pack, while he knew that his Beta, and the enforcers would watch the children, he had the strangest urge to remain with them, unlike with Marcel, he didn't have the need to roam free of these children. Perhaps it was because he no longer had to look over his shoulder for Mikael, perhaps it was because of the split of his family, and he needed to have them with him. Or perhaps it was just because they were wolves like him, whatever it was, he found that he had very little time to himself.
But after his call with his Little Siphon, he needed to get away, at least for a short time. She'd said something to him that he couldn't believe, sure she hadn't said that actual words, like she instinctively knew that he would not react well to them, but still, she had implied it…he couldn't even bring himself to think the word. The word that he'd only just been able to say to Kol, and he'd only said it because his brother had felt like Klaus didn't care for him, even that had been difficult for him.
Familial love was one thing, but that wasn't what Maya was talking about. Romantic love. Romantic feelings were…they weren't new to him, but he hadn't felt them in a millennia, he refused to, and now, here was this young woman (or older woman, depending on how you wanted to think about it) who had just swept into his life. She'd intrigued him from the first moment that he'd talked with her over the phone, she'd known who he was and yet had spoken with a level of confidence and bravado that centuries old Vampires couldn't pull off. And then somehow, she'd managed to infiltrate every part of his life, his freedom was thanks to her, his family were all finally awake, probably for good, thanks to her. His relationship with his baby brother, a relationship that had been so broken that Kol could barely stand to be around him, had been repaired, and it was all because of her. His birth right as Alpha of his father's pack, had been cemented, because of her, she was going to ensure that his wolf was finally unbound from the torturous curse that Mikael and Esther had bestowed upon him. His children, Liam and Luna, wouldn't even be alive without her knowledge of Lucien and his misdeeds…he wouldn't have his children without her…she was the cause of all his happiness as of late…
She was intelligent, and funny, powerful and dangerous, beautiful and loyal to a fault, she was everything that he needed, and he knew it. Deep within himself, he knew that she was truly what he wanted, and she was there for the taking, that much she'd made clear. But she'd also made it clear to him that she would never be second place, she would never lower herself to being anyone's second choice, and she didn't trust that she was the only one he wanted.
Sighing Klaus melted further into the brush, finding a small formation of boulders that was the meeting point of the teenagers whenever they snuck out, and he took a seat. He hadn't thought of Aurora de Martel in nine centuries, even after the revelation of Elijah's betrayal, he'd kept his mind far from her, for the pain that she'd caused him was now accompanied by a much fresher hurt. But Maya wanted him to think about Aurora, she wanted him to work through the pain that he felt whenever he heard her name, he believed that at some point Aurora must come back into his life, and Maya was afraid that he would cast her aside in favour of his first love. He had to make his Little Siphon understand that he wouldn't treat her that way, he just needed to figure out how.
Lexi, her boyfriend Lee and Stefan walked into 'Bree's Bar', she'd received an email from Maya telling her that her rings were ready and that she was planning on coming to the Witch's bar. Lexi had told her that she'd meet her there, and that Stefan was also ready to come home, so Maya had said that Damon would come with her to pick him up. Looking around, she spotted Damon, sat next to his Vampire friend, Enzo, in a booth, Enzo had his arm on the back of the seats, his fingers were playing with the ends of Damon's hair. Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, she looked around for Maya, but couldn't find her, exactly what was going on with those two? She pulled Stefan and Lee towards the bar, they were going to grab a drink, and then she'd head over to the older Salvatore and find out where the Witch was, and maybe figure out what Damon and Enzo were playing at.
Once Bree had served them, Lexi made a direct line over to the two Vampires, Lee and Stefan hung back at the bar, chatting with the Witch for a bit. "Damon!" Lexi said, sitting in front of the two Vampires, startling them both.
"Lexi," Damon frowned at the older Vampire, he still didn't get why Red had felt the need to save her, "What do you want?"
"Where's Maya? She said she'd be here to drop my rings off."
"She's working in the back room," Enzo said, but then stiffened as he heard Stefan ask Bree about Maya and the other woman's response was that Maya had gone out. "Gone out? What does she mean gone out? How did she even-" he checked his pockets and cut himself off when he couldn't find his keys, "That little thief! She stole my keys!"
Damon snorted in amusement, taking a sip from his drink, "At least she was smart enough to know not to take my car."
"Not the point Damon!" Enzo ground out, "How the hell did she take them without me noticing?"
"Well you two seemed to be in your own little world," Lexi pointed out, the suspicion evident in her eyes, she managed to pick up on the fact that Damon had tensed at her words, just for a moment, but it was there. He was definitely up to something.
/ / /
Stefan threw back a shot, Lexi had worked twice as hard as she usually did to get him back on the animal blood diet, mostly because she knew how much he wanted to get back to Mystic Falls, back to Elena, to keep her away from Damon, but Damon was here, apparently to drive him back to town, and if Damon was here, then he'd need a lot more to drink to deal with him. Stefan signalled for another drink, grabbing the glass when it was put in front of him, but before he could take the shot, he was distracted by a familiar sounding laugh. Turning in its direction, he saw Maya's best friend, Caroline, tucked away in a booth with an unfamiliar man. He looked around the bar for the red-head but couldn't see her anywhere. What was Caroline doing here?
"Hey, uh, why don't you join Lexi, I'll come find you in a minute," Stefan said to Lee.
"You sure?" Lee asked, Lexi had explained to him Stefan's lack of control when he was on human blood and wanted to make sure that the older Vampire was okay to be left alone.
"Yeah," Stefan nodded, "I'll only be a couple of minutes." Lee nodded and walked over to Lexi, who reluctantly introduced him to the two Vampires that she was with. Stefan, on the other hand, headed over in Caroline's direction.
/ / /
"So Enzo, tell us about you, how do you know Damon?" Lexi asked, she had never even heard of Enzo before, and the few feelers that she had put out, hadn't come back with anything. She sat across from them with Lee at her side.
"Damon and I met a long time ago," Enzo replied nonchalantly, he wasn't about to tell Lexi much about him, especially when he knew that Damon hadn't told Stefan anything about Augustine, and he didn't think that his boyfriend had any plans to tell him anytime soon.
"Really?" Lexi leant back in the booth, crossing her arms, "How long ago?"
"We met in 1953…spent five…delightful years together."
Damon snorted in amusement at that, "That's one way to put it," he muttered.
"Five years? Cus I've gotta say, even though I'm not friends with Damon, I'd like to think that I know him well enough to know the he doesn't really do friends, and he's certainly never mentioned you before."
Damon rolled his eyes at that, Lexi didn't know him at all, if she did, she'd know that he would never talk about someone he cared about with her, "Well, you don't really know me all that well do you Lex? I mean, let's not forget that I had you fooled pretty easily in the 70s," he smirked.
Lexi scowled, she hated the fact that Damon had been able to trick her back then, hated the fact that she'd fallen for his lines, believed that she'd been able to turn his emotions back on, and she hadn't told Lee about that particular part of her history. It wasn't just a painful memory, it was an embarrassing one, she shouldn't have fallen for him like she did.
"Perhaps its best to leave the past in the past eh?" Enzo cut in, seeing the veiled anger on Lexi's face, he didn't want to have step into a fight between Damon and the older Vampire, they would win, he knew that much, mostly because Kol was in the bar, and he didn't think that Original would let much happen to them, thanks to Maya and Klaus, but still, they were enjoying their time together and he didn't want to sour the night with a fight with Stefan's best friend. "We didn't come here to fight after all." He shot Damon a pointed look, who just smirked in return.
/ / /
Caroline was in a booth at the back of the bar sitting across from Kol, he'd mostly spent his time reassuring her that he and Maya had a good plan for some extra protections for her, assuring her that she'd be safe when she went home. In the back of her mind she already knew that, she knew that Maya wouldn't leave her unprotected, not after Logan's attack, but it would take a while for her feelings to catch up with her brain. Caroline hadn't wanted to think about it anymore, so she redirected his attention to himself, she wanted to know more about him, she wasn't ready for any deep, meaningful discussions about his past, but the two of them had been steadily developing a bond, and she was ready to learn a little more about him.
"It's ridiculous," Kol complained, "I mean, first she just moved into the Brownstone, like she had full rights to do it! Then she re-decorated the living room-"
"Wait, I decorated the living room! She can't just do that!" Caroline cut in, the Brownstone was in Maya's name, so the girl had let Caroline do whatever she wanted.
"Well she did!" Kol replied, "And now, she's taken to bringing men home! Men! Men who I find at all hours of the day, shirtless, and rummaging through my fridge!"
Caroline burst out laughing at that, the affronted look on Kol's face was just too much for her to handle, "I-I'm sorry," she giggled, the Original looking thoroughly annoyed at her, "I just- can you hear yourself? I mean isn't this what you wanted? You've got a sister all to yourself!"
"Bah!" Kol thew his hands up in the air in exasperation, "You sound just like Nik!"
Stefan appeared at the booth, startling Caroline out of her laughter, "Caroline, what are you doing here?" he asked. His eyes drifted to her companion, spotting the lapis lazuli in his possession.
"Minding my own business, what are you doing?" she shot back, she didn't understand how whatever she was doing was any of Stefan's business.
Stefan tensed, "Caroline, can I speak to you in private please?" he wanted to get her away from the mystery Vampire and make sure that she was okay.
The blonde rolled her eyes, "Ugh, Stefan, I know he's a Vampire." Stefan's eyes widened at that, "Yes, I know," she said, "Did you really think that my best friend was going to just let me walk around town completely uniformed?"
"Caro-"
Kol rolled his eyes and grabbed Stefan's arm, yanking him closer, causing the younger Vampire to face him, Kol locked eyes with Stefan, "Go away, Caroline doesn't want you to bother her." Smirking, he lowered his voice to a mere whisper, "And while you're at it, Caroline just came with Maya because she wanted to go on a road trip with her friend. Now, forget about me, go back to your friends and leave us alone." He compelled. Stefan made an about face and headed over to Lexi and Lee without a second thought, forgetting in that instant that he'd been compelled.
"Kol!" Caroline hissed, "I was taking care of it!"
"Darling, Nik made it very clear that he doesn't want anyone in town to know about us, I'm was just being responsible and making sure that the younger Salvatore doesn't remember me."
Caroline crossed her arms and huffed, "Since when have you done anything responsible?" she muttered, causing him to laugh out loud.
/ / /
"Stefan!" Damon said, "Finally, are you ready to go?" Damon demanded, he didn't want to hang around with Lexi any longer than he had too.
"We can't go anywhere Damon," Enzo sighed, "Maya's still not back yet, we can't leave."
"Where is she?" Lexi asked, "And how long is she going to be gone?"
"I don't know," Damon replied, "We literally just found out that she wasn't here!"
"Relax people!" Maya walked up to them, eyeing the five Vampires all gathered around one table, "I'm back."
"Where the hell have you been young lady?!" Enzo demanded, "And who said that you could take my car?"
"Maybe if you were paying better attention, then you would have felt me take your keys," she dangled them in front of her and the English Vampire snatched them from her hands.
"Gimmie those! What have I told you about stealing."
Maya gave him a deadpan stare, "Nothing, you've literally told me nothing about stealing."
Damon coughed to hide his laughter and Enzo shot them both a look of displeasure, "Well, this is me telling you! Stealing is bad! Don't do it again!"
Fine," Maya rolled her eyes, and shoved in next to Damon, turning her attention to Lexi, she smirked, "Sexy Lexi! How've you been?"
Lexi looked at her in amusement, "I'm good, this is my boyfriend, Lee." She turned to him, "Lee, this is Maya."
"Are you the one that was making our rings?" Lee asked.
"I'm the one that made your rings," Maya corrected, placing a small gift bag on the table in front of Lexi.
"Are these-" Lexi cut herself off and reached inside, pulling out two ring boxes, and opening them, she gasped at the sight, they looked better than she imagined, the lapis lazuli standing out against the rose gold, and diamonds that the rings had been set in. Lexi pulled out Lee's ring and took his hand, she slid it onto his left ring finger, it fit perfectly. Lee smiled and did the same for her, "They're perfect," she said with a smile. She couldn't wait to test her ring out.
"Wait," Stefan said, "How do we know for sure that they work?" he asked, "I mean, it's not like we can test them out now." He glanced outside, the sun had set, it was too late to see if the rings really were daylight rings.
"I run a reputable business Stefan," Maya replied, affronted that Stefan would think that she would provide Lexi with something that didn't work, "And Lexi's not an idiot, I'm certain that she's going to test the ring out on a small patch of skin before going outside and sunbathing." Lexi nodded in response, of course she would, "These rings have been paid for, if they didn't work then Lexi would not only come after me, but I'm sure that she'd tell every Vampire that she could not to use my services, and then I'd be out of business. I'm not stupid Stefan."
"Yeah Stef! What are you implying? Do you think Sabrina's stupid or that she'd be just malicious enough to offer Lexi the sun and then take it away for no reason?!" Damon cut in, not happy about what Stefan had just insinuated.
"No I-"
"Because really I find that pretty insulting," Maya said, "Especially seeing as how Lexi and I got on quite well when she came to visit."
"I didn't mean that," Stefan replied, "I just wanted to be sure, Lexi hasn't been out in the sun in 350 years."
"And now thanks to me, she will get to watch the sunrise."
Cary knocked on Klaus's office door, and let himself in when the Original called for him to enter, "Hey Klaus, can I get the uh…black card again?"
Klaus raised a brow at his Beta, "The black card?"
"Yes," Cary replied hesitantly.
"The black card is for emergencies," Klaus said, the black card was unlimited, he would leave it with Cary when he had to leave to ensure the pack had everything it needed, and when he returned, Cary would always give it back. "Why do you need the black card?"
"We're running low on moonstones."
"Okay, I'm gonna more information than that, what the hell do you need moonstone for?"
"Oh!" Cary's eyes widened as he realised that Klaus really didn't know why they were necessary. "You don't know! Uh…right," Cary sat down, "So, you know that a few members of the pack are human, they married into the pack, and some of our people never make a kill and therefore never activate their curse."
"Yes I know that." Klaus nodded.
"The members that don't have a wolf of their own need to have something that shows that they're a part of a pack. It used to be tattoos, but kids can't get them, and seeing as how most packs like to stay under the radar, it was decided on moonstone rings. Any wolves that come across a member with a ring will know that that person has a pack."
"And what about the humans that just decide on moonstone jewellery? It's a semi-precious stone, so people will want it."
"Packs have specific designs, it's not like stuff you can just buy on the internet, and we make it ourselves."
"Which is why you want the black card."
Cary nodded, "We need the metal to set the stones in."
"Where are you even making the rings? We don't have a forge on site."
Cary shrugged, "A little fire, some blacksmithing tools, we make it work. So can I have the card?"
"Fine," he pulled the card out of his wallet and handed it over, pulling back just before Cary could take it, "But, I'll be coming by to see exactly what is being made."
"You're the Alpha, you can do what you want," Cary replied.
"Damn right I can," Klaus let Cary take the card and leant back into his chair when the Beta had left the office, he had an idea.
Bonnie bit her lip as she looked around the Grill, Maya and Caroline hadn't been in school that day, and neither of them had been seen in town all weekend, which was weird, given how many different committees Caroline was a part of, she should have least been visibly active on Saturday and Sunday. But the girls were nowhere in sight, Bonnie needed to talk to someone, and as much as she didn't like Maya, she got the feeling that the girl would give her more truth than Elena right now. Her eyes lit up as she spotted Jenna, Maya's mother having dinner with Mr Saltzman. If there was anyone that could tell her where Maya was, it would be her mom. Mr Saltzman got up to go to the bar and she rushed over.
"Miss Sommers," Bonnie said walking up to the table.
Jenna raised her brow at Bonnie, what did Sheila's granddaughter want? "Bonnie," she said coolly, "Is there something you needed?"
"I need to talk to Maya!" Bonnie said almost desperately, her Grams wouldn't elaborate on anything that the Sheriff had said when she came over to the house, but Bonnie needed to know the truth, had Maya really been living in fear of her Grams since kindergarten?
Jenna eyed the girl suspiciously, "Why?"
"Miss Sommers-"
"You've never needed to speak with her before."
"I-I know, I just, I can't talk about it, um…I just need to speak with her," Bonnie fiddled with her hands nervously, she'd never actually spoken to Jenna on her own before.
"She's out of town," Jenna replied, "with Caroline and Damon."
"Damon?!" Bonnie exclaimed, "But-but he's-"
"He's her boyfriend, and I trust him," Jenna took note of Bonnie's rising alarm, she must know what Damon was, if she had to guess, she'd bet that Elena had been the one to tell her about him. Jeremy had spoken to her the other day, and told her that Elena had been muttering about not being able to talk to her best friend about Stefan, she wasn't being too subtle about it.
"But-but-"
"Hey, sorry about that, they're down a bartender," Alaric smiled as he brought two drinks back with him to the table. "Uh," his eyes widened as he saw Bonnie standing by Jenna, "Am I interrupting something?"
"No!" Jenna smiled at him, and then turned back to Bonnie, "Maya'll be back tonight, if you want to talk to her, she'll be at school tomorrow."
"Okay," Bonnie sighed, she didn't know what she could and couldn't say to Jenna, she didn't think that accidentally revealing that Damon was a Vampire to Maya's mom was a good way to start things off with the Siphon, "I'll speak to her then I guess." She turned to walk away, pausing as she realised that Elena was sat at a table with her own mom, she couldn't talk to her just yet, not until she'd gotten everything straight in her head.
"What was that about?" Alaric asked Jenna as Bonnie walked away.
"She wanted to speak to Maya, but they're not friends so, she can wait to speak with her at school tomorrow." Jenna dismissed.
"Speaking of Maya, where was she today? She wasn't in class."
"She took a weekend trip with her boyfriend and Caroline, they got stuck so they'll be back tonight."
"You let your daughter go out of town with her boyfriend?"
Jenna didn't like his judgmental tone, "My daughter and I have a very open relationship, I trust her, and I trust Damon."
"Damon? Damon Salvatore?"
"Yeah," Jenna nodded.
"Isn't he a little old for her?" he asked alarmed, he was almost certain that Damon Salvatore was the Vampire that he was hunting, to know that her daughter was out with him, alone, unsupervised, it sent a chill down his spine.
"Pretty sure that I'm the parent," Jenna said, displeased with the fact that he was questioning her decisions when he had absolutely no say in her life, "Not you, you don't get to question my decision making, you don't even know Damon."
"But you do?" Alaric asked incredulously.
"Yes actually, I do! But I don't really know you, and I really don't like this sudden judgmental attitude that I'm getting from you. Maybe we should cut this dinner short."
"No!" Alaric exclaimed, reaching out a hand to prevent her from leaving, "I'm sorry, you're right, it's none of my business. She's one of my students, I was just concerned, but you're her Mom, you know better. Can we just start over?" he asked.
Stefan had arrived back in Mystic Falls after making sure that Lexi and Lee's rings worked, even though Maya had said that they would, he didn't quite believe her. Because he insisted on waiting until the sun came up, he'd made them all a day late returning to Mystic Falls, Damon had taken Enzo in his car, and Stefan had been forced to join Maya and Caroline in their vehicle, the red-head refusing to speak to him after his blatant disregard of her talents. (That was certainly a frosty seven hour journey that he never wanted to take again). Maya had pulled into her house, and Caroline cited that Stefan could make his own way home, and he'd been off like a shot, perhaps being so blatantly distrustful of the Witch's capabilities was not the best idea.
Stefan walked into the Boarding House and headed up to his room, where he was shocked to find Elena waiting for him, "Elena!"
"Where have you been?" she demanded.
"Uh, I was with Lexi, she wanted to introduce me to her boyfriend, what are you doing here?"
"You said no more lies! Only the truth, but you lied to me!"
"What are you talking about?"
Elena pulled the picture of Katherine from her pocket, "I found this!"
"Elena-"
"You promised that there would be no more lies Stefan! I can handle the truth. As crazy as it is, I can handle the fact that you are a Vampire. And that you have a Vampire brother. And that my best friend is a Witch. I can accept the fact that the world is a much more mysterious place than I ever thought possible. But this- this lie, I can't take. What am I to you? Who am I to you?"
"You are not Katherine!" Stefan said, moving in closer to her, "You are the opposite of everything that she was."
"And when did you figure that out? Before you kissed me? Before we slept together?"
"Before I met you."
"What?"
"The first day of school, when we met, it wasn't for the first time," he admitted.
"Then when was it?"
"May 23, 2009."
"But that was-"
"The day Maya's car went off the bridge."
"You were there?"
"Every couple of years I come back here, to see Zach, to see my home. Last spring I was out in the woods by Old Wickery Bridge, and I heard the accident. All of it. I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. The car was already submerged, your cousin was- she was unconscious, at the time I couldn't tell if she was alive or dead."
"Oh my God. When I woke up in the hospital, nobody could figure out how we got out of the car, they said it was a miracle!"
"I was going to go back for your cousin, but someone had already gotten to her first, I couldn't place him at first, but it was Enzo, Damon's friend."
"Oh God."
"When I pulled you out I looked at your face. You looked like Katherine, I couldn't believe the resemblance. After that, I spent months making sure that you weren't her. I watched you. I learned everything that I could about you. And I saw that you were nothing like Katherine. And I wanted to leave town, but, Elena, I couldn't. I couldn't leave without knowing you. I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you. I wanted to, but you always looked so sad."
"Why do I look like her?"
"Elena, you've already been through so much," Stefan said softly.
"Why do I look like her, Stefan? What are you not telling me?"
Stefan shook his head, taking her hands in his own, "It didn't make any sense to me, you were a Gilbert, she was a Pierce. But the resemblance was too similar. And then I learned the truth…you were adopted Elena."
"How do you know that?" she asked almost desperately, not wanting to believe such a thing was possible.
"Your birth certificate from the city records. It says Elena Gilbert. Mystic Falls General. But there's no record of your mother ever being admitted. There's no record of her ever being pregnant then."
"What else do you know?"
"For me to go any further, I would've had to look into the Pierce family, and I couldn't do that, it was too much of a risk. If someone found out that I was asking about Katherine-" he stopped, shaking off that train of thought. "Listen to me, it doesn't matter. You are the woman that I love. I love you, okay?" he dipped his head and kissed her, and she kissed him back.
Pulling away she looked in his eyes, "Wait, do you think that Maya knows?"
"It's very possible," Stefan replied, "She's been with Damon for a while now, they seem to have a connection. Damon could have told her, especially if it meant that it would upset me."
The girls were back in school on Tuesday, they suffered through their lessons, neither one of them really interested in learning, Maya had all the ingredients that she needed for the first spell she was going to cast for Caroline. When they'd returned to Mystic Falls, Maya had found two very detailed drawings in a box in her bedroom, along with a vial of Klaus's blood. They were both anxious for the spell to be cast, Caroline because she hoped that it would give her the relief that she desperately needed after her attack, and Maya because she needed to be able to feel able to leave Caroline on her own without fear again.
"Are you sure that we can't just go home?" Caroline whispered, the two of them were in Alaric's class, not paying attention to whatever he was writing on the board.
"Your Mom ripped me a new one for keeping you away for an extra day, I don't really want to piss her off anymore," Maya whispered back.
"Miss Sommers!" Alaric raised his voice, causing both girls to snap to attention, "I take it from your private conversation that you already know everything that I'm about to teach you?" he asked, he was just about to cover the 1950s.
"Well, I'm not one to brag," Maya started, causing Caroline to snort in amusement, "But history's kinda my thing."
"Really? Care to demonstrate your superior knowledge?" Alaric asked sarcastically.
"Sure," Maya shrugged, muttering a few words under her breath before starting, "Let's see, 1950 – we got the Korean war, the first ever Xerox machine was introduced, '51 – uh we had the first ever U.S transcontinental television transmission, '52 – Eisenhower was elected president, Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne, she's still in power today, all hail the Queen."
"Hail," Caroline cut in, causing Maya to smirk.
"1953 – uh, the DNA double helix was discovered, Stalin died, the armistice for the Korean War, '54 – the polio vaccine was introduced, uh…the first atomic sub was launched, I think it was called the USS Nautilus, '55- the Warsaw Pact, '56 – the Hungarian uprising, that whole Suez crisis thing, '57 – Sputnik was launched, '58 – was China's great leap forward, and finally 1959 – Castro takes power in Cuba, and Alaska and Hawaii become states. And that's all I can think of off the top of my head, is that enough for you?"
The whole class was staring at her, jaws dropped at the information that had just spewed from her mouth, Alaric himself was stunned, "You- you- just keep the talking to a minimum," he stuttered out, wondering how the hell she could have just done that when she had been operating at a 'C' average for the class.
"You got it teach!" Maya gave him a thumbs up and he turned back to the board, trying to find his train of thought once more.
Caroline leaned over, "How the hell did you do that?" she hissed.
The red-head shot her a smirk, "Basic mind reading spell, I just skimmed the info from broody's brain," she whispered back, causing Caroline to slap her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing out loud.
The bell rang and the students all packed up and started to shuffle out, "Miss Sommers, stay behind please."
"So much for not pissing Mom off anymore!" Caroline muttered as she flounced past, heading to her next lesson.
/ / /
The girls were sat outside on the stone benches for lunch, "Hey, have you noticed that Bonnie's been staring at us all day?"
"Yeah," the blonde nodded, "What d'you think she wants?"
"No clue, maybe she wants to tell us off for your Mom ripping into her Grams," Maya replied.
"That was great!"
"I know right?!"
"I can't believe that Mom actually did that! I mean, she's usually so calm and collected!"
Maya shrugged, "Guess she really didn't take the whole 'being threatened by a grown-up thing' lightly."
"Guess so…oh, heads up, Bonnie's coming over!" the blonde said, spotting the other girl avoiding Elena and heading straight for them.
Maya sat up and watched as the Bennett Witch made her way over, "Bonnie," she said coolly.
"Maya," Bonnie shifted from foot to foot, like she was completely unsure of what she was doing, "Can we talk?"
The blonde and red-head shared a look, before turning back to Bonnie, "I guess, take a seat."
"Oh," Bonnie glanced around, her eyes landing on Stefan and Elena, who weren't too far from them, "I was hoping that it would be in private."
Maya followed her gaze, "Oh," she said in realisation, "You're worried that Stefano might overhear something!" Stefan stiffened at the mention of his name and looked over at them, "No problem." Maya raised her hands in front of her, and pushed them out slowly, extending a bubble of silence around them. Bonnie watched in intrigue, as she moved her hands, she could feel something magical envelop her, but she didn't know what it was. "There! Now he can't hear anything we say." She offered Stefan a little wave, the Vampire frowned when he realised that he could no longer pick up on what was being said, and turned away from them.
"Wh-what? What did you just do?" Bonnie asked.
"Just a little silencing spell, you gotta learn those first if you hang out with Vampires all the time, otherwise you never get any privacy."
Bonnie was startled at the fact that Maya had just so openly stated that she knew Vampires, "Wh-"
"That's what you're here to talk about isn't it? The Vampires in town, I assume Elena finally told you."
"Little late to the party if you ask me," Caroline muttered.
"Uh yes," Bonnie replied, "And there was something else."
"Take a seat, lunch is nearly over, so we don't have long."
The head of Kingmaker's security forces was sat in a meeting with Lucien, "One of our offices was infiltrated," he said to his boss.
"Which one?" Lucien asked.
"The Colorado office, it was a man and a woman," he handed Lucien a picture of the two who'd showed up.
Lucien raised a brow, "Rebekah and Elijah? That is odd…" If it was just Elijah investigating his company, he would understand that, or if it were Elijah and Klaus, or Klaus and Rebekah…but Elijah and Rebekah, was odd, Klaus never let Rebekah out of his sight, Lucien knew that for a fact, he would dagger his sister when she stepped out of line, but he never let her go, a thousand years and Rebekah had never been alone. So the fact that it was Rebekah and Elijah together was throwing him off. Where was Klaus? "You're sure that there was no one else?"
"Positive sir."
He eyed the picture thoughtfully, his people hadn't seen hide nor hair of Klaus in years, a millennia on the run had given his sire the very special skill of being able to almost vanish from the world, leaving nothing but his name and the threat of unbridled violence behind. "Has any progress been made in locating the other two packs?"
"The Northeast Atlantic Pack was last spotted in South Carolina, but nothing since then, and the Crescent Pack hasn't been heard of in almost twenty years. I sent some men to their last known location, but there were no wolves, anywhere."
Lucien frowned, "And Klaus? Has anybody spotted Klaus Mikaelson? Has there been even a glimpse? A whisper of his presence?"
The Head of Security shook his head, "No sir, no one knows where Klaus is, but…"
"What?"
"Kol was spotted in China, and…there are rumours of another Original, one that no one has ever seen before in New York."
"Finn?" Lucien asked.
"Yeah, that was the name."
"That's impossible," Lucien muttered, all of the Originals un-daggered? Klaus would only have done that if his father had finally been put down, but nobody had heard of a clash between the Destroyer and Klaus, so that couldn't be true. Had the Original family finally banded together to take the paranoid Original out? Had they finally decided that they could no longer live under his control and put him down? No! That couldn't be true! Lucien refused to believe it. Klaus Mikaelson was the monster, the one that everyone feared, it was impossible. He was the one that was destined to destroy his sire! There was no way that the rest of the Originals had been able to kill the terror that was Klaus Mikaelson!
"What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that we need to speed up our timeline, find me those wolves! And someone find KLAUS MIKAELSON!"
"Are you ready for this Care?" Maya asked, she'd cast her spell, she had decided that instead of creating a piece of jewellery that could enhance Caroline's reflexes, instead, she would create custom ink, that could be used to make a tattoo. She'd explained it to Liz, the Sheriff had been reluctant, but had caved and given Caroline permission to get a tattoo, so long as it wasn't too big, and could be easily hidden.
The two of them were sat in her car, outside the tattoo shop in Richmond, Enzo was inside the shop, compelling the artist, "Explain it to me again." Caroline said, "How is this going to work?" she was nervous, she'd be permanently marking her skin, and she needed to be absolutely sure. She'd seen the design that Klaus had made for her, it was a small, black and white design, a swallow, that was fairly traditional looking, or at least that what her internet search had told her. It was pretty, delicate, Klaus had made something that she thought suited her perfectly.
"I couldn't just increase your reflex speed exponentially, I had to base it off of something, so I picked a small bird, because they're pretty fucking fast. I cast two spells on this ink, the first, is a spell of evasion, it basically gives you superhuman reflexes, so that if a Vampire ever reaches for you again, you can dodge them," she snapped her fingers, "Just like that. Enzo and Damon are gonna practice with you, so that you don't end up tripping over your own feet."
"And the other spell?"
"The other spell, is a locator spell, that I tweaked pretty heavily, as far as I'm aware, nothing like it exists."
"How does it work?"
"Now, because you're human, you can't activate the spell, only another Witch or Siphon can. Basically, when the specific spell is cast to look for you, a copy of that little bird, will fly away, to the person that is linked to the spell. Now because this is new and seriously complicated, I could only link it to one person, and they had to be powerful. I linked it to Kol, using his blood. Depending on how far away you are from him, the bird will either show him your location, or he'll just follow it to you. Do you understand?"
"Who has the spell to activate it?"
"I do, Kol does, the boys will know it, so will Mom and Liz, and Nik, so that if I'm not available, they can get another Witch to cast it, knowing full well that your location is going to someone trusted."
"I understand," Caroline nodded, "I'm ready," she breathed.
"Good."
"There's two drawings," Caroline said, "You're getting one too."
Maya nodded, "Yeah, a hummingbird, connected to Nik, obviously." She looked down at the design that Klaus had made for her, he knew that she liked colour, and had created a beautiful illustration of the bird, pretty green feathers, dark beak, wings flapping to show that it was in flight. "You ready to go in?" she asked.
"Yeah, let's go."
/ / /
It took the artist a good few hours to ink the designs to their skin, and when they were done, Enzo provided them both with a few drops of his blood, healing the tattoos almost instantly. "Let me see!" Caroline demanded, tugging on Maya's arm moments after it had healed.
"Alright, alright!" she laughed, showing Caroline her forearm, the bird was larger than the blonde's, roughly four inches in size.
"Wow!" Caroline's fingers brushed over the freshly healed tattoo, "It's beautiful," she said, "Maybe I should have gone with colour…"
"It's too late now! Show me yours!"
The blonde had first thought about getting the tattoo on her wrist, but her Mom had demanded that it be somewhere that could be easily hidden, so she'd moved it up her forearm, just below the crease of her elbow, it was about half the size of Maya's, "Here."
"It's perfect for you Sunshine, and most of your clothes can hide it."
"You think?" Caroline stroked her thumb over the ink, it was so odd to think that only a few hours before, her skin was completely bare, but now she'd been permanently marked.
"I know it."
The bell rang at school and the students filed out of Alaric's classroom for lunch, the history teacher dropped Jeremy's extra credit essay on the desk in front of the youngest Gilbert while he was packing it up. Jeremy's eyes widened as he saw the 'A' at the top. "Surprised?" Alaric asked, "It's a good essay, your thoughts are clear and your argument is well laid out. It's just uh…" Alaric took a seat back at his desk, "You don't actually think that there are Vampires in Mystic Falls?"
Jeremy smiled at his teacher, "No I mean, I think statistically there's been more animal attacks, mysterious deaths, uh, people gone missing, more than any other place in the whole commonwealth of Virginia." He knew that Alaric quite possibly knew the truth, that's what Maya had said at least, but he wasn't going to confirm any of Alaric's theories, especially if he was investigating Damon.
"It's conjecture, but creative, which is why you got the A. I just wouldn't get too uh, caught up in the whole conspiracy theory of it all."
"Yeah I won't," Jeremy replied, shoving the rest of his things into his bag and moving to leave the classroom.
"Oh, uh, Jeremy, the source that you cited, for the 1860s info, uh, Johnathan Gilbert?"
"Oh, my ancestor's journal?"
"I'd really like to see that sometime."
"Really?" Jeremy asked sceptically, there was only one reason why Alaric wanted it.
"A first-person account of the Civil War," Alaric laughed, "That's like, uh, porn for a history teacher."
"Yeah, well, I'm sorry, but my Mom keeps the journal's all under lock and key. They're pretty old, family heirlooms, you know?"
"Right," Alaric nodded with a frown, he'd wanted to take a look through the journal, see if there were any other secrets about Vampires that he didn't know. Maybe he could talk to Jenna about it, after all, Jeremy's mother was her sister. Yeah, he straightened up, he would ask her if she could get the journal for him.
Elena was at home, her mom was dressed up for the 50's, "You're going to the dance?" she asked.
"Yeah," her mom said, "They're short on chaperones so I'm going."
"Oh," Elena deflated at that, she didn't know how to talk to her mom about what she'd found out from Stefan, "I guess I'll see you there." She said.
"Do you want me to wait for you to get ready?" Miranda asked.
"No," Elena shook her head, "Stefan's picking me up, you should go."
"Alright sweetie, I'll see you there." Miranda kissed her cheek and left, while Elena ran upstairs to get dressed.
/ / /
"Damon," Stefan said, walking into his room.
"What?" the raven-haired Vampire asked, looking up from his book, he was waiting for Stefan to leave, he and Enzo were going have a quiet night in, while the girls went to the school dance.
"How long were you in town before you showed up here?"
"Why?" Damon quirked an eyebrow, shutting his book.
"I was talking to Elena about the night of the accident, and realised where I'd seen your friend Enzo before. He pulled Maya out of the car."
"Your point?" Damon asked, clenching his jaw, he didn't want to be reminded of the fact that his baby brother had left the Siphon in the car to drown while he saved the very cause of the accident.
"My point, is that if he was in town back then, then so were you, which means that you've known Maya for longer than you're letting on."
"It doesn't really matter how long I've been in town Stef, it's none of your business."
"It is if you deliberately put Elena in danger," Stefan crossed his arms, looking down at his brother.
"Oh what?! You're not actually suggesting that I caused the accident?!"
Stefan shrugged, "It makes more sense than Elena causing it."
Damon scoffed, "Right because your precious little Elena can do no wrong! I wasn't anywhere near Wickery Bridge the night of the accident! I was out with Enzo, we got the call that car went over the bridge, and Zo got there first. Pulled Maya out of the car, brought her back to life, and what were you doing huh? Oh that's right, marvelling over Elena's resemblance to Katherine, instead of saving my girl!" Damon stood and shoved past his brother, "Fuck off Stefan!"
/ / /
Elena had just finished straightening her hair, when she heard a noise from downstairs, "Mom? Jeremy?" she called, but there was no response. Frowning she grabbed her cardigan and went downstairs, "Jeremy?" she called again, "Mom?" There was no one in the kitchen or the den, but then what was that noise she heard? Moving to leave the room, she was grabbed from behind, it was a Vampire! He lunged for her, and she screamed.
"ELENA!" Stefan yelled, yanking the Vampire off of her, instead of staying to fight, the Vampire whooshed out of the house. Stefan grabbed Elena, pulling her to him, "You okay? You're okay. Oh God, you're okay," he reassured.
"Stefan," Elena whimpered.
"I need to call Damon."
/ / /
Damon and Enzo walked into the Gilbert house and Elena's eyes widened, "Wh-how are you here?" she stuttered out, staring at Enzo, "I didn't invite you in!"
Enzo shot her an amused look, "No, but Jeremy did. He's a nice young man, hard to believe that he's your baby brother."
Stefan scowled at his brother, he couldn't believe that another Vampire had been invited into the Elena's house and he didn't know about it. "I don't think that's what you called us here for, is it?" Damon asked.
"I only called you Damon."
"Well, we were together, and Enzo's always up for some action, so what's the problem?"
"A Vampire attacked Elena, in the house."
Damon frowned, "Well, how'd he get in?"
"He was invited in," Elena said.
"He posed as a pizza delivery guy last night."
"Well, he gets points for that," Damon shrugged, "Did he say what he wanted?"
"No, he was too busy trying to kill me!"
"And you have no idea who this is?" Stefan asked, looking at his brother and his friend, "Neither of you?"
"No," Damon shook his head.
"My guess is, it's the same guy that turned Logan."
"WHAT?!" Elena and Stefan both exclaimed.
"What is he talking about Damon?!" Stefan asked.
"Oh yeah, Logan Fell was turned into a Vampire, he kidnapped Caroline, it was a whole thing," Damon waved off the incredulous looks that the other two were giving him, "Would you relax, Zo took care of it, killed Logan himself."
"Do you think there's another one in town?" Elena asked, stopping Stefan from complaining about the fact that he'd had no idea about Logan.
"We don't know."
"Damon," Stefan said, looking at his brother with very serious eyes, "He was invited in."
"Then we get him tonight," Damon replied, and looked over at Elena, "You up for it?"
"What do I have to do?"
"Let your boyfriend take you to the dance," Enzo cut in, "We'll see who shows up."
"That's a bad idea," Stefan said, "How are we going to spot him at the dance? There'll be too many people."
"That's easily remedied," Damon pulled out the compass that Maya had made for him.
"What's that?" Elena asked.
"Oh, your lovely cousin, made this for me, a compass that points to Vampires."
"You're Vampires, how is that going to work?"
"Maya's not stupid," Enzo said, with a glare sent in Stefan's direction, "She made it so that it won't point at us, just in case someone ever steals it." He looked at Elena, "You go the dance, play bait, and we'll find and kill the Vampire."
"I'll do it," Elena breathed, if she didn't, her mom and Jeremy wouldn't be safe.
"Ugh," Maya looked around the dance in disgust, "I hate the fifties."
"Yeah well, this," Caroline gestured to her outfit, "Took about two hours, so I'm at least staying half of that."
Maya laughed, "Fine, one hour, then we're out of here!"
"I blame you for this," Caroline replied.
"What?"
"You've brought way too much excitement into my life, now dances like this that used to be exciting for me are so boring!"
"I promise Sunshine, it's just the decade we're covering! I'm sure the next one will be better."
"Ah-" Caroline cut herself off as Bonnie made their way over to them, "Bonnie."
"What are your Vampire friends doing here?" she asked the girls.
"What?!"
"Look," she gestured behind them, and the girls turned and saw Stefan, Damon and Enzo all stood together.
Maya stiffened, the last time Stefan and Damon were at the 50s dance, it was because there was a Vampire coming after Elena, of course! Noah! He was the Vampire that worked with Anna to try to get into the tomb, Maya had completely forgotten about him, given that Anna was already dead, she didn't think anyone else would be coming to town to open it, but the two of them must have been working together for much longer than she'd thought. "Do me a favour Bonnie, keep an eye on Jeremy and my Mom."
"What? Why?" Bonnie asked.
"I'm pretty sure there's another Vampire here, one that isn't very friendly." Caroline paled a little at that, still not completely sure of herself yet, "Care, c'mon, we'll go find out." She tugged her friend along with her.
/ / /
"Guys, what's going on?"
"Vampire attacked Elena, he was invited in," Damon said.
"Shit!" she cursed, "I was right."
"You know who it is?" Enzo asked.
Maya nodded, "His name's Noah, I totally forgot about him, he was working with Anna the first time round. I figured since she was dead, we wouldn't have to deal with him. He must really want in that tomb."
Damon glanced at Caroline, who'd yet to say a word, she was pale, and trembling, "You should take Care-Bear and go," he said.
"What?"
"Zo and I got this, take Blondie and get out of here," he repeated.
"Damon I can't just leave, Mom and Jeremy are here!"
"Take Jeremy with you," Enzo said, seeing the veiled fear in Caroline's eyes, she wasn't ready to confront an unknown Vampire so soon after her own attack, "I'll let your Mum know what's happening."
"No," Caroline said, putting on a brave face, "I'm fine, you should take care of the Vampire."
Maya looked over at her friend, Damon and Enzo were right, there was no way that Caroline could handle this right now, "You're sure?" she asked the guys, who nodded in response.
"C'mon Care, we'll watch 'The Notebook'," Maya said.
"But you need to help!" Caroline protested.
"It'll be fine," Maya said, "Stefan and Damon did just fine in the other place, with Enzo here, that Vampire doesn't stand a chance. Let's go." Maya laced her fingers with Caroline's, "Guys, Noah's gonna try to get Elena on her own, keep an eye on her." She tugged Caroline away from them, and headed towards Jeremy.
/ / /
Enzo went to go look for Jenna, while Damon hung around the punch bowl, glancing down at the compass every so often, waiting for it to start moving. Alaric wandered up to him carefully, "Hey, I don't recognise you. How'd you get roped into a chaperoning?" he asked, Damon looked over at Stefan and Elena, who were dancing, and then back at the man that came up to him, "Alaric Saltzman. I'm the new history teacher."
"Oh, the uh, cursed faculty position," Damon smirked, shaking his hand.
"So I've been told."
"Damon, Salvatore."
"Salvatore? As in, uh, Stefan?"
"He's my little brother. I'm his legal guardian, hence the uh, chaperoning."
"I hear he's a brilliant student, not that I've had the chance to see it for myself."
"Ah, his attendance record's a little spotty, family drama," Damon shrugged.
"No parents?" Alaric asked.
Damon shook his head, shooting a quick peak at the compass, seeing no movement, "It's just the two of us now."
"You uh, you live here you're whole life?"
"On and off. Travel a bit."
"Really? Where? Around the states?" Damon shot him a suspicious look and Alaric laughed, "I'm sorry, I'm nosy. I don't mean to pry. Look it was nice meeting you, enjoy the rest of the dance." He said, walking away from the Vampire.
"That's gonna be a problem," Damon muttered as he watched Alaric walk over to Jenna, "Hmm, that's really gonna be a problem."
/ / /
Elena was running through the hallway, Noah had called her, and told her to run or he'd kill her mother, she rushed into the cafeteria where he grabbed her and threw her to the floor. Elena knocked over a stack of papers as she fell, she saw a few pencils and grabbed them just as Noah pulled her up. He moved to bite her, but she stabbed him with one of the pencils, "Aah!" he groaned, she aimed for his chest next, he brought his hand up and the pencil embedded itself into his hand, she stabbed the third into his chest, causing him to fall to the ground. She ran and found a mop, standing on it, she managed to snap it in half. She made to stake him, but he grabbed her arm with a laugh, threw the stake away and went to attack her.
Stefan pulled him away from her and threw Noah over a table, the Vampire jumped up, and was about to attack again when Damon caught his attention, "Hey, dickhead." He waved at Noah, "Nobody wants to kill you, we just wanna talk."
Noah ran and Damon tossed a stake over to Enzo, who shoved it into the other Vampire's stomach. "Now you feel like talking?" Stefan asked.
"Screw you." Noah sneered.
Stefan pulled out the stake and stabbed him again, "Wrong answer. Why are you doing this?"
"Because it's fun."
Stefan dug the stake in deeper and Noah cried out in pain, "What do you want with Elena?"
"She looks like Katherine."
"You knew Katherine?" Stefan asked.
"Awe, you thought you were the only ones?" Noah mocked, "You don't even remember me do you?"
"What do you want?" Stefan asked.
Noah smirked, "I'm gonna open the tomb."
Damon and Enzo rolled their eyes, this guy was an idiot, had he not even been to the tomb? Had he not thought to check on it first? "What tomb?" Elena asked.
Noah looked at Damon, "You didn't tell them?" he asked, "You don't know?"
"Know what?!" Stefan demanded.
Noah smirked, "Katherine's wasting away in the tomb, and your brother's here to open it."
"Okay, that's enough," Damon said, he picked up the discarded mop handle and staked the Vampire. "There, all done."
"Damon!" Stefan said, "What the hell was he talking about?"
"It's nothing Stef," Damon gestured to Enzo, "Let's go, I'm sure that you can take care of the body." He and Enzo whooshed out of the room before Stefan could stop them.
"What was he talking about Stefan?" Elena asked.
"I have no idea. But I'm going to find out." He stared at the spot that his brother had been standing in, he would definitely find out.
Thank you for reading! If you have time, please leave a review, they make me feel great!