Ordinary People:
I blinked my eyes against the light that was streaming in through the bedroom window. I groaned and closed my eyes again as I rolled over. I instantly collided with another body and I opened my eyes again with a frown. I leant up on my elbow as I looked at the flood of blonde hair on the pillow next to me. I gently wiggled my finger in front of the person's face from behind and they rolled over to reveal their face to me. I smiled brightly when I realised who it was.
"Rebekah…" I whispered as I leaned in close to her ear. She made a groaning sound and buried her face in her pillow, making me laugh silently at her. "Rebekah…" I repeated and she rolled over suddenly. The movement knocked me backwards and I landed on my back. Rebekah used her vampire speed to straddle me, pinning my wrists above my head to stop me from reacting.
"Just what do you think you are doing?" Rebekah asked me in mock outrage.
"Whatever do you mean?" I asked her innocently as I smiled up at her. She looked at me suspiciously and lessened her grip on my wrists. I took advantage of her momentary distraction to use my new vampire speed and strength to flip our position so that I was straddling her instead. I raised an eyebrow at her as she huffed and blew some stray blonde hair out of her eyes.
"Well, this looks interesting." Damon said suggestively from the doorway where he was leaning on the doorframe. Rebekah and I both looked over at him, unimpressed and then I climbed off of Rebekah as she sat up in the bed.
"I don't believe we invited you into the fun, Damon." I replied with a smirk and he just raised an eyebrow at me.
"I'm going out. Don't destroy the house." He warned us and then left the room. I glanced over at Bec at the same time she looked over at me and we both started laughing uncontrollably. After we had exhausted ourselves laughing, we both leaned back on the bed. With a sigh, I looked over at the alarm clock on the bedside table.
"You need to get to school." I told her with a gentle smile. I knew that she wasn't happy about leaving me at home alone so soon after I had turned into a vampire. I stood up from the bed and started to make my way over to the closet to get dressed. I got about halfway across the room when my whole body started burning. I screamed in agony at the intense pain and used my vampire speed to zoom over to the corner of the room. I panted as the pain started to reside. Rebekah appeared next to me and handed me a blood bag that she must have gotten from the mini fridge in her room. I smiled at her appreciatorily and she smiled back softly. I greedily sucked the delicious blood from the plastic bag and had to stop myself from moaning in pleasure. Once the blood was gone and my body was all healed, I turned to Bec and frowned thoughtfully.
"Are you okay?" she asked me in concern.
"I'm fine." I assured her as I threw the empty blood bag in the trash. "I forgot about the sun."
"I might have a fix for that." She said with a cheekily smile but both I could do more than frown in confusion she had disappeared from her spot next to me. I turned towards the door but before I could make a move towards it, Rebekah was back and holding her hands behind her back.
"What's that?" I asked her suspiciously and she just shrugged her shoulders innocently. I narrowed my eyes at her playfully and tried to lunge towards her. She giggled and side stepped me, making me gasp playfully at her.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she taunted me and I laughed at her teasing. Rebekah glanced at the alarm clock and sighed dramatically in displeasure. "I'm afraid I do have to get to school so you can have your present."
"Ooh! Present!" I exclaimed and clapped my hands together excitedly as Rebekah giggled at me. She pulled her hands out from behind her and held them out to me. I stepped closer to her and saw that she held a beautiful vintage bracelet in her hand. I gaped at the delicate thing and gently touch the gemstone pendent that hung off the silver chain. "Wow." I breathed out lightly.
"It's yours." Bec told me and my gaze snapped up to meet hers.
"What?"
"The bracelet has been spelled so that you can walk in the sun." she explained me to with a shrug. "Nik would want you to have it and so do I."
"Rebekah…" I trailed off, unsure of what to say to her because thanks just didn't seem to be enough. "It gorgeous." I said softly and smiled at her.
"Have you spoken to Nik?" she asked me softly. I frowned thoughtfully, avoiding her eyes as I thought about her question. I was still really angry at him for compelling me to forget that I tried to protect Elena and for making me staying with him when I wanted to leave.
"Ah, no. I haven't yet. I just can't talk to him at the moment. My emotions are still all over the place because of the transition."
"Okay." She said softly, already knowing my reasons for not talking to her brother.
"Put it on." I demanded her to change the direction of the conversation as I held out my wrist for her to place the bracelet on. She chuckled at me and clasped the bracelet onto my wrist.
"Pretty." Bec agreed as she took a step back and I held my hand up it inspect my new accessory giddily.
"Thank you." I squealed to her as I threw my arms around in a hug. She laughed at me but hugged me back tightly.
"I better go to school. I'll be back after cheer practice." She said as she headed towards the bedroom door.
"Okay. Have fun." I called out to as I ran over to the window. I smiled widely as the sunlight cascaded into the room and I stood there just soaking up the rays. I mentally vowed to myself never to take the beauty of sunlight for granted ever again.
I was sitting in the living room reading one of the novels I had found in Damon's room drinking a glass of blood when I heard the front door slam open and then shut so I glanced up in concern.
"Bec!" I called out in concern when Rebekah came storming into the room in a huff.
"Your sister…" Rebekah said threateningly as she came over and started pacing the length of the room at human speed. I watched her in confusion and put my book and glass down on the table next to the couch.
"What did Elena do now?"
"Mikael." She hissed dangerously and my eyes widened as I leaned forward. Nik had told me all about Mikael, his father. He was a vampire that hunted other vampires and every vampire was terrified of him.
"What did Elena do?!" I asked her in a low voice as I stood up from the couch. If Elena and her friends were going to wake Mikael it would be very bad for everyone. Bec froze in her pacing and looked at me with terrified eyes, brimming with tears. "They're going to wake him, aren't they?"
"Elena came up to me at cheer practice and started asking questions. She threatened to wake him up and they know where he is."
"Okay…." I said softly as I started pacing as well. I bit my bottom lip as I thought about how to handle this situation. Rebekah sat down on the couch and watched me pace nervously. "Okay!" I said brightly as an idea came to me and if froze in my pacing.
"What is it?" Bec asked me hopefully.
"Invite Elena over for a chat. Tell her just enough of the truth so that she knows that waking Mikael would be a very bad idea."
"Really?"
"Yeah, if she gets the truth, well half the truth, she won't want to wake him up." I explained to her and she slowly nodded in agreement.
"Alright, that's a good idea." She said as she pulled out her cell phone and sent a message to Elena to come over. She sighed in defeat as she but the phone away and I smiled in sympathy as I went and sat down next to her.
"Other than that, how was school?" I asked her cheerfully.
"Homecoming is soon." She replied, perking up a bit at the thought of a dance. "I'm going to need a dress."
"Ooh! Yay!" I squealed happily and jumped up off the couch. "Aren't you going to ask what I did today?" I asked her mischievously.
"Aright, if I have to." Rebekah said dramatically. "What did you do today?"
"Come on down girls!" I called loudly up the stairs and Rebekah frowned in confusion as she turned her head to watch six girls come down the stairs wearing different cocktail dresses.
"What's this?"
"I heard about homecoming and thought that you might need a dress for the big night." I replied cheekily as the compelled girls lined up in front of us. "By the way, I worked out how compulsion worked."
"I can see that." Rebekah laughed as she got up off the couch. "We need champagne."
"Hmm." I agreed in a hum and then went down to the basement where the Salvatore's kept a fridge full of their good alcohol. I had discovered it when I searching the house earlier in the day. I grabbed a bottle of good champagne and brought it up to the living room where Rebekah was waiting for me. we both heard the front door open and stiffened as the smell of human blood filled the house.
"Elena." Bec said quietly and I nodded in agreement. Rebekah took the bottle from me while I grabbed some glasses. We walked into the foyer and saw Elena looking around the cavernous room.
"Hey! What's up?" I said cheerfully to my twin when I saw her. Rebekah followed behind me and set the champagne down on the table so that she could pour us some. Elena glanced at me but then turned her attention directly to Rebekah so I rolled my eyes at her.
"You invited me over? To talk?" she asked Rebekah as the blonde handed me a glass and I smiled at her gratefully.
"All right girls, have at it!" Rebekah called out, ignoring Elena just as Elena ignored me. The six girls that I had compelled walked out and lined up to model the dresses I had chosen.
"Okay, now twirl please." I ordered politely and they did as I asked.
"You compelled your own private runway show?" Elena asked in disgust.
"Actually, I did." I admitted with a shrug as I sipped my drink.
"I need a Homecoming dress. So, what do you think? Pick one." Rebekah said to Elena.
"I'm not here to help you shop. I'm here to talk about why you don't want me to wake up Mikael." Elena protested and Bec rushed over to one of the girls. She stood behind her and grabbed her neck as she vamped out and put her teeth near the victim's throat.
"I said "pick one", Elena."
"The... red one." My twin said hesitantly and I gasped in delight.
"That's the one I chose!" I pointed out happily.
"There. It wasn't so hard, was it?" Rebekah asked rhetorically and then turned to the girls. "Go away. Remember nothing." She compelled the models and they walked out of the room. "You do not threaten me. You'll learn what I allow you to learn. Is that clear?" Rebekah warned Elena as she turned back to where we were waiting.
"Aren't you going to warn Ellyse?" Elena asked spitefully, shooting a glance in my direction.
"Ellyse already knows this story." I answered in third person. Elena nodded in agreement to Rebekah and I tilted my head at her. Bec walked passed us towards the stairs and I jumped off of the table I was sitting on to follow her. The three of us walked into Stefan's bedroom and I immediately went over to the closet to snoop while Rebekah headed for the bedside table. Elena stood near the door and glanced around nervously as if Stefan was going to appear out of nowhere and object.
"How fun is this...?" Rebekah asked us with a giggle and I laughed as I opened the closet and peered inside.
"We shouldn't be here..." Elena said disapprovingly and I turned back to look at her.
"'Course we should! Come on, like you've never wanted to snoop. I go through Nik's things all the time." I admitted and Bec snorted in amusement.
"How are you still alive?" she asked and I smirked at her over my shoulder. I looked over at her as she held up a pair of Stefan's underwear. "Boxer briefs. A lot has changed since the twenties."
"Are you gonna root through his stuff all night or are you gonna start to tell me your story?" Elena asked impatiently.
"Ah... you really are no fun. What do you want to know?"
"Well, Elijah said that your father was a landowner in Europe. How did you guys end up here?"
"My parents had just started a family, when a plague struck their homeland. They lost a child to it. They wanted to escape and protect their future family from the same fate." Rebekah replied as she continued to go through Stefan's drawers. I turned back to the closet and started looking through it.
"So, how did you end up here? This part of the world hadn't even been discovered yet." Elena said and Rebekah and I both laughed at her naivety.
"Not by anyone in our history books." I said with a chuckle as I pulled out a vintage leather jacket.
"But my mother knew the witch Ayana, who heard from the spirits of a mystical land where everyone was healthy... blessed by the gifts of speed and strength; that lead my family here, where we lived amongst those people." Rebekah continued with her story as I tried on the leather jacket and modelled it in the full length mirror.
"The werewolves?" Elena asked after a pause.
"To us, they were just our neighbours. My family lived in peace with them for over 20 years, during which time my family had more children, including me."
"You make it sound so normal."
"It was." Rebekah and I said at the same time. I shook off the jacket and threw it on the bed as I went back to closet to snoop. "And that was the beginning of the end of peace with our neighbours…" Rebekah said after telling Elena the story of Henrick's death. During the story I had moved away from the closet and over to where Bec stood, lost in thought. "And one of the last moments my family had together as humans." She concluded as I gripped her hand in comfort. Elena's cell phone rang and Rebekah snapped out of her memories.
"You better get that. That'll be Damon checking up on you." I told Elena and she pulled her phone out to answer it.
"Hello?" Elena said into the phone.
"Hey!" Damon greeted her through the phone and I could hear him clearly because of my new vampire hearing.
"Damon, where are you?" she asked so I assumed she would hear the music playing in the background.
"No idea, but I'm pretty sure, I'm overdressed...Still standing?" he asked and I snorted in amusement.
"Yes, I'm fine, but I can't talk right now."
"I'll be at the bar." I heard Stefan say in the background of the phone conversation and I frowned I confusion because I hadn't seen Stefan in a few days.
"Is that Stefan?" Elena asked Damon, in outrage.
"Yeah, I kinda went off a bit. Don't worry - I know what I'm doing." Damon insisted.
"Damon! How could you let him out?" Elena asked him and Rebekah and I shared a look of amusement.
"I got this back, Elena." Damon said and then hung up the phone.
"Oops." I said with giggle as I climbed up onto the bed and started bouncing up and down. Rebekah grabbed one of Stefan's diaries and lay down on the bed that I was bouncing on and started reading through it.
"Did you get your fill of snooping yet? Can we get on with the story?" Elena asked us impatiently and I stopped jumping to sink down to my knees as Rebekah got up. I watched as she picked up a photo of Elena and Stefan from a table and looked at it.
"Honestly, I don't get you two as a couple. I get Ellyse and Nik or even Ellyse and Stefan." Rebekah said and I grinned at her as she smirked at Elena over her shoulder.
"Why would you? You don't know anything about who he really is."
"I know exactly who he is. He's a vampire. We're a predatory species. We don't have time to care about humans and their silly little lives."
"Is that why you did that runway show earlier? 'Cause you don't care about the Homecoming Dance... You know what, I'm just gonna go." Elena said as she threw her hands up in defeat.
"You haven't even heard half the story." I said teasingly from my spot on the bed.
"And you are not going to tell it. You're just bored and looking for someone to push around. Find someone else to play with...maybe you can compel yourself a friend." She said to Rebekah and I frowned at her as I climbed off the bed.
"She has a friend." I declared to her and she looked at me in the eye for the first time since she arrived at the boarding house. Elena blinked back tears as she turned around to leave the room.
"The necklace wasn't Stefan's to give. It belonged to the Original Witch." Rebekah announced to Elena and she turned around to look at us.
"The one who put the hybrid curse on Klaus?" Elena asked for clarification.
"Not just the hybrid curse." I told her as I sat down on the side of the bed.
"She's the one who turned us into vampires." Rebekah finished as she sat down next to me. Rebekah then told Elena the next part of the story.
"I'm thirsty. Do you want a drink?" I asked them after Rebekah had finished. I stood up with Bec and we walked out of the room towards the library with Elena following behind us.
"So, vampirism was a form of protection?" Elena asked as we reached the living room.
"What else would it be?" I asked her in confusion as I tilted my head to the side.
"A curse?" she suggested.
"My parents only saw a way of keeping their children alive." Rebekah informed her.
"Yeah, but why stay, if they were so afraid of the werewolves? Why not... leave?"
"Pride... My father didn't want to run anymore. He wanted to fight and be superior to the wolves. Where they could bite, we had to bite harder. Where they had speed, we had to be faster. Agility, strength, senses..." Rebekah said and then launched into the next part of the story of how the originals turned.
"In her hands? How could she do anything?" Elena asked in confusion after Bec was done.
"Because my mother was also a witch."
"What?" Elena asked, completely shocked while I just sat there smugly.
"The witch of the Original Family. The Original Witch?" I said mockingly as we entered the library.
"Where do they keep their best vintage?" Rebekah asked no one in particular as she searched through some shelves. I walked over to her and pulled a bottle from the shelves and handed it to her with a satisfied smile on my lips. "Thank you, darling."
"No problem, sweets." I replied as I walked over to the couch and got comfortable on it.
"But if your mother was a witch, then..." Elena said, leaving the question out.
"Am I? No, a witch is nature's servant; a vampire is an abomination of nature. You can either be one or the other, never both. My mother did this for us. She did not turn."
"How did you turn?"
"She called upon the sun for life, and the ancient white oak tree, one of nature's eternal objects, for immortality. That night, my father offered us wine laced with blood. And then he drove his sword through our hearts."
"He killed you?" Elena asked in a stunned whisper while I just looked at my friend in sympathy.
"And he wasn't delicate about it either." She said as she opened the wine bottle I had handed her. Rebekah poured a glass for me and handed it over as she told Elena about how she had woken up after being turned. "It was euphoric! The feeling of power was indescribable... but the witch Ayana was right about the consequences. The spirits turned on us, and nature fought back... For every strength there would be a weakness... "
"The sun became an enemy." I filled in with a gentle smile.
"It kept us indoors for weeks and though my mother found a solution, there were other problems. Neighbours who had opened their homes to us could now keep us out. Flowers at the base of the white oak burned, and prevented compulsion. And the spell decreed that the tree that gave us life could also take it away so we burned it to the ground. But the darkest consequence was something my parents never anticipated. The hunger. Blood had made us reborn and it was blood that we craved above all else. We could not control it.
"And with that, the predatory species was born..." I trailed off as I sipped my wine.
"Why did Mikael start hunting Klaus?" Elena asked us and Bec and I shared a glance.
"When Nik made his first human kill, it triggered his werewolf gene. With that, he became his father's greatest shame." I told her honestly.
"Yeah... Elijah told me this part of the story. Your mother had had an affair with one of the werewolf villagers. Klaus wasn't his son."
"She tried to make it right. She put the hybrid curse on Nik to suppress his werewolf side, and then she turned her back on him. But Mikael's greatest weakness as a human was his pride. As a vampire, that was magnified. He went on a rampage and killed half the village. Then he came home and killed her." Rebekah said emotionlessly but I could tell much it hurt to talk about her mother.
"Mikael killed your mother?" Elena asked in a stunned whisper.
"He said she broke his heart so he would break hers. He tore it from her chest as Nik watched. Afterwards, my father took off in a rage, and the rest of my family scattered. Nik stayed, so he could help me bury her. He knew I had to say goodbye to my mother."
"Always and forever... even though he locked you in a coffin for 90 years?" Elena asked Rebekah after having been told the story of the Original Witch's funeral.
"We're vampires. Our emotions are heightened." I stated with a shrug.
"I'm stubborn, Elijah moral, and Nik... Nik has no tolerance for those who disappoint him. Over a thousand years as a family we've all made that mistake at least once. I've made it several times." Rebekah told my twin sadly and I grabbed her hand in silent support.
"I told him that was wrong." I told her playfully and she smiled back at me.
"But you still love him?" Elena asked her.
"He's my brother. And I'm immortal. Should I spend an eternity alone instead? You've heard the story, it's time to go." Bec said after a second of pause. Elena didn't move from where she stood so Rebekah stood up from the couch and took a threatening step forward. "I said leave, Elena! I don't know what you're up to, but I'm no longer playing along."
"I'm just looking for one good reason why we shouldn't wake Mikael."
"And we've given you a thousand! But you will anyway." I hissed at her as I stood up and joined Bec.
"I know you want him to help you kill my brother, I'm not stupid." Rebekah told her as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"It's no secret that I want Klaus dead. He has a hold over Stefan's life, and over mine." Elena nearly yelled at us.
"Do what you need. Wake Mikael at your own peril. But make no mistake, if you come after my brother, I will rip you apart. And I get my temper from my father. Now leave!" Rebekah yelled at her and Elena glared at us one more time before leaving the boarding house.
I was sitting on the couch giggling at something Bec had said while she poured us each a glass of Damon's scotch. I turned my head to see Elena enter the room holding some papers. I frowned in confusion as I stood up from the couch and walked over to where Rebekah stood near the make shift bar.
"I thought I told you to leave. Twice." Rebekah said to her and I smirked in amusement.
"How do you know that Mikael killed your mother?" Elena asked point black and I cocked my head to the side.
"Nik was there. He told me." Rebekah answered her nonchalantly with a shrug of her shoulders.
"He lied to you."
"And how do you know that?" I asked in amusement as I sipped my scotch.
"The cave where you carved your family's names is covered in symbols." Elena said as she showed us and the photos from the cave. "The story of your family: how your parents arrived, how they made peace, the spell that turned them into vampires, and this. This is the symbol for hybrid. It's a combination of the werewolf and the vampire symbol. And this is the one for your mother."
"Her necklace." Bec breathed out quietly as she reached up to where her necklace used to rest.
"And this is the story of her death. The hybrid killed the Original Witch. Not Mikael. Klaus." Elena said and I felt tears running silently down my cheeks as I looked over the symbols.
"No! No, he wouldn't." Rebekah protested and shook her head in denial.
"She put the curse on him, made it so that he would be the only one of his kind, and then she rejected him. With the werewolf gene comes aggression and violence... when he turned, all of that was heightened. He killed her, Rebekah. And then he made up this entire lie about your father, so that he wouldn't lose you."
"These mean nothing! They're just stupid drawings, done by stupid people who had no idea who my family was!" she screamed as she picked up the photos, tore them into pieces and then threw them into the fire.
"Then why are you so upset?"
"Why are you doing this to me? I've done nothing to you!"
"Klaus killed your mother. He has a hold on you, on me, on everyone. He has for a thousand years. We have to make it stop!" Elena yelled back at her and then Rebekah grabbed Elena by the throat and pressed her up against the wall as she vamped out. I ran up to them and tried to pry Bec off of my sister.
"Shut up! Shut up! Don't talk anymore! Nothing!" Rebekah screamed at Elena and then let her go so that she dropped to the ground. I wrapped my arms around my friend and she gasped before falling to her knees. I went down with her and silently held her as she cried in my arms. I looked up at Elena and glared at her.
"Leave, Elena." I told her pointedly and she hurried out the front door without a backwards glance. I rocked Bec back and forth as I made nonsense soothing sounds.