Chapter Twelve: History Revealed

《This will be all over soon

Pour salt into the open wound》

Athena found herself the following evening sitting in the Salvatore living room, biting her nails and knocking her knee up and down relentlessly in anticipation. Her blonde hair was wavy today from sleeping on it damp and she wore a simple cotton shirt with a pocket near her right breast.

She adorned the outfit with a long black and silver necklace that was layered and a pair of skinny jeans and converse. Her black nails chipping away as her mouth worked at biting down the nails.

"Nervous, huh"

She whipped around to see Damon in his fitted black shirt, dark jeans and dark shoes making his way down the steps into the living room. He eyed the space where the rug had been and noted it was gone and replaced with a chalk drawn circle on the hard wood floors. He grimaced, "Hope that stuff can be cleaned off." She gave him a look and he flashed a stupid kilowatt grin at her.

Her heart raced in her chest and she ended up putting her head in her hands, rubbing her face and then peeking at Damon between her fingers as he poured a glass of bourbon.

Her hands fell in her lap and he glanced up at her, his brow raised slightly at her distressed behavior. He came around the couch and to the living room with two small tumblers, handing her one silently. She looked up, not expecting him to offer her something to cool her nerves, but took it gratefully.

Athena took a sip, letting the burn coat her throat and simmer down to her stomach. "That obvious?" She quipped back with a half-hearted smile. Damon raised his brows, "I could smell your anxiety all the way upstairs, yeah it's obvious." She nodded, not really knowing what to say. She took another sip before looking to Damon with a hesitant look, "I just have no idea what I'm about to see."

Damon had already gulped down half of his drink and she wondered briefly if the anxious look in his eyes was because he himself was anxious, or if her emotions were so heightened they were affecting other people. "Well, can't be as bad as my family history. Trust me. "

Damon smirked, Athena smirked back, but she saw a pang of sadness in his blue eyes and she furrowed her brows in concern, "What exactly happened, Damon?"

Athena was only privy to certain details about the Salvatore's and how they became vampires. Stefan hadn't gone into too many details about how they were turned that night they shared pizza.

All he had given her was a girl named Katherine Pierce, the year was 1864 and few other minor details, but she got the sneaking suspicion that this Katherine girl had come between the brothers. But, that was just Athena being presumptuous; she could have it all wrong.

There had to be more though, judging by Damon's face when she asked him what happened.

He also looked genuinely curious that Athena was interested to know as his brows knitted together, but before he could open his mouth to start talking Bonnie, Caroline, Elena and Stefan walked in and Damon looked relived he wasn't going to have to take that trip down memory lane.

Athena gulped down the last of her drink and Damon took the glass before she stood up, smoothing her hands over her blue jeans in nervous anticipation. Bonnie held the Grimoire in her arms, clutching it to her chest and a half smile on her face. Damon looked between everyone and then back at Athena before muttering, "The nerd herd has arrived."

Stefan rolled his eyes before walking into the living room with everyone in tow. Caroline smiled, bouncing over to Athena, "So, you ready to find out your history?"

She was rocking on her heels as if she were the one about to find about her own history. Athena couldn't help but feel a swell of love for this vivacious blonde she started to consider a friend. "Yeah, I guess.." Athena muttered before Elena and Bonnie walked over.

"So, how does this work?" Elena asked as Bonnie handed the Grimoire to an opened page. Bonnie studied the page, reciting something under her breath over and over again before moving towards the coffee table where Stefan had set out a witchy looking dish that could be used to crush herbs. Bonnie walked around and started to get to work and Caroline got all the candles out of the box that Stefan had also brought in from Bonnie's car.

Bonnie looked up at Athena and walked straight to her, with Elena hovering close behind. Caroline stopped placing all the candles around the chalk circle to look up and listen as well.

"I've never done this kind of spell before, so bear with me…but we'll be linked the entire time. Nothing we see can hurt us. We'll be like ghosts in that world just observing." Athena nodded at Bonnie's words and Bonnie reached out to grip her hands in her own, "Whatever you do when I say we need to go you need to grab on to me like this. We have to stay linked upon entering and leaving."

Athena narrowed her brows in concern, "What happens if I don't link with you?" Bonnie stared seriously back at Athena before deadpanning, "You won't wake up."

"Uh, woah. Hold up. Time out here. You're saying there's a chance you two won't be able to come back?" Damon did the general sign for time out and started to walk up to Bonnie with wild blue eyes.

"Bonnie, you never said something like this could happen!" Elena chimed out in concern for her best friend. "What the hell, Bonnie?" Caroline bit out, standing up with a candle in her hand hanging loosely at her side. Stefan looked in between everyone with knitted brows while Bonnie gathered herself to explain.

"This spell is very powerful.." She started and Caroline threw her hands up in frustration, "Yeah and either of you not coming back is a very, very bad thing." Bonnie gave her a look before Athena found her voice, "What exactly would happen if we didn't link up in time?"

Bonnie was staring at her stoically before taking a deep breath and explaining, "We're going to be considered ghosts in this world. We might just be observing, but if anything goes wrong and we can't link up in time for when we need to leave, our bodies will remain in a coma-like state, but us, our souls..we'll be hanging in limbo, I guess."

Athena's eyes were wide and everyone in the room went silent.

Except for Damon.

"Bad idea. This entire thing is a really, really bad idea. Have any of you seen the Twilight Zone?" Damon was looking incredulously at everyone while Athena gave Bonnie a simple nod of her head. "Okay, let's do this. Just make sure we link up in time. I really don't have time to hang out in limbo indefinitely."

Damon took a step forward and Athena knitted her brows at him, "You're seriously going through with this?" Athena took a small step back and was immediately aware of all the eyes that were staring at her and Damon right now. "What do you care, Damon? I thought you hated her." Caroline's voice rang out and she crossed her arms while giving him a pointed look.

He gave her an annoyed glance before throwing his hands out, "Why don't you mind your own business, blondie?" She glared, but backed down as Damon returned his attention to Athena. "I have to do this. I need to know and not only that, but we can see what happened and if we can see what happened then maybe we can figure out what the wolves want."

Damon was staring at her, his blue eyes waves of emotions that only she could see since he was staring right at her, "And if you don't come back? What then?" His voice took on a meaner tone, one that was clearly enraged that she'd go through with such a spell that might be her and Bonnie's doom.

"Then you'll finally be rid of me, Damon." There was a look in his eye that she couldn't quite pinpoint, but before she could try and figure it out Bonnie spoke up, "It's settled. Let's get started."

Elena looked at Bonnie with a flash of concern and Bonnie walked over to rub her shoulder, "I'll be fine Elena." Elena looked to Bonnie before nodding reluctantly. Elena caught Stefan's gaze and they both stared at one another in quiet concern for their friends. Everyone proceeded to start working again and Bonnie worked with Caroline to light all the candles except the few that lined the top part of the circle.

Damon hovered in the background, but she couldn't help but notice he had already poured himself another drink. "I still say it's a bad idea, brother." Damon said morosely while Stefan chewed on the inside of his mouth in thought, "Well, it's all we got right now." Damon shot him an angry look before downing the rest of his bourbon.

Bonnie ushered Athena into the circle and nodded, "Now, lay down in the circle. I'm right behind you. Caroline, light the candles once we've joined hands and Elena, light the inside of that bowl." Elena was in charge of the bowl of herbs and oddities, while Caroline manned the candles. Bonnie walked into the circle and lay down next to Athena. They clasped hands and Caroline lit the rest of the candles to close the circle.

Stefan inched his way towards Elena, his hand taking hers in his own and she gave him a grateful look before squeezing his hand in reassurance. "I trust Bonnie." Elena said and Stefan nodded in agreement.

Damon's brows were knitted together in frustration while Caroline backed up slowly as the candles were lit and found her place near Damon. The two looked at one another and Caroline muttered, "For once, I think you're right." Damon huffed, "If I wasn't so annoyed I'd want that recorded." Caroline smirked and returned her attention to the circle.

Bonnie squeezed her hand and Athena squeezed back, "Bonnie?" Athena whispered before seeing Bonnie pop her head up to look at her. "Thanks for doing this." Bonnie gave a tight smile before nodding her head, "Lay back. Think about the truth you want to know and focus on it. Concentrate on only that. I'm going to say the spell, but no matter how you feel or what happens, don't let go of my hand." Athena nodded dutifully before doing as she was told.

As foreign words started to drift from Bonnie's mouth Athena felt herself getting light, as if she were floating, but she wasn't. She could feel the flames from the candles grow as the heat nearly licked at her skin. The floating feeling turned into something every so prickly and painful before it seared her from head to toe and she let out an audible gasp, followed by a hiss from the pain.

She swore she could hear voices over Bonnie's chanting and one sounded like Damon's, but she tuned it all out. Her breathing started to increase in anxiety and adrenaline, but Bonnie squeezed reassuringly and she found her breathing starting to even out. The words got louder and she could feel wind whipping around them as well as the growing flames from the candles.

Bonnie's words were growing more strained, but just as she thought the spell wasn't working everything flashed in the room beneath her closed her eyes and Athena felt herself lying upon something damp. She still had Bonnie's hands clasped in her own, but the flooring they lay on was different now.

Athena opened her eyes and stared up at a sky that was dark, filled with stars and a large moon. Bonnie stirred and as she sat up with Athena's hand still in hers, she used her free hand to wipe a dark stain that had formed under her nose.

They both looked around and Bonnie smiled widely, "It worked!" Athena was free to let go of Bonnie's hand now and she realized she had woken up on the ground. They were outside a large wooded forest and behind them voices could be heard, jeers and shouts, and she strained to see a small village type set up behind them.

Bonnie's eyes widened and they both got up from the ground to brush themselves off. "Where are we?" Athena asked, looking around nervously before seeing in the distance of the village people dancing around a large bonfire, voices carried to her and in a blink of an eye two of the villagers had shifted into large mountain lions.

They were running straight at them now and Athena's eyes widened in fear and in awe as the mountain lions zipped past them and straight into the forest as if they hadn't been there at all.

"My people.." Athena mumbled awestruck and Bonnie watched as the mountain lions disappeared into the woods behind them. "Just remember, no one can hear us or see us. We're just spectating." Athena looked to Bonnie with wonder, "How were you able to bring us to this point in time in history?"

Bonnie smirked, "That cup of herbs that Elena lit on fire at a certain point in the spell also had a few of your strands of hair in it. The spell feeds off you, Athena. I just invoke the spell, but ultimately it was going to show us what you really wanted to see. I just put it together to make it happen. This is all you, girl." Bonnie offered a kind smile but saw Athena's smiled falter, "But, it's dangerous. Why would you do this knowing the risks?"

Bonnie pulled a stray leaf from her hair and dropped it to the ground before answering back, "Since you came to town I haven't felt well. I've had this feeling that maybe, maybe the witches were trying to tell me something, maybe I was getting sent a sign that I needed to pay attention. Honestly, I don't know, but I feel connected to you somehow that I can't put my finger on. But, being a witch has it's perks because..here we are."

Athena offered Bonnie a wide smile back before they made their way silently through the grassy area towards the village. Her stomach did flip flops as they neared the village. Wherever they were at, they were in the depths of history, so far from the present that awaited them back at the Salvatore manor. The sky was clear and the land beyond the village looked like it spread for miles.

Bonnie and Athena continued to walk until they were close enough to smell the woodsy scent and smell of cooked meat wafting from the middle of the village. People danced and laughed, others hooted and hollered, while others stared pensively into the fire.

She felt a deep emotion in her bell as she watched the village of Werecats enjoy themselves. She wondered curiously what they were celebrating, but that all became clear as the cries of a baby came from a wrapped blanket that a woman was holding.

And there, in the center of it all was the leader, Ares. He stood beautifully with his olive skin and dark black locks that were shortly cropped, but slicked back. He cooed at the baby in his wife's arms and then the baby was passed around from villager to villager, everyone taking a look at the second royal baby before them.

"That's Ares, he was the leader." Athena murmured to Bonnie and she watched as the woman, whom Athena figured was the leader's Queen, smile at Ares. Beside them was a boy with ashy blonde hair and he seemed like he was older, maybe eight or nine. He was the Prince.

The Queen had long wavy blonde hair and bright green eyes. Bonnie knitted her brows, "She looks like you.." Athena felt her breath hitch and she shook her head, "Kind of weird, huh?" She nervously avoided Bonnie's eyes at the thought that she was from the royal line of Werecats.

Their attention was brought to a woman and a man that hurried away from the crowd of celebration, covered in shawls and trying to look inconspicuous. Athena and Bonnie both exchanged glances, "Follow them." She didn't know why, but she had a feeling this was something she needed to see.

Athena and Bonnie followed the couple as they wandered away from the village and into the forest. The leaves and twigs beneath her feet crunched as they made their way behind the couple, farther into the forest before they stopped suddenly. Bonnie and Athena both stopped abruptly and a figure to the right of the couple appeared in a black cloak. She dropped the hood and Bonnie gasped.

The woman before her was a dark skinned woman with a blunt and angular cut of hair, but it looked as if it had been hacked by a rigid blade. The woman had dark honey colored eyes and an assortment of tribal looking tattoos around her face and eyes.

Athena cocked her head to the side and looked from Bonnie to the girl and back to Bonnie. Bonnie was wide eyed and silent, so Athena fell silent as well. The hooded woman cocked her head to the side, "Just you two?" The couple nodded and took a step forward, "Do you have it?" They were impatient and Athena got a feeling something was awry.

The hooded woman smirked, "Of course." She reached into her robe and pulled out a long golden chain and attached to the golden chain was a circular pendant and inside the pendant was a very red ruby looking stone.

The couple took a step forward, but the woman clasped it tightly in her hands, holding it to her chest, "You do realize what this requires? You understand what you are about to do?" The couple exchanged a look that was a little hard for Athena and Bonnie to see, but the moment was tense.

The man stuttered, "Wha-what do we need to do?" The woman groaned, "What do we need to do? We'll do anything. We just need this to work."

The dark skinned woman began to respond with a tone laced with danger, death and sin, "A spell like this requires sacrifice. It goes against nature to try and control a species that is not yours to control."

The woman nodded, but the man seemed to draw back at the word, sacrifice.

"S-Sacrifice?"

Athena quickly realized this dark skinned woman was a witch.

The witch nodded solemnly, "Not just one. But, two. Each from royal blood." The woman nodded again, clearly eager to get it over and done with, but the man held his hand out, "Wait, wait. You mean from each side?" The witch nodded once in confirmation.

The man turned on the woman beside him, "You realize what this means, Jezabell? Are you insane? We have to kill one of our own and one of the wolves. This is treason, murder, this is madness!"

The woman, Jezabell, turned on the man and quickly shot her hand out to his throat and squeezed, "This is the only way! You understand the wolves are waiting to take us over. It will happen one day whether we are ready or not, but if we do this..we have the power to control them. If that amulet can harness a spell that will give us control, we can win. We can have a leg up. Ares and Talia are fools; they think we can live in peace. We strike before the others can strike us. That's how it has to be."

The man yanked away from the woman, rubbing his throat and looking resigned to the woman's whims. The witch looked at the two seriously, "So, is this what you choose to do? Once the decision has been made there is no going back." The woman nodded, "Now explain how this works."

The witch held up the amulet necklace, "The blood of the sacrifices will fuel this amulet, The Rose Thorn. I say the spell and then the amulet will be ready. Once you wear this amulet, you will repeat the incantation to activate it. And once that is done, the power is yours. This spell goes against nature, please keep that in mind. Not one person was meant to control another species, regardless what they are."

The woman furrowed her brow and looked to the witch completely ignoring her warning, "Does this go both ways? Can we control both werewolves and werecats? Or can we only control werewolves?"

The witch smirked, "Don't get ahead of yourself, Jezabell. If a werecat wears the amulet, they can only control a werewolf. However, if a werewolf were to get ahold of this and find out the incantation, they would be able to control a werecat."

The man and the woman exchanged a look before the man mumbled, "Then, The Rose Thorn can never fall into the hands of a werewolf. Ever." The witch nodded before tossing the amulet to Jezabell. She caught it effortlessly and the witch started to walk away, "I will see you two at the next full moon with everything I need." She paused and turned around, "It will be up to you two to get me the royal sacrifices."

Sacrifices.

Wolf cubs missing.

Pieces of a puzzle were starting to make sense in her head. A sick sense of what had happened started to creep into her bones.

Athena felt like she was about to be sick and soon the scene changed and it was from when the Leaders of the wolf packs came to confront Areas over the disappearance of the wolf cubs. Athena felt her body growing colder as the betrayal of her own kind washed over her like a splash of cold water to the face.

Jezabell and that man went behind Ares' back and made a deal with a witch to procure an amulet that would give them control over the wolves, but at the cost of children's lives. Royal blood from the wolves' side and royal blood from the werecats side.

Something Damon said days ago popped into her head...

"You'd be surprised the things your own kin will do.."

He was right.

However, where was the death of the Prince? Why hadn't he been killed? He was, afterall, the royal blood they would need for the spell.

Or the newborn, Her mind chimed out with this sickening thought.

Were they able to do the spell before the wolves had confronted Ares?

However, she saw Talia, the newborn girl, and the Prince in the crowd and she felt her heart swell with relief. Yet, the revulsion she felt and shame burned deeper than anything she had ever felt before. How could these people, HER people, kill innocent children and go behind Ares' back?

Ares was struck down and killed during the confrontation; just like the history had played out from the stories she was told. It didn't hurt any less, even though she knew it was coming. To see it was still something that cut her deeply...Her heart broke for her people and for Ares, who was innocent in all of this.

All her people were, except the two that had betrayed Areas.

Jezabell and that man.

Pandemonium broke out in the village. Werecats were rounded up and others were killed on the spot. She cried out, but Bonnie held her hand, drawing her back away from the attack because there was nothing Athena could do. Athena's tears were a mixture of sadness and anger. She watched as Talia, the Prince and the newborn were personally rounded up by the man that had killed their King and Athena gritted her teeth as they were tied like cattle.

But, if the Prince and newborn were alive..then the spell never saw its completion. Then, where was the amulet? And where were Jezabell and that man?!

The scene shifted and Bonnie looked around as darkness settled in upon them and the panic and chaos they had seen moments ago was completely gone. Athena swallowed thickly, looking around and Bonnie started to shiver. They were back to the spot where they had first woken up at. A few flames of fire started to light up all around them, thick patches of it that in a way, looked to be surrounding them.

"Someone's here." Bonnie whispered with a frightened undertone, "Someone's hijacked their way into my spell!" Before Athena could utter how or why that was possible, a harrowing and masculine figure started to walk towards them from the forest line.

"Get us out of here, now!" Athena finally found her voice, but Bonnie was already trembling, falling to her knees and clutching her head as if someone were interfering with her incantation to get out of there. Athena immediately dropped to Bonnie's side and huddled protectively over her as the man continued to approach with harrowing steps.

"Athena Garland, you've been eluding me for quite some time.." His voice was deep and menacing. Athena's eyes widened as she realized the man she'd been running from all this time, the pack leader who Klaus had tried so hard to protect her from was standing right before her eyes.

"The Mikaelsons aren't here to save you this time."

Athena froze in fear and could only watch in horror as the twisted smile upon his bearded face grew.