Supernatural-Girl17 : Thanks! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
Lilylulurose: the story for Elena/Elijah actually begins in this chapter, the beginning was just building it up to this. I hope you enjoy it!
I love Kol, and I love the idea that she's totally bad ass, so I'm glad you like it too.
My heart belongs to Beks (and all the Originals, obviously) so she'll get some love, no worries!
Thanks! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
DammitimmaD: Then this is the chapter for you! It starts to explain who Kol was and who their family was. Thanks and I hope you continue to enjoy this!
A few author notes: I know this took a while to get out. I had finals, then after finals I had some super not fun real life drama. Things have called down. Sorry about the long wait.
This is my longest chapter yet, because I needed a lot of stuff to happen; and I put a part of the next chapter into this one so I had the fun ending. This is the chapter was a lot of fun to write, so I hope it's a lot of fun to read! As always, let me know what you think!
Chapter Four: A Meeting of Minds
"Are we really going to work with Klaus?" Stefan asked as Elena finished chopping the lettuce that she had planned on bringing with her to Klaus' mansion. Elijah had warned her to bring a dish, that it was what Klaus would expect for the formal dinner that he was throwing. Elena was attending so that she could obtain all of the information on Kol that she could, because he was an enemy and knowing the enemy was a whole hell of a lot better than a nasty surprise. "Elena, don't you think maybe this is Elijah setting us all up?"
The thought had crossed her mind, once or twice, even three times more when Elijah suggested that he fill Jeremy in on a few things early so her brother could skip the party. She had agreed because she wanted Jeremy safe, but it had occurred to her that he was more certain something bad was going to happen than she was, and that was why Jeremy was heading to higher ground. She truly did believe Elijah cared for her brother. "No." She shook her head, "I'm playing the game."
"Right." He didn't sound pleased as he handed her the green pepper, and turned so that his back was leaning against the counter, "so…you're going to this dinner with Elijah and Damon."
"Yes."
"While I do what exactly?" Stefan asked with some bitterness evident in his voice, "wait around to hear about how you two were massacred?"
"Of course not," she told with a roll of the eyes, "we can't all go and be sitting ducks, Stefan. That would be bad strategy. You're holding the leverage."
"And what exactly is that leverage?" Stefan asked, eyebrows raised, "your blood is the only leverage we have over Klaus, and we have nothing over Elijah. He's a free agent. Have I mentioned how dangerous that makes him?"
"Often and repeatedly," she told him, "I think I woke up this morning repeating those exact words because you've drilled them so well into my mind." She laughed, cut up the cucumber and then placed both hands palm down on the table, looking over at him with patience, "if something happens to Damon, then Klaus and Elijah know you'll take out Rebekah. Considering she's the one they are trying to protect? I don't think they will pull anything." She set down the knife and looked at her ex, absorbing his beauty and remembering what it had been like to be with him, how alive it had made her feel, how distracted it had kept her from her own misery. She longed for that feeling, perhaps more than she longed for him or Damon. Sighing, she shook her head, "we've got to be smart about this, Stefan."
He said nothing but there was grim resignation haunting his beautiful face as he walked out of the room, leaving her alone with her own ugly thoughts.
XXX
The dinner was a replica of the meal she and Klaus had fought over. This time Caroline had been diligent in her refusal to say anything about it.
After all, they were having guests. There was reason to be extravagant.
Elijah, Elena and Damon were all going to attend. Rebekah had been invited too, of course, but Klaus doubted she was going to answer their invitation. According to him, Rebekah was team Kol. Also according to Klaus, that was giving him reason to team up with his brother Elijah, who he didn't seem to trust all that much.
Caroline trusted no one who was going to be at that table, sans Elena of course.
But she was putting her best foot forward this time and helping the servants with the arrangements on the table. She had noticed some flaws in their work from the dinner-that-wasn't and decided that it was her duty to ensure that this particular dinner looked absolutely perfect. Once she was satisfied with the set up she would get into the appropriate attire and make herself look perfect. After all, her own little plan to win Klaus was contingent on using her looks in the most lethal way possible. Which she had to admit, was kind of exciting and if she didn't focus too much on it and left it at exciting, she could almost function normally.
"You don't have to do this, love. We have servants. They won't leave until the guests arrive."
Caroline did to turn to look at him but instead surveyed the table thoughtfully before moving one of the serving dishes slightly to the left. "Well I've always felt that you can't expect others to achieve the perfection you expect."
"Mm." Was his only response.
She smiled and then turned to him, inspired. "Besides, I'm thinking about going into interior design, college is just around the bend and I was thinking the Pratt Institute in New York- but I might be more of a Cali girl, and there are some schools for it there." She paused thoughtfully, "Still, Pratt is like the school to go to- and all that fashion in New York?" He chuckled and she whirled back to look at him, "what?"
"You would love New York- everything moves quickly and eagerly forward. It's a place that would suit you."
She turned back around to her work and said in a chipper voice, "I'm going to live off campus, no surprise roommate for me- I mean can you imagine trying to hide the fact that you're a vampire from someone who lived in a little room with you?" She laughed at the mere idea of it. How would she keep her blood refrigerated? How would she explain the vamp-out anytime her roommate nicked herself with a razor? "Without compelling the person's brain into mush from the constant compulsion cycle, that is."
When she looked back at him, she found herself startled. He was staring at her, practically studying her and he didn't even bother took away when she caught him the way others would have. Remember Caroline, you're supposed to be seducing him. So do something…hot.
But what?
She looked back at the table, and put a hand on her hip, swishing her thighs as she moved around the table and looking thoughtfully at her masterpiece. "I suppose that you would not worry about any of that, hm?" She asked rhetorically, "you would just compel your roommate to take care of the things you didn't want to, keeping them as your own personal slave."
"And you're the expert on me?" he asked with amusement.
She played to that, seeing opportunity and deciding to leap on it and ride it like the dragon it was. She let her eyes dance with mischief, "I'm doing my best to become one."
"I have a few new sides I could show you." He was in front of her then, the tiniest, suggestive little smile curving his mouth upwards. He touched her cheek and tilted his head to the side, "did you want to see them?"
His voice was low and gruff, his eyes held hers eagerly and she let him hold her gaze. She softened her eyes, trying to mimic a look of wonder so that he thought maybe, just maybe he was winning her over. He stepped closer, lowering himself towards her so that their lips could almost graze each other. She took his hand from her cheek, fingers grazing the palm as she set it down by his side. "I'll let you know when you can touch me, Klaus." She was surprised her voice was as steady as it was, it had been difficult to break away from him…which was troubling. She opened and closed her tingling hand that had touched his, trying to get rid of the feeling of his skin on hers and tried to concentrate on the task at hand.
"When?" He asked, raising one eyebrow suggestively.
"If." She corrected icily, hiding her cheer at his catching the clue that she had dropped for him.
The smile on his face grew a little more. "Of course," he relented mockingly, "if." His gaze dropped down to her mouth, eyes lingering there for a moment before bringing them back to her eyes. She let herself tense in his arms, so that he thought she was nervous, that he was getting to her, "you remind me of myself when I was human."
That…she hadn't been expecting.
"Vibrant and adventurous, ready for the challenge." He told her in that charming accent, dipping his head in seductively. "Eager." He spoke the word like he was tasting it and she felt like she could taste it too. Rich and full in her mouth like the wine the Lockwood's always had at their parties, the kind of wine people used to impress others. "Sometimes too eager," his whisper was dancing in her mind and she followed where it wanted her to go. "Because there's this little hole that can never quite be…filled up. It keeps you quick tempered, jealous, and it begs for perfection."
"And you're an expert on me?" She asked, dropping her own eyes to his lips. It took her a moment to realize that her reaction had not been part of the act, but rather a natural reaction. She wanted to look at his mouth, at those lips, and a tiny but persistent little voice in her mind was asking her what he tasted like.
Those lips that had her full attention curved into a sexy smile, "No, but look forward to seeing every side of you, Caroline."
XXX
It was beginning again.
Rebekah had only to walk into Kol's bedroom to figure that out. His room, the cream walls blank only a day before, was now covered in his handwriting on the wall, intermixed with pictures and drawings. They weren't his drawings, Kol did not have an artist's hand. They were Niklaus' drawings. They were copies of drawings Niklaus had done of the family members, of all the people in their lives from when they were human. It looked like an homage to the past on his wall, some kind of…tribute.
There was a painting too, it looked as though it were Ayanna and Na, in clothing that reminded Rebekah of some drawings she had seen in England, it was of how American's were styling themselves. But that was in the 1800's, and it sat away from the other pictures. There was a black and white, old picture of Katherine next to it.
There were arrows pointing to it and pointing away, they followed different paths on the board, like it was also a strange maze. To Rebekah, there was no understanding the workings of it.
She reverted her attention to their 'home' from a thousand years before. To the drawing Nik had done of them as kids, back when they were still a family…
When they were all close…
Back when Nik hadn't gone crazy and they were concerned for Kol, not suspicious and hateful of him. But that was more than a few deaths ago, more than a few betrayals and heartbreaks ago. Now she alone was to help Kol; and while the state of his room deepened her concern, it gave her no answers on how to help him. It looked as his cave had looked so long before, with writing replacing symbols and permanent marker replacing blood.
But when he turned to her, he was wearing a charming smile and his eyes were placid, "did you know my Ayanna was here in the 1860's? You'll never guess the name she went by."
"Kol," Rebekah began, having almost not heard him. Then she stopped and looked at him queerly. "Wait, why would she return here?"
He shrugged, "maybe she was looking for something." He suggested, "or maybe she just wanted to remember home." He strode across the room to stare at the painting, "she went by Annabelle. Get it?"
"You're little Ana-Bèl." Rebekah recited the endearment he had given the little slave girl. They were words off the native tongue and a play on her name Ayanna. He had gotten away with the endearment because no one else in their family, including herself for the most part, had learned the language thoroughly. They knew a few words, some important sentences, but their father had not wanted them to know the language- so they never learned it. Kol, however, had gone against their father's wishes, his knowledge of their language was as good as his knowledge of theirs. "but why choose a name so similar to her own? Was she not hiding?"
"Maybe she wanted to be found." Kol told her earnestly. "Maybe she wasn't hiding at all."
Rebekah wasn't entirely certain that her brother was on the right path, but the argument would do neither of them good. He was as stubborn and unyielding as she was. "What name did Na go under?"
"Pearl."
"Pearl, huh? I wonder why." Rebekah regarded Ayanna's mother thoughtfully. She had always been something of an enigma to Rebekah, so hard to figure out, more to the point, her relationships were even harder to comprehend. "Who do you think she loved more…"
But her thought could not be finished,, because the sound of a pesky human made her jump. In the doorway stood a little doll of a girl; Rebekah thought of her as doll-like because of the false hair-color, a bright and aggressive pink color. She had ripped up clothes on, like a beggar, but Rebekah knew from television it was simply a style. It dawned on her that the look made her seem sexy and wild, much like the flappers from the 20's.
"Veronica, meet my sister Rebekah. Beks, this is Ronnie. She's quite a handy little thing."
"Oh?" Rebekah raised a brow and approached her, "and how is she handy?"
"Ayanna is living with her, she knows how to use those contraptions in the office to get us pertinent information. More importantly, she has a little community of people like herself, that go to a private…message board." The last work rolled awkwardly off his tongue, and she wondered if she had sounded like that when he had first woken in the future.
"Herself?" Rebekah's eyes narrowed, "what do you mean?"
"I'm not a witch," Ronnie specifically clarified, "well, not a strong one. I can't make magic out of nowhere, but I can mix some stuff up, do a few little things. I'm good with plants and herbs, I know what minerals work and don't. I'm bright. I can see outside of boxes and I think in non-linear patterns. I see things others don't." She put a hand on her hip, elbow out and smiled. "So I found more like me, people who know about the supernatural, who use it for their own purposes."
"And what does that do for us, exactly?" Rebekah found herself getting annoyed. "It's not like you could stand up to a Bennett witch, even as a group. Her line spawns from the strongest witch we've ever encountered."
"But she can find things." Kol rationalized to his sister with a smile, he reached into the pocket of his black, Calvin Klein jeans, and pulled out a thin, smoothed stone attached to what looked like a delicate silver chain. The Laguz rune.
It was. Rebekah, without thought, moved to touch the stone. "This was Tatia's, Kol. What is your plan for it?"
He snatched it back and put it into his pocket once more, "that will ruin the fun of the surprise, wouldn't it, Beks?" He grinned, "what's important in this very moment is that our new, dearest mate has helped us acquire it, is in the perfect position to spy on Ayanna."
"She has no memory." Ronnie told her very quickly. "She has no idea who she is."
Rebekah felt realization dawn on her, "well that explains this week. How does one explain almost two hundred years ago?"
"When Ronnie here figures out how to get her memory back, we'll know." Kol told her simply, "and in return she's practically asking for nothing."
"I'm a simple girl with simple needs." Ronnie told him with a smile full of mischief, "now, we have a deal right?"
"Of course." Kol looked to Rebekah, "I'll take care of your little problem, and I'll not harm Jeremy. Easily done."
Rebekah, who felt like this could very well be a trap, shrugged, "sure, fine. Whatever."
XXX
"So you underwent self-imposed exile and self-inflicted torturous changes so that you can break this sire-bond thing with Klaus." Anna summarized swinging her legs as she sat on the tree branch above. Tyler found the ground preferable, planting himself on a boulder that jutted out into the water of the 'lake,' which was really just a manmade swimming pond his ancestors had put onto their property. "Have you tried to see her?"
He balled up the shirt that he had taken off and put it under his head, stretching out so that the sunlight could warm him all the way to his bones. His favorite blue swimming trunks had dried already from the sun and he was feeling pretty darn good. They were waiting for Jeremy to finish with Elijah and take care of some odds and ends, doing whatever it was that Jeremy did. He liked the kid, he did, but he always found himself wondering where his head was. Anna had met him in the woods, looking very much like the girl in the pool hall and less like a naked crazy person running in terror and that was comforting. Her hair was in wiry waves, she had on a pair of hip hugging straight legged jeans, a loose gray shirt with necklaces hanging down, intertwining with each other. "I can't. I want to make sure the bond is gone first."
"And how do you propose doing that?" Anna wanted to know.
He opened an eye to look at her. She was staring at him intently, like she could see straight through him. Tyler wondered what she was thinking, of him, of Jeremy, of the whole world that she knew nothing about. "Don't know yet."
"This is a lot of trouble for you to go to," she said, "for a girl."
"Jeremy would do it for you." He pointed out, certain that he was right about what he said. He watched as her teeth nibbled on her lower lip and she looked away. "You don't love him?"
She still didn't look at him, "he's hot." She offered, "and I when I look at him, I think about sex."
He snorted, "nice."
"And he's nice." She added quickly, "I mean, look at everything he has done for me. I'm so lucky." Her voice lowered at the end, almost questioning the statement. She cleared her throat, "but I don't know him. I don't…know anyone. So how could I love him, right? And I can't act on the physical want, can I? Because that would just make him invested."
"He's already invested, he's been invested since you came back as Casper." Tyler remarked, "my advice? Fuck him and that'll help you figure things out."
"So eloquently put, Ty." She told him dryly, jumping down from the tree and landing right in front of his face, instinctively, he flinched and she smiled at that. "Have you ever thought about writing an advice column?"
"Often and repeatedly," he shot back quickly, with a smirk on his face. "But no one ever takes advice, so it's a pointless job."
She laughed and shook her head, then leapt off the rock, landing gracefully on the ground. "It's good you see that now, instead of in thirty years during a mid-life crisis."
"Do immortals even have those?" Tyler wanted to know, climbing to his feet so that he was looking down at her instead of up. She shrugged as an answer, then jumped onto the rock, then back up into the tree.
Not to be outdone, Tyler followed suit, to the branch above her until they were engrossed in a battle that started out as a competition to see who could get higher; but then evolved into a race of tree-leaping to the edge of the woods. The wind whipped through his hair and around his body, tree brush scraping at his exposed skin as he went, then the cuts healing just as fast as they came. He was grinning, but the laughter was caught inside him like a bubble. They ended at his own mansion, and it looked so alien to him, like it belonged to someone else. He felt so different than the guy who had lived there, the angry, lost asshole who took out his confusion and anger on everyone else.
She stopped, freezing in a tree branch, balancing easily without even having to use her hands on the trunk. She stared at the house, tilting her head to the side. "Jeremy is supposed to tell us all the terrible things Kol has done."
Tyler, on the branch behind her, wondered what kind of expression she wore, what she was feeling and so, being Tyler, he asked. "so are you still terrified of him?"
She shook her head, "no."
"Why don't you just go confront him now then?" Tyler wanted to know.
"He's an original, right? Aren't they supposed to be like…super powerful and evil? I don't know how strong I am. Maybe he could rip my heart out without even batting an eye lash." She dropped her voice, "I don't feel the fear, but I know in my head that I should be afraid. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah." He said quietly, "that makes a lot of sense, actually."
"Sh." She hissed, jumping back and pulling him with her to a branch behind the tree, her hand clamped down over his mouth with crushing strength. He bit down a cry of pain and let her guide his head to the door of his home. Rebekah was exiting with a punk rock looking girl behind her that Tyler recognized from town gatherings and founding family events. Veronica Fell, heir to the Fell fortune. She had always been a little off, a little different than the rest of her family. He had never really known her though, just the face and the rumors surrounding her. When Jeremy had told him that she was housing Anna, he hadn't been surprised or wary.
But now…
He wanted to ask Anna if she knew that the Fell girl was cavorting with the enemy, if this was part of some plan she and Jeremy had, but her hand still kept his mouth tightly closed.
"I'll see you soon then, Rebekah." She told the Original with a smile, then the smile faded. "And his promise is your promise too, remember that."
"If I were you, I wouldn't be telling me what to remember and what to forget, little girl. You're the little lamb playing around with wolves." She smirked, as if finding herself entirely amusing, then said, "but no worries. Your little Jeremy will remain safe. He sure does have a knack for women going to bat for him. Must be the big brown eyes."
Veronica raised an eyebrow, "Well, as long as he's safe, I'll get you Anna."
"See that you do; and quickly." There was a long pause, "run along now."
Why would she trust them? He pulled Anna's hand from his mouth, but kept quiet and she let go of him but shot him a warning look. He rolled his eyes at her before turning back to Rebekah and Veronica.
The pink haired Fell was getting into her car, while Rebekah was shutting the door to the mansion. Anna grabbed his hand and darted off deeper into the woods and he clung to her as he tried to keep up. The tiny thing was quick and strong, so he felt, even with his valiant speed, that she was dragging him with her. When they arrived back at the remains of the old Lockwood estate, Jeremy was already there waiting.
His eyebrows shot up as Tyler remembered that he was shirtless and they were both looking alarmed. Before he could say a word, Anna exclaimed, "Ronnie is collaborating with Kol and Rebekah in order to keep you safe."
"Wh-what?" Jeremy stepped toward them, "you've got to be kidding me."
Tyler shook his head, "we just saw it go down, man."
"I just…can't believe this. I've known her since we were kids, I didn't think she was like this…" He shook his head and looked helplessly at Anna.
She, however, seemed more thoughtful than anything else. There was no anger there, no betrayal and Tyler found himself confused by that. From what Jeremy had described, Anna was the vengeful kind. Tyler looked to Jeremy, who looked angry and hurt. But then, it was his friend that had been doing the betraying.
"So what the hell do we do now?" Anna asked, then she stopped and looked right at Jeremy. "We don't tell her. Okay? We don't tell her anything."
"Why?"
"Because she's protecting you for one, and because we can feed her false information, we can control what Kol knows and does not know.
"She has a point." Tyler decided, "it sounds smart anyway."
Jeremy nodded, but if anyone has asked Tyler, he would have said that he did not look convinced.
XXX
She had said she wanted to dance, Klaus thought with satisfaction as he lounged languidly on the window seat in the foyer, taking in the beautiful sunlight that was gathering on the small koi pond in his back yard. Doesn't she realize that is what we're always doing, she and I?
She had been an exquisite dancing partner only moments before, matching his every quip with her own.
He pressed his fingers into his forehead, elbow against the glass and his attention away from the outside world. At the moment she was his captive, but unlike his other captives he had no sense of possession of her. In truth, he could not compel her, she imbibed Vervain regularly, this he knew. Should she want to leave, there was no stopping her, outside of threats against her mother and family.
And if he dug deeply enough inside himself, he was left wondering if he really would do anything to her family if she left.
Yes, he told himself firmly, keeping the word resolute. If I go soft on her, how would others think of me? They would assume I was cracking, finally losing it, and how could I maintain my power?
It bothered him that he had even questioned it.
At the sound of footsteps, however quiet, Klaus looked up. Caroline, wearing a lovely red dress with spaghetti straps and toeless heels, accentuating her pale skin, golden hair and long legs, approached with a smile. He had been afraid she wouldn't dress for the occasion, but should have known better. Caroline Forbes always dressed the part.
He had decided to wear tan slacks and a loose mahogany silk shirt, both made Gucci. In truth, they looked like they had coordinated their clothes and that pleased Klaus on two levels. The first was on a purely ascetic level, he enjoyed how pleasing to the eye they would be as a pair. The second was that it gave the illusion of solidarity. Elijah, Damon and Elena would walk into the mansion and note how together they appeared and, subconsciously, it would tell them that he and Caroline were a team.
He only wished he had planned it so that he could take the credit.
"You're a vision." He told her with a smile, standing up and extending a hand, "truly."
She gave an elegant nod and a smile, "of course I am."
He enjoyed the arrogance and the smugness of her straight posture and enigmatic tug on her lips gave her a radiance that he took time to appreciate. First, he drank her in with his eyes from top, then to bottom, and back to top again. When she took his hand, he brought her a step closer. Her skin was soft and smooth against his, and she smelled like…he couldn't place it. At first he thought it was something fruity but then it shifted and it became musky, with hints of other aromas. Was there pumpkin somewhere in there? It didn't matter. What mattered was that she smelled amazing. "After dinner I arranged a gathering, Caroline. You wished to dance, so you shall dance."
"You'll arrange it so I'll have anything I want?" She asked lightly, teasingly and smiled at her own joke like he understood it. Maybe he did. She probably wanted him dead, to protect those she loved, to avenge those he had already killed.
"Within reason." He told her, smiling back pleasantly. "I would look forward to fulfilling all of your desires, Caroline."
"Smooth, Klaus." She rolled her eyes and walked past him to the dining room which was prepared in full for their guests, "real smooth."
He moved to be behind her as quickly as he could, almost touching her. He remembered her words from earlier and he wanted to show her that he could be patient, that she didn't know every facet and maybe, just maybe she might then want to know more. "Would you like me to be smooth, Caroline?"
She whirled around to look at him, finding herself almost nose to nose with him. He could tell by her expression and the widened eyes that he had taken her off guard and he was pleased by this. "I'm not impressed. Any vampire can do that." She told him.
Her eyes told him something else, so he decided to press his luck, "do you want me to show you things other vampires can't do? I gladly will. I'll take my time doing it. I'll savor every moment." He captured her gaze and held it, letting his eyes hood over as a smile played on his lips, "I could start by compelling Damon, you know. I can make him into the puppet that he made you into."
"How did you-" She stopped then shook her head, "he told you. When Rebekah had him here, you compelled him."
He smiled wolfishly, "if he hadn't been Rebekah's prey, I would have ripped his heart out. I still can. I can serve it to you as a present, or would you like his end slower than that?"
Her lips parted slightly, as if she were considering her words. He hoped that she was. If their situations were reversed he would be doing more than considering. The way that Damon had talked about Caroline, as if she were disposable, had infuriated him. But then, Klaus had to consider the source. Damon Salvatore was less than nothing and of little consequence. He fell for Katherine, like only a fool would, then Elena, because Katherine wouldn't have him.
"No." She shook her head and Klaus forced himself not to roll his eyes. "Elena cares about him."
"Elena would be better off without him." Klaus coaxed, walking around her, approaching her from the other side with his offer. "Think about it, without Damon she would no longer be confused about her feelings, would she? Stefan, your dear friend, would have his girlfriend back and the world would be minus one more cheeky vampire with an inflated sense of worth."
She raised her eyebrows, insinuating that he was just that type of vampire and Klaus found himself shrugging good naturedly, "I didn't use you as a walking, talk slurpy machine Caroline, all the while using you to betray your friends. He did."
"But you would if it suited you." She told him evenly, "you've done worse."
"I could do better." He responded smartly, spreading his hands out, "you won't even give me a shot?"
"To reform?" She laughed scornfully, "I hardly think you're a puppy dog, willing to change your ways to please a pretty girl."
Using his most encouraging, dashing smile, he told her, "You're underestimating your beauty."
"You're underestimating my intelligence." She shot back, "funny, Damon did the same thing." She turned on her heels and started toward the steps. "Summon me when the guests arrive, please." She stopped in her tracks as the doorbell rang. She turned to watch Klaus opening the door.
The first gaze to hit her was Elena, she had immediately averted her eyes from Klaus to the inside of his home, scanning the room until hitting Caroline. There was a small relieved smile on her lips. Klaus didn't miss the exchange, but he resisted the urge to turn and look at the expression on Caroline's face.
He settled his sights on his brother, who stood before him with a very serious expression. "Come inside." He turned to Caroline who had descended the steps and was right in front of Elena, "here, let me take that." She took the large green bowl from it. She peeled her gaze from Elena to Damon and Elijah.
Polite greetings were quickly exchanged before they introduced the group to the meal and were seated- but the food served was quickly forgotten when the point of their meeting was brought up by Elena, who seemed eager to know Kol's story. She sat beside Caroline, who was at the foot of the table. Across from Elena was Damon, beside her, Elijah and at the head of the table, next to his brother, Klaus.
It was Elijah who started the story. "There are three who know the whole tale and, quite frankly, it's unlikely they will ever divulge the whole thing. Rebekah and Kol, of course. The third was a little slave girl, the name-daughter of our witch. They know what happened. We know fragments of his insanity, of what he's capable of."
"We first started to suspect something was wrong with our brother at a very young age." Klaus took up the story and looked askance at Caroline, whose eyes were fixed readily on him. "He didn't sleep often, he didn't like anyone, and he spent more than a fair share of his time in the woods alone. When he came of age, mother kept him with her in the home. She didn't want to expose him to hunting. We all thought it was because of his size, he was a malnourished thing back then, but one night I heard our parents fighting." Klaus paused and looked at Elijah, "mother felt the violence of hunting would only prove to hasten his dark little hobbies."
"Apparently mother had caught him torturing animals." Elijah clarified, looking sideways at his brother and facing Elena with a serious expression. "We found out that she knew after we were vampires. We had no idea as humans. However, we learned on our own what he did, Tatia told us."
Klaus ignored the moment between Elijah and the doppelgänger, "well she came to Elijah, and I was with him." He looked up at his brother who was almost startled, but soon his smooth expression returned. "We ran to the woods to catch him, so we could ask him if this was for one of his rituals, because Kol and Rebekah were their mother's children."
Elijah cast Elena a sideways glance and asked, "is this the way I sound when I explain our history?" She seemed to look like she was choking back a laugh, then had the good sense to look apologetic. Elijah seemed amused by this and then looked at Damon and finally Caroline, "he's being purposefully, and irritatingly vague. Rebekah and Kol, unlike the rest of mother's children, were witches. The rest of us showed no real inclination."
"Even today Rebekah has more keen intuition than anyone else I know."
Caroline looked at Elena, then back at Klaus and said, "so Original vampires keep some of their witch genes or whatever? Because if regular vampires turn a witch, they lose all that."
"It would seem that they do, but they're not witches. They can't cast spells or do anything of that sort." Elijah answered quickly, "they can't call on their ancestor's either, for obvious reasons."
"Klaus then interjected, "we're straying off path, brother. Let's do move on with this."
Elijah glared. "Tatia came to us, out of breath and terrified. She insisted that she found Kol in a clearing, laughing as he opened up a living squirrel. She said there were already two carcasses on the ground next to him."
"That's horrifying." Caroline whispered out.
"That's bullshit." Damon said with a roll of his eye. "None of you would have given a flying fuck if he was torturing animals, it's not like your culture was specifically known for its mercy on any living things."
"Our mother would have cared." Klaus responded evenly, "and, quite honestly, we thought if she knew, she'd stop babying him. He was growing up weak."
"And apparently psychotic." Caroline muttered, leaning back in her seat, "But why am I not surprised that either of you would be okay with animal torture?"
"Torture gets you what you want, Caroline." Klaus shrugged, "if it works, you use it. That's how you win."
"But there has to be a line you won't cross, something you won't do." Elena put in.
No sooner could she get the words out, then Damon was replying in an acidic manner; ""They were Vikings, Elena. Conquering is what they did. Did you think they managed to survive so long by holding back? No. Because if you won't do it, there is someone else who will; now they have the edge on you and it's your own fault."
Elena blinked at him, "that's not living, that's surviving. There's a difference."
Klaus caught the look of complete and utter awe on Elijah's face at her statement. He either wasn't trying, or wasn't capable, of hiding it. Klaus looked to Caroline who looked victorious. She believed that nonsense? That idealistic bull? "It's far better than dying or losing the life of someone you love, is it not?" Klaus contradicted icily, "perhaps if your mentality was more akin to mine you would still have your Aunt Jenna around, your father would still be alive and, oh, I wouldn't be a motherfucking hybrid. But you see, you hesitate and so…" he folded his hands back up, "you lose."
Before Elena could even react, Caroline interjected, "your mother obviously disagreed, if she thought that torturing animals was wrong."
"And yet we're still alive and her precious sacrifice Finn is gone." Klaus responded, "because there are things she won't do."
"We are getting entirely off point," Elijah cut in, standing up. "I get that none of us agree on how to handle things, I recognize this. But at the moment Kol is a very serious threat, and I'm not sure that is entirely understood; since his inaction has lulled people into thinking he is not one." As the group turned their intention from their debate back to him, Elijah sat. "We were never able to catch him torturing any creatures, by the time we arrived in the woods, the clearing was empty sans a little slave girl with a fire, roasting a squirrel."
"It was this year that we believe he killed the owner of that little slave girl and somehow convinced our mother to bring her on as one of our own." Klaus added, though he knew his voice sounded lower than usual. "That was the first death that we attribute to him."
"We think that he helped our mother kill Tatia." Elijah told them, "he had no love for her. She had betrayed him in order to keep me safe from mother's wrath, or we think that is how it happened. Because of the secret she betrayed, mother sold Ayanna to a woman outside the village." Klaus could see the conflict on his brother's face. There was guilt there for him, knowing what had happened to Kol's little pet. "She was…what you now call a Madame. She used her slaves to make money off of men."
"Lucrative business."
"Until we became vampires anyway. Then, the very first deaths were in that little business. Kol went to retrieve his property and then…" Elijah shook his head, "there were no survivors."
"That's just the tip of the iceberg." Klaus added, "the beginning."
"Yes." Elijah nodded, "Kol has done worse since, and he's smart about it."
"Really? Because so far it sounds like he was obsessed with some slave girl and did anything to possess her. That sounds eerily familiar." Damon cast a pointed look at both of them, then folded his arms over his chest. "Maybe creepy and obsessive is a family trait."
"He was able to capture and torture me." Klaus finally ground out angrily, "which means he's smart and he's powerful. Do you understand? He was able to do what the lot of you combined could not do. He hates Tatia, and he's not exactly sane, so he'll hate you Elena. He will kill you. And right now? His partner is Rebekah, who isn't too fond of you either. Are you understanding my point? How about you, Damon? Your precious, little unrequited love is in danger, which means my supply of hybrid-making-blood is at risk. On top of that we," he motioned to himself and Elijah, "want to protect our baby sister. So you see how putting Kol back in a coffin benefits all of us?"
Damon regarded him carefully, "do you have some kind of plan?"
Klaus decided to take that as an affirmative on Damon's part, but he didn't trust Salvatore and stored his non-answer close to the surface of his memory as a reason to question his loyalty. "We need Rebekah on our side, Damon."
"Okaaaaay?" Damon looked at Elena, who was just as confused.
"Well, I was kind of hoping you would seduce her for us, mate." Klaus said with a sarcastic smile, "she's more likely to take to that before listening to either of us."
There was an awkward silence over the group, before Caroline let a snicker escape from her throat. "Oh, that's priceless. That's just…" She shook her head, "talk about playing to someone's strengths!"
"Hahaha, hilarious." Damon waved a hand at her, "well, I did play you pretty easily."
"It might be a little harder without being able to compel someone." Klaus sliced in with a terseness that surprised even him. He settled back into his chair, "we have some time, Kol works slowly and methodically. His is a special kind of madness."
"Actually, time is something I don't have." Elena said with a little haste in her tone, "I really have to leave. I forgot that I have to go take care of Bonnie's garden. I forgot yesterday, I can't forget today or she'll…hex me or something." Elena stood up and was already toward the door when Elijah was in front of her. "What?"
"You can't go alone. Did you completely miss the part where we said Kol specifically will come after you?"
"I didn't, actually." Elena told him hotly, "nor did I miss the part where Klaus told us he worked slowly. I don't think I'm in any danger today. Besides, I'm going right to the one house we know vampires can't get into. I'll be fine."
"She will, brother." Klaus assured her, "and we must talk to Damon some more, he needs to know how to get to Rebekah."
"I think I already have that covered." Damon told them lazily, "I can escort Elena to Bonnie's."
"Really? Because the last time I saw you with my sister, she was torturing you."
"Actually, she was letting me go. Remember?"
Klaus opened his mouth to speak but Elena cut him off. "He's right Damon, if Rebekah is our only shot, you need to know how to do this. I mean, that is if you're going to. You have every right to say no, Damon. No one will force you to do it."
"And you have no problem with this at all?" He asked a little too casually. Klaus wondered if Elena caught the test Damon was giving her.
She shook her head no, so apparently not, "It's your decision, not mine."
"I'm in," He replied evenly, almost challengingly. "I mean, what the hell, it was fun last time." He meant the words to cut and by the look on Elena's face, they hit the mark. Klaus wondered if Damon knew he was out of the game yet, if he knew that Stefan, somehow, was winning this little competition for her that they had going. Poor chap, Klaus almost felt sorry for him.
"Okay." She replied, "I really have to go, I promised Bonnie. I'll text you later, so you'll know I'm okay." She told Damon with a half-smile. She walked over to hug Caroline, then left, leaving her two escorts looking equal parts unhappy and confused.
"Well, let's get to work, Damon." Elijah suggested with a weary sigh.
XXX
"He came out again last night." Lucy told Bonnie with a sigh as she poured them both some hot tea. The witch sat across from her cousin, and Bonnie grimaced at the news. She dumped a few lumps of sugar in the tea that Lucy had brewed, the concoction specially made to invoke inspiration.
It had a fruity taste to it, and as she drank it she felt warmer, lighter, despite the disparaging news. For the last week they had tried every merging spell that they could to try and mend the schism inside of Alaric Saltzman and each time proved to be a failure.
The herbs she had put so much work into had failed as well, it seemed he was doomed to be split into two halves forever and that he would never know peace. "Worse, the witches seem to enjoy his alter," Lucy continued, "they want to kill every vampire, they find them to be abominations against nature."
"Well that's just fantastic, isn't it?" Bonnie asked sarcastically then took another long drink of the tea. "Do you agree with them, Lucy?"
She shook her head, "no. But I've spent a lot of time with vampires- and I don't just mean the bitches like Katherine, Bon." She leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner, "to kill all of them? Doesn't that seem just as evil as vampires feeding arbitrarily on humans? I mean…I've met some vampires who don't do that."
Caroline. Bonnie thought the name immediately. She couldn't think of Stefan like that anymore, not after all she had learned about him, but Caroline for certain. "Try explaining that to the circle."
"They won't listen." Her voice dropped another octave, "Bon, I think we've gotten as far as we can with these witches. We need to find another way to fix this."
She hated to agree, but what choice did they have? Still, they needed to make sure that Caroline's mother was safe and Bonnie didn't think that Mystic Falls would accomplish that particular goal. "Well if witches can't help us solve Ric's split personality issue, who do you think can? I mean, we're running out of options."
Lucy looked thoughtful as she stared into her cup of tea. When she looked back up, Bonnie felt a surge of hope fueled by the expression on her cousin's face. "We need some time and some space, it won't happen in like a day or anything, but what if we made up our own spell? It would take some trial and error, but I think we can do it."
"Do you think we're powerful enough?"
Lucy nodded, "oh yeah, we just need someone who is an expert with herbs, flowers and gems." Lucy explained with energy in her voice, "someone who knows their way around a spellbook too- some extra books would be helpful too."
"I have that covered." Bonnie replied, "the books, I mean. There was this guy, Luka and his dad? They had a whole library full of books. I have them now."
She raised an eyebrow but said nothing, "okay, so we go back to Mystic Falls then."
"What about Liz and Ric though?" Bonnie wanted to know, "Mystic Falls is drowning in vampire problems. I want to keep them far away and safe." Bonnie stood up and paced the length of Lucy's dining room, "Liz can stay here, right? I mean, the witches will protect her."
"They will." Lucy told her.
"Ric can come back to Mystic Falls with us then while we go through all the books and try to piece together a spell. Maybe we can find like…an herbalist online or something?" she looked at Lucy who was nodding eagerly. "Well, at least we have a plan." But there was a whisper in the back of her mind that made Bonnie feel reluctant to leave for Mystic Falls, like there was something dangerous lurking there…
Who was she kidding? It was Mystic Falls. There was always something dangerous lurking there.
XXX
The light trickled down through the trees shattering beams so that they meet spots on the ground with their brightness. She remained behind a thick trunk, bubbles of laughter threatening to explode from her chest. She was waiting for him, even though she shouldn't be, even though it was wrong, but for some reason the sensation of happiness overwhelmed her usual worries them trepidations. Perhaps it was the beauty of the day; the sun was out, there is a small breeze broken up by the trees that made it perfect to be outside. How could anyone worry on the like that?
"Must I find you?"
It was Elijah's voice, clear as the sound of the birds in the sky and just as beautiful. She didn't move, she didn't even breathe, although she was sure that if you listen hard enough he would be able to hear her heart pounding. "You hide your beautiful face from me, what have I done to deserve such punishment?"
She grinned, then popped her head out from her hiding place, "you are dallying with those below your place, and for that you must pay."
He started upon her, but she quickly darted through the trees, daring him to chase her. He did, barreling after her like men are wont to do but she evaded him with her quickness, an attribute she thanked her gender and station for. The wind billowed beneath her linen dress and she fought to keep it down as she ran, modesty prevailing over her desire to not be caught by him.
His hand fell onto her shoulder, thick and warm, it stopped her movement and spun her around to look at him. She extended her foot as she turned, wrapping it around his ankle and sending them both to the ground. He caught her with an arm circling her waist, then his right hand slamming onto the ground to break their fall. "Are you trying to slay us?"
"Better that than be caught by your mother." She replied with a lofty little smile. He dipped his head to touch his lips against hers but she swiveled to avoid it. "She alone can cast a fate worse than death."
"You fear my mother?" He asked with humor, "while the rest fear my father."
"The rest are fools." She told him, looking into his eyes in defiance. He was heavy atop her, even while he held a lot of his weight on his arm as not to burden her. His hair fell like a veil over their faces, giving her the feeling of privacy, though there was none. "Your mother is the strength. Your father is simply a symbol. Anyone with sense knows it."
"Then she need not know."
"There is nothing to know."
"Mmm, but I want there to be." He told her, his breath was warm on her face and it sent a stirring between her thighs. Elijah was the handsomest man she had ever laid eyes on, so handsome that she wondered if Mikael was truly his father or if was actually one of the legendary elves that his people talk of so often. It would explain why she felt so strongly about him, despite the troubles with having such emotions. His dark eyes looked into hers with desire and inquiry. She knew that she should look away, that to keep their gazes locked like this was an invitation, but she could not will her gaze to move and stop taking in his beauty.
So she let her mouth do what her eyes would not, "your brother wishes the same." She told him.
Straight and true, the words hit their mark and he rolled off of her. "My brother simply wishes to upset father."
His words stung too, but she quickly recovered. "And can do no wrong according to his mother." She told him, getting to her feet and brushing off the leaves and grass from her already stained and beaten up dress. "So who would be the safer choice for my child, Elijah?"
He turned to her, advancing towards her in such a fashion that she found herself backing up to the tree. The bark was digging into her back and she looked up at him with wide eyes. She did not fear him though, not as women needed to fear men anyway. The panic within her breast was of her own action at this closeness. "And do you want to choose him, Tatia?" He asked in a husky voice. He raised his hand to touch her cheek, stroking it gently before moving his fingers to her lips, gently grazing the lower one with his calloused fingers. "Do you want him?"
The feeling of his calloused, rough fingers against her lip weakened her will, her resolve, to keep her emotions for him stifled. She had worked so hard not to notice the way the light highlighted his cheekbones, the way his eyes devoured her, the way his voice took that low, rumbly tone that made her think of the things men and women were meant to do. It was hard though, harder with his skin on hers, the feel of it on her lips made her wonder how it would feel in other places.
She shook her head for she could not speak. She did not want Niklaus, she never had, but she feared standing up against him. Not because she feared him, though she sensed a violence lurking beneath that beauty of his, but Esther watched them so closely and she was so powerful. If she upset Niklaus, she upset Esther and then what would become of her beloved baby?
He smiled, "I was afraid you did. I couldn't bear the thought of you with him." He closed his eyes and she saw pain and anger flicker over his usually stony features. They were not stony with her though and when he opened his eyes back up she felt wild and beautiful, as all women should feel but so rarely did. To live without this feeling, to never know passion and fire, it was true loss and yet there was no room for it in their world of survival and hardship. She moistened her lips with her tongue and fought back the urge to take his mouth with hers. "Why do you give him your attention?"
"Are you jealous?"
"Of course I am." The violence behind the words burst out of him as though it was beyond his control. "When he flirts and he smiles….then you flirt and smile back…I…" He didn't finish, just shook his head before looking at her again, his hands fell down again and he took her pendant, a flat rock with the rune Laguz carved into it. "Do you do it to anger me? To test me?"
"No." She said, hand flying to her chest, then taking her necklace back instinctively. "You don't seem to understand the power that your mother has, Elijah. She's strong, stronger than my family line and Na's too. She was able to send Na away, that should tell you something."
"I wouldn't let her send you away." He lightly brushed the hair from her face, fingers lingering enough to send little shocks of lightning through her.
She shook her head, "it isn't me I worry for, it's my daughter." Tatia answered, "I put her at risk for even being here…I should lose my life, I deserve to."
"No." He whispered fiercely, "no. You will both come with me. We'll runaway together, Tatia. We will be a family."
"And what of my mother?" She asked, "who will care for her? She is too old to leave, too sick. I can never leave her like this."
He cupped her face with his hands, stroking her cheek so gently with his thumb that it left a tingling sensation throughout her body. "Your love for your family…even after your mother was so awful to you…" He moved his hand slightly so that his thumb could stroke the contours of her lower lip, his eyes were trained on her mouth and it caused her heart to pound even harder, "the way you stayed for them, knowing how others would look at you for being with child…it's Khàti."
She moistened her lips slowly, taking in the word that was not used by the Vikings, but by the wolves. It was a word that had no real translation in the tongue either of their families originally spoke. It meant pure, but not exactly, for it also meant compassion and love. He knew little of their native tongue, even less than she herself did, so it was strange to hear the word from his perfect mouth. "Elijah-"
"We will hide," he whispered, "we will tell no one until we can finally leave. Then together we will go and I will raise her as though she was ours."
She raised her own hands to take his strong beautiful face in her hands. "You mean this."
"Every word." He swore in a breath. "Tatia, you are all I dream of, all I have ever wanted, I would forsake every honor I have if it meant that I could have you." The feel of his warmth against her, his breath on her face and the penetration of his eyes made her want to have him abandon it all for him. It was like a spell, being that wanted and her head was dizzy with it. But what did that make her? What kind of person was she to make him give up everything? For her to have Elijah, honorable, sweet, noble Elijah forsake his own character to be with her? It was cruelty at its highest level. "Say that you'll have me. Say that you want me."
She could barely catch her breath to speak and she wanted nothing more than to taste his lips and feel his skin against hers. But it was wrong. It was forbidden and she simply could not ask him to abandon his honor, the very core of is being, for her. "There is no place in this world for us." She whispered hoarsely, choking the words out against her own will and desires. "I will marry within my station and you will do right by your parents. It is the way it has to be."
"So you feel nothing?" He asked, and she could see that he knew it wasn't true. "This is all just of my own making?"
Could she lie? Could she convince him that she felt nothing for him? Even if she wanted to, she had never been an excellent liar and she could never, ever lie to him, he whom she held in such high regard. "Elijah, I feel everything for you. More than you know- and that's why I can't take you away from the family you love so much, the brother that is your best friend, the sister you adore…they mean so much to you." His skin was smooth beneath her fingers tips, and she took a strand of silken hair between her thumb and forefinger, rubbing it, feeling it, memorizing it.
They had never kissed, only flirted and teased. She wanted to kiss him then, to at least know what it was like, to have lived it…
But if she gave into this, what else would she give into? How much further would it go? Would they be able to turn back?
"I can't do this to you, Elijah." She whispered, before ducking from underneath his arm and running back towards the village.
...Elena's eyes snapped open and she went from the woods to a bedroom and she found herself staring into two bottomless pits. Going from the warmth of Elijah's gaze, to the emptiness that was before her now was startling and unnerving. It jerked into the painful reality of bound wrists and the throbbing pain in her head from whatever weapon used to knock her out in the first place. The last thing she remembered was going to the barn for the watering can…
Now she was bound, and face to face with the very vampire they had been discussing all evening. Kol had the face of an angel. Had she met him on the street, with no knowledge of who he was, she'd have trusted him on his visage alone.
At the moment it brought her more fear than anything else, a fear so paramount that it clouded all the other thoughts darting through her mind and colliding with each other. What had just happened? How was she experiencing Tatia's memories? It was as mad as her captor was…