Chapter Thirty: Past and Present

Flashback: Two Years Ago

Elijah had a difficult time remembering being as happy as he was when he found himself hidden away in a small town tucked away in Maine.

The town was perched at the edge of the coast, with fewer than a thousand people crowding its streets. It was a fishing town, yet the only thing he ever smelled was the cold, salty breeze blowing off the Atlantic.

He had stumbled across this small gem during his wanderings, having moved north from the warm forests of Virginia. He hadn't planned on staying long, but the small town charm had him lingering, along with something else...

The first thing he heard was her laugh. It was warm and sweet, drawing him into the local cafe when he was walking by. Her name tag stated her name was Elena, and the moment her chocolate brown eyes turned to him, Elijah felt himself rooted to the spot, frozen.

Elena had offered him a smile, which was as warm as the rest of her, and told him to sit wherever he liked. He managed to stumble to a seat at the counter, and watched as she approached him, transfixed by her simple beauty. His tongue seemed to tie itself in knots.

"Hi, I'm Elena. Are you new in town?"

Elijah had nodded, and eventually, his words had returned to him.

Soon, their interactions over his unneeded cup of coffee turned into something more. Elena not only found her way into his bed, but into his heart. She was like a fresh breath of air after centuries of forgetting how to breathe.

One morning, when they laid side by side, with nothing but the thin bedsheets covering them, Elena had told him she loved him. Even after she had learned about who he was, who he really was, she had chosen him.

But Elijah should have known that life would not be kind to his happiness. A hiccup in their relationship was the discussion of him making her into a vampire. By this time, they had nearly been together for a year. Elijah had been firm, saying no, she might change her mind.

The decision had been made for them both one rainy evening. Elena had gone out to make a milk run to the local store, despite Elijah's wishes for her to remain indoors. The rain had come down so thick and heavy, Elena did not see the fallen tree in the road until it was too late.

It hadn't been until the morning when they found her car, which had been lying in a destroyed heap at the bottom of a cliff. They said she would have died instantly, but Elijah had wondered if the local police had told them that to ease his pain.

He had left the town a week after Elena's death. He couldn't stay there anymore, seeing the cafe where she had worked at, or living in the apartment that seemed to empty without her. His pain had stayed hidden underneath a fog of grief and, at times, anger and regret.

He found himself wandering once more, until he had gotten the call that brought him back to the Quarter...

Flashback Ends

Ooo0ooO

Elijah stared at those all too familiar brown eyes, wondering if he had somehow fallen into a version of hell where the ghost of his past stood before him, taunting him.

Katherine stared back, undeterred by his unblinking eyes. "So if we both don't need to blink, how are we going to declare a winner?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"So proper," Katherine said, smiling slowly. "Staring contest."

Elijah's brow crinkled, which made the other vampire laugh. His expression changed at the sound. It was rich and robust, and was full of more gusto than...

Stop! he ordered himself.

"You don't know anyone named Elena Gilbert?"

"No. Girlfriend?" When he was quiet, Katherine's expression smoothed out. She recognized that look. "Oh. Sorry."

"It's not..." Elijah exhaled sharply, rubbing his eyes.

"Look, why don't I go? You seem..." She gestured vaguely, unable to finish that sentence.

"I'm sorry," was all he told her before he disappeared.

Katherine stared at the spot he had been standing in, with an expression that was both curious and sad. "Me too."

Ooo0ooO

A few days later, Hayley wandered through the streets of the Quarter at dusk. She was heading towards Sophie's shop,but something caught her attention.

Katherine was lounging in front of one of the local cafes, swirling a cup of coffee that looked suspiciously redder than usual, and was in the process of picking apart a beignet.

Next to her, a blonde vampire chatted away amicably, unaware that her companion was clearly not listening to her.

Hayley lifted a brow at the scene. If she didn't know any better, she would have assumed Katherine looked miffed and confused, which didn't seem to fit the vampire's personality (from what little Hayley knew).

The blonde noticed Hayley, and lifted her own slender brows in response. "Staring is rude, you know. Don't werewolves have any boundaries?"

Rolling her eyes, Hayley walked over, looking at Katherine. "Who killed your favorite plaything?"

"What?" Katherine asked, snapping out of her thoughts. "Oh, it's you."

"'Who killed your favorite plaything?'" the blonde repeated. "Oh, I get it, because vampires are mindless killers."

"You can be," Hayley shot back, meeting the another woman's gaze firmly. She stared at her like she would stare at a pack member who spoke out of turn, and was satisfied when the vampire dropped her gaze.

"If we choose to be," the vampire muttered.

Hayley bared her teeth, as if she was smiling. "So, Katherine," she said, pointedly turning towards through dark haired vampire. "I haven't seen you around much."

"Caroline and I are keeping a low profile," Katherine said, gesturing to the blonde. "Caroline, this is our local werewolf queen."

The blonde and the wolf exchanged raised browed looks, assessing each other. Again, Caroline turned her gaze away first. Hayley smirked.

"Hayley," the werewolf corrected, not bothering with rolling her eyes. She quickly learned that the others might love calling her these array of nicknames and titles, but she could keep being persistent about being called 'Hayley'. With the exception of one nickname, though...

Hayley snickered quietly at that thought.

Katherine pursed her lips, as though a thought just occurred to her as well. "So you've been spending a lot of time with Klaus."

Not a question, Hayley noted. "No, not anymore," she lied smoothly.

"Then why are you still here?" Caroline challenged.

"Care, hush. You can find someone else to bother easily," Katherine said in a placating tone. "Anyway, did you meet the rest of his family?"

Hayley kept her curiosity from showing on her face. "A bit."

"His sister? Brothers?"

"His youngest brother the most, I guess."

"And the oldest...?"

"Elijah isn't very sociable," Hayley shrugged.

Katherine slumped in her seat. Her eyes seemed to narrow at that. She hummed in response.

Interesting. Hayley casually tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Well, this has been fun. I'll leave you guys to your...ah, 'coffee'."

Katherine smiled widely, exposing all of her teeth, including her slightly lengthened canines. She took a slow sip, smirking at Hayley.

Caroline just gave her a tight lipped smile.

Ooo0ooO

"We didn't even fucking burn her!"

"It's been weeks, why are you still bitching about this?"

"Because no one else is!"

Alaric sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead. He had been listening to Matt and Damon shout at each other for nearly an hour now, and it was getting tiresome.

"Matt, sit down," he ordered. "Damon, go cool off."

The two Hunters aimed equally dirty looks at the older Hunter, but did as they were told.

Matt fisted his hands by his side, his bright blue eyes glaring daggers into the ground. Rage boiled inside him, and he wanted nothing more than to knock Damon's teeth out.

Fucking dick, he thought angrily. His anger then turned towards Alaric, who was giving him that "I'm older and therefore smarter than you, so don't try anything" look. It only succeeded in pissing Matt off more.

"She was your daughter!" Matt snapped irritably.

"And she was your sister," Alaric nodded calmly.

Matt snarled. "She deserves a Hunter's funeral. Burning on a pyre. Not being fucking buried like some... human."

"I made my choice-,"

"The wrong choice!"

"But my order is final. I know you're sentimental, but you have to let go of your emotions."

"You're not my leader, Jeremy is. And you're certainly not my father, so you can shove that order right up your-,"

There was a blur of movement, a flash of silver, and a cry of pain.

Matt looked down at the small throwing knife that was embedded in his shoulder.

Alaric rose slowly. Yes, Vicki had been his daughter, and Matt's sister, but the only thing the siblings had shared was their mother. Matt's father was another Hunter that had been killed years ago, from unknown circumstances.

Alaric was the only one who knew which circumstances they had been. After all, he had had his eye on Matt's mother, Kelly, for years. He had had her first, but after Vicki was born, Kelly went off with the other Hunter due to her growing fear of Alaric. Alaric had killed the other Hunter, but by that time, Kelly had already been pregnant with Matt. He had blamed Matt's father's death on a rogue werewolf, and the other Hunters knew not to question him.

Kelly had given birth to Matt, then later died from complications. Vicki was only two years old, and with a newborn baby, Alaric had passed off them both to be raised with the other children and their mothers. It wasn't long before he disappeared, only to reappear once news of Vicki's death reached him.

It wasn't a secret that both Vicki and Matt had loathed him, even though they had no memories of him.

"I don't really take kindly to insubordination," Alaric stated calmly. "So next time I won't miss your heart."

Ooo0ooO

Mason sat beneath a tall tree, watching the grass sway with the breeze. He was on patrol, keeping an eye on their perimeters for anything unusual.

He sighed deeply when he saw nothing but grass, trees, and sunlight. It was warm today, but the humidity had finally given way.

A slender white wolf padded his way, her gold, kind eyes fixed on him. She sat down in front of him, then shifted.

"Eve," Mason said with a nod.

"No news from Hayley?"

Mason shook his head. Ever since their Aloha was cursed, she had been distant, only coming back to the pack late every night. "I wish she would tell us what to do.

"You mean you wish she would tell you what to do."

Mason frowned. "I'm not good sitting around. This isn't my job."

"Protecting the pack in the Alpha's place?" Eve asked, tilting her head to the side. "That's seems like textbook Beta responsibilities."

"You know what I mean."

Eve chuckled. "Yes, I do. You know our Alpha, Mason. She'll make a decision when she's good and ready."

"I want to go home. I want to take Tyler back to Lana's pack, where he belongs."

"I know," Eve said gently, reaching out to clasp his hand in hers. "Most of the pack wants to go home too."

"Don't you?"

A slow smile crept across her face. "I think we aren't done here just yet."

Ooo0ooO

Sitting in a back room, Davina quietly sketched in a sketch book while Sophie worked on the shop's financial reports.

Bonnie walked in, sitting down next to Davina. "How's it going, kid?"

"I'm not a kid."

Bonnie gave Sophie an amused look. "Remember when we were 16?"

Sophie rolled her eyes. "Hardly. But then again, I'm older than you, so you might at least."

"You act like you're a century old," Bonnie laughed.

"I feel like I'm a century old having to look out for this one," Sophie said, pointing at her sister with a pen.

"Hey!" Davina protested. "I can look out for myself."

Bonnie wrapped an arm around the younger witch, who looked irate. "We know that," she said. "But we are a coven, we look out for each other."

Davina sighed, and went back to her sketching.

Bonnie peered at the page, knowing Davina sometimes drew premonitions she had had the night before.

This time, it was just a drawing of a clear Lake that sat in near a clearing in the forest. The clearing was nearly a perfect circle, surrounded by tall, shady trees.

Bonnie looked away, getting up so she could lend a hand to Sophie. She didn't notice how Davina slowly began to add in two figures, standing in the middle of the clearing.

A knock came from down the hall, so Bonnie rerouted so she could go see who was there.

Hayley stood at the doorway, arms crossed.

Bonnie opened the door. "We're closed."

"I need to speak to Sophie."

Sophie peeked her head out of the office. "Wolf girl! Bonnie, let her in."

"You're Bonnie?"

The witch nodded. "And you must be Hayley."

Hayley smiled. "I'm surprised Sophie told you my real name."

"Oh, she didn't. Davina told me. She's got the sight."

Hayley processed that, then stopped when the other two witches came out. Her eyes went to the younger one, who sported dark hair and eyes like Sophie. "Hey, Davina."

"Hey, Hayley."

"What brings you around?" Sophie wanted to know.

Hayley's expression grew serious. "I wanted to talk to you about a... recent encounter I had with a witch."

The coven exchanged a look. Sophie spoke first. "A witch?"

Hayley looked at Davina and at Bonnie before nodding.

Understanding Hayley's silence, Sophie murmured at the other two. "Why don't we go talk somewhere quiet?" she suggested.

Hayley nodded again.

When they walked outside, Hayley looked around with an air of caution. Sophie didn't miss the wary stance she had taken. "You expecting someone?"

"No, it's just..." Hayley shook her head. "Never mind."

They found a quiet cafe off the main streets of the Quarter, and settled down in a nook under a pair of trees. Hayley leaned back, as though to conceal herself completely within the shadows, with only her eyes giving her away.

"What's on your mind?" Sophie asked.

Hayley took a deep breath, then told Sophie about her encounter with the witch that cursed her. But it didn't take long for Hayley to realize that Sophie didn't look surprised, but grim. "Do you know this witch?" Hayley demanded.

Sophie nodded. "Celeste," she said. "She is the oldest witch I know. Or, she was."

"Was?"

Sophie leaned back as well. "Davina had a vision of Celeste being killed by her own knife."

"Suicide?"

The witch scoffed. "No. That wouldn't make sense. No, it was our Hunter friends."

Hayley paled.

"It seems their old leader has made an appearance and pulled rank. He's..." Sophie trailed off, a faint tremor going through her body. "He's not someone I'd ever wish to meet."

Hayley's mind whirled. She had to tell her pack, and Klaus and the Mikaelsons... which would mean telling everyone the truth. With her decision made, Hayley lifted her chin slightly. "How much of a threat of he?"

"From what we know, he's the biggest threat since Mikael."

"Klaus' s- father?" Hayley asked with disbelief, catching herself. She didn't know who knew the truth about who Klaus' father was, so she knew it was her secret to keep as well.

"Yes. Davina has kept track of her visions very diligently. From what she can tell, he's got a huge collection of enemies at his back. Wherever he goes, people die, but those who somehow survive remember him. After being alive for centuries, you can imagine the amount of people who want him dead."

Hayley thought about how many advantages she had tried to take ahold of while here. Was this another? But this time was different, this was bigger than the other times, and this was a new threat that she didn't know about.

We're going to need all the help we can get, her wolf told her from within.

And, like always, she was in agreement with the beast.

A new plan took root, and she turned towards the witch again. "I have to go. I'll call you when I need you."

Right now, she needed to go to her pack.

Ooo0ooO

Disclaimer: I do not own the Originals.

Author's Note: I think it's time for some action, don't you? Stay tuned for the next chapter, Know Thy Enemy...

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