A/N: I really wanted to get this out over the weekend, but I got a bit stuck with the timelines and stuff. This is really my first time attempting writing such a longish story, and fanfic at that.
Thanks for the follows and the 2 reviews (although Abigail Mikaelson just wrote: WTF is Wallijah - it was a short running joke I saw Julie Plec retweeting someone about how she was going to ship Elijah and any wall he's leaning against. You've got to admit though, that he looks really good leaning against walls! So sorry, just a little lame fangirl moment on my part.)!
Anyway, hope this longer chapter makes up for the late update and hope you'll enjoy it!
A bell chimed as the doors of a nondescript cafe opened to admit its first customer of the day. Two streets down, a handful of tourists armed with their ubiquitous smartphones milled around a landmark, trying to capture the famous crossroads and its architecture before the relentless heat of the summer sun could send them scurrying into the air-conditioned malls for shelter. A bus drew to a stop beyond the crossroads and a throng of passengers alighted. Still groggy from the overnight trip, they moved sluggishly to unload their luggage. Among them was a slender figure with an overnight bag slung over her dainty shoulders. Her knees buckled slightly when she made her way across the street. Her destination was a short drive away, but she was going to have to walk all the way, having spent her last cent on the interstate bus ticket. She steeled herself against the wave of nausea that threatened to take over, determined to get to the address scribbled on a piece of worn paper clutched tightly in her left fist by today.
He was trekking through the woods looking for her but he couldn't risk calling out her name. The others were here, too. The consequences of them reaching her before him was unimaginable. Suddenly, he heard a branch snap. He turned his head in the direction of the sound only to see a blur moving towards him. The next thing he knew, he was hauled up against a tree and its bark was cutting into his back.
"Where is she?" a deep voice demanded.
He let out a grunt when the grip on him relaxed only to push him back against the tree.
"Jer. Jeremy!"
He could hear her voice in the distance.
"Jeremy, wake up!"
His eyes flew open. The woods, the man, it was only a nightmare. But the voice... "Bonnie!" he gasped at the girl seated on the side of his bed.
Bonnie gave him a quick smile. "Jer, you have to warn them. Elena and the rest."
"What do you mean?"
"It's time. You have to tell Elena about me. They need to know."
Jeremy nodded. "What do I have to warn them about?"
Bonnie looked down and hesitated. "I'm not sure, but..."
"Hey, little Gilbert." Damon drawled from the doorway. "Sweet dreams about your witchy girlfriend?" he teased.
Jeremy looked at Bonnie and she nodded her head. He turned back to Damon and said: "Damon, please get Elena and Caroline. There's something important I have to tell them."
"How could you hide this from us, Jer?" sobbed Elena. Damon had his arm around her and was squeezing her shoulder. For the first time in weeks, his face was devoid of joy and his usual wit. Caroline was hunched over in her seat, holding her head in her hands, crying silently.
Jeremy grimaced. He looked at Bonnie, his expression sombre.
"Tell them I'm sorry, Jer. I was the one who asked you to keep it from them. You shouldn't have to shoulder all the blame," said Bonnie.
"No. It's all my fault. You died trying to revive me. You gave up your life for mine."
"Wait! What? You can see Bonnie? She's here right now?" asked Elena, her eyes searching the space beside Jeremy. Damon and Caroline did the same, as if they would be able to see their friend by sheer willpower.
"She's here, beside me. And she wants us to be prepared," confirmed Jeremy.
"For what?" asked Caroline. The shock of Bonnie's death hadn't worn off, but the fact that she was here with them, despite them not being able to see her, lessened the impact of the news somewhat. Elena and Damon seemed to agree as they were both also looking at Jeremy with rapt attention.
Jeremy looked to Bonnie, willing her to continue.
"I'm not sure exactly what is going to happen, but I can feel it in my gut that it's something bad. Being on the other side, I've heard rumours that someone is recruiting, gathering allies, as if preparing for a war," said Bonnie to Jeremy. "But it's strange. I still don't understand how this other side works. I mean, I can see my grams, but that's all. Grams isn't sure either. She told me that she has communicated with other witches, but it's all one-way. She can hear them, but they can't hear her. She told me that this side is controlled by spirits, which I would take to mean us. But we don't have any control at all. We can't do magic, and I've tried searching for Alaric and the others, even Kol, but I haven't run into any of them at all. Most days, we just float around aimlessly. But we know that Qetsiyah created this realm as a purgatory for supernatural beings. I can only assume that she's the one who controls the ins and outs of this side, and that anything that happens here is never coincidental, but to further Qetsiyah's plans. But now that Silas is out of the equation, we can only make wild guesses as to what she wants to do."
Bonnie waited for Jeremy to convey her words to the others before continuing. "But the most important thing now is to come up with a cover story for me and you. I know you haven't announced your resurrection yet. But you can't hide in this house forever. And I think I have an idea. We can tell people you ran away from home the night the house burned down. You were never in it. And you contacted me after graduation so I went to look for you. We were driving back when our car ran off the ravine. You managed to get out but I went down with the car."
"What if they send divers down to look for the car and your body?" asked Jeremy.
"They won't find it. The ravine is too deep, and with your account, they would call off the search quickly and no one would be wiser."
It was weird, the rationality of the proposed plan. But no one could come up with a better idea considering the recent emotional trauma, so they agreed to put it into action the next day. When Jeremy turned around, Bonnie was gone. The four of them sat there, each consumed in their own grief. After an indefinite duration of silence, the doorbell rang, jarring them out of their brooding moods.
"I'll get it," volunteered Caroline, stepping away from the group. She looked through the peephole and was surprised to see a familiar figure. Throwing open the door, she flew into his arms. "Stefan!"
"Hey to you, too," he replied with a smile.
Caroline drew back and punched his arm playfully. "Where have you been? Why didn't you return my calls and voicemails?" she chided.
"I've been... around. How's everything?" he asked.
Caroline's face fell as quickly as her spirits had lifted when she saw her friend. "Come in, we need to fill you in," she sighed.
"Are you sure this is a good idea? Silas's body is at the bottom of the ravine. What if one of the divers chanced upon it and dragged it up?" questioned Stefan.
"But it seems like the most feasible idea now, unless you can think of a better one," answered Damon. His elation was eclipsed by shock at seeing his brother walk through the door, when presumably, he had said that he wanted out from this messy three-way relationship for good. Damon wanted an explanation for his sudden return but acknowledged that there were more pressing matters on hand.
"How about leaving the car in the woods and saying it's an animal attack?" suggested Caroline, trying to diffuse the obvious hint of awkwardness in the air as the two brothers stared at each other wordlessly.
"There's no body," said Jeremy.
"Say the animals finished it off," said Stefan.
"Then where do we get Bonnie's blood to make the blood trail look convincing enough?" asked Damon, standing up in agitation as he sensed that this conversation was doing nothing to ease Elena's pain.
"Then burn down another house," challenged Stefan.
"Which one? The one you're standing in?" interrupted Damon. "We're running low on real estate, if you haven't noticed."
"Okay, everyone. Just stop," said Elena, positioning herself between them, holding up her hands. "Maybe there is another way. But we're going ahead as planned," she addressed Stefan. "Like Bonnie said, we should get this out of the way so we have time to prepare ourselves for whatever Qetsiyah is planning on the other side."
Stefan's head snapped towards Elena at her words. "What is Qetsiyah planning exactly?"
"We don't know. But we sure as hell aren't going to sit and wait in line like chickens in the slaughterhouse pen."
Caroline stood up and tugged on Stefan's sleeve. When he looked over at her, she shook her head, indicating that the discussion was over.
"We'll go get the necessary things ready for tomorrow then," she said to Elena, Damon and Jeremy, pulling Stefan away. He conceded silently and followed her lead. When they stepped out of the house, Stefan spoke up.
"You should call Klaus and get him here, you know?" he said.
"Klaus?"
"Yeah. I mean, you guys are going into this blind, with only Bonnie's vague warning. A thousand-year-old hybrid should come in handy during a fight, don't you think?"
Streaks of sunlight fought their way into the heavily curtained room and landed on the head of the four poster bed. Hayley groaned and tossed around, trying to avoid them. She had been imprisoned in the Mikaelson household for six whole weeks. Elijah had installed her in a cosy and tastefully furnished room which looked at least 10 times more expensive than the ones she had seen in Tyler's house. He had then proceeded to compel her to stay inside the house. His rationale was that it was too dangerous to wander around, given her delicate condition. The impeccably polite vampire had even barred all means of communication with the outside world, afraid that she would call for help or let slip her condition to someone. And he had piled her with tons of DVDs of history documentaries and stuffy books "to keep her entertained".
"Who knows, you might even learn something useful or interesting," he called over his shoulder. Her eyes bored into his back, wishing she had a stake to drive through him and ruin his perfectly tailored suit.
Instead of taking him up on his offer, she had cooped herself up in her room to protest, and only left it when both Elijah and Klaus were out, which wasn't very often. But three times a day, without fail, Elijah would bring her meals and leave it outside her door. She tried to ignore the wonderful smells that wafted into her room, but eventually caved in to hunger. This carried on for two weeks before boredom won over stubbornness and she ventured out of her room, following the enticing aroma of freshly made pancakes into the kitchen only to see Elijah standing at the stove.
"I'm glad that you've finally decided to stop eating in your room," he said without turning to look at her.
"You've been cooking my meals?" she said incredulously.
"It would appear to be so, my dear, seeing that there's no one in the house except the three of us, and we both know how Niklaus is like."
Dumbfounded, she sat down at the kitchen island and watched as he served her pancakes deftly. She was uncomfortable under Elijah's scrutiny while she ate, but her pride served her well and allowed her to finish her meal in silence. Since then, she had taken to eating in the kitchen while Elijah tried to make small talk. She was careful not to reveal too much of her history, not that there was anything worth mentioning, but she found herself looking forward to these talks, having been deprived of human contact for so long.
Now, stirring awake and looking at the clock, she realised she was late for breakfast. She shook off the sleepiness and hurried to the bathroom to wash up. Then she pulled on a T-shirt and shorts and gave her dark tresses a few quick brushes before hurrying down into the kitchen.
"Good morning. Sorry I'm late," she said as she noticed that Elijah had already laid out the breakfast. Her mouth watered at the sight of the bacon strips, sunny side ups and grilled tomatoes.
"I hope you've had a good night's sleep," he said.
Recalling her outburst last night, Hayley felt her face heating up in embarrassment. "I'm sorry about..."
"Please, do not apologise," he interrupted. "I should be the one apologising on Niklaus's behalf. He was frustrated. You weren't the only one who got caught in the line of fire."
She settled for a nod, not knowing what else to say. The truth was, she was scared to death of Klaus. She was sure that when his moods struck, anyone who got in the way was killed. Elijah was the only one who could keep him in check - barely. So she sought to avoid the temperamental hybrid as much as possible. The fact that he saw her as the cause of all his problems further enforced her decision.
"So is he... did he return last night?"
"Yes, he did. After indulging himself silly. I count myself fortunate that I managed to save the lamp that he knocked down in his drunken stupor while making his way back to his room. And from the lack of blood on his clothes, I heaved a sigh of relief that he failed to kill anyone in anger."
Hayley half-choked on her eggs at Elijah's detached assessment of the situation and looked up to see him smiling at her. A question crossed her mind, but before it could materialise into a coherent one, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it. You stay and finish your breakfast," ordered Elijah.
She stood at the top step of the stairs to the mansion and raised a heavy hand to press the doorbell. Her overnight bag was on the floor beside her and she felt her body sway a little as the glaring sun rays assaulted her eyes. She tried to run through the speech she had carefully prepared over the past month but her head spun at the exertion and she thought she saw the heavy oak door open before oblivion overtook her senses.
Elijah was surprised to hear the doorbell ring. They haven't had any callers since they moved in. Looking into the peephole, he saw an all-too-familiar figure. His ears registered a regular heartbeat and shallow breaths. So, Elena had taken the cure. No, wait... his heart was ringing in confusion before his mind did. And he swung open the door just in time to catch her falling body. Then he saw the bracelet encircling her wrists and whispered in shock. "Katerina."
Katherine's long, dark lashes fluttered as she roused. Her eyebrows snapped together when she tried to recall what had happened but her brain buzzed painfully. It felt as if her skull had been invaded by millions of ants which were now turning it into their hive. Finally, her eyes adjusted to the soothing lighting in the room and she realised she was lying in a huge and comfortable bed. The mattress sloped down a little at her hips, weighed down by another figure. Slowly, she raised her eyes to his face.
"Katerina," he said, his gentle voice full of questions.
Katherine felt the blood rushing to her face and she tore her eyes away from his magnetic gaze. She bent her head and closed her eyes to prevent the tears that were welling up in them from falling. But she couldn't stop her bottom lip from quivering as she recalled the humiliation she had suffered in the past month.
After she was force-fed the cure, she had woken up in one of the rooms in the Salvatore mansion and found her doppelgänger looking at her with a mixture of irony and pity.
"You! What have you done?!" she screamed hysterically, leaping out of the bed with outstretched hands. But she had barely taken two steps towards Elena when she flew back against the wall after toppling a coat stand, with Elena's hand around her neck. She gasped for air and felt her feet lifted off the ground.
"You've lost, Katherine," said Elena. "Now you know how it feels like to be powerless. To feel the fragility of human life. To fear that the same thing that you did to others can now be applied to you. How do you like it now, huh?" added Elena, tightening her grip on her neck just enough to make her choke.
"There, there, my dear. You wouldn't want to deprive Miss Pierce the fun of living out her short and sweet human life, would you?" Damon rebuked mockingly.
Elena dropped Katherine and she fell to the floor, coughing and massaging her neck. She glared at the couple and turned her head to the fallen coat stand.
"I wouldn't try that if I were you. Without vampire reflexes and all the..." said Damon, waving his hands in the air, "you know."
Katherine had waited until the house was still before making her way quietly out. There was no way she was going to stay there and let them crush her pride more than they already had. She had enough money stashed away in banks all over the world whether she chose to hide or live in luxury while she figured out a way to restore her immortality. It sounded like a good plan until she realised that she didn't have any ID on her and she couldn't compel her way into any of the banks to reach her deposit boxes.
For the first time in decades, the hopelessness creeped over her like the talons of the evil witch in cartoons, grazing her skin softly, sending shivers of fear through her entire being. Then her survival instincts kicked in and she managed to pull herself together to do what she needed to find the one person whom she believed still cared about her, who could protect her.
"Katerina... you're running a fever. You have to drink up and get plenty of rest," coaxed Elijah, taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilting her face to look at him. His heart broke at the sight of the streaks on her beautiful face caused by tears which have managed to escape her doleful eyes. Gently, he touched his thumb pad to the latest wayward tear and stopped its journey. She raised her glistening eyes to his and felt the distress roll off her shoulders. He leaned forward to scoop her into his arms when he heard the door open.
"Well, well, if it isn't the original doppelgänger herself," said an amused Klaus.
Katherine's head jerked up at the sound of his voice and she scooted back against the bed's headboard, her eyes wide with terror.
Elijah closed his eyes for a brief moment, composing himself and said to her, "I won't let him hurt you, I promise." He stood up from the bed and led his brother out of the room, closing the door behind them.
"Please, Niklaus. Stop terrorising her. She's scared stiff enough, as it is already," said Elijah.
"Me? Terrorise the girl who crossed me more than half a century ago and has been running from me since? Terrorise the girl who stole the cure from me when I most needed it to appease a immortal being who was messing with my mind? Never!" said Klaus with a humourless laugh.
"Please, brother. I am asking this favour from you," pressed Elijah.
Klaus raised his eyebrows. "Fine. Go comfort your little backstabber while I think of a way to get my revenge on her."
"Niklaus," warned Elijah.
"Enjoy whatever time you have left with her then." Klaus turned on his heel and left.
For the second night in a row, Klaus found himself at the bar where Camille bartended. She gave him a smile when he approached the stool and turned to pour him a drink as he sat himself down.
"Double Scotch. Neat and quick," she teased.
Klaus smiled and raised his glass in thanks.
"I see you're in a better mood tonight," said Camille.
"I see you're very observant," replied Klaus.
"All part of the job."
For the good part of the night, Klaus watched as people came and went, some joyfully drunk, some sombre. A few of the patrons tried to hit on the blonde bartender but she handled herself professionally and never got into any altercations with any of them. Watching her work reminded him of another blonde he knew. Physical appearance aside, he thought that the two of them couldn't be any more different although they had the same knack for dishing out the truth, raw and unadulterated. Caroline had fight in her, amplified by her neurotic tendencies, and a light that he admired and revered, even while he wished she could accept and embrace the darkness in herself - and in the process, learn how to truly live her immortal life to the fullest. On the other hand, he hadn't known Camille for that long, but through the conversations they had, he could sense a quiet strength of maturity belied by her youthful looks.
Lost in his contemplations, he hardly noticed that the crowd had thinned and Camille was already packing up.
"We're closing, Klaus. Best to get home and get some sleep. Another day, another battle," she chirped.
Klaus tilted his head at her choice of words. "'It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles', Cami. Good night," he said.
"Good night, Buddha."
Klaus stepped out of the bar and started home. He just crossed the street when he heard loud jeers from the backdoor of the bar. His vampire hearing picked up some more heckling and Cami's determined voice saying "I'm not interested. Please stay away from me or I will get nasty."
He smiled and the next second, he was standing in the alleyway. "I think the lady asked you to leave her alone."
The street thugs turned at his voice. There were three of them, trying to corner her against a wall. He walked menacingly towards them and the youngest-looking one rushed at him. Klaus stepped sideways and reached out his hand just in time to catch the guy's arm, twisting and pulling it up. The thug screamed out in pain and when Klaus let go, he dropped to the floor, cradling his arm and backing away hurriedly. The other two guys looked at each other, then at Klaus, weighing their odds.
"Come on, have a go, won't you," provoked Klaus. "I've been wanting to hit someone for the longest time."
He moved towards them and they caught the reflection of the streetlight in his eyes. The evil glint persuaded them against making any foolish moves and they dashed warily away from Klaus, keeping their backs against the wall as they made their way past him. Helping their friend up, they ran down out of the alley without a backward glance.
"Thanks, although I could have handled it myself," said Camille.
"You would deny a man his chance to be chivalrous?" asked Klaus, placing his hand on his chest, pretending to be wounded.
Camille laughed. "Thanks," she repeated.
"I think I'd better walk you home," offered Klaus.
"It's fine, really. I'm just four blocks away."
At Klaus's pointed look, she smiled and said. "Thanks."
Camille hesitated at the doorstep of the building. Turning to Klaus, she said: "Thanks for walking me home. You didn't have to."
"That's the fourth time you've said it tonight. You're very welcome," answered Klaus with a smile.
"Um.. Look, do you want to... maybe come up for a coffee?" asked Camille, gathering up her courage.
"I would love to. Thanks." Anything to delay going home and watching that idiot brother of mine fawn over that wretched doppelgänger, he thought.
They entered her apartment, and she stepped into the kitchen to brew some coffee. "Make yourself comfortable," she called. Klaus sat down at the worn sofa and cast a look around the living room. It was apparent that the girl was a neat freak. She had enough books to make up a small library, but all of them were packed into floor-to-ceiling shelves against an entire wall, with the exception of a medium-sized gap in the shelves taken up by a flat-screen TV. He looked at the titles on the shelves and was impressed at the range of reading material she had accumulated, from Greek anthologies to Chekov, and history of evolution theories to Eliza Haywood, and, of course, Freud and Austin.
Looking down, he saw a few books stacked on top of one another on the coffee table. A piece of paper jutted out from the topmost one. Picking it up, Klaus read the title: The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images. He leafed to the page marked by the paper and froze when he saw what was drawn on it. He had seen this image on a girl's shoulder just a few months ago. A crescent moon surrounded by what seemed like a fog.
A/N: Did anyone guess that the girl in the opening paragraph was Katherine? What's your favourite part? I enjoyed writing each and every interaction between the characters but if I had to choose, I would pick Katherine/Elijah's part. Sorry if this chapter had a little too much backstory. I just wanted to tie up some loose ends before proceeding. I have OCD like that. Any theories as to what Katherine had to do to locate Elijah? I already have one - I may make it into a one-shot and post it under my Graduation story. Let me know what you think!
*edit - Stefan is still Silas, just in case. Explains the worry he has over divers going into the ravine.