Here's chapter 4…To answer a question…I know that vampires can't stab an original with the dagger as stated by Michael. In my story that only applies to Michael. I'm going off the fact that he was the first created so he's going to be the one it applies to. Oh and Bonnie and Jeremy are not dating, nor will they ever. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and questions. On with the chapter… I own nothing you recognize.

Era ran down the stairs.

"Shit, Shit, Shit!" Damon stood at the foot of the stairs, raising an eyebrow at her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Era didn't even look at him as she gathered her belongings. The call to Klaus had kept her up late. All she had thought of was how she was going to kill Elijah and how she was going to deal with the guilt afterwards. Era thought of wear she could hide the body afterward, to keep him safe and away from prying eyes. Her thoughts had strayed to Jeremy, her play thing. He was sweet and young, neither qualities she admired per se. He was an easy fix to keeping her occupied and tormenting his sister. Era would never admit it out loud, but she was jealous of Klaus's need of the girl. She knew he didn't care for her in any other way but to build his hybrid army, but he still needed her.

"I'm late for school." Damon began to laugh. Era stopped searching to raise an aggravated eyebrow at him.

"What the fuck are you laughing at?"

"It's Saturday, fire crotch." She ignored the insult. Klaus used to call her that whenever he wanted to annoy her. She had stopped reacting to it a long time ago. Elena came in and gave Damon a kiss.

"What's so funny?" She asked him. Damon grinned at Era, who remained silent. She couldn't believe what a fool she'd made out of herself. She had never needed to keep up with the days before now.

"Well Miss O'Conner here thought you had school today. Apparently even a 900 year old vampire with a bug up her ass the size of an emu can make mistakes."

"You are just giving me reasons to rip your throat out when all this is over." Era replied. She turned to go upstairs and ignore them.

"Wait…Era, would you like to come to The Grill with us today?" Damon gave her a 'what the hell are you doing?' look. Era considered it for a few moments before nodding. She walked past them and out of the door.

"What are you doing, Elena?" Damon asked.

"Maybe if she hangs out with us, she could get to know us. She'll then be less inclined to try and kill us. You were." Damon rolled his eyes.

"Or more inclined to; especially if she gets to know Bonnie. Era is not me, and she's a lot older. She's been living like this for 900 years with a mentor like Klaus. Not to mention that she's completely loyal to said mentor."

"I know, Damon. She's taken an interest in my brother. I don't know what kind of interest but it's still an interest. I have to try." He sighed and nodded. They followed Era to the car.

!

Everyone was gathered at the table. Everyone sat in a kind of awkward silence. They weren't comfortable with the two vampires that sat at the table. Era hadn't wanted to be alone with a bunch of Klaus haters, so she had invited Rebekah; who had started making eyes at Tyler. The hybrid's girlfriend looked close to trying to kill Rebekah. Jeremy sat to Era's left.

"So Homecoming is a week away. I expect every one of my friends to be there," Caroline said, stressing the word friends. She wanted the evil blood sluts to know that she didn't care if they came, and in fact hoped they didn't.

"It'll be great babe. Don't worry," Tyler replied, kissing her neck. Era looked at him pensively.

"You're the hybrid sired to Klaus, aren't you?" The table quieted. Tyler didn't know what to make of her.

"Yes," He replied cautiously. Era smiled at him, not kindly, but feral. It was as if she'd like nothing more than to rip his throat out.

"Era, don't be jealous. You're still Klaus's favorite," Rebekah giggled.

"Oh don't worry. I'm not jealous, just curious as to how deep his loyalty goes. I've always been interested as to how deep it goes."

"Deep, unfortunately," Tyler replied, eyes down.

"Well it'll keep you from getting killed," Era replied, "By Klaus at least." Caroline bristled.

"Don't worry blondie. I'm not talking about me." Era said, waving her off.

"Yes. Era knows my brother will give her a good spanking for killing one of his hybrids," Rebekah said, smiling. Era elbowed her.

"Not like he hasn't before." Rebekah wrinkled her nose and hit Era on the back of the head.

"You really have no social skills, do you?" Damon asked, smirking. He enjoyed irking her. If he kept her attention away from Elena and Jeremy, he would gladly take any beatings she gave him.

"I don't usually converse with mortals very often."

"It shows," Bonnie said under her breath. Era's head snapped over to the witch. A cruel smile, that held promises of pain, found its way to her lips.

"You're the Bennett witch, aren't you?" Elena made a noise, trying to tell Bonnie to be quiet. Bonnie lifted her chin and met Era's eyes.

"Yes."

"You seem to follow your family's narrow mind set. Never questioning how or why a person or vampire is the way they are. Never stopping to think that in your self-righteousness, you may be wrong. Don't forget that your magic won't work on me." Bonnie glared at her, fiercely wishing she could kill the red head.

"And how did you come by this jewel? Threaten the witch into giving it to you," Bonnie asked, scathingly. Era smirked at her.

"No actually," She toyed with the jewel around her neck, "I saved a powerful witch during the Salem Witch Trials. She offered me this in return; along with a spell that only allows me to take it off. I'd get the thought of ripping it off out of your mind." Bonnie quietly fumed. She was not used to being overpowered.

"Bonnie…" Her head snapped up to look at Era. Rebekah started to smile in anticipation for the threat coming. "If you don't keep your snide comments to yourself or if you use a spell against any vampire I know, I will personally rip your heart out and eat it. Klaus doesn't care whether you live or die. Remember that."

"Era!" Jeremy exclaimed. She turned to him and smiled. His eyes were widened in alarm.

"I think this has gotten out of control. Era, I'm sorry. It was a mistake to invite you here. I can see you're not going to get along," Elena said carefully, not wanting to anger the violent vampire. Era shrugged as if unaffected.

"It's time for me to get some lunch anyway. I think I see a candidate," She indicated to a man in his twenties with dark brown hair and green eyes, "Want to join me Rebekah?"

"Of course. It's been awhile since we fed together." They started off towards the man.

"Era, wait!" Come for a walk with me," Jeremy said.

"Jeremy," Elena hissed. Era paused and glanced back. A smile graced her lips.

"Trying to save him, Gilbert?" A smirk worked its way up to his lips. Era raised her eyebrows in surprise. He could be almost sexy when he wanted to be.

"Does it matter?"

"No I suppose not." Era turned to Rebekah, who winked at her.

"Catch up with you later, love. I'm going to go find one of my donors." Jeremy and Era exited, but not before she flashed Bonnie a feral grin.

"So why exactly did you ask me out for this walk? Just to save a man's life?" Era asked. Jeremy looked at her as they walked down the street of the small town. He hated to admit that he was curious about her. He wondered how a man like Klaus could inspire any loyalty that wasn't forced upon someone.

"Not the only reason. If you insist on being my Homecoming date, then I thought I should get to know you a little."

"Are you sure you want to know?" Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"You keep trying to scare me. I've been around plenty of vampires. They didn't enjoy threatening my friends as much as you, but they weren't innocent." Era laughed. Jeremy glanced at her, not understanding what was so funny.

"What about Damon? I heard he wasn't as pussy whipped as your sister has made him." He couldn't help but laugh with her. Damon had calmed down a lot since hooking up with Elena.

"Still not as bad. He's better at sarcasm than you. I'm asking you to stop threatening them," He almost pleaded.

"Why? That judgmental little witch of your thinks that she is impervious to harm just because she discovered she has powers. I've met people just like her. They are people who are too caught up in their self-righteousness. When they find something to control or feel superior to, they are practically frothing at the mouth," Era snapped angrily. Jeremy sighed.

"I know Bonnie is a bit judgmental, but it would make things easier if you stopped threatening everyone. We both know you can't do anything to Elena." Era looked away and huffed. Jeremy chuckled.

"Maybe." Jeremy decided that that was the best he was going to get. He walked into the store, while Era waited outside. He came out with a soda and they continued walking.

"So tell me about the vampire you fell for," Era said.

"I don't really want to talk about that," He replied uncomfortably.

"Oh c'mon. How about this, I'll tell you something personal and I promise to answer honestly. Then you can tell me about your vampire girlfriend. You shouldn't pass this up. I won't make this offer again." Jeremy's eyes furrowed. This had been the opportunity he was waiting for. The trade was a bit steep, but it was fair for the question he had in mind.

"That sounds reasonable," He finally said.

"Ask away."

"My question is how and why you became a vampire? You seem to have been willing." Era frowned. She stopped herself from glaring. She had expected him to ask about who she'd met in the past or about when Klaus was coming back.

"Unexpected question. I said I'd answer honestly, so I will. I was born 919 years ago in a small village in Ireland. My parents prided me on my beauty. Many thought I would marry young. However, my father was poor and the town drunk. My mother sat like a docile bitch as he drank away the little money we had. When I became 16, I had thought I would be married soon. As it turns out, no one wanted the daughter of someone with my father's reputation, or a girl of my freakish height. No offers came. My father then proceeded to borrow money from the man who ran the local whore house. He couldn't afford to pay the man so he offered me as a trade," Jeremy made a small noise in the back of his throat, "So I lived as a prostitute for 2 years. I was good at what I did, and was asked for a lot. One night, a slimy man that I had always tried to avoid asked for me. I had heard about him from the other girls. He never paid as much as the promised price, and got a little rough with them. I refused him. He tried to force himself on me. I grabbed the knife from the bedside table and stabbed him to death. They found me drenched in his blood, screaming at the top of my lungs." Her eyes glazed over, lost in the memory. Jeremy was listening with rapt attention. He was disgusted with the man who callously sold his own daughter. She didn't sound bitter at all though, which puzzled him.

"They put me in jail. I was to be put to death. The night before my execution, I heard screaming. It cut off as suddenly as it had started and Klaus appeared in front of me. I had seen him before. He would watch me at the whore house, though he never approached me. Klaus offered me a new life, and since then I've never looked back." She finished her story with a sigh.

"So that's why you're so loyal to Klaus?" Jeremy asked.

"There is a lot about Klaus you don't know. There are many sides to him other than the man who's used your sister. I love him. We have our differences, but in the end it doesn't matter." Jeremy had a hard time understanding. He couldn't see what Era saw in Klaus. He didn't think he ever could.

"What happened to your family?" He was almost afraid of the answer as a cruel smile appeared on Era's face.

"Well I went back to the house. My younger sister was so shocked to see me alive that she immediately invited me in. I locked her in the closet. My father was the first person I ever drained. My mother sat there screaming that I had killed her only means to survive. I knew in that moment that she would marry again. She'd marry a man just like my father and my sister would suffer the same fate I had. I looked her in the eye before I broke her neck. Klaus paid a family handsomely to take in my sister. I checked up on her from time to time. She married a wonderful man and had plenty of children." Jeremy couldn't help but feel a bit sad for her, and a little more understanding. Her tale of revenge scared him but he wasn't about to tell her that.

"Now tell me about your little girlfriend." He sighed. It was only fair. She had divulged something very personal, but that didn't make him eager to spill his guts. Era listened intently as he explained his past with the tomb vampire, Anna. His voice softened to an affectionate tone with a hint of sadness. When he finished, Era pondered all that he had said.

"You still love her." It wasn't a question. Era rarely asked them. Asking a question meant she didn't know the answer and the person who did had the upper hand. She only relented when she was really curious about something and couldn't get the answer any other way.

"Yes." He didn't deny it. Era wouldn't have believed him if he had.

"Having relationships with mortals is never easy unless they're willing to become vampires themselves. It's a problem your sister will have to face soon." Jeremy looked at her sharply.

"My sister doesn't want to be a vampire," He snapped. Era gave him a sad smile.

"Then she should let Damon go. Doing so would be a kindness," She replied, sighing.

"I know." Era looked at him in surprise before realizing something.

"You would have become a vampire for her." Again it was a statement, not a question.

"I wanted to, but she died." He looked down at his hands. Era could tell he was getting antsy talking about this. She never did well with comforting people. She had never really needed to.

C'mon, I'll buy you ice cream for being such a good boy." Ice cream always worked.

"Oh boy! Thanks mom!" Jeremy said sarcastically. He was smiling seconds later. In a moment of bravado, he swung his arm over her shoulders. Era tensed, but didn't move away. It was a friend like gesture…that's all.

"What's your favorite type of ice cream?" She asked.

"Chocolate," He replied. She wrinkled her nose.

"Disgusting." Jeremy looked at her, incredulous.

"Well…what's yours?"

"Mint with brownies."

"Disgusting." He mocked.

There's chapter 4. I hope you guys liked it. Review please.