Margret met with Elena and Alaric before school. "So, what's up?"
"We think we found a lead that can help us defeat Klaus for good." Elena told her.
"And since you're the one who understands more about mysticism, we might need help." Alaric told her.
"Okay, what is it?" Margret asked.
A few minutes later, they were going over the pictures with the writings on them. "So, these are from that cave you guys found?"
"That's right." Damon said. He and Elena were training behind them.
"Well, I wish I could say something, but…I can't make anything of this." Margret told them. Elena and Damon stopped training. Elena went over to her sister.
"What do you mean? I thought you knew all about this kind of stuff."
"On white magic, spirits, and crystals, but I'm still new at learning runes and signs." Margret told her. "I can tell you guys all the properties of a Jade stone, but when it comes to runes…"
"It's fine, Margret. We'll manage somehow."
Margret got up and left. She might not know much about runes, but she figured some of her friends might know more about the subject, or at least have heard about it.
She found Melody and Alex outside the school. "Hey, guys." Margret said.
"There you are. We thought you were running late." Melody said.
"Just hit the gym this morning." Margret lied. "You know how I like to stay in shape. Anyway, I wanted to ask you guys something."
"Runes? Are you kidding?"
"I'm trying to expand my knowledge." Margret explained as they sat on the bleachers outside.
"Well, if I remember that history lesson from a few years back correctly," Melody said. "Ancient people used them to write names and letters. It was like the ancient version of the alphabet. They often wrote the script in places like caves."
"I see." Margret said. She rubbed her arm nervously.
"There was something else I remember reading, too." Alex said. "About all those tales about rune stones having power."
"I remember that, but I'm pretty sure they were just stories." Melody told him.
"So, how would this have worked?" Margret asked. "If they did have power, anyway?"
"Well, I think how it works is that after you wrote or drew the sign into the stone or wall or whatever, you'd have to call the name of the letter or word written in order to activate it." Alex explained.
"I didn't know you were into legends." Melody said.
"I'm not, but if I read something that stands out to me, I usually remember it pretty well."
"That, or you've read that LJ Smith series one too many times." Melody said.
"Hey, back off." Alex said. "We can't all be into those comedy movies all the time. Besides, I read it out of boredom." Margret smiled slightly.
After school, Margret was sitting in Alaric's apartment, still trying to figure out some of the signs. She noticed some of the pictures were labeled. "Wow, looks like you've been going crazy with the Post-Its."
"Well, it helps to know exactly what you're studying. Besides, you guys use them all the time for your class notes."
There was a knock at the door. Margret turned and saw Bonnie. "Hey."
"Hey."
"Come on in."
"Got your message." Bonnie said. Margret was a little worried about her. She hadn't seen her since ghost incident.
"Yeah, great! I'm sorry that the place is such a mess. I'm obsessed..."
"Brought you the necklace that wouldn't die." Bonnie said.
"Maybe it really is magic." Margret said. Bonnie looked at her. "Sorry, that was stupid."
"It's okay, Margie."
"You okay?" Alaric asked her.
"Been better..."
"Listen, Jeremy's an idiot. I know this with certainty, because I was once a Jeremy. Trust me, he'll learn...Eventually."
"I honestly don't know how I feel about it." Margret said. "It was a stupid thing to do, but at the same time, he can't help how he feels. I don't know if I should slap him or hug him."
"You know you don't have to feel like you have to choose between us." Bonnie said.
"Yeah, I'm not. I'm just saying, I kind of get how he feels about everything." Margret said. "Especially now that our friends are in danger. Again."
"We'll get through it."
"I've been staring at this image all day, wondering why it looked so familiar." Alaric said, changing the subject. "I was right." He held the necklace next to the picture.
"The same design." Margret realized.
"So, your grandmother said this necklace belonged to the witch that put the hybrid curse on Klaus, right? Now, this symbol is repeated all across the wall." Alaric explained. "I've been trying to figure out what it meant. And now I know..." He wrote something on another post-it and placed it on the photo. Now it read "witch".
"Okay, this is getting weirder by the minute." Margret said.
"No kidding." Bonnie said.
"I'm going to head home." Margret told them. "Bonnie, think you can try and help here? You probably know more about these than I do."
"No problem." Bonnie told her. Margret picked up her bag and left.
Margret was up in her room when she heard a knock on her door. "Who's there?"
"Your brother let us in." Melody told her as she and Alex came in.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Well, we thought about what you asked us and then I remembered this old book I saw in the library." Melody said.
"We figured it would help you with whatever you're working on." Alex said, handing it to her. She glanced at the book in her hands.
"Thanks, guys." Margret said.
"Anytime." Melody said, getting up.
"Let us know how everything works out." Alex told her. He kissed her on the forehead. Then, they left the room.
Margret opened the book and started going through it. It was all about runic letters, signs, and their meanings. She did find a section that explained about how those stones had power, like Alex said earlier. She set it down for a moment. Could the rune stones possibly be what kept the vampires from entering that cave?
After a few minutes, she headed back to the cave. She found Bonnie and Alaric already there. "Hey."
"Hi, Margret." Bonnie said. "Did you find anything?"
"I think so." Margret told her. After a few minutes of comparing notes and going over everything, Elena arrived.
"Hi."
"How'd it go?"
"Well, I learned how messed up their family is." Elena told them. "What about you guys?"
"We filled in what we could." Alaric said. "a Vampire, werewolf, slaughter, mayhem etc."
"That's the white oak tree that was used in this cult to create the vampires," Elena said, pointing to a picture of the tree. "Which means that was when they burned down the tree, destroying the only way that they could be killed."
"Okay, so tree equals weapon, sort of. We already knew that." Alaric said.
"Well, trees have multiple meanings when it comes to magic." Margret pointed out. "In this case, however, I'm going to have to agree with Elena."
"What we are not sure is this: we've got the witch symbol and what looks like a bleeding heart. Upside down figures usually signified death, of some kind." Alaric said.
"That's right. But we can't interpret this sign." Margret said. "There's not even anything close to an equivalent to it in either of these books." In addition to the book her friends gave her, she also brought her book on magic signs and symbols.
"Mikael killed the witch by ripping out her heart." Elena explained. "But... why is that one connected to the witch's death?"
"We don't know. We haven't gotten that far." Bonnie said.
"Wait a minute." Margret said. She got closer and looked at the symbol, then at the other ones that were marked.
"Oh my god! Rebekah doesn't know the real story!" Elena said.
"She thinks it's Mikael who killed the Original witch?" Margret asked.
"Yeah." Elena said. Margret seemed shocked.
"What's going on?" Bonnie asked.
"That symbol, it's a mix of vampire and werewolf." Margret explained. "It's the symbol for hybrid."
"Klaus." Bonnie realized. "He's the one who really killed her."
A few minutes later, Margret was at the Boarding House with Elena. "I don't know about this, Elena. I don't think telling her the truth will get her on our good side."
"I know. But she deserves to know."
"Yeah, because you took it so well when you learned about Mom and Dad after...you know." Margret pointed out.
"I know, Margie. But I'm glad you guys told me. If you hadn't, I would've found out eventually." Elena said. "That's why I'm doing this. It's better to know the truth, no matter how hard it is."
They entered the living room, where the blonde Original was sitting. "I thought I told you to leave. Twice!"
"Wow, you sure have attitude." Rebekah turned around. She looked surprised to see Margret.
"What are you doing here?"
"Elena's my sister." Margret told her. "I know what you are and for some reason, I still don't see you as the bad guy."
"Well, that's a welcome relief." Rebekah said.
"How do you know that Mikael killed your mother?" Elena asked her.
"Nik was there. He told me." Rebekah said.
"Here's the thing. He lied." Margret said.
"And how do you know that?" She asked the pair.
"The cave where you carved your family's names is covered in symbols." Elena said. She showed her the pictures they'd studied earlier. "The story of your family: how your parents arrived, how they made peace, the spell that turned them into vampires, and this."
"This is the symbol for hybrid. It's a combination of the werewolf and the vampire symbol." Margret explained. "And this is the one for your mother."
"Her necklace." Rebekah said, recognizing the pattern. Margret nodded.
"And this is the story of her death. The hybrid killed the original witch. Not Mikael! Klaus!"
"No! No, he wouldn't!"
"She put the curse on him. Made it, that he was the only one of his kind. And then she rejected him. With the werewolf gene comes aggression and violence." Elena explained. "When he turned all that was heightened."
Margret could see Rebekah was still in denial. "Think about it, Rebekah." Margret said. "When a human turns into a vampire, they're normal feelings are heightened. Imagine what would happen if someone with the werewolf gene got turned, through magic or not." Rebekah looked at her and realized they were telling the truth.
"He killed her, Rebekah. And then he made up this entire lie about your father, so that he wouldn't lose you." Elena said.
"Why are you doing this to me? I've done nothing to you!" Rebekah yelled at her.
"Because we believe everyone should know the truth, even if it hurts." Margret said.
"Klaus killed your mother. He has a hold on you, on me, on everyone he has for a thousand years." Elena pointed out. "We're the only ones who can stop him."
"Shut up!" She grabbed Elena.
"Don't!" Margret shouted. Rebekah turned to her, still holding Elena. She could see she was afraid. "Please. She's all I have." Rebekah looked back at Elena. To Margret's relief, she released her sister. She took her into the hallway.
"Elena, are you okay?"
"Yeah." Elena said. "I'm going to head home."
"I'll catch up with you in a little while." Margret said, looking at the living room.
"I'll be waiting in the car." Elena told her.
Margret walked back into the living room. She saw Rebekah in front of the fireplace, crying. She tried to approach her as quietly as she could. "You know that won't do any good. I can hear your heart beating." The Original said without turning around.
"Sometimes I forget. I'm still sort of new to it." Margret said. She sat down next to her. "I know it hurts. It's not easy losing anyone you love."
"Since when are you such an expert?"
"Well, you and my sister aren't that different. We lost our parents a couple years ago." Margret said. "And then your brother killed our aunt. I still miss them." She put her arm around Rebekah's shoulder. She flinched at the sudden contact, but didn't pull away.
"I'm sorry."
"It hasn't been easy for us, especially now that we're always involved with the supernatural. At the same time, though, at least it keeps life interesting."
"Well, trust me, being a vampire or any supernatural has its downsides." Rebekah said. "Take me for example. I've outlived my mother, I've never really had a chance to settle down, and I'm always wondering if the guy I'm with isn't just using me to gain something."
"What did you want out of life back when you were…"
"Normal?" Rebekah finished before Margret could even ask. "I don't know. I've changed a lot since those days."
"Well, if anything, I still think you're amazing."
"Thanks." Rebekah told her, smiling. "So, why did you come back? Just to check on me?"
"Well, yeah. I hate to hurt people's feelings." Margret said. "And if circumstances were different, I'd want us to be friends. But Klaus is still threatening my family."
"I understand." Rebekah said. "Just to be clear, though, I don't want to be your enemy."
"I just hope that when the time comes, we're both able to do the right thing." Margret told her, feeling a little worried. Rebekah nodded. Margret got up to leave.
"Thank you. I know you were trying to make me feel better about this."
"Well, it helps to have someone you can trust, even if it's just one person." Margret said. She left the house.
By the time she entered her room, it did not surprise her to see Damon was there. His back was to her, he was looking out her window. "Why does it not surprise me you're here?"
"You always could tell when one of us was around." Damon said, turning to face her.
"Well, you never drop in just to say 'hi'. What's up?" Margret asked.
"We found Mikael." Damon told her.
"Does that mean…" Margret began. She sat down on her bed. "That's good news, right?"
"For now."
"Wait, you said 'we'. Did you let Stefan out?" Margret asked him.
"I needed help."
"Well, looks like we all succeeded." Margret said, giving him a small smile. She couldn't help but think of her meeting with Rebekah earlier.
"Is something wrong?"
"What makes you ask?"
"You're getting that look like you're thinking about a problem." He told her.
"I feel bad for Rebekah." Margret said. "After what her family's been through."
"True, but that doesn't make her any less dangerous to be around." Damon pointed out.
"Yeah, that's what everyone said when you first showed up." Margret added. "Then we ended up becoming friends."
"True, but I think it'll take more than girl talk to keep her on our side." Damon said.
"I know what you mean." Margret said. "But in a way, she's similar to us. Well, Elena and me. Deep down, she's still just a girl who lost her mother too soon. I almost wish we weren't enemies with her."
"I know how you feel. But if we're ever going to get Stef back…"
"I know, Damon." She told him. She leaned against her pillow. "I know." She sighed. "Sometimes I wonder how our family got so messed up."
"All families are messed up." Damon said, sitting down at the foot of her bed. "Even when we were human, it wasn't so great. But you're all getting through this."
"Because we have great friends, not to mention you and your brother really helped us out of some tough spots." Margret said. "Like it or not, you two are part of our family. Part of my family. And I'll do anything I can to help you save him."
"Margie, you're always so bright."
"That's because I believe in you guys." Margret said. She yawned, covering her mouth.
"I'll call you tomorrow." He told her. She nodded slightly, then fell asleep. "Sleep well, Margret." He covered her with the blanket on her bed, then left her room.