Note: Please review.
The Last Year: An Original Story
"Into the Darkness"
The sound of jazz filled the air in the French Quarter. The aroma of spices wafted with the light breeze in New Orleans, Louisiana. Some things never change, thought Lyn as she strolled down the street. Despite all that had come to pass in Mystic Falls, Lyn had managed to gather her chaotic mind to take the leap and run away. Dean, her fiancé, was staked by her human best friend's sister's brother-in-law. After years together, Dean was gone just like that. Lyn was trying to cope with the loss, but finding out that her best friend's niece was the doppelganger put the nail in the coffin. Lyn was a vampire-witch that could not die for the sole purpose that she would be able to break the sun and moon curse. For centuries, Lyn was relieved to know that the last doppelganger had killed herself in the late 1400s. But now, Lyn's nightmare became reality once more when she learned that Elena Gilbert was a Petrova doppelganger.
Lyn had to make sure she wasn't with the doppelganger when evil came lurking around. Which is why Lyn was now walking down Rue Dauphine, and onto a little shop called Jardin Gris. Upon arrival, Lyn took note that the little shop was no longer so, but had grown to be a full-stocked store.
She stood outside the door, hesitating. Lyn had reflected on her past in the last day…reminiscing, perhaps, of the past. It all seemed like a wonderful dream – everything was remembered fondly and glamorously. Or perhaps it was because she had been under his spell at the time.
"Resolution," Lyn whispered to herself and took the first step to opening the door of Jardin Gris. Bells chimed to alert the store clerk that a customer had entered. Immediately, a young woman with curly black hair came in from the back of the store. "Welcome to Jardin Gris. Can I help you find anything?" the young woman asked. "No," was all Lyn could say at first as she took in the items in the shop. Lyn slowly looked over all the items in the store. The ingredients she needed weren't in sight.
"I'll still be here if you need my assistance," the woman told Lyn, to which Lyn gave a smile. "Thank you, uh, Katie," Lyn replied as she read the woman's nametag. Lyn gave the store another look before walking to the counter, where Katie was standing.
"Actually, I'm looking for two specific ingredients. I am not able to spot them out; can you help me?" Lyn asked. Katie smiled, "Sure. What are the ingredients?" Lyn took out a piece of paper from her back jean pocket. She carefully unfolded it and passed it over to Katie. The woman took it and immediately the smile on her face fell. Lyn leaned over to meet Katie's gaze. "I know what they do and I am not going to leave this place without them. I know you carry them, as it always been this shop's specialty," Lyn whispered firmly. Katie didn't reply, but only nodded before walking to the back of the store. After a couple minutes, Katie emerged with a black box. She placed it in front of Lyn, who opened it quickly. Lyn grinned. "Alright. How much for these?" Lyn asked.
"T-that'll be 250 dollars," Katie stammered nervously. Lyn whistled at the price, but nonetheless took out her wallet and handed the cash over to the young witch. Lyn closed up the box and walked to the door without exchanging any more words. As she was about to open the door, it opened itself. Actually, it was another customer – a young man wearing a newspaper boy cap. He noticed Lyn standing there, so he held the door for her. "Thank you," was all Lyn said before departing the magic store. Had Lyn turned around, she would have seen a relieved face on Katie.
o.o.o
Lyn held the box tightly. She felt nervous and excited. Once the spell was cast, Lyn could be free from the eternal fear deep in her heart. She was thinking hard about what she would do when she got home that she barely noticed a group of men surrounding her.
Lyn stopped in her tracks and clutched the box. "Who are you?" was all she could ask. She could not believe that these men would dare try to attack someone in broad daylight.
"My question exactly," a man's voice answered from behind her. Lyn didn't turn around, but kept her guard up. "Witches are forbidden from using magic, and it seems clear to me that you didn't get the memo. So we came to give you a nice warning. This town is run by me – "
"M-Marcellus?" Lyn whispered softly. She had turned around to face the speaker and felt her dead heart jump upon seeing the man's face. Without sparing any moment, Lyn dropped the box and immediately ran to embrace Marcellus in a hug as streams of tears ran down her cheeks.
o.o.o
1863, New Orleans.
Sunlight broke through the curtains and was touching upon Lyn's sleeping face. She wrinkled her face at the warmth and twisted around in bed. After moments of trying to find a new comfortable spot, she gave up and got up.
Lyn didn't bother changing out of her nightgown, only checking her hair and taking note the other occupant of the bed was missing and already doing who knew what. She opened the door and made her way down to the first floor. The smell of freshly made bread filled Lyn's nostrils. Although she didn't need human food, it felt nostalgic to eat food once in a while. Also, consuming human food kept the cravings down.
She slowly walked to the kitchen. Immediately she spotted the blonde hair Lyn recognized as her sister-in-law. "Good morning, Rebekah. What smells so delicious?" Lyn greeted the younger girl. Rebekah turned her head around and gave Lyn a great big smile. "Someone's finally awake! I guess you guys had a fun night; it was Mardis Gras after all," Rebekah smirked. "And that smell would be your dear husband, trying to cook up something new again," Rebekah added. "I had a taste earlier and it was atrocious, actually," Rebekah added.
"I heard that, Rebekah! You probably shouldn't have tried it then; it wasn't ready yet," a man's voice responded hastily from the kitchen. He emerged holding two plates full of food. He set the plates down on the table and gave Lyn a smile. "Good morning, love. Or rather good afternoon," Klaus greeted her and leaned in for a kiss. Rebekah pretended to choke on the food when the kiss got a little too long. Lyn pulled back and looked out the window. "It's afternoon already? Why didn't you wake me, Klaus?" Lyn asked. As the two of them sat down next to Rebekah at the table, Klaus answered, "Evie, you looked so angelic that I was afraid to disturb you."
"Besides, it was also your first night back from your overseas trip. You were exhausted by the time it became night," Klaus added. Before anyone else could speak, the front door was heard shutting. "Anyone home?" a deep voice called out. Lyn noticed that Rebekah cringed.
"In the breakfast room," Klaus shouted back. Soon after, a very tall tan-skinned man appeared. He was wearing a suit, which Lyn found just dashing. Rebekah did not even look at the man and just stood up and left. It was something Lyn found odd, but didn't give a second thought.
"Evie, my dear, I want you to meet someone special," Klaus began. He took her hand in his and smiled brightly. The man took this moment to sit down opposite of Lyn at the table. "While you were away, I met a young man who was deemed my attention and admiration. So much so that I decided to turn him and take him as my surrogate son. I know I should have waited till you came back, but I guess passion took over me. Anyways, this is Marcellus Gerard," Klaus explained. Lyn took a moment to take everything in, all while smiling at the young man before her. "Niklaus, of course it's alright! I know how you are once you set your mind on something. I am happy to meet you, Marcellus. I'm Evelyn. And since Klaus has taken you on his son, I will also take you on as my son," Lyn greeted Marcellus. "Nice to meet you, Evelyn," Marcellus responded.
They both exchanged smiles.
o.o.o
"Marcellus, is that really you?!" Lyn cried. Marcellus hugged her back and quietly replied, "Yes." Lyn continued to hug the tan-skinned man who was very taller than her. Her arms held onto him tight, with one hand stroking his head. The two were overcome with feelings of happy memories, but it didn't take too long until Lyn snapped back to reality.
She quickly pushed him away and Marcel gave her a confused look. "He's here, isn't he? Is he on his way here?" Lyn demanded to know. Marcellus motioned his men to back down. "Who's here?" Marcellus asked. "Niklaus!" Lyn cried. Marcellus' expression changed to a firm one. His soft eyes were gone.
"My sire hasn't been in this city since the day he left me behind," Marcellus responded. "W-what? Then why did you stay?" Lyn asked. "I've built this city into my own little kingdom. I guess I was expecting my maker to walk back in someday and learn that I wasn't a weak vampire as he thought to be," Marcellus explained briefly. Lyn clearly appeared sorry for him, which is why Marcellus called his men off so they could have some privacy. Marcellus picked up the box from the ground with one hand and led Lyn to a bench with the other.
"Marcellus, how did you survive?" Lyn asked. "I go by Marcel now," Marcel told his former surrogate mother with a shy grin. Lyn gave a small laugh. "I go by Lyn now," she responded while smiling warmly at him. They both gave a laugh. "You will always be Eve to me – I like Eve better," he chuckled.
"It's simple: I survived," Marcel told Lyn, to which she shook her head. "We all were sure you had perished! We all mourned you, dear Marcel," said Lyn. Marcel became silent for a few moments, looking at the ground. "Well, then he should have come back to check for himself instead of assuming the worst. I'm his sire after all!" Marcel shouted suddenly. Lyn put the box on the bench and took Marcel's hands. She became sad. "You're upset. And you have every right to be! But, Marcel…I was told that your body had burned! You know we would have come back if there was any hope," Lyn coaxed. This made Marcel even more furious.
"There you go again! Defending him! It's this place, isn't it!? Nostalgia is a very dangerous enemy, Eve," Marcel yelled furiously. Lyn stared silently at the ground for a while. "Yeah, I guess reliving the happy memories cloud your hatred for someone. But those memories seemed so real," Lyn whispered. "I know he compelled a new identity for you, but our memories were real, Eve. Every moment of it. The day we met for the first time was actually the first time, but anything before that day was just an invention of Klaus' fantasy," Marcel defended. Lyn groaned at her forged memories. "But how did his compulsion wear off? And how did you get away from him?" Marcel wanted to know.
"It was before I came to New Orleans. Klaus found me and compelled me to believe that we were a married couple, but in truth, Rebekah had found me first. She compelled me to remember who I really was when she told me a secret word. Mikael found us in Chicago and in the chaos, Rebekah and I were split from Klaus. Rebekah spoke the word and I remembered everything. And she told me to run, so I did. " Lyn explained.
"So you've been free of Klaus for nearly 7 decades. What made you come back here? Surely it's not because of the nostalgic memories," Marcel grinned sarcastically. Lyn began to tear up a little. "I was able to have a normal life, but that ended recently with lots of deaths involved. I thought I was able to cope through it, but then I found… I found out that there was a l-living d-doppelganger," Lyn stuttered her words out as tears began to flow down her face. Marcel hugged her tightly. As Lyn calmed down again, they pulled apart.
"I can't be around the girl because I know Klaus will be showing up soon. He'll make me break the curse, and you know he'll be immortal if I do that!" Lyn explained sadly. Marcel took the box and showed it to Lyn. "Then, what's this for?" Marcel asked. Lyn took the box from him and held it preciously. "These are ingredients I need to make sure I can't be utilized by Klaus. It's for an eternal sleeping curse," told Lyn. "One of the first things Klaus compelled me to do when he found out that I could do magic was not to kill myself so I can serve his purpose forever," Lyn explained. Marcel was silent. Although Klaus had abandoned Marcel, Klaus was still his maker. However loyal Marcel was to Klaus, Marcel and Lyn had a special bond which had grown stronger than Marcel's bond to Klaus.
Marcel let go of the box and let Lyn have a complete hold of it. Their eyes met. "I understand, Eve, which is why I will let you…with a heavy heart," Marcel told her. Lyn gave a small smile. "Thank you, Marcellus," she replied.
The two vampires stood up from the bench and prepared to part ways. "I'm glad I got to see you before you left," Marcel said to the older vampire. The two hugged one last time. "Me, too. I wish we could still be living those wonderful days just sitting in the house and listening to the rain," Lyn told Marcel. "Your past may have been forged by Klaus, but the memories we shared were real," Marcel added. The two pulled away and began their path to their respective homes. Marcel to the heart of New Orleans, and Lyn to the edge of town where she still owned a private home serving as her safe house.
"Oh, by the way, you should know," Marcel called to her before they were out of hearing range. "Klaus had two homes: one where you lived and another where everyone else believed was his home. He did this to make sure you were never seen by Elijah," Marcel admitted. Lyn was confused because she had no idea who this Elijah was and why it was imperative that they never crossed paths. However, it didn't matter anymore because Lyn was going to die, her only way of dying.
Lyn nodded to show her understanding and resumed walking back to her Louisiana home.
o.o.o
It had taken a while for Lyn to remember where she had parked her car. Nonetheless, Lyn had made it back to her safe house. The last two ingredients were in her possession and everything was ready to go.
The safe house was similar to her cottage in Clarendon, but it wasn't furnished with any memorabilia. The inside and outside appeared as though it was just a very old house that had not been kept up regularly.
Lyn sat down with a cup of the potion in her hand. The scent was awfully bitter, and the taste probably would have been worse. For a moment, Lyn felt guilty for abandoning Elena in her troubles as a doppelganger. The more Lyn thought, the more thoughts about possibilities arose in her head.
"No! This has to be done to protect everyone!" Lyn shouted and chugged down the potion. It didn't take long for the sweet and sour taste of the potion to fully take over her body. Before Lyn could blink she had fallen into eternal sleep forever.
o.o.o
Lyn's eyes opened. I must be dreaming already, Lyn thought to herself.
It was midday and loud noises of farm animals could be heard from the outside of the house she was in. She got up from the bed and went to the window.
"No…This can't be right!" Lyn shouted to no one. How could it be that of all the dreams she had to have, this was the place it had to take place in. The 1500s, around when Lyn was last human.
"Hello, Evelyn," a woman's voice said to her. Lyn turned her head to see a dirty-blonde hair woman standing at the entrance of the room. Lyn was wearing clothes of the past, but this woman's clothes would be considered ancient, to put it nicely.
"Who are you? And what are you wearing, ma'am?" Lyn asked. The woman could only laugh.
"I suppose you never saw this type of wear in the 1500s. And as for your first question, I am a fellow witch. I am here now in your dream because you have made a foolish decision by running away. I am here to wake you up." The woman explained.
o.o.o
To Be Continued. Please review!