To JennyMikaelson: Aw, and I love you for reviewing again! I can't say I was going for "father-like" with Damon. He's a really crappy dad, if I was. *bursts into hysterical, somewhat creepy laughter* Anyway, I love Caroline and E.J., too! I adore Caroline, because she is the most complex character on the show. A lot of the others don't have noticeable flaws, but she does! Sooo much better than book-Caroline, who's a real bitch. You'll have to read on, but I can tell you there's a scene coming up, quite possibly my favorite, with those two.
To SimplyFiction: I am replying to all three reviews here, so bear with me! I'm always thrilled to hear (or read, technically) that I've inspired somebody. Character development is really one of my strong points, and I create a lot of OC's. The way I see it, fictional or not, cartoon or not, human or not, a character is only as good as the way an author portrays him (or her. I'm not sexist, that's grammatically correct!). One of my pet peeves is people's putting fictional characters in "boxes" and saying that they're OOC whenever they leave that box. People don't live in boxes, and neither should fictional people! Anyway, that's just a little rant. On to your really long review, I'll be honest: I had to read it through several times. Um, I think I should reiterate this point: E.J. is only fourteen, and I'm not into pedophilia. She will not have a romantic relationship with either of the Salvatore brothers or any of the Originals. By "falling for her" (or whatever it reads) in the summary, I meant in a platonic way. I can tell you this: I love all of your guesses, but you were a lot closer with your first one (chap. 4 review). I'll say more about it in my author's note. Thanks for reviewing, by the way!
To kadienewberg: Thanks so much for reviewing! Yes, I assure you, it is all "parent-ish" when it comes to their relationship. I know I had E.J. comment on how attractive Damon is in the first chapter, but—let's be realistic—he is! Thanks for not thinking I'm into pedophilia! Anyway, I love writing the Originals! I'm trying to find that happy medium where they're all in character but still acting like a family, you know? I really didn't think it was realistic how Elijah is supposed to be older than Klaus but never acted like it. Clearly, the writers have never heard of the "older-brother" complex. The older of my two brothers has it, let me tell you. Drama TV shows seem incapable of allowing the characters to be happy, I've noticed. Not so many people died in the books. And, just so you know, Kol is definitely my favorite to write. I've never seen the fourth season, though, so I've had to improvise from what little I know about him from the show and from fanfiction.
To Marauders12345: I have to say, I love you for reviewing again! You were number four, or else I would have had to wait until tomorrow to update. Yay! Anyway, I'm sorry to say that E.J. will not be returning to the Boarding House for a while, but I hope you enjoy her time at the mansion almost as much. I am curious though. I don't believe I ever said that E.J. was badly wounded by the man. Were you just assuming that? And, here's a reminder, Gloria is E.J.'s godmother, remember. Parents will normally name a "godparent" at a baby's birth. You see where I'm going with this? And, um, no. Klaus's illness has nothing to do with E.J.'s box. Not really sure where you got that idea, you'll have to let me know. If I made a mistake, I need to know! The illness will be explained in this chapter, so enjoy!
AN: Yay, four reviews! I'll make another deal with you all. Five plus reviews and I'll update tomorrow. Four I'll update Tuesday. Three or less I'll update Wednesday. If everybody who reviewed this chapter and one extra person reviews this one, then you're all set! See! Makes perfect sense!
I've received several reviews where people mentioned something about E.J. being on the brink of death at one point . . . . I took me a while before I figured out where that came from. I never said the man who attacked E.J. badly injured her (or, I don't think I did, anyway). She couldn't remember it clearly (trauma and all) and didn't really know what had happened. Anyway, I'm done rambling, so enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: Does anybody even read these? I think you all know what I own and what I don't own at this point. Besides, I read somewhere that these wouldn't help if somebody decided to sue me anyway. Carry on!
Elena's bedroom was lit up by the lights of many candles, the smells of which filled the room. Her window was wide open to let the cool night breeze in. Normally, this room was a sanctuary for the eighteen-year-old girl who had gone through so much in just a few years, but now it was being used as a rendezvous. Caroline was sitting on the edge of Elena's bed, one leg hanging down, and Bonnie was beside her, sitting cross-legged and looking as if she'd rather be anywhere but there. Matt, who had been very surprised when he had received Elena's text asking him to come to her house right away for an emergency meeting, was leaning against the bathroom door with one leg pulled up to his chest. Stefan was seated a few feet away from him, sighing and gazing off into space every few seconds. Jeremy was seated on the window seat with a laptop open before him, searching through pages of results. Damon was pacing the width of Elena's room, too deep in his own thoughts to speak.
Elena was standing next to the bed near Bonnie, leaning her back against the wall. "Thank you all for coming," she said seriously. "I'm sorry I couldn't explain more over the text, but I'm so glad you all could come."
"What is this about, anyway?" Matt asked.
Elena smiled at him. "Stefan and Damon had a new boarder. Her name was E.J. Something happened today and she ended up going off to stay with the Originals."
"What?!" Caroline jerked upright, looking appalled. "She can't! I mean, it's not safe!"
Even Bonnie, who had never cared for vampires, looked worried. "What was she thinking?" she asked.
"She was thinking that Damon is a total dick," Stefan spoke up from the floor, "and that the Originals were a much better option."
Normally, Damon would have defended himself, or at least come up with some witty comment or nasty retort, but he knew that his brother was right. "It was my fault, I know," Damon said quietly. "I was being a total dick, but I was pissed!"
"She's a fourteen-year-old girl, Damon," Stefan sighed. "No matter how pissed you are, you can't throw her around and curse at her. Regardless of whether or not she's a vampire!"
"Wait, this girl's a vampire?" Matt spoke up.
"Yes, now hush," Caroline shushed him.
"We know where the Originals are," Bonnie said. "It's only a matter of getting E.J. out."
Stefan shook his head. "She's not being held prisoner, Bonnie. She wants to be there. We can't kidnap her. We have to make her realize how foolish she's being so she'll come back on her own."
Elena sighed, holding her head in her hands. "This feels so wrong," she said. "E.J. didn't seem like the trusting type. Can't she see how dangerous the Originals are? Doesn't that bother her?"
"Either it doesn't," Stefan replied, "or it does and she doesn't care."
"In this girl's defense," Matt said, "Damon is dangerous, too."
"At least I can die!" Damon retorted, turning on Matt.
"Matt's right, Damon," Elena agreed. Damon swung around to glare at her, but she stubbornly continued, "You could hurt her just as easily as one of them could. Elijah, Finn, and even Klaus have never laid a hand on her, but you have. I can't honestly say I blame her."
Damon pursed his lips, but he really could not argue that point. "It was still incredibly stupid of her," he muttered. "I just hate the fact it was Kol she brought over!" he suddenly snarled. "Kol, for the love of vodka! That guy's a nutcase!"
"Wait!" Matt held up one finger. "This girl 'brought' Kol over?"
Stefan answered, "E.J. brought Kol back to the Boarding House with her so that she could get her things without any fear of Damon trying to stop her from leaving. Or at least, that's our assumption as to why."
"He willingly helped her!" Damon muttered. "Without any hesitation! What is it about that girl that makes Originals fall all over her?!"
Elena sighed and shook her head. "I called you all here because we need a plan."
As one, everyone turned to Caroline, who jerked up and looked startled. "Why me?" she whined.
"Klaus likes you," Bonnie explained. "You're the only one of us with a chance of getting into that house. Find E.J. and talk to her. Maybe get her to see reason. She likes you! She might actually listen to you."
Caroline moaned, "Fine! I hate you all!"
Elena smiled. "We love you, too, Care Bear."
TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD
Night had fallen and E.J. was finally settled into her new room. The Originals' mansion was huge, and Kol had given her an extensive tour after he had brought her back over. She had been a little wary of him at first (he had broken her neck for no reason), but she found herself warming up to him. Unlike Damon, he never laid a hand on her (excluding that time at the school, of course) and never once tried to tell her what to do. Then he had showed her the bedrooms and told her to "Pick one." She had been delighted and spent the next several minutes debating among several different ones. Finally, she had settled on this one because it was the only one with a balcony.
The door was wide open, the opaque curtains fluttering in the breeze, as E.J. busied herself with putting the last of her clothes away in the enormous wardrobe. Apparently, Niklaus had not thought of adding closets when he had had the house built. E.J. didn't mind, however, since the wardrobe was beautiful and she really did not have much clothing.
She set her precious box on the floor of the wardrobe and carefully closed it, satisfied that for now it was safe. She had already stocked the bathroom with her toiletries and now turned her attention to her last suitcase: the one filled with more personal items.
She unpacked books, a few journals, an old art kit that she rarely used but couldn't make herself get rid of, and a small teddy bear nearly as old as she was. It had been given to her by her parents on her third birthday, and she had had it ever since. She reverentially placed the teddy bear before the mound of pillows and emptied the suitcase of the other stuffed animals and dolls that she had. She was sixty-five years old, but she was a fourteen-year-old at heart.
"Knock, knock!" E.J. jumped and glanced toward the door in surprise. Rebekah stood in the doorway, dressed in ice-cream silk shorts and a cleavage-revealing pink tank top, smiling at her. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a messy bun, making her look like the eighteen-year-old girl she was at heart.
E.J. nodded politely. "Hi."
Rebekah took that as an invitation and strode into the room. E.J. noticed that she was barefoot and nearly giggled. Rebekah saw her smile and smiled back, hopping up to sit on E.J.'s enormous king-sized bed. "I know we got off on the wrong foot," Rebekah began, "and I really am sorry for that, but I thought that—I don't know—maybe, we could be friends?" E.J. raised an eyebrow at her. "It's hard being the only girl, and now that you're here, I like it!"
E.J. could understand that. "I guess I can give you a second chance." She grinned and lay on her back. Her short red tank top with the lacy hem and straps barely covered her belly and didn't even touch her red-and-white, heart-covered silk shorts. She had put her hair up long ago, her long hair forming a large bun atop her head.
Rebekah noticed. "I could cut your hair sometime. I personally love it long, but you don't strike me as the kind of girl who likes monkeying with her hair every morning."
E.J. smiled. "I would like that." She glanced at the digital alarm clock on her nightstand. "Ooh, there's a Star Wars marathon on tonight, and I promised Kol I'd watch it with him!" She leapt up and hurried over to her wardrobe to find herself a blanket. She hadn't packed any, but the wardrobe had been pre-stocked with a few. "Apparently, the rest of you do not 'appreciate the awesomeness that is Star Wars.'"
"You like those movies?" Rebekah asked, sounding surprised. E.J. nodded without glancing back at her, too busy hauling out a large pink fleece blanket. Rebekah shrugged as she trotted over to help E.J. She wasn't concerned about how she dressed in front of her brothers, but she understood why E.J. was. "If you're watching it, then I guess I will, too."
E.J. giggled as she finally wrestled the blanket out of the wardrobe with Rebekah's help. "It's a date!"
Kol was already stretched out on the couch, bowl of popcorn on his chest, when they entered. E.J. had tried to wrap the blanket around herself, but it was long enough to trail on the ground, and she had had to give up. "Move over, Kol," Rebekah ordered as she marched over and stood in front of the couch.
Kol blinked up at her before turning back to the TV and ignoring her. Rebekah rolled her eyes and sat down on top of him without a word. Kol said nothing, acting as if she were not even there. E.J. quirked an eyebrow, but she wasn't about to sit on Kol, too. (He wasn't her brother.) She instead trotted over and wrapped the blanket around herself again before sitting in the armchair.
"Thanks," Rebekah taunted as she reached out to steal some popcorn. Kol swatted her hand away. He might have tried to buck her off, but she was sitting across his lap and he'd end up spilling his precious popcorn if he attempted it.
"Go find your own seat," he snapped at her, shifting beneath her and trying to snuggle deeper against the pillow he was leaning against. Rebekah ignored him and settled back against the couch.
"You're watching Star Wars?" Niklaus appeared in the doorway, looking as if he'd just rolled out of bed. He yawned and shuffled over without waiting for an answer. "Why didn't you tell me? I love those movies!" He plopped down next to Rebekah and settled back. "Has it started yet?"
"Okay!" Kol cried. "I'm starting to lose the feeling in my legs, here!"
"You don't have a heartbeat, turd," Rebekah informed him. "Therefore, you do not have a pulse. Therefore, loss of blood circulation—which, by the way, you do not have either—would not cause you to lose the feeling in your legs."
Niklaus glanced down and for the first time seemed to notice he was sitting on top of his younger brother. "Kol, sit up," he ordered.
Kol scowled at him. "I would love to. Really, I would. But I've been pinned down, and I can't move."
Niklaus immediately stood and pulled a protesting Rebekah up with him. Kol made a show of painfully pulling his legs to his chest and sitting on the couch properly. Niklaus dropped down once he had and Rebekah followed with a huff.
Niklaus seemed to notice E.J. for the first time. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked between his two younger siblings, who weren't paying him any attention. "Does anyone else realize that there's a little girl in the room with us?"
"I'm staying here," E.J. piped up. Niklaus looked surprised. "Damon was being a total dick. So I came here and Kol came to help me get my stuff."
Niklaus's expression had changed from surprised to disbelieving. "Kol helped you?"
E.J. nodded. "He was quite the gentleman."
"Shh!" Kol shushed her. "I think it's starting."
Niklaus smiled at E.J. "Why are you sitting all the way over there, love? You can barely see the screen. Come sit here with us."
E.J. obliged when Niklaus patted his thighs and stood up to hurry over and join them. She gave up on the blanket and dropped it to the ground, settling herself into Niklaus's lap. "Your siblings are weird," she whispered into his ear.
Niklaus smirked and whispered back, "I know." E.J. giggled and settled back against him to watch the movie.
The night was quiet. The cool air blew through the open door and ruffled the bedskirt of the king-sized bed. The girl in the bed moaned and turned over onto her stomach, burying her face in her pillow. Her covers lay half on, half off her, causing the breeze blowing through to chill her exposed skin as it blew over her.
Inside the beautifully decorated, expertly crafted wardrobe lay a box. It jumped slightly, as if it too had felt the breeze, before it suddenly leapt into the air and crashed through the doors of the wardrobe.
E.J. jerked awake and stared across the room, eyes wide when she saw her precious box lying out in the open. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, her heart pounding so hard it hurt, as she cautiously hopped down from the bed. She slowly approached the box and knelt down, reaching out a hand to touch it.
A strangled cry came from within the box, and E.J. jerked away in shock. She fell back from it and pressed her back to the bedframe behind her, panting wildly. She stared at the box, which had suddenly gone quiet.
From deep within its depths, a soothing voice drifted, one without words. E.J. approached the box as if in a trance, crawling on her hands and knees, and reached out for it once more. This time, she did not pull away when it vibrated under her grasp and she pulled up on it with all of her strength.
The lid creaked, but stubbornly remained down. Help me! the words seemed to be saying to her. Discover who you are, before it is too late for us! Help us!
E.J. shook her head and blinked down at the box before her. "What are you talking about?" She should have been disturbed at her speaking to an inanimate object as if it were a person, but her mind was still half-asleep.
The box lay still for a moment before it leapt into the air and sailed into E.J., knocking her across the room until she cracked her head against the bedframe. The witch trapped me in here! the voice continued. Only you can undo the spell! You must discover the identity of your parents. When you do, I will help you find out who you are!
E.J. groaned as she sat up, rubbing her sore head. "My parents are dead," she grumbled. "My dad died of a stroke and my mom died in her sleep. That happened a long time ago."
Not your adoptive parents, child! Your biological parents! The witch lied to you and trapped me in here to keep your true identity from you. She spelled me in here with a powerful spell. To open me, you must discover the identity of your real parents! The witch did not want you to know what you really are!
E.J. groaned and curled up in a ball on the floor. "Can you tell me in the morning? I stayed up most the night watching Star Wars. I would have stayed up all night but Nik wouldn't let me."
The box was silent for a moment. Are you fond of the hybrid, child?
E.J. didn't know what "hybrid" was supposed to mean, but she was too exhausted to care. "Yeah, I guess so. Why?"
You are now nearer to your true self than you have ever been before. Your presence in this town has triggered a countdown. The longer you go without discovering yourself, the more the hybrid will forget. You must discover who you are, or he will forget who he is. You and he are intertwined, child!
E.J. did not reply, for she had fallen asleep on the floor, mumbling to herself. A rustling blew through the room and a figure stood in the doorway, framed by the moonlight streaming through the room. The moon was only half-full, but it well illuminated the night.
"I created evil," the woman spoke, her voice resounding throughout the room. "And the girl is the key to rectifying it. Do not jeopardize this, Mshiagi! You will regret it!" What she meant by her last words, the box did not know, but did not really care.
The box sighed and, if it could have, would have rolled its eyes. I will be good, it promised almost sarcastically.
The woman's eyes grew cold and they blazed with power as she slowly approached the sleeping girl. "You should not have spoken," she said quietly to the quivering with anticipation object. She waved a hand and E.J. was suddenly back in her bed, snuggled under her covers.
It's not my fault you wrecked the world, Pandora! the box exploded, sounding indignant.
The woman rounded on the box and seethed in a low voice, "You will do well to hold your tongue, Mshiagi! I can take your life as easily as I gave you it!"
The box shuddered with laughter. You and I both know that is a lie, Pandora. You cannot take my life anymore than the witch could. Why do you think she did this to me?! The box leapt into the air and shuddered to make its point.
Pandora sighed and shook her head. "One day you will learn, Mshiagi. For now, try to not speak." She approached E.J. on the bed and waved a hand over her. "She will remember what you said, believing she was dreaming, but she will know that it was important." She sighed, sounding as if the weight of the world were on her shoulders, and reached out a slender hand to run it down the girl's face. "She is the only hope I have for redeeming myself and breaking this curse."
The door creaked open and Pandora was gone, the box safely tucked away in the wardrobe once more. Rebekah stood in the doorway, looking confused. "Now, why did I come in here?" she muttered, slowly approaching E.J.'s bed.
She smiled at the sight of the slightly younger girl and reached out a hand to run it down her face. "Sleep, love. Tomorrow is a brand-new day." At a sound from the wardrobe, she jerked up and stared at it in alarm, but it was silent once more.
She shook her head as she strode back across the porcelain tile, muttering to herself as she pulled the door shut behind her, "I have really got to stop staying up late watching television."
Once she was gone, E.J. sat up robotically and spoke in a hoarse whisper, "I was adopted?"
AN: YAAAAYYY! We finally reached the chapter that is going to have you all going "WTH"! I can give you a little hint if you're totally confused. The idea is inspired from the books and Greek mythology, respectively. That, and I have a really whacked-out imagination. I hope Klaus's illness makes more sense to you now, Marauders12345! Oh, and so we're clear, I own the characters of Mshiagi (pronounced "mih, shee, AH, gee"). I don't technically own the character of Pandora (for those of you who know anything about Greek mythology), but I own how I used her. Thanks for reading! P.S. Just as before, neither of those characters can be used in any way, shape, or form without my permission.