To JennyMikaelson: I love Greek mythology! I've been busy researching Norse mythology, but I'm not having much luck finding what I want. Oh well, that's why I have an imagination. Rebekah wasn't really supposed to be possessed: it's more like she just suddenly felt the need to check on E.J. but had no idea why. You will be happy to know that next chapter point #1 (Who are E.J.'s parents and why is that significant?) will start to be answered. E.J. and Klaus are connected, but not necessarily in a natural way. Thanks for the review, by the way!
To Marauders12345: I have to say your consistent reviews make my day! It actually wasn't until that chapter that I decided what the box was. Luckily for you, I hadn't updated anything yet and could edit the previous chapters! Anyway, I checked out the last chapter and I didn't see anything connecting the box with Klaus's sickness. I didn't actually read it through though, so I don't know. Next chapter the big reveal begins!
To madison. : Thanks so much for reviewing! And, yes, I did mean that Pandora! I'm glad to see somebody got that. And I'm glad you're enjoying this story. My whole purpose for writing is to entertain people. That, and I just love it.
To kadienewberg: Yes, E.J. was born in the year 1944 (her birthday's in a few months) and is therefore sixty-five. This story is set in 2010 (like I believe the series is), but I've written it like it's set in this year. But don't let that affect your guessing too much. If I can make it work, I will. Hehehehe! You made me laugh, thanks for that! Aren't they, though? Gotta love those Originals! Boo the show for killing off two of them!
To crazygurl: And your review made five! So I had to scramble to update today. Thanks for the review and the kind words! I'm glad you love my story. Hearing that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. (That's not too weird, is it?) There should be more stories like that where the Originals aren't dysfunctional to the point of ridiculous and two haven't been killed off for convenience. I swear they created Finn just so that they could kill him off and reveal the whole "bloodline" thing.
AN: Yay, yay, yay, yay! Five reviews, and I update today! When I make a promise, I keep it. (Eventually . . .) New deal, now! Don't you just love these? Six plus reviews and I update Tuesday. Five I update Wednesday. And four or less I update Thursday. Next chapter the big reveal begins (E.J.'s parents and whatnot), so be prepared! A couple people have guessed accurately, I can tell you, but they never said why her parentage is significant. Hint: It's never stated or even hinted at: logic is all you need! (For the significance part) It will be stated eventually, just not for a while. Enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I own what I own and I don't own what I don't own. How's that for a disclaimer? I figure if they're going to sue a "fanfiction" writer, then they have no lives. Moving on!
The kitchen was grand but cozy considering the size of the rest of the house. The white aluminum cabinets were polished to a shine and the streaked gray marble countertops were smooth to the touch. The stainless steel appliances were brand-new, barely used since Niklaus had had them installed three months ago. The gleaming white porcelain tile with the black grout continued throughout the entire building except for the parlor, family room, and conference room, which had red oak hardwood flooring.
Rebekah, surprisingly, had been the first one up, bouncing into the kitchen at seven in the morning to make herself a cup of coffee. She was dressed in middle-of-thigh-length denim shorts and a thick gray tank top with a scooped neck, lacy pink trim around the neck and hem, and pink hearts painting it all over. She had pulled her blonde hair into a braid falling off her right shoulder, but several strands had already come loose. She was sitting at one of the stools at the island (the countertops overhung on the sides to create a bar area, and the stools were shoved underneath), swinging her legs as she played with her iPhone (her case was gray with pink edging, her two favorite colors), a cup of coffee before her.
Elijah was the second to wake up, only fifteen minutes after his younger sister, and he looked surprised to see her. Since it was the middle of spring (a hot time for Virginia), he was dressed in tan slacks and a neatly pressed red and white collared shirt, his feet covered by nothing but socks edged with gray. "What are you doing up?" he asked, striding over to pour himself a mug of coffee as well. He set about refilling the pot for his brothers as he waited for Rebekah's answer.
"Who says I ever went to bed?" she asked smartly, eyes not leaving her screen. Elijah turned around to stare seriously at her, but she still did not look up.
"I'm not even going to ask," he muttered, taking a seat across and to the right of his sister on the other side of the island.
Finn stumbled in, yawning, at a little before eight o'clock, looking as if he had been through a rainstorm. His hair stuck up on end, and his SpongeBob Squarepants shirt was noticeably wrinkled. Since he never actually went anywhere, he never bothered to put on anything more appropriate—and that didn't smell.
As he was fumbling with the coffeepot (one thing he had grown to love about modern time), Rebekah and Elijah shared a long look, conspiring on how to get their brother to take a shower and change his clothing. After their silent conversation, Rebekah had been elected as the less likely one to arouse Finn's suspicions and she cheerfully called to her older brother, "Morning, Finny!"
Finn turned around to blink at her, holding up his mug and slurping at it noisily. Rebekah grimaced but pressed on, "Didn't you have a date with Sage yesterday?"
Finn took his time swallowing before he turned to her, eyes blank. "She canceled. Said something about my poor hygenics." He yawned and took another slurp from his mug.
Elijah wrinkled his nose. "I believe you mean 'hygiene,' Finn."
Finn shrugged. "That, too." He sighed and sat across from Rebekah, next to Elijah, much to the eldest Original's dismay. "She said that she doesn't want to see me until it improves, anyway."
Rebekah knew an opportunity when she saw one. "I can help you with that!" She leapt to her feet and hurried around to the other side of the island to grab Finn's wrist. "Come to your room with me, and I'll show you how to get back into Sage's good graces!"
Finn's eyes lit up and, like the gullible love-struck puppy that he was, he happily trotted after his little sister.
Niklaus trotted in about half an hour later, his gray sweatpants hung low and his chest bare. He had apparently just showered, for he smelled heavily of Axe and aftershave. He nodded once at Elijah before trotting past him and moving to the coffeepot.
Elijah coughed when his brother passed him. "I can't decide what's worse," he grumbled. "Finn's refusing to bathe or you bathing in that Axe stuff."
Niklaus grinned wickedly at him over the rim of his now filled coffee mug. Unlike his older brother, he did not bother to refill the coffeepot. "The others still asleep?" he asked mildly, sitting down to his brother's right.
Elijah sighed as he stood to refill the coffeepot for the second time. Kol was a bear in the morning without his coffee, and he was not going to deal with him. He didn't know about E.J., but he honestly didn't expect her up anytime soon. "Rebekah was up before I was, and Finn came in a little while ago."
Niklaus laughed shortly. "Has he showered yet?"
Elijah laughed, too. "No, but I think Rebekah might have finally found a way to get him to."
"Did somebody say my name?" Rebekah reappeared in the doorway, followed closely by Finn. He had dressed in loose-fitting jeans and a plain tan shirt, and by the look of his damp hair, Rebekah had been successful in her quest. Elijah was delighted to smell that his eldest younger brother had not had access to that atrocious Axe stuff. Finn smelled more like soap than he did body wash.
"Did either of you think to check if Kol's alive yet?" Niklaus asked, not bothering to answer his sister's rhetorical question. She and Finn had sat down on the other side of the island, a chair between them. (There were three chairs on either side.)
Rebekah shook her head, once more engrossed in her phone, and Finn only shrugged.
When the clock was approaching nine thirty, E.J. finally stumbled into the room, looking half-asleep still dressed in last night's sleepwear. Her bun was now much messier after having been slept in, and her oak-green eyes were glazed with a sleepy film. She fell down in the stool next to Niklaus and buried her face in her elbow. "Kol snores like a freight train!" she grumbled.
Niklaus grinned and hopped down to fetch a mug of coffee for his favorite girl, at the moment. "Here, love." He held the mug out to her, and the smell quickly got her attention.
She sniffed it and wrinkled her nose. "I hate coffee," she grumbled.
Finn, Rebekah, and Elijah all looked at each other in sync, wondering to themselves if now was when Niklaus would finally explode. Niklaus, however, simply laughed and got back up to dump the coffee back into the pot. "I probably should have asked first," he chuckled, returning to his seat. "I just thought you looked like you needed it."
"What I need is sleep," she mumbled, her head once again pillowed on her arm. Niklaus wrapped an arm around her and gave her a squeeze.
Elijah watched E.J. calmly, a mild expression on his face. Inside, though, he was a little wary. He slept in the room next to Kol's, and his brother was a fairly quiet sleeper. In fact, he was surprised the others hadn't said anything about E.J.'s comment. Why would E.J. lie about why she couldn't sleep?
E.J. had lied because she didn't exactly know herself. She had slept, but she had woken up still not feeling rested. Instead of going back to sleep and possibly waking up around noon with a pounding headache, she decided to drag herself out of bed. Her dream from last night was vague, but parts of it stood out.
You must find out who you are, or he will forget who he is. The he had been "the hybrid," but E.J. couldn't remember who that was supposed to be.
She did clearly remember that she was adopted. She was supposed to figure out who her biological parents were to open the box that Gloria had given her. Even though she kept telling herself that that was ridiculous, they would have told her something like that, something persistent in the back of her brain would not let her let the idea ago. It just kept harassing her until she was ready to give in and actually give it some serious thought.
"And some Advil might be nice," she added as an afterthought.
E.J. was sitting stretched out on one of the built-in benches of the front porch, her laptop on her lap. She had dressed in short blue athletic shorts trimmed in green and a simple light blue camisole. Her body had not had time to develop more, and, as a result, her chest was still rather flat and her hips were not as round as some other girls' were. Sometimes E.J. cursed the fact that she would have her girlish pixie-shaped face for her entire immortal life.
True to her word, Rebekah had cut nearly six inches off her hair that morning, and it now only reached a little past her shoulders. She had pulled it up into a neat ponytail to get it off her neck.
She was scrolling down her main Facebook page when she sensed the presence of another person. She glanced up in surprise to see Caroline walking up the stone pathway to the front porch. Caroline's short white shorts were blindingly white, her baggy yellow top with a flower design on the front nearly blended with her skin, and her hair had been swept up into a neat bun. She smiled at E.J. as she climbed the steps, her white flip-flops snapping as she did.
"Not coming over to try to convince me to go back to the Boarding House, I hope," E.J. commented as Caroline approached her. She liked Caroline well enough, but she, like the others, would think her insane to want to live with the Originals. E.J. couldn't explain it, but they felt like family to her.
Caroline dropped her white purse onto the ground and planted her hands on her hips, staring down at E.J. "I get it, E.J., really I do," Caroline began. "Damon's a real dick. But you have other options! You could come stay with me or Elena, or find another boarding house! You don't need to resort to this!" Caroline waved her hand at the house to make her point.
E.J. shook her head and laughed. "Are you sure you're not just jealous because Nik likes me?"
Caroline's look was priceless, and E.J. wished she had a camera, or at least her phone. "Klaus?" the other girl gasped. "No! Why does everybody think I have a thing for him?!"
E.J. quirked an eyebrow up at her. "Maybe because you do?"
"Oh!" Caroline stamped her foot and glared. "Just stop being silly and come away from here! You can come stay with me, okay? My mom won't care, and we have a guest room."
E.J. sighed and closed her laptop, setting it to the side and swinging her legs around. Her feet were bare, her toenails freshly painted bright yellow and decorated with glue-on nail designs that Rebekah had wanted to try out. "Look, Caroline," E.J. said in a soft voice, hoping to assuage Caroline's temper, "I know you don't get it. But I like it here. Believe it or not, the Originals actually like me, and I like them. Even Kol, and he's more of a dick than Damon!" She shook her head. "Even Rebekah's taken a liking to me. We did each other's nails!" She held up her fingernails, which had been decorated with an orange, white, purple, and red swirl design of Rebekah's own invention.
Caroline slowly bent down to examine E.J.'s nails. "They are pretty," she muttered, jealous that she had never thought of doing something like that.
"They were Rebekah's idea," E.J. replied modestly. "I did hers in ten different flag designs. I don't think she got it, though." She frowned before laughing and shrugging her shoulders. "But it was fun! Even though my nails are a lot better than Rebekah's."
Caroline sighed and dropped down beside E.J. "I like you E.J.," she said quietly. "Which is why I want you to know how sorry I am for doing this." As she spoke the last words, she slowly reached up and put her hand against E.J.'s neck, steeling herself to snap it.
The next few moments were a blur, and Caroline suddenly found herself halfway across the front lawn and sprawled on her back near to where she had parked her car. E.J. was standing above her, staring down at her, not maliciously but with a solemn expression on her face. "Do you really think you can best me, Caroline?" the other girl asked quietly. "I might be younger than you physically, but I am older literally. You've been a vampire for, what, three months? I've been a vampire for fifty-one years."
Caroline sniffled and stood, dismayed to see that her white shorts now had grass stains on the butt. "That wasn't necessary," she mumbled.
E.J. stepped forward and took Caroline's hands in her own, gently rubbing her thumb over the other girl's knuckles. "I like you, too, Caroline," she said gently. "But you and the others need to let me make my own decisions. I could have had all five of the so-called monsters out here with just one call, if it had been Damon or Stefan instead of you. You can't make me leave, and you can't convince me to go. I'll go if I have a reason to leave, like I did with Damon."
Caroline smiled a little smile as she pulled away from E.J. "I know I can't make you," she sighed before holding out her arms. "Hug?"
E.J. smiled and stepped forward into Caroline's embrace. "I was hoping you would understand." She squeaked in pain when she felt Caroline stab something into her shoulder.
"But I can try," Caroline murmured, watching as E.J. reached behind her to yank the syringe out of her shoulder.
E.J. stared at the syringe for a moment before throwing it to the ground. Caroline looked confused for a moment before her expression turned alarmed. The next thing she knew, she had been slammed against her car and E.J. was up in her face, her pupils dilating.
"I have a little message for Damon and the others," E.J. spoke in a low, compelling voice. "Leave me be or they're going to see my nasty side." With that, she sped back up to the porch, scooped up her laptop, and disappeared into the house.
TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD
"I tried!" Caroline sobbed, accepting another tissue from Elena, who was taking them from the box that Bonnie held on her lap. "But she was too strong, and the vervain didn't work!" She blew her nose and took another tissue. "Why didn't it work?!"
This time, the gang had met at the Boarding House, after Caroline had called Elena and had told her what had happened. The first thing that had come out of the blonde's mouth had been her compelled message before she had broken down.
Damon was sitting on the couch, a glass of vodka in his hands. He had yet to touch it, for his mind was too focused on other things. E.J. could compel other vampires and vervain had no effect on her? (He knew that that little brat had compelled him at The Grill!) How was that possible?
"This is a hard case." Stefan sat down beside his brother but Damon didn't even glance at him. "But we'll crack it."
"I should've gone," Damon muttered, pulling away when Stefan tried to put a hand on his shoulder. "Apologized, or something. Do you think that's what she needs?" He finally glanced up to look the older vampire in the eye. (Damon might have been older, but Stefan had completed the transition first, so he had been a vampire for longer.) "An apology? I know girls are weird like that."
Stefan shook his head, laughing, as he clapped his brother on the shoulder. "They are indeed a foreign species, brother." He nodded at Caroline as if to make his point. "But what would the world be without them?" He clinked his glass of apple juice against his brother's and Damon smirked.
"When are you going to man up and drink the real thing?" Damon teased, glad for the lighthearted banter to distract himself. "Instead of juice mixed with a little bit of the good stuff?"
Stefan smirked back. "I don't know what you're talking about."
The two brothers glanced up to see a concerned Elena in front of them. "We need to heed her warning," she said quietly. "We need to leave her alone. She's right. She should be able to make her own choices."
"I've never even met this girl," Matt muttered.
"Me neither, man," Jeremy echoed from his seat beside the fireplace.
Damon sighed and slowly nodded. "For now, we will." His expression became determined. "Until we can figure out a better way."
TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD
E.J. sat on her bed staring at her box for what felt like hours. Her dream had felt so vivid, that, for a crazy moment, she had thought it might have been real. That crazy moment had driven her to do this: sit in front of the box waiting for it to say something. Anything! It seemed the harder she stared, the quieter it became.
She sighed and reached out a hand to jiggle one of the latches but, as always, it didn't budge. Whatever spell was keeping the box locked, it was sealed up tight.
"What are you doing?" E.J. spun around, hand pressed to her heart, to glare at the interrupter of her moment of insanity.
Kol looked bored leaning against her doorframe. His dark hair was messy from sleeping (he hadn't woken up until nearly noon) and his dark eyes still looked rimmed with sleep. His black jeans hugged his frame nicely and his gray sleeveless top left nothing to the imagination. His feet were bare, as usual, and E.J. was pretty sure he hadn't bothered to shave that morning.
"Having a staring contest with my box," she answered automatically. "And I'm winning. Wanna play?"
Kol grinned, clearly appreciating the joke (as she had known he would), and cocked his head to the side. "Funny chizz, love," he purred. "But what are you really doing?"
It was times like these that E.J. realized that Kol was a lot smarter than he made himself out to be. "I'm having an intimate moment with my most prized possession," she snarled. "May I please have some privacy?"
Kol quirked an eyebrow at her, but he knew sarcasm when he heard it and could take the hint. "Just checking up on you," he said, pushing off from the doorframe. "Wanted to make sure you weren't ready to run back to the Salvatores."
E.J. snorted and fondly patted her box. "Not a chance in the world, Kol. Now get lost!" Her menacing snarl, which had worked beautifully on Caroline, only amused the Original, who chuckled and waltzed away.
"Bastard," she grumbled under her breath. In her mind, she had dubbed Damon "Dick" and Kol "Bastard." She didn't feel she could call them the same thing, or else the terms would lose their intended meanings.
"You're not going to talk to me, are you?" she asked her box, beginning to feel a little silly. "You knew it was crazy, E.J.," she told herself as she hopped down from the bed and strode toward her wardrobe. "But you just had to try it."
You must find out who your parents are, before it's too late for the hybrid! His mind is deteriorating even as you stand here!
E.J. spun around and stared at the box, but nothing else happened. Finally, she shrugged, unnerved, and returned to digging into her wardrobe.
In another part of the mansion, Niklaus, Finn, and Elijah were in the middle of a rousing game of monopoly. Finn had proved to be quite the entrepreneur, for he had quickly bankrupted Elijah and was now attacking Niklaus with vehemence. Elijah had taken over as banker, taking far longer to count out the money (he checked himself several times to make sure he had the right amount) than his brothers would have.
"Ah, come on!" Niklaus moaned when he rolled a three (a one and a two), the exact number he needed to land on the one thing that Finn owned in the small stretch before his iron. Finn's car was on the clear other side of the board, wallowing in the luxury of owning half of the board. The other half was either owned by Niklaus or under no current management. More often than not, Niklaus had spent his turns doling out cash to his brother rather than actually being able to buy anything.
As he was counting out the money he owed, he blanked out for a few moments before he shook himself and stared down at the fake money in his hands. "What am I doing?" he muttered, carefully laying the money down and turning to stare at Elijah.
Elijah and Finn glanced at each other before turning to Niklaus. Finn was just thankful he was still speaking English. "Are you all right, Niklaus?" Elijah asked quietly, moving himself closer to his brother.
"Yes, brother," Niklaus muttered, sounding faraway and confused, "I think. But it seems that Finn has come back from the dead."
Elijah stared and Finn looked suddenly uncomfortable. "I undaggered Finn, remember?" Elijah spoke in a firm voice, reaching out to lay a hand on his brother's knee. "And Kol and Rebekah, too. And now we're all living together in the house you built for us. Just like you wanted."
Niklaus's head jerked up and he stared at his brother. "What are you speaking of, brother? I never daggered Kol or Rebekah! And when on earth did I build a house for us?"
In one swift move, Elijah broke his brother's neck, turning to Finn with wide eyes. "It's amazing how tempting that is," he muttered, gently reaching down to position his brother's head correctly for healing. "I see why you did it."
"He'll be fine when he wakes up," Finn tried to comfort him, but his voice came out flat. Elijah only nodded as he smoothed his hand over the fuzz that was his brother's hair.
A few minutes later, the break had fully healed and Niklaus gasped, sitting up and reaching up to rub his neck. "What on earth did you do that for, Elijah?" Niklaus demanded heatedly, glaring. "I only asked a simple question!"
It was then that Finn and Elijah could no longer deny that something was very, very wrong with Niklaus.
"Well?" Niklaus snarled, sounding disturbingly like Klaus.
"I have no answer for you, brother," Elijah said before reaching out to break his brother's neck again.
Finn stared at him. "What?" Elijah asked sheepishly. "It keeps him quiet."
Finn rolled his eyes and climbed to his feet. "Let's get him to his room before he wakes up, eh?"
AN: I'm so excited for the next chapter because—well, you know! We're building up to my favorite part (the climax, I suppose?) and I'm giddy! Which is weird because I've already written a good portion of it. Last chance to guess at E.J.'s parents and the significance! Okay, not the significance, and only E.J.'s mother is revealed next chapter. I'm assuming that most of you have guessed correctly by now, so you'll have to see if you were right. Thanks for reading!