To JennyMikaelson: I love the fact that your review is always my first. You'll just have to read this chapter and find out! A girlfriend . . . ? I honestly hadn't thought about giving Kol a girlfriend. By the way, I checked out your profile (I know, I'm such a stalker) and I noticed the pairings you like. How would you feel about a love triangle among Rebekah/Stefan/Elena. I like the idea of one, I just didn't want to pit family against each other like the books and series insist on doing (sigh). I was planning on having Damon and Bonnie eventually have something going on, but I'm open to other ideas. I personally love Damon/Rose, but Rose is dead by now. (Why must the writers torture poor Damon?) I don't know, who would you rather see him with? Oh, and, thanks so much for reviewing again!
To kadienewberg: Oh my gosh, you, my dear, are adorable! Yes, Caroline getting "beat up" is kinda funny. Only when it's not some creep, though, right? Now, I asked the characters if they wanted to talk with you, but . . . for some reason they didn't want to, so, you'll have to settle for me! Finn not bathing . . . . Yeah, it's gross, but I was being realistic. The modern world must be giving that poor Original a serious migraine. I love Rebekah, too! I love writing scenes with her and her brothers, but I have to be careful not to sacrifice her character. Honestly, I'd never even considered Kol/Bonnie (that is what "Kennett" is, right? I feel dumb now), and that idea does interest me. Bonnie evil? Personally, I think she does have an "evil" streak to her, but that's just me. Lastly, I assure you, my dear, that Klaus is not the villain in this story. I don't like pitting him against his family but that doesn't mean it's all sunshine and roses for them either. E.J. does want to know why it would be her fault if that happened, but she's overly sensitive so just ignore her. ;) Thanks for reviewing again!
To Marauders12345: Yes, I know. I haven't given a lot of clues to E.J.'s father, but I haven't had a lot of chance and . . . I just didn't think about it. Yes, the dates don't add up, I agree. But I'm an author with a seriously strange thought process, and I can assure you that that was either intentional or everybody reviewing is wrong about who E.J.'s mother is (smiles evilly). I loved the scene with Caroline, too, because it was so cute! I think it reminded everybody that E.J. is older than all three of those girls, but she's still a fourteen-year-old at heart. Thanks for reviewing again!
To crazygurl: And I loved writing that family moment, because there will never be enough of them, ever. I thought it would be funny if Klaus, the evil mastermind, was losing to his brother who's lost nine hundred years of his life. I hope you like what I came up with for the reveal! And I am happy to oblige your request for more, and humbly thank you for telling me what you thought of the last chapter. (Wow, that was formal. Thanks! There, that's more like it.)
To madison. : And thank you for your review, too! There, I said it first this time. Yay me! I guess you'll have to read this chapter to find who she is to Klaus . . . . Wait, I said too much! Edit, edit, edit! Oh, never mind, you've all figured it out by now anyway. I hope you like the reveal!
To Typs: I know, right?! There are barely any fics out there where our lovely Originals are all alive and living together relatively happily. This story is nowhere near done, and I am an author who finishes what she starts. I promise to finish this! There might even be a few stories after this one. (Not that I'm planning on turning this into a series or anything . . .) Okay, yeah, I am, but don't tell anybody! I have way too many ideas for just one little thirty-forty chapter something story, but with college coming up in two weeks . . . . I just hope I can continue this for a while, because I love this story! Anyway, thanks for your review!
AN: Yay, six reviews! I love you all, really! I haven't said this, but thank you to everybody who's favorited, followed, or just plain read this story! I appreciate every single one of you. New deal, now! Six or more reviews and I will update Wednesday. Four or five I will update Thursday. Three or less and I will update Friday. I guess I'd better keep typing so I can stay ahead of you all. Onto Chapter 14 for me and Chapter 9 (this chapter) for you all!
I guess I can tell you all this since I already told a reviewer it. This story is actually an introductory story to a series I'm hoping to write after this is done. There is so much to this little world I've created and so much to E.J., that I cannot fit it all into one fic without making it ridiculously long. This story's purpose is to introduce you to E.J. and everything about her. One thing I'm not going to do is make the story revolve around her like the books and series revolve around Elena. Ugh! She's one girl, why the heck is she so special?! The books are even worse, let me tell you. Anyway, enjoy this chapter and my reveal! I wonder how many guessed correctly?
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and do own everything you don't. Why do I bother writing one of these every chapter, anyway? Oh, right, because I'm paranoid. Never mind, case closed!
The Other Side was a lonely place. Being able to walk the entire globe and yet unable to speak to one person. When she had been alive, Gloria had relished the quiet moments in her life, but now in death her entire existence was silence. The only bright moments were her brief conversations with E.J., the girl she had come to love as the daughter she had lost.
Tears welled in the dead witch's eyes as she thought of her first daughter, the one who had been killed in a tragic boating accident a very long time ago, long before she had met Rebekah and Klaus. The girl had only been nine years old, five years younger than E.J. Gloria knew that nothing she could have done would have changed what had happened, since she had no yet begun her training at that time, but it did not stop her from asking, "What if?"
Now, she was exploring the mansion that E.J. had moved to. It was beautiful, a true palace. The elegance and grandeur of it made Gloria think that it was a little overkill for a small town like Mystic Falls. She could not figure out if it was some kind of hotel, a boarding house, or the home of a family that E.J. had decided to stay with. She could not blame E.J. for leaving the Salvatores, for she had been able to see Damon Salvatore's behavior. If she had not been dead and incapable of any form of assistance, she would have driven a stake through that vampire's heart a long time ago.
But she knew she could not do that. E.J. would never forgive her if she ever found out the truth . . . a truth that Gloria had hidden from her until her death had taken the veil from her eyes. Her own death had never been on her mind back when she had cast the spell that gave E.J. her box, but now it was all too clear. She could no longer protect E.J.
The box must be opened. But the only way that could be done was if E.J. discovered the identity of her biological parents. That information Gloria had hidden from her for so long that she had actually convinced herself the human couple who had raised E.J. were her biological parents. The woman had given birth to E.J., which had made it that much harder.
"My daughter is special." Gloria turned at the voice and smiled sadly at the woman standing behind her. In death, she was once again a young woman, although she had been very old in her last days on the side of the Living, but her eyes were old. Her long dark hair fell well past her shoulders, curling ever so slightly, and her dark eyes were downcast.
"Mi hija es especial ("My daughter is special.")," the Latina woman spoke again in a quiet voice. "And I never realized," she said in English. She glanced up at Gloria, her beautiful face marred by time and the reality of life, and death. "But you did."
Gloria's head hung down low. "Lo siento, Rosalinda." ("I am sorry, Rosalinda.") The other woman's face became hard and Gloria sighed, her eyes downcast. "I did, Rosalinda," she said quietly. "It was my burden to carry."
"You could have told me," Rosalinda said heatedly. At that moment, Gloria wished that ghosts on the Other Side could not interact with each other. Those residing here had some regrets about their life on earth, often involving their loved ones. They lived their relatively lonely lives lamenting their past choices and the fact that they could never be rectified. They were never at peace.
"Greg was able to find peace," Gloria defended herself. "Why haven't you?"
Rosalinda glared, her hatred of the witch fueling her very existence, or lack thereof. "I could ask you the same question, witch."
"E.J. is special," Gloria agreed, deciding that she really did not want to argue with the girl's adoptive mother at the moment. And her birth mother, technically. "In more ways than even I understand."
"Who is her real mother?" Rosalinda hissed, her voice hoarse and so quiet Gloria could hardly hear her.
Gloria's face softened and she hurried over to the other woman. Rosalinda was taller than she, but Gloria reached up to pull the younger woman down into a tight embrace. "You are her real mother, Rosalinda," Gloria assured her. "You are not just the woman who carried her around for nine months and then gave birth to her. You gave her a home, your heart, the life she needed. She would not have gotten that with her 'biological' mother."
Rosalinda's eyes were wet when she pulled away. "Tell me who she is, Gloria." The anger was gone and all that was left was regret. "I need to know."
For a long time, Gloria was silent, contemplating whether or not to reveal the secret she had been hiding for so long.
She never got the chance to make her choice.
She gasped when she felt a powerful tug from the side of the Living and she was yanked away from Rosalinda, who was crying silently.
She opened her eyes to find herself in a world where she only existed as an apparition. She stood in an ornate bedroom she immediately identified as belonging to the mansion she had been exploring on the Other Side. In front of her stood E.J. Her face was red and her eyes looked wetter than normal. She was tugging on her ponytail, like she did when she was nervous, her nose scrunched up.
Gloria smiled nervously. She had gone from an angry, emotional mother to her angry, emotional daughter. Her lot in life was not a pleasant one. "Yes, dear?" she asked quietly.
E.J. had yet to look at her, her gaze off somewhere. "The box talks," she finally said, sounding resolute. Gloria stared at her for a moment before she remembered the box.
"Oh." Gloria cleared her throat. "Er, how so?" That should be a good thing, but she couldn't keep her heart from pounding. You're dead now, Gloria, Gloria told herself in irritation. There's nothing He can do to you. If only she could convince herself as easily she could other people.
E.J. sat down on her king-sized bed, her golden silk bedspread crinkling underneath her. "It actually talked!" she moaned. "Not like a person, but like a voice in my head!"
"Like thought speech?" Gloria asked curiously. Interesting. She had not counted on that.
E.J. shook her head miserably, burying her face in her hands. "I'm losing my mind!"
Gloria sat beside E.J. on the bed and wrapped an arm around her. The girl did not even stir, for she could not feel the ghost's arm. "There, there, love," she soothed. "Everything will be all right."
"No, it won't!" E.J. exploded, leaping up and whirling on her godmother. "Why the hell did you never think to mention I was adopted?!" Gloria's breath caught in her throat at the girl's words. She had known the day would come when E.J. would find out, but she had never quite been able to prepare herself for it. The girl looked so devastated, and so close to tears, that she found herself at a loss for words.
"E.J., do you have any—?" a voice from the doorway interrupted their exchange, but paused, probably when the speaker saw how upset E.J. was. Gloria gazed at Rebekah in the doorway, thinking to herself about how revealing that tank top of hers was. She herself had worn some low shirts, but she found it easier to fault others over herself.
Rebekah's expression was unreadable, but Gloria thought it might be an odd mixture of alarm, confusion, and an innate need to comfort. The Original had never been able to fulfill her motherly need to nurture, although Gloria had tried to help her in that area. Then Rebekah had disappeared and there was nothing she could do.
I cannot tell E.J. outright, the ghost told herself. The spell does not work that way. She shuddered at the thought of what would be released when said spell was broken. But I can give her hints.
E.J. could not meet Rebekah's concerned gaze, sniffling and pressing her lips together to keep from sobbing. Her eyes were so misty that she could no longer see clearly and she was beginning to get a headache. "Just go away, Bekah," she hiccupped.
Rebekah was not what you would call a sensitive person, but something about this girl made her heart melt. Without saying a word, she strode barefoot across the room and engulfed E.J. in her arms. The girl's barrier broke then and she sobbed, burrowing into Rebekah and clinging to her quickly becoming wetter shirtfront.
Rebekah pulled E.J. to the bed and sat down beside Gloria (although she did not know that) and pulled E.J. down onto her lap. "Shh, love," the Original murmured into the girl's hair. "What is wrong? Tell me."
E.J. shook her head against the other girl's bosom and reached up to rub her eyes. She felt like a little girl being in Rebekah's arms, like back when she had been younger. She could remember times of her mother's drawing her into her arms and holding her to chase away a young girl's irrational night terrors.
Was she ever really my mother? the girl thought to herself, the thought breaking her heart.
Gloria sensed the presence of another being from the Other Side and glanced up. Rosalinda looked resplendent in her long red ball gown, her hair pulled into a fantastic bun. Her eyes were transfixed on her daughter and the woman holding her. "I understand," she murmured.
Gloria stood to embrace the other woman, but Rosalinda waved her away. "She is no longer mine, Gloria," the woman spoke in a low voice. "For a time, she was my everything, but now I must give her up." A sad smile crossed her face and, for a moment, her rigid exterior dropped.
If Rebekah had not been so focused on comforting E.J., she might have sensed the presence of two beings from the Other Side. A coldness had settled over the room, and E.J. shivered. For some reason, her tears had dried up and she sat up, staring off into space. Gloria had disappeared, to who-knows-where, but she had sensed something else.
Rosalinda stepped past Gloria and approached her daughter, falling down to one knee and reaching out to cup her hands around the girl's face. E.J. started, looking around wildly, but still could not see her mother. "Te paso, mi amor ("I pass you on, my love.")," she spoke quietly. "¡Ojalá vivas una vida larga y feliz!" ("May you live a long and happy life.") She stood and smiled down at the girl that she had given everything for. "Te amo, mi querida." ("I love you, my darling.") She bent down and left a single kiss on her daughter's forehead.
Gloria shed a single tear when the woman faded, off to a better place. "You found your peace, Rosalinda," Gloria sighed before turning back to E.J. The girl was now sitting erect, Rebekah looking at her almost warily. "And now I must, too."
"Your mother has passed you on, child," Gloria murmured into E.J.'s ear. "To another mother."
E.J. heard the words rustle over her ears, but she did not quite understand them. She shook her head and shifted on Rebekah's lap, her mind elsewhere. "Are you okay now, E.J.?" At that voice, that familiar voice, E.J. slowly looked up and into Rebekah's searching gaze.
To another mother, the voice had said. "It's you," E.J. breathed.
Rebekah looked confused. "What's me?"
Now E.J. was tearing up once more as she stood and looked down on Rebekah, deep into her eyes. "I don't know how—it shouldn't be possible!—but, you are my mother."
The look on Rebekah's face was so unreadable that E.J. was afraid she had crossed a boundary. The Original opened her mouth to garble out a reply when a thump from the wardrobe startled them. They turned as one to see the box fall out on its own accord, one latch hanging loose.
Rebekah's lips tightened. "I think you have a lot of explaining to do, young lady."
There had been times in his long life that Elijah had thought he might actually be able to simply be friends with his younger siblings, instead of feeling like their caregiver. With Rebekah and Kol, he simply could not brush aside his natural paternal instincts, for he had been an adolescent at Kol's birth and a young adult at Rebekah's. He had trouble seeing them as anything but his little brother and sister who desperately needed guidance. In the five hundred years that he had been loyal to and stayed with Niklaus, Elijah had easily been able to forget that he was Niklaus's senior. Niklaus was always so controlling, and so dangerous, that it was easy to be the follower.
But there had been a time where that had not been true. When they were human, Elijah had always felt the ever present burden of responsibility to his younger siblings. It might not have been paternal as with his youngest siblings, but it had been a natural instinct to teach and to lead. Recently, he had felt those instincts coming back, and they both confused and annoyed him. He might have agreed to grant Niklaus's desire that they all live together as they once had, but that did not mean that he had forgiven the hybrid for all he had done. Honestly, Elijah was just waiting for Niklaus to make one wrong move, giving him an excuse to leave.
Then there was his last sibling: Finn. He had forgotten how much he loved having his eldest sibling around. Unlike with his other siblings, he saw Finn as his equal, for he was only a little more than three years younger. They had grown up as the eldest, fulfilling their responsibilities as such together. Elijah had never particularly felt a need to lead the quietest Original as he had the others. He was beginning to appreciate what a blessing it was to have his level-headed sibling back, alive and well.
Especially today. Elijah was not prone to panic attacks, impulsion, or general acts that belied his composed nature, but he was dangerously close to all three watching Niklaus sleep. He and Finn had only just gotten the hybrid back up to his room, in a hurry to reach it before he awoke after Elijah had broken his neck—again.
Niklaus suddenly gasped awake and Elijah very nearly jumped in surprise. His younger brother sat up slowly, shaking his head in confusion before he spotted Elijah seated beside his bed in the armchair. "Did you break my neck again?" he asked accusingly.
Elijah chose to ignore him and stood up from the armchair. "Finn, have you found anything yet?" he called. The eldest Originals' first guess had been a far-fetched one at best: drugs. Finn had volunteered to search their younger brother's bathroom for any signs of anything suspicious.
"No!" his brother answered. "But Niklaus does seem to use a lot of hair products. Strange, since he does not have much hair."
Niklaus glared at Elijah and mind-glared at Finn, cautiously reaching up to feel his head, surprised that it was balder than he remembered. "Where am I?" he demanded.
"I already told you," Elijah answered patiently. "You are in the house that you built for us all to live together in, as we once did. This is your bedroom, to be exact."
Niklaus looked ready to state his opinion on that statement, when he suddenly froze and shook his head. "My brain feels fuzzy," he muttered before his eyes keeled into the back of his head and he fell back against his bed.
There came a knock at the door, and Rebekah poked her head in. "We have a family emergency," she said, sounding as if she were choking back sobs.
Elijah slowly looked from his unconscious (again) brother to his distraught little sister. "Family emergency?" he muttered. When was the last time he had heard that phrase?
Before Rebekah could clarify, Finn poked his head out the bathroom door. "I'm coming up empty, Lijah," he relayed. "If Nik's doing drugs, he's found a much better hiding place than"—he noticed Rebekah—"Oh, hey, Bekah!" he chuckled nervously, reaching up to tug at his collar.
Rebekah barely glanced at him before stepping into the room and hurrying over to Elijah. The eldest Original hadn't seen her this upset since her first boyfriend had dumped her over a thousand years ago . . . . That boy had mysteriously been pushed into the village compost pile the very next day.
"Eli," she said, her voice barely audible, "I don't know what to do." Elijah quirked an eyebrow at Finn, sharing the burden of their sister's mood swings, before he suddenly found himself nearly bowled over.
"Hey, hey," he murmured, just keeping himself from hollering. His sister was clinging to him, her face buried in his chest. "What's wrong, love?" he asked quietly.
Rebekah shuddered and shook her head against him. "Bekah, what's wrong?" Niklaus's voice came as a shock as he suddenly appeared behind them, looking concerned about his younger sister. (Hadn't he been unconscious mere minutes ago?) Elijah glared at him, but Niklaus paid him no mind and reached out a hand for Rebekah. "Bekky, sweetie, tell me what's wrong."
Rebekah lifted her face from Elijah's chest but she did not let go of him. "I'm scared," she whispered to her third eldest brother, laying her head against Elijah's sternum.
Niklaus's face remained neutral, but he looked as ready to defend his sister as Elijah was. Finn probably felt the same way, but it was hard to tell with him.
Rebekah sighed and closed her eyes. "E.J. thinks I'm her mother," was all she said.
A rustle of the curtains was enough to break the deafening silence that followed.
E.J. could only stare at the box placed on her bed, wondering if she should have kept her mouth shut. Rebekah had acted so shocked, and terrified, if E.J. was honest with herself, about the news that E.J. was torn between indignation and betrayal. "Gloria!" she called out for the third time, desperately hoping that the witch would heed her call.
The girl desperately needed someone to talk to. Rebekah had abandoned her, under the guise of needing to speak with her brothers, and had been gone for over fifteen minutes. E.J. knew better. Clearly, the Original had needed an excuse to get away, away from E.J.
"I was so sure," she mumbled, staring at the box with watery eyes. Her vision was blurry with unshed tears, her nose stuffed up, which made her voice sound funny. "I dought for sure it was 'er," she sobbed quietly.
Gloria stood a few feet away, watching. She was watching both her goddaughter and that damn box. The box that she had created and now had to deal with. One latch was already hanging loose, and Gloria could feel the power within straining against the other. "It will not be long," the ghost murmured. "Soon you will have the greatest protection known to mankind."
I can sense you, witch. The voice came so suddenly and so unexpectedly into Gloria's mind that she jumped and swung around in alarm. It was several moments before she realized where the voice had come from. Even while I am trapped in here, you cannot hide from me, the voice continued. I will find you, witch.
Gloria shook her head, trembling at the words. She kept telling herself that she was dead and that he couldn't hurt her, but the words sounded hollow even to her own ears. She remembered the stories that her grandmother had used to tell her about Him and about His powers over the dead.
"Gloria!" E.J. was nearly in tears now, hugging the box to her chest. Why was her friend not coming? Had she done something wrong? Had something happened to Gloria?
A sound at the door startled her and she swung around to see a very composed, very emotionless Elijah standing in the doorway. He did not say much, but was watching her closely. "What do you have there?" he asked in a gentle, calm voice.
E.J. sniffled and glanced down at her box, hurriedly trying to wipe her tears away. "Just something a friend gave to me," she mumbled. "It's really special to me, so don't touch it!" She didn't know where the sudden burst of anger had come from, but she was suddenly curled around the box, hugging it to herself and wrapping her knees around it.
In a moment, Elijah was by her bedside and calmly tugging the box from the young girl's grasp. E.J. shrieked, but she was soon hauled up and crushed to a solid chest covered with a silk waistcoat. "Hush, child," Elijah murmured into her ear. "Your treasure is safe. We will not lay a hand on it."
E.J. pulled away, and he let her, watching her closely. E.J. stood for a moment, rubbing her arms, before she peered up at him. "Did she tell you?" she asked, voice small and uncertain. Elijah nodded his head solemnly. "Do you believe me?"
"I honestly do not know what to believe, E.J.," Elijah said after a moment. "I came up here to get you. We're having a 'family meeting,' and I thought that you should join." A moment went by and Elijah gently pushed E.J. away from him, holding her at his arms' length and scrutinizing her form. "Rebekah is just shocked, love," he said after another long moment. "She will come around."
E.J. sighed and shook her head, shrugging. "I shouldn't 've said anything, anyway, I guess. Should have come up with some evidence first, at least."
Without a word, Elijah briskly led her out of the room and downstairs to her doom. Gloria watched her walk out, eying the box on the bed warily.
She shrugged and turned, heart pounding as she tried to pass back to her normal plane of existence.
BOO! She yelped and raced away into the night, wanting to get as far away from the box as possible. Laughter like that of the tinkling of a bell and the softness of a summer breeze rang throughout the room as the box cracked up into hysterical giggles.
AN: So, what did you all think? Huh? Huh?! HUH? I know the dates don't add up (for everybody paying attention to that kind of thing), but you'll figure out why in a couple of chapters. Poor Rebekah. An eighteen-year-old girl finding out that she has a daughter she never knew about . . . . I knew I couldn't make her finding out all sappy and happy, because that wouldn't be true to the characters or situation. Anyway, E.J.'s father will be revealed in two chapters, so you can start guessing about that!
The first person to guess that E.J. was the daughter of one of the main characters was friendlyanon. The first person to guess she was Rebekah's daughter was . . . JennyMikaelson! She didn't say "daughter" outright, just that she was related to her. Congratulations, Jenny! There is still more to the first point (E.J.'s father and the significance of her parentage), so keep guessing! Thanks for reading, everybody!