Chapter 13

"See you inside," Kalinda says as her and Damon pass me in the parking lot.

"See you," I say with a smile and lock my car.

I am so glad they let me follow them here or I would have been terribly lost. I think as I walk to the front of the house. Plus it was nice to actually meet Damon.

Once I walk into the huge mansion I stop and look around. There is a beautiful grand staircase right when you walk in.

Elijah and his family must be set when it comes to money. I think as I look around. Even more so then Kalinda and I.

I look around the massive crowd of people to see if I recognize anyone when I notice Elijah walking toward me.

"You look lovely as always," he greets and kisses the top of my hand.

"Thank you," I smile. "And you look very dashing in your tux." I say, and he chuckles.

"Well, thank you," he smiles. "I am so glad that you were able to make it."

"I am very glad you invited me or I would have sat alone watching TV laying on the couch in my pajamas," I say and then laugh.

"What about your sister?" he asks curiously. "Isn't she probably doing just that?"

"No. Damon invited her to go with him as his date," I say looking around to see if I can spot them.

"Is that so," he says

"Yep," I answer even though it wasn't a question.

"Will you excuse me for a moment," he says and then walks away into the crowd.

They must have invited the whole town. I think to myself as I finally spot Kalinda and Damon.

I give her a small wave and she smiles and ten turns back to talk with people.

I see her talking to a blond curly haired girl. I notice two other people talking to them as wee. A girl with curly brown hair and a guy standing next to her with brow hair who sure bares a resemblance to Damon.

Maybe they are brothers. I think to myself. Then I notice Elijah walking toward them. I see him tap the girl with curly brown hair on the shoulder and they start talking and then excuse themselves and start walking away from the group.

Interesting. I think and I can see that both Damon and the boy who had been standing by her are angry.

I was getting ready to walk over to them when I hear someone call my name.

I look and see it was Alaric. I smile at him and he motions for me to come over.

"Hi, Alaric," I say once I get over to him.

"H, Paige," he smiles.

I look and notice he is standing by some people I don't recognize, except the one. "Paige, I would like you to meet Carol Lockwood, the mayor of the town," he says introducing me to a woman with brown hair done up in a bun and brown eyes. "Carol, this is Paige Emerose."

"Nice to meet you," she says with a smile.

"You, too," I say in return.

"This is Meredith Fell," he says introducing the woman beside him. "She is a doctor at the hospital."

"Nice to meet you," I say and we shake hands.

"You, too," she smiles.

"And this is Liz Forbes, the sheriff of the town," he introduces.

I thought she looked familiar. I think.

"Yes, we've met before," she says with a smile. "I ran into her cart at the grocery store," she says and then laughs.

"Yes, you did," I say and laugh as well.

"So, I hear you are new to Mystic Falls," Carol states. "How do you like it?" she questions.

"It is a really nice little town," I say honestly.

She just smiles. "I heard you are also the new chorus teacher at the school. Do you like the job?" she asks curiously.

"Yes, the kids are wonderful, and I also get to do what I love everyday, too," I confirm.

"Well, I am glad you are liking it."

"Thanks," I say with a smile.

"I am going to go find Caroline," I will talk to you all later," Liz says and then walks away.

"Bye," we all say.

"I am going to go mingle some more. Bye," Carol says and walks away as well.

"Bye," we all say again.

"So, where did you move from?" Meredith asks me once they are gone.

"Florida," I answer.

"Why did you move up here?" she asks curiously.

"My parents died in a fire and my sister and I decided that we couldn't live there anymore," I say bringing back the sad memories.

"I am so sorry to hear that," she says and I can see the regret in her eyes for asking.

"You didn't know," I say with a small smile. "Although, with how fast word seems to get around in this town I thought you would have heard."

"Well, I just recently arrived here," she says.

"Oh," I say not really knowing what else to say.

I hear someone clink a utensil against a glass and everyone goes quiet.

I turn my attention to the staircase and see Elijah standing on it along with five other people.

There are three guys and two girls. One of the women I am assuming is his mother.

Elijah motions to his mother who I see has shoulder length blond hair, so the other blond girl must be his sister. "Now, if everyone will find a partner and please join us in the ball room for a traditional dance," Elijah says and everyone starts pairing up.

I see him and his family disperse from the steps.

"Care to join me for a dance?" Elijah asks once he walks over to me.

"I would love to," I smile.

He holds his hand out to me and I take it and he leads me to the ballroom.

"Just to let you know I am not a very good dancer, and I definitely have never done a dance like this before," I warn as the music starts up.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine, just follow my lead," he says.

"Okay, but I'm sorry if I step on your toes," I say with a small laugh.

"You won't," he encourages.

I actually follow his lead pretty well when al of a sudden I am spun out of his arms and into the arms of someone else.

"So, how is the sister of my girlfriend doing?" they ask.

I look up and see that I am now dancing with Damon.

"Fine," I answer as we dance. I look and see that Kalinda is dancing with Elijah now, and they seem to be discussing something.

"You know, you should listen to her about Elijah," Damon says seriously to me.

"Oh no, not you, too," I say letting out a frustrated sigh. "What do you all know that I don't?" I ask hoping maybe I would get an answer out of him. Then a thought pops into my head, "Wait you don't think he is a vampire as well, do you" I ask remembering what Kalinda told me the other night.

Damon looks at me but doesn't say anything for a few minutes.

"Just listen to her, she knows what she is talking about. She is right when she says he his bad news," he says but completely avoids my question.

Before I know if I am being spun out of his arms and back into Elijah's.

"So, what did you and Damon talk about?" he asks curiously as we continue to dance.

"Just about him and my sister," I lie. "What did you and Kalinda talk about?" I ask.

He stares at me for a few seconds before replying. "Just about how she is liking the town and school," he answers just as the music stops.

"Uh, and what did she say?"

"That she liked it."

"Well, that is good," I smile as we walk out of the ballroom.

We walk into the room with the staircase again and see that his mother is standing on it.

"I'd like to make a toast," she starts to say.

People bring drinks around and I take one. Once she is done talking we toast and continue on with the ball.

"If you will excuse me again," he says and then disappears.

Oh why does he keep disappearing? I think to myself. I look around and try to find Alaric. Finally I spot him standing by Meredith.

"So, I'm assuming you got invited to the ball by Elijah," Meredith says once I reach them.

"Yeah," I confirm.

"So you know he…"

"Meredith," Alaric says cutting her off. "How about we go for a walk?" he suggests.

"Okay," she says hesitantly.

"Wait, what were you going to say?" I ask as they start to walk away.

I see Alaric whisper something in her ear and she nods.

"Nothing. I lost my train of thought," Meredith answers.

"Okay," I say and they walk away.

Uh huh sure you lost your train of thought. I think frustrated.

I look around for Elijah but don't see him anywhere.

"I'm Kol Mikaelson, who might you be?" I hear someone ask from behind me.

I turn around and see a guy with short brown hair and brown eyes and a smirk on his face.

"Paige Emerose," I answer. "Is there something you want?" I ask although not wanting to be rude.

"Actually, yes. My brother sent me to find you."

"Elijah," I question.

"Mmhmm," he answers. "If you'll follow me," he says and starts walking.

I hesitantly follow him.

I wonder why Elijah couldn't just find me on his own. I think as Kol starts leading me away from the crowded room and into a hallway.

"Umm, where are we…"

I am suddenly cut off as he pins me to the wall.

"What are you doing?" I say as he yanks my necklace off.

He looks me right in the eyes, "You will not scream. You will not even make a sound."

I feel myself get dizzy.

"Do you understand?" he asks.

I nod my head yes.

"Good girl," he smirks.

All of a sudden his face changes. His eyes go black and there are now black veins under his eyes, and not to mention fangs! Wait, fangs! I think to myself. What the heck? This can't be happening! I start to panic and squirm.

"So, you're the human my brother has taken a liking to," Kol says looking me up and down. "That's the first sign of weakness," he states and I try to look away from his demented face. "But no matter. I can correct his stupid mistake," he smirks and leans his head toward my neck, which causes me to squirm even more.

I try to scream but I can't.

"Don't worry, love, it only hurts for a second," he says and then I feel him bite down.

I try to squirm, but it is no use. He is too strong. Oh my gosh. Kalinda was right! They are freaking vampires! I think as I start to get light headed.

"Kol!" I hear someone yell.

He lifts his head and looks to the right. I do as well and see his mom standing there.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asks angrily. "Let the poor girl go! She commands.

He does, and I try to run but I am stopped when I run into someone. I look up and see it is Elijah.

"Don't move," he orders looking into my eyes.

"What is the meaning of this brother?" he asks Kol, and I can see he is angry.

I look at Kol and see his face is now back to normal.

"Kol, I demand you answer now!" his mother yells.

"I was hungry and wanted a snack," he shrugs.

Elijah snarls and has Kol quickly pinned to a wall. "Don't lie to me, brother!" Elijah says angrily.

"You're showing weakness, brother, falling for a human," he snarls and pushes Elijah against the opposite wall.

"Children!" their mother yells. "Let him go Kol and get back to the party. I will deal with you later," she orders.

He lets Elijah go and quickly disappears.

I look at the two of them frightened.

"Paige, I'm so sorry," Elijah says walking over to me.

"Elijah, you go back to the party as well. I will help Paige get cleaned up and then find you afterwards," she orders but not as firmly.

He nods and glances at me, and I can see the sadness in his eyes.

"And I know what you are thinking. No compelling your way out of this. If you truly have taken a fancy to this girl I expect you to explain everything to her," she says firmly.

He doesn't say anything and just walks away.

She walks over to me and puts a hand on my shoulder, and leads me to a room up the stairs.

"I'm sorry for the behavior of my son," she apologizes. "I know you must have many questions and Elijah will answer them, but for right now let's get you cleaned up dear."

I nod in agreement and realize that I am crying. She opens a door and reveals a bathroom.

"Sit," she says motioning to a chair that was under a vanity mirror.

If I wasn't in such shock I am sure I would be looking around the huge bathroom.

I wipe the tears from my eyes with a shaky hand.

I hear her turn on the sink and look over to see she is filling a bowl with water.

"In case you are wondering," she says as she starts to gently dab the washcloth against my neck. "My name is Esther Mikaelson."

"And I'm Paige Emerose," I can hear the shaking of my voice.

"As I heard," she says. "I am so sorry we had to meet under these circumstances," she apologizes.

I nod. "Are they really…?" I stop myself.

"Vampires?" she asks.

I nod.

"Yes," she says as she dips the bloody cloth into the water.

"Are you one as well?" I question as she still continues to clean my neck.

"No, my dear, I'm a witch," she says.

My eyes go wide. There are witches too?

"There," she says and takes the bowl and dumps it out in the sink.

I look at my neck and see the nasty bite mark there.

"Stay here and I will go get Elijah," she says as she exits the room.

I start to cry. I just can't take this information.

After what seems like forever I hear someone open the door.

I look and see it is Elijah.

My heart starts racing as he walks towards me.

"Paige, please, don't be frightened," he says calmly.

"You! And you're a …! Kalinda was right!" I exclaim.

Elijah kneels down and looks into my eyes.

"Sleep now," he says firmly. "I will explain everything to you in the morning."

I feel myself start to become sleepy even though I am far from tired. Before I know it, I am drifting into sleep.

Elijah picks her up and looks at her.

This is my entire fault. He thinks to himself as he caries her to his room. I am so stupid. I should have ignored my feeling from the beginning and she would never have gotten hurt. He scolds himself mentally.

Once they reach his room he opens the door and gently lays her on the bed.

He sees that she is really white and her breathing is a little shallow. Fortunately, though, she would be ok. Kol didn't take enough to kill her.

Kol. Elijah thinks. I am going to have to have a firm talking with him.

He brushes the hair away from Paige's face and looks thoughtfully at her.

"What are you doing to me?" he asks aloud. Then walks away from her and out the door.