AN: Hey everyone. This is another chapter for you. There's a little Elena bashing here so anyone Elena fan here, sorry about that. Anyway thank you very much for the reviews and your support. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it so far. Please read and let me know your thoughts and opinions, positive or negative. Thank you!
Chapter 6: The Truth Speaker
Shanyra was finally getting to meet her aunt Elizabeth Forbes. Caroline obviously told her mom about Shanyra and about everything that happened. At first Sheriff Forbes couldn't believe that her twelve years old niece got into this mess with the supernatural world. But there was nothing she could do to get her out of here. The only thing Sheriff Forbes could do was look out for Shanyra given the circumstances. But first they needed to get to know each other. After all it's been a long time since they last met.
Therefore a meeting was scheduled for Shanyra to meet her aunt. She was getting ready while Kol was waiting for her downstairs. Obviously he wasn't going to let her go alone with Caroline. To say that Kol didn't trust Caroline would be a huge understatement. Upstairs, Rebekah was helping Shanyra get ready. They were talking to each other and Kol happened to be eavesdropping in on their conversation. Not that he didn't have anything better to do but Shanyra said a lot of things to Rebekah and Kol wanted to know everything about her that she might not tell him.
It was another side effect Kol discovered lately. That he wanted to know everything about Shanyra. Even if she blinked, Kol wanted to know about it. And the fact that Kol was aware that Shanyra was keeping some secrets from him, wasn't helping this side effect at all. Since Kol couldn't force the secret out of her, hearing every word that comes out of her mouth was the only way to at least get some kind of hint.
"I swear if my aunt turns out anything like my mom, I'll flip." Shanyra said as Rebekah combed her waist length hair.
"What is it with you and your mom?" Rebekah asked curiously. It was crystal clear that Shanyra had issues with her mother.
"It's complicated. I don't want to talk about it." Shanyra said putting an abrupt end to that topic.
"Fine. Let's talk about school then. Are you liking it here?" The original asked curiously. Rebekah wanted to know about Shanyra too. Not just because Kol has asked to find out as many things about her as possible but because she wanted to know about this girl herself. Shanyra seemed to have a secret that she couldn't share with anyone. Or didn't want to tell anyone. But it was pretty obvious that the secret had a great influence on her.
"It's different here. There's a lot to adjust for me." Shanyra answered truthfully.
"I'm sure you will get used to of everything in no time." Rebekah said confidently.
"The most popular girl of my class, Alison; I'm making her so insecure and I'm not even trying anything." Shanyra said shaking her head to herself. She hasn't made any friends yet but she was quite alright with that. To say that Shanyra was choosy about who she befriends, would be a huge understatement.
"You know Rebekah, back at my old school. I had very few friends of my own age. Most of my friends were older than me. I even had a few twelve graders in my friends list. It's fun to hang out with older people." Shanyra said and Rebekah listened to her carefully.
"Probably that's why you know more than you should." The original stated the obvious.
"Is that a bad thing, having older friends?" Shanyra asked wondering about it. Also she wanted to know what Rebekah thought of it. The original didn't know what to say to that. Should she encourage this or not?
"It's not a bad thing but you should have friends of your own age too" said Rebekah. It was the safest answer she could gave. Shanyra thought about it for a moment then said-
"I don't know about friends but I'm going to face serious problems getting a boyfriend here. I haven't noticed a single boy at school fitting my type or worth my attraction for that matter. Not even in higher grades." She sounded rather worried about it. Rebekah however raised her eyebrows at Shanyra hearing that.
"You have a type?" She asked thinking how come Shanyra has a type at such a young age.
"Of course I have a type. Don't you?" Shanyra asked Rebekah with curiosity.
"No she doesn't." It was none other than Caroline who said that as she entered the room. She has just arrived and heard her cousin and Rebekah talking about boys.
"Rebekah here sleeps with anyone who makes eye contact with her." Caroline didn't care she was saying that in front of her young cousin. Shanyra as well raised her eyebrows at Rebekah. Clearly she wasn't expecting that. She thought guys had to work hard to get Rebekah's mere attention. The said original ignored Shanyra's questioning gaze and glared heatedly at Caroline instead. Rebekah also retorted back right away.
"Don't make me tell Shae how desperate you are when it comes to sleeping with men." As Rebekah verbally attacked Caroline, she glared at the original without any hesitation.
"Excuse me. Unlike you I've standards Rebekah. And I don't sleep with everyone I come across." Caroline retorted back.
If she was so desperate, Klaus wouldn't have had to try so hard to be with her just for once. Shanyra watched the girls with interest while enjoying their verbal cat fight. Unfortunately Kol came there and stopped this fight before it could get too nasty. He certainly didn't want Shanyra to hear more things from the girls. It might have a bad influence on her. She might learn something from them, that she shouldn't.
"Would you two stop?" Kol snapped at both Caroline and Rebekah, successfully making them shut up.
"Your mom must be waiting Caroline. We should be going now." Kol said to vampire Barbie. Both Caroline and Rebekah took in deep breaths to calm themselves down. Caroline then looked at Shanyra.
"Are you ready?" She asked and her cousin nodded her head.
"How do I look?" Shanyra asked Caroline.
"Beautiful." Caroline said really meaning it. Then she said-
"Let's go, shall we?"
Shanyra waved bye at Rebekah then started walking with Caroline. Kol followed them behind. Though he was going but Kol wouldn't be crowding the family meting. He would just watch Shanyra from distance to ensure she was safe. Also he just didn't like having her out of his sight. Another wonderful side effect of the soul mate bond.
Kol did that when she was at school as well. He'd watch her from distance. Shanyra didn't know about it though. But it probably wouldn't matter to her even if she found out. An adult would've certainly freaked out at this kind of behavior but no Shanyra. She was just a kid. Besides, it seemed like a nature of her to take everything serious quite lightly. Take his soul mate bond for example. No one else would've been so fine with it as Shanyra was.
Kol really appreciated this cooperation even though he'd never say it out loud. He would be going through a lot of trouble if Shanyra didn't want to be with him or stay with him. If she hated him, Kol couldn't have dealt with it. Thankfully Shanyra was easy going in this matter. She actually didn't want to leave Kol, ever. Which was nice and suspicious at the same time. What kid likes staying with stranger more than her family?
Downstairs, Klaus just entered the mansion with Elijah. The second oldest Mikaelson brother has returned to Mystic Falls to see if he could help the messed up situation of Stefan and Elena and of course Damon included. With Markos lurking around Mystic Falls, they couldn't afford conflicts of their own. Elijah was completely unaware of Shanyra though. Klaus hasn't told him about that yet. It wasn't his place to tell. He'd let Kol do the explaining.
As Elijah had no clue, he got confused when he came across Caroline and Shanyra. Not even knowing Shanyra's name that time. And what was Kol doing with them? Elijah wondered about that too.
"Hello brother." Kol greeted Elijah. Shanyra had her back turned towards Kol, so he couldn't see the stunned expression on Shanyra's face that just appeared after seeing Elijah.
"Who is she?" Elijah asked about the little girl straight away.
"Her name is Shanyra. She's my cousin." Caroline answered Elijah's question. She was unaware if Elijah knew about the soul mate thing or not. Elijah on the other hand got more confused. What was Caroline's cousin doing in their house? Subsiding that confusion, Elijah smiled at the girl.
"Hello there." He said. Shanyra was still looking at him with wide eyes.
"This is going to sound like I'm hitting on you but I had dreamed about you." Shanyra blurted out, sounding very confused. Elijah looked at her with raised eyebrows. He got confused as well.
"You mean to say you've seen me in your dreams?" Shanyra nodded her head vehemently as Elijah asked that question.
"Yes, couple of times actually. I swear. I don't exactly remember what you were doing but I remember seeing your face." Shanyra was having a hard time believing her own eyes. It was like she dreamed about someone and that person just walked out of her dream. On the other hand, Caroline looked at Kol, expecting an answer since he didn't look clueless about what Shanyra was talking about.
"It's just the soul showed her my past memories in her dreams. It's natural. Nothing to worry about." Kol explained to Caroline particularly but obviously everyone else heard that. And it confused Elijah to no limits.
"Kol, what are you talking about?" Elijah's tone of voice demanded answers.
"You've missed out on a lot of things brother." Klaus said smirking to Elijah. He couldn't wait to hear what his older brother has to say about Kol having a soul mate who happened to be a twelve years old girl. Surely this information would be unsettling for Elijah at first. But a proper explanation should make him support this.
"Elijah, I'll explain everything to you once I get back. But right now, I need to go with them." Kol said. Elijah was ready to stop him but right then Rebekah came over there. She obviously heard Elijah and came to meet him.
"Elijah. Glad you are back." Rebekah said to Elijah and then she looked at Kol.
"I can go with Shae if you want. Elijah needs to know what's going on." Rebekah good heartedly offered her help but Kol couldn't accept it.
"I'd rather have you explain everything to Elijah if you really want to help. I'm going with them." Kol stated strongly. There was no room for debate on that. Rebekah simply nodded her head; agreeing to help that way.
"Let's go." Kol said to Caroline, then the three of them started walking again. Shanyra couldn't help but stare at Elijah for as long as she could. And Elijah as well kept looking at her. Once the girl was out of his sight, he looked back at Rebekah and demanded-
"Tell me everything."
It didn't take much long for Kol, Caroline and Shanyra to reach the Mystic Grill. They entered and looked around the crowd. Shanyra has already visited the Grill before with Kol, so this place wasn't new to her. Caroline spotted her mother at a table. She was waiting for them obviously.
"There she is." Caroline said to Shanyra pointing towards her mother. Shanyra almost sighed out in relief when she saw no resemblance between Sheriff Forbes and her mother Eleanor. Unlike her mother, her aunt got a warm and friendly face despite being a sheriff. However, Shanyra didn't let her hope get too high. She must speak with her first.
"Come on." Caroline said.
"I'm gonna be at the bar." Kol announced which Caroline silently appreciated, then he separated from the Forbes cousins and walked over to the bar.
Unfortunately Matt was working there and seeing the lunatic Mikaelson approaching he immediately tensed up. Whenever Kol's around, Matt somehow ends up getting hurt. The only reason he stayed at the bar was because Tyler was there. He was drinking as usual. If Kol attacked Matt for no reason at all like always, Tyler should be able to save him or at least try.
Kol on the other hand smirked seeing Matt and his tensed up face. He loved having such affect on people. The only exception was Shanyra. For some bizarre reason, Kol didn't want her to fear him anymore. Not that Shanyra feared him in the first place but a few days ago Kol wanted her to fear him, at least a bit but not anymore. But Kol would never admit that out loud. He ordered drinks and settled on a stool at the bar.
When Kol looked around, he noticed the vampire named Enzo. He was sitting at a table and enjoying a glass of drink. Rumor has it that he and Caroline were having some sort of chemistry between them. Well that was what Kol heard anyway. But he knew for certain that it was only a matter of time before Enzo gets in trouble with Klaus. Just like the werewolf Tyler did. Because Klaus didn't like competition. He rooted off Tyler from Caroline's life. Though they were still friends in a way but they would never ever go back to being lovers. It would be much easier to beat Enzo. As for Kol, well he was going to stay as far away from this drama as possible.
As Kol enjoyed his drink; Sheriff Forbes started to get to know her niece. Well as much as possible in one meeting. Liz obviously was quite concerned for the girl. It surprised Shanyra since she wasn't expecting it. But she was surprised in a good way. Shanyra appreciated the concern very much. It didn't take long for her to realize that her aunt was very different from her mother. Not just in looks but as a person as well. Lucky Caroline. Shanyra thought to herself as she pitied her. Aunt Liz asked her questions about what she liked and what she didn't like. How was her life before? And how different it was now? Was she having a hard time adapting to the changes? Was she really alright? Most importantly was Kol treating her alright? To say the least, Shanyra was touched by her aunt's concern for her. She wanted to spend more time with her but unfortunately Liz got a call from the station so she had to leave. Though she promised to meet her again very soon.
After Sheriff Forbes left, Shanyra got into deep thinking suddenly. It worried Caroline when she noticed.
"Shanyra, what's wrong? Did you not like my mom?" Caroline asked hoping that she did. Shanyra shook her head vehemently right away.
"No, Aunt Liz is great. It's just. I wish my mom was like her. They are sisters after all. But my mom is so different from yours." Shanyra said that more to herself than to Caroline.
"Well aunt Eleanor has always been different than mom. That's what I heard anyway. I never really got to know her personally or spent any time with her." Caroline said truthfully.
"Neither did I." Shanyra never got to spend any time with her mother when they really bonded as mother and daughter. The memories of the past put her in a sad mood. Caroline thought about sharing her own history with her mother so that it'd make Shanyra feel a little better or at least give her hope that things could get better even if it didn't seem like it.
"You know my mom wasn't always like this. There was a time, when I thought she didn't care about me. Mom was always so busy with work. She never had any time for me. And I was bitchy to her too. We grew apart but then I turned into a vampire. It changed me and somehow it changed our relation as well. Now I'm very close to my mom." Caroline said and Shanyra listened to her quietly but didn't say anything in return.
"I'm sure one day you'll realize it too that your mom may not be able to spend much time with you but she cares about you the most. You just need to give her a chance and change yourself as well. She can't get to you if you push her away. I learned from my mistakes but you could avoid making any mistakes. Have you talked to your mom since you got here?" Caroline asked and Shanyra shook her head in reply. Not to mention in a rather emotionless way.
"Well I think you really should. She must be worried sick about you. Kol has compelled her otherwise she would've already come here looking for you." Caroline said confidently. She was trying to make her cousin understand that her mother cared about her even though she might not show it openly. Shanyra however instead of being convinced, looked straight into Caroline's eyes and said-
"Then I pray, the compulsion never wears off."
Caroline sighed out heavily at her cousin's stubbornness. But then again, it was illogical to think that Shanyra was going to change her mind about her mother in one day. But Caroline promised herself that she'd keep trying.
"Anyway, let's talk about something else then." Caroline said thinking a change of topic was necessary.
"How is school?" What was it with everyone asking her about school. Shanyra thought to herself. If she wasn't in a foul mood she'd have conversed about it properly but since she was-
"It's like school." Was Shanyra's short reply. Though she tried to pull herself out of the gloomy mood and be a spunky kid once again.
Caroline and Shanyra talked some more about random unimportant stuffs. Then their conversation came to a stop when Elena and Bonnie entered the Grill and walked up to their table. Damon and Stefan also came but they went to the bar instead. Suddenly the atmosphere of the Grill became quite thick with tension and hostility. If they weren't under a truce, Kol would've attacked Elena and Damon already. But they settled on glaring at each other instead.
"Hey Caroline" said Bonnie. She and Elena joined Caroline and Shanyra.
"Hey" said Caroline to both of them.
"Is she her?" Bonnie asked looking at Shanyra with interest.
"Yes, this is my cousin Shanyra." Caroline introduced her cousin to her friends and her friends to Shanyra.
"Shanyra, they are my best friends Bonnie and Elena."
"Elena?" Shanyra repeated the name with a surprised expression which confused the three girls.
"Do you know her?" Caroline asked.
"No but I've heard a lot about her. Nice to meet you Elena." Shanyra said, suddenly feeling excited again. Finally something came up to distract her from her past. Elena on the other hand was surprised to hear that Caroline's twelve years old cousin has heard a lot about her. Naturally it surprised Bonnie and Caroline as well. Elena smiled at Shanyra and said-
"It's nice to meet you too Shanyra." Elena found the girl's excitement both amusing and confusing.
"What exactly did you hear about Elena? Because I didn't tell you anything about her." Caroline said realizing that something was wrong here.
"You didn't. Rebekah did."
"Oh god!" Caroline said as soon as she heard Shanyra's answer.
"I heard, Elena can make any man fall for her. The universe revolves around her. Everyone practically worships her including you Caroline. And I also heard something about switching Salvatores on a weekly basis. I'm not quite sure what that means though. Rebekah didn't explain that to me yet. Anyway, you must give me some tips about men Elena. I want numbers of men swooning over me too when I'm more grown up." Shanyra spoke quite excitedly and enthusiastically as well. Even though what she was saying was utterly embarrassing for Elena but her expression showed genuine admiration. Shanyra was really interested in knowing about how Elena does, what she does.
Caroline immediately grew uncomfortable and regretting letting Shanyra meet her friends before talking to her about them herself. Bonnie was simply gaping at Shanyra. Elena on the other hand never felt more embarrassed before in her life. No one has ever said those things so bluntly to her before. And the fact that a little girl was saying those things made the situation all the more embarrassing. Not to mention it seemed Shanyra really believed her to be like that.
Whereas the air was tensed and uncomfortable at the table, at the bar Kol was trying hard not to laugh out loud. A huge smirk was playing on his lips. Stefan was shaking his head to himself while Damon couldn't help but glare at Shanyra. And Enzo and Tyler were simply amused by the girl. Matt couldn't hear the conversation unfortunately, for being a human.
"I'm sorry Elena. Rebekah has filled her head with horrible things about us." Caroline apologized quickly, making Shanyra frown at her cousin with confusion.
"Then you better undo whatever Rebekah put in that little head of your cousin's Blondie." Damon said walking over to the girls. Kol immediate got alert.
"Her name is Caroline." Shanyra said at once without any hesitation. She realized it wasn't an affectionate nick name or anything like that. Damon narrowed his eyes at the little girl.
"Damon, please. You don't have to butt in it." Caroline said making Damon look away from her cousin. Frankly she didn't want Damon anywhere near Shanyra.
"So you are Damon? The one-" Shanyra never got the chance to say more because Caroline put a hand on her mouth and prevented her from talking further. Kol walked over to them right away.
"I think it's time for Shae to leave." Kol said and Caroline agreed without any objection.
"Come on." He said to his soul mate.
Shanyra nodded obediently and started to leave with Kol. Caroline sighed out in relief once they left. She really needed to make Shanyra understand that Rebekah was not their friend. That she must not believe everything that original says. And it would do everyone good, including herself if she was less blunt.
Outside, Kol helped Shanyra into his new car which was silver in color this time. Then he got in himself and started driving towards the mansion.
"You were awesome back there." Kol couldn't help but praise Shanyra. The girl however frowned at him with confusion.
"But I didn't do anything awesome." Shanyra said really not understanding what she did to make Kol praise her.
"Oh you've no idea what you did." Kol said and smirked more.
"Did I do anything wrong?" Shanyra asked worriedly.
"According to your cousin, yes. But according to me, no." Kol answered honestly.
"Why the difference?" Shanyra wondered curiously.
"You enthusiastically insulted Elena even though unintentionally I suppose. She happens to be your sister's best friend. So obviously Caroline wouldn't appreciate what you did." Kol explained which confused Shanyra more.
"How did I insult Elena? Is there anything I said about her that's not true?" Shanyra asked.
"Oh they are all true darling. But the truth can be very insulting sometimes. And people don't like to hear them." Kol said and finally Shanyra understood what was the problem here.
The way Rebekah talked about Elena, Shanyra thought, really thought that Elena felt proud of everything she does. Especially playing with two brothers and having everyone worship her. Well the damage is already done. There was nothing she could do now. But Shanyra made a mental note to apologize to Elena later. If she really knew that Elena would feel insulted instead of pleased, she wouldn't have said those things to her.
"You don't like Elena, do you?" Shanyra asked to Kol. He remained quiet for a moment. Thinking about whether he should tell her or not.
"Well, I can't exactly like the person who killed me." Kol said making Shanyra gasp out at that.
"Elena is the one who killed you?" Shanyra only knew that one of Caroline's friends killed Kol but she didn't know who exactly.
"Rebekah didn't tell you this, did she?" Kol said knowing Rebekah wouldn't talk about his death. Not to Shanyra. Not to anyone. Shanyra shook her head in reply, confirming what Kol just said. No apologizing to Elena now. Shanyra thought to herself. How could she kill Kol? He was a nice vampire. Well that's what the twelve years old thought anyway.
"I don't understand. My cousin and her friends, why do they hate you so much? What did you do to them?" Shanyra asked looking straight at Kol with furrowed brows of confusion.
"I tried to stop them from unleashing hell on earth. Got killed doing so. I did try to kill them but never succeeded because they got to me first. I didn't do anything else. I promise. But they consider me the bad guy. So they'll always hate me. No matter what. I'll always be a monster to them." Kol said not really knowing why he was sharing this with Shanyra. But now that he did. Kol felt quite good about it. However what Shanyra said next, really surprised him.
"They wouldn't have thought you are a monster if they had met a real monster." Shanyra said that more to herself than to Kol.
"What do you mean?" Kol asked curiously and confusedly. But Shanyra shook her head in reply.
"Nothing." She said softly and went quiet after that. Kol didn't push her to talk but he somehow became restless to know what Shanyra was hiding from him and everyone else and probably from herself as well. What could it possibly be?