Two Sides

Mystic Falls, Virginia, 1864

The house was filled with silence as the dead marched, one by one through the hollow halls. Unneeded heart beats sounded from their chests, echoing in their ears, and dry air filled their lungs for pointless reasons. Flawless, poise, unreal.

This was what happened when the dead rose.

"Thank you for coming under such short notice," Astra said as she looked over to Mikael from the corner of her eye, the vibrant amethyst colour drawing his attention just as it did the same with everyone else. The slight amount of makeup just made them all the more intense when she looked at him.

"You said that it was of dire consequence," Mikael responded easily as his eyes roamed over the home that Astra had built for herself. She motioned over to the couches as soon as they were within the sitting area, allowing the men to make their way over and take up the couch and two of the armchairs, leaving her to sit in the final armchair across from the blonde haired man—who she had learned was William Wright—and took a moment to stare him down.

"I have located the turned doppelgänger," Astra finally declared, looking directly into the icy blue eyes of Elijah's father, a complete contrast to the warm brown of his son's. She missed those eyes, waking up to seeing them and letting them be the last eyes she saw before she fell asleep.

But it was not the time to think on that.

"Nicklaus and Elijah-"

"Are unaware," Astra assured, looking away from him to take in the shocked looks of the other men—all but the one black man, he looked calm and poise as ever. "You know that giving them her location reveals my own in the process. I will not take such a risk."

"What is being done?" William demanded, clearly unsettled with the thought that he was so close to the same location as the woman who had Nicklaus's anger directed toward her. Astra repressed the urge to growl at him, severely disliking his presence in her home. Why Mikael was keeping such company, she would never know.

"I have the doppelgänger in check for the time being; she believes that I am in contact with the brothers still and I have told her an empty threat concerning her location and should it get out. However, I know of her tricks and it's very clear that she will not go through with this quietly," Astra sighed, rubbing at her temple as the makings of a headache came up. She greatly disliked Katherine—even more so when she was the topic of conversation that also had Elijah involved.

She was the jealous type, after all.

"A rebellion from her is to be expected," Mikael agreed, seeming more amused than anything as he watched Astra.

"What does the doppelgänger have to do with us?" Carter McAvoy asked as he looked over to her with bored hazel eyes, spending the majority of the time looking neutral and dismissive. Astra very much enjoyed his silent company already and wished that there had been another like him to take William's place. There was still an angering thought of him trying to attack Annabel should he know what she was hiding away in the basement.

"Katarina Petrova had a child while she was human; that means that the doppelgänger line was continued. Should Nicklaus find Katherine, he will more than likely use her blood to track down her family line and locate the new doppelgänger when she decides to appear. Should that happen-"

"There will be nearly no possible way to stop him," Mikael finished for her, looking to the three men that were with him. Astra didn't say anything further, waiting for someone else to express their thoughts. They were there for a greater reason than they may have realized.

"You cannot be serious," William snapped, looking as though he were ready to rise to his feet and leave.

"Remain sitting, Mr. Wright, or I will attach you very painfully to that seat. It would not be hard to get a new couch," Astra threatened, looking him in the eye. He seemed to pale further before he lowered his arse back down to the cushions. Astra's eyes looked to calm nearly immediately after and he had the strange thought that perhaps she had some sort for split-personality for vampires.

"Until Nicklaus, and unfortunately Elijah as well, is stopped we will all have a threat following us around. We are here to assist, with whatever you may have planned, my dear." Amethyst eyes calmed as she smiled to Mikael, pleased with his answer. He was relieved to see that she was calming down; her tempter was something to be feared of that he knew, both from the word of others and first hand experiences.

William, however, looked appalled. "And to take the chance of being killed by the brothers?" he demanded incredulously. Astra's sharp eyes snapped back to him and before he could blink she was holding onto him by the throat, pressing him back against the couch to the point that it started tipping, lifting Carter's feet from the floor slightly. He didn't react in the slightest, however.

"Do not tempt me to eliminate you, you're easily replaceable. Tell me, Mikael, have you anything for this man?"

The older vampire waved his hand dismissively, looking off to the far wall where a detailed lake painting was hung upon the wall. "Do what you please; it is of no consequence to me."

Roman Empire, Pompeii, 78 A.D.

Astraea was playing with the material of her dress, sitting off to the side of the dancing city folk as the fire next to her warmed her skin. She smiled to her sister as she waved to her from where she was dancing, the light of the large fires around the space giving her skin a happy glow. She looked away for a moment, up toward the sky and at the stars. Her mother had loved the stars so much that she named her after them, saying that she would always be so full of light.

"I hope I am not interrupting," Elijah said softly as he sat next to her, drawing her attention back down to Earth. Her smile widened all the more at the sight of him and she shook her head, denying his words. She couldn't deny the feelings that arose in her whenever he appeared around her.

"Where did you disappear to?" she asked quietly, not wanting to be too forward but still hoping to start a conversation.

"I was simply wondering where my brother was staying while here," he answered easily, as though it was nothing at all. To her, it was just that; unimportant. If anything, he would do everything that he could to keep them apart. Seeing Nicklaus and Astraea so close to one another was something that he greatly disliked and it was not only because of his possessive demonic side.

"He's nice; I think I spooked him when I mentioned that I knew about him, though," she commented, seeing a dark look enter his eyes. "Elijah?"

He appeared to come back to himself at the sound of his name being called, his eyes focusing again and meeting her concerned amethyst ones. She was frowning softly as she looked at him, leaning slightly closer as though he had not heard her. When she saw that his attention was back to the present a smile graced her features, making him smile faintly in turn.

"Are your other siblings here as well, or is Nicklaus alone?" she asked suddenly, pulling her knees up to her chest as she turned more in his direction, showing that he had her undivided attention. Elijah could not help but to smile, glad that she was with him once more and not in the arms of his brother. Astraea waited patiently for him; she understood that he was distant that night and wasn't going to act any differently because of it. She knew that he would more than likely be unsettled at the thought of his family, the same creatures as he, could be in the city as well.

"My sister is here as well," he answered eventually. "You would like her, I believe. I know that she would love your company." Astraea smiled happily at his words. She had once been so nervous to be around him but she had relaxed back to herself, beginning to realize that she didn't need to act any different with him than she usually would.

"Is your sister here?"

"I have not seen her," Elijah admitted, looking briefly around the circle of celebrating people. "Come now, enough on my family. Let us enjoy the festivities," he offered, taking her hand before she had a chance to protest and pulled her back toward the light. She couldn't stop herself from smiling, her heart fluttering as he pulled her against his body and began to guide her through the familiar dances she had been taught all her life. For one night, she truly felt alive.

"Thank you, Elijah," she whispered softly as she leaned her chin on his shoulder for a moment, knowing that he had no trouble hearing her. "You've made me feel so alive once more." His arms tightened around her in reply, his lips brushing her throat discretely.

"Tonight, you are a healthy young woman that has not a care in this world. And tonight, I am but a human man that wishes you all of the happiness in the world," he whispered into her hair, drawing for the most radiant smile from her. Astraea leant more against him as the dance steps blew the materials of their clothes about, the cool night air caressing their skin. Elijah's hand glided along the bared skin of her back teasingly over and over, never lingering for long.

Astraea was drifting off into her own world before long, her arms wrapped around Elijah. She barely even noticed when he began to lead her away from the main area, toward the paths that separated the housings. The darkness that met her brought her fully back to reality, her lips parting to speak before a long, elegant finger pressed to them left her silent.

"Hush, no need to worry," he assured softly, removing the finger from her lips and instead brushing back a loose curl of hair that framed her face. Astraea's eyes drifted closed, her heart signing, at the soft feel of his touch. She leaned toward the feel of his skin on her own, encouraging him to frame her face softly with his hand.

No one could see them from the place that he had brought them, cutting the world away and leaving only them within the darkness. It felt like a drug had entered her system, leaving Astraea dazed and leaning against Elijah. She knew, however, that this was not the case and she was simply immersed so deeply in his presence. Her head was tipped up before she realized and she found herself looking into shadowed, light brown eyes.

"Elijah," she whispered softly, her hand reaching up to mirror his own and frame his face. His cheek was smooth beneath her palm, a contrast to many of the men in the city that grew out their facial hair. The corners of her lips lifted into a smile as her thumb traced over his lips. They were smooth to the touch and she found herself wanting to kiss them more than any other time in her existence. It was as though Elijah knew her emotions because he soon leaned down to her and caught her lips in the ghost of a kiss.

She barely even felt the contact, it was so light. She leaned toward him, craving more, and met his lips again. His hand slipped around from her cheek to bury in her hair, meeting the resistance of the pins but not letting it deter him. His other arm wound around her waist, the bare skin of her back so enticing to touch, and pulled her flush against his body. A gasp tore from her lips as she felt the full expanse of him. He was strong and muscled against her soft from. She had known from his arms that he was strong but she had not been expecting the cords of muscle to continue to his back and chest, her stomach pressed to his telling her that he was toned everywhere.

I'm sorry. I've been gone for a while and I'm sorry. I didn't realize how long it had been since I've updated until people starting reviewing my other stories asking for me to add to this one!

A kiss! That is my apology; they kiss for the first time in the past. :)

Chapter 24 – Unravel

"I want to know what's going on, too, Damon. Drinking life away and moping about long lost love again won't change anything," said Stefan in a cold tone, one of the only things that he knew would get a rise from his brother. Being sensitive and understanding never worked, there was no point in wasting time with trying that again.

"Do not make me throw this at you," Damon growled out in warning as he lifted the scotch up and pointed to his younger sibling with malice.

The front door to the boarding house opened, drawing Stefan's attention away from his brother. Alaric made his way around the corner a moment later, his eyes searching out for the brothers. It didn't take a genius to know that something was wrong in the household. It was never good when Damon drank straight from the bottle.

"Do I want to ask?" he inquired hesitantly, looking between the brothers.

"My dead ex-fiancé isn't so dead," Damon spat out, tipping his head back for another drink.