1044 A.D.
"Rebekah, Hurry!" Ioan cried, his sword at the ready in one hand as he held the other out to his little sister
"I can't find Glorianna!" she shouted, her eyes mirroring the worry in her voice, scanning the fleeing crowd around them as she took hold of her brother's hand
"She's probably with Mother, Ayanna and the others," Ioan assured her, pulling her behind him as he started toward the woods, "Kol and Liliya have already led most of them to the caves."
"She's my friend, Ioan," Rebekah quickly replied, suddenly pulling herself from her brother's grasp, "I can't leave until I know for sure!"
"Bekah, wait!" Ioan shouted as he watched his sister turn and take off with vampire speed into the night.
# # # # # #
"Glorianna!" Rebekah cried as she threw open the door to the hut Ayanna shared with her six children on the other side of the village, "Glor—"
Suddenly, her face fell and her posture straightened in surprise when she saw someone she didn't expect standing in the center of the room, staring at her from the other side of a raging, spellbound fire…
It was Ayanna.
"Ayanna," Rebekah stepped forward quickly when the initial shock had worn off, her eyes narrowing in confusion, "The village is under attack... Why are you still here? We should go—"
"The others have already gone, but I will stay and see this spell through to the end," the witch replied simply, then raised her eyes to the vampire, "I do not fear my own children... no matter what they have become."
Rebekah's mouth suddenly fell open in disbelief, her eyes welling with tears as she came to realize what the witch was saying.
"You—you did this…didn't you?" she whispered, still stunned, "What's happening outside…it was you…"
"I did what the spirits commanded," Ayanna replied solemnly, "And by morning, my sons will have cleansed this village of all things unholy and unclean and restored the balance of nature that was so carelessly ignored by your Mother," then she stepped forward, her eyes sorrowful as she studied her friend's daughter, "I'm only sorry it had to end like this, Rebekah…I truly am."
# # # # # #
Rebekah's eyes opened quickly as she took in a sharp breath and pulled herself unsteadily up onto her elbows on the bed in one of the guest bedrooms of the Salvatore Mansion.
She groggily took in her surroundings as she pushed her hair back behind her ear, realizing Nik must have deposited her there after she had cried herself to sleep on his shoulder.
Her eyes fell on the clock on the wall across the room and she sighed in relief when she realized that she had only been passed out for short time.
She then turned and rolled herself over, sitting up on the edge of the bed for a moment before bringing herself to her feet.
Slowly, she walked over to the window, draw to it by the shreds of early morning light that now made their way through the closed curtains.
She closed her eyes and smirked as she felt the warmth of the rays and gently drew back the material to look out through the glass, thinking maybe she could open the window and get some fresh air…
or perhaps even climb out onto the roof for a few moments to herself…
Suddenly, as she opened her eyes to look through the glass, her hands poised to raise the window, her breath caught in her throat and her reflexes had her across the room in seconds with the aide of vampire speed.
Plastered up against the far wall, she stared in wide-eyed horror at the figure now perched on the roof, staring back at her through the window.
It was Dominic…or what was left of the Dominic she had known a thousand years ago.
She couldn't help but noticed how hollow and inhuman his eyes looked as they studied her…and how they seemed to smile sadistically as he brought his hand up to eye level, making a tisking sound with is tongue as he moved his index finger back and forth, shaming her attempt to leave the house.
# # # # #
"I thought you had left us…" Klaus said softly, studying the original doppelganger
"Not quite yet…" Liliya replied with a small smile, bringing her hand up to rest on the side of his face
Klaus closed his eyes at her touch, bringing his hand up to rest on hers
"You really are real…" he whispered, "I thought I was dreaming back in the Lockwood cellar when you gave me Elijah's letter."
"In many ways, I wish this was a dream," Liliya answered, "Then you and your family wouldn't be in danger, again."
Klaus opened his eyes and took in a deep breath, stepping back out of her grasp
"Nik?" she inquired softly as she watched him go
"I'm sorry…" he whispered, his breath hitching as he shook his head, "I—I just can't…"
Liliya sighed as she took a step toward him then looked over to Stefan's lifeless body on the bed a few feet away, "I know how much you miss him…what he meant to you-"
"How do you know anything about Stefan and me or how I'm feeling?" Klaus suddenly scoffed, deflecting her sentiments as he turned his back on her, "And—and why did you come to me, anyway? Shouldn't you be haunting Elijah right now?"
"I'm here because you were thinking of me just now as you entered the room—just for a second—your mind and your heart called out to me. I could never come to you before after I died...the spirits wouldn't let me…not like now," she said softly, "But, you see, Elijah wasn't the only one I've been watching over for the last thousand years, Nik. I've seen everything you've done and who you've done it with. So don't do that…don't turn your back on me and put up walls!"
"Well, maybe I do it because I don't deserve your pity—"
"It's not pity, Nik…" Liliya said, moving forward and putting a hand on his shoulder, "And I will never stop feeling things for you…not ever."
At her touch, Klaus immediately turned back, his eyes searching hers as he took in a staggered breath.
"I still don't understand why you would come to me?" he whispered, his eyes narrowing and his lip trembling , "I killed you…"
Liliya inhaled as she brought her hands to the sides of his face, his eyes closing again at her touch
"A thousand years ago, I met a boy in the woods who was just as sad, just as lonely, and just as lost as I was," she said in a low voice, bringing her forehead to rest against his, "And he became my best friend—he listened to me when no one else would, protected me when no one else was there, and when I was hurting, he could sit next to me without a word and instantly make me feel better. And years later, when I fell in love and left him for another, he was selfless enough to let me go…"
Klaus inhaled sharply, trying to control his emotions as Liliya pulled back to face him, her eyes meeting his.
"My best friend didn't kill me, the werewolf who took over his body did," she continued, "My best friend. That that is who called me to him and that is who I am here for now... if he'll let me and as long as I am able to be seen and felt by him."
Then she smirked, her eyes shifting to the bedroom door
"And, well… at least until Caroline gets here."
Klaus suddenly turned, following her gaze as the door opened and Caroline appeared in the threshold.
"I'm always with you, Nik..." Liliya whispered in his ear
Klaus quickly turned back to the original doppelganger, but she was gone.
# # # # # #
"Elijah?" Katherine whispered, trying to meet the original's still stunned gaze
"I…" Elijah swallowed, stepping back from the counter, "I—I have get back to Mystic Falls…"
"What?" Katherine asked in a surprised tone
Elijah sighed, "It's a long story, Katerina, but your gut was right. This is no ordinary hunter and this is not his first time in Mystic Falls. You see, his name is Dominic and he didn't come back to hunt just any vampires..."
Katherine scoffed as she cocked her head, looking down to the portrait of Dominic in front of them for a moment before bringing her dark eyes back to the original, "You know him, don't you?"
Elijah just stared at her, his eyes saddening as he gave her a knowing look.
Katherine opened her mouth to speak again, but at that moment, Elijah's cell phone rang and the doppelganger watched the original walk quickly over to the kitchen table and pick it up where it rested, studying the caller ID before answering it on the fourth ring, his tone worried.
"Rebekah?"
"Elijah," Rebekah's voice sounded on the other end
"Are you—are you alright?" Elijah answered, his voice breaking with relief at the sound of his sister's voice, "Are Kol and Klaus—"
"Elijah, we have a serious problem," Rebekah interjected, her voice suddenly taking on a nervous tone
"I heard," Elijah replied solemnly
"What?" Rebekah retorted in a surprised tone, "How did you—"
"Let's just say a little bird told me…" Elijah added quickly, his eyes shifting to Katherine, "Dominic is back in Mystic Falls."
"You could say that," Rebekah replied, "But it gets worse. I-I well, just realized something…"
"And what is that?" Elijah asked, his eyes narrowing in curiosity
"That Dominic is outside the Salvatore Mansion as we speak, but he's not making any attempt to harm us or even kill us, he's just watching us...in short, making sure we don't leave. I should have seen it right from the beginning, but we were all so concentrated on—"
Rebekah suddenly stopped herself from dropping the news of Stefan's death.
Elijah didn't need to know that right now, she reasoned with herself, he needed to be on his A game—not thinking about Elena and her reaction to her ex-boyfriend's death at the hands of yet another supernatural being that wanted the Mikaelson siblings dead.
"Rebekah?" Elijah asked, confused when she stopped mid-sentence
"I—Look, I think it's a trap, Elijah," Rebekah continued
Elijah closed his eyes in sudden realization, exhaling slowly, "And you and the others are bait."
There was a moment's pause on the other end before Rebekah finally spoke.
"I think so…"
Elijah's nostrils flared as he opened his eyes quickly, rubbing his forefinger over the top of his lip thoughtfully for a moment.
"Elijah?" Rebekah's voice broke him out of his trance, "What do you want to do?"
Elijah pulled his hand away as he straightened
"Just stay put for now…" he said in a low tone, "I'll call you back, soon. I love you."
"Will do. I love you, too," Rebekah replied, her voice breaking with emotion before the line went dead
Elijah bit his lip as he pulled the phone away from his own ear and hit the End button on the touchscreen.
"What's happening?" Katherine asked in a worried tone, coming to his side
"It seems that Dominic has lured my siblings to the Salvatore Mansion," Elijah said, taking a seat in one of the chairs at the kitchen table, resting his phone on his lips in thought, "Rebekah thinks it is some sort of trap to bring me there since he hasn't made any attempt to harm them-"
"Hold on," Katherine replied, narrowing her eyes in disbelief, "I don't understand…he set the trap for you?"
"Yes," Elijah said, suddenly focusing pained eyes on Katherine, "Dominic won't kill my siblings until he knows that I'm there to watch him do it. It's my punishment, you see...even Rebekah knows that."
"Punishment for what?" Katherine whispered, kneeling down next to him as she place a sympathetic hand on his arm
"For angering the spirits a thousand years ago…" Elijah said, taking in a deep breath, "and killing him."