Chapter 29: Another's Karma
England 1492
The night air blew past me as I tucked a stray dark hair behind my ear. I was the watcher again. Looking at my surroundings I was somewhere else, perhaps in the past.
I noticed a lone woman wearing a burgundy and black dress. Under the moonlight, she appeared to glow. She looked familiar like I had seen her before.
"Lady Carmela, what brings you here this evening." It was that man again. The one who tried to take Elena. He was dressed in what appeared to be Tudor-esque clothes.
What was he doing here?
The woman, Carmela who I remembered seeing before in another vision, turned around. Seeing her closer than before, I was a little surprised to notice how much the two of us resembled each other. "We're alone here. Call me Kamilah." The name sounded too familiar for my taste.
"What brings you here?" The man had a fond smile on his face but his eyes looked troubled. He glanced around before taking a step towards her. "Has Klaus been giving you trouble again?"
"Nothing I cannot handle besides he's been quite busy with the new girl," She turned away and went towards the roses. "Katerina. Was it?"
The man stiffened. "You and I both know what she really means to Klaus."
"I could care less about whatever affections Klaus or you might have for…that girl." She plucked a rose and started to pick its petals, allowing the night air to take it with it as it blew past us. "What I want is for you both to put an end to your plans."
"I'm afraid we cannot do that." The man's smile dropped and the air around the two shifted, becoming colder.
Kamilah didn't seem to care. She let the fully plucked rose fall before picking up another. "Very well." She smiled and plucked another rose.
"That's it."
"Yes." Kamilah twirled the rose by its stem between her fingers. "Why? Did you expect me to put up a fight? I simply pitied the doppelgänger. She's far from home, all alone. You care for her, maybe you love her and are desperately trying to save her. Isn't that why you went and found me?" She offered him the rose.
"We're all friends, Kamilah." He said, taking the rose. "You can trust us to tell us what you're really plotting."
Kamilah let out a laugh before she turned to the man. "Make no mistake. I'm here because I have no one left." She looked away, not letting either me or the man look at her. "The people I called family are dead. My own people turned against me."
"So this isn't about the so-called balance?"
"Nature balances itself not like what those witches believe but I'm telling you," She took a step towards the man who stiffened and took a step back. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was afraid. "you and Klaus will regret choosing Katerina as your sacrifice."
"Why is that?"
"Because it won't end well." I knew it then. This was before Katherine was turned. "The curse will not be broken any time soon—Klaus will have to wait for another five hundred or so years."
The man didn't look like he believed her but he still wanted to know more. "Why? What's going to happen?"
"I can hardly tell. You know my visions are not as clear as I might have led you all to believe but…"
"What is it?"
Ignoring his question, she turned away, reaching for a rose and plucked it out. The rose started to wither in her hand. "Who knows?" She glanced towards me, where I was standing like she could see me.
The man followed Kamilah's gaze and frowned. With every word, Kamilah spoke, he was becoming more and more frustrated but he didn't let it show. "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing. I'll be leaving soon."
"Already?"
She turned away from me and moved her hands away from the rose bushes. "Yes." She answered. "Don't tell me, you both thought I'd stay? No, I can't do that but should you need me. You know what to do."
With one last smile, she curtsied him before turning to look at me.
The colors around me started to swirl wildly as the images started to disappear. I felt my head hurt a little before I gasped awake. My sheets were drenched with sweat. My clothes and hair were stuck to my skin as I gasped for air.
That never happened before.
I tried to hold myself, to calm myself down, counting backwards and slowing my breathing out. A quiet buzzing filled the room and my head started to spin as dusts of light appeared in my room, circling me.
No. No. No.
I cried out and shut my eyes, willing them to go away before silence took its place. When I opened my eyes it was dark again. I turned to the clock on my bedside table which blinked back to life.
4:57 AM
Seeing that, I flopped back into my bed, too tired to do anything. I shut my eyes and tried to catch some sleep before my early morning training sessions.
The cold air gently blew through my hair as I twirled the wooden stake in my hand. Above me, the sun was barely out and the birds were quietly chirping. It was early in the morning.
Too early to be out.
I pulled at the sleeve of my mauve sports jacket, keeping an eye on my uncle who threw the wooden stakes at a carved wooden target. Uncle Nate threw one and it landed straight in the center.
Turning to check on if I was paying attention, he twirled the perfectly carved wooden dagger between his fingertips and drew his arm back before throwing it with a lot of force. It flew through the air and landed once again on the dead center of the target.
Seeing that, I clapped and cheered boredly. "Remind me again why we're doing this?" I questioned out loud. I handed him another stake and he took it without looking.
Instead of throwing it at the target. He stopped and turned towards me. I didn't notice him. Instead, I stared at the fort.
The stone walls of the fort were once again reinforced a few months back. It even got a few updates. Now, we had the internet inside the old fort along with new beds and a better kitchen. It was almost liveable again. Guess it was a sign that my family were going to have a camping trip out here again.
"Think fast." Uncle Nate said all of a sudden and aimed the stake straight at me.
My head snapped towards him just as he threw the wooden stake. I panicked, closing my eyes and throwing my hands in front of me. Instantly my hands lit up as wisps of light floated around me. There was a strong smell of burnt wood that invaded my senses.
Carefully, I opened my eyes. The light disappeared. I touched my face in concern but it was fine. I then checked my body all around. I was fine. The smell of burnt wood started to fade away slowly as the wind picked up. I paused, looking down at my feet. There, a pile of wood ashes lay on my feet.
"Did you just…"
"Yep." Uncle Nate answered, walking towards me. Kicking the ashes away, he walked around me. He peered down at me before nodding and walking off.
"You threw a stake at me."
"To check your reflexes."
"You threw a stake at me." I repeated in disbelief.
"And you turned it into a pile of ashes." He pointed. "It seems your magic works on instinct and reacts quicker the more danger you're in."
In disbelief, I let out a laugh. "That's a good thing." My uncle hummed in agreement and I shook my head. He was insane. I could've gotten hurt or killed. "I could've died."
"But you didn't." He pointed another stake at me. I threw my hands in front of me as they glowed bright and hummed a quiet melody. "Maybe you should focus on the task and not daydream."
I scoffed and clicked my fingers as small orbs of light appeared. They floated around me as I waved my hands around directing their movements. "I wasn't daydreaming I was thinking."
"About?" He went to his bag and took out an old tome, Grandma Janine's grimoire. "You have any…strange dreams?"
I raised my hand up and motioned it towards a target. "You should say that." A few orbs of light flew through the air and crashed into the target, burning a hole through it. "It's really really strange."
"Can't be stranger than anything you've dreamt about before."
"Yeah, well. I keep dreaming about this woman. She seems familiar but at the same time, not so familiar."
"Go on."
"Her name was…um Carmela—no—wait—Kamilah. Confusing. I know. It's all very confusing."
"I got that the first time. Come on, give me more to work with."
"Fine." The remaining orbs hovered around me. "This Kamilah was like me. She could control people like I could except she seemed more…powerful and in control of herself. Not only that but I think she wasn't human for sure and her parents abandoned her for someone else."
"Sounds rough but you said she's like you."
I nodded and clicked my fingers, the small orbs of light crashing against each other and shattered into tiny dusts before dissipating into the air. "That's not the only thing. This morning I-I had another dream about her and he was there."
Uncle Nate scrunched up his face in confusion. "Who was there? Ava?" He brought the grimoire over to me.
"Th-that man. That vampire, the one who tried to take Elena."
"The freakishly strong one." I nodded. "Why was he there?"
"They knew each other." I answered. "Kamilah only stuck around because she had nowhere else to go and most of all they talked about some 'sacrifice' related to a curse and Katherine."
"Didn't you mention that Elena said the woman who took her said that her blood was the key to breaking the curse?" I nodded. He shut the grimoire and looked away. He was trying to understand the situation. It was hard to understand, I knew that myself. "Katherine, Elena, the moonstone, a curse, that man and this Kamilah. It seems like this puzzle has too many missing pieces."
"Tell me about it. Ugh. This is so annoying."
Uncle Nate chuckled at my reaction and turned away from me. He scanned the training field, noting all the broken targets and stakes before writing them down. "Well, I'm going to be away for a while. I have that stupid thesis to do." He walked away, taking the grimoire along with his notebook away with him. "I don't know why I even decided to do a Masters."
"Because everyone in our family has one." I pointed out. "Except aunt Evelyn and dad also have a Phd. Ooh, are you planning to do a Phd as well?"
"Absolutely not." His answer was firm and quick. He had turned around so quickly that I thought his head would pop off at the mention of a Phd.
He left soon after we got back home, only having time for a quick breakfast then he was off. I just watched him leave. After he was gone, I went to our family library and straight to my dad's office to check something.
The tracker I used on that mysterious vampire was still on my mind. Uncle Nate and I came with excuses about it but somehow I didn't believe any of it. I know it was supposed to be impossible for an ordinary vampire to survive that attack along with being burned. The tracker, however, was working fine when we last checked it.
It was moving from location to location which should've been impossible if the vampire was dead. He was dead. I was sure of it. He had to be. At least that's what I tried to convince myself. "Okay. Password…" I muttered under my breath while entering the password to my dad's computer. He only used it when he was here otherwise it was left unused.
The program for the tracker should also be here. I quickly opened it after I found it and the tracking map sprung on the screen, covering it. On the screen, a bright red dot was moving around near Virginia. It was luckily nowhere near Mystic Falls.
That shouldn't be happening.
I was about to check the coordinates and call my brother when my phone rang, startling me. Clutching my chest in surprise, I check my phone. I had forgotten it was even there for a second.
"Elena? What is it?" I greeted, breathing heavily.
"Hey. Is this a bad time?"
I glanced back at the monitor where the tracker was slowing down. It shouldn't be moving that fast if it was picked up by some kids. "No. No. It's not. Uh. What is it?" I asked again, turning away from the screen. "Is everything okay?"
"Did you get a call from Stefan earlier? He asked us to meet up at his place and…"
"You're a little nervous."
"Yeah."
"Hold on. Let me check." I took the phone off my ear and checked my phone. "Actually he texted me a few minutes ago, I didn't see it. I'll see you there." I was ready to hang up but I paused, Elena didn't call me to let me know Stefan wanted a meeting. She wanted company. "I'll pick you up and we'll go there together?"
I heard Elena let out a sigh of relief. "Sounds great."
"And Elena?" She made a sound of acknowledgement. "If you want something, you gotta tell people, okay."
"Yeah but you can read my mind."
"That's just me, 'Lena." I checked the screen again and the dot had stopped moving completely. "Hold on. You know what I'll see you in a bit." I hung up the phone and leaned closer to the screen. The red dot started blinking furiously before it disappeared.
Oh that was not supposed to happen unless the tracker was destroyed.
I had no idea what to do next or what just happened. I stood there for a while just staring at the screen in confusion, not even being able to bring myself to pick up my phone and call my brother about the tracker.
In the end, I just left. That was a problem I could deal with later just like all my other problems. I grabbed my embroidered jean jacket and my keys, heading out of the library and out of the house.
"Miss Fitzroy?" The gardener called out to me as I was about to get in the car. He was holding two wooden planters, one with a dead bush and the other with a live bush of roses. "I think we have a problem."
"What is it?" I asked, trying to be as polite as I can but I was a little annoyed since I was in a hurry.
The old gardener held up a dried and withered bush of roses and I froze. I had completely forgotten about them and had hoped they wouldn't be found. "These roses…I planted them a few weeks ago and they're dead. This has never happened before."
"So?" I asked, trying to be casual but my eyes wouldn't leave those dead rose bushes. "Just plant new ones. Simple. Now I have to—"
"It's not just the rose bushes." Robert the butler carried on. He pointed to an old dead pine tree hidden behind some vibrant ones. "I found a few dead trees along with shrubs and flower bushes as well. This is the first time I've seen something like this."
"They were probably really old."
"Most of them were recently planted." He pointed to a few vibrant and tall trees. "Those pines are over a hundred years old and they're fine but the ones behind them are not and it's not like they didn't have nutrition, sun or water. It's like their life has been sucked out of them. There's something strange going on."
"It's probably nothing. Just plant new ones." The two glanced at each other and opened their mouths to speak but I waved them off. I got in my car and left the Fitzroy manor behind to go pick up Elena.
She was standing outside her house waiting. "Hey, you're late."
"Sorry I got held up by something. How are you?"
"Trying to get my head around everything."
"How are you?"
"Just losing my mind over a stupid woman I don't even know."
Elena turned in her seat to look at me. "Do you want to talk about it?" She offered.
"I kinda have to." I answered, stopping at a red light. "I keep dreaming about this woman…Kamilah. If that wasn't any weirder. She knew the guy who tried to kidnap you and take me with him as well."
"Wait. What? How?"
"Yeah. I don't know. All I know is it's freaky. Now I keep seeing her everywhere. If that wasn't any weirder I think she saw me while I was dreaming about her which should be impossible."
"That doesn't sound so good. You should tell your uncle." I snorted and glanced at her before looking back on the road. "You did tell him and he doesn't know. Great. Guess we're all on the same boat for once. This isn't reassuring at all."
"Tell me about it." I complained, turning the wheel at a turn. "What's the point of being a psychic supernatural thing if I can't even figure this out?"
"Hey, you've been really helpful so don't beat yourself up. I'm the one who feels useless. It's like my only job is to be the damsel in distress."
"Okay." I nodded. "Then why don't you just learn not to be."
"Seriously?" Elena looked at me with disbelief. She probably thought I was making fun of her. "You know it's not like I want to be the damsel."
Shaking my head, I took another turn. "No, that's not what I meant. I was saying that you should pick some self defense from me, my uncle or Ric. I'd recommend my uncle over Ric, he has more experience plus Jeremy's also getting some self-defense lessons from him."
"Which he shouldn't be. He's a kid."
"Oh please. My cousin Flynn is younger than him and he's already killed two vampires. Take it from me, once you're exposed to this life you can't turn your back and run away—"
"There's a thought."
"It sounds easy but it's not. The only thing you can do is fight."
"Kinda wish I took your warning from the start."
"But you didn't." I pointed out with a grin and Elena rolled her eyes at me. I glanced at her again and my eyes caught the necklace she usually wore. It was a gift from Stefan. "I thought you lost that."
She nodded. "I did and then I found it…somewhere. I don't really remember. Weird, right?"
"Spooky." She lightly hit my arm. "Hey, I'm driving here." I reminded her. "By the way, d-did Damon say anything to you?" I might as well just ask and get it over with.
She stilled for a moment and became silent, trying hard to think. "No. I haven't even seen him since the whole…" I didn't say anything and pulled into the Salvatore Boarding House. I parked my car and got out. "Did something happen?"
"I'm not sure." I answered. He compelled her. He confessed to her and then he made her forget. He probably lied to me too.
How was I supposed to tell her that?
For some reason, it made me feel worse than before knowing that he compelled her to forget. I just wanted to go back home and stay in my room all day. Wait. Why was I feeling this way? This was strange. I hated it.
Elena didn't say anything but gave me a strange look and knocked on the door. Damon opened the door. He awkwardly greeted Elena and turned his gaze on me. "Look who's here." He greeted me with a bright grin.
I rolled my eyes and grabbed Elena's hand, pushing past him to get inside. "Stefan texted." I responded with a bored look. "So here we are."
His face fell at the mention of his younger brother and he nodded, leading us to the parlor. "What was that about?" Elena whispered, noticing how cold I was to Damon.
"What was what?" I asked innocently.
"That. You know…you just—nevermind. I don't even want to know." She threw her hands up and walked past me, leaving me and Damon in the foyer.
"You compelled her." I said, the moment she was gone.
"I can explain." Damon was in front of me within a second, blocking my way. "If you just—"
I put my hand in front of me, stopping him from speaking. "Save it for another time."
I paused when I felt someone staring at us from the corner of the hallway. A woman with short pixie cut hair peeked out at us. I narrowed my eyes on her and walked closer to her. She awkwardly took a step back.
Letting out a laugh, I turned to face Damon. "I can explain that too."
"I'm looking forward to it." I brushed past him and went into the parlor where Stefan and Elena were in a silent conversation. "Hey, Stefan."
Stefan waved at me in response before directing me and Elena to take a seat. The woman with the pixie-like hair came back into the room with Damon following her. I crossed my arms around me as I observed the two.
"I'm Rose." The woman introduced herself. She had a light English accent. Damon and Elena turned to look at me.
"Why don't we just skip the small talk and get to the point, I have stuff to do."
"Right." Rose nodded, stretching her sleeve before walking around. "Okay," She clapped her hands together. "You have to understand I only know what I've picked up over the years and I don't know what's true and what's not true. It's the problem with all this vampire crap but," She paused for a second. "Klaus, I know he's real."
Elena and I shared a look. She was silently asking if I knew who that was. I didn't. This was uncharted territory for me. I shrugged in response. "Who is he?" She decided to ask.
"He's one of the originals, he's a legend." Damon answered.
"From the first generation of vampires." Stefan added.
"So he's like what the…progenitor of all vampires?" I questioned.
"Potentially. Yes." Rose nervously paced around.
"Like Elijah?" Elena looked at me again.
"Whose that?"
"The person who was about to take me."
I had a name to a face. That helped. "Right. Sorry, I didn't exactly have time to do a meet and greet."
"Elijah was the Easter bunny compared to Klaus." Rose stopped pacing and looked at us. "He's a foot soldier. Klaus is the real deal."
Nothing she said was reassuring. If anything, it was making me worried. There was a silent panic building up in me and I felt uncomfortable, like any moment I would start screaming and crying. I hated it.
"Klaus is known to be the oldest." Stefan stated which also didn't help.
Elena felt the same. She reached out towards me, taking my hand into hers and giving it a nervous squeeze. She could tell that I was not feeling good. "Okay, so you're saying that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me and maybe even Ava?"
"Yes." Rose answered without hesitation. "I'm not so sure about your friend."
That was a little reassuring. "No. They're not." Stefan rebutted, trying to placate us.
Damon took a step forward. "What they're saying is, I mean if what she's saying is true..."
"Which it is." Rose took a step back, putting some distance between her and Damon.
"And you're not saying it so I don't kill you."
"Which I'm not."
"Then we're looking at a solid maybe."
Letting a deep sigh, I got up and grabbed my bag. "So we're screwed. We're absolutely screwed." I stated.
"No. No. We're not." Stefan tried to calm me down but I was unconvinced.
"You're not really convincing."
"Look, Elijah's dead, right? So no one else even knows that Elena exists and you were there."
Rose made a sound. "Not that you know of."
"That's not helping" Damon glared at Rose who shrugged.
The tracker, the flickering red dot came to my mind then. I couldn't get it out of my head. I had to let them know even if I wasn't so sure about it actually being a sign that Elijah was alive. "You know what else is not helpful. Elijah being potentially alive."
"But he's not."
"Well…" I swallowed back my growing nervousness. "You see back at that abandoned house, I used a special type of arrow—it-it's one with a GPS tracker and I shot Elijah with it. Up until this morning it was working."
"So he's dead."
"I'm not so sure, Damon."
"Your uncle and I burned that place down. There's no way he's alive."
Stefan nervously glanced between me and Damon, nodding at what his brother was saying. "Ava, look I get you're probably scared but—"
"That tracker was moving and working fine until this morning when it just disappeared. I'm not saying he's alive but don't you guys think it was a little too easy to take him out. Besides, how do we know, he didn't contact Klaus before he came to get Elena."
"We don't." Rose confirmed.
"Look, I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him. I mean, we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know if he's real. For all we know he could just be some sort of stupid bed time story." Stefan pointed out.
I had to laugh about this. "I'm sorry to point out but you and Damon are just over a hundred which is probably nothing compared to other vampires. If anyone should know about this. It's either Katherine—don't make that face Damon—or her." Rose nodded. "You didn't know about werewolves either, Stefan and you still don't know what I am."
I noticed Rose taking a step back when I came closer. She looked more nervous around me than the Salvatore brothers.
"At least someone is taking me seriously." Rose was clearly annoyed at the brothers for not taking her seriously and dismissing her concerns."Klaus is real and he doesn't give up." She warned. "If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus, then you're an idiot." She was staring at Elena before turning her gaze on me.
I stared at her and she looked at me in pity like she knew something I didn't. Before I could press her for more answers. Damon came and stood in front of me, like he was shielding me from Rose. I scowled at him but he ignored me. "Alright, we're shaking. You made your point."
I didn't say anything in response but instead I headed for the door. "Wait." Elena called out, hurrying after me.
"Where are you going?" Stefan grabbed Elena's hands and I pointed at the watch on wrist.
"School. I'm late."
"Let me grab my stuff, I'll go with you."
Elena looked at me for support and I sighed. I was getting tired of her and Stefan's games. Damon and I weren't any better but at least I could keep it professional. "It's okay, Ava's going there too." Stefan let go like he had been burnt by Elena's words. She smiled at him before turning to me. "I'll wait by your car."
"She's in denial." Damon said to Rose before turning to me. "And I think we have something to talk about."
I pursed my lips. "You know I have school too right?" I reminded him.
"Right. I forgot. You're the overachieving student body President."
"Exactly so we'll talk later."
I didn't let Damon speak and left as quickly as I could. Elena was waiting for me by my car like she said she would. The two wordlessly got in and I drove us to school. I parked the car, Elena stayed in.
Before I could even say anything, she decided to speak. "...You said Katherine might know about Klaus, didn't you?" She asked, holding her bag close to her.
"I say a lot of things but hypothetically Katherine is the oldest vampire in town after Rose." Elena shifted in her seat to look at me. "No." I said, knowing what she was thinking. "It's dangerous. One step past the boundary and you'll be trapped in there with her."
"I'll stay far away from her."
"Yeah but you think Katherine will tell you what we want to know?"
"We won't know if we don't try."
She had a point. I was dying to know as well how Katherine tied up to this curse and who Klaus and Elijah really were. Maybe even find out who Kamilah was and why she was haunting me.
Begrudgingly I nodded, agreeing to her suggestion. "Fine. Just this once. I'll go along with your plan."
She let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good because I already texted Caroline about this." Just as she finished speaking, I heard a knock against my window. "Caroline. Hey."
I unlocked my doors, letting Caroline in. She slid into the back and took a seat. "Can't believe we're about to do this. F-Y-I, Katherine cannot be trusted."
"She's the only other person we can go to for the truth." I stated, leaving the school parking lot and headed towards the tomb.
Elena nervously pulled at the seat belt, the closer we go to the tomb. She had second thoughts about the whole thing but she didn't change her mind or she didn't voice it.
Begrudgingly I left Elena back at the tomb because I had school and I couldn't afford to miss school without a good reason. Katherine was stuck there, I could go visit her anytime I wanted to. I did have my own questions for her too but I was holding on to them for later.
Mrs Saunders walked around nodding approvingly at the easels dotted around the field best the school parking. She'd occasionally stop to critique one, otherwise she seemed happy that day. She walked past me to check on Dana before she went back to her own easel.
I sucked in breath and let go, picking up my brush again and dipping it in a light forest green paint. I had to finish this before art class. At least that was my plan until I saw a familiar silhouette across the parking lot. The closer it got, the more my mood spoiled.
Great, did he figure out what Elena and I did?
"What are you doing here?" I asked Damon, looking around to see if anyone had noticed. I put the paint brush in my hand down and hurriedly walked over to him.
"Hello to you too." Damn grinned and touched my face. "You had paint on your face." I pulled back and started rubbing my face but Damon moved my hand to wipe it away. "It's gone."
"...Thanks but you didn't answer my question." I folded my arms around me and looked around.
Behind Damon Rose was hiding out in the car. Damon turned to see where I was looking and nodded. "She doesn't have a daylight ring." He said. "Anyways, wanna ditch school?" He held out his hand.
"Seriously? You can't be serious."
"Oh but I am. Rose has a contact that knows more about these Originals and vampires in general and I thought," Damon started to play with my hair. "you'd be interested."
I was interested. Damn. He knew me too well. I glanced back at a busy Mrs Saunders and started packing my things. "I'm only tagging along because I need to." I pointed to him before looking around the class. "Katie," I called out to the nearest person. "Can you let Mrs Saunders know that I had to run because of an emergency? Oh and you can ignore this detail." I motioned towards Damon with my head.
Katie's brown eyes turned a pale gold as she nodded and left her station to go talk to Mrs Saunders. I grabbed my backpack and ran to my car to put it away before getting into Damon's car.
Rose greeted me with quiet 'Hello', turning to Damon and asking him. "Did we really stop to get your girlfriend?"
I turned my head so fast to look up at Rose that I didn't care if I accidentally hurt my neck. "Not his girlfriend." I quickly denied. "We're just…working together."
England 1492
Flaming torches in an elaborately decorated hallway flickered wildly as Kamilah clutched her skirt and hurried along. A few guards passed her and eyed her warily. Noticing them, she slowed her pace and walked as naturally as she could.
Her heels echoed against the polished wooden floor with quiet and hurried clicks. Despite her reasonable pace she was moving like a woman who was running from something. She slowed, coming to the closely guarded double door.
Outside the door were two tall men standing guard. Her mind screamed at her in warning, she needed to get out but she ignored them—nothing she wasn't used to anymore. The two men were armed with swords but they hardly needed them after all they weren't human anyways.
They were vampires, newly turned. So many decades younger than her but appearances fooled them all.
"Countess Carmela." One of the guards noticed her and curtsied towards her. "Lady Katarina is preparing for tonight."
"I know." The woman snapped. "I wish to speak to her."
The guards shared a look before moving closer to the door. Their eyes turned dark as black veins appeared underneath their eyes. "We were told to not allow any visitors—"
She cut off the guard with a wave. "I wish to speak to Katarina." Their eyes flickered to a brilliant gold as they blankly nodded, moving out the way and opening the doors.
The doors opened to reveal a bedroom. The hand carved wooden bed was in the center of the room while a dressing table with a silver mirror attached was pushed up against the opposite wall.
A woman sat in front of the mirror surrounded by her handmaidens, each gushing about her beauty or busy braiding the woman's hair. Kamilah looked at the handmaidens in distaste. They all had that blank faraway look on their faces.
"Leave us." She snapped her finger and the handmaidens left without a single word of protest. "And shut the door."
The room emptied within seconds, leaving Kamilah and the woman all alone. The woman stiffened visibly at the sudden prospect of being alone with
"Lady Car—"
"No need for formalities and flatteries." Kamilah waved her off.
Her eyes shifted from her usual light brown to a pale gold shocking Katarina who jumped up from her seat. She paid the surprised girl no mind. She searched deep within the minds of everyone at the castle, digging deep. Their thoughts swirled around in the head like a storm as she studied each and everyone.
When her eyes returned to the light brown-amber shade, she turned to Katarina. She was anxious and started to fidget around a little, pulling at the long sleeve of her crimson gown. "We don't have much time." She said to Katarina.
The young girl shifted in her spot and her eyes darting around for a sign of her handmaidens. "I don't understand—what a-are you doing here?"
"Doing something I should've done the moment I saw you."
Katerina backed away from Kamilah, her back nearly hitting the table behind her. "I have not done anything to you."
"Oh god. I'm not here to hurt you, you stupid girl. I'm here to save you."
"Save me from what?"
"You have no idea that you are a lamb being prepared for slaughtering."
"W-what are you talking about?"
"Klaus is going to kill you and Elijah aids him."
"How can I possibly believe you? You despise me."
"I pity you." Kamilah corrected Katerina. "Here." She snapped her fingers and the room changed appearances but only for Katerina.
Katerina's eyes swirled a bright gold as she stumbled backwards, quickly being caught by Kamilah. She cried out before snapping out of the daze.
"M-monsters. They're monsters. What horrors did you show me?" She gasped, clutching her chest in pain.
Kamilah looked tiredly at the younger girl and hurried over to her wardrobe. She pulled out an old dark robe and tossed it to her. "The truth. Now we don't have much time." She helped the younger girl put the robe on and tugged at her arm.
Quietly, Katerina started to weep, much to Kamilah's displeasure. She let go and stared at the younger girl in pity and annoyance. At this rate, nothing was going to get done.
There was a knock on the door and the two women stiffened. Kamilah relaxed after a second to let go of Katerina hurrying over to the door. She pulled it open to the two guards looming over another man, a peasant servant.
"He's with me." Kamilah softly stated as the eyes of all three men flickered as they nodded.
"W-witch." Katerina cried out, stumbling to the floor.
Kamilah clicked her tongue in distaste. She always hated being called a witch. "Not a witch. How dare you call me a witch!" She kept going while ushering in the peasant servant who shut the door behind her.
It was now three in the room and Katerina felt more dear than she had ever felt in her life. Even when she had come to England she never envisioned this.
"Then what are you?" She tried to pick herself off the ground. The peasant servant was by her side, helping her up.
"I'm a faery." Kamilah moved her hands creating little orbs of light before she squashed them. "Surely you've heard of us."
Katerina tried to scramble back but the servant blocked her way. "Are you a good one or a bad one?"
"We'll find out." Kamilah answered. "But we need to leave now." She walked around the room, light appeared from her fingertips. "Oh where are my manners, this is Trevor." She pointed to the servant who obediently waited nearby. "He's a vampire too and an admirer of yours—you've got plenty of those."
"I'm sorry, vampire?"
"Yes vampire." Kamilah clicked her tongue in annoyance and took out a blade from her sleeve. "Watch." She poked the edge of the blade against her hand, digging deep enough to cut.
Blood spilled from her open wound. The smell of wet iron started to fill the room as Kamilah walked straight towards Trevor. The servant's eyes darkened as dark veins appeared under his eyes. His teeth changed, sharp fangs appeared. He hissed at Kamilah.
Katerina ran to Kamilah's side in fear, hiding behind her. Her eyes darted from Trevor to Kamilah's wound. To her surprise, her wound was already healing.
A soft light appeared in the small cavity of the wound before the flesh and skin began to fuse together. The blood was burnt away by the light, leaving nothing.
"Vampires are real…" Katerina cried out afterwards but Kamilah paid her no mind. She was approaching Trevor, leaving her behind with her thoughts.
"Trevor's going to take you out of the castle. You'll have to do your own bit and wander through the woods nearby. The two of us have some business here."
"You can't come with me?"
"Not yet. If I disappear at the same time as you, questions will be raised."
"But—"
Kamilah hushed her. "We don't have time. You have to leave now." She handed Katerina a pouch filled with some money and nodded at Trevor.
Rose killed the engine, parking the car in an underground parking lot. If I was being honest, I was not so confident about her or this whole thing. I barely trusted her and she clearly was weary of me. I got out of the car and carefully checked my surroundings. It was an ordinary parking lot.
Damon got out first and came over to help me out. "Back entrance. How convenient." He and I shared a look, I shrugged in response. We both didn't trust Rose but she was the only one apart from Katherine who knew anything about Klaus. Elena was checking that lead and I was checking Rose.
"That's the point. We can't all have little daylight rings." Rose retorted. Her gaze naturally went to Damon's daylight ring.
It must've been hard living in the shadows all the time. I couldn't even imagine never feeling the sun on your skin ever again after a certain point in time.
"Are we sure this is the right place?" I asked, folding my arms around myself. "I mean for all we know you could be leading us straight into a trap."
Damon nodded. "Yeah and how do you know this Slater guy is even here?" He questioned.
Rose hissed under her breath and turned to glare at Damon and me. "I called him. He's here. He's always here."
Everything seemed fine. I decided to take the lead and go towards the coffee shop Rose had mentioned earlier when suddenly I heard a commotion behind me. Damon slammed Rose against one of the concrete pillars nearby, choking her.
"Damon—" He gave me a look and I shut up. Yes, I didn't trust her but I wasn't going to attack her or make an attempt on her life. Not yet anyway. We still needed her. I could only figure out so much on my own.
"Just one thing. If you're setting us up in any way, I will rip your heart out and shove it down your throat. It's something I'm very good at."
Rose glared at him and within seconds, she had the upper hand like I predicted she would. Sometimes Damon's arrogance really annoyed me. Rose was older, older than Katherine. He couldn't even go against Katherine, why would he try to attack Rose—I didn't know.
She slammed him against the car. "I'm older than you and stronger. Don't get on my bad side."
Damon met my gaze and I sighed. The lights in the parking lot started to flicker as dusts of light gathered around my fingers. "Rose…" I quietly warned. "Let's not start something. We're all on the same side aren't we?"
Her breath quickened and she started to tremble before letting go. I let go too and the light dissipated. "You two can trust me."
I didn't believe her but I still nodded along. "Lead the way." She glanced at Damon before turning away and walking towards the coffee shop. "You know, you'd think you'd learn a thing or two from your past experiences taking on older vampires but here we are. I'm starting to think you're actually insane." I hissed under my breath.
He smiled, amused and not at all fazed by how easily Rose could've killed him right there and then if she wanted to or if I wasn't there. "She didn't." He grinned at me and I rolled my eyes. "Come on. Don't tell me you were worried about me."
"Maybe I was but I'll make sure to remember that you like putting yourself in those kinds of situations."
His grin became even wider. I couldn't believe he was finding my outburst funny or maybe he was pleased. I didn't know and I didn't care. I was too angry at his reckless behavior to care. "Hey, I had you, didn't I? You had my back." He was right and he was wrong.
I just wished he would take things seriously when it came to his life. Dying once might not have been pleasant for him so why was he trying so hard to die again?
"What if I wasn't here? What if—" I discreetly looked at Rose before turning to Damon, stopping in the parking lot. "What if she actually went through it? Then what? You'd be dead—for good. Don't. You look like you're enjoying this."
"A little bit." He admitted, grabbing my wrist to drag me over to Rose who seemed a little annoyed at being left waiting. She was standing in front of the entrance of the coffee shop, checking her surroundings before finally going in.
The coffee shop was like a usual coffee shop if I ignored the bitter chill and the sudden urge to kill which was even stronger here than in the car with Damon and Rose.
Noticing me shivering, Damon passed me his jacket. I wasn't even cold. I tried to hand it back to him but he ignored me, too busy checking the coffee shop. "What about the sunlight?" He gestured to the windows.
I had a guess how sunlight didn't come in though I didn't voice it out. "Double paned and tempered. UV rays can't penetrate. You see the appeal now?" Rose answered instead.
"That and the free Wi-Fi." Another voice added. I turned around to meet the gaze of an unknown man. I knew instantly by his relaxed posture and the way he spoke, he knew Rose and that meant, this was our guy.
Seeing him, Rose pulled him into her embrace greeting him. "I saw you come, what are you doing here?"
"It's a long story but I want you to meet..."
Before Rose could finish, Slater started to talk again. "Damon Salvatore." He finished Rose's sentence before carrying on. "Turned 1864 in Mystic Falls by Katherine Pierce aka Katerina Petrova. So I take it I was right, what I told you about the tomb under the church was true?"
Rose nodded. "Yes. It was right. Thank you for the tip."
He smiled, stopping to stare me. "I'm sorry I didn't quite catch your name."
"Why? You don't have an encyclopedia entry on me?" I joked. He laughed and shook his head. "I'm Sonia." I lied, borrowing my dead aunt's name instead of my middle name.
"Sonia…"
"For now, just Sonia." I politely cut him off but Rose seemed a little taken aback by my sudden lie.
On the other hand, Damon seemed unfazed. He was used to me constantly lying about my identity so much so that it didn't bother him anymore.
Slater scrunched up his face in confusion, glancing between me and Damon. "It's nice to meet you both," He held out his hand and I almost took it but Damon stopped me, silently judging Slater. "Maybe." Slater awkwardly added before turning to Rose. "What's going on Rose? Where's Trevor?"
Rose's face fell and she looked like she was going to cry for a second.
England 1492
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Silence permeated the dungeon-like vault as light filled the inner chambers before dusts of light quickly formed into a woman. Kamilah appeared into view and hurried over to her destination. If she was lucky, everyone would still be looking for Katerina.
The vault was still well guarded, from the outside. At least ten vampires guarded the vault alongside spells from three different witches. Klaus was always prepared. It was easy getting past the vampires, the spells took a little time considering she had to temporarily break them.
The inside were a different story. It seemed Klaus had never taken precautions against her. That fool. He trusted her too much yet she didn't trust him at all.
At first she found her to be similar to herself but the more time she spent with him and Elijah, the more she realized—he was different. He acted as if he was alone, it was not true. He had a family, something Kamilah hadn't had for a while. He had a blood family too. She envied him.
Strangely, it was Katerina, the sacrificial lamb she should've despised who was more like her than her own friends. She couldn't help but see herself in Katerina. The two were so alike. Both exiled from their homeland—in her case, her home realm. Both of their families had turned their back on them. Katerina was very much alike to her.
Her optimism and her spirit reminded her of her naivety. She had lost that part of her so long ago when the Chamberlain of the Graillion family was slayed by a mere human she had trusted so long ago, leaving her all alone with no one to turn to but Klaus and Elijah.
She always suspected those two. She had no proof and so she had to live with the fact that the only person who was like her and actually cared for her was long dead.
Stopping at an ordinary old stone wall, she brought her hand over it. The wisps of light followed every move. She could feel traces of magic, a witch's magic on the wall. It was not as faint as she would have liked but it was there. Klaus' witch must've strengthened the wards again.
She let the wisps go and watched as they revealed strange lines and symbols on the wall. She had two choices now, one she could destroy the ward—not an appealing option, Klaus would know or two she could weaken the wards but break them. Weaken the wards enough to grab the moonstone and make it seem like his witch betrayed him. The idea of it sounded appealing to her after all, she didn't quite get along with the crazed witch.
Thud.
The wall started to shift. A stone tile pushed itself back, revealing a small hidden compartment. Inside, nestled neatly in the darkness was a box. The moonstone, the one that actually held the curse inside.
She took moonstone from its case and left the case behind before putting everything back in its place. She nodded to herself before disappearing from the room in a flash of light, reappearing in her bedroom later on.
"And you're sure Elijah's dead?" Slater questioned the group as we sat down near the windows. Like me, he didn't believe a vampire as old as Elijah could be killed that easily.
I glanced at Damon who didn't meet my gaze. He was still adamant Elijah was very much dead while I was still on the fence. "Yes." "No." Rose and I said at the same time.
Damon and Rose ignored my answer but Slater seemed to pay close attention to my one syllable answer. "Beyond dead." Damon added.
"Right…" Slater didn't believe it and he didn't press on. He clasped his hands together and let out a sigh. "Trevor was a good man; he helped me with my dissertation on sexual deviance in the Baroque period. I was schooling for my Psych PhD."
"He also kidnapped my best friend and tried to trade her for his own freedom. My friend was innocent by the way." I pointed out, adjusting Damon's jacket. Slater looked up at me and muttered a quick apology. I nodded, not really accepting the empty apology. It didn't really matter anyways, Trevor was already dead. "Anyways, you actually went and attended college?" I was a little surprised by the fact a vampire who didn't spend an eternity drinking and killing but rather actually studied.
"Slater's been in college since '74." Rose answered.
"When I was turned." He added, so he was a fairly young vampire compared to Rose and Damon. It showed as well in the way he acted. "I have 18 degrees, 3 master's and 4 PhDs."
"Oh wow. That's actually impressive." I commented. "So you've just been studying since then?"
"Pretty much."
Damon scowled. "The point?"
"Exactly, I mean, what is the point?" Slater didn't like the way Damon spoke. Oh god, there Damon goes again, annoying people. I gave Damon a look and he shrugged. Can he not play nice for one day? "What should I be doing with my eternity? If you have an answer, please enlighten me."
I quietly slammed my cup of coffee on the table, grabbing his attention. "I think what you've done so far with your eternity is probably the most productive thing I've ever heard of and honestly…it's unique."
He calmed down and nodded. "At least someone here can appreciate what I'm doing."
"Don't start." The lights in the coffee shop started flickering, startling it's patrons and I sighed. Damon grabbed my hand and told me to calm down. "Why don't we all just start from the beginning?"
"Was that you?" I nodded. "Holy shit. I thought you were a regular human but—"
"Let's get back to where we were." Damon cut him off when he noticed the curious gazes of the other customers.
Rose and Damon shared a look. She decided to take over before this meeting went completely off the rails. "We need your help. If someone wanted to get in touch with Klaus, how would you hook him up?"
"Craigslist." Slater answered.
I had to blink twice to actually get what he was saying. "Really?" Damon was in disbelief and so was Rose and I.
"This isn't a joke, is it?" I asked, a little worried.
Slater shook his head and took out his laptop. "I respond to a personal ad to get sent to somebody who knows somebody who knows Elijah, who's dead and that's where my connection ends." Oh he was serious. I don't know what I was more disappointed by the craigslist ad or that Slater didn't have an actual 'in' with the Originals. I guess we were kind of back to square one. "I do have this guy who is in the same field as me. We're like brothers."
"Does he know more than you?"
"Not sure. I've tried to contact him and he said he'll meet me later today. He was in London, digging up some stuff Rose told me about."
"Great. We have to wait for another person." I looked at Damon and stared at him silently, trying to get him to not annoy Slater. "What? I'm just—"
I cut him off and turned to Slater. "Anyways, did Rose tell you about the…curse." Slater nodded.
"The curse of the Sun and Moon—it's pretty infamous in our community of supernatural scholars."
"If it's so infamous then how come everyone isn't out to break it?"
"Because there's a lot of stuff to do. First the moonstone—not just any old moonstone but a spelled one, then the doppelgänger—a once in a lifetime phenomena and lastly you need a witch. All of it is hard to find. Witches don't exactly like vampires and are wary of werewolves if they exist."
Damon decided to jump in again. "Here's what I don't get: Elijah moved around during the day, which means the originals knew the secret of the day ring. Now why would Klaus want to lift the curse of the sun and the moon?"
"To keep the werewolves from lifting it. If a vampire breaks the sun curse then the werewolves are stuck with the curse of the moon forever and vice versa." Slater answered like it was the obvious thing.
Again I personally didn't believe both sides. I just thought the curse was fake. The signs were there.
"But werewolves are extinct." Rose pointed out.
"True. I've never seen one but rumor has it..." Slater agreed, he tried to think of a reasonable thing to say.
"Not such a rumor." Damon chimed.
"They're real and we know a couple." I added, remembering Mason and now Tyler. That was a problem I refused to touch much to Caroline's disappointment. I really wanted to help her out but I didn't know how.
"Mystic Falls?" Slater asked and Damon nodded. "God, I've got to visit this place. It sounds awesome."
"Awesome doesn't even begin to describe it." Damon didn't exactly mean his words and when he looked at me, I got what he meant. Mystic Falls was dangerous. Anyone who came by our town had a slim chance of making it out safe. "Can we stop the curse from being broken at all?"
Slater scrunched his face up in confusion. He eyed us all before he swallowed. "What do you mean?"
"Well, if we make the moonstone useless, would it stop the curse from being broken?"
"Well, yeah, probably, but why would you want to do that?"
"Tell me how."
"You think I'm gonna help you figure out how to do something that will piss off an original? And keeping them from walking in the sun?"
"You want to walk in the sun? I can make that happen if you help us."
"No. It'll still piss off an original."
"Oh for the love of—tell him what you think." Damon nudged me. He wanted me to tell Slater my theory. I know I had discussed it before with Salvatore brothers and my friends along with my family but Rose was left in the dark.
I sighed, finished my cup of coffee and cleared my throat. "The curse is fake." I stated. Rose and Slater stilled in shock. "Okay." I took a deep breath and took out my own laptop. "What I'm about to show you does not leave us. It's a piece of research from my family that only a selected few have seen."
"Your family…" Slater kept opening and closing his mouth at the sudden change.
"Her family's like the real life Van Helsings. They're pretty organized."
"Van Helsings?" Slater's eyes widened as I searched the files for aunt Evelyn's research on the Aztec curse along with similar findings from different folktales. He leaned closer to us. "Holy shit. You're a Fitzroy, aren't you?" He asked.
I nodded. "So she's descended from a bastard of a King." Rose was confused. "How's that important?"
"Remember that family I was telling you about—the one descended from a supernatural hunter." Rose nodded. "That's them. They're like the pioneers of supernatural lore categorization specializing primarily in vampires and witches. I'm sorry but I was really looking forward to meeting someone from your family at least once in my lifetime."
"Are you okay?" I asked, a little taken aback by his reaction. Most people who knew about my family ran whenever they heard about us or tried to kill us. "You do realize we kill…people like you."
"Yeah but I don't really kill people and I'm not like most vampires. I don't even have the urge to drink blood."
Damon snorted. "That's impossible."
"It's true. I only drink when I have to and most of the time it's either straight from the bag or animal blood."
I was a little interested. "So you're telling me you don't have the urge to drink blood?" Slater nodded. "No way. That's so interesting."
"Right? Somehow my thirst for knowledge replaced the urges."
"Oh god. We're not here to have a meeting of the nerds." Damon motioned me to hurry up and show him what I needed to.
I rolled my eyes and finally found the document. "Here. This is a compilation of the Sun and Moon curse but from different folklore around the world—you notice anything?"
Slater squinted close to the screen. "It's the same."
"The exact same." I repeated. "It's almost like…"
Suddenly I felt strange. My mind kept screaming at me to move or run. I felt like I was about to get a vision but I saw nothing. All the sounds suddenly seemed to increase in volume and my senses were momentarily heightened. I looked around but stopped when I stared out the window.
"Sonia?" Slater called out to me but I didn't answer.
Something was not right. He reached out to grab my attention. "We need to get out of here." I said with wide eyes.
Damon got up instantly at my words while Rose and Slater kept sitting, confused by my sudden change in behavior.
Before either could move. The windows shattered. Damon quickly dove for me and dragged me to the floor as screams of the vampires echoed in the coffee shop. Slater and Rose's skin also started to burn. I tossed Damon's jacket to him and he quickly covered Rose with it.
"...There was someone outside." I said, looking out at the remnants of the window. There was no one particular I was lookin at but now a crowd had formed around the coffee shop. Damon followed my gaze and shook his head. "Take Rose to the car." I quietly added, looking around for a sign of Slater but he was gone.
Damon grabbed my wrist but I freed myself and pushed past him, disappearing into the running crowd of customers. He tried to follow after me but I knew he wouldn't not without helping Rose first. He found me standing near the entrance and he looked furious, ready to start an argument but I didn't have time.
My vision started to blur.
When the fog cleared, I was in an unknown apartment. A vampire already dead with graying skin lay near my feet. I didn't know him. I looked around and I came face to face with Eiljah. He wasn't dead or maybe this was a past memory.
Was what I thought at first until I saw Slater.
In a daze, he took a stake and drove the stake through his heart. He fell to the floor, dead.
"We have to go." Damon was dragging me to the car.
I pulled myself away. "I-I have to do something first." Slater was useful and he seemed like he would be helpful in the future. Even though he was a vampire, I quite enjoyed his company. "Slater." I ran through the half-lit parking lot of the cafe, trying to find the vampire. "Slater?"
"Over here." Came the muffled voice of Slater came from behind me. I found him hunched near a car, covering his face. "What the hell was that, Sonia?"
"A teaser for what's going to happen to you." I held out my hand for him and he tiredly looked up before taking it. I pulled him up, leaning him against the car. "I don't know how to tell you this but you are going to die soon."
"Wonderful." He breathed out. "I shouldn't have never answered Rose's call."
"You want to live?"
"Of course I do, who doesn't?"
"I wasn't asking for much details but whatever. The way I see it, you have two choices; run and hide or you could tag along with us back where we were."
"I'm supposed to be meeting a friend to find more about the originals."
I gave him a look. "Do you value your life?"
"Is that a threat?" I shrugged. "Of course I do. Lead the way." I nodded, leading him back to Rose's car.
I stopped mid-way. "Also for the record, my name's not Sonia. It's Ava. Ava Fitzroy." Slater nodded, not surprised I didn't tell him my real name.
"Seriously?" Damon wasn't happy I brought Slater along. He didn't say anything else and just let him get into the car.
England 1492
There was a faint glow on the horizon as the skies were painted with light shades of blue and vivid purples along with reds, yellows and oranges. The sun slowly fell down the sky as Kamilah watched over the gardens patiently while footmen, servants and even the masters of the castle alike scrambled around searching for something.
A knock echoed in her quiet room.
She turned her head towards the door and she already knew who it was behind the door. A smile made her way to her face and her eyes gleamed brightly with mischief. She blinked once and a blank expression painted her pale face. "Come in." She softly answered.
The door opened and Elijah walked in. Instead of greeting his friend, he started looking around the room. "Have you seen her?" He asked, moving past all formalities. "Katerina? Have you seen her?" He repeated. His tone was hurried and desperate yet he took his time to slowly euniciate his words for her despite the fact she could easily read his mind. Yet he didn't mind.
Kamilah's face twisted into one of annoyance and she turned away. "What of the exiled doppelgänger?" Her voice was airy like she didn't care at all.
It slightly infuriated Elijah to see her so flippant about the case of the missing doppelgänger so close to the night of the sacrifice. She was against sacrificing Katerina in the first place.
"I didn't aid her. I have no reason to." Kamilah answered his thoughts while keeping her eye on the sinking sun. "Perhaps you should check yourself, considering…" She turned to face Elijah who had suddenly grown quiet. "Don't think I didn't know. Klaus might not know about your infatuation with Katerine but I know."
Elijah grabbed Kamilah's wrist. His face darkened, black veins appeared beneath his eyes and he opened his mouth to bar his sharp teeth at his friend.
Kamilah looked up at him and laughed. Her laugh echoed around the quiet room before her own gaze darkened. The candles in the room started to flicker around wildly.
Suddenly, Elijah hissed out in pain and dropped her wrist. He held out his wrist in pain as burn marks appeared on his hand. She didn't take her gaze off of him. He fell to the floor and started to choke. Air was cut off, he kept grabbing for his throat gasping for breath. If he was human, he would be long dead by now.
"Don't ever threaten me, Elijah!" She hissed out, letting go of the imaginary leash she had around the Original vampire.
The Original vampire glared at her sharply before he turned to go out the door but he stopped. "The elixir. Did you even make it?"
She rolled her eyes and went to a set of chests pushed against the wall opposite her bed. She opened the chest to reveal an elaborate opaque glass bottle. "The elixir of resurrection. I always keep my end of a bargain." Dusting off her skirt, she passed it to him before stopping. His hands hovered in the air, waiting for it. "I should let you know that vampire blood will make this useless after all, it contains faery blood and faeries and vampires are the antithesis of one another."
"So if I gave her my blood…"
"The two countervail each other's effects and the elixir will not work. Katerina would just die." Elijah gripped the bottle in his hand and Kamilah gave him a look of pity. "I hope you find her and…" She approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "...when you do, tell her what she means to you."
He nodded and left.
Her smile crumpled and she scoffed. What a fool he was. He'd never find her, at least not yet. She left the room and clicked her fingers once and her form disappeared.
"You okay?" Damon asked as he killed the engine of his car after he parked in the driveway of the Boarding House. "You seemed pretty out of it the whole day."
I tiredly nodded, trying to wrap my head around what I was seeing. "Let's just say I'm walking down someone's memory lane again."
He nodded. "Is it helpful?"
"Confusing more-like." I shut my eyes and tried to recall the memories again but it was there, just out of reach.
Rose and Slater went inside with Rose leading the way. Damon stayed back, waiting for the two to disappear. I almost followed but stopped. I guess we still had to have a talk.
I sucked in a breath and let it go before turning to him. I might as well take the first step and get it done and over with. Besides, I needed a momentary distraction from Kamilah's memories. "So…we need to talk." I began clasping my hands together in front of me.
Damon nodded. "We do."
"You compelled Elena after you told her you love her."
"Loved." He didn't waste any time correcting me. "I loved her. I'm not in love with her."
"Does it matter? You erased her memories."
"I know. I did it for Stefan."
"For Stefan." I found his words a little unbelievable.
How would tampering with Elena's memories help his brother?
As if he was reading my mind, he answered. "If I let her keep her memories she'd feel burdened and that would put a strain on her and Stefan's relationship."
"How thoughtful."
"You're the one who told me to think about Stefan and I thought about him."
"That's not the only reason is it?" I had a feeling there was more to his actions than what he was telling me.
The question was 'did I want to know'?
Answer: No.
It was a cruel answer but I couldn't prioritize this over what was going to happen. Elena and maybe I was in danger. There was an unknown threat looming above us. Not to mention, these memories of a stranger I was being haunted by and what I really was.
I had a lot on my plate. I couldn't deal with anything more.
After a moment of silence, Damon decided to speak. "...No, it wasn't." He took a step towards me and I had an idea about what he was going to say so I took a step back to distance myself. "Truth is I don't love Elena. I—"
"Stop!" I couldn't let him finish. I don't know why I just couldn't hear it. "I'm sorry. I can't listen to this. I know we're trying to be something of friends right now but I can't listen to this—not right now."
Damon swallowed his words and nodded. He wasn't happy, he wasn't angry either, just disappointed. "I understand. There's a lot going on in your life. My problems are nothing compared to yours."
"No. No. That's—yes, partly—but…it's complicated. I don't know. I can't explain…" I didn't know what to say but it was just not the right time.
Damon was still a vampire. The very thing I had been told to be afraid off my entire life. Isaac's turning and everything he did—still haunted me. It was a miracle that I even brought myself to even trust Damon and Stefan—even keep Caroline in my life. I still had nightmares about that entire week. I just couldn't handle it right now.
I didn't want to tell him that.
He reached out to me, to stop me from leaving but the sound of the front door opening made him stop.
From the door, Stefan appeared. He glanced between me and his brother in confusion before stalking towards me. He was angry and concerned.
"Did you know Elena was at the tomb?" Oh. I almost forgot about Elena's plan. I guess Caroline failed. Damn. I should've taken over her. "Ava? Did you know?"
Of course, I drove her there. "No, I was at school, you saw me, remember?" Stefan nodded, taking a step back. He did see me in History. "And then I ditched to go on a research trip with Damon." I lied, walking inside with the Salvatore brothers following me inside.
Slater and Rose were by the stairs deep in conversation. They didn't notice us at all. Damon disappeared and I stopped by the fireplace. I took out the notes I made of the trip and what we knew so far, passing them to Stefan who leafed through them.
"I can vouch for that." Damon walked up behind me and handed his brother a blood bag. "She even adopted a vampire."
"I saved his life." I corrected Damon. "Elena's fine. There's no need to worry and I'm sure she found something out from the whole thing."
"Katherine probably lied to her, to scare her."
"I don't think she has any reason to besides I was going to go talk to her my—"
"Absolutely not!" The two brothers said at the same time. "Katherine can't be trusted. She's a lying manipulative bitch who stabs people in the back—she's the last person who'll ever be honest to anyone." Damon stood firmly in front of me.
I nodded. "Fine. I won't go talk to her. Happy?" I had no choice but to back down. "Now can you move? I have to go back, it's getting late."
"I can drop you off."
"I can drive by myself." I quickly shot him down and got out of the parlor, bumping into Slater and Rose. I waved to the two in greeting before heading outside to get my car.
England 1492
"Trevor?" Kamilah called out, knocking on the cottage door. The door gave away when she pulled it once, revealing the insides of the cottage. "Tre—"
She froze when she noticed the scene in front of her. Trevor and his companion, Rose, were busy arguing with one another to notice her presence.
When Rose noticed her, she curtsied and started to tremble in fear. "Countess." She stuttered out. "We found Katerina." She stammered, not looking at Trevor.
Kamilah couldn't help but let out a small laugh. How adorable. The girl thought she was here on Klaus' orders. She didn't bother to correct them.
"Take me to her." She said, removing the hood of her cloak.
Rose meekly nodded and turned around. She froze and panic started to bubble inside of her as she and Trevor shared a look. The two ran into the only other room in the small cottage.
Naturally Kamilah followed them, she didn't have time. She had to get Katerina out of England fast, Klaus wouldn't hesitate scouring the entirety of the country if he had the choice. She planned to take Katerina elsewhere, away from Europe perhaps to one of the hidden cities if she had to.
Time seemed to slow down when she finally spotted Katerina. She was dead. The poor girl chose to end her own life pathetically rather than live on. A noose hung around her neck as her body dangled above ground.
"Cut…her loose." Kamilah quietly commanded, furious at Rose and glared sharply at Trevor who muttered silent apologies to her. Rose hurried to cut Katerina loose and bring her down.
Kamilah pushed Rose and Trevor aside, bringing her hand over her neck. Perhaps she still had time. She froze when she didn't feel any warmth from her, no spark of life. Still she attempted to resuscitate her, bringing her hands over her neck.
The wisps of light covered her neck. It should've healed her but instead, her neck started to burn and sizzle. A putrid stench of rotting flesh covered the cottage in an instant. Quickly, she let go and watched in horror as she started to heal on her own before she gasped awake.
"Katerina." The girl smiled exhaustedly after noticing her. "What have you done?" She hoarsely whispered out.
Katerina tried to speak but words wouldn't come out. Yet Kamilah could hardly blame her. Rose threatened and cornered her, too busy concerned with her own life than that of the doppelgänger. She was like Trevor, nothing.
"Countess, we can—"
"Did I permit you to speak to me?" Rose quietened and backed down.
Kamilah went up to Katerina and cupped her face. Dark veins appeared under her eyes as she started to sob. Kamilah was sorry, she had tried her best to save her and go against the things she had seen in her dreams but she failed.
The events she had tried so hard to prevent were happening fast.
"Please understand." Katerina pleaded with Rose.
"You have just signed our death sentence." Rose spoke without caring about Kamilah anymore. She grabbed a stake and attempted to attack Katerina.
Kamilah could barely notice how quickly Katerina took a hold of the old woman who no doubt owned the cottage. "Better you die than I." She was speaking to Rose but she gave a tired and sad look to Kamilah before sinking into the old woman's neck, completing her transition.
Katerina had become a vampire.
The very things she had tried to prevent happened. She wanted Katerina to take her family and run, hide from Klaus—end her life as a mortal not a vampire like the visions had shown her as. She wanted the future to be different but she couldn't do it, she couldn't go against fate.
A tear fell from Kamilah's eyes as she turned towards an empty corner of the room. She looked straight at the watcher and mumbled an apology.
It was easier for her granddaughter to go against fate but why couldn't she do it?
Author's note: This along with another fic was meant to be updated a week ago but lack of motivation coupled with being ill really got me. Anyways, here's another chapter.
This might have a few errors, I know. I'm planning to go over all the errors after wrapping this story up so I apologize in advance for all the errors.
