Emily had endlessly drove around the quite town of Mystic Falls for about thirty minutes since she wasn't sure where she could take Elijah that her protective bodyguards wouldn't come to once they realized that she was missing along with the supposed-to-be-dead original. However, finally, the human girl came to the conclusion to just park in the woods by the falls since no one usually comes out this far - well, except for parties but it was too early for a party to be happening this morning, so the human doppelganger figured it was the perfect place.
The Gilbert girl was currently resting against the hood of Damon's blue Camaro while she cautiously watched the original vampire as he finished up the second blood bag that she had gave him from Damon's secret stash. Emily waited until the blood bag was empty before she spoke up for the first time in over half an hour as she asked, "how are you feeling?" The human girl could only imagine how hungry the original must be after being dead for a while, so she offered, "do you need more blood?"
Elijah lightly waved his hand before he assured the human girl as he pushed the empty blood bag into the pocket of his ruined suit, "I'm fine." The original vampire reached inside his other pocket before he grabbed the dagger and pulled it out. Elijah silently twirled it around his fingers as he took a couple of slow steps towards Emily before he inquired, "where did you find this?"
Emily crossed her arms over her grey sweater and leather jacket as she hugged herself away from the chilly air before she released a small sigh and told Elijah how they came to possess the dagger, "mine and Elena's biological father, John, was the one who gave it to Damon." The human girl lightly shrugged her shoulders as she continued from what her biological father had told her, "John thought if he gave it to Damon, then he could get rid of the both of you."
Emily rolled her green eyes at just the thought of how her biological had explained his way of keeping her safe which meant killing her sister's boyfriend and her boyfriend's brother along the way. "He thought he was helping," the Gilbert girl commented with annoyance in her voice. Emily glared at nothing in particular as it still annoyed her that John thought killing the original would keep her alive when Elijah was the key to her safety.
Emily decided to change the direction of the conversation as she remembered the letter that she had, so she shook her head to get rid of the annoyance for her biological father before she told Elijah, "alright, enough about that. We need to have a talk that is way over due." The Gilbert girl hopped off the hood of Damon's car before she stated with a serious expression stoned into her face, "we need to work together."
The original vampire stared across at the human girl in amusement as he crossed his arms over his ruined suit with his fingers still clasped around the ancient dagger. Elijah twitched his head to the side as he continued to stare at Emily for a minute or so more before he asked the doppelganger with amusement dripping from his voice, "when did you get put in charge, Miss Emily?"
The Gilbert girl copied the original vampire's stance as she crossed her arms over her chest before she answered his question with zero humor in her voice to let Elijah know that she was being absolutely serious right now, "the second Klaus thought it would be a good idea to try to kill my best friend." It had been the last straw for Emily - when Klaus actually targeted someone that she loves - so she wasn't just going stand by and let the hybrid hurt the people who mean everything to her.
The woods by the falls was silent for a couple of minutes as Emily and Elijah just continued to stare at one another before the human girl felt like she needed to apologize and clear the air. "I am sorry for what happened last time we talked, Elijah," the human doppelganger murmured about what happened at the lake house. Emily shook her head with a heavy sigh before she explained why she did what she did, "my family and friends were never going to agree with accepting your help when they all thought they could save me on their own."
"I was willing to give them a chance because I know they just want to do what they thought was best," Emily softly murmured as she thought about all of her loved ones. The human girl briefly closed her green eyes as she remembered what happened last night before she stated with a thick and emotional voice, "but after what Klaus did to Bonnie last night, I couldn't just sit back."
Emily released an exhausted sigh when Elijah continued to just stare at her instead of saying anything. The Gilbert girl felt like she was getting nowhere the original, so she decided to mention the one thing that she knew would grab Elijah's attention. "Look," the human girl began as she took a step closer to Elijah before she stated, "I know you have all the answers I need and I know you are the key to keeping me alive."
The original vampire twitched his head to the side with interest shining throughout his honey brown eyes when he heard the confidence in the human girl's voice about how he was the key. "And how did you figure that one out?" Elijah curiously inquired.
Emily stared across at the original vampire for a moment before she uttered one single name that would help the vampire understand what she was talking about, "Katherine." However, though, before Emily could even bring out the letter that the Petrova vampire had left her, the human girl was soon interrupted when her cell phone began to ring.
"I'm sorry. I'll only be a second," the Gilbert girl quickly apologized to the original before she pulled out her cell phone out of her jacket pocket. Emily glanced down at her screen before she released a heavy sigh when she realized that her protective bodyguards had already realized that she was missing.
The human doppelganger didn't even get the chance to greet her boyfriend or try to make up an excuse for why she wasn't at the boarding house when she accepted the call before the loud and worried voice of the younger Salvatore quickly fired off questions at rapid speed, "where are you? Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
The Gilbert girl couldn't help but roll her green eyes at her obviously worried boyfriend. Emily loved how much Stefan cares about her but right now, it didn't exactly help her with her mission of stopping Klaus when her protective bodyguards wouldn't even let her make her own choices. "I'm fine, babe," Emily assured her boyfriend to help ease his mind for now.
The Salvatore vampire released a small breath of relief after knowing that the human girl was at least safe right now. However, the fact that his girlfriend was with the original vampire didn't exactly get rid of all of his worries, so he continued his questioning as he quickly asked, "where's Elijah?"
The human doppelganger glanced up from her Nike sneakers that she was using to kick the fall leaves and over to the original vampire across from her. Emily gave the original a small nod before she told her boyfriend, "he's with me."
"Where?" The Salvatore vampire hurriedly asked as he quickly stood up from the couch in the living room of the boarding house. "I'm on my way," Stefan told the human girl, without even knowing a location yet, as he couldn't just let his girlfriend stay with the original vampire any longer when he could hurt her or take her away from him.
Emily squeezed her green eyes shut as she hated not being able to make Stefan feel better but she just had to remember that she was doing this for him and everyone else who she loved. "I'm sorry," the Gilbert girl softly apologized before she told her boyfriend, "but this is something that I need to do alone."
"No, no, no," Stefan hurriedly uttered when he realized that the human girl wasn't going to tell her where she was with the original. "Listen to me," the Salvatore vampire commanded as he anxiously began to pace the living room in the boarding house before he quickly uttered to, hopefully, convince the human girl that this was a bad idea, "he can't be trusted. He'll use you to get to Klaus."
The Gilbert girl released a small sigh as she felt like she was having this conversation more than she should. "I know you guys don't trust him but I do, Stef," the human doppelganger told the Salvatore vampire like she had uttered many times before. Emily shook her head, even though she knew Stefan couldn't see her, before she softly murmured, "I need to work out some things and I can't do that with you or Lena breathing down my neck."
Emily hated being rude like that - especially when she loved how her twin sister and boyfriend cared about her - but she knew that it had to be done. The human girl wasn't just going to go back to the boarding house because they didn't like her plan. No one was stopping her when Klaus had already attacked one of her best friends.
"You can't do this alone, Emily," the Salvatore vampire told his girlfriend as he anxiously ran his fingers through his brunette hair. "Elijah is dangerous," Stefan continued as he tried to convince the human girl to just end this. The green eyed vampire released a heavy sigh as he tried to calm down before he stated in a soft voice, "something could happen to you, Emily, and I can't protect you if I don't know where you are."
The Gilbert girl turned her back on the original vampire when she could hear the raw emotion in Stefan's voice before she softly murmured, "I know." Emily briefly closed her green irises to get control of her emotions as she hated doing this to the Salvatore vampire before she told her boyfriend, "I can protect myself, Stef. I just need to talk with Elijah."
Emily released a small sigh when she heard the frustrated sounds of Stefan kicking something and loudly pacing before she softly promised, "I'll be home as soon as I'm finished." The Gilbert girl bit down on her bottom lip for a moment as she wanted to comfort her boyfriend but she knew that she needed to go, so she softly murmured and begged, "I love you and please make sure that Elena nor Damon tries to get in the middle of this." However, when Emily only could hear silence with a hint of heavy breathing, the human girl added as she needed Stefan to understand why she was doing this, "please, trust that I know what I'm doing."
The phone call between the human girl and the Salvatore vampire was silent for a minute or two before Stefan released a heavy sigh. "I don't like it but I do trust you," the green eyed vampire assured his girlfriend as he could hear the sadness in her last statement. Stefan anxiously ran his fingers through his hair from the fact that he couldn't do anything right now before he begged, "j-just call me if something goes wrong, alright? I love you so much, baby."
A soft smile pulled onto the Gilbert girl's lips when she heard Stefan say that he loved her - which helped her mood greatly - before she assured him, "I will." Emily then said a quick goodbye to her boyfriend before she ended the call. The human girl went to put her cell phone into her jacket pocket but paused when she noticed Elijah holding out his hand.
The Gilbert girl released a small sigh as she realized that the original vampire wanted her cell phone. Emily understood why, though, since she had three angry and protective vampires at home who would probably try to convince her to come back or yell at her for doing something this stupid, so the brunette girl decided to not argue with the original. Instead, Emily reached over and placed her cell phone into the palm of Elijah's hand.
The original vampire gave the human doppelganger a small nod to show his thanks before he placed the device into the pocket of his ruined suit - not the one with the empty blood bag. Elijah couldn't help but look down at his bloody and holey suit while he was doing so in disgust. The original silently shook his head before he glanced up to the human girl and inquired, "would you happen to know a tailor?"
Emily let out a small chuckle in amusement as she had seen the look of disgust on the original's face from the condition of his suit before she assured the vampire, "I'm sure Mrs. Lockwood has something." The Gilbert girl figured since the mayor was dead and Mrs. Lockwood would have some spare suits in the house - along with the fact that it was the perfect place to have a much needed chat with the original.
The human doppelganger nodded her head back towards Damon's blue Camaro before she turned around and headed to the drivers seat. The Gilbert girl waited until Elijah was in the passenger seat before she started up the vehicle and headed towards the Lockwood mansion. Emily aimlessly tapped her point finger against the steering wheel as she drove through the quiet town of Mystic Falls.
Emily wanted to continue their talk from earlier about Katherine before they had been interrupted by her cell phone but the human girl figured that the conversation could wait until they were at the Lockwood mansion as she knew it was going to be a long talk. So instead, the Gilbert girl took a quick glance over to Elijah before she informed him, "Klaus finally showed himself last night."
The original vampire slowly turned his head so he was looking at the side of the human doppelganger's face before he released a silent sigh. "So he's actually here?" Elijah questioned as he remembered how Emily mentioned that Klaus had tried to kill her best friend - the Bennett witch.
Emily nodded her head before she mumbled with a tone of bitterness in her voice, "yeah, he is." The Gilbert girl released a heavy sigh as she remembered what happened last night before she explained to the original about what happened, "we didn't know at first until he revealed himself while in Alaric's body."
Elijah released an emotionless chuckle before he commented with his own tone of bitterness, "of course he has." The original vampire stayed silent for a moment before he continued when he noticed the confused expression on the human doppelganger's face, "it was one of his favorite tricks."
The Gilbert girl remembered the time when the original vampire told her how he used to be in Klaus' inner circle so she inquired, "do you know what his next move is going to be, then?" Emily took another quick glance over to Elijah before she stated, "it seems like you are the only one around that knows anything about him."
The original vampire silently nodded his head and muttered as he affirmed what Emily thought, "yes, I do." Elijah released a heavy sigh as he recalled the past with the hybrid before he was swiftly pulled into an old memory and he began to describe how close he really was to Klaus to the human doppelganger.
ENGLAND 1492
The party was still in full swing as the vampire, Elijah, walked through all of the laughing and smiling human residents with the twin sisters, Katerina and Darina, along with the older woman, Maria, following closely behind like a protective angel. They were enjoying the festivities of the party as well before the younger twin grew curious about something. "So, where is this mysterious host I've heard so much about?" Katerina inquired as she glanced up to the tall man.
"Yes," Darina murmured as she was also curious like her sister was since they still haven't spotted the birthday man before she commented politely with her signature soft smile playing on her lips, "Trevor has spoke great things about Mr. Mystery."
The original vampire released a small chuckle before he told the two sisters, "fashionably late." Elijah leaned his body towards the green eyed human on his left before he whispered, "he likes to make an entrance." The original vampire then straightened up his body and tried to find the man of the hour before he finally spotted Klaus slowly walking down the large staircase. "Ah, there he is now," Elijah murmured as he pointed towards the hybrid.
The younger twin was the one who was most curious about the man of the party, so Katerina quickly searched around the room for someone that she hadn't seen before. However, before Katerina could finally spot the face of Klaus through the back of the room, she was surprised when she noticed a very attractive man standing in front of her.
Elijah quietly chuckled when he noticed the younger girl jump at the arrival of Klaus before he faced the three females beside her and began, "Darina, Katerina, Maria." The brown eyed vampire then pointed towards the guest of honor before he continued, "may I introduce you to Lord Niklaus."
The older sister was the first one to act when she had noticed the starstruck expression on Katerina's face as she took a step forward before she held onto her dress and curtsied. "It is nice to finally meet the gracious host," Darina politely uttered with one of her bright smiles adoring her lips.
Klaus nodded his head as he accepted the praise and gave the young human a small smile before he told Darina, "thank you for joining us this evening." The hybrid then quickly turned his attention onto the one that gained his affections the moment that he saw her - Katerina. The blue eyed man softly grabbed ahold of Katerina's hand and kissed the back of it before he exclaimed with a wide grin, "Niklaus is the name my father gave me. Please call me Klaus."
LOCKWOOD MANSION
It took only a couple of minutes after the original vampire's story about the small detail of how well he knew the hybrid before the human doppelganger pulled in front of the very large white house that is the Lockwood household. Emily and Elijah both silently exited out of the blue Camaro before they walked up the brick stairs. The human girl was the one who rang the doorbell before they patiently waited for the Lockwood woman to greet them.
The aforementioned woman happened to be close to the front door so it only took Carol a minute in a half to open the door. "Emily, darling," the Lockwood woman exclaimed when she noticed her son's best friend. Carol gave the young girl a bright smile before she murmured, "it's so good to see you." However, though, before the older woman could ask Emily what she was doing here this early in the morning, Carol finally noticed Elijah and his ruined clothes. "Oh, my!" Carol gasped before she asked in concern, "what happened?"
The original vampire glanced down at his suit with disgust, once again, before Elijah explained to the older woman in the simplest of forms, "I've had a bit of an incident, Carol." The honey brown eyed vampire gave the mayor a friendly smile before he murmured, "I'm hoping you could help."
The Lockwood woman shot the brunette man a small, apologetic smile as she did want to help him out but she was already running late when she should have left the house over five minutes ago. "I would love to," Carol began before she told Elijah, "but I'm on my way to a meeting, so I -"
However, though, before the Lockwood woman could even finish her sentence, the original vampire interrupted the mayor as he moved closer to the edge of the front door. Elijah gave the older woman friendly smile before he connected their eyes together and compelled Carol, "it won't take but a minute of your time."
The mayor of Mystic Falls immediately smiled brightly at the brunette man in front of her before she agreed in a murmur, thanks to the compulsion from the original vampire, "of course. Anything you need."
Elijah gave the older woman a polite smile when the mayor took a step back and allowed him and the human doppelganger to enter the Lockwood mansion before he murmured, "thank you." The original vampire followed after the woman until they were standing right by the staircase before Elijah uttered as he glanced down at his ruined suit, "well first things first. I'm going to need a change of clothing."
Carol silently nodded her head in understanding before she suggested, "well, we can try one of my husband's suits." The newest mayor pointed her right hand up towards the second layer of the large house as she commented, "I haven't had the chance to box them up yet."
The original vampire gave the Lockwood woman another smile as he commented in agreement, "wonderful."
"Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood," the human doppelganger quickly added as she showed her praise to her best friend's mother before she watched the mayor walk up the staircase. Emily waited until she couldn't see the brunette woman any longer before she turned her attention onto Elijah with a raised eyebrow. "You know you could have just asked," the green eyed girl stated before she teased, "I am the darling child after all."
The original vampire and the human doppelganger shared a quick chuckle together for a moment before the foyer of the Lockwood mansion grew silent. There was something else that Emily was curious about, so she twitched her head to the side before she inquired, "how did you know she wasn't on vervain?" The human girl shook her head with a low whistle before she murmured, "that could have backfired on you."
Elijah nodded his head in agreement before he explained, "it could have but I got her off it." The original vampire paused as he shot Emily a small smirk before he continued, "right before your bodyguards killed me. Twice." Elijah gave the frozen girl a small, amused smile and murmured, "now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be down in a moment," before the original vampire headed upstairs to finally get out of his ruined suit.
The Gilbert girl shook her head with a heavy sigh once the original vampire was out of sight. Emily did feel bad about having killed Elijah when she had always believed that he could help her but there had been no way around it when her family and friends were all against the idea of Elijah helping. However, Emily knew there wasn't anything that she could do now, so she decided to busy herself as she waited for Elijah.
The human doppelganger glanced around the empty Lockwood mansion for a moment from her stance by the stairs before Emily headed into the kitchen. I need my morning coffee, Emily thought since she didn't have the chance to have any this morning. The human girl immediately smiled happily when she saw there was still some in the coffee machine, so she quickly poured her a glass with a plain white mug before she mixed in a bit of sugar and milk.
Emily took a large gulp of the heavenly mixture before she released sigh of relief now that she had some caffeine in her system. "That's the spot," the human girl murmured to herself after she took another gulp of the warm coffee before she slowly made her way back towards the staircase. However, though, when Emily passed the living room, she couldn't help but notice a decanter of bourbon sitting on the small table by the couch.
The Gilbert girl glanced up to the staircase for a second but when she didn't hear anyone coming, Emily grabbed the decanter before she poured a little bit of the bourbon into her coffee. "I'm probably going to need it," the human doppelganger mumbled as she could only imagine what she and Elijah would need to talk about.
Emily released a heavy sigh as she walked over to a large window that overlooked the famous Lockwood rose garden with the thought of everything that has happened lately and will happen. The human girl felt like she was just mentally exhausted times a trillion after what happened last night with Bonnie. The last thing she wanted was someone to get hurt because Klaus wanted her. That was the main reason why she woke Elijah up from his temporarily death. Emily couldn't stand the thought of someone who she cares about getting injured. It absolutely crushes her soul to know that Klaus was only doing that to get to her, so Emily knew her last chance in protecting her loved ones was Elijah from what she read from Katherine.
The human doppelganger's running and anxious thoughts were soon interrupted when she heard a pair of shoes lightly hitting the wooden staircase of the Lockwood mansion. Emily swiftly turned away from the rose garden when she heard the arrival of someone before she lightly smiled when she saw it was the original vampire. The Gilbert girl silently crossed the living room until she was standing in front of the now well dressed vampire before she complimented, "you look very Elijah-like."
The aforementioned original vampire let out a small chuckle as he stared down into Emily's green eyes with a slight smile pulling on his lips before he murmured in amusement, "thank you." Elijah then swiftly grew serious before the human girl could even blink as he moved towards the couch in the living room and took a guess as he uttered, "I assume that the Martin witches are no longer with us."
Emily shook her head as she settled herself onto a leather chair across from the original vampire before she mumbled, "nope." The human girl placed her warm concoction of coffee and bourbon onto her left knee before she explained with a emotionless chuckle, "papa Martin sorta went crazy and tried to kill me after he realized you weren't around anymore."
The original vampire nodded his head once as he murmured, "ah." Elijah figured something like that would have happened once he disappeared thanks to his unfortunate death since Jonas had only ever talked about getting his daughter back. "And how about Katerina?" The original vampire continued after a moment as he tried to figure out all what happened after his death, "she would have been released from my compulsion when I died."
The Gilbert girl bit down on her bottom lip before she stated, "Klaus has her." Emily lightly shrugged her shoulders as she remembered what the doppelganger had written in the letter about how she didn't know if they would ever see each other again now that Klaus has her before she commented, "but I think she may be dead."
Elijah let a half smirk lift onto his lips as he murmured, "I doubt that." The original vampire slightly shook his head as he explained, "not Klaus' style." Elijah leaned back onto the couch before he added when he noticed the confused expression on the human doppelganger's face, "death would be too easy for Katerina after what she did."
Emily couldn't help but furrow her brows as she stared across at the original vampire. "Why go through all the trouble of punishing Katherine when you're real focus has always been about killing Klaus?" The human doppelganger curiously inquired. Emily would think that the whole Katherine problem would be a small achievement verses getting rid of the dangerous hybrid.
"I have my own reasons for wanting Katerina to pay," the original vampire stated with a hint of anger shining throughout his honey brown eyes and his voice. Elijah then cleared his throat to get rid of the pain and anger he felt towards Katherine from what happened back then before he softly murmured as he was pulled into another old memory, "there was a time... I'd have done anything for Klaus."
ENGLAND 1492
The party was still in full swing for the guest of honor; Lord Niklaus. However, the birthday man was currently occupied with the newest arrivals in England; Darina, Maria, and most importantly - Katerina. The three women and the two original vampires were slowly strolling through the roaring party before Klaus glanced down to the woman beside him before he inquired, "from where have you and your sister come, Katerina?"
The youngest twin couldn't help the small blush that rose onto her cheeks from the attractive man beside her. Katerina had never really got much attention from men when she was growing up in her homeland, so she was quite nervous around Klaus. The brown eyed girl took a quick glance over to her sister for help but when Darina nodded her head to tell her to speak, Katerina stuttered out, "w-we're new to town, my lord."
Darina, the always protective sister, squeezed Katerina's hand before she shot the guest of honor a polite smile. "We came from Bulgaria, my lord," the oldest twin murmured as she helped out her sister. Darina knew that they needed to keep a solid story for coming to England since Katerina was disowned by their father for having a child. Darina wanted to keep her younger twin safe and help her start her new life, so she would gladly answer every question in the world for Katerina.
The brown eyed original vampire couldn't help but want to speak directly to the oldest sister since the moment he saw her, so Elijah settled his gaze onto Darina before he commented with a soft smile playing on his lips, "your homeland is quite beautiful if I do say myself."
Darina's attention was quickly switched onto the original vampire on her left side instead of on her sister as a bright smile immediately pulled onto her lips at the compliment about her homeland. "Thank you, Elijah," the green eyed girl gently murmured. Darina took great pride in her home of Bulgaria, so it touched her very much to hear someone compliment her homeland.
While the oldest twin sister and the brown eyed original vampire continued to gaze at one another with smiles shining across their faces, the hybrid shot the younger girl a slight smirk as he planned his surprise. Klaus took a step closer to the young girl before he murmured in her mother tongue, "zdravei, Katerina."
The younger twin was instantly surprised, in the greatest way, when she heard the familiar and smooth sound of the language from Bulgaria. It also surprised Katerina how much she missed hearing it - other than when she, Maria, and her sister spoke to each other in private. Katerina found happiness when hearing it come from Klaus' mouth as she released a very cheerful giggle as she stared across at the attractive man before she softly complimented, "very good."
The hybrid grinned right across at the smiling younger girl when she finally opened up from her shy self. Klaus continued to stare at the human for a minute or two with the same smile shining across their faces before Klaus turned his attention onto Elijah and Darina. "Do you mind brother?" Klaus inquired before he asked the older sister, "would you mind if I stole a moment of your sister's time?"
While the oldest Petrova girl shook her head and shot her twin a small smile as Darina wanted her sister to feel a sense of normalcy again after losing her child, the brown eyed original vampire told his brother as he shook his head, "no, not at all." Elijah glanced down at the girl beside him, the older sister, before he softly murmured, "I think I will have something that will hold all of my attention." The original vampire kept his gaze locked onto Darina as they continued to smile at one another before he murmured to the hybrid, "happy birthday, brother."
LOCKWOOD MANSION
The original vampire had watched and waited for the human doppelganger to speak after he had explained why he would do anything for Klaus. However, though, when a whole three minutes had passed and the Gilbert girl still hadn't spoke, Elijah lightly cleared his throat before he stated a small amused smile playing on his lips, "Klaus is my brother."
Emily looked over to the original vampire instead of gazing into her now empty coffee and bourbon mug before she mumbled, "oh, I heard you." The brunette girl shook her head in disbelief as she tried to wrap her mind around what Elijah had just told her before she simply muttered, "holy crap." The thought of Elijah and Klaus being siblings had just never crossed Emily's mind.
Emily felt like everything that they thought they knew about Klaus was not even close to being right. She honestly didn't know which way was up at this point, so the human girl figured she would start at the beginning and work her way up until things started to make sense again. Emily stayed silent for a couple of minutes as she tried to remember all of what Rose and Katherine had told her before the Gilbert girl uttered with a raised eyebrow, "I'm guessing the originals aren't just a special group of vampires. It's a family of originals, right?"
The original vampire gave the human girl a small smile as he nodded his head and murmured, "nicely deduced." Elijah slowly stood up from the couch and walked over to a mirror with a gold trimming surrounding it before he fixed his suit while he explained to the human doppelganger, "my father was a wealthy land owner in a village in Eastern Europe. Our mother bore seven children."
The Gilbert girl placed her empty mug down onto the coffee table in front of her before she swiftly stood up from the leather chair. Emily felt like she was hanging by a leaf as she tried to understand the information Elijah was telling her. "I know normal vampires are all humans once upon of time," the Gilbert girl commented before she inquired, "but is that the same for originals? Was your family human at some point?"
Elijah slowly turned his body around once he was pleased with his suit before he faced the human girl with a small nod of his head. "Our whole family was," the original vampire affirmed what the human girl thought. Elijah released a small sigh at the thought of the history of his family before he stated, "our origin as vampires is a very long story, Emily. But the one thing you need to know is that we are the oldest vampires in the world. We are the original family and from us, all vampires were created."
Emily silently nodded her head in understanding as she remembered Rose mentioning that once upon of time. However, the one thing that the human girl still couldn't wrap her head around was the fact about why Elijah would want to kill the hybrid. Emily couldn't even imagine coming up with a plan to kill Elena or Jeremy. They are her life and it will kill her to do that, so Emily guessed that something bad happened between Klaus and Elijah. "What did Klaus do for you to hate him this badly to want to end his life?" The human doppelganger inquired as she just still didn't understand that aspect after learning that they are brothers.
"Klaus has done many horrible things in our lifetime," Elijah began in a low murmur before he uttered with zero emotion in his voice, "but he crossed the line when he killed the love of my life." The original vampire briefly stared into Emily's bright green eyes that reminded him so much of Darina's before he quickly cleared his throat and moved on away from the subject that he hated speaking about. "Anyways, so as you've seen, nothing call kill an original," Elijah stated as he slowly walked around the living room.
Emily so wanted to go back onto the topic of Darina since she knew that was who Elijah was talking about but she knew this wasn't the time - at least not right now. The Gilbert girl decided that her relationship with the original and the doppelganger connection could wait until she actually learned about how Elijah was going to be able to help. So, instead of asking anything about Darina, the human doppelganger nodded her head to let Elijah know that she was following along.
"Not sun, not fire, not even a werewolf bite can kill us," Elijah continued with this story as he tried to not think about Darina. The original vampire continued to slowly walk around the Lockwood mansion with Emily beside him before he stated, "there is only the wood from one tree that could hurt us. A tree my family made sure burned."
"The white ash from the dagger comes from that tree, right?" The human doppelganger curiously inquired as she glanced up into Elijah's honey brown irises. Emily didn't really know all that much about the dagger and ash - besides what she shortly read in Johnathan Gilbert's journal at the lake house. Emily only knew about what happened in the eighteen hundreds - not when the dagger was invented before all the other vampires.
"Yes," Elijah, once again, affirmed what the human girl thought. The original vampire shook his head as he explained why there was something to kill an original to begin with, "the witches wouldn't allow anything truly immortal to walk the Earth. Every creature needs to have a weakness in order to maintain the balance."
"That makes sense," Emily mumbled, mostly to herself, as she knew witches are all about keeping order to the Earth from what she had seen from Bonnie and briefly from Grams. However, though, the thought of witches immediately reminded the human girl about what she had brought with her, so she quickly walked back towards the couch - where she had left her black purse. "Speaking of witches," Emily murmured to the now curious original before she pulled out the lilac envelope and handed it over to Elijah.
Emily waited until the original vampire pulled out the letter from the envelope and began to read it before she stated as she anxiously crossed her arms over her chest, "Katherine mentioned that Maria Radkova has a way to help me and that you are one of the few people who know about the plan." Emily was praying right now that Elijah knew what the hell that she was talking about or everything would be screwed.
Elijah scanned his brown eyes over the short letter before he silently nodded his head. "I do indeed know what Maria had planned out," the original vampire told Emily once he handed over the letter from the Petrova doppelganger. "Maria called to me about sixty or so years after that party when I introduced Klaus to the Petrova twins," Elijah stated before he was immediately pulled into that very memory.
BULGARIA 1552
The original vampire slowly glanced around him in confusion as he stood in the middle of the woods. Elijah only remembered going to his room in France when suddenly he appeared in the middle of nowhere. Elijah knew it had to be some witch wanting his attention, so the original vampire curiously followed a trail of rocks along with the sound of someone coughing.
It took Elijah only a few short minutes until he found himself in front of a small and old cottage. The original vampire used is supernatural hearing but when he only heard one, unsteady, heartbeat, Elijah slowly pushed himself into the cottage. Elijah had pictured many things - an angry witch from his past, or even a trap waiting for him - however what he saw was something he did not expect - a very ill Maria Radkova lying on her deathbed.
"Maria," the original vampire quietly murmured as he slowly moved further into the cottage. Elijah glanced around the small building with confusion shining throughout his honey brown eyes as he still didn't understand what was going on before he asked the woman, "what am I doing here?"
The old woman in her early eighties gave the original vampire a slight smile from seeing a familiar face from her prime years before she quietly murmured through her chapped lips, "I called because..." However, though, before Maria could even finish a sentence, she was overcome by a heavy cough. The old woman took her time as she tried to gain her breathing before she told the original vampire, "I have a favor I need from you."
Elijah continued to look at the old woman with confusion still shining all over his face - even after Maria had spoken. The original vampire didn't understand why the Radkova witch had called for him after everything that had happened back in the fourteen hundreds. Maria had swore that she would find a way to kill him and Klaus if she ever saw them again after the death of Darina. However, before Elijah could even ask about the favor, the old woman interrupted him when she pointed towards something.
Maria waited until the original vampire's brown irises could see through her dark cottage while she continued to shakily point at a small glass vial that held a goldish colored substance. "That is my powers," the old woman told Elijah once she knew that the original vampire was staring at what she was pointing towards.
Elijah swiftly turned his head back towards the old woman when he heard what was inside of the vial. "Why are you giving them up?" The original vampire inquired with his brows deeply furrowed. Elijah had only heard of a few instances where a witch would have their powers removed but it was usually when they betrayed their coven.
Maria gave the original vampire a smile filled of sadness and equally amount of happiness before she murmured, "I made a promise to Darina over sixty years ago to protect her and I failed." The old woman shook her head before she changed her statement, "we failed to keep her alive." Maria briefly closed her brown eyes when she could feel pain enter her bones before she told the original vampire, "one of the last spells I did, though, was speak to Darina on the other side and this was her one wish. She wants her future doppelganger to be safe from Klaus."
The ill woman glanced over to the vial as she murmured, "and the only way I can actually fulfill that promise is by giving up my powers to the next doppelganger." Maria slowly moved her brown irises back to Elijah before she lightly shrugged her shoulders and explained why she was doing this, "I'm dying as you could tell. I only have a few months left and I want to spend the rest of my days with my grandchildren."
Elijah slowly nodded his head in understanding as he took in the Radkova witch's words before he grew curious. "Do you know when the next doppelganger will appear?" The original vampire inquired. Elijah had only met one other doppelganger - Tatia - but he wasn't sure if there was a rule book in when a certain doppelganger would appear again.
The ill woman shook her head with a scratchy and deep sigh before she muttered, "I've been too weak for too long so I couldn't see when the next doppelganger would show." Maria then shot the original vampire a small smile before she continued in a soft voice, "but I trust that you will do what I'm requesting when the time comes - for Darina."
The original vampire briefly glanced away from the ill woman when she mentioned Darina. It was still fresh in Elijah's mind - despite it had been over sixty years since her death. Elijah still loved and cared deeply for the deceased girl, so it still affected him by hearing about her. However, Elijah knew he couldn't think about Darina too much right now and get lost in their happy memories together, so he cleared his throat and looked back over to Maria before he inquired as he focused on why he was here, "how do you know the doppelganger will live?"
The ill woman carefully moved her body so she was more comfortable on her small cot with her frail back leaning against the wall before she began, "the Radkova witches - or you may know us as the Protectors of the Innocence - were one of the first witches and one of the strongest to exist."
Elijah nodded his head as he remembered hearing that name centuries ago. "My mother used to tell my siblings and I the stories of the Protectors of the Innocence," the original vampire commented before he curiously wondered, "were the Protectors of the Innocence apart of their own coven or was it just the Radkova's?" Elijah never really knew the true origin of the Protectors of the Innocence since his mother liked to use darker magic when he was growing up.
"The Radkova coven, my ancestors, came up with the idea of the Protectors of the Innocence when they realized there were other creatures in the night," Maria began the story of how the Protectors of the Innocence became to exist. "My mother used to tell me this story when I was a little girl," the ill woman stated before she lightly shook her head and mumbled, "my mind isn't as strong as it used to be but if my memory serves me right, the story was about a small child that was attacked by a werewolf in our village. The Radkova coven felt helpless with the powers that they had and they felt like they needed to do something."
"My ancestors looked through all of their journals and grimoires before they finally found the location of their powers," Maria continued with the story of the Protectors of the Innocence. "Once they found the location, my ancestors visited the village of Душите на Земята - where they learnt everything there was to know about being a witch," the ill woman explained, "the Radkova coven spent three years in the village until they knew every spell and unlocked powers that witches could only dream about having."
"After my ancestors mastered the true form of a witch, they began to travel the world to different covens that would listen and taught them that witches didn't have to stand for something evil," Maria uttered as she explained what happened after her ancestors had trained with the masters of magic, "my ancestors made sure to explain that witches were made to be a safe haven for the people of Earth, so they taught all the covens that they could about their way and trained the ones that believed in their cause to gain powers that no other witch has ever seen before to be able to protect the innocent and keep the Earth balanced."
The original vampire couldn't help but to stand in the middle of the cottage with a surprised expression. Elijah had only known that the Protectors of the Innocence were witches that had more powers than a normal witch and much more stronger. He had never known about how they became to exist so it was quite amazing to hear it from someone that was in the coven that built up the Protectors of the Innocence.
Elijah, however, did know that there wasn't a lot of Protectors of the Innocence left alive - thanks to his brother. The brown eyed original remembered right after Darina had died that Klaus sent a message through the supernatural community to get rid of all of the Protectors of the Innocence so what Maria did for Darina could never happen again and stop him from getting rid of his hybrid curse.
"You mentioned I would be able to help the new Petrova doppelganger," Elijah stated once he got out of his thoughts before he curiously inquired as he focused back on the reason why he was in front of the ill woman, "how will I be able to help?"
Maria pointed back over to the vial as she explained, "the doppelganger will have to drink that to get my witch powers." The ill woman then raised one of fragile fingers as she uttered, "but for the powers to be activated, the doppelganger will have to die within twenty-four hours of drinking it for the powers to be transferred over." Maria lightly shrugged her shoulders before she suggested, "I believe the sacrifice would be the perfect time to give the doppelganger the vial."
Elijah silently nodded his head as he absorbed the information about how he was supposed to help the future doppelganger. "So, Klaus will think that the sacrifice actually worked with the doppelganger dead?" The original vampire inquired as he made sure that he was understanding the plan as he didn't want to disappoint Darina when he couldn't even keep her alive.
"Correct," Maria murmured as she affirmed what the original vampire thought. "Klaus will be long gone by the time the doppelganger wakes," the ill woman explained before she stated, "and when she does wake, she will be the new Radkova witch."
The original vampire stared across at the confident but ill woman as he mentally swore that he was not going to fail. Elijah wanted to at least do something for Darina since he didn't have the chance to protect her sixty years ago. The original vampire made a silent promise to the love of his life that he would do everything he could to protect her doppelganger before Elijah gave the ill woman a strong nod and asked with complete determination, "what do you need me to do?"
LOCKWOOD MANSION
"Holy shit," was the only thing that the Gilbert girl could think of to say after she listened to the original vampire's tale. Emily honestly couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that Maria Radkova's way of helping her was to turn her into a witch. That was the last thing on Earth the human girl was expecting. Emily didn't even know how she was supposed to feel or act, so she could only quietly mumble, "wow. A witch."
Elijah silently nodded his head as he let the human girl absorb all of the information that he gave her about Maria's plan to save her. "I know it is a lot to take in but it will work," the original vampire assured the human doppelganger as he could practically see the anxiety running through her mind.
Emily released a humorless chuckle and shook her head as she still tried to understand what the hell was happening right now. The human girl didn't even know how this would all work since she never heard a witch transferring her powers to someone else, so Emily did what she does best and began her interrogation. "How would this go?" Emily inquired with her brows furrowed together, "wouldn't Maria still have to be living to do this?"
Elijah shook his head before he explained what Maria had told them all those years ago, "like I mentioned, Maria gave me the vial that holds her witch powers." The original vampire lightly shrugged his shoulders as he commented, "it's pretty straight forward. You just need to drink the vial within twenty-four hours of the full moon and you'll proceed with the sacrifice like planned."
"Klaus won't be able to tell that something's different about me?" The Gilbert girl inquired as she wanted to make sure that while she was finding a way to keep herself alive that her family and friends would still be safe from Klaus' wrath if something were to go wrong with this plan.
"You will still be human during the whole sacrifice up until Klaus kills you," the honey brown eyed original explained like Maria had told him. "If I know my brother as well as I do, he will be itching to kill once his curse has been lifted and he won't bother checking on you," Elijah uttered as he gave the worried human girl an assuring smile. Elijah had thought of every possibility there could be for something to go wrong and he always had a backup plan for each scenario. He was not going to fail this time around.
Emily slowly nodded her head while she bit down on her bottom lip. The human doppelganger couldn't help but to be still nervous about all of this, though. Emily trusted the original vampire but she was nervous that Klaus could unravel their plan like he did with Darina. "Are you sure Klaus won't figure it out again?" The Gilbert girl inquired as she just needed to be sure.
Elijah gave the human doppelganger a small smile along with a soft chuckle. The original vampire could tell that Emily was still anxious about the plan, so Elijah stood up from the couch and moved to sit on the coffee table in front of the human girl. Elijah lightly placed his hand onto Emily's legging-clad knee and gave it a squeeze before he assured her, "I made a mistake in the past when it came to protecting the Petrova doppelganger, but I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you." Elijah slowly brought his fingers to the human girl's chin and gently rubbed the side of her face before he whispered, "I will make sure you make it out alive if it is the last thing I ever do."
Emily stared directly into the original vampire's honey brown eyes that were completely sincere before she softly murmured, "I trust you." The Gilbert girl knew that it was only because of the doppelganger connection that she had but Emily really did believe that Elijah would get her through the sacrifice.
Emily also knew this would be her only chance to learn about the doppelganger connection now that it was on her mind and from the fact that the original vampire was actually giving her answers instead of brushing them off, so the human girl opened her mouth and began, "you mentioned one time that you would explain it all but what is this doppelganger connection all abou-"
However, though, before the human doppelganger could complete her sentence, she was soon interrupted when she heard her cell phone loudly vibrating in Elijah's jacket pocket now that they were so close together. "Your phone will not stop its incessant buzzing," Elijah mumbled as he reached into his clean navy blue suit pocket and pulled out the human girl's device. The original vampire pushed his hand towards Emily as he told her, "answer it before I end up breaking it."
Emily released a small chuckle for the first time all morning as she accepted the cell phone. "I'll make it quick," the Gilbert girl promised as she didn't want to stop talking when she was finally getting answers. Emily glanced down at her device to see who was calling her as she slowly stood up from the leather chair before she immediately furrowed her brows when she saw it was her twin sister. Emily was concerned that it was Elena calling since she figured Stefan would have told her twin that she needed time with Elijah without them bothering her.
Emily quickly accepted the call as she walked towards the window that overlooked the rose garden before she brought her cell phone to her and hurriedly questioned, "Lena, is everything okay?"
"I-It's Jenna," the Gilbert vampire mumbled as she felt her undead heart practically jumping out of her chest.
"Wait, what?" Emily quickly asked in confusion as she didn't understand what was going on. "Elena, what happened?" The human girl continued to ask as her anxiety skyrocketed as the seconds ticked by.
"It was Klaus," the Gilbert vampire hurriedly told her twin sister in a panicking voice. "He showed up at the house in Ric's body," Elena explained before she mumbled, "he told Jenna about everything." The brunette supernatural being shook her head as she anxiously ran her fingers through her thin, long hair before she continued, "I-I don't know what to do, Emmie. I-I don't know how to help Jenna. I'm not like you."
"Hey, hey, hey," the human doppelganger cooed to her twin sister before she softly murmured, "I need you to take a deep breath." Emily knew her twin was freaking out right now with everything going on with the sacrifice and now Jenna - hell, Emily was full on about to have a panic attack at the thought of Klaus targeting another one of her loved ones but she knew that she needed to be strong for people like her sister.
The Gilbert girl waited until she didn't hear Elena's fast breathing before she softly murmured, "I'm already on my way. We'll handle this and we'll get Jenna to understand, alright?" Emily waited until she heard her twin sister mumble a quiet okay before she told Elena, "just make sure Jenna is calm and we'll talk her through it all, I promise."
The human doppelganger released a small sigh when she ended the call and placed her cell phone into her leather jacket. If it's not one thing, it's another, Emily thought bitterly. The Gilbert girl just felt like everything was just piling up one another and made Emily worry for everyone around her. Emily knew Maria's plan would either work or it wouldn't - and she didn't mind which one - but it pained her to know Klaus was targeting her loved ones.
"Is everything alright?" The original vampire inquired as he stared at the practically shaking back of the human doppelganger for about three whole minutes of silence. Elijah had been kind enough to not use his supernatural hearing to give Emily some privacy but now he wished he had.
Emily took a silent deep breath as she bit down on her bottom lip to hold in her emotions before she slowly turned around and faced the original - who was standing directly in front of her. "Klaus went after someone else," the human girl mumbled before she murmured the name of the person who was now caught in the cross hairs, "Jenna." The Gilbert girl shook her head with an exhausted expression covering her face before she told Elijah with an emotionless chuckle, "I need to go handle your brother's mess."
Elijah quickly followed after the human doppelganger as she grabbed her black purse and headed for the front door of the Lockwood mansion. "I can't promise I will be here when you get back if you leave," the original vampire told Emily as he followed closely behind the human girl.
"Please, Elijah," the Gilbert girl mumbled as she turned around and faced the original vampire after she had opened the large wooden door. Emily released a heavy sigh before she stated, "Jenna is one of the most important people in my life. I need to make sure she is okay." The human doppelganger anxiously looked into Elijah's honey brown eyes before she added to hopefully convince the original that she wasn't bailing on him, "I will be back, I promise. We still have a lot to discuss about Maria's plan and don't think I forgot about this connection that you still need to explain."
The original vampire released a small chuckle at the always curious human doppelganger before he slowly nodded his head. "Alright," Elijah murmured in agreement before he stated, "we will continue this conversation when you get back."
The Gilbert girl immediately released a sigh of relief when the original vampire agreed to still be here when she got back. Emily unconsciously reached across and gave Elijah's hand a tight squeeze before she whispered with complete honesty, "thank you, Elijah." The human doppelganger gave the original a small smile as she gave his hand one last squeeze before she swiftly turned around and headed down the stairs of the Lockwood estate.
Emily hurriedly started up Damon's blue Camaro as quickly as she could before she swiftly headed down the road towards the boarding house with her mind filled with so many thoughts that Emily felt like her head was going to explode. It was a lot for the human girl to accept and comprehend.
The whole thing about her being the next Radkova witch was just crazy to even think about. Emily has never even thought about becoming something other than human - even while she's been with her vampire boyfriend. It was a lot to take in right now for the Gilbert girl - especially when she didn't exactly have a choice if she wanted to live through the sacrifice. Emily knew there was always the vampire route but she just couldn't picture herself living that life. Emily didn't think that she would be happy as a vampire.
The human doppelganger knew that the only choice that would make sense for her would be the witch one. However, just the thought I becoming a witch caused Emily's mind turn into scrambled eggs. Emily didn't have a problem with witches. It was just a lot to take in when it never occurred to her that this was how Katherine had tried to help. Emily honestly couldn't even wrap her head around becoming a witch with everything else going on.
The whole ordeal that recently happened with her aunt Jenna and the dangerous hybrid took up most of Emily's thoughts that weren't occupied with turning into a witch. Emily knew that Klaus didn't actually hurt her aunt - Elena would have definitely called her crying - so she knew it wasn't injury-worth serious. The Gilbert girl was still worried, though. The fact that Klaus had told Jenna about vampires was definitely a problem that they didn't need right now.
Emily hated herself that she couldn't be there for her aunt, someone who was like her best friend, when she found out. The human girl could only imagine how stressed and scared Jenna had to be after knowing the existence of vampires - especially when her niece is one. Emily just hoped as she drove towards the Salvatore boarding house that she and Elena could get their aunt to understand what was happening in their not so normal hometown.
The thought of protecting Jenna and making sure that she was safe from Klaus was honestly the only thing on the human doppelganger's mind. Emily knew that she should probably be thinking about Maria's plan and what will happen when she turns into a witch, but Emily only cared about making sure that her aunt was going to be okay. Emily just couldn't find it in herself to be selfish right now with her problems and the sacrifice like Katherine told her to do in the letter when her loved ones are in the middle with a dangerous hybrid.
