EDITED OCT22
Brea trudged up the stairs to Ric's apartment and knocked on the door. She heard a lot of movement from in the apartment before the door creaked open slightly. "You ok, Ric?" Brea asked trying to peek behind him.
Ric just stared at her before his face slowly lifted into a smile. "Hello sweetheart," he greeted and Brea frowned confused.
"Feeling alright there Ric?" she asked and his face immediately fell.
"Yes," he coughed. "How can I help you?"
"You asked me yesterday to come over in the morning," she said and he just stared at her confused. "Remember?"
"Ah, yes. Now what was that about again Brenna?" he asked.
Brea looked down at the ground at this, he only called her Brenna when she was annoying him. "Um, sorry, you ugh. You wanted to load up my trunk with all the papers you marked, you know, since yours is so full of wooden stakes it won't fit."
"Ah yes, that's right. Now do you know where I'd keep those papers?" he asked.
Brea frowned and tilted her head, unsure of why he was acting strangely. "Kitchen bench. You know if you're not feeling well I can just grab them and leave them on your desk," she said trying to move around him into the apartment, but he stuck his arm in the way preventing her from entering.
Ric then turned to look back into his apartment and let out a little groan. "You just meet me downstairs alright love, I'll grab the papers," he said quickly before closing the door causing her to jump slightly.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," she grumbled making her way down the stairs to her car.
"Alright here are the papers," Ric said finally arriving at the car.
"Seriously?" she asked looking at the pile. "That's nothing, you can fit that on your passenger seat!" she exclaimed and all he did was shrug. "You must've wanted to talk to me about something, this is ridiculous. Is it about Jenna?"
"No need to be grumpy love."
"Stop those weird names!" Brea snapped.
Ric just smirked. "As you wish Brenna," he said making her frown again.
"Just give them here," Brea said taking the pile from Ric and putting it in her passenger seat. "I'll see you in class," she said driving off without looking back at him.
"Hey," Brea greeted Elena and Stefan as she entered history class, dropping the papers on Ric's desk as she walked in.
"Hey," the said back.
"Have either of you spoken to Ric today?" she asked.
"No," Elena answered. "Why?"
"I think he's mad at me. He asked me yesterday before he left ours to pop over in the morning and then when I got there he kept calling me Brenna."
"Wow, what did you do?" Elena asked and Brea just shrugged.
"Oh!" Brea exclaimed, grabbing a flyer for the decade dance from a student walking past, she turned to Elena and nodded before handing her sister the flyer. Elena gasped excitedly before waving it at Stefan, who immediately shook his head. Elena then turned to show Bonnie the flyer. Bonnie immediately nodded. Brea snickered and Elena turned to smirk at Stefan.
"Hello, class," Ric said entering the classroom. "What are we learning today?" he asked flicking through the textbook. Elena and Brea turned to look at each other and Brea shrugged as Elena tilted her head at Ric's behaviour.
"With the decade dance we've been covering the '60s all week," Dana answered from the front.
"Right, the '60s," Ric said before he started staring at Elena.
When he eventually looked away Brea leant over. "Maybe he's mad at you?"
"Huh?" Elena asked.
"He was staring at you."
"He was?" Elena asked causing Brea to groan and sit back in her chair.
"The, uh, the '60s," Ric said as he kept turning his head from the blackboard to Brea.
"I think it's you he's mad at," Elena whispered in her ear and Brea just rolled her eyes.
"I wish there was something good I could say about the '60s, right Brenna?" he asked smirking at her, making her frown, confused. "But, actually they kind of sucked. Except for the Beatles of course. They made it bearable. Uh, what else was there? The Cuban missile thing, the, uh, we walked on the moon. There was Watergate."
"Watergate was the '70s, Ric," Elena interrupted and the whole class turned to stare at her. "I mean, Mr Saltzman," she stuttered.
"Right. It kind of mushes together up there, the '60s, '70s. Thank you, Elena."
Brea leant forward in her seat again and snorted in Elena's ear, "well now he's mad at you, know-it-all," she snickered leaning back causing Elena to turn back to face her mouth wide in amusement.
"Oi! Gilbert!" Brea called as she and Elena arrived at Jeremy and Bonnie's table. "You've got some serious explaining to do punk."
"What'd I do?" he asked.
"Hey, Jer. How are you doing?" Elena asked. "Are you ok? Alone at the house with John and Brea?"
"That's not alone," Brea said confused but was ignored.
"It's not ideal," he answered not even looking at them.
"Hey!" Brea said offended. "You know it'd be better if you actually hung around in the morning instead of running off. You weren't meant to come to Ric's with me this morning, but I get up and you're already gone. What's up with that bro?" she asked annoyed.
"You haven't heard from Jenna have you?" Elena asked before her siblings could start an argument.
"It looks like she's staying on campus. Look, I'm, uh… I'm late for class," he said before sulking off.
Elena sat down and asked Bonnie "what's going on?"
"I'll tell you what's going on, that kid didn't answer me. You know, when I cook tonight I'm going to put extra chilli in his bowl," Brea scowled sitting down next to her sister.
"You don't cook," Elena said turning to look at her.
"Well extra chilli in his takeout then," Brea said dropping her fork on the tray in irritation.
"Ok…" Bonnie said before answering Elena's question. "I told him he had to dress up tonight and he got all uptight."
"Jer's coming?" Brea asked with a mouthful of food and Bonnie nodded. "Oh, I have a flower crown that would go very nicely on his head."
"Do you reckon flower crowns are the '60s or '70s?" Elena asked.
Brea shrugged. "Tie-dye top?"
"Yeah, that's the '60s," Elena nodded.
"On it," Brea smirked.
"Hey, Brea, there you are," Dana said coming up to the table. "Okay. This is gonna sound freaky."
"Oh, do tell," Brea said leaning forward.
"This totally hot guy just asked me to ask you if you're going to the dance tonight."
"She is!" both Bonnie and Elena sang making Brea glare at them both.
"I don't know Dana…"
"You could at least meet him," Dana pleaded. "He'll be at the dance tonight. Look for him. His name is Klaus." At this, all three girls at the table sat up straight.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Elena asked shocked.
"His name's Klaus," Dana repeated confused. "I know the name's stupid Brea, but I swear he's hot."
"Where is he?" Bonnie asked looking around. "Is he here?"
Dana's face then turned to one of confusion. "I don't know."
"She's been compelled," Bonnie realised as Brea turned to look at Elena, fear for her sister fear in her eyes.
"He wants to know if you'll save him the last dance. How cute is that?"
"Tell him no way in hell," Brea snapped. "Sorry, bye Dana," she said before looking at Elena and Bonnie. "We got to go."
"So we go to the dance and find him," Damon said as they stood in the parlour of the Salvatore House discussing what just happened.
"How are we going to do that? We don't know what he looks like," Stefan said.
"Something tells me, he's not going to be 16 and pimply," Damon said before looking at Brea with soft eyes. "Anything Brenna?"
"I'm sorry. I have nothing," she said looking down still freaked out from earlier.
"That's alright," he said kindly.
"He could be anywhere at any time. He compelled somebody at school," Stefan said. "This is not as safe as you guys thought, huh?" he said to Elena and Bonnie.
A knock then sounded on the door and Ric entered. "There you are," Damon said greeting him.
"Sorry I'm late," Ric said coming to stand right beside Brea. "Hey," he greeted her.
"Hey, I need you to put me down as a chaperone at the dance tonight," Damon interrupted. "Klaus made his first move."
"Okay, so we find him and then what? Hmm? What's our plan of attack?" Elena asked.
"Me," Bonnie answered. "I'm the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel. If you can find him, I can kill him."
"That's not going to be that easy," Ric scoffed. "I mean, he is the biggest, baddest vampire around."
"Alaric has a point. I mean, what if he…" Damon said before charging Bonnie. All Bonnie did was slightly raise her hand and Damon went flying back into a table.
Brea laughed loudly before turning to Bonnie. "Do it again! Do it again!"
"Well, I was impressed," Stefan admired.
"We all were," Brea said leaning forward so Damon could see her smirk.
"It doesn't matter if he's an Original," Bonnie said. "I can take down anyone who comes at me. I can kill him, Elena. I know I can."
"Bloody brilliant," Brea said and Ric's head immediately snapped to look at her. Brea turned to look at him and he just smiled at her, a smile which she returned.
"This is so not fair," Brea grumbled as Damon escorted her through the school parking lot.
"Oh come on. What's to complain about. You've got the hottest date," he smirked.
"I was meant to go with Jer."
"Going to the school dance with your little brother. Lame."
"Yeah, well he wouldn't let me pick his outfit tonight so I had plans to torture him."
"I'm not going to leave you with a human when Klaus is putting the moves on you. I'm not letting you get hurt, so you are going to spend the whole night, this far away from me," he said gesturing one arm's length.
"Buzzkill."
"Damon," Bonnie called as the pair walked into view.
"Evening," he smirked. "And moving," he said ushering Brea inside.
"Thanks for being here, everybody," Dana's voice called over the speaker system as the group of them walked inside the school gym. "We have a special shout-out tonight. This is for Brea. From Klaus," she announced and Brea tensed up. Dedicated to the One I Love by Mamas & Papas then played over the crowd.
"Ew," Brea cringed at the song choice.
"So that arm's length is now closing in," Damon said grabbing her elbow and pulling her closer. "That was a lame, cheap shot. He's just trying to bait us."
"We know everyone here," Elena said looking around.
"Maybe he's not here. He just wants us to believe that he is," Stefan suggested.
"It's a party, people. Blend, let him come to us," Damon instructed.
"Good idea," Bonnie agreed.
"Blending," Brea agreed, trying to move away, but Damon pulled her back.
"Don't be stupid, Brenna. He's creepy. Just stay with me."
Bonnie then went to go dance, dragging Jeremy with her. "No, I really don't feel like dancing" he complained as Bonnie took him away.
"Make him pay Bonnie!" Brea called after her.
"There's Ric," Damon said spotting him. "We'll be back," he said turning Brea's body towards Ric. "And walk."
"Damon!" she complained as he pushed her forward.
"Fine," he said picking her up so her feet were slightly above the ground so she couldn't try to leave. "Much faster," he said when they reached Ric.
As they reached Ric, Ric glared at Damon's hand on Brea's waist. "Hand," Ric snapped and Damon removed it with a smirk. "Special dedication, huh?" Ric noted looking at Brea. "This guy's a little twisted."
"I'm not impressed," Damon scoffed.
"No?" Ric asked looking slightly offended.
"Lame song choice," Brea noted.
"It's a good song," Ric argued.
"Terrible," Brea argued back.
Ric just rolled his eyes. "Always so stubborn."
"Let me know if you see anything out of whack," Damon said interrupting the two. "You," he pointed at Brea. "Forward."
"You're annoying," she grumbled as they moved through the dancefloor.
"We need to talk," Jeremy said, coming up to her at the drinks table.
"I knew you'd come crawling back," Brea smirked as they made their way through the crowd. "You always do."
"What are they up to?" Elena asked coming to stand with her siblings and pointing out Bonnie and Damon dancing.
"Who knows?" Jeremy grumbled.
"Is there something going on, Jer?" Elena asked. "Are you okay?"
"Fine," he answered. "I'm fine." Brea frowned, knowing he was lying and tried to crack her knuckles to intimidate him. Jeremy looked her up and down. "Not as intimidating as you think it is," Jeremy said storming off.
"Jeremy!" Brea yelled running after him, following him into a school hallway. "Jer, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you with my knuckle-cracking. It was a joke! I'm sorry Jer!" Brea called after him.
"It's not the knuckles, Brea," he sighed as he walked.
"Jeremy!" Stefan called out from behind the siblings, causing Jeremy to stop and turn around. "What are you doing? Elena thinks we should stick together."
"Yeah, I'm fine. I've got my ring, Brea's a reincarnating freak. We're good."
"Hey!" Brea whined. "No need to get personal."
Stefan stared at Jeremy, knowing something was wrong. After a moment, Jeremy cracked and said "it's… it's Bonnie."
"What is it?" Stefan asked. "Hey, you got something on your mind, spit it out."
"If Bonnie takes on Klaus, channelling all that energy's going to kill her," Jeremy admitted.
"Wait, what?" Brea asked shocked.
"She didn't want the twins to know because they'd try to stop her. And it's Brea and Elena that could turn up dead, so… what am I supposed to do?"
"Stefan?" Brea asked.
"On it," he said walking off. "I've got it handled Jer, don't worry."
"Jer," Brea whispered. He turned and Brea saw tears in his eyes and she pulled him in for a hug. "You shouldn't have to deal with this Jer. None of us should."
"I'm sorry Brea," he whispered. "I don't want any of you to die. And now I feel like I have to choose you and Elena or Bonnie."
"I'm sorry Jer. You shouldn't have this burden," she said pulling back. "You want to go home?" she asked.
Jeremy nodded. "Let me just grab something from my locker."
She nodded and they walked around the corner to find her ex-boyfriend Chad standing in the middle of the corridor. "Chad?" Brea asked, but he ignored her. As she and Jeremy walked further into the corridor, two more teenage boys came to stand beside Chad.
"What's going on, guys?" Jeremy asked.
"You okay, Gilbert?" Chad asked Jeremy. "You don't look so good."
"What the hell, Chad?" Brea growled.
"Dude, seriously? Wrong day, wrong guy," Jeremy rolled his eyes and tried to walk on, but Chad grabbed his jacket and shoved Jeremy. Jeremy shoved him back and stuck his arm out in front of Brea, pushing her backwards. One of the other boys then grabbed Jeremy while another punched him across the face.
"Jeremy!" Brea screamed. "Chad do something!" Chad then walked forward and punched Jeremy across the face. "Not that!" Brea screamed. Jeremy was then thrown on the ground and the boys started kicking him. "Stop it!" Brea yelled jumping on the back of one of the boys who was kicking her brother. He just shrugged her off and she fell onto the ground as they continued kicking Jeremy. "Stop!" she yelled again.
"Hey, idiots," Damon called out as he ran up the corridor with Stefan. One boy then pulled a crossbow out from behind him and shot Damon with a wooden stake. Damon groaned in pain and Chad and the other boy then also pulled out crossbows. "Let me guess. Klaus says hi," Damon groaned. Stefan then ran at Chad and his friend, knocking them out before they could fire their stakes. Damon ripped the stake out of his chest and held it above the boy who shot him.
"No! No! No!" Stefan said quickly. "Don't kill him. He's compelled."
"So?"
"So the whole thing's a distraction. Go find Bonnie and Elena. I got this. Go," Stefan ordered. Damon nodded and threw the guy he was holding into the lockers, knocking him out. Stefan knelt down next to Brea. "You ok?" he asked and she nodded, rubbing her head from when she hit it falling. "Jer?" he asked moving closer.
All Jeremy could do was groan in pain. "Yeah," he eventually got out.
"You have to go find Elena and Bonnie," Brea said. "I got him." Stefan nodded and ran out of the corridor. "Do you think you can stand?" Brea asked Jeremy. "Because you're heavy, I can't carry you."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," he groaned sitting up. "I'm glad you dumped him. Let's go," he said slowly standing.
"Can you get to the car by yourself?" Brea asked. "I'm going to go tell Ric, we're going. See if I can see Elena."
"Yeah, ok, meet you there," Jeremy agreed walking off.
"Brea," a voice mumbled from the ground and Brea looked to see Chad waking up.
"Go to hell!" Brea snapped storming off.
"Brea! Brea," he said getting up and chasing after her, "Brea, I'm so so sorry. I don't know what came over me."
"Safe it Chad. Just don't."
"Wait, Brea," Chad said grabbing her arm and stopping her, just after they re-entered the gym.
"There's Ric, I have to go Chad, let me go," she said spotting Ric standing close by, she locked eyes with him but he didn't come to her.
"Here," Chad said holding out a flask.
"I drove," Brea frowned.
"It's not alcohol," he smiled.
"Well then what are you keeping in a flask," she glared.
"Don't laugh," he said but she just stared at him. "Ok. Cola. I just wanted to look cool in front of Dana. So here, have some. I know it's your favourite."
Brea frowned but took the flask from him and drank some. "Oh you're right, it is coke," she said handing it back. "Thanks, I… woah," she said stumbling slightly, hit by a dizzy spell.
"You're ok," Alaric's voice said in her ear and she stumbled again and he caught her.
"What's happening?" she asked panicked.
"Just a trip down memory lane," he answered as her vision finally turned to black.
Mystical Falls, 984 A.D
"What are you doing?" Brenna spoke behind a blonde man in the woods. The man jumped in fright spinning around, his eyes wide. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to frighten you… are you painting?"
"Um, yes, I am," he answered timidly. "Do I know you?"
"No, I don't think so. My family and I just joined this village. It's a very sweet place," she said kneeling down to get a look at the painting on the piece of tree bark. "It's very good, your painting. Is it the river that flows through the village?" she asked and the man nodded. "Are you Niklaus? Son of Mikael?" she asked and he nodded again. "I believe your darling sister, Rebekah came to greet my family earlier. I wasn't home at the time, but my mother seems quite taken by her."
Niklaus snorted, obviously comfortable talking about his sister. "She's like a trap. Pay her any attention, she'll never let you go. Obsessive that one. What is your name?"
"I'm Brenna," she smiled.
"What brings you to our village Brenna?"
"My sister just lost her husband in battle. We thought a fresh start would do her some good."
"Here," he smiled as he leant over and painted her name on the tree.
Brenna laughed, "I think we're going to be fast friends Niklaus."
England, 1492
Brenna and Katerina were giggling in the corner of the grand hall of a lord's home. "What are you ladies giggling about over here?" Trevor asked as he approached them.
"Oh, Trevor," Brenna giggled. "My darling sister here said something positively barbaric," she said, leaning into Katerina as the girls began giggling again.
Something seemed to have caught Trevor's eye across the hall so he smiled at the girls and said "excuse me," before walking off.
As Brenna and Katerina giggled again, Brenna caught sight of a familiar head of long blonde hair and was transfixed. "Excuse me, sister, I'll be back," she said slowly making her way across the hall. As she got close to the woman whose hair she was captivated by, she disappeared. Brenna snapped out of her trance with a huff before making her way back to her sister.
"Niklaus is the name my father gave me. Please, call me Klaus," she heard a man say to her sister. The voice caused her to freeze in her place right behind the man.
"Nik?" she asked from behind the man and she moved her eyes to look at the man standing wide-eyed next to her sister and asked. "Elijah?" Nik slowly turned around to face her, eyes wide and mouth open.
"Brenna," he breathed and his face quickly broke out into a smile that Brenna quickly matched.
"Pardon me," Katerina asked. "But how do you know each other?"
"We met before the party," Brenna covered. "When I went off to look at the library."
"They're the hosts, sister," Katerina smiled nervously. "You should use Lord."
"Lord," Brenna asked tilting her head and Nik shrugged.
"Leave us, would you Elijah," Nik said.
"Of course brother," he nodded. "I hope to see you both later on in the evening, Brenna, Katerina."
"Most certainly," Brenna agreed as he walked off. "Well, Lord Nik, how did you end up with such an extravagant abode?"
"Inheritance," he lied. "Passed down to my siblings and me from a distant uncle."
"Siblings?" Brenna asked straightening up.
"Yes, Elijah, myself and my sister Rebekah."
"Oh," Brenna said slouching down.
"May I be so bold as to ask you both a question?" Nik asked the girls.
"That would depend on the question, my Lord," Katerina flirted causing Brenna to roll her eyes.
"Well, I find you both to be very lovely, in all manners of the word. So, so long as your father wouldn't mind, it'd be my joy and honour to take you both riding through the town tomorrow, if you would choose to accept."
"Our father is not in town, unfortunately," Katerina announced. "We are here under the care of Trevor, an acquaintance of your brother, the Lord Elijah's. But I'm sure he would not mind us venturing out with you."
Brenna giggled. "My sister and I would be honoured to accept your offer, Nik. We are both very much in dire need of a tour of this lovely town, you call home…" she trailed off as a familiar mop of brown hair stumbled into the hall, arms draped around two different women. "Kol?" she whispered from the other side of the room and his head immediately snapped up to meet her gaze, his arms fell from the women and he took a step forward, eyes locked with hers. Brenna broke the stare to look at the two women he'd been holding just before, who were now pulling at his arms. Brenna's stare quickly turned to one mixed with disappointment and disgust. "My Lord," she said to Nik. "Would you be so kind as to accompany my sister and me to your library? It is quite the collection and I'm sure she is eager to see it."
"I really would love to see it," Katerina giggled.
"Of course," Nik answered with a wide smile before gesturing his arm for the girls to step forward. "Right this way." As Brenna walked past him, she did not fail to notice the smug smirk Nik was shooting to the other end of the room.
Brea shot up in bed with a loud gasp and the bedroom door was immediately thrown open with Katherine running in. "Katerina, Katerina, ne moga da disham. Ne moga da disham, Katerina." (Katerina, Katerina, I can't breathe. I can't breathe, Katerina.) "Kak moga da znam bŭlgarski? Katerina, kakvo stava?" (How do I know Bulgarian? Katerina, what's happening?) Brea said panting.
"Hey, hey, hey," Katherine said tugging Brea's hands out of her hair and holding them in her hands. "You need to calm down and you need to breathe. Shh," Katherine said stroking Brea's hair. "Breathe for me, ok."
Brea slowed down her breathing to a relatively normal pace. "What's happening to me?" she cried,
"You're remembering things," Katherine said pulling her into a hug. "Usually it's slow and it helps the process. Klaus gave you a potion, drug, whatever, that his witch made. It overrode the spell Elijah's witch placed on you, so they're all coming back too quickly."
"Nik?"
"Yeah," Katherine stuttered.
"No, no, no, no, no," Brea said panicking again as her breathing began racing. "No!"
"Relax, relax. You're friends. He'd never hurt you, Brenna. You're safe."
"He didn't hurt me," Brea stuttered and Katherine nodded in understanding.
"We have to go out there, I can hear him calling us," Katherine said helping Brea off the bed and supporting her weight as they left the room.
"Ric?" Brea asked confused.
"Hm," Ric sighed turning around. "Good morning sleepy head. I'll give you one hint. I'm not Ric."
"Nik," Brea scowled. "Oh my god. You drugged me you asshole. You're an asshole for a lot more reasons than that. But what the hell!"
"Name one other reason," Nik challenged.
"Well, how's this. The last time I saw you, you daggered my husband right in front of me, you've spent half a century chasing my twin in an attempt to murder her and now you've come to town to murder my new twin. I think that fits the definition of an asshole. Woah, I'm talking with an accent," Brea realised.
"That's not an accent love, that's your real voice. What you were talking with before was an accent," Nik said as a man walked out of Ric's spare room. "Coffee Katerina," he ordered before walking with the man to the door.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," the man said.
"Yes, do hurry. I'm anxious to get out of this body," Nik said letting him out of the apartment. "And if you get hung up, call me. You know how impatient I get," he said closing the door.
"You know how impatient I get," Brea mocked in a high-pitched voice flopping down onto the couch. Brea looked up to see Nik glaring at her. "Sorry," she said with an eye roll. "Who was he?"
"The witch that made the potion that brought your memories back," Nik said walking towards Katherine.
"Where is he going?" Katherine asked holding out the coffee mug to Nik.
"To retrieve me," Nik answered taking the coffee. "So I can get out of this bad hairdo."
"It's a good hairdo," Brea defended from the couch. Both Nik and Katherine turned to her confused. "I put Ric onto that barber," Brea shrugged. "He cuts Jeremy's hair."
Katherine huffed ignoring Brea and turned to Nik. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Klaus?"
"Well, the full moon is almost upon us. I've killed the witch, I have the moonstone and the doppelgänger is waiting in the wings. I am ready to break this curse."
"And why would you do that here? There are so many people that would try to stop you."
"Because I have to. It's the birthplace of the doppelganger," Nik said flicking his eyes over to Brenna who stiffened up at the mention of Tatia.
"Didn't realise that was a requirement."
"How could you? You betrayed me and fled England before I could give you the details, Katerina. But I did find your birthplace and I slaughtered your family," Nik taunted her pushing back her hair and pulling down on her ear.
"Shut up," Brea growled from the couch.
"Let's just hope that Elena isn't as stupid as you were," Nik says moving on.
"She won't run," Katherine sighed. "She'll die before she lets anyone that she loves get hurt."
"And that's exactly what I'm counting on," Nik said. "You can't leave until I tell you to, keep Brenna entertained and here until I get back," Nik compelled Katherine before walking out.
As soon as Nik left Brea stood up fuming. "How dare he. She's not going to die. I won't let happen. Katerina…" Brea hesitated. "What did he mean when he said he killed the witch?"
"Bonnie's dead," Katherine said softly and Brea collapsed to the floor crying.
"Where's my phone?" Brea asked after she calmed down.
"On the bench, but I've been compelled to not let you touch it."
"Great. Question. I slept in Ric's bed last night, so where did Ric's body sleep?"
"On the couch, don't worry. I slept in there with you. He didn't want you to wake up alone."
"He's an ass," Brea snapped.
"Brea…"
"No! I'm mad I have to go!"
"Your wish is my command," Nik said coming into the apartment, making Brea jump back a bit and his face dropped. "Let's go," he gestured to the door.
"No."
"I wasn't asking sweetheart. I was meant to meet your aunt at the Grill but she cancelled. So we're going to surprise her at your house."
"No, you are not! You're not going anywhere near, Jenna! That's final."
"It's so cute that you think you have a choice," he cooed. "Think of it this way. If you're there I won't hurt her. If you're not…" he said and Brea's face fell.
"Fine," Brea snapped pushing past him and hurrying down the stairs to the car.
"Where's the fire, love? We're not in a hurry."
"Shut up," Brea snapped as she got in the car.
"Why so angry?" Nik asked as he started the car. "I would've thought you'd be thanking me after I removed the spell."
"Oh yes, I'm so thankful and appreciative," Brea said sarcastically. "Thanks for flooding my mind with a millennium's worth of painful memories, all no doubt for your own gain."
"Is it really so hard to believe I did it because I care about you?"
"Yes."
Brea was tapping the dining table as Nik and Jenna were awkwardly making small talk when there was a knock at the door and Jenna went to go open it. "Cheer up love. You're bringing down the mood," Nik teased and Brea glared.
"No, listen I can explain," Brea heard a familiar voice say and she saw Nik smirk as he approached the entryway.
"Hi Stefan," Nik greeted. "How's it going?"
"Stefan," Brea said from behind Nik.
"Brea? I thought you were at Matt's. That's what you texted Elena," he asked looking between Brea and Nik worriedly.
"I did?" Brea asked confused realising Nik must've texted it. "Yeah I did," she said with a small smile at Jenna.
"Well," Nik said clapping his hands, "I best get back to cooking lunch," he said turning around, gesturing to Brea to go ahead. "You don't have to put on your American accent for her you know," he whispered in her ear. "If she loves you, she'll accept you even with your memories."
"Don't touch me," Brea growled moving away from him as he walked further into the kitchen.
Stefan ran up to Brea. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Did he take you from the dance?"
Brea nodded. "Katerina was there. She's alive."
"Your voice," Stefan noted.
"Bugger, I'm sorry. I'm struggling to cover it up. I'm trying for Jenna."
"What's going on?"
"He drugged me, last night."
"He what?" Stefan hissed.
"It was some magical potion thing. I have memories back Stefan. I'm me again."
"You know, I find chopping calming," Nik spoke up interrupting their conversation.
"How positively creepy," Brea hissed.
"Feel of the blade in the hand, maybe," he shrugged and Stefan moved forward to stand closer to Jenna.
"I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what the hell's going on," Jenna said confused.
"Well, would you like to tell her, Stefan, or should I?" he asked.
"Tell me what?" Jenna asked and Brea slowly edged her way to her aunt's side.
"Do you believe in vampires, Jenna?" Nik asked. "No?" he laughed. "Well, who does right? But, believe it or not, they do have a place in our history. And, as a history teacher, I find them fascinating," he said watching Stefan.
"Why are we talking about this?" Jenna asked.
"Well, you've been angry with me for keeping secrets and this is one of my secrets. I'm obsessed with vampires. There, I said it."
"Are you joking?" Jenna asked confused.
"Not at all. How about you, Stefan? Are you a fan of vampires?"
"In literature. Bram Stoker? It's dense but I appreciated it."
"How about you Brenna?"
"Bram Stoker's Dracula is a hell of a book," she huffed.
"You've read Dracula?" Jenna whispered.
"Of course I have. A couple of times actually," Brea said and Jenna rose her eyebrows.
"Did you know that vampires are the oldest creatures of the night?" Ric asked.
"What about werewolves?" Brea asked with a smirk.
"Except for werewolves, of course," Nik said with a smile.
"Werewolves?" Jenna asked irritated. "Werewolves," she huffed walking toward the table, "now I know you're joking."
"You know, I've read that there's an Aztec curse on both species… that keeps werewolves slaves to the moon, and vampires bound by the sun. They say these creatures would do anything to have this curse broken. And they wouldn't care who they had to kill to do it," Nik said sparing a glance at Brea, whose face dropped.
The four of them were sitting down and eating lunch. Jenna was at one end of the table and Brea was sitting as close to her as possible. "I know this all sounds crazy," Nik spoke up interrupting the silence. "But vampires are real." Brea looked at Jenna and saw her very tense, ready to explode at any second. "Would you care for some more wine?" Nik asked her standing up.
Jenna threw her fork down. "Get out."
"Excuse me?" Nik asked.
"You heard her, she said leave," Brea repeated quickly.
"I don't know what it is you're trying to do, or why you're saying this but…"
"Jenna…"
"I said, get out!"
Stefan stood up. "You heard her."
Brea placed a hand on Jenna's arm, slowly standing up, she could tell by the look on Nik's face, what was about to happen.
"I'm afraid I don't want to."
"It wasn't a request," Brea warned.
Jenna jumped up. "Fine, we'll go," she said grabbing Brea's hand.
"You're not going anywhere," Nik said snatching up and knife and raising it at Jenna.
Brea moved in front of her aunt despite Jenna's attempts to pull her back, but she refused to move. Nik had lowered the knife. Stefan zoomed forward and grabbed Nik, slamming him against the wall, causing him to drop the knife completely. Stefan caught it and held it against Nik's throat. "Stefan?" Jenna asked confused.
"Brea, get Jenna out of here now," Stefan asked.
"Come on Jenna," Brea said tugging on her aunt's arm.
"You can't kill me, Stefan." Nik scoffed.
"Watch me!"
"Stefan!" Jenna yelled running forward as he pressed the knife further into Nik's neck.
"I may not have a witch protecting me today but if you kill this body, what's to stop me from choosing Jenna as my next one?"
"Jenna, go," Stefan said again and Brea tugged on her aunt's arm harder.
"Jenna, please, we have to go," Brea begged.
"But, Stefan…" she started confused.
"I said, go!" Stefan yelled turning to show Jenna his vampire face. Jenna froze for a moment in shock and Brea tugged her aunt hard enough that she was able to move her out of the house.
"What's happening? What's happening?" Jenna asked panicked out the front of the house.
"It's ok, Jenna. Stefan!" Brea said when he came out of the house.
"He's unconscious it's fine."
"Where's Elena? We need Elena."
"She's with Elijah."
"Elijah? Give me your phone. He took mine," Brea demanded and Brea dialled Elena.
"Stefan?" Elena answered.
"It's Brea, Elena, we need you."
"What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry, I couldn't stop him. He went after Jenna."
"No."
"Elena, we need to tell her. You need to tell her. We'll come and get you."
"No, no, no, I… ok, I'll be right there."
"Elena, I need to see Elijah. Where are you? I'll come to him."
"The Lockwood's. I'm on my way."
"Thanks, Lena," she said hanging up and handing the phone back to Stefan. "Jenna, I'm so sorry. I have to go. Stefan's going to take you back to his place, you'll be safe. Elena will explain everything when you get there," Brea said running toward her car and speeding off.
"Elijah!" Brea called spotting him strolling around the property. As soon as she saw him she froze. He turned around and caught her eye and she smiled and then ran toward him pulling him into a big hug sniffling. "I'm so sorry."
"What for?" he asked holding her head.
"Not pulling the dagger out."
Elijah pulled her backwards. "Your accent…"
"I remember," Brea said with a giggle. "Everything. I know why you did it. Took my memories away. And it's all because of him. Because of Nik."
"If you don't mind me asking, how did you get your memories back? It was a complex spell."
"Nik. He had one of his witches make up a potion. Tricked me into drinking it. I passed out and woke up this morning with all my memories back. He has Katerina. If we leave her there, he'll kill her eventually."
"I know. I won't leave her there. I promise. I'll get her out before he kills her. I promise you this," he said placing a hand on her cheek and she nodded. "Let's get you inside, you don't have a jacket."
1130, Spain
"Are you sure your brother won't mind us staying here? It is his home." Brenna asked.
"Well my darling wife, he won't ever know," he smirked kissing her. "He, Elijah and Rebekah are currently running from father so they won't be coming here. And father won't bother us, because well, he's not hunting us, he's hunting Nik. So we have this place all to ourselves," he smirked spinning her around as she giggled.
"Can you believe it?"
"What?"
"That it's taken this long for us to be wed? We've waited so long for this," she smiled.
"I would wait any amount of time without complaining. I love you."
"And I love you."
"Welcome back," Elijah greeted as Elena returned.
"Is she ok?" Brea asked and Elena nodded.
"Has he filled you in?" Elena asked.
"I have my memories back, so I'm pretty sure I know everything now."
"You do? How?"
"Nik - Klaus, gave me some witchy potion last night and kidnapped me," Brea shrugged and Elena's eyes widened. "I'm fine now, though."
Elena nodded and then turned to Elijah. "Tell me. What is Klaus' curse?"
"Please," Elijah gestured for Elena to sit down.
"Our family was quite close," Elijah said. "But Klaus and my father did not get on too well," he said and Brea snorted. Understatement of the year. "When we became vampires, we discovered the truth. Klaus was not my father's son. My mother had been unfaithful many years before. This was her darkest secret. Klaus was from a different bloodline. Of course, when my father discovered this, he hunted down and killed my mother's lover and his entire family. Not realising, of course, that he was igniting a war between species that rages until this day."
"A war between the species?" Elena asked.
"The vampires and the werewolves."
"So Klaus' real father was from a werewolf bloodline?" Elena asked. "What does that make Klaus? A werewolf? Or a vampire?"
"He's both," Elijah answered. "A hybrid would be deadlier than any werewolf or vampire. Nature would not stand for such an imbalance of power. Therefore the witches, the servants of nature, saw to it that my brother's werewolf side would become dormant."
"That's the curse Klaus wants to break?" Elena asked shocked.
"He wants to trigger that part of him that's a werewolf. If allowed, Klaus would sire his own bloodline. He'd build his own race, endangering not just vampires but everyone."
"But you helped him," Elena asked confused.
"I helped him because I loved him. That's changed now. He must die."
"We have the dagger. We can stop him."
"It won't work," Brea sighed.
"When a werewolf is wounded by silver, it heals," Elijah explained. "And originals can't be killed by anything but white oak ash on a silver dagger, so you see the conundrum? The dagger does not work." Elijah said and Brea kept her face impassive, she didn't want Elena to find out about the existence of white oak stakes. That was the families biggest secret.
"What are you saying? Klaus can't be killed?" Elena asked.
"There's one way to kill any supernatural species. At the hands of the servants of nature themselves."
"A witch," Elena realised. "If they can channel that much power. But it would kill them."
"The curse must be broken during the full moon when Klaus is in transition. That's when he'll be at his most vulnerable. A witch with enough power can kill Klaus."
"What if I told you that I knew a witch that could channel that much power?" Elena asked and Brea frowned.
"Then I would tell you there's one more thing that you should know, I spoke with some witches, when Klaus was preparing Katerina for the sacrifice. They found a way they believed would spare the doppelganger."
"You found a way to save the life of the doppelgänger?" Brea asked she'd never heard this.
"Yes, Brenna. I did. Unfortunately, you and Katerina took matters into your own hands first. I believe you already know how that played out, Elena," he said handing the twins their jackets.
"You cared about her didn't you?" Elena asked.
"It's a common mistake, I'm told."
"It wasn't back then," Brea smiled slightly.
Elijah smiled back. "It's a mistake I won't make again."
They arrived back at the boarding house after spending the entire car ride discussing how Bonnie was still alive and heard a smash as they walked in, the twins looked at each other and ran to the parlour room. "Stop!" Elena yelled as she saw them fighting.
"My books!" Brea yelled as she saw one bookcase worth of books lying on the floor. "Ok, who did it!" she said running over to the books and picking them up.
"Now you invited him in?" Damon snarled.
"Elijah and I renewed the terms of our deal," Elena answered.
"Really?" Damon remarked.
"The two of you will come to no harm at my hands," Elijah responded. "I only ask for one thing in return."
"What?" Damon snarled.
"An apology."
"A what?"
Stefan stepped forward, "I'm sorry for the part that I played in your death. I was protecting Elena. I will always protect Elena."
"I understand," Elijah accepted and everyone turned to Damon.
"The sacrifice is going to happen, Damon," Elena said. "Bonnie will kill Klaus without hurting herself and Elijah knows how to save my life. I told you I'd find another way. And I did."
"Is that true?" Damon asked.
"It is," Elijah answered.
"And you're trusting him?"
"I am."
"You can all go to hell," Damon snarled walking away, handing Brenna a book from the floor on his way out.
"He's angry with me right now," Stefan explained. "But he'll come around."
"Perhaps," Elijah sighed.
1492
"You can't do it, Niklaus," Brenna heard Kol say behind a closed door as she walked down the corridor.
"I can do whatever I like brother, you hardly get a say in the matter. Why don't you run back off to your little girlfriend and leave me alone," Nik snarled.
Brenna went to walk away, but froze when she heard Kol say, "she won't survive you killing her sister, Nik! You'll break her. Katerina is her best friend. If you kill her for the sacrifice you'll destroy her. I may not like it, but I know you care for her too. You can't do this to her!"
"Yes, I may care about Brenna, but nothing is more important to me than this. It's just her sister. Not her. I wouldn't kill her, you know that. I would never hurt her."
"And what do you think sacrificing her sister on an altar of flames will do brother?"
"Mind your own business Kol. I've left you two alone this time, I can just as soon start causing issues again."
"Oh enough with the threats. You know how important family is. Don't take away hers."
"I've had enough of this conversation, Kol. It will happen. We'll take her to where we were born and the sacrifice will be done then. You will keep Brenna here, and she won't ever need to know."
"I will not lie to her."
Brenna lifted her hand to her cheek to find it covered in tears, as quietly as she could she snuck off and ran directly to hers and Katerina's chambers. "Katerina! Katerina! We're leaving!" Brenna snarled.
"What?" Katerina asked as she stopped brushing her hair.
"We have to go. Now." Brea said pulling her sister's arm.
"What, no, why? I like it here. I don't wish to leave."
"They're going to kill you!"
"What?"
"I just heard Niklaus discussing it. I know all about it, I just didn't know you would be involved. He wants to sacrifice you in a blood ritual to break a curse!"
"I… I don't want to die."
"Trevor, we need to find Trevor. He'll help us," Brenna said as she and Katerina ran out of the room.
"Ah, Brenna," Kol called from behind them causing Brenna to yelp in a panic and spin around, holding Katerina behind her.
"Kol!"
"Are you alright?"
"Perfectly alright," Brenna said hurriedly. "Anyway, we must be off. Urgent business to attend," Brenna said taking Katerina's hand and running away.
"But it's dark!" Kol called after them, but they kept on moving.
"Trevor!" Brenna called as she spotted him by the stables, and she and Katerina ran toward him. "We need your help."
"What is wrong? Katerina? Are you alright?"
"The Lord Niklaus plans on sacrificing me," Katerina said upset and Trevor looked down.
"You knew," Brenna surmised.
"I apologise. When I brought you here, my feelings were not quite so developed. I will not allow this to happen."
"Then you must help us flee, Trevor," Katerina begged, taking his hands in between hers.
"Alright. Run through the woods. East. You'll find a cottage. Ask for Rose, tell her who you are, she'll help you."
"Just like that?" Brenna asked.
Katerina then spoke up. "I stole this from him," she said holding up the moonstone. "We could sell it and buy our refuge?"
"That's part of the sacrifice," Trevor said shocked. "Show it to Rose. It'll prove to her you are who you say you are. She'll help you to freedom." As he said this the twins heard a smash from inside the Mikaelson manner and jumped. "They have noticed you are missing," Trevor said. "Go run! Both of you! I'll lead them astray as long as I can. Go!"