Ordinary People
September 15, 2010
Panting, Damon rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling as he waited for his breathing to return to normal. Why does that even happen? he wondered idly. He didn't need to breathe, so what the hell sense did it make him to be so out of breath?
An arm snacked across his naked torso, followed quickly by the rest of Louise's soft, pliant body as she draped a leg over his and buried her face in his chest. Her flushed skin was damp with sweat and the scent of her arousal permeated the air. Licking his lips, he could still taste her there. That would be why, he mused, circling an arm loosely around her waist and pulling her closer. Louise Gilbert could make a dead man breathless.
She pressed her lips against his chest in a lazy, open-mouthed kiss. He could feel her pulse racing beneath his hands and hear her heart pounding.
He would never, ever get enough of her.
The scent of blood made it's way past his over-stimulated senses, reminding him that round two - or three as the case may be - would have to wait. Pulling her hair away from her neck, he exposed the twin bite marks marring her flesh. He'd been careful with her - not exactly gentle, but precise in away that only time and experience could teach - and the wounds he left were never ragged. They still bled, however, and there was a small amount seeping out now.
The sight of the warm, rich blood - her blood - brought heat to the skin around his eyes, making the veins rise to the surface as his fangs descended. The thought of having her again - or drinking from her as he took her from behind and made her scream with pleasure - sent his libido into overdrive.
Jesus, Salvatore, calm down, he thought.
Drawing a deep breath, he closed his eyes and pushed the bloodlust - the plain old lust - aside, getting a grip of his control. He'd had enough - more than enough, since he refused to drink from her when he actually needed it - and she needed to heal.
Shifting against the pillows, he brought them both to a seated position and bit into his wrist. The blood that hit his tongue was thinner, more metallic than her human blood. "Louise," he said softly, nudging her with his shoulder so she'd open her eyes. He placed his wrist by her mouth, smirking with amusement as she made a face before dutifully taking in a few drops of his blood. "Good girl."
Grimacing, she pulled away. "I'm gonna miss this," she confessed, still somewhat breathless. "Can vampires drink from each other?" He froze as tension seemed to radiate from every inch of his body. Realising what she'd said, Louise's heart sank a little, but rather than apologise, she changed the subject. "I don't understand the appeal. I mean, no offence, but gross."
"It's an acquired taste." he replied with a chuckle as he watched the bite marks begin to heal. Satisfied that his blood was working, he pulled her in for a lingering kiss before settling back against the pillows. Louise snuggled against him, hooking her leg over his beneath the sheets as she draped an arm around his waist. Closing his eyes, Damon kissed the top of her head before burying his face in her hair.
"Is it different for you?" she asked, breaking the silence as she swept her thumb over his skin in a constant, mesmerising pattern.
"Is what different?" he asked without moving.
"The way I...I taste." she whispered hesitantly.
He lifted his head, frowning as he asked. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you like it, right?"
Damon raised a brow as he leaned against the pillows. "Do I like the way you taste?" he murmured, reaching for her hand at his side and twinning their fingers together. Like was only the understatement of the century. "Yes, Louise, I like it."
"So, what do I taste like?" she asked, craning her neck to look at him. "To you."
"Blood," he answered with amusement as her brow crinkled into a frown of confusion. "What? Were you expecting me to wax poetic and say that you tasted like a fine wine?"
"No," she replied with a rueful grin as she rolled her eyes. Propping her elbow on the pillow they were sharing, she rested her head against her fist as she struggled to articulate her feelings. "I just...thought maybe it...that it somehow tastes different for you." She dropped her gaze as a blush crept up her cheeks. "I guess I just hoped that this whole thing wasn't one-sided."
"One-sided?"
"Yeah, you know," she shrugged, her gaze darting around the room, landing on everything but on his face. "I've been bitten by a few vampires and, obviously with you it's...unique."
"Unique?" he repeated, recalling the orgasm that had ripped through her when he's slipped inside of her and sank his fangs into her throat. "Is that your way of admitting you get off on it?"
"Shut up." she muttered, flushing even brighter shade of red as she buried her face against his shoulder. "I was hoping that it was different for you, too." she confessed, the words muffled against his skin. He brushed her hair away from her face as she lifted her head and looked him in the eyes. "That I'm more than just another human that you're drinking from."
Just another human? Taken back, he stared at her. Louise wasn't just another anything. Skirting the soft swell of her bottom lip with his thumb, he marvelled at the idea that she could think drinking from her was anything other than one of the most extraordinary pleasures he'd ever experienced.
Of course, he's never actually told her that.
"It's more." he promised, softly. "It's not about that blood. It's you. The way you accept who I am...what I am and trust me enough to let..." he stopped as he veered dangerously close to sounding like a lovelorn idiot. "It's more, Louise. You are more."
Her eyes sparkled with something that looked a lot like relief as she gazed at him silently, a smile playing over her lips. Reaching for him, she caressed his cheek and opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. Closing her eyes, she shook her head and rested her forehead against his.
"Damon-" she began, but he didn't give her a chance to finish.
Tucking a finger under her chin, he murmured. "I love you, too." before capturing her mouth in a kiss.
It was official. Louise did not like the tunnels underneath the Lockwood's property. They were dark and damp, and slightly cold, which creeped her out. As they walked further into the tunnels, Louise felt a shudder run down her spine.
"So, the Lockwoods really have no idea that these tunnels are underneath their property?" Elena questioned as she shone the flash light around across the tunnel walls.
"Something you can't really miss." Louise drawled.
"Careful where you shine that thing." he warned Elena, hitching his bag pack up higher on his shoulders.. "Bats hate the light." Elena scoffed but Louise froze dead in her tracks.
"Wait, what?" Louise shrieked, still frozen her spot. She hadn't even thought about Bats. Why hadn't she thought about the possibility of bats?
"Louise!" something whispered behind the seer, and Louise gasped loudly before turning around, her flashlight shinning in Damon's face which wore a smug smile. "Boo!"
Louise jumped back in fright. "Ah!" she gasped. "God, Damon!" Elena laughed as Louise hit Damon's arm angrily with her flashlight.
"Scaredy-cat!" Damon teased.
"You're such an ass." Louise grumbled, her breathing rate going back to normal.
The vampire grinned, showing his white teeth. "I know."
"Just ignore him." Alaric instructed. "That's what I do." He gave a sour smile and Louise turned back to Damon.
"So, Ric mentioned you can't get in."
"No." Damon sighed. "Seems even the ancient Lockwoods were anti-vampire." Louise's brows furrowed and she frowned.
"What do you mean, ancient?" Elena questioned, like Louise, she was also curious about that.
Damon gestured. forward. "See for yourself." He lead them over to an entrance off another part of the cave and then came to a stop. Alaric walked over the threshold. "Well, this is as far as I get to go."
Louise hummed and followed Elena into the cavern, she shone her light on the walls and canted her head to the side seeing the carvings in the stone wall. She stepped forward and ran her slender fingers over the carvings, she gasped as she was pulled into a vision; images flew through her mind but they were going too fast for her to comprehend anything.
"Louise?" Damon called, leaning against the threshold. "Are you-"
"Fine. I'm fine." She assured him, her eyes remained on the carvings.
"What is all this?" Elena asked.
"It's a story." Louise said softly.
"Yes. In simple, archaeological terms, it's a really, really old story." Alaric clarified. He jerked his head to a symbol and Elena brought her light to it. "That right there, is the moon cycle." He pointed at another drawing. "A man, a wolf."
Elena squinted at the drawings. "A werewolf."
"Yeah, it's the 'Lockwood Diaries: Pictionary-Style.'" Damon commented from the entrance.
"I don't understand." Elena turned to Alaric. "I thought the Lockwoods came here with the Original Founders in the 1860s."
Alaric shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe the Lockwoods did, but according to this wall, these werewolves have been here a lot longer than that."
Louise nodded. "Well history isn't always accurate. How long ago then?"
"Long." Damon answered the curious teen, crossing his arms over his chest. "It gets better. Show her, Ric."
Alaric crossed over to the cavern and shone his light on a list of names but they weren't written in English. "Names. They're not native. They're written in Runic, a Viking script."
"Vikings?" Elena repeated.
Alaric pointed to the top name. "This name here, I translated it and it reads Niklaus."
"Klaus." Louise repeated almost in disbelief.
Alaric turned back to the wall. "And Elijah...and Rebekah."
"So, this is their story?" Louise asked. She turned back to look at Damon briefly before returning her attention to Alaric once again. "About how they became the originals?"
"I don't know. I haven't gotten that far yet." Alaric told her.
"This can't be right." Louise said, shaking her head. "Klaus wouldn't put his family history on a wall. This has to be...a fake, something to give people false hope."
"That's what I said." Damon agreed.
Alaric flickered his light onto the name at the top. "That could be true, except the last name up here made us think otherwise."
"What's the name?" Elena asked.
Alaric turned off his flashlight and looked at Louise and Elena. "Mikael."
"Mikael." Elena repeated. "Mikael, as in, the vampire hunter who knows how to kill Klaus?"
"Why would his name be on the wall if he's the one who can destroy him?" Louise questioned, with a raised brow. She paused. "Unless..."
"Unless he's part of their story too?" Damon filled in for her. She swallowed. "I like to call him "Papa Original"." Damon smiled lightly, the cave was filled with understanding at last.
Louise's eyes widened. "His own father wants to kill him?"
"These images tell a story," Alaric said as he looked at the thousand of pictures scattered on his front desk. "To learn the story, you have to decipher these images." Louise hummed leaning forward against the desk. Behind them training was Damon and Elena. Elena had a dagger in her had and aimed it at Damon, but he grabbed her hand and curved it, making the dagger point at her.
"Sloppy!" Damon said with no expression.
Elena, almost irritated, replied. "Shut up!" And pulled the dagger out of his hand. "I'm new at this."
Damon turned his attention back to Alaric. "Ghost of Christmas Past Mason Lockwood set up the cave," The vampire stopped talking to deflect a kick Elena had just tried to do. "And led us to a weapon that can kill Klaus." He deflected yet another one of Elena's swing.
"Yeah, but doesn't Mikael have a weapon?" Elena pointed out.
"Yes. Which probably means the wall will lead us to Mikael, who we have already found...and lost." Damon replied in bored tone. He glanced to his girlfriend. "Do you want to give me a run for my money, Louise? Your sister is so not getting this."
Elena glared at the vampire and Louise laughed a little. She looked up from a picture she had in her hand. "Can't. I'm wearing a skirt, Damon."
Damon flashed her a grin. "I can work with that." He wiggled his eyebrows. "Come on, Lou."
"Alright." Louise grabbed the stake from her sister and moved to the spot in front of Damon. She clutched the stake in her right hand and took her stance; legs a shoulders width apart and her hands up protecting her face in tight fists. Damon took a similar stance yet appeared more at ease due to his obvious advanced abilities in strength, hearing and speed, he knew if Louise really wanted to hurt him, it would be a difficult task.
Louise took the first move, edging towards her opponent before swiftly sending a good few jabs his way, most of which Damon caught in the air.
AS they danced on their toes around the room, she continued sending double jabs, reverse punches, hooks and uppercuts to his head, bending her arms this way and that. She delivered a turning kick; twisting the foot she was balancing on to the perfect angle then using her strength to expertly push out her leg. She nudged his stomach with the flat of her foot, enough to make him move a step or two back but not enough to send him flying, then retracted her leg back into her body at its ninety degree angle in the air before placing it firmly back on the ground.
Finally, she decided it was time to go in for the kill. She took a step forward and sent another reverse punch towards Damon's chest, this time armed with the stake pointing directly at him. He saw her coming a mile off, he grabbed the dagger and threw it on the ground. He grabbed her by the same hand and flipped her around, so that her back was pressing against his hard chest.
He moved his head to her ears. "Bang! You're dead!" He nibbled playfully on the neck and she suppressed a giggle, pushing him away.
"These images at the very least might tell us what that weapon is." Alaric announced as Elena moved around the couple who were now just being stupid as Damon grabbed her sister's waist, pulling her to him as he pretended to attack her neck and Louise squealed fighting against him.
Elena: Then all we have to do is find out what they mean." Elena said just as Louise broke free from Damon, making sure to step away from him.
"Fine! Fine! If I am being irritatingly optimistic like you two...how do you suppose we do that?" Damon asked taking a few steps ahead of Louise.
"Well, if the story is about the Original Family living here, then we go straight to the source!"
There was a loud thud from behind them along with a groan and both Alaric and Elena who stood at the kitchen counter quickly turned around to find Damon on his back on the floor as Louise straddled his waist, stake pressed against his chest.
"Now, you're dead." Louise said with a hint of a smirk on her lips. "The element of surprise is your strongest ally." she repeated the words he had once told her.
Elena couldn't help but laugh at Damon's baffled expression. He sure wasn't expecting that. Louise had swept his feet from under him when he wasn't paying attention and before he could react, she had been on top of him with a stake to his heart.
A cynical grin spread across Damon's face. "I will get you back for that, you know." he promised her and the sound of laughter erupted as he flew to his feet, taking the mischievous, dark haired, dark eyed girl whom he loved so much with him.
Louise followed her sister onto the football field, having been very curious as to what Louise's plan was. They stopped walking once they approached the cheerleaders, Rebekah Mikaelson finished a few flips before landing in front of Elena. The scowl that formed along her features was a clear sigh she wasn't a very pleasant sight for the vampire.
"You!" she sneered. "Goody."
"I was hoping we could talk." Elena announced in her soft voice which used whenever she wanted something she knew she couldn't get, resorting to just batting her innocent brown doe eyes.
Rebekah finally glanced over at Louise who held her hands up in defence. "Don't look at me. I'm simply just an observer."
Rebekah rolled her eyes then returned them to Louise. "About what? Stefan? Don't worry, I'm off him until he starts treating me better. In fact, you should probably take a page out of my book, if I'm being honest."
"Actually, I'd rather talk about this." Elena held up a photo of Rebekah's name written in the runic on the cave wall. "I'm curious why you and Klaus have spent a thousand years running from your father."
Rebekah's snarky attitude quickly vanished. She hesitated as she struggled on finding something to say. "I should get back to the girls. Homecoming's right around the corner." She turned to leave.
"Well then, maybe I'll ask Mikael when we wake him."
It had the desired effect on Rebekah as the vampire stopped dead in her tracks and she stood there for a minute, debating whether to turn or not. When she did turn around, she wore a tense smile. "You're bluffing! You don't know where he is. No one does."
"So, then who's rotting in that old cemetery in Charlotte?" Elena questioned, her fingers tapping against the picture.
The doppelganger stiffened when Rebekah stormed towards her. "If you wake Mikael, we are all doomed!"
"So then, tell me." Elena pushed.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Why don't you want me to wake him?"
Rebekah just stared at the brown haired girl with narrowed eyes. "I need to get back to the girls." She quickly turned and walked back towards the squad. Elena turned to look at her sister.
"She was going to tell me. I saw it in her eyes." Elena said but Louise rolled her eyes.
"No. What you saw was the deep desire to break your neck." Louise corrected. Elena huffed, crossing her arms as she stomped away in frustration, leaving Louise standing there watching Rebekah talk with the other cheerleaders.
Louise started making her way towards them, a grin plastered on her face as some of the cheerleader noticed her, sending her matching grins. "Hey, Louise." One of them named Emma called.
"Hey, guys. How's the homecoming routine coming along?" she asked.
"Great actually. Rebekah has been a lot of help. She's awesome." Another one told her.
Louise turned her grin toward the original. "Hmm, I bet she has. Are you going to the homecoming, Rebekah?"
"Of course." Rebekah replied.
Louise nodded and turned to the other cheerleaders. "What about you guys? You're all going right?" The girls all nodded, looking between the two.
"What about you?" Emma sked. "Are you going to bring your boyfriend with you? Damon right? He's really hot." She gave off a dream sigh as her eyes glazed over slightly as if imagining him in her head. Something Louise had seen a lot of peers do.
"Yeah, he is." Louise gave a tight smile which made Emma's own smile drop, her eyes shifting toward the ground. "And I'm not sure yet." she continued. "I can't find a dress. I'm stressing. It's so hard trying to find the right dress for these things, especially so close to the dance."
"Tell me about it." A red haired cheerleader called from the back. "I spent about four hours in one shop last weekend. I just couldn't find the right colour." This topic sparked conversation between her and another cheerleader about dress colours.
"What about you, Rebekah? Have you found a dress yet?" Louise asked.
Rebekah now had her arms crossed over her chest and she narrowed her eyes at the seer. She shook her head. "No, not yet but I was planning on looking at some after school."
"Well, good luck. But remember it's always good to have a second opinion." She grinned before turning to the other cheerleaders. "Bye girls."
Come over for a chat. I need a second opinion.
Louise stared down at the text message from Rebekah for the hundredth time. She sighed, locking her phone before popping it back into her skirt pocket. She opened the door to the boarding house and walked straight in with Elena scurrying close behind her. Rebekah was messing around with the stereo system while sipping from a champagne glass.
Upon hearing footsteps against the wooden floors, the original spun around, the delightful smile dropped from her lips when she looked toward Elena.
"Hey, you invited me over?" Louise prompted. "To talk?"
"Yes, I invited you over," Rebekah admitted, but looked at Elena. "I did not, however, invite your sister."
Louise shrugged and stepped down into the parlour where the couches and coffee table had been moved, leaving a completely open area. "You have me, you get Elena, too. Sorry." she noted unapologetically.
Rebekah frowned. "She leaves or not a word of information leaves my mouth."
Louise opened her mouth to protest, but Elena held up her hands, realising that they need information more than she needed to be the one to hear it from the source.
"Lou, it's fine." Elena said, giving Rebekah a hard stare. "You've got this."
"Elena-"
"I'll call you." the older twin promised before leaving.
When the door slammed, Louise sighed and turned back to Rebekah. "Happy now?"
"Yes, thank you." Rebekah smiled widely and shouted. "Okay, girls!" Louise raised an eyebrow, but Rebekah turned her head. "Have at it." Louise's eyes widened when six girls dressed in various jewel-tones coloured homecoming dresses came strutting out, lining up in-front of Rebekah. "Okay, now twirl please." As instructed, the girls twirled, showing off the dresses.
With a raised brow, Louise asked. "You compelled your own private runway show?"
"I need a Homecoming dress." Rebekah replied simply. "You basically offered to be my second opinion so, what do you think? Pick one."
Louise cocked her head to the side slightly as she examined the dress options in front of her. She hummed. "The...red one."
"Really?" Rebekah asked and the brunette nodded. The vampire turned back to the girls and ordered. "Go away. Remember nothing."
As instructed, the girls scurried from the room. Rebekah picked up her champagne glass and walked toward Louise. "You do not threaten me. You'll learn what I allow you to learn." Louise swallowed, trying to get rid of her dry throat. "Is that clear?"
"Crystal." Louise nodded.
Without another word, Rebekah brushed pass her. Louise shook her head and followed after the vampire. She followed her up the stairs and they stopped outside the youngest Salvatore's room. Rebekah opened the door before strolling in and Louise stayed in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe.
"How fun is this...?" She started rifling through his drawers and pulling various things out.
"Really, Rebekah? Snooping through his drawers?" Louise drawled. "How very human of you."
Rebekah chuckled. "I know right."
"We shouldn't be here. Stefan's a private guy."
"Hmm, but snooping is fun." She held up a pair of Stefan's underwear. "Boxer briefs. A lot has changed since the twenties."
"No offence but this is creepy, looking at my boyfriend's younger brother's underwear?" Louise tucked her hair behind her ear as she followed the vampire's movements. "This is boring. I don't want to spend my day watching you go through Stefan's things, so are you going to tell me your story?"
Rebekah turned to face her, leaning her back against the dresser. "Ah...you really are no fun."
"Hey! I'm tons of fun." Louise defended herself.
"Whatever." Rebekah rolled her eyes. "What do you want to know?"
Louise walked into the room. "Well, Elijah said that your father was a landowner in Europe. How did you guys end up here?" Louise hopped on to Stefan's desk, swinging her legs back and forth.
"My parents had just started a family, when a plague struck their homeland." Rebekah revealed, still rummaging through Stefan's things. Louise listened intently. "They lost a child to it. They wanted to escape and protect their future family from the same fate."
"So, how did you end up here?" Louise repeated her question. "This part of the world hadn't even been discovered yet."
Rebekah laughed lightly. "Not by anyone in your history books. But my mother knew the witch Ayana, who heard from the spirits of a mystical land where everyone was healthy...blessed by the gifts of speed and strength. That lead my family here, where we lived amongst those people."
Louise titled her head, very interested in the story. "Werewolves?"
"To us, they were just our neighbours. My family lived in peace with them for over 20 years, during which time my family had more children, including me."
"You make it sound so normal." Louise commented, playing with the hem of her skirt.
"It was." The vampire muttered, gazing out the window. "Once a month our family retreated into the caves beneath our village. The wolves would howl through the night and by morning we'd return home." She paused and turned back to face the intrigued seer. "One full moon, Klaus and my youngest brother Henrik snuck out to watch the men turn into beasts. That was forbidden. Henrik paid the price." Louise swallowed, stunned at this revelation. "And that was the beginning of the end of peace with our neighbours. And one of the last moments my family had together as humans."
Louise opened her mouth to speak but her phone vibrated, interrupting her.
Rebekah cleared her throat. "You better get that. That'll be Damon or Elena checking up on you."
Louise answered her phone." Hey, Elena. What's up?"
"You wouldn't believe what Damon has done!" Elena said frantically. Louise frowned.
The brunette rubbed her temple and sighed. "Oh, god. What now?"
"He freed Stefan and now they are in a bar God knows where. What should we do?"
Louise ran her hand down her face. "Nothing. We can't do anything." she said simply. "I don't know. Maybe Stefan needs some time with his brother, perhaps."
"Louise-"
"Look, I'll talk to Damon, okay? But for now, leave them be."
After a brief pause, Elena sighed. "Okay."
"I'll call you later." Without another word, she hung up.
"Family issues or relationship issues?" Rebekah drawled.
Louise rolled her eyes as she dialled Damon's number. "Both." she muttered as she put the phone to her ear once again. Damon picked up straight away. "Hello?"
"Still standing? She hasn't ripped out your throat yet?"
"Yes, I'm fine, because unlike you, I don't piss everyone off straight away." Louise told him and he laughed. "Anyway, I got a call from a very frantic Elena, she said you freed Stefan. Damon, how could you let him out?"
"Yeah, I kinda went off a bit. Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Damon said. "It's something I need to do."
Louise didn't argue or ask any further questions. She trusted him. "Okay. Good luck."
"Good luck to you, too."
Louise couldn't help but smile as she hung up. She let out a sigh as she turned to find Rebekah now laying on Stefan's bed flicking through his journal. The brunette then moved over to Stefan's armchair and rested her feet on his desk. "Did you get your fill of snooping yet? Can we get on with the story?"
Rebekah sat up, throwing the journal down and Louise leant back further in her seat. The vampire waltzed over to the desk and picked up a picture of Stefan and Elena. The couple looked truly happy there.
"Honestly, I don't get you two as a couple." Rebekah announced.
"They have that epic romance thing going on, or they did till your brother came into the picture. But why would you get them, you don't know anything about Stefan or who he really is." Louise commented, picking up the picture Rebekah had careless dashed on the desk.
"I know exactly who he is. He's a vampire. We're a predatory species." Rebekah leaned close to Louise's face. "We don't have time to care about humans and their silly little lives."
"I beg to differ." Louise muttered. She raised a brow. "You obviously do care about silly little human things. Is that why you did that runway show earlier? 'Cause you don't care about the Homecoming Dance." Rebekah straightened up and Louise got to her feet. "You know what, I'm just gonna go."
"You haven't even heard half the story." Rebekah said.
"And you are not going to tell it." Louise stated simply. "I'm bored and you're clearly bored and looking for someone to push around. Find someone else to play with...maybe you can compel yourself a friend." She began to walk toward the door.
"The necklace wasn't Stefan's to give. It belonged to the Original Witch."
Louise turned around. "The one who put the hybrid curse on Klaus?"
"Not just the hybrid curse. She's the one who turned us into vampires." Rebekah announced and Louise was once again, interested in the story. "I'm thirsty. Do you want a drink?" Rebekah asked as she walked past the brunette and towards the stairs. Louise sighed and reluctantly followed. Louise was quickly becoming agitated with the vampire.
"So, vampirism was a form of protection?" Louise asked, falling into step beside her.
"What else would it be?"
"Maybe a curse?"
"My parents only saw a way of keeping their children alive." Rebekah said as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Yeah, but why stay, why not...leave?" Louise asked. "If they were so afraid of the werewolves?"
"Pride." Rebekah answered as she took the lead now. "My father didn't want to run anymore. He wanted to fight and be superior to the wolves. Where they could bite, we had to bite harder. Where they had speed, we had to be faster. Agility, strength, senses..." Rebekah explained. "Ayana refused to help my mother, she said the spirits would turn on her then she walked out on us. Father then told mother that it was in her hands alone."
Louise's brows furrowed. "In her hands? How could she do anything?" Her eyes suddenly widened as she put the pieces together. "Your mother was a witch..."
Rebekah nodded. "The witch of the Original Family. The Original Witch?" They entered the library. Rebekah went straight to the shelves and began searching them. "Where do they keep their best vintage?"
Louise ignored her question. "But if your mother was a witch, then-"
"Am I?" Rebekah shook her head. "No, a witch is nature's servant; a vampire is an abomination of nature. You can either be one or the other, never both. My mother did this for us. She did not turn."
"How did you turn?"
"She called upon the sun for life, and the ancient white oak tree, one of nature's eternal objects, for immortality. That night, my father offered us wine laced with blood. And then he drove his sword through our hearts."
Louise's eyes widened at that and she whispered. "He killed you?"
"And he wasn't delicate about it either." The vampire muttered. She took a bottle of wine, breaking it's neck off with one motion of her hand and threw it into the fire place. "We had to drink more blood to complete the ritual. It was euphoric! The feeling of power was indescribable...but the witch Ayana was right about the consequences. The spirits turned on us, and nature fought back. For every strength there would be a weakness,"
Louise listened very intently as she watched Rebekah. It was as though the vampire was lost in her past memories as she told the story.
"The sun became our enemy. It kept us indoors for weeks. And though my mother found a solution by making daylight rings, there were other problems. Neighbours who had opened their homes to us could now keep us out."
"Flowers at the base of the white oak burned, and prevented compulsion." Vervain, Louise noted.
"And the spell decreed that the tree that gave us life could also take it away...so we burned it to the ground. But the darkest consequence was something my parents never anticipated. The hunger. Blood...had made us reborn and it was blood that we craved above all else. We could not control it...And with that, the predatory species was born..."
"Okay, I get that. But why did Mikael start hunting Klaus?" Louise asked. That was the biggest question hanging in the air.
Rebekah was quiet at first, as if contemplating whether or not she would tell her, but she had already told her too much. The vampire let out a sigh. "When Nik made his first human kill, it triggered his werewolf gene. With that, he became my father's greatest shame."
"Yeah." Louise nodded. "Elijah told us this part of the story. Your mother had had an affair with one of the werewolf villagers. Klaus wasn't his son."
"She tried to make it right. She put the hybrid curse on Nik to suppress his werewolf side, and then she turned her back on him." Rebekah explained and Louise's eyes fell to the floor. What a cold hearted bitch, Louise thought. "But Mikael's greatest weakness as a human was his pride. As a vampire, that was magnified. He went on a rampage and killed half the village. Then he came home and killed her."
"Mikael killed your mother?" Louise asked.
"He said she broke his heart so he would break hers. He tore it from her chest as Nik watched. Afterwards, my father took off in a rage, and the rest of my family scattered. Nik stayed, so he could help me bury her." This was the first time Louise realised how much Rebekah truly cared for her brother. "He knew I had to say goodbye to my mother. Elijah did too. We made a pack then to stick together as one."
"Always and Forever." Louise slightly mocked. "Even though Klaus locked you in a coffin for ninety years?"
"We're vampires. Our emotions are heightened." Rebekah argued. "I'm stubborn, Elijah moral, and Nik...Nik has no tolerance for those who disappoint him. Over a thousand years as a family we've all made that mistake at least once. I've made it several times."
"But you still love him?" Louise asked softly. She felt pity for the vampire. She could see the lost look in her blue eyes. She saw Rebekah was a lost little girl.
"He's my brother. And I'm immortal. Should I spend an eternity alone instead?" Rebekah asked. Louise doesn't answer because she understood. She could never see herself turning her back on Jeremy or Elena. "You've heard the story, it's time to go." The vampire grew annoyed when the seer doesn't budge. "I said leave, Louise! I don't know what you're up to, but I'm no longer playing along."
Louise held her hands up defensively. "Hey, I'm just looking for one good reason why we shouldn't wake Mikael."
"And I've given you a thousand! But you will anyway. I know you want him to help you kill my brother, I'm not stupid."
"I'll be honest," Louise sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "Right now, I don't think I want that." Rebekah furrowed her brows. Right now, Klaus isn't an active threat, he just wants to make hybrids so if they give him Louise and Elena's blood then he isn't a problem. Plus, there are too many vampires Louise cared about to bring a vampire vampire hunter into the whole mess. "Klaus...dead, I mean. But I'm not going to lie though. It's nice to know that Mikael is there, should Klaus become a problem."
Louise entered the Lockwood caves for the second time that day. She spotted Elena, Bonnie and Alaric looking at the drawings on the walls.
"So, this is where everyone is?" Louise asked, startling both Bonnie and Elena.
"Geez, why does everyone have a thing for sneaking around?" Elena muttered, placing her hand on her heart, as if to slow it. "Have you spoken to Damon?"
"Yep." Louise replied popping her p.
When her sister doesn't elaborate, Elena furrowed her brows. "Well? What did he say?"
"Him and Stefan are bonding." Louise shrugged. Before Elena could question her any further, Louise nodded over to the cave walls. "So, what do you have?"
"We, uh, filled in what we could." Alaric answered. He stuck a post-its to the different symbols. "A Vampire, werewolf, slaughter, mayhem, etc."
Louise nodded and took her sister's flashlight so she could get a better look. "That's the white oak tree that was used in the spell to create the vampires...which means that was when they burned down the tree, destroying the only way that they could be killed."
"Okay. so tree equals weapon, sort of. We already knew that." Alaric sighed, moving his own flashlight over the drawings. "What we are not sure about is this: we've got the witch symbol, and what looks like a bleeding heart. Upside down figures usually signified death, of some kind."
"Mikael killed the witch by ripping out her heart." Louise bit the inside of her cheek, looking toward the unknown symbol between the bleeding heart figure and the upside down figure. "But...why is that one connected to the witch's death?"
"We don't know." Bonnie spoke up. "We haven't gotten that far."
Louise looked as though she had made a revelation. "Oh my god...Rebekah doesn't know the real story."
"What are you talking about?" Bonnie asked.
"Mikael didn't kill their mother." Louise whispered. "Klaus did."
Louise slammed the front door of the boarding house behind her without meaning to. She entered the living room where Rebekah was pouring herself a glass of scotch. "I thought you were gone." Rebekah said, sipping from the glass slowly.
"How do you know that Mikael killed your mother?" Louise asked, deciding pleasantries weren't necessary at this point.
"Nik was there. He told me." Rebekah replied as if it was obvious.
"He lied to you, Rebekah. I'm sorry."
"And how do you know that?"
Louise walked towards her, coming to a stop so that they were inches away from each other. She withdrew the photos from her back pocket and unfolded it.
"The cave where you carved your family's names is covered in symbols." She showed Rebekah the photos. "The story of your family: how your parents arrived, how they made peace, the spell that turned them into vampires, and this. This is the symbol for hybrid. It's a combination of the werewolf and the vampire symbol. And this is the one for your mother."
"Her necklace." Rebekah breathed, glaring at the photo with an intense stare, like she could burn it if she stared hard enough.
Louise nodded. "And this is the story of her death. The hybrid killed the Original Witch. Not Mikael. Klaus."
Rebekah shook her head. "No! No, he wouldn't."
"She put the curse on him, made it so that he would be the only one of his kind, and then she rejected him. With the werewolf gene comes aggression and violence...when he turned, all of that was heightened. He killed her, Rebekah. And then he made up this entire lie about your father, so that he wouldn't lose you."
The vampire snatched the photos, tearing them to pieces before she threw them into the burning fireplace with each word. "These mean nothing! They're just stupid drawings, done by stupid people who had no idea who my family was!"
"Then why are you so upset?" Louise asked, remaining in her spot.
Rebekah turned back to look at her, tears filling her eyes. "Why are you doing this to me? I've done nothing to you!"
"No, you haven't. But you deserve the truth. Klaus killed your mother. He-"
Louise was cut off when the vampire grabbed her by the throat. "Shut up! Shut up! Don't talk anymore! Nothing!" The brunette doesn't say a word as Rebekah slowly let go of her. As Rebekah fell to the floor onto her knees and began to sob, Louise shifted uncomfortably.
Louise sat her vanity in her room. She picked up her brush, and turning her gaze to the mirror, began brushing her hair, counting the strokes as a distraction. The brunette sighed, tossing the brush onto the vanity and dragging her fingers through her static-filled hair before closing her eyes and dropping her head into her hands.
Suddenly, the air in the room shifted as a light breeze blew through her open window. She didn't move, but she couldn't help the smile that touched her lips. "The window, Damon?" she asked, propping her head on her chin as she gazed at his reflection in the mirror and raised a brow. "Really?"
He stood by the window, deep within the shadows that her bedside lamp couldn't reach. He shrugged. "Old habits."
She waited for him to say more, to give her a hint of where he'd been for six hours, but he said nothing and the silence began to weigh on her. Turning around, she tugged on the hem of his t-shirt, rather than her usual cami and yoga pants, that she'd decided to sleep in. He liked it when she wore his clothes to bed. Licking her lips, she asked. "Damon, what happened to you today?"
"I'm going to take a shower." he announced as he grabbed his bag before retreating to the bathroom and closing the door.
"O-kay." she replied weakly to the empty room, swallowing past the lump in her throat. The shower drowned out any other sounds from within.
She was still sitting at her vanity when Damon emerged, a pair of boxers secured low around his hips. Louise drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as he tossed his bag on the floor and climbing into her bed.
"Where have you been?" she asked quietly, doing her best to sound curious rather than accusatory.
Louise smiled faintly as she rose from her seat and joined him in bed, curling into his side. His body was still warm from the shower. "Why were you covered in blood? What happened to you today?" Louise asked quietly, and her voice was so soft that she wondered if Damon wasn't a vampire, if he'd still be able to hear her.
"I let Stefan out of his cave and we found Mikael." he told her as if he hadn't already.
Louise bit her lip. "No, what happened to you today? Seriously."
There was a beat and time paused, Louise wondered if Damon was going to answer her. "My brother managed to save me, again." Damon uttered, a little dryly and Louise doesn't move. "Mikael had his hand wrapped around my heart, literally, and Stefan found a loophole in Klaus' compulsion so that I didn't die." He said all that as if it was nothing.
"I know you don't tell me these things," she started. "I know you go out and get hurt and brush it off." Her voice sounded funny to her own ears. "I know, you don't tell me these things, Damon." she repeated. "But, I wish you did."
"And give you something else to worry about?" Damon rolled his eyes.
"I worry about you anyway." she said honestly.
Damon changed the subject. "You know, I think Mikael's weapon is a stake, 'cause he mentioned something about it..."
"Well, they must have carved it from the white oak tree before they burned it down."
"So I was right." Damon smiled and peeked at her from the corner of his eyes. "After all that, the wall lead us to Mikael."
Louise sighed as she stared at the popcorn textured ceiling of her bedroom. "Lead us to more than just that. I think I got Rebekah on our side, too."
"Really?" he asked sceptically and sounding impressed. "What 'd you learn from her?"
Louise shrugged. "I learned, that she's just a girl. That she lost her mom too young, and she loves blindly and recklessly, even if it consumes her." She looked over at Damon, staring at his soft face. "And when it's all said and done, there's nothing more important than the bond of family."
Damon sighed, rolling his eyes. "Well, you should tell that to my brother."
They both laughed lightly; two kind, silly sounds that merged into one blissful noise. Then she studied him, his face, and knew that he was hurting. "I think that you're gonna be the one to save him from himself. It won't be because he loves Elena, it'll be because he loves you."
Damon blinked, unsure of what to say. Unsure of how to comprehend what she was saying to him.
Silence fell between the pair. She rolled over and shut off the lamp then turned back over to face him. After several long minutes of nothingness, Louise shook her head and tear leaked from her eyes. Instantly, Damon's thumb was gently sweeping away the drop. He had absolutely no idea why she was upset.
"Louise, what's wrong?" he asked.
Louise bit her lip nervously. If she confessed everything to him, it could completely change things. She took in a shuddering breath. "I don't want to kill Klaus."
"What?"
"I don't want to kill Klaus." Louise's voice faltered and her eyes met Damon's baffled ones as she confessed. "I know sounds crazy but...I know killing Klaus will free Stefan and Elena and I will stop being living blood bags. But bring Mikael here, to Mystic Falls?" She paused. "That puts everyone, including you, at risk of him. It's selfish, I know."
Damon rubbed her chin. He went to open his mouth to speak but Louise cover it with her hand. "I'm conflicted about killing Klaus." She sighed. "Can I tell you the rest tomorrow?" She softly spoke into Damon's general direction, knowing only where he was from the bright of his eyes that could be seen in even the blackest of nights.
Damon nodded and his lips pressed into a thin line. "Sure." he replied in a hushed, and seemingly sympathetic tone. However, by this point Louise's eyes had already drifted shut and her breathing had deepened although she could still feel the safety of his presence surrounding her being.
A/N: So, here's another chapter. Louise is having conflicting feelings about killing Klaus...
Thanks for reading! Review?