AN: Is there really Klaroline vs Kalijah discourse in the reviews? Guys, we're all supposed to be in the same boat. I'm gonna settle some of this right now.
I never said this was 100% Kalijah with a side of Klaroline. That doesn't mean I'm going to let Klaroline take over, and push Kalijah into the corner. From here on in, the story will be about 50/50. There will be some Kalijah-focused chapters, and some Klaroline-focused chapters. There will be some chapters without ship interaction, where the girls are off doing their own thing or whatever. So don't be surprised if I mix it up. I have some good plotlines planned for both of them.
Steroline is still a problem, but I promise they will break up as soon as it makes sense. (When Stefan comes to New Orleans basically, like in canon.) They will barely be mentioned before then.
When I said Caroline will show up in Chapter Eight, I wasn't including the prologue. Sorry, I should have made that clearer. But, in my defense, I do put the chapter number before every chapter (as seen below).
Katherine ran away to protect Elijah's family from her own enemies because she loves him.
-Izzy x
Chapter Eight – The Originals 3x09
Rebekah stormed out of the public bathroom, angered by the unhygienic quality of the gas station, and threw her old clothes into a nearby bin. "I would prefer the bottom of the murky sea to that restroom" she informed Elijah as she stepped up to him. He was inspecting the strange, dark stake she had stuck in her chest for the last couple weeks as he leaned against the car, waiting for her to finish changing.
"Still hungry, are we?" Elijah deduced, condescending her attitude.
"I'm not hungry," she claimed. "I'm angry. Staked by your ex, drowned by Nik's. You two need a lesson in women." She scratched her forearm as Elijah smirked, finding something amusing in that. "What? What is it? What's funny?"
Elijah blinked, shrugging. "Funny you should mention our disappointing ex's. Katherine Pierce arrived in New Orleans a few weeks ago. She and I rekindled, and then she left. Our lives were too dangerous for her, and not quite worth it."
Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Typical. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the bloody bitch is alive to begin with…" She trailed off, realising what she had said when she said it, and understood why Elijah seemed upset. "Elijah, I'm sorry. Nik told me not to tell you."
"Oh he did, did he?"
Rebekah looked pleading. "Elijah, you know what it's like with Nik tells you to do something! He's got those daggers, and that wolf venom, and Katherine Pierce was a manipulative whore to begin with. She wasn't worth it, Elijah."
"She was to me," he told her. "And I would have thought you, of all people, would have more respect for me, to not lie to me. I already wished her goodbye for the sake of my family, I don't know what more I could have given to you."
Rebekah sighed, reaching up to touch his arm. "She never could have made you happy," she insisted with a sigh. "Distancing yourself from her would make you happy."
"Isn't that for me to decide?" He asked, crossing his arms. "Happiness isn't determined by sanity or logic. Being with her felt right, and I'm tired of being denied the opportunities because of you and Niklaus. How is that fair on me?"
Rebekah sucked her teeth. "Look, I just got out from the bloody ocean, can we talk about this when we get home?"
Elijah sighed. "Perhaps it is you who should be taking a lesson, Sister. You damned one of the ex's who hurt you to eternity, and viciously antagonise the others. Every woman either of us bring into our lives. You stop us from making the mistakes, and are then surprised when we don't learn from them. I'm one thousand years old, Rebekah. I can make my own decisions."
She scoffed. "Go ahead. Chase after Katherine then. Hunt her down and demand she return to our city with you. Date her, whatever. But when she hurts you, again, don't say that I didn't warn you. Because I promise you, that bitch is better off dead."
There was a long silence in which neither of them spoke. Rebekah leaned against the car and tried to change the conversation, knowing that she's probably gone too far with Katherine. "Do those lunatics actually believe the prophecy?" She asked. Elijah gave her a knowing look and she raised an eyebrow. "You don't, do you?"
"You would be foolish to ignore it," he informed her.
"We can't be killed, Elijah," Rebekah prompted him.
"The prophecy said that one of us would fall by family," he claimed.
"Well I would never harm you," she promised, exclaiming, and gesturing. "You killed half the navy rescuing me. Freya hates traitors…" She trailed off at some itching pain in her forearm.
"Let us not forget our allegiance to Finn," he mused. "A part of me would like to trust him, but he has killed family before, and attempted murder on those of us he did not manage to successfully slaughter."
Rebekah sighed. "So that leaves Nik." There was a pause as they both doubted the safety of their brother's company. "Do you think he's learned his lesson about backstabbing his family?"
Elijah shrugged. "I believe he learns that lesson all the time." The car was finished filling with gas, and Elijah put the nozzle back. "He's just a terrible student."
Rebekah paused, her mind going blank for a minute. "Do you ever want to rip out his heart, and see how long it takes to grow back?" A second later, she couldn't believe she had said that. Of course she didn't want to kill her brother.
She cried out in pain and lifted the sleeve of her shirt to see the little red rash forming on her wrist. Elijah looked at her, concerned, and went over to inspect it. "What is it?"
"Great," Rebekah sighed. "You know what to get me for Christmas? The cure to a magical mark growing on my arm." She held it up so that Elijah could compare it to the marks on the stake, noticing their similarities.
Aurora did not like to be yanked around by her chain.
There were less than thirty 'Caroline's in Mystic Falls, and only about eight of them were a blond-ish colour. None of them seemed particularly perky, and nothing about them seemed to stand out enough for Klaus to be interested. However, after a quick google of 'Mystic Falls Caroline', she found the results for Miss Mystic Falls, a few years ago.
"Ah," Aurora nodded, smirking. "A beauty queen."
Caroline Forbes. She typed the name into Facebook, and found her current place of residence. Whitmore College, miles away. Aurora scowled at the distance, but got back in her car and sped down the highway.
It wasn't insanely far out of town, just a couple extra hours of the day wasted.
She bought a Barbie Doll for the 'Toys 4 Tots' charity event they were hosting and handed it to some pretty young woman in an elf hat with 'Bonnie' written on her name tag. "It's a toy," Aurora said, wiggling the box proudly. "For a tot."
"Thank you," Bonnie said, looking busy, and putting it in a huge bucket of toys.
Aurora smiled sweetly at her, before looking around the room for Caroline. And she found her, standing at a crate of toys with a phone in her hand.
"Last year we filled ten crates," she was saying in her high-pitched voice. "This year I'm aiming for twenty." She seemed perky, she was definitely blonde, and her name was Caroline. This must have been her. "To do what?" She asked into the phone. "Attend any more drama classes? I have to do Alice in Wonderland, and the whole costume is polyester. It's literally the worst thing that's ever happened to me."
The girl held a clipboard and directed other helpers around the room, clearly in charge of the place. In a second, her expression went from joking to stressed out about something.
"You're chasing after an immortal jerk who basically killed your mother," Caroline muttered into the phone. "That's much more important. I can handle this." She paused, staring at some guy's neck for a second doo long before exclaiming into her phone: "Yes! I'm here. How are you?"
Okay, so she definitely knew about the supernatural, and Aurora could sense vampirism on her. If you knew about vampires, you would have been able to identify the confidence, and the way she walked with simple elegance.
"And that's my cue," Caroline announced. "I'll call you later." She hung up her phone and sighed, slipping it into her pocket.
Bonnie walked over to her and took a toy from Caroline's hand, speaking a little too loudly. "Hey, Stefan," she mimicked. "Did I forget to mention that Bonnie caught me mixing a blood bag with mayonnaise at three o'clock in the morning?"
Caroline rolled her eyes. "Okay, that was marshmallow fluff," she corrected. "And I'm experimental?! What do you want me to say?"
Bonnie huffed. "Why don't you just tell him you miss him?"
"Because he doesn't need to know," Caroline exclaimed, bumping Bonnie with her hip. "Hey, I gotta go. James wants to run lines for a little bit. You think you can handle this?"
Bonnie blinked, gesturing around the room. "If you can handle all this, I can handle a fraction of it," she promised. "Go. Have fun."
Caroline grinned before grabbing her bag and taking off her elf hat, strutting out of the building. Aurora followed her, studying her from behind. She didn't seem to be armed, so the only thing she had on her side was baby vampire strength, and that was easily manageable.
Outside, Aurora approached her, grinning. "Hey," she greeted. "I'm Aurora. I just donated a toy for a tot."
Caroline blinked. "Okay?"
"You're Caroline Forbes, right?" Aurora said, appreciating the look of slight suspicion on the younger vampire's face. "Sorry, I was told to look for a perky blonde in Mystic Falls, and you're the best match."
"Who the hell are you?" Caroline asked, stopping her walk and turning to her completely, trying to square up.
"How rude of me," she smirked. "I'm Aurora de Martel. Long lost love of Niklaus Mikaelson. You were his girlfriend, right?"
Caroline cringed. "Ew! No!" She exclaimed, seemingly mad at the very idea. "He had a thing for me, but I was like: Ew! No! And then he went to New Orleans. I was not his girlfriend!"
"Apparently, you had sex against a tree?"
Caroline paused, blinking. "Oh yeah," she muttered.
Aurora laughed. "Oh, Caroline. You're so silly." She flashed forward and snapped Caroline's neck, catching her body as she fell to the ground and carrying her over to her car. She opened the truck up and stuffed her inside, checking her phone. "Well, Caroline, it's a fourteen-hour drive to New Orleans, and if we leave now and break a few laws, we should be there by night fall."
As soon as Rebekah arrived, they had the matter of Freya's recent attack to talk about. Rebekah sat on the sofa with her, and told her a little about her new skin condition. Eventually, Hayley left them to talk to Jackson, and Freya lowered her voice to talk to Rebekah.
"Hey, um… Tristan said something about Finn the other day, which got me thinking. How is it Elijah doesn't even have hope for him?" She asked, her eyebrows knitting together. "He has hope for all of you, except Finn."
Rebekah didn't reply straight away. Her face fell and she looked dire. "Freya, it's been a long trip," she dodged. "I'm tired, and there's been a lot of stress for one day. Besides, it's Christmas. I'd rather not ruin the day any further."
"Yeah, I get it," Freya said, nodding. "Klaus said something similar. But I'm Finn's sister too, the only one he likes. I should know what he did that was so bad. Apparently, he killed family. I didn't know there was any more of you."
Rebekah sighed. "Freya, I promise I will tell you, but not right now." She looked around at everyone else in the courtyard. "Not here."
"Okay," Freya agreed, relenting. "Okay, later."
Rebekah paused and then turned her voice to a whisper. "Is Elijah okay?" She asked, nervously. "I heard Katherine came back. That bitch seems to have really done a number on him."
Freya looked over to Elijah, who looked sad. It was the same way he'd looked for days. Not angry anymore. Just sad. And he'd been so happy when Katherine was there. "He's playing sad music," Freya claimed with a shrug. "He doesn't sleep. He barely drinks blood. He's not talking to anyone except from factual exchanges of information, reduced to a one-sentence answer. I think he's heartbroken, but he kind of does all that anyway."
Rebekah shook her head, angrily. "That bitch," she mused. "She only ever pops into Elijah's life to hurt him and then leave."
Freya shrugged. "I don't know. She seemed genuine."
"Yeah, she always does," Rebekah claimed. "But you don't know her like I do. It's an act. She doesn't care about anyone but herself. She doesn't know how. Don't trust her, Freya. She only knows how to hurt people."
Over the next few hours, Rebekah peaked in her insanity, and Freya almost killed herself attempting a spell to save her before she killed Hayley. Camille and Klaus arrived home after saving an innocent man from suicide, and Hayley and Jackson put their disagreements to the side to enjoy Christmas with the family.
All seemed perfectly right in the world.
Elijah observed the scene from a balcony, looking down at the bright Christmas tree and array of presents. But one almost went unnoticed. A folded piece of paper, barely balancing on the railing of the balcony, with his name scribbled across it.
His eyes narrowed and he picked it up, unfolding it and scanning over it. Then he read it again. And again. He read it a number of times until he had completely memorised every word and annotated every sentence.
My Dearest, Elijah,
I lied. I do that sometimes. But I lied to you about what I lied about.
When I showed up in New Orleans, I told you I had enemies everywhere who would be coming for me. But I lied. I was running from one in particular. One so strong, your family is the only collection of people who could stand against him. So, I made a deal with Klaus.
I lied when I told you Nadia Petrova died in 1542. She died last year at my side, like I originally told you. Markos and I haven't been physically together since we conceived Nadia.
And I don't care about the dangers your life brings to mine, because you're worth every problem you cause. Which is why, after five hundred years, I still did not give up on you. Being with you was never part of the plan, but when I saw you again at the hotel bar I couldn't stop myself.
I apologise if this is all rushed and unexplained. I don't have a lot of time.
When struggling to survive, you're always better off with a good lie. But I want you to know the truth.
My lies won't do me any good any more.
For the last time: goodbye, my Lord.
Yours, always and forever,
Katerina.
While she was focusing on her survival, she would always stick to her lies, for her own damn safety. She specifically stated that in the letter, as well as to his face multiple times. But she claimed not to need her lies anymore. She didn't care about her survival anymore. There was only one reason she would reveal all her secrets in one go this way.
The last time.
Freya walked up to Elijah, leaning against the balcony with him and looking over the Christmas festivities, looking distant. "100 years ago, I snuck into a Christmas ball here. And I wanted so much to be a part of it. But I thought I was forever fated to be an outsider. Always looking in. I know this hasn't been your most elegant family Christmas, but… It's the best one I've ever had."
She leaned her chin on Elijah's shoulder and he took her hand in an attempt to find comfort, as the news sank its way into his heart.
"What's wrong?" Freya asked, realising instantly how something was up.
Elijah swallowed and tucked the letter into his jacket pocket. "Katherine Pierce is dead," he informed her, quite casually. He slipped his hand from her grip and stalked off down the hall, closing the door to his own private sanctuary and letting the emotional turmoil engulf him.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Klaus found Camille on the balcony, overlooking the beauty of the New Orleans night time. "You look…" he mused as he approached her.
"Do not say tired," she requested, turning around and leaning against the railing. "You've lived long enough to know never to tell a woman she looks tired."
Klaus smirked, stepping closer. "I was going to say contemplative." Camille laughed and Klaus cocked his head. "Penny for your thoughts?"
Camille looked distant, and almost sad. "I was thinking about you. And what Katherine and Aurora said about you. That I mean nothing but a reminder of a girl you loved in another city. Caroline. Who is she?"
He looked into the street and took a deep breath. "Miss Mystic Falls," he informed her. "She's a beauty queen. A cheerleader. A young vampire. She really meant a lot to me. I was still pining for her when I met you, but we never dated. And while parts of you remind me of parts of her, you are not a carbon copy."
Camille nodded, appreciating his honesty. "And um… Aurora. Was she right? Were you really trying to get her to kill me, so she'd ignore Caroline?" There was a long pause, where Klaus neglected to answer, and so Camille continued. "Because you mean more to me than that," she whispered, stepping closer. "But if you're willing to let me die, to have me killed, for some other girl, then… Then we're not on the same page and… You need to let me go. Because this hurts me. And I don't want to wait around to find out if the pain is worth it. So just be honest with me."
Finally, Klaus nodded. "Yes," he said. "I was going to have you killed if it ensured Caroline's safety."
Camille nodded again, clearly expecting that answer. A single tear fell down her cheek and she touched Klaus's arm briefly before walking away and leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Burying his pain further down inside of him, Elijah managed to get out of the compound and into one of the neat alleyways of New Orleans, where Rebekah was waiting for him. "I got your message," he muttered, trying to keep his voice normal.
"I was halfway to the airport when I got the sudden urge to rip out my taxi driver's jugular," Rebekah told him, matter-of-factly. "I only just resisted." She pulled up the sleeve of her coat to show him the mark that reappeared on the newly grown skin.
Elijah didn't reply straight away. He was too far in shock. No, that couldn't be happening. He could watch his sister fall into pain and insanity on the same day that he finally lost his Katerina for good. No day could be that bad. Which meant that mark couldn't be real.
He stepped forward, shaking his head, and took her arm, examining it. "No," he said, more to himself than to her when he realised it was true.
"I'm afraid so," Rebekah said, grimly.
"Freya can try something else," Elijah decided. He was not going to lose his sister today. Not today.
"And what if we run out of time?" Rebekah asked him, regretfully. "I already went after Hayley. Who's next? Freya herself?" There was a pause as Rebekah emphasised the situation. "Hope? And even if she can-"
"You don't want to run," Elijah guessed. His sister was surprisingly alike to Katerina. Perhaps that was the reason for their cruel hatred towards each other?
Rebekah smiled, slightly. "No, I always hated it," she said. Ah. That was the difference. Rebekah pulled a dagger, one of their brother's, out of her pocket and handed it to him. It had already been dipped in ash, it just needed to be used. "Hide my body," she recommended. "Do not tell a soul. Especially not Niklaus. Let him be happy. Just this once. This is our burden to bare. Yours and mine. When the year that the prophecy foretold is over, have Freya figure out a cure, wake me up and throw me one hell of a party."
Elijah just shook his head. "I can't," he whispered, his eyes beginning to turn red with the grief.
"Why not?" Rebekah exclaimed. "Maybe the only way to stop this stupid prophecy is to embrace it! Control it. If we can control it then maybe we can change it." She stepped closer to Elijah, who stepped away. "When I am buried, the family part of the prophecy will be over. You'll be able to trust them again. Freya, Niklaus. You can stop anyone, friend or foe, that comes at you. So do it, Elijah."
He raised a hand to silence her. "No," he pleaded.
"Do it!" She insisted, pushing the dagger into his hand and aiming it for her chest. "DO IT!"
Elijah always forgot how satisfying it was to stab something. He always ribbed, or snapped his enemies to the points of their deaths. He rarely had need for weapons, and so he rarely got to stab people.
But oh, was it satisfying.
The tension released from his shoulders and back when the blade entered his sister's heart. His muscles relaxed for a split second and he sighed, contently.
Then he realised what he'd done, and caught her as she fell, picking her up to take her home, and instantly regretting the whole lot of it.
Aurora sat at the piano, softly playing music as she thought to herself. Tristan approached her, and set a little bottle on top of the piano, sitting down next to her. "Beautiful," he complimented. "You should play more."
Aurora smiled. "Oh, I never stopped playing," she promised. "I compose whole songs in my head, brother." She stopped playing suddenly and turned to him with a grin.
"You had a good day then," Tristan deduced, seeming happy for her.
Aurora nodded, positively delighted. "Hm, yes. A beautiful day. And here's to an even better tomorrow." She resumed playing, picking up where she left off and turning away from Tristan.
Both of Klaus's interests were completely where she wanted them. Camille's throat was slit and she was due to wake up as a vampire any moment. And Caroline? Well that poor darling was upstairs, tied to a chair with vervain soaked ropes and a snapped neck. There was a little bow on her head, so when Klaus found her, she looked just like a Christmas Present.
New Years Eve…
The brunette strutted through the empty street, her heels clicking as her long legs took strides through cars to reach her own. But the increasing sound of footsteps behind her was impossible to ignore. It was when she finally reached her car that she realised who was behind her, and what was happening.
Katherine gently put her handbag down on the concrete and turned around to face her attacker, taking a very deep breath.
For the first time in five hundred years, she wasn't afraid. There was no way out of it, no way to run. She may as well embrace it.
She even nodded, understandingly.
"Will he be okay?" She whispered holding her head up high. She never got a reply. Instead, her attacker raised their crossbow and fired. It pierced through her heart and she fell down onto the concrete, clutching her chest. The brick wall behind her stained with blood and she didn't even get the chance to close her eyes before she finally died.
AN: Do not blame me. I am but a simple instrument to the muse... -Izzy x
