Caroline was fumming. Elena has been captured, there was this evil guy that wants her and someone as ancient took her right from the loving arms of her friends. Demon and Stefan went to save her and after that she put herself in danger by undaggering the original (Elijah, the suited vampire, whom they barely defeated and put to sleep in their basement). Now, he had her once more and someone had to sacrifice for her. Again. Only this time it was her sister. Adopted sister, yes, but she loved her as she would her own blood.
Granted, Celia volunteered to stay behind with that Elijah guy instead of Elena, but it does not make Caroline any happier to know her baby sister is out there alone with a dangerous vampire. The first thing she did when she saw Demon, Stefan and Elena walk in the boarding house was to hug her best friend tight, thanking Stefan and punching Demon at his stupid remark. As usual. However, her attitude changed when she did not see Celia. And all Hell broke loose.
"What do you mean you left her behind, Stefan?" Caroline yelled.
"Relax, blondie. The guy gave us his word, no harm upon Miss Shy. Besides, she choose to stay so Elena can come back."
"And you let her? How can you believe him and leave my sister behind?"
"Calm down, Care" Elena tried "I trust Elijah and..."
"Then why didn't you stay with him?"
Before anyone else can stop her, Caroline rushed through the still opened doors, wondering aimlesly on the town's streets and the woods. She considered going to find Celia on her own. No vampire can mess with her sister, original or not. But she knew would be a bad idea. Demon already staked him once, dirrectly in the heart, and yet this Elijah guy was fine. And Elena gave him the dagger that could hold them in a coma like state to show him she and her friends mean well and can be trusted. So at the end of the day, all she could do was wait. And patience did not describe her too much. Not when it comes to family.
Celia sipped from the now cold tea. She and the classy vampire in a suit sat at a table outside some secret safe house he owned. Elena just left with the Salvatores few minutes ago and uncomfortable silence already settled in. From what she's heard, Elijah was telling her friend the sobbing backstory of the bad guys (all villains have one, right?). He offered to tell her too, since the doppleganger obviously won't hear the end of it anytime soon. Eyeing him suspicioulsy, Celia gave in with a small nod, understanding the man's need to free himself of an weightening past.
"As I retailed to lovely Elena, whose place you so noble offered to take..."
"It's nothing noble or heroic in what I did. I am simply curious." She smiled sweetly at him. But for some reason, he didn't believe the younger woman. "Jeremy lost too much already, he can't lose his sister too." Celia wishpered, thinking that if Elijah was about to tell her his life story, she can be honest too.
"But he can lose you?" Elijah inquired, curiosity now raised in his mind.
Shrugging, the teenager replied "A loss of a sibling hurts more that the one of a high school sweethart."
The older man frowned. He could see her honesty in her words filled with self lessen thoughts. It perked his interest and he had to remind himself of the job he was there to do: help those baby vamps kill Klaus and save the doppleganger of his beloved Katerina (Tatia). Instead of pursuing the subject any further he meant to start his story again. But one more thing had to be fixed down before he could regain his peace of mind.
"You seem to know from experience." At the lack of a reaction from her – other than shrugging and staring with an empty look in her tea – Elijah continued. "What makes you so sure I would kill you, miss...?"
"Forbes. Celia Forbes." She filled the gap for him before answering his question. "I am not sure, but I am the kind of girl that takes cautious rather than risks."
She spoke so easily, as if she did not fear for her life. It ripped another question from the original brother. "You are not frightened by death?"
"I am too afraid by life to let the creepy lady with a scythe scare me too."
It was as if with every question, he dived deeper into the unknown. He could not understand her, and for the first time in years, he was reminded of the value humans souls have: to contain countless universes within them. Clearing his throat, Elijah decided to drop the subject for the time being.
"Very well, then. I will resume my tale, if I may."
Hiding her excitment – failing to do so, more likely – Celia crossed her legs, entwined her hands in her lap and pushed herself closer. "Yup."
Long time ago, vikings landed their sheeps on what was to become Mystic Falls. They raided and stole people from this land, as they did best and settled down. The village's chief was a ruthless, powerful man named Mikael. With his heart as cold as the freezing place they left, he had still a wife and children. Esther, the woman who choose to marry him, hold much power in her hands, for she had witch blood running in her veins. She never used her magic, allowing human nature to follow it's own course whitout interference. This woman strongly believed in faith and destiny. She refused to step out of line, out of her place, and derrange the order of things. How much she truly thought of it all by herself is not known, for by her side another powerful witch passed her knowledge down to her. Ayanna was her name, Ayanna Bennet, and as all from her blood line before her, she proclaimed herslf a guardian of nature spirits.
Celia rolled her eyes, movement that did not passed unnoticed by the vampire man. To answer his questioning gaze, she murmured under her breath "Witches are so hypocrites! When something doesn't works the way they want, they bend magic to their will and change it, but act all stuck up in front of others in need." Elijah gave her a confused nod, but decided to continue the story anyway.
All were good in the small village. As good as something could be in those harsh times. The children of Mikael and Esther grew together, in fear from their father and like strangers to their mother's protection.
"What do you mean?"
"Father liked to, how to put in in? – toughen up his sons. He dismissed anything alike with weakness in his perception. Mother usually turned a blind eye to his... methods."
Mikael used to take the boys on hunting trips, teach them how to fight. He wanted to turn them into real men, by the rules of the era. The oldest son, Finn, obedient and quite, many times passed unseen by his father and stood with their mother all day long. The youngest one, Kol, wild and untammed used to spend days away from the village, or hidden in Ayanna's tent practicing magic – something Esther has banned all her childrens to do. That left the middle ones to go with Mikael anywhere he wanted. The two of them were the closer, putting up with their father's cruelty together.
"Cruelty... what did he do?"
Elijah turned his eyes away, taking his time to form a proper answer. But no right words came. How could he admit his father's ways to punish them all when they did something wrong to a stranger girl? How could he spoke about the beatings he and his siblings recieved? Worst of all, how could he retaliate all the times he watched Mikael torture and verbally abuse his little brother doing nothing to help him out?
"Is totally fine if you don't want to talk about it. You can just go on with the rest." Celia said smoothly, a sympathetic look in her eyes.
Whenever a child missbehaved, Mikael disciplined with his palms, sometimes fists too. He yelled and screamed to make his point across, to be sure they understood him perfectly and that moment would be forever carved in their memories. However, there was one of them who had it the worst. Mikael used to take all his anger and bad days on one of his sons.
"Elijah, it's fine. You don't have to tell me this." The young undercover witch repeated. She thought the vampire man talked about himself and didn't want to make him feel as bad as he used to.
When he hit him, this third younger son, Mikael used his fists, his legs, anything that fall in his hands. And not only that, he verbally abused him too. Which was worse? He thought the beatings that stained his blonde curls in crimson blood, dried to become brown in his hair. But the years proved his words hit harder. The entire bad behaviour hurt him more. But the bad part truly is: no one stood up for him.
Celia listened in horror. She felt bad for the misterios brother and, as wrapped up in the story as she was, she failed at connecting the obvious dots. All she could focus on resumed at one thing, compassion for the poor siblings, but for the miserable blonde especially. Wanting to say something to comfort him, or apollogizing for the messed up parenting, or offer her help somehow, she met Elijah's hard rock expression and remembered she had to pick her friends' side and just learn more about their enemy.
Esther gave birth to another boy. Years passed and nothing changed, except for little Henrik who grew up by the day. Long before the vikings took the lands as their, the woods, the river and the plains belonged to soemone else. A species no one has heard of back then and no one believes in now. Men half human, half beasts woke up every full moon nights to raid the village as wolves. Mikael and the other fighters chased them away, put them on a run. But they always come back. The attacks ceased after Esther's third son was born, but the problems they caused were far from ending.
One day, as the second and third borns were fighting for fun, the only sister they had unintentionally caught their father's attention. Rebekah, for that is the girl's name, pointed at them, laughed and asked to be taught how to wield a sword as well (something she never stopped doing). However, before the blue eyed winner could even attempt to finally make her wish come true – few things she wanted that her brother would not try to give to her the second she expressed her wish – Mikael joined the fight. But he did not look to have fun. He went with all his force agains his blonde son, who did not want to fight with his father any more that he wished to dissapoint him. He tried to catch their mother's eye to beg her for help, but she looked away and took all the other children with her.
What happened remains lost, a secret only the tow men share. All that is known, is Esther's third born leaved the house that night. Later on he was found in a cave by Rebekah. She convinced him to return home, despite his strong pull to the woods, away from pain. That cave became their special training spot, where they could be free of Mikael's cruel reign.
One day, as Rebekah was too busy helping her mother, Henrik snucked out with Mikael's least favourite son. They went in the forest, driven by the older one's desire to watch the werewolves turn. Only one of them had enough luck to make it back home alive. When Esther saw his younger son, dead in his brother's arms as he carried him back in the village, her teary eyes matched her son's blue ones. The whole family was devastated. Pain by the great loss, the parents had a chat with Ayanna. She agreed to help them, but as soon as she realised what Esther prepared to do, she left.
In a dreadfull night, as black magic unbalanced the natural order of things in the world and caught shape and form, vampires were born. Mikael ran a sowrd through his children and then killed himself after they all drank from Esther's potion. What the kids didn't know was their mother's spell had it's roots in blood, what they drank wae blood and the rest of their time on Earth will be defined by blood. The family raised, reborn as creatures of the night. All of them except for the witch who praised her connection to nature too much. She gave them rings too, to protect them from the now poisonous sun light. Playing with bigger forces has it's price. Yes, they were immortal, but the sun burned them to ashes from they grey back up again, a certain plant – vervain – hurt them more than anything they ever experienced. But what Mikale couldn't stand was the oak tree from which Esther helped herself to make the spell. Only the white oak tree could deffinetely end their missery. So they burnt it to the ground.
On the next full moon, a secret reavealed itself. One that completely destroyed the family. As the vampire fed on innocents, killing with no remorse out of mere hunger, the third born son roared in pain in the woods. Under the full moon, his bones begun to break and, before his father and siblings' terrified looks, he turned into a wolf. Esther had an affair with the Alpha of the werewolves pack that lived there. Even though Mikael killed the man, he couldn't be pleased untill he'd wash the humiliation away. Only after that, he cluld rest. And so he did, with the help of his wife.
Together they tied the bastard child and bind his werewolf side. A special rock named the moon stone was used in this ritual. To break it, the stone is of maximum importance. Also, to create such a powerfull spell, a celestial event was needed, alongside the blood of a doppleganger. Another two things that would make the curse impossible to break if not involved in the process. But punishing the product of his wife infidelity was not enough to satisfy Mikael. He killed Esther too, forcing his children to run and disipate. Only three stood behind to barry their late mother: Rebekah, Elijah and Niklaus.
"Wait! Klaus is your brother? He is the bastard blonde in the stroy?"
"I think the term you are looking for used now days is 'OMG' ".
Celia lost her ability to speak and think properly. All along, she felt bad and actually related with this character that turns out to be her enemy. Even knowing this, she can't hate him anymore. Against better advices, she kind of started to root for Klaus to break his curse.
"So, does it mean the only curse the moon stone can break is his?"
"Yes. It was a clever plan of my brother. What better way to find a doppleganger and other necceseties if not by making everyone search for them?"
"Nice" Celia mused impressed, much to her companion's surprise.
They made a vow to each other: to stick together as one, always and forever.
Celia smiled fondly at his words. She already forgot her enemies and allies, halfway lost in the rough, sad beauty of this family's story. Their sacred promise ranged in her ears,many hours after she part ways with the original vampire. They made her arm hair raise, her heart to tingle in admiration and something else – something she couldn't quite place, a yarning of old times when she had blood siblings of her own.
And so they did. For ten centuries they fought for each other against the bitter odds, the cruel world. In the blessed year of 1500, the brothers stumbled upon Katerina Petrova, the next doppleganger. It seems they skimms and clever plans to create writings that speak of a way to unbid the werwolves from the moon and vampires from the sun worked. But the girl escaped her faith as sacrifice.
"Sacrifice?" The brunette yelled.
"I'm afraid so. To undo mother's work, Klaus must drink the blood of one of Tatia's dopplegangers to the girl's death."
Shocked, Celia couldn't talk. If the original hybrid, as she just learned Klaus was, succeded in his plans (something part of her somehow still wanted for him) Elena will die. The girl sighed and untangle her feet, closing her eyes to think. Damn her empathy! She just have to wish to be able to help everyone, doesn't she?