Chapter 11
"What about Vicky?" Elena released a shaky breath and turned towards her boyfriend and brother. "Is she okay? Have you found her?"
"She's been given blood if that's what you mean," Kol replied with a cheeky grin at her startled look. "It's okay love, Damon here told us all about his night with the late Miss. Donovan."
"Damon!" Elena hissed, looking between her boyfriend and Damon before glancing toward the Mikaelsons. Damon shot the younger Mikaelson a dirty look, but his face looked resigned and more than a bit bitter. Caroline had to keep herself from laughing at the doe-in-the-headlights expression on her face. The brunette looked towards the Salvatores, clearly waiting for them to explain.
"Elena, Jeremy saw Vicky tonight," Caroline spoke softly when her friend looked at her with wide, scared eyes. Caroline raised her hands in an attempt to calm the brunette down. "She didn't hurt him. He's fine, but he knows something's off with her. Do we know how she got out?"
Stefan sighed, "My brother didn't think much about allowing a newborn free reign in a town full of people." The vampire turned to the blonde and raised a brow.
Caroline crossed her arms, "Stefan Salvatore judging me for my dating choices?"
Bonnie looked between the two groups, "All of you are vampires?" the young witch asked, verifying the bomb Damon had dropped.
Rebekah rolled her eyes, "The Salvatores are a pale imitation of what we are, Bennett. We at least are original."
"Original?" Elena asked
"Yes, Gilbert. Original, as in the first of our kind? Your lovely boyfriend and his idiotic brother stem from one of our lines." Kol grinned, watching the way Elena seemed to pale at the realization. And Vicky?"
"Damon's sire," Niklaus answered, glancing over at the brothers with a grin. "Unless Stefan here has decided to stop the bunny diet?"
Damon rolled his eyes. "Sorry to disappoint you, but my brother is stubborn, refusing to actually eat."
"What about Vicky?" Caroline asked, finally losing her patience. "Where is she? If you gave her blood, does that mean what I think it means?"
Niklaus wrapped his arms around Caroline's waist, pressing his chest against her back. His face buried itself into her neck, purring lowly only for her ears. Caroline barely caught it, glancing over at his siblings, who, if they heard, weren't speaking of it. This allowed Caroline to let out a relieved sigh when Niklaus answered.
"She is currently digging her way through our stash of blood bags in our dungeon, " At that, Nikalus kissed her forehead. "It's for her safety as well, love. She doesn't have a daylight ring, and this town's last need is a raging newborn in its hands."
"What are you going to do?" Caroline was surprised that Bonnie had asked. The witch could barely look at Caroline, making the blonde wince.
Elijah answered, "That depends on Miss Donovan. She can't be left to her own devices, but it would be hypocritical of us to harm her now that we've salvaged the damage as much as we could."
"Damage?" Elena gasped. "Did she hurt someone?"
Kol shrugged, "Nothing a bit of compulsion won't cure."
Before Elena could ask, Bonnie answered, "Vampire power—think of it like hypnotism. Vampires have the ability to change a person's perception and actions. The older the vampire, the more dangerous the power."
Kol grinned, "Little Witch! It seems you are not as hopelessly ignorant as when I met you."
Bonnie's shoulders rose in irritation; Caroline stepped away from Niklaus to intervene until Bonnie tossed back a, "From here, it seems you are just as irritating as ever."
Kol giggled, clapping, "Oh, I like you. Caroline, do you like this one?"
Caroline rolled her eyes, leaning back into her boyfriend's arms, sensing at least the largest of the dangers had passed. "Bonnie's been one of my best friends since we were toddlers, Kol. I love her."
Bonnie's eyes warmed slightly as she glanced over at Caroline. Caroline offered up a small smile of her own. Kol giggled some more, more manic than Caroline had ever seen him. That was until Elijah slapped him upside the head.
"Elijah! What was that bloody for?" The vampire whined.
Elijah fixed his cufflinks, which had gone askew in his attempt to maintain order. "Kol, outside of our sister, the rest of the ladies are human. Perhaps they would like to get some sleep in the next day or so."
Rebekah rolled her eyes, glancing over at Finn, "Perimeter?"
"Secure. All the humans have safely left the property."
Elijah gave a soft smile. "Good. The first order of business is how to deal with you," the original said, glancing at Salvatores.
Elena gasped, "What are you talking about? Deal with? Zach is their family! They belong here!"
"They also put the entire town in danger, love," Kol rolled out. " Our world runs a lot like yours, even though we have rules."
Damon scoffed, "Barely the only thing the vampire race cares about is feeding."
Sage, who had kept quiet until now, growled, "Being able to continue feeding means not getting caught. You cannot simply run to another town anymore. Damon, the humans not only outnumber us, but their technology could outnumber us. How do you suppose we feed then?"
"Nothing a vampire cannot handle unless they are stupid," Damon argued. "Besides, the town is covering up the attacks. Now that I've decided to stay a while, I'll make sure to teach those who actually die by my hand, alright?"
Niklaus turned to look at Damon, "What were you planning on doing with Vicky? You let her loose without any training. No idea of the rules."
"Again, what rules?" Damon scoffed.
"Think back to our time together, Damon. Most of what I taught you has become law. While we don't hold a court to try you, a supernatural member would be within their rights to stop you," Sage reminded him. "It's about not risking exposure."
"We will help Vicky," Stefan said. "My brother turned her over; it's our responsibility to help her."
Niklaus turned to his siblings. "Well, Brothers? Sister? Do you think we should allow them to claim responsibility?"
Finn shrugged, "I doubt their ability to keep her out of trouble. Given the elder's antics."
"True, True," Niklaus nodded, smirking at the annoyed siblings. "Without a daylight ring, she will also be stuck moving around at night, which is frowned upon for High Schoolers. Here's what I propose, Salvatores. Sage has offered her services in teaching Vicky the ways of discretion. Once she is able to control herself, she will be allowed to leave with a daylight ring."
"Why?" Stefan asked. "You've hardly been in town for a month. You don't know Vicky Donovan. "
Niklaus glanced at the blonde in his arms, "For Caroline, of course. I'd hardly be a good boyfriend if I didn't care about her feelings."
XXX
When Caroline got home, it was three in the morning, and thankfully, her mother was still at work. She would undoubtedly be in for it in the morning; Caroline missed curfew and knew her mother. Liz Forbes would know. Caroline sighed, allowing her body to flop onto the mattress. Her joints melted into the softness of her bed. After that night, she was unsure if Bonnie would forgive her or Elena. Perhaps Elena.
Everyone would forgive Saint Elena.
Both had been keeping secrets from Bonnie. It still hurts that they both decide to keep it from Caroline once Bonnie knows. Especially knowing that it was Damon who was doing the hunting. Caroline at least knew her vampires had their instincts under control. Most of the time. She was trusting, not dumb. She heard the whispers they hissed at each other, of the off-handed comments that hinted at things much darker than Caroline wanted to think about.
Once it was clear that Vicky would be safe, the trio were left alone as the Mikaelsons discussed the situation. Leaving the Salvatores with a warning that if they didn't start using their brains, the Mikaelson would be forced to deal with the problem. The moment they were alone, Elena burst into tears.
Elena admitted that she had broken up with Stefan when she found out. She had been spending the night trying to help the Salvatores look for Vicky, knowing Damon had done something with her. For her part, Caroline dropped her shoulders and said, "I freaked out when I found out last summer, but you don't know the Mikaelsons. I trust them when they say the animal attacks weren't them. They haven't hurt a person in this town."
Bonnie scoffed when told vampires were dangerous. She thought they were idiots for getting in bed with the supernatural. The witch then admitted how Gran had begun teaching her real magic. She said that her Gran knew about vampires, even the Mikaelsons.
Caroline still felt guilty about keeping something this huge from her friends for so long. Yet Caroline knew that this secret… wasn't hers to tell. The more time she spent with Niklaus and his siblings, the better she understood how they had survived all these years.
You don't tell everyone about the supernatural. Caroline might trust them with her life, but even she saw how Bonnie's eyes shifted at the announcement that Nik and the rest were vampires. As Kol said, witches tended to be very biased against the supernatural, especially things that went against nature. Witches could tolerate natural-born witches as their gifts were born.
Shaking her head out of her thoughts, Caroline stared at the clock. It was half past three in the morning. Tears started to swell in her eyes. Everything was out in the open, at least with the girls. How on earth were they going to explain Vicky's disappearance to Matt, whom she had known all her life?
He loved that bitch, and now Caroline had no idea when Matt would see his sister again. If he ever could. It took hours for Caroline to finally fall asleep. When she woke up a few hours later, Caroline felt drained.
The news was all over town the next day; Vicky finally showed up at the police station with Finn Mikaelson and his fiancée Sage. The story went that they had just bought some of the property next to the Mikaelson lot. As they were hiking, getting the lay of the land, Sage spotted a disoriented Vicky.
It was official, Vicky was the town's most infamous drugged-out teenager.
Matt was out of his mind when he heard the news, but Liz Forbes entered the school as the town sheriff. She quietly informed him that the Mikaelson's had offered to pay for rehab instead of filing trespassing charges.
A solemn Matt entered back into class, and Rebekah overheard him whispering to Tyler. She quietly relayed the information to a worried Caroline. Bonnie, sitting far away from both Caroline and Elena that morning, shot them a curious look but did not budge.
"Rehab?" Caroline questioned Rebekah and Kol when they were alone after the lunch bell rang.
Rebekah raised a brow, "It was the most…prudent story we could all agree upon."
"I suggested that we stage a runaway story, but Rebekah didn't want to hurt little Matty," Kol teased his sister.
"Yeah, and I doubt Vicky would leave Matt. She is many things, but she does love her brother," Caroline said.
"Then I don't see what the problem is!" Rebekah complained as the trio walked towards the cafeteria. "Vicky is free to return once she has the beginnings of control."
"The words Vicky and control do not go together," Caroline mainly muttered to herself.
Kol wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Which gives my dear sister plenty of time to woo the barkeep before his sister returns to cause chaos only with perhaps a smidge of control."
"That's what I'm worried about. You told me yourself that being a vampire heightens everything, and Vicky wasn't someone I would have called mellow," Caroline hissed quietly, spotting the crowded cafeteria.
"Relax, Care-bear," Kol soothed. "Elijah and Finn are in charge of Vicky's vampire education. I offered, but my siblings vetoed it."
"For good reason." Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Caroline is only a junior, and Nik will not leave this godforsaken town until she can leave with him. Therefore, we cannot have vampires running loose in Mystic Falls."
Kol hummed while Caroline sighed. She spotted Elena walking over to Bonnie, who was sitting on the outskirts of the cheer team. Bonnie had yet to speak to either of them all day, not that the blonde could blame the witch.
She watched as Elena smiled and sat beside their best friend with a pang. Rebekah noticed her gaze and offered her a small, knowing smile, "Want to go over there?"
"Yeah, but I'm not sure I'd be welcomed."
"You lot been friends for years. Elena's been keeping a secret, so they will forgive you."
XXX
Elena watched as her younger brother hopped onto the front porch ahead of her, lost in thought. Caroline was dating an original vampire. Elena couldn't believe that the blonde hadn't said anything. The old Caroline would have been screaming on the rooftops to connect with someone as rich as Klaus and with all the supernatural gifts of being a vampire.
Elena thought Caroline would be gloating.
"Elena?"
With a concerned frown, the brunette blinked to find her Aunt Jenna at the doorway. Elena immediately felt guilty, knowing that her Aunt had to hold back her grief to help the two teenagers deal with their parents' deaths. She hated the idea of causing the graduate student even more worry.
"Sorry, Jenna. I guess I was daydreaming," Elena excused herself, knowing she couldn't put her Aunt in danger with her knowledge of the supernatural world. It was bad enough that her friends had been dragged into it.
"Come on in," Jenna waved over her niece. "There is someone I would like you to meet."
"Aunt Jenna?" Elena called out, closing the door to her childhood home with a soft click after she was barely older than her Aunt. The teenager stepped into her hallway when her Aunt called her into the living room, where she spotted the auburn-haired woman sipping a cup of coffee with…herself?
Inside, Elena found Jeremy sitting next to the stranger. Elena blinked slowly, unable to believe what she was seeing. It was like looking in a mirror, or if it was black and white, looking at the photo in Stefan's bedroom. The main difference had to be how the other woman wore her hair. Her brown hair was styled in loose curls layering down her back, and her style was… extremely feminine.
Femme Fatale, Elena couldn't help but think.
"Hello, I'm Katherine," her twin introduced herself with a smirk. "I'm so happy to be meeting extended family."
"How are we related?" Elena blurted out, and her Aunt Jenna shot her a look that screamed, shut up. However, the woman, Katherine, laughed.
The woman, Katherine, smiled at her. "I guess even Founding Families have some secrets. I was just asking your Aunt for general information about your family tree."
Jenna scoffed, "If you ask me, I wouldn't be surprised if there were more unacknowledged children out there."
"Jenna!" Elena gawked at her Aunt, "You wonder why Mr. Tanner gives me a hard time with a mouth like that at home."
Katherine let out a small laugh as Aunt Jenna stuck her tongue out. "This town's relationship with its Founding Families is practically incestuous, Elena.
"It's not all that surprising; after all, one didn't marry for attraction until very recently in human history." Katherine's voice was low, sultry even. It made Elena uncomfortable, and she looked over at her brother, who couldn't help but stare.
"Were you at the high school by any chance?" Jeremy asked, glancing over at Elena. "There seems to be a rumor that there are two Elena's running around."
"My boyfriend's younger siblings had gotten into trouble. I went with him. Perhaps you know him, Elijah Mikaelson?"
Jenna's eyes widened, "Elena isn't Caroline?"
"Yes," Elena forced a smile. In her mind, she was screaming: Could this woman be the same Katherine from Stefan's past? It couldn't be a coincidence if she was with the Mikaelsons, could it? "Is that why you're in town? Visiting your boyfriend?"
Katherine nodded, "Partially. I've come to town because Elijah is set to stay with his siblings for a while. Figured it was time to bury our issues."
"Issues?" Elena turned towards Katherine, ignoring how her brother rolled his eyes and mumbled about her still being a total cheerleader.
Katherine let a small smirk show, "Let's just say the family, and I don't always get along."
Jenna hummed, "Isn't it always in-law drama? Not that I know, of course. But Katherine, I'll be sure to look into our files and see if I can find anything on the people you are looking for in your family tree."
Katherine smiled, "Thank you, I appreciate it."
Aunt Jenna looked at the time and said, "Oh, I better get dinner started. I have a class in a few hours. I'm sorry, Katherine, but you can look at the books on the table until dinner time."
Katherine nodded, "No problem, go feed Elena and Jeremy. I'll let you know before I head out."
"Alright, it was nice to meet you, Katherine, " Jeremy nodded towards the woman. "Elena, tell Jenna I'll be up in my room."
"Make sure you finish your homework this time," Elena lightly scolded, earning an eye-roll from him. Katherine's demeanor changed once Jeremy was clearly out of hearing range. The woman's smile turned into a smirk.
"I'll give you five minutes to ask whatever questions you have, mini-me," Katherine said, sipping on the cup of coffee Aunt Jenna had clearly given her before Elena came home.
"Are you the same Katherine that…"Elena paused, not knowing how to ask the question and not wanting to give anything away.
"The same Katherine who turned Damon and Stefan into vampires?" Katherine laughed at Elena's look of shock. "Please don't look so shocked; it's not a good look for us."
"You are a vampire," Elena stated, glancing around at the door. Katherine rolled her eyes, "If I wanted to hurt you, I would have. Stefan's really told horrible stories about me, hasn't he?"
"He…he made it sound like you had died," Elena murmured, confusion evident on her face. "Or at least stuck, trapped somewhere."
"Up until a few days ago, they believed what I wanted them to believe, that I was stuck in a tomb underneath that wretched church since 1864. Hurry, darling, you only have three minutes left."
"Why are you really here?"
"To earn my freedom, of course," Katherine said calmly.
At that moment, Elena looked at her with more curiosity. "What do you mean your freedom?"
"I've been…" Katherine paused for dramatics, smirking at the way Elena's mouth turned into a frown. "On the run, if you will, for the past five hundred years. From your friend's lovely boyfriend," Katherine snorted at the end of that sentence.
"Niklaus?" Elena clarified. "What does he have to do with it?"
XXX
"What do you want, Stefan?" Rebekah's voice was firm. Stefan could practically feel her annoyance. The blonde was performing her perfect give-no-fucks smile. A smile Stefan could now almost recall with perfect clarity. It left him feeling odd as if he missed her presence in his life; with his memories intact, Stefan knew one thing. She knew and liked him at his worst, and from how things were progressing now, Rebekah hadn't changed.
Stefan chose to ignore the fact that he knew Klaus had stabbed her, making it impossible for the vampire to change like he had. It didn't matter; he had a human to protect, and without his memories of the Mikaelsons, Stefan couldn't accurately predict them. Rebekah had just stepped out of the school, and the vegetarian vampire was standing in front of her car not seconds after.
"We knew each other in the twenties," Stefan stated.
"Well done stating the obvious," Rebekah retorted. "Is there a reason for this poorly done interrogation?"
"Klaus messed with my memories. Why?" He asked, stepping before her and keeping the blonde vampire from her car.
"Oh, the same old. Shouldn't you be having this conversation with my brother? You had an entire love-fest going on," Rebekah sidestepped the question. She did not wish to relive the memory of her father coming after them again and how Klaus had chosen to remove Stefan from them to ensure their safety.
He was, after all, a ripper.
"I want to hear it from you."
Rebekah sighed, crossed her arms, and stared him down. She waited as Stefan stuffed his hands into his pockets and waited. "There is nothing for me to tell you. Ask Klaus to give you your memories back."
"I did try that, but he seems to think it would be even more hilarious if you told me what happened first."
Rebekah growled, "I am going to rip the esophagus out and enjoy watching it grow back extremely slowly."
Stefan raised a brow, "I see threatening body parts as a family hobby."
Rebekah shrugged, causing her hair to flip to one side, "when you spend a thousand years with someone, things do tend to rub off."
"Did someone say rub off?" Kol's gleeful giggle came up from behind Rebekah. The blonde glowered at her brother as he came to stand beside her. "Tell me, sister. Do you make it a habit of fucking the nutjobs?"
"I believe that is your job. Remind me, how is Mary Anne?" Rebekah smirked at the way Kol's eyes darkened.
"Ha-ha, sister"
Rebekah turned back towards Stefan, "Our brother has decided to play a game with Stefan," the blonde informed Kol. The male Mikaelsons eyes lightened as a grin grew across his face.
"Ohhhhh, a test then."
"A test?" Stefan questioned, his eyes ping-ponging between the two siblings.
Kol let out a small cackle, "Yes, one I am sure you are failing at spectacularly right about now. Good luck with that Bunny boy."
Rebekah let out a long-suffering sigh, "If you want to know our past so bad, perhaps you should look into your past. After all, you tended to write in that stupid journal even as a ripper."
Stefan's mouth locked, "I have an entire decade blacked out that not even my best friend could help me track down."
Rebekah shrugged, "While I disagree with how our brother handled the situation. Klaus always does what he thinks is best. If you want those memories back, I'd focus on figuring out what my brother wants from you."
Rebekah pushed Stefan to the side, enjoying the way his eyes slightly bulged at the strength she showed. As Caroline walked towards the car, Kol smirked at the vegetarian vampire hopping into the back.
"My car mysteriously disappeared," The human scowled, looking at a whistling Kol. "I take it I am hitching a ride with you?"
Rebekah leaned over and pushed the door open, "Get in, Bitch."
XXX
Bonnie stepped into the familiar woods surrounding her town with ease that only a born local could achieve. The dark-haired beauty took a fortifying breath as she touched a tree, taking her grandmother's advice to get in touch with nature. Her grandmother had not been surprised about the existence of vampires nor that her granddaughter's best friends were in the middle of it.
"Your mother, bless her soul, fought a demon that was after your friend, Elena," Her grandmother admitted, her voice so low Bonnie had to strain to hear. "Elena has always had a strangeness surrounding her. She's human, I checked, but her future has always been murkily stained with the supernatural world."
"Caroline?" Bonnie asked warily, in the back of her mind, knowing that she had been surrounded by vampires longer than even Elena, whom they had just learned had a double walking around.
"Nothing," Sheila shook her head. "She's always been the one friend of yours with zero connection to our world until now."
"They lied to me, Grams" Bonnie wiped a tear from her eyes. "They kept this whole world a secret."
Sheila scoffed, "Would you have believed it? Only when the Salvatores showed up did your powers begin to manifest. You always thought of me as your cooky grandmother."
Bonnie closed her eyes as she leaned against the tree, recalling how Sheila Bennett had come to her friend's defense. Telling Bonnie that the supernatural was more than just witches; the world was full of all kinds of creatures with their own rules.
"Your friend Caroline is lucky. I may despise what vampires are, but the Mikaelsons are not vampires to be messed with. It's hard to defeat the king."
A hand touching her shoulder shook Bonnie out of her thoughts. Opening her eyes, Bonnie opened her mouth to scream, only for the vampire in front of her to put his hand around her mouth.
"Shhh, little witch. If I were here to hurt you, you'd already be dead, trust me," Kol said with his usual easy shit-eating grin and snark.
"What the hell do you want, Kol?" Bonnie spat, stepping away from him and cursing herself for not paying closer attention, as she noticed a familiar house in the distance. She walked far too close to their home than she intended.
"Of all my siblings, I am the one who inherited our mother's gift for magic," Kol said genuinely, ignoring Bonnie's hatred. "Father was furious that of all his children to inherit her gift, it was a male. Truthfully, he would have hated for Rebekah to do magic, but at least it would have been natural," Kol spat the word.
"Your father was an asshole. What does that have to do with me?"
"Your ancestor befriended my mother. She is why my mother was even able to create us in the first place," Kol informed the witch. "That's something I doubt was passed down the Bennett line, and I'd hate for sweet Caroline to lose a friend over something your ancestor helped to start."
"You are lying," Bonnie denied. Her grandmother would have mentioned such a thing. Kol raised a brow, "you are of the line of Ayana, yes?"
Bonnie nodded, "she was the first known witch that we can trace our line back to."
"Ask your grandmother how to commune with your ancestors. I think you will find it illuminating."
XXX
Authors Note: The rewrite is going well! Now that I am looking back, I can see what changes I want to make that will hopefully flow much better than the original version. Also, the only set pairings are Klaus/Caroline and Finn/Sage. Everyone else is up for grabs, so I might be teasing various couples until I settle on one. Warning: You may be seeing a bit of flirting with your non-favorite pairs, but you never know who will officially end up with whom.