THE MUSE | n. mikaelson

iv - mother's tales

Trying not to sniff loudly, she defended her case: "That man – I do not know the man in the forest. I did not take anything from him."

Stefan pulled away and looked at Damon, hesitating about telling all of this to her. It was already too much and she didn't know anything. But as Elijah warned them, they didn't have much time before Klaus will try to hurt her in order to save his ritual. They had no other choice.

"Listen to me, Ophelia, very carefully," Stefan placed his hands on her shoulders and made her look at him. "That man in the forest, his name is Klaus. He's a very bad man and he won't hesitate to hurt you or any one of us. Somehow, your arrival took something very dear from him and... If we don't figure out what has happened, he will try to hurt you."

Looking at the clouded eyes of her brother, there was once again no warm forest in them and the shining circle around his pupil seemed dull. But the words sunk into her and she nodded. It was as almost if her everlasting destiny was to be blamed for something she hasn't done. Was that the only reason she was breathing again? To die?

"I did not do anything to him," she repeated.

"We know. And maybe our friends will help us find out what has happened and that you're innocent," Stefan explained and pulled away from her. "We'll keep you safe, Ophelia. I promise."

Ophelia nodded once again and quickly wiped the tears off her face—she was used to doing that. On some days she would do it so often and so fast that a room full of people would never notice that she was shedding tears. She had no right to cry. Especially when father was around.

But the youngest Salvatore looked at Elena, not Catherine, and slightly tilted her head: "I apologize if I am to be blunt, but how do you look exactly like Katerina? You must be her descendant."

"I am," Elena nodded once. "Catherine had a daughter that was taken away from her when she was young. But why I look exactly like her – the way of nature, nothing else."

Ophelia hadn't known that Catherine had a daughter. She was quite close with Catherine once she showed up in Mystic Falls, but they grew apart when she started to be courted by both of her brothers. It caused many arguments between the two women and Ophelia refrained from spending a lot of time with her since she didn't want to listen to her. But she never held a grudge against her. Yes, she was playing with her brothers. But her brothers were foolish enough to be played with.

"I see," Ophelia replied shortly and looked at the grapes, but she didn't have the strength to eat anymore. It was enough. She was used to not eating a lot. You could risk gaining weight since wearing a corset was already painful, a few more pounds only meant that the maid would put it even tighter around your waist, so you would appear always in shape. How torturous...

Suddenly, a red-haired woman appeared in the kitchen. She was quite pale, but she looked healthy. "You must be Ophelia," she said with a small smile. "I'm Jenna, Elena's aunt."

Ophelia slightly bowed her head, not really able to stand up and do a proper bow, "It is a pleasure."

"Why are you here?" Damon asked through gritted teeth. "I thought we agreed that you'll stay—"

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as Stefan cleared his throat and tilted his head to Ophelia's side, his look clearly telling his brother that he should not cause anything dramatic. Not in front of Ophelia.

"I'm just really thirsty. The blo-" She stopped herself from saying the word as she looked at the scared woman. "I drank it all."

"Already?" Damon's voice heightened. "The fridge was half full!"