2 x 09 - Katerina
Luckily for her, Marie had managed to convince the Salvatores to let her stay at the boarding house. She had taken the time to apologize to Rosalie for the kidnapping which the girl appreciated.
Elena had made her way to the boarding house per Stefan's request so that Marie could tell them everything she knew about Klaus.
"Okay, you have to understand I only know what I've picked up over the years and I don't know what's true and what's not true. It's the problem with all this vampire crap but Klaus, I know he's real."
"Who is he?" Elena asked from her place on the couch.
"He's one of the originals, he's a legend," Damon replied as he leaned against the sofa Rosalie sat on.
"From the first generation of vampires," Rosalie added.
Elena frowned. "Like Elijah?"
"No. Elijah was the Easter bunny compared to Klaus. He's a foot soldier. Klaus is the real deal," Marie answered and Rosalie thought she was exaggerating a little bit.
"Klaus is known to be the oldest," Stefan said.
"Okay, so you're saying that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me?" The doppelgänger questioned in disbelief.
"Yes."
"No."
Marie and Stefan spoke at the same time. Stefan was probably trying to minimize the gravity of the situation, but they all knew how bad it actually was.
Damon walked forward to stand beside Marie. "What they're saying is, I mean if what she's saying is true..."
Marie rolled her eyes. "Which it is."
"And you're not saying it so I don't kill you," Damon continued.
"Which I'm not."
"Then we're looking at a solid maybe," He finished.
Stefan stepped forward as well. "Look, Elijah's dead, right? So no one else even knows that you exist."
"Not that you know of," Marie stated.
Damon shot her a look. "That's not helping."
"Elijah's also probably gonna haunt our asses," Rosalie added. When her brothers told her how they had killed Elijah, she found it hard to believe. How could two young vampires could kill a thousand years old one?
"That's not helping either."
Stefan sat down beside Elena. "Look, I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him. I mean, we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know if he's real. For all we know he could just be some sort of stupid bedtime story."
"He's real and he doesn't give up. If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus, then you're an idiot," Marie declared with conviction. Rosalie believed her, as she had also heard a few stories through the grapevine. If Klaus was real, then he wasn't someone you'd want to be on the bad side of.
"Alright, we're shaking. You made your point," Damon concluded.
Damon, Marie, and Rosalie took an unprompted road trip to Richmond. It had been a seven-hour drive during which she sat in the backseat. That almost made Rosalie start to regret insisting on tagging along. Damon had been hard to convince but she hadn't relented.
Marie said that she had a contact named Slater who was very low on the "totem pole" of Elijah's entourage. Damon and Rosalie hoped that he could help them find Klaus.
After the long drive, they parked the car in an underground parking lot near the coffee shop where they were supposed to meet Marie's friend.
"Back entrance. How convenient," Damon observed.
"That's the point. We can't all have little daylight rings," Marie criticized as she waved her fingers to show the lack of jewelry.
"Maybe if I start to like you I'll make you one," Rosalie declared in a taunting manner.
Marie gave half a laugh. "How generous."
"How do you know this Slater guy is even here?" Damon asked as they walked away from the car.
"I called him. He's here. He's always here," Marie replied.
"Good," Damon stated. Then, using his super speed, he pushed Marie against the concrete pillar near them. "Just one thing. If you're setting us up in any way, I will rip your heart out and shove it down your throat. It's something I'm very good at," He threatened with a very upbeat attitude.
Marie grabbed him and pushed him against the car, twisting his arm behind his back. "I'm older than you and stronger. Don't get on my bad side."
Rosalie sighed and used her telekinesis to pull Marie away from her brother, slamming her against the pillar just like Damon had done a few seconds ago.
"And I have a bad temper, don't get on my bad side." The witch added with a sly smile. She released the vampire, letting her fall on her feet.
"Duly noted," Marie stated and then looked at the siblings. "You guys can trust me."
The trio made their way inside the coffee shop where people were lounging around in. It was bright inside, as the natural light peeked through the windows.
"Whoa. What about the sunlight?" Damon wondered.
"Double paned and tempered. UV rays can't penetrate. You see the appeal now?" Marie explained.
"That and the free Wi-Fi," Someone spoke up from their left. He and Marie embraced each other therefore Rosalie assumed it must be Slater.
"Hey, how are you?" Marie asked him.
"Good. I saw you come, what are you doing here?" Slater replied with a friendly smile.
"Mmm, it's a long story but I want you to meet..." As she gestured towards Damon, Slater cut her off.
"Damon Salvatore. Turned 1864 in Mystic Falls by Katherine Pierce aka Katerina Petrova," He rambled with an impressed look in his eyes as he stared at Damon.
"That's not creepy," Rosalie mumbled which caught the attention of Slater.
He seemed particularly shocked to see her there, to see her alive. "Rosalie Salvatore. Died 1864 in Mystic Falls... You're supposed to be dead."
"Yeah, Satan got sick of me so he sent me back. Now, can we please get on track?" The witch replied impatiently. Slater made her uncomfortable; what kind of psycho kept tabs on every single supernatural creature that existed?
"Yes, well, it's nice to meet you two," Slater shook Damon's hand, noticing the glare the man gave him. "Maybe."
Slater turned towards Marie. "So, what's going on Marie? Where's Trevor?"
Damon and Rosalie looked away uncomfortably whilst Marie and Slater shared a look that confirmed that Trevor hadn't made it out alive.
After that awkward exchange, the four of them got themselves a drink and sat at a table at the front of the coffee shop. The three vampires had ordered coffee whilst the witch had opted for iced tea. Rosalie sat facing the window, Marie was in front of her, Slater on her right, and Damon on her left.
"And you're sure Elijah's dead?" Slater questioned. He noticed Rosalie who made a face that suggested her doubts about the original's status, but Damon seemed convinced.
"Beyond dead," The raven-haired man stated.
Slater frowned, thinking about his deceased friend. "Trevor was a good man; he helped me with my dissertation on sexual deviance in the Baroque period. I was schooling for my Psych PhD."
Rosalie raised an eyebrow at the chosen subject for a dissertation. Slater was a strange man.
"Slater's been in college since '74," Marie stated.
"When I was turned. I have 18 degrees, 3 master's, and 4 PhDs," Slater clarified.
Damon seemed annoyed by the young vampire. "The point?"
"Exactly, I mean, what is the point? What should I be doing with my eternity? If you have an answer, please enlighten me," Slater answered, not noticing or maybe ignoring Damon's tense behavior.
Marie placed a hand on Slater's arm. "We need your help. If someone wanted to get in touch with Klaus, how would you hook him up?"
"Craigslist."
Rosalie laughed at his words until she noticed that he wasn't amused like she was. "Wait, really?"
"Seriously. I respond to a personal ad to get sent to somebody who knows somebody who knows Elijah, who's dead and that's where my connection ends," Slater explained.
"That's great," Rosalie said sarcastically.
"Here's what I don't get: Elijah moved around during the day, which means the originals knew the secret of the day ring," Damon started. "Now why would Klaus want to lift the curse of the sun and the moon?"
"To keep the werewolves from lifting it. If a vampire breaks the sun curse then the werewolves are stuck with the curse of the moon forever and vice versa," Slater replied.
Marie sat straighter. "But werewolves are extinct."
"True. I've never seen one but rumor has it..." Slater looked at the siblings for confirmation.
"Not such a rumor," Damon declared.
Slater had an excited look on his face. "Mystic Falls? God, I've got to visit this place. It sounds awesome."
"Awesome doesn't even begin to describe it," Damon said bitterly. "Can we stop the curse from being broken at all?"
"What do you mean?" Slater furrowed his eyebrows.
"Well, if I make the moonstone useless, would it stop the curse from being broken?" Rosalie asked. "I haven't been able to find any information in my grimoires about the curse, but since you seem to know everything..."
"Well, yeah, it probably could work, but why would you want to do that?" Slater was confused. "That's definitely something that would piss off an original? And keeping vampires from walking in the sun, not so great."
"You want to walk in the sun? I can make that happen if you help us," Rosalie bribed.
As the four of them conversed, they never noticed that Elijah Mikaelson had been listening to them from across the street. The original vampire had waited for the opportunity to strike, and there it was.
He threw a handful of coins at the windows of the coffee shop, making them shatter into a million pieces. Some of the broken glass hit Rosalie on the face, making small cuts appear. Thankfully, the commotion was enough for the vampires to not be disturbed by her blood.
Talking about vampires, all of them except Damon yelled out in fear and pain at the sensation of the sun on their skin. The ones at the back had been lucky enough to be able to escape quickly, but the ones at the front, not so much.
Slater and Marie burned heavily as they had been sitting directly in the sunlight and their pained screams were so loud, that people outside could definitely hear them.
Rosalie was quick on her feet, standing up and planting her feet solidly on the glass-covered floor. She raised both of her hands in the air, her palms facing the sky. The witch closed her eyes, and spoke the incantation;
"Nubes advenite, pluvia per vias. Nubes advenite, pluvia per vias."
As she repeated the words, clouds filled the sky and rain started to pour. Elijah remained where he stood, watching the witch with wide eyes. He had never heard of a witch being able to summon a storm with simply her mind. She was impressively powerful.
As the sun was gone, Slater took the opportunity to run out of the coffee shop, as did the other vampires. Damon picked up Marie who was probably the most wounded vampire out of all of them.
"Rosie, let's go!" Her brother yelled.
She opened her eyes and looked right in front of her; nothing particular stood out, but she had this weird feeling that told her that she had missed something.
Rosalie put that aside for now and followed her brother to the car, making their way through the crowd of frightened vampires. When they reached the vehicle, Rosalie opened the back door for Damon who placed Marie down.
"You're gonna be okay." He assured.
Marie breathed out as her burns started to heal. "I know... Where is Slater?"
"Iowa by now. Who the hell knows?" Damon exclaimed.
Marie shook her head. "He's not behind this, he's a good guy, he wouldn't betray me."
"Who did it then?" Damon questioned.
"It's Klaus, don't you understand? You don't know this man, we're dead, we're all dead." Marie started to cry.
Rosalie watched her with worried eyes. She had never seen someone be so scared of someone they hadn't even met. Maybe Klaus was indeed as bad as everyone said.
It was late when they arrived back in Mystic Falls. Stefan was at Elena's place, and Marie and Damon were canoodling in the boarding house.
As both her brothers were distracted, Rosalie took this as an opportunity to sneak out and go to the church ruins where Katherine was locked in the tomb. When she arrived underground, Rosalie lit the torches with her magic and used telekinesis to move the stone that blocked the entrance.
Katherine appeared a few seconds later, looking much more satiated than she had expected.
"Well if it isn't my lucky day," Katherine smirked, leaning against the wall. "Seems like everyone missed me, judging by the amount of visitors I've had."
Rosalie's eyebrows furrowed slightly and Katherine seemed to relish the fact that Rosalie didn't know what she was talking about.
"You don't know? My doppelgänger questioned me like a beat-town cop for hours, and then your little brother chastised her for it." Katherine's smile widened. "At least she was smart enough to bring me blood."
"Oh, then I guess you're not hungry anymore, right? Since Elena already gave you some blood." Rosalie sassed, making Katherine's smile disappear from her face. "I guess I'll just head back home. You know, take a bath and sleep in my very, very comfortable bed."
"No! No, stay." The vampire stopped Rosalie from leaving. She was desperate for blood, dirty and uncomfortable and Rosalie had been smart to exploit that weakness. "Why are you here?"
"What? I can't just miss my friend?" Rosalie replied sarcastically and gave Katherine a cup of blood, keeping the bottle with her.
Katherine scoffed, "Please, you made it very clear that you hate my guts."
"Hmm. I wonder who's fault that is." Rosalie sat on the ground.
"Look, if you want to criticize me go ahead, but I won't fight back," The vampire calmly stated.
Rosalie was once again surprised. "What's going on Katherine? You're usually always up for a good argument."
"Not with you," Katherine disagreed, looking at Rose with a saddened smile.
"Don't do that." Rosalie looked down as she filled another cup of blood. "Don't pretend like you actually cared about me."
"I did," Katherine insisted. "I still do, unfortunately. Though, if you don't want to believe me, then nothing I say will convince you. Now, what do you want to know."
Rosalie pursed her lips to refrain from starting a fight with the vampire. She instead focused on why she had come here in the first place. "The Ouroboros. What do you know about them?"
Katherine drank the second cup of blood. "I figured you'd ask one day or another."
"Yeah, that day is today. What do you know?" Rosalie repeated the question, a bit exasperated.
"I'm glad you're not being avoidant anymore. I mean, I respected that when you were mourning Damon and Stefan but—"
"Katherine I swear to God I'm gonna kill you right now."
"Okay, okay, fine." The vampire defensively raised her hands. "I only know what Emily told me."
"Go on," Rosalie urged.
"Your necklace is a talisman. Apparently, it's been passed on from one coven to another for centuries," Katherine recounted what she had heard from the Bennett witch years ago. "Legend says that if a witch dies and is resuscitated with the talisman, she is the chosen one and would unlock the power. Let me tell you this, you have no idea how many witches died trying to get that magic."
"What magic?" Rosalie dared to ask. She felt her heart beat wildly in her ribcage.
"I have no clue. Some ancient magic no one can use anymore," Katherine replied earnestly. "But I'm guessing you unlocked it since you're breathing and everything."
Rosalie didn't know what to say, so she poured another cup for Katherine and handed it to her. She didn't do anything special, she used the same spells as any other witch. Rosalie would admit that it was easier for her to learn spells and she had more endurance, but perhaps that didn't mean anything.
"I met Elijah."
At these words, Katherine sharply turned her head to look at Rosalie. "Wha— How?"
"Doesn't matter how," Rosalie deflected. "He knew about the talisman."
"Of course he did." Katherine scoffed. "Like any other power-hungry vampires, the originals want to get their hands on the lucky witch who unlocked the Ouroboros talisman. He'll go after you and so will Klaus."
"Elijah's dead, I doubt he had the time to tell Klaus before he was staked," Rosalie theorized.
If Katherine felt any sorrow at the mention of Elijah's death, she hid it well. However, the worry she had for Rosalie was obvious. "I hope you're right Rosalie, because if not, you have no idea what kind of trouble you're in."
"I'm not scared of Klaus," Rosalie replied. It was true, she wasn't scared, she couldn't be.
"I know." Katherine couldn't help but grin. "You were always the brave one."
Rosalie gave the bottle of blood to Katherine. The vampire held back a smile. No matter how much Rosalie said she hated Katherine, there was still a part of her no matter how small, that still cared for her.
The witch bid Katherine goodbye and closed the door of the tomb. She walked outside with heavy feet, her mind rumbling with thoughts. Maybe she wasn't scared for her safety, but she was scared of what Klaus could do to the ones she loved; to Stefan and Damon.
Her brothers had enough on their plate already, so she decided to not tell them about what Katherine had revealed tonight. Although, they would probably notice that something troubled her as soon as they looked into her eyes.
Only time would tell if they'd make it out unscathed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We're pretty much at the halfway point of the first part of this book omg!!! We're learning a bit more about Rosalie's magic; interesting;)
Do you think Rosalie should take Katherine's warning seriously?
Ronnie<3