seven. secrets i must keep, keep us apart
You had come to New York for the day. You needed to get away from Katherine, and well, being in the house with Elijah's dead body didn't help either. Besides, you hadn't planned on being gone so long. You had to grab a few things if you were going to be in Mystic Falls for the unforeseeable future. You just had one more stop.
You had come to see Will. You didn't have many friends. For most of the time since you'd left New Orleans, you were never in the same place long enough to make any. And then after you remembered, it was too risky to let vampires into your life. You didn't know if they'd be working for Klaus. After all, vampires always tried to curry favor with him. But this wasn't just a social visit.
"Hey, Y/N, what can I get you? Bourbon?" Will walked over to you.
You nodded. "I'm gonna need a full package also."
He raised an eyebrow as he went to pour your drink. "Already? Isn't it too soon for the usual?"
"I'm involved in something right now," you said. "And I may have to leave...quickly once it's done."
His eyes filled with understanding as he placed a glass in front of you. "I can have it ready in a few days. You gonna hang around?"
"No, I'll grab it on my way out of town, if I need to," you said. The truth was, when Klaus found you, when he discovered what you had done, you had no doubt he would come for you. And you needed to be long gone before that happened.
"Hey by the way, I heard an interesting piece of gossip recently," Will said, leaning against the bar towards you.
"Yeah?"
"You'll never believe it," Will said. "I'm sure in all your years you've heard of the Sun and the Moon Curse?"
You tensed. "What about it?"
"Word on the street is that there's a doppelgänger," Will said. "Man, all you'd need is the moonstone and we could break that curse. We wouldn't even need rings to walk in the sun."
"There's a doppelgänger?" You asked slowly. That was not good. That meant word of Elena's existence had gotten out. Damon was not going to be happy about that.
"Yeah," he said. "I've never seen one but they must be something special. There's been a lot of talk in the bar."
"By who?" You asked.
He bowed his head at a group of vampires in the corner. "They're out of towners. They came because they thought New York was a good place to start their search."
"They're looking for the doppelgänger?" You eyed the group in question. There was three of them. They looked like they were overly confident. But you knew you could take them. You'd noticed them when you walked in. The way they were behaving, they couldn't be that old.
"Yeah," Will said. "Can you imagine if they actually found her?"
"That's be interesting," you said vaguely. You weren't going to give them a chance. You didn't particularly care for Elena one way or the other, but you knew the more vampires that came into town, the higher chance it would draw Klaus faster.
Your phone started ringing and you saw it was Damon. "Yeah?" You picked up, you eyes still on the group.
"What do you know about witchy massacre sites?" He asked over the phone.
You paused. You knew Elijah had been looking for the place the witches had been killed. You knew it was part of his plan, you just didn't know how. You knew it would help him kill Klaus however, and so you needed to be careful.
"I know they're very powerful," you said vaguely.
"That's old news," he said. "Have you heard of anything about finding these sites or more importantly if there could be any damage to my face if I enter said place?"
Why was he looking for it still? Elijah was dead. And none of you knew what he had planned. Unless they'd found out. You knew the Martin witches were still in town. Maybe they'd told Damon how to kill Klaus anyway.
"I don't know," you said truthfully.
"You haven't heard anything in the last billion years you've been around?" Damon asked.
"I've heard a lot of things, but nothing to find them," you rolled your eyes. "It's not like there's a big neon sign. But I know that when a witch is killed, it leaves a scar where it happened. What's going on Damon? I've barely been gone a day."
"Elijah's witch told Stefan that Elijah's plan was to use the spot as an anchor for a witch," he said. "If a witch could harness that kind of power, technically we could kill Klaus."
Your eyes widened. You of course knew this but it worried you that he did. Nature's servants were the only ones who could kill him. They could undo the spell that made him. There was always a balance. You knew there was every chance their witch could harness the energy of the witches, and so, you knew, there was every chance she could kill him. But you didn't want him dead. You couldn't, even after what he had done to you and whatever he had done to Elijah for him to want Klaus dead.
"Do we really think that will work?" You asked. "I mean, Elijah also wanted to wait until he completed the sacrifice to do it. Which means Elena would be dead."
"We'll figure it out," Damon said. "When are you coming back?"
Your eyes moved to the group. They had gotten up, following a girl towards the exit. "Sooner than you think. I just gotta handle something first. See you soon," you hung up.
"Another?" Will asked.
"No," you said, standing. "I think I'm gonna need that package sooner rather than later, Will."
"It'll be ready," he said easily.
"Thanks," you said. "See you soon, Will."
You followed them out, silently watching them stalk the human down the road. You knew they would make their move soon and you'd be ready to make yours.
They suddenly sped towards the girl, pulling her into an alley. You rolled your eyes. What amateurs. And they really thought they could find the doppelgänger?
"That isn't the way to treat a lady, fellas," you said, walking into the alley behind them.
The girl was standing against the wall, a look of terror on her face though no sound came out. They must have compelled her to stay quiet though they did not compel her fear away. You sped over and tossed the one feeding on her away. Looking into her eyes, you said, "Run and don't look back." She didn't need to be told twice. She took off before anyone could move.
"Hey! She was ours," one of the vampires said.
"Word on the street is you're looking for the doppelgänger. Why are you looking for her?" You ignored their comment.
"What's it to you?" The second one said.
"Well, if it's true, I'm gonna have to stop you," you sighed dramatically. "And I'm having a really good hair day so I'd like to avoid getting your blood in it."
They laughed. "Maybe you should learn to count," one of them said. "There's three of us, and one of you."
You sped behind him before they could move and ripped his heart out. The other two looked at you in shock as their friend's body fell to the floor. "I guess I'm still learning to count, but that means there's two of you now, right?"
"Bitch, you're gonna pay for that," one of the remaining ones said before running at you. You ducked out of the way and flipped around him, your arms wrapping around his neck and pulling his head off.
The last one looked terrified and looked at the entrance of the alleyway, probably gauging if he could get there before you killed him. You smirked as he tried to speed away. You ran after him, grabbing him and throwing him against the wall, your hand on his throat.
"Now that it's even numbers, let's try this again, shall we?" you said. "Why are you looking for the doppelgänger?"
He clawed at you hand, trying to break free. You sighed and pressed harder. "Do I look like I want to ask again?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he choked out.
"Try me."
"We want to take her to Klaus," he said quickly. You tensed. That had been your fear.
"Where is he?" He didn't respond and you growled, twisting his arm and breaking it. "What did I say about having to ask again?"
"I don't know! I don't know where he is!"
That didn't surprise you. He'd never give up his advantage. He'd also never let weak vampires like this close enough to him to betray him to Mikael. You knew this vampire couldn't run back to tell Klaus about you, but you couldn't risk Klaus finding him.
"How many did he send?"
The man seemed to have learned his lesson because immediately he said, "We aren't the only ones looking. But I don't know how many are after her."
"Thanks for the information," you said before ripping out his heart.
You wiped the blood on your pants as you sighed. This had just gotten more complicated.
• • •
When you got back to Mystic Falls, Damon was in the library with Stefan and Elena."What's going on?" you asked, putting your bag down on the table and sitting down next to Elena.
"Isobel is back in town, and she came to the house," Elena said. "Jenna knows we were lying."
"Isobel as in your mom and Ric's ex?" You raised an eyebrow. "That's rough."
"Don't sound too empathetic, Y/N," Damon rolled his eyes.
"I told Ric to tell her," you shrugged. "Lies have no place in a relationship."
"I know," Elena said miserably. "It's all my fault."
"I wouldn't feel too bad," you said. "Doppelgängers are always trouble. How was that? Empathetic enough?" You looked towards Damon. He rolled his eyes at you.
"The fact remains that we should still heed her warning," Stefan said.
"What warning?"
"Isobel said word had gotten about about a doppelgänger," Elena asked. "Do you think it's true?"
"It has," you said. All three looked at you. "When I was in New York, I ran into three vampires who were looking for you."
"What?" Elena asked, her eyes widening in fear.
"And you just let them go?" Damon asked.
"Of course not," you rolled your eyes. "I killed them. But they told me they were looking for you for Klaus, and that they weren't the only ones."
"They just told you that?" Stefan looked at you warily.
"I'm very persuasive," you smirked.
Damon chuckled. "Yeah I know. I've seen that firsthand," he said.
"Okay so Isobel was telling the truth," Stefan said.
"You know, you should stay here," Damon said. "It's better for us to keep an eye on you."
"What, in the house that any vampire can enter?" Stefan rolled his eyes. "No. Her house is safer."
"Well, then we'll stay there," Damon shrugged.
"So is that the plan?" Elena asked. "None of you will let me out of your sight again?"
"Let me know when you come up with a better one," Damon said.
"Fine, one of you bodyguards is gonna have to come with me to the Lockwood luncheon," she said.
"That's be me," Stefan smiled at her.
"You could come too, Y/N," she said. "If you wanted. They're usually boring, but there's alcohol."
"No, she's gonna come with me," Damon decided for you. "We have witch stuff to attend to with Bonnie. It'll be good to have backup."
"Does that mean that you're taking her to the," Elena started but Damon shushed her.
Katherine walked in, leaning over the couch. "Don't get quiet on my account. If you have a plan to combat the impending vampire doom, please do tell."
"We were thinking of just handing you to Klaus as a peace offering," you said. "I'm sure he'd enjoy that."
"Sorry, I think my blood is a little too dead for him," she said. "Seriously, what is the plan to get us out of this mess, hmm? I delivered you a moonstone, a werewolf, and the dagger to lure and kill Klaus, and right now all you have is a moonstone. Or so you tell me."
"No, we have it," Damon said.
"Where is it?"
"It's in a very safe place," Damon said.
"I've been honest with you. Time to return the favor," Katherine said. You snorted.
"Let me be honest with you. Don't mistake the fact that we haven't set you on fire in your sleep for trust," Damon smirked.
"And don't think it's not still gonna happen," you added with a sweet smile on your face.
"Fine. Be that way," she walked away.
——
You walked with Damon, Bonnie and Jeremy through the woods. Honestly, you would have rather third wheeled Stefan and Elena. You did not want to deal with the dead witches.
"Is this the spot Emily Bennet was killed too?" Jeremy asked.
"Founders thought it was poetic burning her where the other witches burned," Damon said.
"How do you know where the witches were burned?" Bonnie asked.
"Cause I tried to save her. Emily was just my key to getting Katherine back before I knew what a nasty little bitch Katherine was," Damon said to which Jeremy laughed.
You rolled your eyes. "If only you'd listened to me before, I could have saved you the heartache."
"Yeah well, I figured it out in time," Damon said as they stopped in front of an abandoned house.
You looked around. It looked familiar, the place you were standing. Your eyes widened as you realized. The area had changed with time, as everything did. But the feel of it was the same. You'd spent so much time here, picking herbs for Ayana and Esther with Rebekah. This was the very spot Niklaus had told you he loved you, where he kissed you for the first time, where he had promised forever. You could almost see it, standing there with the boy you loved more than anything, shocked that your feelings were reciprocated. You had thought your life could never get better. How naive you were.
"You sure this is the right place?" Jeremy asked, bringing you back to present time. You quickly wiped at your eyes before the others could see.
"Yeah, it's the place," Damon said as you all walked towards the house.
"I'm gonna wait out here," you said, hanging back.
"Don't tell me you're scared of a bunch of dead witches," Damon smirked at you.
"Of course I am, and you should be too," you rolled your eyes.
"Whatever, keep watch then," he said as the three walked into the house.
You sat by a tree, holding your knees to your chest as you waited for them. In truth, you had needed a moment. This place held too many memories for you. A thousand years ago, you had made a promise to love Klaus for all of eternity here.
Damon came out shortly after, walking over to you. "I don't want to hear it," he grumbled.
"Witches kicked you out, didn't they?" You smirked.
"And now I'm hearing about it," he said as he sat beside you. "Whatever, if they help us kill Klaus, they can hate me all they want."
You tensed. "You do remember the flaw in this plan right? In order for them to kill Klaus, he has to finish the sacrifice. Ergo, Elena dies."
"We'll figure something out," Damon said.
"Will you?" You looked at him. "I mean, Katherine tried that and she's been running for 500 years. Wouldn't it be better to concentrate the witches' power to save Elena rather than kill Klaus?"
"Who says they can't do both?" Damon asked.
"You don't know how their power works, do you?" You looked at him. "It draws on their own energy. You draw too much, you die. You think Bonnie's strong enough to do both?"
"You seem to know a lot about their powers, Y/N," he said.
"I've lived a long time, remember," you rolled your eyes. You didn't tell him you'd watched the Original Witch practice, and while you didn't have the power yourself, you often sat with Kol as he learned the skill when his powers first began manifesting. In fact, you used to sneak out to this very spot to watch him practice his magic. This place was more than just where you had given your heart away.
"We'll figure it out," Damon said again. His phone rang and he picked it up, "Liz, what can I do for you?"
"We have a problem," the sheriff said over the phone. "John Gilbert is dead, Damon. It was a vampire."
Damon looked over at you. "Where are you?"
"I'm at the Lockwood's," she said. "There was a Historical Society luncheon so we have a lot of witnesses. How fast can you get here?"
"I'm on my way," he hung up. "Looks like we're leaving the witch and her boy toy here. Let's go."
• • •
You walked in with Damon as the partygoers left. Carol and another woman you hadn't met yet were standing there over John's body. You eyed the ring on his hand, the ring Alaric had given him earlier.
"Hey, how is he?" Damon asked.
"He'd dead," the woman said.
Damon looked over the body before picking up his arm. He threw it back at him. "He'll be fine in a couple hours."
"What are you talking about? Damon, he's dead," Carol said.
"Well, here's the thing. John's ring," Damon said. "It's an old Gilbert family heirloom that protects its owner from death by a supernatural entity."
"But he's not breathing," Carol said. "He's got no pulse."
"He will," you said before looking at the blonde. "Hi, I'm Y/N."
"Liz Forbes," she told you before looking at Damon. "Are you sure about this, Damon?"
"He'll be fine," Damon said. "We're gonna need a cover story." He started dragging John's body, looking over at you. "Want to give me a hand?"
"Not particularly," you said. You knew Damon didn't need your help, but you supposed it protected his cover. You picked up John's feet.
"Look, just say it was an epileptic fit, alcohol binge, banana peel," Damon said. "Whatever works. But right now I just have to get him out of here."
• • •
When you got to the Boarding House, Stefan was waiting for you. "Katherine has Elena," he said.
"I knew we couldn't trust that two timing bitch," Damon rolled his eyes. He picked up John's body over his shoulder and walked in to dump it on the couch.
"Where would she have taken her?" You asked.
"My guess is to Isobel's," Damon said. "No way teen mom showing up and Katherine's disappearance aren't connected."
"Okay so how do we find Isobel?" Stefan asked.
Damon thought about it for a moment. "I think I have an idea," he said.
• • •
You pulled up to a house. There was a foreclosure sign up front.
"You sure this is the house?" Stefan asked.
"It's the nicest foreclosure in town," Damon said, parking the car. He looked back at you. "Never thanked you for that little trick, did I?"
"Why live in squalor when you don't have to?" you smirked.
"I swear to God if she's not here," Stefan said as you walked towards the house.
"Don't be such a pessimist," Damon said. He pushed the door open and you walked in. The house was quiet and looked empty, but there were signs that it hadn't been recently.
"I'll check upstairs," Stefan said as you and Damon began searching the first floor.
There was luggage scattered around. You noticed a book open on the table. You picked it up, a journal you realized, and your eyes widened as you saw what was on the open page.
There was a drawing of a woman with no face. There were markings around it, notes about who she was. Klaus' love? Who is she? Disappeared in early 1900s. Living with Klaus in England - 1542. Katherine knows her but won't tell me her name. Maybe his weakness? The key?
It seemed Isobel had done a bit of research on you, though it seemed she didn't know you were the woman she was researching. Katherine knew your name. She didn't remember it at the moment, but she knew you. You had been there when she was still human. Why didn't she ever tell Isobel your name? It seemed like Isobel thought you were the key to defeating Klaus. You scoffed at the idea. Klaus had had no trouble tossing you aside. He wouldn't allow you to be a weakness. Still, if Isobel thought you were, why didn't Katherine help her pursue it to gain her freedom from his wrath?
Stefan came back down. "Nothing upstairs," he said, breaking you out of your thoughts. You tore the page out and stuffed it in your pocket. You definitely didn't need them to see that.
"This is Isobel's stuff," Damon said. "It's definitely the right place." He walked over to you, seeing the journal in your hand. "What's that?"
"Isobel's diary, I guess," you said, the words out of your mouth before you could stop them.
"Huh, could come in handy maybe," he plucked it out of your hand, thumbing through it. You tensed. Why had you said that? Why hadn't you said it was nothing?
"Where are they?" Stefan sighed.
"I don't know, Stefan," Damon said.
Stefan's phone rang. He picked it up quickly. "Elena? Where are you?"
"In the cemetery," she said over the phone. "Isobel's dead, Stefan."
"Wait there, I'll come get you," he said, hanging up. He looked over at you and Damon. "I'll see you back at the house."
He left, leaving you alone with Damon. He was looking through the journal. "Looks like this might come in handy more than I thought," he said.
The page you tore out felt hot in your pocket. He wouldn't see that page, but you didn't know if Isobel had written anything else about you in there. You needed to get that journal away from Damon to figure it out. You just weren't sure how to do it without drawing suspicion yet.
• • •
"Is that Isobel's?" You asked Elena when you walked into the library. She had a necklace in her hand.
"I never thought I would feel bad about her being dead, and yet," Elena shook her head.
"She was your mother," Stefan said.
"Why did they let me go?" Elena asked.
"Well, anything John told Isobel, we have to assume that Klaus knows, right? So he knows that you're not gonna turn yourself into a vampire. He knows that you have us keeping you safe," Stefan said.
"He knows you know what will happen if you do," you added. You knew this was a game to Klaus. He enjoyed the hunt. But he had waited too long for this. He had waited too long for her. With Katerina, he had made the mistake of keeping her too close. He had thought he could woo her into giving him what he wanted. But Elena was a different story. He didn't have to keep her close. The fear of Katherine's fate would keep Elena from pursuing the same path.
"He knows I'm not gonna run," Elena said.
"Which is why we need to take some precautions, 'cause we got played, all of us," Damon walked in. He dropped some papers in her lap.
"What's this?" Elena asked.
"It's the deed to our house," Stefan said. "It's in Zach's name. As soon as you sign it, it'll be in your name."
"You're giving me your house?" Elena asked.
"Isobel had the right idea with the safe house," you told her. "A place where no vampires can get in. Your house has already had too many guests and has too many people who can be compelled for an invitation."
"You'll just stay here till it's all over. That way, you can control who gets invited and who doesn't," Stefan told her.
"Although I'll be super pissed if you lock me out," Damon smirked.
"I, on the other hand, would find that extremely hilarious," you said. Elena smiled at you sheepishly as Damon glared at you.
John suddenly gasped for air and sat up. Damon rushed at him, grabbing him by the collar.
"I swear, I had no idea what she was gonna do," John said. "I'm so sorry."
"Damon, let him go," Elena said. "He and I need to talk."
• • •
You were sitting in the library with Damon and Stefan. Damon handed you a glass of bourbon. Your attention, however, was on the book on the table. Damon had been reading it since you returned back to the Boarding House.
Damon's phone buzzed and he looked at the text. "Bonnie said the spell worked," he said. "She's locked and loaded."
"At least something went right today," Stefan said. "Katherine has no idea that Bonnie got her powers back."
"Uh-huh," Damon said.
"And Isobel had no idea what you guys and Jeremy took Bonnie to do today," Stefan continues.
"Uh-huh," Damon smirked.
"We're the only ones who know," Stefan concluded.
"That literally makes Bonnie our secret weapon," Damon said. The brothers clinked their glasses together.
"You guys seem to keep forgetting that Elijah's whole plan was to use the power after Klaus kills Elena," you said. You needed to figure out a way to stop Bonnie. She couldn't kill Klaus. And you knew the way to make the Salvatores do anything was to use Elena.
"Bonnie thinks she can kill him before the sacrifice," Damon said. "She thinks she has the juice."
You tensed. You knew how much power that would require. Was Bonnie really ready to sacrifice her own life to save Elena? What was it about doppelgängers that drove people so insane? You would never understand.
"Did you find anything useful in the journal?" you asked, trying to keep your voice as casual as possible.
"No, it just seems to be an encyclopedia on vampires," he rolled his eyes. "She did some research on the Originals, but most of the stuff we already knew. So far it's a snooze fest."
"I could go through it," you said. "If you want, I mean. I have nothing else to do."
"Yeah sure," Damon said easily. You breathed out in relief. That was easy enough. "Anything she knew, we know Klaus must know, but maybe she found out some things about the Originals that we could help us."
You nodded and finished off your drink. Perfect. That was one problem down. Just a million more to go.
• • •
"I followed the latest lead to Chicago. My sources tell me Klaus was here in the 1920s with another Original. They also tell me Klaus travels alone now, with a few witches to keep him company. He never stays in one spot long, but my search led me to Gloria's where he seems to have been for a few months. Gloria has prolonged her life with spells and herbs. She warned me not to pursue this lead. But it seems my sources were right. The mystery woman could be the key. Who is she? Katherine still refuses to tell me. I tried to convince her that this woman could be the key to saving her. But she still won't budge. I need to find out who this mystery woman is."
"I found a man who knew Klaus in the 1300s. He confirmed the mystery woman's existence, but said she died from a werewolf bite. It doesn't make any sense. How could Katherine have known her in England in 1542 then? But the man seemed sure she had died. He said Klaus had told him that himself. He said Klaus was heartbroken even speaking of it. Could this have been another lover? Or is Katherine lying about knowing her? There is no cure for werewolf bites. It is fatal to any vampire. I need more information."
You finished reading the journal when the others had gone to bed. Isobel didn't ever find your name, and it seemed, for whatever reason, Katherine had never shared it with her. You were grateful for the first time that Klaus had been so protective of your identity. At the time, you had been so angry at him for keeping his distance from you, when he wouldn't tell you why he was pushing you away. But now, it seemed it would be your saving grace.
There was a record of you with Klaus through the centuries, as you had known there would be. After all, you were never far from his side for 900 years. But while there was much known about the Originals, and the lines they had created, there was very little about you.
You weren't sure if you should be happy or sad about that. For so long you had believed your love story with Klaus would echo throughout the ages. It was naive to think you were worthy of recognition in his story. You knew now that it was his story. He had made you a footnote in it. You knew part of that had been done for your own protection. You weren't invincible as they were, and as Klaus reminded you many times, they had made many enemies throughout their time. Any of them could have gotten to him through you.
Isobel had thought you could be a weakness for them to exploit, that they could potentially stop Klaus through you. The very thing he had worried about. Little did she know that he had sent you away for that very reason. He saw his weakness and he removed it. He couldn't risk Mikael using you to get to him. And now, even your name was lost to time.
Klaus didn't have a weakness. He did whatever he had to do to ensure it. He proved that when he compelled you and sent you away, when he broke your promise of forever.
Isobel was right in a way. You would help them stop Klaus. He would never get what he wanted. You would watch as his hope, like your love story, was washed away.