When Damon got out of the shower the next morning, towel wrapped around his waist, whistling happily, Stefan was impatiently waiting for him in his bedroom.
"Good morning," Damon greeted his brother enthusiastically. The kiss he and Elena had shared last night after Jenna had driven out of Mystic Falls was still fresh in his mind. Unfortunately, he seemed to be the only one in a good mood this Monday morning.
"You're late," Stefan pointed out, scowling. "We were supposed to meet Bonnie at the witch house in ten minutes."
"Relax, brother," Damon retorted as he opened his closet. "You don't want your hair to fall out."
While Damon was looking through his closet, taking his sweet time on deciding what clothes to wear today, Stefan was whipping back and forth behind him, impatient to finally get going.
"Would you hurry up? We have work to do. You know, Klaus isn't gonna spontaneously self-destruct." He stopped and frowned, watching his older brother suspiciously. "Why are you all chipper?"
"No reason," Damon replied, pulling out some clothes before closing his closet door again. "Be with you in a minute."
Contrary to Damon's relaxed state, Elena seemed to be in need to let out some of her pent-up frustration. She was aggressively attacking Alaric's punching bag when the latter walked into his living room.
"Hey, you're gonna put a hole in that thing!" he exclaimed, looking at her questioningly. "You want to talk about it?"
"Nothing to talk about," Elena pressed out through clenched teeth as she continued kicking and boxing.
The vampire hunter grabbed the punching bag and held it for her, patiently waiting until she had calmed down a bit.
"So, what's got you all worked up?" he finally asked as her punches became less aggressive.
"I didn't really sleep last night," she admitted.
Alaric sighed.
"Yeah, me neither. Probably something to do with dying..."
Elena shot him a concerned glance.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine," he assured her. "I'm fine. I think the ring, however, is running low on batteries."
"Yeah, that's another reason why Jeremy has to get out of town," Elena stated. "If those rings have a shelf life, he is not protected, neither are you."
She swung her fists at the punching bag with all the strength she could muster, causing Alaric to stumble slightly backwards. He smiled at her proudly.
"Nice, nice, you're getting stronger."
"I'm just channeling frustration," she grimaced. "I need coffee."
She walked over to the kitchen counter and removed her gloves before proceeding to brew coffee. Alaric followed her.
"Seems Damon's compulsion worked," he said. "Jeremy was packing when I left the house, going on about his new school in Denver. Jenna seemed to be gone as well."
Elena nodded.
"Yeah. She left last night." She turned around and gave him a curious look. "Have you talked to Damon today?"
"No. Why?"
She shrugged dismissively.
"No reason."
Bonnie was standing in the old witch house's basement in front of the magically locked coffin, chanting a spell. When the coffin still wouldn't open, she groaned in frustration.
"Why won't you open?!"
Suddenly, the coffins and Rebekah disappeared. That and the creaking sound of floorboards above her, alarmed the teenage witch of another presence in the house. Someone who shouldn't be here.
"Hello? Someone there?"
Outside in the woods, Stefan and Damon were approaching the witch house.
"You didn't say anything to Elena about the coffins, right?" Stefan asked, giving his brother a suspicious sideway glance.
"No, I said I wouldn't," Damon assured him, a slight hint of irritation in his voice.
"I know what you said."
Damon turned his head towards his brother.
"Why are you asking?"
"Because protecting the location of Klaus' family is my number one priority right now," Stefan explained. "And the fewer people who know, the better."
Suddenly, Damon stopped in his tracks, having picked up suspicious noises coming from inside the witch house. Stefan stopped walking as well, raising his eyebrows questioningly.
"What?"
Inside the witch house, Bonnie was slowly walking up the stairs, towards the noises. She was surprised to see Damon standing there. Before she could utter a sound, the vampire placed a finger on his lips, signaling her to stay quiet. Light footsteps could be heard coming from the adjacent room.
Two people.
Damon vamp sped into the room, ready to silence their unwelcome visitors forever, but stopped when he saw the two small girls staring back at him wide eyed. He sighed, pulling his hand away that had nearly chopped off one of the girls' head and shook his head at the twins.
"You two just can't stay put, can you?"
Elena was in the process of decorating Caroline's locker for the latter's eighteen birthday, when Bonnie joined her, having just arrived at the school after debating with Stefan and Damon on what to do with the twins. Bonnie had advocated for letting them go but the Salvatores, as well as the witch spirits wanted to hold them hostage since they knew too much. If they let them go, they would betray the coffins' location to Klaus. Bonnie had reluctantly agreed, under the condition that no harm would be done to them and they would be released right after they had found a way to open the locked coffin.
"Hey, sorry I'm late, I...I got held up."
Elena turned around and smiled at her best friend.
"It's okay. I just got here too. Can you pass me the balloons?" Bonnie handed her the balloons next to her. "Thanks. What got you running late?"
"I was...working on some new spells," Bonnie replied. Not exactly a lie. "You?"
"Working out with Alaric." Elena sighed. "So, I have something I need to tell you, and you're not gonna like it."
"What happened?" Bonnie asked, a bad feeling spreading inside her.
"Jeremy is gonna be leaving town for a while," Elena explained. "He'll be staying with some old family friends in Denver, until this whole Klaus thing blows over."
"Jeremy wouldn't just leave you to deal with Klaus on your own."
Elena grimaced, biting her lip.
"I know...I asked Damon to compel him."
"You what?" Bonnie exclaimed, staring at her best friend indignantly.
Elena sighed again, a guilty expression spreading on her face.
"I know, Bonnie. But it's not safe for him here anymore. Leaving will give him a better life. The only reason I'm telling you is because I know that you two haven't really worked out your stuff. And I thought that maybe you'd wanna say goodbye."
Bonnie turned around, without looking at Elena, and walked over to where she had just spotted Jeremy sorting through his locker.
"Denver, huh?" Jeremy nodded, causing Bonnie to scowl. "So, were you going to say goodbye?"
"I wasn't sure you cared."
"Of course I care," Bonnie exclaimed. "I was hurt by what happened between you and Anna, Jeremy. I didn't want you to leave town."
Jeremy continued sorting through his locker as he answered, "I think this could be a good thing. Until all this Klaus stuff blows over. I think I could have a better life there."
The scowl on Bonnie's face deepened.
"That's what Elena said," she mumbled. "That's exactly what she said."
Jeremy frowned at her.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing," she quickly replied, shaking her head. "I'm just sorry you have to go, that's all."
Meanwhile. Damon was busy trying to open the locked coffin with a shovel.
"You're wasting your time," Stefan commented from where he was standing next to the glaring twins. "It won't open."
Damon sighed before throwing the shovel to the side.
"Alright, Klaus has six siblings. Rebekah is here and Elijah God knows where. There was one dead kid in the old world, one dead kid in the new world, which leaves two others." He tipped his chin, tilting his head slightly. "Two sleeping Originals, three coffins. So, who is in the locked box?"
"No idea," Stefan admitted. "But whatever is in here, Bonnie seems to think will help us kill Klaus. So, the sooner she can get this open, the sooner we will know if she's right." His eyes moved to the twins. "Or do you two perhaps have anything to add to this?"
Erin shook her head, sending deadly glares at the vampire.
"We're not going to help you killing our daddy."
Stefan narrowed his eyes at her.
"So you do know something." He took a threatening step closer. "Out with it. Who's in the box?"
"Your death sentence."
"Let us adults be the judge of that," Stefan huffed before turning back to his brother. "You know, none of this is gonna do us any good if Klaus' hybrid friends find our hiding place, right? They need to go away."
Damon snorted.
"Oh yeah, that's a great idea Stefan. Why don't you just ask them to pack their bags and take a long rest while we are at it. How about try to keep the peace? Don't attract attention to the real thing we are trying to hide."
"Well, I'm not gonna play defense when I have what Klaus wants," Stefan stated. "He does what I say, or I dump his family to the bottom of the ocean and the twins right after them."
The twins' faces paled at that before they slowly backed away from Stefan towards Rebekah and Finn and Kol's coffins, feeling a lot safer in their presence even if they were daggered. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. But it was too late now to back off. They had to go through with their plan.
Damon scoffed.
"And then he kills you and everyone you know like, I don't know...me!"
"No, he's bluffing. His family means more to him than anything else."
Damon looked at him skeptically.
"You sure about that?"
"Well I don't know, Damon. I mean, I guess there's only one way to find out, right? Call his bluff."
Damon shook his head.
"The only way to call someones bluff, Stefan, is to be willing to lose everything if you're wrong."
Stefan just smiled at Damon before walking out of the room.
The twins were gone. It hadn't even been a whole day since they had woken up from their coma and Klaus had taken on the caretaker role due to their mother's absence and he was already failing miserably. He had searched the entire town, even went to their friend's house but nada. It was like they had vanished into thin air. Not even Maddox' locator spell procured any results.
When Elijah walked into the mansion, he found his younger brother yelling at a couple of frightened hybrids.
"I don't care who you have to kill or threaten, just find them or your hearts will be the next to get ripped out!"
The hybrids nodded and quickly retreated. When they were gone, Elijah entered the room.
"What a charming welcome."
Klaus turned around, looking at him in surprise.
"Elijah." He looked around, frowning. "Where is she?"
Elijah shook his head, causing Klaus' face to fall.
"She doesn't remember anything from her time as a human, not even her daughters. From her perspective there was no reason for her to come with me and I can hardly force her. She seemed fine physically and I have no doubt that she will be able to defend herself should she need to. All we can do now is wait and hope that she will follow the invitation one day."
Klaus sighed.
"I know. I just hoped..." He stopped, swallowing hard. "How is she? Apart from not being human anymore and her missing memories of course."
Elijah smiled faintly.
"Powerful. Majestic. A definite aura of authority. She was polite but cold. Her compassion and warmth is replaced by an utmost sense of duty to her people and Mother Nature." He swallowed hard and averted his eyes, looking into the distance, a painful expression spreading on his face. "She saved me. In that cavern. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her."
"Well, I take that as a win," Klaus stated. "It could have been worse, all things considered. From what you've been telling me she has no hard feelings against vampires and the likes. We can most definitely work with that." He sighed. "It is good that you are back, brother. The twins are missing."
"What do you mean, missing?"
Instead of answering, Klaus shifted his focus on a movement at the door behind them.
"I'm surprised you're still in town," he said. "I gave you your freedom, you could have gone anywhere."
Both Originals turned around to where Stefan was leaning against the door frame.
"I live here, Klaus."
"Well, if we're playing this game, then...I was here first," Klaus retorted.
Stefan grimaced.
"You know, I don't like your hybrid friends. They're everywhere, kind of like fleas. I want them gone."
"Yeah, well I kind of like having them around." The hybrid sighed. "You know, I'm hurt. I hoped that when I freed you, we'd pick up where we left off. But here you are, guzzling vervain like the rest of them, I'm sure. So much for friendship."
Stefan squinted his eyes at him.
"Friends don't strip friends of their free will."
"Okay, granted, yeah, that was a little extreme, but I get a little moody," Klaus retorted. "Just ask my siblings. Speaking of whom, isn't it time you handed them over?"
Stefan crossed his arms in front of his chest, glare relentless.
"Klaus, get your hybrids out of Mystic Falls or I will remove them myself."
Klaus tilted his head, trying to act casual but the deadly glint in his eyes was indication enough that he was anything but relaxed.
"Hmm. You see, if you continue to threaten me, I'm gonna be forced to retaliate. Kill people. And it will get messy again."
"Do whatever you want, I don't really care," the youngest Salvatore retorted. "Or you know what? Maybe I do. Maybe I care so much, that I'll drop Rebekah in the Arctic. Or wait, maybe I should drop the twins instead? Hmm...choices, choices...."
In the next moment, Elijah had rushed at the younger vampire and shoved him against the wall of the mansion.
"Where are the twins?" he demanded to know, hand wrapped around Stefan's throat. "I will only ask once."
"If you kill me, you'll never find them," Stefan pressed out. "They are at a safe location. Not even your witches will be able to locate them. Do what I say and you'll get them back."
Elijah's grip tightened for a moment as he seemed to contemplate if he should take the risk before proceeding to release Stefan and stare him down with an ice cold glare.
"If you value your and your brother's lives I suggest you immediately hand them over, unharmed."
The younger vampire, who had just rubbed his throat where Elijah had grabbed him, shook his head, a triumphant smile spreading on his face.
"Nah, I think I'm going to keep holding on to them for now. Regard them as my safety net. Get the hybrids out of the town and then we'll talk." Lips still curved up into a sly smile, Stefan made his way back out of the room. He was almost over the threshold, as one of Klaus' first hybrids, Mindy, walked past him to enter the room. Before anyone could even so much as blink, Stefan had sped back in, grabbed the saw lying on top of a table next to the wall, and cut Mindy's head clean off her shoulders. Wiping the splattered blood off his face, Stefan shot Klaus an unapologetic look, lips curved up into a content smile. "Well, one down. You may want to, ah, send the rest of them away before it gets messy, again."
Throwing the saw back on the table, the vampire strolled away, completely unbothered by the massacre he had left behind. Klaus and Elijah continued to stare at the decapitated, lifeless body of the hybrid staining the mansion's white marble floor, both seemingly speechless for a moment. Elijah was the first to regain his composure. He raised his eyebrows ever so slightly as he shot a glance at his brother.
"Well, it seems we have our work cut out before us, brother."
"I thought Stefan saved your life," Alaric said a few hours later with furrowed brows as he and Damon walked up the steps to the Founder's Hall where another council meeting was taking place this evening.
"He did," Damon replied, grimacing.
Alaric halted his steps and raised his eyebrows at the vampire next to him, giving him an disbelieving look.
"And now he is willing to risk it just to see how far he can push Klaus?"
Damon shrugged his shoulders, seemingly more interested in the sign put up right next to the entrance door, reading "WICKERY BRIDGE RESTORATION FUNDRAISER" than their conversation.
"It seems so."
Alaric shook his head, unable to make any sense of Stefan's recent behavior. He was less than thrilled that the Salvatore had deemed it necessary to use the Porter twins as leverage against the original hybrid. The girls were only six years old, for Christ's sake! The pre-Klaus Stefan would have never even so much as entertained that idea. He would have been horrified at himself. But that version of Stefan was long gone and Alaric had no idea if they would ever get him back.
"So is his humanity on or off?"
Damon's eyes darkened, a slight hint of worry descending upon his features.
"I think there is another option at play, a dimmer switch, which is a huge problem."
The history teacher furrowed his brows.
"Why?"
"Because I can't predict how far he is willing to go until someone gets killed."
Alaric scoffed indignantly.
"So, suddenly you care who lives or dies?"
A small smile tucked at the vampire's lips.
"I have a small list."
Alaric snorted and shook his head before opening the Founder's Hall's entrance door.
"Talk about a humanity dimmer switch."
Damon shot him a fake offended look as he followed him inside.
"Screw you!"
Ignoring his friend, the history teacher let his gaze drift through the already pretty filled hall in front of them. The entire Town Council was assembled today, including half of the town's population - or at least it seemed so. He sighed before grabbing a champagne glass from a waiter that had been walking past them, already regretting his decision to leave the house for the evening.
"Can't a Council meeting ever just be a Council meeting?"
"Not in Mystic Falls, buddy," Damon contered, patting Alaric's shoulder before walking off - most likely to search for something stronger to drink than champagne. Sighing a second time, the history teacher began to walk aimlessly through the room before stopping in front of a huge table that had been positioned in the middle. An extensive model of the Wickery Bridge was placed on top of it, showcasing the planned restoration project. Taking a sip of his champagne, he tilted his head and continued staring at the model, lost in thoughts. It was the very same bridge Elena and her parents had that car accident on one and a half years ago; the bridge that had Miranda and Grayson Gilbert's life blood clinging to it.
He had never met either of them but from the way everyone in the town was talking about them it was clear that they had been good people. Good people that had been ripped off their existence too early. A common occurrence in this damn town that was practically overrun by vampires, werewolves and witches. If he possessed any common sense, he would pack up his bags and get the hell away from here. What was still keeping him here? His job? He could always get back to Duke's where his and Isobel's research project was still waiting to be picked up again. Damon? The vampire could easily compel himself another drinking buddy slash cannon fodder. Jeremy and Elena? They were better off without a deadbeat, constantly drunk and depressed history teacher trailing behind them, pretending to be a responsible adult. If he couldn't even get his own life under control, how was he supposed to look after two teenagers? He was a failure. He had failed Isobel, Jenna and would fail the Gilbert siblings as well. It was only a matter of time. Best to pull the plug now before it was too late.
"Alaric Saltzman, miracle patient!" a familiar female voice suddenly came up from behind him, catching him off-guard. He had been so lost in thoughts that he hadn't noticed the pretty, dark-haired doctor from last night approaching him, a bright smile on her face.
"Dr. Fell," he quickly greeted her back, pushing away his depressive thoughts.
Meredith Fell's warm, brown eyes continued to observe him, a hint of amusement twinkling in them.
"I'm glad to see you're still alive. A part of me thought you would have dropped dead in your sleep."
Alaric's face distorted into a grimace as he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, as if nearly bleeding to death wasn't a big deal. Well, to him dying had almost become an every day occurrence ever since he moved to Mystic Falls.
"Well, I guess I have nine lives."
Dr. Fell's lips twitched slightly as she leaned closer, close enough for him to make out the distinct, fruity note of her perfume.
"Not a bad thing to have in a town with a vampire problem."
"Sorry?" He gave her a confused look, not having expected her to know about the town's supernatural population. "Are you on the Founders' Council?"
As soon as the question left his lips, he could have face palmed himself. Of course she was. Why else would she be here at a Council Meeting?
"I'm a Fell," she replied, confirming his suspicion. "I come from a long line of founders, may they rest in peace." Her gaze drifted to the Wickery Bridge model next to them, grimacing as her eyes darkened ever so slightly. "I hate that bridge. My senior prom date dumped me on this bridge."
Alaric raised his eyebrows at her, partly in amusement, partly in disbelief at how anyone could even think about dumping such a stunning woman.
"Oh, yeah? Did you throw him over?"
A grim look spread on her face as she shook her head.
"No, but I should have. I've been holding a grudge ever since." She stopped, a frown appearing on her forehead as her eyes roamed through the room in search of something. Or better, someone. "Where did your friend go? I'm supposed to hit him up for some money for the fundraiser."
Immediately concluding that she was talking about Damon, a grin spread on his face.
"Well, you should," he retorted, raising his voice slightly to make sure the vampire could hear him. "He is loaded."
After killing and terrorizing so many people in this town, funding the restoration of the bridge was the least he could do. It wasn't like the bloated Salvatore fund was used for anything else now that the family was pretty much extinct and Stefan and Damon had never payed a single bill in over one and a half centuries.
Dr. Fell snorted unladylike before adjusting the straps of her shoulder bag.
"He's in good company. Some British guy just pledged to match every dollar we raise!"
At her comment, his head jerked up in alarm, face a few nuances paler. He only knew of one "British guy" currently residing in the town. One that had no business being here at a Council Meeting.
"What do you mean, a British guy?"
Meanwhile, Damon was strolling casually through another part of the Founder's Hall, sipping on a glass of whiskey. This whole fundraiser was boring him to death. He could think about a million other things he rather wanted to do on this fine evening. Drinking himself through the Grill's alcohol supply with Ric, for example. Helping Stefan to figure out how to open that damned coffin so they could speed up their Klaus murder plans before that insufferable hybrid was taking any more of Elena's blood to sire his slave army. Or paying Elena a visit to see if she was up to continuing where they had left off last night.
But then he remembered that his drinking buddy was still pissed at him for the involuntary nap on the last Council Meeting, Stefan was hell-bent on involving him as little as possible in his murder and revenge plans and Elena...Well, if he remembered correctly, today was Blondie's eighteenth birthday. That meant the doppelganger was already otherwise occupied and certainly wouldn't be happy if he came over and crashed the party. That left him with little options other than perhaps babysitting the twins that were still being held captive in the abandoned witch house. The two little goblins, however, had annoyed him the entire day already, making the fundraiser suddenly sound so much more enticing.
He was about to return to the bar to refill his glass, as a familiar, accented voice reached his ears from the other end of the hall. A voice that immediately made him groan in annoyance.
"You know, Carol, when I think of a mayor I think of an old fuddy-duddy, but you really have changed my perception!"
Damon's eyes narrowed in on where he saw Carol Lockwood standing at the staircase, immersed in a conversation with no one other than Klaus. What the hell was he doing here? Didn't he have a pack of sired bonded dogs to order around? Or a bunch of coffins to track down?
"Oh, thank you!" Carol replied, looking all flustered at the compliment.
"Oh kill me already!" Damon groaned inwardly at the lovey dovey eyes she was giving the hybrid, who was very clearly only baiting her on. He wanted something from her and Damon wanted to know what it was.
With determined steps he walked over to them, cutting right into what probably had been another round of exchanging compliments.
"Look at what the cat dragged in." His icy blue eyes quickly scanned over the hybrid's strangely formal looking outfit. Only the tie and suit jacket was missing and he would look like a bad copy of Elijah. "Nice vest."
The hybrid's eyes drifted from Carol to him, a polite smile spread on his face. If he had picked up on Damon's mocking tone, he wasn't showing it.
"Thank you very much. Good to see you, Damon. Carol and I were discussing about whether you would be the other big benefactor."
Damon suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Of course the hybrid was throwing around the fortune he had accumulated during the last thousand years to buy the Mayor's loyalty. What irritated him even more was the fact that it seemed to be working.
Carol turned towards the younger vampire, giving him an expectant look.
"What do you say Damon? Klaus has made a very generous pledge. You know how we're chomping at the bit to begin the renovation."
Clenching his teeth to force himself to remain calm, Damon turned towards the middle-aged woman.
"Carol, don't take this the wrong way, but do you realize that you've been kissing the ass of an immortal hybrid who ruined your son's life?"
Klaus clicked his tongue.
"Oh, come now. Some would say that I saved him from all that nasty full moon business. I also like to add that it was his decision. I never forced him to join my pack." Turning to the mayor, he added, "I've never had to go through it myself more than twice, to be honest, but still, I'm very sympathetic."
Of course he was. Suppressing another urge to roll his eyes at the show the hybrid was currently putting up, Damon wrapped his fingers tightly around the whiskey glass he was still holding.
"Klaus has promised to protect Tyler, Damon," the mayor informed him. "And our town."
The vampire scoffed, giving her an indignant look as he felt anger rising inside him. Was Carol being deliberately obtuse or was she truly this naive?"
"From who? His hybrids are the one the town needs protection from."
"Well, I'd have no use for them if your brother would kindly return my family," Klaus contered, giving him a pointed look.
Damon scoffed once again, shaking his head.
"Not gonna happen."
The smallest hint of anger was flashing up in the hybrid's dark blue eyes, so quickly Damon had barely been able to register it.
"That's what I thought, which is why I've come to an agreement with the Mayor," Klaus retorted. "You and the Council stay out of my hair, I stay out of yours. Your town gets protected, my hybrids get left alone and everybody will be happy. All you have to do is to get Stefan to stop decapitating my friends and return the twins."
"Please Damon, just get your brother under control, or the Council will be forced to take action against him," Carol begged. "Using innocent children as leverage can't be way to solve whatever conflict is going on between your brother and Klaus."
Damon groaned in irritation.
"You've gotta be kidding me!"
The Council turning on them was the very last thing he needed right now. Truthfully, he should have seen this coming from a mile away. It seemed as though both he and Stefan had underestimated the hybrid's resolve to get the twins back. A terrible mistake.
Klaus gave him an innocent smile before patting his shoulder.
"Oh come on mate. Give peace a chance."
Yeah, not in a million years.
"The Mayor is looking out for Tyler," Liz Forbes commented later as she and Damon were walking down the hallway after his confrontation with Klaus and Carol. "For now, we have to assume Klaus has her in his pocket."
Damon clicked his tongue in irritation.
"Oh, please don't tell me you're gonna drink the Klaus Kool-Aid."
He had turned to his friend because he had hoped she would be on his side, not for her to suddenly turn on him as well. Why was everyone in this goddamn town so naive? There would never be peace as long as Klaus was alive and kicking.
The sheriff gave him a grim look, that made her seem even more like an authority figure than usual.
"I'm not gonna let him hold this town hostage. But, I'm also not gonna let innocent people, most of all little children, get caught in the cross-fire in a pissing contest between a hybrid and a vampire."
Damon raised his eyebrows at her, a grin spreading on his face as he tried to diffuse the tension in the air with one of his usual sarcastic remarks.
"Liz, I'm impressed. You're all strong and sheriff-y."
The sheriff in question, however, was little impressed. Giving him a sharp, warning glance, she retorted, "I'm not kidding, Damon. Get Stefan to stand down from this one before someone gets hurt. And for the love of God, let the twins go. They already went through enough these last few weeks, don't you think?"
"Well, no one told them to go sneaking around places they don't belong," Damon contered in irritation. "If they just stayed home like good little kids, we wouldn't need to hold them captive now. The moment we let them go, they will tell Klaus where to find the coffins and we will lose the only triumph we currently have in our hands against him."
Liz continued to observe him quietly for a moment before sighing in exasperation and pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I can't believe I'm saying this but fine. Do what you think you need to, but please make sure they won't get hurt and are properly hydrated and fed. I don't want to receive any reports about children corpses being found buried in the woods."
Damon scoffed in fake offense, pretending to be hurt at the sheriff's accusation.
"I can't believe you think so low of me, Liz! When have I ever done anything to children?"
Her eyes darkened, as they fixated on a spot on the wall behind them.
"Well, it's not you I'm worried about. Stefan is off the far end, even I can see that. There's no telling how far he is willing to go."
Damon hated how right she was.
After his, admittedly, quite pleasant conversation with the doctor, Alaric continued his aimless wandering through the hall. Every now and then he greeted familiar faces and allowed them to pull him into the one or other conversation about meaningless topics such as the weather or increasing gasoline prices. He had no idea where Damon had run off to, nor did he particularly care, if he was being honest. A part of him was still incredibly pissed at the vampire's behavior during the last Council Meeting. Call him a resentful dick, but friends weren't supposed to snap each other's necks, no matter the argument they had prior to that.
He was about to pay his bill at the bar and call it a day, when he suddenly spied Dr. Fell's familiar, dark brown thatch standing on the balcony, immersed in a heated discussion with a brunette stranger.
"What are you doing?" the man hissed, loud enough for Alaric to hear through the opened balcony door. "You're gonna ruin your career."
The charismatic doctor scoffed dismissively and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Says the guy who got his job from his dad."
Ignoring her obvious dig, the man stepped closer.
"Do you have any idea what you're messing with?"
"I know what I'm doing," she assured him.
The man ran his hand through his hair in frustration before suddenly grabbing her arm, desperation evident in his voice.
"Damn it, Meredith!"
The doctor struggled against his grip, pushing him back against the balcony railing.
"Back off, Brian."
Alaric had seen enough. Before he realized what he was doing, he had joined them, eyes narrowing in on the stranger Dr. Fell had addressed as "Brian".
"Whoa! Hey. Everything all right here?"
Brian gave him a dismissive glare before stepping away from the doctor.
"Everything is fine."
Alaric, however, wasn't ready to just let it go. He continued giving him a sharp glance, arms crossed in front of his chest.
"It didn't look fine."
Brian laughed dryly.
"You might want to get to know her before you become her white knight. She's kind of a psycho case."
The history teacher clenched his fists so hard, his nails were almost tearing open his skin. Something about this guy was pulling all of his triggers - at once. Though he couldn't tell what it was exactly. Chuckling humorlessly, he took a threatening step closer.
"You're that guy, aren't you? The one begging to have his teeth kicked in."
The brunette must have noticed how close Alaric was to going off like a bomb, because in the next moment he had held up both his hands in front of him defensively.
"Take it from me, man. Life's too short."
Before the situation could escalate any further, Dr. Fell went in between both men, giving Brian a sharp glance.
"Just go away, Brian."
With one last glare at both Alaric and the doctor, the brunette walked off. Dr. Fell turned to the history teacher, grimacing.
"Behold, my senior prom date."
Alaric shook his head as he watched Brian disappearing through the Founder's Hall entrance door.
"Well, you definitely should have throw him over the bridge."
Dr. Fell sighed as the two of them walked back inside.
"Unfortunately, I have to work with him. He is on the Council, he's the medical examiner. The guy who signs his name under Cause of Death: 'animal attack'."
Alaric nodded, understanding what she was referring to.
"I get it."
She chuckled awkwardly.
"Yep."
The two of them kept staring at each other for a moment, both lost for words. The sound of Dr. Fell's pager going off finally broke the silence between them. Pulling the small device out of her pocket she checked the display, sighing.
"Duty calls. Thanks for the hero moment."
Alaric found himself warmly smiling at her.
"Anytime."
Reciprocating his smile, the brunette doctor took a few steps backwards before vanishing in the crowd of party guests.
Meanwhile, Stefan was sneaking through the very same crowd, discreetly grabbing a long, sharp knife from the buffet table before slipping into the hallway and following one of Klaus' hybrids, a tall blonde one, upstairs into an empty room far enough away from the other guests so no one would notice anything. Once the door to the room closed, he attacked the hybrid from behind, shoving the knife into his stomach. Groaning in pain, the hybrid stumbled, lost balance and crashed right into Stefan's chest. The vampire pulled the knife out of the stomach, roughly pulled the blonde's head back and placed the knife at his throat, ready to decapitate him, when someone suddenly shoved him off the hybrid and slammed him against the wall. Growling, he pushed his brother off him, shooting him deadly glares when he noticed the hybrid speeding out of the room.
"What are you doing?"
"What are you doing?" Damon hissed back. "No dead hybrids at the Founders' party!"
Stefan shook his head, eyes two dark, bottomless, hollow pits where once life had resided in.
"No, I told Klaus to get his hybrids out of town. He didn't listen, so I'm gonna say it louder."
Damon scoffed in irritation.
"You don't think there's ten more where that came from? And if you kill them, Klaus won't make twenty more? Have you forgotten about Elena's part in all of this or do you not care if she is a human blood bag for the rest of her life?"
For the split of a second, Stefan's eyes softened, allowing a hint of pain and hesitation to shine through the cold, cruel mask he had put on. It was gone again as fast as it had appeared.
"Protecting Elena is your problem now. See, I'm not compelled by Klaus to do that anymore."
Damon shook his head, anger flaring up in his icy blue eyes as he grabbed Stefan by the collar, pressing him back against the wall.
"Don't give me that no-humanity crap. You can't just flip your switch! Your switch is fried, Stefan, just like your brain! You wanna take Klaus? You wanna beat the villain? You've gotta be smarter."
Tearing free from Damon's grip, Stefan flattened his jacket collar before proceeding to place a hand on Damon's shoulder.
"To beat the villain, Damon, you have to be the better villain."
Clapping his brother's shoulder, Stefan pulled away and walked out of the room.
Damon spent an entire thirty minutes searching the entire Founder's Hall for his brother. But Stefan seemed to have disappeared as fast and sudden as he had appeared. Cursing inwardly, he pulled out his phone and began to scroll his contact list for Elena's number. He had the gnawing suspicion that Stefan was about to do something terribly stupid and desperate to try and force Klaus' hand. It was best to inform her, even if he had to disturb Blondie's birthday party for that.
The call was picked up after the first ring, but instead of Elena, it was Stefan's voice that greeted him at the other end of the line.
"Hello Damon, she's a little busy right now."
He could make out the sound of a car engine rumbling in the background, mixed with Elena's very vocal protests.
"Why the hell do you have Elena's phone?" he asked, the sinking feeling in his gut growing more and more prominent by the second.
"I'm making my next move," Stefan explained in a casual tone, as if he was talking about something as mundane as the weather or what he had done today. "Let me ask you something...What will Klaus do if he can't make any more hybrids?"
Elena's panicked "What?" rang through the phone, causing Damon to growl in anger.
"Stefan, leave her out of this."
But Stefan had already hung up on him. Cursing, loudly this time, Damon immediately went to search for Klaus. He had to get the hybrid to immediately back down and comply to Stefan's demands before his brother did something he would regret for the rest of his eternal existence.
"What now?" the original hybrid asked after Damon had ushered him into an empty room, a slight hint of irritation in his voice. "You just pulled me away from a fascinating conversation about landscaping the Town Square."
Damon made sure that the door was closed behind them before turning back to the hybrid, staring him right into the eyes.
"Stefan just grabbed Elena."
The corners of Klaus' lips twitched slightly.
"Well, he's getting desperate."
The younger vampire, however, didn't find it amusing at all.
"He's gonna try and use her against you. Do what he says, get rid of your hybrids," he urged him, a serious expression on his face.
Klaus raised his eyebrows at him, amusement still twinkling in his ocean-like eyes.
"Or what? Stefan would never dream of killing her."
Damon gave him a skeptical look.
"You sure about that? He just tried to behead someone in the middle of a Council party. He's operating on crazy right now."
"Well, crazy or not, that kind of love never dies," the hybrid retorted, face shifting into an unidentifiable expression. "He's bluffing."
Growing more and more irritated at Klaus' refusal to take Stefan's threat seriously, Damon stepped closer until he stood right in front of the hybrid, staring him down.
"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't but if you don't want to believe him, believe me. I know my brother better than anyone, and right now, I don't have a clue how far he is willing to take this. So if he says blink, I suggest you blink."
When Klaus returned to his mansion later that evening, he was furious. No, furious wasn't even close to cutting it. He was seething. Not only had he failed to find out the twins' and the coffins' location, he had even been forced to send all his hybrids out of town. He wasn't one to admit defeat easily but there was no denying that Stefan had won this round. By doing the unthinkable and threatening to turn the woman he loved into a vampire. Not even Kol at his lowest point would have ever dreamed of resorting to such a drastic measure. It made the hybrid worry even more about the twins' well-being. If Stefan was willing to go this far with Elena, what would he do to two little girls he had no emotional connection with? It was absolutely paramount that they were being found as soon as possible. He could only hope that Elijah and Maddox had been more successful with their endeavors than he had been.
Stepping over the front door's threshold, he listened in, trying to determine if they were already back from their trip to Richmond to get assistance and supplies for a tracking spell more powerful than an ordinary locator spell. It was their last resort. Should that spell fail as well, Klaus would have to tear the town apart that his Marianne had been so adamant on protecting. But as he listened in for any signs of life in the mansion, he was greeted with silence only. Silence that felt more deafening than it should be after constantly being surrounded by hybrids these last few weeks. He was utterly alone in his mansion. Klaus hated the feeling of loneliness that was creeping up on him more than he hated the fact that Stefan had managed to beat him at his own game. His hybrids were gone, his siblings were gone, the twins were gone and so was Marianne. There was no one left to keep him company but himself. Sighing wearily, he began to walk into the living room, pulling out his phone on the way. Dialing Elijah's number, he pressed the phone to his ears, waiting for his brother to pick up the call. But Elijah didn't answer. That probably meant he was busy right now.
"Elijah, please tell me you and Maddox have been more successful than I have been tonight," he spoke into the phone, starting the voice mail. "Stefan forced my hand. I had to send my hybrids out of town, still as clueless about the coffins' and the twins' whereabouts as before."
Ending the voice mail, he pushed the phone back into his jeans pockets the very same moment a sharp object was suddenly flying straight towards him. Thanks to his enhanced hybrid reflexes, he was able to step out of the way seconds before the dagger hit the wall behind him. Though there was little time to relax for in the next second, a thatch of very familiar blonde curls sped out of the shadows, sending the sharp blade of a kitchen knife straight into his stomach.
"This is for mother, you bloody bastard!"
A sharp, piercing pain spread in his abdomen but he payed it little attention. His eyes were fixed on his furious, very much alive, little sister standing right in front of him. She was dressed in a short red homecoming dress, her make up and long, blonde curls all messed up.
"Rebekah," he whispered in surprise. "How did you-"
Before he could finish the sentence, another familiar figure strolled into the living room, a devious grin on his face.
"Long time no see, Niklaus."
Klaus' eyes widened in confusion as Kol, still dressed in his formal 1914 Christmas Ball attire, slammed him against the wall of his newly renovated mansion with so much force that the concrete began to crack dangerously.
"Kol, what-"
"Surprised to see me?" the younger Original interrupted him. "Well, imagine my surprise when I woke up in an dusty little hovel in the middle of the woods with two six year old girls staring straight back at me, telling me all about that soulmate of ours that apparently got kidnapped." He grabbed the handle of the knife that was still stuck in Klaus' stomach, twisting it slowly and painfully. "Something that certainly wouldn't have happened, had I not been rendered useless thanks to that bloody dagger you and Elijah shoved into my heart! You abandoned her, left her alone and defenseless!"
Klaus groaned in pain as the knife cut deeper into his skin, taking a few seconds to make sense of his brother's words. When realization finally dawned upon him, he groaned once more.
"Oh bloody hell! You too?"
The universe was very clearly making fun of him. Sharing Marianne with Elijah was less than ideal but something he could arrange himself with. But with Kol? This was a full blown catastrophe.
The latter grabbed him by the collar and roughly pulled him back up on his feet.
"Oh trust me, I'm not exactly found of it either. But I'm not taking a backseat if that's what you're hoping. You and Elijah will not leave Finn and me out of this, just so we understand each other."
Klaus' eyes grew wide as saucers at the mention of his eldest brother. The brother who had been "sleeping" in his coffin for close to nine centuries.
"Finn too?"
Rebekah nodded, grimacing.
"Yes. She's stuck with the whole lot of you, poor thing."
Pushing Kol forcibly off him, Klaus grabbed the handle of the knife and pulled it out of his stomach before throwing the blood-coated blade on the marble tiles. Once the blade was out, his wound immediately began to heal.
"Where is Finn?" he asked as he got back on his feet. "And how in the bloody hell did you get out of your coffins?"
As he looked expectantly at his sister, he could see the hint of a shadow clouding her blue eyes. It was so subtle, he barely noticed it. But the shadow was there and Klaus dreaded to find the cause of it.
"Finn is still in the woods," she answered hesitantly. "He didn't want to leave the twins back on their own and we can't bring them with us. Well, I guess we could but we aren't sure if we should. Kol opted for simply plucking them out and replanting them into a pot we can carry around but Finn protested, arguing that it might hurt them if we do that. We need someone who knows how to deal with flower spirits in that state. We need Marianne, now more urgently than before."
The confusion in the hybrid's face deepened, mixed with worry as soon as she mentioned the twins.
"What are you talking about? Did something happen to the girls?" When she didn't react to his question, the hybrid grabbed the blonde Original by the shoulders, shaking her. "Bloody answer me, Rebekah!"
The latter pushed him off her, fury blazing in her eyes that matched his temper in every way.
"Keep your bloody paws off me, Nik! And stop yelling. I have two very sensitive ears, if you remember."
"Not just you," Kol remarked, demonstratively covering his ears with his hands. "I believe the entire supernatural population of Mystic Falls heard you."
Ignoring his younger brother, Klaus sighed impatiently.
"Just answer the question, Rebekah. What is with the twins?"
Rebekah hesitated for a moment before replying, "Well, there is no good way of putting this. The Salvatores had us stored away in an old house in the middle of the woods, haunted by witch spirits. The twins apparently bartered off a significant part of their powers in exchange of our freedom, causing them to lose their human form. They kind of merged, well, into a flower."
I was lying on some sort of couch, waiting for death to claim me. Yes, I would be dying. There was no doubt about it. The open wound on my neck kept bleeding the very life out of me. Yes, death would be coming for me soon, Strangely enough, I wasn't afraid of it. No, I was almost welcoming it, the prospect of peace and serenity too enticing to pass.
And then he was here, the angel of death, dressed in an immaculate, black suit, - the picture of a refined gentleman - a pair of obsidian eyes, crouching right in front of me, reaching out a hand to...stroke my cheek? Cool, slender fingers against hot, feverish skin, a voice more soothing than any earthly lullaby, awakening a part deep inside me that had been forgotten for far too long.
"Hello, dear. You cannot imagine how long I have waited for you."
The scenery changed, different fingers, different voice, a different pair of eyes, yet reflecting the same sense of adoration and longing than the ones before.
"Hello, love."
My eyes shot open. I clasped a hand over where I felt my heart beating a fast staccato against my chest, trying to get it back under control through deep, controlled breaths. The process was further complicated by the piercing, stinging pain spreading in my chest.
"It was just a dream," I kept reminding myself. "Just a dream..."
But why was this strange dream causing me so much physical pain? Why was I dreaming in the first place? Flower spirits that were in harmony with themselves didn't dream. For me, it was the first time in centuries. The first time in centuries that I found myself getting distracted by the simplest of things; a cool wind breeze rustling through my hair, a bug crawling over the cavern floor next to me. A particular pair of obsidian eyes, looking at me in such a strange manner that caused my heart to twist in a very painful way.
Pain...such a foreign word. Such a foreign...emotion? What was that? Where did that word even come from? What was wrong with me?
Ever since that Old One had stumbled into our territory last night, I found myself unable to do what was asked of me, unable to rest. The stranger had stirred something inside me, something I had no name for. Something that was pushing itself into the forefront of my being.
I hadn't told Cyprian about the intruder, even though the rules demanded it. I wasn't sure why. Perhaps because I knew he wouldn't be happy about it.
No distractions. He had been very clear about that. If he knew just how much the intruder had distracted me, was still distracting me in this very moment, I would never hear the end of it. I wasn't in need of another lecture.
But then again, what was he thinking, ordering me to stay put in this cavern while I had actual work to do? Work that I should be doing in this moment. It was my task to look after the Young Ones, my call. Not resting in a cavern, preparing for a possible scenario that could be happening in one or two millennia. Or never. And I was slowly but surely getting tired of it.
Scrambling myself up from the floor where I had been meditating, I decided to take a quick stroll around the blossoming pond. Just to take a look. Cyprian wouldn't need to find out.
Just a quick look...
Thirty years were nothing for the only truly eternal creatures on this earth. Chances were nothing had changed at all. However, the moment I stepped out of the confines of the Thousand Echo Cavern, I immediately realized that something was terribly wrong.
It was too quiet, too...lifeless. The Flower Spirit Realm was always bursting with life and colors. But the scenery in front of me was something I had never seen before. Not here, in our sanctuary. The air was tainted with some sickly green fumes, so dense I could barely see anything through it. Plants that had always been healthy and glowing had rotted away in the toxic fumes. No bird could be heard singing, nothing but utter silence. Our sanctuary, our beautiful sanctuary, was dead.
Suddenly it all made sense; the reason I felt so weak, why I had trouble concentrating. Why Cyprian had insisted on me staying in the cavern. To keep me from finding out about this.
"What has happened here?" I whispered, crouching down to inspect a lonely dead daisy in the grass. Closing my eyes I reached out, focusing my healing powers to revive the plant. For the split of a second, it seemed as though it was working. I could feel the familiar tingling sensation in my fingertips, as the plant was seemingly coming back to life, only for the tingling sensation to suddenly turn into a sharp, piercing pain. When I opened my eyes, the plant was still as dead as before. The only thing that had changed were the deep black veins spreading up from my wrist. Veins that were incredibly painful.
Poison.
Of what kind, I didn't know. It certainly wasn't ordinary poison. That wouldn't affect me. No, whatever this was, it was something vile, dark, evil. Something born of the blackest of magic.
Closing my eyes once again, I focused my healing magic at my wrist, trying to extract the poison from my system but to my utter horror I had to realize that it did the exact opposite. The pain intensified, a thousand needles piercing my skin up to the elbow.
"What in the Elder Tree's-"
Before I could finish my sentence, I was caught in a sudden, violent coughing fit. Glowing red liquid splashed all across the hand I had used to cover my mouth.
Blood.
If I didn't find a way to get that poison out of my system, it would eventually kill my human body and I would be forced to revert back to my true form and be stuck in it for who knew how many centuries until I regained a new body. I was quite fond of this one, to be honest. I would hate to lose it. If I wanted to keep it. I needed to get out of here as fast as possible. Confronting Cyprian would need to wait until I was healed. For now I had reach the blossoming pond, collect whatever Young Ones were still alive and then relocate us to a safe place, preferably void of any witches. In my weakened state, I wasn't sure I would be able to defend us against power-hungry witches wanting to get their hands on our life essence to extend their own lives. We used to live in fear of them for many centuries until the Elder Tree granted us this sanctuary that no one else had access to. And now said sanctuary was laid in ashes, barely a remnant of the paradise it used to be.
Pushing any such thoughts in the back of my mind, I pulled myself up on shaky legs. A sudden sense of dizziness hit me but I forced myself to keep on walking. The pond. I needed to reach the pond and pray to the Elder Tree that the Young Ones were unharmed, however unlikely it may be. The closer I got to the pond, the denser the fumes grew, making it harder and harder for me to breath. My eyes were burning and I was barely holding on to consciousness but I forced myself to push through. Giving up now was not an option. It was never an option. I had a duty to fulfill. On the entire, agonizingly long walk, or better crawl, to the pond I held onto the hope that I wasn't too late, that I hadn't failed my task to keep them safe.
However, nothing, absolutely nothing, could have prepared me for the sight that was greeting me at my destination. The blossoming pond had always been my favorite place in the sanctuary. The crystal blue, glittering water, which served as some sort of birthing pool. It was where an every flower spirit first came into existence. A small seed emerging from the depths of the magical pond that would then get planted into the nutritious soil at the shore where it would remain and grow into its true form for multiple centuries until it was time for the blossoming. Then the flower spirit would get carefully separated from its roots that were forever tied to the soil and put back into the pond. The water would then pull the flower spirit back under to complete the blossoming process. Once it was done, they emerged from the water in their fully fleshed out human form.
As one of the oldest flower spirits in this sanctuary, It was my duty to guide the Young Ones through the entire process. From the day they emerged from the pond as a seed to they day they gained their human form, I was at their side, guiding them, nurturing them. Like a mother. Flower Spirits had no parents the way humans did. We couldn't procreate that way either. We all came from the same, unknown source connected to this pond. That made this place the heart of the sanctuary. A heart that had now turned into a dead wasteland. The once crystal clear, blue water was now tainted into a thick, deep black. That seemed to be the source of the toxic fumes that had spread across the entire realm. The most horrifying, however, were the hundreds of dead flower spirits still planted into the soil all around the water.
"No."
My knees gave way and I fell to the ground, next to a dead flower spirit with the true form of a white orchid. The poor little thing looked as though someone had ripped it out of the soil and then trampled all over it. I gently picked it up and cradled it on my palm, softly stroking its petals in a way that I knew it would have liked if it were still alive.
If it could still feel my touch. This one had been especially young - half a century old at most. They all had been young, killed before their blossoming.
Babies. Innocent babies and someone had just...ended their lives. Just like that.
"Forgive me," I whispered, my voice breaking as I struggled to find the right words. "I wasn't here to protect you, to save you. May the Elder Tree forgive me. I failed my duty. I failed you."
Placing the dead orchid back on the ground I went into a deep, humble bow, forehead touching the soil before going back up and repeating the motion over and over and over again. With each bow, a pressure built up inside me, more and more before I suddenly let out a loud, agonizing scream. While I screamed, blood red tears began to trail down my cheeks - the first tears I've ever cried.
"I failed you," I whispered over and over again while the tears kept falling, forming a crimson-colored puddle right underneath me. I barely noticed my exhaustion, the piercing pain in my poisoned arm or the fact that my tears on the magical soil seemed to have created a portal and I wasn't in the sanctuary anymore, until I saw the concerned face of a brunette girl staring straight back at me.
"Marianne? You are here? How- How did you get past Damon and me into Jenna's room?"
I didn't know any of them names she was listing, nor did I know the girl. But I still looked straight at her, desperate to make her see, make her understand the pain I was feeling. The pain of my own failure, of the blood of my fosterlings that was now clinging onto my hands.
"I failed them. I should have been there. It's my fault. All my fault. I failed them."
The girl furrowed her brows, not understanding what I was talking about.
"Failed who-Oh my God!" Her eyes suddenly zoomed in on the black veins spreading up my right arm. "Damon, her arm!"
"Poison," I explained, wearily, eyelids fluttering as the exhaustion suddenly got too much to bear. "It will kill me soon, just like it killed them. My punish...ment."
I was barely able to finish the sentence as the world around faded to black. The last thing I felt were a pair of arms catching me from behind before my head could hit the hard ground."