two days before the fair Hannah's aunt and uncle were in the village helping set up stalls whilst the weather was nice; in England there's no garentee it would last. Hannah took the opportunity to sit out in the garden in her shorts and summer top and read, she rarely got time to read when the weather was this nice but she told her aunt she had a head ache coming so she didn't have to go and had the afternoon to herself. she was currently working her way threw one of her favorite books again 'the great Gatsby' she read this when she was in collage studying English lit and has read in countless times since. She loved the 1920's, the fashion and attitudes of everyone, people went crazy, threw party's and falling in love just seemed so easy; though she thought the reality must differ somewhat. She wondered what Klaus was doing in the 1920's, she imagined him like Gatsby, throwing party's and having a great adventure all for the name of love.
As she sat and read when she heard something rustling in the bushes in her garden near the back fence. she immediately stood up and backed away from the bench where she placed her book. She wondered who it was, she dreaded who was about to appear from behind the bush's. as the rustling got louder she took a deep breath and took few more steps towards the gate the leads to around the front of the house. "hey Hannah" Virgil said in his signature American accent. "oh my goodness! Virgil you scared me!" she said crossing the garden back to the bench and picked up her book up. he came closer and sat down next to her "just came to see your okay" he said, "sorry to disturb your reading" he added. "its okay" she said looking at him, the sun was reflecting of the white wall behind her so she had to squint to see him, "how come you and Klaus can walk in the day, i thought vampires had sun burn issues" she asked as the question popped into her head. Virgil looked amused, "you really don't know much do you?" he asked but didn't expect an answer "well Klaus is old, like really old and an original so the sun doesn't burn him, i have a Friend witch who gave me this-" he held his hand up revealing a ring, "it allows me to go out in the sun" he explained. "Klaus is an original, what does that mean?" she asks next. "i think that's up to him to tell you but ask me anything else and i'll tell you" he says.
Hannah liked having Virgil there to answer her questions she had to admit she was curious and Klaus hadn't exactly been around to answer any of her questions recently. "so how do you become a vampire, do you just have to be bitten or-" she didn't need to finish the question he knew what she meant. "its not that simple, first you have to have vampire blood in your system then you have to die, then you have to drink human blood to complete the transformation." he explained, twilight had really got it wrong, Hannah realised she really knew nothing about all of this. "so you mentioned witch's, is that it or is there other supernatural beings out there?" she asked. "there's werewolf's as well, i'm not experienced enough to answer that question fully" he says, then the question came into Hannah's brain that had been circling her mind since she found out what Klaus was. "whats it like? being a vampire?" she asked.
Virgil took a moment to think his answer threw, "at first its all about the hunger, you wake up and you throats burning; if your lucky you'll know whats happening to you but if you don't you'll try to eat everything your used to. salad, vegetables, meat; but nothing will stop the hunger. then when you realise what your becoming and what it is your craving you'll stop at nothing to get it, there's apart of your brain that is screaming at you, telling you to stop but you cant, you have to do what it takes to survive. then when the hunger settles and you get blood all your emotions are heightened, all your senses are on edge; most people just turn it of like a switch at first but some turn it back on as they go." Hannah sat and listened to him contently, "it gets easier to come to terms with what you are, to come to terms with the killing, and you turn your emotions on to allow you to feel, some people lived with regret after that, replaying every person you've killed replays in there mind they normally just turn it off again, and some people are stronger they can deal with it, accept it. either way the need for blood is inevitable, some live of animals but its not the same as human blood, and some donated blood. others feed of humans but don't kill."
Hannah sat back on the bench "sounds horrible" she says, Virgil turns to face her again. "it has its ups. you're senses are also heightened you can hear a conversation from a mile away, your speed and strenth are unmatched, and you can control peoples mind, its so easy to get what ever you want." he says. Hannah knows though he was saying these things he didn't truly believe they were all good, that's allot of power for one person and they can do allot of harm. "so when did you meet Klaus?" she asked. "i was nearly a hundred years old and searching for my maker" he said, "lets just say she had a habbit of wondering off on her men she turned, her name was katherine, i fell in love with her as a human and she turned me. Klaus was looking for her to for the oposite reason; she wronged him a very long time ago, i hated him at first but when she continued to evade me, and run from me, i thought he was right about her, she was selfish and irresponcible." he said, hannah could see that virgil still had feelings for this woman, there was a slight moment of pain in his eyes when he said her name.
Hannah and Virgil sat there talking until she heard her aunt and uncle coming in the front door. "i should go" he said standing up. "tell Klaus i want to see him tomorrow" she said and he nodded. "until next time, i'll be close as ever" he said leaving the garden over the fence. "Hannah dear? what ever are you doing, your going to burn out here in the sun, come in and put something on your shoulders!" aunt Elena demanded as she popped her head out of the back door. Hannah clutched her book and did as her aunt asked, knowing what she did now she felt slightly more hopeful about her and Klaus's relationship; at least she knew what she was getting her self into.
*****
Klaus's POV.
Klaus spend most of the morning with a few vampires looking threw local hotels, abandoned warehouses and empty or newly rented buildings, they were trying to narrow there search but weren't having much luck. up until now they had been compelling the locals for information but they weren't getting anywhere. He just wanted to kill the hunter get his girl and go. He hadn't heard from his older brother in a while and was surprised when he checked one of his older phones and saw a missed call from him. he didn't bother to call back. he was busy, Elijah would just have to wait.
He was stopped many times by annoying locals in the village asking if he would be at the fair in two days, he hoped he would have this hunter killed by then so he could take Hannah somewhere better then this backward village, he was thinking Paris or Rome; he thought she would love that, plus he heard there are some witches in both of those city's with powers that would be able to assist him with his search. he wasn't sure how much he should tell Hannah, he didn't want her to try and stop him because he wasn't willing to let his century's long search come to an end without him finding either the doppelganger or a witch who can break the curse with out patrova blood.
He went into the cafe he first met Hannah in next, he knew the hunter was there yesterday; maybe her Friends knew where he was staying. "excuse me!" he said and got Collins attention. "hey Klaus how you doing?" Collin greeted him, Klaus couldn't be bothered with the small talk. "i want you to tell me where the Byron is staying mate" he focused in on Collins eyes to compel him. "sorry Klaus i can't tell you that, i don't think he would appreciate me telling people where he is staying even if i did know." Collin said, Klaus was dumbfounded, he compulsion didn't work; that's not possible. he tried again, "i want you to find out for me mate" he said. "are you okay Klaus your acting strange" Collin said, "i got to go, were getting busy" Collin walked away, Klaus didn't see how this was possible. he left the cafe and called Virgil immediately. "hey Klaus-" Virgil began but was cut off. "no time for chat mate, is Hannah home?" he got straight to the point, his temper was ill as it was he didn't need pointless small talk. "yeah, she hasn't been out all day" virgil says. "i'm on my way" Klaus hangs up.
******
Hannah's POV.
Hannah was helping her aunt with baking when there was an impatient knock at the door. She rushes to open before uncle john could; she had a feeling it was Klaus. "we need to have a chat!" he said. she stepped out into the warm summer day and closed the front door, "whats up?" she asked worried about what is up with him. "do you trust me?" he asked, she nodded a reply, of course she trusts him, he looked into her eyes like he had done before to stop her leaving his house. "Klaus what are you-" she was about to ask but he didn't let her finish. "just trust me, i want you to go get a knife and stab me." he said compelling her. "don't be stupid i could never-"she said when she realised, she should be doing it but she's not, "it didn't work, why didn't it work?" she asked. Klaus looked frustrated, this hunter was playing on his last nerve.
Virgil having heard what was going on walked up the drive. "do you think he put vervain in the water supply?" he asked Klaus. "my siblings and i destroyed as many of those plants as we could but i guess its possible we missed some" Klaus replied, "where is the water supply for the village love?" he asked. "there's a reservoir about quarter of a mile that way" she pointed at the hill in the distance. "will you show us the way?" Klaus asked her she nodded, "Virgil go get the car!" he ordered and Virgil ran at vampire speed away."i'll go tell my aunt and uncle i'm going out" Hannah said and went back inside. She had no idea what 'vervain' is but she guess it wasn't good for vampires so to be sure she pured a glass of water out of the tap after telling her aunt and uncle where she was going, skipping out on most of the details. "here!" she handed Klaus the glass "what ever this vervain is, should be in that can't you smell it or something?" she said. klaus sighed before Virgil pulled up in the car and stepped out, "Virgil, put you finger in this for me mate" Virgil came and did as Klaus said, it burned his finger like acid and he removed it all most immediately, "well that answers that, lets go and see this reservoir" he said leading Hannah into the car.
Alderberry reservoir supplies the village and several other villages with its water. When she was younger her parents brought her up to walk around it all the time, in school they would go there to study wildlife and the water cycle, it has a visitor center and around the water its self is a walk way and modern sculptures. Hannah hadn't been here in years. Virgil pulled the car up in front and Klaus got out first, she stepped out after him and saw what 'vervain' was. floating on top of the water as far as she could see was a small purple plant, the same plant had been planted on the bank of the reservoir. "Hannah my love, please promise you'll stop drinking the tap water until i make arrangements to get a filter fitter at your house" Klaus said staring at the waters. "okay, but I'm going to need to shower eventually..." she said standing next to him. "my house, there's already a filter in place, i put it in as a precaution" he said.
Virgil stepped out of the car and was just as gobsmacked as Klaus, "this could be a problem, the whole village has now got a weapon against us in there bath rooms and kitchens" he stated. on the way home Klaus told Virgil to pull over at a corner shop where he brought Hannah plenty of bottles of bottled water, she could only imagine what her aunt was going to say when she saw her buying bottled water. "how long does it take to get this stuff out of you system?" she asked, she knew that having vervain in her blood would stop her being compelled and stop vampires biting her but Klaus didn't seem to think it was a good thing so she was determined to get rid of it. "a day or so, i'll try compel you again on Sunday, dont worry it wont be anything to serious i just want to check love" he said holding her hand as they were sat in the car.
when they arrived home Klaus helped her bring the water inside, Chelsea was in the kitchen helping aunt Elena when they entered. "what on earth have you been buying bottled water for?" aunt Elena immediately asked. "the tap waters been tasting funny recently" Hannah said taking it from Klaus and putting it in the fridge. "i heard there's something in the water up at the reservoir" he explained to Elena in a voice that make you want to believe him. Chelsea did look convinced, but she remained quiet stirring cup cake mix, Hannah still didn't know why she postponed her stay, it was unlike Chelsea to do that and she had a bad feeling about it.