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Kara stepped out of the parked car. It took ten minutes to get through traffic and now she had to wait for the kids. Mia told her to pick them up because they didn't want to walk in the rain. After a few minutes, the car door opened and the silence of the school was broken by screaming. Mia and Danielle ran past the crowd and into Kara's car.
"Why are you wet?" Kara asked upon the sight of the soaking girls, "if you can handle being wet right now then you both can handle walking home."
"I forgot to open my umbrella," Mia sighed, "we ran as fast as we could."
Kara rolled her eyes and shifted to drive. Mia is now in third grade and Danielle was in first. It was a stormy day, which had been happening often.
It has been two years since Tristian unexpectedly left his family. Two years since Kara found his daughters hiding in a basement. Two years with no contact and no information on his whereabouts.
Throughout these two years, Kara has tried to pinpoint Tristian's location. She asked help from covens, wolf packs, and even compelled people for information. The closest she's gotten to finding out more about Tristian was from a witch, Shelia Bennet.
Tristian sought out Shelia for help after escaping, asking her to cloak him and his wife for a few months before they asked help from another witch. Shelia explained that he was desperate for help and was able to magically cloak the couple for a week. She hadn't heard from him in months and the last time she traced them was when they were in Salem.
Kara felt like she was all over the place. Raising kids, feeding on humans, and trying to track Tristan was tiring. At times she felt emotions coming back, and they were, it was worrying her.
She looked in the view mirror of the car. Mia was growing day by day and she began to look like Kara more and more. Everytime Kara thought about Mia, her heart began to ache.
Katherine, a close friend of Kara, explained to her that it was possible that they were doppelgängers. Since Katherine was one herself, Kara was convinced.
She planned to leave the family today. A witch friend agreed to watch over the girls. She already thought out what to say when she compelled them. She was going to wipe their memory of her, have them think their parents died in a car accident, and let them believe that they were adopted and taken in by a family friend.
She didn't want to see Mia growing up because she didn't want to be reminded more of her human self. Seeing Kara as a little girl again would definitely bring back some emotions, unwanted and forgotten ones.
"I'm gonna stop for gas," Kara announced and turned left. She sighed as she parked the car.
When she parked and shut the door, she felt a peculiar presence in the station. She carefully looked around before proceeding to pump gas, but it felt as if someone was watching her—actually, multiple someones.
"AHH," She groaned as she clutched her head and fell to the ground, she was hit with an unexpected migraine.
"Hurts, right? Feels like your head is gonna explode."
Kara looked up and saw a coven of witches closing in on her. She tried to get up and fight, but it felt someone was restraining.
"You do not know who you are dealing with," A dark skinned bearded man came up to her, "that little girl in the car?"
Kara had no chance to reply, all she could do is groan in pain.
"Tristian and his wife had no idea what power she had. That little girl belongs to us. I have to take her back."
Mia held Danielle tightly in her arms, she wasn't going to let any of them near her or her sister. But, a little eight-year-old girl couldn't do anything in this situation. So instead, she reached for Kara's phone on the seat and dialed 911.
The bearded man began to walk towards the car and the rest of the coven focused on restraining Kara.
"Although you may have no idea who your true parents are, Danielle, you know what you are. And you know where you should be."
Danielle shook her head furiously. Suddenly, the gas pumps of the station lifted up from their place and pumped gasoline on the witches.
The witches stood still, confusion and shock written on their faces. Kara slowly stood up, however her head was still in pain and she couldn't even focus her eyes on the ground.
As Mia turned back to protect her sister, Danielle was focused on the witches in front of her. Her head turned slightly, setting the coven was set on fire. Mia gasped and opened the car door to get Kara.
"Kara! Kara! The people are on fire!" Mia yelled and she pulled Kara up from the ground.
Kara squinted her eyes. Finally, as soon as they focused, she and Mia went back in. She started the engine and drove away as fast she could.
"What the hell just happened?" Kara asked the two little girls. Mia looked over at Danielle, who was in tears.
"I don't know, but I think Danielle did something."
❦
Kara sighed and stared up at the ceiling above her. She was secretly staying at the Salvatore's house because she didn't want to leave town just yet.
After her fight with Mia, her head was filled with flashbacks. Everyday, a new memory would pop into her head. Maybe it was her conscious trying to bring her humanity back or maybe it was her own self trying to bring it back; whatever the reason was, it's driving Kara crazy.
For the past few nights, she was hanging out with Stefan. The went out on eating trips, went bowling—which soon turned into an addiction for Stefan— or just sat in silence. It was never awkward between them, but Kara always second guessed Stefan.
Did he really turn it off? The question always lingered in her mind.
"God, how long are you gonna stay here for?"
Kara shifted her eyes to her left, where Damon was. He had a towel wrapped around his head and a drink in his hand.
"You look like a wine mom," Kara said bluntly and focused her eyes back on the ceiling.
Damon sighed as he set his cup down, "just because you're friends with my baby brother, doesn't mean you get to friends with me. Also, doesn't mean you get to use our house as your guilty pleasure."
"I'm just really curious about something," She fixed sitting position and crossed her legs, "Elena really loves Stefan doesn't she? I mean, how could I blame her? But.. The way you look at her.."
"I really don't wanna hear any of that, you she devil," He sighed and finished his wine.
"We don't need to interact with each other here. Just kill who you wanna kill and leave," Damon sarcastically smiled.
Kara chuckled and got up, she was really bored with her life. Maybe I shouldn't have killed Elijah, she thought to herself.
Everyday was different for her since she and Stefan hang out all the time, but that was the thing. They were together almost all the time, and when they were, Elena tagged along most of the time as well. Klaus compelled him to protect her, so that was her consequence.
She walked outside and began roaming the streets. After a few blocks down, she stopped in front of her house. She examined the black windows and doors and imagined what Mia would have been doing at this hour. Probably going crazy over where her parents might be.
With that thought, Kara sighed and shoved her hands into her pockets. While she raising this family, her doppelgänger was the closest thing to a daughter for her.
Once Mia turned 12, it was evident that her and Kara looked alike. Her facial features sharpened— eyes, nose, lips were notable and she didn't look like a potato anymore. And as she continued to raise them, Kara made she Mia didn't turn out the way Kara is.
She taught her morals— to be kind, treat people with empathy, consider all consequences, be fair and share– everything that Kara was not, Mia made sure she was. Deep down, in her lost humanity, she genuinely cared for her.
As for keeping the whole family compelled, Kara returned to her old friend, Alecia Morgan. She helped trap Zella, Michelle, and Mia into a spell that have them be convinced that their parents ditched them and Kara grew up with them. Since they were all supernatural, she knew that the compulsion would break once they broke their curse or they turned.
However, Michelle figured out the supernatural world too soon. Her ex-boyfriend, when she was in high school, happened to be a vampire. And foolish as she was, she thought they would be in love forever if he turned her. It happened, and well, the spell broke; since the spell was casted while she was human, it broke once she died and turned, Alecia failed at re-compelling her.
Kara rolled her eyes at the memory. She remember the hard times where she had to manipulate and traumatize Michelle into keeping the secret, which wasn't easy. Luckily, the kid stayed scared until recently.
Danielle was a different story. It was much harder to raise her as kid, being a witch and all. Kara knew from the start she wasn't their blood sister. The youngest sibling didn't have the traditional Radford brown eyes, bold brows, and wavy hair. She had soft features, dark eyes, black, puffy hair; her skin was of a tan complexion as well. Evidently, she stood out from all of them.
It was difficult, Kara didn't want to think about it. After a few minutes of reminiscing, she had a plan. The flashbacks she experienced from the venomous werewolf bite inspired her to go back home— where it all started. She began to haul a taxi cab driver to take her back to the airport and then Florence, Italy.
❦
"What are they saying?"
Mia and Rebekah were hovering over Mia's phone screen as she was playing a game.
"Well in the Sim's world, they're probably saying normal things. We just can't understand. Look at their expressions and listen to their tones, though."
Rebekah furrowed her eyebrows, "what the hell happened while I was daggered?"
She took Mia's phone from her hands and laid back onto the motel bed.
It's been about a month and a half from the time when Mia convinced Klaus's hybrid group. From then on she's been accompanying him to collect the next two or three, but after that the pack became so big that she didn't need a whole speech to convince others.
Lately, she's been staying at the motel and wandering around town with Rebekah, who she became acquainted with. She hasn't seen her pack— "her" pack? She wasn't sure if she could say that or not; Klaus was taking initiative with everything that she didn't bother to keep up.
Speak the devil's name and he comes forward.
Klaus walked in, interrupting Mia's thoughts, and sighed.
"I think I'm done for the summer," he said and smiled, "I've built the perfect army that listens to every command I say. Perfectly loyal and determined."
"Perfectly submissive and manipulated?" Mia corrected, "sorry? Did I hear wrong?"
The hybrid ignored her words because he was so overfilled with joy over the success of his newly built family, "I think this calls for a celebration! Party? How about a party?"
"Nik, I'm not sure if you've forgotten," Rebekah rose from her bed, "Mikael is on us. He's following us, still."
In a second, Klaus's whole mood fell and he began to look nervous, even intimated, "for now, we've got an army to protect us. Nonetheless, you're right. We've got to move."
Mia titled her head, "and you're just gonna leave this pack? Without an alpha to follow?"
For several minutes, Klaus stared at the yellow-white walls of the motel room. Summer was almost over, Mikael was on his track, Elena might be in danger as well. He didn't have eyes on his lab rats at Mystic Falls, but leaving his newly-turned pack wasn't an option either.
"Bekah," Klaus called and looked at his little sister, "I'm entirely sure you don't like being here in this confined space. You would want to be back, in school, with humans. With Stefan."
A little gasp escaped from Rebekah's lips, as if she already knew what he was going to state.
"Go back to Mystic Falls and be my eyes. Make sure everyone's in their place, especially Stefan."
She didn't hesitate to pack up her stuff and leave. Mia scoffed, at least she didn't take her phone with her. As soon as she reached for the device, Klaus took it from her hands and slipped it into his pockets.
"We're gonna visit a special little town, just you and me," Klaus smirked at the girl.
Mia almost gagged at the thought of Chicago, again, "Please—"
"This place truly is home to me," he continued, "it was like I ruled the whole world."
He opened the curtains to add more to his villain personality, with a deep breath and smile, he said,
"Let's go to New Orleans."