Aly rubbed her eyes, sniffling slightly as she walked in the dark corridor of their home. It's been weeks since she last awoke in the middle of the night, although now it wasn't due to another creepy doppelgänger-induced nightmare. That night, Alyssandra woke up to the sound of crying.
The wall separating the two rooms was thin and failed to completely muffle Elena's small weeps. Aly shuffled her way down to the kitchen, swallowing down her ill-grievances towards her sister. Instead, she quietly readied two cups of hot choco and mentally prepared herself for the coming talk. Aly heard her sibling's fight that night, and she drowned it out through Justin Bieber and Fall Out Boy. However, each half-sob knocked on her heart and she couldn't keep ignoring it without feeling wrecked herself.
She steadily opened Elena's room, her sister immediately tried to stifle her cries. "Hey."
"Why are you still awake?" Elena's voice wavered slightly, "I don't want another fight, Alyssandra. So if that's why you're here then you should leave."
"I'm not here to fight you, Elena." Aly closed the door shut behind her, sighing. "How'd it go?"
"Bad." Elena hiccuped, "He hates me. He's going to hate me forever."
"Forever's a really long time." Aly shook her head. She walked up to her sister's bed, sitting down next to her. Aly handed her the hot-choco mug, and she inwardly sighed in relief when Elena took it. Then quietly, she added, "You know it's justified."
Elena's eyes well up with tears once more, she hung her head low and stared hard at the mug. "I'm sorry."
"I know." Aly comfortingly held her hand, "But what you had Damon do to him, it's not something that can easily be forgiven. It was fucked up."
"I thought it was the right thing to do. I thought I was protecting them." Elena tried to explain, "Do you think he'll ever forgive me?"
"I think," she started slowly, "that there's nothing you could really do to make him forgive you." Aly shot Elena a pointed look and she immediately looks down in shame. "Jeremy needs his space, Elena. He deserves space after- after what happened. I think we're lucky that even after everything that's happened to him he hasn't run away. He's still Jeremy, you know?" Aly sighed, trying not to let her thoughts take a dark turn. "Honestly? Even then we don't know if the reason why he's doing alright is because of the compulsion. Is it really Jeremy? Does he wonder if it's him or if it's who you want him to be?" She shook her head, looking away from her sister.
"Don't say that." Elena's lower lip quivered, and she sniffled through another wave of tears. "I didn't mean it like that."
"I know." It was a cruel thing to do, and Aly doubted that her sister would ever deliberately do that to someone. "But it's what you've done."
"I'm sorry." She rasped out, "Do you hate me too?"
"I hate what you did." Aly corrected. "But I can see how it's easier to just make him feel better." For a moment Aly was back in Grayson's office and she could see the white room as clear as day. "That power the vampires have? Compulsion. People shouldn't have that much power over others..." Aly trailed off, taking in a large gulp from her hot choco to calm her nerves. It didn't do anything to the sudden ache she felt in her heart.
The twins awkwardly sat together on Elena's bed, neither of them knowing what to say next. There was no sound beyond Elena's slightly labored breathing.
Clearing her throat, Aly stood up. "I'm heading to bed." She said softly, running her hand down her sister's hair. "You should rest up too. There's no use in beating yourself up about it."
Elena sniffled again, rubbing her eyes. She mumbled out a small 'yeah'.
"Goodnight."
~ soulmark ~
Aly awoke the next day later than usual. She sluggishly got ready for the day, showering in a hot setting and letting herself bask in the small comfort the heat provided. For once she didn't bother to extensively ready her hair- instead deciding on putting all the big curls on a quick, tight bun. She pulled on a white mini skirt, a collared shirt, then a blazer. Studying herself in the mirror, she didn't like how taut and tense she looked.
At least the eye-bags she got from the last few months were finally gone, no longer being a danger to her concealers. Life gives small mercies for free. Who would have thought? Sighing, she put her earphones on and grabbed her bag. She's never been late that entire school year, even with everything else going on. Aly was sure as hell not going to start now.
John Gilbert stood in the middle of the kitchen, casually reading that day's paper with coffee on his other hand. Casual in a way that he was either unaware of the tension in the room or uncaring of it. He gave her a small nod and a smile as she entered but Aly couldn't meet his eye. Instead, she stared, frozen, at the two Elena's sitting on the dining table with a stressed Jenna right next to them. Jeremy sat opposite from where their Aunt sat, and he was awkwardly fiddling with his jacket.
The girl- an exact copy of her own face- stood up and rushed to hug her. She wore a black leather jacket, low waist jeans, and a white shirt, her look was complete with bouncing curls and a wide smile. She- she looked exactly like them. "I've always wanted to meet you." The girl murmured against her. Pulling away, the girl gave her another wide smile. "I'm Katherine."
Aly's breath caught, and her eyes flickered towards Elena in shock. Her sister looked absolutely distraught and silently shook her head. The universal sign for 'no' and 'keep quiet'.
"Alyssandra has always had a busy schedule." John let out a laugh, "Always on the go, that one. Why won't you two sit down?"
Alyssandra practically dropped down to the stool in shock, Katherine simply held her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. The lapis-lazuli on her finger glittered against the light. "I know this must be a lot for you." She said kindly.
Aly couldn't make much sense to anything else besides the way her heart banged against her chest. However, she did know that much of it all had something to do with a certain missing Damon Salvatore. Perhaps he'll make an appearance that day after his dead-vampire-ex-girlfriend.
"It is a lot to take in." John sat down across her, and for once all the chairs in their table was taken. "I was pretty surprised myself." He said softly, he took a deep breath that sounded much more like a sigh. "I know that both of you know-" he pointed at Aly and Elena, then shot Jenna a look- "that you're adopted. Well... imagine my surprise upon meeting Katherine."
"I was trying to find my birth parents." Her 'sister' said in earnest, "I knew that the my- well- our birth mom gave us up. So I tried to contact her and I found out that..." she trailed off, shooting a hopeful gaze towards Aly and Elena.
"Jenna told me the day she left us in the clinic." Her actual sister said monotonously. "She never mentioned a triplet."
Jenna frowned. "I never said that." That's when Aly noticed that the vervain bracelets that she had given to Jenna and Jeremy were both gone. Both of their wrists were bare. Aly made eye contact with Elena, who she saw glanced towards their wrist as well.
The movement didn't go unnoticed by Katherine.
"I- I don't remember that night well enough." Jenna continued.
Katherine shook her head, Aly watched as she sniffled and rubbed her eyes. "I was a surprise." She explained, "Isobel told me that I came after Grayson and Miranda delivered you two. She had to go to an actual hospital to get me delivered."
"Isobel?" Elena echoed, shooting Jenna another look. Their Aunt didn't react to the name. "You've met Isobel?"
From the corner of her eye, Aly noticed John glance down.
"I have." Katherine nodded, "We could meet her again, if you two want to. I have her on call."
"I can't believe this." Aly gave Katherine a hard stare. Why was she suddenly here? Did she compel Jenna, Jeremy, and John? Aly stood up, motioning Jeremy and Elena to do so as well. "We have to go. School's starting in 15 minutes."
John motioned her to sit back down. "I've already called the school," He said, "I told them you three are going to be late today."
"I haven't been late since school started," Aly snapped, "I'm not starting now."
"An academic?" Katherine's voice suddenly rang out, she grinned. "Wow, I can't say I'm the same. I'm more of a live, love, and laugh kind of girl." She winked towards Elena, holding eye contact. "You know, boys and boyfriends."
"Were you adopted?" Jenna asked, "Do your parents know you're here?"
"They know." Katherine nodded, "I told them that I'll be here. John met them, right John?"
"That's right."
"So you'll be staying for a while?" Jeremy asked slowly. "You'll be here for Christmas?"
"And New Years. And maybe the next semester." Katherine's face turned somber, "If you guys will let me."
"Of course." Jenna moved to grab her hand, giving her a warm smile. "It's a shock, it really is. But it's good that you three are finally together. You can stay here for as long as you like."
Katherine smiled wryly, like a cheshire cat. "Thank you.".
Aly paced around in worry. She had set up a privacy spell in her room and connected her hand-mirror to Jenna and Jeremy. It wasn't exactly a protection spell, but it should light up whenever one is in danger. She cautiously opened the door, eavesdropping on Jenna and John talking to Katherine down in the dining room. Jeremy had gone after his own insistence, convincing John that he needed to go to school unless he wanted to fail all his classes. Elena spoke to Stefan in the background, explaining to him what happened as fast as she can. Aly shut the door.
"What the hell is she doing here?"
"I don't know." Elena shook her head. "Have you tried calling Damon?"
Aly scoffed, "That asshole's not going to answer. What did Stefan say?"
"He has no idea what's going on. I told him to meet me at school." Elena worriedly rubbed her palms. "Katherine said she met Isobel."
Aly looked away, letting out an exasperated sigh. "What the hell is happening?" she muttered angrily, "Why is she here?" Aly ends up calling Damon anyway, his phone rang twice before it got disconnected. Aly's phone flew to her bed in frustration. "Jenna and Jeremy weren't wearing their vervain bracelets. She must've done something."
"Do you think she compelled them?" Elena asked, "Do you think she compelled John, too?"
"She must have." Aly swallowed thickly, "What do you know about her? Do you know any reason why she'd come here?"
Elena looked up at her in surprise. "I don't? I only know as much as you do."
"There has to be a reason why she suddenly showed up."
Both girls immediately went silent as someone knocked on the door. The knob glowed a dark red color, and Elena shot her a look.
"What does that mean?"
"It means a vampire is on the other side of the door," Aly muttered angrily, she took a deep breath and swung the door open.
"You must be the witch." Katherine looked at her hand apprehensively. "Though fair warning? That spell you used isn't very discrete. It stung. A vampire with half a mind would immediately realize that a witch is nearby. Mind if I come in?"
She looked at the twins expectantly, Aly was surprised that she actually waited for her to swing the door fully open before stepping in.
"Why are you here?" Elena asked, "What do you want?"
"What? Can't I visit my little look-alikes?" Katherine countered, she glanced around the room appreciatively. "You both wear such pretty faces."
"Then why now? Why not visit sooner?" Aly snapped, irritated that she'd gone around the room and fiddled with her stuff. "Don't touch that."
Elena went and shut the door of her room, standing there with crossed arms. She shot Aly a look as if to say 'Don't let her out.' Aly tried not to grimace. There really wasn't anything she could do against the vampire unless she touched her. She moved a little closer to her sister nonetheless, just in case she attacked.
"Why are you really here?" Elena asked. "You compelled them, didn't you?"
"Look," Katherine sighed. "I'm not looking for any trouble. That's not what I'm here for. I'm here to warn you two, and maybe even help you."
"You want to help us-"
"-Warn us about what?"
The twins asked their questions at the same time, and Aly shot Elena a look, officially spooked that there were three of them in the same room. Katherine seemed equally enraptured as well, looking from one twin to the other. The vampire was silent as she studied them before asking,
"What do you two know about being doppelgängers?"
"Besides looking exactly like you? Nothing." Alyssandra answered.
Katherine hummed, she shot them both a look. "A thousand years ago, a spell was created using the very first doppelgänger. A woman by the name of Tatia." Katherine began to explain. The twins listened to her firmly, intrigued. "The spell was then used to create the very first vampires in the world. A family of six that later on would be called the Originals. Except one of them was different, he was no ordinary vampire."
Elena frowned, "What do you mean?"
"The mother of the family hid a secret affair that led to his birth, a secret not only because of the pretense of infidelity but also of shame. Because you see, Klaus' real father is nothing other than a werewolf."
"A werewolf?" Elena echoed, shooting Aly an incredulous look. "Werewolves are real?"
"They are." Aly agreed. "But they're extremely rare." Although she felt incredibly strange, the name 'Klaus' was oddly familiar.
"But then what does that make him? A werewolf or a vampire?"
"He's both." Katherine answered with an air of finality. "Or he could be both. That's where you two come in. Every hundred years or so another doppelgänger would appear." She pointed at her then at them. "That's because the doppelgängers were nature's punishment for the creation of vampires; nobody was ever supposed to live that long. doppelgängers became the shadow of the woman they used to create the spell. Although, it's the first time that two ever appeared at once." Katherine met her eye.
Unnerved, Aly asked, "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I'm getting to that," Katherine answered, irritated. "The witch that made the spell at least understood that there shouldn't be such a big of an imbalance such as a hybrid existing. So Klaus was cursed with the same blood that he was created from. He's been finding a way to break it ever since."
"And he needs our blood to break it." Elena continued, horrified. "Is that what you mean by warning us? He wants to find us?"
Katherine looked surprised that Elena had caught on quickly. "Yes." She nodded, "That's why I'm here, I want to help you two."
"Because he went after you first," Aly said in realization. "That's why you faked your death in the church- so that he won't hunt you down."
"Well you're not wrong." The girl answered after a while, looking like she swallowed a lemon. "He did go after me. He killed all of my family the moment I got away."
Elena sat down, looking pale as a sheet of paper.
Aly narrowed her eyes. "Then why come here?" She asked, "If you did so much trouble with getting away- why come back?"
Katherine stared her down. "Because maybe by helping you two, you can help me as well."
"Help you with what?" Elena's voice came out as a shaky whisper.
"Because during the ritual itself Klaus will be left weak, it'll be the only and last moment he'll be weak. And only then can he be killed, and I'll finally be free."
"If you're here to help, then why compel our family?" Aly demanded. "Why take their vervain bracelets? You think we'll trust you when we know you could easily screw them over?"
"If I wanted to hurt what remains of your little family I would have done it sooner." Katherine answered simply. "Klaus is looking after the both of you. He's not going to stop until he gets one of you. We don't need extra mortals that'll just get in the way of things."
It clicked in Aly's head that apparently, Klaus needed human blood and not vampiric.
"Shouldn't we go?" Elena asked, panicked. "Doesn't that just make things worse? What if Klaus gets them like he did to your family?"
"He won't if we do this right." Katherine said determinedly. "Your mother, Isobel, is also working under the wraps. John is aware as well. We just need the both of you to stay put and still. No messing around, no problem." Though she sent Aly a look, "Though a siphoner has its uses."
"Isobel is helping us?" The words were out of Aly's mouth before she could stop them.
"She's trying." was Katherine's reply.
Isobel, their missing vampire birth-mom, who was the ex-wife of their aunt's current fling, a.k.a their history teacher, was apparently trying to help them against an age old powerful vampire that was after their blood. For some reason, that was what really blew Aly over, and it all felt very real.
"What does John have to do with any of this?" Elena asked, not getting the connection. "How do you even know him and Isobel?"
Katherine observed her, then ultimately said nothing about it. "Ask him." She said instead.
~ soulmark ~
Katherine got enrolled the next day.
The look on Stefan's face upon seeing not two but three of them together at school was one Aly should have taken a picture of. She vehemently ignored everyone's whispers and looks as they walked past them although even she had to admit that she felt oddly... good.
Perhaps it was the way Katherine's shirt hung tight on her body, her curls bouncing as she strutted in the middle of the three, or maybe it was Elena's ethereal walk, gracious and long right next to her, or maybe it was even her, with her intense doe eyes, knowing and confident.
They all wore too-expensive Chanel blazers and skirts, high heels just for the occasion, (which Aly ALL owned) hair in their specific styles, to not look so alike but just as beautiful as the other. They were color-coded for goodness sakes! Katherine had insisted on making an entrance.
There was just something about being stared at, with people looking so surprised while walking in unison upon entering the school. It was like something from Mean Girls.
Caroline's eyes seemed to budge out of her face as she saw them, and Bonnie's jaw actually dropped. Alyssandra gave them a smile that she hoped screamed just how she felt. The bizarreness, the absurdness, of the entire situation. This wasn't a movie, but it really felt like one.
Naturally, by the end of the first period, the entire school found out that they (Elena and Aly) were adopted, and that they (all of them) were a set of triplets. Aly didn't feel comforted by the fact that only half of that was a lie. But it made due. The news was like fire, it burned fast and everybody screamed at it.
The stares continued on until lunch, and Jeremy actually ditched lunch just to get away from it all. Aly didn't miss the brunette he dragged along with him, Anna, if she remembered correctly. Earlier that day Aly had juiced vervain and spiked it all on Jenna and Jeremy's water bottles, it was the only thing she could do without Katherine going all-haywire on her.
The girl didn't allow herself to be touched by the siphoner. Apparently, she knew well enough that if she did Aly would blast her brain. It didn't help that the vampire had placed Elena on choke-hold that morning for wanting to wear black.
"Katherine." Caroline said in a shocked, forced-nice, voice. "What's your story?"
Caroline had probably sent her over a thousand texts, and she managed to get Aly to feel guilty for not immediately telling her that she had a not-triplet. Aly nearly wanted to run towards Sheriff Forbes, or even Sheila Bennett, just to try to make sense of it all. Because the adults that she supposedly trusted to keep them all safe got compelled by a 500 year-old vampire that looked exactly like her.
Aly would find a way to reverse-engineer damned compulsions. She was beginning to hate it despite its allure. In her mind, it was poison. Though, she quickly realized that she had a theme of going after adults whenever something went wrong. She also realized the pattern that it was null and that being a snitch might just complicate things further.
Jenna and Jeremy. Aly thought furiously, Jenna, Jeremy and Elena. Ignorance isn't safety. Besides, the only reason why Katherine got a hold of them was that Aly was stupid to think that a tiny bracelet was enough to keep vampires away.
Bonnie shook Katherine's hand, and then she caught Aly's eye from the opposite side of the table, and for some odd reason, the two witches (despite never having practiced witchcraft together) had simultaneously agreed that Katherine on their table was just plain wrong. She didn't know how it was, or even how to describe it, but it was like the words traveled between their eyes all the way to their head. She just knew.
Katherine told them the same false-story she created, faking some sniffles here and there. Caroline, knowing Aly whenever she did it, and of Elena's real cry-babyness, immediately realized that the notion was at least somewhat exaggerated and began nodding along like whenever she did when one of the cheerleaders told a story.
Stefan stared at the girl like he was struck by lightning. Aly could have laughed by the look on Elena's face. She really wanted to, but Aly was also annoyed that Katherine wore curls- that was supposed to be her thing.
"Well! Isn't it so great that you three are just back together!" Bonnie exclaimed, Aly felt her phone vibrate. She gave it a quick look and almost snorted over Caroline's text, There's 3 of U!!! UNBELIEVABLE! What's the real tea??
Aly looked at Caroline in the eye then proceeded to roll hers- swiftly shooting Katherine a look. Female universal language for 'Ugh. Bitch.'
Caroline sent her another text: GURL! Be nice! That's ur new siz! She looks baddie, tho.
That was part of the reason why Aly immensely disliked her. Besides the fact she technically had her family in hostage through whatever compulsion they were in. Aly needed to believe that she told them the truth yesterday about being hunted down, and not that she was going to ruin what was left of their family.
"You know the weirdest thing." Katherine suddenly said, looking at Stefan across from her side on the table, leaning into her hand. "Is that I think I met you, a long time ago."
"Really?" Stefan smiled but it looked more like a grimace. Elena's look was deadly. "I don't remember."
"Like, as a kid. You know? I doubt that you don't remember."
"Oh my god." Aly stuffed her face with food.
"I think. I think I saw you? If I remember the name Salvatore correctly, anyway." She waved her piece of fruit that she was eating, and they all watched as she popped it in her mouth.
Aly hated the fact that she was such a commanding presence. Everything about Katherine screamed at them to look at her.
"You have a brother, right? Older? Blue eyes. I think I remember him too. You guys were in town, after your dad got sent to Afghan." She continued, momentarily looking sad at the mention of Stefan's fake-backstory. "You were so sweet back then, still sweet now. You know? I'm so surprised that you two ended up together. It's such a match! Almost like it happened before."
"Oh my god." Aly internally screamed. Caroline looked like she wanted to join in Katherine's little tirade but was too invested in simply watching it all unfold before her.
Bonnie gave her a pleasant smile. "Yeah I think that's really cute." She said, "Elena and Stefan are the cutest couple here in school. It's good to know that everyone in the family agrees that they're such a match."
Wow. To think that Bonnie, the good witch, immediately rallied up for the Stefan and Elena love-ode, just to get on Katherine's nerves, was outstanding.
Apparently, it didn't matter if you were a vampire or five hundred years old. Highschool was highschool.
"Yeah." Katherine nodded sweetly, "Such a match." She ate another cherry. "The older one's way more good looking anyway. Though I never really imagined him to be as rough as he is now." Katherine suddenly sent Aly a wink, "Isn't that right?"
Aly thought she was going to be sick. "How should I know?" She said drily, "I don't invest myself in second-hand goods."
Would it kill them to get along? Aly wondered if it would, she figured that they needed to if they wanted to pull off whatever plan Katherine had in mind.
Katherine smirked, giving her a once over, her eyes flickered down from her face, down, then back to her eyes. "Shame."
Maybe it would.
Luckily the bell rang before Aly could launch herself over the table. She didn't have any classes with Katherine for the rest of the day, though the girl alternated her classes between Aly and Elena's that morning. She waved goodbye to her friends, careful on not meeting Katherine's eye, and headed straight to class.
History was interesting, at least. Alaric tried to act casual despite the loud questions some of her classmates made, the man rushed through his lesson uncomfortably. Afterwards, Aly made sure to stay behind, and she checked the door to see if anyone was nearby before she spoke.
"She's not actually my sister."
Alaric sighed, and ran a tired hand through his head. "Are you sure?"
"Well, she's a vampire, for one." Aly admitted.
Alaric shook his head, "This town just seems full of them."
"Yeah." Aly let out a laugh. "She knows Isobel though." She continued, watching Ric thoughtfully. "And she said that we, Elena and I, could maybe meet her. I was thinking of maybe, I dunno, if I did get her number or something, I could give it to you?"
Alaric's adam's apple bobbed, and he stared to empty space in deep thought. "Yeah." He said, but then winced, "Actually, no. I don't know."
Aly shifted her weight to her other foot. "Honestly I don't know either." She told the teacher. "But since you're her ex-husband I thought you ought to know. She seems to have a habit of just leaving people out."
Aly knew she spoke too much the moment Alaric's eyes shifted towards her. She cringed, "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that."
Alaric waved his hand, masking a deep sigh. "Jeremy didn't go to class again today. I think he's spiraling." He changed the subject.
"I'll talk to him." Again. "He's still processing about the whole vampire thing."
"Well his grades has gotten higher compared from the first semester." Alaric said helpfully, "I think the new girl, Anna, has been helping him out. Maybe you could talk to her about taking school more seriously."
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks." Aly nodded.
"That's good."
The school bell rang once again, and she bid him goodbye as she headed out. She spots Katherine with a group of girls in one of the hallways, giddily laughing together. The older doppelgänger shot her a look as their eyes met, winking indiscreetly at her.
The actual Gilbert girl shot her a fake bright smile, waving at the group. The girls next to Katherine looked at Aly then back to her, almost in disbelief. God. Aly could already hear the questions she'll get for the next few days. She shook her head as she walked past, sighing slightly.
She didn't notice Noah indiscreetly following her.
Edited: December 2, 2020