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Chapter Text

The French Quarter was flooded with midday sunshine. Tourists and natives merged together as they browsed the street wares and unique shops open to their perusal. The air was thick with the smell of delicious foods. At a tiny café on a corner, two people sat at an outside table. Their playful bickering was lost to the vibrancy of their surroundings, but their smiles were obvious to any who glimpsed them.

“I thought it would have improved since the last time I was there,” Kol grumbled. He had been stirring his coffee for the better part of three minutes.

“You have thought that about the last ten cities,” Lissa said dryly. Just as she was about to forcibly remove the spoon from him, he put it down. “Where will you go next?”

“South Asia somewhere, I think. Europe is just so disappointing. What of you and Elijah?”

“We’re staying here for a while. Elijah is worried about Klaus.” Kol gave her such a dry look that it could have turned water to sand. “He is well aware I think he is being ridiculous. Klaus is fine.”

“I wouldn’t say fine, but he doesn’t need a babysitter.”

“I resigned myself long ago to his endless need to protect his siblings to the point of over-protection.”

“You’re a huge hypocrite.” Lissa raised an eyebrow. “Remember when Kat pissed off that werewolf pack in Thailand? You were there so fast she thought you’d time travelled.”

She smiled sadly.

“We don’t have the luxury of surviving if we are bitten by a werewolf.”

“But you do have the luxury of access to the only cure.”

“If I remember correctly, Klaus was in Peru at the time. Katherine would have been dead long before he could reach her.” Kol had no argument for that, which was refreshing. “When you have lived as long as any of us, hypocrisy is natural.”

“I’ll drink to that.” They clinked their cups together and sipped. “Maybe East Asia. It’s been a while since I went to Japan.” Lissa’s phone buzzed. Kol waved at her. “By all means, be rude and answer your phone when you’re with company.”

She frowned deeply when she saw who was calling her.

“Sheila?” she said worriedly. The whiskey-rich voice was not one she’d heard for several months, but she would never forget it. Kol straightened from his slouched position. “What is it?”

“There are vampires in Mystic Falls. Bonnie says she thinks one’s hurtin’ Caroline.”

“Hurting how?”

“She’s actin’ different, strange. Bonnie says she keeps forgetting things.” Lissa closed her eyes. She could hear Kol’s teeth grinding. “She’s wearing more scarves and long sleeves when it’s warm.”

“What about Bonnie? Has the vampire done anything to her yet?”

“No.” The pause could only be described as uncomfortable. Lissa didn’t push. Kol flagged a waitress for the bill. “Lissy . . . it’s the Salvatores.”

“I’m on my way.” Kol’s expression was full of concern when she stood up and shoved her phone into her purse. “Please . . . don’t.”

“I won’t say anything. For now. You’re going to have a hell of a fight from everyone else, though.”

“I know.”

XXX

“What a repugnant piece of trash he is,” Rebekah said lowly. Across the square, Damon was leaving the Grill with Caroline Forbes. Lissa had only seen the girl in person once, and that had been a decade ago. At eighteen years old, she should have been finding her way towards being a flourishing young woman. Instead, she had a terribly false smile painted on her pale face. Blue eyes should have been sparkling with life, but they were dull with fatigue. A silk scarf was tied securely around her neck and a long-sleeved flowing top hid her arms. Though it would seem to the casual observer that she and Damon were simply holding hands, it was frightfully obvious to Lissa that he was pulling her along.

“How would you like to proceed?” Lissa asked as the pair got into Damon’s blue convertible. There was absolutely no chance that Rebekah and Kol would let her near him without at least one of them as back-up, so she didn’t bother suggesting it.

“I’ll follow them. If he takes her to the Boarding House, perhaps Stefan will be there, and I’ll get to string them both up,” Rebekah answered.

“I’ll scope out the Gilbert house,” Kol said.

“Then I’ll meet with Bonnie.”

Rebekah took the car they’d been spying from on her tail, and Kol took the second, leaving Lissa to sit on a bench in the town square as she waited for Bonnie. According to the research and Sheila’s information, Mystic Falls had become a hub for “animal attacks” in the last few weeks. More and more people were being found dead, supposedly mauled by a mountain lion. Lissa didn’t know the exact members of the council, but she imagined they were largely the same families as they had been in 1864. Based on the news reports, law enforcement testimony, and the official causes of death, it was likely there were council members in each of those occupations.

The damage being wreaked was symptomatic of a vampire who had gone completely off the rails. Were it not for Lexi’s confirmation, Lissa would have suspected Stefan over Damon first. Damon was much more careless, yes, but he also preferred cities to small towns. To hunt so violently and obviously where town officials considered themselves vampire hunters was foolish (even if they were terrible at handling anything supernatural). And going after the Sheriff’s daughter? Lunacy.

“Lissa?”

“BB!” she cried jubilantly. She hugged her fiercely, inhaling the sweet scent of honey and sandalwood. Green eyes were bright with happiness, and her smile should have sonnets written about it. Unlike two years ago, her natural hair was haloed around her head. Lissa smiled. “Sweetheart, you are making me feel old. You’ve grown so much!”

“Really glad I have. Sixteen was not my favourite age.”

“I wish I was seeing you under better circumstances.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know Grams would call you, but I’m glad she did. It’s just-.”

“You would not apologise for getting school help from someone who understood a subject better than you, and you should not apologise for this.”

“Slightly different things, Liss.”

“Not really. You reached out for help when you needed it from people more qualified than you.” Bonnie didn’t seem to have an argument for that. “Besides, I’ve missed you dearly.” Lissa began guiding Bonnie through the square. “Kol wants to know what you want for a graduation gift.”

“I didn’t think he was allowed to get me gifts after Christmas 2007.”

“He seems to believe Sheila has forgotten that.”

“He’s met Grams, right?” Lissa rolled her eyes. “How has he survived a thousand years?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

They entered an apartment building and took the lift to the top floor.

“So, where’s the calvary?” Bonnie asked knowingly when Lissa let her into the apartment. Last minute rentals weren’t her favourite real estate option, but she also hadn’t wanted to hole up in a hotel.

“Tailing their respective targets.”

“You’re like Charlie’s Angels, except you’re also Charlie.”

Lissa snorted mildly. Kol would enjoy that comparison more than Rebekah.

“Bonnie, I need to tell you something, and you are not going to like it.”

Lissa sat on an armchair facing the door. It gave Bonnie plenty of room to pace, or sit far away, or flee the premises. As it was, she sat on the sofa and frowned at Lissa.

“Is it about what Damon Salvatore did to you?” Lissa’s stomach dropped. She tried to speak and couldn’t, so she gripped her knees tightly. Bonnie understood her abrupt silence far too easily. “Grams got super skittish when I told her about him, and I know you’ve got a history in this town, or at least . . . Katherine did. I put two and two together.”

When would people stop hesitating to mention her sister?

“This isn’t about Damon.” Bonnie’s chest puffed up as she went to protest. “Someday, maybe, I will tell you that story. For now, we need to discuss Elena.”

“What? Elena’s not involved, is she? I mean, Stefan’s a vampire and he totally told her, because she was freaked out and weird for days, but he’s not doing anything to hurt her.” Lissa unlocked her phone and put it face-up on the coffee table. Confused, Bonnie picked it up. “Why do you have a picture of Elena?”

“That is Katherine.”

“They look – why – what the hell?”

“Elena is the latest in a line of supernatural doppelgangers. 500 years ago, so was Katherine. 500 years before that, there was Tatia. It was her death and her blood which bound the hybrid curse that Esther placed on Klaus. Doppelgangers were nature’s solution to breaking the curse. When Katherine and I met the Originals and subsequently discovered their plan to sacrifice my sister, she agreed to die, so long as she was brought back as a vampire. That was supposed to be it. Yet, it was discovered after the curse broke that only the blood of a human doppelganger could create more hybrids.”

“Uh – Lissa, are you telling me that you came here to save one of my best friends and make a blood drive from the other one?”

Bonnie was flexing her fingers restlessly.

“No!” Lissa protested instantly. Then she grimaced. “I see why you thought that. No, Elena is safe from us. I’m telling you this because you need to know that doppelgangers – especially human ones – are rare and coveted. If word was to ever get out that Elena was one, people would come for her. Her blood is absurdly potent in magic.”

“Oh Jesus.”

“I apologise for scaring you.”

“I forgive you. You suck, but I forgive you.” Bonnie raised an eyebrow. “Is this why I never met Katherine in person?”

“Yes. Based on the time between Tatia’s death and Katherine’s birth, we had guessed Elena was the one. When the two of you became friends, Katherine elected to stay away from Mystic Falls. Then, of course, that became what I believe people these days refer to as a non-issue.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Sweetheart, it has been ten years. I can talk about her.”

“Stefan and Damon knew you guys, right?”

“Yes. Katherine met them in 1864. Stefan did not speak to her after he became a vampire, and Damon limited his contact after a time.” Bonnie looked ready with a thousand questions. “She did not treat them kindly.”

“Why do I feel like that’s an understatement?”

“Their history with Katherine is theirs. I won’t disrespect their right to privacy.”

“Okay,” Bonnie said, drawing out the word to emphasise her doubt. Lissa pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Make no mistake, Bonnie, compulsion is a vampire’s greatest tool. We can replace or erase the memory at our leisure, allow our victims to feel as much pain as we wish, unmake and remake the human mind. Using it correctly is paramount to remaining undiscovered. You’ve said Caroline is forgetting things, which indicates Damon is only erasing certain memories and not replacing them. I would also wager he is compelling her to act “normally”, but not erasing her fear. He is removing Caroline from herself entirely. Soon, all that will be left is a shell.”

The silence was long and painful. Lissa let Bonnie process.

“Anything else you want to tell me?” she asked eventually.

“That’s plenty to be getting on with, I feel.” Her phone buzzed.

[Group chat: we definitely started the fire]

Kol: Stefan and Elena may be the most boring couple on the planet

Kol: But at least I don’t have to go anywhere

Rebekah: I suggest we convene at the Boarding House. Damon has compelled Caroline to sit uselessly on the sofa whilst he ignores her. I do not think that will last very long.

Lissa: Try not to kill him until we get there.

Rebekah: No promises.

XXX

The Salvatore Boarding House was a large property on private land, complete with a beautifully maintained driveway and front lawn. The building itself wasn’t Lissa’s tastes, but then again, nothing in Mystic Falls was. She had used vampire speed to get there and drew to a graceful halt next to Rebekah and Kol. Inside, music was blaring at an unnecessarily high volume.

“His complete lack of self-preservation would astound me if I cared that much,” Rebekah drawled. They approached the front door. The borderline-maniac glee pouring off Rebekah made Lissa smile slightly. Kol was much more reserved, sombre even.

The door was unlocked.

As a unit, they crossed the foyer and stood in the archway into the living room. Caroline was on one of the sofas, staring blankly into space. Her scarf had been removed, exposing a vicious, deep bite on the left side of her neck. Damon was at the mini bar, back to them, pouring a large helping of bourbon.

“Knock, knock,” Kol said. Damon whipped around, decanter and tumbler still in hand. Slowly, he raked his gaze over each of them. When he reached Lissa, he went deathly pale, and dropped everything. The glass shattered. Amber liquid splashed the floors and furniture. Caroline didn’t even blink.

“Wh- how?”

He blinked several times in quick succession. Rebekah sped over and held him several inches off the ground. Her fingers were tighter than necessary around his throat, but Lissa said nothing. She approached Caroline, Kol at her side. Her gaze was completely vacant.

“Caroline? Can you hear me?” she tried. Caroline jumped and then smiled. It was painfully forced and didn’t reach her eyes.

“Hey! Have we met?”

Lissa pressed her lips together and bit down on the ferocious rage boiling under her skin.

“I’m Bonnie’s friend, Lissa. She’s having a sleepover tonight, and I’d love to get to know you better. Are you joining?”

When Caroline looked at Damon for permission, Rebekah hissed too quietly for human ears to detect. She put him down, keeping hold of his wrist firmly enough that at least two bones cracked. He nodded with gritted teeth.

“Yeah, that sounds great!”

“Let’s go, then. Miss Sheila’s making brownies.”

Kol helped her stand and took her to the car. Rebekah flicked her hand up. Damon’s head snapped 180 degrees and he crumpled to the ground.

“I’ll find a safe place to put him. You should go with them.”

“He doesn’t die unless Caroline says so,” Lissa reminded her softly. Though she grimaced, Rebekah nodded.

XXX

Caroline’s sobs were like hundreds of splinters piercing Lissa’s heart. For every tear that poor girl cried, Damon would suffer another month, she would ensure it.

The ruse of a sleepover and Caroline’s relative complacency had made getting her to the rented apartment easy. Bonnie’s presence when she arrived helped keep her calm. From there, Kol had undone the compulsion, and Caroline had somehow kept it together long enough to get her memories back, and hear a brief overview of the supernatural world before she’d collapsed in a cataclysmic explosion of grief and terror.

“In a thousand years, I have never hated anyone more than I hate Damon Salvatore right now,” Rebekah said in a hushed voice. Apparently, Stefan had returned home with Elena when Rebekah was loading Damon’s body into his car. She had left him to explain himself and locked Damon in the basement of the apartment complex, drugged to the gills with vervain.

“He learned it from somewhere,” Lissa said darkly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rebekah look at her in shock. Kol was the brave one.

“Lissy, we’ve all done monstrous things.”

“Never this. We have to acknowledge that her actions could have at least contributed to Damon’s behaviour.” The siblings were silent. “I am not saying we shouldn’t deal with him. Whatever the catalyst, he is still abusing that girl, and that needs to be remedied.”

“We need a plan.”

“Glad you mentioned that. I already have one.”

XXX

July 1993

“Horror movies must base their houses on this place,” Ava said blandly. Despite it being broad daylight, the white mansion loomed ominously behind its wrought iron fence.

“Did you bring me here on purpose?” Klaus asked, somehow glaring and raising an eyebrow between Ava and the house. The very fact that it was referred to as a cottage was ridiculous to Lissa.

“And me?” Elijah said from Lissa’s right.

“You’re responsible for this place becoming a magical loony bin, so yeah, I brought you here on purpose.”

“We did no such thing,” Elijah protested. Ava rolled her eyes.

“Remember 1914 when you locked Mary-Alice Claire and Astrid Malchance in there? Yeah, it became a prison/asylum because of that.” She patted Klaus’s shoulder patronisingly. “You really suck.”

“I assume that is why Kol is not here also?” Klaus guessed. Ava nodded then smacked her temple. “What is it that is here that’s so important?”

“Not a what. A who. Your big sister.” Lissa blinked. Elijah went very still. Klaus scoffed. “Not lying or being tricked or whatever shit you’re about to spout. Freya, the kid Esther claimed died a thousand years ago, is still alive. And she’s in that house.”

“Something tells me that we can’t simply walk in and retrieve her,” Lissa said, ignoring the thunderous glare rapidly growing on Klaus’s face.

“Nope. There are some tough-as-shit spells around the perimeter and an invite is needed if you make it as far as the door. Freya’s powerful enough to break out, but she’s asleep.”

“I assume you don’t mean an afternoon nap?” Elijah said dryly. Ava raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought so. Can you break whichever spell she’s under?”

“Are you kidding? It’s some super powerful, super dark shit, and she didn’t even cast it. Your insane aunt did.” All three of them stared at Ava, who abruptly looked sheepish. “Did I not mention that?”

“Not that I don’t love hearing family stories,” Bonnie started, “But what has that got to do with this?”

“The Fauline cottage is a prison for unstable witches. It is a permanent residence that cannot be escaped from,” Lissa explained. Whilst Freya had broken herself out, none of the other prisoners were powerful enough to do so. “Caroline has expressed that she does not want Damon’s death on her conscience even though it would not be her doing.” Kol and Rebekah had been baffled by the very concept but had conceded to the girl’s wishes. “My suggestion is that we imprison Damon.”

“In the cottage?” Bonnie asked doubtfully.

“In the Garden.”

“The garden of the cottage?”

“Sort of. Though technically outside the boundary line of the property, there is an underground cellar from the prohibition era. It was agreed several decades ago that it would serve as the vampire equivalent to the cottage. Vampires that Marcel or any of us do not kill are sentenced to time in the Garden. They are not fed and so desiccate, left there until they are released, or we kill them.”

“I probably don’t want to know this, but why would they be released?”

“Remorse, regret, redemption – the usual. Death is usually deemed too quick for them, so putting them in the Garden gives them plenty of time to contemplate their wrongdoings.”

“Wow.”

“Yes. Do you think this will sit better with Caroline?”

“He won’t escape?”

“There are around-the-clock vampire guards, and similar spells to those on the cottage on the cells and the perimeter. He will not escape.”

“How long will you put him in there for?”

“That’s still up for debate, but nothing less than twenty years.”

“Then I think it’s going to sit great with Caroline.” There was a brief silence where Lissa could feel Bonnie’s intense stare as she stirred some sugar into her tea. “Who’s Ava?”

“A story for another time.”

Chapter Text

When she was a little girl, Caroline had seen good everywhere. People would disagree. As she grew, they would call her things like “control freak”, “neurotic”, “selfish”, and she would let them. Sometimes, people needed to point out the flaws in others to hide from their own. She refused to let it bring her down.

When she’d become a teenager, her insecurities had become more prominent. She wasn’t as pretty or outgoing or likeable as Elena. She didn’t have a stunning smile and eyes or cheeky sense of humour like Bonnie. They would tell her she was beautiful and clever, and she would let them reassure her.

Then she’d gotten drunk one night and ended up in bed with Damon Salvatore. She’d have hours of unknown time and blank spaces in her memories. She would forget what he was until they were together, but she wouldn’t be able to tell anyone or even scream for help. Fear became part of her daily routine. He picked her apart, stripped away the goodness and light in her until even her soul felt shattered.

It was strange to think, but she had been relieved when she could let it out. It was horrible and painful, but the hours she had spent in floods of tears and choking on sobs had been worth it for the catharsis. Damon was gone. He was in vampire jail (which – who knew that was a thing?) and he’d stay there for as long as she wanted.

The whole debacle (which seemed like an understatement, but whatever) had also had a weirdly positive impact on her friendships. It opened her mind up to Bonnie and Sheila’s previously laughable stories about their lineage to the point where she started learning Latin to help Bonnie with her witch studies. Elena had . . . well, she’d snapped. When her parents had died, she’d lost most of her vivaciousness. It had started coming back when she met Stefan the first day of senior year, but when she heard what Damon had done and Stefan hadn’t done? She surged back to life, flew into a rage that ended with a break-up, and told the Council what Stefan was.

Caroline had been forced to have a talk with her mom but, again, worth it. Stefan had fled Mystic Falls after several close run-ins with stakes and wooden bullets.

Six months later, they were high school graduates. Caroline had wanted her graduation present for Bonnie and Elena to be a surprise, but it was super difficult. Regular airlines announced locations, and getting a private jet would be a dead giveaway because how many people did they know with one of those? Elena wasn’t good with long car journeys, so that ruled that out. So, Caroline had thrust the tickets at them after the ceremony with a beaming smile and called it a done deal.

“No way,” Bonnie had said breathlessly. Her green eyes were bright with excited hope.

“Yes way. We’re going to New Orleans!”

XXX

“I think we’re lost,” Elena declared.

That definitely seemed like the case. They had been down many streets and through several markets – which proved totally distracting – but Caroline had no clue where they were.

“This is the part where we ask directions,” Bonnie said helpfully. Caroline nodded firmly and stepped into the path of the next passerby with her most winning smile. He was cute; light brown hair, a dusting of facial hair, and kind, blue eyes. The flat cap was odd, but then again, so was everything in New Orleans.

“Hi! We’re lost and hoping you can point us in the direction of the Abattoir.”

“The Abattoir?” the guy said. She grimaced.

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t name it.”

He looked prepared to say something but when he glanced over her shoulder, he just ended up gaping slightly.

“Elena Gilbert?” Caroline frowned, stepping away from him. Bonnie and Elena reached out to hold a hand each. “Sorry – I’m Thierry, and you look exactly like my aunt.”

“You’re Thierry?” Bonnie asked, her tone much more excited than Caroline was expecting. “I’m Bonnie.”

Thierry’s face lit up and Caroline was so confused.

“Hello!?” she called before they could go any further.

“Thierry is Lissa’s son.” Oh. “Yeah, this is Elena and Caroline. We were hoping to surprise Liss, and Rebekah and Kol too, if they’re here.”

His grin widened.

“Your timing is perfect. Kol got here last night.”

As he escorted them through the French Quarter, he pointed out places good for eating and shopping. When he wasn’t showing them the sights, Bonnie asked him loads of questions about magic in the city, which turned out to be his forte. Apparently, he was Klaus’s liaison with the witches.

“Like mother, like son,” Bonnie had teased.

The Abattoir was gigantic. Their trio stared up in slight awe. It took up half the freaking block. Inside was even more outrageous. The front door led into a huge courtyard – seriously, it had fountains, and stunning foliage, and a grand piano. Doors led off in numerous different directions. There was a wraparound balcony on every floor overlooking the courtyard. People bustled in every direction. It looked like they were decorating for a party. Heavy lights were affixed to rails and walls, silks hung around thirty feet off the ground, and there was a DJ booth being set up near the stairs.

“This is insane,” she said.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure no one knows what’s in all the rooms,” Thierry said dryly.

“Like Hogwarts.”

Elena snorted. Thierry started leading them through the courtyard. One of the hallways had some portraits that spoke of times long since gone, but Caroline couldn’t see them clearly enough to work out the period.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” he said to Elena. She frowned, obviously puzzled. “I always thought I’d be calm if I ever met you. Turns out it’s really strange when you see an exact lookalike of your dead aunt.”

“I get it. I mean, I don’t get it, because I’ve only seen some pictures. But . . . well, seeing dead people is unsettling, I guess.”

She blushed. Caroline nearly laughed loudly when she saw Bonnie covering her mouth to hide her own amused grin.

They were taken to a garden. Well, she supposed it was meant to be a garden, but like the rest of the compound, it was giant. Everywhere had an explosion of colour. There was a stone patio with a few wrought iron and glass tables. At one of them sat three people. Kol was one, complete with the cheekiest grin she’d ever seen outside of a cartoon directed at his phone. Lissa was opposite him, sketching with charcoal. Caroline didn’t recognise the third. He looked a lot like Kol to the point where they could have been twins if it wasn’t for the obvious age difference. He was reading; she couldn’t see the title, but he looked like the kind of man who only read classics.

“Three freaking vampires and they don’t even look up when their peace is interrupted,” Bonnie muttered.

“Unless you’re trying to kill us, we don’t tend to be bothered,” Lissa called. Her hand paused and she snapped her gaze up. “BB?” In a blur, she had Bonnie wrapped in a tight hug. Kol and the other man joined them at a more sedate pace. “Caroline!” Lissa hugged her next. It was so warm, and Caroline was not going to cry over a freaking hug.

“Surprise!” Caroline cheered when she was released. Lissa was beaming.

“Indeed. Are you going to introduce me to your friend?”

Caroline went to speak but forced herself to hold back. Sarcasm or joking probably wasn’t the best route to go down.

“Liss, Elena. Elena, Lissa,” Bonnie said, gesturing between them.

“Hi,” Elena said quietly. She even waved awkwardly.

“Welcome to New Orleans. This is Kol and Elijah, and I see you’ve already met Thierry.”

The look on Lissa’s face was pure adoration when Elijah shifted to stand just behind her, not quite touching. Bonnie smirked.

“The famous Elijah. You’ve got quite the reputation to live up to.”

“Yes, and quite the stick up his arse too,” Kol said. Elijah rolled his eyes.

“Don’t you have a flight to catch, little brother?”

“Absolutely not. Things just got interesting around here.”

“Perhaps a tour, then?” Lissa suggested. “And you must stay for lunch and dinner.”

“Yes, free food,” Bonnie said quietly. Kol snorted. “Don’t you have a party going on, though?”

“That’s tomorrow night. Of course, you are all invited. It’s a masquerade – black tie.”

Caroline grimaced. She wasn’t sure she owned anything aside from her Miss Mystic dress which counted as black tie, and she definitely hadn’t brought anything with her.

“I might need to go shopping,” Elena mused.

“Liss, we cannot afford your level of taste,” Bonnie said. Lissa raised an eyebrow. “Do you own anything that’s worth less than $1000?”

The silence was painfully long.

“My extensive wardrobes are at your disposal, and I’m sure Rebekah will open hers too. You may help yourselves to anything you deem fit.”

“Nonsense!” Caroline jumped then smiled when a familiar blonde swanned in from behind them. Rebekah smiled gleefully. “We must go shopping. Now. No budget necessary.”

“You’re paying then,” Lissa joked mildly.

“Can I come?” Kol asked.

“No,” Lissa and Rebekah said together.

XXX

Caroline didn’t know Rebekah and Lissa like she knew Bonnie and Elena. When they’d come to Mystic Falls and Kol had undone the compulsion, she’d been in a post-traumatic haze. They had stayed for nearly a month, and she’d learned a lot about them and the supernatural world but seeing them in their home base was entirely different.

They knew every inch of New Orleans. Wherever they went, people knew who they were. Their little group was treated like freaking royalty in the boutiques they visited (ones where things didn’t have obvious price tags, and Caroline learned quickly to stop searching for them because they made her eyes boggle). Rebekah would boss salespeople around, Lissa would sigh, and then Rebekah would back down. It happened in every store without fail. When lunch rolled around, they were given a window table with a stunning water view, and champagne that Caroline was sure tasted like money.

(Lissa had rolled her eyes when Bonnie made a joke about underage drinking).

The day had been spectacular – but it couldn’t distract Caroline from the chilled feeling in her spine. She had spent a long time perfecting her awareness, and then the last six months increasing those capabilities to cope with the supernatural. When the hairs on her arms stood up, she knew she was being watched.

“Um,” she whispered, hoping the noise from a nearby busker would block her from eavesdropping vampires. “We’re being followed.”

Why Lissa and Rebekah hadn’t noticed was beyond her.  Rebekah scoffed.

“My brothers are ridiculously paranoid and overprotective. Whenever we are in the city, they insist on “bodyguards”.” Caroline raised an eyebrow. “I know. It’s ludicrous. They follow at a distance to keep watch for any enemies as if we are not perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves and each other. Lissa and I told them not to, but bugger it all, they obviously paid no attention.”

“That’s . . . wow.”

“We are very sorry.”

“It’s . . . fine.”

“It really isn’t.”

When they reached the compound, night had fallen, and the decorators were gone. Something smelled incredible, and Caroline was delighted when they headed in that direction. It had been an exhausting day. Even with lunch, she was starving. The dining room was the haven of glorious smells, and she was so ready to test out one of the plush chairs.

“Nik! Where are you, you narcissistic, backstabbing wanker!?”

“He and Marcel are at a meeting with the human faction. They won’t be home for dinner,” Elijah said when he strolled in. Rebekah didn’t miss a beat.

“Then I’ll start with you. What part of “don’t have us followed” did you fail to understand?”

“I had nothing to do with that.”

“Bullshit.”

She looked about ready to claw his eyes out. Behind him, Kol leant against the doorframe, grinning like his birthday had come early. Did they even celebrate birthdays anymore?

“We will have to agree to disagree on the need for your protection.”

Rebekah’s shoulders went back and her body ramrod straight.

“It ends now. Regardless of the blatant sexism – because I don’t see you going out with bloody protection – Caroline is just a smidge sensitive to being stalked. If I catch anyone doing so, I will smother a stake in white oak ash and shove it down your throat.”

Turning on her heel, blonde hair flying, she stormed out.

“I apologise, Miss Forbes, for distressing you,” Elijah said. The sincerity in his gaze was kind of overwhelming. She didn’t bother saying it was fine, because it wasn’t really, but she did nod. “I hope you will all stay for dinner in spite of the poor behaviour displayed.”

“I’m definitely staying. Don’t know how I drank so much,” Bonnie said, helping herself to a chair.

“Rebekah refilled our glasses when we weren’t looking, I think,” Elena said, flopping down next to her. Caroline giggled. The chair she chose was as comfy as it looked, like a freaking cloud. Lissa drifted to Elijah’s side. When he kissed her head and whispered something, Caroline’s heart ached.

“So, did you get anything interesting?” Kol asked. He started heaping food onto Bonnie’s plate when she held it up.

“You’ll just have to wait and see.”

He stopped spooning to pout, but she was having none of it.

“Elena will tell me, won’t you, Elena?”

“Nice try,” she said whilst pouring iced water.

“Sweet Caroline?”

“Just for that – absolutely not.”

“This despair shall be my end,” he declared just as Rebekah came back.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

XXX

Caroline stepped into the compound, gaping a little. The soft layers of tulle making up her skirt swished gently across the floor. The jewelling on the bodice glittered under the lights. Gold hadn’t been her first colour choice, even pale gold, but Rebekah had begged her to try it on, and she’d ended up falling in love. She’d piled her curled hair into an up-do held in place by a clasp embedded with gemstones that Lissa had denied were real.

“This is ridiculous,” Elena said. Caroline couldn’t focus on any one thing. There were three people twisting and bending on the silks, podiums had been erected for dancers with – god, were those snakes?

“The lifestyles of the rich and shameless," Bonnie said, gesturing to a banner. For the communities of New Orleans, it read. Wow.

“Drinks?” Caroline suggested. There were a few bars dotted around and, thankfully, one was close. She didn’t bother thinking about the bartender just handing over their potently alcoholic drinks without asking for ID. Based on the demographic, they didn’t expect to be serving anyone younger than 30, let alone teenagers.

“I’m going to see if I can find Rebekah,” Elena said. Bonnie was staring towards a corner. Someone Caroline was pretty sure was Kol had been trapped into a painful looking conversation. His posture was beginning to droop with boredom.

“Go rescue him,” she urged. Elena and Bonnie looked at her doubtfully. “I’ll be fine alone, promise. If anything goes wrong, I’m pretty sure Bekah or Liss will know before I do.”

They didn’t look convinced.

“If it helps,” the bartender interrupted gently, “I’ll be keeping an eye too.” Okay, that was mildly creepy. He looked barely older than them (not that that was worth anything), with a kind smile and eyes. “I’m Josh. You’re Caroline, right? And Bonnie and Elena?”

She squinted at him.

“Josh, man, you’re screwing this up royally.” Thierry came up next to Caroline. “He’s a trustworthy one, I swear, just doesn’t know how to talk to people.”

“I am a great people person!”

“You’d have been dragged out by your ear if you were just a guest for being a weirdo.” Thierry gestured to the other side of the bar. “You’ve got customers.” Josh grimaced at them apologetically then left. “Sorry about him.”

“I can deal with awkward,” Caroline assured him. She shooed at Bonnie and Elena. “Seriously, go. Have fun.” They seemed to be reassured by the presence of Thierry, so conceded to her wishes. She smiled at him. “You can go too. I doubt you planned to spend your night babysitting me.”

“Hardly babysitting.” He cast his gaze over the partygoers then grinned. It was loaded with affection. “Hey,” he said, much softer than he’d been speaking before. Someone in an all-black suit (save for the cobalt tie that matched the pinstripes on Thierry’s suit), with dark skin and an afro tucked himself into Thierry’s side. He had a beautiful smile.

“Hey, I’m Diego,” he said, holding out a hand. She shook it, unable to stop her own smile.

“Caroline.”

“Enjoying the party?”

“Is every event like this?”

Thierry and Diego laughed.

“Pretty much. They do rake in a lot of donations for community projects, though,” Diego said amusedly.

“The Originals aren’t capable of holding back, and they raised Marcel to be the same. This whole thing was his idea.”

Caroline hadn’t yet had the pleasure of meeting Marcel or Klaus. She wasn’t sure she wanted to. Rebekah and Kol had freely spoken about various run-ins with daggers – like, Klaus full-on killed his siblings, put them in boxes, and left them there until he got bored. Finn had been daggered for 900 years! Freya, who she’d met at dinner the night before, had made Klaus release him when she’d reappeared in the 90s, and he’d understandably left the country, living happily somewhere that was else with his girlfriend. Marcel was reportedly similar to Klaus.

When the music shifted to a song she didn’t recognise, Thierry snorted gently.

“Really?” he asked. Diego’s shrug and smile were far from the innocence he was pretending they were.

“Will you dance with me?”

“Cheesy.” Still, Thierry took Diego’s waiting hand and followed him to the dance floor. Just before he was out of range, he glanced back at Caroline and said, “Shout if you need anything.”

For a while, she watched them dance. The songs changed but they remained twirling to the beat, grinning the whole time. Josh got her a refill at some point. Bonnie had helped Kol escape, and they had been joined at a table by someone Caroline thought was Freya. Elena was dancing with Rebekah.

“Now, it should be a crime for someone so beautiful to be alone.”

Seriously?

“No, that line is what should be illegal.”

She didn’t look properly, but the corner of her eye caught a dark suit and short, dark blonde curls.

“I suppose so,” the stranger mused. “Might I buy you a drink?”

“It’s an open bar.”

“Not that I was aware of.”

She frowned, finally glancing at him. His face was half obscured by his mask. His smile was cute – dimples, not fair – and those eyes were stunning. She forced herself to look at Josh, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re covered for the night,” he said cheerfully. He slid a fresh drink to the stranger.

“You must have friends in high places to be getting free drinks.”

“So must you,” she said. He hadn’t paid for his drink either.

“I have a tab.” Fair enough. “Seeing as I can’t buy you a drink, could I interest you in having a drink with me?”

“I guess I’ve got nothing better to do,” she said, almost questioning. She made a mental note not to drink anymore. Being drunk around strange men had done nothing for her in the past.

“Do you live in New Orleans?”

“Uh, no. I’m just visiting.”

“Try to avoid tourist traps. They’re called traps for a reason. If you’re ever in doubt, look at the signage. The lesser frequented places, the ones truly at the heart of the city, are less obnoxious.”

“That’s . . . actually good advice. Thanks.”

“Though I certainly wouldn’t recommend going out alone at night in unfamiliar territory, I encourage you to explore safely in the evening if you get the opportunity. The city comes alive. Street artists, musicians, dancers, they all have a certain . . . magic after dark.” She laughed a little. Subtle. She wondered if he was a vampire or a witch. “It’s an immersive experience. I am biased, but I believe this city to be amongst the best in the world, if you know what to look for.”

“You love the culture.”

“I do. I have an appreciation of the arts, but I am partial to painting. The talent here is incredible.”

“Are you an artist?”

“I’ve been known to pick up a paint brush. One of my landscapes actually hanging in the Hermitage, not that anyone would notice.”

“And how did you manage that?”

“I can be persuasive.”

Vampire, then.

“Is that what you call it?”

“Hey! Come dance with us!” Bonnie cried, appearing from literally nowhere. Caroline beamed.

“Thanks for the company and the advice,” she said before giving into Bonnie’s tugging. They joined Rebekah and Elena in the centre of the dance floor.

“Who was that?” Bonnie asked.

“No idea.”

Chapter Text

Knocking. There was so much knocking. Caroline groaned into her pillow, firmly against answering the door, and completely forgetting that whoever was on the other side didn’t need a key. Why? Because they were in a freaking suite. After the shopping trip and dinner, they’d come back to their hotel to be told that their stay had been upgraded to the presidential suite. Thierry – who had driven them back and was definitely acting bodyguard even if no one said it – held up his hands in surrender when all three had looked at him.

“Which one?” Bonnie had asked.

“It could have been any of them,” he had said, fondly exasperated.

So, they’d moved their stuff to the gorgeous, huge suite on the top floor of the hotel. It had two bedrooms, a living area with a luxurious pull-out bed, and a hot tub on the balcony. The bathroom was the stuff of Caroline’s wildest dreams with a bathtub big enough for four people, and a shower with massage jets. It had taken several increasingly vicious games of rock, paper, scissors to decide who camped in the living room. Elena had lost, not that she’d had any complaints after she lay down the first time.

Which led to the knocking. It stopped but not because they gave up. No, Elena opened the door and flopped onto the empty side of Caroline’s bed.

“Why do you hate sleep?” Caroline grumbled. The words were muffled by the pillow, but Elena seemed to get the idea.

“Sleep hates me.”

“Who insisted on making so much noise at ass o’clock?” Bonnie said tiredly. When the bed moved again with an extra body landing on it, Caroline assumed Bonnie had joined them.

“I need help,” Elena said. Recognising the borderline desperation, Caroline forced herself to sit up. She absolutely refused to leave the bed but being upright at least helped her brain start functioning. Bonnie was sprawled near the edge of the bed, and Elena arranged herself to sit cross legged at the foot.

“Should we order room service?” Bonnie asked. Caroline had seen the menu and grimaced. “We’re not paying.”

“Did you find out who changed our room?” she asked eagerly. Bonnie snorted.

“Yeah, right. Kol and Lissa both told me to charge whatever we wanted to the room, though, so we’re covered.” Just like their drinks the night before. Caroline raised an eyebrow at how unlike Bonnie it was to accept such gifts from people. “I got used to their extravagance a long time ago. Kol got me a Ferrari for Christmas once.”

“You’re kidding,” Elena said weakly. Bonnie shrugged.

“They’ve had hundreds of years to accumulate an obscene amount of money.” A Ferrari? Caroline imagined the look on Miss Sheila’s face when that had showed up and giggled. “So, what do you need help with?”

“Rebekah and I kissed last night.”

Caroline felt her eyes widen to, like, Disney-Princess levels. Her jaw fell open slightly.

“Was it good?” Bonnie asked. Elena’s face was a picture. “What? Fine, how did it happen?”

“I’m not totally sure. We were dancing and then we were kissing.” She hesitated for a minute before smiling shyly. “It was great.”

“Did you talk about it after?” Caroline asked curiously. Elena shook her head and she sighed. “Elena.”

“I know! You and Bonnie joined us pretty soon after it happened, and we didn’t get a chance before the party ended.”

“Well, I’m not being blamed for this. Get your stuff together, we’re going to the compound,” Caroline decided, getting out of the bed. She put her hands on her hips and focused her stern gaze on Elena. She conceded quickly.

“I’ll text Lissa. I need breakfast,” Bonnie said as she left the room.

XXX

“You threw the first punch!”

“He had it coming, preying on an innocent girl just making a pit stop on a road trip.”

“Therefore, I am not to blame.”

“You killed them all.”

“All the ones left when you were done. You started the fire.”

“Because there were a dozen bodies to dispose of!”

Rebekah and Kol were bickering – and it was definitely bickering, not truly fighting, at least according to Elena, who was the only one of them with any siblings. At one end of the table, Elijah was eating porridge. Lissa was across from him, reading a newspaper. Both seemed completely oblivious to Rebekah launching a muffin at Kol’s head. His hand wrapped around the glass jug of orange juice.

“You’ll ruin the food,” Lissa said absently. At the other end of the table sat a stranger, chuckling to himself. His dark blonde curls were familiar, as was the light scruff around his jaw. When he looked at her, she jumped a little. She knew those eyes.

“Yeah, save some for us, geez,” Bonnie said. She went around the table to sit next to Rebekah. “Great party, by the way. I didn’t like the Mayor.”

“Nobody does,” the not-quite-stranger said dryly. “Who might you be?”

“Oh, right,” Rebekah said. “Bonnie, Elena, Caroline, this is my arsehole brother, Klaus.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” he said in that sexy voice. Caroline refused to blush.

“We’ve already met,” she said bluntly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Elijah and Lissa look over.

“I wouldn’t call that meeting, love. We didn’t even exchange names.”

“We still met. We talked. You waxed poetic about this being the best city in the world – which, like, you are ridiculously biased.”

“I did warn you.”

“Did you know who I was?” she demanded. Klaus shrugged, a half-smile tilting his mouth.

“Only because of the clasp in your hair.”

She narrowed her eyes. Then she looked at Lissa, who was studying the newspaper too closely. Elijah’s expression was mildly amused.

“What happened to no stalking?”

“The clasp – and the bracelet and necklace I gave to Elena and Bonnie – were simply to identify you. It was a masquerade, after all. Josh needed some way to know you didn’t need to pay for drinks,” Lissa explained.

“Does that mean you want them back?” Bonnie asked through a mouthful of pancake.

“Goodness, no. They’re yours now.”

“Um . . . Rebekah, could I speak to you? In private?” Elena asked awkwardly. Kol was glancing between them curiously (and, if you asked Caroline, plottingly). Rebekah’s face was carefully blank.

“Of course. Follow me.”

“What was that about?” Kol asked, a bit too gleefully. Caroline sat next to him.

“None of your goddamn business.”

“So rude.”

“Pass the butter please.”

“No, shan’t.”

Klaus got up and brought the butter over to her. Kol glowered at him, sending Caroline and Bonnie into peals of laughter.

“That wasn’t the act of a narcissistic, backstabbing wanker,” Caroline said lightly.

“That sounds so weird when Americans say it,” Kol muttered.

“I try, despite what my little sister seems to believe. I have been subjected to the lecture and I extend my apologies to you for any distress caused by trying to keep you safe,” Klaus said. Caroline’s amusement immediately disappeared.

“Seriously? This wasn’t about safety. You’re clearly paranoid and have zero faith in Rebekah, which is so stupid, even just based on the conversation that was happening when we got here. Obviously, the reason you put your siblings in boxes for decades or centuries at a time is because you can’t stand being told you’re a controlling, possessive asshole!”

Even a human could have heard fluff hitting the ground in the silence that followed. At some point, Caroline had stood up. Her chest was heaving whilst she tried to regain her equilibrium. Who even knew where that rant had come from? She sure as hell didn’t. She really hoped that Kol, Elijah, and Lissa could stop Klaus if he tried to kill her, and that they’d be willing to do so.

“I am going to take a walk,” Lissa said after at least two minutes. “Caroline, would you like to join me?”

“Do I have a choice?” she asked tiredly.

“Always.” Caroline nodded after a few seconds of thought. She could probably do with some air. “Take something to eat.”

Absently, she picked up a blueberry muffin. Lissa handed her a thermos.

They walked for several minutes in a companiable silence. Caroline felt a little like she was in trouble, but a bigger part of her knew that wasn’t the case. So, she ate the muffin and drank her coffee, and waited until she was ready to speak.

“I don’t know why I got angry,” she admitted. Lissa hummed.

“Klaus is known to have that effect on people. I suspect, though, it runs deeper than that.”

“I thought I was over the whole thing.”

“It’s okay if you aren’t.”

Caroline knew that. Sort of. She’d spent six months keeping her brain and body actively distracted. She went on runs, increased cheer practices (to the disdain of the other cheerleaders), did as much extra credit schoolwork as she could get her hands on, re-focused on her duties as student council president, ran every committee that would take her, and did cost/benefit analyses for her top five college picks. Combined with her social life, the supernatural research, and time to eat and sleep, every minute of every day was accounted for.

Maybe she hadn’t done much healing.

“I’m scared to face that darkness.”

“Nobody is rushing you.”

“But you think I need to.”

“It doesn’t matter what I think, Caroline. Your mind is your own, and you get to decide what to do with it.”

She couldn’t identify the noise that escaped. It was a cross between a sob, a whimper, and a gasp. Whatever it was, it made Lissa stop, and urge them into an alley out of the throngs of people. Her big, dark eyes were full of sympathy and not an ounce of pity. Somehow, that made Caroline feel better.

“I don’t know how to talk about it. I don’t even know if I can talk about it . . . especially to people I know.”

Lissa nodded understandingly.

“What about a professional?”

“Like a shrink? It’s not like I could tell them the whole story.”

“If you could, would that be something you were willing to do?”

“I . . . I guess?” Caroline hesitated. Lissa didn’t push, but the firm set of her mouth indicated she needed a more solid answer. “Yes.”

“There are therapists who specialise in the supernatural. If it is something you want, I can put you in contact with one. Have you picked a college yet?”

“Um . . . yeah. Tulane, actually.”

Lissa’s smile was borderline giddy, which Caroline found very sweet.

“There is a specialist in the city, and she is excellent. She has helped me on many occasions.” Caroline blinked in shock. “We didn’t have therapists for the first few centuries I was a vampire. There was a lot to catch up on by the time they existed.”

“The first step is admitting you need help, right? I really need help.”

“I’ll speak to Dr O’Connell. Perhaps you can have an initial consultation during your visit, then set up regular appointments when you move here. She also does telephone appointments should you have need of her upon your return to Mystic Falls.”

“Wow.”

“I’m overwhelming you. I’m sorry.”

“No! You’re being great. Thank you,” Caroline said, holding Lissa’s wrists. She didn’t know how to convey how incredibly grateful she was for the help.

“You are welcome, Caroline. Do you want to return to the compound?” She considered it for a moment, but the thought made her grimace. “Would you like something else to eat? My favourite café is only a block over.”

“I’d kill for some pancakes.”

Lissa chuckled.

“They do the best in the city, as far as I’m concerned.”

XXX

Two weeks. The amount of time it took for her father to pack his things and move out to be with Steven once the divorce was finalised, for her chickenpox to fully heal, to take over and fix the disaster that was Hannah Fell attempting to plan their 8^th grade dance. In the two weeks Caroline had spent in New Orleans, it felt like everything had shifted. She’d had two appointments with Dr O’Connell – “Please call me Cami” -, made more friends than she had in her whole life, and gotten a tour of the dorm she would be staying in come September.

It kind of sucked that a tiny, little, miniscule part of her brain spent the whole time waiting for the other shoe to drop.

On a beautiful day in the French Quarter, Caroline ventured to Kol and Lissa’s favourite café to get a coffee. She didn’t know what the baristas put in there, but the coffees were super strong and divine.

“Hey, Thierry, Diego,” she said when she came up behind them. The café was super busy (understandable, as Lissa had not been exaggerating the food quality), and the line was nearly out the door.

“Morning Caroline,” Diego said, smiling that beautiful smile of his. “We’re not following you.”

“Duh. Bex gave me vervain mace in case anyone got any ideas anyway.”

“And you’re drinking it, right?” Thierry checked. She smiled fondly at the deep concern.

“Every day for the past six months.”

She’d been left with an ample supply when Lissa and co had left Mystic Falls, and she’d been carefully cultivating the plant in her garden since her talk with her mom meant she didn’t have to hide it anymore.

“Does the mace work?” Diego asked. They moved forward a step in the queue.

“Yeah. She tested it on Klaus “to be totally sure”.”

“About three days ago?” She nodded. “That explains his mood. Babe, your family is super dysfunctional.”

“I refuse to accept that Klaus is my family,” Thierry said grumpily.

“Why don’t you call Elijah “dad”?” Caroline refused to blush when Diego and Thierry looked at her with obvious amusement. “I’m not going to apologise for being blunt.”

“And we don’t expect or want you to.” Thierry paused thoughtfully. “Elijah and I agreed it was sort of weird. Lissa gives off mom-energy, but Elijah isn’t my dad. That sounds awful.”

“No, I get it. He doesn’t look out for you, protect you, didn’t help integrate you into vampire society, nurture your musical talent, or support you when you came out. Oh, wait,” she said dryly. Thierry’s expression was unreserved exasperation. “You’re next, b-t-dubs.”

“How did therapy go today?” Diego asked whilst Thierry ordered their drinks (she wasn’t completely surprised that he was getting hers too).

“We’re breaking ground and breaking down. It’s super fun.” She shrugged off the raised eyebrow. “It’s horrible and relieving and hard and freeing. I hate it. I love it.”

“It sounds weird, but those are all good things.”

“I know. I’m hoping to adjust soon. Ish.” Thierry handed her an iced latte. Light bounced off something on his . . . “Thierry. What is that?”

“Um . . . a ring.”

“What kind of ring?”

“I can’t tell you.” She felt fit to burst with indignation. “I haven’t told my mom yet. We were on our way.”

“Congratulations!” she squealed anyway because they were so freaking cute! Thierry and Diego – who had a matching ring on his left ring finger, and she squealed again – smiled at her gratefully.

“Thank you,” Diego said. Her face was beginning to ache from the beaming smile, but she didn’t stop.

“Do you have a ship name?” she asked teasingly as they started walking towards the compound. Both glanced at her in confusion. “Oh, my god. So, shipping is rooting for a romantic couple. Ship names are their names put together, or sometimes, like, identifiers. Elena and Stefan – ugh – were Stelena. Elena and Rebekah are Beklena. Do you see? You guys could be Thiego, or Dierry or-.”

“Dierry sounds way too close to derriere,” Diego said. She nodded sagely.

“I like Thiego better.”

Thierry just nodded along, humouring both of them. She giggled cheerfully just as they got to the compound. Marcel – who she’d finally met and decided wasn’t as bad as Klaus – was the only one in the courtyard, talking on the phone over by the piano. As always, though, their arrival was heard, and other residents filtered down. Lissa was the first to arrive.

“Hello, sweethearts,” she said warmly. She kissed Diego and Thierry on their cheeks and squeezed Caroline’s hand. “Would you like anything? We got a blood delivery this morning.”

“Actually, mom, Diego and I have something to tell you.” Caroline could have passed out from excitement, but at least she wouldn’t fall, because Bonnie came from the dining room and stood next to her. “I asked Diego to marry me. And he said yes.”

Caroline squealed yet again, the exuberance bursting from her like it had been tamped down for hours instead of minutes. Bonnie laughed, Lissa gasped happily, and then Thierry and Diego were in a fierce mom-hug.

“Thiego wedding!” Caroline cheered.

“Oh, marvellous. A wedding.”

“Shut up, Klaus. God, who pissed in your O neg?” she snapped. Marcel had joined them and was congratulating the newly engaged couple like a real friend. Klaus was observing from a few feet away.

“Why would I go near O negative?”

“Because it’s your favourite, duh.” She looked at Lissa, catching the briefest glimpse of Klaus’s surprise as she did. “Is Bex here?”

“She and Elena went on a date,” Lissa said. Caroline smirked. “I think the no-stalking rule applies to dates as well.”

“Damn,” Bonnie muttered.

XXX

For Ava.

May death grant you peace that life never gave you.

The golden words glinted from the small, white stone embedded in the ground. The sapling they’d planted in her honour had transformed into a small tree. Its roots circled the stone as though protecting it from being buried or concealed. Someone had planted seeds around the foot of the tree, and they were growing into vibrant orange tulips. Lissa smiled sadly as she trailed a single finger over the rough bark.

“Hey,” someone said softly. She hadn’t been paying any attention, so the new presence made her jump a little. Bonnie and Caroline stood a respectable distance away. She gestured them closer. “Who was Ava?” Bonnie said, still quiet, like she didn’t want to disrupt the poignant atmosphere. Lissa sighed and nodded to the closet bench. Once they were situated, she looked steadily at Caroline.

“Damon features heavily in this story, and not in a good way. Are you going to be okay hearing it?” Caroline, to her credit, didn’t respond immediately. After nearly a minute, she nodded solidly. Lissa cast her eyes to Bonnie. “And you?”

“Oh,” she said in apt realisation. “Yeah, I am so ready.”

“Ava was a witch whom Katherine found in 1984, driven almost completely mad. Her ex-coven had placed a curse on her so that she heard the voices of dead supernatural beings in her mind. If it suited them, the spirits could also hurt her. Katherine brought her to New Orleans, where she learned to harness the curse. Eventually, she could decipher what the voices were saying, use them almost psychically, and could hold conversations with us.”

“Us?” Caroline asked breathlessly.

“She could hear anyone who had died, whether they were still dead or not. The way she described it, people like vampires have two voices: their spoken one, and their internal one. Most aren’t even aware of the second, but we all learned to use ours to communicate with her telepathically.”

“What – I mean, why did the coven curse her?” Bonnie asked, almost as though she didn’t want to. Lissa smiled sadly.

“Her mother chose to become a vampire. Vampires are viewed by most witches as abominations of nature, but these witches were some of the worst. When Paulette vanished, they chose to punish Ava for her mother’s crime.”

Bonnie and Caroline looked disgusted. Sneers curled their lips and wrinkled their brows.

“Did Damon kill her?” Caroline asked softly.

“Yes,” Lissa said through gritted teeth. She gripped the wrought iron arm of the bench, willing herself to remain calm.

“What happened?” Bonnie asked. Lissa took a few deep breaths and focused on the two girls.

“Damon and I had a tentative acquaintanceship. I helped him when he first turned, and we saw each other now and again. In the Summer of 2001, Damon’s humanity was off, and he went on a killing spree through New Orleans that rivalled Stefan’s most horrific ripper days. As you know, we have rules in this city. The process for an out-of-town vampire on a bender was to lock them away, starve them for a few weeks, and then compel them to never return. Of course, we had to undo that bit to put Damon in the Garden this time around.”

“That’s . . . gentle.”

Both seemed baffled by the concept. Lissa didn’t blame them.

“There was the occasional fatality if the vampire failed to cooperate. Marcel didn’t like the Garden being too full as it was reserved for the worst cases. The few weeks of starvation gave us time to clean up in all manners of the phrase.”

“Sometimes I forget that you’ve all been around for hundreds of years,” Caroline said musingly, “Then you come out with this perfectly crafted logic, and it all makes sense.” Lissa smiled slightly.

“When a vampire turns their humanity back on, they must focus on one emotion to ease the tsunami. Damon chose rage. Katherine and Ava were the first non-Originals to leave New Orleans, and that was weeks after his release. He killed them both.”

“Both? Why?” Bonnie whispered. Lissa’s smile turned sad.

“Ava was having one of her bad days, the kind where being in the vicinity of vampires made the pain worse. Katherine left her alone for a few hours. When she came back, Ava was . . . dead.” She couldn’t bring herself to describe what Damon had done, what Kol had seen when he went into Damon’s mind. “Damon took advantage of Katherine’s distraction and drove a stake through her heart.”

The horrified gapes were understandable. Bonnie’s eyes were glassy with outraged tears. Caroline’s hands were trembling.

“He never got over what she did to him – not that I’m saying he should have. This was killing two birds with one stone. He faced some demons and got his “revenge” for having been treated like every other vampire who breaks the rules.”

She rubbed her chest like it would ease the pain.

No one spoke for several minutes. Lissa could still hear the empty echo of the dial tone after the housekeeper’s alarmed phone call. See Kol’s knees giving out as Elijah hugged him close. Taste the bitter salt of her tears. Smell the blood on Rebekah’s palms where she’d clenched her fists and broken skin. Feel Klaus’s enraged trembling as he stood at Lissa’s side.

“Um – I’m not judging you or anything, but why did you let Damon live?” Caroline said eventually. Bonnie stared at her with wide eyes. “I’m sorry, but there is no gentle way to ask that.”

“It’s alright Caroline,” Lissa said gently. Bonnie’s stiff posture did not loosen. “In the subsequent chaos that followed, he fled. We were caught up in mourning.” It still jarred her. The Mikaelson siblings – save for, mostly, Elijah – had always turned their grief to fury. They had all been defeated after Ava’s death. “Kol eventually hunted him down.”

“Not you?” Caroline asked with expected shock. Lissa shook her head. “Why not?”

“I was . . . inconsolable. And no one loved Ava more than Kol.”

Realisation dawned on both their faces.

“What did he do?” Bonnie asked quietly.

“Tortured him with all the techniques he had picked up over the centuries.” That was putting it lightly. Kol had spent weeks physically and mentally peeling Damon apart, making him wish for death multiple times a day. “He wanted Damon to feel the pain he felt losing Ava.”

“I’m sorry about Ava and Katherine,” Caroline whispered. In her mind’s eye, Lissa saw Ava toss her flaming orange hair over her shoulder and Katherine roll her eyes.

“My sister made many mistakes. One eventually caught up with her.” She swallowed. “Ava . . . she never got to make a real choice after the curse. She didn’t deserve this.”

“I can’t believe I’m asking this,” Bonnie started, “But, given her condition and her having a bad relationship with magic after everything, why didn’t Ava choose to become a vampire?”

“She couldn’t. The coven didn’t want her escaping the same way her mother had, so the curse prevented her ingesting vampire blood under any circumstances.”

“Even to heal?” Caroline breathed. Lissa nodded.

“The witches in Ava’s head were the most vocal and exerted the most influence. Once, they caused a seizure and she fell down the stairs. She broke seven bones, but we couldn’t heal her.” It had taken months of recovery and physical therapy. Ava had not handled it gracefully. “Now, come. Kol is cooking tonight, and I have a wedding to plan.”

XXX

On her final day in New Orleans – at least until school started up – Caroline wandered through the compound. She’d become familiar with most of it over the month, though there were definitely rooms people didn’t use, and more that had things in she probably didn’t want to know about. Elena and Bonnie had gone to the movies, but Caroline had opted out. Most of the compound was deserted too, so she was exploring out of sheer boredom.

There was a room opposite the stairs on the second floor that she’d never seen anyone go in or out of. The door was open, and she couldn’t help but be curious.

The interior was as luxurious as the other bedrooms, with dark wooden furniture and expensive, light blue sheets on the huge bed. The main light fixture was a bizarre, orange glass sculpture that made her think of the 80s. On the dresser opposite the door, dozens of picture frames glinted. She drifted over and picked up a bright yellow leather frame. Rebekah was in the picture, sitting gracefully on a vintage loveseat. A woman leaned her back against her side, her legs stretched out, and a pair of stiletto-heeled platform boots resting on the arm. Her vibrant orange curls spilled over Rebekah’s shoulder and brushed the cushions of the seat. Both were grinning, one fond and one wickedly mischievous.

“One of Ava’s better days.”

Caroline jumped, but thankfully didn’t lose her grip on the picture. She replaced it on the dresser just as Klaus made it to her side.

“Was this her room?” she asked as gently as possible.

“Yes.” For a moment, she wondered if he would bother to continue. “We don’t tend to come in here much. It was only in the last few years some could bear to have it redecorated.” Caroline frowned, running through Lissa’s story in her mind.

“Lissa said no one loved Ava more than Kol.”

Klaus’s face was grim.

“In a thousand years, I never saw him act like he did with and around her.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Ava was robbed of a great many things, and the fact that her life was taken by Damon Salvatore is perhaps the biggest injustice.”

There was a distinctive sneer in his voice that twisted his mouth viciously.

“You don’t like him.”

“No. I suppose it was inevitable that his arrogance would interpret Lissa’s pity as friendship.” Caroline made a confused noise. “She felt guilty for what her sister had done.”

“Do you think I should have let him die?” she asked hoarsely. All traces of animosity dropped from his expression, replaced with understandable confusion. “You would have killed him, right, if it had been your choice?”

“I prefer this alternative, truth be told. Death would be a reprieve he has not earned.”

Somehow, that made her feel better. Instead of pursuing that particular thread of conversation, she glanced around for a change in subject. Her eyes fell on a portrait on the wall next to the en-suite bathroom. It was quite small, but exquisite in detail. Lissa and Katherine were the subjects – at least, she assumed it was Katherine, because otherwise it was Elena, and that was weird. Katherine was hugging Lissa from behind, and both were leaning forward with wide, beaming smiles like they were laughing.

“Did you do this?” Caroline asked breathlessly. The rich texture of the paint on canvas was the only thing that proved it wasn’t a photograph.

“Yes,” he said and was he shy?

“It’s beautiful.”

“Katherine was notoriously difficult to buy for, so I painted it for one of her birthdays.”

Caroline nearly snorted.

“You all still do birthdays? Aren’t you, like, a billion or something?”

Klaus rolled his eyes affectionately.

“You need to adjust your perception of time when you become a vampire. Some of us do enjoy indulging in some human frivolities occasionally, though.”

“Like weddings?”

He rolled his eyes again.

“Thierry and Diego were human recently enough that they believe in the idea of marriage. If they’d met each other centuries down the line, it would be a different story.”

Caroline grinned teasingly.

“Aren’t Elijah and Lissa married?”

“Absolutely not. Despite Lissa being human when they met, they thankfully never pursued that particular venture.” The mix of scorn and relief in his tone made her giggle brightly. “I want to apologise.”

Slightly awkward silence fell. She crossed her arms and faced his beseeching expression.

“I’m not going to stop you.”

He breathed a laugh which, okay, was unexpected.

“I am sorry for upsetting you on numerous occasions since you came here. Rebekah has berated me many times for my behaviour, but that tends to make me more inclined to incense her more. I apologise for taking that out on you, Caroline.”

“You’re a jackass – but you’re also a softie. You just need to learn to channel your overprotectiveness into something that’s not going to drive your family insane.”

“That ship has long since sailed.”

She laughed.

“Fair enough. I forgive you. Don’t do it again.”

“I will do anything to acquit myself.”

She let herself grin a touch evilly.

“Great. I’m going to need a lot of help moving into my dorm.”

“You mean to use me for manual labour?”

“What, were you hoping to bribe me? Buy your way out?”

“Would that work?”

“No. But, now that you mention it, I could use a mini fridge.”

“I will bear that in mind.”

Chapter Text

“Grams, put that down!”

“Child, you’re worryin’ for nothing.”

“Klaus is coming over later to do the heavy lifting, Miss Sheila,” Caroline said. Bonnie gestured triumphantly. Sheila rolled her eyes but put the box of valuables down gently on Bonnie’s bed. Somehow, Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena had gotten a triple dorm room. She heavily suspected a healthy donation had been made to the school. Or maybe compulsion, but she refused to think about that.

“So is Rebekah. She’ll probably just boss Klaus around, though,” Elena added. She was on the ground by a small bookcase, sorting their various books. Sheila’s phone pinged.

“Okay, sweets, I’ll be back later. My meeting with the Dean is in ten minutes.”

She kissed Bonnie’s hair and waved goodbye.

“It’s so cool that your Grams is moving here,” Caroline said. As much as she loved various current residents of New Orleans, it would be nice to have a little piece of Mystic Falls with them.

“She’s always wanted to teach at Tulane – it’s a hub of supernatural learning and research. I think she stayed in Mystic Falls and at Whitmore for me,” Bonnie said a bit sadly.

“If she did, it’s because she loves you,” Elena said confidently. “Are you hungry? I could really go for lunch right now.”

“Absolutely. I’ll let my mom know where to meet us.” Liz had gone grocery shopping for food they could keep in the dorm because study snacks were 100% non-negotiable. “We should Lorelai Gilmore all the places within walking distance.”

“Not today, Satan,” Bonnie said dryly.

XXX

“We’ve got about fifteen minutes. Anything you want to mention?”

Camille O’Connell didn’t take any shit. She was one of very few people outside of the Mikaelsons themselves who could get away with blunt honesty towards them. One of the first things she’d said to Caroline was, “They don’t think like we do. They’ve had centuries to build a “regret filter” to process every event and circumstance, and very few things make it through. Violence, murder, and general chaos are everyday life for them. They’re extremely biased, tunnel-visioned, dangerously loyal hypocrites.”

It had been a shock to learn Cami had only been a psychologist for a couple of years. She’d known nothing of the supernatural most of her life until a witch hexed her twin brother. He’d lost his mind, killed nine people, and then himself. When her uncle, Kieran, had filled her in on the shadows of New Orleans, she had studied psychology by day and the occult by night. During that time, she met Marcel, and took on him and his family as clients after she’d graduated.

Caroline loved her.

“It’s my birthday next week,” she said after a moment. Cami tilted her head.

“You don’t seem happy about that.”

“I used to love my birthday. It was a day entirely about me, and I milked it for all it was worth. My parties were always better than everyone else’s. Then . . .” Then him. “I missed my eighteenth birthday party because Damon was raping me.”

He’d made her lie to everyone, saying that she’d thought it was lame and wanted to be alone with her boyfriend instead. All the while, she’d been screaming inside, begging to be seen, to be saved.

“How do you feel about birthdays now?”

“I don’t want to associate that day with him, but I can’t help it. I want to be positive about it. Be happy that he’s gone. Throw a great party and show everyone that I’m over it. But I can’t.”

“Caroline, look at me.” She did as she was told. Cami was slightly blurry because of the welling tears. “The only person whose opinion on your birthday matters is yours. What you do or don’t do is completely up to you. You don’t owe anyone anything.”

Caroline forced herself to take in deep, shuddering breaths, and exhaled. Her face was sticky with tears. Slowly, her trembling body calmed. Her vision cleared.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Cami had stopped saying “you don’t have to thank me” after their third session. “What are you doing after this?”

“Getting coffee.”

“Remember our conversation about caffeine increasing anxiety.”

“I know. I haven’t had any today.”

“Good. How do you feel?”

“Better.” Cami smiled at her. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Have a good weekend, Caroline.”

Outside, the afternoon sun was warm on her tired skin. She put her sunglasses on and walked through the French Quarter. Cami’s office was only a few doors down from a cute café. It wasn’t the same calibre as Lissa’s favourite, but it was still a good spot. Bonnie and Elena were already at a table when she arrived. Bonnie waved her into a chair.

“I’m not even kidding. Liss told me that Klaus was pissed out of his mind, doodled some Aztec lore, and got the entire supernatural world believing there was something called “the curse of the sun and the moon”.”

“But it was a curse on him?” Elena checked. Bonnie nodded whilst pushing a steaming mug of coffee towards Caroline. She hummed gratefully. “So, everyone was looking for the ingredients to break this imaginary curse, which would make it easier for the Mikaelsons to get their hands on them?”

“I know, right? It wasn’t just Aztec stuff either – they hit loads of different religions and beliefs. Anyway, he broke it in the 15^th century.”

“And I exist to be his blood bag,” Elena said, seemingly totally okay with that. Caroline wrinkled her nose.

“He doesn’t care about making hybrids. His siblings knocked that desire out of him a long time ago,” Bonnie said dryly. “How’re you feeling, Care?”

“Drained. Therapy is exhausting.”

“I went shopping earlier, so there are potentially illegal amounts of junk food in the dorm. I also stopped at the compound and stole some of their booze,” Elena said cheerfully. Caroline snorted. “Okay, Bekah gave it to me, but still. Way easier than a fake ID.”

“Oh, to be back in Mystic Falls where underage drinking is an accepted – and encouraged – behaviour,” Caroline said whimsically. “Is Bex joining tonight?”

“Yeah. We need to watch Legally Blonde because she’s never seen it and that’s unacceptable.”

“Preach,” Bonnie said. Caroline put her empty mug back on the table. The caffeine buzz was just what the doctor ordered (well, sort of). They all stood. “Did you think Professor Alvarez was serious about failing the semester if we didn’t do that reading?”

“I just hope that . . .” Caroline’s voice, walk, and heart stopped at the same time. “I’m not seeing what I think I’m seeing.”

“Caroline?” Mace. Where was her mace? Was she moving? “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here? What are you doing here? You could have gone anywhere in the world, and you come to a city full of people who hate you?”

She edged backwards slightly until she felt Elena’s arm at her back. It occurred to her slightly late that most of the café’s occupants were watching their scene.

“Outside. Outside,” Bonnie urged quietly. Elena marched forward, grabbed Stefan’s arm, and dragged him out of the café. Caroline didn’t think too hard on that, because if she thought about him just letting her and not using his strength, she’d spiral.

“You have a lot of nerve to come here. Or are you stupid?” Elena demanded when they were in an alleyway. She released him instantly.

“I didn’t know you’d be here.”

Stefan Salvatore was, for lack of a better word, unlucky. Caroline knew he’d had a shitty human life with a crap dad, Damon as his brother, and a dead mom. Then Katherine had come along and fucked up his life even more, he’d become a vampire with no self-control, and spent 150 years dealing with trauma and regret. All of that made for a tragic tale. None of it made up for him ignoring what was happening to Caroline.

“Oh, well, we’ll leave then, if you didn’t know we’d be here,” Bonnie drawled. Her fingers had curled in the telltale way that meant she wasn’t far off giving him an aneurysm. “You do know the Originals run this city, right?”

“Yes. I was going to speak to them.”

None of them asked what about. It was glaringly obvious. She shared looks with Elena and Bonnie, easily reading their expressions.

The walk to the compound was painfully silent and uncomfortable. Caroline held Elena and Bonnie’s hands tightly. It only took five minutes, but every second was excruciating.

“Darling, I thought I was meeting you at the . . . dorm,” Rebekah said, drawing to a surprised halt when she saw Stefan. “Someone, please, tell me I’m hallucinating.”

“I wish,” Caroline muttered. Rebekah’s visibly growing anger disappeared when she glanced at her sympathetically. It was back the moment she returned her gaze to Stefan.

“Nik!”

Caroline didn’t know if he’d been eavesdropping and therefore knew that the situation needed prompt attention or if he just didn’t feel like pissing Rebekah off, but Klaus joined them quickly. His eyebrows arched curiously.

“If you’ve come to attempt negotiating your brother’s release, you are going to fail miserably,” he said.

“Come on, Klaus, you’d do the same for your siblings.”

Rebekah scoffed.

“In a thousand years, none of us ever sunk so low,” she sneered.

“Katherine did.”

Caroline inhaled sharply. Klaus rolled his eyes.

“As much as this may shock you, Katerina Petrova was not related to us. Do feel free to mention your grievances to Lissa; I’m sure she’ll appreciate being blamed for her sister’s wrongdoings.”

“I-.”

“Honestly, this is pathetic,” Rebekah said snappishly. She blurred away and returned seconds later with her overnight bag. “Nik, you can deal with him. I’m staying at Tulane tonight.”

He waved them off, though they stopped when Caroline failed to move. Stefan looked at her pleadingly.

“Do you know how it felt? To be given back my body and mind only to learn you could have helped? We were friends. You knew what he was doing to me the whole time.”

“I wasn’t strong enough to-.”

“Damn right you weren’t! He controlled everything about me, and you did nothing.”

“Caroline, please-.”

“Why didn’t you help me!?” she screamed. Her fists were raised and she was close and she was probably going to hit him, but arms circled her. She screamed again. The arms – hers and whoever had restrained her – dropped.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Let’s go,” she said quietly. When she looked back, she saw Rebekah only two steps away, watching her cautiously. “I can’t be here.”

“My car is just outside,” Rebekah said.

“Your car has two seats,” Bonnie pointed out.

“My other car.”

“Your other . . . oh, for god’s sake.”

Elena and Bonnie came over and took Caroline’s hands again. Rebekah, with a positively foul look at Stefan, flipped her hair and strode out of the front door. Elena tugged Caroline’s hand lightly until their trio followed. Bonnie sighed when they got to Rebekah.

“Bex, what the hell do you need an SUV for?”

XXX

Bonnie couldn’t move her right arm. Or hand. She’d propped her head up on her fist for so long she’d gone numb and was just in the stage of pins and needles that meant the slightest movement would make her want to tear her arm off. The digging of her knuckles into cheekbone had helped keep her awake enough to read the first half Beowulf. Based on the stubborn drooping of her eyelids, it was no longer an effective method.

“Psst.” Why did people do that? Sure, they were in a library, but come on. “Psst.” Were they just trying to be annoying? “Psst.”

“Will someone answer-!” she started just as someone sat across from her. Immediately, she rolled her eyes. “Really?”

“I thought it pertinent to announce my presence rather than sneaking up on you. I value my life,” Kol said cheerfully. A quick glance around told Bonnie that they were two of only four people left in this section. He was speaking quietly enough to not disturb the others. “Why are you reading this trash?”

“Are you about to tell me you knew the writer?”

“Surprisingly, no. It’s still rubbish.” She waited (a bit impatiently) for him to continue. “I could write the essay for you. Any perspective, word count, whatever you want.”

“What’s the catch?” she asked knowingly. He surprised her.

“It’s not a favour if nothing is expected in return, which I don’t.”

“Why would you write an essay on anything let alone my English Lit gen ed?”

“Boredom, Bonnie.”

“And?”

“Perhaps I am looking for ideas on what to get Caroline for her birthday.” Bonnie’s eyes widened. How did he even know about that? He must have misunderstood her reaction because he hastily added, “No extravagance, I promise. That’s why I’m asking for guidance.”

“It’s not that. It’s . . . how did you find out it’s her birthday soon?”

The only person outside of their dorm who knew it was happening was Rebekah, and she wouldn’t have said anything.

“Stefan mentioned it during his futile pandering to Nik’s non-existent-as-far-as-Damon-is-concerned merciful side.” Wow. Stefan remembering Caroline’s birthday was an extra slap to the face of everything Caroline had been through. “Bonnie, your heart rate is worrying.”

“Sorry,” she said distantly, ignoring the fact that an apology was stupid. “Whatever you and/or the others are planning, it needs to stop. No presents, no parties, not even an acknowledgement. I don’t want to see a card, smell cake, hear “happy birthday”. Please, Kol, all of it needs to not happen.”

“Okay,” he said hesitantly. “I’m beginning to understand why Bekah didn’t say anything now.”

“If she knew about the plans, I’m sure her reaction would have been slightly more explosive.”

“Without a doubt.” His tone was loaded with fondness that made her smile. “I assure you that it was nothing big. We understand that much about all of you that our usual celebrations were not consistent with your desires.”

“Yeah, now,” she said teasingly. She tilted her head, wondering whether to ask. Caroline hadn’t said anything that could even be loosely related back to Mystic Falls, Stefan, or Damon for the last two days. Rebekah had clearly taken the cue and remained mum too. “Is Stefan still around?” Bonnie asked eventually. Kol snorted.

“No. Nik indulged his begging for an hour before he got bored and kicked him out. It was very fun to watch. And, to reassure you, Stefan was not allowed to see Damon either. As amusing as it would have been to see if he tried breaking his brother out, Nik was more focused on getting him the hell out of his sight and city.”

“Good.”

They lapsed into a weirdly comforting silence. Bonnie hadn’t met Kol face-to-face until she was thirteen. All she’d had before then were stories from Lissa, and occasional letters with magical advice. He had studied many, many branches of magic, and he revered witches. She knew that he was her Grams’ favourite for that very reason (insanely expensive gifts aside). It made her feel a bit guilty that she hadn’t noticed how close they’d become until he offered to write an essay for her.

“Hmm,” Kol said quietly. She glanced up from the “epic” poem (why was it so long?). He was staring down at his phone, smirking in what seemed to be hesitant amusement. “Explosive indeed.”

Without explaining, he slid the phone over so she could see the group chat.

[Group chat: always and forever is so long]

Elijah: The party will be on Friday night, commencing at 8pm.

Rebekah: What party?

Klaus: Caroline’s birthday.

Rebekah: no

Rebekah: no

Rebekah: no again

Elijah: According to our resources, Caroline adores her birthday. We thought it pertinent to celebrate.

Rebekah: one – your resource is Stefan bloody Salvatore

Rebekah: two – it isn’t an option. Return your gifts. Get refunds on the décor. Don’t ask questions.

Rebekah: three – NEXT TIME, ASK FIRST BEFORE LISTENING TO IDIOT VAMPIRES

“That could have been way worse,” Bonnie said cheerfully.

“I’ve come to learn that Bekah using caps is a sure sign that blood will be shed.”

“Good thing none of you can die.”

“I appreciate the sympathy, Bonnie.”

She grinned at him.

XXX

“I’m adopted.”

Caroline froze, curling iron wrapped in a chunk of her hair, her humming notes of What a Feeling fading into the awkward silence. Bonnie, cross-legged on her bed, paused with her yellow highlighter hovering over her Psych 101 textbook.

“Care, you’ll burn your hair off,” Bonnie said quickly. Caroline hastily put the curling iron down and focused completely on Elena. Nothing had been happening. They had all been having a quiet, lazy morning. Elena had been writing in her diary when she made her less than dramatic announcement.

“You’re . . . as in, Miranda and Grayson weren’t your bio-parents?” Caroline asked. Her voice was weaker than she’d thought. Elena nodded.

“Jenna said they were going to tell me when I turned 18, but then . . . well. She told me at the weekend.” She snorted mildly, though there wasn’t much amusement in it. “Uncle John is my father.”

“Oh, gross.”

“My birth mom was sixteen when she had me. She went on to study at Duke, got married, and then Damon turned her into a vampire.” Caroline gaped. What did she even say to that? “She was married to Mr Saltzman.”

“Get out of here,” Bonnie said. Mr Saltzman had come in as their history teacher when Coach Tanner had died from an “animal attack” early in their final semester of high school.

“And Mr Saltzman knew it was Damon. He came to Mystic Falls to kill him.”

“This is wild,” Caroline whispered, mostly against her will.

“Isobel – that was her name – died only a few years after she became a vampire. Lissa helped fill in the gaps. There wasn’t much to say though.”

“Lissa knew her?”

“Knew of her. She has extensive records of every branch of her family tree because this book,” Elena gestured to an old, leather-bound text on her nightstand, “says the family line ended with her and Katherine. They didn’t count children born out of wedlock back then.”

“Elena, how are you feeling?” Caroline asked after a moment. Elena’s doe-eyes were confused and slightly damp.

“I think I’m still processing. It’s so much information and everyone is someone connected.”

“What about Jeremy and Jenna? The supernatural secret was one thing, but this is intense. And more real,” Bonnie said. Elena hummed sadly.

“We’re all a bit of a mess. But I know that it doesn’t matter what my genetics say, my mom and dad were Miranda and Grayson Gilbert. My brother is Jeremy. My aunt is Jenna. And I’m Elena Gilbert.”

“And we love you. Screw your bio parents,” Caroline said firmly. Elena chuckled wetly. “Group hug?”

“Hell yes.”

They fell into a giggling pile on Elena’s bed.

Chapter Text

Mystic Falls, March 2012

The key turning in the lock felt like it echoed through Caroline’s whole body. It was soon followed by the soft squeak of leather as her mom removed her shoes. Any footsteps were softened by the carpet, too quiet for human ears. Caroline knew her mom’s routine by heart. She would go to the kitchen for water – and, depending on the level of badness during her shift, a finger of scotch. Then she would curl up in her favourite armchair and think about her open cases. After an hour or so of that, she would drag herself to bed.

“Caroline? What are you still doing awake? It’s 1am!” Liz Forbes whisper shouted like they weren’t alone in the house.

“Could you sit, please? I need to talk to you.” She shook her head when her mom went to speak. “No, it can’t wait.” She shifted so her side was pressed into the back of the sofa and her knees were up against her chest. Liz took a seat on the other end of the sofa, frowning. “Damon and Stefan Salvatore are vampires.”

“What?”

Caroline could understand the shock. It had been pretty disarming for her to learn what the town council really did behind closed doors, and that her mother was at the forefront of the war on vampires. Clearly, they weren’t very good at that bit.

“That’s impossible. They walk in the day.”

“They have daylight rings, so they don’t burn up in the sun.” Liz stared, eyebrows high.

“How – how do you know about this?”

“Do you know what compulsion is?” She nodded once, sharp. “Damon compelled me. It’s why I’ve been so awful.”

“Sweetie-.”

“I know. I was terrible before, so you probably didn’t notice. But I swear, I haven’t been in control since before my birthday.”

“Caroline Forbes, you were not “terrible” before. I noticed. I noticed and I couldn’t figure it out, and I should have.” Caroline laughed sadly and wetly. She swiped at some of her fallen tears just as her mom shuffled closer to her.

“I’m sorry I let it happen.”

“No. I don’t want you thinking like that, sweetheart. Vampires are dangerous and . . .” Liz froze. Caroline vaguely noted that they had the same expression when they were working something out. “What exactly did Damon do to you?”

“He . . . fed on me. Made me forget what he was until we were around each other. Made me keep the secret, but never took away my fear.” They also had the same expression of horrified realisation. Caroline’s chest shuddered with her wheezing breaths. “He raped me.”

“Oh, Caroline,” she whispered. Caroline sobbed and then she was being hugged tightly. Her mom’s fingers combed through her hair as they rocked gently. The arms around her were safe and warm and she clung to her mom’s shirt as tightly as she could.

“I was so scared, mommy.”

“You don’t have to be afraid anymore. Damon will pay for this.”

After several minutes – probably closer to half an hour – Caroline reluctantly pulled back. The half of her face that hadn’t been pressed into Liz’s chest was drenched in tears. Her throat ached where sobs had grated free. Liz had also been crying. Her cheeks were slightly damp and ruddy.

“Damon’s gone,” Caroline croaked. Liz frowned. “Miss Sheila worked out what he was doing, and she got me some help. He’s in vampire jail, I guess?”

“Vampire jail?” Liz said doubtfully.

“Yeah. Miss Sheila is friends with the oldest vampires in the world.” They were back to confused shock. “I know. It’s crazy. They un-compelled me. De-compelled? They helped me.”

“What about Stefan?” Caroline recognised the diversion technique as a way to cope with surprising information and let it happen.

“He’s still around, and why we’re talking now.” Liz winced a little. Caroline hastily gripped her mom’s hand. “I would have talked about it eventually, I promise. But Elena just found out and she’s mad. She’s going to tell the council that Stefan’s a vampire tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry that this happened to you, Caroline. I’m so sorry.”

“Me too, mom. Me too.”

XXX

Caroline stared. Absently, she realised that she’d stopped tapping her pen against the pages of her notebook. Her cocoa had long since cooled. Outside, a handful of workers were dusting an impressively tall Christmas tree with fake snow. Shoppers bustled around the area, armed to the teeth with bags and boxes.

A few hours ago, sick of the Christmas cheer saturating the dorms thanks to people who clearly didn’t give a crap that the semester wasn’t over for everyone, Caroline had driven to the compound. Elijah had been the only one home and offered her his study to structure her Sociology 101 essay in peace. It was more of a mini-library, and definitely what she expected from him. All the furniture was mahogany, the books leather-bound, and there was a mini bar with crystal decanters and a cigar cutter. The couch and the two armchairs were dark brown leather. She had set herself up by a window in one of the armchairs, a little table carrying her laptop and notes. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to use the desk – complete with a throne-like chair, and pictures of the whole family.

Knock, knock.

“Come in,” she said quietly, then repeated it louder because no one immediately entered. Elena popped her head around the door, beaming.

“You up for a study break?”

“I guess. It’s not like I’m getting much done right now anyway.” She closed her laptop and followed Elena to the stairs. “How was the exhibit?”

“Bekah’s livid. Klaus apparently snuck one of his own pieces in which she says is “utterly preposterous” because he isn’t a struggling artist trying to get his name out there,” Elena said laughingly.

“She’s right,” Caroline said happily. “Did you bring back beignets? I need a suitable excuse to stop pretending to study.”

“You’re going to have a great reason.” Immediately suspicious, Caroline didn’t get the chance to start an interrogation. They turned into the drawing room – because, yeah, the Mikaelsons were those people – and she gasped.

“What? How? No?”

“I missed you too, sweetheart.”

“Mom!”

She hurled herself into Liz’s wide-open arms, hardly able to believe it even with the physical confirmation. It was silly, but she still smelled the same. Her laugh was still buttery with amusement. Her grip was still firm and safe.

“What are you doing here? I thought I was coming back to Mystic Falls!”

“I’m surprising you, Care. There wasn’t any reason you should have to fly back for a short time when I could be here longer.”

“You’re the Sheriff. How are you getting away with weeks of leave?”

“I have a very good team of deputies, and an impressive overtime package thanks to a government grant.” Just behind Liz, Elena rolled her eyes. Yeah, Caroline would be having words with certain people.

“Where are you staying? Don’t say a hotel – they’re so expensive.”

“I’m staying with Sheila. She’s got a spare room.”

“This is so great! Oh, my god, I’m so happy to see you, mom.” Caroline hugged tighter. “I missed you.” Though her voice was muffled by her mom’s sweater, Liz still heard her.

“I missed you too.” She looked around. “Your friends have expensive taste.”

“Tell me about it,” Bonnie muttered, making Caroline jump when she came in behind her. Elijah and Lissa were with her.

“Sheriff Forbes, we would be honoured if you joined us for dinner and, of course, the compound is at your disposal for the duration of your visit,” Elijah said in that gentlemanly way that made Caroline simultaneously forget and remember that he was ancient. Liz glanced at her.

“Yeah, he’s always like this,” she confirmed.

“Thank you,” Liz said simply. Lissa beamed and, for a confusing moment, she looked startlingly like Elena. “Who are you, by the way?”

“You didn’t introduce yourselves?” Bonnie drawled. Lissa rolled her eyes.

“I apologise for our rudeness. I’m Lissa Pierce, and this is Elijah Mikaelson.”

“You’re Lissa?” Liz seemed to be analysing her, which, fair. Lissa was only about 5’4 with rounded features and kindness radiated from her. Caroline wasn’t sure it was possible for her to get angry because she hadn’t actually seen it, only heard about it.

“Yes. I’m so glad to finally meet you. I’m terribly sorry, but we do have to run. Hopefully, we can talk more at dinner.”

With a blown kiss, Lissa spun, dark waves breezing through the air, and left them there. Elijah nodded politely and departed too. Liz looked a little stunned.

“I’ve never knowingly met any vampires.”

“Glad we started with Liss and Elijah,” Bonnie said dryly. “The others are lunatics.”

“Even Rebekah?” Elena’s head could have doubled as a Christmas bauble with how red she turned. “Your mom was my best friend, Elena. I reserve the right to give your girlfriend the shovel talk.”

“She’s the worst of the lot sometimes,” Elena said fondly.

XXX

Okay. So. Caroline wasn’t nosy, exactly, but she was super curious. After a small tour of the city and lunch, Liz had shanghaied the vampires (and a hybrid) she’d chosen – Lissa, Elijah, Klaus, and Rebekah – based on unknown parameters, dragged them into a room, and interrogated (supposedly) for an hour. It was one of the soundproofed rooms too, so they couldn’t eavesdrop by way of Josh, who probably wouldn’t have told them even if he’d been able to hear. That also meant Caroline had no way of knowing if there were any literal shots fired because no one would tell her what had been discussed.

Unbelievable.

Whatever was said didn’t seem to have a negative impact on any of them, so she outwardly let it go. She was lowkey suspicious of the impression Klaus had left because he’d proven many times that he gave zero fucks what other people thought. People who thought Kol thrived the most on chaos hadn’t seen Klaus after he’d thrown a verbal grenade into a conversation just to see his siblings try to kill one another.

A little more than a week after her mom had arrived, free of college until January, Caroline wandered into the drawing room. She’d hastily evacuated the kitchen. Elena was trying to teach Rebekah how to make chilli and it had not been going well (plus, Caroline hated chilli, thanks to way too many Founders’ potlucks). Klaus was tucked into a corner of a sofa, sketching. She knew he would have heard her even before she’d come in, and he definitely heard her when she peered over his shoulder.

Her own face looked back at her. The drawing was in grey pencil, but the amount of detail made colour redundant. Her eyes stared straight out of the page, somehow glinting. Her lips were half-pouted, one of her eyebrows quirked, all an exact replica of her exasperated-with-Klaus expression.

“Are you going to send me dead flowers and show up at my dry cleaner?”

“Please, I have people to collect my dry cleaning.”

“Josh doesn’t count.”

“Of course he does. That’s what I keep him around for.”

“Why are you creepily drawing me?”

“Why does it need to be creepy?” She rolled her eyes and flopped onto the other side of the sofa. “You’re an inspiring subject, love.”

“Are you calling me your muse?”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

She would have asked how many times he’d drawn her, but she kind of liked not knowing. And she got distracted by another sketchbook on the coffee table.

“May I?” she asked as calmly as she could when her blood fizzled with excitement. He seemed a bit bemused, but he nodded anyway. She was glad he didn’t comment on her racing heart.

The sketchbook was full. Most pages were devoted to single pictures, but there were a few with lots of smaller sketches. All his siblings featured along with Lissa, Ava, Marcel, Thierry, and Diego. There were two faces she didn’t recognise; a stunning woman who was typically next to Finn, and a young boy with a bright smile. The woman was likely Sage, Finn’s girlfriend. The boy, though, Caroline was clueless about.

“My youngest brother, Henrik.”

Caroline jumped a little. When she looked up, Klaus was looking at the drawing she’d circled back to at least three times. His face was mostly stoic, but his eyes always gave away his emotions. There was a deep sadness there that made her heart ache.

“You don’t have to tell me,” she said softly. He half-smiled.

“As you know, I am the product of an affair my mother had with a werewolf. The village that neighboured ours in what is now Mystic Falls was his home, and that of many other wolves. Henrik was always a curious boy. He wanted to know everything and, more than mostly everything else, he wanted to see the men turn to wolves.”

Her fingers were tapping her collarbone, palm resting over her heart. She could guess where the story was going but she couldn’t bring herself to interrupt.

“I went with him because otherwise he would have gone alone. We got too close, and Henrik was attacked. He died in my arms.”

“Oh, Klaus,” Caroline breathed.

“It was this loss that led to my mother turning us into vampires.” He sighed miserably. “Ava couldn’t hear him, so we think he found peace.”

“You know it wasn’t . . .” How to word it without pissing him right off? “It wasn’t your fault.”

“What makes you think I blame myself?”

“Because even a thousand years later, you still asked Ava to check on him. And maybe, just maybe, you were hoping to find some forgiveness.” She placed the sketchbook on him lap gently. A single fingernail tapped the beaming portrait. “I can’t imagine what it felt like – what it feels like. I do know that I wouldn’t want to die alone and scared. This way, Henrik had someone he loved with him.”

With a soft smile, she shifted off the sofa.

“Caroline,” Klaus said just loud enough for her to hear. Pausing in the doorway, she looked back. His blue eyes were damp but there was a small, genuine smile curving his mouth. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for sharing with me.”

She left him there, mind thrumming. There was newfound vulnerability and respect she hadn’t expected directed at Klaus.

Weird.

Chapter Text

Mystic Falls, May 2003

“And this, little BB, is the Coliseum. It’s all the way over in Italy.”

“Where’s Italy?”

“You see this country that looks like a boot? That’s Italy. And right there is Rome. That’s where the Coliseum is.”

“In the knee!”

Lissy laughed warmly then kissed her forehead. Bonnie beamed up at her.

“Yes, sweetheart. It’s in the knee.”

“What’s that?”

“Meteora.”

“Big rocks!”

“Bigger than you could possibly imagine.”

“I’ll see them one day.”

“I know you will. The entire world is at your fingertips, waiting for you to reach out and touch.”

XXX

New Orleans, August 1993

Freya woke slowly, as she always did after a century asleep. The pillow under her head, the mattress hugging her back, and the light breeze caressing her skin suggested she wasn’t in her coffin. Abruptly concerned that Dahlia had found her, she forced her eyes open and sat up.

“Typical Mikaelson, waking up when the hard work’s been done.”

Freya jumped, snapping her gaze to the right. Klaus, Rebekah, Kol, and Elijah were all there. Elijah’s wife (?) lingered in the background. Freya hadn’t been introduced in 1914, so she wasn’t sure of her name. At her side was Marcel and the person who had spoken, a redheaded woman with narrowed grey-green eyes rubbing her forehead viciously.

“What’s going on?” Freya asked softly. The redhead rolled her eyes.

“Looks like just magic power grows when she’s asleep and not brain power.” The voice was familiar.

“Ava?” Freya whispered. Ava nodded then her entire body shuddered. She didn’t appear to notice.

“Your looney tunes aunt is dead. You’re welcome.”

“But – how? I wasn’t-.”

“Expecting to survive? Yes, we’re well aware,” Klaus said coolly. Rebekah squeezed his elbow.

“Don’t be an arse, Nik.”

“I thought it would be easier for you to lose something you’d never had,” Freya admitted. She stared at the fluffy blanket covering her legs.

“You are our family, regardless of whether we know you,” Elijah said firmly. “We look after our family. Always and forever.”

“Yes. Just because you were late to the party doesn’t mean we’re going to kick you out,” Kol said. When she glanced at him, he was grinning welcomingly. “Speaking of parties – we’ve met before. You disappeared on me.”

“I got too close. I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“I just figured you liked the ladies. It’s excellent news for my ego that we’re related.”

“Is Dahlia truly gone?” Freya asked hopefully. The ingredients had been so specific, she hadn’t dared hope before.

“Yes. Thankfully, Nik is a macabre son of a bitch and kept the perfectly preserved body of our mother close by.” Freya arched an eyebrow. Kol smirked. “We have since destroyed it because one family member’s corpse is quite enough.”

“Which family member?” She narrowed her eyes, glancing over the gathered people once more. “Where is Finn?”

“I have so many questions,” Bonnie said. She and Freya were out on the terrace, enjoying a morning coffee and some heavy storytelling. “You recognised Ava’s voice?”

“Yes. She spoke to me whilst I was still asleep in the cottage.” Freya finished her Danish. “I have died before, so we were able to communicate.” Bonnie didn’t know what to say to that.

“I know that your family is clinically insane, but what the hell was Dahlia’s problem?”

“Esther could not have children, and despite what she would later do in creating vampires, refused to engage with dark magic to get what she wanted. Dahlia was well-versed in such things, and agreed to cast a spell that would enable Esther to bear as many children as she wanted. In exchange, Dahlia wanted Esther’s first born.”

No freaking way.

“What? Was Dahlia the inspiration behind Rumplestiltskin?” Freya squinted at her. “It’s a fairy tale. The villain does the heroine a favour and asks for her first born in return.”

“That’s an unsettling similarity.” Bonnie nodded because what could she say to that? “In any case, killing her severed our connection.”

“Shouldn’t you look about forty?”

“I’m not ageing. If I am, it’s very slowly.”

“You’re an immortal witch?” Bonnie breathed. That was meant to be impossible.

“In theory. I’m still researching because taking this sort of thing for granted would be incredibly stupid. The working hypothesis is that Dahlia’s death caused it. I may never be able to prove that.” They gathered their things, heading inside. Bonnie smiled, hit with a tidal wave of excitement.

“Do you want some help researching?” Freya stared, her expression close to surprised. “I’ve still got loads to learn, and this is a branch of magic I haven’t had the chance to explore.”

“Then I would be glad of the help and company. Kol helps when he can, but his inability to stay in one place for longer than five minutes tends to get in the way of that.” Something in the very back of Bonnie’s mind clicked.

“I’ll say.” Inside, both paused. Bonnie’s mouth fell open. “Oh, wow. Lissa, this is beautiful.”

The courtyard had been transformed once again. Hundreds of fairy lights wound through the balcony rails and around the banisters on the stairs. Yellow and white flowers of different varieties perched in bouquets atop columns and draped over the balcony. There was an entire floral canopy obscuring the third floor upwards. Dozens of chairs sat on either side of a rich, blue carpeted aisle that stretched from the top of the stairs to the other end of the courtyard. A heavy, blue banner hung on one side of the stairs, a gold one on the other.

“It looks like a high school graduation,” Lissa said disparagingly. Bonnie eyed her, concerned for her health. When she called something in a different language, a blonde man flitted into sight, removed the banners, and disappeared.

“What language was that?” Bonnie asked. Lissa hummed, so she’d heard, but she didn’t answer. “Liss?”

“You can wear whatever colour you want,” she said absently. Freya laughed quietly.

“Dutch,” she answered helpfully.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m all over the place with this wedding. Christmas nuptials. What on earth were they thinking?” Bonnie raised an eyebrow. Last she’d heard, Liss had thought a Christmas wedding was a fantastic idea. They didn’t usually celebrate that holiday (given what she’d heard about Kol’s festive daggering from 1914, she wasn’t surprised they’d stopped), so it didn’t disrupt anything. “Oh, alright. I want it to be perfect.”

“You’re overthinking. The Lissa I know would thrive under the pressure.” Lissa huffed. “Okay, step away.”

“But-.”

“Nope. You need a break. You’re giving me anxiety and all I need to do is show up.”

“Yes, I need to talk to you about that. Are you certain you won’t be using your plus one?”

“Liss, basically everyone I know and like is already invited.”

“Understandable. Josh is bringing a date, and he will be at your table, so I wanted to make sure there was room.”

“Josh is bringing a date?” Bonnie asked delightedly. Oh, that was going to be fun.

“Hmm, yes. A young man by the name of Aiden and I know nothing else. Marcel nearly laughed himself sick, though.”

“Who else is at my table?”

“Caroline, Elena, Liz as Caroline’s plus one, Sheila, Kol, Rebekah, and Freya.”

“Huh? Freya, I though you were at Finn’s table because . . . well, you’re the only sibling he really likes.”

Lissa sighed. Freya snorted.

“Finn and Sage are no longer coming for the wedding. They are coming for New Year’s instead,” Lissa explained.

“No wonder you’re stressed. This seating chart is a minefield.”

“Rather less so than before, honestly. The relationship between Finn and his siblings may have dramatically improved since he was un-daggered, but it’s by no means perfect.”

From what Bonnie knew, it wasn’t even good.

“His time in a coffin was far longer than anyone else’s. It took a deep toll on his psyche,” Freya said sadly. “Sage has been instrumental in helping him accept vampirism.”

“Does he have a therapist? It sounds like he should have a therapist.”

“I agree.” That wasn’t an answer, but was Bonnie going to push? Was she hell. “It does look wonderful, Lissa. If you’ll excuse me.”

Freya gracefully left them there, heading for the kitchen. Bonnie took the opportunity to remove the clipboard from Lissa’s arms and steer her to the drawing room.

“Bonnie Sheila, what do you think you’re doing?”

“If you didn’t need a break, I would not have been able to drag you away. Don’t make me call in reinforcements.”

“I am five hundred years old. You do not frighten me.”

“Grams does.” Bonnie smirked gleefully when Lissa rolled her eyes. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, sweetheart. Anything.”

“Why are you still in New Orleans?”

It came out slightly more forcefully than Bonnie intended, but she didn’t backtrack, even when Lissa looked at her quizzically. She waited for a diversion or a bullshit answer about the wedding, but she should have known better. Lissa knew her better than that.

“Elijah and I used to reside here more permanently but . . .” She looked out the window. The morning sun lit up the tears in her eyes. “I couldn’t bear living here when Ava wouldn’t swear near Elijah just to make his eye twitch, or Katerina wouldn’t show up without warning after a decade of silence with a new problem. So, I ran and pretended it was living. I decided when Thierry and Diego got engaged that I was finally ready to come home for good.”

“As long as you’re staying because you want to and not because you feel like you have to.” Lissa smiled, fond and knowing.

“I promise.” She stood and kissed Bonnie’s forehead. “And, if or when you still wish to see the world, I will happily accompany you to the knee of the boot.”

“Don’t forget the big rocks.”

“I would never.”

The moment they returned to the courtyard, Lissa’s gentle smile shifted into a wide grin.

“How big does a house have to be before it’s actually a castle?”

Bonnie whipped around with cartoonish speed. Her jaw may as well have been on the ground and her eyes bulging from her head with comedic noises when she saw the two people across the courtyard.

“Jenna!” she cried, launching herself forwards. Jenna’s response was just as enthusiastic. “Jeremy, what the hell? Stop growing.”

Jeremy was steadily bulking up to match the constant growth spurts he seemed to have. Bonnie wasn’t tall, but every time she saw Jeremy, she felt like a smurf.

“Maybe there’s a spell for that,” he joked, hugging her too.

“What’re you doing here? How did you-? Never mind. I guess you know Lissa?”

Lissa breezed over at the sound of her name. Her innocent smile was so painfully exaggerated that Bonnie wondered how she’d survived 500 years.

“I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure. I’m Lissa.”

“Jenna, and this is my nephew, Jeremy,” Jenna said kindly. Bonnie frowned.

“Rebekah orchestrated this,” Lissa explained. Bonnie snorted. Of course she did. “She’s out with Elena at the moment. They’re due home soon. Did you find your hotel okay?”

“Yeah, we got a cab from the airport.”

“Oh, we would have driven you! Are you sure you don’t want to stay here for your visit?” Lissa asked. Bonnie pressed her lips together to prevent her laughing. Lissa seemed quite distressed about the use of the taxi. She could only imagine how hard Rebekah had tried to convince Jenna to stay at the compound too.

“Really, we’re good,” Jenna said firmly. Lissa sighed.

“Very well. How about a tour whilst you wait for Elena? Can I get you anything to eat or drink? There’s still plenty of breakfast left.”

“You got any pancakes?” Jeremy asked. Lissa beamed.

XXX

Dinner with the Mikaelsons had become a frequent event. When Bonnie, Elena, and Caroline had moved into the compound rather than stay on the deserted campus for Winter break, dinners as a family were nightly. Not everyone could make them every night, but there were usually at least six people at the table. The night that Jenna and Jeremy first arrived, everyone who was in the city was there. Sheila and Liz had also joined them.

Jenna made it to halfway through the main course before she cracked.

“So, why did you help Caroline?”

“Jenna!” Elena squeaked.

“It’s a fair question.”

“I told you why when we had The Conversation.”

The Conversation had happened when Elena had realised she couldn’t and wouldn’t keep the supernatural world from her family. Jeremy had stumbled upon it himself, but Jenna had been oblivious until that summer.

“I want to hear it from them.”

There was something to be said about the powerful, protective stare of Jenna Sommers. Caroline hadn’t seen her get even close as she was growing up. When she’d stepped in as Jeremy’s guardian, an entirely new side of her had come to the forefront. It was intimidating as hell. Lissa was bearing it admirably. Klaus, the dick, was smirking from his usual spot at the head of the table.

“We were asked to,” Lissa said after a super awkward silence.

“I get that you have an understanding with Sheila’s family. And I know Liz has already spoken to you about this. What I don’t understand is why you would go out of your way to get rid of one vampire who, as far as I can tell, was acting like most vampires.”

“We don’t like Damon,” Klaus said. He was lounging. Lounging. His grin was lazy and amused. “This was as good an excuse as any to let him rot for a few decades. We could have done it before, really, but it was enjoyable enough knowing he was constantly on edge, lest one of us decide we wanted to torture him some more.”

“More?” Jenna’s shock was edging into horror. Lissa took over, which was smart, because Klaus was proving he shouldn’t be allowed around people. Ever.

“As immortals, we are very good at holding grudges. We tend to draw out retribution.”

Caroline tried not to grimace. That didn’t sound any better, and boy, did Jenna notice. Sheila was very still. Liz was frowning like she was getting ready to intervene.

“So, you’re telling me that you used Caroline’s abuse as an excuse to get revenge on Damon Salvatore?”

“Yes,” Klaus said idly. Caroline wondered briefly if Elena had given Jenna the vervain mace yet.

“I am saying,” Lissa said pointedly, glowering at Klaus for good measure, “That Damon would have ended up in the Garden eventually. It was just a matter of how he would attract our attention.”

“Jenna, this doesn’t matter,” Caroline said hurriedly.

“I’m looking out for all three of you. Who’s to say they won’t change their minds and turn on you?”

“Family above all,” Elijah said sombrely. He reached to hold Lissa’s hand between their plates. She smiled slightly. “Caroline and Elena are a part of this family now. Bonnie always has been.”

Translation: these girls could slaughter an entire village and we’d pretend not to notice.

Also: that was hella cute. She would not cry at the dinner table.

Much.

“One rule for family, another for the rest of the world?” Liz asked when Jenna couldn’t seem to make words. Caroline recognised the equally placating and resigned tone.

“Indeed,” Elijah responded, not looking the slightest bit ashamed. Freya, who had been watching with avid interest, snorted.

“I’m guessing you don’t have a grudge against Stefan, given you left him alone?”

Jenna’s left eyebrow had risen to nearly a sharp point.

“Not personally. It was quite a surprise that he hadn’t tried to deal with Damon before our arrival despite him being such a threat to Stefan’s quiet existence,” Lissa said musingly.

“He does live on animal blood, which makes him pathetically weak.”

Caroline blinked. When she glanced at Bonnie, she seemed just as confused by Klaus’s statement. Elena had opened her mouth slightly like she was going to speak but nothing came out.

“Like in Twilight?” Caroline asked. If Kol hadn’t been travelling, he would have laughed and then groaned at her. Lissa’s sigh was comically heavy.

“As loathe as I am to admit this, yes. It was the one thing that blasted series got correct.”

“You could have told us this sooner, Liss,” Bonnie pointed out a touch coolly. “We’ve been disproportionately hating Stefan for months.”

“The council could have killed him!” Elena added.

“Doubtful,” Lissa said. She paused, squinting at them. “What should I have told you sooner?”

Vampires, Caroline thought, were really clueless sometimes.

“That Stefan couldn’t have actually done anything about Damon, so hating him was pointless?” Caroline said. Lissa nodded slowly.

“I would like to highlight that Stefan also had contact with a much older vampire who could have helped subdue Damon, but he chose not to ask her for help,” Rebekah said snidely. “It wouldn’t be the first time Lexi stepped in when Damon tried destroying Stefan’s life.”

Caroline tuned out the resulting argument. She thought over everything that had been said. She could feel guilty over yelling at Stefan and blaming him for her prolonged hell. She could regret taking Lissa and the Mikaelsons at their word. She could be hurt that, at least to begin with, their pursuit of Damon had had nothing to do with her. She could be mad that they were all huge hypocrites.

Or she could accept that they were hundreds of years old, insane, and giant hypocrites, and move on with her life.

“I don’t truly get it,” she said. It wasn’t loud or demanding, but it somehow got everyone’s attention. “And you’re all freaking crazy. But I’m also grateful that, whatever the circumstances or the reasoning, I get to know and love you all. Just, like, give us all the information next time.”

“You’re all wildly dysfunctional,” Bonnie said.

“Does that mean we’re forgiven?” Lissa asked earnestly.

“I feel like I owe Stefan an apology,” Elena said. Rebekah looked mortally offended at the very idea.

“Hardly, darling. If anything, he should apologise to you for wasting your time.”

“Yes, you’re forgiven,” Caroline said before Elena could rupture a vein from stress.

XXX

Thierry and Diego had been dancing for the better part of an hour. As soon as dinner had been consumed, the newly married couple had shot up. Other pairs came and went, revolving around them like they were the sun and everyone else tiny planets.

“May I have this dance?”

Caroline glanced to the side. Klaus was smiling at her questioningly, hand extended.

“You may,” she said. His hand was warm around hers.

“You’re quite the dancer,” he said when they’d been waltzing for a minute. She smirked.

“I’ve had training. I happen to be Miss Mystic Falls.”

“I was under the impression you were, for lack of a better term, indisposed at the time of that event.”

“Pay a lot of attention to the dates of small-town pageants, do you?” she asked playfully. “It was pushed to May this year because the mayor died.”

“Animal attack?”

“Car crash. His wife tried to paint it as the fault of the other driver, but everyone knows he had anger problems, and he lost control of the car in a fit of road rage,” she said disparagingly. Mayor Lockwood had been a prize jackass.

“Well, this took a delightfully dark turn. Onto more mannered subjects, then. What are your plans for Christmas day?”

“Elena, Bonnie, Jenna, Jeremy, and I are all going to camp out at Miss Sheila’s tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll open gifts and eat loads of food and play games. Elena and Jeremy will argue about what Christmas movie we watch, and Bonnie will end up making the decision for them. Jenna will get tipsy and tell us stories about Elena and Jeremy’s mom and my mom when they were in school. My mom will threaten to arrest her at least twice.”

“Sounds like you have some traditions,” he said in amusement. She laughed.

“It probably sounds super boring to someone who’s been around as long as you, but it’s really the opposite. I love Christmas. It brings everyone together.”

“I would say that’s a fabrication, but here we are on Christmas Eve, and the majority of my family have gathered.”

“Still not sold on the marriage thing?” she teased. His expression was dry.

The music slowed to a stop. Dozens of glasses being tapped lightly with cutlery filled the air instead. Caroline slowly stepped back from Klaus and they both looked at the stairs. Elijah and Lissa were stood halfway up.

“Thank you everyone for coming,” Lissa said. Her voice carried effortlessly over the guests. “When I first met Thierry, he was fresh from death on the battlefield, and glued to Marcel’s side in a show of the unwavering loyalty that has always burned brightly within him. Watching you grow as a person, a vampire, a man has been beautiful. Getting to call you my son is the greatest honour of my life. And now I have another son. Diego, you have always been family. I am delighted that it is now “official”.”

“To Thierry and Diego. Our sons. Our pride and joy,” Elijah said, raising his glass. Everyone mimicked him and echoed the sentiment.

“Thanks mom. Thanks dad,” Thierry said so quietly that Caroline only heard because she was right next to him. Lissa and Elijah smiled adoringly at him. Oh, right, she was at a wedding full of vampires.

“To Thiego!” she cheered. She was absolutely thrilled when people laughed, and even more so when they echoed her too.

At the end of the night, after Thierry and Diego had been hugged by every guest and sent on their honeymoon, when slices of the gigantic cake had been divvyed out, and a case of Dom had been thrust into Jenna’s arms, Caroline headed out front. Two cars were waiting to take them to Miss Sheila’s.

“Thank you for the dance,” Klaus said. She did not jump. A lot. She ignored that dimpled smirk for her own health.

“You were a suitable partner,” she said breezily.

“High praise indeed.”

Bonnie and Elena piled out the door, giggling uncontrollably. Jenna’s wickedly amused expression told Caroline that they’d would be in for a ribbing tomorrow.

“Goodnight, Klaus,” she said. He picked up her hand. It was still surprising that he was warm. Vampires tended to be tepid. Him and his hybridness.

“Goodnight, Caroline.”

He kissed her hand. She did not blush.

(Not that he could see anyway).

Chapter Text

Caroline had a long list of favourite places in New Orleans. Elena argued that only one could be the favourite, but Caroline ignored the technicalities. Each place had its own charms and allures, and all had different ways of perking her up. Jardin Gris was a staple of the French Quarter. It was owned and run by local witches, and Caroline had added it to her list after several visits with Bonnie.

“Hi Katie,” she greeted brightly. Bonnie waved and drifted towards the back where they had eye of newt. Caroline had not asked what she needed it for.

“Caroline, Bonnie,” Katie said. She sounded subdued. Caroline looked closer, and found her eyes were slightly red rimmed. Her brown skin was paler than it should have been.

Many times, Liz had attempted to convince Caroline that prying was rude. Caroline had rejected the idea every time. Prying was a skill when done properly. It was how she learned so much about people without them knowing. After she’d been introduced to the supernatural world, she’d realised it could be used for more than finding out who was sneaking around with who. Questions had power.

“How are you?” she asked. Asking “are you okay?” could end fruitlessly.

“Fine. What can I do for you today?”

Diversion. Hm. Katie was one of the sweetest people Caroline had ever met. It must have been bad if she wasn’t returning the question.

“Bonnie’s brewing a potion that needs eye of newt, apparently. Is it true that salamander eyes work the same way?”

“It depends on the spell or potion. Eye of newt is a classic ingredient, and they have potent properties better suited for older castings rooted in the earth. Salamander eyes work very well in spells of deceit and blood rites.”

According to some people – Kol, mostly – using Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a reference point for supernatural facts was stupid. Caroline was so rubbing this in his face the next time he deigned to speak to any of them.

“Okay, that blew my mind a little bit.”

Bonnie came back with a small jar of maybe a dozen eyes. Gross. Katie rang her up and sent them on their way with little fanfare. Caroline tilted her head and beamed as they left. Bonnie was shaking her head.

“Did you get what you wanted out of that?” she asked in amusement.

“No. Duh. If we weren’t in a hurry, I’d have gotten more.”

“Doubtful. She wasn’t going to talk when someone else was there.”

“If anything, she was more likely to talk with you around.”

“I meant someone who isn’t you or me. There was another witch there, hiding. I felt them.”

Caroline frowned. She had been willing to put Katie’s mood up to personal misfortune or the like. A skulking witch made the situation entirely more suspicious.

“Well, you’d know if they were dangerous, right? Maybe it’s none of our business.”

“I don’t think you know what that means,” Bonnie teased. Caroline huffed. “Come on, that potion is time sensitive.”

XXX

Mystic Falls, February 2012

The room was nice. It was a bit bland, really, but Caroline put aside her urge to give it a splash of colour and paid attention to the person sitting on the other side of the sofa.

Rebekah Mikaelson was intense. She walked everywhere like the ground should be grateful she stood on it, made jeans look like the latest couture, and had a specific way of sneering that would make anyone it was directed towards wish they had made any decision at any point in their life to ensure they had never ended up in front of her. The vibe she exuded was dangerous in a way Caroline knew she would never achieve.

“A – a garden? Like, you’d plant him like a tree?” Caroline asked weakly. It sounded utterly insane to her, but then again, vampires were real. The young woman sitting with her on a sofa in her childhood town was actually an ancient being who had seen more centuries than Caroline had cities.

“It is a prison. He would be a prisoner.”

“For how long?”

If vampire jail was real, then maybe vampire judges were? Was there a specific sentence?

“However long you like. Of course, you’re human, and the length of punishment you have in mind may need to be expanded,” Rebekah said airily. Caroline really wasn’t sure if she meant to sound condescending.

“What would you say if it was you?”

“I would string him up in bear traps and continuously drain him of blood until I got bored, then I would improvise. See where the mood took me.”

Caroline hadn’t known Rebekah long, but she should have known better than to ask. She decided to change the subject, because the brain fog that had been clearing earlier was building up the more she talked about Damon.

“What was your favourite century?”

“Pardon?” Rebekah said, looking surprised.

“Or decade. I love the fifties. We’ve got a decade dance coming up and the theme is the fifties.” Caroline paused. “The 1950s,” she clarified.

“The 1920s. Of all the years I have lived, the 1920s were and are the most glamorous, indulgent, delightful decade.”

“I’m regretting not choosing the 20s as a theme now.” She looked at Rebekah, struck with sudden inspiration through the fog. “If I changed it, would you be willing to help?”

“Help? How could I help with a high school dance?”

“Uh – authenticity? The clothes, the décor, the music, the dancing? Oh, it’ll be so chic! The final decade dance of my high school career should be epic!”

Rebekah eyed her. Caroline couldn’t put her finger on the expression.

“I suppose, in the interest of authenticity and doing justice to the decade, I can assist you.”

Caroline beamed.

XXX

The return to Mystic Falls for the first half of summer break didn’t start in the best way. Caroline had so many plans – reunions, movie nights, the plethora of events the council were putting on, to name a few. Her mom would work too hard, and Caroline would stop in with meals and reminders to sleep and use the deputies Liz had so carefully trained. It would be a magnificent summer.

Then she saw her bedroom.

The exact details escaped her on first inspection. Mostly, Caroline saw that the colour scheme had changed from pink to green. It was different. She wasn’t prepared. She hadn’t said anything or been asked anything or warned. Why wouldn’t her mom warn her? Why couldn’t she breathe?

“Honey, you need to focus on my breathing, okay? I need you to copy me.”

Liz sounded like she was speaking from underwater. Caroline was trembling like the drug addicts she’d seen at the station as a child, body begging for a hit of something she’d been too young to understand. She jumped when Liz touched her knee and the hand was quickly retracted. Sweat was pooling under her arms and at the base of her spine. Along her hairline. In her shoes.

“Why?” she whispered eventually, when her breathing wasn’t ragged and her sight wasn’t foggy. Liz, at least, looked incredibly contrite.

“I’m sorry, Caroline. I should have told you. I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“But why?”

“I didn’t want you to be scared of being by yourself in that room.”

And. Oh. Caroline hadn’t thought about that at all. She wondered what her reaction would have been if it still looked the same as it had when she’d left for Tulane. At that point, she’d been living with it for months. Then she’d moved into dorms, and it was better, and she had weekly Cami sessions that exposed her trauma like a raw nerve and oh.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Liz said sadly. Caroline smiled shakily and cupped her mom’s face.

“Thank you,” she said, soft and loving. She had the best mom. “I’d like to see it properly.”

Caroline held Liz’s hand when they returned to the redecorated bedroom. Gone were the soft pink walls, replaced with dark green. The bed was totally new and had a gorgeous, dark wooden frame. There was a fluffy, white rug at the foot of it. All her white furniture had been painted pale brown. Even the old carpet had been replaced with a fresh beige one.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

“I made sure to put everything back exactly where I found it.”

Caroline looked at the perfectly organised books, the particular order of her stationary on her little desk, and the exact angles of all her pictures. She beamed.

“Thank you, mommy.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

XXX

On a gloriously sunny day five weeks into summer break, Caroline had to use the entryway to the compound to prop herself up. She was laughing so hard she couldn’t feel her legs, tears streaming from her eyes, and breaths leaving her in wheezes. Opposite her, Bonnie wasn’t much better. Every time their eyes met, they would be back at square one. Rebekah wasn’t as affected. She stood to the side, grinning widely, but far more composed than either of them.

“Phew – haven’t laughed like that in years,” Caroline gasped. Rebekah handed her the iced smoothie she’d had to surrender when the giggles kicked in.

“My lungs hurt,” Bonnie said breathlessly.

“I’m so glad you shared this with me. I have many ideas for Elena’s birthday next year,” Rebekah mused.

“Elena will stake you if she sees so much as a clown nose,” Bonnie warned lightly.

“And she packs a hell of a swing these days. I’d hate to subject some poor performer to her right hook,” Caroline added. Rebekah shrugged just as they reached the courtyard. All three froze. Rebekah huffed in pure annoyance.

There was a body on the ground.

Thankfully, there was no blood. It was still grotesque. The body was on its front, but the head was twisted 180 degrees, facing the ceiling. The eyes were kind of bulging. Caroline gagged.

“Vampire,” Rebekah said, bitterly kicking the corpse. Or did it count as a corpse if it was a vampire? Whoever it was would heal eventually.

“Um – why the hell is there a body?” Bonnie asked like it was the obvious question. Caroline vaguely wondered if the residents of the compound even bothered asking that anymore.

“Niklaus is in a mood,” Elijah answered. He breezed in behind them and seemingly ignored Rebekah’s scowl. “I apologise for this. I would have cleaned it up if I had been home.”

“Why is he in a mood?” Caroline asked.

“It could be one or more of thousands of options. As it is not raining bodies, one assumes it is on the tamer end of the scale.”

He was so casual. It was weird.

“Right. And where is he?”

“In his study – Miss Forbes, where are you going?”

“God, he’s gone formal,” Bonnie muttered. Caroline grinned slightly to herself and ignored Elijah, heading for the stairs.

“Relax, big brother. Caroline is perfectly safe,” Rebekah said. Caroline tapped the necklace around her throat fondly. Freya had given Bonnie a protection spell and taught her how to apply it to objects that would protect the wearer. The charms not only made Caroline and Elena safer but came with the added benefit of mollifying Lissa’s constant anxiety.

Klaus’s study was at the very end of the first floor. She could hear opera music, though it wasn’t the deafening volume that signalled he was in the “zone”. It was that reason she didn’t feel guilty about walking in immediately after knocking.

“I seem to remember you threatening to wash Kol’s clothes in vervain when he did not wait for an answer before entering your bedroom,” Klaus said dryly. Caroline rolled her eyes. He made no attempt to hide his latest masterpiece from her, so she shifted to see it better. Not for the first – or twentieth time – she found that it was her.

“Josh still gets your dry cleaning, right?” she joked. His expression was so deadpan that she giggled. “Why are you pouting?”

“I don’t pout, love.”

“What would you call it then? Brooding? Sulking?”

“Contemplating.”

“Ugh. Why are you contemplating? Or should I ask what you’re contemplating?”

“There are rumblings through the city of budding darkness. Yet, upon investigation, no one seems to know anything,” he said darkly. He swirled a brush into light blue paint and started filling in her eyes.

“They don’t know, or they won’t tell you?”

“That, Caroline, is precisely what has me on edge.”

“So, you broke someone’s neck?”

“Nora was being insubordinate.”

Caroline heaved a sigh and flopped onto the sofa. Klaus was such a drama queen.

“Is it multiple factions or just one?” she asked, tilting her head when he gestured for her to.

“Another reason to be cautious. I don’t know.”

“Come on, Klaus, this isn’t hard. You have liaisons for a reason.”

“Liaisons who are vampires and, suddenly, do not have the trust of any other factions. A rebellion is brewing.”

She rolled her eyes.

“What are they gonna do? Kill you?”

“My siblings and I may be unkillable. The same cannot be said for some of our nearest and dearest,” he said, eyeing her significantly. She flushed slightly. “Protective enchantments only go so far. We have been taken off guard before. I will not let it happen again.”

Caroline fell silent. As Klaus returned to painting – with slightly more vicious strokes than before – she thought of the people she loved. She didn’t measure the time that passed, but it was a while before she spoke again.

“What are you going to do?”

“Whatever I have to do.” He glanced at her. The look was akin to the one he’d worn when speaking of Henrik. “And I’m sorry, love, but you’re not going to like it.”

XXX

“I think this is extreme.”

“Duh. You going to tell Klaus he’s being insane?”

“It wouldn’t do anything,” Elena bemoaned. “Even Bekah’s on his side.”

“Do they have to be right there all the time though?”

“You know I can hear you, right?” Thierry said. He swiped his card before any of them could blink. Caroline sneered at him playfully and swiped her herbal tea.

“At least it’s you three, I guess,” Bonnie said, not that she looked happy about it. Their group moved to a booth at the back of the coffee shop where Diego and Marcel were already waiting. “Though isn’t this a demotion?”

“Depends how you look at it. Klaus isn’t gonna have baby vampires as your bodyguards,” Marcel said, smiling gratefully when Caroline handed him a coffee. “I choose to be flattered.”

“Bex is an Original. Why doesn’t she count?” Caroline grumbled.

“Klaus is keeping her busy scouring the bayou,” Thierry said.

“All hands on deck for the Originals and their significant others,” Diego said. Caroline raised her eyebrows. “Well, almost all of them. He’s paranoid but Klaus isn’t quite at the point of dragging Finn and Sage here.”

Caroline had yet to meet Finn and Sage. They had cancelled on New Year’s, and there hadn’t been any other events to tempt them back. None of Finn’s siblings seemed surprised – though Freya had been despondent – about his unwillingness to reunite.

“Liss said she was back on witch duty,” Bonnie said. Thierry nodded.

“A lot of the elders of the local covens were kids or teenagers back when she was the liaison, so they remember her.”

“But, like, were you doing a crap job?” Caroline asked. Marcel snorted into his mug. Thierry smirked.

“Nah. Klaus is bringing out the big guns, that’s all. Elijah has taken over with the humans too.”

“Isn’t that a bit transparent?” Bonnie said, stirring sugar into her coffee.

“They’re not trying for subtlety.” Caroline was sure her incredulous expression was identical to Elena and Bonnie’s. “I know. They don’t think it would get them anywhere this time.”

“Does Elijah have hives?” Elena asked teasingly.

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Diego said. He checked his watch. “I’m on the night shift at the Garden. When are you heading back to the compound?”

“Seriously? Two bodyguards will be fine,” Caroline said. The entire thing was so over-protective and paranoia-driven, but they weren’t in a place to argue.

“I’m not making that call,” he retorted. He looked at Marcel who sighed with the weariness that showed his age.

“We’re good. Go. If Klaus has a problem with it, I’ll tell him to get nightwalkers in the Garden instead of patrolling the streets.”

Diego kissed Thierry goodbye, waved to the rest, and hastily departed. Caroline raised an eyebrow at Marcel.

“Street patrols? Really?”

“This better get resolved before classes start. I do not want to explain my new shadow to anyone else,” Bonnie muttered derisively. Elena silently toasted her agreement. Bonnie continued, playing with her new braids, “My hairdresser asked if Diego was my boyfriend. If she hadn’t done such a good job, I would have cut her tip in half just for the hetero bullshit of that question.”

“Diego found it hilarious,” Thierry said. He was grinning with potent glee.

“Still better than Cami. I asked her not to burn sage at Caroline’s appointment yesterday so I could hear if there was any danger. She broke out this orb thing that made a vampire-repelling noise – Bonnie, if you make a dog whistle joke, I’ll make sure you never leave the compound again – for the whole hour.”

“That’s my Grams’ spell. You can cast it on an object and even non-magical people can activate it with a word,” Bonnie said brightly.

“How did Cami get it?” Elena asked.

“Me. It was meant to be for protection, but this works too,” Caroline said. Marcel grimaced sourly.

“What counts as a “baby” vampire?” Bonnie asked.

“Thirty years or younger,” Marcel said. Thierry hummed.

“Really? I’d say fifty or younger.”

“Any vamp worth their salt should have sorted themselves out by the third decade.”

“With help, maybe. Not everyone has help.”

“Our guys do and that’s why Bonnie was asking.”

Bonnie tilted her head in Marcel’s direction, silently confirming he was right. Thierry huffed.

“What I’m hearing is you barely made the cut,” Elena teased. He rolled his eyes. Marcel grinned, but not at any of them.

“Sophie – a sight for sore eyes,” he said. His voice had lowered. Oh, my god. He was flirting. Caroline grinned at Elena and Bonnie, who had both perked up with her.

“Marcel,” Sophie said. She was a dark-haired beauty with light skin and an angular face. She didn’t seem nearly as pleased to see Marcel as he was her. Her expression softened – barely – when she glanced at Thierry.

“Hi!” Caroline said when it became clear Marcel wasn’t going to introduce them. “I’m Caroline.”

“Bonnie.”

“Elena.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Caroline finished with her Miss Mystic smile firmly in place. Sophie nodded in acknowledgement.

“I should get going.”

Sophie departed almost before she’d finished speaking. Caroline raised an eyebrow at Marcel, who was steadily avoiding eye contact with all of them. Even Thierry was intrigued.

“Thought you two stopped pretending to hate each other?” he said bluntly.

“Our arrangement is no longer in place.”

“Aren’t you a little old for friends with benefits?” Elena said dryly. Marcel scowled. “What? It never works for any number of reasons.”

“We had a difference of opinion.”

“We?” Bonnie asked doubtfully. “Or your respective factions?” Caroline made a confused noise. “Sophie’s a witch.”

“Witches are fickle,” Marcel said grumpily. Caroline snorted. Elena rolled her eyes so hard that her head fell backwards onto the top of the booth.

“What do you know about her?” Bonnie asked. There was an intense light in her eyes like there was whenever she was pulled away from research with Freya to eat or sleep. Caroline glanced at Elena. She looked faintly concerned.

“Not much. We didn’t really talk, you know?”

“Thierry?”

“Uh – not a lot. I mostly spoke with the coven elders. She has a sister and a niece. Doesn’t take shit. That’s about the extent of it.”

“Would you know if she was planning something? Would she act differently?”

“Bonnie,” Elena said softly. Bonnie didn’t look at her.

“No, I wouldn’t. What’s got you in a twist?” Marcel said. Thierry shook his head when the inquisitive stare was turned on him.

“Nothing,” Bonnie said quickly. Caroline frowned. “I’m tired. We should get back.”

As they gathered their things, Caroline and Elena exchanged worried looks, but kept mum. Bonnie would tell them. Eventually.

XXX

Bonnie stared at the door. It was a nice door. The glass was frosted and tinted green. The wooden frame was dark and polished to a lovely shine. There were curtains or blinds on the inside, shielding any movement from her eyes, and her presence from any occupants.

Well. Unless those occupants could hear her heartbeat or smell her, which they could. Bonnie had forgotten that little nugget of information until Klaus opened the door looking amused and curious.

“Oh, shut it,” she said with an eye roll. He stepped back to allow her inside. It was lighter than Elijah’s study, but no less elegant. Paintings of many kinds hung from the walls. Soft jazz came from a record player – of course he had one of those – in the corner behind his desk.

“What can I do for you, Bonnie?”

Klaus wasn’t someone Bonnie spent a lot of time around outside of family dinners. She had been welcomed into his family, and he treated her with the same respect he did people he cared about, but they didn’t really chit-chat. It made her feel a bit guilty for bringing him a problem. Only a bit though. It was, largely, a problem he would have interest in.

“You reached out for help when you needed it from people more qualified than you,” Lissa had said.

“Something’s happening with the witches. My magic is reacting somehow. I don’t know what it is, but it’s nothing good,” she said bluntly and tried not to feel like a traitor to her own kind. If her magic wasn’t liking it, she justified, then it was cause for concern.

“I see,” Klaus said musingly. “Have you spoken to your grandmother about this feeling?”

“No. She doesn’t engage with the magic of the city as much as I do.”

“You have taken to your surroundings spectacularly well.”

His smile was fond.

“Either way – it’s dark, and it’s dangerous. I might be able to commune with some spirts to see if they can tell me anything.”

“The ancestors of New Orleans are not likely to indulge your investigation. Perhaps you should refrain from spiritual conversations for the time being.”

“The ancestors can’t do shit. They’re not my ancestors.”

“I have long since learned not to underestimate them. Is there no safer way to try extracting information?”

Bonnie’s mind drifted to her second meeting with Kol.

“Why would Grams say I was psychic when I’m a witch?”

“Witches have been masquerading in the mortal world as psychics for centuries, Bonnie. Most witches can sense things about people and places, though it is much easier if those things have magic. Some witches are blessed with genuine precognition.”

“Seeing the future is a thing?” she said breathlessly.

“In a way. It takes some interpretation. At least for now, you can see the truth. For instance, when you touched me, you sensed I was a vampire. You can do that with others – even those you don’t know are vampires before you’ve ever met them,” he said, winking teasingly.

“I dreamed about you too.”

She was grateful for her dark skin. It wouldn’t completely mask the blush, but the sudden flaring of heat in her cheeks would have been glaringly obvious if she’d been paler.

“Do you remember it?” Kol asked curiously. It calmed her pounding heart that he didn’t tease her.

“Not really. Just your face. I think I saw your siblings too.”

“Looks like you have the true makings of a psychic, little witch.”

Bonnie met Klaus’s weirdly patient gaze.

“I need to speak to Katie.”

Chapter Text

“Absolutely not.”

“Liss-.”

“No.”

“Elisaveta, perhaps we should-.”

“And you!” Lissa exploded, pointing accusingly at Klaus. “Encouraging this! You – you prick.”

Bonnie’s mouth dropped open. Rebekah looked torn between delight and bafflement. Elena laughed incredulously. Klaus, impressively, didn’t seem bothered.

“It’s hardly as if she’ll be jumping into an ant hill smothered in honey. Bonnie is quite capable of looking after herself,” he said. Caroline was shaking her head at him warningly. Lissa stood, rage pouring off her and tinting her eyes red.

“This is not about her abilities, Klaus. Extracting information from a witch, even with a subtle touch, is likely to attract attention. If Katie does not notice, someone else will.”

“Elisaveta,” Elijah said firmly. Bonnie grimaced. He sounded the slightest bit patronising instead of placating, and either one was bound to irk Lissa more regardless.

“Elijah,” she responded coldly. “Try to talk me down,” she added daringly. Thankfully – for him and the entire population of New Orleans – he didn’t speak again. Lissa turned her gaze to Bonnie, who was relieved that it had returned to dark brown. “BB, will your use of magic be detected by Katie or any other witch?”

“No,” Bonnie said confidently. “I tested on Grams last night, and she didn’t notice even though she was actively looking for it.”

Lissa pressed her lips together. Sheila had been sitting to the side, not commenting at all. She nodded once when a questioning glance was thrown her way. Bonnie tilted her chin up. She could do it. Even if Katie (or Sophie or whoever happened to be there) noticed, Bonnie had several perfectly crafted lies available.

“And Diego?” Lissa asked like it was being pulled from her. Bonnie frowned, but Lissa was looking at Klaus challengingly. “He will not be able to go into Jardin Gris with you. A vampire’s presence is likely to upset rather than encourage.”

“The entirety of New Orleans knows how paranoid Nik is. They’re bound to have noticed our human friends walking around with additional protection,” Rebekah offered. “It’s likely to spark more suspicion if Diego isn’t at Bonnie’s side.”

Lissa sighed. Her forehead was wrinkled deeply as she frowned at the ground. Eventually, she met Bonnie’s pleading gaze evenly.

“Please be careful.”

“I always am, Liss.”

XXX

Kol came home. If it hadn’t been completely obvious and there weren’t a thousand different things pointing to the building tensions in New Orleans, that would have been the latest clue on a list so long Bonnie had stopped counting about 200 clues ago.

“I’ve spent more time in this compound in the last two years than I did in the century after it was built,” he said, stirring an obscene amount of sugar into his coffee. Then he frowned. “Awake,” he tacked on airily.

“Still,” Bonnie said. He would call and text, but she hadn’t seen him since Thierry and Diego’s wedding eight months previously. She got it. Kol’s relationship with his siblings was different – not necessarily bad, but different.

“Do you want to fill me in on this plan or am I to guess? Pass me that mug, would you, darling?”

“Elijah wants to be subtle.”

“Of course he does. He’s ripped out more hearts than all of us, but gods forbid he does it without lulling them into a false sense of security first.”

“Anyway, he said I should dig over a series of visits. I can’t just walk up to her and grab her shoulder, so he wants us to “manufacture circumstances in which touch is a necessity”,” she said, making sure to use sarcastic finger quotes. Kol scoffed.

“False sense of security,” he said pointedly. “Are you going to seduce her? Tea strainer on your right please.”

“What? No!” Bonnie could feel her face getting dangerously warm. “I’m not interested in her like that. It would be cruel to toy with her feelings that way.”

“Hm. Morals. Interesting. Biscuits too – no, the chocolate ones.”

She was not going to ask how many times he had taken a similar route to get what he wanted. The answer was likely to give her a headache.

“Anyway,” she said as sternly as she could, all the while wondering how many times she could say that in one conversation. “I think Freya should see a doctor.”

“I need to teach you how to naturally segue,” he mused. She looked at him dryly.

“It’s why I came in here. Not my fault you went on a tangent.”

“Regardless. Explain the doctor theory.”

They left the kitchen, armed with three steaming mugs.

“If we can see whether her cells are ageing and at what rate, we’ve at least answered that question. Then we can focus on the magical side of it.”

“Genius. However, we do not have a trusted medical doctor on retainer,” Kol said, holding open a door. Bonnie took up a spot in an armchair. Freya was already in the small room – a cross between a study and living room that no one had any particular claim on. She took her tea with a nod of gratitude.

“Elijah’s looking into some locals who trained directly under Dr Xiang,” Freya said. Kol’s eyes flashed. Bonnie didn’t shift – a near thing – but she did frown warily. Despite his mood changing like the wind, she hadn’t seen him angry before. The firm set of his mouth and the small dent between his brows suggested she was about to.

“Dr Xiang was a cardiologist,” he said stiffly.

“All we need is blood work, Kol.”

Bonnie watched the siblings have a silent stare-down. The room felt chilly. She cupped her mug tighter and tried not to move.

“Fine. Do what you will.”

He stormed out, slamming the door for good measure. The glass rattled in the frame and a picture fell off the wall. Bonnie tried to smile encouragingly at Freya, but she really wasn’t sure what her face did. Whatever it was made Freya laugh softly.

“I think we should try the twelfth century grimoires today.”

“By “we”, I think you mean you. Those ones aren’t in Latin or anything resembling a language I understand,” Bonnie said teasingly. Freya smirked.

“Then you’re in for another learning experience.”

Bonnie groaned.

XXX

For the sake of some people’s (Lissa) sanity, Bonnie entered Jardin Gris on her third manufactured visit with her Grams at her side. Diego was dutifully following. As Rebekah had expected, Katie hadn’t batted an eye the first time Bonnie showed up with her guardian vampire. Just like the previous visits, Katie greeted them with a smile.

“Katie, this is my Grams, Sheila Bennett. Grams, this is Katie,” Bonnie introduced. Diego went to what had been described as the “tourist section” and eyed some fancy crucifixes with an amused chuckle.

“It’s an honour to meet you, Mrs Bennett,” Katie said, almost reverent.

“You’ve got a beautiful setup here, Katie,” Sheila said. “Especially for one so young.”

“The shop runs in my family. My great grandmother started it, and it’s been passed down through generations.”

“Tourism must help.”

Bonnie let her grandmother charm the local witches and drifted towards the back, where she may as well have a nook named after her. The compound always seemed to run out of things at different times or people would forget to stock up when they got the chance. The magic of the shop was tremulous. The only other witches were her Grams and Katie, but the air felt heavy, like Katie had been pouring magic out in droves not long ago.

When Bonnie returned to the counter, Diego was handing over $20 for a silver crucifix embedded with black stones. She didn’t ask.

“Katie, do you have anything for potions burns?” she asked instead.

“What kind?” Katie asked. Bonnie rolled up her right sleeve and held out her arm. Katie leant close, inspecting the injury through the clingfilm. “What was in the potion?”

“I’d like to know that too,” Sheila said disparagingly. Bonnie grinned innocently. Her Grams wasn’t fond of some of the magic Kol and Freya showed her. Then again, she wasn’t fond of anything involving “vampire business” despite her good relationship with Lissa and (some) Originals. Rather than say anything, Bonnie held out the list of ingredients to Katie.

“It wasn’t dark, Grams,” she said as reassuringly as possible. Sheila huffed.

“That, at least, I believe. They know better than that.”

“Mind if I take a look?” Katie asked once she’d perused the list (and put it under the counter where Grams couldn’t reach it). Bonnie shrugged and gently unwrapped the clingfilm. It was fortuitous timing, really. She had been very close to spilling a drink or something to get away with touching Katie casually.

“Seriously, we can give you some blood,” Diego said as casually as he would have if he hadn’t been told to. Katie didn’t hide her disgusted grimace very well.

“I’m fine, D,” Bonnie promised. Katie visibly relaxed, then took Bonnie’s wrist. Bonnie did her best not to stiffen as several images and sounds hit her.

A statue – an angel statue – maybe a gravestone?

Heavy rain.

A metallic slashing noise – a knife?

Screaming.

Fire.

Her hiss was perfectly timed with Katie pressing a little too hard on the burn. She had forgotten how disorienting and overwhelming the visions could be. She twitched away. Katie smiled apologetically.

“Sorry,” she said warmly. “The magic hasn’t done any damage. Natural remedies – honey, aloe vera, witch hazel – should do the trick.”

“Thanks, Katie,” Bonnie said. She looked at Diego. “You ready, or do you want a garlic necklace?”

“Child, I’ve told you about respectin’ your elders,” Sheila said in fond exasperation. She shepherded the out into the street.

“Thank you, Miss Sheila,” Diego said smugly.

Bonnie’s mind spun the whole way back to the compound. The visions needed proper dissection. There was likely more hidden in what she’d seen and heard that hadn’t registered at first, so she would need to carefully sift through everything one piece at a time. It had been a long time she’d had a psychic flash, but that was necessarily a bad thing. In that time, she’d become a more proficient witch. And she was surrounded by people who had literal centuries of practice decrypting mysteries.

“Sheila! What a spectacular surprise!” Kol exclaimed. He blurred across the courtyard and kissed the back of Grams’ hand. Bonnie choked down her laughter when Grams rolled her eyes.

“I thought I’d stop by and see the vampire who tried to blow up my grandbaby.”

Kol’s face was a picture.

“In my defence, I wasn’t trying to blow her up.”

“I can’t say I’ll have the same qualms about you,” Sheila said calmly. Bonnie, suitably amused, drifted towards Klaus’s study. She had some visions to interpret.

XXX

“Relena?”

“Bad.”

“Elekah?”

“Worse.”

“Rebena?”

“Sounds like that awful drink.”

“I give up!” Caroline cried, throwing her hands up to really drive home her exasperation. Bonnie, previously watching in amusement from the door, joined her on the sofa.

“What are you doing?” she asked. Her eyes were so tired, and her brain felt like it was coming out her ears. But she couldn’t go to sleep yet, so a mundane conversation would have to do as a distraction.

“Bex has decided that “Beklena” is no longer a suitable ship name,” Caroline groused.

“It was when we were a fledgling relationship. As we have flourished, so should our name,” Rebekah said cheerfully.

“It doesn’t have to blend together exactly, you know,” Caroline said.

“I want it to, though.”

“What about the first syllables?” Bonnie suggested sleepily. She could almost see the thought bubble above Caroline’s head as she worked through what Bonnie had said. Her face lit up.

“OMG, yes! Rebel,” she said jubilantly. Bonnie blinked slowly towards Rebekah, who was contemplating it.

“I like it. Yes, we shall be Rebel.”

“Marvellous,” Klaus said, poking his head around the door. “Dinner is ready. Bonnie, perhaps you should go to bed after you eat.”

“M’fine,” Bonnie mumbled. Sure, Rebekah had to help her stand, and she could feel Caroline hovering the whole way to the dining room. At least there were no stairs involved.

“Bonnie Sheila, when was the last time you slept?” Lissa demanded the moment she sat down.

“Last night,” she protested. Wait, no, that wasn’t right. She’d seen Katie yesterday, so she’d been working on the details of the vision, which mean the last time she’d slept was the night before last. Okay, that wasn’t too bad. Someone poured her some juice and put a plate of food in front of her.

“This is your fault,” Lissa was scolding someone.

“I thought we agreed Bonnie was a big girl capable of making her own decisions,” Klaus said dismissively.

“Elements,” Bonnie said before a full-on argument could break out. Though they were common in the Mikaelson house (expected behaviour when siblings – especially these ones – were around each other for prolonged periods), she wasn’t entirely certain she would be conscious long enough to tell them what she’d worked out. “I saw pouring rain – almost torrential – and fire. Pretty sure there was some dirt. The elements have something to do with this threat.”

“That doesn’t really narrow it down,” Kol said, not unkindly. She picked at her roast potatoes. What day was it?

“There is also this,” Lissa said, placing a piece of paper in the centre of the table. She had drawn the angel statue according to Bonnie’s description and it was scarily accurate. Bonnie had legit no idea how artists did that. “I believe the same statue rests over the Malchance mausoleum.”

Kol huffed.

“Perhaps this is all a revenge scheme, Nik,” he said bitterly. When Bonnie glanced at him, he had just caught a bread roll thrown at his head.

“There was screaming – girls, I’m pretty sure, and they were young. I don’t know how many exactly but there were at least three,” she continued. Whoever was on her right poured the exact amount of gravy she liked over her roast beef.

“And you heard a knife, yes?” Klaus checked. She nodded. It made her dizzy, so she stopped quickly. The person on her left coaxed her to drink some juice – apple. God, she was so tired.

“Sounds sacrificial,” Freya said thoughtfully.

“That sort of magic hasn’t been practiced here for centuries,” Marcel said grimly.

“Not just here. It fell out of fashion for most witches who don’t live in the middle of nowhere and therefore can’t be linked to mass murder,” Kol said. He sounded inappropriately cheerful, which, okay. Par for the course. He sobered only a moment later. “Ancestral magic is about control. It cannot be practiced outside its location of origin, and the power of the living witches is dependent on the willingness of the dead to provide it. The living have to “prove” their loyalty to their magic and ancestral lines when the ancestors choose to withdraw power.”

“And they do this . . . how?” Caroline asked in a tone that suggested she didn’t want to know.

“It depends on the coven. Those within New Orleans have a ritual called the Harvest. It hasn’t been successfully completed whilst we have lived here.”

“Successfully?” Elena groaned.

“Hm, yes. We had no idea what it was until 1914,” Kol briefly glared at Klaus and Elijah, “Despite having stopped several attempts. There have been none since the 18^th century, however.”

“What is it?” Caroline asked.

“It’s a ritual sacrifice. Four young witches – usually girls, what a surprise – are “chosen” by the ancestors. They have their throats slit, they end up in ancestral limbo, and they’re resurrected. New power is granted to the coven.”

“That’s – that’s barbaric!”

“Obviously.”

“Now that we know what it is, can we stop it?” Bonnie asked through a yawn.

“I was under the impression that pissing off the ancestors was a bad idea,” Klaus said casually.

“How do we even know this came from the ancestors? Or that they’ve communed with them? This could just be desperation,” Bonnie suggested.

“Desperation over what? The witches are thriving.”

“Under vampire rule,” Lissa said. Bonnie twitched and looked at her. Klaus’s eyebrow was sharp enough to pick a lock. “The majority of witches dislike vampires. The ancestors have had centuries to build up hatred. Perhaps they wish to overthrow you.”

“Or they think their descendants have gone soft by co-existing with us,” Marcel said. “And they want proof that their loyalty remains with their own kind.”

“Or both,” Kol said.

“We could debate this for hours,” Caroline said diplomatically. “But we need to focus on stopping the murder of four people. I thought witches liked balance – that doesn’t sound too balanced to me.”

“A fair point, Caroline,” Klaus said. Bonnie was half-asleep, but she’d have to be deaf, blind, and unconscious to miss the proud smile curving his mouth, and the gooey fondness coating his words. “I would like to avoid killing nine covens worth of witches, so I am open to suggestions on the intricacies of this Harvest. Namely, how to find out when they intend on performing it and, if we are very lucky, finding out who the sacrifices will be.”

“We speak to a witch,” Lissa said as though it was obvious. “Bonnie, did you happen to get a feel for Katie’s feelings on this depraved ritual?”

“Nope.”

“We can still talk to her. Thierry and I shall go tomorrow and-.”

“Sophie,” Bonnie rasped. Yeah, she needed a nap. “She was there.”

“Sophie Deveraux? Where was she?” Lissa asked gently. Bonnie yawned again, jaw cracking.

“In Jardin Gris!” Caroline exclaimed in realisation. Bonnie nodded vaguely. “Bonnie said there was another witch hiding, way back when I first saw Katie was upset, and before we realised this was a huge problem.”

“You think we should talk to Sophie?” Lissa asked. Bonnie couldn’t decipher the tone.

“Maybe. She can be a backup if Katie doesn’t work out.”

“If I may,” Elijah interjected softly. Bonnie felt ten times more awake when she saw the misery he was fighting back. She had spent the last year familiarising herself with the facial expressions and habits of all of them. His anxious expression wasn’t too different from his resting face, but it was enough to see the firm set of his mouth and the tiniest tick in his jaw.

“If you tell us to be subtle, ‘Lijah, I cannot be held responsible for my actions,” Kol drawled dramatically. It didn’t lighten the suddenly sombre mood. Elijah seemed intent on looking anywhere except Kol.

“We can avoid showing our hand so early,” he said slowly. Lissa was frowning deeply, which concerned Bonnie even more. If Liss couldn’t figure out what he was on about, the rest didn’t have much of a chance. “If we wish to know why the dead have decided this is the best route, then we should ask the dead.”

“Elijah, I know you are not suggesting summoning the spirit of a bloody ancestor into this house,” Rebekah sniped. Bonnie swallowed. No, she didn’t think that was what Elijah was suggesting at all.

“Of course not,” Elijah said stiffly. He only made eye contact with Klaus. “Someone closer to home.”

Kol’s fork snapped. Bonnie jumped. Everyone went very, very still.

“No,” Klaus growled. Bonnie tried not to be too surprised. “She found peace, Elijah. The chance of her knowing anything is negligible.”

“It is less risk than interrogating witches who could very well turn on us.”

“What if she didn’t find peace?” Freya asked reluctantly. “There is a séance we can do which wouldn’t disturb her if she has moved on. If she’s on the Other Side, she could still help.”

“Et tu, sister?” Kol said. He sounded – and looked – devastated.

“Kol-.”

“Fuck all of you,” he hissed. He had blurred from the room before the pieces of his fork clattered onto his empty plate. Klaus looked like he wouldn’t be far behind. Lissa’s damp eyes were watching Elijah with utter betrayal. Rebekah was silently seething.

“I’m . . . going to bed,” Bonnie whispered. She stood on unsteady legs and didn’t have the heart to complain when Rebekah swept her up. When she was deposited on her bed and her shoes removed, she grasped at Rebekah’s wrist. “I won’t do it if he asks,” she breathed. Her thoughts were barely coherent, so it would be a miracle if she’d spoken clearly.

“Do what?” Rebekah asked, voice just as soft. Bonnie patted her hand clumsily. Sleep was nearly enveloping her completely. She just about managed to voice her thoughts.

“I wouldn’t summon Ava.”

Chapter Text

Bonnie groaned into her pillow. She was the perfect level of comfort; exactly the right temperature, the mattress hugging her side just so, and the blankets a happy weight on top of her. There was no desire to move, but she just knew her alarm was about to go off. It was in her bones.

“Hi Bonnie.”

She groaned again. Why? If it was an emergency, she’d have been dragged from the bed. Why did she need to be interrupted before her alarm if it wasn’t urgent? Still unwilling to move, she stretched out her magic to identify the perpetrator. When she didn’t recognise the signature, she sat bolt upright.

“Honestly, thought this would be easier. You’re still asleep, you know? It’s not like I’m actually disturbing you.”

Bonnie blinked. Several times. Quickly. She glanced around the room. There was her vanity mirror, framed with dozens of photographs. There were her bookshelves that people kept adding books to and thought she didn’t notice. There was her mask from the ball, her notes on her summer reading prep for the sophomore year, and a woman. She was new.

“You’re . . . you’re Ava.”

“Last I checked.”

Ava was sitting on the dresser opposite Bonnie’s bed, swinging her legs lightly. She looked around her mid-twenties. The pale skin of her face, neck, and arms was scarred with countless lines and half-moon marks. Her waist-length, pumpkin-coloured curls were slightly messy. Twinkling eyes were a curious shade of grey green.

“What – how – why?”

Bonnie wasn’t sure if she should be offended by the look Ava gave her.

“I decided to dream-jack you rather than wait for a séance. Freya would probably do it, but I’ve never been very patient.”

“You didn’t find peace,” Bonnie said. Her heart clenched miserably at the thought.

“Depends how you look at it. The Other Side is pretty rad if you’re in good with Q.” Ava’s expression seemed relaxed and calm enough. “So, I’ve got a good news/bad news situation. Are you one of those people who prefers them in a particular order?”

“Uh – no.”

“Good, ‘cause I wasn’t going to listen to you anyway. Good news: I’ve got the 411 on the NOLA witches. Bad news: well, everything I’m about to tell you.”

“How are you here?” Bonnie asked. It was a fair question, as far as she was concerned. Ava sighed like it was hugely inconvenient.

“I asked Q for an assist.” Bonnie stared blankly. Was she supposed to know who that was? “Qetsiyah. She’s a really distant Bennett ancestor, so she can connect to anyone in her line.”

“Right.”

Bonnie was not going to ask what Ava had done to earn such favour from the creator of the Other Side.

“You done?” She nodded. “Here’s the deal: yes, the witches of all nine covens are doing the Harvest. There’s one major ringleader – Bastiana – and she hates vampires. She’s spent months advocating for the Harvest because she wants the witches to be in control of the city. Thing is, I don’t know if it came from the ancestors, or if it’s all Bastiana. If it’s just her, there’s no guarantee the Harvest will get the covens more power. I’d guess it’s the opposite.”

“If they go against the ancestors, they could lose their magic,” Bonnie said. Ava nodded. There was a manic gleam in her eye. “How do we find out if it’s the ancestors?”

“Not a clue. They’re on a different plane than the Other Side. I’ve gotten all this information from eavesdropping on the living.”

“Wait.” Bonnie tried to get her mind to catch up with itself. “If they do the Harvest and the ancestors didn’t ask for it – what happens to the sacrifices?”

“They die for nothing,” Ava said unsympathetically. Bonnie grimaced. “FYI: The elders haven’t been forthcoming about the whole sacrifice fuckery. Anyone young enough to be chosen has no idea they’re going to have their throats slit.”

“Oh god.”

“I’ve gotta bounce. Mind if I do this again if I find out anything Need to Know?”

“No?” she said like a question before repeating it with more confidence. “Thank you.”

“I enjoyed this. It was like a field trip. Weird as shit, but fun.” For a moment, Bonnie wondered if she was going to go anywhere. Ava smiled faintly through her suddenly grief-stricken expression. “Could you maybe give them a message? A non-Harvest one?”

Bonnie nodded solemnly.

XXX

When morning dawned in New Orleans, Caroline was already awake. She had washed, dried, and styled her hair, emailed her mom, and finished her last summer reading book. There were few early risers in the compound, so she waited until a more suitable hour to venture out of her room. She went straight for the kitchen – coffee was needed, even if it meant she wouldn’t be allowed anymore for the rest of the day.

Kol was in the fully stocked dining room. She diverted her path immediately. Silently, he handed her the red coffee pot. She sat down cautiously. He was staring at the few crumbs and the smudge of egg yolk on his plate with a furrowed brow. It didn’t seem aggressive. More like . . . lost.

“Morning,” Elena said softly, like she was scared to disrupt the tentative atmosphere. She took a seat one away from Kol.

“I’ve decided to acknowledge my birthday this year,” Caroline announced. Elena beamed at her. “I’m not sure I’m ready for a party or anything big, but I’d like to celebrate. Maybe even get a cake. Okay, probably a cupcake, but yeah. What do you think?”

“I think that’s great, Care. You set the boundaries and we’ll fall in line.”

“No wrapping paper.”

Elena nodded understandingly. When Caroline had mentioned the birthday idea to Cami, she had said to really think about the aspects that could cause her harm. Wrapping paper was messy, and Caroline didn’t like mess on a good day, so Cami had suggested vetoing it to prevent an attack on an already high-anxiety day.

“Does the “anything big” apply to gifts?” Kol asked. She nearly jumped. He hadn’t so much as twitched since giving her the coffee.

“Yes,” Caroline said at the same time Elena said, “That applies to all of us and any days when gifts may be exchanged.”

Rebekah had been forced to return the matching Bulgari necklace and bracelet she’d gotten for Elena’s birthday a few weeks ago, so the insistence made sense. Caroline wasn’t positive, but she was sure at least Lissa and Kol had lied about their gifts after that because they’d both claimed theirs hadn’t been delivered yet.

“I’m going to need a guide on your definitions,” Kol said dryly. He’d been explicitly banned from getting Bonnie a birthday present by Sheila. Again. The jury was out on Christmas.

“Duh. I’ll send it in the group chat,” Caroline said. At least she could count on them adhering to her demands because Trauma. She started typing out the list and silence – much more comfortable than before – fell again.

“Well, I didn’t think you’d show your face today, little brother. Come out of your huff?” Klaus said jovially. He took his usual seat at the head of the table. Kol’s glare was beyond murderous. Caroline pinched the bridge of her nose.

“That’s rich coming from someone who daggers his siblings to win arguments. The last thousand years have been one, big tantrum from you,” Kol said coldly.

“Would you like to go back in your box? I’m sure some sleep would do you good.”

“I’d rather be daggered for a millennium than deal with your bull-headed scheming on matters you don’t understand.”

“Okay!” Caroline shouted, standing up so abruptly that her chair nearly toppled over. The brothers didn’t look at her, but she would fix that. “Klaus, stop being a dick. There was absolutely no need to come in here and goad Kol like that. I don’t care if you’re siblings. Kol, Klaus was on your side last night. We will find a way to deal with whatever the witches are up to, but we have to do it together.”

Elena was smiling pleasantly like Caroline hadn’t just exploded, but it was edged with encouragement when she glanced at Caroline. She appreciated the silent support.

“Fine,” Kol said. Caroline was so surprised he’d caved first that she sat down. “We should garner favour, Nik.”

“Pardon?” Klaus said. His expression suggested that was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

“You’ve tried changing the liaisons, had people looking out and doing little interrogations, but none of it worked. The tactics need to be changed.”

“And you wish to do this by stroking egos?”

“If I know anything about witches, it’s that they appreciate a good stroking.” Elena choked on her juice. “You know what I mean, darling. It must be genuine though.”

“How do you suggest we do this?”

Whatever Kol was or wasn’t about to suggest, he didn’t get the opportunity. Bonnie came hurtling into the dining room so fast she had to use a chair to stop. Her eyes were wild. Lissa, Elijah, Rebekah, Freya, and Marcel were behind her, the last two looking like they’d been dragged unceremoniously from bed.

“I spoke to Ava,” Bonnie gasped.

XXX

There had been no interruptions whilst Bonnie detailed her dream visit. Thierry and Diego had been brought in for the impromptu meeting. Everyone was varying degrees of miserable as the story went on. Caroline and Elena held Bonnie’s hands throughout whilst her distress grew. When it was over, the silence lasted all of three seconds.

“Well,” Klaus said, clapping his hands as he stood up. “Let’s find Bastiana and kill her.”

“Klaus!” Caroline protested.

“It would solve our problem.”

“Short term, yes,” Elijah said reasonably. “Then we will have to contend with offended witches and the Harvest. Situations such as these is why the phrase “pick your battles” exists.”

“Kol’s idea was schmoozing, so I think mine is automatically better.”

Elijah looked at Kol inquisitively, but he firmly avoided eye contact.

“It could work. We have a timeline or, at least, a semblance of one. If we can start buttering up all factions, we stand a better chance,” he said lowly. “I’m not saying the witches will bow down to flattery, but it could give us an in. The other factions should be encouraged to take our side if a siege occurs.”

Caroline was kind of offended on Kol’s behalf at how surprised Elijah and Klaus looked.

“A party, then? Have them all under one roof and we can present a united front,” Rebekah said as though it was a done deal.

“I will see to the arrangements,” Elijah said and, just like that, there was going to be a blowout party at the compound. Caroline was impressed.

“When should we go shopping? My opinion would be as soon as possible. I would like to beat the hordes,” Rebekah said brightly. Caroline immediately shook her head, Bonnie joining her. Rebekah’s sigh was as dramatic as expected. “At least allow us to lend you some attire, then.”

“Fine – as long as you already own it,” Bonnie said warningly. Rebekah huffed.

“Very well. Follow me, then. We can look in my closet.”

“One of them,” Elena said teasingly. Rebekah pouted and Elena kissed it until it went away. They were nearly out of the room when Bonnie whipped around.

“Wait!” she called. Caroline snorted when everyone comically paused. “Ava said she loves you and misses you.” She wasn’t sure why Kol and Klaus tilted their heads at Bonnie until, “Okay, her exact words were “I love them so fucking much and I miss their dumb asses”.”

“Language, Ava,” Elijah said fondly, looking around as though she was there. Caroline supposed she could have been. She looked at Kol. He was still sitting. There was the tiniest smile on his face.

XXX

New Orleans, 1996

As the sun set on a beautiful day in the French Quarter, metal creaked under Kol’s unyielding grip. He squeezed tighter. Even if Klaus would get in a tizz about replacing another of his balconies, Kol didn’t care. Better the ironwork than the city.

“Hey.”

He held out his left hand whilst the sun edged closer to the horizon. After a few seconds, warm fingers intertwined with his. He tugged her gently under his arm. There were three new scratches on her right cheek.

“We’re going to the movies tomorrow night,” Ava said with a happy sigh. He raised an eyebrow. “Kitty was going to compel the staff, but Bex just bought the whole theatre out. Something about helping local businesses.”

“Please tell me it’s not another of those Halloween travesties.”

“It’s called The Craft. It’s about witches.”

“I do love it when mortals attempt to replicate magic.”

Ava hummed something quietly. Kol barely heard it, tuned in on her heartbeat instead. It sounded like it always had. He didn’t understand how it could be unhealthy.

“Kol,” she said eventually. He sighed.

“She’s wrong.”

“I wish.”

“We’ll get a second opinion.”

“She was the second opinion.”

He hated mortality. He hated the thought of losing her tenfold. It was inevitable, he knew that, deep in his subconscious. She physically couldn’t become a vampire, so she would live a mortal life. He’d thought he had several more decades to contemplate such a thing. Just another thing to blame her brainless, narcissistic mother for.

“I’ll stop taking the herbs. Dr Xiang said slowing the ageing probably wasn’t helping.” Bloody wonderful. “I need to start exercising,” she said bitterly. He smiled slightly and kissed the top of her head.

“I’ll help.”

“No duh. I’ll need a spotter in case I have an episode and brain myself with a kettlebell.”

“I love you,” he said quickly. It wasn’t the first time, but it somehow felt more important than any other. Those glorious eyes of hers twinkled up at him. There was always a touch of madness in her gaze.

“I love you too, mischief.”

Kol pulled himself from the memory. Unsurprisingly, his unthinking walk had taken him to a familiar house. The iron spikes making up the fence had been recently painted if the smell was anything to go by. That infernal doll’s head remained pierced atop one.

Astrid and Mary-Alice had died from some sort of infection in 1919. Though Lissy had coaxed Elijah – and therefore Klaus – to release Kol from his 1914 daggering earlier than the century they’d both wanted, the sadistic fuckers, it was in vain. He wasn’t awoken until twenty years later. By then, it was far too late to undo the damage.

He had never sought further knowledge on the Fauline Cottage. He didn’t want to know when it became an official prison for deranged witches, nor when it inspired the creation of the Garden. He had no care for the inner operations or the occupants. All he’d wanted was that blasted diamond and, because he didn’t tell his brothers everything – why would he, the way they treated him? – Klaus had assumed it was a betrayal of some kind.

Bastard.

“Interesting thinking spot.”

“Oh, fuck off, Marcellus.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“Even if I did, it certainly wouldn’t be with you.”

Marcel was braver – or infinitely more stupid – than Kol had imagined. He stepped into Kol’s line of vision, hands in his pockets, leaning against the fence as casually as could be. Kol wondered how long he would be daggered for if he tore Marcel’s head off. It would be worth it, surely?

“Klaus and Elijah don’t get why you’re angry.”

“Shocking.”

“Why don’t you tell them why you wanted the diamond?”

Kol grinned. It felt feral, even to him.

“Why don’t you tell them you screwed up by telling them about it?” Marcel’s eyes went wide. Kol let a bit of his monster to the surface. “Oh, but how my brothers would fret if the prodigal son was not befitting the pedestal that they put him on.”

“I didn’t know-.”

“That much has always been clear. In choosing you over me, Klaus and Elijah lost the right to know the true purpose behind obtaining the diamond.” Not, of course, that it mattered anymore. Marcel didn’t need to know that though. “You can rest easy in the knowledge that I will not let your profound mistake slip. Yet.”

XXX

[Group chat: B-A-N-A-N-A-S]

Caroline: Alright, everyone, listen up.

Caroline: I’m putting a list of rules – not guidelines, RULES – here on what is and isn’t appropriate for birthday-related activities.

Caroline: This is subject to change. It is your responsibility to read and digest the most up to date version. I will not accept a freak-out on my birthday.

Caroline: [attached image file]

Elijah: Thank you, Caroline. This is supremely detailed.

Rebekah: What about an environmentally friendly car that doesn’t have too many 0s in the price tag?

Elena: no cars, Bekah!

Kol: which one of you heathens put a laminated version of this list through my door?

Bonnie: 😉

Diego: Can we stick bows on things even if we’re not wrapping

Caroline: Yes, but no tying ribbons or anything.

Lissa: Is there any leeway on these prices?

Caroline: No.

Thierry: You haven’t put anything about cake flavours

Thierry: never mind, just saw the appendix

XXX

“I think my brain is officially dead,” Bonnie sighed just before she slumped forwards and groaned into a grimoire.

“I don’t get it. There are so many other options! Why would they choose sacrificing kids?” Caroline said loudly. She slammed the book she’d been working on shut then grimaced apologetically. “Sorry, book, please don’t fall apart.”

“They don’t have much choice if it came from the ancestors,” Freya said.

“Yeah – if.”

“And blood magic is extremely potent.”

“I wonder what has Katie so upset,” Bonnie mumbled. She hadn’t seen that in any of her visions, annoyingly.

“Maybe she knows what the Harvest really is,” Caroline said coldly. “We can always do a little digging tonight. Speaking of, we should get ready.”

Bonnie would have rather napped right there on a 562-year-old grimoire, but Elijah had latched onto the “united front” Rebekah had posed, so showing her face was kind of imperative. It was the first major event where Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie would be part of the family unit. That meant – to Bonnie’s absolute horror – they had to take part in an opening dance.

Rebekah’s second formal attire closet had proved fruitful. Bonnie had fallen in love with a golden waterfall dress with thin straps and cowl neck. Rebekah had gleefully decked her out with a sapphire choker and a heavy, cobalt bracelet. Caroline and Elena looked like royalty in a red sheath and blue A-line respectively.

“Target acquired,” Caroline said directly into Bonnie’s ear. She jumped violently enough that Caroline squeaked. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!”

“You snuck up on me and whispered in my ear!” Bonnie hissed.

“I thought it would be cool, like in the movies. We’re like Charlie’s Angels.”

Lissa giggled as she walked by, and Bonnie did not think that was a coincidence.

“Just – let’s go, yeah?”

The target in question was Katie, who was alone at the bar. Her smile didn’t seem suspicious, but Bonnie still kept slightly more distance between them than strictly necessary.

“How’re you doing, Katie?” Caroline asked genuinely.

“Fairly well. How’s your arm, Bonnie?”

“Oh, mostly healed!” Bonnie said, showing shiny, healing skin. Freya was positive it wouldn’t even scar. Caroline was frowning thoughtfully, so Bonnie took the hint, and guided the conversation. “Grams has been telling all her colleagues to shop at Jardin Gris. I’m pretty sure she’s going to tell her students when classes start next week too.”

Caroline’s eyes lit up. Katie laughed.

“I appreciate the word of mouth,” she said lightly.

“I like your shop way better than others I’ve seen,” Caroline said. “Remember when we visited your cousins in Salem, Bon? Super creepy ritual stuff everywhere.”

“Oh yeah. And a lot of them were real, too. I don’t think the shop owners knew that, but I’m surprised they were overrun by zombies or something.”

Caroline giggled freely. Katie was silent, face unreadable. Maybe they’d been too obvious. Elijah was probably eavesdropping and having an anxiety attack.

“That kind of thing isn’t in fashion anymore,” she said eventually. Okay. Not super helpful.

“And we’re all super grateful,” Caroline said, nodding firmly to emphasise her stance.

“Ah, ladies, there you are. We are about to open the party,” Elijah said, popping up behind Caroline. “Katie, wonderful to see you. Do excuse us.”

“We weren’t doing that badly, Elijah,” Bonnie joked.

“On the contrary, I think you were doing quite well.”

“Then why are you punishing us?” He looked lost for a second. “Do we have to do this dance?”

“It’s a tradition, BB. Just go with it,” Lissa said when they reached the stairs. Bonnie huffed but remained silent. The rest of the family gathered above and below them. Elijah gave a speech – one that was unfortunately boring, even if his voice was pleasant and could record audio books. When Kol took her hand and escorted her to the main dance floor, she was almost relieved.

“Ava told me something else,” she whispered. The music and any conversation between partners would hopefully mean only Kol heard her. When he went slightly stiff, she looked up. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, no, continue,” he said. The tone was blank.

“She said “thank you for fucking Damon up”.”

A fond grin made his already boyish features even younger.

“My only regret is not killing him.”

Bonnie could have argued or protested, but she thought of Caroline. Caroline forgetting their lunch plans, wearing scarves every day, not knowing what day of the week it was, crying for hours when her compulsion had been removed. She wasn’t sure if Caroline was totally aware of anything that had happened in the time after Kol had left, but Bonnie would never forget her tiny whimpers and head-to-toe shaking.

“Help me, please, someone help me,” she’d whispered into Bonnie’s shoulder, choking on sobs. Caroline was more benevolent than her. If it had been Bonnie’s choice, Damon would have gone up in flames.

“And what do we have here?” Kol said deviously. She followed his gaze to her right and snorted. More people were on the dance floor, including Marcel’s new dance partner, Sophie Deveraux. “She should really raise her standards.”

Yeah, she was not opening that can of worms.

“Hey, have you ever watched Charmed? Caroline, Elena, and I were religious viewers.”

“Bits and pieces. It is a complete rip-off of The Craft.”

“I haven’t seen that.”

Kol looked scandalised.

“The youth of today appals me.”

Bonnie couldn’t help it. She dissolved into giggles.

XXX

The morning after the party, breakfast was utter chaos. Everyone seemed to have something to say, drinks were spilled, food dropped, and Caroline choked on a blueberry.

“So,” Bonnie said when Caroline had returned to her normal colour and mostly everyone was sitting. Klaus was leaning his forearms on the back of his chair, and Kol was leaning on the wall behind Elena. “I got a weird text this morning.”

Rather than put it in the middle of the table and watch pure carnage break out as people fought over it, she handed her phone to Elena. It made its way around the table quickly.

Unknown number: Blood rites might be out of fashion but that doesn’t mean they’re extinct.

“That is next level creepy,” Caroline said disapprovingly. “Do you think it’s Katie?”

“Probably. I guess we could have been overheard.”

“Doubtful. There were no witches close enough to listen to your conversation. Vampires would have come to us directly, wolves to Jackson,” Elijah said. “The content isn’t particularly helpful, however.”

“How’d she get your number?” Marcel asked. Bonnie hadn’t even thought of that. Damn.

“Oh – I’m on her mailing list,” she realised. Elena raised an eyebrow. “What? I get a 5% discount now.”

“Not to add to our list of mysteries, but Father Kieran asked to meet me early this morning,” Klaus said. “He knows about the Harvest and wants it stopped – preferably without violence,” he added dryly. Bonnie accepted that, but his siblings all looked slightly surprised. Lissa was openly baffled.

“What happened to him not getting involved?” she asked.

“Anonymous tip.”

Shockingly, Lissa let it go immediately. Caroline was squinting between them. Yeah, good luck getting an answer.

“I got an anonymous tip of my own last night,” Marcel said calmly. Bonnie snorted. “The choosing ceremony is happening two nights from now, the sacrifice ritual in three.”

“How the fuck are we supposed to stop this?” Bonnie breathed.

“I have an idea,” Freya said. “We’ll need a New Orleans witch, though.”

Bonnie nearly laughed when everyone looked at Marcel.

“I assume you have your anonymous tip’s phone number,” Klaus drawled. Marcel sighed.

Chapter Text

The air was chilled, but not freezing. Stone rose high on either side of a paved concrete path, casting shadows made all the more ominous by the inky black sky. Up ahead, she could see the warm oranges and reds of firelight and hear faint voices. She crept towards them. Something cold was prickling her senses, like the sense of death she got the first time she touched Stefan.

It took a few minutes to reach the fire and what she could now identify as chanting. Flames rested atop white pillars. Dozens of witches gathered around a stone platform an older woman, red hair even fiercer in the light, stood. She wielded a ritualistic knife over one of the fires. Kneeling in front of the platform were four teenage girls. The cold crept into Bonnie’s bloodstream.

“Abigail,” the woman said. One of the girls took her place on the platform. She had to be sixteen, maybe younger. Certainly not older. “Our magic fades as our ties to our ancestors weaken over time. We beseech them, accept this offering as a sign of our faith,” the woman said. The girl held out her palm. “To be born, you must sacrifice. Do you have faith?”

“Yes,” the girl answered softly, yet it felt like it was being shouted. The woman smiled – a grotesque mockery of comfort – and pulled the girl forward. The knife flashed. Abigail fell. None of the witches so much as blinked, but when the other girls saw the blood, they screamed.

Bonnie screamed too.

The wind was knocked out of her when she slammed, back first, into the ground.

“Bonnie! Oh, my god, are you okay?”

“Ow,” Bonnie said helpfully. Her lungs felt bruised. Caroline helped her back onto the sofa she’d dozed off on, frantically assessing her for any injuries. “I’m fine, Care. Just had a horrible dream. Vision, actually.”

“Coincidental timing. Sophie just got here.”

“Already?”

Caroline nodded. Bonnie, still wheezing a bit, followed her down to the drawing room. Everyone in the Trusted Circle was gathered, with the addition of Sophie Deveraux. She looked about as grim as Bonnie expected.

“What do you need me for?” she demanded of Freya.

“A spell to contact the ancestors. I can’t do it without a practicing New Orleans witch,” Freya said calmly. Sophie frowned.

“Why would you want to do that?”

“To find out if they asked for this. Something tells me that your elders aren’t being too forthcoming about any meditations and, last I checked, non-elders can’t reach the ancestors directly.”

Sophie leant back on her chair. With her ripped jeans, numerous tattoos, and multiple ear piercings, she was intimidating in her own right. Facing off with Freya made her look like a child playing pretend.

“What if they did ask for it?”

“We’ll still stop it,” Marcel said bluntly. Sophie raised an eyebrow. “I thought the whole “murdering kids is wrong in every circumstance” thing went without saying.”

“Sometimes it’s better to just say it out loud. Just in case,” Caroline said teasingly. He rolled his eyes at her.

“Why should I help you?” Sophie said like she didn’t want the ritual stopped as much as they did.

“We don’t intend on going easy on those who encourage and support this ritual, love,” Klaus said. His tone was light, but the threat was real. Caroline stepped in easily, like she’d read a cue no one else was privy to.

“You wouldn’t have warned us if you believed in the Harvest,” she said. Sophie pressed her lips together then looked at Freya.

“What do you need?”

“A few drops of blood, and that’s it. That should open up the ancestral plane to me.”

“And what if they hurt you? They can do that, can’t they? It’s their territory,” Elena asked worriedly.

“I’ll be in control of when I can leave. If they choose violence, I’ll pull back,” Freya said. Simple. Bonnie had her doubts, but she kept mum. Freya was incredibly powerful. She could take care of herself. Hopefully.

“You know this might not work, right? You said it yourself – non-elders don’t speak to the ancestors,” Sophie warned, a pin poised over her index finger.

“It’s the only shot we’ve got for now,” Freya responded. Sophie pierced her finger and squeezed it over the vial Freya held out. When she was done, she sucked the finger into her mouth. “Elijah.”

Freya and Elijah left the room. Awkward silence fell.

“What did you see in your dream, Bon?” Caroline asked after an excruciating two minutes.

“I think I – I know I saw the beginning of the Harvest. A woman – she just . . . slit a girl’s throat like it was nothing,” Bonnie said quietly. The girl had been so surprised. The other girls – were they friends? They had to know each other, at least – had been petrified. Their screams scraped on Bonnie’s memory like sandpaper.

“Did you hear names? See faces?” Sophie asked, leaning forward sharply. Her eyes looked slightly manic.

“The girl who died was called Abigail,” Bonnie remembered. “I can describe the other girls, and the woman.”

“Or you can show us,” Kol said idly. She blinked at him. So did Elena and Caroline. Sophie tilted her head curiously. “If you let me into your mind, I can view your memory. Then I can pass it to Sophie provided she opens her mind too.”

“Define open,” Sophie said suspiciously.

“I wouldn’t see anything you didn’t want me to see. I’d just pop Bonnie’s dream in and leave.”

“I’m good with it,” Bonnie said. After a few seconds of narrowed eyes and pursed lips, Sophie nodded her consent too. Kol held out his hand and Bonnie took it immediately.

“Focus on the dream, play it over in your mind – good,” he said softly. It only took a minute, and then he had moved to Sophie. Elena rubbed Bonnie’s back comfortingly. Sophie was frowning. Then pure rage overtook her expression.

“Monique,” she hissed. Rather than tell them who Monique was, she leapt to her feet and Bonnie was sure she would have stormed out if Klaus hadn’t sped into her path.

“Now, now, let’s not be hasty, hm? Why don’t you share with the class?” he said, petal soft.

“Get out of my way, Klaus.”

“Soph,” Marcel sighed. She twisted to glower at him. He looked at Klaus. “Monique is Sophie’s niece.”

Hearing it out loud seemed to work like a nerve agent. Sophie sank onto the nearest surface – an end table – tragically bereft of her anger. Bonnie, who was closest, gently squeezed her wrist until dark, pained eyes met hers.

“We’ll stop this. Ancestors be damned,” she promised. Sophie’s mouth moved like she was trying to smile but couldn’t quite make it. “Do you know the other two girls?”

“Cassie and Davina. All four of them go to school together. Davina is Monique’s best friend.” She shook her head in disbelief. “They all just stood there. How could they do that? How could Jane-Ann do that?”

“Jane-Ann?” Caroline asked.

“My sister. Monique’s mom.” Sophie breathed a laugh that seemed more miserable than amused. “Resurrection or not, who is fine seeing their child in pain or killed?”

The Originals and Marcel were all staring at the ground. No one seemed to have an answer. Bonnie was almost relieved when her phone buzzed.

Unknown number: sacrifice only breeds power when it is permanent.

Bonnie slid the phone to Kol immediately. He squinted down at the message as if it had called him a juvenile name.

“Correct,” he said, passing it back. Bonnie didn’t want to reveal someone by accident, but Sophie deserved input.

“Katie,” she said immediately when she was shown the message. Well. Okay. “Her godmother is an elder who fully supports the Harvest. Katie knows what she intends on doing, and has been trying to convince Agnes that it’s insanity for months. Agnes doesn’t care, though. Neither does Bastiana.”

“Bastiana – she’s the one who brought up the Harvest, right?” Bonnie said, remembering Ava’s disdain. Sophie nodded, frowning in confusion. “Was she the one in my vision too?”

“Yes. How do you know about her?”

Bonnie wasn’t entirely sure how to answer that.

“We’re well aware of which elders are people of interest in these circumstances,” Lissa said breezily. Sophie was watching her suspiciously.

“You were right,” Freya announced, returning to the room. Her face was twisted into a displeased grimace. “Or I think you were. I couldn’t get through the ancestral plane.”

“What now?” Elena asked.

“We need to let the girls get chosen,” Marcel said. Sophie looked ready to turn him inside out. “Then we get them out before the ritual.”

“You need to say all your thoughts at once,” Caroline scolded. “There’s a time and place for dramatic pauses.”

“How do we get them to see they’re wrong? And, if the ancestors are on Team Harvest, make them change their minds too?” Bonnie asked. If the ancestors were against it, then the covens would be too. They just had to make it so.

“If you can’t get through, that part’s void. Unless you’ve got a dead witch lying around you could consecrate and make them an ancestor,” Sophie said dryly. Caroline’s breathing hitched. Bonnie froze. Most people glanced – very quickly – at Kol. He looked scarily calm.

“We’d be in the same conundrum even if we did have one,” he said.

“This isn’t helpful!” Caroline said, effectively restoring any order that had been lost. “We need an effective plan. Sophie, you need to go back. We need someone on the ground in case the timings change.”

“No! I want to be here. I can only help Monique if I know what’s happening,” Sophie protested.

“We’ll let you know when we’re on the way,” Marcel said.

“Do we want Katie involved too? It would be useful to have two people on watch, so to speak, in case something happens to one,” Caroline said reasonably. Sophie looked pissed off for two seconds then she blinked herself to surprised realisation.

“A séance.” Bonnie looked at Kol. He didn’t seem murderous. Yet. “We can’t get through to the ancestral plane, but we can bring an ancestor to us. All we need is something of theirs or a relative,” Sophie explained.

“That limits our options substantially, doesn’t it?” Kol said dryly. Sophie shrugged.

“Katie’s your best bet. I’m not sure anyone in my family would be against the Harvest, but there are definitely a few on Katie’s family tree. Summoning one who is already opposed is the better option.”

“Then I should think this is the obvious solution to that problem. Sophie, if you would be so kind to leave now. We’ll fetch young Katie,” Klaus said with the casual grace of someone who would tear out your organs if you looked at him wrong.

“Katie’s last name is Humphries, which isn’t an existing coven family,” Bonnie said, almost a question.

“She took her father’s last name,” Sophie said. “Her mother was Cora Malchance.”

XXX

Caroline so didn’t want to be able to say she’d been to a séance. Messing with the dead – and, no matter what some people thought, talking to a ghost was still messing, in her opinion – was not a good idea. Pulling them from their afterlife to have a chat? Nope. But . . . see, she was a supportive friend. Bonnie would be conducting the séance. Caroline, therefore, would not let her do that alone. So, by the time night fell, she would have spoken to the spirit of a long-dead witch.

Gross.

“Are you trying to get your step count up?” Klaus asked and he was totally laughing. With a scoff, Caroline changed her angle so she could pace and have him in her line of vision.

“Did you find Kol?” she asked rather than indulge his amusement. Kol had disappeared before Katie had arrived and, despite his arguing, Klaus had gone to look for him.

“No. The slippery bugger is very good at disappearing.” The combination of sheer annoyance and pride on his face made her giggle. “I have something for you.”

“Plying me with gifts? What are you after?” she teased. He didn’t answer. If it wasn’t for the tiniest tilt of his mouth, she would have wondered if he’d heard her. Instead of responding, he guided her hand up and placed something on her palm. She stared. It was a necklace. The metal was warmed by his hold on it, the gold shining prettily in the sun. The bit that really got her attention, though, was the small vial attached instead of a pendant.

“Freya has spelled it. It is virtually indestructible and preserves the contents,” he said like that was the biggest issue.

“Uh . . . what the hell?”

“The protection charm on your current necklace is not infallible. I would like you to have this in case the spell fails, and you need immediate help.”

“Klaus.”

“Yes?”

“This is blood.”

“Yes,” he said slowly. He was looking at her like she’d lost 20 IQ points. Rude.

“You gave me a vial of your blood. Blood to – heal me?”

“It’s Lissa’s, but yes, it is vampire blood. You have clearly taken leave of your senses by insisting on coming with us to rescue the witches-.”

“I’m not letting any of you go alone, but mostly Bonnie and Elena!”

“You are human. This makes you more vulnerable than the rest of us, including Bonnie. We are letting you come as a-.”

“Letting me!? I’m a grown ass woman who can make up her own mind whether she wants to go into a life-or-death situation, thank you! You can get as growly as you want, but this is happening!”

Klaus’s jaw was clenched so hard that she was surprised his eyes weren’t bugging out. He didn’t speak for a while. She used the time to regulate her breathing and calm the defensive anger that had spiked. When she had recovered, she sighed.

“Klaus,” she said softly. She approached him with the same gentleness. When she was directly in front of him, she took his hands in hers, the necklace cradled in their linked palms. “This is my choice.”

“I know,” he said after a heartbeat. “Elena and Bonnie will also be given blood. It is simply an extra precaution.”

Caroline stroked his cheek, thumb running along the cheekbone. He smiled weakly.

“Thank you,” she whispered. He shifted his head to kiss her palm. Her whole body warmed.

“Now that that’s all sorted,” Kol said loudly. Caroline squeaked. For a brief moment, she was sure Klaus looked surprised. Kol grinned cheekily. “We’re about to summon Astrid.”

“What? I thought they were summoning Katie’s grandmother,” Klaus said.

“They are. There are just a couple of “greats” in front of it,” Kol said. He turned on his heel and whooshed away. Caroline patted Klaus’s cheek comfortingly. He clasped her new necklace around her neck.

“There are times I regret my promise to never dagger them again,” he muttered. She tapped his nose in false reproach then tugged on their relinked hands to get him moving. In the middle of the drawing room, a circle of white candles sat, already lit. Within them was another circle, this one constructed of salt.

“Lissa found me,” Kol was saying to Bonnie.

“How?” Klaus asked Lissa in disbelief. She raised an eyebrow, clearly judging him. Caroline tried not to laugh.

“Perhaps she knows me better than you do, brother. I am her sire, after all,” Kol said, falsely whimsical. Caroline was stumped. Even Bonnie looked slightly surprised. “You never did thank me for that,” he added to Elijah.

“Kol,” Elijah said with the kind of exasperation Elena had when saying “Jeremy” during his drug phase.

“Relax. She used this marvellous thing called a phone.”

“We should hurry,” Lissa encouraged firmly. Bonnie nodded and took Katie’s hand. They stood outside the candle circle and began murmuring a mix of Latin and French. Caroline squeezed Klaus’s hand as the tension grew, the angst trying to get the better of her. Wind started tugging at her hair and clothes. The candles flickered. It was getting colder.

Then everything went still.

The woman in the circle had dark skin and soft features. Her black hair was impeccably twisted and braided in an up-do. The rich purple of her dress spoke of more elegant times. Dark eyes surveyed them critically.

“Kathleen,” she said in a regal way that made Caroline feel about an inch tall. “Why have you summoned me here?” When she spotted Kol, she went rigid. Could ghosts even do that? “Do not get involved with his business. He will get you killed.”

“That was not my doing, Astrid,” Kol said tightly.

“Yet, if I had not helped you, I would not have been imprisoned.”

“Do not pretend I took your choice. You knew the risks.”

“Grandmother,” Katie interrupted before any of them could find out if witch ghosts could doll out aneurysms. “Why have the ancestors invoked the Harvest?”

Astrid tilted her head. The tight pursing of her lips did not fill Caroline with confidence.

“It is traditional. You know this,” she said eventually.

“It’s against nature!”

“Hardly. We nurture the chosen. We teach them, guide them, empower them. One day, they will likely become elders. They will lead future generations on this plane where we cannot.”

“Sounds like brainwashing to me,” Bonnie said. Astrid looked at her shrewdly.

“You are not a New Orleans witch.”

“No, I’m a Bennett.” Astrid raised an eyebrow. “I also happen to wholeheartedly disagree with murdering kids.”

“I beg your pardon?” she said. It was almost sputtering. Caroline groaned quietly. Astrid gazed searchingly at Katie’s forlorn expression. “Is that why I am here? You believe the ancestors have ordered you to kill the chosen?”

“Elders Bastiana and Agnes say so,” Katie said reluctantly.

“The chosen are supposed to have their palms cut by an enchanted knife and sent into a limbo state,” Astrid explained coolly. “They remain like that for any length of time between one month and one year. We help them progress their magic and, through them, the ancestral link is strengthened.”

“Yeah, you’ve got some rogue agents,” Elena said dryly.

“Would you resurrect the chosen if they were killed?” Bonnie asked. Caroline gaped. She had just assumed they would be, but god, if they weren’t?

“I cannot say for sure. Resurrection is against nature.”

“Even if blood sacrifices are done to enhance strength?” Bonnie asked. Astrid’s stare was slightly mocking.

“Only if a ritual calls for such a thing. The Harvest has not done so for centuries.”

Caroline’s eyes narrowed. That was a change of tune.

“But it used to be?” she checked. Katie glared when Astrid did not speak.

“Did you explain that to the elders?” she said snappishly.

“Of course we did. We are not fools,” Astrid spat. Caroline had thought she was at her full height before, but somehow, she seemed to grow. “They are turning to the old ways. I imagine this is why we have not heard from them since our request they do the Harvest. They must be stopped.”

“How do you suggest we do that when they have not convened with you in months?” Kol asked.

“A conduit. If I take possession of a living body, I can remain on this plane, and speak to them as an ancestor. In the cemetery, I can draw the other ancestors to this side where we can have a frank discussion with Bastiana and Agnes.”

“Uh, when you say “take possession”, you mean you’d – well, what would happen to the person?” Caroline asked and was her voice weak?

“They would be there in consciousness. I would simply be in control of their actions,” Astrid said. Caroline sat down. Klaus, whose hand she was still holding, came with her.

“Use me,” Katie said like she wasn’t giving away her agency. Caroline thought she was fainting until she realised her head had slumped onto Klaus’s shoulder. She could see him rubbing her knee but she couldn’t feel it.

“Very well. I need to discuss this with the ancestors first. If you keep this connection open, I can return when it is time.” Katie went to protest. “It is only open for me, Kathleen. No one else can pass through.”

Katie nodded. Astrid faded away. Caroline was cold. Somewhere, a phone rang.

“Do you think this will work?” Bonnie asked, looking mostly at Katie.

“Yes. Ancestral magic is bound in death, but it needs life just as much. There is no ancestral magic without the living to use it. Bastiana and Agnes attempting to use the original ritual is in direct defiance to the ancestors, whether they see it that way or not.”

“Guys,” Marcel said, looking about as shaken as he got. Caroline blinked at him slowly. “Soph called. The Harvest is happening now.”

“What?” Katie breathed. Caroline gripped Klaus’s hand until she could feel her fingers again. Then she stood up.

“Before anyone does anything rash,” she said, eyeing Kol and Klaus in particular. “We need a plan.”

“Katie stays here, waits for Astrid, comes to the cemetery later. Freya stays to help. The rest of us go now,” Marcel said like it was that simple.

“Grams will meet us there,” Bonnie said, typing away on her phone. “She can lead Care, Sophie, and Elena in getting the girls away.”

“Thierry, Diego-,” Marcel started.

“We’ll be protective detail on them,” Thierry interrupted easily.

“I will remain here to oversee the compound and ensure no retribution is sought,” Elijah said.

“I’ll be like a sniper – on the edge, providing assistance when needed,” Bonnie said. Kol grinned maniacally.

“And the rest of us get to cause some damage,” he almost trilled.

“Only if they throw the first punch,” Klaus said firmly. Everyone – and Caroline meant everyone – stared at him. “I refuse to go to hell because I didn’t try to listen to Father Kieran.”

“I think that ship has long since sailed,” Lissa quipped.

“And sunk,” Kol added.

XXX

Bonnie gasped for air, using the cool stone of a nearby grave to hold her up. Klaus was next to her, not winded at all because he was a freaking hybrid, though he was eyeing her with something that almost passed as concern.

“This is stupid. We’re just going in circles,” she said, gesturing to the St. Claire tomb they’d seen at least three times.

“Illusion magic is easily destroyed if we locate the witch casting it or the talisman controlling it,” he said musingly, as if she didn’t already know that.

“How the hell do we find either of those things?”

On every side, Lafayette Cemetery had been stretched infinitely. The moment their group had entered the cemetery, they’d been separated. No matter how many turns they made, how many times Klaus jumped on top of mausoleums, how loud their yells for the others were, they made no progress. In the distance, the orange glow from Bonnie’s dream taunted her – the centre of their maze-like hell that they’d never reach.

“Bonnie!”

She jumped and spun. Before she’d fully faced Caroline, she had a face full of blonde hair and arms wrapped around her tightly. When they separated, her Grams came and squeezed her hand.

“How?” Bonnie asked.

“Magic, honey. Much like the ancestors and their living, our magic is bound in family,” Sheila said with a small smile. Caroline flung herself at Klaus too. Bonnie snorted. He seemed confused by the affection despite knowing Caroline for over a year.

“Shame there are no Bennetts amongst the New Orleans ancestors,” Klaus said. Caroline smacked him. “Not what I meant, sweetheart. It would be beneficial to use that magic to reach our destination.”

Bonnie frowned. There was something there – what was it? She knew that family was more than blood. She thought of the ease her own magic worked around Lissa, Caroline, Elena, Kol, and then some. The way it reacted when they were near. She’d only ever felt cold from Stefan and Damon, but her magic practically sang with people she loved. The vampires she trusted were warm, safe.

Home.

“Hang on,” she hissed, paying no mind to whatever Caroline had been saying. Her eyes slid closed. As quickly as she could, she brought her magic to the surface and flung it far and wide. It sought out her people with vicious intent. The claws of her power sank into every crevice, digging until the spell began to rupture. Then she pulled. Her magic retreated so sharply that she gasped. The spell collapsed.

“That,” Kol said, “Was bloody fantastic.”

Bonnie’s eyes snapped open. Kol was grinning proudly, directly in front of her, surrounded by the rest of their group.

“My clever girl,” Sheila said fondly, cupping Bonnie’s cheeks briefly. Bonnie tried not to cry.

“Later,” Marcel said urgently.

“I’m afraid only part of the spell was nullified. We’re still in an infinite labyrinth,” Klaus said angrily, jumping down from another tomb.

“Good thing my niece is here then,” Sophie pointed out. She closed her eyes for all of three seconds then took off. They all followed closely, focusing on Sophie rather than their surroundings lest they be sucked back into the spell.

The screaming started before they made it.

Bonnie threw herself around the corner, but immediately ground to a halt. Horror filled her like she’d been submerged in water. It was her dream. It was worse than her dream. There were two figures, prone and bathed in red, sprawled on the platform. Bastiana stood over them, her knife dripping blood, smile tainted with malice.

“Irascitur detruire!”

The flames from the nearest pillar soared high then lunged for their group. Bonnie was pulled out of the way sharply. Heat seared close to her face. Sophie, Sheila, Elena, and Caroline had also been moved by Rebekah and Klaus.

In the time between blinks, the vampires had pounced. More screams rent the air. Her Grams was heading for the platform, face set and radiating the same energy as an avenging angel. Caroline, Sophie, and Elena were following, flanked by Thierry and Diego. Marcel snapped someone’s neck. And there, amongst the turmoil, through the bodies – living and dead – Bonnie zeroed in on one movement. One of the witches was dragging herself up the platform. Her hand was reached out, reaching for where the ritual knife rested in Bastiana’s dead grasp.

“Ossox!” Bonnie cried, clenching her fist. She couldn’t hear over the carnage, but she saw the witch’s arm snap and the hand twist 180 degrees. “Motus!” The knife flew into the nearest pillar of fire.

“Bonnie!”

It was different. Gone was the jubilance. No hug followed. Still, Bonnie twisted towards the shout. It turned out to be her saving grace. Something narrowly missed her head – she had no idea what. A dozen feet away, leaning around a mausoleum, Caroline beamed in relief.  The screaming was quieting. The air reeked of blood and dust and smoke. The growling was easing. Someone shouted. Arms pulled her down, away.

The mausoleum exploded.

Chapter Text

“Mommy, what’s death?”

“Well – you feel your heart beating? When the heart doesn’t work anymore, people can’t be alive. They go away and can’t come back.”

“Where do they go?”

“Somewhere we can’t see them anymore.”

“Mommy?”

“Yes, Caroline?”

“I don’t want you to die.”

“I know, sweetie. We don’t have a choice, though. Our bodies can’t work forever. Don’t worry – you won’t have to say goodbye to me for a while yet.”

“I don’t want to die either.”

“You won’t for a long, long time. I promise.”

XXX

“-nie! Bonnie, say something!”

“We need to-!”

“-that way-.”

“-still has a heartbeat but-.”

“Get them to the compound and-.”

Bonnie was shifted – into arms? – and, after a quick breeze, she breathed clean air. The dust and smoke from the cemetery no longer clogged her nostrils and lungs. Her ears felt brittle and rang like the tardy bell. Her head was sore but not incomprehensible pain – more like harsh discomfort. She was put on something cushioned – a bed. A couch? When she sniffed, the pillow smelled like her sleep spray.

“You still with us?”

“Diego,” she rasped. Blinking to clear some of the crap from her eyes, she eventually focused on him sitting by her bed. He sighed in relief. “You got me out of the way.”

“Thought I’d fucked something up. You didn’t so much as twitch after the explosion.”

Relieved smile.

A shout.

Explosion.

“Caroline!” she cried, rocking upwards instantly. Diego sat on the bed and held her shoulders, which was good, because the sudden movement made her feel sick as hell.

“We need to focus on you for a minute-.”

“Is she okay? What happened to everyone else? She was right next to it!”

“Bonnie,” Diego said firmly. She stared at him. She just needed to know Caroline was okay. “I know you don’t like it, but I think you should have some blood. We don’t know if there’s internal damage unless you want to go to a hospital and get checked out.”

“Caroline-.”

“Is being looked after. Elena and your Grams have a few bumps, but nothing serious. Katie and Astrid went to the cemetery with Elijah, Freya, and Kol. Sophie and Thierry down the hall with Monique and Davina, who aren’t harmed physically but they’re a mess mentally. Everyone else is unharmed and accounted for.”

“Is. Caroline. Okay?” she hissed. “Being looked after” was not good enough. It was vague. Scary. Diego sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. Bonnie’s heart sank.

“I don’t know.”

She stood up.

“What do you mean?”

“I was to get you back here. I didn’t see her. All I know is that Klaus and Lissa are with her right now.”

“She’s alive, right?” Bonnie checked because why was he still being vague?

“She was when I left.”

Her anger drained right out of her at the same time her knees gave in. She plonked back onto the bed and stared listlessly at a wall. Was. Was. Was. Caroline couldn’t die. She was sunshine and soft and she didn’t deserve to have her recovered life ripped away. She’d had blood, just like Bonnie and Elena. She was supposed to be safe.

Bonnie pulled out the necklace Lissa had given her and eyed the red liquid. Without another thought, she drank it down.

XXX

Mystic Falls, May 2011

Beeping. It wasn’t an alarm or a text notification or a truck reversing. Elena was taken to a memory of being six, visiting a great grandmother she didn’t remember the name of in the hospital. She’d been wrinkled and frail and hadn’t recognised any of them. There were loads of needles, hanging bags of liquid, and monitors. Beeping monitors.

She forced her eyes to open. The hospital bed was not the comfiest, but she was more interested in her surroundings. As suspected, there was a machine tracking her heartbeat and a needle in her hand linked to a bag of clear fluid. The small bin in the corner had takeaway coffee cups and food wrappers peeking over the top. There was a jacket on one plastic chair and a scarf on the other. She could see her weekender bag under one of them.

The door opened.

“Elena!” her aunt Jenna cried. She hurried forwards and hugged Elena tightly. Elena’s arms were heavy and hugely uncooperative when she tried to hug back. “How’re you feeling?”

“Tired. A little sore,” she said slowly. It hadn’t occurred to her that there was a reason for her being in hospital. “What happened?”

“Um – well – you were in an accident, sweetie,” Jenna said gently, tugging a chair closer to the bed. The metal legs squeaked against the floor. Elena winced when the sound of tires screeching echoed through her head.

“Mom and dad,” she whispered. “Are they here too? Are they okay?”

Jenna hesitated. Elena couldn’t breathe properly as she took stock of her aunt’s appearance. Her hair was an unwashed mess, her cheeks were ruddy, and there were dark shadows under her red rimmed eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Elena. They didn’t make it.”

Elena nodded. It made sense. They’d gone over a bridge. There was no way they could get out, save themselves. She met Jenna’s stricken gaze.

“Can I see Jeremy?”

“Uh, sure.”

Jenna left quickly, frowning. Elena looked down at her hands. She had no idea how long it had been since the crash. Her fingers weren’t pruned. She felt her hair – dry as a bone. Had it been days? Weeks? Surely, Jenna would have said something if it had been longer? When the door opened again and Jeremy walked through, looking exactly the same as he had when he’d been told off for smoking pot the night of the party, she exhaled shakily.

“Hey, Jer,” she croaked. He strode over and hugged her as fiercely as Jenna had. He was warm and comforting and shaking.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he whispered, clinging to her like he never had before. She nudged him back so she could hold his face in her hands. His eyes were full of tears.

“I love you, Jer. So much, okay?”

“I love you too, ‘Lena.”

She pulled him back into the hug right as he started crying. Jenna came to stand next to them, a hand on each of their shoulders whilst Jeremy sobbed. Elena rubbed his back softly.

XXX

“Bekah, I’m fine, I promise.”

“Please drink the blood.”

“Will you stop fretting if I do?”

“No.”

Elena rolled her eyes, but obligingly drank the blood. It was metallic and gross. Rebekah’s expression marginally relaxed when the vial was empty. The scratches – more grazes, really – on her palms healed instantly. A quick poke to her forehead told her that the bump there was gone too.

“Did everyone get away safely?” she asked. When the explosion had happened, she and Sophie had been nearly out of the cemetery, half carrying the two rescued Harvest girls.

“Some injuries. Everyone who needs it is being tended to.”

“Rebekah,” Elena said firmly, crossing her arms. Her girlfriend wasn’t meeting her eyes.

“I don’t know everything. We wanted to get out of there as fast as possible and became scattered in the process. Bonnie and Caroline were injured. Caroline was in a worse state than Bonnie.”

Elena’s chest ached whilst equally vicious relief and fear fought to overwhelm her.

“They’ll be fine,” she said – to herself or Rebekah or both, she honestly had no idea. Whoever it was directed at didn’t matter. It wasn’t convincing. “The girls – how are they?”

“Traumatised,” Rebekah said, tilting her head like she was trying to listen. “Marcel has just gone in. They’re in one of the spares, so I can’t hear.”

She grimaced deeply like her irritation wasn’t plain in her voice. Elena crawled into her lap. Strong arms immediately wrapped around her waist and Rebekah kissed her temple. The fear temporarily won out and Elena gripped her hands.

“I love you, Rebekah Mikaelson,” she breathed. Rebekah tensed. “You don’t have to say it back. I just wanted you to know.”

“Elena Gilbert, don’t be stupid.” Hands softer than rose petals and stronger than steel guided her head so she was looking into adoration in blue. “I love you too. Always and forever.”

Elena nearly unbalanced herself when she pushed upwards and kissed Rebekah with all the passion, terror, gratitude, grief, and love she felt through her whole body.

XXX

Montreal, 2001

Kol prided himself on the pain he could inflict on others – mentally, emotionally, physically, it didn’t matter. For one thousand years – give or take a few decades for coffin-time – he had been a terror to the human race. He enjoyed it. He knew exactly how to tug at the string that held them together and relished watching them fall apart. Killing family members and leaving them to be found was one such way.

He had never thought he would be on the other side of that situation.

“We don’t have to go in,” Rebekah said quietly. It felt like a shout in the heavy silence they’d all been in since that phone call.

“Yes, we do,” Lissa whispered, almost as if she couldn’t find the energy to speak louder. Kol was grateful and sickened with dread when her hand found his. Together, they entered the manor house, the others right behind them.

Nik had wanted to call for the cleaning services they utilised when any of them went off the rails or there was a necessary massacre. Lissa had allowed it only if it was a surface clean, not wanting too much access to the bodies before they arrived. Kol clenched his teeth when they reached the living room. Under the bleach and incense and whatever the fuck else had been used to disguise the smell, the blood was still potent enough. The walls had been white before, so the stains were very obvious. Sheets had been placed over the furniture. On the rug in front of the fireplace, the soft grey fur tinted pink, the source of the too-strong blood scent became clear.

They had been laid out nicely, like they were in open caskets for a funeral. Katherine was grey and veined. She was stiff as a board even to an untrained eye. Ava was . . . Kol closed his eyes when they burned. His body seized with the urge to pull her close, cradle her like they were watching I Love Lucy reruns. Slowly, he peeled his eyes open. She had been pale in life, but by the heathen gods, she was nearly translucent in death. New cuts which had long since stopped bleeding carved their way down both sides of her face. Her neck was purple. There was a hole in her chest – messy, ruptured, like the point hadn’t been to immediately tear out her heart, but scare her shitless first.

Kol swayed. Someone guided him to sit on the ground.

“Who?” he rasped, demanding an answer from anyone who could give it.

“Niklaus has gone to look at the security footage,” Elijah told him. Kol wanted to nod. All he managed was a vague twitch. Lissa had made it to Katherine’s body and slid her eyes closed. She whispered something in Bulgarian that Kol couldn’t make his drowning mind translate.

“I will deal with Carmen,” Rebekah said stiffly. Kol had no idea whether the housekeeper was still on the property, or if she’d (understandably) fled after her discovery.

“She is in her quarters,” Elijah said. Rebekah whooshed away. “Brother, perhaps you should-.”

“What, Elijah? Leave? Cry? Scream? If you have any idea how I should cope with this, by all means, share it! You’ve never held back before!” Kol yelled, shooting to his feet. Tears blurred his vision, but he didn’t need to see properly to know Elijah was being a dick.

“Move to a chair.”

Kol wasn’t sure what noise he made. It was a grotesque, warped thing between a wail and a sob. Elijah pulled him into his chest just as he fell apart. The tears spilled over. His heart, fractured and pounding with the previous anticipation of grief, shattered.

XXX

There were only ten minutes between the escape of the Harvest girls and the arrival of Astrid – in Katie’s body -, Elijah, and Freya at Lafayette Cemetery. Kol had lingered by the entrance to wait. He had no desire to witness the witches attempt to pull themselves together enough to comprehend the colossal amount of shit they were in. Astrid’s presence changed Katie’s posture and general demeanour a lot more than Kol had thought. She walked like a queen, head tilted slightly up, and shoulders pushed back. He and his siblings followed her silently.

Three of the four fires still burned in their pillars. Bastiana – whom Kol had taken great pleasure snapping the neck of – was still sprawled at the edge of the platform, several feet between her and the two girls she’d killed. She was one of only three vampire-inflicted deaths. There were multiple injuries. One witch was bleeding quite heavily from a wound to her head. Another was cradling her mangled arm where multiple, if not all, bones were broken.

“Katie,” she said coldly, the first to spot their little group. Kol did his best not to snort. He was only there for the show – he didn’t want to be thrown out before the opening act.

“Agnes,” Astrid said, her voice ominously amplified. Agnes’s eyes went wide. No one else spoke. Or moved. Seemingly satisfied that they all understood she was not Katie, Astrid murmured a Latin-French spell. In moments, they were surrounded by dozens – maybe hundreds, he couldn’t see that far back – of spectres.

“You failed,” one of them said. She had tall hair and a flouncy skirt like she was from the 50s.

“Your task was to guide, to allow the young to learn from those who came before,” another said.

“Our power cannot be shared if we have no connection to our living,” a third added.

“You betrayed their trust. You turned your backs on us,” 50s woman said.

“Bastiana-!” Agnes started to protest.

“Will endure the consequences of her actions,” Astrid said icily. Agnes frowned.

“And me? Will you kill me?”

“I think there has been enough death this night.” Astrid glanced at the girls. “Agnes, you are cut off from the ancestors. You are no longer welcome in any of the nine covens, on any site sacred to our craft, and you may not associate with any of our witches.”

Kol grinned. That was delightful. Agnes screamed her rage, but with a mere blink, she crumpled unconscious to the ground. That was even better.

“The Harvest needs to be completed,” a woman – perhaps from the early 1800s – said evenly. “If it is not, the two surviving girls will be overcome by the powers and die.”

“Are you suggesting you finish a quadruple murder?” Freya asked stonily. The ancestor looked at her imperiously.

“It should be completed as it was meant to be done.”

Kol folded his arms, intrigued. Theoretically, if they started afresh, the survivors would not be in danger of the magical overload. But the ancestors weren’t saying start over. They were saying it had to be finished which would require the original four girls.

“What was taken shall be returned,” Astrid said. There were plenty of gasps from the living. “We will leave you to nominate new elders. We suggest you choose very carefully.”

That was a bit rich given the ancestors had chosen Bastiana and Agnes. Before he could dryly point that out, the ancestors all disappeared. It was probably a good thing. Astrid already disliked him.

“Katie? Are you back?” Freya asked, almost reaching out but pulling her hand back at the last second.

“Yeah,” Katie responded, shaking her head like she had water trapped in her ears. She looked at them with wide eyes. “I never, ever want to be possessed again.”

“A perfectly understandable wish,” Elijah said. He was gazing around the witches. Not one of them looked like they had processed what had happened in the last hour of their lives. “Will you remain here?”

Katie looked like she was going to vehemently refuse. She didn’t get to voice it, though, as the two girls on the platform gasped their way back to life. The wounds on their necks were gone and they clasped their throats as the memory of them being slit supposedly returned. Kol wrinkled his nose when the scent of terror washed over him.

“Cassie!” a man cried, racing forward. The girl with short hair and a pixie-like build screamed and scrambled backwards.

“Hey,” Katie said gently. She approached them much slower. They both looked at her with wide eyes. “It’s okay. You’re okay. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“Nor will we,” Elijah said, eyeing the man pointedly.

“She’s my daughter!” he yelled. Kol listened to the heartbeat. It was not erratic or even slightly fast like one would expect from a scared father.

“I don’t have the patience to hear whatever bullshit excuse you’re about to spout,” Kol said blithely.

“I don’t want to be here,” the blonde girl whispered. Katie didn’t hear it properly and squinted. The girl looked up, watering eyes begging.

“Then you can come with us,” Kol said.

“Anyone genuinely contrite is welcome to visit,” Elijah added.

“The Harvest-.” someone started, but they were cut off.

“The directives shall be followed in due course. In the meantime, you may want to clean up,” Elijah suggested in a way that was quite obviously an order. Kol smirked.

“And get dear Agnes out of here before she bursts into flames or something.”

XXX

New York, 1985

Klaus dropped the final head with a wet thud. The garish décor had been painted red. Blood dripped from the ugly light fixtures, splattered the walls, and pooled on the floor. Hearts had been removed from bodies. Heads were severed from spines. The room reeked of death in the most satisfying way. Inhaling cheerfully, Klaus licked some blood – O negative, his favourite, how pleasantly surprising – from his fingers.

“Is that all of them?” Kol asked, kicking a heart out of his way. He was drenched in red.

“It’s worth double checking. Katerina did say there were fourteen,” he answered.

“Would be a real shame if one or more of these wasn’t part of the coven,” Kol said without a hint of remorse. He glared down at the nearest body. She was the only one who had kept both her heart and head. Her green eyes were frozen wide in pure fright. Auburn hair darkened with every passing moment as it absorbed blood. Her limbs were splayed awkwardly.

“Truly inconvenient,” Klaus responded. He enjoyed New York, but he didn’t particularly want to have to come back because they missed a stray witch. Kol meandered over to the wall phone.

“Bloody fuck,” he hissed when it slipped in his wet hands. He tried to wipe them on his jeans and failed dismally. Klaus tossed him a towel.

Whilst his younger brother called New Orleans, Klaus moved through the room. It was part of a townhouse – towards the back, windowless, perfect for batshit insane witches who enjoyed turning on their own. If it had been in a basement, attic, and/or delipidated house, it would be the ideal setting for a horror film. Probably one of those dismal Halloween flicks.

“Either we got the wrong witches, or the curse wasn’t linked to them,” Kol said bitterly just after he’d slammed the phone back on the hook so hard that it came away from the wall.

“I’m not searching this entire city for a random object that a curse may or may not be linked to just because Katerina brought home a deranged witch.”

“You have to admit, it was hysterical when she threw Elijah out the window.”

Klaus would do no such thing. Kol would take that information and hold it over his head because he was a chaotic demon. It had, he admitted internally and never would out loud, been incredibly funny. Ava had warned them not to touch her without her touching them first. Elijah had forgotten and paid the price.

“I’ll call Leon to clean this mess,” Klaus said, grimacing. There would be some sort of additional charge for there being more than ten bodies. And the fishbowl of dead fish in bloodied water.

“I’ll raid the grimoires. Maybe they were considerate enough to write all about the curse,” Kol said cheerfully. “What about her?” he asked, nodding to the intact body.

“Look for some restraints when you’re pillaging. She comes with us.”

Kol playfully saluted then vanished. Klaus heard things crashing and dropping two seconds later.

XXX

Lissa had volunteered to call Liz. Klaus would have gladly rigged any number of coin tosses, dice rolled, or straws drawn to ensure he would not have to do it, but he’d been spared the need. It was better coming from Lissa anyway. Breaking bad news wasn’t something he or his siblings were any good at.

On the bed that had long since become hers, Caroline was unconscious. Contrary to popular belief, vampire blood was not an instant fix for all things. The more damage done to an individual, the longer it took to heal. And Caroline had been lucky to survive long enough to get blood into her system. Briefly – if such a word could be used to describe that horrifying moment – her heart had stopped. He’d dug her out of the rubble, burned and bleeding, and her heart had stopped. A lifetime could have passed in the three seconds it took for it to restart.

Grief was a familiar concept, but not a familiar feeling. It required being close to people, close enough that he would miss them if they died. That had happened a handful of times in his existence outside of his siblings (twice. It had happened twice). Then there was Caroline Forbes. Since popping up in New Orleans over a year ago, Caroline had become one of the “inner circle”. He’d had little choice in the matter, but he was far from complaining.

“I changed my dry cleaner,” Caroline announced when she strode into his atelier, for once not drawing her. He’d heard her coming, but he no longer bothered concealing his projects from her. She peered at the landscape sketch before breezing further into the room.

“I’ll alert Josh,” he teased.

“You know, I think my mom would appreciate a painting. Selfies are good and all, but paintings are personal. Not a big one or anything, but a little canvas she could sit on a dresser or end table? She’d like that.”

She had made herself comfortable on the floor, thumbing through one of his very old sketchbooks. He was sure she’d already seen that one, yet she never grew bored of any of them.

“Define little.”

“Not bigger than A4.”

“Noted. I’ll send you the bill.”

She baffled him. With her beaming smiles, controlling organisational skills, and total willingness to call him out on everything, she should not have appealed to him. That was an understatement if there ever was one. She didn’t just appeal. He desired her presence, her laugh, her witty retorts. It was a pleasure to be insulted by her. It was a joy to bicker with her. They had inside jokes. Things in common. Differences they celebrated. They could talk about the lightest or darkest of things.

“I didn’t get it. I still don’t fully get it, but that’s mostly because I don’t see why finding the love of his life and moving had to mean he basically forgot about me. Like, I know he has this new life and he left my mom, but he didn’t have to cut me out.”

When Caroline was upset or angry, she would furrow her brows and her lips would pout ever-so-slightly. Her heartbeat would spike, and her scent would take on a delicious tang. He hummed to acknowledge the rant.

“Ugh, I’m sorry, I’m rambling. What about your dad?” When her eyes went wide and she flushed in embarrassment, he chuckled. “Oh god. I’m sorry!”

“It’s fine, sweetheart.” He contemplated changing the subject, but found himself continuing. “When we were human, Mikael would beat me. All of us, really, except for Rebekah. I got the worst of it.”

“Why?” she breathed. By the way she clamped her hand over her mouth, he guessed she hadn’t meant to say anything.

“I don’t know. I have always wondered if he knew, at least on some level, that I was not his son. Whatever the reasoning, his brutality focused more and more on me. After Henrik . . . well, I had gotten his youngest child killed, so you can imagine how he felt about that.”

She squeezed his hand. He was grateful she didn’t try to assuage his guilt.

“He can’t hurt you anymore,” she said, soft and unyielding all at once. “Neither of them can.”

He blinked in surprise.

“Who are you referring to, love?”

“Your mother.”

His throat tightened around the sudden lump there. He was aware that she knew he’d killed Esther, and the details behind his curse. It was quite something else to be confronted with that knowledge with sympathy.

“I don’t need pity,” he said instinctively. Caroline’s left eyebrow rose judgingly. Alright, he deserved that. “Thank you.”

Her answering smile was kindness and love and gods, he was screwed.

Though he had heard her return, Lissa cleared her throat when she closed the door. Klaus rolled his eyes.

“The jet is on its way to Richmond. Liz should be here by late afternoon tomorrow at the very latest,” she said.

“Armed?”

“Not against us.” The silence lasted ten seconds. “I spoke to Thierry. He saw who cast the spell.”

“Don’t keep me on tenterhooks.”

“Nolan Beaumont,” she answered. The name sounded vaguely familiar. He shrugged, not wanting to even glance away from Caroline. “Cassie’s father.”

“Well, he can join his daughter in death then,” he said easily.

“That can be dealt with later. We’ll see what Kol and the others find out.”

He would have bristled, but he found he didn’t care enough. Lissa was the witch liaison, after all. He had to have some element of trust in her. Instead, he focused all of his attention on Caroline. Colour was returning to her cheeks, her breathing evening out, and her heartbeat steadying. The burns were healed. Most of the deeper gashes were gone. Only the more superficial marks remained.

“She’ll be fine,” Lissa said, quiet and thrilled. “I’ll let Elena and Bonnie know.”

She squeezed Klaus’s shoulder before she left. He allowed himself a small smile, gripping Caroline’s warming hand in both of his. When she woke up, a serious conversation would need to be had about her safety. If she had died, he’d have torn apart every witch in that godforsaken graveyard and painted the French Quarter with their blood.

Klaus listened to her heartbeat and let himself enjoy the relief that he was able to do so.

Chapter Text

Caroline was pretty sure that, on the scale of pain she’d experienced, she was at the halfway point. As the memories trickled in, she considered that pretty good. The fact that she was feeling any pain meant she was alive – also good. Her whole body ached – literally, all of it. Muscles, bones, organs, every single thing felt like it had individually gone through her most intense cheer workout. Grudgingly, she peeled her eyes open (who knew eyelids could be sore?).

Okay. She was in her room at the compound. That was definitely the ceiling and the lavender lampshade. She shuffled into a sitting position and looked around. She was alone. She couldn’t hear or smell things she shouldn’t have been able to. She was hungry and thirsty, but not the blood-craving kind. Huh. She was still human and alive. That kind of luck usually bypassed her.

Her door opened and Bonnie came in. She froze when she saw Caroline.

“Care?” she asked like she expected to be dreaming. That was fair, given Ava’s dream-walking incident.

“Hey, Bon,” she rasped. It wasn’t a husky, sexy rasp either. It straight-up sounded like she’d swallowed a cheese grater. Bonnie hastened over and handed her the mug of tea that had clearly been for her.

“How do you feel?”

“Not like I was blown up, which is nice. How is everyone else? What happened?”

“I’m so sorry, Care. That necklace was supposed to-.”

“Bonnie Sheila Bennett, that is enough,” Caroline said firmly. She put the tea on the side table and clasped her friend’s hands in hers. “I am fine. You are not at fault, and I will not hear anything to the contrary, okay?”

Bonnie looked ready to argue. Tears had filled her green eyes. Caroline stared back, ready to fight until she lost her voice (and even then, she would write things down). With a weary sigh that made her seem decades older, Bonnie nodded.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she whispered. Caroline beamed.

“Likewise. Now, what happened after kaboom?”

Bonnie shrugged almost helplessly.

“Stories haven’t been traded yet. Klaus wanted everyone at breakfast to get us all on the same page.” Caroline tilted her head. Like the awesome friend she was, Bonnie didn’t need to hear her question. “You’re not the last to wake up. Kol sleeps like – no pun intended – the dead.”

“Come on, then. I want an everything bagel so bad.”

Caroline stood, waited for a few seconds for her head to clear, then hugged Bonnie as tightly as her body would allow. Bonnie gripped her back. Caroline did not mention how sore the hug made her.

“Caroline!” Rebekah cried when they got to the dining room. Soon, she was encased in another relieved hug. She grunted slightly. “Sorry!”

“It’s fine. Worth it. Just a little soreness leftover,” Caroline said warmly. Rebekah guided her to a chair like an invalid. Bonnie sat next to her like a bodyguard.

“It is wonderful to see you awake and well,” Elijah said. She smiled faintly. Unable to help herself, she sought Klaus out. He was staring at her heatedly, like he expected her to suddenly collapse. His mouth curved up slightly when he met her gaze. She recognised the relief easily.

“The girls want to stay in their rooms,” Marcel announced. “Sophie and Katie are staying with them.”

“Great. Who wants to wake Kol and/or Freya to find out what the hell happened with Astrid?” Rebekah said blithely. Caroline was temporarily distracted when Elena arrived and hugged her around the chair.

“Kol’s awake already,” she said. With a firm kiss to the top of Caroline’s head, she went to sit on her girlfriend’s lap. They were making moon eyes at one another more intensely than yesterday. Caroline grinned to herself.

“Not compos mentis, I see,” Lissa teased. Kol poured himself coffee then poured orange juice into the mug. His expression was heartbroken when he realised.

“We’ll have food sent up, Marcel. Do sit,” Elijah said. “How did they seem?”

“Two of them watched their friends get brutally slaughtered in the name of a defunct ritual, and two of them died and came back to life. How do you think they’re feeling?” Marcel said bluntly. Caroline blinked. Died and came back? Did that mean-?

“Are you telling me there are four teenage girls upstairs right now?” Klaus asked despairingly. Marcel nodded. “Spectacular. Kol, what happened when Astrid got to the cemetery?”

Kol, who had decided to drink his coffee/juice combo anyway, sighed.

“Buckle in, darlings. We’ve got a doozy here.”

XXX

In hindsight, they should have realised calling Liz would have consequences. Or rather, not calling Jenna.

Josh was out with Aiden – again – which meant it fell to Klaus to answer the door when the bell rang because “you’re closest, Nik, you arse”. He hadn’t been aware they had a doorbell. Back when the compound was originally built, they’d had one, but Lissa had ripped it out after a few decades for reasons unknown. They had no use for one in modern times. Even those who didn’t live there entered and left as they pleased like the barbarians they were.

“Liz,” he greeted cordially. It wasn’t that she intimidated him, but there was something to be said for the protective glare of a parent who cared about their child. “Jenna,” he added. Elena’s aunt looked rather ready to hit him. Interesting.

“What the hell made you think I didn’t deserve to know my kid was in mortal danger?” she demanded. Sighing, he stepped aside. She stormed in, closely followed by Jeremy. Liz stayed behind for a moment, frowning worriedly.

“Caroline is awake. By her own account, she is sore but otherwise fine.”

“Where is she?”

Klaus tilted his head to silently encourage her inside. She remained next to him on their short walk, but the energy coiling from her indicated she wanted to charge in as Jenna had done.

“Mom!” Caroline cried happily – and wasn’t that something? To be pleased to see her mother? Liz had Caroline in what had to be her tenth hug of the day in seconds. Jenna was fretting over Elena on a sofa.

“Can’t believe I found out from Liz. Even if this lot couldn’t figure out that they should tell me too, you should have called.”

“We’re lucky they even told Liz,” Elena said dryly. Rebekah scoffed.

“We forget parental concern exists because none of us ever experience it,” she said. Jenna, Jeremy, and Liz all looked varying degrees of awkward. It was quite amusing. “Don’t get me wrong, we don’t give a damn about that. We’ve got each other.”

“Another reason it’s impressive you remembered my mom. All your problems happen when you’re together,” Caroline teased. Rebekah winced. Klaus fought back a grimace with only partial success. Of course, Caroline noticed immediately. “Oh crap. No, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’m-.”

“We forgive you. Relax,” Rebekah said with her deceptively derisive tone. Caroline smiled and Klaus had to sit down.

“Where is everyone?” Liz asked.

“Scattered throughout the city and compound. There are many things which need addressing after last night’s events,” Klaus said, propping an ankle up on his opposite knee.

“About that,” Jenna said coolly. “You’re going to tell us everything.”

Klaus rolled his eyes when she turned her scolding glare to him. Caroline nudged him, but the effect was somewhat ruined when she stayed leant against his arm. In an attempt at not reacting like a boy with his first crush, he cleared his throat.

“Before we get to that,” Caroline said, glancing between her mother and Jenna with an excitable light in her eyes. “Did we miss anything juicy at the Founders’ potluck?”

“Jenna took mom’s mac and cheese instead of the Gilbert chilli, and Mayor Lockwood nearly passed out,” Jeremy said thoughtfully. He grinned as he stared into space. “It was great.”

“Ric tried to get a spot on the council,” Jenna said. Klaus raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t a name he was familiar with.

“Ric?” Caroline asked. Well, that made him feel better.

“Mr Saltzman,” Jenna hastily said. He smirked at the very faint pink dusting her fair cheeks. Elena had noticed too, based on her narrowed eyes.

“The history teacher/vampire hunter who wanted to kill . . . a vampire,” she asked. She stumbled over her hesitation. Klaus eyed her curiously. Did he want to know?

“Yes,” Liz cut in. Jenna’s relief was amusingly palpable. “He was denied, of course, as he’s not even from Mystic Falls, let alone a founding family member.”

“Your town is laughably unintelligent,” Rebekah said, frowning in utter bafflement. “The vampire-hating council is presented with a vampire hunter, and they turn him down when they need all the help they can get?”

“Is that so?” Liz said, grinning slightly. Klaus recalled many stories from Rebekah, Lissa, and Kol’s stay in Mystic Falls, and thought his sister was rather understating matters.

“Three vampires moved into town, on top of the two already there, during a series of vampiric killings. Lissa has a standing invite into the Lockwood mansion, for god’s sake.”

“She does?” Elena exclaimed. Caroline nodded sagely.

“They had tea a few times during my recovery.” Then she shook her head. “Anything else interesting?”

“Tina Fell was announced as a judge on next year’s Miss Mystic Falls panel,” Jenna said. Caroline’s face was a picture. Klaus tried to squeeze her hand in reassurance, but her hands flew into the air in time with her outraged shriek.

“Why!? She wasn’t even a viable candidate when she competed!”

“Everyone else said no,” Liz said. Caroline was gaping slightly, and her blue eyes were a raging inferno. Klaus smiled.

“They didn’t ask me!”

“They were working alphabetically through last names of previous contestants.”

“Seriously!? That’s the kind of endorsement they want? The girl who only did her community service because it was court ordered?”

“Love, you’re getting worked up,” Klaus said, picking up on her accelerating heartbeat. It was much less funny when he remembered she was in a delicate state of health.

“Okay, I’m calm. I’m fine. I am not thinking about any of the Fell cousins.”

He watched her keenly until her heart slowed to a less concerning pace. She slumped into his side with a groan of exaggerated despair. He put an arm around her shoulders and rubbed her arm softly.

“Kelly’s back in town,” Jenna announced. Elena lit up. Rebekah, the petty, jealous thing she was, pouted at the sight.

“And I nearly had to arrest both of you for drunk and disorderly behaviour,” Liz drawled, eyes twinkling in amusement. Elena snorted. Jenna shrugged unapologetically.

“Is she staying?” Elena asked. Jenna shrugged.

“Who knows with her? Matt and Vicki are usually the only reasons she hangs about for more than five minutes. With them not around, it’s anyone’s guess.”

“Can we not talk about Kelly Donovan, please? She hates me,” Caroline complained. Klaus huffed. How could someone hate her?

“No, sweetie, she doesn’t like me, and she takes it out on you,” Liz said. Caroline groaned. Klaus kissed the top of her head in a, hopefully, comforting way. Silence fell though, of course, it did not last long. Jenna pushed her shoulders back and her expression turned steely.

“Alright. Time to ‘fess up to everything you’ve been up to.”

XXX

Bonnie was not on board with this plan. She agreed with the outcome, but the journey was messy as fuck. That was expected, coming from Kol, but really, she was going to go way off script. To start with, Kol was not going in there with them.

“We can’t delay this forever,” Katie said, leaning forward slightly so she could see round Sophie.

“We’ve got a while before the deadline,” Sophie said weakly. She’d been staring at the door in front of them for five minutes. Bonnie was just glad there weren’t any vampire senses in the room that would alert the occupants to their presence. Naturally, that didn’t stop them.

“You gonna come inside, or what?”

The girl had light brown skin, and beautiful, big brown eyes. Her black curls were pinned away from her face. She looked slightly amused as she looked at Sophie.

“It’s rude to lurk,” a blonde girl – Abigail – added with a tiny smile.

“It’s also rude to use your magic spidey-sense to interrupt lurking,” Sophie retorted. She sounded almost normal.

“Soph,” Monique groaned. The two girls stepped away to let them in. The room was one of the biggest in the compound, used for storage before. Four beds and two large wardrobes had been moved in. The unlit fireplace had piles of books left over, and there were some boxes in a corner. Davina and Cassie were on the rug playing Jenga.

“Girls, this is Bonnie,” Katie introduced. Bonnie nearly snorted when she received four identical waves. “She’s mostly responsible for getting everyone working on saving you.”

“You’re like Nick Fury,” Cassie said. Bonnie laughed loudly – partially at the comment and partially at the expression on Davina’s face.

“Does that make the Originals the Avengers?” Bonnie asked through giggles. The thought alone nearly sent her into hysterics.

“And whoever else you got to help,” Cassie said. Davina was shaking her head like she had no idea what was happening. “Thank you, by the way. You had no reason to help us.”

“I had plenty of reasons,” Bonnie said firmly. Looking at these four girls – and it was painfully obvious they were girls and not women, children and not adults – she imagined the horrible ways her life could have gone. It would have been very easy to get swept into whatever darkness the Salvatores brought with them. Her desire to protect and help her loved ones could have been abused.

“We have to talk to you about the Harvest,” Sophie said bluntly. Davina and Abigail winced. Cassie’s hand shot to her throat. Monique frowned. Slowly, they all converged on the rug and sat in a circle that reminded Bonnie of elementary school.

“Bastiana and Agnes should not have preached sacrifice,” Katie said. “The Harvest was meant to send you to sleep to be taught by the ancestors.”

“Just tell us,” Monique said impatiently. Her arms were folded defensively, and she was half-glaring at Sophie. Davina, Abigail, and Cassie didn’t seem to know what she was getting at.

“The ancestors want to complete the real Harvest. With you,” Sophie confessed. Bonnie instinctively reached out when Davina gasped and held her hand.

“You will not be in danger, I swear to you,” she said vehemently. Davina’s tear-filled eyes watched her pleadingly. She felt much older than her nineteen years in that moment. “You will be in an enchanted sleep for no longer than a year, and your powers will grow. You will wake up.”

“And I will storm the ancestral plane the second the year is up,” Sophie promised. Katie nodded her agreement.

“We can’t go back there! How do we know they won’t kill us again!?” Abigail demanded. Bonnie’s heart went out to her.

“Agnes has been banished. Bastiana is dead. We will not let anyone – elder or otherwise – near you if we suspect them of being even remotely dangerous to you,” Katie said.

“The covens won’t be there either,” Sophie added. “You choose who’s allowed.”

“Why us?” Davina whispered. Bonnie pulled her close, hugging her sideways. She was trembling.

“I think . . . I think this is the ancestors trying to make up for what happened.” They all looked at Katie questioningly. “They could have told us to start over with four new witches. As awful as it sounds, they could have left Abigail and Cassie dead. Instead, they’re insisting on you four as originally intended.”

“We will protect you,” Bonnie promised again. “The moment you don’t feel safe, say so, and you’ll be out of there in a flash.”

“I can’t see my dad,” Cassie said faintly.

“Has my mom visited?” Davina asked. Bonnie hesitated. Lying would do no good. The truth was worse. The pause was enough for Davina. “Figures.”

“Can we think about it?” Monique asked.

“Absolutely. No one is rushing you,” Katie said reassuringly. Monique nodded slowly like she was processing her thoughts.

“Should we meet everyone else?” Davina asked hesitantly. “We’re staying in their house. We should say hello, right?”

“Only if you want to. There’s no rush on that either,” Bonnie said. Honestly, they’d probably need to be briefed. Some of them would need to practice tact (or, better yet, not speaking at all).

“Later?” Davina said to the other girls. They all gave some sort of agreement. Davina turned a disarmingly sweet smile onto Bonnie. “Could you show us the spells you used on Agnes?”

XXX

Being back in classes was weird. Caroline had been super excited to get into her sophomore year of college, you know, a few weeks ago when things were normal. Sure, rebellion had been brewing and all that jazz, but shit hadn’t hit the fan completely. Then she’d nearly died thanks to a magical explosion whilst trying to stop the sacrifice of four witches, and, well, perspective was a funny thing.

Thankfully, she had Cami to help her sort through the bizarro world she lived in post near death.

“Why do you believe that?” Cami asked in that no-nonsense way that comforted Caroline beyond words.

“Isn’t that what people do? They see the light and realise they should celebrate life every second because it could be gone in a blink?”

Every movie and book she’d seen and read where near-death stuff went down, the character always decided to Live – with the capital “L”.

“Is that what people do?”

“Cami.”

“Caroline. You’re basing your actions on what you think you should be doing or because a fictional character did it. Try to do something because you want to.”

“I do want this!”

“I believe you. I just want you to consider the lengths you want to go to as opposed to the ones you think someone else would.”

Cami stared Caroline down like she’d been doing since the day they met. It was much more knowing and therefore harder to ignore than it had been back then. Caroline’s sigh turned to a groan as she put her head in her hands.

“Why are you always right?”

“It’s a gift.” Cami glanced at the clock. “Anything else you want to cover?”

“I’m thinking of taking a vocal elective next semester.”

“Why?”

“I used to sing all the time. It’d be nice to get back into it.”

Cami smiled fondly.

“I say go for it. We should do the things that bring us joy.”

More buoyant than she usually was after a session, Caroline grinned all the way to the coffee shop. Elena had a late afternoon class, but Bonnie was waiting with a steaming mug of hot chocolate, plus Thierry and Diego.

“Are we being bodyguarded again?” Caroline joked. Bonnie made disgusted noise in the back of her throat. “How’re things? I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

(It had been a day, at most, but she missed them, okay?)

“Agnes is officially out of the city,” Thierry said with a relieved grin. Diego was nodding, his expression one of someone who’d experienced a war. Which, okay, if the shoe fits. “And the covens finally appointed two new elders.”

“Do we like them?” Bonnie asked, batting Diego’s hand away from her brownie.

“50/50. Vincent prioritises the safety of everyone, regardless of species, so he’s not biased heavily in favour of the witches. Kara’s a bit of a wild card. She’s not known for her patience, but she also doesn’t hate vampires as much as she used to,” Thierry answered. Caroline grimaced at the wording. “It’s more ample dislike than hate.”

“That’s much more reassuring,” she retorted. “So, my stage combat teacher is chaotic . . .”

XXX

[Group chat: calling all the monsters]

Caroline: [attached PDF file]

Kol: yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees

Rebekah: Excellent

Elena: still no cars, guys

Bonnie: but bigger cake – so win

Klaus: Glad you’re feeling better, love.

Caroline: Whatever you’re thinking, stop it

Klaus: I will do nothing of the sort.

Klaus: However, I will refrain from making the thought a reality.

Caroline: Good

Kol: How did you laminate this so fast Bonnie!!

Caroline: I gave her the list yesterday

Kol: traitor

XXX

Lissa gazed out her bedroom window. The vast stretch of the gardens kept her attention, a moment of peace from the stormy events of recent times. Every colour blossomed on a wide selection of plants on every direction. The patch of roses Elijah had planted for her seventy years ago bloomed red, pink, and yellow. Ava’s favourite sunflowers shone golden. Kol’s greenhouse glinted in the high sun.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Josh said, tapping on the open door as well. Smiling slightly at his manners, Lissa turned from the bright view. He was chewing the inside of his cheek like he was nervous.

“What is it?” she asked when he didn’t speak for nearly twenty seconds.

“There’s a Josephine LaRue here. She wants to see the girls, but she said she wants to speak to you first.”

Lissa raised an eyebrow. Josephine had not been seen in New Orleans for over ten years. Her mother had disowned her when her cursed hands were healed, so she had left the city behind.

“Are you certain?” Lissa asked. How could she not? Julia LaRue had been dead since 2004, which hadn’t been enough to tempt Josephine’s return. Why now?

“Positive. She’s in the drawing room.”

Lissa nodded and waved him away. With no reason to dally, she went to greet Josephine. There was a tea tray with biscuits and a steaming pot resting on the table. Josephine was already sipping delicately from a China cup. Her dark hair was striped with elegant silver. There were a few more wrinkles around her crystal blue eyes. When she tilted her chin in Lissa’s direction, it was as severe as ever.

“Madam LaRue,” Lissa said as warmly as possible. “Welcome back.”

“Lady Pierce,” Josephine responded with a sly quirk of her lips. “I never left.”

Lissa sensed she should sit, or she’d fall. She poured her tea and nibbled a biscuit before deciding to simply ask.

“What do you mean?”

“My mother, in her infinite and senile wisdom, decided to force me to stay once again. Cursing me proved futile, so she chose imprisonment instead.”

Lissa sipped her tea. It was after midday; adding a dash of whisky couldn’t hurt, surely?

“Dare I ask where?” she said, already knowing the answer. Josephine eyed her, wryly amused. “I am glad you find this funny.”

“If I did not look for the humour, I would curse my mother’s grave.”

“She would deserve it.”

“Certainly.” The pause was brief. Josephine topped up her cup. “Imagine my surprise when I got out.”

“How did you get out?”

“I don’t know. I had wondered if one of you had realised the truth and remedied it. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Josephine still smirked like she had at Mardi Gras, 1969. Lissa grinned back.

“As far as I’m aware, it was not one of us. I am sorry that we didn’t know.”

Josephine waved her off.

“I have been re-establishing myself to my coven and the others. Mercifully, without my mother’s influence, I have been welcomed into the fold as though I never left. I understand they are looking to reinstate the Regent position.”

Lissa blinked. That was news to her. New elders were one thing, but to bring back Regents? It would be helpful to have the witches answer to one individual – particularly after the Harvest debacle – but she hoped they chose wisely. The last one had been in 1895, and he hexed seven witches and four humans in a bid for even more power before the ancestors took away his magic.

“I will nominate myself for it,” Josephine said, bringing Lissa back to the conversation.

“Is that wise? You have been in the magical equivalent of an asylum for eleven years.”

“I retained my sanity. Knowing that I was not wrong, and that I did not belong there helped me keep my head. I have the workers wrapped around my finger,” she said with a mildly maniacal sparkle in her eyes. Lissa shrugged.

“Then you have my support. What do you need?”

“Nothing, for now. I would like to speak to the Harvest girls, though.” Lissa nodded in concession. “Do they know they will have to undergo the correct ritual?”

“Yes.” That had not been pretty, but the news coming from Sophie had been easier for them to digest, at the very least. “I think they will like meeting you.”

“Again,” Josephine said cheekily.

“When they are old enough to remember,” Lissa drawled. She stood. Josephine followed.

“Lissa,” she said before they reached the door. Lissa looked back, surprised to see the sympathetic sadness turning her mouth down. “I am sorry about Ava.”

“Thank you,” she breathed. Exhaling heavily, she managed a grin. “It’s good to see you, Josephine.”

Chapter Text

“Ow.”

“Sorry.”

“Ouch!”

“Vampire strength would really come in handy right now,” Elena said loudly. Caroline couldn’t blame her. Every time they came to the compound, at least one person appeared to say hello within the first three seconds. They had been stumbling their way inside for at least two minutes.

“No vampires home. Can I interest you a witch instead?” Freya asked lightly. Soon, Caroline had an arm around Elena and Freya’s shoulders, and they helped her hobble to the drawing room. She sighed in relief when the weight left her pulsing ankle. “May I?”

“Go nuts,” Caroline said. Freya rolled her leggings up to her mid-calf and leant in to examine the already swelling and bruising joint. It would be bigger than her calf within the hour, Caroline was sure.

“Not broken, but you’d know if it was. I’ve got some remedies that will help with the swelling, unless you want blood?”

“I can’t use vampire blood every time I get a boo-boo,” Caroline groaned. Freya smirked.

“I know several people who would try to argue that point. I’ll grab the paste. Sit tight.”

“Not going anywhere!”

Elena flopped onto the sofa next to her and blew her hair out of her face.

“Of all the times they all disappeared.”

“I know, right?”

XXX

Klaus was used to people simply walking into his home. It infuriated him beyond belief, but he’d long since given up on curtailing the terrible manners of the French Quarter. The wards kept anyone ill-meaning out, so that was somewhat reassuring. Still, when he came home to find a previously AWOL witch standing in the courtyard, he couldn’t hold back his vitriol.

“You may not be a vampire, but it’s still polite to wait for an invitation,” he growled.

“It works out well that I have one, then, does it not?” Josephine LaRue said with a half-smirk. He glared. “Your face will stay like that.”

“Hilarious. Why are you here?”

He’d known she was back, in theory, but he’d really had no desire to see her. She didn’t have quite the same tolerance for him as she did Lissa, and vice versa.

“Madam LaRue!”

The young Davina Claire hurried past him and squeezed Josephine’s arm warmly.

“Hello Davina. Have you been practicing?”

“Yep. A bit more and I’ll be able to talk to the ancestors!”

Klaus stared. Neither of them expanded. In fact, both seemed completely oblivious to his irritated glower, which he would have believed if he hadn’t known Josephine for her entire life.

“Come, child. We have much more to study. Is Miss Bennett joining us today?”

“She’s got class.”

“We shall soldier on,” Josephine said with faux dramatics. “It was oddly pleasant to see you again, Klaus.”

“I do not return the sentiment,” he said lowly. Again, he was ignored. Bloody rude, all of them.

XXX

Hospitals were not Bonnie’s favourite places. She hadn’t spent a lot of time in any, which was a good thing, in the grand scheme of things. The last time she’d spent any length of time in one was probably when she was born.

“Miss Hopkins?” a nurse asked the waiting room. Bonnie smiled and stood. “Follow me please.”

Two corridors, sixteen doors, and three archways later, they entered a large office. There was a bed in the corner with fresh paper, two hand sanitising stations, a sink, and a wide desk with fancy tech. Private hospitals were insane.

“Thanks, Deb.”

The doctor was a dark-skinned woman with thick, natural waves. She smiled kindly – and not in the fake sympathetic ways doctors probably had to go through a class in med school to learn. Bonnie couldn’t help but smile back.

“Doctor Malreaux?” Bonnie checked.

“You may call me Keelin. This is hardly a regular check-up anyway,” Keelin said. Bonnie nodded. “Which one of you is Bonnie Hopkins?”

“I am. But the appointment is actually for Freya, here.”

Bonnie expected Freya to speak up. After a few seconds, she glanced to her left. Freya was staring and Bonnie was suddenly reminded that the Mikaelsons had no people skills.

“This is Freya,” she said, trying not to appear amused. 

“It’s great to meet you both. What is it I can do for you?”

Keelin shook both their hands – and, if Freya needed a little nudge to come back to earth, no one mentioned it – then sat down. Her hands folded together on the desk.

“We need blood work – I need blood work. Bonnie doesn’t,” Freya said. She was somehow completely calm despite her borderline rambling. “How much do you know about my family?”

“I try not to get involved in New Orleans politics,” Keelin said. Bonnie could have laughed but she refrained.

“I spent nearly a thousand years asleep. Every hundred years, I would wake for twelve months. During the time I was awake, I would age naturally, but remain unchanged otherwise. The curse was broken in 1993. I haven’t changed physically since then.”

Keelin hummed but otherwise didn’t react.

“We’ve researched hundreds of magical possibilities with no success,” Bonnie added. “We’re hoping some blood work could shed some light on a cellular level and go from there.”

“We can definitely have a look. Is this the first time you’re having a medical investigation?”

“I haven’t had much use for doctors otherwise,” Freya joked blandly. Bonnie rolled her eyes.

“I’ll take some blood today and have a look myself. Mystical impacts on the blood happens to be one of my specialties.”

“Didn’t you train under Dr Xiang?” Bonnie said. Keelin shook her head.

“She was a friend and a mentor, but separate departments.” Was that a coincidence, or had Elijah actually taken heed of Kol’s reaction and decided to stay away from cardiology completely? “Let’s get started. Freya, if you could move to the bed so it’s easier to draw the blood.”

“Do you need a control group?” Bonnie asked then grimaced. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply you couldn’t do your job.”

Keelin, thankfully, laughed.

“Not for now. I’ll be able to tell if there’s something irregular without another sample. Cells behave very specifically when they’re not changing.” Freya eyed the needle warily as Keelin brandished a blue rubber tie. “Right or left arm?”

XXX

Caroline typed feverishly, occasionally stopping to write on her pad with a very fancy pen Elijah had gifted her at Christmas (she’d looked it up and it was the exact budget she’d stipulated at the time, unsurprisingly). For once, she wasn’t doing an assignment, not that she had any left to do. Lately, the work had lost its appeal. She had chopped and changed her mind many times growing up – who hadn’t? – but she thought she’d hit the jackpot being a Drama major. It was so much more boring than she’d thought it would be.

“Hello, Caroline,” Klaus said, sliding into the other side of the booth. She made a noise of acknowledgement. He had taken to joining her when she went to coffee shops for, ironically, peace and quiet. The atmosphere was like white noise. The dorms were the rowdy kind of chaos, and the compound was supernaturally whacky, so coffee shops were safest.

Should she invite Jeremy to her birthday? They weren’t friends. He was her best friend’s little brother, and always had been. Would it be weird if she invited Jenna but not him? Surely not. Just because she was friends with someone didn’t mean she had to invite their friends/family to her events. Besides, he was at art school. She scratched his name from the Potential Guest List (not to be confused with the Confirmed Guest List).

“The barista keeps looking at me.”

“She has a name, Klaus.

“I’m sure she does. That doesn’t mean she can keep glowering at me like I’m a serial killer.” Caroline raised an eyebrow at him. “If you say anything about a shoe fitting-.”

“Penelope,” she said pointedly, “Is just protective. You’re a stranger to her, and she might not know the details, but she knows I’ve been through something.”

“And this translates to glaring? Not very good customer service.” She huffed. “I’ll ignore it for now. What are you working on?”

“Finer details for the party. It’s coming up fast, so I’m emailing invites.”

“I’m amazed there’s anything else to fine-tune. I have no doubts about how seamlessly your planning is, my love.”

That was another new thing. When Caroline had gone on a Stress Baking Binge last week (the labours of which were donated to food banks and the church because she refused to waste food), Rebekah had started calling her Cupcake. Klaus, being the possessive, petty person he was, took offence. “Love” was no longer personal enough, so he had chosen “my love” instead. The first time it had happened, she had blushed red enough to sub-in for a stop light.

“I want to start exercising properly,” she said, almost desperate to refocus the conversation. “Cami said it’s good for me, and I’ve fallen out of the habit since starting college. Plus, you know, it can’t hurt to have a bit of extra strength and stamina in case I need to fight a vampire.”

Klaus’s left cheek twitched. So did his eye. She waited him out. Whatever his first reaction was, he was pushing it back. It took a minute, but he eventually sighed.

“Are you finished here?”

Okay, not what she’d expected. She shrugged it off and shoved everything in her bag. Klaus went to wait by the door, but she totally saw him slip a hundred into the tip jar when he thought she wasn’t looking. Smiling to herself, she followed him back to the compound. He took her to a room towards the back that she’d never been in. When the double doors were opened, Caroline stopped on the threshold.

Along the left side, there were hand weights, kettle bells, and a bar weight with a bench. In the far-left corner, a floor to ceiling mirror took up half the remaining wall. There was a bar set into the glass and wooden flooring, like a miniature dance studio. Next to it, the floor was lined with mats, two exercise balls on the edge. On the other side, there was a rowing machine, a treadmill, a stationary bike, and three different weight machines.

“This was Ava’s,” Klaus said. Caroline jumped slightly. “The machinery is slightly outdated, but we can update them easily. Everything else is functional. We generally don’t have use for this room, but we never got around to redecorating.”

“Are you . . . are you giving me a gym?” she asked. She wasn’t sure why. It was very obvious that’s what he was doing.

“In a way, I suppose. You are free to use this space whenever you wish – night or day. It will save you money and, as you are here often, time as well. I’ll look into replacing the-.”

She threw her arms around him. He paused, just like he always did because he still wasn’t used to her propensity for hugs, then slowly wound his arms around her waist. Her feet were barely on the ground, not that she cared. Klaus’s hugs were toasty and happy and comforting.

“Thank you,” she mumbled into his shoulder. He chuckled warmly.

“You are welcome, my love.”

XXX

Bonnie had thought broad daylight would help alleviate the dread and fear. It actually had the opposite effect. She was holding Lissa’s hand tightly enough that human bones would have broken. Caroline and Elena were pale, lingering close to Klaus and Rebekah respectively. Sheila was stone-faced, the nearest of their group to the platform. The other Mikaelsons were gathered too with Marcel, Thierry, and Diego on the outskirts like the Secret Service.

The platform had been cleaned. It wasn’t remotely obvious that, less than a month previously, blood had seeped into the crevices. The Malchance mausoleum had been cleared of rubble and reconstruction had started

“We shall begin shortly,” Josephine announced calmly. As the newly appointed Regent, Josephine was performing the ritual, Kara at her side. The rest of the elders lined two sides of the platform. There weren’t many other witches there. Davina’s mom was fidgeting uncomfortably in between trying to catch Davina’s eye. Abigail’s aunts were watching their niece and the platform worriedly. Monique’s mom had already been sentenced to a corner by Sophie, and Cassie’s dad hadn’t been permitted entry. There were only a handful of others, none of whom Bonnie recognised.

“You will be safe,” she promised the girls softly. Four sets of scared eyes focused on her. She smiled as reassuringly as possible. “Come here.”

She barely lifted her arms before all four were clinging to her. She squeezed as best she could, taking a deep breath to calm her raw nerves.

“It’s time,” Josephine said. Bonnie wiped Abigail’s tears and smoothed Cassie’s hair. Davina’s bottom lip was trembling, but she otherwise stood strong. Monique’s stoicism held up admirably as she took the lead to Josephine.

At least Josephine had their trust. She had worked hard to build a solid foundation with the girls in a way that – according to the girls themselves – Bastiana and Agnes had failed miserably at. They all stepped up in front of her, unable to hold hands, but united nonetheless. Bonnie’s breath trembled when Josephine drew the knife. It was much simpler than the other, with a shorter blade and plain handle.

“To grow and learn, we must embrace the knowledge of those who came before, and forge the path for those who come after,” Josephine said. “Monique, do you accept your journey to the ancestors to further your magic and self?”

“I do,” Monique declared. She held her hand out without hesitation. Bonnie shuddered despite herself when the blade was drawn across Monique’s palm. For a moment, there was utter stillness. Then she fell unconscious. Kara lowered her safely to the ground.

One by one, the other girls drifted to sleep. Every time, Kol would nod as agreed, confirming their hearts still beat. When Abigail was asleep, Josephine gestured Bonnie forward.

“You may proceed,” she said. Bonnie smiled at her gratefully and touched Monique’s forehead. Her magic still swelled under her skin, contentedly flowing, as alive and vibrant as her heartbeat. Bonnie checked the other three, glad they were the same.

“They’re safe,” she confirmed. There were several sighs of relief. “I can’t tell how long they’ll be asleep, but I’ll keep checking in to make sure they stay okay.”

“Of course,” Josephine said. She eyed Davina and Monique’s mothers shrewdly. “And they will be staying with you?” she asked Lissa.

“Yes,” Lissa said. It was a testament to Josephine’s power that no one contested it. Lissa smiled kindly at the girls’ guardians. “Our offer of visitation stands.”

“Could we come with you when you take them?” one of Abigail’s aunts asked. Lissa nodded instantly.

“Is it complete?” she asked Josephine.

“They’re still unconscious, so no.” Bonnie giggled then slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle it. “This part is complete, yes. You may move them.”

“Nightmare child,” Lissa muttered as she approached the platform. Thierry, Rebekah, and Kol followed.

“Come,” Elijah urged them all. Caroline was off like a shot, giving the mausoleum a wide berth. Bonnie watched the girls get carried out, the aunts taking up the rear, then everyone else filter away. Soon, she was left with only Josephine.

“They will be alright. They have protectors here and there,” Josephine said. Bonnie smiled slightly as the sun started disappearing behind a tomb.

“I know. It’s hard to take the win sometimes, given everything.”

“You’ll get over that soon enough. Hecate knows the Mikaelsons are very used to winning.”

“Too true.”

Chapter Text

Liz leant on a doorframe, eyeing the living room – not to be confused with the drawing room – with a small smile. Caroline’s presents had been taken to her compound bedroom. The bows that had been stuck on unwrapped boxes had all been cleared away. The modest, two-tiered cake with its flawless pink icing and delicious strawberry filling had been mostly eaten, and the remaining fifth had been put in the fridge. Strict instructions had been issued by Klaus – mostly directed at Kol – that Caroline was to be the only person to eat it. The party had been moved to a room Elijah had insisted was not a ballroom (Liz suspected the “anymore” had been purposefully missed out).

“Mommy!”

Liz glanced to the right. Caroline tottered down the hall, swaying more than a tree in a tornado. She was beaming.

“Hi sweetheart,” Liz said, catching her daughter when she stumbled. She navigated them to the nearest sofa and Caroline slumped into her shoulder. “Are you drunk?” she asked in amusement.

“As a skunk,” Caroline said cheerfully. After a few seconds of fidgeting and trying to right herself, she gave up. “S’okay though. S’legal in France and we’re in the French Quarter!”

“Of course.”

“Mommy?” Caroline’s tone had dropped, and Liz looked down at the golden hair spread every which way. “I’m happy.”

“You sound surprised.”

“Isn’t it weird? I didn’t think I would be. But I am. I am so happy.”

Liz squeezed Caroline in the best hug she could manage from their angle. Caroline snuggled into her, humming contentedly. Liz’s heart felt as though it was breaking but in the best way.

“Your heart is so big and good, honey. One of the many things I want for you is to have the love and happiness you bring to people returned to you. You deserve it.”

“I do.” She giggled and lifted her head. Her eyes were dilated and there was a mild flush in her cheeks. “I deserve it, mommy. And I have it.”

“I’m so glad, Caroline.”

Liz cupped her cheeks fondly. Caroline’s euphoric smile turned cheeky. Oh, this would be good.

“Did you shoot Klaus when you first met him?”

Liz snorted.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

XXX

[Group chat: calling all the monsters]

Kol: I have just been informed we have to get Thiego wedding anniversary gifts

Kol: what is this bullshit

Kol: the first anniversary is PAPER. what are we getting them – origami kits?

Klaus: As much as it pains me to agree, I must. They’re vampires. This is madness.

Rebekah: neither of you have a romantic bone in your body

Rebekah: stop being bitter

Caroline: CUTE!! I have so many ideas!!

Elena: lemme get this straight – we have to set rules to curb your gift impulses, but you’re actively turning down the opportunity to shop for people who won’t argue?

Kol: it’s the principal of the thing

Klaus: Stop making me agree with Kol.

Caroline: Klaus, come on! Thiego are family and we do nice things for family

Rebekah: pahahahahaha

Lissa: We will make this the best first anniversary anyone has ever dreamed of.

Bonnie: Liss. . . do they know you’re doing this?

Lissa: It wouldn’t be a surprise otherwise.

Klaus: bloody hell

Marcel: ginalinettieyeroll.gif

Diego: you all know we’re in this chat right?

XXX

There were, strangely, a lot of crossovers between Drama and Communications. Caroline had already done one of the intro courses, and one core. That didn’t mean it was smooth sailing. Switching majors was intense – especially part way through her sophomore year.

Why had she chosen to do this to herself?

Sweating from every pore and breathing heavier than normal, Caroline stepped off the treadmill. The shiny, state-of-the-art treadmill that had been waiting for her (along with other new machines) the first time she’d gone to use the compound’s gym. She swiped her towel over her face and chest before flopping onto the mats to stretch. Her limbs were all pulsing cheerfully. Her head already felt clearer.

“Hello, my love,” Klaus said. She almost rolled her eyes. He refused to come in when she was working out, instead waiting until she was cooling down.

“Lurker,” she teased, leaning down her extended legs and hooking her hands over her feet.

“I’ve been called worse things. Are you staying for dinner or going back to your . . . dorm?”

“Stop hating on the dorm.”

Klaus being the snob he was didn’t like their sophomore dorm. Or building. Or the fact that they had chosen to stay in a dorm rather than the compound. It was the subject of much hilarity amongst his siblings.

“I do not trust that RA.”

“You don’t trust anyone.”

“Regardless.”

“Yes, I’ll stay for dinner. Is Bon still here?”

“Surprisingly, no,” he said dryly. Caroline eased herself to her feet and guzzled some water. “She went with Freya to the hospital.”

His upper lip curled around the word nastily. She grimaced sympathetically.

“I know it’s not easy to believe, but you would know if there was something medically wrong. Freya would know. Her body hasn’t changed for nearly one hundred years. She’d definitely notice if it suddenly acted different.”

Klaus looked towards the wall mirror. His brow was furrowed slightly, and mouth pinched in contemplation. Caroline waited patiently.

“Vampire blood does not heal everything.” She blinked. She had not known that. “There are illnesses – cancer, for example – that it makes worse. Should that not then mean humans have the capability to cure these themselves?”

“Not everything can have a loophole,” she said softly. Having such an illness or someone she loved going through that would undoubtedly break her. As a human, though, she guessed it was easier to accept that miracles weren’t possible.

“Wrong, Caroline. If something does not have one, it can be created.”

He was still watching the mirror, but with a building anger she’d long learned meant he was sad. She approached gently, hoping he wasn’t too in-his-head to hear her (or, gross, smell her) coming. When her hand pressed into his shoulder and she didn’t get beheaded, she considered that a win.

“If anyone could, it’d be you,” she admitted. He’d spent a thousand years making the world bend to his will, after all.

“I appreciate the confidence,” he said teasingly. “Come. I assume you’d like to clean up before dinner.”

“Are you saying I smell?”

“I refuse to answer that. I quite like living.”

“You’re unkillable.”

“And, if anyone was to find a loophole with that, it would certainly be you.”

Caroline laughed the whole way to her room.

XXX

New Orleans, 2001

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

“Ava,” Klaus sighed.

“Hmm?”

“Why are you kicking the table?”

“Too quiet.”

He frowned. Ava was sullenly staring down at the patio table, trailing a finger in lazy circles. She didn’t seem worried which was usually a good thing. He smirked slightly.

“Sweetheart, are you bored?”

She kicked the table again and he very briefly considered removing her legs.

“Not nice,” Ava mumbled, her other hand raking through the hair at her temples. “You’d have to cart me around everywhere if you did that.” Before he could point out that he would do no such thing, she glanced at him, a wicked gleam in her eyes. “I would make you.”

“My life was so peaceful before I met you,” he said musingly. She rolled her eyes.

“Oh, fuck off.” It wouldn’t have been surprising if she’d been talking to him, but her gaze had become unfocused. “Stop. It.”

Klaus prepared to speed her to a less hazardous area. One hand had clenched into the roots of her hair like she would tear it out. The tension vanished in seconds, and she turned a welcoming smile over his shoulder.

“Josephine!” she cried. He did not groan, but it was a close call.

“Morning both,” Josephine LaRue responded blithely. At least she didn’t sit down uninvited like a peasant.

“Your dad says hello,” Ava said breezily. Josephine took that in stride, just to irritate Klaus, he was sure.

“And to you, pops.” She glanced at Klaus and grinned. “You look well, Klaus.”

She was such a heathen.

“Not nice,” Ava repeated. She was looking at him knowingly. He refused to apologise for something he hadn’t even said out loud. And that he meant. Josephine made it her life’s mission to piss him off. Ava snorted.

“Is Freya here?” Josephine asked.

“In her apartment,” Ava said, gesturing to the side as though they’d all forgotten how the building worked. “Wait!” she yelled when Josephine went to leave. Klaus sighed. So close.

Ava scrambled off her chair and hurried to stand in front of Josephine. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, and she was giving off the kind of frenetic energy he associated with a pending magical explosion. At least they weren’t around any valuables, but he’d prefer she wasn’t on solid concrete when she inevitably collapsed.

Ava whispered something unintelligible, holding Josephine’s hands like they were the most precious thing on Earth. Unlike every other time Ava’s curse drove her to unleash magical destruction, the atmosphere immediately calmed. Klaus was almost convinced that nothing had happened when Josephine gasped. She was staring at her hands and crying silently.

“How?” she whispered. He raised an eyebrow. She was flexing her previously gnarled fingers and turning her previously battered hands. The savaged skin and crooked bones were gone.

“Your dad says hello,” Ava repeated. With an affectionate pat to the hands thought impossible to heal, she swayed inside.

“Are you going to tell your mother that her dead husband is spying on her?” he asked bluntly.

“I’m going to tell my mother a lot of things,” she said breathlessly.

XXX

“Are you joking? Could she have been any less helpful?”

Caroline inspected Rebekah’s expression closely before deciding it wasn’t quite homicidal and looking back at Freya. She looked as disappointed as she had when she’d gracelessly plonked herself at the dining table. Bonnie was next to her, just as despondent.

“At least Keelin confirmed Freya’s cells weren’t ageing,” she said like she was trying to be enthusiastic. It fell majorly flat.

“That’s all she did!” Rebekah protested.

“To be fair, that’s all they asked of her,” Caroline said placatingly.

“Then why does it feel like we’re back at square one?” Freya asked, poking at a stray carrot.

“It is infuriating not knowing,” Kol said. That was a massive understatement. The other Mikaelsons – and Lissa – had been frowning with increasing annoyance since Freya had recounted her hospital visit.

“You’ve all been alive for at least 500 years. Your lack of patience is embarrassing,” Caroline teased. Lissa chuckled.

“Did Keelin have any guidance on possible next steps?” she asked Freya, who shrugged. Bonnie shook her head. “Have you considered the magical equivalent to cellular analysis?”

Caroline’s eyes went wide because the temperature dropped, like, ten degrees. And only because Klaus was glowering like she’d suggested he resurrect his mother.

“And allow the ancestors to sink their claws into our family? I think not,” he said lowly. It was almost a growl.

“I was suggesting Bonnie and/or Sheila, but if Freya wants to see other witches, that decision lies with her,” Lissa said stiffly. Elijah was glancing between her and Klaus warily.

“Guys,” Freya said, that firm Big Sister energy slicing the intense atmosphere like a knife in butter. “If I want answers, I think that’s the only way. We’re getting nowhere scouring grimoires.”

“I vote Grams does it if you want a family witch. I wouldn’t even know where to start,” Bonnie said as if she didn’t do magical inspections on the unconscious Harvest girls every day. Caroline guessed that was different.

“I think a New Orleans witch is better placed. One who was around when Dahlia woke,” Freya said. Klaus’s expression was venomous. “Stop it, Klaus. They will be familiar with the magic used at the time, and that means they have a better chance at identifying whether this is anything to do with her.”

“I’ll call Josephine,” Lissa said. Klaus grimaced. It was more “ugh, really?” than “fuck all of you”, so Caroline relaxed.

“Yay! A solution! Who wants dessert? I made brownies earlier,” she said brightly. Kol perked up like a dog, which sent her into a giggling fit.

“You are my favourite, Cupcake,” he said decisively. Rebekah smacked him out of his chair.

XXX

New Orleans, 1864

Lissa stared. Around her, servants were bustling to set up for the faction gathering that night, yet she felt like everything had stilled. Katerina – whom she had not seen in sixteen years and counting – had sent two newly turned vampires to her by way of Emily. There had not even been a note, simply the elder brother – Damon – stating they had been told they would be safe with her.

“Follow me,” she ordered, internally furious. She took them to the parlour and made them sit. “How did you turn?”

“Katherine,” Damon started. Splendid, her sister had changed her name again, “Fed us blood regularly. Our father shot us the night the town council attempted to kill all the vampires.”

Lissa blinked. What sort of town council hunted vampires?

“Why would your father shoot you?” she asked for lack of anything else.

“We tried to save Katherine.”

A quest, Lissa had no doubt, that was fruitless in any scenario. Katerina would not have allowed herself to get in such a situation without at least four escape plans.

“We should not have bothered,” Stefan, the younger brother, said bitterly. Lissa silently urged him to continue. “She did not care about us. We were but food to her.”

“She did care,” Damon said coldly. The vehemence would have surprised her a few centuries ago, but she was long used to people falling at her sister’s feet.

“She compelled us, Damon. We had no choice!”

“She never compelled me.”

“You know that’s not true.”

“You should have your memories returned now that you are a vampire,” Lissa said, watching Damon closely.

“She never compelled me. I was aware the whole time. Everything was done by my own volition.”

Lissa looked at Stefan, who was blinking in shock.

“What?” he breathed. Damon nodded. “She compelled me not to be afraid of her.”

Lissa sighed. It was a common compulsion technique, particularly if they were just snacking. There was no need to leave a trail of bodies everywhere. To do such a thing in a town clearly aware of vampires was playing with fire, but such was Katerina’s nature.

“I had no control,” Stefan continued. Lissa frowned. “When my fear was gone, it did not matter what she was. What we did.”

“That isn’t how compulsion works,” Damon said, rolling his eyes. “You still had the ability to say no.”

“Yes and no,” Lissa said, distinctly uncomfortable. “Stefan could have said no, but as he was no longer afraid, he did not want to.”

The silence was agonising. Her relief was palpable when Elijah joined them.

“Good evening,” he said welcomingly. “My name is Elijah.”

“This is Damon and Stefan Salvatore. Katerina turned them,” Lissa said quietly. Damon’s face was flickering between enraged and confused and hurt.

“She did not care about us at all, did she?” he asked roughly. His pale blue eyes met hers and her heart went out to him. She shook her head. “I turned for her. I wanted to be with her forever.”

“I am sorry,” she said to them both. They had both been violated in very different ways.

“I am sorry, brother, for not realising what was happening,” Damon said weakly. Stefan squeezed his shoulder.

“I am sorry for killing our father.”

Elijah’s baffled expression nearly had Lissa giggling inappropriately. It was news to her as well.

“You may remain in New Orleans whilst you gain your bearings,” she said. Damon shook his head.

“I do not want to be where she wanted me. Thank you for your honesty.”

He disappeared immediately after speaking. Stefan bowed his head and followed. Lissa sighed and rested her head on Elijah’s shoulder.

“Perhaps this is what they both needed,” he said reassuringly.

“Or perhaps she has created a problem we will need to solve eventually.”

XXX

Kol lazily turned another page of the grimoire. It would be of little help in Freya’s plight, but he figured they had a plan (temporary as it may have been) for that, so he could indulge in curiosity for a while. Ava’s aunt, Sandra, had been a gifted spell creator. She’d also been batshit insane and cast the curse on her niece just because Paulette ran away. Despite his hopes when he’d raided the townhouse 1985, she had not written about the curse. The spells were still impressive.

“Kol.”

With a sigh, he looked up. He’d thought going to a bedroom rather than a common area would deter people – especially Ava’s old room. Of course, Nik had never been the kind of person to do what others wanted.

“What do you want?” Kol asked, removing his socked feet from the bed and putting the grimoire aside. Klaus took that as an invitation to come in. Prick.

“I spoke to Marcel.”

“You don’t do that daily?”

Klaus rolled his eyes. He was being casual and that made Kol anxious. That sort of behaviour generally preceded a daggering. Even if Klaus had long since given the daggers to their respective “owners”, it wasn’t a relaxing experience. He was smiling – a tiny thing that barely counted – at a picture on the dresser.

“He told me the truth about 1914.”

Oh, bloody fuck.

“Interesting, given he doesn’t know the truth about 1914,” Kol drawled.

“He knows more than me or Elijah did,” Klaus pointed out calmly. Kol clenched his jaw against the onslaught of insults he wanted to hurl. “I let my paranoia drive me.”

“Shocking. Is this going somewhere?”

Klaus pulled a box from the dresser, which was ridiculous on many levels. Why would they store anything there? The room wasn’t used.

“I don’t need to know what you were going to use it for. I’ve recently considered all the things it could have been used for. The conclusion is that I should have done this far sooner.”

He held out the box to Kol, who stared at it. Between every blink, his eyes shifted from the box to his brother and back. Slowly, like it would bite him, he reached for it. He removed the lid and swallowed.

“Mikael,” he rasped. Klaus frowned at him. “Astrid and Mary-Alice were going to channel the power, summon him, and then incapacitate him long enough for us to kill him.”

Klaus’s face tightened with rage. Kol took a step back.

“That would have certainly been easier than being caught off guard whilst visiting Chicago,” Klaus said, still completely calm. Musing. “Would have been nice to not owe Gloria for her quick intervention, but alas.” Kol really wasn’t sure what was happening. “Thank you, brother. I’m truly sorry.”

“I don’t know if I forgive you,” he said reluctantly. Klaus shrugged – shrugged, like he was accepting it?

“I’ve got eternity. I can’t have Lissa being your favourite sibling.”

Kol smirked a little.

“There was never a competition.”

Chapter Text

England, 1492

Elisaveta came to with a sharp gasp that rattled her bones. Her eyes snapped open. The familiar ceiling of her chambers did nothing to calm her, so she scrambled to sit upright. There was an odd fluttering noise like there was a butterfly in her ear, and something smelled deliciously tempting. Without thought, she launched herself towards it, only to find herself restrained by strong arms.

“I told you not to bring it in,” someone – Rebekah? – said snottily.

“You were correct. Well done,” someone – Kol, she was certain – retorted. The smell disappeared behind a click of a door. Elisaveta blinked away the terrifying surge of hunger and focused on the arms. “My apologies, darling.”

The arms dropped and she sat heavily on her bed. Rebekah was at the foot and Kol sat just in front of her. Elisaveta peered around for the fluttering but found nothing and no one else making any noise. She focused on the sound closer, and it led her to a candle. The flame. She could hear the flame.

“What happened?” she breathed. There was no sunlight peeking from behind the curtains. Had she fallen asleep after her afternoon stroll?

“Do you remember this morning?” Kol asked.

“We went for a ride,” she said. They did so every morning when Kol deigned to visit. “You gave me blood when Valkyrja threw me off.”

Kol and Rebekah looked at her with very different expressions of sadness. She frowned.

“Today has not been a good day for you, Elisaveta,” Kol said bluntly. Rebekah swatted him.

“What he means to say is that . . . well, you . . .”

“You died.”

Elisaveta stared. No, surely not? She could not have died! She was there and talking to them and . . .

“I am in – what is the word?” she breathed. Losing English was not common anymore, but she felt it was appropriate in the moment.

“Transition,” Rebekah said gently. Elisaveta’s chest trembled with the urge to sob.

“How?” she whispered. The memories escaped her to the point of aggravation.

“A balustrade gave way. You fell,” Kol said through his teeth. Elisaveta reached out and squeezed his hand. “You need not comfort me, Elisa. I have been telling Nik to fix that for months. He will pay for this.”

“They will return within the hour,” Rebekah answered before Elisaveta could ask. She breathed tremulously.

“What will Elijah say?”

“He will hopefully do something violent to Nik, then thank me for not having to do this himself,” Kol said musingly. Elisaveta looked at him questioningly. “Sire bonds are not common, but we would not want to take any chances.”

“Kol, you speak as though she has made a decision,” Rebekah snapped. Elisaveta blinked. Oh.

“I need time. It is one thing to speak of the possibilities, but I did not choose this. Not yet.”

Kol opened his mouth, but Rebekah clamped down on his arm.

“Of course, Elisaveta. You have time.”

Elena’s hands were sore from the twisting and tangling of her fingers. She wasn’t aware of doing it until Lissa stopped talking, and her hands stilled.

“You didn’t know?” Elena asked as though Lissa hadn’t just said that. Lissa indulged her with a kind smile.

“Elijah and I had spoken about it. I was not beholden to a deadline like Katerina, who was going to turn during the ritual, so we all thought I had more time. It was quite something having the choice taken away.”

Elena grimaced.

“Do you know what you would have done if it was still in your control?”

“I believe I would have chosen immortality, but that is with 500 years of hindsight. I was not opposed to the idea as a human, but we can never truly know.” Lissa tilted her head and paused thoughtfully. “I had 24 hours to make a decision. There is no describing the pressure that puts on a situation. It twisted my willpower. As I said, I didn’t truly have a choice.”

Elena sank into her armchair. Next to them, a fire crackled happily in the fireplace. She wondered what it sounded like to Lissa.

“Thank you,” she said warmly.

“You’re welcome, Elena. I’m glad you came to me.”

“I’ll speak to Bekah now.”

Lissa smiled knowingly.

“I never doubted you.”

XXX

Freya had never been to a carnival or fun fair or theme park. The thought of so many people and unknown scenarios filled her with overwhelming anxiety. She’d had twenty years to get used to modern times, but the rides did not seem safe. Her stomach churned just thinking about it, so she could only imagine the outcome of going on a rollercoaster.

Standing in the midst of a fun fair, she was proven wrong. Then again, there were no people. The rides were all stationary. The heavy scent of enticingly bad junk food permeated the twilight air. Lips pursed, she peered around.

“Never went to one of these.”

Freya turned to her right. Perched on the barrier between the field and the ghost train was Ava.

“Can’t imagine why,” Freya said dryly. Ava wrinkled her nose when she hopped down, glaring at her hands.

“How the fuck is it sticky?”

Their surroundings rippled. Burgers and candy floss shifted to fresh flowers and clean air. Food trucks and rides became acres of green grass and ancient oak trees. Twilight gave way to late morning. Ava shook out her hands then smirked at Freya.

“I missed you,” Freya said. Ava leapt into her waiting hug. It felt good. They hadn’t been able to hug a lot when she was alive because physical contact with the dead, undead, or dead adjacent tended to upset the voices. Not that it stopped her all the time.

“Sorry about the carnival. Thought it’d be a cool touch, but you know, hindsight.” Ava brightly hopped out of the hug. “Can’t believe I didn’t work out the family-isn’t-blood thing. Would’ve been nice to dream jack you all a decade ago.”

“Bonnie’s a smart one,” Freya said fondly. Ava nodded. Her expression had turned mildly sheepish. “What did you do?”

“I’m dead, Freya. What the fuck could I possibly have done?” Freya raised an eyebrow. Ava’s huff was reminiscent of Klaus’s, which made her smile slightly. “I could’ve waited for Josephine, but I figured I’d spare the heart attacks and temper tantrums when she found out it was me.”

Freya didn’t need to think very long to figure out where Ava’s thoughts were going.

“You did something to stop me ageing?”

“Not intentionally,” Ava said, not seeming largely bothered. “When Dahlia bit it, her magic kinda sorta didn’t. It was dark energy, but you know like I do that it didn’t have to be used for black magic. I tried to funnel it for a rainy day, ya know? Did not work. Accidentally funnelled it straight to you and made you immortal.”

“Ava,” Freya scolded. Again, she looked completely unruffled.

“I didn’t mean to! I didn’t even notice, but then you started looking into it, and I worked it out. Q helped.”

“You made me an immortal witch by accident?”

“Magic can be driven by intent. Q said it’s likely it picked up on my intent to use it to make Kol a witch again and went a bit AWOL.”

Freya didn’t gape. When things shocked her, she channelled them into anger. Never before had she been taken so off-guard that her mouth would hang open. Until now.

“Kol?” she whispered. Ava nodded calmly.

“It was all a bit chaotic. So, yeah, you’re immortal. It can be reversed if you’re not into that sort of thing. Had to make a “cure”, I guess, but it’s basically just a reversal. I’ll leave it in here when I split.”

She tapped Freya’s forehead.

“You were going to make Kol a witch again?”

Ava scoffed.

“Yeah, duh. If he agreed, obviously. I didn’t have a plan when Dahlia showed up, hence the storage attempt.”

“But you do now?”

“I’ve had over ten years and loads of hella rad witches to help, so yeah, I know how now.” Ava clicked her tongue. “I’ll leave that behind too. Oh, did you know your psycho mother bound all vampires to their sire line when she made vamps? An Original dies, and every vampire in their sire line kicks the bucket too.”

Freya had certainly not known that.

“Even if they don’t die? What if they jump into another body?”

“If their body is destroyed, that’s it. Only if they’re vampires, though.”

Freya sat on the warm ground. Ava plonked down opposite her. They sat in silence whilst Freya worked through everything. She was immortal. An immortal witch, previously thought to be impossible. It was encouraging that Ava had cooked up a reversal, because she honestly wasn’t sure how she felt about it. She tilted her head.

“Would Kol be immortal?”

“Nope,” she said, flopping backwards. “See, the spell I used on you didn’t exist before. I guess it doesn’t really exist now, ‘cause I don’t fucking know what it was. The spell for Kol is actually a reversal.”

“What about the power required?”

“Doesn’t have to be Dahlia-level. It just has very specific ingredients.”

She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

“Are you leaving?” she asked sadly. The sun was somehow setting. The air was cooling. Ava blew some hair from her face and turned her head. She looked utterly at peace sprawled in the grass and Freya’s heart ached. “Will you see anyone else?”

“Not for now,” Ava said quietly. She blinked and a tear trailed over her temple and into her hair. “I shouldn’t get used to it, and neither should they.”

“Why not?” Freya asked, even though she knew, deep down. Ava’s smile was tremulous. She didn’t answer. “I love you. You know that, right? We all do. So much.”

“I love you too, even if you’re all fucking bonkers.”

When Freya awoke, she was smiling.

XXX

“So,” Caroline said, walking through the open door of Klaus’s atelier, “Kol’s getting super high-strung about a showing of The Craft tomorrow night. Elena, Bon, and I have a bet on whether he compelled the manager. Elena doesn’t think he did because this is New Orleans and it’s totally on brand. Bonnie thinks he did it back when it first came out and forgot to remove it. I reckon he did that too, but he didn’t forget, so it’s totally on purpose that it comes back every year. Any guidance would be much appreciated.”

She batted her eyes dramatically. Klaus smirked.

“He has it on VHS, DVD, and blu-ray,” he scoffed. Caroline leant on the dresser next to his easel. There was a stunning, autumnal landscape taking shape on his canvas. “I’m not helping you cheat, my love. I’d never hear the end of it from Bonnie.”

“Ugh, fine. What’s the big deal about this movie anyway?”

“Kol developed an unhealthy fascination with it the moment he first saw it, as did Ava.”

“Ah,” Caroline said, realisation dawning easily. She crept closer when Klaus lowered his paintbrush, her head resting on his shoulder. “It’s stunning.”

“Germany, 1510, I think.” She laughed slightly. It would always be funny when he threw out dates from centuries ago like they were last week. “Elijah purchased this area of land, so it should be largely unchanged, even now.”

“I bet.”

“I’d love to show it to you. And any other sights you wish to see.”

Caroline’s chest seized and she couldn’t hide the sharp inhale. Klaus didn’t comment. She could have cried because he was letting her think and feel.

“What if I said I wanted to see the world?” she asked quietly. His hand came to rest on her hip.

“Then I would give it to you,” he said seriously. She lifted her head to look at him. He was staring firmly at the painting but met her gaze when she cleared her throat. His blue eyes were crystalline with vulnerability.

“And if I want you?”

His throat bobbed as he swallowed. A hand came up to cup her cheek and she closed her eyes at the warm touch.

“Then I would give myself to you.”

She had to open her eyes to ensure she didn’t miss. His expression was raw and open and loving, and she surged upwards to kiss him soundly. It was simple, yeah, but as Klaus wrapped both arms around her and she flung hers around his neck, she realised that it didn’t have to be messy or frantic because it was perfect anyway.

XXX

Kol took a deep, unnecessary breath. It shuddered out of him and left his many questions and fears behind, which was just rude, really. His hands were shaking. What in the fuck was that about? At least Freya didn’t interrupt his contemplative (read: horrified, hopeful) silence.

“Are you certain this will work?” he asked eventually. His words were hoarse.

“Ava said-.”

“I know what Ava said. Are you certain?”

“As I can be,” Freya said gently. She tapped the sheet of paper between them. “Ava reverse-engineered mother’s immortality spell and made it so that it can be applied individually rather than as a whole.” Kol huffed out a weak laugh at the thought of Klaus suddenly being human again. “You could still become a vampire again, but you wouldn’t be an Original unless mother’s spell was used.”

“As this is dependent on Elena’s blood, I imagine we should limit the times she donates.”

“This is true. She has already agreed. She doesn’t know what it’s for, but she said yes anyway.”

Freya seemed perplexed by the willingness. Kol would have been if it was anyone else, but Elena was a very helpful person. He was utterly convinced she would have given Klaus her blood to make hybrids if he asked nicely.

“Where will you draw power from if not white oak?”

“Apparently I’m meant to ask you about this,” Freya said, ruefully showing him a second sheet of paper where she’d drawn a truly dreadful depiction of the paragon diamond. He snorted. “Shut up. It’s not like I could print my memories onto the page.”

“Clearly,” he chuckled. “A paragon diamond which, helpfully, has recently made its way back into my possession. It has plenty of juice to do this spell more than once.”

“More than once?” Freya asked. She was trying to look clueless. It was embarrassing.

“I’m sure I don’t need to explain that to you, big sister,” he said fondly. She half-glared. They didn’t get the chance to continue. A high-pitched squeal – of delight, he realised belatedly – had them rushing into the corridor.

“What was that ridiculous noise?” Rebekah demanded, sweeping up the stairs. “Darling, was that you?”

“Yes, and I am not ashamed,” Elena said. At her side, Bonnie was leaning into the rail for support, laughing breathlessly. Rebekah grinned delightedly when she looked into the room that had sparked the reactions. Kol, far too intrigued, blurred over.

“Oh, this is spectacular,” he said gleefully. In the atelier, Nik and Caroline appeared to be trying to put a dimension between them. Caroline was bright scarlet. Nik looked positively murderous. “I should have opened a pool.”

“Nandi says you’re a crap gambler,” Bonnie pointed out. He scoffed.

“She cheats.”

“Okay!” Caroline interrupted loudly (and, he was sure he wasn’t reading too much into it, mortifyingly). “Please, leave, all of you. Klaus and I were-.”

“If you say you were talking, I will call your mother,” Rebekah said. Caroline sighed.

“We’re going to have a conversation. Without any of you. Privately. So – go away.”

“Maybe shut the door this time,” Elena teased. Klaus slammed the door.

“Liss is going to be so mad she missed this,” Bonnie said brightly. They all laughed and, when Klaus threw something that rattled the door, they laughed harder.

What a good day.

Chapter Text

July 2017

Caroline smoothed her hands down the silk of her dress and readjusted the flowers in her hair. She couldn’t stop the brilliant smile that had been in place all day.

“Hey,” Elena said, poking her head around the door. “Bon’s wrangling the guests. You ready?”

Elena looked stunning in her green bridesmaid’s dress. It had a cowl neck and gold straps, and there was a flower tucked behind her ear. Caroline nodded, accepting the resplendent bouquet she was handed.

“Kol, what the hell are you doing?” she demanded when they reached the gardens. Kol, decked out in a dapper tux, jumped and tried to hide something behind his back.

“I hear it’s traditional to have these at bachelor parties and, as there wasn’t one, I thought I’d offer them during the ceremony.”

“Cigars?” Elena asked doubtfully. Kol smiled and nodded. “No.”

“Why not!? It’s tradition for a reason.”

“It’s really, really not,” Caroline said. She used her vamp speed to her advantage and stole them away from him. He scowled.

“I will hex you.”

“Sure, Jan.”

“Who is Jan?”

Caroline opened her mouth but lost all ability to speak. Elena giggled next to her.

“Please don’t kill him. I kind of like having him around,” Bonnie said dryly. She came from behind Caroline and tucked herself easily into Kol’s waiting side. “You’re supposed to be helping me usher.”

“But I don’t want to,” Kol grumbled. When he glanced to the house and saw Elijah coming out, he groaned. “Fine, but only to escape a lecture.”

The couple fled the scene, heading for the fully occupied chairs, aisle, and altar where the ceremony would be taking place. Elijah was smiling fondly when he reached them.

“Where is Rebekah?”

“Micromanaging,” Elena said with the kind of gloating fondness that came from loving a Mikaelson.

“Ugh, what is this?” Caroline hissed, storming over to the string quartet. “This is a wedding, not a funeral! Pick up the pace!” Her gaze zeroed in on a table on the far side of the patio, set up for the reception and dinner, with an abandoned glass on it. She snatched a waiter on her way over. “I should not be bussing your tables. Figure yourself out.”

“What about me, sweetheart? How am I doing?”

All her tension faded with her soft exhale. Leaning against the nearest doorframe, Klaus was smirking approvingly. He looked divine in his tuxedo.

“You are perfect.”

XXX

March 2014

Kol typically wasn’t aware of dreaming. Upon finding himself in a room he hadn’t seen decorated as such for years, it became quite obvious. Everything was back to how it had been in 2001. The furniture was dark, the walls cream but barely visible under dozens of album covers, and there had to be at least 40 candles where the picture frames used to be – would be? Were?

“I thought you’d visit everyone but me,” he said when he refocused on the bed. Ava smirked at him. “What?”

“I usually have to announce myself. I like this.”

“Why are you here, darling?”

Experiencing feelings as potently as real life seemed like punishment in dreams. The fact that the love of his existence was right there – really, truly with him – was tearing him apart. Pictures and memories had barely sustained him.

“I’m not going to see the others,” she said. He blinked. “I love them all dearly, but this is going to be hard enough.”

“What is?” he asked reluctantly. He had only made his decision that morning, and he doubted it was a coincidence.

“Saying goodbye.” She drifted over to the candles. With a small flex of her fingers, they were all alight. “The spell’s gonna work, mischief. By this time tomorrow, you’ll be a witch again.”

“Thanks to you,” he said, itching to hold her or cry or both. She looked over her shoulder, one eyebrow raised. His heart broke a little more. “You finished.”

“Elena’s stark raving loony, b-t-dubs. Just giving her blood out without asking what it’s for.”

“Stop avoiding the subject.”

Ava’s sad smile nearly made him double over in pain.

“Yeah. All business is accounted for. Give the love of my life what he’s always wanted? Check. Give my Bex options she’s never had? Check. Fix what I did to Freya? Super check. Watch Nik fall ass over common sense for his perfect match and make a complete tit of himself? Triple check.”

“What about Lissy and Elijah?”

“They’ve had their shit together since they met. I’m not touching that.”

Kol breathed a frankly pathetic laugh.

“So, this is it?” he whispered.

“I’m afraid so,” she said, quiet and soft. She came to stand in front of him but – mercifully or cruelly, he had no idea – didn’t touch. “The Other Side is great, but it also sucks balls. I heard you all, saw you all, but there was a veil between us that couldn’t be breached. I couldn’t endure forever being there but not there.”

“Watching us move on.”

She shook her head.

“I’m not saying that would have been fun, but I expected it. It’s what you all deserve. I just couldn’t stand not being with you all.”

“I’m so sorry,” he rasped, gazing into those mesmerising grey-green eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t-.”

“Ssh, mischief.” She hovered a finger over his lips but, again, didn’t touch. “I’ve never blamed you.”

“Do you promise?”

“Of course I-.”

“Not that. Do you promise this is it?”

She smiled faintly. It wasn’t as sad as before.

“I promise.”

He scooped her into a hug, marvelling at her warmth. She snuggled into his chest and gripped his back fiercely. For the last time, he buried his hands in her chaotic curls, and breathed the scent of static electricity and sage.

“Tell everyone I love them and that they have to fix their own fucking messes from now on.” He chuckled through the tears streaming down his cheeks. “Don’t forget me, okay? You can all move on, but I will come back to haunt all of you if you forget me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Funny.”

“I love you too, Ava.”

Ava pulled back and, with a brief brush of his cheek, stepped away. Her face was damp with her own tears. Between blinks, Kol was left alone in the room. He fell to his knees, drained of energy and overwhelmed with the dizziest combination of relief and sorrow.

XXX

July 2017

“Your presence has been requested by my sister,” Klaus said with a small eye roll. Caroline kissed his cheek softly.

“Which one?”

“The insane one, of course.”

“I’m gonna tell her you said that,” she teased. He huffed.

“I’m shaking. Truly.” He took her hand but paused on the way back. “Brother, please inform Bonnie and Elena that they are needed.”

Elijah nodded in their direction and Caroline let herself be guided to the suite where Freya had been “imprisoned” – her words, no one else’s – so she wouldn’t crack and pay a visit to her soon-to-be-bride, who was incredibly superstitious.

Understandable, given the Mikaelson luck.

“Oh. My. God. You look so beautiful,” Caroline whispered. Freya, stood in front of a floor length mirror, was absolutely glowing in a white lace gown. Her loose curls were topped with a simple floral headpiece. Rebekah was smoothing out imaginary creases in the skirt.

“Thank you, Caroline. Klaus, did you-?”

“Keelin is still in the building and threatened me with many creative things if I gave into your demands for a description of her,” Klaus said.

“I know you’re not used to good surprises, but this will be one,” Caroline added, hoping to assuage her even slightly. Freya sighed so aggressively it was almost a growl.

“I hate waiting.”

“Not much longer, love,” Rebekah said soothingly. “Hello, darling.”

Elena breezed over, kissed Rebekah’s cheek, and promptly teared up at Freya’s appearance. She squeezed Freya’s hand – none of them were going to risk hugging her with Rebekah in the vicinity. Caroline’s phone buzzed.

[Group chat: why is no one READY]

Elijah: All guests are seated.

Bonnie: Keelin’s good to go

Kol: saaaaaame

Caroline: commencing transfer of Freya

“Alright, time to go!” Caroline declared.

“Wait, no, we can’t without-,” Freya started to protest.

“Apologies for my lateness. Traffic was awful,” Finn said when he appeared in the doorway. Klaus rolled his eyes.

“If you’d just stayed here-.”

“Nope, no time. Let’s move!” Caroline interrupted.

XXX

April 2015

Caroline wasn’t sure what she’d expected. No, scratch that, she totally did. The Fauline cottage was the appropriate level of creepy with its sharp points and shrouded windows, so she had thought the Garden would be the same. Instead, there was a relatively modern building just over the property line from the cottage, built from light wood and chrome. It wasn’t very big.

“Are you sure about this?” Marcel asked. They didn’t go inside.

“My answer hasn’t changed since the last time you asked – you know, 30 seconds ago,” she said snappishly. He shrugged apologetically.

“You’ve only been a vamp for a few weeks. If the emotion gets too much, just say the word and we’re out of there.”

She smiled at him a bit shakily. When she nodded, he pulled the door open. The foyer extended into a guard station and stretched back into what looked like a well-furnished and well stocked break room. The guard nodded them through a door to the right.

When they were kids, Tyler used to throw parties at the swimming hole near the old Lockwood property. Those who were brave enough would follow him to the Lockwood cellar. It was always cold and damp, the stone walls carved with fingernail markings and heavy chains embedded beneath them. Caroline was reminded of those days as she followed Marcel down the cobbled steps into a huge stone cavern.

There were eight cells along each side built from clear material she assumed was stronger than the average glass or plastic. Only 3 had occupants. The third on the right had clearly been there for ages; she was sitting in the corner, one leg bent and the other straight out in front, stiff as a board. Her skin was a nasty grey that nearly blended with the ground, auburn hair dull and lank around her head. In the last cell on the right, the prisoner wasn’t as seasoned. He was crouched, rocking slightly, and either giving himself a head massage or preparing to tear his hair out. Maybe both.

“Caroline? What are you doing here?” Thierry asked. His eyes danced between her and Marcel anxiously. It was a look she’d never seen on him before.

“You know she doesn’t need to tell you, T,” Marcel said calmly. Thierry’s eyebrow twitched.

“Mom doesn’t know you’re here, does she?” Caroline shook her head. He blinked at Marcel. “I’m not telling her.”

“That’s what confidentiality is.”

“When she finds out – and she will – I’m taking you down with me.”

“You’re such a momma’s boy.”

“Look,” Caroline interrupted before they could start bickering, “I’m not saying I’m in a rush to get in there, but I do want this over with. Could you, maybe, do this elsewhere? Then I don’t have to hear you, and you don’t hear me.”

“Sorry, Caroline, we’ve got to stay. We’ll tune you out though,” Thierry said reassuringly. She raised an eyebrow.

“Tune me out?”

“You’ll learn how to do it eventually. Supernatural hearing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Marcel explained. Huh. Cool. “Whenever you’re ready.”

She entered the cavern with the kind of practiced confidence that helped her become Miss Mystic Falls. The final prisoner was in the second cell on the left. He sat against the back wall, legs splayed wide and arms limp at his sides. He was a pasty grey colour, veins beginning to protrude. Looking at him made her insides sick. When the eyes that haunted her nightmares flashed open, they were dulled with starvation. Rage and pain roiled violently, nearly forcing her monster to the surface. She bit it back.

“Can he talk?” she asked. Klaus had only given her a brief overview of desiccation, so she wasn’t sure what the timing was on each stage.

“No, which is why I brought this.” Marcel pulled a small vial from his pocket. The thick red substance inside was easily identifiable. “Thierry, can you open this up for me?”

Thierry muttered something about his mom flipping a table but pushed a button to open the cell anyway. Caroline allowed one moment to giggle quietly before she watched Marcel. He crouched and used a pipette to drip five drops of blood into Damon’s mouth.

“It’s pigeon,” he said when he was back at her side. She grimaced. “We’ll be right over here when you’re done.”

He retreated to the entryway, leaving Caroline to analyse her first monster. He was regaining a more natural colour and blinking moisture back into his eyes.

“Caroline.”

Leaving the car wash. Rickety stairs. A pale, sweaty face. Weak hands that were still stronger than her.

“Damon,” she said. Her jaw was rigid with the effort to not scream, not cry, not show weakness. He couldn’t hurt her. He would never hurt her again.

“You’re . . . a vampire.”

She wondered what it felt like to talk with so little blood in his system. Painful, hopefully.

“Yep. It’s a good thing the compulsion was reversed before I transitioned, ‘cause it would have really sucked to get all the memories back after so long.”

“How’d-.” He coughed violently. “You . . . even find me?”

She frowned. Then she realised.

“I’ve known this whole time.” He blinked very slowly at her. “You should be grateful. Most of them wanted to kill you.”

“Them?” Only a second later, he seemed to understand. His eyes went very wide. “No.”

“Seriously? You thought they’d just come to town and leave without a word? Yeah, right. I mean, it was ‘Lijah’s blood that turned me.” She saw him mouth “’Lijah” with a kind of horrified confusion that made her smirk. “What did you think was going to happen, anyway? Really, what was your endgame when you chose me?”

“You were convenient,” he rasped then coughed again. It was a dry, scraping noise that made her inexplicably happy. It was also super gross, but whatever. “Elena looked like Katherine . . . Stefan was enamoured . . . I wanted to cause them pain.”

“Not what I asked.”

“Figured I’d . . . torture Stefan and-.” More coughing. “-kill you.” She folded her arms. He gave up so quickly, it was embarrassing. “I did my research. Doppelgangers. Magic nonsense. Then I found the curse of the sun and the moon.” Oh, he couldn’t be serious. “I thought Elena could be . . . a peace offering.”

“You knew it was fake?” she asked doubtfully. When all he did was look at her, visibly baffled, she scoffed. Of course he hadn’t. “Yeah, it’s fake. It was a curse on Klaus. Elijah and Klaus made it and a bunch of others up in like the 13^th century to get everyone looking for the ingredients.” Damon’s face had transformed into straight-up dumbstruck. “So, what, you were going to bring them Elena to break the curse of the sun? That was your big plan?”

“Klaus likes his deals.”

“God, you’re such an idiot. You murdered Ava and you think breaking some curse that would also benefit you was going to put you back in their good books?”

“Feeling at a disadvantage here, Barbie. Is there anything you don’t know?”

“What could you even get from a peace offering?”

“You’ve never had to spend your life looking over your shoulder and it shows. Kol got to me quick, but there were plenty of others who could show up at any point. I didn’t like that kind of uncertainty."

“Why?” she asked quietly. It hurt to hear she’d been literally nothing to him, but it wasn’t a surprise. She was a stranger. A convenient little spy. That didn’t explain other things though. “Why are you like this?”

“You can thank Katherine for that – oh wait, guess you can’t.” Caroline felt a surge of anger.

“Seriously? I don’t know what she did to you and Stefan, but I know it sucked, big time. Why would you do something like that, or worse, to someone else?”

“Katherine didn’t give a damn about me, and I don’t give a damn about you. You were a human – and humans are nothing but food and entertainment to vampires.”

Feeling like she would tear him to shreds if he was within reach, she shook her head and stepped back.

“You’re the worst. I hope your time in here will show you that.”

XXX

July 2017

The ceremony was magical. Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie served as bridesmaids for both brides. When they had found out Keelin had no family left, Rebekah insisted on escorting her down the aisle. Freya beamed the entire way, clinging to Finn’s arm like she would fall. Caroline managed to hold herself back until Kol pronounced Freya and Keelin one, then promptly burst into happy tears.

At the reception, the drinks flowed, and the dances got more flamboyant. Every so often, Kol made pink flower petals rain down. Elijah had grudgingly allowed non-orchestral music to play – i.e. a carefully curated playlist created by Bonnie and Thierry with input from Marcel. Waiters and bartenders were all human, which left Josh free to enjoy his night with Aiden.

“You can see that, right?” Bonnie asked, teetering into a chair next to Caroline, who frowned. Bonnie nudged her cheek to turn her head to the left.

“Oh. Finally.”

“Lissa won the bet.”

“There was no bet,” Lissa said, sitting on Caroline’s other side. “At least as far as Sheila is concerned.”

“Smart,” Bonnie said, nodding drunkenly. Caroline smirked in amusement. On the dance floor, Sheila and Josephine spun in lazy circles, both grinning widely, oblivious to their observers.

“Hey! Oh, hell yes, win for Sheilaphine!” Davina said excitedly. Caroline raised an eyebrow. “No?”

“It’s better than Joshiela,” Bonnie said.

“Valid,” Caroline said, saluting Davina with her champagne flute. Grinning like she’d won the lottery, Davina practically skipped to Monique’s side. Cassie and Abigail were around somewhere.

“Is it a jinx to say this is a good day?” Bonnie asked, tilting her head slightly too far and nearly toppling off her chair.

“All surviving Mikaelsons have been in the same location for more than one hour without even threat of death. I would say the time for jinxing is long gone,” Lissa said. She was smiling at Elijah dancing with Keelin, Freya nearby with Elena.

“Hear, hear!” Bonnie toasted.

XXX

April 2015

“Hello, my love.”

Okay, so Caroline wasn’t really sure why she’d attempted to sneak back into the compound. It was way more obvious than just walking back with her iced coffee and pretending like she’d been on a walk. She’d all but tiptoed her way to her and Klaus’s bedroom, which of course, he was waiting in.

“Hey, babe,” she said, smiling widely enough to hurt. Why didn’t vampirism come with improved lying ability?

“Are you alright?” he asked, frowning at her slightly. Was he playing dumb? Lulling her into a false sense of security?

“Sure! What about you? How was the human faction thing?”

“Dull. Elijah decided to humour the mayor, so we overran by an hour.”

“Aw, no. That blows.” Caroline couldn’t take it. “I went to the Garden.” His eyes went wide in genuine shock. “Wait, you really didn’t know?”

“What made you think I knew?” he asked, half-smiling in amusement. She shrugged helplessly.

“Guilty conscience?”

“Are you alright?”

He came to hold her waist gently, head tilted in concern. She went to reassure him, and herself, but no words came out when she opened her mouth. Instead, she blinked, and shook her head slowly.

“He didn’t care. There was no reason for what he did to me. I was nothing to him.”

Forgiving and forgetting were off the table, but a tiny part of her had hoped Damon justifying his behaviour would make it easier for her to move on. Flipped humanity switch. Fried morals thanks to trauma. Anything. But she was nothing but a warm body.

“He is worth less than that, sweetheart,” Klaus murmured, tucking her head into his neck. His lips ruffled her hair. “I wish you had gone with someone.”

“I took Marcel,” she mumbled. His sigh was hilariously irate. “Or he took me. Whatever. I needed to do the actual talking by myself, though.”

“I don’t like the thought of you facing your monsters alone. You deserve to be surrounded by family at all times, but particularly in those circumstances.”

“My family would have been a huge distraction and probably killed him,” she teased. He huffed.

“Your word is still law, my love. He is in there because of what he did to you and, until you say so, he will remain there. Alive.”

“Aw. Remember when he was in there because he just so happened to abuse me, and you all needed a reason to lock him up?”

“You have always been more than an excuse. From the moment Lissa took that phone call, you were family.”

“I love you, Nik,” she whispered into his chest. His arms wrapped around her fiercely. Warmly. Protectively.

“I love you too, Caroline.”

XXX

July 2017

Klaus found himself dancing with Caroline when the tapping of a single glass became most of the guests tapping. As it wasn’t initiated by him, he was confused. Freya and Keelin – “Freelin, Klaus, get with the programme,” a voice in his head that sounded awfully like Caroline said – had wanted to maintain a party atmosphere, and only Klaus was due to give a speech. Monique was smiling sheepishly on the patio.

“Sorry – has anyone seen my purse?” she asked. Caroline giggled half a second before the rest of the crowd laughed. When the purse had been successfully located by Jenna, Klaus took the opportunity to step into Monique’s vacated spot.

“I won’t keep you long,” he said. Someone – he heavily suspected Kol until he saw Lissa had her hand over her mouth – snorted. “In 1993, when we were reunited with Freya, I had thought our family was complete. I have realised as we grow that it isn’t about that. Family is about being united in whatever iteration it takes. We have lost members, gained others, and today we welcome another. Keelin, I am grateful you found us. It brings us joy to see Freya has found her match in more ways than one. Welcome to the family!”

Both Keelin and Freya insisted on hugging him when the toasting had calmed. He accepted them graciously.

“Thank you,” Keelin said, squeezing his hand before snagging Lissa for a dance. Freya sighed happily.

“It would be remiss of me to not say anything,” he said, half-grinning.

“Gods, what?” Freya asked in a tone that, in his opinion, was overly suspicious.

“Ava would have made a point of it being her who brought you together.”

“She’d have pointed out way more than that.” She smiled whimsically. “I am so unbelievably happy. So many times, I feared I’d never have anything like this. Thank you for being part of proving I can have this and more.”

Over by the bar, Caroline was laughing loudly, her mouth wide and eyes sparkling. Bonnie, Liz, Katie, and Diego were all laughing along too, but none shone as brightly as Caroline.

“Perhaps it wasn’t just proving it for you,” he said quietly.

XXX

October 2017

When Caroline had been human and living in Mystic Falls, she had not been happy. Even if the trauma was discounted, she had felt like the ultimate kiddie pool of shallow. People didn’t like her. They tolerated her. Her dad left and her mom worked too much. There had always been a dark part of her that doubted Bonnie and Elena’s friendship was real. Then they’d totally gone to bat for her and she realised she’d been stupid.

Everything changed when she moved to New Orleans. She became ensconced in the supernatural world by choice and not consequence. Her opinions were valued. Her voice was heard. She found love in many different forms – for a city, for more friends than she could have imagined, for a family she never thought she would have. Her existing relationships became stronger than ever. She had helped stop a twisted ritual, become involved with faction meetings, graduated college, and became a vampire on her own time. Klaus called her his Queen, and she had adjusted to that role. The city was theirs.

When Caroline woke up on the morning of her 24^th birthday, Klaus was kneeling on the floor by their bed, an unopened velvet box perched on his palm. She smirked.

“What happened to “madness”?”

He rolled his eyes fondly.

“I found a loophole.”