Chapter Text
It's been six long months since I boarded the plane, leaving my little sister Bonnie behind in Virginia, and so far, I can confidently say moving to Forks may have been my worst idea yet. I was already second-guessing my decision to leave simply because Elena Gilbert and her gang of misfits seem to think that my sister and I exist to serve and defend her from whatever big bads come to town for her. I feared that without my protection, Bonnie would've let herself be used as a tool and a magical fix-it witch. I refused to let my sister play the role of a magical negro at the beck and call of incompetent fools!
So I did what I had to do, which led me to make a deal with the all-powerful Original family. The deal was quite simply protect me and mine, and I would personally ensure no permanent harm was done to the family, well, not permanent harm anyway. The Mikaelson family had made their fair share of enemies by the time my sister and I came along, which practically made it impossible to protect them from everyone at all times, so this agreement made it quite easy to uphold my end of the bargain while also making sure not to overwork myself.
Back to the present, it just seems that peace isn't in the cards for me, seeing as my first day back at home, reunited with my father for the first time in four months, was overshadowed by the fact that there was an entire coven of cold ones living amongst humans and interacting with them on a day-to-day basis. To make matters worst the youngest boy, Edward, shares multiple classes with me and now we're partners on this science project, which leads me to my current predicament, spending Thanksgiving dinner with the Cullen's.
"So, Bella," The patriarch of the Cullen family spoke, his voice as soft and smooth as silk, slightly tinted with mild curiosity, causing my head to instantly snap up and look in his direction.
"Edward here told us about the project you have to complete in your biology class?" As he spoke, he tilted his head towards his son as if seeking validation or confirmation; whatever unseen response Edward gave him seemed to give him the courage to continue his unwanted line of questioning,
"Well, I wouldn't really call it a project. It's more like a timeline, you know?" Why do I word it as a question when I know for a fact that his other children had already had Mr. Banner's class before my arrival, which means that not only did they do it, they would've had to complete it to complete his class, is unbeknownst to me. I can see the wheels slowly turning in the mind of the Cullen clan, which leads me to believe that I somehow walked into a trap of my own making. The tense and silent atmosphere causes my magic to flare. It seems the only one to catch the change was Jasper, sitting quietly, staring directly at me from his seat across the table.
It's not exactly a secret to me, and it's definitely not to the Cullen's as to why Carlisle would worry about the chance of another encounter with my family or the people associated with us, considering our family history. Though Jasper seems quite eager to poke the bear,
"Yes, I do believe that's the most accurate term. Isabella, do you know much about your family's history?" At the sharp eyebrow raise, Jasper seems to change his tone,
"I don't mean to be a bother, but I'm simply curious. During my time in Mr. Banner's class, ours was a timeline was about our family's history. I imagine that it's quite the same for you and Edward. Not to overstep, Bella, but there isn't much known about you. It's almost as if you didn't exist before you stepped foot into Forks this year." A glance to my left, and I see Rosalie rolling her eyes at her brother's line of questioning. It seems that Rosalie isn't as dumb as I initially thought; she might be the only one who realizes that Jasper has unintentionally confirmed my suspicions, they're playing me. And like the idiots they were, they didn't even notice they just gave themselves away.
Two can play that game, and I'll play it better.
"Jasper, you'll find there isn't much I don't know about my family, and that includes our history. And about the questioning, maybe you just didn't talk to the right people. I've spent half of my life in Forks." Before he can respond, both Esme and Emmett walk out of the kitchen carrying the food. As they enter, all tension leaves the room as swiftly as it came in. It seems that for beings that don't need food to survive, they went out of their way to cook a bunch of food that's going straight into the trash the moment I leave.
Things took on a more domestic tone after Esme laid the final turkey spread onto the table. Food was grabbed and passed around, and they even went as far as to say grace. The Cullen's were truly dedicated to the bit; they even bowed their heads and connected their hands. If I weren't so pissed that they invited me here and convinced my father to let me spend Thanksgiving dinner here instead of on the reservation to manipulate information out of me, I might've busted a smile from the sheer humanity of it all.
I wonder if I jinxed myself because after about thirty minutes of watching the Cullen's try to subtly hide the fact that, unlike me their not actually eating their food, they start up again with their incessant questioning, once again it's Carlisle leading,
"So, Bella, do you have any idea where you plan to start for your timeline? Any specific point in history?" If I had any more patience, I may have considered continuing to play this boring cat and mouse game, but I don't, and honestly, I'd rather die than continue to waste my time being here in the presence of people I couldn't care less about.
"Well, I figured that I'd start with the Salem witch trials, seeing as almost my entire family was wiped out due to the careless accusations of a racist white man and his batshit crazy family." The beautiful silence I had craved since I arrived here suddenly greeted me, and for the first time in three hours, I felt true peace.
"Sa…….. the Salem witch trials?" Shaky and unsure, hm, that's definitely a first for the great Carlisle Cullen, Leader of the Cullen clan. He didn't wait for an answer before he started up again,
"During the trials, did your family go by Swan?" He almost seemed hopeful, too bad for him that not even a century could erase his horrendous actions against my family.
"No, Swan is my father's name. My family, who were involved with the Salem witch trials, were on my mother's side. We went by Bennett. In fact, my grandparents were named Charles and Gigan Bennett. One of the first in my family to live in what is called Mystic Falls."
Seeing the distraught look on his face once again almost made me want to smile in glee. But I can't, no matter how much I want to because I'm just getting started,
"In fact, Carlisle, speaking of family, what was your father's name again?" If I were a total idiot and still had doubts, the look of guilt engulfing Carlisle's entire being would instantly clear them. As if seeing that they were caught, the children instantly started yelling over each other. It was quite hard to tell if they were mad at me or mad at themselves.
Much to my pleasure, it looked like that night was finally coming to a close. As soon as my legs touch the floor to begin to stand up my phone rings, the noise stops all chatter and false tears, seven heads snap towards the sound of the noise, towards me.
I pick up before looking at the caller id.
"Hello, love." A soft voice purrs. Hearing his voice after all these months causes my skin to crawl, and I'm ashamed to say, for a completely different reason than when it happened in the presence of the Cullens.
"Hello, Niklaus. What is it that you could possibly need from me today?" Due to his lack of response, I continue,
"If this is about both Kol and Finn coming to stay with Dad and I for a few weeks-" I was cut off before I could finish my sentence,
"They're dead." The words were final; there was no questioning or second-guessing. They were spoken as if the peace was already made.
A brief flash of pure disbelief flowed through me. I had barely been gone six months, how in the hell was it possible for not one but two unkillable beings who lived over a thousand years to die in six months?
"Nik, what the hell do you mean they're dead?! Who in their right mind would try to kill an Orin-" Just before the words could fully leave my lips, the answer pops into my head. The bane of my damn existence, Elena fucking Gilbert and her gang of delinquents."
"Elena Gilbert," We answer simultaneously. This damn girl lacks common sense and self-preservation.
"Was Bonnie involved?" I try to search my mind for any other reason for him to be calling me right now, and I'm falling short. If Klaus wanted me dead, I would've died a long time ago. Especially because I fell through on my end of the bargain, with not one but two of his brothers dying within six months.
A dry chuckle hits my ear and causes my spine to automatically straighten out. Fear hits me so hard it punches the wind out of me. "Worry not, love, it seems your little sister was completely unaware of the plan to kill my brothers." His words force my body to relax, but before I can offer my help in the resurrection of the Mikaelson brothers. His words once again surprise me,
"But not only did they murder my family, but they also killed every single vampire my brothers ever sired, as well as the ones who were turned by their blood. It seems that when a sire dies, everyone connected to them dies as well. The idiots committed a mass genocide, wiping out millions of vampires across the globe." WHAT THE FUCK is actually wrong with these people,
"Do you see the problem, Bella? Vampires everywhere are just dropping dead for no apparent reason. There's only a matter of time before people become suspicious, and then once they find out the truth, outright fucking angry and violent." I've officially decided that I will personally hunt down Elena Gilbert and chop off her pretty little head, and then maybe hang it above my bed as a reward for all my hard work,
"What do you need me to do?" I'm already mapping out plans, trying to arrange flights and find spellbooks, all while prepping my body for a resurrection and the toll it's going to take, when another chuckle interrupts my train of thought,
"So eager love," His words cause a blush to overtake my entire face, "Do not fret, little Swan, I already have a plan on how to avenge my siblings, all I need from you are the people you wish for me to leave out of my carnage, well, besides the innocents in this dreadful town." His offer surprises me, which is why it takes me a moment to respond,
"Before I answer that, can I ask why they suddenly decided to just up and kill two Original vampires? And how in the hell did they get the necessary equipment?" Silence on the other line, and for a moment I thought I wasn't going to get a response,
"In the time you've been gone, things have changed. We recently heard news of a alledge cure to immortality, but to find it, we needed a hunter, which turns out, Jeremy just so happened to be one. Each hunter has a tattoo that appears once they kill vampires. If they manage to kill enough vampires, then they receive a map. Said map leads them right to the cure or, most importantly, the person who holds it." Of course, Ms. Gilbert can't handle becoming a vampire, so she and her boyfriends decide to murder millions of innocent people to get what she wants! Because that makes so much fucking sense.
"Silas, they're trying to find Silas." If the silence on the other end tells me anything, it's that Klaus didn't expect me to know who Silas is, let alone what he carries with him.
"Well, it seems you're more informed than I originally thought, so I believe I can skip the rest. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened to my siblings and why." He's right, it doesn't. While Kol's death makes sense, seeing as my ancestors told me Kol was one of the few who were against the rise of Silas for centuries, He probally reacted harshly, and while he was distracted, they struck and killed him. That's the only conclusion I can come up with as to why two baby vampires were able to kill an Original. Finn was most likely wrong place at the wrong time. No matter, they'll be able to tell me soon enough on their own,
"Sweetheart, back to my original question, who exactly were the people under your protection? I wouldn't want to kill the wrong people and break our promise, now would I love." Prompted back to answer his question gives me a moment to think,
"At the time, the people on my protection list were Bonnie Bennett, Tyler Lockwood, Matthew Donovan, Elizabeth, and Caroline Forbes. They are the only people I care about you not hurting Klaus, everyone else is fair game." Perhaps it's a little wrong of me as a witch to potentially throw innocent people to the wolf but oh well, all I can say is duck and cover.
"I thought so, but I just wanted clarification before I make my move." At my silence, he continues,
"You aren't going to try to beg for their freedom, love? I know you and Elena were once friends; don't you wish to plead for her life?" It's times like this where I can't tell if this prick is being serious or if he's just pulling my chain, trying to get a reaction out of me,
"It'll be a cold day in hell before I ever plead for Elena Gilbert; she already has enough people doing that, she doesn't need me. The Salvatores are idiots who are blindly following a girl who's in love with both of them in hopes she'll pick one and stick to it, which, from what I heard their not having much luck in that department. And Jeremy cheated on my damn sister with a motherfucking ghost after she almost died bringing his ungrateful ass back to life. Like dead ass who does shit like that?" A soft hum fills my speakers
"Jeremy apparently love." Yea and that's exactly why I'm finna let you kill his ass! Like duhh
"Klaus, I need you to talk to Rebekah. I know she was bummed about the cure, but you need to explain to her the truth." I wonder if Kol ever told his family about Silas, or did he just lash out and refuse to explain himself? Knowing the Mikaelsons, I'm willing to bet he didn't try to tell his family what he knew about Silas.
"The truth?" Ah, I was right, Kol did infact neglet to tell his family about the reality of taking the cure,
"The cure is a sham. My ancestor, Qetsiyah, made it for Silas after he tricked her into making the immortality spell by herself. Qetsiyah believed that she and Silas were in love and to be married, but on their wedding day, she found out that he had taken the serum with her lady maid, Amara, and planned on living out his immortal life with her instead. To make a long story short, she used her blood as a binding agent, creating the cure. She entombed Amara and made her the anchor to the other side while draining the life out of Silas, hoping one day someone would awaken him in hopes of Silas drinking the cure." I try to bring the memories of the night I was first told this story in hopes of not leaving anything out,
"If she hated Silas, why give him a cure and a way out?" For all his plans of murder and death, he still can't see the bigger picture,
"Because Silas believes Amara to be dead, he wishes to take the cure and join her in peace. What he doesn't know is that Amara is in fact still alive, just suffering terribly in pain due to her feeling the death of every supernatural being, but that's neither here nor there. So once he wakes, he'll be desperate for his one true love and take the cure, but unfortunately for him, he will age rapidly and die in under 10 minutes. If anyone else besides Silas takes it, they'll be dead before they can even finish the vile." I wonder if the cure could be split, shove half down Silas's throat, and the other down Elena's, since she hates being a vampire so bad, might as well do her a favor.
"Okay love, I will personally have Bonnie knock Rebekah out if she reacts harshly to the news. Truth be told, I've been itching to put Rebekah back into her box; she's been testing my patience a lot lately." As he's talking, I can imagine the movement of his lips and the slow tilt of his head as the psychopath tells me how he wishes to put the girl down like she's a dog.
"I do wonder love, how exactly did Qetsiyah know that someday Silas would be awoken? We recently found out that the hunters were created years after Qetsiyah existed." Because of idiots like the Salvatores? Like, what in the hell is wrong with this slow-ass boy?
"Idiots like the Salvatore brothers and their pathetic doppelganger, Elena. Willing to kill innocent people for something as stupid as an alleged cure to immortality without checking the facts first." I'm honestly surprised it took this long for something like this to happen.
"Ah, yes, the illusion of love," Okay, melodramatic queen, "Causes even the smartest of people to lose their heads." From what I heard, he must be speaking from experience.
"Plan of death aside, how do you think I should handle the children?" Assuming he means Elena and her pet dogs, I'm glad he asked,
"If I were you, I wouldn't kill them just yet; instead, use them and Jeremy to find Silas. Do whatever you have to do to ensure they don't leave with that cure; no one is allowed to take it except Silas Klaus. Plus, I think Kol would much rather enact his own revenge on the gang than to let you do it. Besides, he was always the more vengeful one of the two of you." A slow breath leaves both Klaus and me,
"You don't have to worry, Love, I will make sure that Silas doesn't leave wherever he is alive." I wonder if I can convince Qetsiyah to return to the land of the living due to her final wish being fulfilled.
"Sweetheart?" Klaus's soft voice pulled me back from my inner mulling.
"Do you think the death of Silas would create a powerful enough Nexus Vorti to resurrect my brothers?"
"Possibly, if there was a witch powerful enough to channel its magic properly. If I were you, I'd ask Bonnie. She's a direct descendant of Qetsiyah; if anyone could do it, it'd be her." Of course, if Bonnie said no, I'd be more than willing to help. It's just more convenient for Bonnie to do it because she's closer.
"Yes, I'll get right on it. Thank you, love, for your wise counsel. I believe that it's time for me to find your sister to track down mine. You know she's been spending a lot of time with the Lockwood boy?" I, in fact, did not know that, actually.
"As in my Tyler Lockwood? The werewolf you turned into a hybrid?" What did Rebekah see in him? I always thought she was into blondes, but I guess not.
"Yes, love, one in the same. It's almost impossible these days to find one without the other; they seem to be attached." He emphasized the word attached as if something about the pair amused him.
"I'll have to ask Tyler about it. I don't need you killing him because he and Rebekah broke up." Now that I'm thinking about it, I knew I forgot to tell Tyler something, damn it. I should've told Bonnie to tell Tyler to leave the crazy blonde alone. He made a small humming sound before continuing,
"Ah, yes, I can't forget to tell you about Kol and Matt; an interesting pair they make. I never thought my brother would be interested in blonde hair and blue eyes; that's always been Rebekah's choice. It seems everyone is experimenting this year." I knew Rebekah had a type, I just never knew Matt played for that team. Good for him, Kol looks like he knows what he's doing.
I didn't miss the suggestive tone in which his voice took at the end of his sentence; I just chose to ignore it for the time being. It's too complicated having to deal with my terrible love life and the poor and unfortunate Silas.
"Well Sweetheart I do believe it's time for our goodbyes for real this time. I believe my brother Elijah just walked into Kol and Matt in a compromising position if the yelling and shouting is anything to go by." Damn, I wish I were there. I can't even imagine the look on Elijah's face when he saw them. Liquid gold,
"Bye bye, Nik, call me if there are any problems. I'm already making plans to come home as we speak." Flight, Locations, and pickup times g=flow threw my head as I slowly stood and moved away from the dining room table.
"See you soon, love." Click. Silence on the other end.
Flights are booked as I call Charlie to inform him of my plans to return home. The old man jumps at the chance to see Liz again, as I knew he would. Pathetic really, wasting all this time, Caroline and I could've been sisters by now.
It's crazy they couldn't even last a year without me. Try to take some time for yourself, and things turn to shit.
"Look", I say as I turn back to the Cullens who stare at me with varying stages of shock, "This has been nice and all,l but I'm gonna have to cut this short. It appears that life in Virginia can't run without me, so Ima have to head home. " I say with a wave of my hand to the dining table where all the Cullens sit, food long abandoned in turn of paying their unneeded attention to my conversation. I retrace my steps, leading me out of the dining room area to the front of the house.
I chairs push back and rapidly approaching footsteps as my hand closes around the door lock and unlocks it. "Was it true that your family were witches?" Carlisle's voice rings out in the otherwise silent house. I wonder if my answer will alleviate some of Carlisle's guilt. If knowing the truth will make it easier for him to live with the fact that he murdered innocent people in cold blood because he was afraid to tell Daddy that the woman he loved was black. I slowly turn my head and glance around at the members of his family, all pearly white with looks little Carlisle would've written home to his family about. Maybe would've even made his daddy proud of him for once in his life.
"I know for a fact, Carlisle, that your mommy and daddy are waiting for you in the fiery pits of hell, hoping that one day you join them in their eternal suffering, you racist, lying, cheating bastard." With a flick of my head, I send Carlisle crashing into a wall as a response. The door opens, and I walk out without looking back. He calls out my name just as I crank my car. Instead of a response, I stick my middle finger out the window and let the loud sounds of my tires answer him as I speed away from his house.
It's time to go bring some Originals back to life.