"You're-You're...here-?" Stefan's voice made her wince just as she spun around to hold onto the door's handle. "Aurelia, you've been missing the last-who knows how long-where were you? Did something happen?" As soon as she felt him hold onto her upper arm in an attempt to stop her from leaving, she held in a breath and shook her head.
At the sight of a deeper shade of red staining the slightly stained shirt, Aurelia could only cry out in horror as she scrambled over to him, desperately reaching for the wound and opening it.
"I'm fine, Stefan." She mumbled, gently pulling away from his grasp. "Newer circumstances required a newer environment." Sending a small glare towards Damon, who had come up in her peripheral view, she continued with a soft tone. "I just needed a b-break from Mystic Falls and everyone." She clenched her jaw right after she was done.
Oh, and you, especially you.
Damon lowered his eyebrows in a skeptical frown that the elder vampire had just missed after her glare-her behavior, though often suspicious, was even more so right now; had something happened between her and Stefan before she left? Maybe when she had broken him out of that barn like he had narrated?
"Aurelia-"
"Like I said, I'll get going; I've got to inform Klaus-" Without another guilt-stricken thought, Aurelia pulled open the door to the bright daylight, prepared to leave the household as her excuse had stated, but found herself cocking an eyebrow upwards at the unexpected, but disappointing sight. "Damn, dude, you're kidding me, right?"
"No, dude," Klaus mocked with an American accent. "I reckon I ruined your pathetic little excuse to get out of here?" As the Original Hybrid stared down at Aurelia, he took her unimpressed look and demeanor as his answer. "Now, now, dear, I haven't taught you to run away from all your problems, have I? That would be horribly wrong upbringing-and I like to say that I taught and brought you up wonderfully. After all, our still-close relationship clearly suggests as such." With a roll of her eyes, Aurelia folded her arms once again.
"Still-Close?" She repeated, a scoff in her tone. "Screw off-I had to find out you died and then came back to life from Kol, of all the people in the goddamn world." Her arm pushed outwards to punch the Hybrid's chest. "I hate you."
"That wasn't what you were saying when you practically died in my arms-and I genuinely believed you weren't coming back." He replied with a shrug. "I happened to shed a few tears at the thought. You can even ask the doppelganger-" His gaze then switched to the Salvatore brothers at the mention of Elena. "Speaking of whom, word spreads fast. I am rather concerned for your..." He then repeatedly diverted his stare between the two men, a brief look of confusion. "Girlfriend? Beloved? Friend? I'm not even sure whose she is now with your love triangle going by."
"Wow, he didn't even come to see me." Aurelia muttered under her breath, earning a hard-to-read look from the Hybrid.
"I had no clue you'd even be here, Aurelia. The Gilbert House is the last place I'd expect for you to be." He responded smugly, earning another scoff from her. "I'm not exactly pleased by the fact that you let the doppelganger turn, though-" That was when the blonde woman looked at him unimpressed.
"You're kidding." She worded slowly. "You could no longer use her blood to cultivate your hybrids when Rebekah ran her damn truck off that bridge. I simply gave her an opportunity to live a new life, and you're disappointed in me for that?" As she eyed her brother figure, she noticed a slight look of defeat lingering in his form. "That's what I thought." She then sent a quick glance to the Salvatores. "Moving forward to the more important situation at hand, I think we all know about Elena's situation-if not, Klaus may elaborate."
The Salvatores diverted stares from the Heretic to the Hybrid.
"She's right; this is an emergent situation." Klaus acknowledged. "Your dear Elena's going to be in for a lot of trouble." Damon made a skeptical noise.
"You said that before, Aurelia implied it when she pinned me against a wall-are you going to explain the why and the specific what?" He asked pointedly, switching his gaze between the two supernatural beings in front of him.
"I killed the Original Hunters from the Brotherhood of the Five; do you recall that narration?" Klaus asked, before continuing at a small nod from Stefan. "What Aurelia and I have been trying to say is that killing a hunter as a vampire of any sort-hybrid or whatever else-has hideous consequences." A small pause only increased the amount of anxiety in air. "Think on that-hunters were created by a spell; a spell made by none other than witches."
"And that whole ordeal of witches being slaves of nature, and vampires enemies of nature, yada, yada, yada..." Aurelia cut in slowly, speaking as if she was elaborating on the topic to a 5-year-old.
"Of course the witches want the vampires to suffer, it's their belief." Klaus continued on. "So when a vampire kills a hunter, they have to suffer. The Hunter spell made sure that the vampire who killed the Hunter would..." He trailed off, eyes falling on Aurelia expectantly, as if to test her knowledge.
"-End up being said Hunter's final kill." Aurelia spun her head to look at the Salvatores over her shoulder, a prideful smile on her lips-just dropping to a frown right after. "You see why we're worried you blithering idiots messed with them?"
"I don't see how it affects you," Damon gestured to Klaus, and then the blonde in front of him. "Or you."
"Where one Hunter is, another can follow." She then turned so her body faced them, intending her attentive attitude. "And there's a term intertwined with this whole ordeal: Potential Hunter." She then watched at the brothers sparked looks of curiosity. "It's self-explanatory, of course."
"What do you mean Potential Hunter?"
"I said what I said, Stefan." She asserted, though in a tone softer than her usual that was laced with sarcasm. "Oh, but the best part's yet to come. Candidates for Potential Hunters are common, extremely common. They're only pulled out when a Hunter is within proximity, and this Hunter can tell them apart using the famous Hunter's Mark-that's when they interact. By interacting, the Potential Hunter becomes the next member of the Brotherhood of the Five as soon as the Actual Hunter dies."
"You're telling us that-" Klaus then cut Stefan off.
"That there could be any potential hunter lurking around in Mystic Falls?" He completed. "With the luck this town has, I wouldn't doubt it. You'll just have to look through the few thousand people living here, and ask them if they see the beginning of a Hunter's Mark on their right arm."
"HEY, DO YOU EVER SEE ANYTHING ON JEREMY'S ARM?" Matt glanced upwards to find Bonnie Bennett, leaning against the bar counter with a skeptical expression.
"Jeremy's?"
"Like, right over here." The witch continued to explain herself despite the human's clear confusion. She held her right arm up quickly and out near him, letting her free hand trail over the back of her extended hand and then up her forearm. "It would creep like this-"
"You mean that mark he keeps talking about?"
"He's told you, too?" Her brown eyes lit up slightly at the new piece of information. "I don't ever see it. I feel like he's hallucinating it half the damn time, it's frustrating." Letting out an amused chuckle, Matt continued to sweep the counter, clearing out empty glasses as he reached them.
"Tell me about it." He answered, retaining the smile. "It's been his most recent obsession, Bon. He was just telling me last night how he was seeing the beginning of a mark like that Connor dude's-or whatever his name was, the Hunter." Bonnie frowned, leaning over the counter even more to display her interest in his words.
"What else did he say?" She asked, taking it lightly for the moment.
"Well, something about the mark showing up after Elena killed that Hunter." That was when a frown spread across her lips. "Something about Connor once telling him that he was a "Potential"," He momentarily kept the cloth and glass down to give her air quotes. "Among other things."
"What would that mean...?" She was now speaking with a hint of concern, taking into account the bad luck of the town they'd grown up in. "I don't get it..."
"Honestly," Matt huffed out and paused for a moment as he wiped away some spilled alcohol. "I got no idea, either. But if you look at it logically, wouldn't it mean something supernatural like him being the next Chosen One or something?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow as she stared at him after his words.
"Matt, this isn't Harry Potter we're talking about-"
"Hey, you asked!"
"And I regret it!"
"KLAUS," AURELIA'S VOICE HAD SUDDENLY CHANGED, the bold and confident demeanor morphing into one of curiosity. "Hadn't...you broken the spell when you killed all those Hunters way back when?" She was clearly unsure with her lowered eyebrows as she tried hard to recall his account of what had happened.
"I never did," Klaus dropped his head to look down at her again. "It just... stopped on a fine day." Humming once at his unsatisfactory reply, the woman quietened down once again, losing herself to her deeper thoughts. "Why do you ask?"
"Elena's going to be the bane of our existence if we continue to let her suffer." She answered, voice drifting with her thoughts. "I was wondering if you had any idea of what it took to break the curse."
"It took decades of imprisonment and isolation-" He stopped when she slapped his chest in frustration to make him shut up.
"You know I mean when it just stopped completely. The imprisonment did nothing to you. You just weren't a liability to anyone else." This, she recalled well-much to his embarrassment. "Similarly, Elena's going to take the lives of this entire town and risk exposing us all." She narrowed her eyes a little. "And this is Caroline's home-" Glancing between the three men, she began to glare. "And I will not allow the events of 1864 to be repeated because Elena Gilbert of all people in the world can't seem to get a hang of vampirism or herself without having someone spoon-feed her the whole damn way."
"I'd like to propose a solution to that." Klaus abruptly brought up. "Do to her what Elijah did to me-lock her up in a secure place. That would be, in this case, my lovely home. Elena'll have to come with me then, and I'll ensure that she's kept away from any sharp objects."
"But she'd be our problem-" The two heads snapped towards Damon, who had come out with a snarky protest. "What, what's your problem now?"
"We're both a part of this conversation too, you know." The Elder Salvatore gestured between himself and his brother. "Why the hell do you think we'll let you take Elena?" Aurelia whistled slowly, eyes trailing to shoot a side glance towards her brother-figure.
"There's that, too, Nik." She remarked slowly. "Like I said, it's not practical for us to do all the heavy lifting-" That was when the wooden boards behind Stefan and Damon began to creak in an irregular manner, causing all four vampires to crane their necks to the stairs leading upwards. "Speak of the martyr."
"Aurelia, you're...here." Elena's voice was raspy and groggy as she addressed the older vampire. "Caroline was worried about you." With a small smile at the mention of the person she adored most, Aurelia shook her head.
"I prioritized seeing her first, don't worry." She said. "Enjoying immortality yet? I hope my gift to you wasn't a complete and utter shit show." She said, noticing that her distaste towards brunette had decreased considerably, especially upon seeing her. "Although, a little birdie tells me you've made a little mistake. How's that going?"
Even if I've grown a little nice, it doesn't in the slightest mean I'm approving of her dumbass' stupid ways to get in trouble.
"It's not exactly the time to laugh-" Elena cut herself off as she whipped around at the foot of the stairs and looked back up the flight, eyes widened at she backed away from the stairs, and to the door. "No-No, no, no, please-" Aurelia had to let her eyes flicker to where Elena was focused, but frowned when she found no soul standing there. "Leave me alone!"
"I'm telling you," Klaus leaned down towards Aurelia's ear. "My method's likely the most practical-" Elena's shriek cut them off as she jumped back, past Stefan and Damon, and tripped back into Aurelia, who had since moved a little to stand outside the house, rather than in the doorframe.
Klaus eyed the doppelganger with a sly smirk, the fact that she had stumbled out of her house serving as the perfect opportunity.
That was when Aurelia jumped slightly as Elena-who had stumbled into her-was pulled off her and into Klaus' grip. "No, Klaus, don't-" And then, she found herself groaning loudly as she head the familiar whistle of air that had been left behind Klaus and his now-kidnappee.
"What the hell-" Damon and Stefan ran out onto the porch in an attempt to catch the brunette before the Hybrid could take her away, but were too late. "H-He just took her! Aurelia, what the hell?!" Aurelia then groaned once again, punching Damon in the chest to push him away.
"First of all, stop yelling!" She exclaimed, looking at him with as much frustration as he had. "I didn't know he'd actually do that, okay? Don't put the damn blame on me! I don't want to babysit a newborn vampire! Elena or not, they're repulsive! Bratty, emotional, repulsive freaks!" Her voice was just as loud as his as she pushed him back with a frustrated groan. "She's going to get him in so much trouble, damn it."
"What the hell do you propose we do?" Damon asked, looking down at her as if she was the only solution to the problem-and as the only connection to Klaus she had that he was on good terms with, of course she was. "No, what, now is not the time to call your boyfriendΒ-" Aurelia growled at him once as he watched her pull her phone out from her pocket.
"Mention him one more time-" She rasped. "And I will have your tongue." Her glare on him reduced his anger. "I don't want to talk to him, I want to talk to my sister, who is in a relationship with Tyler Lockwood, who is a hybrid," She spoke as if she were speaking to the biggest idiot to walk the planet. "Who can therefore lead us to Klaus' Mansion. I don't want my brother doing something that'll put him in harm's way."
"F-Fine, whatever." Damon rolled his eyes at her, making her smirk smugly at his clear defeat.
"What's up?" Aurelia found herself smile at the sound of the vampire's sweet voice. "I was just leaving for Tyler's place, if you're checking in on me, 'Lia." Caroline added with a small laugh, unintentionally exposing the Heretic's soft habits to the eavesdropping Salvatores.
"About that, Care," Aurelia began, eyes dropping to a malicious look at the amused looks on the brothers. "There's been a tiny problem with Elena, and I really need some help-it involves Tyler." She continued with some amount of hesitance, a little uncomfortable with the idea of bringing Caroline into something as complex as this.
"Care?" Damon leaned over to Stefan, whispers soft and low so as to stop disrupting the woman's call. "She really has got a heart-one that's way to picky about who it's open to-" Stefan elbowed his older brother at the comment. "What? Jealous much?"
"Says the guy who took her out on a date-" Damon scrunched his nose up in disgust. "At the dance." That was when Stefan's grumbling proved more entertaining than offensive to the blue-eyed Salvatore. "What? You're laughing now?"
"Baby bro," He started, a laugh in his tone. "You really are jealous. I was just teasing, but with the way you're acting, anyone would think you're still head over heels for her."
"Her is right here, you gossiping crows-" Both heads spun to look at the blonde, who had been shoving her phone back into her pocket as she spat out her words. "If you're going to talk about me while I'm here, you can make an effort to be a better whisperer." She then sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Damon, come on-I need your car."
"My car?" Damon looked at her with surprise. "What makes you think I'm going to let you drive my-"
"Not just your car, I need you," Aurelia's voice had changed to hold a tiny amount of desperation as she let her eyes fall on Stefan for a split second; Damon, being Damon, hadn't even come close to missing that quick peek. "Caroline's asking us to meet her at the Lockwood Mansion, and I don't want you on my bike-" She gestured to the two-wheeler sitting just outside the driveway. "And before you ask, I don't know Tyler all that well, so you'll have to help me out."
"Wait-" Stefan began to say, but Aurelia cleared her throat.
"Did I mention we're short on time?" She interjected with a fake smile. "Let's go, Damon." She began to reach out to hold onto the man's wrist, but Damon pulled away quickly, eyes arrogantly narrowing as he figured out her intention to use him to avoid his younger brother. "Don't be a stubborn brat-"
"Actually, I need to go find out a way to stop this whole ordeal with the Curse, you know? Like go...look for Bonnie-it's a Witch-made curse, so looking for a witch..." He trailed off, lips curling into the infamous smirk that made her want to punch him helplessly-he had a point. Someone had to do it.
"I can take you." Stefan's words made the woman suck in a breath and purse her lips for a few moments, her eyes on Damon in an attempt to mentally make a note to make him suffer. "My car's parked here too, so..."
"Yeah," Aurelia huffed. "Fine." She walked past Stefan and down the steps of Elena's porch, mumbling curses under her breath as she made her way to Stefan's strikingly cool red car-one she had seen him drive once or twice.
Stefan looked at her with confusion, while Damon silently swore at her suspicious behavior.
"WHY ARE YOU AVOIDING ME?" Lips pulling back in, Aurelia groaned quietly and closed her eyes at the sudden question from Stefan. "We agreed that you'd try to be on better terms with me-" As she tried to ignore the man, he continued to persist, clearly curious with the shift in her actions.
"Yeah, that was before I died." She replied curtly, head turned to enjoy the breeze out the car window as it drove through town. "So..." Stefan clicked his tongue once, letting her know that it was too vague an answer. "Jesus Christ, have you ever heard of the idiom, "Curiosity killed the cat."?"
"Hasn't killed me yet." He answered. "I doubt it'll kill me anytime soon. Besides, there's some sort of..." He eyed her from the corner of his eye, hands on the steering wheel tightening. "Larger reasoning for this. And last I checked; you didn't care enough to make such an effort to avoid eye contact with me."
"If I told you it was personal, would you leave me alone?"
"No." She hissed, irritated at his persistence. "That's the whole point of being curious; you make it look like something about me's been bothering you."
"Can we talk about this when I don't have to stress about Klaus?" She asked. "Please? I don't think I have the energy for this right now. I've been back a few hours and
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