Disclosure:  Twilight and Vampire Diaries are owned by their respective braianics that thought of it. 

Pre Edit Count –   2,005 Words

Song I listened to for this chapter: Waiting for the End by Linkin Park.

Previous:

Elijah sees the look and tells him, “Cheer up.  You don’t know when you will find your Mate.  So stop with the longing looks, and never let Damon see it.  His instincts are going crazy.  Just be happy that tomorrow will end your era of pain.” His voice is harsh, but what they didn’t need now was for Klaus and Damon to get into a fight.  It wouldn’t be pretty, and it would all be for nothing.  Klaus sees Bella as family, but Damon has not accepted Klaus as Bella’s family.

Klaus grins mischievously at the thought of that fight, but then nods as he gives in to the wisdom of his older brother, a time honored tradition.  There is a reason why the two of them have gotten along over the years.  “On to the oh-so-fun-plantation stuffed full of people we couldn’t really care less about, except for a very small few?”

Elijah chuckles. “Onward, James.” He needs his Mate, but he also misses this side of Klaus.  He settles into the seat, and the two of them pick right back up as if they hadn’t been enemies for longer than America has been a country. And for a time, the brothers act like brothers the world over, forgetting the many years of fighting as only siblings can.

Now:

The group reassembles back at the plantation, not wanting to separate from each other until the ritual is done.  They have Jenna in the house with them, too. She is in a guest room with Damon deftly glamouring her to stay in the room and Alaric volunteering to keep her company.  After hearing Damon grumbling about how open their home is, Elijah gets on the phone to harass his witches about a spell for his daughter’s home. He just doesn’t like her being vulnerable at this point any more than the rest of them do.

And the end of the day, Klaus sits in the library with a drink in his hand thinking while the humans and near-humans go to bed. The house he has being renovated would be great for his family when they can move around.  He has to admit, however, that he loves the comfy feel of the home he is in right now, though he does acknowledge that a lot of that has to with the owners of the home.

He is going to miss them.   But his mind is soon thinking of all that needs to be done, the ritual, and what exactly his priorities are now that he is getting the curse lifted. He quickly finds that he is looking forward to getting to know his niece better, and to amending what he has done with his family.  Nothing seems more important than that right now.

As he sits there, Elijah comes into the room, grabs himself a scotch, and sits down across from Klaus.  He gives him a look, and the younger brother sighs. “I tried, Elijah, but I feel nothing for her.  No more than I feel for Katerina.  If she is my descendent, then my line is dead.  I know you wanted more for both of us, but I can’t act like I feel something when there is nothing.”

Elijah’s head hangs down. “I had hoped that you would be as lucky as I.  I can’t explain how it feels to have Bella and Damon connected to me.”  He raises his head to look his brother in the eyes.

Elijah chuckles as he turns his head slightly.  “But Elijah, you needed that.  You, of all of us, wanted a child and that is what you have been granted, your child.  I can see the want, I really do, but back then?  It was still a game to us.  Finn and Sage are the other ones I could see wanting a child, but they were turned before it could happen.  So you, dear brother, are the one who lucked out on Bella.  But I will love her, count her as family, and name her and Damon as my own heirs.  I do not see anything happening to us, but just in case, I want to make sure that they have everything they need to take care of whatever comes up.  I have a bad feeling that she is going to need us.” He leans forward as he speaks, his troubled eyes pinning his brother’s as he worries about what could be bugging them all.

An unease seems to be hanging above them all instead a feeling of triumph that they had already turned the course of the world to ensure it will survive this point.

Elijah rubs his face as he leans back, feeling all his years resting on his shoulders.  “I do also.  I do not like the fact of these Cold Ones, and we will need to take care of them.  There is something about them that bothers me, and it bothers Bella, too.  Damon has told me of the research she has done, how it is driving her sometimes to find out more about them, and that she keeps having a feeling as though she is missing something.  I am worried that if it happens, whatever she thinks, and we can’t counter it, she will blame herself.”

Klaus nods, his eyes going up as they hear Damon and Bella settling in bed for rest.  He chuckles. “I think they are worse than Finn and Sage.” He shakes his head, but is happy that his niece is being taken care of so well.  There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Damon is devoted to her, and she to him.

Elijah’s head whips up, and he cannot help the grin on his face.  Klaus lifts an eyebrow and asks, “So mate, how is the wooing of your own Mate going?” He cannot help the sly grin from showing on his face.

Elijah answers his grin, and tells him frankly, “Very well.  She feels the Bond, and with as many exchanges as we’ve had, well, I am sure we will be as close as those two are.  But it helps a lot that Stefan is gone.  Strange.  Damon uncompelled her, and it did nothing, so we have no idea why when he is around, she feels a pull to him.”  His voice is confused.  It is off how she tries to explain to him the actual need to be with Stefan.  She actually told him she would have preferred Damon over Stefan, but couldn’t do anything about it.

Sighing, Klaus stands up and holds a hand out to his brother. “Nothing will be solved right this moment.  Go up to your lovely Mate, and ensure she can’t remember the name of the bloody bastard tonight.  I will go and dream of how I will not be in pain for the first time in over a millennium, due to my niece.” He smiles at the notion.

With that they head to bed.

The next morning as the sun peaks over the valleys, all are soon up and moving around the house.  They are more solemn, giving respect for the trials they will be all facing tonight, since they all think that there will be something more that happens.  Even if not, Elena is giving up her human life for Klaus, and the rest will have to watch it, not an easy task for the group who has worked so hard to keep her alive.

Klaus is gritting his teeth, the pain already starting, and for once, he doesn’t have to hide how weak he gets during this time; hopefully, this is the last time he will be feeling this pain.  The rest silently watch, supporting him, and quite frankly, in a way protecting the hybrid as he deals with the pain.  It is a new feeling for him, one of caring that he has not ever truly felt in his long life.

After breakfast, Bonnie, Bella and Damon go into the Library to discuss what they each know, and make sure nothing has been missed.  They are in there for a couple of hours, and when they emerge, no one is happy.  There is no missing the misery on all the faces as though they have bad news.

Elijah frowns as he walks toward his daughter. Upon seeing the despair in her eyes as well as seeing how upset Damon is, Elijah walks toward his daughter and lifts her face up to look into her eyes. “What is wrong?” Whatever is wrong, he will do whatever it takes to make it better for his prințesă.

Damon slides up behind her, letting his hand rest on her shoulder to allow her to feel him strongly in their bond, as Bella shakes her head. She answers her father, “We thought we were done with the choice seeing thing, but seems Mother isn’t done with us.” She closes her eyes, and Damon moves closer to her to help support her if she needs it.

Elijah takes a deep sharp breath as what she is saying sinks in, and he looks up from her to Damon.  Damon nods his head slowly in agreement with what Elijah is thinking. Elijah closes his eyes, wondering how much will be put on the slim shoulders of his daughter and asks the only question that sums it all up, “Why?”

Bonnie shakes her head, and a little frightened to speak to someone she knows is a major player in all to come, and says, “We don’t know, but She made it very clear that she is not done with them.  Seems there is much to come and the two of them need the ability to be able to see some choices at a moment’s notice.”

Sighing, she looks at the two with pity in her gaze as she thinks of all that they are going to be responsible for and exactly why they still need the ability.  There is much she needs to make up to them since her initial reluctance to take up her position has caused some of the reasons they need the ability. “They have so much on their shoulders, I do not understand fully why.  Bella already made a huge choice and literally wrenched the world from a disaster.”  It is not fair to either of them, the future she had seen with Bella making another choice was bad enough.  Why do they have to pay for her failure?  For that is how she feels, that these two are the ones taking up all the slack for the failures of others to step up.

Elijah just pulls his daughter to him, and holds her in a tight hug, supporting her as he tells her in her ear, softly, “I am here for you.  Damon is here for you.  And I suspect the rest of the family will be on your side as well.  We will help all that we can.”  There is no other way for him.  This is his daughter.  For all intents and purposes, she is as though she was born to him.  As he had told Damon before, Elena is the closest to her, and he will not kill either for the other, but other than that, Bella wins out somehow over his own Mate.  And he has not one single issue with it.

Surprising them all, Bonnie’s eyes glaze over, and her voice takes on an otherworldly sound as she comments, “Right Choice Made.”  Her voice is bell like, and Damon recognizes it as Mother, and feels when Bella too acknowledges the sound. It is one that none who ever hear it will forget, but hearing it come from Bonnie’s voice shakes them all to the core with the knowledge that the supreme mother of them all had actually been given voice.

Having heard them, Klaus enters the room to be present to witness the moment. Shaking his head in disbelief as he comes up behind them, he exclaims, “It’s that bloody easy to make an earth changing choice?  This is going to be hell!” He had thought it would take decisions that would shake the earth and them knowing the consequences of the choice.  To hear something so small as his brother voicing his conscious and telling his daughter out loud what Klaus has no doubt he was going to do otherwise, is enough to shake him to the core.

Her eyes clearing, Bonnie leans back as Jeremy slides up behind her to support her. She had spoken with him last night, and the two admitted their feelings for each other.  One of the benefits of being the spokeswoman for Mother Earth is she knows who her soul mate is, and is happy that he is not only someone in her time period, but someone she already cares for. With the security she feels from having his arms around her, she answers the question Klaus has presented. “Around these two, yes.  For some reason, there are those people in the world who it seems the world revolves around, and in a way it does since their choices change the course.” She smiles up at Jeremy as they acknowledge that without the two doing what they had, they may have never found each other without the suffering they had in the other history.

She looks back to Klaus as she continues, “When we are done with the choices revolving around us right now, there is a prophecy that has us involved, and our story won’t end any time soon.  The literal end of the world as we know it is coming.  Humans are going to know about the rest of us in a spectacular way.  And those of us who are like them, have it easy.” She shakes her head as she sees in her mind the terror as every fantasy comes to life.  The world is going to be prepared, but it cannot happen soon enough for there to be no terror.

Klaus just stares at her, and then he shakes his head. “One thing at a time,” he asks with an eyebrow raised as he leans against the doorjamb and crosses his arms.  The pain from his curse is
coursing through him as powerfully as any other time, but somehow it feels…more, as if the curse knows it will end tonight.

The witch looks up in his eyes, meeting them fully as she nods. “One thing at a time.  And right now, the world is revolving around you, Klaus.  You can change the choices you made already at any second, and it will be up to you to stay the course.  So, what will you decide to do?” She stands up straighter, asking him what his decision is.

He smiles at her. “Stay the course.”  Then Klaus looks to Damon and points a finger to him. “And the only thing I can think of to change that is Bella being threatened, and you better protect her.” He is not going to hide what would make him change his mind, not from those that need to know what could potentially take away his conviction. Bella is family, and in a way he is admitting what can hurt him as few can.

Damon growls at the thought of someone trying to hurt his carissima.  “Not happening.” He takes her back in his arms from her Father, their eyes meeting in agreement that Bella is their priority, then they look at Klaus as he clears his throat.  “She is important to me, too.”  Elijah and Damon nod as they meet his eyes, a silent accord between the three men, one that will change the face of the world.  But Bonnie doesn’t say anything, just smiles sadly.

Klaus then nods and look at Bonnie. “Elena will be under your control, in the rings.  So there is that, since I will also protect her and what she means to me.  Those are the two threats I can think of.  The males can take care of themselves.” These are the two females in his family that will be in harm’s way, and a man of his time always protects his ladies.

Then a sudden noise alerts them to others.  When they turn to the noise, Jasper is leaning against the doorway with Demetri behind him.  “We are in.”  Jasper indicates Demetri with his head. “He is going to be using his gift to try to make sure no others are going to be around, and I will be running patrol.” He has been forceful with the hybrid, telling him that he is not all that he thinks he is, that his ability only picks up on half of the population, and then only if they don’t want to block him.  Some, like Bella, know enough to hide themselves.   The truth has been humbling to the Volturi Guard, and his arrogance has been brought down to a level that could be tolerated.

Plus the fact he had seen Jasper brought down by Bella from his place in the basement, well, it had certainly made him take a step back and reevaluate things.  For now he is completely truthful in wanting to help.

Caroline and Tyler, having been in the family room discussing their issues and laying it out to each other how they feel, join the others, and she nods to confirm the plan Jasper had talked to her about before he had left to deal with the aggravating hybrid.

“Tyler and I will be moving the opposite way for us to meet every…”  She frowns as she tries to figure out how often they will pass each other, and Jasper supplies for her, “Every minute.  If we are both going full speed, we will meet once a minute.  This will minimize the risk factors.” He has tried to factor in everything, knowing that Bella’s safety may very well rest in their hands.  He wishes to make up for their beginning and to get to know his last living relative.

Frowning as he looks at Jasper, having been brought up to speed on the way back from the tomb last night, Klaus nods then looks at Bonnie. “What about you?” Later he will deal with the hybrid who is his Second, and teach him how to treat family.  The man needs a lesson.

She nods towards Jeremy and Elijah. “They are going to be guarding me.  Unfortunately, unless some of your family agree to help, that’s everyone.” She lifts an eyebrow, knowing that something is wrong with the Originals but not what it is.

At the mention of the family, and knowing what she is referring to, Elijah sigh as he rubs his forehead. “We need to give them a day or two.  They are all disorientated for some reason, and we don’t know why.  Kol in particular wants to be there, but he cannot stand up straight without collapsing.  From previous daggering for me, there should not be this sort of disorientation.   I suspect there is something interfering.” Kol, being another who cares for family, wants to meet his niece.  Not that anyone would know it, but he idolizes his older brothers, and since both of them have talked glowingly about Bella, he wishes to know her better.  He hates the fact that she may think him unwilling to help his brothers and her.

Bella sighs and leans back on Damon.  “If it’s not one thing, it’s ten more.  What are Damon and I to do?” The last is said sadly, with pain evident in her voice.  Damon pulls her closer, and a low purr for her ears alone is let loose as his beast tries to calm his distressed Mate.

Bonnie looks at the two and states, “Be there.  No idea why, but you have to be the witnesses.” She shakes her head, but it is one of the things that is clear in her vision, the two of them standing there much like they are now watching the ritual take place.

Damon narrows his eyes at Bonnie, and asks, “You don’t know something you are not telling us are you, Witchy?” He is suspicious of anything right now.  He is not happy about the two of them and the big part they will be playing in the future.  All he wants is to take his Mate and lock them up in their room and just…be themselves.

Sensing his distress and anger, Bonnie shakes her head. “It’s just a partial vision that you two in particular need to witness this.  I’m just as frustrated as you are.” She hates this! Just when she thinks she is doing the right thing, she gets these partial things that just tell who needs to be there.  She had wondered why more Originals weren’t there, but she suspects their mother is interfering.   That seems to be a huge battle later, to deal with the Other Side interfering with them.

Closing his eyes at the news, Klaus sighs. “I would have liked to leave a guard on the two idiots in the tomb, but I rather the ritual go right with so much riding on it.”  He looks to Elijah and asks, “Is Elena ready?” He cares for his brother’s Mate, but his concern is cooler than with Bella. He just doesn’t feel the same for Elena as he does for Bella, though he does care about her and will protect her.

“Yes,” says a voice from the stairs, and they all look to see her standing there, her resolution obvious. “I have so much of his blood in me that I don’t know if the last bags I just did will be ok.”  She smiles at the people at the bottom of the steps, knowing that they will be important to her from now on.  She is dedicated to making sure that they have this chance they indicated that she will give them to be ahead of whoever is trying to wreck the world.

Elijah is suddenly behind her, then he lifts her up in a bridal hold and carries her into the library where he places her on one of the chairs. The rest of them follow, most with grins on their faces at seeing the cold Original being so caring towards his Mate.  There are some glances at Damon and Bella that the two catch, and couldn’t help their chuckles.

Making a decision, Alaric steps forward from the back of the group and offers, “I can go there.  At least we will know if something happens…” He trails off, rubbing the back of his neck.  He cannot do much, but at least they will know if something happens.

Klaus turns to look at the man who had housed his soul for a while, and finally nods. “You would be best, if something does come and is supernatural, then you would return from it.  Cause face it mates, if something does come for those two, it won’t be human.” He watches the man in front of him.  He hates to say it, but he has a feeling that something is going to happen, and Alaric may be able to call them to warn them when he comes back.

They all nod, and Damon walks forward to turn over one of the boards, and soon has a diagram of the area, and has them all placed on it.  He asks when he is done, “Are we missing anything?” He stands back and looks at what he had drawn.  He rubs his chin with his hand as his mind goes over the place that he had scouted with Bella on the way home last night.   He figured some reconnaissance would be helpful when they plan today.

The rest look over it, but Bella leans her head back on the chair as she moans, the feeling that something is pending is still strong.  When they look at her, she waives them off. “Still feeling like I’m missing something.”  She closes her eyes, and they can see her eyes moving as though she is trying to find something that is locked in her head.

Worried about her, Klaus walks over and crouches before her.  When she opens her eyes, he asks her, “You have gone over everything?” When she nods, he smiles at her. “Then stop feeling like it all depends on you.  There is nothing more that we can do.  But if it makes you feel better, we can all look until we leave.” He cups her face, and looks at her with the love he is beginning to feel for this petite woman.

She sighs, dropping her head back on her chair. “No.  Even if we did find it, what are the odds we can counter it more than we already are?  I’d rather us go to the ritual place and get everything ready.” She had talked with Damon about this, and he had told her the same thing, that they would all help her search if she so requested it.  But the advantages of being in place weigh more heavily on her mind than a search for something that may not be there to find.

Klaus nods, then as he rises, he kisses her forehead. “I never thought I would have a niece, and I quite find I enjoy it.  So I fully intend to win that Uncle of the Year award.” He chuckles down at her, and the observers in the room feel as if they are interfering in a private moment between the two, but neither care as they both grin at each other in recognition of the familial feeling between them.

She nods, and Damon comes to her, pulling her up and then settling in her chair with her on his lap. “I vote we wait just a little bit.  Let us all make sure we are set, that we have everything we need.  If we leave in an hour, we will still have plenty of time to go back for anything we might miss.  But it is less time spent in the open.” He also thinks they all need the time to get themselves together, to get their heads firmly in the game so to speak.

They all agree and split up.  Bella heads to her garden to meditate. She needs to calm and center herself. Damon settles in a chair where he can see her, and watches over her. He makes sure that the time she evidently wants is hers.

Forty five minutes later, Klaus joins him, and Damon is instantly on alert. The hybrid has not come around him personally, and often Damon gets the feeling that he is only tolerated because of Bella.  There is no hiding the way Klaus has taken to Bella, nor the way she has taken to him.  Jasper has been seen giving the two jealous glances as they interact.  He wants what Klaus has with Bella.

Klaus sits down, slouching automatically in his chair as he watches his niece. He comments lowly, “You will protect her tonight?” He cannot shake the feeling that whatever Bella is worried about will hurt her.  And as he had mentioned before, she is a weakness.  Love gives others a way to have a hold over you, which was why he has often spurned it.  But Bella is different.  She is powerful in her own right, and with her Mate by her side she is damn near unstoppable.  In other words, it is safe for him to care for her.

Damon nods. “With my life if need be.” He does not look at the man beside him, preferring to watch his Mate as she sits so still that she has had butterflies land on her.  He smiles at the sight of a bird hopping closer to her, and sensing her joy, calls his familiar to join her.  The current Raven is one of the smarter ones he has had over time.

Watching the Raven that he suspects of being Damon’s familiar land near Bella, and looking for all intents and purposes as though it too is guarding her, Klaus snorts and comments to Damon, “But that is the problem.  You die, she dies.  So when you say you will protect her, I don’t want to hear about your life being offered instead.  I may have not liked you, mate, but you are Mated to the only child of my brother.  One I have wronged many times, and never wished to.  And his child is very special.  Very, very special, and I quite enjoy her.  So, we have an agreement that you will take care of her and you, right?” His eyebrow lifts as he looks at the man he had been fighting against until only days ago.

Damon smirks as he watches his familiar with his Mate. “I am as aware as you are of the consequences of something happening to me.  I may not have shown all my cards before, but for her, I take no chances.” His voice turns hard and he looks at the man who is now family to his little Mate who is everything to him.

Klaus nods as he stands, and clamps his hand on Damon’s shoulder. “Good.  We will be leaving soon.” He looks out and his grin widens as he watches the familiar peck at a bluebird who tried to chase it away. The bird is as protective of his master’s Mate as his master is.

The smirk still hovering on his lips as he too watches his familiar in amusement, Damon tells him, “Jasper, Demetri, and the two of us are coming in by air.  The less they suspect, the better.  We will also drop off Alaric too.” He calls the bird to him and lifts an eyebrow as the Raven turns to him and glares.

Laughing at the interaction of the familiar and its master, Klaus nods. He is also thinking it through.  He then tells Damon his concern. “Watch that hybrid.  I have a bad feeling about him.” He doesn’t mind Jasper, so it isn’t that Demetri is a hybrid, it is something about the man and the way he looks at his niece when he thinks no one is watching.

Demetri has not learned that someone in their family is always watching.

Narrowing his eyes, Damon agrees. “You are not the only one.  But we need the asshole, so…” He shrugs as his familiar comes to him, having chased the bluebird away from his mistress.  Damon reaches up and the Raven rubs his head against his hand.  Damon’s eyes never leave his Mate, but narrow as he thinks of Demetri and the beast inside of him prowls as it tells him that the hybrid is a threat, too.

Glad to know that they’re on the same page, Klaus goes to leave then casts a look back at his niece. He chuckles as he watches the Raven fly from Damon to attack the blue bird again. He looks forward to seeing what Bella’s familiar will be since he has no doubt that Damon will show her how to have both a familiar and a spirit animal as his people called them.  It will be interesting to see.

Hearing a noise, Bella soon comes out of her meditation to find Damon crouching before her, his blue eyes searching her brown ones.  Whatever he sees, he smiles, and then stands. He holds his hand out to her and says, “We have a ritual to get to, carissima.  And a celebration afterwards that I am looking forward to.”

She laughs, and he pulls her up to him then kisses her deeply.  He steals her breath away, and when he lets her come up for air, he smirks down to her. “A forewarning of what I am planning for our celebration.”  He watches her with a smile on his face and in his eyes.  His familiar lands on his shoulder and looks down with its head cocked, studying its mistress.

She snorts. “I swear, every seven seconds,” she teases him, her love coming through. She is also laughing at the bird who is so like Damon it wasn’t funny.  Though she can see the difference now; Damon as the Raven keeps his blue eyes, but his Raven familiar is bigger than normal.

He laughs as his familiar flies off to make sure there are no problems, and offers his arm to escort her back to the house. “At least.  But would you have me any other way?” He looks down adoringly at his Mate, waiting for her rejoinder knowing it will make him laugh.

She lifts an eyebrow and answers, “Let me think about that,” as she playfully shoves him away.  The two play the rest of the way to the house, making the rest of the household look out at them carrying on. Seeing the smiles on their faces do more than the hour did to prepare them.

The two Mates are everything they are fighting for, and the fact that they are still fighting for the right future is enough to make everyone decide to make this ritual a success.  That decision is enough to have Bonnie’s eyes glow as she smiles softly and says, “Right Choice Made” in that bell-like tone that is Gaea speaking through her.

Final count:  5,602 words.

Fairfarren~Wendy

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