September, 2027

Betrayal. 

That was the only thing echoing in her mind as she slowly got back her bearings right. The crackling of wood and hot air made her snap back into action.

Coughing, Kayla returned back to the land of consciousness, fluttering her eyes open. The first thing her eyes came in contact with was a large rock and smoke dancing in front of her.

Her memory was still foggy, feeling confused as to why she was on the ground and why she smell like something burning. Her body ached and with every movement she made, Kayla could hear the sound debris falling off her, small rocks and dust falling from her now dirty and full of ashes body. Kayla kept coughing and panicked as she couldn't see anything. Couldn't feel anything.

The magic that used to run through the ground and had always been surrounded by was no longer there. She felt empty, lonely.

"Mom?" Kayla called out with a weak voice, coughing. She looked around, tears in her eyes as she witnessed the only place she was close to call home, destroyed.

Flames crackled around her and the debris surrounding her. And it was that moment she felt like she knew what happened. What they did to her.

Kayla weakly scattered to her feet, turning around in her feet, allowing for the first time in years the tears to run down her dust covered face. There was no one. She was alone. For a moment she wished it wasn't like that. She wanted her annoying big sister with her, even if she called her names and felt like she had the right to order her around. It wasn't the first time she felt alone as she always had magic surround her, the familiar magic surrounding her family. Her coven. However, this time, Kayla couldn't feel it. Somehow she felt truly alone. No magic, no coven. No family.

And all because they couldn't accept her.

"Ness?" Kayla limped, using the larger rocks of what used to be the ceiling of her house as support, "Ed? Markus?"

Silence. The only thing she heard and saw was the fire and the smoke making her cough harder. She sat down in a piece of the ceiling, closing her eyes, trying to remember what happened.

Her grandparents -or big devils how she called them- kicked her out of the Rivers Coven. She was okay with that, she had been saving for two years all her lunch money to finally leave that hell hole called home. Slowly, what she happened came back as a flow, making her breathing become heavy and fearful.

Her mother did nothing to stop them. They didn't allow her to leave. They chanted over and over, the scary spell etched in her head as she kept her eyes tightly closed. The object in their hands as she remained in the ground unable to move. Her step dad explaining how she'd join her kind in a minute, how she'd be reunited with the thing she called father. Kayla remembered seeing everyone in her family chanting. The flow of magic in the air. In the ground. Her older siblings never making eye contact.

Kayla couldn't remember the exact moment she began to fear for her life. The only thing she remembered was the feel of the magic in her veins, the way it filled her up with that warmth before there was a flash and everything went blank.

Kayla opened her eyes, breathing heavily in betrayal, ears ringing with overwhelming sadness and hurt. The mother who claimed to love her didn't stop them from hurting her. If anything, that hurt the most than being almost killed by her so charming family. 

Suddenly, the smoke around her began to dissipate and between the slight defeaning ringing in her ears she could hear voices coming closer.

Kayla, still fearful wanted to run. She had nothing to defend herself with. She felt no magic in her veins, there was nothing for her to take. So she did the only thing she could think of.

She hid behind a large piece of debris and hoped for whoever was there to leave. To not be stupid to wander through the flames to look for survivors.

~8~

Hope Mikaelson and Alaric Saltzman drove through Georgia, Atlanta with the fines of recruiting a new student.

The globe Hope had enchanted, suddenly light up with a bright glow around the area and Alaric knew there was a kid around there who lost control. Immediately, he called Hope and without waiting for another second, they took the road and hoped they weren't too late.

Hope was in the passenger seat, holding a map in her lap, giving direction to Alaric. The map had stopped glowing the moment they left Mystic Falls and they both were worried. Worried the kid in need had been hurt or they hurt someone.

"Here" Hope pointed to a street, breath hitching when she noticed the smoke almost at the end of the street, "Dr. Saltzman"

Alaric also noticed the smoke, "That can't be good"

With one last glance, Alaric pressed on the accelerator, driving up to the smoke, parking just outside of what used to be a house.

The house was still in flames, but the majority of the house was destroyed as if it had exploded.

"Think they did this?" Hope asked, raising the map, referring to the kid they came for.

They slowly walked to the house, stopping when the air turned warmer.

"One way to find out" Alaric told her, nodding toward the house.

Hope nodded, using a hand and waving it in front of her, chanting a spell under her breath. "Adiuuatur"

The flamed extinguished and the smoke slowly dissipated.

Hope looked at Alaric for a second before walking forward, her eyes sweeping the destroyed home. With a pang of guilt, she remembered the things she did when the Hollow was inside her, the destruction she caused. For some reason, this didn't seem to her like an evil person. If anything, she could feel somehow the fire was made out of fear. It got out of control, not because the lack of it, but to make sure they were safe.

A hand between the debris caught her attention, kneeling in front of it, "Ric!"

Alaric jogged closer, a crossbow in his hands as he looked around for any threat "What is it?"

Hope glanced at him.

Alaric followed her gaze, lowering the weapon with sympathy and sorrow in his eyes.

"No pulse" Hope informed quietly, looking back down, catching a glimpse of dirty blonde hair. "I don't think there are survivors here"

Alaric opened his mouth to agree before he snapped his head up, tensing. He slowly looked around, "Wait. Did you hear that?"

Hope tensed at his tone, slowly standing up and straining her hearing.

They both looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of what Alaric heard.

Movement caught Hope's attention, putting a finger in her lips, pointing to one direction. Alaric nodded, watching the tribid silently and slowly walk away. A cough made them both pause. Hope looked behind her shoulder at him with slight wide eyes before running to the noise.

In front of Hope, laying on the ground was a dark haired girl, her eyes closed but an immediate sense of relief washed over Hope when she noticed the up and down move of her shoulders.

Hope knelt next to the girl, looking her over. Her clothes and visible skin were covered in dust and debris, scratches in her hands and face with blood staining the side of her forehead as if she hit her head on the way down.

"Hey" Hope spoke softly, reaching her hand to the girl's. She felt the girl flinch before she felt a painful prickle in her hand with the familiar sense of her magic being taken away. Her eyes immediately went to her hand and the girl's confirming her thoughts.

The girl was siphoning her.

And it was nothing like the twins' siphoning. This girl's siphoning was painful and weakening. Hope tried to rip her hand away but couldn't. Her strength wasn't compared to the girl's.

"Ric!" Hope exclaimed, snapping her head when the girl gasped, both girls locking eyes. Green against a bright fearful blue.

Hope stopped struggling which made the pain go away. She glanced down at their hands, seeing the girl was no longer siphoning her. The girl just watched Hope warily, being the one to rip her hand away from Hope, crawling backwards.

"Hope!" Alaric ran closer, holding his crossbow, stopping behind Hope, seeing the girl.

"She siphoned me" Hope explained, holding her hand, eyeing the girl with a frown.

The girl kept glancing between her and Alaric with wary eyes, but Hope could still see a glimpse of fear in her eyes. Her breathing was heavy and raspy. She had obviously been in the fire.

Alaric froze, staring at the girl. Besides his daughters, there hadn't been another siphoner. For what he had ever read, siphoners were rare and from an specific bloodline. The Gemini.

This girl, as far as he could tell wasn't from the Gemini Coven. They were dead. The only ones left were Lizzie and Josie. And Kai. A whisper in the back of his mind reminded him. But Kai was gone. Trapped where he could no longer hurt anyone.

So why this girl showed signs of belonging to the Gemini Coven?

"It's okay" Hope told her softly, snapping Alaric from his thoughts. "We're not going to hurt you. We're here to help"

"M-my Fa-mily" The girl coughed weakly, glancing around them. Hope couldn't help but give her a sympathetic frown. It was obvious no one had survived. It was a miracle she did. Alaric however, noted a bitterness in the way she mentioned her family. It wasn't very noticeable but he was tense and suspicious he was able to tell. "A-are they...?"

Neither Hope and Alaric answered. How could they tell her she was probably the only survivor and her family was dead?

"Why don't we get out of here?" Hope suggested. "I imagine you've been surrounded by all this smoke for a while now. It could hurt you"

The girl hesitated but another cough made her consider and nodded weakly.

Hope made sure to not touch the girl's skin as she helped her up, not wanting to experience another painful siphoning.

Alaric kept a careful eye on the girl as he followed them out of the burnt house.

~8~

Alaric and Hope drove the girl - Kayla - away from the house before the place became crowded with the authorities.

Kayla was sitting in the back, a blanket Hope gave her sat in her shoulders as she stared at the window, silently.

Alaric kept glancing at Kayla through the rearview mirror as he drove.

By the fifth time he did so in less than five minutes, Kayla broke the silence without looking away from the window. "Go ahead and ask. Don't be a creeper"

Hope stifled a chuckle, turning in her seat to face Kayla, glancing at Alaric. "She's got a point. You've been very quiet since we found her and you haven't stopped giving her those looks"

"What looks?" Alaric asked.

Hope opened her mouth to answer.

"The one you use when you think someone killed your puppy" Kayla told him, slowly turning to face them. Hope seemed slightly taken back for the difference in her eyes. Before, when she found her in the middle of her burnt house, Kayla's eyes were filled with emotions. Fear, hurt, wariness. But now, her eyes were empty, she looked emotionless, however the blue was still as bright as when she first locked eyes with her. "They used to look at me like that all the time" Kayla shrugged "I'm used to it"

Hope furrowed her eyebrows, "They?"

"My lovely, charming family" Kayla told them, smiling sarcastically. Her smile faded, looking to the rearview mirror, accidentally locking eyes with Alaric when he looked up again "They're dead, aren't they?"

Alaric sighed, looking away, tightening his grip on the wheel "As far as we could tell? Yes" 

Kayla nodded stiffly, looking to the window again. "Good"

It was a whisper but both Hope and Alaric heard her.

Immediately Alaric stepped in the breaks, stopping the car.

Alaric turned to face her, "What did you say?"

Kayla remained quiet for a moment, "I'm glad and relieved they're dead"

Hope and Alaric exchanged a look.

"Kayla..." Hope trailed off, turning to the girl. Kayla slowly looked back at her. Hope stared at her intently, "Did you cause the fire in your house?"

Kayla didn't answer, staring right back at Hope. But that was enough answer for her and Alaric.

Alaric took a deep breath, trying to remain calm, reminding himself to not snap. Everyone had their reasons for the way they acted. Every kid he recruited didn't do harm because they wanted to hurt people. Kayla was the first who didn't show remorse though.

He needed to hear the side of her story, why she was responsible for her family's deaths. And he needed to know how many people she was responsible for.

"Why did you do it?" Alaric asked. "And how, if you have no magic yourself?"

A half smile played on Kayla's lips, but didn't look at them, she was still staring outside the window "That was their mistake. They forgot I could take magic away. They shouldn't have done that spell inside the house where it was crawling with magic, with protective spells"

"Your family are witches?" Hope asked.

Kayla blinked, "The Rivers Coven were witches. Superficial, racist witches who marry the first born girl of the family for power"

"Were you the only one able to siphon?" Alaric asked, starting to drive again, slowly this time.

Kayla frowned, glancing at them "Siphon?"

Hope raised her hand, showing it to her "What you did to me. Taking magic from my body to yours. Painful, by the way"

Kayla made a face, clicking her tongue, "Right. And yes. I was the only one. Apparently it's not a lovely trait from the Rivers I inherited"

"From where then?" Alaric asked, tensely.

Kayla pursed her lips, "My dad. My mom had an affair, cheating on my step dad that resulted in me"

"Who's your dad?" Hope asked softly.

Kayla sighed, shrugging "I don't know. Never met the guy"

"That doesn't answer my question" Alaric told her, his eyes on the road. "Why did you start the fire?"

"It actually answers half of your question" Kayla replied. "My fam-they never liked what I could do. Apparently I almost killed my mom several times when she was pregnant, taking, I mean siphoning her magic. I accidentally siphoned my brother once and almost killed him too" She looked down, "That was what crossed their line. I had always been called an abomination for what I could do" Alaric looked at her through the rearview mirror at that in recognition. He knew someone who had been called like that by his own family too. "My Step dad learned about who was my dad. Said their coven was killed too but he was friends with someone of his coven who knew the spell that could solve his problem regarding me"

Hope inhaled deeply, seeming to figure it out where this was going "Your family tried to kill you"

Kayla shook her head slowly, "Worse. There's nothing worse than being alone, I'd prefer death than that and they knew it" She licked her lips when she realized they were trembling, pursing them "My step dad had this object with him along the spell. He made everyone in my family to learn it. I don't know why it wasn't working. I could feel the magic coming from them as they chanted but it wasn't enough. He explained what they were going to do and I panicked. That's when everything went black. When I woke up, I was surrounded by the fire. I didn't want to end up alone as he explained I was going to. See my relief when I realized their spell didn't work"

Alaric nodded, looking away back to the road "They needed a celestial event for the spell to work. Without it, the spell was useless"

Both Hope and Kayla snapped their heads at him, surprised.

"You know the spell she's talking about?" Hope asked.

"I know someone who used to be trapped in a Prison World" Alaric replied.

"That's what they wanted to do" Kayla told him, blinking in surprise, finally turning to face them for more than five seconds, "Send me to a place where I'd never be able to hurt anyone. Where I was apparently going to be reunited with the psycho of my dad who was just like me"

"And your dad's name..." Alaric trailed off, knuckles white on the steering wheel.

Hope frowned in confusion, wondering why Alaric wanted to know that. Why he was harsh with the girl who just suffered the trauma of her family trying to kill her.

Kayla didn't notice his tone or ignored it as she looked away, "According to my mom's diary, his name's Kai Parker"

Hope snapped her eyes to the girl in shock before glancing at Alaric as silence met the end of Kayla's reveal.

In the years Hope had been at the Salvatore School, she read twice a book about a man named Kai, the twins' uncle who killed their mom and later on tried to kill them. He was a villain. A villain like her dad, Klaus had been. Both were hated and Hope knew they were still hated. Her dad's reputation even fell on her shoulders, people feared her and even hated her for everything Klaus did, which is why she understood what Kayla was feeling as she looked at Alaric with confusion by his tense silence.

Alaric was judging the girl, comparing her with her father. A father Kayla had just confirmed never met. Hope did know her dad and she was different of what he ever was. Alaric trusted her. He liked her even after all Klaus did to him. Yet, he was looking at Kayla with disgust, fear and mistrust.

Kayla was not at fault for everything her dad did, things Hope knew the girl had no idea of.

Alaric had no right to treat her like a villain.

"Your dad's Kai" Alaric stated, narrowing his eyes at the girl's reflection. Kayla frowned, nodding slightly. "That makes sense"

"Dr. Saltzman" Hope warned, flickering her eyes at the way Kayla leaned back, taken back by his tone. "This is not the time"

"She's dangerous" Alaric whispered furiously.

"So am I" Hope countered. "And most of the kids we have on the school. Why's she different?"

Kayla looked between them, realizing something, "You knew him. You think like them too, aren't you?" She looked at Alaric, pursing her lips angrily, "You hate me for what I am too. I can see it in your eyes. It's the same way my step dad used to look at me right before he locked me in the room under the stairs for hours in the darkness" Hope looked at her, shocked and sympathetic. Kayla looked between them, "Wherever you're taking me, I'm not going. I'm sick of the way people look at me, like I'm going to kill them!"

Kayla threw her arm forward, using the magic she took from Hope to stop the car harshly. The moment the car stopped, she opened the door, climbing out and running away.

"Wait! Kayla!" Hope exclaimed, unclipping the seat belt, throwing the door open. Alaric grabbed her arm, stopping her. Hope glared at him, "What? We have to stop her. She needs this. Us"

"No" Alaric told her, "Let her go. She doesn't need our help"

"She does" Hope told him, "She doesn't know how to control her magic. Her siphoning is painful when it can't be with practice. She burned her house because she couldn't control her powers. She needs us"

"And like I said, she doesn't" Alaric repeated. "She's dangerous. She killed her family"

"It was self defense" Hope told him, "They were going to kill her. She panicked. Name one person who doesn't lose control of their powers when they're overwhelmed? Lizzie loses control of her magic and you let it pass. Newly transitioned vampires lose control too and you teach them. We can teach her too"

"We can't" Alaric insisted.

"Why?" Hope snapped, "Because her dad killed the twins' mom? Because she's related to a man she doesn't know? You complained your daughters had no family. People who understood their powers" She pointed toward where Kayla ran, "There she is. She's their family too. She shares powers with them. They can learn together and be a family. You're being selfish"

Hope never had a problem on saying what she thought. She had gotten in trouble several times for that but her words always made an impact whenever she felt strongly about something.

Today it was Kayla. A girl she knew what it felt like to be in her shoes. A girl judged by things she had no control of. Of the legacy she carried from a stranger.

This time, Hope knew had to be different. That girl wasn't going to follow her footsteps. That girl now had someone to look after her.

Without waiting for another complain or excuse from Alaric to not help Kai's daughter, Hope stepped out of the car, walking toward the girl who stopped in the middle of the road.

Kayla was still feeling the symptoms of smoke inhalation she had to stop running, slowly walking away, coughing lightly.

"Kayla" Hope called out. Kayla didn't stop, ignoring her, "Hey. He was out of line with the way he treated you. He didn't mean it. Just, listen out, okay? just a few minutes. You're not okay yet"

Kayla stopped, turning to face her, "Oh, he meant it. That kind of hate you can't really fake it"

Hope nodded, stopping in front of the siphoner, "I know. And I'm sorry. Look, we just want to help" Kayla raised a brow, skeptically "Alaric wants to help too, you took him by surprise that's all"

"He seems to really hate Kai Parker" Kayla noted.

"It's complicated" Hope told her, sighing. "But that won't stop him from doing what we came here for"

"And what's that?" Kayla asked.

Hope started to smile slightly, "Recruit you for a school"

"I already go to a school, thank you very much" Kayla told her, smiling sarcastically.

Hope chuckle, "Not a normal school. It's for people like us. Who have magic"

"I don't have magic if you forgot about it" Kayla told her bitterly.

"But you can use it" They heard Alaric from behind Hope. Both girls turned to face him. "It doesn't matter if the magic belongs to you or not. If you can use it, you belong" Hope smiled, giving him a nod. Alaric nodded uncomfortably. "Hope's right, Kayla. I shouldn't be judging you for something you didn't do or who's your dad. That was unprofessional from me"

Kayla looked at Hope who smiled reassuringly and then Alaric who tried to not look at her eyes. "I won't go. If you reacted that way by hearing who my dad is, I think not everyone will be as reasonable as you two were. I can't. I already had plans to leave, ones that were unfortunately interrupted last night but I can't be here"

"Where are you going then?" Hope asked.

Kayla shrugged, "Away. I don't know. I'll just point to somewhere in the map and, who knows, it'd be an adventure"

"We can't let you go" Alaric told her.

Hope gasped with an idea, "Come with us. The School's in Virgina, it's very far away from here and you'd have a roof to sleep in"

Kayla hesitated, "No"

Alaric sighed, "Hope was in the same place you were when she first joined the school. You can do what she did" He looked at Hope. "Her dad didn't have a nice reputation either but she belonged to the school, and we knew we could help her control her powers, just like we can help you with yours"

Hope nodded, realizing what Alaric was implying "You don't have to tell people who's your dad. You can keep your family's name, I did the same when I got there and people never realized this"

"We can adjust your file, say you and your family were caught up in an accident" Alaric told her, "That you were the only survivor and your family, before dying had called in to enroll you and your siblings but because of the accident, they couldn't make it"

"You'd do that?" Kayla asked skeptically.

Hope nodded before Alaric could say anything "Of course! Like I said, we could help you. Only if you let us"

Kayla looked at Alaric, who nodded with a forced smile.

Hope looked at the girl who reminded her of herself and wanted to help her. Wanted to be different.

Hope wanted to make her parents proud.

"Okay..." Kayla agreed hesitantly. "I'll go with you"

Hope smiled.

I won't let you down, mom. I'll help her like I wasn't able to help Henry. I'll make you both proud of me.