YLVA SIGHED as she flopped onto the bed of her dingy (temporary) apartment. Sure, it was only for the time being - just until she secured the moon stone and then got the hell out of dodge - but wow, Mystic Falls definitely wasn't known for their comfort. They did, however, have incredible booze. Though she couldn't technically get drunk, Ylva still felt a little lightheaded from her earlier escapade at the Mystic Grill. That was a win, in her book.

Light peaked in through the blinds, casting glistening stripes onto the hardwood floor. It was a cute little space with an open living room/kitchen combo, a bedroom and one bathroom. All she needed was the essentials.  

That's what Ylva kept telling herself. 

She was, however, getting antsy. Just a short while remained until this so-called masquerade ball was happening - as if anyone in the small-town of Mystic Falls knew how to through a proper masquerade ball anyways. Were any of them alive during the 16th century Italian Renaissance? No, they were not.

"Jesus Christ, I feel like I'm suffocating in this stuffy, country bumpkin prison," she whined aloud, before sighing and peeling herself off of the bed. "Get it together, Ylva. Just get through the party, follow Kat, get her to lead you to the moon stone, steal a damn car, and haul ass out of town. See? Nothing to worry about, you big, anxious baby."

In retrospect, the oversimplified version definitely seemed to be glossed over in rose-tinted paint, but she was still confident in her ability to be a conniving, scheming enigma. It was in her blood, after all.

Peering over at the very 90's-themed clock, the youngest Mikaelson unhooked her highly coveted navy garment bag (on most occasions she would rather die than be caught wearing a dress) from the back of the bathroom door, and unzipped it to reveal a beautifully crafted, lace, Italian ballgown that had once been worn by Rebekah, many years ago. 

Her deep blue eyes trailed along the fine seams, wondering how the hell she was supposed to get into it, but also admiring how absolutely stunning it was. It most certainly did Rebekah justice in the 16th century.

Ha, if only Bex was here to see her now.

As usual, the eighteen-year-old had waited until the last possible minute to get dressed, so, without another millisecond to spare, she pulled off her shirt and jeans and hesitantly wiggled into the gown. Surprisingly, it fit. Though Ylva would never admit it to herself, she couldn't help but feel the slightest bit nostalgic. Centuries had passed by, and she never once indulged her older sister in going dress shopping. Only now that Rebekah was 90 years deep into a dagger-induced slumber, was Ylva jumping off into the deep end. As if to cap off the dysfunction, the person she doing all this heavy lifting for was also the person who plunged the dagger right into Rebekah's heart: her beloved older brother Klaus.

How painfully ironic.

Nevertheless, Ylva readied herself, picking up a small clutch - one that could easily hold the moonstone, once she acquired it. As one last accessory, she pulled a made up persona out of the back corner of her mind, deciding with the simple high-school transfer student from out of town and just looking for a little fun. No harm in that, right?

She threw on a pair of sleek, black heels and slammed the rotting wood door shut on her way out. 

-•-•-

Arriving at the Lockwood mansion proved slightly challenging, taking into account the fact that she had no method of transportation and no clue how to get there, since her phone had been conveniently left in her car's glove compartment (which was still stationed at the repair shop).

With no access to the digital world, Ylva had to rely on pure, unadulterated common sense: follow all of the wealthy-looking people in feathered masks and sequins. 

The moon was at its apex, sending down white beams that reflected off of the more elaborate accessories, and sending Ylva's enhanced senses into a bit of a frenzy - though it wasn't too much of a bother, though. After a millennium of hearing things louder, tasting things richer and sensing things deeper, she had become accustomed to it. 

As Ylva walked up the driveway, the outward appearance of the ball was indubitably ravishing. Miniature lights littered a large tent outside of the house, holding a mind-boggling amount of people for such a small town. The immortal teen was stunned.

Her eyes scanned the grounds rapidly for any sign of a hot, sociopathic vampire-bitch known as Katerina Petrova, but the sheer amount of roaming people made that quite a challenging task. Mind racing, Ylva walked briskly over to the tent, scouring the tables for any inkling of the woman, but she wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Damn it, Katherine. You had one job - just lead me to the dumb, white rock," she muttered under her breath, fleeing the tent space as quickly as she came. People from Mystic Falls smelled so . . . dirty, and not in the personal hygiene way. 

As if the universe was repaying some long-lost debt, she spotted the blonde girl who had been at the Mystic Grill - Caroline, she recalled - leading a mysterious brunette into the Lockwood Mansion (or perhaps the other way around). That had to be Katerina - there was no doubt in Ylva's mind about it. 

Her legs moved as fast as humanly possible (an unfortunate con of being surrounded by humans), keeping her eye keenly trained on the pair who were dangerously close to disappearing into the home - but before she could stop them, they were gone. 

Ylva was dangerously close to screaming bloody murder into the existential void. As long as Katerina and Caroline were inside of the Lockwood Mansion, the Mikaelson had no way of knowing where to look for the moonstone. Katerina was supposed to be the easy solution to a thousand years worth of problems, but that was proving to be a slight miscalculation. 

"Screw it." Ylva breathed a sigh of frustration, ready to enact her very own Plan B, which was to wait in the woods for Katerina to make her exit and subsequently ambush her, when something strange caught her attention.

A scream, or perhaps a series of elongated yelps. It wasn't dissimilar to the sounds her victims made, which is probably what spiked her interest in the first place. 

As Ylva steadily approached the outlying lawn of the property, her undead heart almost floated up to her throat. There, an outlandishly beautiful, black-haired, dark-skinned girl rushed over to . . . Katerina. The youngest Mikaelson knew it couldn't be possible, as she had watched the younger vampire strut right into the Lockwood house just a few moments earlier. How could she have already left, and perform a costume change on top of that?

Ylva watched as the brunette lookalike groaned in pain, her nose crinkled and forehead covered in sweat. 

"Elena!" the dark-skinned girl cried out, rushing to her side. 

That one word, the simplest of monikers, forced Ylva to suppress a slack-jawed gasp. Another doppelgänger . . . It was uncanny. Perhaps the blonde Original's return to Mystic Falls wasn't as uneventful as she thought it would be. 

After a momentary smirk, Ylva quickly plastered an ignorant grimace on her face and runs over to the two girls. "Are you guys okay?" she asks, kneeling in front of Elena in an attempt to catch a glimpse of her mysterious injuries.

The girls flinched out of their haze as the blonde hurriedly tore a piece of cloth off of her dress and held it out. "Do you mind?"

They shared a look with each other, before nodding. "I'm fine, just kind of a klutz. Uh, thanks," Elena said, holding out her hand for Ylva to patch up as she stifled an obvious groan of pain. 

"I'm sorry, I don't think I've seen you around before. I'm Bonne. Are you new here?" the other girl (who practically reeked of magic) asked, an apprehensive quirk to her brow.

"Yeah, I'm a transfer student, luckily with some nursing practice. I was born here, moved away, and now it seems I'm back again. There's something about Mystic Falls that draws people back, apparently. Some just can't stay away."

Suddenly, the tearing of skin sent another rippling cry out of Elena's mouth as her hand snaked around her own waist and up her back, feverishly trying to stop the excruciating pain that appeared to be eating away at her nerves like a forest fire. 

Playing her role as the innocent new girl, Ylva hurriedly took off her cotton sweater and put pressure onto the brunette's bleeding back wound. "You must be quite the klutz to get injuries like these."

Bonnie was quick to walk a few steps away, pulling out her phone and muffling her voice as she spoke to the other line. Fortunately for Ylva, her vampiric hearing was working just fine. "Jeremy, it's Katherine - she's linked to Katherine. Get them to stop! Now!" 

Oh, Katerina, you hilarious, evil bitch.

Elena cried out in pain once more, and Ylva re-patched the teen's hand wound with a new ripped piece of her dress. "Here; keep pressure on that."

Bonnie sat down beside her friend, watching helplessly as she writhed. She looked as if there was something else she had to say - something that an ignorant new girl such as Ylva shouldn't have to hear - but couldn't. "I can't . . . fix what's happening, Elena, but I can try to take some of the pain away. Okay?"

Bonnie's head turned to the blonde Mikaelson. "My grandmother's an, um, herbalist, so it kind of runs in the family."

Ylva could have sworn she was on the verge of breaking out into laughter, but she had to restrain herself. Herbalism, really? Bonnie was certainly gorgeous, but she was an awful liar. "Yeah, yeah, go for it. Do whatever you can to help your friend."

God, it's as if people in this town hadn't a trace of common sense. 

This odd little group of misfits were obviously knee-deep in something they weren't prepared to handle, so Ylva decided to give them a break and let Bonnie work her magic in peace. After all, she had all the information she needed, already. "Listen, I need to head home, but you two should probably go the E.R. or Urgent Care or something. I, uh, hope I see you around."

Elena's gaze flickered to the blonde. "What's your name?"

"Ylva. Ylva Michaels."

-•-•-

a/n; it's finally d o n e. this was supposed to come out yesterday but I passed out due to exhaustion from a chemistry camp that is literally trying to murder me. I'm so tired. please help. ok bye I love u all, thx for reading <3