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The noble original patiently watched with a careful gaze of every little movement the dark olive-toned woman took. With quick fingers, she mixed a variety of herbs and ingredients together. His heightened hearing picked up low chanting of the woman. It was in an ancient tongue he recognized to be similar to Latin but much darker and complex sounding.

The chanting continued with precision as she grinded the mixture together with a small mallet in the bowl to create a sort of paste. There was a look of concentration present on her delicate features with her lips twisted into a scowl. Truly, she was a natural beauty without effort. If things were different, Elijah would have well wanted to pursue a relationship but with a vengeful and temperamental brother like Niklaus who feared abandonment more than the gods themselves, the concept of happiness never lasted long when his family were always an obstacle. "How much longer until it's done, Marika?" Elijah asked quietly. He knew potions were took to create but would e helpful to get a time frame for how long.

"Not much longer I assure you." The witch Marika Vasia answered calmly. She didn't mind the questions but her attention would be soley focused on the task at hand until it was complete.

Elijah nodded and was grateful of the answer. Waiting wasn't the issue but he knew he didn't have time left with his brother was plotting. Elijah would need to arrive at Mystic Falls before Niklaus did.

"If I may ask." She began in a curious tone. Elijah gazed at her fr a moment and waited to hear her continue. "What made you think there are living descendants of Kartina Petrova if your brother had hunted them down and killed every member of her family?" She asked casually but the gravity of the question made the air feel heavy like a boulder placed upon Elijah's shoulders.

For the longest time, Elijah had well thought Katrina's bloodline was wiped out by his brother's wrath. Yet from recent research and a deeper drive, he had taken notice that there was a new family that closely lived around the same period of time and originated from Bulgaria just as Katrina had.

For now, it was a hunch and could have been purely coincidencal until he could prove otherwise. Attempting to get answers from Katrina had proved to be more challenging than Elijah anticipated. "My brother in his rage only had as much interest and need to be thorough. Up until he became bored of it and moved to the next that caught his attention. It is merely a theory until this spell is done." Elijah summarized. There were far too many other details but there simply was not enough time to get there nor enough trust to indulge someone else's curiosity. He had questions of who must have been smart enough or held great enough power to hide the living descendants as long as they did. Someone wanted this information to be buried and difficult to find.

Marika hummed at his words, dark Orange eyes swirling with hints of Gold flickered over him. She could tell that there was more than what he was saying but did not press further into the matter. "You must have gone a long way to have gotten Katrina's blood. She is still alive I would assume?" The witch had placed the blood that was previously in the blood bag in a smaller bowl onto the map placed on the middle of the table.

Elijah grunted in creeping annoyance at how he gotten her blood but answered nonetheless. His patience was beginning to grow thinner the longer this took. "She is alive for now. It was troublesome but had to be done."

"It might have been more wicked to leave her alive with your brother still out for her death." The witch commenced adding water to the herbs to make the paste form into a consistent liquid substance before carefully mixing them all together. "What a cruel heart you must have within you, Elijah Mikaelson," Marika remarked with an attentive gaze upon the original vampire as she poured the mixture into two cups leaving some in the bowl for another use. They were filled almost to the top before she had stopped.

Elijah ignored her comments. "Is the potion finished, Marika?" He asked sharply. His tone no longing wanting to answer more questions than needed.

Marika smiled slightly at his words, used to the blunt crudeness the vampire was blatantly showing her. "Have I told you before that you remind me much of my wife?" she added, seeminling out of nowhere as she handed one of the cups to Elijah.

The noble original was surprised at her sudden comment. He wondered what similarities she was talking about with her wife that she had mentioned a few times before.

"She is very cruel being. Ice runs very deep in her heart that not even the realm of Tartarus could retain. We often don't see eye to eye and she is prefers to distance herself without unintentionally but she loves me without a doubt. My wife gives me a hard time and all types of attitude but that is what spouses do anyways." She chuckled at her own words, recalling back to moments she held dear to her heart. The scolding she would get from her wife who worried about her when she was away for too long and would stay up late just to see her again. Marika adored her wife like no other.

The fondness in the witch's tone was evident as she spoke of this wife. Elijah felt envious of her to have someone love her the way he longed to be loved. To be cherished no matter what faults and the skeletons in his closet he had. Elijah would prevent himself from getting to close. The fear of them dying horrible deaths that would haunt him the rest of his existence was too great of a burden.

Elijah could not relive the tragedy of his first love, the only one he desired to marry only for her to burn. No amount of time would make him about to forgive, let alone forget.

He remained silent until Marika once again began to speak a moment. "There are secrets she keeps that no one is to know and that reminds me of you very well, Elijah. I am certain you have much you have sworn to keep hidden until the day you perish from this world." She concluded in a light yet knowing tone. Like she knew more about Elijah than she was letting on but would not tell him.

The noble original hummed at her words gruffly. "Your wife sounds like a very interesting woman, Marika. You are very lucky to have someone who loves you dearly as you do to them." He hid the bitterness in his voice as he gave s small smile. He was glad she was happy with someone.

Marika's lips lifted up in a smile of her form and she nodded her head at his words. "The potion is finished, you can drink it now as I start the spell to track." She held the dark green drink to Elijah. Marika took her cup and drank it in one swallow. "The potion is just meant for you to be able to see what I see when I do the location spell." She further explained, watching Elijah drink the green substance with a curious gaze in her eyes. The witch did not flinch at the earthly taste as it was very familiar taste to her by now.

Elijah had attempted not to gag wholeheartedly at the taste of it. The potion was very overwhelming that he was forced to suck in a breath of air and clear his throat a few times. "It has quite a taste to it." Elijah remarked, gladly taking the water bottle offered to get the taste out of his mouth. He was relieved relief at the tasted subsiding.

The witch snorted, clearing off the mess and placing the candles on the four corners of the square table. "Unfortunately there wasn't much more I could add to make it taste better without it not being as effective." She said in an apologetic tone.

Elijah watched as she turned abruptly and went through the doorway into the other room. He could hear the noise of cabinets being opened and closed. Marika entered the room one more with a small brown bag. From the scent of it, he could guess it was some type of rare flower he has yet to see. "Let's begin I need absolute silence if you don't mind providing it." Elijah nodded at her words, understanding the importance to give absolute concentration.

"You should prepare yourself as well. Seeing through someone's eyes can feel like someone is hitting a hammer against your head and crushing your heart at the same time. It's not pleasant and the pain will get worse as you see more." She warned him. Marika knew how painful it could get as it was the only way she could be taught the spell herself by being subjected to it many times before. The pain is no stranger to her.

Elijah nodded at her words and took them into consideration. There were worse circumstances he had dealt with. "That is fine. I am certain I can handle it." He said in an even tone. His composure remaining to be collected and calm.

The witch poured some of Katrina's blood onto the center of the laminated map. Marika opened the small bag to collect some of the dried yellow flowers and she crushed it in the palm of her hand before scattering the broken petals all over the map. She unhooked her necklace from her neck and carefully grasped the pendant into her hands.

The suited man could see in detail the circular pendant held together by gold. In the middle held a light blue glass crystal that shined rose gold, light Pink, Navy Blue, and shades of lavender. The careful design of it was absolutely breathtaking but even from where he stood across the table Elijah could feel its dark energy radiating off. It was not an ordinary piece of jewelry.

Elijah stayed still as Marika began to chant in an ancient tongue, repeating the phrase in a soft but firm tone almost as if she was praying to the gods. The original felt a gust of wind knock through the windows and come into the room without warning. The fire of the candles swaying from the force of the wind but still remained lit.

An agonizing pain began to form in the back of Elijah's head. A quiet sound of discomfort almost escaping past his lips that he was barely able to bite back. The discomfort grew to be an unbearable pain over his eyes and the front of his head that made him grip his hands into fists. The blood began to move on the map as Marika continued to chant. The scattered yellow peals glowed before they had begun to crumble into themselves into nothingness.

Images began to appear in Elijah's sight and the appearance of a young doe-eyed duplicate of Katrina came forth. She appeared to be in some sort of bar-like place with two other girls who looked to be around her age. The next image that came to mind was a sign that said, Mystic Falls. The images next shifted to move through the forest he once had been years ago. Who would have thought the place where Katrina's descendant would be is the same he hadn't returned to in years? What an irony he had to admit.

A few moments later, Elijah sighed feeling the pain begin to fade as the spell was completed. "Thank you for assisting me, Marika. I will be sure to provide your payment before I take my leave." He expressed his gratitude with a small smile. It would take a bit of time get the item Marika had requested as payment he had agreed upon prior. Considering she had helped him when every other witch turned him down, he did not mind taking the time when he had taken much of hers with this location spell.

"Of course, it was no issue. You got the answer you wanted." Marika took the candles out. She waved her hand over the table to engulf table in a light yellow hue to automatically clean up the table without trouble. "I had a good enough impression that you were someone who would keep their word to a bargain." Call it a witch's intuition, Marika was the type to go with her gut feelings about new people she wasn't entirely familiar with. In this world, some people just couldn't be trusted. "Besides I know how to deal with those that can't keep their word and it is not without excruciating pain." Her smile that seemed friendly before was all but sinister and cruel now. Those sharp canines made her smile almost seem feral and crazed. Thieves would be dealt with no doubt.

Elijah cleared his throat, taking a step back to distance himself from the dark aura emitting off the woman. "I am glad to have made such an impression. I will come soon for your payment." With that he had bid her a good evening and made his way out of the rented apartment, Elijah needed to prepare himself for the next stages of his plans. It wouldn't be much longer now.

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Elena signed out a tired breath, pushing her a couple loose strands behind her ears as she took her usual seat beside Caroline in Alaric's history class. She was beginning to regret not staying home when she had the chance, Elena felt like the rest of her day has already been ruined crying repair.

"I told you, Caroline, that was all I remembered. There was nothing more after what I just said." she answered in annoyance at Caroline's persistent questioning. A tiredness seeping in her tone as she couldn't help but notice the dread that seemed to surround herself and her two friends like a cloud of camouflage. Elena couldn't explain why it where this dread was coming from but it was there and it felt heavy to the point of suffocation.

"You know I would say that you woke up on the wrong side of the bed but that feels a bit too soon." The blonde vampire quipped jokingly, trying to lighten her friend's mood.

Bonnie gave a disapproving side glance while Elena snorted at her words. Leave it to Caroline to shine some light on having a horrid nightmare. "Your dream must mean something important. You said you have never seen that forest yet you saw it in the dream. There is no way it could be a coincidence that you had this type of dream with what we are dealing with. Right, Bon?" She looked upon her other best friend. Caroline hopped there could be an explanation. Something about this didn't feel random like something else was pulling strings.

The young brunette didn't know what to make of dreaming of a place she has never once been to in her life. To dream so vividly of an otherworldly forest that felt ancient was hard to ignore even as she tried to brush off the dream being a message.

After hearing about the dream Elena had, Bonnie had formed her own thoughts of the million things this dream could possibly mean. One of the first things she had learned once Bonnie accepted her powers, dreams were not to be taken lightly. No matter how insignificant one thinks they may be. The God of Sleep, Hypnos, does not make mistakes in the dreams he blesses.

Her grams had always told her as a child that the only dreams that could become a reality are from Soothsayers, Seers, and Dreamers of The Forthcoming Night who are specific species blessed with second sight from the divinities. It was told that it was a rarity to have this sort of ability. Though she did not believe these stories were true before as they sounded like fairy tales but with all she is dealing with, it all made sense.

As far as any of them knew, Elena was not apart of the species that dreamt of the reality. This information had already told her to not take this dream as a reality but more of a warning of what may occur if the original Klaus can't be handled.

This dream felt like an indication what the future made hold for Elena in a gruesome turn of events. "I think the dream is more of a warning of what could happen. I don't think it's exactly a prediction of the future but of what could happen." Bonnie expressed her thoughts, rubbing her hands over her face. "It's another worry to think about as if we don't already have enough to worry about." Bonnie couldn't shake off this feeling like there was something heavy in the air that made it harder for her to breath. As if a pressure was pressed down on her lungs ever so slowly. Bonnie wondered if she was the only one who felt ths strange shift or if she was being just paranoid.

Elena made a noise of acknowledgement. She took out the history book needed for class and flipped through until she ended on the chapter they were meant to reaf for today. "That is just great. Another stress to have to consider in all of this mess." She scoffed tiredly to herself. It wasn't even half way through the day and she already felt exhausted and drained of energy. "I really should have stayed home when I had the chance." She cursed out herself silently, toying with her pencil as she tapped it against the desk.

Caroline had a thoughtful expression as she was thinking over the matter in her head in, wanting to see it from every aspect and detail she could think of. "What does it mean that Elena dreamt of a place she has never physically been to? That should be impossible. How can you dream of something you would have no memories of?" The blonde questioned. There were too many questions and not enough answers to go around. It was a little frustrating.

"We dealing with a lot of the impossible. I'm not even sure I would want the answer to that question if I asked Thanatos." Bonnie said truthfully. She was at a loss and did not know how it was possible but felt somethings may be better not known. Messages of dream were only meant to be known by the wing who dreamed and no one else.

"Look can we please stop talking about this, and class is about to start anyways." Just as Elena spoke, Mr. Saltzman had walked in.

"We have to continue later." Caroline muttered to her two friends, getting her notebook and pencil ready to write down notes. She inhaled deeply and exhaled out, trying to not focus on the heavy feeling each time she breathed. Like something bad was going to happen in any moment and she just didn't know what the bad thing was going to be.

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"Damon," Stefan uttered, his tone tired and already irritated with his older brother. He wasn't able to sleep and had stayed up for the better last night reading the translations Bonnie had sent pictures of, trying to get an understanding of their enemy. He was about to question Damon when the appearance of a random man tied up in their living up came into view.

He furrowed his brows and frowned. Stefan rolled his eyes, prepared himself for what he was about to walk into. "So this is why you called me, really?" He questioned with narrowed eyes, stepping into the living room to observe the unknown man tied up in the middle of the messy room. The man looked to be staining against his restraints but could not break free. The smell of vervain and blood was so evident in the room he could almost taste it on his tongue. Stefan could see the burns against the vampire's face and arms were slowly healing. That must have been from the curtains be concluded silently.

Damon walked around the stranger like a predator would do to it prey before eating them alive. A dark cunning smile etched on his face as he toyed with a ring between his fingers in one hand. His other held a very sharp knife Stefan hadn't seen in years. "He tries to break into our home, my dear brother." He began in a deliberately, slow tone, taking short strides around the vampire without so much as looking at Stefan. "I thought at first maybe he was breaking in to steal cause why not these days or maybe that he had a bone to pick with either of us cause you know." Damon went over to the curtain, pulling them to the side. The vampire began to grunt in the pain almost to the point of screaming out before the older Salvatore closed the curtains once more.

Once the noises of pain died down, Stefan huffed and gave a tired look to his brother. Damon liked to be dramatic too much for him at times. "What point are you making, Damon? You don't think that's his reason." He was growing tired of his brother's games and just wanted to go back to drinking.

"He came for Elena, Stefan." Damon maintained calmly, her expression becoming grim as he spoke with annoyance in his tone. Stefan inhaled sharply and his eyes widen out in slight surprise. "Her scent is attached to this place by now. He hasn't confirmed it but I just have a feeling he was sent by Klaus." He grabbed a bottle of vervain from the table and splashed some on the vampire's face. A sizzling sound and a groan could be heard before the vampire had healed once more. "There is no other reason why someone would come after a girl as plain as she is." Damon rolled his eyes. It would have been simpler if either of them had been the target but the other man would not have had to search long if that was the case. The man was clearly waiting or was sent there directly by someone else who knew their location.

There was always this odd feel when the name Klaus came to mind and Stefan could not for the life of him figure out why. "Alright, he most likely came looking for Elena and you think he was sent by Klaus." From what they knew of the rumors, Klaus was feared among the majority of the supernatural world and was known to be ruthless and monstrous in taking what he wants. "When did this happen exactly? I need more details, Damon." He moved himself closer to further inspect the situation. This was all very bothersome.

"You left around nine and he came by about an hour or so after. It had been at least two hours of him lurking. He was just roaming around like kidnappers do." Damon added with a sharp edge, his lips curled up to form a scowl. His brother was clearly unimpressed and irritated. The older Salvatore was quick to appear by the side of the man. "I had noticed there was something off and felt like I was being watched. So I went outside, searching for whatever this was coming from and I happened to stumble on this gentle creeper." The tone of his older brother was condescending as Damon was visibly harshly gripping the man's shoulder. Stefan could hear the distinct sound of bones cracking from Damon's grip.

"It took a bit of fighting and neck breaking but here he is still not answering my question of who sent him. I called you here so you can help me get it out of him, Stefan." He looked at his younger brother with a sadistic look in his blue eyes. They both knew the only way of getting answers was through brutal means.

Stefan remained silent as Damon spoke. It was more than likely this vampire was sent by Klaus. The was no arguing about that when it was clear but he wondered if there could be a way of using this vampire to get a head over Klaus to use to their advantage.

"If Klaus sent him, more may come as well. We need to be prepare, Damon." This whole entire thing felt like they were on the edge of something they cannot come back from and Stefan can't help but wonder when the others will realize it too. This was leading them to a rabbit hole of violence and blood soon enough.

Damon hummed. "I figured as much. This guy was probably just a test run. He wasn't hard to take down." He sighed, sliding a knife down the vampire's face and carefully cutting his cheek deeply.

"I will help. Hand me a knife." Stefan held his hand out, watching a smirking plaster on Damon's face before he tossed the knife over to him. With his vampire speed, the green-eyed caught it with ease.

Stefan walked in front of the vampire, getting a closer look at him. "We are going to get answers rather you like it or not. But you have the chance to make this stop." Stefan warned in a dark and menacing tone. He offered mercy when he knew Damon would not have bothered with. The stubborn vampire spat in his direction and sealed his fate.

Something must have been something in the wind that made him satisfied to hear screams and watch blood platter everywhere, tainting and staining his hands. Stefan did not questions where it did not concern him. All he needed was answers and he was going to get it.

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The original vampire Klaus inhaled deeply, his rosy lips curled up into a satisfied smirk. It has been quite a while since he has felt this type of amusement in the lesser.

He well suspected by now that the vampire he had sent was more or less already captured already by the Salvatore brothers in Mystic Falls. Klaus had made sure that the vampire could not tell important information except for the given message. Nothing else was permitted to be said. No one would be stupid enough to send someone without precautions. He wondered how the pitiful vampires will react.

The image was enough to entertain the hybrid to be as he made his way next to his destination through the busy streets. Soon he will be going into the next phases of his plans once things were more in order. He was certain nothing would be able to stand in his way. Not even his brother who sought his redemption like a mad man.

Klaus paused and glanced up at the darkening sky. It was becoming evening soon from what he could tell. Despite his success coming and knowing he will soon be as he was always meant to be, Klaus felt a sense of gloom that he would be alone in his accomplishment without his family by his side. It felt easier said than done to dagger them after so long of keeping them under lock and key. But Klaus desired for them to be free and be by his side by choice. They were all he had left.

Klaus was aware deep in the depths of his heart that his siblings would never forgive him for his transgressions and he did not deserve their forgiveness after taking years of their lives. But he would do all he could to set things right. No matter how long it would take.

The original had known for a while his older brother could not be trusted. The evidence of Elijah conspiring against him and had been interfering with his plans supported his mistrust. It was as if no one at all could be trusted in his life and that was truly a miserable existence to live.

'I wonder if she ever thinks of me. Or was I nothing to her after all.' The ancient vampire thought with a heavy heart as he continued walking. He pushed aside the pathetic thoughts of the past and looked forward to his future—no use in thinking of all who have abandoned him. All that matter is moving forward.

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