ACT ONE; INITIATE CONTACT
SCENE EIGHT; DEATH IS A STRANGER
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SALEM IS DISTANTLY FAMILIAR WITH DEATH. When she was younger, too young to truly understand it, but old enough to ask questions, Salem had asked her mother if her dad was dead, and that's why he wasn't around. Leila had fiercely told her that he wasn't, and had told her that her dad would be there if he could. That he was a great man, who loved her the second he found out she was growing inside of Leila, and apparently, the only reason was because Leila was still alive.

Salem didn't ask about death much after that. She figured, if her dad wasn't dead and wasn't around even though he wanted to be, that must be the case with the rest of her family members. Because every other kid around her had brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. Salem only had her mother.

And she loved her mother, of course. More than anyone. But that didn't fill the void of what was missing. So little Salem had decided that her extended family may not be dead, they just might be lost, or looking for her. It had made her feel less lonely, and a little more loved outside of her mother's embrace, so she didn't think much of it.

So death wasn't really a thought in her mind, until her mother sat her down one day to have a conversation.

Salem was 12 at this point, so she knew all about death and what it meant. She knew what it meant when her mother said she was sick, and that she wouldn't be getting better.

When Salem was freshly 18 and her mother's sickness finally took her, Salem was sad, of course. But more than that, she wanted to know if the loss of her mother meant that her father would finally come and find her. If perhaps her mother dying was truly the thing he needed to come and find his daughter.

She would, obviously, come to find out that she was wrong. It didn't take long for her to stop being so naive, but there had been a few months between the ages of 18 and 19 that she held out hope. It didn't last very long, and after a while, she figured that her dad must really be dead, because why else would he not come looking for her? Why would she be all alone?

It's a thought that drove her crazy, and made her resent her mother day by day, because the woman had barely left her a note explaining that she had a father and a brother. There was no address, no phone number, no nothing. Just a note in her mother's scrawling handwriting telling her to go find her family.

So– Salem's experiences with death are far and few in between, because her mother had isolated her from everyone she knew and then died before she told her anything substantial about them.

She wouldn't say death was a stranger, but more so something Salem didn't care to think about outside of the anger it brought her when she related it back to her mother.

Still, she could have sympathy for those that were grieving, even if she wasn't necessarily familiar with the feeling herself.

She'd carried Jenna all the way to the old house where Alaric was trapped. She'd shown up just in time to see Alaric kneeling before John's body out front, and she had no tears to cry for him, so she just stared at his unmoving frame until Alaric was yelling her name and taking Jenna from her arms.

She left Alaric with Jenna, too tired to sit and console him. She knew he'd eventually come to her anyway, so she wasn't that worried. Alaric had thanked her for trying, but Salem stayed silent during the interaction. She hadn't tried that hard anyway. She'd stood idly by while Klaus escaped yet again. She'd even encouraged it, in a way.

She wouldn't say that, though. There was no point. No one would understand, and she didn't want them to all look at her like she was some monster. There was little to be done when they arrived anyways, Jenna was already gone, so letting Klaus go was hardly the worst thing she could've done.

She didn't even know if Elena was alive or not. If John Gilbert's ridiculous last resort had even worked, or if he had killed himself for nothing. She didn't care enough to stick around and find out.

After she got home, she'd hardly moved from the space in front of her easel, ditching the half-painted canvas she'd taken one look at and hated. She'd gone through another two smaller ones before trading it in for a sketchpad and an old charcoal pencil, and her fingers were smudged with the lines and shading she just couldn't get right no matter how many times she went over it.

Halfway to losing her mind, Salem is almost grateful when her phone rings, and Alaric's name lights up her screen.

Dropping her pencil onto the pad of paper, she reaches for her phone, holding it up to her ear. "What's up?"

"Tyler bit Damon."

Salem hums, dragging her index finger along the smudged curve of a nose. "I know,"

Alaric pauses on the other end. "What do you mean you know? Have you known the entire time?"

"Yeah," She says, brows furrowing at the noise of outrage he let out. "He bit him when we went and got him and Caroline out of the tomb. Tyler couldn't control his shift and Damon stopped him from attacking Caroline. Why are you telling me about it now?"

"He's dying, Salem,"

She hesitates. "Yes, well, that's how it goes. He told me not to tell anyone, so I didn't."

"Bonnie contacted her ancestors about a cure,"

"And how did that go?"

"They didn't exactly say if there was a cure or not, but they did say one thing,"

She hums again, lips twisting into a frown as she eyes the sketch with growing disdain. "What would that be?"

"Klaus."

Salem lifts her finger from the drawing before her and makes an interested noise. "I'll handle it."

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It unnerves her how much Katherine and Elena look alike. She knows that's the whole point of doppelgängers, but it doesn't take away from the fact that it's odd. Even in a world of vampires and witches, and hybrids, having an identical twin that's 500 years older than you is weird.

At surface glance, they are the exact same. The same olive skin and small features, with the same wide, brown eyes. But when you look closer, you can see the differences. There's a darkness in Katherine's eyes that isn't present in the young teen's doe eyes. Katherine looks like she's had experience with life that Elena had yet to go through, even after the most recent events.

A thin, arched eyebrow raises at her presence. "It's like you're asking to get killed."

Salem shrugs a shoulder, giving her a wry smirk. "I have a taste for the more dangerous things in life,"

Katherine smirks, looking and sounding nothing like her teenage counterpart. "I like you," She steps back, swinging the door open wider for her to step through. "Klaus, we have a visitor."

Salem steps into Alaric's apartment, feeling odd not seeing her friend there, instead two Original vampires in his place. Elijah's eyes widen at the sight of her, but she disregards his attention and instead focuses on Klaus, who looks smug at her presence.

"What a lovely surprise, Salem," Klaus drawls, looking her up and down as she comes to stand before him. "My brother was just telling me about your special condition."

That does make her look in Elijah's direction, seeing the guilty look on his face that turns into one of confusion as her lips pull into a smirk as she looks back at Klaus.

"You already knew what I was capable of."

"Oh, yes, of course," The newly-made hybrid shrugs. "But I'm still very intrigued. I can't decide if I like the innocent art teacher act, or this one better."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I liked it when you were pretending to be my best friend." Salem makes a low contemplative noise in her throat, narrowing her eyes up at him. "And only one of mine was an act, and I think you know which one,"

The man's smirk widens, like she's just given him the key to the city. "What is it you're here for, then?"

"I want to take you up on your offer."

Surprise flickers through his gaze, though he pushes it away just as quickly as it had appeared. "Oh, really?"

She hums, nodding as she feels both Elijah and Katherine's curious stares on them. "You told me you had bigger plans for me, and I'm curious to figure out what they are."

"You know what they say, Salem, curiosity killed the cat,"

"But satisfaction brought it back."

Klaus looks satisfied with her quick retort and he raises a hand up, one that she quickly sets her own in in an oddly firm, but confident handshake. Just as Klaus begins to pull away, she tugs his hand back towards her, getting his eyes on hers once more.

"One more thing,"

"This isn't a trade, love, it doesn't work like that."

"I'm well aware of how this works, Klaus," She sniffs haughtily, somehow managing to look down on him despite him having several inches of height on her. "But I know you know about the cure to a werewolf bite, and I want you to give it to Damon."

"Is that sympathy I hear? Does the poor little teacher have feelings for a Salvatore?"

They both know that's not the case, but Salem rolls her eyes anyways, face twisting. "No, I just don't have a particular desire to go to another funeral this week."

"Well, if you want me to give him the cure, I'll need something in return from you, too."

"And what would that be?" She raises an eyebrow, urging him on.

"When I make my hybrids, I want to turn you, as well."

Her eyes widen in shock, she can't help it, and she's suddenly reminded of the fact that they have an audience, and she's still clutching onto Klaus's hand. Swallowing roughly, she bites her tongue and forces words up her throat. "And if I die?"

"Don't think about that," He turns their hands, looking at where her smaller one is still sitting in his. "Think about if you live. If you live, you'll be unstoppable. And you'd be mine. My sire, my weapon, mine."

She doesn't have the space to truly think it out, but she knows that Klaus was right when he said curiosity kills the cat, because hers was sure to get her killed one day, and one day soon, if her life kept on in the direction it seems to have turned in suddenly.

Her brows furrow against her tan skin for a moment before she smooths her expression out, and gives Klaus a small, barely there smile that pulls at her lips. "It's a deal."

Klaus's shoulders fill with the satisfaction of yet another poor soul under his rule, and they drop their hands from each other's grasps in unison. "Lovely. Go pack your things, we leave tomorrow."

Salem nods, stepping back towards the front door. Her eyes drift over to Elijah, who's looking at her in a way she recognizes is pleading, presumably for her to renege on her deal with his brother. Instead, she just lifts her fingers and flutters them in a wave, smirk unwavering on her face as she breezes by Katherine and makes her way back into her apartment.

Even as she's surrounded in silence again, she doesn't find herself feeling regret in the slightest. In fact, she just feels anticipation at the thought of someone finally understanding that she is capable of so much more. She has a feeling that maybe even Klaus doesn't see the full capacity of her powers.

It makes her laugh.

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"What the hell did you do, Salem?"

Salem blinks out of sleep, her face twisting into a confused frown as she groans. "Ric? What are you doing here, it's the middle of the night,"

Alaric stands beside her bed, hands on his hips as he stares down at her with an unhappy frown. "What have you done?"

As her sleep clears from her brain, the realization of what he's talking about dawns on her and she mutters a curse under her breath. Selfishly, she'd been hoping that Ric wouldn't have found out about her deal with Klaus until they were already long gone. She knew he'd be upset, and she didn't want to fight with him.

"Ric,"

"I can't–" Ric lets out an incredulous laugh as she sits up, tilting her head back to look at him. "Why did you do it, Salem? Why?"

She shakes her head gently, giving him an apologetic look. "You wouldn't– I had to, Ric. I can't explain it, but I know what I'm doing. I need you to trust me on this one."

He practically collapses beside her, dropping his head into his hands as she leans her head on his shoulder. "You're asking me to be okay with you skipping town with an evil hybrid that was trying to kill all of us a few days ago, you understand that, right?"

"I know," She hums, wrapping a hand around his arm. "But I need you to do it anyway. I know you haven't known about me for a long time, but I am capable of taking care of myself. I'm not going to let anything happen to me, Ric. And before you know it, I'll be back here, annoying you at work and home."

He huffed a laugh, forcing a bit of humor into it. "You promise?"

"Promise," She squeezes his arm, smiling to herself. "I know I can't stay away forever, you'd miss me too much."

"Yeah, I would," He says, resting his cheek atop her head. "If things start going bad, you'll get out of dodge, right?"

"Yeah, Ric. I'm gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine."

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author's note; (everything was not fine)

edited and published; 2.16.23.

- liz