Chapter 25: 2.10

Rebekah had led the girls up to Stefan's room, for no apperent reason. But she, "wanted to see his room", so now they were snooping through his room.

"How fun is this?" she joked as she rummaged through the drawers.

"We shouldn't be here." Elena said, visibly uncomfortable.

"Why? You've never been here before?" Arielle joked making Caroline slap her arm, "Ow! What was that for?"

"You know what!" she told her before sitting on the bed as Rebekah opened a drawer and pulled out one of his underwear.

"Boxer briefs. Now, that's a change from the twenties."

"Are you gonna look through his stuff all night, or are you gonna tell me the story?" the human asked impatiently.

Rebekah sighed and threw the boxers back in the drawer, "You really are no fun." she sat down next to Caroline before speaking again, "What do you want to know?"

"Well, Elijah said that your father was a landowner in Europe. How did you guys end up here?" she asked as Arielle sat besides Caroline.

"My parents had just started a family when a plague struck their homeland. They lost a child to it. They wanted to escape and protect their future family from the same fate."

"So how did you end up here? This part of the world hadn't even been discovered yet!"

"Not by anyone in your history books."the original contradicted, "But my mother knew the witch Ayana, who heard from the spirits of a mystical land where everyone was healthy. Blessed by the gifts of speed and strengh. That led my family here, where we lived amongst those people."

"The werewolves?" Caroline wondered.

Rebekah nodded towards her before speaking again, "To us, they were just our neighbors. My family lived in peace with them for over 20 years, during which time my family had more children, including me."

"You make it sound so normal."

"It was." Rebekah confirmed, "Once a month, our family retreated to the caves beneath our village. The wolves would howl through the night, and by morning, we'd return home."

"One full moon, Klaus and my youngest brother Henrik snuck out to watch the men turn to beasts." Arielle winced knowing where the story was going as Rebekah started to tear up, "That was forbidden. Henrik payed the price."

Caroline put an arm around her hearing her shaky voice and Arielle got up and moved to the other side of the older blonde, putting an arm around her aswell.

"And that was the beginning of the end of peace with our neighbors. And one of the last moments my family had together as humans."

Elena went to say something but her phone rang and Rebekah wiped a tear that was falling, "You better get that. That'll be Damon checking up on you."

Elena excused herself and Rebekah got up and started snooping through Stefan's journals with the two sisters.

Elena came back after a couple moments and scoffed at the sight infront of her, "Did you three get your fill of snooping yet? Can we get on with the story?"

Rebekah got up and held a picture of them to her face, "Honestly, I don't get you two as a couple."

"Why would you?" the human sneered as the sisters sat up, "You don't know anything about who he really is." she snapped taking the picture and setting it down on a table.

"i know exactly who he is." Rebekah said, "He's a vampire. We're a preditory species. We don't have time to care about humans and their silly little lives."

"Is that why you did that runway show earlier? Because you don't care about the homecoming dance?" Rebekah stayed quiet making her scoff, "You know what? I'm just gonna go."

"You haven't even heard half the story." Arielle called out as she started walking out.

Elena turned around to face her, "And she's not gonna tell it." she turned back to Rebekah as she said, "She's just bored and looking for someone to push around. Find someone else to play with. Maybe you can compel yourself a friend."

Arielle quickly stood up and went to Rebekah's side, "She doesn't need too. She already has me."

"Yeah, and me." Caroline spoke.

Elena looked at Caroline with a look of betrayal making Caroline look away. Rebekah sighed before speaking, "The necklace wasn't Stefan's to give. It belonged to the original witch."

"The one who put the hybrid curse on Klaus?"

"Not just the hybrid curse." Arielle spoke, "She's the one that turned them into vampires."

"What?" Caroline yelled.

"Mmh." Rebekah confirmed, "I'm thirsty. Do you guys want a drink?"

"I do!" Arielle said. Her and Rebekah linked arms and started walking out of the room, while Caroline and Elena stood there in shock.

Caroline looked between the door and Elena before walking out following behind her sister and Rebekah, Elena following shortly behind.

~~~

After Elena and Caroline catched up with the two older girls, Rebekah explained how her parents begged Ayana to find a way to protect their kids.

"So vampirism was a form of protection?" Elena questioned.

"What else would it be?" Arielle asked back.

"A curse!" she replied as if it was obviously.

The original scoffed, "My parents only saw a way of keeping their children alive."

"Yeah, but why stay? If they were so afraid of the wolves, why not leave?" Elena asked.

"Pride." Rebekah answered as they made their way into the living room, "My father didn't want to run anymore. He wanted to fight and be surperior to the wolves. Where they could bite, we had to bite harder. Where they had speed, we had to be faster. Agility, strength, senses." she explained.

"My mother begged Ayana to help. But she refused and left it in her hands."

"In her hands? How could she do anything?" Caroline asked.

"Because my mother was also a witch." Rebekah revealed.

"What!?" the younger girls said at the same time, in complete shock.

"The witch of the original family, the original witch." Arielle said sitting on the couch.

Rebekah started looking around the cabinets lokking for something, "Where do they keep their best vintage?"

Elena seemed to still be processing what Arielle had said, "Wait. So if your mother was a witch, then..."

"Am I?" Rebekah interrupted making the human nod. The original let out a small laugh before answering, "No! A witch is nature's servant. A vampire is an abomination of nature. You can either be one or the other, never both. My mother did this to us, but she never turned herself." she explained as she rummaged, looking for alcohol.

"How did you turn?" Elena asked as Rebekah stood with a bottle of wine.

"She called upon the sun for life and the ancient white oak tree, one of nature's eternal objects, for immortality. That night, my father offered us wine laced with blood." Arielle winced knowing what she was going to say next, "And then, he drove his sword through our hearts."

Caroline and Elena's face dropped in shock, while Arielle held a remorseful look, "He killed you!?" Elena asked, in complete disbelief.

Rebekah scoffed, "And he wasn't delicate about it either." she opened the wine bottle and served Arielle and Caroline some before handing it to them and serving herself some.

"After we had awoken, we had to drink more blood to complete the ritual. It was euphoric. The feeling of power was indescribable." she told them, "But the witch Ayana was right about the consequences."

"Like?" Caroline asked, noticing her hesitance.

"The spirits turned on us, and nature fought back. For every strength, there would be a weakness. The sun became our enemy. It kept us indoors for weeks. And then my mother found a solution."

"Daylight rings, right?"

Rebekah nodded towards the younger Forbes before continuing, "But there were other problems. Neighbors who had opened their homes to us could now keep us out. Flowers at the base of the white oak burned and prevented compulsion. And the spell decreed that the tree that gave us life could also take it away. So we burned it to the ground."

"But the darkest consequence was something my parents never anticipated...the hunger. Blood had made us reborn, and it was blood that we craved above all else. We couldn't control it."

Rebekah turned away from the girls and faced the fireplace as she finished, "And with that...the predatory species was born."

Silence filled the room as Rebekah sat next to Arielle, while the two younger girls processed the information.

"Why did Mikael start hunting Klaus?" Elena asked, breaking the silence.

"When Nik made his first human kill, it triggered his wolf gene. With that, he became my father's greatest shame."

"Yeah, Elijah told me this part of the story." Elena remebered, "Your mother had an affair with one of the werewolf villagers. Klaus wasn't his son."

Rebekah nodded in confirmation, "She tried to make it right. She put the hybrid curse on Nik to surpress his werewolf side, and then she turned her back on him, but Mikael's greatest weakness as a human was his pride. As a vampire, that was magnified. He went on a rampage and killed half the village. Then he came home and killed her."

Arielle squeezed her hand in comfort, noticing how shaky her voice was as she explained the story, "He killed your mother!?" Caroline exclaimed.

Rebekah nodded, "He said she broke his heart so he would break hers." she said, as calm as she could, "He tore it from her chest as Nik watched. Afterwards, my father took off in a rage and the rest of my family scattered."

"Nik stayed so he could help me bury her. He knew I had to say goodbye to my mother." Rebekah then went on and explained their, '𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳' promise.

"Always and forever? Even though he locked you in a coffin for 90 years?"

"Elena!" Caroline scolded.

"We're vampires. Our emotions are heightened. I'm stubborn, Elijah's moral, and Nik....Nik has no tolerance for those who disappoint him." she explained, "Over a thousand years as a family, we've all made that mistake at least once. I've made it several times..."

"But you still love him?"

Arielle scoffed, "Of course she does." she snapped, "He's her brother and their immortal. She's not gonna spend an eternity alone. And even then, you never stop caring about your family no matter how shitty they treat you."

Rebekah shook her head with a small laugh, "I'm done. You've heard the story. It's time to go." she told Elena, but the girl didn't budge.

"Are you deaf? She said leave Elena." Arielle said.

"And I don't know what you're up to, but I am no longer playing along." Rebekah added.

"I'm just looking for one good reason why we shouldn't wake Mikael."

"And she's given you a thousand." Caroline snapped, to everyone's surprise, "But you're still gonna do it aren't you? Even after what Rebekah just told you, you're gonna wake him up, just for him to go after Klaus, right?"

"It's no secret I wan him dead, Caroline. He has a hold over my life, Stefan's and both of yours." she said pointing at the two sisters at the end of her sentence.

"Me?" Arielle questioned, "My life isn't being controlled by anyone." she remarked.

"Do whatever the hell you want." Rebekah finally spoke, "Wake Mikael at your own peril. But make no mistake." she started walking closer to Elena as she said, "But if you come after my brother, I will rip you apart. And I get my temper from my father. Now leave."

Elena looked at Caroline one last time before walkimg out of the house.

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Caroline, Arielle, and Rebekah were in the living room talking. When they saw Elena coming back into the house.

"I thought I told you to leave, twice." Rebekah said, clearly annoyed with the doppleganger.

"How do you know that Mikael killed your mother?" she asked making her way closer into the living room.

Rebekah sighed and went to pour herself for wine as she said, "Nik was there. He told me."

"He lied to you." Elena accused.

Everyone turned to her in confusion, "And how do you know that? Were you there?" Arielle asked.

Elena ignored her and walked closer to Rebekah, "The cave where you carved your family's names is covered in symbols, the story of your family..." Elena then started to put pictures of the symbols on the table, making everyone look in intrigue.

"How your parents arrived, how they made peace, the spell that turned you into vampires, and this. Thid is the symbol for hybrid. It's the combination of the werewolf and the vampire symbol." she explained poiting to the symbols as she went, "And this one is for your mother." she said pointing to a symbol of her necklace.

"Her necklace." Rebekah muttered.

Elena nodded before continuing, "And this is the story of her death." she told her pointing to another picture, "The hybrid killed the original witch. Not Mikael, Klaus."

"No, no. He wouldn't." Rebekah denied, trying her best to keep her tears from falling out.

"She put the curse on him, made it so that he would be the only one of his kind, and then she rejected him. With the werewolf gene comes aggression and violence. When he turned, all of that was heightened. He killed her, Rebekah, and then he made up this entire lie about your father so that he wouldn't lose you."

Rebekah shook her head and grabbed the drawings and started throwing them into the fireplace as she said, "These mean nothing. They're just stupid drawings. Done by stupid people who had no idea who my family was!"

"Then why are you so upset?"

Rebekah broke down to the floor and cried, "Why are you doing this to me? I've done nothing to you!" she sobbed looking up at her as the Forbes comforted her.

"Klaud killed your mother! He has a hold on you, on me, on everyone. He has for a thousand years. We have to make it stop!"

Caroline looked up at her with anger. She sped her to a nearby wall and pinned her down by the arms, "Shut up! Just shut up!" she demanded, "You're putting her though something no one should ever have to go through."

"Caroline..."

"Shut up and let me finish." she ordered, "You can't act all high and mighty Elena. Because you are not a saint. Yes, you have been through a lot. Yes, you don't deserve what Klaus has put you through. But thst doesn't mean you can come here and torture Rebekah, who by the way, hasn't done anything to you, but make some remarks."

"I'm not-"

"I said let me finish." she yelled once again, making Elena shut up, "You may act like a good friend and you may have your good moments, but you're not a good friend."

"I have been a good friend to you. You're the one whose been hanging out with the enemy."

"The enemy?" Caroline scoffed, "I was basically raped by Damon and you're still friends with him, actually nevermind, you're inlove with him. And did you know I was tortured?"

"What?" she asked as her face faltered.

"Yeah, by my dad." Caroline informed, "But you've been caught up on everything else that you couldn't even ask me how I've been."

"Caroline, I-"

"I think you should go." she interrupted, releasing her from her grip.

"Care-"

"Leave, Elena!" she demanded. Elena sighed defeatedly and started to walk away but turned around to say one last thing.

"I'm sorry Care." she said.

Caroline looked at her with a somber expression, before saying, "Yeah, me too." she spared Elena one last look before going back to comfort Rebekah.

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𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐤𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲

𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝'𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐚 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩, 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐜 𝐢 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐦𝐤 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤