PART TWO: THE REUNION

IT'S BEEN one year since us Bransons were turned. We were forced to figure out all the mechanics and rules of being the vile creatures that we are. We quickly realized it was impossible to boycott blood, as it was a necessary component of a vampire's diet. We spent weeks upon weeks starving ourselves, refusing to enter any village we passed. None of us wanted to feed on another human again; we refused to be the monsters we had become.

Soon we realized a few of our tricks, such as compulsion and healing with our vampire blood. We used the compulsion to manipulate humans and drink from their veins all while healing them after and making them forget. From this we learned control, and felt more confident in the way we handled ourselves around humans. It helped us survive, but it did not erase the guilt that we felt so deeply in our hearts.

Each day for the past year, we've woken up thinking all of this is just a dream, only to be disappointed when our tongue is dry from the lack of blood. We hate ourselves, hate what we've done and what we know we're going to do. I can see the light drained from Lexi's eyes each day she wakes, her smile forced to reassure me she's fine. I can see how Joel's personality has shifted, all the joy and humour fading from his mind. He's become a different person, and frankly we all have. Each day I wake up with a particular face in mind, the face of the man who did this do my family, and each day I think of new ways to kill him if I ever cross his path again.

However, within the past year, the three of us have relocated in a decent sized town just by the coast. It's big enough to blend in, but small enough to not overwhelm our vampire desires. Here we've started to build a life for ourselves, but deep in my heart I still miss our home of Mystic Falls. I can only hope they have started rebuilding, cleaning up our mess.

"Excuse me!" A female voice calls outside our small wooden shack. It's rare that people come this far from the edge of town. That's the main reason Joel, Lexi and I decided to set up a shelter here, so we'd be far from people as we slept.

"Is anybody home?" she repeats again, forcing me to get up.

Joel and Lexi have gone into town, presumably doing their part. We've decided that if we're going to stay here, we need to fit in, and that starts with acting like we're humans again. Joel has picked up a job helping build houses while Lexi has been working with the injured, healing them with her blood. I on the other hand have been just listening, using my vampire hearing to listen in to any gossip about any attacks on other villages nearby, anything that could lead me to Klaus. So far there's nothing, but I know something's bound to pop up.

I put my long hair in a knot before opening the door, squinting at the bright afternoon sunlight. Outside our door stands a young woman, blonde hair and icy blue eyes with a broken woven basket beside her, apples rolling everywhere.

"Oh hi!" she sighs in relief, looking me up and down as if she's studying me. "I um," she stutters as if she's nervous. "I was just out here picking apples for my mother when my basket broke. Do you have a basket I could borrow?"

I nod without saying anything, simply wanting her away from here before I lose control. I don't feel myself slipping just yet, but the longer she stays here the more thirsty I will become.

Moments later I come out with a wooden crate, placing it on the ground and helping her place all the apples inside it. I can feel her eyes on me the whole time, feel her shifting closer to me. The last apple we both grab, our hands grazing one another's. I flinch and back away while she smiles and holds onto my hand. She squeezes it, forcing my eyes up to hers. "Thank you so much. You've been a great help....," she pauses.

"James," I answer, giving her a tight smile.

"James, thank you." She smiles, holding out her hand. "I'm Amelia."

I shake her hand quickly, not meeting her in the eye as I do so. I just want her out of here.

"Would you help me carry this back to town? I'm so tired, I don't think I'd make it." She giggles to herself.

I internally grown, gritting my teeth. She's trying to get somewhere, trying to get to know me. For the past year the idea of friendship and love hasn't even crossed my mind, and I refuse to start now. I'm simply not interested in anything, and being the monster that I am, I know I'm no good to anybody.

"Okay." I pick up the basket with ease, my vampire strength making the basket feel like a feather.

I know I could just easily compel her to leave, but there's a part of me that feels guilty. I refuse to take advantage of my vampire abilities even if they help me. My beliefs and values are the few things I have left, and I believe compelling people for my own sake is wrong.

She happily walks beside me on our way into town, speaking the whole time. She speaks so fast, so fluently and skips to so many different topics, that I just smile and nod the whole time. However, it's the last comment she mentions that draws my attention.

"It's such a shame about that princess, Aurora." She kicks a rock along the path casually.

"What do you mean?" I ponder curiously, glancing over at her.

"Oh! So he does speak!" she teases, nudging me in the arm lightly, but I keep the same stern look on my face. She clears her throat before explaining. "She was seen jumping from her window a few nights ago. The rest of the palace guards were found murdered too. They figured she'd gone mad." Amelia frowns.

"Terrible accident ain't it?" She looks over at me, expecting me to reply.

That's no accident. That's the work of the originals, the first immortal beings on the planet. I think, but don't dare to speak aloud.

"Yeah. Terrible." I purse my lips, keeping silent the rest of the way to the village.

I keep stopping, wanting so desperately to hand the basket back to her so I can get out of here but she keeps leading me deeper into town, all the way to her house. I anxiously look around, still holding the basket as she opens the door to her house.

She waves me in, wanting me to place the basket inside, but as I go to take a step in, I'm somehow pushed backwards like I've hit an invisible barrier. "What the...," I whisper to myself.

Embarrassed, I try again but the same thing happens. No matter how hard I try, I can't get in. I begin to panic, fear flowing through me. This has to have something to do with the fact I'm a vampire.

"What are you doing? Come in!" She smiles oddly at me, confused as to what's taking me so long.

With a gulp I try again, closing my eyes as I wait to be pushed backwards, but nothing happens; this time I'm able to walk through freely. I think it has something to do with the fact that she invited me in, specifically saying 'come in'.

Slightly rattled, I set the crate of apples down and slowly ease towards the door, wanting to get out of here. "Listen, Amelia," I begin but she ignores me.

"Why don't you stay a while James? I can make us something to eat," she suggests, but in all honesty nothing except the taste of her blood sounds appetizing to me right now.

"I'm afraid I can't, sorry." I stuff my hands in my pockets, keeping a safe distance between us.

"Oh come on, I can whip up something good with these apples." She juggles the apples in the air, smiling while doing so. She looks over at the door expecting to see me standing there, but with my vampire speed I sprint right in front of her in a split second without her even noticing.

I take her face in my hands and look her in the eyes, using my compulsion. "I need to leave now. You will forget that I ever helped you, and you will forget my name. You will never wander off to the edge of the town again," I say, before quickly releasing her and sprinting out the door.

I have to keep telling myself that I compelled her to save her life. It was the right thing to do...right?

I don't dare look back, but I have to remind myself to slow my speed down so I don't stand out. I find myself standing in the middle of town, overwhelmed with everything. I lift my head to sort out where I am so I can find my way back home when suddenly my eyes land on a man standing fifty feet in front of me.

Elijah stands there with his hands held out to the side in a relaxed pose, but as he notices I've spotted him, his whole body tenses. He narrows his eyes, debating on whether or not he wants to speak to me. I purse my lips before turning around, walking back in the direction I came. Elijah is no doubt following me, but that's exactly what I want him to do.

I pick up the pace as I walk through the forest, glancing behind me slightly every now and then to see if Elijah is still there. To my advantage, he's still trailing behind. Once we get about a minute away from my house, I sprint with vamp speed through the forest, hiding behind a large oak tree as I hear his footsteps approach in the distance.

Once I hear his steps right beside me, I emerge from the forest and pin him against the tree with all my strength. I hold him by his throat, preventing him from moving an inch or else I'll rip his throat out.

"You shouldn't have come," I growl deeply, in a threatening tone I don't think I've ever heard myself use before.

"James, pleas-" he croaks against my grasp.

We're the same age, turned a day apart. We have the same strength, but right now I have the advantage, taking him by surprise. The only difference between us is that he's immortal and literally cannot die no matter how many times you pull his heart out.

"I ran away from your family for a reason. You ruined mine, and now I hear you've ruined the lives of another family? The royal family?" I shake my head, tightening my grip around his neck.

"Let me e-explain." He struggles against my hold. His hands claw at mine, trying to loosen the grip I have around his throat.

"I don't want to hear anything from you. Your family ruined my life, my family's life." I feel the anger intensify within me, the memory of that dreadful day when we were turned still fresh in my mind although it was more than a year ago.

"It w-wasn't me." He closes his eyes. "I told Klaus n-not t-to."

I halt my breathing for a second, clearing my mind of anger, allowing the steam to evaporate. "What did you say?" I loosen my grip from him while keeping him against the tree by his shoulders.

"Klaus, I-I tried to stop him. I had nothing to do with it, I swear. I told him not to turn you, to at least give you a choice. He-he didn't listen," Elijah stutters in between breaths.

"Why did he do it?" Is all I ask, staring at the ground. I can't comprehend why my friend would do such a thing to me.

"Because you were his best friend, and he didn't want to live forever without you. Because he's Klaus Mikaelson, and he's selfish." Elijah breathes heavily, his voice pleading with me.

I stand there for a moment before finally releasing Elijah. I back away and allow him to compose himself, maintaining a healthy breathing rhythm again before he starts talking. "I'm sorry I didn't do something more, I should've...." He stares down at the ground in defeat.

"It's not your fault." I turn to him, surprising him by my words. "This was his wrong doing, not yours. You're not the one that stabbed me and watched me die," I say quietly.

There's a comfortable silence floating between us for a few minutes, our minds buzzing with thoughts and emotions. Elijah is the first to speak again. "I came here because there's been some developments," he begins, pacing back and forth.

"What kind of developments?"

"It appears my mother wasn't so faithful to my father," he pauses. "Klaus is my half brother, and he carries the genes of both human and werewolf," he says, catching my attention.

"What does that mean?" I begin to question, curious.

"It means that when he killed his first person, he should've activated his werewolf side, and transformed on the first full moon. But, he didn't because a group of witches made it in time to conceal his werewolf side. They conducted a spell that used a doppelgänger, vampire and werewolf to conceal his werewolf side within him, preventing it from working alongside his vampirism. Without the spell, Klaus would be both werewolf and vampire, being the world's first immortal hybrid," Elijah explains slowly, waiting for me to catch on.

"Okay, so why are you telling me this?" I beg the question.

"Because James, the key to breaking the spell would be to find another doppelgänger, vampire and werewolf to sacrifice in breaking the spell. However, all those things Klaus can find fairly easily. The only thing he won't have an easy time finding is the moonstone in which the spell is laced within," Elijah narrows his eyes, his hands stuffed in his pockets suspiciously.

"Let me guess," I glance from his pocket to his eyes, "you have this moonstone."

"Stole it from him last night." Elijah pulls out the white moonstone, slamming into the palm of my open hand.

I stare at the smooth rock, tossing it back and forth between my hands. "You said you wanted to kill Klaus for what he did. I'm not so sure that's possible now, so instead I got you the one thing that can ruin him. As long as you have the moonstone, we have leverage, something he wants. We control him with this rock James," he informs me, a hint of hope in his voice.

"Why are you doing this? Helping me take down your brother?" I ask him. I know very well that Elijah won't be able to ever kill his brother, but this is the next closest thing. With this rock we can torment him; this is the beginning of perfect revenge.

"Because you are my friend James, and what my brother did was wrong." He looks at the ground as he speaks, as if he's afraid to meet my eye. "I wish I could reverse the time, save you from having your life destroyed, but I can't. So instead I want to help you do whatever you need," he says sincerely.

"Even if that means taking down your brother?" I raise a brow, testing him.

"If it means taking down a monster and saving people, then yes," Elijah admits confidently.

"When do we leave?"

∆ ∆ ∆

The evening comes rather quickly, and we spend it with just the four of us having a nice civilized dinner. Lexi and Joel are surprisingly happy to see Elijah, and I realize that it is in fact Klaus that we all hate. That is the exact reason why I have to leave them. I have to take down Klaus for their sake, and I have to be the one to do it.

"Listen," I clear my throat, turning to Joel and Lexi. "Tomorrow Elijah and I- we're leaving, and I can't allow you two to come," I say, causing them to both pause and look at me.

The two of them glance between one another, slowly coming to terms with what I'm saying. I think they already know what I'm about to do. "I want to come," Joel blurts out.

"Me too." Lexi joins in, nodding alongside Joel.

"No." I shake my head, refusing to allow them on this dangerous journey.

"James, he killed us too brother, I want to be part of taking him down," Joel flat out tells me, not changing his mind. I know how stubborn he'll get.

"We don't know exactly how to take him down, we just have small leads, and something he wants," Elijah explains, chiming in.

"That stupid moonstone? How badly could he possibly want that thing?" Joel scoffs, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed stubbornly across his chest.

"Badly enough that he'll be willing to do anything to get it. Greed makes one stupid, and that's exactly what we want." I slide the rock onto the table so they can see.

"I want to be there when he dies," Lexi says seriously.

"Me too." Joel adds, both of them eager for revenge just like I.

"Alright." I lie, glancing over at Elijah. Lying to them is the only way they'll let us go without a fight. "But, Elijah and I need to do some more research as to how to actually kill him seeing as he's immortal. Once we know everything, we'll return here."

"You promise?" Lexi raises a brow warily.

"Of course." I nod. "He did this to us, and I will make sure that he pays."

"James," Joel says quietly, reaching out for my hand. "This is not your fault. You don't have to be so hard on yourself."

"I know," I whisper. "But I am supposed to look out for you guys, protect you. I feel as if I've failed you, so now this is what I have to do." I feel pressure build behind my eyes, water collecting in them.

"You never failed us Jay." Lexi smiles, standing and embracing me in a hug.

Joel stands as well and wraps his arms around the two of us, turning it into a giant bear hug. "I'd be okay if you just brought his head back," Joel comments, making a faint smile appear on my lips.

Lexi and Joel release me, standing back. "Just promise us that you'll do whatever you need to do in order to bring him down." Lexi stares at me with a revengeful glare.

"I will." I nod, biting my lip to prevent myself from breaking down. I hate leaving them.

"We love you big brother." Joel smiles, punching me lightly in the arm.

"I love you guys too," I say proudly, grinning widely at them as they take off for bed.

I stand there watching as they make themselves at home, trying their best just to live a normal life. I feel confident that they'll fit in this village well, and can make a life for themselves. I want them to be safe from all the ugliness of the world while I fight to take down the man who single handily destroyed us.

With a smile on my face I turn to Elijah and nod, motioning that it's time to go.

Little did I know that was the last I was going to see of my siblings for another couple centuries.

___________________

[complete & edited: 08/21/17 ]