I suggest reading When Life Changes, which you can find on my page, before reading this. Though it is not required, it would probably help.

Summary: Sequel to When Life Changes. The Original family returns to their birth place, now the town of Mystic Falls, in the year 1864. They will encounter many kinds of people, some friends and some rivals. But when old enemies show up, their new relationships are put to the test and hard decisions need to be made.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, they belong to the CW, I only borrow them for the plot.

A Fresh Start

Prologue – Just in Case

Mystic Falls, Virginia 1859

Elijah walked around the land with care, amazed at how much had changed in the eight hundred years since he had last stepped foot here. He remembered how the village had been laid out across the ground that now held the forming little town of Mystic Falls. Only a handful of families had taken up residence in this part of Virginia so far, the ground was not able to support the large scale farming industries that the south was so famous for, but some had seen the value that was hidden within the ancient trees.

"Is everything to your liking Mr. Mikaelson?" A man that appeared a few years older than Elijah, at least at his turning, asked.

"Yes Mr. Glibert, I believe this will be a perfect place to build the home I have in mind." Elijah replied, "When I can talk with the man in charge of the lumber?"

"I can arrange for a dinner meeting between the three of us tonight if you would like sir. Mr. Salvatore and I are good friends." Jonathon assured the Englishman standing before him, asking for a large parcel land, away from the main town proper, "Have you arranged for a contractor?"

"I have. I just need to make sure all the necessary materials are available before any money passes hands." Elijah told the man, and turned to look back at the land where his house as a child once stood. The wilderness had retaken the land, and trees now stood tall with wild flowers growing feverishly underneath them.

"I understand completely." Jonathon responded, "Would a dinner around six work for you sir? I am sure my wife will not mind the extra dinner guests."

Elijah glanced at him, he seemed like the like kind of mind to have a large family, "Do you have children?"

"Two, James is sixteen, and Elena is twelve. I can see her bringing me much trouble in the future." He replied, the smile on his is face and the tone of his voice telling Elijah that he loved his children.

Elijah smiled at the man, "I look forward to meeting them tonight but until then, I have some things to go over."

"Of course sir." Jonathon responded with a slight bow, "I will see you this evening."

"Yes, until then Mr. Gilbert." Elijah said in farewell, and began the slow walk back into town where he was staying with the decedents of one of Caroline's brothers.

Elijah arrived at the Gilbert household exactly at 6 that evening, he was never one to be late. He was not expecting to see a young girl sitting on the porch swing, her eyes red from tears. His manners refused to leave the child alone to her misery, "Hello there miss."

The girl looked up at him with a start. She quickly got to her feet and gave him a practiced curtsey, "Sir, I did not see you there."

"I have not been for long. Are you the lady of the household?" He teased politely, trying to bring a smile to her face.

"No, that would be my mother." She replied with a giggle, her cheeks filling with color as she blushed and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Oh, my mistake." Elijah apologized, placing a hand over his heart and smiling as she laughed, "I am Elijah Mikaelson, what may your name be my lady?"

Her blush deepened at his use of terms, no one had ever called her that before, "Elena Gilbert."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Elena." Elijah said and kissed her small, delicate hand. When her brown eyes met his, he was instantly given a shock. He had seen those eyes many times before in his life, this girl would grow to become a beauty, and a danger. For doppelgangers brought nothing but trouble to his life, a trouble that he was drawn to like a moth to a flame. He emptied the shock from his face and cleared his throat, "Would you be kind enough to let your father know that I have arrived?"

"Of course sir." The young girl said with a smile, and disappeared into the house, her brown locks following behind her like a shadow.

Elijah was unsure what to think, a doppelganger in the town he planned to move his family to could cause so many problems. Everything that happened with the last doppelganger, even though it was nearly four hundred years ago, was still fresh in the minds of his family.

"Mr. Mikaelson, how many members are there in your family?" Gulispese Salvatore asked after the group of three men retreated into the Gilbert sitting room after a dinner that consisted of both men's entire families.

Elijah was careful as he looked at the men, "I am unmarried, but the house will need to be large enough to hold two of my brothers, with their wives, along with my youngest brother and sister, both unmarried." He could see that they were both surprised my his singleness and the size of his family, "As I told Mr. Gilbert, I have a contractor and the plans for the house already set up, all I need is the land, which has been found, and then the lumber. Do you think you have the necessary materials Mr. Salvatore?"

"I do not foresee a problem." He replied, and then continued his probe, "How did you come to know about our little getaway?"

Elijah was expecting such questions, but not with the distrust the man was throwing his way, "My soon to be sister-in-law is a niece of your Sherriff Forbes. He sent many praises back to her family, and she was able to convince us of the pleasantry of moving to the southern states, once her and my brother are officially married of course."

"How long do you foresee the construction of your house to last?" Jonathon questioned.

"Five or six years I would wager." He replied and took a sip of his brandy.

"Why are so few of your siblings married?" Gulispe asked, his suspicions against the foreign man strong in his eyes.

Elijah didn't appreciate the probing questions, but he answered them with respect, "My two youngest siblings are not of age, my sister is twelve and my brother fourteen. My one brother has been with his wife going on a year now, and the last will marry Sherriff Forbes niece in a year and a half when she reaches the appropriate age."

"And yourself?" He asked, earning a look of disapproval from Jonathon.

"I have not found much time to think of myself. My parents died when I was seventeen, leaving me to care for four younger siblings on my own. There has not been much time to look for a wife, and I doubt I would have found one that was willing to take on such a burden." Elijah answered, he had suspected such a question and had an answer prepared.

"Why the constant questions Gulisepe? Mr. Mikaelson's private life is his business." Jonathon put in, giving Elijah an apologetic glance.

"It is alright Mr. Gilbert, Mr. Salvatore is just concerned with the people that are going to moving into your town. Now that you have had your chance to question me, do we have a deal?" Elijah asked, looking at the man directly.

"I believe we do." He answered and pulled a document book from the side table next to him. He wrote a few things down before handing it over to Elijah, "Here is a contract, would you like the evening to look it over?"

Elijah shook his head as he read over the document, detailing what materials the Salvatores were under contract to provide. Elijah could see no problems in the paper, "That will not be necessary." Elijah replied as he signed his name at the bottom, "My contractor will get in contact with you within the next few months. I want construction to start as soon as the weather allows." He watched as Mr. Salvatore signed the bottom as well. Elijah then turned to look at Jonathon, "I have something to sign for you as well Mr. Gilbert."

Jonathon got up from his chair and walked into another room. He returned quickly, carrying a large parachemnt of his own. Elijah looked it over, just to make sure he was given the right parcel of land and signed when he finished. He smiled, "It was a pleasure doing business with you gentleman."

Elijah stood to take his leave, shaking Jonathon's hand once he had. He gripped it harder than necessary and locked eyes with the man, "When you see me again, in your eyes I will have aged the appropriate amount. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Jonathon answered in a daze.

"Excellent." He quickly turned around and gave Gulispese the same command. He sighed when he finished, he would now have to go and find all the others to give the same compulsion. It was such a chore to compel so many people, but they had been easy enough to find, all accept the girl.

Elijah eventually found her in the same place that he had first seen her, "Why are you out here all alone Miss Elena?" He had noticed at dinner that the Salvatore boys and her brother tended to tease her, and assumed that was the reason for her tears earlier.

"I like to be alone to my thoughts at times sir." She replied, her small mouth smiling up at him, "Do you have brothers?"

"Yes, I have three and a sister as well." He answered her, moving to sit beside her on the porch swing, "I can see that your brother teases you, I can assure you it is a natural thing and that you can tease back as well."

"I try, but Stefan and Damon always take his side." Elena confessed and then looked over at him, "I overheard my parents one night, when I am older, they hope to make a marriage between me and either Stefan or Damon. I do not see why I cannot make my own decision."

"You never know, maybe one day you will want to marry a Salvatore." Elijah answered, it was not his place to interfere with this girl's life, but he wanted to give her some hope for the future, "The world is changing Elena, your opinion on who you want to marry does matter. No one can force you to marry anyone you do not wish to."

"I wish that was true." She whispered, looking back out into the darkness that surrounded the house, past the reach of the lights on the porch.

Elijah gripped her hand and placed a small kiss on the back of it, causing her brown eyes to raise up and met his. He dilated his eyes and said, "Never give up hope on finding true love Elena, let it guide to the right decisions for you future. Also, when you see me again, you will not think that I look the same as I do now, you will think I have aged, just as you will. Do you understand me my dear?"

"I understand." She whispered back.

"Goodbye Elena. Until we meet again." Elijah told the girl before disappearing into the darkness. Leaving the young girl with big dreams for her future, as uncertain as it was.

New York City, New York 1859

Elijah returned to his home in New York a week later, and there was a hard conversation to be had. The appearance of the doppleganger was unexpected and could cause many problems within the already fractioning family dynamic.

Rebekah appeared at the top of the stairs before he could even announce his return, "Thank goodness you are back. Finn and Sage are refusing to leave when we go back home and no one has Kol for almost two weeks."

"Welcome home Elijah." Caroline smiled to him as she came to stand next to Rebekah, "I thought we agreed to let him settle back in before you attack with your concerns."

Rebekah sighed, "I am concerned, I don't want our family to fall apart just because of what happened with..."

"It won't, but let our dear brother have some time to breath." Caroline said to the young girl, giving her a pat on the back before she started to descend the stairs, "How was your trip?"

The servants came and collected his bags as he looked at his sister-in-law, "Everything is in order, the land was beautiful and now belong to us. Your nephew's family was very kind and hospitable."

"All of that is excellent news." Caroline replied and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Am I going to enjoy Mystic Falls?"

Elijah laughed as he took her hand and they walked into a large sitting room, Rebekah slowly coming behind, "I do believe so. I only had contact with a few of the families but I am sure there will be someone there for you to like."

"I was not thinking so much finding a person for me, but for the two of you." She replied, giving both Elijah and Rebekah a stare, "Niether of you are even trying at the moment."

"After what happened with..., I am taking a break from love." Rebekah told her before she sat down on a couch.

Caroline nodded, she understood how hard it had been for her sister when New Orleans burned them out, "I am sorry for pressing. and your excuse?"

Elijah turned around and rolled his eyes as he poured himself a drink, "I have been busy arranging a new home, you were the one that wanted to go to our homeland and not remain in New York."

"I am sick of big cities." Caroline admitted, joining Rebekah on the couch.

"Should I be worried about Kol's absence?" Elijah asked, turning around to look at them.

"Nik is out looking for him now. Personally I think he is just trying to have some fun and relax. Leaving New Orleans was hard on him as well." Caroline informed him.

"I think he is one step away from going on binge. We were all there the last time that happened, do we really want it to happen again?" Rebekah questioned them, looking from one to the other.

"He is not on a binge." Nik's voice suddenly rang from the doorway, "He has found a girl and doesn't want to leave her."

Caroline and Rebekah had a mirrored look of complete shock, well Elijah managed to hide is a little better and ask, "You are serious? He has found a girl?"

"Yes, and stranger still, she is already a vampire. I had a little chat with her, she was turned six hundred years ago on her voyage from Europe to the colonies." Nik informed them and went to pour himself a drink, "She seems nice enough. But as long as he is moving on from his witch obsessions, those never ended well, I am perfectly alright with it." After he took a drink he said, "Welcome home brother, I assume everything went well."

"Yes." Elijah answered quickly, and let out a sigh before he added, "I did however find something, or I should say someone, interesting during my time in Virginia."

"Oh, what is it?" Rebekah asked, her interest suddenly piqued again on the topic of Mystic Falls.

"I found a Petrova doppelgänger, she is only about twelve but I recognized her instantly nonetheless." Elijah told them, and waited to see their reactions.

Nik finished his drink and quickly poured himself another one. Rebekah sank back into couch cushions, all of her previous excitement gone, she did not want to have contact with another doppelgänger. Carolien thought on the topic for a moment before she said, "Should we be concerned about the girl?"

"No, I do not believe so. She is young still, and her life is good, I do not see her being a repeat of Katerina." Elijah answered, he had spent his entire trip back to New York thinking about this.

"Will you be okay with this? Your history with the doppelgängers is...complicated." Caroline put gently, thinking back on the last six hundred years of knowledge she had on the subject.

Elijah nodded, "I have moved on from that particular vice. I will be perfectly alright with the situation." He smiled at her, "Thank you for concern Caroline."

"It is what sisters do." She replied and got up from the couch, "As well as take care of their husbands." She took Nik's glass from his hand and placed it back on the table, "Come on, you and I can discuss this new development in private." Nik sighed but didn't refuse her movements, "We will see you both and dinner." She said to the room before the two disappeared up the stairs.

Elijah refilled his drink before he sat down next to his sister, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. I understand that you and Caroline, and by extension Nik, all want to have a quiet life for awhile. I really do understand that. I will come with you, because I don't want to be without all of you, but I can't promise I will be happy about. And this doppelgänger thing, it just adds to the dread to I fear about going home. It is easier to forget all the bad that has happened in a large, constantly busy city. I am afraid of what will happen if I have to long to think on everything that we have lost." Rebekah admitted to her big brother, barely keeping her tears at bay.

Elijah set down his glass and picked up one of his sister's hands, "I feel the same way most of the time, but I think the opposite. I feel like returning to our roots, and leaving our constant tour of large cities will help us in the end. A change of scenery will do us good Rebekah, I truly believe that."

Rebekah wiped at her eyes as she nodded and got up from the couch, "We have a few years before I need to accept it. Maybe I will happier then."

Elijah sighed as he watched his sister storm off, wishing he had all the right things to say. He knew what Mystic Falls was, it was the fresh start his family needed after centuries of pain.

Thanks for reading and I hope it was an acceptable start. I apologize for the time it took me to update this, I am having trouble figuring out what is going to happen in the middle of this story. I know it was a little more Elijah heavy and Klaroline light compared to the previous story, but this was a set up chapter and I promise there will be plenty of Klaroline to fawn over as this story continues. There will though also be more insight into Elijah and Rebekah's lives in this story than there was in the last one, and possibly some love interests for them both. Klaus and Caroline can't be the only ones living in loving bliss, that just wouldn't be fair.

Please review and let me know what you thought of this beginning and if you having thoughts for what you like to see happen in the future. I love hearing from all of you lovely people.

I can also be followed on tumblr at psychvamp25.

Now, for a small piece of begging. I know many of you are talented in making some amazing cover arts, and I could very much use your help in making one for this story. If anyone is interested message either on here or tumblr to let me know.

Thanks again for reading. I will try to update soon, but I make no promises on how soon that will be.