Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: In my story, it takes three and a half hours by car between Mystic Falls & Forks.

Chapter 7:

Mystic Falls, Autumn, 1864;

A coquettish feminine giggle permeated the enclosed space. Two figures under the duvet of an extravagant Queen-sized bed rolled over and quivered when suddenly, the head of a handsome man with raven hair materialized leaving his body from the neck down hidden underneath the warmth of the thick duvet. A pair of electric blue eyes stared intensely at the divine brunette with palpable love and unwavering devotion, his pale lips curving into a genuine smile.

"Damon," the sultry voice of the female uttered, sounding out of breath, "A gentleman mustn't tickle a Lady, it is most unbecoming." The eldest Salvatore, Damon grinned in response, "I was under the impression that you weren't a lady, Miss Pierce."

Katherine Pierce smirked; black veins protruded underneath her eyes morphing her gorgeous mien into one the snooty Founders Council referred to as a demon; canines elongated from her plump lips and a euphoric moan filled the bedroom as they implanted into Damon's jugular, greedily imbibing the wonderful rich flavor of blood.

A knock on the door resonated in the room, interrupting the outlandish couple and with an annoyed groan, Katherine shoved Damon off of her with her superior strength and called out, "Who is it?" breathing a sigh of relief when her trusted friend, Pearl appeared in their midst, and ignoring the disappointed frown on her mien upon noticing the eldest Salvatore's neck that was coated with blood, she chided, "Pearl, you know better than to interrupt my morning dalliance."

Pearl concentrated her onyx orbs on Katherine, "We have a problem. This could not wait." Noticing the worried quality in her friend's tone had Katherine out of bed and onto her feet in the blink of an eye. Nicking her finger, she absently fed Damon a few drops of her blood and departed the room with a brusque order to clean himself up lest his father got suspicious.

As it turned out, there had been a bloodbath the other day; townspeople were mauled quite viciously and the Founders Council was pointing the blame on vampires which unfortunately put a hitch in Katherine's plans. Gathering all the information Pearl overheard from the council gave the resilient vampire a brainwave and after decrypting the sudden conundrum, she formulated a plan that would allow her to confront the clandestine perpetrator; which is how she found herself being escorted to the Founder's Ball arm in arm with the dashing youngest Salvatore and the brother who actually held her heart, Stefan.

"Look who found his dancing shoes," Katherine giggled as she was twirled in the dance floor of the Lockwood Mansion by Stefan; leaning in, the youngest Salvatore went to kiss her, only for Katherine to pull back with a sultry smile, "No touching, Mr. Salvatore. Those are the rules."

"I thought you didn't believe in rules," Stefan retorted with a fond smile. His eyes flickered and connected with a pair of enraged electric blues and he sighed, "My brother is still upset that you chose me to escort you." Without bothering to spare Damon the courtesy of a glance, she shrugged innocently, "Well, Damon needs to concede that his younger brother is a better dancer."

After many dances and mingling with the townspeople, Damon raised his glass into the air for a toast, "Everyone will you please join me in raising your glasses to my good friend, George Lockwood." Turning to face a brunette with olive-green eyes and a pale complexion who stood by his side with a modest smile, Damon continued, "George, thank you for so bravely defending the south."

Katherine's shrewd orbs burned a hole into George Lockwood's forehead as his mouth curved into a charming smile, "My honor Mr. Salvatore. After all, someone had to do it." Katherine Pierce wasn't one to shrug perplexing incidents off as mere coincidences, and George Lockwood's arrival coincidentally coinciding with the brutal mauling of the townspeople finally connected the last puzzle piece together.

Wanting George to seek her out for an audience, Katherine separated herself from her adoring Salvatores and stood off in a corner by her lonesome, and just as she predicted, George approached her with a lecherous smile, "She's all alone. Does this mean I can finally have you to myself?"

"Your father has outdone himself," Katherine drawled, not rising to the bait; George shrugged and arrogantly sidled up to her side, "Knowing father, he will want to throw a Founders' Party every year." Having had enough with inane conversation, Katherine whipped around to face him, "I must admit, I'm rather surprised that you'd come looking for me," after all, due to past incidents, Katherine knew that experienced werewolves can sense when a vampire is nearby.

"Because you are the rope in the Salvatore brothers tug of war?" George retorted in a pert tone, but Katherine merely stated in a matter-of-fact voice, "No, because I'm a vampire who could kill you in your sleep." George stiffened considerably and chose to act surprised, but it was shot down by the astute vampire, "Relax, George. I know you know my secret."

"This conversation is over," George hissed, proving Katherine's supposition to be true. Once the werewolf's back was turned and he went to leave, she calmly called out, "And I know your secret too, and I know that you're extra strong, only not as strong." Finally, all arrogance disappeared from George's visage, only to be replaced by a mixture of doubt and fear, "How do you know who I am?"

Katherine scoffed and gave him an incredulous look in return, "You think I would settle into a town without knowing my enemies?" After the calamitous year of 1492, Katherine's paranoia knew no bounds and she never entered a town unprepared. Slumping his shoulders in defeat but keeping his brows knit in confusion, George asked, "What do you want?"

And a deal was struck; not long after the Founders' Ball, George approached her and informed her of the date and time Giuseppe Salvatore confided in him of the vampires round up. The manipulative vampire found it to be a good opportunity to finally plan her death, allowing her at least a few centuries of freedom from her deadly pursuer.

"Insist that they do a body count before the church is set ablaze," Katherine informed him, "Twenty-seven vampires, George. Don't forget!"

George nodded, a sinister smile encroaching on his visage, "Once the flames create chaos, crawl to the exit under the quire loft. I'll be there to set you free."

"Make sure you're not followed. I need everyone to believe I perished in that fire."

That night, the terms of agreement between Katherine Pierce and George Lockwood had reached a successful fruition; trading the moonstone for her freedom and leaving all eye-witnesses to burn.

Quinn Gilbert was currently lounging on her bed, staring quizzically at the grimoire Alicia returned for the umpteenth time. For the past two weeks, nothing Quinn tried opened the damn thing up; finally losing her mind, the opinionated girl actually downloaded the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on her laptop, memorized the word 'open' in parseltongue and foolishly hissed the word on repeat, to no avail. Of course, Quinn knew she lost the last vestiges of her brain cells, since parseltongue was a fictional dialect and the Phoenix High Priestess in 1360 knew zilch of J.K. Rowling's ingenious creation of Harry Potter seeing as she didn't exist in the 14th Century.

It was to that bizarre image that her Uncle John walked in on and actually erupted into fits of laughter; despite the fact that Katherine conveyed that her Uncle was working with a covert someone in saving Elena's life and was keeping it all a secret from her, John was still searching high and low for information on the curious phoenix tattoo that mutated from a mole between her shoulder blades on her 13th birthday, and so, Quinn confided in him of her discovery and productive visit to Volterra – leaving out the fruitless attempts in transitioning into a vampire part, and ignoring the loud and incessant berating she was on the receiving end of for being in close proximity to the Volturi. Coming to her rescue and that of her fried brain, John ordered her to forget about the grimoire and hopefully later she would come up with a brainwave in opening the maddening book.

On August 12th, a day before Bella was to tie the knot with the smothering Edward Cullen, Aunt Jenna and Jeremy finally arrived by car; her stuck up twin decided to forgo making an appearance to her only cousin's wedding, much to Bella's vivid relief since she had only invited her least favorite relative out of courtesy. The Cullens congregated in Uncle John's rented house to meet Bella's remaining family members and after many benevolent words of welcome and suffocating hugs, Jenna pulled Quinn to the side, a solemn look on her usually chilled out visage.

"Your brother is using, Quinn," Jenna whispered; Quinn inwardly rolled her eyes, knowing that the seven Cold Ones would be able to hear every single word verbatim due to their uncanny hearing and discourtesy of giving others privacy. Quinn was still a novice witch, and despite the fact that she killed a human at the age of twelve and had been a witch for four years, she was lacking a mentor or a grimoire that had the ability to freaking open, and so, Quinn was unable to conceal their conversation.

After much hypothesizing, John came to the guesstimated conclusion that Quinn's witch genes protected her from Edward and Alice's gifts, while vervain protected him. The glorious potent herb vervain was a vampire's weakness; it protected humans from compulsion and a hideous demise of being devoured as a midnight snack since it was toxic to vampires. So, why not go with the theory that vervain, while not toxic to Cold Ones, could in fact protect mortals from their extraterrestrial gifts?

Once Carlisle Cullen confessed to John about him being a doctor and immune to the call of blood, going as far as to confide in him that he had never in his three-hundred and forty-six years of immortality tasted a drop of human blood, the vampire hunter and the Patriarch of the Olympic Coven formulated a friendship and began trading theories left and right, and in conclusion, decided to test out the vervain-theory by lacing Jenna and Jeremy's drinks with vervain to see if Edward would still be able to use his telepathic abilities on them. A theory Quinn wholeheartedly agreed with, not liking the fact that her 'cousin-in-law?' would be able to root into her aunt and baby brother's minds and invade their privacy.

Raising an eyebrow at her Aunt's phrasing, Quinn slowly clarified, "When you say using… you mean, drugs?" receiving a nod in return had Quinn mutter many expletives under her breath prompting a scowl of disapproval from the laid-back Jenna. "Why the hell is Jer doing drugs?" she hissed.

"That's his way of coping, Quinn," Jenna sighed forlornly, "Elena spends all her time in the cemetery by your parents' graves, writing in her diary and she closed off on the outside world, choosing to barricade herself in her room. You skipped town. Jeremy turned to drugs."

A heavy scowl furrowed on Quinn's flawless forehead, and she pouted, "That still doesn't make it right! I don't want my baby brother to get addicted to that harmful stuff!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't have ran off, Quinn," Jenna snapped, eliciting a stifling silence between them. Jenna groaned and facepalmed herself, "I'm sorry, Quinn. I lost my sister, my brother-in-law, and in the blink of an eye was given sole custody to three teenagers. I'm just way in over my head." Quinn embraced Jenna in a tight hug, whispering sweet nothings into her ear and when they pulled away, Jenna's cheeks were stained with tears contrasting with the genuine smile on her face, "I basically had to force Jeremy to come. You know how much he adores Bella, but-, he's sucked into Vicki Donovan's web and put up quite a fight. If you were in Mystic Falls, you'd be able to snap him back; you always could when it came to your brother."

The veracity of Jenna's words was overwhelming; Jeremy idolized Bella and Quinn ever since he was a toddler. Quinn never discovered the event that had Jeremy pull away from Elena since he never saw fit to disclose the true incident, but Quinn had always been his favored sibling. To Jeremy, Quinn, and in extension, Bella's word was law, and he hated disappointing them, always looking up to them and believing them to care over his well-being. If Quinn chose to remain in Mystic Falls after the funeral, then perhaps Jeremy would have coped better instead of doing drugs and getting ensnared in the Drug-Queen's corruptive clutches. But the damage was done, and hopefully, Jeremy being reunited with Bella and Quinn would set him straight.

"So Jer, how have you been since…?" Bella trailed off, unable to utter the unforgivable words; they were all huddled together in the living room drinking coffee and getting to know each other better, in terms of the Cullens, Jenna and Jeremy. Rosalie was skulking off in the corner by a jovial Emmett's side, not bothering to partake in conversation with the exception of glaring daggers at the Gilberts, a heavy scowl tarnishing her face when she went ignored.

Jeremy shrugged, his mien contorted into one of guilt as he avoided eye-contact with his sister and cousin, "I've been … dealing. Whatever. What about you, Bells. Getting married at eighteen? How'd that happen?" Jeremy shot a dirty look at Edward who looked quite annoyed for some reason; obviously Jeremy wouldn't be so trusting over some dude taking his cousin away from him, regardless of him being the youngest from the four cousins, he took his role as the only male seriously and never allowed anyone to take advantage of his sisters and cousin.

"I fell in love," Bella snorted, the obvious quality in her tone. Jenna laughed, a fond expression on her mien, "Well, Renée, Miranda and I always assumed you'd be the first one to get married. Although you can be quite immature once reunited with Quinn, you're an old soul." Quinn stared at her aunt in mock-offense while John and Bella laughed in response.

After much conversation, the Cullens decided to depart, giving Bella time to enjoy the presence of her relatives; before they left however, Edward sullenly informed Carlisle, John, Bella and Quinn that once Jenna and Jeremy imbibed vervain, he had been unable to read their minds, not appreciating Quinn's smug satisfaction at the turn of events. Seriously, the brooding dude had to snap out of her superiority complex and learn that invading people's privacy was not cool.

-*-Fickle Love-*-

It was a unanimous agreement between Quinn and Bella that it would be good for Jeremy to visit Jacob, Quill and Embry since he hadn't seen his childhood friends in over a year. Leaving the old flames, John and Jenna, alone in the house was the cherry on top, both of them glaring at their retreating backs as they departed since they loathed one another – although Jenna held more hatred toward John.

The mischievous girls decided to walk to La Push, giving them leeway to tear Jeremy a new one for his recent addiction to drugs and choosing it to be a coping mechanism. Although Jeremy gave off an air of obliviousness, he was in fact a smart cookie, and once they were in complete solitude with no eavesdroppers around, he didn't fail to notice how both girls fixed him with a sharp stare.

"What?" Jeremy finally huffed, unable to continue walking in the smothering silence.

"Don't what me Jeremy Grayson Gilbert!" Quinn snapped, her sky-blue eyes glinting with a warning to not interrupt, "Drugs? Drugs?! And don't get me started on Vicki effing Donovan! What the hell were you thinking?"

"He wasn't," Bella hissed, prompting Jeremy to recoil at the harsh words inflicted onto his person.

Stubbornly, Jeremy shook his face, his shaggy hair flopping into his face, "What do you care? You're my sister, and you left me! You left me alone the second the funeral ended! You left me alone with Elena! How could you just abandon me at the worst time, when I needed you more than I ever needed anybody else?" It was Quinn's turn to recoil at his heated words, the pain in her baby brother's voice crippling her, but he didn't give her leeway to defend her actions as he transferred his glare onto Bella, "You on the other hand, you didn't even come to the funeral. Instead, you stayed here playing happy family with your perfect fiancé and his perfect Brady Bunch family. Why do you guys even care?! The only reason I'm here is because Jenna literally shoved me out the door."

Deciding to add a small dosage of humor, Quinn meekly pointed out, "And because you'd rather come out here instead of remaining at Mystic Falls with Elena." Bella snorted softly and a ghost of a smile appeared on Jeremy's face before he quickly repressed it, "So don't go lecturing me on my way of dealing because both of you abandoned me!"

The three cousins were nearing the border of La Push, and not wanting to end the conversation with Jeremy's cruel but truthful words plaguing their minds, Quinn and Bella halted in their footsteps and strangled Jeremy in a suffocating hug. Bella confided in Quinn the truth of why she couldn't make it to Mystic Falls for the funeral; she had Bitchtoria on her trail, adamant in killing her as retribution for Edward killing her mate, and so, was unable to leave… Quinn on the other hand, had no excuse; her actions were based on her selfish desire to be alone and far away from Elena. She could have taken Jeremy with her, but instead, placed her needs before him, and although it ended up being a good thing for Quinn due to the discovery of her life being in danger, when she fled Mystic Falls, Quinn didn't exactly know that.

"Jer, I have no excuse. I'm sorry. My actions were selfish. I wanted to set a large distance between myself and Elena and I wasn't thinking. But nevertheless, it isn't an excuse for you to turn to drugs," Quinn slowly articulated, her voice heavy with emotion. "Mom and Dad wouldn't want that for you, and this isn't me using our dead parents to guilt you into anything. At the end of the day, the choice is yours, just please… think about it."

Jeremy nodded stiffly as the two girls untangled their limbs from his person and they continued trekking toward the Black Resident. The cousins barely made it to the front door when the familiar voice of Jacob called out, "Jeremy? Jer, is that you?" A genuine smile curved onto Jeremy's sullen visage and he pounced on Jacob, giving him a bro-hug and was immediately followed by a jubilant Embry and Quill. Bella was pleasantly surprised when Jacob actually addressed her politely with a smile and a weak hug, and she shot a knowing look at an innocently whistling Quinn, a hundred percent certain that her cousin traded a few words with the youngest Black that had him changing his sad kicked puppy to the curb look he had been giving her ever since she accepted Edward's proposal.

Shaking her head in amusement, Bella was once again grateful for her favorite cousin's presence; nobody but Quinn had the gift of breaking into stubborn-minded people. Truly, Quinn Gilbert had been blessed with the gift of persuasion.

"Woah, you guys are ripped," Jeremy gaped, once he pulled away and got a better look at his three topless muscled childhood friends who had previously been extremely scrawny last time he saw them, "What… have you guys been religiously taking steroids with every meal?"

Fidgeting nervously, Jacob, Quill and Embry shook their heads in negative. Jacob clapped Jeremy on the back, covertly sending Quinn and Bella a 'help' look, "Nah, Jer, we've just been hitting the gym a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean we've been overtiring ourselves." Quill and Embry let out weak chuckles and Jeremy shrugged in response; not knowing about the supernatural entities, Jeremy tended to believe any excuse that made sense. The five in the know of the supernaturals breathed a sigh of relief and just as the six of them turned to visit Billy, they were joined by the remaining Quileute Pack who was approaching from behind.

"It's about time you showed your face around here," Leah called out good-naturedly.

"Jer!" Seth cheered, exuberantly engulfing the youngest Gilbert in a bone-breaking hug. Leah had more control and merrily skipped over to her favorite male and once Seth released him, embraced him softly with a peck on his cheek, "I've missed you little bro," she grinned, ruffling his shaggy hair fondly.

Quinn and Bella both had identical shit-eating grins on their face, satisfied that their plan had worked. The metaphorical dreary cloud over Jeremy's head was dissipating as his expression cheered up immensely with the arrival of his childhood friends. Suddenly, Jeremy's chocolate orbs focused intensely on one specific person who hadn't once diverted his jade green eyes from Quinn's form and before anybody could see it coming, Jeremy determinedly strode over to Paul Lahote, swung a fisted hand backward and allowed it to collide with his face, flinging him off his feet as he met the ground with a loud thump.

Clenching and unclenching his fist while shaking it in the air, Jeremy's stony face glared down at Paul, a triumphant gleam in his eyes upon seeing the blood dripping from his nose, "I've been wanting to do that for a really, really, really long time!"

Every occupant was gaping at Jeremy in shock since he wasn't one to divulge in hand to hand combat and was usually a demure boy, barely outspoken when it came to conflict. Jeremy Gilbert handed Paul Lahote, the resident Casanova and hot tempered person's ass.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood onto the soil, the Quileutes were shocked when instead of erupting into his wolf-form, Paul merely stared at Jeremy and then Quinn with a guilty expression, and forlornly admitted, "I guess I deserved that."

-*-Fickle Love-*-

"Vodka on the rocks," Quinn ordered, leaving no room for conversation; once the cousins returned home from La Push, John took one look at Jeremy's swollen fist and grinned widely before bumping fists and whispering out a "good job." Apparently the male members of her family had been lining up to teach Paul a lesson and years later, Jeremy finally succeeded. John, Jenna and Jeremy were out like a light before the clock struck nine, and after an hour of Bella rambling nonstop due to wedding jitters, fell into a deep sleep, leaving a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed Quinn the only alert resident in the house; this is how Quinn found herself guzzling back her third drink in a small bar in Port Angeles called Donkey-Tail.

Passing over her drink, the sleazy bartender folded his arms against the bar table and lewdly roamed her body, "So, what brings a sexy chick like you in here, drinking all by your lonesome? You in need of some company?"

Flashing him a blank stare, Quinn snapped out, "Definitely not to trade abysmal innuendos with the flirty bartender. Get the hint pal, I sure as hell ain't interested in you," and with one last scathing look, Quinn turned her back on him and returned to the booth she chose that allowed her to easily blend in with the shadows, away from prying eyes and horny men. She had barely enjoyed a few sips before a figure approached her and had the audacity to sit opposite to her. Not even sparing the rude intruder a glance, Quinn snarled out through gritted teeth, "Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested. So scram if you want your family jewels to remain intact."

"I think I'll risk it," a honeyed Texan accent replied sounding incredulously amused. Sucking in a sharp intake of breath, Quinn gasped, "Jasper?" The utterly gorgeous Cold One lost his constipated look and was instead staring at her in a mixture of amusement and concern – much to her shock. Folding her hands against her check, her face morphed into one of hostility, "Are you following me? Let me guess, Alice sent you?"

Smirking at the predictable question, Jasper shook his head, "Nah. Edward's paranoid over Bella's safety, and Alice was adamant in not allowing him to watch over her, insisting it's bad luck for the groom to see his bride before the wedding. So, naturally, Alice hired my services," he drawled sarcastically, "Saw you sneak out of the house. Thought you'd be more interesting to watch over then a sleeping bride-to-be."

Fury and disgust rolled off her in waves, and Jasper couldn't help but let out a husky chuckle at the indignant look on the gorgeous brunette's face; "You know what? I'm going to have a few words with Edward about his coddling Bella. She told me about her year at Forks, and yes, she is a danger magnet, it's in our blood, but that still doesn't give him the right to suffocate her!" Quinn sneered, taking a large gulp from her drink, barely wincing at the burning and bitter taste of vodka.

"Good luck with that. Edward's quite stubborn when he wants to be," Jasper confessed; the war-god was confused over why exactly he chose to instigate a conversation with her… there was something about her that drew him near, almost as though they were kindred souls, and knowing his mate, Jasper was confident that Alice elected him to watch over Bella for the particular reason of following Quinn.

"Yeah well, you'll later learn that I'm not most people. I do what I want and get what I want. Edward will listen to me if he knows what's good for him," Quinn wasn't being arrogant, no… reading her emotions, Jasper sensed genuine honesty. "Anyway," Quinn's abrupt voice snapped him out of his reverie, "Why exactly are you here, Jasper? You weren't exactly shy in showing your distaste toward me. Rosalie, too for that matter."

"Rosalie's just jealous," at Quinn's inquiring look, he clarified, "Rose can be quite … vain when it comes to her looks. Even before she became a vampire, when she was human, she was always revered for her gorgeous appearance, being a vampire enhanced her beauty, and you're the first female intruding over her territory. She's jealous 'cause for a human you're easily triumphing her in the beauty department." Quinn snorted and shook her head in humor as she took a few more sips of her intoxicating drink, "Beauty isn't everything. Believe me, I'd know. … So, what about you? What's your beef with me?"

Confounded over how simple it was to converse with a human without feeling the need to drain her dry, Jasper cocked his head to the side, his golden orbs scrutinizing her intently, "I'm very protective when it comes to my family, especially Alice who had taken an immediate liking to you. You were a threat to us and could easily expose us to the Volturi, incurring their wrath. We barely escaped with Bella knowing, and it was only because Aro was curious over what her gift would be and witnessing Alice's vision of her becoming one of us. But you… you were an exposure threat, and that coupled with your flippant remarks of the Volturi, angered me and brought my protective instincts out in the open."

Appreciating the genuine honesty in his reply, Quinn studied the unapproachable vampire with a smidge of curiosity, "So. Why follow me?"

"When you snuck out of the house, I sensed your emotions. The palpable sadness radiating from your person consumed me," Jasper shrugged nonchalantly, "Plus, Alice is very fond of you for some unknown reason, she's quite put off you wouldn't confide in her your problems."

Sighing in annoyance, Quinn fixed Jasper with an intense stare, "Edward is too nosy for his own good. I cannot share my problems with you and risk him finding out, especially because he will, without a doubt tell Bella. I don't want her included in my problems; her being a magnet for trouble, she'll easily get sucked into danger."

"You know… out of the six of us, Rosalie, Alice and I are the only ones with the ability to hide certain thoughts from Edward." Silence permeated around them after his confession and just as Jasper was about to sigh in defeat and leave the enigmatic human alone, she shocked him to the core by opening her mouth, "Bella told me your story. All of you except for Rosalie, for some reason. You're familiar with death, aren't you? War God." Jasper stiffened at that, not having expected those words to come out of her mouth, but before he could snap a biting remark, her voice came out in a hush, "I experienced death first hand before my thirteenth birthday. My twin sister was being particularly cruel to me and I ran off on my own into the woods. After hours of crying, a strange man approached me, he grabbed me and …"

For some reason, Jasper felt anger pooling in his belly, outraged that somebody would dare harm a child … harm Quinn, and a need to protect this human consumed him.

"He covered my mouth to stop me from screaming and somehow-, I was hit with many emotions and my survival instincts surged," she chuckled bitterly, "I guess you can say it's a hereditary gene; it's in my blood. Somehow, the man died. I gave him an aneurysm. I murdered somebody at the age of twelve, and although I was constantly rebuked that it wasn't my fault, and that he was a bad man who probably would have hurt somebody else if he didn't find me, it still doesn't change the fact that I have blood on my hands. Jasper shook his head, not having expected to have a conversation about murder with Bella's cousin. "Your gift is like Jane Volturi," he mused out loud.

Quinn let out a mirthful laugh, "Nah. It's not some gift that would become more potent by becoming a Cold One. I'm a witch, Jasper."

"A witch? Riight," Jason skeptically scoffed; Quinn smirked, "I had the same reaction when I found out. But no seriously, you can accept the fact that vampires and werewolves exist, but not witches? Believe me, there are plenty of witches scattered around the world living in clear sight."

Still a bit skeptical, Jasper decided to placate her and changed the subject, "You gonna tell me the truth about whatever sort of danger Alice believes you to be in?" When Quinn hesitated, her exterior turning more guarded, Jasper quickly reassured her, "I won't tell Alice if you don't want me to, and I can easily hide my thoughts from Edward. You're free to say whatever you want darlin', no one's forcing you. But I believe that confession is good for the soul, ya know."

"I already have somebody very dear and near to me if I'm I feel like confessing, but I'll bite," Quinn smirked; for some reason, unbeknownst to her, she felt that Jasper and by extension, Alice, would be a great help to her and were trusted souls that she could relay a few of her conundrums to without receiving judgment in return, "My twin sister and I, we-, we have a bounty on our heads ever since we were born. What do you know about doppelgängers, Jasper?"

Frowning in perplexity, Jasper wildly threw out, "Well, the dictionary meaning is that a doppelgänger is a look-alike or double of a living person. What about it?"

"In Folklore, a doppelgänger is portrayed as a paranormal phenomenon and sometimes referred to as a harbinger of bad luck. That last part is definitely true," Quinn muttered bitterly, "Elena and I are identical twins except for our eyes and we are the doppelgängers of a Bulgarian woman who was born in the year 1473. I am a Petrova Doppelgänger, Jasper, with the exception of my eye color, but in no way does that make me safe. You see, there is this curse, it is called the Sun and the Moon Curse and in order to break it, there are five ingredients." Jasper felt a foreboding sensation creep up inside of him and he knew that he wouldn't like Quinn's next words. Holding up hand, Quinn began ticking a finger off with each ingredient listed, "A specific moonstone, a witch to do the spell, and a werewolf, a vampire and-, and a d-, a doppelgänger, all three of whom should be sacrificed. But not any doppelgänger; the last step of the ritual is for a Petrova doppelgänger to bleed out until the brink of death."

Mulling the heavy words and trying to process them in his astute brain, Jasper muttered, "The curse is placed on that Klaus fellow that you're terrified of, isn't it?" For Jasper would never forget the utter fear that nearly had him collapsing when Alice carelessly uttered the name to Quinn; and just like before, the second he uttered the name Klaus, Jasper was hit with a shitload of palpable fear, and she whispered, "Yes. Katherine managed to escape with her life intact by becoming a vampire. You see, the Sacrifice Ritual is in need of a human doppelgänger, not a vampire, and for over five-hundred years, Katherine has been running away from Klaus who has a vengeance streak. I am trying to find a way to survive with Kat's help, despite the difference in my eye coloring, Klaus could still use me. I'm hiding this from Bella, because I am terrified Klaus would use her to get to me and Bella would never allow herself to back off while my life is in danger."

Jasper swallowed audibly, immensely disturbed by his recent discovery. Witches; century old Curses; Sacrifice Rituals … it was too overwhelming and he understood the need for all the secrecy on her part. Now he knew why Quinn was extremely glib about the Volturi's wrath; this Klaus fellow seemed to install fear in her heart almost to the point of crippling her, "What would you have me do?"

With a genuine smile on her visage that made her face radiant, Quinn said, "I need you to keep this a secret from Bella and ensure that Edward leaves me the hell alone. If Bella tells him to jump, he'll jump; bark, he'll bark; follow me around and he will never fuck off. I cannot save myself with Edward looming over me like a Peeping Tom."

-*-Fickle Love-*-

August 13th, the day that Edward Cullen and Isabella Swan were to be joined in holy matrimony finally arrived, and three different incidents coincided a few hours before the bride was to walk down the lavishly decorated aisle in a resplendent Haute Couture wedding gown the shopaholic pixie Cold One painstakingly picked out with the aid of her newly found shopaholic friend and cousin of the bride.

At the Gilberts rented house, Quinn did not, even for a flimsy second, doubt her decision in confiding with Jasper, but before she was to depart to the Cullens to help with the bride's makeover, a certain statement made by her in Donkey-Tail echoed in her head like a mantra; 'I guess you can say it's a hereditary gene; it's in my blood.' … it's in my blood … it's in my blood … it's in my blood … it's in my blood …

It's in my blood.

Blood!

Instinctively, Quinn dashed over to her safe and quickly punched in the password combination that had been meticulously chosen by her and retrieved the magnificently bounded grimoire that aided in her slow descend to temporary insanity; staring intently at the golden phoenix engrained in the middle and doused in flames decorated with ruby gems, identical to her confounding black tattoo, Quinn slowly reached out for the dagger she kept as a means for safety, hidden under her pillow, and nicked the inside of her palm. She stared entrancingly as the crimson droplets of blood collided softly with the ruby gems and watched in awe as the phoenix actually moved; the flame roared wildly and the phoenix let out a barely audible musical thrill and suddenly, the sound of a latch clicked – despite there being no lock and key on the grimoire.

Slowly, in an almost suspense moment, Quinn's hands trembled as the embroidered cover opened and a gasp escaped from her lips upon seeing what awaited her and what had been surreptitiously kept from her. Caressing the front page, Quinn smiled and for the first time, felt deep gratitude toward her mother for forcing her into learning a multitude of languages during her youth.

Quinn fluently read the elegant, cursive script that awaited her in the first page, 'Si vous avez réussi à desceller avec success mon grimoire et lire son contenu secretes alors bienvenue, Chosen Descendant du Phoenix Coven, votre naissance ont été prophétisé longtemps avant notre déclin malheureux. Vous, qui sort a soigneusement choisi d'être notre successeur et celui de continuer notre lignée puissante pour sa realization est à la Granded Prêtesse et l'êveil à beaucoup d'autres, en aidant à poursuivre la ligne très vulnerable et puissant du Phoenix Coven; Granded Prêtesse , Ingrid Phoenix.'

The words were easily translated by Quinn due to her impressive French tutelage among a few other languages, 'If you have managed to successfully unseal my grimoire and read its covert contents then welcome, Chosen Descendant of the Phoenix Coven, your birth have been prophesied long before our unfortunate decline. You, who fate has meticulously chosen to be our successor and the one to continue our powerful lineage to its fruition is to be the High Priestess and the awakening to many more, aiding in continuing the highly venerable and potent line of the Phoenix Coven; High Priestess, Ingrid Phoenix.' Sky-blue orbs were filled with awe and a smidge of confusion but she quickly returned the grimoire into her safe, already planning on reading it after Bella's wedding to the overprotective and suffocating Cullen.

In synchronization to Quinn's victorious discovery, the pixie Cullen was ruling the household of the Olympic Coven with an iron fist as she succumbed to neurotic wedding planning mode and was barking out a few last minute arrangements before Quinn and Bella were to arrive, ensuring Edward was somewhere far away so that he would be unable to hover over the blushing bride.

However, while the two households were whirring with activity, a regal man dressed in an immaculate suit stood by the outskirts of town, his shrewd mahogany orbs focused intently on the welcome sign stating in capital letters, 'THE CITY OF FORKS WELCOMES YOU.'

A triumphant gleam passed through his orbs and he resolutely marched onwards, unable to mask his impatience in meeting the enigmatic doppelgänger that confounded him and in all intensive purposes, should be inexistent.

Mystic Falls, Winter, 1864;

By word of mouth, a nobleman heard of the certain individual that managed to dodge him at every turn, taking residence in the curious, idyllic town of Mystic Falls. Concerning this individual, whenever he could practically taste success in the air, the accursed woman successful eluded him in the blink of an eye, leaving naught but a trace of her existence. However, the nobleman was confident that this picturesque town held many answers to his conundrum, and so, he brushed imaginary lint from the shoulder pad of his suit and courteously knocked twice on the front door of Lockwood Manor.

A woman who looked well into her late fifties with olive-green orbs, hair of chestnut brown and a wizened face blinked at him twice before her lips broke out into a benign smile, "Hello, sir. May I be of any assistance to you?"

Smiling kindly in return, he respectfully uttered, "Good evening my Lady, I do apologize for the sudden arrival on your doorstep, but I have been asking around about a woman I have been pursuing for many a year now. A Ms. Katherine Pierce?"

The name of the elusive doppelgänger had an instantaneous effect on the elderly woman as her benign smile turned grim and her olive-green orbs gleamed with malice and fear. Cocking her head outside to check for any eavesdroppers, she hastily ushered him inside while managing to keep her tone respectful, a feat that was a wonderful surprise to the inquiring noblemen who inwardly sighed in relief for arriving at the correct destination after four centuries of futile pursuing.

"George! George!" the woman he had yet to grasp a name, bellowed in fearful tones. Not even a minute later, a man in his early twenties appeared, with identical shade of hair and eye coloring as the elderly woman, and the noblemen assumed them to be mother and son.

"Mother, what on earth is the matter? And-, pardon me, but may I enquire over your name?" George Lockwood kept a courteous tone, but the noblemen detected the mistrust on his visage and the defensive stance he adopted, staring at his mother with a chastising gaze; he understood of course, Mrs. Lockwood should have known better after their town had been swarming with vampires. It was obvious she had grown complacent.

"I apologize for my rudeness. Elijah Smith at your service," the nobleman, Elijah smiled.

George nodded, "George Lockwood, and this is my mother, Nancy-Marie. Mother, Father is asking for you, I'll handle our guest," with one last smile at Elijah, Nancy-Marie departed. Ensuring privacy, George led the noblemen to his office, "What can I do for you, Mr. Smith?"

"I have been hunting a specific individual for quite some time now. Last I heard from my fellow hunters, Katherine Pierce took residence in your quaint little town," deciding to act oblivious that he was sitting opposite to a werewolf, Elijah morphed his tone into one of urgency, "I urge you to tread with caution, Mr. Lockwood. This woman may appear to be harmless, but she is quite dangerous."

George's nonchalant façade stiffened slightly, but nevertheless, smiled at Elijah, "No need to worry, Mr. Smith. For Katherine Pierce and the group that arrived alongside her had been dealt with a few months ago. I assume you to be a vampire hunter?" Elijah nodded, brushing off the pang in his heart at the significant meaning behind George Lockwood's words, "The Founders' Council captured and killed the entire lot, Mr. Smith. Twenty-seven vampires resided in our town, and twenty-seven met their end."

Leaning forward in a conspiratorial manner, unable to believe his Katerina could be bested so easily when he and his ruthless brother spectacularly failed, Elijah asked, "May I ask how you succeeded in this remarkable endeavor? Twenty-seven vampires is no easy feat, especially with the inclusion of the elusive Miss Pierce."

Half an hour later, Elijah found himself approaching the Fell's Church; George Lockwood informed him, in excruciating detail, of how the townspeople rounded the twenty-seven vampires up, locked a metallic muzzle on each of their mouths and assembled them in a tomb under the Fell's Church were they set them ablaze, leaving nothing behind but a pile of ash. George was quite insistent that Katerina was amongst them when they were escorted to the chamber, and he detected no falsehood in his tone or his almighty tale.

Staring at the chamber, Elijah smirked to himself as a powerful enchantment echoed in the air and vibrated against his person. "Oh, Katerina, you are indeed a survivor," he muttered to himself. Of course, the manipulative Petrova must have tied a witch to her service and fooled the townspeople, for there was no doubt that the twenty-seven vampires were in fact, very much alive, desiccating until one day, somebody liberates them from the hellish tomb spelled shut by a Servant of Nature.

Turning his back on the mystical tomb and ignoring the tortured cries of the few vampires that had yet to succumb to the painless state of mummification, Elijah flashed away from the idyllic town. He would gladly leave Katherine to suffer in the tomb for betraying him in England, but he knew that someday, she would escape, for Katerina Petrova always had a Plan B, a Plan C, and so on … Katerina Petrova would never allow herself to get caught if she didn't have an escape plan, but he would admit, it was quite ingenious of her to fake her death in such an elaborate yet painful way.

Let her rot for a few centuries, maybe then, Elijah would allow her reprieve. For nobody betrayed a Mikaelson without feeling their wrath.

A/N: How did you like this chapter? XD

I introduced a few characters from Vampire Diaries! Jenna, Jeremy and Elijah! Did you enjoy the Elijah scene? He's finally in Forks… Da Da Dummm.

I couldn't help but add a Quinn/Jasper bonding scene. Jasper and Alice are my favorite Cullens! Also; I am not bashing Edward. In fact I am a Team Edward to the End Fan! However, his overprotective coddling deeply annoyed me; in this story, Bella isn't some insipid girl who is so weak and a pushover. After Bella became a vampire, Edward finally calmed down on the coddling, so once that happens, Edward will be shown in a better light. But I still love him Edward Fans!

To those who didn't understand the flashback: Elijah believes Katherine to be trapped in the tomb. I know Elijah never went to Mystic Falls in canon, but this is my story and I'm changing things. && George Lockwood obviously sensed Elijah to be a vampire, but he was smart enough to recognize him as a threat and possibly the one Katherine faked her death from, so he acted oblivious.

Next chapter: Bella's wedding & oooh, perhaps Quinn and Elijah finally have a confrontation… ? More surprises and plot-twists to come. XD

R&R.