Chapter Eight

How can I love …

I was dreaming. I had to be for there was no other sensible explanation for the sight before my eyes. I even blinked in a dismal attempt to try and make the vision go away. Kol, as handsome as he had ever looked but with reddened eyes of rage, veins pulsing and a once-sensual mouth turned vicious by snarling teeth – this was no dream, it was a nightmare of supernatural proportions.

'What … What are you?' I could barely allow the words to leave my lips, frozen to the ground, trapped seemingly by monsters on all fronts. Should I stay with my monstrous-looking protector or take my chances with the wolf?

'Leah,' he tried desperately but my name had been distorted behind his fangs. The wolf made a snarling noise that would have drowned out any more of Kol's words and I realised the severity of the problem at hand as Kol snapped back to the animal, bearing his own teeth, attempting to match it in ferocity.

Then, as if by magic, Damon appeared from the darkness as though he and the shadows were one. He let out a low whistle and the wolf's large head moved to its new counterpart who merely grinned as if this was highly amusing.

'Here, boy,' he said. 'You don't want old meat. Let's run.'

Damon then vanished before my eyes, running at a speed that no human creature could ever muster. The wolf followed its new chase, its yellow eyes flashing at me once almost apologetically before dashing after the older Salvatore. Kol was left and he turned slowly on his heel, the veins around his eyes disappearing as quickly as they had appeared, his mouth now calm and already forming delicate words.

'Leah, please … '

Without any warning to my already shocked system, a pair of hands grasped my shoulders and a voice, soft as honey and delicate as silk, reached my ear, almost soothing me in the midst of the unearthly chaos unfolding before me.

'I've got you. Close your eyes.'

I barely had time to turn my head to glimpse my rescuer before his hands reached underneath my shaking body and lifted me up. I did as he bid me and shut my eyes tight to feel a rushing feeling in my stomach and the wind blowing through my hair as though I was at the speed of a rollercoaster. When I realised we had stopped, I opened my eyes to the glowing lights of the Mikaelson house and I turned my head to see who had saved me from the horror show – Elijah.

'Elijah,' I gasped his name.

'You're safe now,' he assured as he strode towards the house. 'We need to take a look at your wrist, I have a fear it might be broken.'

In the midst of the madness, the shock hadn't even allowed me to register the throbbing pain of my wrist and I glanced down to see the limb at an unnatural angle from where I had fallen. Quietly and with all due care, Elijah carried me into the house and into a parlour room I had never been in – seriously, how big was this place? He lay me gently on a chaise longue that may have been better placed in a Jane Austen adaptation and turned his attention to my wrist, his fingers refined as they examined my injury.

The door burst open and Kol appeared, rushing to my side. Despite myself, I jumped in fear, not being able to distinguish my Kol from the monstrous figure in the shadows.

'Leah, are you all right? Are you hurt?'

'Get away from me!' I yelled, forgetting about my injury. 'Just stay away from me!'

Kol looked crestfallen at my fear. 'No, Leah … please … '

'What happened in the woods?'

'I saved you from the wolf, it would have torn you to pieces if I had been a minute too late.'

'I remember the wolf, Kol, it's pretty hard to erase the image of a guy transforming into one from my brain. I'm talking about you, your eyes … '

'Perhaps this conversation is best served for later,' Elijah offered in his best composed voice. 'Her wrist is broken and I want to ensure that she has no more pressing injuries. How far did you fall?'

'I-I tripped over my dress. I lost your jacket in the woods, I'm sorry, Elijah – '

Elijah chuckled, 'No worry at all, dear one. Armani is replaceable, you are not.' He looked up to his younger brother in a reproachful manner. 'Kol, may I ask politely for you to step out?'

'No, I need to explain, I have to tell her – '

' – and you will, but after I have tended to her and ensured that she is not in such a state of shock for a … reasonable explanation.'

Kol made to argue again but held his tongue and looked at me once more. I could see him now, my Kol, the man who cared deeply for me, who danced with me in the starlight … I gazed into his eyes and saw that concern for me, knowing that I was in no danger from him, no matter how dangerous he had appeared in that earlier moment.

'We'll talk later,' I promised him softly. 'Just let Elijah do this and … we can talk.'

He nodded gently and slowly and deliberately as though he was scared to break me, he planted a soft kiss on my forehead. I closed my eyes as his lips met my skin, electricity pulsing through me as we made contact. I couldn't fear Kol; there was no fear at all because I knew deep within me that, regardless of whatever he was, he had protected me and would never harm me. As he reluctantly departed the room, Elijah was already busying himself with some bandages he had retrieved from an antique chest of drawers.

'He truly cares deeply for you,' he murmured.

'Are you … whatever Kol is, are you … like him?'

The deep look of Elijah's eyes told me the answer to my question without his lips forming a single word; his eyes told me that there was much more to the story than what it seemed and that I was in for the most intriguing of evenings.

Humming a song, a soft tune upon the air, Cara weaved another flower into Rebekah's long tresses, interweaving the delicate pink petals within her golden locks. After the incident with Mikael in the marketplace, Rebekah had sought Cara's friendship as thanks for saving her brother and the two had become almost inseparable in the weeks that followed; Rebekah had even remarked to Cara of Kol's jealousy of all the time she had stolen of hers to which Cara had grinned and blushed. As Cara finished her humming to braid her hair into an intricate plait, Rebekah's head turned slightly to address her new friend.

'That song, I have never heard of it.'

'My mother used to sing it to me when I was a child. I know the words but I do not have the voice that my mother had the luck to possess.'

'What happened to your mother?'

Cara sighed softly and continued with her delicate work. 'She died when I was seven, a terrible illness that had taken its grip of her quickly and without much warning.'

Rebekah reached her hand around to lightly touch her friend's as a show of sympathy. 'I am sorry, forgive me for troubling you – '

'Do not fret, Rebekah. It was a long time ago.'

'And your father? Does he still grieve for her?'

'Not that he allows me to see. He … he tells me about her, things that I would never have known as a child and there is always this deep look of sadness in his eyes when he mentions her name, but … he wishes to remember her in life, not in death.'

Rebekah nodded softly and turned away. 'I only ask because my own father grieves deeply for one lost long ago. A child, a daughter lost to plague in our old land. He never speaks of her but I know the loss still weighs deeply in his heart, that is why he is so … strict with us. He is merely protective.'

'Protective? He beat Niklaus half to death. He would have succeeded had I not been the one to intervene. You call that protective?'

Rebekah shuffled around to face Cara and her steely expression. 'My father … For some reason, unknown to all of us, he hates Niklaus. That beating was not the first and it will not be the last.'

'Hasn't one of you ever thought to stop him? Your mother … '

'I tried to slit his throat in his sleep once,' Rebekah confessed quietly. 'I had the sword over his sleeping body and I would have done it if not for Elijah's intervention. I would have only done it to protect Nik, I wanted his abuse of him to end.'

Cara nodded, understanding the lengths that Rebekah would go to for her brother; she understood because she would do the same for her own brother if the situation ever became so violent but her father was kind and gentle, never raising a hand to Cara or Jacob once.

'Rebekah, trust me, I will never tell a soul about this.'

'Never tell a soul about what?'

Both girls snapped to the door of the Mikaelson lodgings and found Kol leaning against the doorway, his arms folded lazily but his eyes keen as a hawk.

Cara was quick to respond. 'Did your mother not teach you about interrupting conversation?'

'You know, she might have just missed that lesson,' he murmured in his usual sarcastic tone. 'It might have come right between brewing the right kind of magical herbs and not eating with your mouth full.'

Cara grinned as Kol's lips touched her forehead softly in a greeting, setting himself down next to her and Rebekah to admire her handiwork.

'Beautiful,' Kol whispered as he intertwined his fingers between Cara's.

'Why thank you, brother,' Rebekah said, tossing her hair softly.

Kol rolled his eyes and grinned at Rebekah's concentration on only herself as she had not noticed Kol's thumb rubbing gently onto the smooth skin of Cara's hand, his eyes earnestly locked onto hers, the two of them in their own world separate and distant from any worries or cares.

Klaus Mikaelson was not one for pacing. That would imply that he cared about what was happening behind the oaken door and he kept reminding himself that he did not care whatsoever. He was Klaus, the immortal, the hybrid, untouched by anything or anyone …

He just had to tell himself that a hundred more times if he had to believe it wholly.

'Any news?'

Besides his family when they were either agreeable to his demands or incapacitated with a dagger to the heart, Stefan Salvatore was the only vampire in this godforsaken spit of land that Klaus could tolerate in his presence. There was an agelessness in his eyes even though he was centuries younger than Klaus which he found enduring; these eyes were focused on the door and what lay beyond it, as Klaus' own had been mere moments before.

'Elijah is mending her broken wrist. Kol told me when he left in a rather abrupt manner.'

'And she saw Tyler as a wolf?'

'More correctly, my young friend, she saw Mr Lockwood transform into a wolf so you may say she's – what's the expression? – slightly knocked for six.'

Stefan sighed shortly. 'Won't Elijah just compel her to forget about what she's seen? It's dangerous for all of us.'

'No, she won't be compelled, that is the traitor's way out of this situation.'

'Correction,' Stefan pointed out, 'it's the vampire's way out. We need to be mindful of what she might say. The last thing we need in this town is an angry mob armed with stakes and vervain.'

'Oh, Stefan, on that day, my family and I will already be hundreds of miles away on some first class airway – '

'With ample room for four coffins?' Stefan shot back.

Klaus made to respond but thought against it, knowing that Stefan had some point. In his darkest of thoughts, he knew that he could rip apart the younger Salvatore without thinking twice, but there had already been enough chaos tonight which had to be dealt with.

'So what do we do now? Tell Leah the truth?'

'About all of us? The Supernaturals club?'

'We would have to tell her about everything and everyone unless we compel her to forget.'

'She's stronger than she appears,' Klaus assured. 'I'm sure she would be able to handle something like this with some care and consideration on our part.'

'Like no killing anyone.'

'Always spoiling the fun, aren't you, Stefan?'

'Magic? You mean, real magic?'

Kol nodded and swung his way round the tall tree that kept him and Cara at a distance. 'Of course, my mother is one of the most skilled witches this world has ever seen.'

'I knew Esther was practised with herbs but … real magic?'

'You sound shocked. Some of the villagers turn into wolves every full moon and you cannot quite believe that I come from a family of magic?'

'What happens to those people at the full moon is different. You came from the other side of the world, cloaked in mystery and now magic, it appears.'

Kol stopped dead, inches away from Cara's face, their eyes locked only a small distance apart. 'Would you like to see my magic?'

'But I thought … your mother … '

'I am one of her best pupils in these most mystical of arts. In fact, I am her only pupil. My siblings do not share my affinity for magic, our birth right.'

'Fine,' Cara said, folding her arms. 'Show me.'

Contemplating deeply, Kol stepped back and took Cara's hand gently, leading her to a glen deep within the parameter of the encircling trees. Cara sat herself down, feeling the soft grass underneath her feet, spreading out her dress so that she would be comfortable watching this display. Kol got down on his knees in front of her, surrounding himself within the fallen leaves that signalled the rise of autumn.

'This isn't … dangerous, is it?' Cara said slowly.

'Of course not,' Kol answered. 'I would never do anything that might hurt you, you can be sure of that.'

Cara nodded as Kol dug his fingertips into the ground, closing his eyes gently and murmuring strange words in a tongue she had never heard under his breath. Little by little, each of the brown abandoned leaves rose into the air as though lifted by invisible hands. Cara watched in equal disbelief and wonder as the leaves floated around her, turning from their autumnal brown to a healthy and vibrant green, their vitality restored within a second. From some of the leaves blossomed flowers of every colour Cara had ever seen and some that she had not. Then, Kol snapped his fingers and the leaves cascaded down to the floor where they had once lain, a rose of blood red falling to Cara's feet. Cara watched in disbelief and wonder as he bent down to lift the rose up for her.

'For you, my lady.'

'Ow.'

'I must apologise,' Elijah replied to my outburst of pain apologetically as he wrapped another bandage to secure my broken wrist. 'My bedside manner is not the most medically accurate.'

'No, no, don't apologise. Really, thank you for this.'

Elijah smiled softly and finished off his work with a flourish that doctors all over the world would kill for the chance to imitate. He helped me to my feet and rushed ahead to open the door, a little too fast than what should have been humanly possible.

'Forgive me, you're still … adjusting.'

'Don't worry, I'm sure I'll get used to it.' In at least a couple of years, my brain unhelpfully added.

Bowing his head, Elijah opened the door to reveal Klaus standing behind the door, his hands behind his back. Had he been pacing outside my door? Was he concerned for my well-being?

'Niklaus, if you would be so kind, I must inform the others that Leah is ready.'

'I'm fine, Elijah, don't worry about me.'

'I would not dream of it, but Niklaus can be a gracious host when he wants to be.'

As Elijah disappeared to call the Monster Squad together – I laughed despite myself at my own pathetic attempt at humour in this inappropriate moment – Klaus nodded and moved closer to me, offering me his arm which I took with my less injured one. He led me slowly into the main part of the house which had been deserted by all the partygoers I had seen what seemed like only minutes ago.

'Where are all your guests?'

'After the … incident in the woods, I thought it prudent to send the majority of guests home. Your safety was of paramount importance and to be frank, I couldn't take any more small talk.'

I chuckled. 'So I really am the mood killer?'

'Spend a day with me and I'll teach you something about killing a mood. It will also explain the animosity between my siblings and I.'

'Does that come along with the explanation for Tyler changing into a wolf and Kol having fangs?'

Klaus stopped and looked me square in the face, those eyes boring into me, his jaw set and firm. 'Please have a care to listen to us before you go running for the hills. We may be monsters but we do care, in our own unique way.'

'You're different,' I whispered. 'You're not like your siblings.'

'And what makes you say that?'

'Your eyes, they tell me a thousand stories.'

Klaus' eyes then glowed yellow to tell me that I was entirely correct without muttering a single word, causing me to catch my breath and remind myself to remain calm and focused. He led me into a large drawing room – how big was this house? – wherein sat my newfound friends and the Mikaelson family. Kol reached me first and led me down to a couch to sit next to him, the rest of the gatherers surrounding in a huge circle, watching cautiously for my inevitable freak-out. I would have been panicking too if not for Kol's reassuring hand on the small of my back which was calming to say the least.

'I suppose there are a great deal of questions for us, darling,' Kol began.

'I'll say,' Caroline answered back.

'Where would you like to begin, Leah?' Rebekah said softly. 'Whatever it is, ask it of us. No lying, no cover-ups. We're here for the truth to be known.'

I took a deep breath and eyed each of them in turn, scrutinizing, searching for truth in each pair of different colours and each different facial expression. 'Okay … so … ' I had to turn to Kol first, slowly and with due care for my injured wrist, to look into his eyes to know the truth. 'What are you?'

'I am a vampire.'

The truth hit me like a baseball bat, knocking the air right out of my lungs. I knew the answer before it had even had chance to leave his lips but hearing him say the word 'vampire' was admittedly a shock in itself.

'A vampire?'

He nodded almost in shame. 'We all are, my family at least.'

'You're all vampires?' I whispered, looking at the Mikaelsons in turn. Now, so much of it made sense – the ethereal way they moved, their inhuman beauty, the timelessness in their eyes …

'Yes,' Elijah confirmed. 'In fact, we are the first vampires, the Original family of vampires.'

'Oh my god,' I breathed. 'The first? So … how old are you?'

'A little rude to ask a woman her age,' Rebekah said, trying to squeeze some humour into this tense situation. 'But we've been … like this for just over a thousand years.'

A thousand years? It could not be true. But then, it hit me – immortality, frozen in time like a photograph …

'Okay, Original vampires … any other supernatural beings to throw into this merry mix?'

Damon raised his hand in a school-like way. 'If you mean us lesser, slightly younger and better looking vampires, then my brother and I must be counted.'

'All right, two more vampires … Is there like a committee of the undead here? How are there so many of you in one place?'

'Damon and I were born here two hundred years ago,' Stefan answered sincerely. 'I came back to Mystic Falls to restart my life and Damon came to wreak misery and havoc.'

'Hey, I can freely admit to the havoc part but the misery is strictly untrue.'

'Don't forget about me,' said Caroline. 'The youngest of the bunch.'

I took a deep breath and looked at all of these vampires in turn, examining each of them individually. 'But … I've seen some of you in daytime … surely you should be burning to a crisp in the sunlight?'

'Us Original vampires are immune to the sunlight,' Rebekah replied. 'The Salvatores have a nifty witch-spelled invention that keeps them from sizzling. They have daylight rings that will protect them.'

'Wait, you said 'witch' … There are witches too?'

Bonnie spoke next, shuffling forward in her seat so that she could be heard. 'You're looking at one. I'm a witch, direct Salem descendant too if you like a bit of history.'

'So … there are witches and vampires and Original vampires … What about you, Matt? Are you … ?'

'No, no, I'm a good old human,' Matt replied, soothing me once again with his soft voice. 'So is Elena. Welcome to the good old human club.'

Processing all of this information in my head, damning any myths and legends that I had previously put to rest as untruths, I looked then at Klaus who until now had not made himself heard with anything. As soon as he felt my eyes upon him, his own met mine with an earnest stare.

'And what about you, Klaus? I could tell you were different from your brothers and sister, but how?'

'I'm a hybrid,' he murmured. 'I am half-vampire, half-werewolf.'

'Okay,' I muttered, noting now the animal-like presence that encapsulated him, his glowing eyes from before. 'So what … what are you going to do with me?'

'I mean, I have a few ideas – '

'Kol.'

Kol winked at me, trying to ease my unsteadiness to be a room with so many different supernatural entities.

'We swear no harm will come to you,' Elijah continued. 'You will be protected by us if anything.'

Taking a few moments to let all of this information sink in, I rose to my feet alone with all eyes, supernatural and human, falling on me.

'Thank you all for your honesty, but … this is a lot to take in right now and I think I'm still in shock so … I would like to go home and take some time to … adjust and figure everything out before … '

'I'll take you home,' Matt offered.

I mouthed a soft thank you as he left the room to go and get his car. Kol stood up and took my hand in his, placing a gentle kiss on it.

'Please … do not fear us. We may be … monsters but we would never harm you.'

'You have harmed me,' I said, my temper rising slightly, gesturing to my broken wrist. 'All of you. I could have died tonight. I wonder how that would have gone down, my death in a werewolf attack surrounded by vampires.'

'Leah – '

'I need time, Kol,' I begged. 'As a vampire, you should understand that concept. I need time to adjust and to get my head around everything I've heard, to recollect every nightmare I've ever had that has been proven to be true … '

'Leah, please – '

'Let her be, Kol,' Rebekah said. 'She needs this.'

With a saddened look in his eyes, Kol's fingers loosened around my hand and I made my departure from that room where monsters sat with eyes filled with emotion at my human reaction. I had to have time to myself, to reconcile everything that I had known, everything that I had once cast off as nightmares or fiction.

It was all real.