The next day, she was put to work.

Elijah decided she ought to accompany him into the city of Mystic Falls for a tea party with the Historical Society.

Based on the memories she had acquired, the idea of a tea party seemed all too comical, and when he had first told her, she had started to laugh, until she realized he was serious.

"What do you aim to find out?" she asked. "What's so important about this?"

"In order for the Martins to have sufficient power to kill Niklaus, they need to channel more than one witch. All your energy will be put into the ritual and once you transform, you will not be available. Alone, Jonas and Luka cannot kill my brother. I have heard that there was a witch massacre somewhere in Mystic Falls, just a short time ago... by this, I mean many many decades. If we perform the spell at that location, the Martins will be able to channel the power we need."

Esmeray nodded slowly, and decided she might as well go along with it. She had a duty to him after all he had done for her already. Thus, she listened as he explained to her that he would be arriving at the tea party under the cover name of 'Elijah Smith,' pretending that he was writing a book on the history of Virginia (this would be his excuse as to why he was prying about the location of the witch massacre). She, with the name of Victoria Rayanson, would pretend to be a graduate intern who specialized in the oldest known history of Virginia. They would pretend the book was going to be a comparison between now and then to assess the changes over time as it pertained to urbanization and suffering of Virginia inhabitants.

The car ride was terrible. Despite all the memories Esmeray had taken in, nothing could have prepared her for the vertigo that came with being in a car for the first time ever. She had memories of joyful car rides that made her wish that the sensation would go away. No such luck; actually going through it was quite different. Her body had to physically adjust to the sensation of motion before she was able to lean back, breathing softly and trying to calm the pounding headache that'd grown as they made their way to the Lockwood Mansion of Mystic Falls.

"Our supernatural world nowadays is kept a great secret," Elijah told her as they neared the building. "Most humans will never know that witches, vampires, and werewolves live among them. Today, I expect I will be approached by those who found you. They will not pose any danger. As I said before, they will come to appreciate your existence when they find out that Elena Gilbert can be spared. I merely want them to understand that they ought not be crossing me. They are... a meddlesome group. While I do not need you to protect me... it would be kind of you to keep an eye and ear out. Understood?"

She nodded, trying not to throw up as the car came to a halt in front of the Mansion. Elijah got out first, going to open the door for her. She careened off to the side and forced herself not to even gasp until the sensation had passed. "I hate cars," she said venomously as she took Elijah's arm.

A small popping sound was heard, and they both stopped, turning to see that one of the tires of the car now had a long gash. The car shuddered, and the driver came out, sighing angrily before extracting his phone to call a tow truck.

"Oops," said Esmeray, though she didn't look sorry as she walked in alongside Elijah. She had put on some dark pants that had rips through them (apparently, 'distressed' was becoming a popular style) and a tank top, since Elijah had told her she didn't need to be so formal if she didn't want to. It was clearly amusing for him to see her so casual compared to him, but he didn't mind.

"Elijah Smith," said a woman at the entrance who appeared to be there to greet them. "I'm Carol Lockwood, Mayor of Mystic Falls. I want to welcome you to our Historical Society."

Elijah shook her hand kindly. "I appreciate it. May I introduce Victoria Rayanson? She's my intern and she's helping me gather my information."

Carol shook Esmeray's hand, too, and the girl offered her a kind smile. "Pleasure to meet you," she told her.

The Mayor led them inside, and all Esmeray could do was look around in wonder. The house was quite fancy, and she understood that the Lockwoods must be wealthy. The surfaces were all nicely polished and ornate, with fresh flowers in vases and a grand chandelier in one of the main rooms. The carpets looked soft enough to sleep on, and it smelled wonderful. Everyone inside was dressed to impress, and Esmeray suddenly felt very out of place.

She was handed a cup of tea by one of the servers, and she brought it slowly to her lips, trying to pretend as best as she could that she naturally fit into this world, even though she now felt insecure because of what she'd chosen to wear. She cast aside negative memories that kept threatening to flood her mind in that moment- she would not allow herself to have a repeat of last night. She had to be in control.

"You've been staying just a few towns over, yes?" asked Carol as she led Elijah around to shake hands with what seemed to be distinguished members of the Historical Society. "Have you spent much time in Richmond for your book? There's such a wealth of history there."

Elijah shook his head with a small smile. "No, I'm focusing mostly on the smaller regions of Virginia. Lots of research. Strictly academic."

"That's fascinating," said Carol, though Esmeray was certain that she didn't actually think so. "So, Victoria, how did you end up majoring in History? My son is going to be heading off to college soon and he just has no idea what he wants to do."

Esmeray tried to base her answer off of the thoughts that were given to her yesterday. "I went in undeclared," she lied smoothly. "I took several classes that sounded interesting and I eventually figured out what I liked."

"You said you study the furthest back history of Virginia? Why did that spark your interest?"

"It just felt familiar," she said, now trying not to laugh. If only she knew... "I felt like I understood it the best. Those times were simply fascinating."

Carol smiled, but then turned to where a man with dark hair and stunning blue eyes was walking toward them. "Damon!" she said brightly. "What a surprise."

"Carol," he replied, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. "Hi."

"Hi," answered Carol. "Elijah, Victoria, I want you to meet Damon Salvatore. His family is one of Mystic Falls' founding families."

"Mhm," Damon hummed, looking intently at Elijah. "Such a pleasure to meet you."

"No, the pleasure's mine," said Elijah smoothly, shaking his hand with an emotionless expression. Esmeray quickly deduced that this man was one of the people who had found her.

Damon turned to look at Esmeray, and had to do a double take. "No," he said lowly, his lip curling into a sneer. Carol had not noticed it, as she had turned to speak with another woman who had passed by her. The dark haired man looked up at Elijah and forced a smile. "How about we go over there and have a nice, private chat? Alone."

"Of course," Elijah replied politely, following Damon to the study. Esmeray made to follow, but Elijah cast her a look letting her know that he didn't want her coming. Esmeray frowned, but tried to not let it get to her. Instead, she looked at Carol and smiled before walking away, her arms tucked behind her back, trying to find the prime position to eavesdrop. Maybe she couldn't go into the room, but she could certainly listen in.

However, she was stopped by a man who appeared to recognize her as well. "I think I know you," he said casually, as if worried someone was listening to their conversation. "I wanted to ask if you want to um... come with me and maybe we can talk."

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Is this all a ploy?" She decided she would try to say something funny and see how it went. If the man persisted, he was clearly in cahoots with Damon. If he changed the subject, perhaps he had merely found that she resembled someone he had known in his youth. "Sorry, I won't get Elijah's signature for you, no matter how much you beg."

The man was clearly perplexed at her answer, but he managed a weak chuckle. "Oh... I'm not here for a signature. I'm sorry... what's your name? I really do think I know you from somewhere."

"Victoria Rayanson. You?"

"Um, Alaric Saltzman." He tried to figure out whether she'd been compelled to lie. "Listen... all you know is his side of the story, right? But I think you're missing a lot of information. Elijah can't be trusted."

"Why not?" she said innocently, a wicked smile coming to her face. "What do you know?"

He was clearly unnerved that she was finding this amusing. "If you come with me, I can explain everything. I think you're in danger. You don't want to be hanging around with him."

"Don't I?" she said, batting her eyelashes. "I don't see anything wrong with it."

Alaric bit his lip. "Victoria, please, let me introduce you to some people your own age and we'll go through things with you. I swear, I don't want to hurt you. But I think he might."

"I see what this is," she said, knowing that faking being oblivious was doing nothing. "You want to set up a little playdate with me and Elena Gilbert. I promise you, I'm not interested. Don't meddle in matters you don't understand."

"Do you know that you were essentially kidnapped? He's going to use you. We don't have much time, we should-"

She held up her hand, and he was frozen in place, unable to pull her away. "From what I heard, I was having a sleepover with the Salvatore Brothers for several months because your witchy friend couldn't get me to wake up. Elijah managed what you couldn't. Had it been all of you that had awoken me, I assure you, this town would have been destroyed."

"Victoria."

She turned to see an approaching Elijah, who had on a tight-lipped smile, and she instantly dropped her hand to remove the spell on Alaric. "I think we ought to return to speaking with those who came to ask about the book, yes?" prompted the Original, offering Esmeray his arm.

Alaric gave Elijah a suspicious look. "Listen, I don't know how you got her, but she's just a kid."

Elijah looked amused. "Your only priority right now should be to keep Elena Gilbert safe. Victoria will come to no harm under my watch. If you seek to refer to her as a child, then understand this- she needs to be able to live in the modern world like any other young adult, and to do so, she first needed someone who spoke her language. That was not you, nor either of the Salvatore brothers."

Alaric looked very embarrassed, and he gulped, stepping back respectfully. He made to leave, but Elijah cast Esmeray a look, and when she realized what he meant, she moved forward, putting her hand on Alaric's shoulder. He turned, but by then, she'd gotten all the information she needed, and she simply withdrew her hand. "I was going to ask you to thank those who retrieved my coffin from underground," she said simply. "I can still be appreciative."

"Uh, yeah, sure," said Alaric before walking away more hurriedly.

Elijah moved closer to Esmeray. "What did you see?" he murmured.

"They have a weapon," she said, staring beadily at Alaric's departing figure. "A small urn of white oak ash and a dagger. They think they know how to kill you."

"Do they know that it must be a human that stabs me with it to neutralize me? Do they know it must be left inside of my body to work?"

"No and no." She looked up at him. "Why did you ask me that? You just told me how I can subdue you."

"Let it be a test of your trust, then," he said simply before walking away.

With narrowed eyes, she followed after him. "What did you discuss with Damon, then?"

"I inquired about Elena's whereabouts to ensure she's safe. He's just as arrogant and impulsive as most young vampires. He attempted to attack me- clearly, he doesn't trust me... none of them do. They will learn soon enough that she is in no danger, anymore."

"Why didn't you just tell him? He'd stop bothering you."

"Because he needs to learn a lesson about respect. He and his brother are smitten with Elena, and they seek to keep her out of harm's way. They do not believe that I am attempting to do the same. Were they more open-minded, I'd have no problem being their ally. However, they are far too convinced that I am their enemy, and since I met them... they have just proved that they are not worthy of being kept alive. Nevertheless, I promised Elena I would not kill them, nor anyone else she loves. I am a man of my word."

Esmeray did not ask any more questions. She realized that for now, they were to feign ignorance; it would be as if they never found out about the white oak ash and the dagger. Elijah seemed eager to observe from afar and see what move the Salvatores made.

She wondered why Elijah had trusted her with the information that could lead to his defeat. She could easily acquire the materials and escape. She had knowledge now and was no longer dependent on him.

As she watched him move around, talking to humans like he didn't have a care in the world, she thought about this 'test' he mentioned. Did he really think she'd aid the Salvatores? The doppelgänger was now safe- she didn't need to do anything, and neither did they. She wondered what would happen if, perhaps, she proved to be untrustworthy. Would he kill her or hand her right over to Niklaus?

She wanted to trust Elijah. As they made their way back to the apartment, he had the driver take the less bumpy roads, now with a fixed tire, so that Esmeray would not feel so ill. She admired his patience. He was calculating, always waiting for the right moment to strike. He acted like a father fostering an orphan, which was technically the case, though she was really a hybrid who was meant to bring death to his brother. He let her have her freedom and kept her company without discussing the task at hand unless she asked directly. He tolerated her questions, though she sensed she was often irritating him. He must not be used to being around someone so young. In real time, she was only seven years younger than him, but now, a thousand years of an age gap resided between them.

"What did you learn today?" he asked her as they returned to the apartment.

She hummed and went to sit on the couch, bringing the blanket over her lap. "I learned how meddlesome people have become. I also learned that their fatal flaw... as a group... is their loyalty. I assume you and I understand that concept well, and can exploit it, if need be. I learned the names of their group, basing myself off of Alaric's memories. There is Bonnie Bennett, a witch of a powerful line. Damon's brother is named Stefan... and then there is Caroline, a blonde who was recently turned into a vampire by someone named Katherine Pierce... the same person who turned the two brothers. She is someone they don't like, and she is the doppelgänger between Tatia and Elena."

Elijah was impressed. "Very good. Yes, Katerina Petrova... descended from Tatia. In the year 1492, my brother, Niklaus was celebrating his birthday in England, and-"

"You still celebrate your birthdays?" she interrupted, making a face. "I... I don't know when mine is. I just remember it was during cold weather."

"I, personally, have not celebrated my birthday since... maybe the 1100s. Niklaus, well, he enjoys being revered. It wasn't really his birthday that day, he just decided it would be, for the sake of the party. My siblings and I don't remember our birthdays anymore, either. With so many years having passed, it's not important to keep counting. If we care to try and remember how old we are, we can do simple mathematics. We all know what year we were born in."

Esmeray pursed her lips, looking up as he brought her a glass of water as he sat beside her, with some bourbon in his glass. "What happened with Katherine? Alaric doesn't seem to know very much about her."

"She was supposed to be the doppelgänger in the ritual. Niklaus would have attained full hybrid status long ago, if it had worked. I had found a way to save her, so that she would not die, and yet, she ran away, became a vampire, and she has been running from the two of us since then. Five hundred years. They believed her to be dead in the 1860s... the reason they searched the tomb where you were found is because they thought her to be there. Instead, they went deeper into the tunnels and found you near a cave."

"How were you going to save her?"

"An elixir believed to have powers of resuscitation. I had learned, that same year, of the legend speaking of your existence. There was a singular parchment that seemed to hint at the fact that you might be real. I thought it was merely a joke... I told Niklaus and we had a good laugh... until I began to investigate and realized there might be some truth to the story. It was very simple, it spoke of a burial and a preservation. There were no details about when this occurred or where. I admit, it was my fault Niklaus ever found out and began to search for you. I convinced him to stop after Katerina escaped... it was pointless, there was no longer a human doppelgänger to be used. He grew angry, and he forgot, but over the years, I did find several hints that made me wonder... Many supernaturals have heard the legend- I ensured it, because I thought someone might find you. But after nearly five hundred years, even the werewolves could not locate you. Niklaus gave up. It wasn't until Katerina told me, that I realized... you had existed all along."

"Well, that must mean the Lockwoods are descended from the BasRoq, distantly. I suspect Tyler Lockwood has some North East Atlantic Pack blood, too, if he lives here."

Elijah raised his eyebrow. "Tell me, Esmeray, what do you know about werewolf bites? In particular, their effects on vampires?"

"I do know they're deadly, and there's no cure."

"My brother and I know this is not true. In fact, my brother's blood can cure any werewolf bite."

Esmeray frowned. "Well, I don't think that's true."

Elijah blinked, surprised she was countering him. "Pardon me?"

"I believe the part about there being a cure. And about it being your brother's blood. But I don't think that's true for everywerewolf bite. One of the reasons the Poldarks remained separate was because of the venom. There are seven original Packs and therefore, seven original distinct strains of wolf venom. As the packs went on mixing, the strains of venom became less pure. After Mikael tore apart half of Ansel's Pack, the survivors broke off and married into the other five Packs, minus the Poldark because in that time, they still didn't mix. I'm pretty sure that by now, there aren't any pure Poldarks left.

"After a thousand years of relationships, I expect there are few werewolves that are purely from one of the packs. Maybe at most, five for each of the seven packs, or less. Everyone else's venom is mixed from multiple ancestors of the different packs. If it is true that werewolves are more scarce now than they were in our time, before... then more than half of the existing werewolves have at least a drop of North East Atlantic blood in them, and that contributes to their venom. Any wolf that has slight Atlantic blood will have a bite that can be cured by Niklaus. But those of us from a pure line will have kept our specific venom. I believe... Niklaus can heal almost any wolf bite. But if I were to bite... Damon, let's say... he wouldn't be able to heal him. My venom is entirely different. Even if there is only one pure member left for each Pack... one Crescent, one BasRoq, one Deep Water, one Malroux, and one Paxon... those would contribute, alongside me, to six different bites that your brother could never hope to heal."

The Original was staring at her intently, as if not knowing what to say. He drew a careful sip of his bourbon before offering her the glass. She shook her head, and he made to finish the rest of it. "You are intelligent," he told her. "And that doesn't come from any knowledge you gained in the past days. You theorized that based solely on what you learned of your history."

Esmeray felt her cheeks turn pink. "It's just... logic, in a sense. I- ouch." She flinched, one of her eyes twitching slightly, her hand coming up to hold her temple.

He sat up immediately, eyes scanning rapidly over her face. "What is it?"

"Someone has died," she mused, wincing slightly.

Elijah set his glass down immediately. "Don't tell me you're able to sense death amongst the population, as well."

"No, not amongst the entire population... I'd be in pain every few seconds. The people whose memories I've taken in. Someone recent... anyone in the past would have been dead ages ago. The nurse, the employee, the Professors, Alaric. There was a sting. Some of the memories feel... faded in a sense. But I can't tell which ones. I just know that one of those people has died. There was a shift in my connection with them. It's difficult to explain. There is a certain echo of a connection between myself and the people who gave me their knowledge."

"It's Alaric," said Elijah, jumping to his feet. "I highly doubt that the others were anywhere near mortal peril. Something has certainly happened to him. Stay here, do not open the door to anyone."

He sped off, and Esmeray was left to stare at the door, which had slammed shut as he exited.

She didn't know what to do in the meantime. There was no television in the apartment, since Elijah didn't seem to find interest in watching existing programs. Esmeray occupied herself with looking at all the books he had in his collection. This seemed to be only a recently acquired fraction- surely he'd read nearly every book ever written. Her curiosity itched at her entire body, making her wonder what was going on in Mystic Falls. What if this was a trap to hurt Elijah?

It seemed it wasn't. He returned with his shirt splattered in blood, but he was otherwise unharmed. He had a handkerchief in his hands working to clean off his fingers as if he'd merely eaten a greasy steak and not killed someone.

"All is well," he told her.

Esmeray sped to his side, a concerned look on her face. "What happened?"

He pursed his lips. "Several of the werewolves attempted to kill Damon to acquire this." He extracted the moonstone. "Of course, they had no idea that it was in my possession."

"And you protected him to honor your deal with Elena," she deduced.

"Precisely." He set the moonstone down on the table beside her. "Here. You have the rest of the night to begin working on the spell for the ritual. I will have my witches check your work."

She took the stone and ran her fingers gently over it. "Why are they helping you?" she asked curiously. "You are giving me knowledge. What do they gain?"

"For centuries, my brother Niklaus has forced witches to aid him in finding out how to perform this ritual without the doppelgänger. This, of course, is impossible. Though your presence does not require the doppelgänger to die, their blood is still necessary. Many witches have died after failing to provide him with a solution. Jonas Martin's daughter, Greta, is the current witch that's at Niklaus's beck and call. If we manage to kill him, she will be free to return to her family."

Esmeray moved to sit at the table in the kitchen. "Elijah... he has to come here for the unbinding to occur. What if he does something?"

"I will handle Niklaus," he promised, grabbing a new shirt for himself, as well as a coat. "Stay here, work on the spell. I will return later."

She furrowed her brows. "Where are you going?"

"Out." He tucked the fresh clothes under his arm and walked out the door.

Esmeray was left alone once more, and she wondered whether it was customary for Originals to be so damn vague.