08. Ordinary People

Lily sat on her bed, her back against the headboard, re-reading her parents letter to her, she has lost count on how many times she has read this letter, by now every word has been tattooed into her brain but despite that Lily kept reading the letter over and over again, she just wasn't ready to put the letter away just yet.

Caroline stood at her sister's door frame, she sighed seeing Lily still reading her parents letter, she hated the blank look on her sister's face, she wanted the sarcastic, angry, impulsive Lily back, she just wanted her sister back.

"I coming bearing an order from Rebekah" Caroline announced, composing herself and entering her sister's room.

"Not interested" Lily told her sister.

"Well, get interested Lily because Rebekah has threatened to come here and drag you to school in your pajamas if you don't come to school before the first period ends" Caroline informed.

"I'd like to see her try" Lily said.

Caroline sighed, she sat on the edge of Lily's bed and grabbed her sister's hand in hers, "Lils, I know you're hurting and I also know that none of us can even start to comprehend what you're feeling, but trapping yourself in the house, it's not going to make the pain go away, the more you think about them, the more it will hurt, so come to school, even if it's for a few hours, distract yourself with helping Rebekah with cheer".

Lily finally looked up at her sister, "I thought you hated Rebekah".

"Oh, I still do hate Rebekah" Caroline clarified, "But, I saw the way she was worried for you when you went missing, only a good and true friend would be that worried".

"My mom, my biological mom, she wants me to give the originals a chance" Lily informed, "I know you all hate the originals, but my fate is tied to them, it's tied to Klaus, I can't hate them Caroline, not unless they give me a reason".

"I understand" Caroline said, "As much as I would like to hide you from the originals, I know you can take care of yourself, I won't stop you from getting to know the originals, from getting to know Klaus, I just hope you understand that if you do get to know Klaus and his family, everyone else will stop trusting you, they just won't understand Lily".

"I don't care about what everyone else thinks, I never have, what I really care about is what you think" Lily said, "Will you stop trusting me?".

"Absolutely not" Caroline said, "You're my sister Lily, I will always trust you, but at the same time there will be times when we will argue because I'm scared for you but it's only because I love you and I worry about you".

Lily gave her sister a small smile, "We will argue, we will fight, but we will always be there for each other, promise?".

"I know I'm an awful sister, but I promise I'll start doing better" Caroline promised, "I promise I will never leave your side, we will fight, we will disagree, but when you need your sister, you will always have her by your side".

Lily smiled at her sister, she then lunged forward and pulled her into a tight hug, Caroline smiled into the hug and gladly hugged her sister back.

Liz stood at the doorframe of Lily's room, tears in her eyes, watching both her daughters with a huge smile on her face.

***

"You came!" Rebekah yelled, running over to Lily in her cheer clothes.

"I had no choice, I received your threat" Lily said.

"Oh good, I was worried your sister wouldn't send my message across" Rebekah said, "Now come on, watch me be the best cheerleader this school has to offer".

"You realise that I'm not going to compliment you, right?" Lily asked, following Rebekah over to where the rest of the cheerleaders were practicing.

"Don't worry, I'll get a compliment out of you eventually" Rebekah teased.

"Keep on dreaming" Lily said, "Now come on, show me what you got".

Rebekah smirked, "Gladly".

Lily watched Rebekah stretch her arms over her head and then do three cartwheels in a row, once she ended her mini show she ended up face to face with Elena.

"You, goody" Rebekah said, clearly not happy coming face to face with Elena.

Lily groaned in annoyance seeing the doppelganger, "I did not agree for this" she complained, knowing all too well she was about see a power struggle between the original and doppelganger.

"I was hoping we could talk" Elena said.

"About what?" Rebekah asked, "Stefan? Don't worry I'm off him until he starts treating me better, in fact, you should probably take a page out of my book, if I'm being honest".

"Actually, I'd rather talk about this" Elena said, showing Rebekah a picture, which caught Lily's attention, who finally walked over to the two.

"What is that?" a curious Lily asked, while Rebekah looked visibly shocked, wondering how Elena got her hands on that.

"Rebekah's name that was carved in a cave below the Lockwood property" Elena informed Lily, she then turned back to Rebekah, "I'm curious as to why you and Klaus have spent a thousand years running from your father".

"Father?" a shocked Lily asked, "What father? Who father?".

"Mikael" Elena informed,

Lily looked at Rebekah, her eyes wide in disbelief, "Wait, the vampire hunter that Stefan was so curious about, is your father?".

Rebekah looked between Lily and Elena, "I should get back to the girls, homecoming's right around the corner" she finally said, indicating that she had no desire to talk about her father.

"Well, then maybe I'll ask Mikael when we wake him" Elena said, stopping Rebekah from walking away.

"You're bluffing, you don't know where he is, no one does" Rebekah stated, refusing to believe the doppelganger knew the location of her father.

"So then who's rotting in that old cemetery in Charlotte?" Elena asked, letting Rebekah know she was not bluffing.

A panicked Rebekah glared at Elena, "If you wake Mikael, we are all doomed".

"So them tell me" Elena insisted.

"Why do you wanna know?" a frustrated Rebekah asked.

"Why don't you want me to wake him?" Elena retorted.

Rebekah hesitated for a moment, "I need to get back to the girls" she finally said.

Once Rebekah walked away, Lily turned to the doppelganger, "You really want to wake up another original?" she asked, "Don't you have enough problems with the three you already know?".

"Mikael might know how to kill Klaus" Elena said.

"Elena, for once in your life use your brain, Klaus, the big bad hybrid, who is scared of nothing, has been on the run from Mikael for centuries, how could you ever think waking a guy who scares even the big bad hybrid will be a good idea?" Lily asked, "I know it's hard, but please for once in your life, be logical about this, don't add to your already many problems".

***

After receiving a text from Rebekah, Elena entered the Salvatore Boarding House and immediately she was confused hearing the loud music and Rebekah standing in the middle of the room with a bottle of champagne in hand.

"Hey, what's up?" Rebekah greeted, after seeing Elena.

"You invited me over, to talk" Elena reminded.

Rebekah ignored Elena, "All right girls, have it".

Elena watched in confusion as five compelled girls entered the room, all wearing different homecoming dresses.

"Okay, now twirl please" Rebekah instructed.

"You compelled your own private runaway show?" a slightly amused Elena asked.

"I need a homecoming dress and I couldn't ask Lily, her fashion sense only consists of sweatpants, that reminds me I have to select a homecoming dress for her as well, anyways, what do you think?" Rebekah asked, "Pick one".

Elena scoffed, "I'm not here to help you shop, I'm here to talk about why you don't want me to wake up Mikael".

Rebekah glared at Elena and suddenly she speeded behind a compelled girl and got her fangs out to bite her, she looked at Elena with veins under her eyes, "I said pick one, Elena".

"The red one" a furious Elena finally said.

"There" Rebekah said, letting go of the girl, "That wasn't so hard, was it?", as Elena glared at Rebekah, she turned to the five compelled girls, "Go away, remember nothing", after grabbing her glass of champagne, Rebekah walked over to a slightly scared Elena, "You do not threaten me, you will learn what I allow you to learn, is that clear?".

"You are one scary vampire, anyone tell you that?".

Rebekah and Elena turned around and both of them saw Lily standing there.

"What are you doing here, Lily?" a confused Elena asked.

"I was told secrets of the original family is being spilled today and I knew I couldn't miss it" Lily said, "Granted I was hoping Klaus would tell me but since his busy vacationing in Portland, his sister will do".

"How do you know where Klaus is?" Elena asked, narrowing her eyes at the Forbes werewolf, wondering exactly how close were Klaus and Lily.

"I'm sidekick" Lily replied, not telling Elena that Klaus told her.

"What?!" a shocked Elena asked.

Rebekah chuckled seeing Elena's shocked face, "Honestly do you believe everything people tell you?" she asked Elena, while handing Lily a glass of champagne.

"Alright, now that I have my alcohol, shall we start story time?" Lily asked.

***

"How fun is this?" Rebekah asked, as the trio entered Stefan's room and she started snooping around while Elena and Lily stayed by the door.

"We shouldn't be here" Elena stated.

"Can't believe I'm agreeing with her, but she's right" Lily said, "This is violating Stefan's privacy".

"Oh relax, Lily" Rebekah said, opening a drawer, "Come on, like neither of you never wanted to snoop?", she turned and showed the two girls the boxer briefs in her hands, "Boxer briefs, now that's a change from the 20s".

"Are you gonna root through his stuff all night, or are you gonna start to tell me your story?" an annoyed Elena asked, as Rebekah put the briefs back and shut the drawer.

"Ugh, you really are no fun" Rebekah complained, "What do you want to know?".

"Well, Elijah said that your father was a landowner in Europe" Elena remembered, "How did you guys end up here?".

"My parents had just started a family when a plague struck their homeland" Rebekah informed, going through Stefan's things, "They lost a child to it, they wanted to escape and protect their future family from the same fate".

"So then how the hell did you guys come to Mystic Falls?" a curious Lily asked.

"Yeah, this part of the world hadn't even been discovered yet" Elena added.

Rebekah chuckled, "Not by anyone in your history books, but my mother knew the witch Ayana, who heard from the spirits of a mystical land where everyone was healthy, blessed by the gifts of speed and strength, that led my family here, where we lived amongst those people".

"The werewolves, right?" Lily asked, remembering everything Klaus told her.

"To us, they were just our neighbors" Rebekah clarified, "My family lived in peace with them for over twenty years during which time my family had more children, including me".

"You make it sound so normal" Elena observed.

"It was" Rebekah reminisced, "Once a month, our family retreated to the caves beneath our village, the wolves would howl through the night, and by morning we'd return home, one full moon, Klaus and my youngest brother, Henrik, snuck out to watch the men turn into beasts, that was forbidden, Henrik paid the price, and that was the beginning of the end of peace with our neighbors, and one of the last moments my family had together as humans".

Lily's heart hurt hearing that Klaus had seen Henrik die, she couldn't imagine watching her sister die, just the thought made chills go down her spine, she didn't even want to imagine what Klaus might have gone through.

Lily's was broken out of her chain of thoughts when Elena's phone started buzzing.

"You better get that, that'll be Damon checking up on you" Rebekah told Elena.

While Elena walked out of the room to talk to Damon, Lily turned to Rebekah.

"Can you do me a favor?" Lily asked the original, who looked at her in confusion, "Don't tell Elena about what Ayana did, about my fate being tied to your family, to Klaus, I'd rather that stay between your family and mine, no need to involve people who have no business knowing".

Rebekah nodded her head in agreement, "Don't worry, I wasn't going to tell about that anyways, don't trust her to not use you against Nik" she said, making Lily give her a grateful smile.

***

Rebekah laid on Stefan's bed, reading his journal, while Elena sat on a chair, and Lily stood by the window watching the sunset.

"Did you get your fill on snooping yet?" an annoyed Elena asked Rebekah, "Can we get on with the story?".

Rebekah shut Stefan's journal and stood up from the bed, she walked over to the table to grab another journal, when her eyes landed on a photo of Elena and Stefan.

"Honestly, I don't get you two as a couple" Rebekah told Elena, picking the photo frame up.

"Why would you?" Elena asked, "You don't know anything about who he really is".

Rebekah smiled, she put the photo frame back down and leaned over Elena, "I know exactly who he is" she said, "He's a vampire, we're a predatory species, we don't have time to care about humans and their silly little lives".

"Is that why you did that runaway show earlier?" Elena asked, making the smile fall from Rebekah's face, "Because you don't care about the homecoming dance?", Rebekah straightened herself, "You know what? I'm just gonna go", Elena stood up and turned to leave.

"You haven't even heard half the story" Rebekah said, stopping Elena.

Elena turned to face Rebekah, "And you're not going to tell it, you're just bored and looking for someone to push around, find someone else to play with, maybe you can compel yourself a friend".

"She doesn't need to compel herself a friend Elena, she already has one" Lily snapped, finally taking her eyes off the sunset and glaring at the doppelganger.

"You're seriously friends with her?" an annoyed Elena asked.

"I could do a lot worse Elena, I could become friends with you" Lily taunted.

Rebekah chuckled hearing Lily while Elena glared at the Forbes girl, anger and hatred evident in her eyes.

"The necklace wasn't Stefan's to give" Rebekah informed Elena, finally breaking her and Lily's glaring competition, "It belong to the original witch".

Elena looked at Rebekah in confusion, "The one who put the hybrid curse on Klaus?".

"Not just the hybrid curse" Rebekah clarified, "She's the one who turned us into vampires".

***

The three girls walked down the stairs.

"So vampirism was a form of protection?" a shocked Elena asked, once Rebekah finished telling her and Lily about the conversation between her father, mother and Ayana, a conversation she eavesdropped on.

"What else would it be?" Rebekah asked.

"A curse" Elena replied, causing Lily to roll her eyes.

"My parents only saw a way of keeping their children alive" Rebekah defended.

"Yeah, but why stay?" a confused Elena asked, "If they were so afraid of the werewolves, why not leave?".

"Pride" Rebekah replied, "My father didn't want to run anymore, he wanted to fight, and be superior to the wolves, where they could bite, we had to bite harder, where they had speed, we had to be faster, agility, strength, senses".

Rebekah then proceeded to tell Elena and Lily how Ayana refused to help her parents, causing her father to turn to her mother.

"In her hands?" a confused Elena asked, "How could she do anything?".

"Because my mother was also a witch" Rebekah revealed.

"What?" a shocked Elena asked.

"Oh my god" Lily whispered, finally putting the pieces together.

"The witch of the original family" Rebekah said, confirming Lily's doubt, "The original witch".

"Wait, that means Klaus's own mother cursed him?" a shocked Lily asked, Rebekah nodded her head in confirmation, for a moment Lily just stood there in shock, wondering how and why would a mother do that to their own child.

"Where do they keep their best vintage?" Rebekah asked, as the girls entered the Salvatore's library.

"But if your mother was a witch then--".

"Am I?" Rebekah finished Elena's question, "No, a witch is nature's servant, a vampire is an abomination of nature, you can either be one or the other, never both, my mother did this for us, she did not turn".

"And how exactly did she turn you guys into vampires?" a curious Lily asked.

"She called upon the sun for life and the ancient white oak tree one of nature's eternal objects, for immortality" Rebekah explained, a distant look forming on her face, "That night, my father offered us wine laced with blood, and then he drove his sword through our hearts".

"He killed you?" a shocked Elena asked, while Lily just stood there, all this information causing her to look at the originals in a whole new different light.

"And he wasn't delicate about it, either" Rebekah informed, with tears building in her eyes as she remembered the night that changed her life forever, "We had to drink more blood to complete the ritual, it was euphoric, the feeling of power was indescribable, but the witch Ayana was right about the consequences, the spirits turned on us and nature fought back, for every strength, there would be a weakness, the sun became our enemy, it kept us indoors for weeks, and though my mother found a solution there were other problems, neighbors who had opened their homes to us could now keep us out, the flowers at the base of the white oak burned and prevented compulsion, and the spell decreed that the tree that gave us life could also take it away, so we burned it to the ground, but the darkest consequences was something my parents never anticipated, the hunger, blood had made us reborn and it was blood that we craved above all else, we could not control it, and with that the predatory species was born".

***

"Why did Mikael start hunting Klaus?" a curious Elena asked, making Lily turn to Rebekah as well, this is something she's been dying to know.

"When Nik made his first human kill, it triggered his werewolf gene" Rebekah informed, "With that, he became my father's greatest shame".

"Yeah, Elijah told me this part of the story" Elena remembered, "Your mother had an affair with one of the werewolf villagers, Klaus wasn't his son".

"She tried to make it right" Rebekah said, "She put the hybrid curse on Nik to suppress his werewolf side and then she turned her back on him".

"Mother of the year" Lily taunted, hating the original's mother for what she did, she was the one who made the mistake yet she made her son pay the price for it.

"Mikael's greatest weakness as a human was his pride" Rebekah continued, "As a vampire, that was magnified, he went on a rampage and killed half the village, then he came home and killed her".

"Mikael killed your mother?" a shocked Elena asked.

"He said she broke his heart, so he would break hers" Rebekah replied, "He tore it from her chest as Nik watched, afterwards, my father took off in a rage and the rest of my family scattered, Nik stayed so he could help me bury her, he knew I had to say goodbye to my mother, me, Nik and Elijah promised to stay together as one, always and forever".

"Always and forever, even though he locked you in a coffin for ninety years?" Elena asked.

"We're vampires, our emotions are heightened" Rebekah retorted, "I'm stubborn, Elijah moral, and Nik, Nik has no tolerance for those who disappoint him, over a thousand years as a family, we've all made that mistake at least once, I've made it several times".

"But you still love him?" Elena asked, not knowing how could Rebekah love someone like Klaus.

"He's family Elena" Lily said, before Rebekah could say anything, "No more how complicated family is, you can't turn your back on them, you can't ever stop loving them".

Rebekah nodded her head at Lily's words, she then turned to Elena, "He's my brother, and I'm immortal, should I spend an eternity alone instead?", Elena gave Rebekah a sympathetic look, which immediately caused Rebekah to gather herself and hide her emotions from the doppelganger, the last thing she needed was her sympathy, "You've heard the story, now it's time to go", but Elena made no move in leaving, "I said leave Elena, I don't know what you're up to but I'm no longer playing along".

"I'm just looking for one good reason why we shouldn't wake Mikael" Elena said.

"Are you stupid?" Lily asked, glaring at the doppelganger, "She gave you so many reasons Elena, Mikael is hunting his own children, what makes you think a guy like that can ever be trustworthy?".

"I know you want him to help you kill my brother, I'm not stupid" Rebekah said, also glaring at Elena.

"It's no secret that I want Klaus dead" Elena snapped, "He has a hold over Stefan's life, and over mine".

"Do what you need, wake Mikael at your own peril" Rebekah said, "But make no mistake, if you come after your brother, I will rip you apart, and I get my temper from my father, now leave!".

***

"And pray do tell as to why you haven't left yet?" Rebekah asked Lily, while pouring herself a glass of bourbon.

Lily leaned at the entrance of the Salvatore living room and shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe because you haven't kicked me out yet".

Rebekah sighed, "I'm just as surprised as you as to why I haven't done that".

"Oh, I'm not surprised" Lily stated, "I know I've started to grow on you".

Rebekah playfully rolled her eyes at the werewolf, "I wouldn't go that far, Lily".

Lily chuckled, she then looked at the Rebekah, "Hey, um, can I ask you something?" she asked, "It's not about your family's history, it's about this witch Ayana and the spell she did".

"What about that spell?" a confused Rebekah.

"Well, why Klaus?" a confused Lily asked, "Why do you think she did this for Klaus?".

A small smile formed on Rebekah, "When we were human, Ayana was always there for Nik, she tried saving him from Mikael, when she couldn't she always made sure to be there to tend to his injuries, when we all turned into vampires, I think she feared that if Nik didn't have someone in his life, then he would drown himself in darkness, that's why Ayana did the spell on Nik, to save him from himself, to save all of us from the darkness".

Lily sighed, "I told Klaus this, and I'll tell you the same thing, I'm darkness, I can't stop the darkness from enveloping you when it's already taken over me".

Rebekah looked at Lily, "If that's the case, then you'll fight right into my family".

"I don't want to fit somewhere Rebekah, I want to belong" Lily whispered.

Rebekah gave Lily a small smile, "Who knows Lily, maybe you finally will find people who you belong with".

Lily smiled at Rebekah but before she could say anything, both her and Rebekah's attention towards the front door that opened and Elena entered the boarding house, a bunch of pictures in her hand.

"I thought I told you to leave, twice" Rebekah said, glaring at the doppelganger, done with her for the day.

"How do you know that Mikael killed your mother?" Elena asked, ignoring Rebekah's comment.

"Nik was there, he told me" Rebekah replied.

Elena let out a sigh, "He lied to you" she revealed, making both Lily and Rebekah give her confuse looks, both wondering what she was on about.

"And how do you know that?" Rebekah asked, not believing Elena's words.

"The cave where you carved your family's names is covered in symbols" Elena revealed, showing Rebekah the pictures she brought along, "The story of your family, how your parents arrived", Elena started placing the photos on the table one by one, "How they made peace, the spell that turned them into vampires, and this, this is the symbol for hybrid, it's the combination of the werewolf and the vampire symbol, and this is the one for your mother".

"Her necklace" Rebekah whispered, looking at the photo in shock.

Elena placed the last photo down, "And this is the story of her death, the hybrid killed the original witch, not Mikael, Klaus".

Rebekah shook her head in denial, "No" she said, "No, he wouldn't".

"She put the curse on him" Elena reminded, "Made it so that he would be the only one of his kind, and then she rejected him, with the werewolf gene comes aggression and violence", Lily frowned hearing Elena's words, "When he turned, all of that was heightened, he killed her Rebekah, and then he made up this entire lie about your father so that he wouldn't lose you".

Rebekah glared at Elena for a moment, "These mean nothing!" she finally yelled, she grabbed the pictures and walked over to the fireplace, "They're just stupid drawings done by stupid people who had no idea who my family was!", Rebekah threw the photos into the fireplace.

"Then why are you so upset?" Elena retorted.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Rebekah cried, "I've done nothing to you".

"Klaus killed your mother, he has a hold on you, on me, on everyone" Elena said, "He has for a thousand years, we have to make it stop".

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Rebekah yelled, wrapping her hand around Elena's throat and slamming her to the wall, her vampire face on display, "Don't talk anymore! Nothing!", for a moment both Elene and Rebekah stared at each other, while Lily quickly stood guard, ready to interfere if needed, but she realised she wouldn't have to as she watched Rebekah's normal face return, she then took a step back from Elena, and fell to the floor, sobbing.

Without wasting a second, Lily quickly kneeled down and pulled the devastated original into a hug.

Lily knew this new information was going to change Rebekah's whole perspective on Klaus and now she would gladly help kill Klaus and Lily didn't blame her but at the same time, she didn't blame Klaus either, having your own mother make you pay for the mistake she did, that couldn't have been a easy pill to swallow.

There was now two different teams forming, one that consisted of everyone, including his own sister and father, that wanted Klaus dead, the other team only had Klaus, and Lily wondered if it was bad of her wanting to be on team Klaus, wanting to see Klaus win from his father, who he has spent a thousand years fearing.

***

"I need advice" Lily said, barging into her sister's room.

"You really need to learn to knock" Caroline commented, laying on her bed, with her back up against the headboard, her phone in hand.

"Rebekah agreed to help Elena and the others in luring Klaus to Mystic Falls so Mikael could kill him" Lily revealed, ignoring her sister's comment.

"Yeah, I know" Caroline said, putting her phone on her side table, as Lily sat on her bed, legs crossed, facing her sister, "Elena called and informed".

"Care, I don't want Klaus to die" Lily blurted out.

Caroline sighed, she crossed her legs and turned her body towards her sister, "Lils, if you decide to help Klaus, you'll be going against everyone in this town, you realise that right?".

Lily sighed, "I know, that's why I came to you, I don't know what to do".

Caroline gave her sister a small smile, "I can't tell you what to do Lils, personally I want Klaus to die but like you said, your biological mother wants you to listen to your heart, not others opinion, when it comes to the originals, so, what does you heart want?".

"My heart wants to tell Klaus that his walking into a trap" Lily whispered.

"Then you should tell him" Caroline said, "But then you also better be prepared for the consequences".

"They'll be a lot, won't they?" Lily asked.

"They'll be a lot" Caroline confirmed.

Lily sighed and went into thinking mode, wondering if it was worth warning Klaus or not.

***

Presenting 2x08 of Fire & Flame!

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Lily and Caroline's promise to each other?

Thoughts on Rebekah revealing to Lily and Elena her family's history?

Thoughts on Lily hating Esther for what she did to Klaus?

Thoughts Lily wanting to warn Klaus about the threat to his life?