Chapter 19

Elena, my dad, and I were walking through the tunnel in the Lockwood cellar. We were looking for these ancient drawings that my dad found last night.

"So, the Lockwoods really have no idea that these tunnels are underneath their property?" Elena asked shining a light up at the top of the tunnel. I turned towards her, and she shined the light in my eyes.

"Sorry!" "It's okay." I said rubbing my eyes.

"But careful where you shine that thing. Bats hate the light."

"Wait what?" She asked a little scared. I smirked and turned around only to find Damon standing there. I yelped out and jumped from fright.

"Damon!" I yelled smacking his arm.

"Don't do that!" "Scaredy-cat!" He said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes and looked at my dad.

"Just ignore him. That's what I do." He said causing Damon to roll his eyes.

"So, you really can't get in?" I asked Damon.

"No. Seems even the ancient Lockwoods were anti-vampire." He said annoyed.

"What do you mean, ancient?" Elena asked walking up to my side.

"See for yourself." He said gesturing forward. Elena and I walked further into the tunnels and shined our flashlights towards the walls.

"Well, this is as far as I get to go." Damon said putting his hand on the invisible barrier.

"What is all this?" Elena asked. I looked up at all the white drawings.

"Well, as far as I can tell, it's a story. In simple, archaeological terms, it's a really, really old story." My dad explained. He pointed to a symbol on the wall.

"That right there, is the moon cycle." He pointed to another one.

"A man, a wolf."

"A werewolf." I said looking at the drawing.

"Yeah, it's the 'Lockwood Diaries: Pictionary-Style." Damon said.

"I don't understand. I thought the Lockwoods came here with the Original Founders in the 1860s." Elena said.

"I don't know. Maybe the Lockwoods did, but according to this wall, these werewolves have been here a lot longer than that." My dad said.

"How long?" I asked.

"Long. It gets better. Show them, Ric." Damon said causing me to look at him confused. I turned to my dad and he pointed to the flashlight to letter engraved into the walls.

"Names. They're not native. They're written in Runic, a Viking script." He said.

"Vikings?" Elena asked, with the same reaction as me.

"This name here, I translated it and it reads Niklaus." My dad said pointing to one of the names.

"Klaus." I said shocked. "And Elijah.and Rebekah." My dad said causing Elena and Damon to look at each other. I furrowed my brows in confusion. I shook it off and looked at the rest of the names on the wall.

"These are the names of the Original Family?" I asked.

"Carved into a cave that's been here since way before the founding of Mystic Falls. Or even the entire New World, for that matter." My dad told us.

"Okay, this has gotta be one of Klaus's fakes." Elena said denying all of this.

"That's what I said." Damon said.

"That could be true, except the last name up here made us think otherwise." My dad said. I looked at him waiting for him to say the name.

"What's the name?" I asked.

"Mikael." My dad said. My eyes widened.

"Mikael.Mikael, as in, the vampire hunter who knows how to kill Klaus?" I asked.

"Yep. I now like to call him 'Papa Original'." Damon said with a smirk. We were at my house. My dad and I were looking at the photos he took on his desk, while Damon was helping Elena with her combat training.

"These images tell a story ... to learn the story, you have to decipher these images." My dad said.

"Sloppy!" I heard Damon say. I turned around to see Elena grab the stake from Damon.

"Shut up! I'm new at this." She said out of breath.

"Ghost of Christmas Past 'Mason Lockwood set up the cave and led us to a weapon that can kill Klaus." Damon said.

"Yeah, but doesn't Mikael have a weapon?" I asked.

"Yes. Which probably means the wall will lead us to Mikael, who we have already found ... and lost." Damon said taking the stake from Elena.

"Bang! You're dead!" He went in to nibble on Elena's neck. She pushed him away playfully.

"Here." I asked Damon for the stake. He handed it to me.

"Elena, watch and learn." I looked at Damon and smirked.

"Okay, you think you can take me down?" He asked.

"I've done it before." I told him tossing the stake in my hand up and down. I, then, threw it at him, knowing he'd catch it easily, which he did. He smirked.

"Is that all you got?" He asked. He vamp-sped towards me and held me against the wall, holding one of my arms above my head.

"Looks like I beat you this time, witch." I cleared my throat and looked down.

"You sure about that?" I asked. He looked down and saw the stake I had in my back pocket, which was being pointed right to his heart. He looked back up at me surprised. I pushed him off of me and smiled. I turned to Elena, who looked at me shocked.

"It will all come with practice." I told her. She nodded and sighed.

"These images at the very least might tell us what that weapon is." My dad said not paying attention to what just happened.

"Then all we have to do is find out what they mean." I told him. Elena nodded.

"And that shouldn't be too hard." Elena said. "Fine! Fine! If I am being irritatingly optimistic like you there ... how do you suppose we do that?" Damon asked moving towards us.

"Well, if the story is about the Original Family living here, then we go straight to the source!" i told them.

"No." My dad said immediately.

"I'm doing it." I said grabbing my bag and the picture of Rebekah's name on the wall.

"Don't worry. I'll be careful. As always." I said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

**time skip**

I was at the high school, by the football field. I saw the cheerleaders practice and sighed when I saw Rebekah stretching with them. I walked over to her.

"Hello Myra. Fancy seeing you here." She said straightening up.

"I was hoping we could talk." I said looking around us.

"About what? 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." She said. I sighed.

"Actually, I'd rather talk about this." I said holding up the photo of Rebekah's name written on the cave wall.

"I'm curious why you and Klaus have spent a thousand years running from your father. "

She seemed frazzled, but she quickly shook it off.

" I should get back to the girls. Homecoming's right around the corner. "She turned to leave.

" Well then, maybe I'll ask Mikael when we wake him. "I said causing her to turn around.

" You're bluffing! You don't know where he is. No one does. "She said with a smile.

" So, then who's rotting in that old cemetery in Charlotte? "I asked her causing her eyes to widen. She moved towards me.

" If you wake Mikael, we are all doomed! "She said nervously.

" So then, tell me. "I told her.

" Why do you want to know? "She asked.

" Why don't you want me to wake him? "I asked crossing my arms.

" I need to get back to the girls. "She said turning around and walking back towards the other cheerleaders.

" She's going to tell me. She's scared of him, Damon. I saw her face. I just have to engage in a little 'mean girl' power struggle first. "I told Damon, whom I was talking to outside of my house.

" Well, make sure she doesn't power struggle you into a wheelchair. "He said concerned.

"I've got this, Damon. If we can figure out a way to kill Klaus, Stefan will be free of his compulsion. So ... how does he look? "I asked referring to Stefan.

" Mmm..pasty and pouty. "He said.

" He'll have to get over it. Call me later. "I told him hanging up the phone. I walked inside to find my dad and Elena looking at the pictures.

" Rebekah will come around. "

"You're sure about that? I mean a thousand-year-old vampire, I'm sure, has learned the art of patience." My dad said.

"I've known Rebekah for the length of a fruit fly's life and I know she is probably the most stubborn and impatient person ever." I told them. Just then my phone buzzed. It was a text message, from Rebekah.

"Come over for a chat. Rebekah." I said reading the text. I smirked at him while Elena chuckled. I grabbed my purse and made my way to the Boarding House. When I arrived, I walked into the house and heard music. Rebekah was walking into the foyer with champagne glasses.

"Hey! What's up?" She said cheerfully.

"You invited me over? To talk?" I asked walking towards her.

"All right girls, have at it!" She said. Just then, six girls in different dresses walked into the room.

"Okay, now twirl please." The girls twirled around, showing off the dresses.

"You compelled your own private runway show?" I asked crossing my arms.

"I need a Homecoming dress. So, what do you think? Pick one." She asked. I sighed.

"The red one. Now, can we talk about why you don't want me to wake up Mikael?" I asked her.

"Go away. Remember nothing." She said to the girls. The girls left, and Rebekah picked up her champagne glass and walked towards me.

"Let's go." She walked past me and up the stairs. I sighed and followed her, until she opened the door to Stefan's room and entered.

"How fun is this ...?" She started opening drawers.

"We shouldn't be here .." I told her walking past the threshold of the door.

"Of course we should! Come on, like you've never wanted to snoop." She held up a pair of his underwear.

"Boxer briefs. A lot has changed since the twenties."

"Are you gonna root through his stuff all night or are you gonna start to tell me your story?" I asked her.

"Ah ... you really are no fun. What do you want to know?" She asked.

"How did you and your family end up here?" I asked sitting on the bed.

"My parents had just started a family, when a plague struck their homeland. They lost a child to it. They wanted to escape and protect their future family from the same fate." She answered still going through his stuff.

"So, how did you end up here? This part of the world hadn't even been discovered yet." I asked her.

"Not by anyone in your history books." She said with a laugh.

"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 lead my family here, where we lived amongst those people."

"The werewolves." I said in realization.

"To us, they were just our neighbors. My family lived in peace with them for over 20 years, during which time my family had more children, including me." She explained.

"You make it sound so normal." I said.

"It was." She said with a sigh.

"Once a month our family retreated into 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 .. "She then started explaining the story about how their youngest sibling, Henrik, died by an attack of the werewolves.

"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." Just then, my phone started to vibrate.

"You better get that. That'll be someone checking up on you." She said. I sighed and walked out of the room, answering the phone.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey!" Damon answered. I could hear loud music in the background.

"Damon, where are you?" I asked him.

"No idea, but I'm pretty sure I'm overdressed ... How's it going with Rebekah?" He asked.

"Good, so far, but I can't talk right now." I told him.

"I'll be at the bar." My eyes widened at the sound of Stefan's voice.

"Is that Stefan?" I asked angrily.

"Yeah, I kinda went off a bit. Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." He said.

"Damon! How could you let him out?" I yelled angrily.

"I got this, Myra." He said hanging up. I sighed and went back into the room. Rebekah was lying on the bed, going through one of Stefan's diaries.

"Did you get your fill of snooping yet? Can we get on with the story?" I asked her. Rebekah got up. She picked up a photo of Elena and Stefan from a table.

"Honestly, I don't get those two as a couple." She said causing me to sigh.

"Neither do I." I told her.

"You love him don't you?" She said. I looked at her and nodded.

"Well, I felt like you did once."

"Yeah I know." I said with a sigh. I looked around the room and it just reminded me of Stefan and how he doesn't care about anything or anyone.

"You know what, I'm just gonna go." I walked towards the door.

"You haven't even heard half the story." She said causing me to turn to her.

"And you are 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." I said starting to leave.

"The necklace wasn't Stefan's to give. It belonged to the Original Witch." She said causing me to turn again.

"The one who put the hybrid curse on Klaus?" I asked.

"Not just the hybrid curse. She's the one who turned us into vampires." She told me. She explained to me that her parents were afraid of loosing their children, so they wanted a way to protect them.

"I'm thirsty. Do you want a drink?" She walked out of the room and down the stairs, with me behind her.

"So, vampirism was a form of protection?" I asked her.

"What else would it be?" She asked.

"A curse." I said.

"My parents only saw a way of keeping their children alive." She explained.

"Yeah, but why stay, if they were so afraid of the werewolves? Why not ... leave?" I asked confused.

"Pride..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 ... "She explained.

She then told me how Ayana wouldn't do the spell, and how it was all in her mother's hands.

"In her hands? How could she do anything?" I asked confused.

"Because my mother was also a witch." Rebekah said. I stopped in my tracks.

"What?" I asked shocked. She turned to me.

"The witch of the Original Family. The Original Witch?" She explained. My eyes widened. She walked into the library.

"Where do they keep their best vintage?" I joined her in the library.

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

"Am I? 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. " She continued.

"How did you turn?" I asked.

"She called upon the sun for life, and the ancient white oak tree, one of nature's eternal objects, for immortality. That night, my father offered us wine laced with blood. And then he drove his sword through our hearts." She said, remembering the moment.

"He killed you?" I asked shocked.

"And he wasn't delicate about it either." She said taking a bottle of wine. She broke its neck off with one motion and threw it into the fireplace. She then explained the story of their transformation, how their father made them drink human blood.

"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. 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 consequence 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?" I asked.

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

"My mother had had an affair with one of the werewolf villagers. Klaus wasn't his son. She tried to make it right. She put the hybrid curse on Nik to suppress his werewolf side, and then she turned her back on him. But Mikael's greatest weakness as a human was his pride. 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? "I asked stunned.

" He said she broke his heart so he would break hers. He tore it from her chest as Nik watched. "She paused.

" 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.

"We said we would stick together as one. Always and forever."

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

"We're vampires. Our emotions are heightened. 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. " She said with a sigh.

"But you still love him?" I asked. Hearing everything wrong Klaus has done to his family makes me wonder why they still love him.

"He's my brother. And I'm immortal. Should I spend an eternity alone instead?" She paused as a tear slipped from her eye.

"Rebekah." I said moving towards her.

"You've heard the story, it's time to go." She said.

"I said leave, Myra! 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." I told her.

"And I've given you a thousand! But you will anyway. I know you want him to help you kill my brother, I'm not stupid." She said.

"He has a hold over Stefan's life, Elena's life." I told her.

"Do what you need. Wake Mikael at your own peril. But make no mistake, if you come after my brother, I will rip you apart. And I get my temper from my father. Now leave!"

**time skip*

I went back to the caves, with my dad, Elena, and Bonnie.

"We, uh, filled in what we could. A Vampire, werewolf, slaughter, mayhem, etc." My dad said.

"That's the white oak tree that was used in the spell to create the vampires ... which means that was when they burned down the tree, destroying the only way that they could be killed." I said pointing to the tree symbol.

"Okay. So tree equals weapon, sort of. We already knew that. What we are not sure about is this: we've got the witch symbol, and what looks like a bleeding heart. Upside down figures usually signified death, of some kind. " Elena explained.

"Mikael killed the witch by ripping out her heart. But ... why is that one connected to the witch's death?" I asked pointing to the hybrid symbol.

"We don't know. We haven't gotten that far." Bonnie said. I looked at it a little closer, and my eyes widened when I figured out what it was.

"Oh my god ... Rebekah doesn't know the real story." I said.

"Mikael didn't kill their mother. Klaus did."

I walked back into the Boarding House and found Rebekah pouring herself a glass of scotch.

"I thought I told you to leave. Twice." Rebekah said looking at me.

"How do you know that Mikael killed your mother?" I asked her.

"Nik was there. He told me." She explained.

"He lied to you." I told her.

"And how do you know that?" She asked crossing her arms.

"The cave where you carved your family's names is covered in symbols." I showed Rebekah the photos of the cave walls.

"The story of your family: how your parents arrived, how they made peace, the spell that turned them into vampires, and this. This is the symbol for hybrid. It's a combination of the werewolf and the vampire symbol. And this is the one for your mother. "

" Her necklace. "She said shocked.

" And this is the story of her death. The hybrid killed the Original Witch. Not Mikael. Klaus. "I said showing her the pictures.

" No! No, he wouldn't. "She said in denial." She put the curse on him, 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 ... 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. "I explained.

" These mean nothing! They're just stupid drawings, done by stupid people who had no idea who my family was! "Rebekah took the photos from me, and tore them to piece before throwing them into the burning fireplace.

" Then why are you so upset? " I asked her.

"Why are you doing this to me? I've done nothing to you! "She said with tears coming from her eyes.

" Klaus killed your mother. He has a hold on you, on me, on everyone. He has for a thousand years. We have to make it stop! "I told her. She then grabbed me by the throat and vamped out, pushing me against the wall. I struggled to breath.

" Shut up! Shut up! Don't talk anymore! Nothing! "She yelled. I gave her an aneurysm, which caused her to let go of me as she groaned in pain. I put some distance between us before stopping the spell. Rebekah fell to her knees and sobbed. I looked at her sadly and guiltily.

**time skip**

I felt bad for Rebekah because I dropped that bomb on her about Klaus killing their mother. I stayed at the Boarding House for a while and comforted her. She was laying in her bed while I sat in one of the chairs.

"Why are you being so nice to me? My brother kidnapped you and turned off Stefan's humanity." She said wiping her tears.

"Exactly, you're brother. Not you. From what I recall, you weren't actually a terrible person towards me. Just Klaus. And I know he's your brother, and you love him, but from what I see, he doesn 't treat you with the love and respect you deserve, Rebekah. " I looked down at my phone. It was really late.

"I should probably go. My dad's probably worried sick."

"Yeah." She said getting comfortable in the bed. I smiled and grabbed my bag, heading towards the door.

"Myra ..." I turned back to her.

"Thank you. I don't really have many friends, so this means a lot." I nodded and gave her a smile before walking out of her room, closing the door behind me. I walked down the stairs and down the hall, and when I turned the corner, I bumped into something, rather someone. I looked up and saw Stefan.

"Hello there." He said with a smile.

"What do you want?" I asked slinging my bag over my shoulder.

"You know, that stunt you pulled with Lexi, I didn't like it." He said looking at me.

"Well I did what I thought I needed to do to save you. So I don't care whether you liked it or not." I said waking past him. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back, so I was in front of him.

"Stefan.please, not now. I'm tired. Can we do this another time?" I asked him looking at him.

"Fine. But what I really wanted to tell you was that we found Mikael." I looked at him surprised.

"And he's gonna help us kill Klaus."

"Wait..Klaus will be dead? Gone?" I asked him He nodded. I scoffed happily.

"This is great."

"Yeah because then Klaus will be dead and his compulsion will wear off right? And then I'll go back to the normal old brooding Stefan who's in love with you right?" He said.

"What?" I asked looking up at him in shock.

"Yeah. But if I feel something, anything ... I'll feel everything." He said looking at me.

"So I can't." Before I could say anything, he flashed away.

I looked around and saw he was nowhere to be found. I sighed and walked towards my car. I got in and drove home.