Another World

Three days later we were gathered at the clearing hours ahead of the time set by Klaus. Anna had come along with us and was wearing modern clothes. She had been rather dumbfounded when I had taken her to shop for new outfits. Marveling at the quality of the fabrics and low cost. She still had her sword buckled onto her hip however. 

Freya was pacing in circles, she had put up a temporary boundary spell to ward off any unwanted visitors. 

"This magic, it's very strange. I have never felt anything like it." 

"You didn't have any witches in Transylvania?" 

"None that I noticed, though Dracula was said to practice the dark arts." 

"Wasn't his castle hidden behind a mirror?"

"Yes," She tilted her head at me. "But how did you know that? Only Van Helsing and I, along with a monk, knew of its secret location."

"I-"

Before I could finish Freya answered for me. "Our dear Seth over here knows a great many things, though he isn't likely to share how he knows and will hide behind excuses."

I sighed. "It's not like I don't want to tell you, I just have no idea what kind of repercussions could occur should you learn what I know." 

"Oh come on what's the worst that could happen?"

Just then Klaus entered the clearing. "That is a question you do not want answered dear sister." 

"Niklaus, you're late."

"I had some, complications, with my doppelgänger." 

Two vampires blurred into the clearing dragging a man that looked a lot like Stefan Salvatore. I narrowed my eyes at the man, he had a heartbeat. Something Stefan no longer had. 

"Where did you come by this doppelgänger?"

Klaus smirked. "I knew of the Salvatore brothers, so imagine my surprise when my men found Mr. Avery here while traveling through Georgia." 

Stefan's doppelgänger looked around the clearing at us. He seemed like he wanted to speak out but something, presumably a spell, was preventing him from doing so. Hazy memories of the show played back as I sifted through my mind. There had been a doppelgänger on Stefan's side, though I was sure he didn't show up until much later in the series. I also didn't remember him being part of the ritual. It had been Elena who had been the doppelgänger sacrifice. Elijah had originally been here was well but at the moment the sharply dressed vampire was nowhere in sight. An unfamiliar werewolf and vampire were also in the place of Elena's aunt and that female werewolf that I had found attractive in my previous life while watching the show.

Freya and Klaus had a short exchange of words before Greta began the ritual just as the full moon reached its apoapsis. Fires had been lit around each sacrifice. I turned to my left to see Anna watch with rapt attention as Klaus killed the vampire and werewolf. The doppelgänger was last in the line up. Klaus drained the man and dropped his body on the forest floor before doubling over and roaring as his bones snapped and reshaped. The Transylvanian next to me gasped as Klaus turned into a large wolf that dashed off into the woods. His vampires and the witch started to clean up the aftermath of the ritual and disappeared. 

"So what now?" 

"Now, we go home." 

"Sounds like a great plan." 

"After all these centuries, Niklaus has finally freed himself from the shackles our mother placed on him." 

"I can't really say it's going to be a good thing though." 

"What makes you say that?" 

"I just have a feeling Freya. Power is power, and with new found strength your brother is only going to seek out more." 

She remained silent, I could practically see her thoughts racing. There was no denying that despite him being a troubled man, Klaus would always seek out a way to gain more power. He had an endless array of excuses from protecting his family to stopping those who would plot against him. I looked over to Anna who had been strangely quiet the whole time. 

"Your thoughts? You've been rather quiet Anna." 

"That werewolf, he- it is unlike the werewolves in Transylvania. The wolves there turn into half man half wolf beasts that prey on villagers. I have never seen one turn into an actual wolf before."

"The wolves in this land turn into full wolves. Though I can't say that the transformation is all too pleasant. Their condition cannot be passed through their bite either." 

"This is a strange land Seth, I have much to think about. Shall we head back?"

I nodded at the Romanian princess and took Freya's hand as we made our way back to the mansion. Along the way I could faintly hear the growls of a wolf deep in the forest. 

<• >

The idea of lounging around all day as for the life of me I could not find anything to do was bothering me. Previously I had not been much of a stay at home kind of person. Sure I didn't go out of my way to seek out adventures but I always had an errand that I could do. Now that I had ungodly amounts of money, and practically all the time in the world I was at a loss. 

I thought about some things, such as important plot points in the story that may arise but other than a vague memory of body snatching vampires and witches I didn't have anyone to lookout for. I played around with the idea of taking another power nap for another few centuries or until something interesting happened but decided against it. Freya would have my balls, and there was not telling what Amelie would do. 

I eventually decided that sitting around was doing me no good so I got up and was about to head out of my door when I heard a cough behind me. Spinning around ready for a fight, I sighed as I spotted Morgana leaning against a bookshelf. 

"Why the long face?"

"I'm bored out of my mind, there's no one to fight, I'm living a relatively cushy life, and all my desires are fulfilled." 

"Oh poor you," Morgana pouted mockingly. "Tell you what, since I'm feeling quite generous right now, how would you like to go on a brief adventure." 

"That doesn't sound like a question. More like an excuse for you to make me clean up one of your messes." 

"I'll let you visit another world."

I narrowed my eyes at the enchantress, there had to be a catch. World jumping was too good of a deal to not have strings attached. 

"What's the catch?" 

"You'll have to sort out an issue that arose." 

"Would this issue have something to do with you killing or seducing the wrong person?" 

"Perhaps." 

I let out a sigh. "Fine, it beats sitting around doing nothing. I'll tell the girls." 

"Oh! And only you can go, world jumping is quite exhausting and sending more than one person takes a toll on me." 

I glared at her. "Anything else I should know?" 

"Yeah, this world is going to be full of dangerous beings, some much more powerful than I am. These beings can erase your very existence with a mere thought."

"And you're sending me alone." 

"Relax, you still won't be able to die so long as you are still linked to me. You'll just take a while to reform if you do get vaporized." 

"Fantastic, will I be coming back to this world?" 

"Well yes, this is your world now. Leaving it for too long would result in reality collapsing and things reverting back to how they were before you arrived." 

"When do I leave then, and what do I have to do?" 

"Well, it's simple really. All you have to do is prevent the death of two individuals. It should be fairly easy for one with your ability. Oh, and I'm giving you a few things that should help you out on this little adventure."

"Why? This sounds like an overly complicated task and I'm not sure I want to do this anymore."

"Well the two individuals are being watched by an annoying person, so anything I can do to potentially ruin that annoying personas day is going to be-." 

"This really sounds like a personal matter you should handle yourself, and it's starting to sound really convoluted can I change my mi-" 

Before I could finish, Morgana snapped her fingers and I fell through the ground. I restrained a shout and grit my teeth, I fell for what felt like a minute before I felt  the sensation of being squeezed through a tube. I used my power to lower myself to the ground and I took a deep breath. 

The smells were familiar, I was in a forest, however it was not somewhere I had seen before. Looking around I spotted a town in the distance. My clothes had changed when Morgana transported me, I was once again wearing a set of medieval garments and I let out a small chuckle. 

"Looks like I've come full circle." 

I lifted off into the air and discretely landed in a darkened alley in the town. People filled the streets tending to their business, they spoke a strange Slavic language that I did not understand. Keeping to myself I cursed Morgana for once again leaving me in a place where I wasn't too sure on. I felt a weight on my hip and realized that I had a small pouch attached to my belt. Opening the pouch I took out two small vials, and a folded note. 

You'll know who you need to save when you see them.  

-Morgana 

Ps. Have fun. 

I rolled my eyes before tucking the note and vials back into the pouch. Wandering around the town I managed to pick up a few things from conversations I overheard. Apparently I was in some European country called Wallacia, and a local prince had gone missing along with his wife. 

The name of the country sounded familiar, but I was drawing a blank when I tried to remember where I had heard it from. Looking around I ducked into an alley and shot into the sky. I flew higher and higher until I was past the clouds. I looked around and watched the people begin to return to their homes. I spotted a large estate not too far off and I flew lazily towards the sprawling property. Landing gently on the overgrown lawn I took in the architecture. It was strangely modern, looking closer I realized that the place had been substantially remodeled and whoever owned the place seemed to like a more modern style compared to the gothic architecture I had seen in the town.

The air around the mansion smelled stale, as if no one had been here for months. Putting two and two together I came to the conclusion that this had to have been the prince's home. I wondered what Morgana had done that warranted me coming to this world to 'fix' things. 

I snuck into the home from a second story window and took in my surroundings. The furniture was covered with white linens, dust coated whatever else was uncovered. I slowly made my way around the home feeling around with my power until I felt a secret room. Using a little telekinetic force I pushed open the hidden door. Stepping into the darkened room I realized that this must have been the treasury or vault. Empty trunks lined the walls, along with a few spare swords and spears. Spotting a coin on the floor I picked it up and looked at the figure etched onto the silver. It was a strange looking man with a funny little hat. The figure was unfamiliar to me, so I tucked the coin into the pouch and continued to explore the vault. I buckled on a sword and eventually made my way out. 

I wandered around until I found myself in what seemed to be a throne room. Two elegant chairs lay uncovered, a large painting mounted on the wall behind the thrones. I looked at the painting and mused at the strange looking couple. The prince looked like a normal medieval aristocrat. High cheekbones, gray eyes, nearly kept hair and a trimmed beard. It was the woman that caught my attention. 

Her red hair stuck out against the darker colors of the painting. She had a kind smile, and yet the artist had portrayed a strange longing in her eyes. The artist had also captured a light blush on the woman's porcelain skin. My attention was drawn to the sword buckled on the prince's hip. I groaned as I recognized the sword from a movie I had seen. 

"This better not be Camelot, and that better not be the Sword from that King Arthur movie." 

Grumbling to myself, I turned around and got ready to leave. Flying back out of the window I had come in from, I silently cursed at Morgana again. I wondered if she had indeed sent me to Camelot to fix her shit. The language didn't sound like old English. The landscape was more reminiscent of Eastern Europe however. England was more rolling hills, and grassy plains along with cliffs at the coast. The land I was in was rocky at best, I also spotted a lone mountain in the distance. 

Against all better judgment I flew over to the lone mountain and was immediately hit with the stench of death. Before I got to the mountain a cloud of bats flew out and I watched the swarm fly away into the night. I swore I could hear cheering in before the cloud disappeared but I brushed the thoughts aside as I set foot into the mountain. 

My vision adjusted and I spotted the marks of a fight that must have happened a while ago. Judging from the dried up blood I summarized that the fight must have happened no more than a few months to a year ago at most. The blood had not yet eroded away, yet somehow I doubted that this remote cave would get enough visitors for the crusted blood to actually wear away. I spotted a skeleton in a corner of the cave and I walked over to it. My steps crunching into the ground. 

Examination of the bones led me to the conclusion that the skeleton belonged to a vampire. Though a completely different species, as the fangs seemed like they were permanently elongated. The bones seemed denser as well. I also knew for a fact that vampires in the Vampire Diaries world, did not leave skeletons when they died. As far as I knew, they turned into gray shriveled up corpses and nothing more. Expect maybe for Silas who turned into a rock. But as I knew that they didn't decay and turn into bones. 

There had been another body not too far from the vampire's corpse but it was nowhere to be found. I found traces of an ethereal liquid and I sighed. Morgana had not told me that there would be some spectral nonsense in this world. I made a mental list of people and things to avoid. 

Mainly the being she mentioned that could vaporize me, the prince and his family, spectral fuckers, and most importantly mobs with pitchforks and torches. Sure I was obscenely overpowered but I figured that slaughtering hundreds of scruffy villagers in medieval Europe would lead to some unwanted attention. I made my way out of the cave and descended down to the forest below. Setting up a makeshift camp I tucked in for the night.