Chapter 15
Doppel-napping
In an unknown location, a man stands in front of a canvas with his back to the door of the art studio. His peace is disturbed when his witch barges into the room, “What is it, Maddox? Can’t you see I’m busy?” The man gathers a very dark blue almost black onto his paintbrush. He turns his head to look at his witch over his shoulder.
Maddox nods, “I apologize. But this is something you might want to know.” The man, Niklaus Mikaelson, puts down his paintbrush, “Unless it has something to do with the newest doppelganger, I don’t care.” “It might,” Maddox waits before continuing to speak. When Klaus shows he is listening, Maddox continues, “Some time ago, the ancestors started chatting a little louder than normal. I mostly tuned it out because they were all talking over each other…Like normal. It wasn’t until this morning that I stopped to listen carefully to what they are saying.”
“Is there a point to this?” Klaus was growing impatient. Maddox swallows nervously, “The ancestors are furious. They’re saying there is a new type of witch that they have no control over, no influence over them. One ancestor in particular practically screamed in my head. She said her bloodline is being threatened by these new witches.” Maddox stops rambling for a moment to gauge Klaus’ reaction.
Klaus seems to be lost in thought, ‘A new type of witch the ancestors can’t control.’ He was thinking of ways to use them to his advantage. Klaus wanted to learn more, “Which ancestors’ bloodline?” Maddox could see the cogs turning in Klaus’ head, “Bennett. Emily Bennett was the loudest this morning.” Klaus smirks, “And where are these witches?” “Mystic Falls,” Maddox shuddered from the deviously, genuine smile Klaus gives. “Well, it appears we have some packing to do.” What Klaus didn’t realize was his older, suit-wearing brother was going to be in town too.
Back in Mystic Falls, things have calmed down a bit. After acquiring the Moonstone, Lei had given it to Bill as she retold the story Mason gave them. Bill was happy for something to do and to possibly learn about this world’s magic. He took the small, opaque stone into his warded bedroom and ran some diagnostics on the stone. Bill came to the conclusion this Moonstone held a lot of magic for a specific ritual. He put the precious stone back in the box it was in and hid it behind a false wall he charmed in his room. The false wall hid very dangerous cursed objects that he has yet to cleanse. Bill spent the remainder of the day in the library researching rituals that could be similar.
Caroline had finished setting up for the Masquerade Ball for that day and wanted to visit her friend with their invitations. She knocked on the door of the Evan’s household and was surprised when a platinum blonde woman answered. Caroline gave her best and brightest smile, “Hi. May I come in? I have the invitations for the Masquerade tomorrow night.”
Narcissa stepped aside, “Please do come in.” Lady Malfoy perked at the idea of a ball. She escorted Caroline to the sitting room where Lei was playing with Scorpius while Draco talked to his cousin’s portrait. Narcissa cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. Well, everyone but Scorpius. He was busy trying to eat his fist, getting drool all over his hand. Lei held onto the infant as she stood up, “Hello, Caroline. How are you?”
The blonde vampire bounced into the room, “I am doing well. I was delivering you and your family’s Masquerade Ball invitation. Ugh, I am cringing at the decor. Mrs. Lockwood decided the theme would be Mystic Falls' 150th anniversary. Like we haven’t been celebrating it the last few months. She would have canceled but it was the late Mayor’s favorite event of the year. And I still have to go buy a dress.” Caroline stopped to take a breath and look at the people in the room, “I’m ranting, aren’t I?”
Lei raised an eyebrow in amusement, “It’s alright Care. If anyone could understand that frustration it would be Narcissa. The Malfoys' were the ones who hosted the grandest parties every year.” Narcissa and Draco were suspicious of what Lei was doing at first then it clicked when Lei says, “Caroline? Why don’t you and the Malfoys go shopping? I’m sure they need to get formal wear as well. Show them the town and maybe let them whose who and all that rot.”
Caroline grew excited at the prospect of dishing out the gossip while shopping, “Really? I mean, if you two don’t mind?” Narcissa agreed it would be good to learn about the town they now reside. Draco took a little more convincing because he didn’t want to leave Scorpius at home when Lei reminded him that Pip and Winky will help. So, the three of them left to shop and gossip not realizing the two women would be attached at the hip in the near future.
Soon it was the night of the Masquerade Ball, and everything was running smoothly. Almost everything. The tension between Stefan and Elena has grown quite thick. He has noticed his girlfriend acting more and more like the attention-seeking, back-stabbing ex, and sire. Ever since Katherine’s death, Elena seemed to take on some of Katherine’s mannerisms. Stefan had caught her earlier that day practically throwing herself at Damon. Elena tried to say Damon came on to her when Stefan walked into Damon’s room, but the look on his brother’s face said otherwise.
So, after a brief lover’s spat, Elena left to get ready for the ball. The Salvatore brothers had talked about the changes in Elena and decided to ‘play it by ear’. “If Elena acts even more like Katherine then I want nothing to do with her,” Damon stated to Stefan as he downed another glass of Bourbon. Stefan set his glass on a side table and left the room, “Yeah.” Neither wanted to admit that the seemingly innocent girl they met almost a year ago is not so innocent.
The ball was in full swing and Caroline was dancing with Draco. They had agreed to go together since neither had a date. Caroline had a lovely time shopping with the Malfoys. She was grateful to have someone with great taste in fashion. Draco didn’t think he would enjoy Caroline’s company but ever since the war, his prejudiced views were slowly waning. He still sneered at some things he didn’t understand but he was making an effort to be more accepting.
Narcissa was escorted by Mason Lockwood and had a somewhat decent time. The only downside was having to converse with Mrs. Lockwood and her consorts. She had learned the late mayor died unexpectedly after falling victim to a device used to capture vampires. Mason whispered to Narcissa, “The device affected all supernaturals in range. My brother and nephew are like me but they hadn’t triggered their werewolf gene.” Narcissa nodded in understanding, “Miss Evans did inform us about the incident that caused the twins to be born early. She didn’t want any of us to be blindsided by the supernatural happenings in this town.”
Elena was not having a good time. She wanted to be escorted to the Masquerade by both of the Salvatore brothers but she only had Stefan. Damon was escorting that tramp, Leilani. Elena was disgusted by the woman that has stolen everyone’s attention away. Bonnie was the only one that stuck by Elena’s side. The new witch had voiced her jealousy of their magic to Elena. So the doppelganger had Bonnie set up one of the rooms in Lockwood manor with a barrier spell that would trap anyone inside. Elena was going to lure Damon into the room and seduce him hoping he would fall for her and stay away from Leilani.
Bonnie gave Elena the signal that the room was ready. Elena smirked, looking just like Katherine but dropped it before Stefan could see. She rolled her eyes at her vampire boyfriend. Stefan only took her because he would feel bad about backing out of their date. Elena saw Damon step away from Leilani and took this as her chance. She put on her best sad face hoping to gain Damon’s sympathy and approached him, “Damon?” The elder Salvatore sighed, “What do you want, Elena?” Damon turned to look at Katherine2.0. She blinked to make her eyes water, “Can I talk to you? In private?”
Damon wasn’t going to follow her but he knew she wouldn’t give up until he spoke with her. Elena led him to the empty room on the second floor that Bonnie set up for her. Damon left the door open, much to Elena’s annoyance, “What do you want to talk about?” As they were going up the stairs, Damon had snuck his phone out of his pocket and dialed his brother. Stefan was listening to his girlfriend flirt with his brother. “You know Damon, I wanted to tell you that I care for you. More than I should but I can’t help it.” Elena batted her lashes and tried to seem seductive but failed miserably.
“Elena, whatever fantasy you have in your head is not going to happen. You’re with my brother. I…We will not be repeating history.” Damon stepped closer to Elena knowing his brother was listening through his phone while walking to locate them. “For the last time Elena, I do not have feelings for you, nor will I ever have feelings for you.” Damon didn’t realize how close he was standing to Elena when she grabbed his tux lapels and tried to pull him in for a kiss. Damon pulled her off of him as Stefan stepped into the room. Elena jumped away from Damon when she heard a throat clear.
Bonnie had gone to make sure Elena was okay and walked up to the door of the room. She heard Stefan and Elena arguing about what happened. Bonnie canceled the spell so they could leave, “The barrier is down. You can leave.” She saw three different expressions from the occupants of the room. Elena was glaring at the witch, Damon was angry, and Stefan looked betrayed. Bonnie didn’t say anything else as she walked away. Damon left to go find Lei and get a drink. Stefan turned back to Elena, “We’re over. I’m done.” Stefan walked away from a pleading, fake-sobbing Elena.
Once Stefan was out of earshot, Elena stopped crying and left the room. Nobody paid attention to her as she left the ball. Because if they did, they would have seen a masked man come up behind her, knock her out and throw her into the trunk of their car. Speeding away from Mystic Falls, the kidnapper made a phone call, “It’s done. I’ll reach the meeting place in a couple of hours.”
The next morning Jeremy comes up to Stefan, “You know, Elena should at least call or text if she’s not going to come home.” Stefan closes his locker, “What do you mean? She didn’t stay at my place. We broke up. Have you talked to Caroline or Bonnie?” Jeremy nodded his head, “I asked both of them. Bonnie didn’t say anything but Caroline said to ask you because she hasn’t talked to Elena recently.” Stefan may have broken up with Elena but that doesn’t mean he didn’t care. He would feel guilty if something bad happen to her.
Elena slowly regained consciousness and looked around. She became scared when she didn’t recognize where she was. She looked down to see she was still wearing her ballgown but lost a shoe. She took off the other one and stood up to look around. Elena pats herself down, looking for her phone only to remember her gown didn’t have pockets. She could hear two voices coming from another room, “Did he get the message?” A male voice asked. “You know it doesn’t work like that but I’m sure Elijah got it.” The second voice was a woman.
Elena crept closer to the room they were in but stepped on a squeaky floorboard catching the kidnappers' attention. “You. You can’t escape. There’s nothing for miles,” The woman said. Elena puffed up to seem more confident, “Who are you? What do you want from me?” The woman came closer, “God, you look just like her. It’s freaky.” “But I’m not her. I’m not Katherine. My name is Elena Gilbert,” Elena tried to keep the facade of being calm.
“My name is Rose and I know who you are. You’re the doppelganger, and our ticket to freedom,” Rose grabbed Elena by the arm roughly and dragged her back to the room she woke up in. “You’re going to sit right here and not make a sound.” Elena wasn’t going to listen, “Whose Elijah? What does he want with me?” Rose huffs, “I said be quiet!” Rose backhands Elena and knocks her out. Rose calls out to her companion and best friend, “Trevor? Make sure she doesn’t move.” Trevor whines at the boring task but listens to Rose.
Stefan was pacing in Bonnie’s living room as she tried to locate Elena. Bonnie didn’t want to be involved anymore. She was starting to understand why the ancestors and her grams felt the way they did about other supernaturals. The locator spell was not working. Bonnie felt defeated so she lashed out at the vampire, “Will you stop?! My head hurts enough as it is.” Stefan stopped in his tracks and turned to his former friend, “What happened to you, Bonnie? You used to jump at the idea of helping Elena.” Bonnie scoffed, “I will help Elena. I just don’t feel like helping you.” That statement felt harsher than it sounded. Stefan shook his head, “Whatever Bonnie. I’ll go ask Lei.” Bonnie scoffed even louder, “You do that. They go against nature as much as you do.” Stefan didn’t even bother saying anything, he just left.
Fred and George Weasley were genuinely scared. They had fought in the wizarding war and survived, seeing things they shouldn’t but they were terrified. They were running from a very angry and very bald Mason. The Weasley twins got the brilliant idea to test one of their newest products on the unsuspecting werewolf when it failed. All of Mason’s hair had fallen off in the shower, even his eyebrows were gone.
When they were finally caught, the rest of the house watched in amusement as the Weasley twins were scolded by Charlie as Bill gave Mason a potion to grow his hair back. Fred tried to calm the wolf down after Bill was done, “See, your hair grew back. No harm no foul.” Mason moved away from bill to chase them, “Why you little…” “AAHHHHH!!” Fred and George almost got away.
Leilani answered the knock at the door trying to contain her laughter, “Damon. Stefan. What do I owe the pleasure?” She then notices the looks on their faces, “Alright, what happened?” Stefan didn’t beat around the bush, “We think Elena has been kidnapped.” Lei rolled her eyes, “Are you sure?” Stefan nodded, “Yeah. She’s not answering her phone. Jeremy said she never came home last night, and Bonnie couldn’t do a locator spell.” “Let’s check the map. If she’s not in town then we can try something else.”
After seeing Elena was nowhere on the map, Lei used her wand with a hair from Elena’s brush, “Point me.” Lei sat in the front passenger seat with Damon driving and Stefan in the back. The road trip was long and boring. Especially when the brothers bickered back and forth. Damon had tried to tempt Stefan with human blood but Stefan refused. Leilani rolled her eyes and handed Stefan a Blood Pop and the rest of the trip was a little calmer.
Elena was panicking. No one knew where she was. Nobody was going to rescue her. All she could think is, ‘If only Leilani never came into their lives. Maybe I should tell John and the council about her being a witch.’ Elena snapped out of her internal monologue when Trevor came running into the room, “He’s here. This is a mistake.”
Elena stopped listening to Rose and Trevor until a heavy knock was heard. Rose left to talk to the suit-wearing original and told Trevor to keep Elena quiet. The doppelgänger looked at Trevor, “You’re scared.” Trevor stopped panicking for a moment and gave her a “Are you serious?” face.
Elena tried to listen in to Rose and Elijah but they were not close enough. She sat down on the filthy broken couch and waited. She didn’t want to admit that she was scared.
Soon Rose and Elijah entered the room. The original took one look at Elena and rushed up to her. He bent down and sniffed her neck, “Human. Impossible.” He stood up straight, “Hello there.”
It would seem that the Salvatores and Leilani arrived just as Elijah went inside the abandoned house. Damon turns to his brother, “Okay. What’s the plan?” Stefan shrugged, “Get in. Get Elena and get out.” Damon rolled his eyes, “Nice plan. Very thought out.” Stefan looked around, “Where’s Lei?” They both see her go inside the house and rush to catch up. Lei kept her wand in her hand. She had silenced her feet and heartbeat before she entered the house. She followed the sound of voices into a room where three unknown people stood with a terrified Elena.
Lei approached the top of the stairs overlooking the room. She could see a man in a suit circling around another man. She sensed the hostility in the room and acted, “Immobilus!” The four people in the room froze in place. The man in the suit was rearing back to decapitate the other. The other man has a look of utter fear, and the other woman was frozen in a running stance near the other two.
Walking further into the room, Lei unfreezes Elena and turns to Stefan, “Get her out of here. I’ll apparate home.” Damon scoffs, “If you think we’re leaving you alone with them, you’re out of your mind.” “Damon, I’ll be fine. Now get her home,” Lei turns back to the other three in the room. She stands next to the woman, “When I release you two, you leave and never look back. If I see your faces anywhere near us I won’t bother warning you, I’ll just kill you.”
Lei unfroze Trevor and Rose. The woman huffed, “Like you could. We’re over 500 years old.” Lei smirked at Rose, “So was Katherine. And now Damon keeps her fangs in a glass jar after I ripped them out before I killed her.” Leilani’s eyes glowed while letting the essence of Death fill the room to the point of suffocation. “I won’t tell you again. Leave!” Lei watched the two disappear.
Elijah couldn’t believe this small human woman has overpowered three centuries-old vampires. She stood in front of him after letting everyone else leave. He was angry at the audacity of this woman, but he was also intrigued. Elijah followed Lei with his eyes since he couldn’t move any other part of him. He watched as she pointed a stick at the broken couch and turned it into two leather, high-back armchairs before turning to him.
“I’m going to release you and we’re going to talk. One wrong move and I’ll do more than immobilize you,” Lei waited for her words to sink in, “Blink once if you agree.” Elijah blinked and then he felt he could move. Instead of attacking Lei, Elijah adjusted his cuffs then took a seat. Elijah took this moment to observe the woman sitting across from him. He had to admit, she was quite beautiful.
“Forgive me but who are you?” He asked the witch. Lei gave a small smile, “I’m Leilani Evans.” “Elijah Mikaelson,” The 1000-year-old vampire introduced himself. Lei heard two vehicles speed away from the house, “Now that we are officially alone, can you tell me why Elena was kidnapped? I understand she is a doppelganger, however, I have been kept in the dark about quite a bit. She seems to have the majority of people wrapped around her pinky.”
Elijah nods, “It is that way with doppelgangers. It’s their allure. One must be careful not to fall victim to it.” Lei could see something in his eyes, “Speaking from experience?” Elijah hums in agreement, not going further into detail. He was more curious to know where the doppelganger is, “Where did you send the doppelganger?” Lei may not like Elena but she wasn’t going to hand her over, “Until I know why she is so popular, she will stay where she is. If anyone else tries to come after her, they will be dealt with. As of right now, you have a choice. You can either forget you ever saw her and leave or you can divulge every bit of information in regards to why she is so special.” Elijah felt his anger reappear, “And if I don’t agree?”
Lei was waiting for him to say something like that, “What you saw and felt today was barely scraping the tip of a massive iceberg.” Elijah’s eyes widened for a brief moment before he regained his composure. Lei continued, “In the meantime, anyone close to her or myself is to be left alone. Not even so much as an eye roll. If you need a list, I will supply one once we are in agreement.”
Being the cunning man that he is, Elijah would agree but he will find a loophole. However, Leilani may have been a Gryffindor but she had some qualities of a Slytherin. She could see the cogs turning in his head, “That includes any and all lackeys. If anyone on my list is hurt and you are behind it. Even if it wasn’t by your hand directly, you will still be held responsible.” That took him by surprise.
“So, are we in agreement?” Lei leaned forward with her hand outstretched, magic brimming at the tip of her fingers. Elijah took her hand, “Agreed.” Not realizing he just solidified a verbal magical contract. Lei let go when she felt the bindings of the magical contract settle and stood from her seat, “Hopefully next time we meet it will be under better circumstances.” Elijah gave a forced smile, “Indeed Miss Evans.”
Lei nodded her head before apparating in front of Elijah, shocking the 1000-year-old vampire. He just stared at the spot she was before she vanished into thin air. Elijah brought out his phone, “Jonas, I have a task for you. Find any information you can on Leilani Evans.” He hung up and pocketed his phone and rushed out of the abandoned house.
Upon reaching Mystic Falls, the Salvatores dropped Elena off at home not even bothering to say anything to her. She climbed out of the backseat and turned to say something to Stefan but they had already shut the door and were driving off. She entered her house to loud voices arguing. Her aunt Jenna, Jeremy, and Alaric were arguing with John about living arrangements. Jenna, Alaric, and Jeremy wanted John to leave Mystic Falls but John heatedly reminded them he still owns the Gilbert properties.
Elena came into the living room and made her presence known, “I’m home, by the way. Thanks for worrying.” The sarcasm did not go unnoticed by everyone. Jeremy rolled his eyes, John was confused since he didn’t know what had happened, Jenna got up and hugged her niece, and Alaric nodded. Alaric had talked to Damon before he left with his brother and Lei, so he knew she was going to be home soon.
John approached his daughter, “Why are you still in your ballgown? What happened?” Elena looked at John and it seemed he was genuinely confused and maybe a little concerned. She shook her head, “Not now, dad. I’m tired and filthy. We’ll talk later.” The two didn’t miss the looks from the others in the room when Elena called John, “Dad.” John was stressed but agreed, “Yes, we’ll talk later.” Before he turned to walk out the door, he stopped Elena from going upstairs, “I do have one question. Leilani Evans. What can you tell me about her?”
Elena narrowed her eyes but then thought of taking this opportunity to get rid of the witch, “She’s just some witch who can’t her claws off what’s mine. You know, she’s the reason Stefan broke up with me, and why Damon won’t talk to me. The moment she and her family showed up is when all of the supernatural drama started. It’s all her fault.” Since she was facing John, Elena didn’t see the anger on Jeremy’s face or the disgust on Jenna’s face when she noticed her niece talking about the Salvatore brothers.
John, however, smiled. He hit paydirt. He now had what he needed to give to the council. John was planning to deal with Leilani by himself but now he can involve the council. John rubbed Elena’s arms in fake sympathy, “Okay, sweetie. It’s alright. Why don’t you go take a shower and get some rest? We’ll talk more tomorrow.” Elena had shed some fake tears during her rant. She let them run down her face and just nodded her head and went upstairs to her room.
None of them saw Jeremy sneak out the back door and head for the Evan’s household to warn them. Nobody saw the gleeful smile on Elena’s face when she entered her room. And not one of them noticed the crow perched on the windowsill listening to everything.
AN: Elijah is finally here. Elena and John are showing their true colors. Stefan and Damon are no longer attached to Elena’s hip. What do you think of Caroline’s relationship with Narcissa?