Forever Original | Alaric Saltzman

Chapter 26

When she awoke in the morning, he was already awake and making them breakfast.

After brushing her teeth and getting dressed, she looked in the cupboards and set out the utensils they will need. "Good morning," she said quietly as she passed him.

"Good morning," he told her, smiling as he started to serve some eggs, avocado toast, bacon, and freshly squeezed orange juice. "How did you sleep?"

"Very well," she told him. Once they sat down, he cleared his throat. "So, Matt will be coming in an hour. Are you ready?"

Hilda nodded. "Of course. I can't imagine Kol was very nice to him, but getting to see his face again will be really good. Thank you, for arranging this."

"You're very welcome," he replied as they began to eat. "If there is anything else I can help you with, please, let me know."

"You've done so much already," she sighed. "I feel bad."

"Don't feel bad. I want to be good to you." He pecked her on the cheek.

After their breakfast, Hilda helped to do the dishes while Alaric swept. Matt arrived soon after, and Alaric let him in.

"Hi," he said, half-smiling to Hilda. "Er— how's Rebekah?"

"She's doing good," Hilda told him as she went to sit on the couch. Matt offered her his hands. She took them, and entered his mind.

She was Matt, and she had just woken up in the Mystic Falls Cemetery, a blue-ish hue around the area she was in. She turned to her right and saw a man with sunken eyes. "Can you see me?" she heard Matt say. The man nodded. "Are you a witch?" He shook his head. "Then how?"

She faced left when a new voice greeted her. She saw Kol, leaning against a tree. He looked just like he had the day he died, though his hair seemed to have been cut. "It's all topsy-turvy over here, darling," said Kol to Matt. "But... I've got to say, it's good to be seen." He started to walk closer. "I've only managed to enter my sister's dreams twice. And now, I'm trapped in this godforsaken city."

Matt must've been confused when this happened, because Kol furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't tell me you don't remember me. Kol, Original vampire, murdered pointlessly by Jeremy Gilbert. You were quite friendly with my sister Rebekah. I have a twin sister who fancies your history teacher."

"Yeah, I know who you are," Matt told him as he got to his feet. "I thought the whole point of this place was to live out your afterlife in solitude. Why can I see you?"

"Well, apparently, there's trouble in paradise," said Kol, crossing his arms. "The rumblings from the witches is that somebody tore his way out of here, and now this whole place is unraveling. Not that that matters to you. You're just on holiday, which means you're going back."

Matt faced away from Kol, suddenly looking around. "Vicki..."

"Never heard of her," said Kol.

"She's my sister. She's over here. If I can see you,then that means I can see her."

Kol made a face. "Well, good luck with that." Before Matt could leave, he stopped him. "I... I do hope that you will find her. I'd give anything to speak to my sister again."

Matt nodded and began to run. Hilda looked through his eyes and listened to him call out, frantically trying to find Vicki Donovan. She was nowhere to be found, and the scenery seemed to be a repeating illusion, just as it had been in the Lafayette Cemetery. "How am I back here?" he muttered.

But then, he froze. Someone had called his name. Matt turned around and Hilda saw a thin brunette walking out of the trees and toward him. "Matty, I'm here," she told him.