Alex groans as she wakes with the brightness of the sun penetrating her eyelids. She groggily opens her eyes and turns her head to see Kol laying against the headboard reading. "Good morning." Alex says.
Kol closes his book and looks down at Alex with a smile as he says, "Good morning, darling. How are you feeling?"
"I feel good. I feel calm and relaxed."
"That's good, darling. I've noticed that, and I'm glad you're doing better."
"I am. Thank you, Kol, for everything. If it wasn't for you, I might be spiraling right now."
"Of course, darling. You know I'll always be here for you." Alex smiles at his statement, knowing that he is telling her the truth. Kol continues, "So, what would you like to do today, darling?"
"Hmmm...How about we do some exploring?"
"Okay, let's get you some breakfast, then we'll head out." Kol says before he and Alex get up from the bed to prepare themselves for the day.
As Alex and Kol walk around the city, Alex can't help but look around and marvel at its beauty while thinking to herself that this is the first time she's felt this relaxed and happy with someone in such a long time. As they continue to explore, Alex's phone vibrates, alerting her to a phone call. She pulls her phone out of her pocket, but quickly hangs up at the site of the caller ID.
Kol notices and asks, "You're still not going to answer?"
Alex sighs as she shakes her head and replies, "No. I'm just not ready to talk to him. What he did really hurt, you know? And the fact that he did without any consideration for our feelings is just..."
"I understand, darling. Take all the time you need. You don't need to answer him now."
"Thank you, Kol. I don't know what I'd be like if you weren't here."
"I could say the same about you, darling. You're the best part of my life."
>>>>>>
(With Rebekah)
Rebekah smiles as she walks into the Mystic Grill, hoping that Matt will accept her apology for running him off the road and almost killing him. Once she sees him, she immediately walks over to him, placing her apology on the counter next to him: keys to a new truck.
Matt looks at the keys before looking up at Rebekah with indifference and asking, "What's that?"
Rebekah smiles as she says, "The key to your new truck. It's parked outside, paid for, insured, everything but a big red bow."
"If that's your idea of an apology, you should probably give it to Elena. She's the one you killed." Matt says before walking away.
Rebekah's smile falls from her face as she sighs, trying to think of ways to regain Matt's trust.
"You're trying too hard." She hears Klaus say to her.
She turns to face him, slightly surprised to see him there. "Last I heard you were leaving town forever."
"Well, I was, but then I thought to myself how can I when my sister, clearly so desperate for love and affection, is left here bribing the help."
"What do you want, Nik? I thought I was dead to you."
"Things change, Rebekah. I've stumbled upon something I think might be of interest to you."
"I doubt that."
"No? Well, what if I told you The Brotherhood of the Five still existed?"
"What?"
"You see? And like that, bygones. Come on, love. Work to do."
"Wow. Did you say the same thing to Alex as well? That after everything you put her through that just like that it's swept under the rug. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, Nik, but no I will not be going with you."
Klaus's smirk falls slightly at her statement, but he quickly puts it back on as he says, "As you wish."
Rebekah rolls her eyes as Klaus walks away. When Klaus exits the restaurant, she sees April entering. She immediately smiles and waves April over before they make their way to an empty booth. They enjoy each other's company, talking and eating, when Stefan slides into the booth next to April and compels her, "You won't remember any of this." before he turns to Rebekah. "Klaus wants me to fake peace with you so you'll talk about the five."
"Yeah, I bet, but don't help him. He'll just betray you. That's what he does."
"Alright, well, forget him. Help me instead."
"Why? You hate me more than he does."
"Because I want to figure out what he's up to and plus I can give you the one thing that he won't."
"And what's that?"
"A clean slate. I'm not saying that I'm willing to forgive you for what you did to Elena, but I'm willing to set it aside and start over."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because you're obviously not leaving town anytime soon and I'm just looking for a way we can all get along. Plus you can't be too happy wandering around school with no friends."
"Well, you'd be wrong because I do have friends. And, what if I don't care what you or anyone else thinks?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure that you care what Matt over there thinks. So maybe I can talk to him about a clean slate too."
Rebekah looks over at Matt and sighs before turning back to Stefan as she says, "Listen, Stefan, I'll think about it, alright. Right now, I just want some sense of normalcy with my friend here. So can you leave?"
Stefan nods his head in understanding before leaving the restaurant. Rebekah sighs as he leaves before turning her attention back to April. "Sorry about that April, please continue."
"Oh no it's fine. So, as I was saying..." April said before continuing.
As she spoke, Rebekah's curiousness took over her thoughts as she began considering the possibility of talking with Stefan and Klaus about 'The Five.' They would keep bothering her, asking her to help either way, so why not just nip it in the bud and get this talk over with.
With a new goal in mind, Rebekah said, "Hey, April, actually there is somewhere I need to be. Do you mind if I head out early?"
"Oh, not at all. Is everything okay?" April asks.
"Yeah, everything is fine. It's just some family drama that I need to take care of, but I'll talk to you later." Rebekah said before leaving the booth and heading to Klaus's house.
>>>>>>
When she arrives, she spots Stefan walking to the front door as well. "Hello, Stefan."
Stefan turns at the sound of her voice and says, "So, you decided to come."
"Yep. I knew Klaus would probably keep sending you to bother me, so I thought I might as well get this over with."
Stefan nodded his head before both of them entered the house. They both walk towards a room and see a man chained up with Klaus standing nearby, taunting him.
"Welcome home sister." Klaus says with a smirk.
Rebekah looks at the supposed hunter before saying, "Is this a trick? How do you know he's one of the five? Where's his bloody tattoo?"
"Oh, the tattoos aren't visible on this lot like they were on the last.Let's eat." Klaus says before leading them to the dining room. He waves over a young woman to serve them their food.
Once the food is served, Klaus leans back with a smirk as he says, "I could kiss the council for burning up all the vervain in town. They made my life so much easier. Rebekah, love, eat your veggies."
"I'm not eating until you apologize."
"For which indiscretion? There have been so many." Klaus says with a smirk on his face.
"Hmm, let's see. You faked your death and didn't tell any of your family leaving us to mourn you. Oh and your stunt caused Alex, the first actual friend either of us have had in centuries, to leave town because she couldn't stand to be near you."
Klaus's smirk falls after her statement before he says, "I tried to apologize. I've been calling her..."
Rebekah scoffs before replying, "Of course she's not going to answer your bloody calls. Maybe try a bit harder...You know what, let's get into why you wanted me here so we can get this over with."
"Fine...So Stefan, let me tell you about Rebekah's hunter, Alexander. He was one of the original members of the Five. He opened his home up to my siblings and I not knowing we were vampires courtesy of the daylight rings. Rebekah, here, was infatuated with him the second she saw him. And as time passed, they became lovers. Isn't that right, sister?"
Rebekah just rolls her eyes before replying, "Yes, Nik. He was one of the many men that I loved over the centuries."
Klaus smiles slightly before continuing, "So back to the story, Alexander explained to us his purpose as a member of the Five: The destruction of all vampires by way of an ultimate weapon that no vampire can survive."
"So that's what this is about? A weapon?" Stefan asked.
"Not just any weapon." Rebekah said.
Klaus interrupts her as he says, "Rebekah, love, don't get ahead of the story."
"How is a weapon the answer to all my prayers?...Let's just skip the theatrics and get right to the point."
"Not quite yet, because in order to find this weapon we need to solve the puzzle which seems to have disappeared."
"What puzzle?" Stefan asked. Klaus gives Stefan a knowing look, causing him to finally understand as he says, "The tattoo. What is it?"
"A map. Leading us to its treasure."
"A fat lot of good the tattoo's going to do if we can't even see it." Rebekah says.
"We can't, but someone else can." Klaus says as he motions for his hybrid to bring someone into the room. "See the hunter was so eager to get to the bottom of his mystery tattoo that he mentioned there was only one other person who could see it." Just then, the hybrid returned with none other than Jeremy Gilbert.Stefan tried to run and save him, but Klaus intercepted him before saying, "I wouldn't. Lucky for us, young Jeremy here is a bit of an artist."
"I'm not helping you with anything." Jeremy defiantly says. Just then, the hybrid pulls the Gilbert ring off of his finger before handing it to Klaus to use as leverage.
"Oh, I'm afraid you are." Klaus says with a smirk before motioning for the hybrid to take Jeremy to the room the hunter is in to draw the tattoo. As the hybrid leaves, Klaus turns his attention back to the dinner as he says, "Now, where were we?"
"You guys were about to tell me more about this tattoo." Stefan says.
"Ah, right. Well, back then my sister's suitor was unwilling to tell us anything. Rebekah, however, was more than willing to investigate. Isn't that right?"
Rebekah looks away guilty before replying, "Well at least I tried, Nik."
"That you did, sister. And he did tell you where the tattoo leads didn't he? Tell him what the hunter told you the tattoo leads to. What's this great weapon that could bring about the end of the vampire species?"
Rebekah takes a deep breath before saying, "A cure. He said there was a cure."
"Yep, a cure. A cure for vampirism." Klaus says before standing up and leaving the table.
Stefan storms after him as he says, "There is no cure for vampirism."
"That's the truth, Stefan." Rebekah says as she follows after them.
"Then why wouldn't you have searched for it? Found it?" Stefan asks.
"Because, when the hunters drew their final breath that night, the marks disappeared from their bodies. The map was gone. 'The Brotherhood of the Five' extinct. For 900 years, there was not a whisper of another hunter until our friend in there showed up in town."
"Well, now that we have the map, what do we do next?" Rebekah asks.
"We don't do anything. You can't be trusted, little sister. You'll be blabbing this secret to the first boy who calls you pretty. I mean, it's pathetic, really, isn't it?"
"After 1000 years, is that really all you think of me? Just some pathetic, lovestruck fool?"
"Yes, because during those 1000 years you continually handed your heart to any man who showed you a hint of affection. I mean, you'd think you would've learned by now from the endless cycle of disappointment and deception."
"But I haven't! Instead I stayed with you and let you leech every moment of happiness from my life. And with Alex here I thought all that would change. We were all finally happy with her here, we were a family again. But you had to go back to your old ways of betrayal." Klaus looks away dejectedly, giving Rebekah time to analyze the situation. "You want the cure for Elena, don't you? So you can go back to mass producing your hybrids. That's why you brought Stefan in 'cause you knew he'd help you even though he hates your guts. You know what you can shove your cure." Rebekah said before storming out the house. Once she's far enough away, she decides to call Alex to check in on her.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Alex."
"Beks! How are you doing?" Alex asks.
"I'm doing okay. I'm just annoyed with Klaus."
"It seems like that's a common occurrence, but I get it. Can you believe that he won't take a hint and stop calling me?"
"Oh, I believe. He is as stubborn as they come." Rebekah says, causing both she and Alex to laugh. Once the laughter dies down she continues, "So, how's France?"
"It's so beautiful here. And being away from all the drama in Mystic Falls has definitely helped me. You should come."
"Maybe I will, just not right now. There are still some things I need to do here." Rebekah says.
"I understand. If you need my help with anything just let me know."
"I will." Rebekah says as she feels her phone vibrate. "One sec," she says to Alex before pulling the phone from her face to see a text from none other than Stefan.
The text reads: 'Hey can we talk? I just want to talk about the drama that happened tonight. Meet me at my place.'
"Hey, Alex, sorry to rush off the phone like this, but I've got to go."
"That's fine, Beks. Be careful. Talk to you later."
"Always am. Bye Alex." Rebekah says before hanging up the phone and making her way to the Salvatore Boarding house.
As she enters the house she says, "I got your message. Sorry, I couldn't be of more help. He just makes me so angry."
"No one deserves to be treated that way."
"I wanted it back then, you know. The cure. I was actually willing to leave behind my family for it. Would you take it if you had the chance? Or is it just for Elena?"
"Part of me wishes that she and I can have eternity together. But Damon's right, there's not a single vampire who hasn't killed a human. Elena will kill. And there will be the pain, the guilt, and then..."
"The humanity switch."
"Elena, she's driven by love. By compassion. If she turns off her humanity then I don't think we'll ever get her back. So I'd do anything to save her from that."
"I envy that. You and Elena. I envy the love you have. I really did believe Alexander when he said he loved me. He promised we'd be married. We even picked out a church. San Vittore in Brienno. I know you want my help, Stefan, but I just can't do anything that lets my brother get what he wants." Stefan nods his head in understanding. Rebekah smiles in a show of thanks before turning to leave.
"I never did answer your question." Stefan says. Rebekah turns to face him, before he continues, "If it meant that I got to be with her, have children, grow old with her. If it meant that we'd die together, be buried together then yes, I'd take the cure."
Rebekah's eyes begin to water before she says, "You know, I buried him. Even after everything, I laid him to rest in the place we were going to be married. What kind of hopeless fool does that?"
After this revelation, both Stefan and Rebekah look away from each other, conveying different emotions. Stefan looks away in guilt that he now has the answer he wants, but at the cost of Rebekah's feelings. While Rebekah's look is one of realization, now that she understands that all Stefan wanted was the information that she just gave him.
"Oh. But that's what you wanted to know, isn't it? Because I buried him with his sword."
After her statement, Klaus then makes his presence known as he comes around the corner saying, "I'm sorry little sister, but you're right." He then pulls a dagger and white oak ash from behind his back as he continues to say, "You really are a hopeless fool."
Rebekah then tries to run away to escape the fate of once again being daggered, but her path is blocked by none other than Stefan Salvatore. "I'm sorry, Rebekah." Stefan says to her.
With tears slowly falling down her face, Rebekah turns to face Klaus as she says, "Go right ahead. Laugh at the girl who loved too easily. But I would rather have lived my life than yours, Nik. No one will ever sit around a table telling stories about a man who couldn't love." Klaus's eyes water as he looks away, feeling guilty about what he's going to do. Rebekah scoffs as she dares him, "Do it. Look me in the eye and do it, you coward! Do it!"
Klaus still doesn't look her in the eye as he drives the stake through her heart. As the stake pierces her heart, Rebekah can't help but feel disappointment at what has become of her brother. Tears continue to fall as the darkness encompasses her as she slowly desiccates.