Here Be Monsters (Part 7)
Here Be Monsters
By Tenshinrtaiga
Disclaimer: I don’t own the Secret Circle or the Vampire Diaries.
Warnings: Spoilers for the first 5-6 episodes of Vampire Diaries season 3 and Secret Circle season 1. Adult themes including sex, threesomes, blood, death and violence.
Rated: T
Pairings: Cassie/Klaus, Klaus/Cassie/Stefan, Cassie/Nick (Slight Cassie/Adam, past Cassie/Damon. Background Stefan/Elena, Stefan/Rebekah, Melissa/Nick, Adam/Diana)
Notes: Written for th
cwbigbang. Special thanks to my artis
chosenfire28
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chosenfire28
Summary: Cassie was 12 when she discovered her magic. She thought she was alone until Klaus told her the truth. But when she moves to Chance Harbor, she finds out the truth about her family and their magic. By binding her Circle, she’s bound her magic. Now she’s stuck with five untrained witches, a ripper and one angry hybrid.
“Where’s my little brother?” Damon asked, optimistically hoping to ignore Klaus.
“Your little brother?” Cassie played dumb, trying to come up with some sort of plan or lie to help the situation. It was not working.
Damon glared at her, “Yes. Tall. Brooding. Your best friend.”
She shook her head, eyes too wide, “Nope. No brooding vampires here.” She studiously ignored Klaus’ piercing gaze into the side of her face. She knew he was so far beyond pissed that there probably wasn’t even a word to describe it. This was a horrible thing to find out; especially since she had spent just last night whispering her love and devotion to him. She couldn’t have betrayed him more.
“It’s okay, Cass,” Stefan spoke, coming up from behind her, a resigned look on his face, “I can accept what I’ve done and admit my wrongdoings.”
“Stefan,” Elena whispered softly, her eyes drinking in the sight of him. In Chicago he had looked so angry and quite honestly dangerous. But now he looked like his normal self; quiet, brooding and serious.
“Hello, Elena,” He gave a bittersweet smile, “I wish you would have listened to me.”
“And what exactly did you tell her?” Klaus finally asked, his voice laced with acidity.
Stefan, to his credit, met the angry hybrid’s gaze steadily, “That I didn’t want to see her ever again. That she needed to leave me alone.” Neither man noticed the girl’s flinch at her ex-boyfriend’s words, but everyone else did. Rebekah gained a superior smirk, Damon put a comforting hand on Elena’s arm and Cassie shifted uncomfortably.
“Oh?” Klaus asked, “And why would you tell her that? Because you knew that she was the reason I couldn’t make hybrids and you were keeping her safe?” He snarled angrily, finally releasing the calm façade he’d held earlier.
“Yes,” Stefan replied calmly, “I owed you servitude in exchange for my brother’s life. Anything beyond that was not part of our arrangement.”
“Servitude implies loyalty to me!” the hybrid replied furiously, taking a step closer to Stefan. Damon automatically took a step forward to help his brother, but came up against the barrier that wouldn’t allow him entrance without Cassie’s invitation. He looked at the witch pleadingly, but she nibbled on her lower lip worriedly, eyes darting between Stefan, Klaus and Damon, unsure of what to do.
Stefan nodded, “And I am loyal to you. Everything you told me to do, I did. You never asked me why your hybrids weren’t working, so I never told you.”
“Loopholes and trickery,” Klaus spat. Cassie cleared her throat awkwardly knowing that his words were aimed at her too.
“Look, can we just breathe and explain?” Cassie asked, tentatively reaching out to place what she hoped was a calming hand on Klaus’ arm. He turned to look at her. The pleading in her eyes must have worked because he nodded stiffly and walked back into the living room. Cassie turned to Damon and Elena, “Come in,” she smiled thinly before following the others into the other room.
She winced when she noticed Klaus standing instead of returning to his seat. Instead, Cassie took his place, choosing to sit in the armchair. “We did a spell,” Stefan finally spoke up once Damon and Elena had seated themselves as far away from Klaus as possible, “So that Elena would survive the ritual. Once I knew she was safe, I went to you for our bargain. Since that bargain, I have been nothing but loyal to you.”
Cassie awkwardly cleared her throat, gaining looks from everyone. She gave Stefan a sharp look that Klaus picked up on, “What else?” He asked, refusing to look at Cassie. Stefan hesitated but nodded at the blonde witch. She stood up and went to one of the many knickknacks in her grandmother’s living room and pulled out the necklace. After showing half of the Circle her hiding place in the fireplace, she decided to move the necklace to somewhere less conspicuous. “I guess this goes back to you,” She muttered mirthlessly as she handed the piece of jewelry back to the doppelganger.
“The necklace,” Klaus spoke with disgust, staring at Cassie with such loathing that she physically flinched.
“The necklace?” Rebekah spoke up, eyes on the piece of jewelry in Elena’s hand, “My necklace?” She turned to Stefan in fury, “You gave her my necklace!” She shrieked angrily. Before anyone could react, she ran over using her vampire speed and snatched the jewelry from Elena’s hand and returned it to its rightful place around her own neck.
Stefan stood up, cautiously walking toward the temperamental Original, “I didn’t remember that it was yours. I saw it on the ground and I picked it up. I held onto it for decades and I couldn’t remember why. I don’t know why I gave that specific necklace to her. Maybe, even though I didn’t remember you, I still associated the necklace with somebody who meant a lot to me; somebody I loved,” he said sincerely, trying his hardest to ignore the heartbreaking look on Elena’s face. He had decided last night that Cassie was right. Elena wanted to be human and he wasn’t. He was never going to be able to be with her but he could be with Rebekah. It was up to him to fight for what he wanted. He was sorry to hurt Elena who had been through so much with him, but he couldn’t go back to her because of feelings of guilt. He refused to demean her that way.
“Really?” Rebekah asked hesitantly, her teeth gnawing on her lower lip as she considered his words.
He gave a small smile, “I thought you could always tell when I’m lying,” He challenged confidently. His words gave her the necessary confidence in his declaration. In two strides she had reached him and had pulled him down for a searing kiss. The sound of Elena’s small choked sob was just icing on Rebekah’s cake.
“Great,” Klaus sneered, breaking the moment, “You’ve earned back my sister’s undying love.” Elena and Damon both turned to look at the couple in surprise. Stefan’s new girlfriend was an Original? And what had Stefan meant about the necklace being Rebekah’s first? How long had Stefan know the girl? “Can we please get back to the truth now?” He turned to look at Cassie, daring her to try and lie.
She tilted her head up proudly, “Stefan asked for my help. You know that I honor my friend’s requests. Had you come to me first, I would have put you before him.” Klaus scowled but said nothing. He did know her policy. It was one of the things he admired most about her; it was also one of the ways he knew that she would always remain loyal to him. Seeing that Klaus was calming down slightly, Cassie continued, “Stefan told me everything. I didn’t help him with the doppelganger, but when you realized that your hybrids weren’t working, I did help him hide her survival from you. We don’t know that her continued life is the reason for your failure to turn others,” She spoke warningly when Klaus opened his mouth, no doubt to claim that hiding Elena was a betrayal, “I offered you plenty of alternatives. Had we tried other things and then come to the realization that something had gone wrong with the ritual, then I would have spoken with Stefan about whether or not I could continue to help him hide the doppelganger.” Seeing that Klaus was reluctantly accepting her words, she continued her explanation, “When you went to Gloria, she found out that Stefan knew where the necklace was. Instead of telling you, she wanted it - and its power - for herself. She attacked Stefan and nearly killed him, trying to torture and magic the information out of him.”
Elena looked at Stefan in horror. She’d had no idea what he had endured to keep her safe. Working for Klaus was one thing, but torture?
“Meanwhile, I got the necklace from Elena,” Cassie continued, “I was meant to be another obstacle between you two. Nothing bad, just something to buy time if you ever made it this far. The plan was that you would come to me to find the necklace which would ‘coincidentally’ be at my house. It’s not unusual for a witch to have picked up a magical object or two. This would have given us enough time to have Damon move Elena from Mystic Falls if necessary. I could contact the original witch - maybe -,” She said self-deprecatingly. She was no where near as powerful as Gloria was, “And I would pray that the problem was something other than the doppelganger’s survival.” She looked up to stare at Klaus defiantly. She had done nothing wrong. She had helped to stall the hybrid, but never outright stop him. The scowl on his face said that he realized that too. Seeing that, she turned her head from him, pouting obviously. Klaus rolled his eyes and walked over to the armchair and gently kneed her legs. She got up and let him regain his former seat but instead of sitting on his lap like she had earlier, she perched herself on the arm. Once again Klaus rolled his eyes before he grabbed her by the hips and yanked her to where she belonged. A small smile twitched on her lips. He forgave her.
“Let’s talk to the witch,” Klaus spoke startling everyone. Cassie turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, “Don’t look at me like that. I listen,” he smirked, “Let’s see if killing the doppelganger is truly the solution to my problem before I do it.”
Hesitating, Cassie reached her arm out for the necklace which Rebekah unclasped and unwillingly handed over. The witch grabbed one of the many candles lying around the living room before lighting it up and beginning to chant. As Cassie focused on the spell to connect to the original witch, she vaguely heard Stefan speak.
“Klaus,” He said hesitantly.
“Don’t,” the hybrid replied shortly, “Her, I forgive. You… I need to think on.” Stefan nodded slowly in understanding before returning his focus on Cassie, but Klaus couldn’t help himself, “You were my brother,” He scowled.
“I am your brother,” Stefan returned seriously, ignoring Damon and Elena’s surprised and slightly horrified looks, “I made my decision before I remembered everything. After Chicago, I was confused. I was torn between my loyalty to Damon and Elena and my loyalty to you and Rebekah; two brothers and two loves. I didn’t know what to do.”
“You sided with them,” Rebekah spat angrily in Elena’s direction causing the human girl to flinch.
Stefan turned back to the blonde vampire, “Like I said, I made my decision before I remembered you. I didn’t want to go against either of you, but everything had already been set in motion and to be fair, it wasn’t like I was plotting your demise,” he pointed out, “I was just hiding something from you.”
“Everyone’s allowed secrets,” Cassie butt in causing everyone to turn to her. She turned to look at Klaus, pointedly ignoring Stefan, “She says that in order to be able to create hybrids, you need to kill the doppelganger.”
Damon jumped to his feet and grabbed Elena, intent on running, but Rebekah stopped him, her face already turned with her eagerness to rip into the throat of the woman she hated.
“Rebekah,” Klaus spoke up warningly.
“What?” She asked with a pout, “This is what you want, isn’t it?”
Cassie let a small smile cross her lips, “The first witch hated Klaus…” she reminded the blonde vampire.
“Which means that killing Elena would be a very bad idea,” He finished. He turned to look at the frightened girl, “Congratulations,” He smirked, “You just went from the top of my kill list to the top of my protect list. The last person to do that was…” He trailed off and gave a significant look at the blonde at his side. Cassie gave a large smile in remembrance. The day she met Klaus seemed like so long ago. “At any rate, it’s a very short list,” he finished.
“I don’t believe you,” Damon spoke up suspiciously.
“I don’t care,” Klaus rebutted earning himself Cassie’s laugh.
“Okay,” She soothed with a grin, “Why don’t we take a night to process. Damon and Elena can stay at the same hotel as you three, but in different rooms,” She raised her hand to stop Klaus’ protest, “They need to think and they can’t do that with you hovering. This way they get some space and you don’t get antsy.”
It took a slight bit more convincing but she eventually got them all to agree to the arrangements and thus out of her house. Bone tired, she trudged up the stairs to her bedroom. She barely even blinked when she noticed a half naked Nick lounging on her bed.
“So not a good time,” She moaned, wearily stripping out of her clothes. She was too tired to even put pajamas on.
“Relax,” He smirked, coming up behind her to wrap his arms in a comforting hug to her back, “I’m just here for some peace and quiet from Melissa,” he muttered into her hair.
Cassie turned in his embrace to face him, “What’s this about Melissa?” She asked in curiosity.
Nick let out a sigh and let his arms drop from her. She took the opportunity to crawl into bed, scooching over to one side so that Nick could also crawl in, “She’s not my girlfriend,” he finally replied as he clicked off the last light in the room.
“So you’ve said. Many times. But you like her,” She smiled slightly, turning on her side to face him. In the dark, all he could make out was the side of her face in the moonlight’s glow. She looked almost ethereal for a moment.
“But she’s not my girlfriend,” He pointed out, ignoring the below-the-belt stirrings he was beginning to feel for her, “She keeps acting like I owe her something.”
Cassie’s brow scrunched in confusion, “I feel like I’m missing something here.”
Nick sighed, “You were right about her apologizing for going off on me, but I told her straight up that even though I wasn’t flirting with that girl, I could have been and she had no right to be mad at me for that. She agreed. But then I told her that I had hooked up with someone else and she got pissed.”
Cassie rolled her eyes, “Well, duh. She probably realized nothing was going on with you and that girl or if something was, that it was just flirting. But no one wants to hear that the guy that they’re into fucked someone else. Which, by the way, I have no idea how that happened.”
The blond boy let a smirk cross his lips as he reached out to gently touch the bare skin below her bra, “I could remind you.”
Cassie gave him a small amused smile. She liked Nick; he was fun and sexy and didn’t take their “relationship” too seriously. Plus, he had a serious talent with magic. But to be honest, she just wasn’t that into him, “Sorry,” She grinned, “Not tonight.” He shrugged easily and let it go, withdrawing his touch. Together they fell into comfortable silence that led to an equally comfortable sleep.
When Cassie woke up the next morning, it was to an empty bed. Looking at the clock, she realized why. Jumping out of bed, Cassie showered quickly before running for school. She had already missed her first three classes.
She had just made it to her locker after arriving to her fourth class late. Within seconds, she was surrounded, “Hey,” She greeted the Circle as they all stared at her oddly.
Nick moved to her side, “You got up late,” He muttered softly into her ear so that the others couldn’t hear.
“I was exhausted,” She replied, not bothering to whisper.
Faye gave a smirk, “I bet you were,” She insinuated.
The two blonds gave her an odd look, “Okay, you guys have been acting weird all day,” Nick finally spoke up, “What’s going on?”
“What’s going on between you two?” Melissa broke in, unable to keep her thoughts inside her head anymore.
Cassie froze, “What do you mean?”
“We saw you guys last night,” Diana intervened tactfully. When the two looked at her in confusion, she clarified, “We were in Nick’s room and saw you two in Cassie’s room…” She trailed off, unwilling to go further.
Cassie’s eyes lit up with realization, but Nick’s darkened in anger, “And what exactly were you doing in my room?” He asked.
“How could you tell me something like that and not expect me to try and find out more?” Melissa asked, near tears.
“So you snooped through my things!” Nick yelled, drawing attention from the other students in the hall. Cassie put a hand on his arm and tried to calm him down. Creating a small connection between their magic proved to soothe him enough to lower his voice, “For the last time, Melissa, you are not my girlfriend. Who I screw around with is none of your business.”
“Hey!” Faye butt in, “Don’t talk to her like that.”
Seeing another confrontation brewing, Cassie stepped in, “Okay, look. Yes, Nick and I hooked up. Once. We’re just friends. Last night, we talked and that was all.”
“That’s not what it looked like,” Adam muttered earning himself a glare from both Cassie and Diana.
“People who had sex with each other have a deeper level of comfort,” the blonde girl tried to explain.
“You’d know all about that,” Melissa sneered, “Klaus, Stefan and Nick? And you’ve got Adam on your line too.”
“Woah,” Nick held up a hand to the small girl, “Don’t talk to Cassie that way,” he shook his head in disgust at Melissa’s actions, “She’s just trying to explain things to you.”
Diana moved to stand in the middle of the tense group, “Look, why don’t we talk about something else? Whose going on the school trip to New Orleans?” She said perkily, trying to distract everyone.
Fortunately, it succeeded as everyone in the group said they were going, much to Cassie’s horror, “What? Are you crazy?!” She yelled, “You can’t go to New Orleans!”
Melissa looked like she wanted to say something mean, but was interrupted before she could open her mouth, “Why not?” Diana asked, “It’s for a good cause. Hurricane victims still need our help.”
“And there’ll be no parents,” Faye added, explaining why she was going on the school trip.
“Witches- sane witches,” Cassie corrected, “Don’t go down to Louisiana and especially not New Orleans.”
“Why?” Nick asked curiously.
“Voodoo, Hoodoo,” Cassie listed, “Bad things happen to supernatural beings down there. Last time, I was almost dissected alive because some priestess thought eating a young witch’s heart would grant her immortality. Last time I go on a road trip with Damon Salvatore without asking the destination,” She muttered to herself.
“Wait, seriously?” Adam asked.
“What do you think I’ve been telling you?!” Cassie asked throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation, “You can’t go!” Even Melissa looked freaked out.
“But all those people still trying to recover from Katrina… they need our help,” Diana tried to persuade the others who were now looking weary of attending the trip.
“Do what everyone else does,” Cassie said. When everyone looked at her questioningly, she replied obviously, “Send a check.”
Faye let out a laugh at her words and it seemed like the girl forgave Cassie for the fight they were just in. Even Melissa and Diana were persuaded; it seemed to be the consensus that the six witches would not be attending the school’s volunteer trip this year.
After school, Cassie dragged the Circle to the Boathouse where the others were waiting for her. She decided that having more witnesses (and more witches to help stop any potential vampire fights) would be a good thing.
After a round of introductions, the two groups just sat there in awkward silence for several moments before Cassie couldn’t take it anymore. She turned to face the vampire on her right, “So Stefan says you like Keeping up with the Kardashians.”
Suddenly everyone who knew him turned to face Damon with a weird look on their face “…What? It’s either that or Jersey Shore,” he sneered self-consciously. Soon a raucous laughter shook their area of the restaurant. With one small comment, Cassie had managed to ease the tension considerably. Soon, they were sharing hysterical and embarrassing stories and tidbits about each other.
“Oh, please. Your mother loved me,” Damon bragged, bringing his arm to rest across Cassie’s shoulders.
ldquo;Yeah,” She replied with a grin, “What mother doesn’t love meeting her fourteen year old daughter’s twenty-three year old boyfriend?” She asked sarcastically.
“Fourteen!” Faye shrieked with laughter.
“She’s very mature for her age,” Damon replied, feeling Elena’s judging look on the side of his face, “And like I said, her mother loved me.”
“Because you compelled her!” Cassie laughed, “The first time I introduced him to her, she threw a frying pan at his head and tried to call the cops. Said he was a pedophile,” She smirked.
“I remember that,” Stefan chuckled, squeezing Rebekah’s hand beside him, “Lexi and I didn’t stop laughing for days.”
Damon scowled at the memory, “She came around,” He shrugged nonchalantly.
‘No she didn’t’ Cassie mouthed beside him, shaking her head. The whole table burst into another round of laughter. She grinned when Damon caught on and scowled at her.
Hours later, Cassie meandered next to Elena as they all began to separate to return home, “Not as evil as you thought, huh?” She asked the girl.
Elena hesitated, “It could have all been for show,” She replied.
Cassie shrugged, “But it wasn’t.”
The doppelganger wrapped her arms around herself fighting a chill that was purely internal. “What… what do you want from me?” She finally asked.
“We want to find out why the first witch wants you dead,” the blonde girl answered, “We want to see how you fit into the hybrid process. And we want to protect you until those answers are figured out.”
Elena absorbed her words before slowly nodding, “I want a guarantee that none of my friends or family will be hurt,” She turned to look at Cassie despite knowing that she should be negotiating this with Klaus.
The blonde didn’t have to turn back to know what Klaus’ reply would be, “As long as you and your friends don’t betray us or our bargain, they’re safe,” the witch made sure that her words were very clear. If Elena went back on her word or if any of her friends did so, then all of the girl’s loved ones were fair game.
Elena nodded in understanding before her eyes strayed to the two brothers walking slightly farther away to her side. Despite the fact that they were walking together, neither Stefan nor Damon said a word of acknowledgement to each other. “And I want Stefan to come back to Mystic Falls with me.”
Before anyone could blink, Rebekah had let out an angry snarl at the doppelganger. It was only Stefan’s arm around her shoulders that prevented the blonde vampire from attacking the girl. Klaus raised a hand that sullenly silenced his sister.
“Of course,” Klaus agreed to his sister’s displeasure, “Like I said; you need to be protected. We will all be returning to Mystic Falls with you.”
“I mean permanently,” Elena turned to face him, head up as she stood her ground, “You can’t force him to leave. He can go when and if he wants to.”
“Deal,” The hybrid nodded amicably.
After a brief moment of suspicion, Elena nodded too, “Deal.”
Klaus then turned to deal with his pouting sister, “Relax, Bekah. Stefan loves you. You are going with him to Mystic Falls and if he wants to stay, the doppelganger said nothing about you being able to stay with him. And of course, I’m sure that if you want to leave, your boyfriend will be more than happy to follow along,” He smirked, relishing in the flinch Elena gave at the reminder that Stefan was no longer hers.
They all climbed into their separate cars and made their way to the airport. Elena and Damon had been gone too long and since the girl could no longer pee without a guard, the three vampires were set to follow them back.
“Nick told me about your conversation with Mrs. Chamberlain,” Cassie spoke softly, watching as Stefan and Rebekah bought the group plane tickets, “What are you helping her with?”
Klaus turned to look at her out of the corner of his eye, “Her powers were taken from her. She wants them back. In order to do that, she needed a crystal, which I happened to have.”
“Why does she need a crystal?” She asked worried about what the woman was planning.
He shrugged, “She needs to find someone.”
“Who?” Cassie asked in confusion, tired of the cat and mouse game of information Klaus was playing.
“Your father.”
The End