Family Above All

78.Ludum Regale

No pairing

Note: Sorry for the delay. I am having a shoulder issue that makes it hard for me to type. I am trying to get Part 1 wrapped up before I have to go for surgery this week. This is an extra long chapter, but I will wrap things up the best I can before going under as I might not be able to type for a while! Thanks for all the comments and input. Also, if you made it this far in the story congrats:) This started out as a one chapter request and here we are...Apologies for any mistakes as I didn't have time to go back and edit.

Mystic Falls, Virginia

Friday, April 13, 2012

The boy was dirty and confused. Finn stepped carefully towards him. He had grabbed the Traveler blade and navigated his way through the tunnels to get to the spot where they buried Henrik so long ago.

"Henrik?" Finn asked.

The boy looked at him.

"Finn, what happened? I was in a dark place," Henrik said. "I was so cold."

Finn gently leaned down and clasped his brother to his chest.

"Do not worry about that now. We must get you out of here," Finn said urgently, letting go. They had buried Henrik in his finest clothes and a small sword which was on the ground by him now.

"Where is everyone? Mother? Father?..." Henrik asked fearfully, looking around. "Our farm is gone."

Finn took out a cloth and tried to wipe Henrik's face.

"Tis alright," Finn said. "I will tell you more when we get to safety."

Finn heard something and froze. He told Henrik to stand behind him.

"What is it? Raiders? Call Father! He can fight them," Henrik said, his eyes wide with fear.

"Shhh," Finn said. "Come on, let's go back into the cave..."

Finn was torn. A part of him wanted to investigate the sounds, but he had to keep Henrik save this time.

Founder's Hall

"Something is wrong. I can't get George on the phone or radio," Liz remarked to Ric quietly.

"Did you call the station?" Ric asked, putting down a heavy mace. These weapons were dusty, but could still pack a heavy punch. If you were a weightlifter. It was clear the Founders had never fought real vampires. You had to be quick and swift and even then, chances of getting one were slim to none. Unless...

"Yeah, but the deputy on duty acted...strangely. I don't know, Ric. My gut is telling me that something bad is going down," Liz said with a quiver in her voice.

Caroline vamped into the vault.

"Mom, Nadia is here. She's real upset. You better come up," Caroline noted. "Having fun, Ric?"

Liz clipped her radio to her belt, saying, "Okay. Thanks, honey. Grab those last bins and come on up."

"Yeah, um, this stuff is pretty cool but not ideal for fighting. We're going to need some better weapons. I have a stash of stuff from the Lake House," Ric said. "I also need to check on Jenna and Jer. Maybe they heard something?"

"Yeah, I don't know," Caroline said. "I just wish that I could have stopped this. I mean, I'm a vampire and Elena and Rebekah just disappeared like that."

Caroline snapped her fingers.

Ric got up and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Caroline, you're a new vampire. If they could get to the Originals, you never had a chance. I am just grateful they didn't get you, too," Ric replied.