To Be King by VisciousRose

Chapter 11

I wasn't a nice person. Because like most humans I was selfish and only worked and schemed for myself and those I saw as mine. Elena wasn't one of mine. But I had grown interested in Niklaus, and I knew that Marcellus still cared for his sire even as a large part of him was angry and hurt at being left behind.

So, once I had settled into Mystic Falls did I have James move to place an AD on Craig's List to gain Niklaus's attention while also looking over the moon stone Hadrian seemed to have gotten a hold of some time when he was still alive and James had retrieved for me.

Meaning all that was left to do is get the white oak from the storage building it had been left to sit in with many wards spelled around it by many different generations of Bennett witch's and wizards.

"It's done," called out James as he joined me while giving a nod toward Derek and Zach who sat across from me. "You should be hearing from the Original Hybrid in the next couple of days if Ryder is to be believed."

"Ah the wild Bennett," I mused with a laugh as I thought upon Ryder who was the freest of Joseph's line. "Still traveling the world?"

"He was," agreed James with a small smile and a roll of his eyes as he thinks about his uncle who had been his father's closest sibling. "Well up until he heard that you had returned to Mystic Falls so is making all haste to return."

"The Council are also still relying upon the Salvatore family since its founding in your time Uncle Levi," continued Zach after James had finished talking while standing up to bring me a glass of wine. "Even a hundred years later and still we are the ones who own most of Mystic Falls and hold the most weight in all meetings and gatherings."

"You feed loyalty with something equal in return," stated Derek with a shrug of his shoulders as he looked away from his phone. "Case in point after Uncle Levi here finished removing all memory from the original Council's mind of his brothers being vampires, and then adopted Hadrian and loved him as his own, who then continued to make sure we stood above the other families after Levi left."

"Do you even realize how big your network has become?" wondered Zach as he looked between myself and Derek.

"I mean I know you adopted more than Joseph and Hadrian in your time through the years. So just how big is the Salvatore hold on the world?"

"I didn't adopt children because I wanted them to spread my influence or some other diabolical thing," I refuted with a slight roll of my eyes. "In fact, like I had told Hadrian and Joseph along with all the others I adopted, grow up and live your life the way you want to as long as it's to the fullest."

"We know you didn't," reassured Derek as he smacked the back of Zach's head with a roll of his eyes. "Either way because you showed those children loyalty and love, they returned it tenfold, and made sure that their children and grandchildren showed the same. Helped along by you always dropping by when you could."

James had been correct in saying Niklaus would end up getting back to me in a few days' time instead of the few weeks I had believed it would have taken. But in that time, I had touched base with all of those I saw as family and head to their respective line seeing as in over a hundred years, they each had grown to large proportions.

What I hadn't been expecting was to run into Damon of all people at the Mystic Grill two days later after a boring day at the high school making my eyes widen in surprise. Seeing Stefan was to be expected at this point not Damon leaving me reeling.

"Hello brother," greeted Damon eyes hard as he ambled forward and took a seat in front of me without hesitation. "It's been what, a hundred and some odd years since we last saw one another?"

"Just about," I answered in agreement and a tight smile eyes flickering to where James and Jesse were sitting watching everything making me wave a hand so they would relax and keep the others distracted.

"Never thought I would see you in Mystic Falls ever again since that era when you dropped by and caused drama with that older vampire Sage."

"You were aware of that?" wondered Damon with surprise as he leaned back in his seat.

I never really stopped looking for rumors and such on my brothers, it helped that Hadrian's descendants kept me in the know when either Damon or Stefan showed up in Mystic Falls even if they would be gone by the time I showed up.

"And here Stefan and I believed you had washed your hands of us all those years ago because of Katherine Peirce."

"How easily you joke about the woman who destroyed our bond as brothers," I warned eyes narrowed as my temper began to rise.

"Especially since it was that same woman who caused both Stefan and you to further distance yourselves from me. So, let's cut to the chase shall we. Why are you here in Mystic Falls Damon?"

"You know I always kept an ear out for you," stated Damon with a tired sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "And man, you should have seen how Hadrian reacted when I showed up to visit the old Boarding House after I heard of your supposed death."

"Funny seeing as it seemed you ran the moment, I got even close to the same town or city you were living it up in," I cut in with a bitter smile before sighing and looking away from him with some sadness.

"This is what has become of us Damon. I worked hard to clear any suspicion the Council might have had of Stefan and you, only to then be avoided and not hear a word from either of you until now over a hundred and some odd years later."