Above All Else

Chapter 29

The entire group was gathered in the Mikaelson's front parlor.

Caroline sat on the arm of Klaus's chair with her back straight and her hands twisting together as she glanced nervously around the room as the others looked to be in different stages of processing what they had just heard. The feeling of Klaus's hand rubbing small soothing circles over her lower back combined with the supportive smiles from Kol and Bonnie helped ease her concerns over how everyone would take this unbelievable information.

Elena's arms wrapped around her middle as she leaned forward on the sofa looking across the room to Caroline with a confused expression, "Wait. I don't understand. I mean how can you be..." She trailed off for a second with a shake of her head, "We went to school together, we grew up together. I can remember starting kindergarten together. I don't understand how any of this is possible."

"How is anything supernatural possible Elena?" Stefan posed the rhetorical question from next to Rebekah on a neighboring sofa, "Somehow we all exist through some kind of magic. Vampires, Hybrids, Witches."

"And some creatures you've never even dreamed of Darling." Kol interjected with a raise of his tumbler. At the questioning glance from a few members of the room Kol casually shrugged his shoulders before sipping his drink, "One issue at a time young ones."

"It was a really intricate spell and plus with Liz's actual daughter dying it was easy for the witches to manipulate the situation, allowing everyone to just assume they were the same child." Bonnie explained excitedly, caught up in the wonder and shear complexity of the spell the coven had cast.

Caroline shifted slightly on the arm of the chair as Elena scoffed, "Wow. A little harsh Bonnie."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at Elena, "I said it made it easier 'Lena, not that it was right."

"Regardless of the how's and why's, I still don't see what this has to do with the rest of us? So Caroline is some freaky sleeping beauty daughter of the psycho Silas, what's the big deal?" Damon snarked as he wrapped his arm back around Elena's shoulders pulling her to rest against his side.

"The issue Damon," Bonnie spat, "Is that when we do this spell we have to drop the vale to the Other Side in order to destroy it." Bonnie nearly growled at the cocky lift of his eyebrow and casual shrug of his shoulders, "Meaning that every supernatural creature that has ever died will be able to return. I wonder just how many of them you have pissed off at one point or another."

"Please." Damon scoffed, "I'm sure Mr. Original Overlord here has more to worry about on that front than I do."

"Yes and being a part of my sire line isn't concerning to you at all is it now Damon?" Klaus replied with a cocky self-assured smirk at the dark look of understanding that floated across the vampire's face, "Looks like I'll need a bit of protection in the coming weeks."

"You mean you want to use the rest of us as cannon fodder. Let all of us lose our lives to keep you and your family safe." Damon snarled.

"Now Damon, you should know you hold a special place to me as well." Klaus placed his hand over his heart, "If anyone will be ending your retched excuse for a life it will be done by me and only on my terms."

Elena sputtered before turning a cold eye towards Caroline, "Are you really just going to sit there like his little trophy wife and not say anything about this!? We're your friends Caroline!"

"Oh pish-posh." Rebekah waved her hand nonchalantly through the air, "What's a little death threat or back stabbing between friends? Right Elena?"

Elena clenched her hands tightly in a fist, "What would you even know about being friends with anyone Rebekah?"