4

The Dinner Party

It had been a few hours since Josie and Lizzie had gotten to the past. They had been unconscious until it was late at night. When they woke up though Lizzie and Josie had found themselves in the woods. The twins both had massive headaches and there was blood coming out from their ears. Their ears were still bleeding, so they decided to do a healing spell they had learned. It had helped, but they still felt weird for some reason.

Josie couldn't help saying to her sister after they began walking back to the school, "I told you I had a bad feeling."

Lizzie could only reply by saying, "At least we are close to the school and can come up with a new plan."

"When did you become so optimistic?" Josie asked laughing slightly. She was proud of her sisters growth as a person since the beginning of the year.

Lizzie just said, "Let's just go back to the boarding school and get some rest for the night."

Both Lizzie and Josie had walked all the way back to the boarding school. As they walked they had to go through town, and they were shocked when they saw it looked different. They had tried to brush it off and continue walking, but when they finally reached the boarding school they could definitely tell something was wrong. As they walked towards the front door they realized something was truly wrong. They saw someone who they were sure was dead standing at the door. They decided to walk up to him and ask, "Have you seen Hope anywhere?"

Elijah was curious about whom these girls were and how they knew he knew Hope, but decided to reply by saying, "Hope said she was going to Georgia." Before Lizzie or Josie could respond the door opened. Damon looked at Elijah first before realizing Lizzie and Josie were there as well. When Elijah noticed Damon he said, "Good evening."

Damon replied by saying, "Thank you for coming. Please, come in." He stepped to the side letting Elijah in before turning his attention to the twins. He immediately asked, "Who are you?"

At this moment Lizzie and Josie knew they had to find Hope. So Josie decided to say, "We are friends of Hope and are just looking for her."

The twins didn't know how much Hope had gotten involved or if anything different happened since Hope's arrival. "Friends of Hope?" He asks just to make sure. He smiles and says, "We can talk about where she went during dinner." He gestures for Lizzie and Josie to come inside. The twins go inside and Elijah stays outside for a second longer. Before Elijah started saying anything he made sure the twins were out of earshot when he spoke.

The twins saw a woman with shoulder-length blonde hair as they walked to the dining area. The woman walked past them only sending them a curious glance as she walks over to greet Elijah. The twins just waited at the table for the others to come. All the people in attendance at the table were Jenna, Damon, Andie, their dad, Elijah, and John. Damon walked over to the table and grabbed two more chairs for the twins. After Damon set down the chairs Lizzie and Josie sat across from each other near the end of the table next to John Gilbert.

Everyone at the table was talking to each other while Josie and Lizzie just ate not really knowing who to talk to. After a while Jenna said while pouring some wine into Damon's glass, "I hate to break it to you, Damon. But according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town."

Both Lizzie and Josie knew what was going to happen from Stefan's journals, but they couldn't help but be worried by the fact the Hope went to Georgia. Their thoughts were shortly cut off by Damon saying, "Hmm, do tell." Everyone at the table the twins included looked at Elijah waiting for his response.

"Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s. Over the next hundred years they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution." Elijah said calmly. Both Lizzie and Josie were curious since they didn't know a lot about the Mikaelson's besides for what was mentioned in Stefan's journals.

Jenna replied, "Hmm. Because they were witches." The Saltzman twins just wanted this dinner to be over, so they can track down Hope and find out what is happening. It also felt weird for them to see their dad a lot younger, yet it also hurt that he didn't know they were his daughters. Luckily before the dinner they had wiped off some of the blood you could see easily.

"Yeah, but there's no tangible proof there were witches in Salem." Andie said. The twins already knew what Andie's role was gonna be and couldn't help but feel a little bad.

"Andie's a journalist. Big on facts." Damon says, trying to mess with Elijah in any way possible.

"Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighboring settlement, so these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh, burned. Some say you could hear the screams from Miles around us. They were consumed by the fire. Could you pass the..." Elijah said, with no one interrupting him. Alaric just looked over annoyed by what was said.

"I wouldn't repeat this to the historical society." Jenna joked. This caused the table to laugh albeit a little awkwardly. But soon after John spoke.

"It's starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me."

Damon ignored what John said and asked Elijah, "So why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?"

Elijah replied by saying, "You know... A healthy historian's curiosity, of course."

"Of course." Damon replied. However soon after to the twins dismay, the adults began focusing on them. "I am curious though, how do you know Hope?" He asked the twins causing John, Jenna, and Andie as to who might Hope be.

Josie responded by saying, "We have known each other since we were children."

"Who's Hope?" Andie asked Damon.

"Hope is someone who is currently staying at the boarding house for a while." Damon told Andie with a smile. This caused both the twins to look at each other and come up with a plan.

"Could we see the room she is staying in?" Lizzie asked.

"Why would you want to see her room?" Elijah asked looking at Lizzie.

"We were hoping to see if she left anything behind." Josie replied for Lizzie.

Jenna just grew more curious and asked, "Do you know who Hope is, Alaric?"

Alaric seemed to be caught off guard by Jenna's question and choked on his drink a little. He replied, "I saw Hope sitting in the grill with Caroline and Tyler a while ago." This seemed to cause Damon to be suspicious of why Caroline, Tyler, and Hope were all together.

Damon seemed to not want Elijah to know more about Hope, so he asked, "Does anyone care for some Cognac?" He began to stand up and told everyone, "I have a bottle I have been saving for ages."

"None for me thanks. 9 bottles of wine is my limit." Alaric replied for Damon.

Soon after everyone got up from the table the twins included. Andie spoke and stated, "The gentlemen should take their drinks in the study."

Elijah soon spoke after saying, "I have to say the food was almost as wonderful as the company."

"I like you." Andie tells Elijah playfully. Soon after Jenna grabbed a few dishes and handed them to John. Alaric walked over to Jenna and started asking to be put to work which in the twins opinion made him seem a little desperate. Lizzie didn't feel like watching her dad get rejected longer and grabbed Josie's hand and walked out into the hallway. They began to siphon some magic from magically imbued items Hope had given them. They cast a cloaking spell and began to follow Elijah around waiting for him to be daggered, so they can gather some blood for a locator spell.

Both Lizzie and Josie followed Elijah and Damon to the great room. They had listened to their conversation until the dagger next to the alcohol which Damon was going to grab caught their attention. Elijah and Damon just talked about the grounds where the witch's died. The moment the twins had been waiting for, for Elijah to be daggered was finally happening when Damon slowly grabbed the dagger, but before he could do anything Alaric entered with Andie following behind him.

Alaric told Damon and Elijah with a smile, "Gentlemen, we forgot about dessert."

Andie offered her hand to Elijah and called to him. Elijah said, "Miss Star.", and grabbed her hand and began walking away from Damon and Alaric. Both Lizzie and Josie began following Elijah again with the spell still active leaving their father and Damon alone together.

When they entered the dining room again Jenna had poured a few drinks and said, "Sorry, guys, dessert is taking longer than I thought. I usually just unwrap food." This caused the people at the table to laugh, but it didn't take long for the people there to notice the twins' disappearance.

"By the way where did those two go?" Lizzie decided that she would go out to the hallway and uncloak herself, while Josie gets Elijah's blood.

"Right here! Sorry we had to use the bathroom and got a little lost." Lizzie replied as she enters the dining room.

"Elizabeth was it?" Elijah asked.

"Just call me Lizzie!" Lizzie exclaims as she sits down in her previous spot.

"Is the other girl your twin?" Andie asked curiously.

"Yeah, fraternal." Lizzie said. She didn't like the current situation she was in, with them asking questions. Only John, Andie, and Elijah were visible in the room. Josie was waiting near Elijah getting ready to get some blood for the locator spell.

"Where did your sister go off too?" Elijah asked Lizzie.

"Oh, um, she is still in the bathroom." Lizzie said sounding rather hesitant much to her dismay. Soon after she said that both Damon and Alaric entered again and Andie seemed to want to ask Elijah some questions.

Andie began saying to Elijah, "So... I know this is a social thing, but I... I would really love to ask you some more questions about the work that you're doing here."

Elijah looked over at Damon and Alaric before saying, "I would love to answer."

"Great. Oh, that's so great." Andie said glancing over at Alaric. "Ric, would you do me a favor and grab the notebook out of my bag?" Andie asked as Alaric walked off.

After Alaric left the room Damon asked, "Elijah, did John tell you he's Elena's Uncle/Father?"

Lizzie felt out of place since everyone currently sitting at the table was an adult and already knew each other. As well as her already knowing everything that happens. She was already dreading being in the past for multiple reasons and things just kept getting added onto her list. Before Lizzie could get anymore distracted from her thoughts she tried to focus on the conversation happening in front of her. However she must've missed something since all of a sudden she saw Elijah being daggered by her father.

Damon, Andie, and John just continued to stare as Alaric pulled the dagger back out. After Alaric pulled the dagger out and set it on the table Josie walked back in; acting like she had no idea what happened and asked, "What happened?"

No one appeared to have been paying attention to Josie except for Lizzie because Alaric soon told Damon, "Now, get rid of him before Jenna comes back with dessert." Damon agreed before Alaric walked off and passed by Josie on his way out. Damon grabbed Elijah's body and walked out leaving only Andie, Josie, Lizzie, and John left.

"That's to bad." Andie said as she looks at where Alaric and Damon were dragging Elijah.

"It's been an interesting night to say the least, but I think me and Lizzie should really start leaving." Josie said as she went to go stand next to Lizzie's.

"Yeah, tell Damon and d-" Lizzie begins to say as Josie nudges Lizzie before continuing to say, "Alaric bye for us."

They both gave polite smiles before walking off only to hear Damon and Alaric coming towards the great room. When the twins heard them coming up the steps they picked up their pace and left. All they could Hope for now is that Hope isn't doing something stupid.

"Hope's Uncle said she went to Georgia?" Lizzie questions worriedly.

Josie glanced at her twin knowing what she is implying and said, "She probably won't do anything too big."

Lizzie just looked at Josie in disbelief before saying sarcastically, "Yeah, and she totally hasn't done anything big without telling anyone before."

Josie looked away knowing her twin was telling the truth. She still wanted to defend Hope after everything that happened. Josie was upset that Hope jumped into Malivore without telling anyone about it. Josie was also upset with her dad for also getting rid of Hope's traces. Josie sighs and tells Lizzie, "Let's just get a map and do a locator spell."

Lizzie rolls her eyes and says, "I think we both know where Hope went."

"We don't know that for sure!" Josie tells Lizzie before they walk into a motel.

They walk into the motel and go up to the Receptionist. They were fortunate because they had some money on them from their trip to Triad industries before there trip to the past. At this point they began to wonder if they were really in the past at all. They don't actually know what those witches did they just know the same thing happened with Hope. Their bodies could just be unconscious in Triad Industries still with Hope being somewhere inside. They had never heard of a spell sending people to the past and nothing had changed in the present they knew.

"Hello!" The Receptionist greeted Lizzie and Josie.

"Hi, we would like a room for the night!" Lizzie tells the Receptionist.

"One room with two beds please." Josie says including the specifics.

"Sure thing!" The Receptionist tells them. "That will be 45!" She smiles at the twins.

"Here." Josie says handing the Receptionist 45. "Also is there a map we could use in there of the country?"

"There should be!" The Receptionist says.

The twins get handed their room key and head to their room for the night. When they enter the room both of them immediately start looking for a map. However, Lizzie still believed that they don't need a world map and should just focus on Georgia. So Lizzie looks for a map of Georgia, while Josie looks for a map of the whole country. Eventually they both find what they are looking for, but are at a standstill because both of them have different ideas on where Hope might be and can't do too much because they don't have a lot of magic siphoned right now.

"I think we should just use the map of all the U.S. states first." Josie tells Lizzie as she sets down the U.S. map first. She sees a candle that can be used soon after and grabs that as well.

"Come on Jo, we both know that she would've gone to Triad Industries first and fix everything herself just like the martyr she is." Lizzie tells Josie.

"We only have one shot at this Lizzie." Josie says. "We aren't 100% sure Hope would be at Triad she could've gone somewhere else entirely."

Lizzie groans before saying, "Fine."

After they got everything they need they both sit down at the table with the map. They get out Elijah's blood and just hope hasn't cloaked herself. The candles are lit, they have a map, and they have the blood all ready.

They both chant, "Phasmatos Tribum Nas Ex Veras, Sequita Saguines, Ementaa Asten Mihan Ega Petous." They continued chanting until they eventually got a location. The location appeared to be on the outside of Georgia. Hope appeared to be leaving Georgia.

"Looks like we were both right." Lizzie says refusing to admit that she was a little wrong.

"Do you think she is going to New Orleans?" Josie asks after noticing the direction it seemed Hope was going in.

"Let's go to sleep, and we can figure it out in the morning." Lizzie says before yawning. They both hadn't got a lot of sleep and had both been tired from everything happening.

"That's a good idea." Josie agrees, and they both get into their beds for the night. It takes a while for them to fall asleep, but they eventually do.

When they both wake up they make their to the bus stop, but can't help to look around a little since things look different. They remembered learning how things had to get renovated after the fire. But they had to keep focused and go to the bus stop and find Hope. While they were on their way to the bus stop they accidentally ran into Damon. They were in a secluded spot since it was still early in the morning.

"Where are you two going?" Damon asked the twins.

"None of your business." Lizzie tells him as she just continues on walking to the bus stop.

"You know your friend offered to help me in exchange for her stay." Damon tells Lizzie. "And from what I remember her saying is that she was doing research on Mystic Falls."

Lizzie scoffs before asking, "And?"

"I need her to tell me what she has found. Her disappearance is to too much of a coincidence for her to not know anything." Damon tells Josie finding her the more reasonable one at this time.

"Sorry, but we really can't help you we are only looking for Hope." Josie tells Damon before her and Lizzie head to the bus stop. Before Josie gets to far Damon grabs her arm and vamp speeds her away leaving Lizzie alone.

The Night Before at the Boarding House

Elena had just gone home after Elijah got daggered again. Stefan had gotten back as well and everyone had left after the party was over. This left the house to only be filled with both the Salvatore brothers and Elijah's daggered body.

Damon and Stefan were walking up the stairs when he decided it would be a good time to tell Stefan about Hope's friends. After they made it up the stairs Damon said, "The witch went to Georgia and her friends are in town."

"Hope left?" Stefan questions just to make sure.

"It's obvious that she knows something about the Original family and is a powerful witch and now she has two more friends here meaning more witches in town." Damon tells Stefan.

"If they are like Hope they probably don't want to get involved either." Stefan says as he continues to think of more ways to protect Elena. "Hope is a strong which who agreed to be on our side to help protect Elena."

"She left and now there are two more unknown witches in town so you think that is just a coincidence!" Damon shouts at Stefan. "Remember Hope said she was doing research what do you think that research was about probably the same thing Elijah was looking for!"

"Try to get one of them here, so we can talk to them about helping since Hope said she would and just left." Stefan tells Damon. "We should try and figure out what exactly she was researching."

"My bets on the teenage witches working with Elijah or Klaus." Damon says before he goes up the stairs and to his room.

Damon just doesn't trust Hope especially with what Bonnie said about her vision didn't help. There was something just about Hope that was too suspicious, and he couldn't understand how a mere teenager could know so much from just small stories she heard. He couldn't understand why Elijah didn't kill Hope either and her reaction to his death was also strange. There is just too much he doesn't understand about Hope and where she came from.