Chapter 1: The Return
Present Days,
A shiny black car rounded the corner of Mystic Falls' Hospital, parking right in front of the establishment.
A dark haired, green-eyed beauty climbed out of the vehicle, watching the hospital, a smirk dancing on her lips.
She wore a figure hugging dark green dress, with nude pumps at her feet and her waist-length, dark brown hair was let loose in smooth curls down the small of her back.
The woman had minimal makeup on, but the grey shading she had on her lids made her almost white, clear green eyes pop on her naturally olive complexion.
Nadja Pierce breathed in the clear air of this historical town before she took a step forward.
This was it.
This was the beginning of her sister's demise.
This would be the climax of Nadedja's revenge.
***
In a wide hospital room, John Gilbert was resting after the blood he'd lost in the encounter with Katherine Pierce.
John's head was muddled, his eyes kept straying to the fingers the older vampire had cut with the kitchen knife.
He didn't understand the gesture.
They were supposed to be allies — him, Katherine and Isobel.
What in the world had happened?
Hearing his room door slowly open, John looked over, only for his breath to catch, his heartbeat quickening.
"Katherine ..." He fearfully whispered.
"Hm ... Not quite." The woman said, closing the door behind her before she walked into the light.
John had at first been startled by the thick British accent, but he was even more startled by the eyes.
Those eyes ... green and so clear they appeared almost white, were staring down at him as if he was merely a bug in their midst.
The man cautiously sat up in his bed, "W-who are you?"
At this point, John had already realised this couldn't be Katherine, nor was it Elena.
Nadja eyed John Gilbert up and down, her eyes lingering on his missing fingers — courtesy of her sister.
When she heard his carefully threaded question, Nadja smiled. "Nadja Pierce," The witch introduced herself. "Pleasure, I'm sure."
Hearing the name, John gulped. "... Pierce?"
Nadja walked over to the bedside table, ignoring his fearful head jerk before she grabbed a cup of water on the table and wet her fingers.
"Fret not, darling," she chuckled. "I'm not here on behalf of my sister. Gosh, that would be absolutely terrible." Nadja said in a teasing tone before she turned to him. "I'm more interested in what's in your head."
Before John could even scream for help, Nadja had already placed her wet fingers on his temples, her eyes closing as she focused, while John fell in a deep sleep.
What Nadja would see would determine her stay in Mystic Falls.
Whether it was worth her time playing a game of "Catch Katerina Petrova".
After taking all the memories she was interested in, something flashed in Nadja's eyes.
"Well ... it looks like I'm staying." She mused.
***
That same night, Nadja stood outside Elena Gilbert's house.
Elena was a doppelgänger, the last human one after her sister was born five centuries ago, and a distant descendant of Nadja.
Not that Nadja cared much — after Katerina's betrayal, she no longer had a family. And if family meant betrayal after betrayal much like The Salvatore's exhibited, she didn't want one.
The reason she was oustide The Gilbert's Residence was to gauge the situation.
To observe how much the brothers were infatuated with this Elena, and how Nadja could disguise herself in order to trick both parties involved — her sister and the Scooby gang.
"Did she say what she wanted?" Damon Salvatore's question brought Nadja back from her thoughts and she looked back inside.
Stefan was standing near the kitchen counter, Damon standing a few feet in front of him while Elena appeared to be upstairs in the house.
Stefan shook his head. "No."
Nadja noticed Damon's frown when he said, "Woman certainly knows how to make an entrance."
A hundred and some odd years ago, Damon and Stefan had been played by Katherine but Nadja held no empathy for the pair of brothers. She understood sibling rivalry very much, but to the point of destroying such a beautiful family bond for the sake of one woman? She just couldn't wrap her head around it.
"She said she fooled one of us, at least," Stefan eyed his brother. "What does that mean?"
Damon shrugged. "She pretended to be Elena too when I showed up earlier tonight."
The object of their affection then entered the room, walking straight to Stefan's side and sitting next to him. "I told Jeremy," Elena was talking about her little brother who'd also gotten entangled with the supernatural. "I can't lie to him anymore."
"Are you alright?" Stefan asked his girlfriend.
Elena heaved a small sigh with a shake of her head. "No, I'm not alright. I thought that with all the tomb vampires gone, things woud get better."
Stefan's shoulders slightly dropped. "I know. We all did."
Elena frowned, "Katherine was in this house, that means she was invited in. What are we gonna do?" Nadja could see the fear on Elena's face.
"Move," was Damon's sarcastic advice.
"Very helpful, thank you." Elena snarked.
Nadja could only silently chuckle at their obvious fear of Katherine.
Of course, her sister was smart and had means, but that was only because Nadja had let her run amok.
Over the five hundred years Nadja had been alive, the sting of Katerina's betrayal managed to calm down.
The hatred was still there but it was not a burning passion for Nadja to kill Katherine anymore.
She would kill Katherine only because she promised herself to five hundred years ago. It was no longer a burning need to avenge a once innocent young witch who believed in her twin sister.
"Katherine wants you dead, there's zero you can do about it," Damon stated. "You would be dead but you're not. So clearly she has other plans."
And Katherine's plans had so many plot holes Nadja wondered if they were really from the same mother.
Stefan nodded at his brother's words. "Right and we need to find out what those other plans are and not provoke her in the process," he looked at Damon. "What happened tonight when you thought she was Elena?"
"To risk another frown line encroaching on a very crowded forehead ..." Damon looked at Stefan and Elena's expecting faces. "We ... kissed."
"And you thought it was me?" Elena frowned.
Stefan narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean you kissed?"
"Well, you know, when two lips plucker and they go ..."
At Damon's makeshift kissing sounds, Stefan rushed at him but his brother was already behind Elena.
"Don't be obvious, Stefan." Damon snarked.
Stefan started again for his brother but was interrupted by Elena.
The doppelgänger had stood up in the middle of the brothers and now had her hand on Stefan's chest.
"Stefan, wait, he kissed Katherine, not me," she then looked at Damon. "I wouldn't do that." She eyed the pair. "We don't have time for this guys."
Stefan shared a meaningful look with his older brother. "Later."
"John must know something. There has to be a reason why Katherine tried to kill him." Elena proposed.
Alas, Nadja thought, they were bound to be disappointed since John wouldn't tell them anything relevant.
"She's Katherine," Damon said as if it explained everything. "She loves to play games and you're fooling yourself if you think you're going to find out what she's been up to before she wants you to know."
Stefan shook his head. "No, actually, Elena's right, John could know something through Isobel," he looked at Elena. "Your mother, she was in touch with Katherine so maybe we can go to the hospital and get him to talk."
"I've got a better idea." Damon mused.
"What's that?"
"I'm just gonna ignore the bitch." Damon shrugged. "See you," he started for the door.
"Is that smart?" Elena questioned.
"If Katherine thinks she's been ignored it will lure her out, she'll make a move."
"Yeah? And then what?"
Damon snorted. "Stake her, rip her head off, something poetic. We'll see."
***
"Your bath is ready, Miss Pierce."
In an apartment strategically chosen by Nadja — said apartment being next to a certain history teacher one — an older lady called Nadja.
"Thank you, Mrs. Cliff. You can go now." Nadja dismissed the woman.
Mrs. Cliff was Alaric Saltzman's neighbor and a human (under Nadja's compulsion, she would not let anyone inside).
It was where Nadja had decided to live for now, close to the group.
Inside the bathroom, Nadja relaxed her body into the bathtub before she made a call.
"Good evening, Miss Petrova," An older man's voice could be heard on the other end of the line. "What are your orders?"
"Charles, darling," eyeing an old picture, Nadja smiled. "Help me pass along a message to Rose-Marie."
"What should the message say, Miss?"
"A human doppelgänger is alive and well in Mystic Falls."
Let the games begin.
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