The One You Once Were

Klaus hesitantly did as he was told and reached into his pockets. As soon as he did, his lips turned to a thin line.

"Take the box out, please," the witch ordered knowingly.

"How did you know it was there?" my boyfriend asked without following through. Instead, his grip tightened around what was inside his pockets.

"You will know soon enough," the girl promised. "Show us the box, please."

Klaus quietly refused, shaking his head. "Her shift was too sudden. The witch could be playing some game planned by Silas."

That indeed was a possibility. Everyone else seemed to think so too. I, however, did not. I couldn't quite put it into words, yet some part of me trusted Heather with my life.

It was a sort of intuition, a familiarity she represented. The mention of her coven, and the name 'the almighty' she'd used for Klaus, tickled a distant memory in my brain.

"Honey, do as she says. It will be okay," I said. Klaus shot me a look to show he was not convinced.

"I don't trust her," he growled in a low tone.

"You don't need to," I said, "you just need to trust me."

For a moment, I thought he would still refuse. Then, with a sigh, he took out the small box and clenched it in his fist.

"May I ask you to open it," the witch continued.

Another moment of hesitation, but after a nod from me, Klaus let the wood snap open.

The open lid revealed two rings, old but shiny as if they hadn't been touched for years.

Klaus took a deep breath and turned his attention back to the witch.
"How did you know they were there? Even I had forgotten I had these."

"And yet, you have carried them with you wherever you went, haven't you? Although you cannot explain why, you know they are important."

"Yes." Klaus swallowed, shifting the box uncomfortably in his hand. He didn't like being put on the spot like this.

Elena glimpsed over my boyfriend's shoulder and raised her brows.
"Are those engagement rings? Are you two that far along already?"

I blushed, shaking my head. "No, we're not." Yet.

The witch, Heather, started chewing down on her lip.

"Don't touch the rings yet, Klaus," she said. "You two should be alone for that."

"Alone?" Damon repeated. "Don't make us curious."

The witch gave him merely a glace before she continued, "For everyone else concerned, Caroline traveled back in time once more to stop Silas' plan from unraveling. She succeeded, as you might have guessed."

"If she traveled back, does that mean, our reality has changed?" Elena asked.

"No, not significantly. At least as far as past centuries go," Heather explained. "The only change would be the existence of my coven, which was created by my ancestor Heather."

"I'm guessing your name was given to you in honor of her?" I speculated. Maybe I had known her ancestor, which would explain why the name sounded familiar.

"You assume correctly," the witch confirmed.

"So, all this means, everything is as it should be, and we mustn't worry?" my mother jumped into the conversation.

Heather nodded yes. There was more to the story, indicated by the rings, but she was reluctant to reveal more in front of the others.

I wasn't the only one to notice this. My mother gestured the others to rally and go back into the house.