Empath ‣ Klaus Mikaelson [1]

Nine

Talia did work late the next evening and had a drink with Damon, not getting caught. She paid for the bill with her own money, slipping it into the cash register, then planning to never do that again. 

The next morning, she got a call from Stefan to arrive at the house early, but she didn't exactly wake up in time, so she brushed her hair and decided she didn't care if she left her home in sweatpants. She had spent a lot of time fixing her car and it was in working order, but she'd probably have to see a mechanic since she didn't have the proper equipment. She had to save up for it, though.

She drove to the Salvatore Boarding House, wondering if there would ever be a week where she didn't have to wake up at ungodly hours in the morning to talk about vampire drama she didn't even really care about unless it involved Caroline.

"I'm here!" she shouted, throwing her purse on a table and stuffing her keys in her pocket. "Where are you guys?"

"Living room, Princess!" Damon shouted. Talia followed his voice and saw Rose.

"And we meet again," Talia greeted the woman. "Do you plan on backhanding me again?" She had a nasty bruise on her cheek from it that she touched lightly, causing her to wince.

"No, she doesn't," Damon answered. "Everyone's gonna play nice and soak in whatever information Rose has to offer." So Talia sat down next to where Damon.

"Okay," Rose began. "You have to understand I only know what I've picked up over the years and I don't know what's true and what's not true. It's the problem with all this vampire crap, but Klaus...I know he's real."

"Who is he?" Elena asked.

"He's one of The Originals," Damon murmured. "He's a legend."

"From the first generation of vampires," Stefan added.

"Like Elijah?" Elena asked.

"No," Rose responded. "Elijah was the easter bunny compared to Klaus. He's a foot soldier. Klaus is the real deal."

"Nice," Talia muttered sarcastically. "It was lucky that any of us managed to get out of Elijah's fight alive, so the big, bad Klaus comes to town and we're all dead?"

"Don't be pessimistic," Stefan murmured.

"I can't help it. Vampires are broody and it's infectious."

"Klaus is known to be the oldest," he told Elena, getting back on topic.

"Okay, so you're saying the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me?" Elena asked.

"Yes," Rose answered.

"No," countered Stefan.

"Okay, what they're saying is..." Damon began. "I mean if what she's saying is true..."

"Which it is," Rose responded.

"...and you're saying it so I don't kill you..."

"Which I'm not."

"...then we're looking at a solid maybe."

"Look, Elijah's dead, right?" Stefan thought. "So no one else even knows you exist." He sat down next to Elena.

"Not that you know of," Rose responded, a little frustrated with the interrogation scene unfolding in front of her.

"That's not helping," Damon scolded.

"Look, I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him," Stefan tried to assure Elena. "I mean, we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know if he's real. For all we know he could just be some sort of stupid bedtime story."