Title: A Lesson In Fate

Author: Alysia

Couple(s): At this point I can only guarantee Elejah with mentions of other couples.

Summary: After Katherine runs away from Elijah, he becomes obsessed with finding her. With the help of a powerful witch, he thinks he's found his way to her, but he is mistakenly sent to the future where he meets another doppelganger.

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters familiar to TVD, I'm just borrowing them.

Prologue

The Past

"Are you positive that this is what you want, sir?"

Elijah looked at the woman across the table from him, his calculating gaze narrowed in on her. She met his look, her own brown eyes while guarded still shone that she had nothing to hide from him.

He turned his gaze away, facing the clothed table before him. Was this what he wanted? Yes! He needed to find Katerina and make her pay for her betrayal. To think that he'd allowed her to outsmart him! It would be the last time he'd ever place a woman in the position to hurt him. Not only had she managed to betray him, but she'd managed to make him appear weak to not only his brother, but to the vampires that followed him, but also to those that followed Niklaus.

Elijah never claimed to have the perfect family. Even as humans, he and his siblings fought, particularly, him and Klaus. Klaus managed to find sport in anything, and he had a very aggressive side. Once they'd turned, he and his siblings managed to grow closer, but even then, Klaus let his arrogance get in the way. While he and his siblings became leaders of sorts, it was Klaus that took it to another level. He wanted everything his way, and demanded excellence from everyone around him, including his siblings.

His stronghold became so demanding, that his youngest brother, Kol left. Kol, who bore similar traits to his older brother, often the two were at odds because of it. Klaus was the older of the two, and so he expected to get his way. The younger sibling grew increasingly resentful of Klaus, and it filtered towards his other siblings for not standing up to the proud man.

Then there was his sister, Rebekah, who had been traveling away from her brothers. He and his brothers had always been protective of her. As humans, he appeared to be closer to Klaus and Rebekah more so than Kol or Finn. It was a bond that carried over into their new lives. She'd tried to break out from under their hold, but she placed her trust in the wrong person. After that, he and Klaus kept an even tighter hold on her.

Finn who was the eldest sibling, aside from himself, had disappeared long ago. Growing up, Finn was often separate from his brothers. Their mother tended to coddle him, and it was her good-naturedness that influenced him. When they became vampires, it was Finn who struggled the most with it. Finn didn't agree with their way of living, and he had issues with Niklaus. The tension that existed between the brothers was not unnoticed, but when Klaus told him of Finn's disappearance; he honestly thought that Finn just needed to get away. The years passed, but there wasn't a day that he didn't think on Finn or worry for him.

Elijah had done his best to look after his siblings. Being the eldest, he was always looking out for what was best for his family. He tried to remain neutral whenever conflicts arose between them, but it was exhausting. Klaus demanded too much, Rebekah rebelled too much and Kol delighted in killing too much. But they were all family. He hadn't turned his back on them, until Katerina came along.

Katerina who wore a face so similar to the woman he loved as a human. He was powerless to stop the attraction that he felt for her. After Tatia's betrayal, he had never allowed himself to feel for another woman. Oh there were lovers through the years, but none managed to affect him the way Katerina could. He allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of her, and she used that to her advantage.

"Sir?" Tuatha looked at the vampire before her with a critical eye. Vampires weren't a common knowledge of the day, but she recognized him based off of the power that he possessed. She worked for a lady of the court, who had known Elijah, in every sense of the word. "Are you certain that this is what you desire?" She repeated the question. The magic that he was asking for wasn't easy. There were often consequences that came with it.

"Yes. I am certain of it," Elijah replied, pulling his attention away from his thoughts. He looked to the servant in front of him, his self-assurance back on his face.

"I feel that I should warn you," the woman began. "There is often a price to pay for this amount of magic. Also, it doesn't always happen the way that one intends for it to."

"I am aware and I understand your warning, but this is something that I must do." He needed to make it right. It had been nearly two hundred years since Katerina slipped away from him. He had come close over time to finding her, but it was as though she was a step ahead of him each time. His relationship with Klaus was virtually nonexistent and he missed his family. He wanted to make up with them, all of them; even if he didn't always agree with Klaus.

Knowing that would be all he was going to share, Tuatha grabbed the dagger from the table. "You'll need blood," she began. When he extended his arm, his palm upright, she grabbed it and began the spell. "You need to think on the time you want to go to."

Elijah thought on Katerina. His memories of her were at the forefront of his thoughts as he considered their time together.

AN: So that's the end of the prologue. I know it's not very long, but all the other chapters I've written have been much longer. Also, I wanted to thank the ladies at the the Originals Forum for reading through this and encouraging me to post it!