This wasn't the first time he'd been in the swamp. Jeremy Gilbert had followed a particularly nasty vampire that had chased an innocent girl deep into the heart of this primordial nexus on one Halloween before all this started with Klaus and Caroline. This had been a really nasty ripper that the Hunter had followed across the Southwest culminating in the ripper's death at his hand there in the swamp. He could feel like he'd entered another world back then. Back again, he didn't feel like he was an outsider. Did the swamp remember him? It certainly felt like it.

Everything seemed so alive. Jeremy couldn't explain it. It was almost like the animals and the life there the deeper they went were accepting of him. He had not brought any harm to anything but the vampire the last time he'd been here. The swamp had apparently not forgotten. He looked over toward his girlfriend. He reached for her hand. "You doing alright?" He asked softly. From what Tyler said about Mama Ruth, the old swamp witch didn't like vampires. So far, nothing had attacked Anna. That was a good sign.

"Long time no see Hunter." The feminine voice came from behind him, making him turn around to see who was speaking. It was the same girl that he'd saved. She still looked like she did when he'd saved her. She had huge chocolate hues and cafe au lait skin. "You wanna see Mama Ruth?"

Jeremy was still holding onto Anna's hand. "It's you." He observed. "Yes. Yes we both do. There were two witches that we were trying to get to safety when Kol and Rebekah Mikaelson had taken them from us. We need her help to find them. Kol compelled them to go with him."

"Witches under compulsion by an Original?" The girl seemed surprised by what Jeremy had to tell her. She also seemed skeptical as well. She had no idea if the Hunter himself wasn't compelled by the vampire in his own presence. "Mama Ruth hates all Originals." She kept casting distrustful glances at Anna. "She hates all vampires."

Jeremy was really upset at this point. "What can we do to prove that Anna can be trusted?" He knew his girlfriend was a 500 year old vampire. He had no idea everything she'd done in her life. Even when they first met, Anna had been involved in tricking Damon into opening the tomb for her. Jeremy understood her reason for it. She was a girl who wanted her mother. It was a base instinct that drove anyone that had been human at one time.

The girl approached Jeremy. That's when he realized she had no shoes. She was magical in her own right. He could feel her magic and how powerful she was. Why had he not felt this before? He didn't feel threatened by her. She held up her hand turning it to the right, rolling her elegant digits as she did. A powder appeared in her hand. She breathed in and then exhaled. The power went flying into his face.

Jeremy staggered backward. The swamp started to turn into a vast array of vibrant colors. They were swirling around him like a kaleidoscope of all the known hues, even with a few that were undefined. Jeremy shook his head. His eyes blinked. The world seemed to turn upside down on him. He reached for his head. "What the hell?" He mumbled. Before he knew it, Jeremy landed with a thud directly on the ground. His world went black.

~*~

Jeremy had no idea how long he'd been unconscious. Eyelids cracked open slowly. "Don't move too fast baby." The motherly voice came from the woman sitting in a chair in front of him. She had hair as white as the snow and a skin color that matched the girl from before. Warm hues focused on Jeremy as he slowly rose to a sitting position. "Lemme guess, Mama Ruth?"

The old swamp witch smiled brightly. She looked as though she was a woman in her 70s. Jeremy knew full well she was much older. She laughed tilting her head slightly to the right. "Of course, baby. I'm sorry about Yvette. She gets a little protective." She paused for a moment. "You have to admit, the last time you were here you killed a vampire. Now you brought one here?"

"She's no threat. She hates the Mikaelsons too." Jeremy was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest. "I could have told you she didn't compel me either."

"She's Anna Zhu. You sure you know all there is to know about her, Jeremy? Her momma was in love with your great granddaddy. It was his betrayal that led to her being locked in the tomb in Mystic Falls. Vengeance drove Anna to do anything to get her Momma free." Mama Ruth knew full well who Anna was and what she'd done. "That kind of history, I can't trust. Do I need to remind you how your own Uncle John killed her?"

Jeremy had never met any witch as powerful as Mama Ruth. It was like she could see into soul. "I love her Mama Ruth." His words were soft and full of devotion. He was completely honest with her, baring his soul to her completely.

At his confession, mist cleared from the room. Anna was laying there unconscious. Jeremy immediately reached for her and cradled her in his arms. He gently kissed her lips. Mama Ruth spoke. "True love is the most powerful magic of all."