_as each day dawns_
..prologue..
"Why did you want me to come with you?" Stefan asks, eyeing the old oaks quivering and groaning in the breeze, their branches snapping back and forth like the lash of a whip. "I'm finally free, Katherine. Free to return home to Elena."
Katherine reaches for the radio, glowering at the younger Salvatore brother as he bats her hand away from the button. "Elena is not safe," she says at last. "As you must very well know, considering you were the one who spared Klaus' life."
"It would have killed Damon," Stefan replies.
"Always protecting your brother," Katherine muses, the lilt in her voice driving him insane. "Even after he continues to be the very monster you swore to disown. What changed, hmm?"
"I'm not playing these games with you," Stefan growls.
Katherine's lower lip slides out in a pout, "Everything is not a game, Stefan."
He catches her eye, waits for her to look away uncomfortably, "With you, yes."
Silence falls over them, broken only by the sound of Katherine's nails tapping against the driver's side window.
"There must be another way to kill Klaus," Stefan says a few minutes later, the humanity revealing itself in the crack of his voice. "He will never stop hunting Elena."
"There is another way."
"What?" He looks over and tries to meet Katherine's gaze, but she is deliberately avoiding it. "Katherine, if you truly love me, as you claim, then you will tell me what you know."
Katherine sighs, "Don't use that against me, Stefan. It won't work."
"It's working already." Stefan eyes her keenly, brushing his fingers over his forehead and trying to rub out the wrinkles.
Her foot slams down on the gas, and the car accelerates far above the speed limit. Katherine's lips tighten, and he can see the fight in her eyes.
"Turn her into a vampire, and her blood will no longer be useful," Katherine says with a shrug.
"That isn't an option," Stefan says tightly, his fingers digging into his left thigh and drawing blood to the surface.
Her eyebrows raise, eyes gazing curiously at him as a cat might watch a mouse it prepares to devour, watching it squirm. "I was only kidding," she adds with a chuckle. "Lighten up, Stefan."
Stefan's hand flies out, hits the side of her face, and the car goes swerving slightly off the road as Katherine's head slams into the window, cracking the glass.
"Honestly, Stefan." Katherine runs a hand through her hair, lips trembling as she tries to scrub the blood from her cheek. "I thought you were more proper than this. Perhaps your ripper stage changed you after all." Her voice fades back to that irritable nonchalance.
"If you know something," Stefan hisses, voice deadly quiet, "then you will tell me."
Katherine hesitates, voice fading to silence for a minute. "One original hybrid can kill another," she says at last.
"But -" Stefan pauses, wondering what she could possibly mean by that. "Klaus is the only original hybrid, born into a werewolf bloodline by a mother who allowed him to be turned into a vampire."
"No," Katherine says, shaking her head. The car swerves slightly. "There is another hybrid, older than Klaus. She was kept a secret by Elijah, until he revealed the truth to me." Her eyes glint with sadness for a moment. "I was the only one he told."
Stefan studies her expression, "You cared about him, didn't you? More than you'll ever care about me."
Katherine scoffs, "It matters not. Elijah is dead, remember?" The car swerves again. "I saw him die."
Stefan shakes his head, "An original can always return to the living, if the dagger is removed from their heart. We just have to get to his casket and -"
"Already ahead of you there," Katherine says, her signature smirk lifting the corners of her lips. "Why do you think I asked you to accompany me?"
"Because you love me," Stefan says, stating the obvious.
Katherine laughs coldly, "Besides that, Stefan, because we all know you will never return my love, even if it means despising me for the rest of eternity." Her fingers splay against the steering wheel. "I have another purpose in mind."
"You want revenge on Klaus," Stefan says immediately.
She flicks the car lights off for a moment, clothing her car in darkness as they travel along the single lane road in the ever-strengthening dawn.
"I want Klaus dead," Katherine says matter-of-factly, "and you are going to help me."
"How can I help you if you don't tell me how to kill Klaus?" he asks, reaching for her shoulder. She shrinks away from his touch.
Katherine swipes her tongue about her lips, glances at him seductively.
"First, you have to use that smooth tongue of yours to convince the original families to help us," she says, "then I will tell you more."
Stefan prepares to lash back out at her stubborn nature, when he actually comprehends her words, "Families? I thought there was only one."
Katherine's eyes are steadily fixed on the road once more, "Elijah was a man of his word. He promised that he would keep the secret of the original hybrid between me and him until our demise. Unfortunately, it has now become impossible to keep that promise, if we ever want to kill Klaus."
"How many original families are there?" Stefan asks.
"Two," Katherine says. She glances at the road marker, then sighs impatiently. "In order for you to understand, you must know Elijah's story. It's lengthy, though. You might get bored." Wrapping a strand of silky hair around her finger, she eyes him suggestively, licking her lips once more. "It would be a lot more fun for me to distract you."
Stefan smirks, "As tempting as that sounds, I think I'll pass. Besides, if you want to catch me up on Elijah's story before we reach our final destination, then I'm afraid there will be no time for your distractions."
Katherine glares at him for a second, then sighs in resignation, "Very well." She runs her fingers over the blood-smeared window. "Когато обичаш някого, не е без течаща да запазят собствените си съществуване, защото те са си струва дори болката от смъртта," she whispers wistfully, eyes shining with what could be seen as a sheen of tears.
"Bulgarian?" Stefan asks.
Katherine nods, turning to look at him, "Elijah said it all the time." This time, she doesn't brush Stefan's hand from her shoulder.
"What does it mean?" Stefan wonders.
"When you love someone, there is no running to preserve your own existence, for they are worth even the pain of death," Katherine says, repeating it over and over in Bulgarian until the haunting lilt of her voice fills the car.
A/n: I have always been fascinated with Elijah's character, especially when he said that he had fallen in love with Katherine. As the series has continued on, and I have gotten bits and pieces of Elijah's past, I found myself wanting to fill in the holes. Not to mention, I was curious as to how opening the caskets containing Klaus' family will help kill Klaus without destroying the rest of the world. Thus, I came up with this story. It's only the prologue, and it's rough, but I like the idea. :) Your thoughts are appreciated.