YOU'LL BE THE DEATH OF ME
CHAPTER 1: SLEIGHT OF HAND
With a coy smile, Katherine plucked a bright red strawberry between her cherry lips and tossed the stem to the ground as she strolled out of the Lockwood's mansion, leaving behind all of the bright lights, fire-breathers, and carnival style entertainment of the masquerade ball. She brushed by a magician performing tricks on the lawn. Sleight of hand, she thought; that's what it's all about. It's all about misdirection. It's so simple: you draw their attention to one hand while you do your dirty work with the other. Meanwhile, they're so distracted that they never realize what's truly going on. Too bad, the Salvatore brothers could have learned from such an example. They just weren't clever enough to figure it out. Jenna's stabbing incident was just part of Katherine's illusion; it was the deception, the distraction, the misdirection that stole the brothers attention away from the grand scheme, the real event. And by the time they finally figured it all out, if they ever did, it would be too late. Katherine thought that maybe she would come back later, after it was all said and done. She laughed at the idea. Of course she would come back. She loved to play games, just as much as the brothers unwittingly loved to play along with her.
Well, at least they tried. Or did they? Maybe they didn't try hard enough. Maybe they didn't want to. That last thought amused Katherine greatly. It was a shame that she had to leave so early, but she really couldn't stick around all night, playing that "stake through the heart" game with her favorite brothers. They were fast, they were strong, they were smart, but in the end, they were no match for Katherine's prowess and cunning. Always three steps ahead, always prepared for multiple outcomes; that's how she beat them, and that's how she walked out of there so easily. It was fun while it lasted, though. Her boys were fierce, but not as determined as she, and when it came to Katherine, they were out of their league in more than one sense. They certainly put up a good fight, though, and Katherine enjoyed a good fight, especially with such tasty opponents as her beloved Salvatores. Physical confrontations were frequently a turn on for her, and tonight's melee was the most arousing one in recent memory.
Katherine's high heels clicked all the way down the long, horseshoe shaped driveway. She smoothed her black dress as she slipped into the driver's seat of the SUV and carelessly threw her mask over her shoulder, which fluttered like a giant black butterfly before landing on the back seat. She had already driven a few miles away from the Lockwood's place when the call came in. With one hand on the steering wheel and the other with the phone pressed to her ear, Katherine spoke to the witch who helped make the night a great success. "Hello Lucy."
"The house is ready for you," Lucy said.
"Excellent," Katherine said. "And the moonstone?"
"In my possession," Lucy said.
"What about Tyler?" Katherine asked.
"He's triggered the curse," Lucy followed up.
"Are you certain?" Katherine double-checked, not willing to leave any shadow of a doubt.
"Yes," Lucy said.
"And where are my Salvatore brothers?" Katherine went on.
"Still at the Lockwood mansion. It'll be another twenty minutes before they come out of trance. Shall I set them on fire?" Lucy snickered.
"No. You let them go. That's an order," Katherine answered unflinchingly.
"As you wish," Lucy said. "And you've taken the trunk with you?"
Katherine peeked over her right shoulder at the large, antique wooden trunk sitting in the back of the vehicle. "Of course. I always get what I want," she boasted, and tossed the phone aside.
Katherine parked the car in front of the stately manor with its huge white columns and the massive, algae infested, stagnant water fountain out in front. This was the place. Lucy said it was ready, so there was no sense in waiting, even though there was always that fraction of doubt nagging at the back of Katherine's mind; the doubt over putting her trust in someone else, and the doubt over others doing their jobs properly. It was always an annoyance, however, Katherine's skepticism always paid off, and ultimately, kept her alive.
Katherine trotted up the front steps and swung open the two heavy, creaky wooden doors of the palatial estate, revealing a spacious foyer, with its black and white checkered granite floor. She walked into the place, which was shrouded in darkness, and took a look around. Everything appeared to be just as it was when she had visited the house a few weeks prior. Fortunately, there were still plenty of furnishings in the place; sofas, chairs, beds, and even a dirty old nine-foot grand piano which sat in the ballroom, collecting dust. As long as Lucy did her job properly, the house would be a fine place to stay.
As a force of habit, Katherine reached for a light switch, completely forgetting that the house's electricity had been shut off by the power company. It was to be expected as the house was a foreclosure, but the lack of power mattered little to Katherine. During her earlier visit, she had the foresight to set up candles in every room of the house. She took a book of matches from the kitchen and went around lighting a number of select candles, both on the first and second floors.
There was a certain bedroom on the second floor that Katherine paid particular attention to. It was spacious, yet cozy feeling with its dark blue walls and mahogany furniture, and much like the others, it had four-poster bed, its own fireplace, and its own bath. However, the peculiar thing about this room, and what caught Katherine's eye in the first place, was that it had no windows. That particularly made the room ideal for her purposes. She lit up a lone cylindrical white candle and set it on the oak dresser by the door, and then she walked out, her heels clacking down the grand staircase and echoing off the high ceilings.
It was time to bring her possessions inside the house.
Katherine opened the back door of the SUV and pulled out the heavy wooden trunk, which looked like a huge pirate's chest of treasure. She hefted all two hundred pounds or so of the box with ease and carried it into the house, up the stairs, and into the windowless room, where she set it down at the foot of the bed. Then, by the flickering candlelight, she went through her ring of keys, located the key for the old trunk, and opened the corroded old brass lock. The heavy lid creaked as Katherine lifted it open, and she smiled with a sense of accomplishment when she looked down at what was inside.
"Hello, Elena," Katherine sang mischievously.
The blue jeans wearing girl curled up inside the trunk squinted at the sudden influx of light. Her mouth was gagged and her hands bound with cotton cloth. Katherine studied her prisoner with a playful sense of curiosity, as it was only the second time the doppelgangers had found themselves face to face with each other. But when Elena looked up at her captor, her eyes were not filled with fear, but with hate. Katherine noticed that glimmer of Petrova fire, and it almost made her proud, if not slightly amused. "Aw, don't be mad. We're going to have so much fun together!" Katherine proudly announced.
Katherine lifted Elena out of the trunk, sat her on the edge of the large bed, and untied her bonds. Elena didn't struggle or speak, but her eyes remained full of defiance. "That's good," Katherine said encouragingly, "You're not stupid enough to try to fight me, or run away."
"What do you want from me?" Elena asked bluntly.
Katherine sighed and shook her head. "Already with the deep questions? There will be plenty of time for that later. But right now, let me show you around your new home." Katherine paced around the room, waving her arms about. "This is your bedroom, obviously. There's a bathroom right over here... we have running water, but no electricity, so I suggest you don't blow out that candle unless you enjoy living in complete darkness."
Elena stood up from the bed and looked around the place, expressing little to no emotion.
Katherine looked over her young doppelganger. "After a few days, once the vervain has left your system, I'll compel you to behave yourself. Until then, you'll have to stay locked in this room."
Elena's head bobbed, as if in restrained acknowledgement of her imprisonment.
"I brought you this," Katherine said as she picked up the white paper bag that sat on the dresser and handed it to Elena. "Don't expect me to cook for you," Katherine snickered. Elena opened the bag and looked inside to find some shrimp cocktail and fruit salad that Katherine had obviously scrounged up from the Lockwood party.
"Thank you," Elena said, however detached emotionally.
The doppelgangers just looked at each other, each trying to guess what the other was really thinking, but the sudden ringing of a cell phone broke their staring session. Elena's heart jumped because she knew instantly by the tone that it was indeed her phone ringing. She made a jump to grab the phone from the dresser, but Katherine was quick to snatch it up first. Within the blink of an eye, Katherine slipped behind Elena and kept one hand on the ringing phone while her free arm tightly locked around Elena's neck, so tight that it made it breathing difficult.
"You so much as make a peep, and I'll snap your neck," Katherine breathed into her ear. "Understand?" Elena nodded with what little range she had to freely move her head within Katherine's unrelenting headlock.
Katherine then answered the phone, putting on her best impersonation of Elena. "Hello, Stefan? No... I'm fine... I just... I just had to get away from the Lockwood's place... really, I'm alright. Are you and Damon okay? I'm on my way home right now... Okay. Bye." Elena listened on, containing her burning rage over how Katherine was so blatantly infiltrating her life. Once the phone call was over, Katherine shoved Elena away.
"Take your clothes off," Katherine ordered.
"Go to hell," Elena spat.
Katherine was surprised, amused, and offended by such defiance, and with a loud smack, she slapped Elena hard across the face with such force that the girl almost fell over. Elena immediately drew her hand to soothe her throbbing cheek that turned rosy red.
"Take your clothes off right now," Katherine demanded, "or I'll take them off for you."
Elena reluctantly pulled the bloodstained pink shirt over her head, tossed it on the bed, kicked off her shoes, and unbuttoned her jeans, while Katherine dropped her sleek dress to the floor and shamelessly stood waiting in her lacy black undergarments. Neither could hide their fascination upon seeing each others' nearly naked body; bodies that was so perfectly and eerily identical down to every last detail. "I'll need to borrow this, too," Katherine said as she plucked the locket necklace from Elena's neck and fastened it around her own. Elena put on a bath robe she found in the closet while Katherine quickly dressed herself in Elena's clothes.
Katherine wiped off her cherry red lipstick while she looked herself over in the old gilded frame mirror to make sure the illusion was complete. Once her image was perfectly Elena, Katherine made her exit. "I have to go out and be you for a while. Don't have too much fun without me," she laughed as she slammed the door so hard that the resulting gust of wind almost extinguished the solitary candle, which happened to be Elena's only source of light in the room. Elena heard the clicking sound as Katherine locked the bedroom door from the outside, and then there was only silence.
Elena nervously began to pace around the room, looking for something; anything that might help her get out. Time would be her greatest enemy. She figured that she had two, maybe three days at the most before the vervain left her system. After that, Katherine would be able to compel her, and there would be little hope left to hang on to.