Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries. Any similarities in dialogue or storyline originated with the show.
Summary: Elijah never wanted to turn her, but he couldn't just watch Cassia Petrova die. 500 years later he makes the same mistake all over again with Cassia's doppelganger, Khara Gilbert. Is Elijah bound to fall for both? Or will Khara draw the eye of another Mikaelson?
A/N: My OCs' names are pronounced "Car-ah" and "Cass-e-uh." Please review and follow and favorite. Enjoy!

One

"Kat!" Cassia screamed as she shook her sister's sleeping form. "Kat, you have to wake up!"

When Katerina's eyes shot open, Cassia let out a sigh of relief. She needed to get her sister out of the castle and away from the Mikaelsons.

"Katerina," Cassia started in a hushed voice, "the sacrifice is happening tonight. You need to get out of here. Now!"

"There's no way out, Cas. Not without being caught by his men or brothers," Katerina argued quietly.

"Do not fear his men," Cassia told her sister. "I have taken care of them for a short while, but we do not have long I'm afraid. You must run."

"What about you?" Katerina asked with widened eyes.

"I cannot follow. I am no longer ill, but the sun burns my skin," Cassia told her. "You have to go without me."

"Elijah did this to you," Katerina breathed.

"Yes," Cassia said. "And now you must do it to yourself, my dear sister. The only way to live is for you to die."

Katerina understood and nodded. "We will meet again, sister."

"We will, sister," Cassia agreed as she hugged Katerina goodbye. "Go before it's too late."


"Khara!" Elena shouted. "Khara, you have to wake up or we're going to be late!"

"Ugh!" Khara Gilbert exclaimed as she turned onto her back and opened her eyes to look at her twin sister. "Why does school have to start so early?"

"Because it's school," Elena said with a smirk as she glanced over her shoulder. She was busy picking out Khara's cheerleading uniform from her dresser.

"Well, it sucks," Khara muttered as she pushed back her blankets and dropped her legs over the edge of her bed.

"It does, but you don't have a choice," Elena said, smiling. She tossed the outfit to Khara.

"I'm too tired to cheer," Khara sighed as she dropped back onto the bed. "I was up half the night tutoring Ty."

"You weren't just studying," Elena said with a quirk of her head.

Khara mimicked her sister's motion. "Yes, we were."

"Just get dressed and get downstairs before mom comes in here herself," Elena warned with a knowing look in her brown eyes.

That was only one of the things that made people doubt the fact that Elena and Khara were even related. Elena had brown hair and brown eyes while Khara's hair was a dirty-blonde color and her eyes were blue. Also, Elena's olive skin tone contrasted Khara's ivory skin. There were some similarities like their doe eyes, button noses, and lips, but Khara looked nothing like her parents. She was told that she resembled her father's mother, though. Despite their looks, she knew that they were still twins. They could sense each other's presence and at times sense each other's emotions. The girls were inseparable and there was only one thing that could separate them

Death.


"We should have left days ago, Kat," Caitlyn said as she glanced over at the Salvatore brothers. "You've had your fun."

"My fun's just beginning, Cait," Katherine said with a smirk.

"No," Caitlyn scolded when she realized what was happening. "You remember the last time you fell for two brothers."

"We were humans back then," Katherine retorted quickly. "We're different now. We're vampires which means we're stronger, smarter, and faster."

"We're also on the run from a thousand year old vampire, Kat," Caitlyn reminded her sister. "We cannot stay here much longer or we risk being found, and if that happens we won't be anything but dead."

"You worry too much, Cait," Katherine said, smiling all the while. "I have the Salvatore's handled. Just worry about yourself."

"I haven't worried only about myself since the day we were born," Caitlyn said before walking away, leaving her twin sister standing by herself in the yard.


"There she is!" Jenna exclaimed from her spot behind the counter as Khara walked into the kitchen wearing her cheerleading uniform.

"Yes, yes. I know you all have missed me deeply since the last time I saw you," Khara said as she took her spot beside Elena. Standing side by side, people always thought the twins were strangers.

"Doubtful," Elena joked, making Khara shove her lightly.

"Where's Jer?" Khara asked as she picked at the toast on her plate.

"He locked himself in the bathroom again. Does he think we don't know what he's doing in there?" Elena asked and Jenna and Khara laughed quietly.

"He's fourteen," Jenna paused. "They don't think."

"He's growing up," Khara said. "Everyone has a phase."

Elena tried to grab the coffee pot, but Jenna was quick to take it back in her hand.

"You'll get me in trouble," Jenna said.

"Maybe that's her secret plan," Khara said, smiling. Elena shoved her lightly, causing her to laugh. "She doesn't even bother denying it."

"Good morning, girls," their mother said as she walked into the kitchen with a loving smile on her pink lips. Khara's mouth curled up into a smile of her own when she saw her mother.

"Morning, mom," Elena greeted as she kissed her cheek.

"Morning," Khara said and turned her head slightly so her mom would kiss it.

"Morning, sweetheart," their mother said as Khara took her turn to kiss her cheek.

"I have a feeling that today is going to be a good day," Khara sighed as she turned back to Jenna. Elena took her hand and nodded.

"Then it will be," she said. Khara looked around at her family and smiled. She didn't want anything to change the way things were. But she knew that change would come eventually. It always did.


"We cannot go any farther, sister," Cassia said, pausing to cough violently into her handkerchief. She pursed her pale lips when she saw the blood standing out against the white cloth. "I am too weak. My knees are about to give out."

"Do not fear, Cas," Katerina said as she looked up from her sister. "We are almost there. It's just a little farther."

"I do not think I can make it, sister," Cassia panted before coughing up more blood. "The visions are coming back and my head hurts."

"Your sickness has worsened?" Katerina asked hastily as she smoothed back some of Cassia's golden locks. "Why did you not tell me sooner?"

"I was afraid," Cassia breathed.

"We both are, sister," Katerina said as she looked around the empty streets. They had to make it to the house so Cassia could rest, but Katerina knew it was too far to go on foot.

She waved at a passing carriage and thankfully it slowed to a stop.

Katerina smiled when a blonde woman stuck her head out of the window. She helped her sister towards it and met the woman's gaze. "I'm sorry but we are looking for a house that is supposed to be on this street. We were supposed to meet with a Lord Niklaus and Lord Elijah about renting a room. Do those names mean anything to you?"

"Those are my brothers," the woman said as her gaze lingered on Katerina. "I am Lady Rebekah. Who are you?"

"I am Katerina Petrova and this is my twin sister Cassia Petrova," she told her. Katerina nearly swore when her sister began to cough again.

"Is she ill?" Rebekah asked.

"She is," Katerina said. "She is dying, but it is not contagious."

"Come," the woman said and opened her door. "I shall take you to the house, but I doubt my brothers will allow you both to stay."

Katerina helped her sister into the carriage.

"We just need to find a place to wait it out," she said.

It was only after she was seated in the carriage that Cassia had the strength to speak.

"A place to wait for me to die," Cassia clarified. "We want to be together when it happens."

Rebekah thought to herself for a moment. "So be it. I will do what I can to make sure you can stay with us." She paused and smiled knowingly as her eyes rested on Katerina. "And who knows, maybe this will be beneficial to both of us."


"I had to make sure Caroline had a ride home," Khara reminded her sister as they walked down the road together.

"Why is it that sometimes I feel like she's your best friend and not me?" Elena argued quietly.

"Because you're paranoid, Elena. You're my twin sister and I love you more than everybody else on this planet. You know that you're my best friend," Khara said as she threw an arm around her sister's shoulders and gave them a small squeeze. "Together forever, yeah?"

"Yeah," Elena said as her lips finally curled up into a smile.

Their parent's car pulled up beside them and Khara opened the door for Elena to get in. She slid into the backseat and closed the door.

"Besides, Caroline and Tyler are my best friends. They're just on a different level than you. A lower level," Khara said with a smile. Elena pressed her lips into a smile.

"I think Tyler loves you, not just as a friend, but more than that," Elena admitted in a hushed tone so their parents couldn't overhear.

Khara scoffed and pushed her golden locks over her shoulder. "No way."

"Yes way," Elena argued.

"No way," Khara retorted.

"Yes way," Elena said with a quirk of her head.

"No—" Khara began.

"Girls, quit arguing," their dad told them as he glanced over his shoulder.

"We're not arguing," the twins chorused and looked at each other.

"Together forever, yeah?" they chorused again as they grabbed onto each other's forearms. "Yeah."


"They know," Caitlyn said as she took up walking beside her sister. "The town knows we're here."

"That is not true, sister," Katherine scoffed. "It couldn't be."

"Pearl just told me, Katherine," Caitlyn said as she grabbed onto her sister's arm roughly. "It is time we leave. Preferably, before the town starts hunting us down."

"We'll leave as soon as I follow through with my plan," Katherine promised quietly.

"No," Caitlyn said sternly. "We are leaving on the morrow. There is no room for debate."

"Tomorrow, then," Katherine agreed after a moment.

"Tomorrow," Caitlyn repeated with a look in her eyes that Katherine had only seen once before.


"Khara! Wake up, Khara! Please! Please, don't leave me!" Elena was shouting as she shook Khara's limp body.

Khara gasped as she woke up suddenly. The force of the crash had knocked her unconscious but she was fully aware of what was happening. They were in the water. They were sinking fast. It had all happened so, so fast, Khara thought. One moment she was talking to her sister and the next thing she knew they were in the water.

"Everything's going to be okay," their father told them, but neither of the girls believed him. Khara couldn't find a way to. She knew there was no way out, and that idea was cemented in her head when her father tried to break the window without any luck.

"Dad," Elena said and he looked back at the twins before shaking his head. There was no way out. Elena took hold of Khara's hand and they looked at each other. They had always completed each other and neither of them could imagine dying without each other. Khara couldn't help but think that this was the way it was supposed to happen. They were supposed to die as a family. Together forever.

Then there was a man at the window. Khara saw her father point over his shoulder, asking the man to save the twins first. Khara knew he was sacrificing himself so his daughters could live. There was no way that she would ever get over that. The guilt would tear her up if she lived and her parents didn't.

The man fulfilled their father's wish as he moved to the backseat and pulled the door open without much difficulty. The shock on his face when he saw Khara and Elena was unmatched to anything Khara had ever seen. It was astonishment mixed with fear mixed with longing. He shook his head to clear his mind and helped both of the girls out of the car. Elena was already unconscious so Khara had to make up for her sister by trying to swim towards the surface. It was obvious to Khara that the man was struggling with both of them in his hands. He could only save one of them.

Khara pulled her arm free from her savior and let herself drift away from him. He tried to go after her, but she shook her head and mouthed, "Save her."

Her mouth and lungs filled with water when she did that, causing her to choke on the mixture of water and air in her throat. Her body seemed to become even heavier and she sunk to the bottom of the lake. Her head pounded, her lungs burned, and she began to shake as her body started to shut down.


The man that Trevor brought over was handsome and tall, but he seemed shocked to see the two girls standing before him.

"Forgive me," he said. "You both remind me of two girls I used to know."

"Katerina, Cassia, may I introduce you to Lord Elijah," Trevor said as he gestured between the three.

Elijah held out his hand to Katerina and she took it. She curtsied before Elijah turned to her sister. Cassia coughed away from them before looking back at the lord.

"My apologies, my lord," she said politely.

"There is no need for apologies," Elijah responded quickly. He stuck out his hand Cassia took it after a moment. "Trevor explained your illness. We will do all we can to help you."

"Thank you, my lord," Cassia said as she curtsied.

"Please, call me Elijah," he said.

"Elijah," Cassia tested the name on her lips, causing Elijah to smile. He hadn't heard his name sound so pleasant since Eleanora.


Elijah knew it was wrong. He knew he should have let her drown, but he couldn't. Not when he saw the other girl's face. He knew he had to save the other doppelganger. So, he did.

He took her in his arms and took her to the surface. He should have just left her there, but she wouldn't wake up, even after he fed her his blood. She just wouldn't wake up. There was only one solution he could think of. And it was the best solution in the long run. She would be alive, technically and when Klaus finally made his way to Mystic Falls, she would be safe. Elijah's brother would want to kill her, but he wouldn't be able to.

Elijah carried her safely to the woods where he lied her down and cupped her face. She looked too much like Cassia and Eleanora. Even her blonde hair was the exact same shade as them. Elijah missed his past loves so much, more than his family. He was finally given a chance to get it back, the love he lost.

With a determination he'd never felt before, he cupped the sides of Khara's face and snapped her neck without mercy. The beating heart stopped and Khara Gilbert was dead.


"So, where is this mysterious host I've heard so much about?" Katerina asked.

"Fashionably late. He likes to make an entrance," Elijah said. Just then he saw Klaus coming down the stairs, but by the time the twins turned to look he was lost in the crowd. When it parted, the girls finally saw him. He joined the group.

"Katerina, Cassia, may I introduce to you the lord Niklaus," Elijah said. Katerina and Cassia curtsied. Klaus took their hand one by one and kissed them.

"Niklaus is the name my father gave me," Klaus started. "Please, call me Klaus."


She gasped for air as she woke up. Khara realized she was alive a second later. Last thing she remembered was dying. Then she was alive again?

Then she saw the man standing over her. He wasn't the same man that had tried to rescue her. This man was older.

"Am I dead?" Khara asked the man.

"No, my dear," Elijah said. "You are alive. I saved your life."

Khara shook her head curtly. "My sister. Where is my sister?"

"She's alive too," Elijah said as he kneeled beside the younger girl.

"Who are you?" Khara asked.

"My name is Elijah Mikaelson," he told her. "What's your name?"

"Khara Gilbert," she answered tiredly. She looked around and stood up. "Where am I? Where's my sister?"

"Your sister was taken to the hospital, and you are in the woods by the lake. They never found your body," Elijah explained as he stood up straight and buttoned his jacket.

"Well, here I am," Khara said, exasperated. "Can you take me back to my family?"

"I can't do that," Elijah told her. "Not until you learn control."

"Control of what? What the hell are you talking about?"

"It was the only way to save you," Elijah said, regretting his choice to lie. He should just tell her the truth, but then she would never forgive him and he couldn't have this end the same way it did the last time.

"What are you talking about?!" Khara demanded.

"You're in transition, Khara," Elijah told her.

"Transition to what?"

"To becoming a vampire," Elijah said as he held the doppelgangers gaze. He quickly showed her his fangs.

Khara stared at him for a moment, getting the urge to laugh. But then she noticed just how serious he was. She exhaled slowly. "Oh, god."