Sacrifice
DG32173

Sarah: just a thought I had. I hope you enjoy. Reviews are most appreciated.

DISCLAIMER
The only thing I own is what I write as it is written. Everything you recognize, including this theme, belongs to someone else.

WARNINGS
ALTERNATE UNIVERSE! The Originals never come to Mystic Falls. Just Katherine plotting to break up Elena and Stefan. Rated M for my sanity, not that I have any.

SUMMARY
When Katherine takes Damon and Stefan hostage, Elena knows it's a trap to draw her out. But one look at the picture of Damon tied up with vervaine ropes that Katherine had sent her sends all common sense right out of her. So she risks her life yet again to protect the vampire she keeps refusing to admit she loves, Stefan being in equal danger barely sinking into her mind. Only this time, things take a turn that nobody but Katherine expected. Elena has always been willing to sacrifice everything to save Damon, but how far is she really willing to go? Damon/Elena, Katherine/Stefan

Chapter 1
Sacrifice Everything

Elena's hair whips out behind her as she races headlong through the woods. She knows damned well that this is all a trap that Katherine had cooked up to lure her away from her guards and out of the newly-created safety of the boarding house, which is now in her name. But one look at the picture of Damon that had been sent to her and she lost all common sense as the overwhelming drive to protect him that fills her when he's in danger rose yet again. The blue-eyed Salvatore had been tied up with ropes that were obviously laced with vervaine, considering the burns on his skin around the rope. She vaguely recalls that Stefan had been in the background, also tied up with vervaine ropes. But her concern for the vampire who's supposed to be her boyfriend barely makes a blip on her radar compared to the all-consuming need to save Damon, sacrificing even her life to do so if she must.

Finally, she breaks free of the woods to see the ruins of the old Salvatore manor. Katherine had said that if she wanted to protect the brothers, she would have to come to the old Salvatore estate alone and enter the basement. There she would find the brothers. Elena knows that Katherine wouldn't just hand them over, just like that. She knows Katherine would be luring her into a trap. But the mere hint that Damon was in trouble was enough to make the side of Elena that's just as reckless as Damon can be come forward and make her race through the woods to save him.

"Basement, basement," she mutters, slowly making her way into the ruins. She pulls out the flashlight she had remembered to bring and turns it on. She has only been here once, when Stefan brought her to retrieve Damon's ring from where he had hidden it the one time he had locked his brother up in the basement at the boarding house. She hadn't exactly been given a grand tour, so she's trying desperately to recall the general layout of the southern manors in the middle of the nineteenth century that she had learned from Rick in history.

She knows that one entrance into the basement, or cellar, as it was called then, was always located near the kitchen because that end was used to store food supplies as well as alcohol. But she also recalls that it was still connected to the rest of the basement. So she decides to try to find where the kitchen had been, since that's her best option. It takes nearly fifteen minutes, but she finally finds the kitchen entrance into the basement. She frowns nervously at the stairs. They look sturdy enough, but considering how long this place has been abandoned, she knows trusting them to carry her weight is the last thing she should do.

Elena takes a deep breath and carefully makes her way down into the inky blackness of the cellar, testing each step carefully before putting her full weight on it. She lets out a sigh of relief when she makes it all the way down without mishap. Now if only the rest of this stupid rescue mission will go that well. She knows damned well that's not going to happen, but she can't help wishing it would. With that grim thought, Elena begins making her way deeper into the basement, looking for her boys.

With Damon and Stefan

Damon groans as he strains against the vervaine ropes. "Damn that bitch," he growls. "I'm going to rip her heart out and feed it to her for this."

"Easy, Damon," Stefan says. "You know as well as I do that we can't get free on our own."

"This is a damned trap and we're the bait," Damon snarls. "I don't take kindly to being used as bait."

"The others will figure something out," Stefan assures his brother.

"Only if Elena doesn't get it in her head to pull off a rescue mission all by herself," Damon snaps. He sees Stefan's startled look and curses. "Dammit, Stefan, there's only one person in this town Katherine would use both of us as bait for. Judgy and Blondie couldn't give a rat's ass if I'm okay. They hate me, remember? But Elena has this annoying habit of risking everything to save my ass. She's taken on a vampire that wanted to barbecue me. She nearly got herself trapped in a tomb full of desiccated vampires because I was going into shock from realizing that I wasted a hundred-and-forty-five years chasing a lie. Remember, it was my name she cried out in fear when it became apparent that we could so easily have gotten trapped. Not to mention she was perfectly willing to run into a burning building to get to me and would have had Judgy not held her back. Let's not forget that she leapt over a trail of fire and physically launched herself at a pissed-off witch because said witch was taking out her frustration on me. Is it just me or is there some sort of pattern there?" Damon asks sarcastically.

"It sounds like Elena would give up her life to keep you safe," Stefan remarks softly.

"Not to mention that she came too damned close to going right into that houseful of tomb vampires because they were holding you hostage. She jumped between the stake in my hand and Blondie when she saw I was going to kill the girl. Hate to say it, baby bro, but Elena is too damned willing to run headfirst into danger without a plan at the merest hint of those she cares about being in trouble." Damon tugs at the ropes tying his hands over his head, hissing as the vervaine burns deeper into his wrists.

Suddenly, the brothers wince as a light shines under the door to the dark room they're in. A vampire wouldn't need a light because vampires can see perfectly well in pitch black darkness with no light. So it's definitely not Katherine returning. The door creaks open and reveals the very human they had just been talking about. Her eyes widen at seeing the burns that Katherine had inflicted on them with vervaine water. "Damon," she breathes, dropping her flashlight and rushing over to him.

"Please tell me you weren't so stupid as to walk into a blatant trap without backup," Damon groans as he tries to twist to see what she's doing.

"Shut up and hold still," Elena snaps, working frantically at the knots tying the rope holding Damon upright to what had once been a bar that would hold chained slaves in this ancient cell.

"I'll take that as a 'yes, Damon, I was stupid enough to come without backup,'. What were you thinking Elena?" Damon growls.

"You were in trouble and Katherine said that if I contacted anyone about this, you would both be dead before we found you," Elena growls, down to the last knot.

Suddenly a wind rushes through the cell and Elena's yanked away from the knot. Elena finds herself struggling to escape Katherine's grasp. "And you were so obedient," Katherine says into the human's ear. The vampiress is holding Elena with her back braced against Katherine's chest. "And since you were obedient, I figured I should reward you."

"Let her go, Katherine," Damon snarls, tugging savagely against his binds.

"Katherine, please, let her go," Stefan begs, struggling against his own restraints.

Katherine reaches up to grasp Elena's throat with one hand. "Now, now, boys, you wouldn't want anything happening to her, would you?" she coos. The brothers freeze, both glaring fiercely at Katherine. "Much better. So, where was I? Ah, yes, I was saying that I should reward you for your obedience, Elena," she says. "As a reward to obeying my orders, you get to keep one brother. The other will be leaving Mystic Falls with me," Katherine says. "Now, Elena, you have a choice to make. Which brother will you keep? Damon? Or Stefan?"

"Neither of them will go with you willingly," Elena growls.

"I didn't say they have to be willing," Katherine replies. "I just said one is coming with me, the other is staying with you. And that decision is yours, Elena."

Elena's eyes flick over both brothers. She knows that Damon would rather die than go with Katherine. And she'd rather die than be without him. But Stefan would be so hurt if she didn't choose him. He wouldn't understand. He's never understood the bond between her and Damon. Elena makes a choice that will shock all of them "Take me, Katherine. Just leave them alone," she says softly.

"No!" Damon shouts.

"Elena, think about this!" Stefan begs.

"You know, that is a very tempting offer," Katherine muses. "So, you'd sacrifice everything to protect them from me?" she asks.

"Yes," Elena says firmly.

"Elena, don't do this!" Damon snaps.

"There's got to be another way," Stefan pleads.

"You would give up everything, even your life, for them?" Katherine asks.

Damon and Stefan start fighting their restraints in earnest as what Katherine's leading up to becomes clear to them.

"I'd give up my life to protect those I care about," Elena says honestly.

"Well, I think we just found a little deal we could make," Katherine says. "I have a deal for you, Elena. I turn you and then I'll leave Mystic Falls, leaving everyone you care about alone for however long they live provided they leave me alone. But I won't hesitate to defend myself, even if it's against someone you care about."

"Don't you dare, Katherine!" Damon snarls.

"Elena, think about this!" Stefan cries.

Elena looks directly into Damon's eyes, not even glancing at Stefan. "Say it as a blood oath, Katherine. I don't trust you," Elena says firmly, leaving all three vampires to wonder how she found out about the blood oath, the only spell a vampire can cast. When a vampire gives a blood oath to someone, they are bound to their word for eternity. And it's not something vampires just talk about, considering that not even the oldest vampires in the world, the Originals, can go against a blood oath they give.

Katherine sighs. "Very well. I, Katherine Pierce, born as Katarina Petrova, give a blood oath to one Elena Gilbert, my final descendant, that if she allows me to turn her into a vampire, I will leave those she cares about alone for eternity provided that they leave me alone in turn. However, I will not hesitate to defend myself should they come after me," she says, her immense Power swirling around the two as she casts the spell to bind her to her word. Then her Power curls back into her. "Okay, Elena, you have my blood oath. It's time." She brings her wrist to her mouth and bites down to break skin before pressing her wrist against Elena's mouth. The brothers shout and beg for this to stop, struggling to free themselves. But both women ignore them as Elena swallows Katherine's blood. When Katherine determines Elena has had enough, she pulls her wrist away and turns Elena around, her hands on either side of the human's head. "Now it's time for just a short nap, Elena. When you wake up, you'll experience the world in a whole new way. Embrace immortality, because you just achieved it. Bye now," she says before snapping Elena's neck. Elena collapses to the floor, lifeless for now. Katherine pulls out a pair of black leather gloves. "And here I thought my plan wouldn't work," she tells the brothers as she slips the gloves on.

"What plan?" Damon demands heatedly.

"End the Petrova bloodline at long last by turning my final human descendant into a vampire," she says. "It wasn't about either of you this time. Now I guess I should let the two of you free so you can take care of her. I'm bound by the blood oath, after all. But don't go attacking me once I do, I made sure that I would be able to defend myself should any of you lot try to take revenge. I'm not stupid." With that, she unties the rope keeping Stefan up then does the same for Damon. "I'm sure you can free yourselves from there. Take care of her. It'll be fun to find out which of you can handle it when she is no longer able to suppress her true self. I swore to leave you alone. I didn't swear to stay away. This is going to be fun."

With that, Katherine uses her vampire speed to leave the ruins completely while the brothers make haste to shed their painful bonds and get to Elena. They know that this is only the beginning of Katherine's latest game. And Elena had played right into the bitch's hand. They just hope they can protect her from whatever else their sire has planned.

Sarah: and that is it for chapter 1. I hope you enjoyed. Next chapter, Elena wakes up in her room in the boarding house to face her friends as they demand to know what she was thinking. Please review and tell me what you think of this so far.