I do not own TVD or TO.
Elena blinked tiredly at her blurred reflection in the mirror. The steam from the shower had left behind a layer of moisture on the reflective glass so she could only make out her outline.
She rubbed most of the water from her long hair and hung the towel on the rod beneath the window. She took the brush with her into her bedroom and tugged it through the knotted curls until it ran smoothly through her hair. Normally she preferred to shower in the morning but she didn't really have a routine anymore; she missed her routine.
She missed waking up every morning at the same time. She missed fighting with Jeremy over who got the bathroom first and rushing off to school with a piece of toast in her hand because she'd spent too much time getting ready.
She missed school. She missed her friends. She'd even take Damon's not so subtle unwelcome advances in that moment.
She swiped a tear from her cheek and sniffled as quietly as she could. Her emotions in the days since Klaus had taken her had consisted of anger and fear; she hadn't allowed herself to cry, but now that she had stopped she found she was drowning in grief for the things she had lost.
The night of the accident her lungs had filled with water until she'd felt as if an elephant had been sitting on her chest. The sadness rested heavily on her heart.
Her head lifted towards the door when a soft knock sounded. She blinked back the tears that had been shimmering in her eyes. She stood from the bed and made her way to the door.
She swallowed and drew in a deep breath before opening the door. A line appeared between her brows when she saw the person on the other side.
"Are you alright?" Rebekah tilted her head.
Elena didn't trust her voice in that moment so she nodded instead. She knew Rebekah didn't believe her when she carefully pulled her into her arms.
Elena's shoulders shook when the tears fell free and stained the blue material on the blonde's shoulder.
"Shh," Rebekah rubbed Elena's back and moved her to sit on the edge of her bed. She couldn't remember if she'd ever seen either of the other two truly cry; she'd thought them incapable of the emotions required for the act. They had put on pretend tears to get what they'd wanted, but Rebekah didn't think Elena had been doing that. She'd been attempting to keep quiet in the solitude of her room, but there was no doubt in Rebekah's mind that Kol would have entered the room if he had heard her tears; maybe that was why she'd been keeping quiet.
"It's alright, love."
Elena shook her head. It wasn't alright; she doubted it would ever be alright. Klaus would never let her go, and she would never see her family again.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Rebekah ran her fingers soothingly through Elena's hair in an attempt to comfort the young woman.
"I…" Elena closed her eyes and pushed herself to sit up straight. She'd always hated crying; she hated the way it made her feel like a helpless child. "I m-miss him," she swiped the last of her tears away and blinked away the fresh wave that threatened to fall.
"Who?" Rebekah tilted her head. Had she been involved with someone before Klaus had abducted her?
"My b-brother," Elena's vision blurred. She didn't mean to unload everything on Rebekah, but once the blonde got her talking she couldn't stop; she was a lot like Caroline that way: easy to talk to.
Rebekah wanted to tell her she would see them all again, but she couldn't. She didn't want to lie to her, and she knew that nobody ever escaped Klaus. She stayed with Elena until she fell asleep.
Kol spun the point of the dagger on the tip of his finger. His eyes were trained on the finished counter on his wrist. When he thought of how close he had come to missing her, his blood boiled.
"If you still had magic I'm certain that dagger would melt under your glare," Elijah adjusted his cuffs.
"If only," Kol sighed, "that would have saved me a lot of trouble over the centuries." He slammed the dagger down on a low coffee table.
"I'd love nothing more for those to be destroyed," Rebekah glared at the silver on the wooden table. She lifted her gaze to Elijah where he was leaning against a bookshelf watching the sun rise over the trees. "She's got a brother?"
"Elena?" He turned from the window. "Yes she has a younger brother: Jeremy. Knowing Niklaus he's taken Elena without a second thought; her brother's probably worried sick and probably has the Bennet witch looking for her."
"Bennett?" Kol cocked an eyebrow.
"Bonnie Bennett is a descendant of Ayana," Elijah nodded. "She lives near Elena's home; it's close to the village where we grew up."
"Speaking of location," Finn glared out the window, "where exactly are we?"
"I'm not sure," Elijah shook his head, "I'd assume close to Mystic Falls. Elena did say one moment she was at school and the next she was here after he had taken her. It's possible we're still within the town borders."
Rebekah drew in a deep breath and dropped to sit on the couch with her feet curled beneath her. She tapped the arm of the couch and stared out the window towards the crunch of gravel.
"What is that?" Finn tilted his head and pointed towards the driveway.
"That would be a car," Elijah followed his older brother's arm.
Elijah watched the doors open as four people stepped out. He recognized his soon to be maimed brother and Stefan Salvatore, but the young man and woman who climbed out of the backseat. They both had amber eyes ringed in sweeping black lashes, sharp cheekbones, full lips, and thick auburn hair. The shared features told Elijah the pair was likely related. The dirt smudged on their faces told him they had spent the night running through the woods.
"It appears his outing was fruitful," Elijah nodded.
The woman looked up at the house and shivered.
"Do see them inside. I'll fetch the blood."
Elijah turned from the window when Klaus disappeared and he heard a small rush of wind from the other side of the room.
Klaus flashed inside the house and up the stairs without pausing. He had been hoping to find more wolves after the full moon, but the 'pack' he had been tracking turned out to only be two. It was alright though; the Allen siblings would make the first additions to his hybrid army.
He had left Tyler amongst his friends in Mystic Falls after he had completed the transition with explicit orders. Tyler was to ensure Elena's friends never found out where he had taken her, and not to tell anyone that he was sired to Klaus.
Klaus came to a stop outside her bedroom door a few seconds after leaving Stefan outside. His hand closed around the handle and twisted but before he could push he was physically thrown across the hall into the wall. An ornate picture frame fell down onto his head.
"Kol," his eyes were wide when he looked up into his little brother's face. He backed up a bit into the wall.
"What's…?" Elena froze in her door frame and took in the sight of a shell shocked Klaus sprawled across from her room.
"You know what," Klaus jumped to his feet, "this is going to have to wait," he nodded to Kol, "I've a pressing matter to attend to with my doppel…"
Elena stifled her shriek when Kol moved faster than she could see and Klaus fell at her feet with a broken neck. She swallowed and lifted her eyes from her kidnapper to her soulmate.
"Good morning, darling," he tilted his head and turned to meet her wide eyes, "did you sleep well?"
"Better than I have," she pushed her tangled hair from her face. "Why'd you do that?" Her eyes darted to Klaus.
"He returned from the woods with a couple of wolves," Kol exhaled slowly, "and given what you told me last night it was clear he was coming for your blood."
"So you broke his neck?" She arched a brow.
"I might not be able to take you home Elena," he took a step closer and moved her hair over her shoulder, "but I can do everything in my power to keep him from using you."
His fingertips grazed the shell of her ear; her breath hitched and her heart quickened. He bit down the sudden urge he had to bend and capture her sweet lips in a kiss.
"That wouldn't include a way to get me out of here?" She breathed.
"If only," Kol chuckled. He traced her features with his eyes; if it weren't for her he might have been long gone by that point.
The desire to live without the threat of a dagger over his head was strong, but he had waited centuries to find his other half. He didn't think he could have left her if he wanted to. If she wanted him to it would have been a different story, but he wouldn't be leaving her especially while she was in the care of his power-mad brother.
"How long's he going to be out?" Elena exhaled slowly.
"Not too long," he sighed. Reluctantly he lowered his hand from her hair.
"And these wolves…" she tilted her head and closed her eyes, "… did he already…"
"Did he already what, darling?" His eyes flashed with curiosity.
The endearment sent a thrill down her spine. She wondered if she'd ever get tired of it, or the way he looked at her.
"Are they in transition already?" She crossed her arms.
"I'm not sure," he shook his head. "Nik didn't pause. He ran up here the moment he got back; he didn't even realize we were awake until I pulled him from your door." He frowned when she stepped over Klaus with a quick nod and headed to the stairs. "Where are you going?"
Reaching out he caught her elbow gently.
"To find out," she looked at him over her shoulder. She frowned when he smirked.
"I actually got that bit, love," his thumb rubbed a soft circle into her olive skin, "I meant 'where are you going' like that?" His eyes roamed down her body slowly.
Her eyes narrowed in confusion until she looked down. She had forgotten about her clothes, or lack thereof. She'd donned a pair of black silk pajamas the night before, but whoever had bought them hadn't been thinking like she did; her typical sleepwear consisted of sweats and a camisole not silk shorts that might as well have been underwear.
"I'm gonna throw something on," she blushed and slid back into her room. In her closet she changed into a pair of black and pink lace underwear before yanking on a pair of jeans and a cashmere blue sweater. She didn't bother with shoes; it wasn't like she could go outside anyway.
She was pulling her hair into a messy bun when she stepped back out into the hall with Kol.
"Better?" She held out her arms.
"I was a fan of the former outfit," his smile was teasing, "but this is just as lovely." He fell into step beside her on the path down the stairs. "Why do you want to know about the wolves?"
"Because," she moved to tuck her hair behind her ear before remembering she had put it up, "if they're in transition they'll die without my blood, and I'm not going to condemn someone to death just to spite Klaus."
"You are something else," he murmured.
"Is that a bad thing?" She paused on the stairs.
Kol stopped a step below and turned to face her. He tilted his head and searched her mahogany eyes.
"Not bad," he held the rail, "just something else. I was in Asia when the second Petrova got mixed up with my family, but I did know Tatia."
"Oh?" She bit her lip and tried not to look too curious.
"Yes," he nodded, "and she would have gleefully done such a thing to spite someone. I saw her do it a few times. She was a bit of a… well a bitch. Do forgive my rude language, darling."
Elena shook with a small laugh.
"That's okay," she bit down on her cheek, "accurately describes Katherine. Actually… it's a nicer term than I would have used for her."
"Would you really give your blood?" His expression turned serious.
"If that's the only way they can live then yes," she sobered. "Why; are you going to stop me?"
"No," he shook his head, "but I would compel them after to leave and forget Nik before he enforces the blind loyalty that comes with the bond."
"How come?"
"I can respect that you don't want to be responsible for someone's death," he took her hand and walked backwards down the stairs, "but I really want to spite my brother."
"Nobody dies?" She stepped down with him.
"Not by my hand," he smiled. "We'll need to hurry though, darling. Nik will be waking up within the hour: alright?"
"Okay," she nodded.
Kol turned around at the bottom of the stairs and froze. His eyes flickered from the newcomers to his siblings. Rebekah was locked in a staring contest with the vampire who had escorted the wolves inside the house; he could see the anger flashing in her eyes and the confusion on the man's face.
"Hi Stefan," Elena subconsciously squeezed Kol's hand.
"Elena," Stefan nodded. "Who's your friend?" He tilted his head and looked pointedly to their joined hands.
"Who are yours?" She countered.
"Melody and Noah Allen," he nodded to the shivering people behind him, "Klaus broke their necks a few hours ago."
"You two know each other," Rebekah turned to Elena.
"Yes," Elena nodded, "I believe I mentioned my humanity-less ex-boyfriend."
"You did," Rebekah nodded. "I just didn't realize your ex was mine."
"What?" Elena's brows shot up. Shouldn't Stefan have mentioned knowing an Original before when they were dealing with Klaus?
"I've already told you I don't know who you are," Stefan crossed his arms, "and I really don't care."
Elena caught the flash of hurt in Rebekah's eyes.
"Where's Nik?" Rebekah turned her angry gaze to Kol.
"Outside her bedroom," Kol nodded to the stairs. "Why?"
"Because I'm going to maim him," she flashed around the couple on the stairs.
What do you think?
I think I'm going to work on SAF next. It's been a while since I've checked in on ELEJAH and Miranda.