4

Elena sat up quickly in her bed, her heart was thumping at rapid speed. Had she really just dreamed that? Stefan had walked outside of a bar and had been starting to burn to death when she had woken up.

"Go back to sleep." Damon mumbled.

Elena shook her head. She knew she couldn't, not after that dream.

She filled the tub with water and then added her favorite type of bubble bath-brown sugar to calm her down and filled the tub with it. Nothing was better than a bubble bath. She slipped into the tub and five seconds later she let out a scream. The water, no the bubbles burned her skin. Vervain.

She got up quickly and wrapped her burning body with a robe. Damon was immediately on her side. "What happened?"

"Vervain," she hissed. "Someone put vervain in my bubble bath bottle. I felt as if I was bathing in a pool made of acid."

A giggle.

Elizabeth stood in the doorway and said innocently. "Oh, I'm so sorry Elena I should have warned you, I was picking up a few plants the other day and vervain may have slipped in. So sorry I hope it didn't burn too badly."

She glared at her. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Didn't you hear? Your boyfriend asked me to stay."

Elena scoffed. "Damon!"

"I didn't have a choice, I couldn't exactly tell Donovan to take her in with Silas after her," Damon said curtly. "Besides I was feeling generous."

"You have three siblings," Elena shot back. "Why do you go to them and stop pestering us?"

"I'm surprise you still have energy to chase after me, when you obviously have bigger problems."

Elena flushed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean if your scream earlier is any indication," Elizabeth loved the displeased look on Elena's face. "Then we just had the same dream."

Elena sighed as she put Stefan's ring on the coffee table. "I had a feeling there was something wrong all summer and I ignored it, but I was right, Stefan was stuck in that safe all summer, probably killed whoever let him out. I know it sounds crazy, but my dream is the only lead we have."

"My dream too, you know," Elizabeth sing song as she came into the Salvatore's parlor carrying one of Elena's old purses. "Don't take all the credit."

"Hey, that's my bag and my clothes," she fumed. "Why the hell are you wearing them?"

Elizabeth snapped. "Oh, didn't you hear I can't compel myself nice clothes anymore, so unless you want me to walk around naked. I suggest you share."

Elena gritted her teeth as she grasped the table, she muttered to Damon. "Please tell me she's not coming."

"Trust me if it were up to me I wished Elizabeth would fall dead, but for some reason Silas wants her real bad and if Silas wants her I want her, besides," he looked at her cocky expression. "Once we get Stefan back he can whisk her away to Portland or wherever they were going."

"Oh, well in that case can't we just stash her in the cellar?" Elena cocked her head at Damon hopefully. "Or maybe a deep, dark well with a pair of water wings and a food bowl?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Do you really think I want to take a road trip with you of all people? America's most boring, whiny vampire who wants everyone to worship at her altar. Just remember Damon wouldn't have to play jail guard if you hadn't shoved that cure down my throat."

"You were trying to kill me!"

Elizabeth sat in one of the leather chairs and started fixing her hair. "Oh, wah wah poor Elena everyone hates her. I hate to break it to you sweetie, but not everyone is going to like you. You're going to make enemies sooner or later and how many more people are you willing to sacrifice?"

Elena didn't respond.

She smiled satisfied. "That's what I thought. And just so you know I want to find Stefan just as much as you do and not just because I don't want to be a pawn that you can trade off. I love and I will always love Stefan, I have loved him since the twenties. You on the other hand, what can you possibly know about love and here you are switching brothers again."

Damon cleared his throat. "Train is leaving the station. Choo-choo!"

"You sure you know what you're looking for?" Damon asked Elena. "Last bar has a neon sign."

Elena nodded, "I'll know when I see it."

Elizabeth stuck her head out from between the front seats. "Me too."

Damon rolled his eyes. "No one asked you."

Elizabeth threw him a dirty look. "I'm just trying to help, anything to stop the sounds of doom and gloom." She settled back into the seat. "You know Elena I find it funny, you've been having these weird dreams all summer, yet you thought having sex with Damon here was more important. I mean any other smart, sane person would have realized that Stefan was trying to reach out to you."

Damon felt Elena stiffen next to him. "Ignore her, once the vervain is out of her system, I'll compel her to shut up."

Once they reached Joe's bar Elena and Damon closed the door quietly. Elena hesitated as she turned back to the backseat where Elizabeth was in the car sleeping. "Are we just going to leave her in the car?"

"The only time she shuts up is when she's sleeping and I didn't want to destroy our peace and quiet," he smirked as he opened the door. "Besides she taught me a good trick, I dropped a sleeping pill in her lemonade before we left the house."

Elizabeth entered the bar a few minutes later feeling surprisingly refreshed, she looked back startled when a dark haired woman pointed the gun at her. "Now which one of you is Elizabeth Mikaelson?"

"She is!" Elizabeth blurted, pointing to Elena.

The woman smirked. "Elizabeth is a blond and a liar apparently, but I need her alive."

Elena used her vampire speed to push the woman down. "Elizabeth run."

Elizabeth turned around and ran as fast as she could.

Don't trip, don't trip she told herself as she ran through the woods, but it was hard because there were trees and shrubs everywhere. Elizabeth paused in front of a big log trying to decide how she would get through it. Someone touched her shoulder and she flinched. She relaxed slightly when she saw Elena. "Oh, it's you."

Elena barely looked at her, "Let's go before she doubles back."

"I'm not falling for it," she said stubbornly.

Elena paused. "Falling for what?"

"The whole letting me live thing. First after forcing the cure down my throat and now. I'm not falling for the whole you want to save me because I'm human scenario. You could have easily let me die twice. Why didn't you?"

"If Silas needs you that means you're leverage," Elena replied. "Nothing else. Maybe after a 1000 years of bad behavior, you'll be a little nicer."

She scoffed. "Gee, I'm sorry I didn't think I should have to bow down to you for letting me live. News flash Elena, just because you let me live doesn't make you a good person, you only let me live because I'm of used to you. I have no doubt in my mind that once I'm no longer of use you'll kill me."

Elena hesitated. "That's not true, I value my humanity-"

Elizabeth shook her head, "No, don't you dare give me your crappy I value my humanity speech. If you really valued your humanity, heck if you were a halfway decent person you wouldn't have killed my brothers nor will you use me as your little leverage tool. Don't you get it by now, Elena? You're a monster, just like I was, like Damon, and like Katherine." She took a deep breath. "I want to find Stefan and I want to tell him to move on and be happy. Neither of us deserve him, especially since what were your exact words, I'm an insecure, paranoid, nervous wreck?"

The woman back at the bar came behind Elena and snapped her neck. "Do I have to knock you out too?"

"What the hell are you doing to him?" Damon scowled as he saw his little brother tied up in a chair.

Tessa smirked at him. "I'm linking him and Silas together, that way he won't be able to use his mind control, which means he will be weakened and I can shoved the cure down the bastard's throat."

"Slight problem," Damon snapped. "The cure is gone, it's been digested."

Tessa raised an eyebrow. "Elizabeth, right? I'm aware of her condition, she was supposed to be with you. Oh, dear she better not be dead."

Stefan gaped at his brother in disbelief. "Wait, Elizabeth took the cure?"

"Yeah, your little blond ray of sunshine took the cure," Damon said sarcastically. "And Tessa or whatever your name is, I think you may have some competition for the cure. Silas wants it and he's more than willing to snap Elizabeth's neck to get it."

"I'll do it!" Stefan blurted out.

Damon frowned, "Stefan!"

"It's my choice, Damon," he looked at his brother. "Just promise me that whatever happens you will take care of Elizabeth, don't let Silas get her."

Damon hesitated.

"Damon, please. Do it for me."

"All right fine." He mumbled. "I'll protect her."

Tessa looked pleased. "You heard the boy, now let's get started."

When Elizabeth woke up, she noticed that she was in a hotel room. She rubbed the back of her head where the woman had hit her. The woman appeared again and threw her a bag of chips. "Here, dinner."

Elizabeth stared at the chips. "You're kidding right? What's your name?"

The woman ignored her and instead opened her phone. "What Silas?"

"Where's Elizabeth?"

"Safe," the woman pursed her lips. "For now,"

Elizabeth snatched the phone from her hand, "What do you want with me, Silas?"

Silas groaned. "You know, you were much prettier when you were asleep, now you're just a pain in the ass. But to answer your question, the cure still exist, Elizabeth. The cure is running through your veins, does that answer your question, darling?"

-End of Chapter Four-

Glad you're enjoying the story, Elizabeth will be reunited with her siblings (or forced too, anyway) around chapter eight :)