Hello everyone! So sorry it's been a bit of a wait, I'm not sure what was wrong with my muse. I'm a little bogged down, with 2 multi-chaps going at once, and oneshots pending, and people requesting...LOL! And of course real life interfering, and all that jazz.
Always sad when you lose a character, particularly an OC of your own making, but who knows, Rachel may not be gone forever.
Gets a little smutty near the end - can i get a hollah from my "Day" fans?
Inspirational songs for this week include "Moonlight Waltz" by Theatres Des Vampires, and "give me everything" by Pitbull+Ne-yo. Contradictory, I know.
Thank you for keeping with me, guys. And enjoy!
Elijah drove the car slowly through the creaky, rusted gates of Mystic Falls Cemetey; the "warehouse" was actually a mausoleum, located in a wooded area in a distant corner of the property. The bright summer day's air held a slight chill; as if the cheery weather knew what macabre secrets the forbidding place harbored. The structure itself looked commonplace enough; made of concrete and stone to keep it as cool as possible, its gray color was dreary and unexciting to the eye. A solid padlock gleamed in the sunlight, emphasizing the denial of access; to the average individual, of course.
As Elena's SUV came to a crackling stop on the gravel before the mausoleum, its inhabitants stared in silence for a moment. Who could have known that this drab building housed such incredible beings? A sudden breeze stirred the trees along the short footpath that led to it, sending dead leaves tumbling against the dim entryway steps.
Elena turned from the eerie sight, grasping Elijah's hand in her own, smiling as reassuringly as she could when his eyes met her own. She and Damon were still rattled from the news of Stefan's death; the last leg of the trip had been mostly silent; Damon staring numbly at his brother's ring, Elena trying hard not to blame herself for recent events, and Elijah lost in thoughts of his family.
Giving Elijah's hand one last squeeze, Elena opened her door and stepped out of the car, relishing the feel of the familiar summer breeze on her face. This summer had been a rough one, but it had not been all bad...
She let the breeze whip her long hair back and forth, as the sound of footsteps crunching on gravel approached. Elijah and Damon, both solemn-faced, moved to stand on either side of her, and they examined the mausoleum together.
"Excellent venue for a rave," Damon remarked dryly, startling Elena. "A little glitter thrown here and there, park a keg on that top step, add some uninhibited sorority girls...Why isn't Ke$ha all over this place?"
Elena smiled, finally catching the wandering strands of her hair and tucking them behind her ears. Elijah pulled an antique pocketwatch from within his suitjacket, flicking it open and regarding its cracked face for a moment before closing it gently. "It's time. Jacqueline is waiting."
At his words, Damon shook himself visibly, speeding to the barrred doors and grasping the hefty padlock. Snapping it open, he tossed the loose chains aside and waved Elena and Elijah in. Elena cast him a sad smile as she passed, entering the musty atmosphere of the building and stopping short once she was a few steps inside. Elijah moved past her quickly as she stared. It was one large room, divided by large wooden shelves that formed aisles. Obviously, the Originals were not the only ones kept here; coffins were visible filling every rack.
Elijah called from the back of the room, and Elena and Damon headed towards his voice, passing the eerie contents of the place and found him in the second-to-last aisle, one hand in his pocket, the other tracing ornate golden lettering on a shiny, mahogany coffin. The letters spelled "Elisabeta".
"My mother," he said very softly, removing his hand and turning to them. "They all appear unlocked. Salvatore, would you mind helping me by opening the others?" He gestured to the aisle behind them, and Damon sped off to do so. Elena folded her arms across her chest, feeling a chill run down her spine, and remained with Elijah.
Turning back to the mahogany coffin, Elijah gripped the ornate golden handle and swung the lid upwards. Elena, standing off to the side, couldn't see what was inside, but she caught a strong whiff of vervain, and saw Elijah go completely still except for his eyes, which darted back and forth, staring at the coffin's contents.
Elena unfolded her arms, starting towards Elijah, when he held up a hand, abruptly shutting the coffin and moving around it to the next one, solid back, with no labeling on it. He lifted the lid of that one, shutting it quickly and moving to a series of three burnished oak coffins. Glancing at the contents of the first two, he paused for a moment, closing his eyes as if in pain. Elena moved to his side, not stopping this time. "What is it?"
Smelling that strong vervain scent again, Elena looked down at the still-open coffin Elijah was standing over. She gasped, spotting what was inside, covering her mouth in horror and turning away, trying not to vomit. She'd seen so much up to this point, but whatever remained in that coffin wasn't even humanoid. The vervain had burned all tissue, leaving a seeping mess on the bottom of the coffin; the skeleton lay in it, the skull completely severed and lying beside the ribcage. There was no dagger in sight.
Elijah inhaled sharply, dropping the lid of this coffin and moving on to the last in this aisle. Gripping the handle of the glossy casket, he found himself unable to open it, feeling actual dread at what he would find in the coffin of his eldest brother Vladimir. His eyes closed, he was impervious to Elena approaching until he felt her smaller hand grab his, pulling it away. Opening his eyes, he saw her take a breath and swing open the cover with a flourish, and they both stared. Nothing lay inside, no blood, bones, no dagger...Absolutely nothing. Elena dropped the lid, and looked up at Elijah. "They...how...?"
Elijah turned away, kicking a wooden crate and sending it flying into the wall, in a rare display of emotion. He ran his hands through his hair, attempting deep breaths, and trying to think rationally. Elena watched, concerned, biting her lip; a sudden gleaming caught her eye, and she looked to see everything the crate had contained spilled out onto the cement floor. Antique daggers, seven of them, lay scattered on the ground.
Elena rushed past Elijah, dropping to the ground and grabbing a dagger, examining it closely. "Why would he leave them...?"
"He meant for us to find this...Niklaus," Elijah said quietly, coming to kneel next to her. "He killed them...he must have found out somehow the key to our mortality..."
A shout from Damon drew their attention, Elena dashing to the back aisle as Elijah rose more slowly, fearing the worst. His sisters were the only coffins he had not seen yet...And those would mean the most.
Flicking dust off of his jacket, Elijah walked to where Damon was, leaning over a coffin. Casting his eyes over it, Elijah noted the golden lettering spelling "Sasha", and mentally winced. Could he see this? On the bright side, his determination to see Klaus destroyed was even more pronounced...
Damon had his hand inside the coffin for some reason, and as Elijah approached, he beckoned with the other. "You need to see this."
The night was the darkest Jeremy had seen in a while; it was summer, and yet charcoal-colored clouds obscured the moon; the impenetrable darkness made it difficult to see anything at all. When Rachel and Bonnie had told him to run, he hadn't wanted to; he'd settled for making it to the forest's edge, sitting and waiting for Bonnie to reappear.
The sun had set, but not before Jeremy had observed the vampire Vlad fleeing from the house. Jeremy had watched as Vlad dashed outside, made it to the treeline and looked back, before slinking into the forest at another point. Jeremy knew he could do nothing against, essentially, someone as strong as Elijah, and so he waited. And waited more.
At last, Bonnie had come to find him, tears running down her face, saying simply, "Jay's friend is gone," and wrapping her arms around him tightly. Jeremy had held her for a long time, not needing an explanation just yet. When she finally pulled back, Bonnie grabbed his hand. "We need to find them, Jay shouldn't be alone, even if we're flies on the wall at this point."'
They had slowly walked to the other end of the mansion, where smoke billowed out of holes in the multiple broken windows of the library. They soon spotted Jay, who had pulled Rachel's limp form out of the wreckage and now cradled it on the lawn, rocking back and forth gently. Bonnie's grimoire, bloodspattered, lay forgotten on the ground where she had dropped it earlier.
Blood from Rachel's nose had run down her face to meet with that from her neck wound; her white shirt was completely bloodstained; her jeans were torn, fingers bloodied as well; and yet, her lips were curved into a slight smile. The sight made Jeremy's heart ache with sadness; he'd never met the other witch, but if she was on their side, and a friend of his allies, he grieved for the loss. He couldn't imagine what Jay was feeling, with her friend dead, and the body in such a state.
Jay, as hungry as she must have been, appeared not to notice all of the blood; though her fangs were extended, her eyes were full of tears as she held Rachel, sobbing, and brushing the sweat-soaked bangs from her forehead. After a moment, Jay paused in her weeping, holding up a wrist and looking between it and her friend. Opening her mouth, she tore into her own wrist, shoving it against Rachel's lips and hoping, hoping, hoping...
But there was no response. No swallowing motion, no opening of the mouth to receive the life-saving fluid...The blood dribbled helplessly over Rachel's cold lips, running down her chin to blend with her own. Realizing her efforts were futile, Jay let out an anguished noise, a cross between a howl and sob, clutching Rachel to her even harder, pressing her lips to the chestnut hair, disregarding the wound in her own wrist, still bleeding sluggishly.
Jeremy and Bonnie looked solemnly at each other, silently agreeing to give Jay some space. With the help of a flame conjured by Bonnie, they moved some distance away, to sit under a large willow tree in the dark, on the grounds of the house.
A long time passed, both Bonnie and Jeremy keenly feeling pangs of hunger and thirst, neither wanting to satisfy needs that seemed so inconsequential at the moment.
The sky was growing lighter already, morphing from a deep purple to a pale lavender; nightfall's power much diminished in the face of summer. As light crept over the treetops surrounding the property, Bonnie tensed, her back going rigid as her brow furrowed. She turned to Jeremy. "Can you feel that?"
He looked at her blankly.
"There's...some sort of power in the air. Weird. Wasn't there a moment ago..." She trailed off, frowning deeply. A strong breeze suddenly ripped through the field, stirring the fronds of the willow tree vigorously.
"It's Rachel," Bonnie murmured sadly.
The wind hit Jay, sending the gnarled locks of her ebony hair flying around her face, Rachel's hair gently moving in the gust of air. Jay raised her head, wiping her tears and glancing in all directions. A sudden chill crept down her spine, as the air's temperature seemed to grow warmer around her. Her head snapped around as she could have sworn she heard her name called; no one was around, it was just her and the body of her friend. She became rigid as she felt something cold touch her cheek and quickly draw away.
A crackling noise drew her attention to the ground. Beside Rachel's limp hand lay a pristine, white piece of paper, blank except for some black lettering in the very center, written in a confident, bold hand. It had not been there a moment ago. It read, "Scare you? Don't be sad, hot piece of ass called Damon on the way to you. Will be watching; bury that disgusting carcass. Never quit, Klaus going down. P.S. car in the woods. -R."
Jay looked up, tears slowing their descent down her cheeks as she smiled at Rachel's blasé attitude, even after death. Of course she'd find a way to stick around...
Carefully laying Rachel down, she staggered to her feet, stuffing the paper into a pocket and cocking her head as she heard a car approaching. Turning towards the willow tree, she beckoned to Bonnie and Jeremy. She could hear the vehicle come to a screeching halt, doors opening and being closed, and someone heading in this direction from the road. She smiled as she heard Elijah's voice. "That's my car..."
Damon stepped out of the car after one of their new passengers, almost laughing aloud at how awkward she looked in high-top sneakers and jeans. Quickly regaining his composure as he remembered who it was, he dashed off towards the mansion, leaving Elena and Elijah to help her. He spotted the remains of the front door, and scorch marks all over the front porch. Rachel's work, no doubt...
Entering the mansion, he found the interior nearly destroyed; a door leading to the cellar blown off its hinges, the rickety staircase to the second floor eradicated. He could smell blood in the air, a lot of it; and smoke. Making his way down the main hallway, he found himself in the library. The room had been dingy and musty before, the air thick and unpleasant to breathe; old, moldy books that had gone unread for years had lined the thick shelves in the walls; it was all gone. Wrecked furniture, scorched walls, and still-smoking ashes of books greeted Damon's eyes as he surveyed the damage Rachel had done. A rustling noise startled him, and he whipped towards the broken bay windows, spotting Jay standing just inside the room.
Her usually vibrant hair was dull and tangled, she was wearing strange clothes, there was blood all over her, and her eyes were red...But she was beautiful to him, all the same, in any condition, as long as she was alive. All it took were two syullables, uttered quietly, and his heart broke and mended all at once. "Damon..."
He was in front of her in a split second, embracing her tightly as if he'd never let go again. If he had his way, he wouldn't...
Bonnie and Jeremy had just noticed Jay leave Rachel's side, and both lunged to their feet. Before either could take a step, a young woman was in front of them, appearing to be in her early teens. Shining, golden hair fell over her shoulders in perfectly-formed ringlets, complimenting the sky blue of her large eyes. She wore a knee-length sundress patterned with bright flowers, cinched tightly with a cheerful green belt, under a pink cardigan, she was like Goldilocks come to life, looking the picture of innocence, except for her suspicious gaze planted on them. Narrowing her blue gaze, she folded her thin arms over her chest, raising her chin. "A witch."
Her words gave Bonnie a moment's hesitation, before shoving Jeremy behind her and flexing her hands. "A vampire."
Before either could move, Elijah's voice sounded from off to the side. "Not just any vampire."
Bonnie flicked her gaze in his direction, not even hestitating before summoning fire to her hands, preparing to blast Elijah with it. As she raised her hands, Elena appeared, running as fast as she could and throwing herself in front of Elijah. "No, Bonnie!" Catching her breath, she continued. "They are here to help!"
"Last time I saw that bastard, he was supposed to help. We ended up losing our one chance at destroying Klaus!" Bonnie cried, looking between Elijah and the blond girl. "And who is this? I can feel her power..."
The girl in question cocked her head, glossy yellow tresses falling to the side as she scowled, blurring to Elijah's side. "Who is this witch that would harm my brother?"
Jeremy's mouth fell open, and he looked at Bonnie, whose hands fell to her side. "Brother...? Then that means..."
"The Originals are out," said Elena, "Those that are still alive, that is...This is Magdalena," she explained, gesturing with one hand to the girl and grabbing Elijah's hand with the other, and taking a deep breath. "We can explain later. Where are Jay and Rachel?"
The downcast looks and nervous shifting of both Jeremy and Bonnie told Elena something had definitely happened.
Another addition to the conversation appeared, another young woman, around twenty years old. She had tanned skin, and dark, wavy hair ending midway down her back, shimmering in the early morning sunlight. Wearing a v-neck t-shirt, skintight dark jeans and sneakers, she marched up to Elijah and Elena and deadpanned, "The sorceress is dead. The Salvatore boy has Jacqueline. She appears alright."
By this point, Jeremy and Bonnie's heads were going to explode, if their facial expressions were any indication. Elijah looked at them somberly. "This is my other younger sister, Sasha. She can be rather blunt at times. And now, I think we'd better find Jacqueline."
They crossed the lawn at human speed to accommodate Elena, Jeremy, and Bonnie, finding Damon attempting to comfort Jay, who was once again crouched over Rachel. Elijah sped to her side, relieving Damon for a moment, who stepped back and looked sadly at Rachel' body.
Elijah placed a hand on Jay's shaking shoulder. "I am so sorry, my dear Jacqueline...So sorry we were not here in time to help..." He trailed off, not knowing how to comfort her. He looked over his shoulder at Elena, sending a silent plea to Elena for help.
She came forward, gathering Jay in a tight embrace, and murmuring nonsense to her. Sasha and Magdalena looked at each other, Sasha averting her eyes quickly from the scene, Magdalena's eyes filling with tears as she looked upon Rachel's body. "It never became easy, seeing death, though we were so often the reaper's instrument." She spoke to Bonnie and Jeremy, who had come up alongside her cautiously.
Turning to them, she gestured a short way from the others, waving a graceful hand to Sasha to join them. "We will not bite."
Magdalena led the way, turning and beckoning the humans closer. Sasha sauntered along behind them, shoving her hands in her pockets and looking up at the sky. Magdalena held her hands up in a placating gesture, saying softly, "My sister and I, and indeed my brother as well, wish you no harm whatsoever. Sasha and I are readjusting to life in the...world outside of a coffin. Elena has been kind enough to inform us of current events, find us suitable wardrobes...I do not know what we would have done without her, for so many reasons, and I assure you, we will do our best to aid you and ensure Niklaus is eliminated from all of our lives." She gave them an earnest look, turning to Sasha. "What do you have to say, Sasha?"
Sasha ran a long lock of dark hair through her fingers, before raising her mascara-laden lashes to meet their gazes one by one. "You must understand, we were not all caught centuries ago. I had lain dormant only a few decades, before I was...released." Here she looked uncomfortable, shuddering slightly in recollection of some unsettling memory. "I know of makeup, I know of the telephone, I know of a civil war in this country...And I have born witness to many of Klaus' treacherous actions, not the least of which was staking myself and my other siblings. He must be stopped, and we will help you. You have my word." She offered her hand to Bonnie and Jeremy in turn, shaking theirs firmly and nodding in satisfaction. "Now, I suggest we deal with the sorceress properly; there is bad juju associated with laying them to rest incorrectly." She suddenly gave a wide grin and a wink, nodding towards the large house and blurring back to the others.
Magdalena gave a nod and sunny smile to Jeremy and Bonnie, gesturing for them to go ahead as they rejoined the group.
Jay was upright now, standing tall and no longer showing any trace of tears. Her face held determination, an unspoken promise to avenge Rachel, whose body had been carefully carried inside.
Everyone had unconsciously lined up; Damon had found an old can of kerosene inside the crumbling mansion, and had doused whatever he could reach, and now stood with an arm wrapped around Jay. Elena stood leaning against Elijah; she had taken Bonnie aside and told her she would explain everything later, but that she and Elijah had reached...an understanding. Bonnie had only nodded, sighing and admitting a lot had changed.
Jeremy stood with his arms folded, watching sadly as Bonnie searched through her grimoire for a powerful flame spell. Magdalena and Sasha were on either side of him, Magdalena standing with her hands folded neatly in front of her, waiting patiently, Sasha in a similar position but with head bowed slightly, arms folded tightly across her own chest.
Bonnie had found the correct page, tracing her finger across the aged ink carefully, murmuring to herself. After a moment, she stood, turning to look at Jay. At a curt nod from the female vampire, Bonnie turned to face the old house one last time, chanting an incantation quickly, and falling silent as a trail of flames began at her feet, snaking into the library, quickly setting anything and everything in its path ablaze.
Soon the entire house was engulfed, old, dry wood easily giving way to the flames, sending dark smoke spiralling into the sky. Luckily, the area was secluded enough that no one from town should think the smoke too conspicuous.
Everyone except Jay and Damon turned to leave, as charred wood weakened and toppled over in the conflagration, sending sparks flying in the morning air. Elijah, Elena, Magdalena, Sasha, Jeremy, and Bonnie all took Elena's car, heading into town to regroup and refresh. Jeremy and Bonnie, having been Klaus' captives, were all too ready for showers and fresh clothing.
The car Rachel had arrived in had been left for Jay and Damon, remaining in the secluded area Rachel had chosen for her last parking space. Jay had wished to watch for a little while longer before leaving, but found herself turning her face into Damon's shoulder as the mansion burned, unable to watch, hoping she was giving her beloved friend a sufficiently dignified sendoff.
An hour later, Damon had coaxed Jay away from the weakening inferno, leading her to the car, finding it where Rachel had left it. Jay had strengthened as she left the wreckage behind, talking long strides and shaking her arms as if to rid herself of the sorrow.
Damon had driven them to the Salvatore boarding house; it had been registed to Jeremy weeks ago, as he was more protected than the average human, and they could not use Elena again; but either way, it was under threshold protection now. Jay had been quiet the whole ride, making Damon quite uncomfortable; he'd cranked the radio loud, belting out "Wheel in the Sky" by Journey, shocked speechless when Jay had started singing right along with him.
When he'd finally pulled in to the driveway, he'd turned off the ignition, resting his arm on the back of his seat and simply watching Jay. She'd given him a small smirk, turning to face him and asking what he was looking at.
"Just the most beautiful woman in the world," he returned, leering and winking.
Jay had sobered, running her hands through her ragged hair. "Damon...Klaus...did things to me when I was captured. He wanted his medallion so badly...He...If I hadn't been a vampire, I would never have survived. I don't think I was going to anyways, if Rachel hadn't come..."
Damon frowned deeply, catching Jay's cheek as she averted her face and returning her gaze to his own. "What did he do to you?" She flinched from his touch, again raking her hair back from her face.
"He..." she started uncertainly, biting her lip. "He, um...tortured me...intimately..." She trailed off as Damon's fury became evident; his blue eyes hardened, brows furrowing and the hand remaining on the steering wheel clenched the material alarmingly hard. "He did what? Why is that bastard not dead yet? How could I let him take you..."
He was becoming increasingly agitated, and Jay sought to soothe him, laying a hand on his arm and running the other along his jawline. "It doesn't matter, I survived, and I'm with you now. Those memories can be replaced."
He looked her in the eyes, turmoil raging in his ocean-blue irises as they searched her own emerald eyes. She didn't want to see such an expression on his face; it was probably mirrored in her own right now. She lunged forward in the confined space of the car, capturing his lips with her own desperately. Her fangs elongated slightly, accidentally piercing his lip, spilling blood around his mouth. The blood served as an aphrodisiac to Jay; she was so hungry, in so many ways. She recaptured Damon's mouth with her own, licking and sucking the blood from his lip, burying her hands in his silky black hair. He responded in kind, groaning slightly, one hand running up to cup her face, the other flattening against her back in an attempt to get her even closer.
Everything came to a screeching halt when Jay banged an elbow on the gearshift; they separated, Jay cursing cars and muttering about carriages having plenty of room for intimate activities, Damon trying not to laugh and suggesting they take the party inside. Jay readily agreed, rubbing her elbow and saying she needed a shower anyways.
Twenty seconds later the door to Damon's bathroom burst open, Jay and Damon nearly toppling inside, lips locked again, hands tearing at clothing, bodies aching to obtain closer contact. They separated long enough for Damon to speed to the shower, flicking the dials hurriedly and sending steaming water cascading from the nozzles. He turned back to Jay, who had already undressed, and took a second to marvel in her beauty, even disheveled, before she forced his shirt over his head and lunged for the buckle of his jeans.
When his jeans and boxers were tossed to the floor, Jay grabbed his erect cock, running a hand along its impressive length and grinning, the fingertips of her other hand teasing along his cheek. Her lips crashed down upon his again, needing to blot out every memory of every part of Klaus touching her. His arms came around her, pressing her close to him as their tongues wrestled, each giving and taking equally.
Jay broke free of Damon's grasp long enough to give him a playful shove into the shower. She admired the rivulets of water running down his body, steam rising around him as he stared at her with desire evident in his every gasp for air. Smiling wickedly, she entered the shower as well, shutting the door with a snap, and wagging a finger.
"First thing's first; I need to wash away a week of dirt and grime. Could you help a lady with that?" She ducked past him, reaching for a bottle of shampoo and handing it to him.
Damon obliged, poured a liberal amount into his hands, quickly lathering her hair from root to tip, and Jay closed her eyes in delight as his strong fingers worked the suds through her long hair. She turned to face the water, the steady stream rinsing her hair clean, and Damon kissed her again, water running down and around their locked lips. His hand inched lower, teasing along her ribs, stomach, and lower, before he plunged two fingers inside her, causing her mouth to break from his as she moaned, pressing against the wall of the shower.
Damon's fingers probed faster, elliciting another moan from Jay, who grabbed the back of his head, pulling his lips back to hers urgently. His removed his hand, gripping her hips into both hands, sliding her upwards against the slippery wall. She gasped when his thick shaft entered her swiftly, her walls enclosing him snugly, and they were both motionless for a moment, in silent pleasure. When he began to move within her, Jay thought she would die of bliss; no memories of Klaus' treatment flashed before her vision, she didn't cringe at Damon's loving touch; she was stronger than Klaus thought her. His torture had only lasted as long as the physical anguish had.
As Damon's thrusts increased, Jay relished the feeling, placing kisses from his temple to his neck, finally plunging her fangs into his neck. He understood the need for blood in this moment, particularly for her; she had gone too long without. He resisted the urge to drink from her as well, not wishing to weaken her further. Jay came a moment later, ripping her fangs from his neck and crying out, becoming limp, drooping her arms around his neck and sighing happily. He found his release just a moment later, pulling out and pinning Jay against the wall, pressing kisses to her hair, as they both just breathed, reveling in the other's presence. The water continued falling over them, oblivious to the gratification that had just been shared.
At some point, they managed to leave the shower, Damon finding Jay a shirt of his to wear, and pulling on some boxers himself, before rushing downstairs to try to find some blood for Jay, who had to be starved by that point. Returning to his bedroom, he was amazed at how good she looked in his bed; shiny black hair tousled, flung around her thin shoulders, his own shirt clothing her, she sat in the middle of his bed, tempting him to ask for an encore. Instead he smiled, climbing into the bed with her, handing her a blood bag and opening one himself. She sipped daintily, like the gentlewoman he knew she'd been brought up to be, and he grinned at her manners. "My little lady."
Jay, having drained the bag, licked the remaining blood from her lips, smiling broadly. She looked down, combing her fingers through her hair for a moment, deep in thought. Suddenly, she looked up at him, frowning slightly. "Are you going to tell me where the hell Sasha and Magdalena came from?"
Damon finished his own blood, taking a deep breath and beginning to explain. He had found Sasha and Magdalena in their coffins, bound with vervain rope, and surrounded by vervain, suffocating slowly and in pain. That particular pain, Jay could relate to well, having been bound the same way. Neither was fully gone yet, and so Damon and Elijah had pulled them from their prisons as gingerly as possible, removing the ropes and sending Elena to the car for spare blood bags.
When both had ingested a full bag of blood, with color returning to their cheeks, hair regaining its sheen and muscles able to move on their own, Elijah had embraced both of his sisters, glad beyond words at this turn of events. He'd questioned them as gently as he could, trying to ascertain what exactly had happened to the rest of his family. Magdalena had told them of Klaus giving the choice between true death and pledging their allegiance to him, Elijah growing angrier by the moment at the treatment of Klaus' and his own kin. Sasha described her attempt to attack Klaus, Elijah smiling and ruffling her hair fondly.
He had introduced Elena, and explained what had been happening as succinctly as he could. When he felt his sisters were recovered adequately from their previously-comatose states, he had ushered them out of the crypt, not wishing them to see what remained of the rest of their family. He had yet to discover what had become of Vlad. He could only assume his brother had joined Klaus.
When Damon finished his part of the story, Jay looked unsettled. "Vlad is with Klaus. He helped him fight...Rachel..."
Damon put an arm around her, and she leaned into his touch, both of them laying down and holding onto the other for dear life. For tonight, they could forget the threat of Klaus, and how close to death Jay had been...They could simply hope Rachel was alright, wherever she was...And they could indulge in each other's company. That was enough.
Elijah had driven to Bonnie's house first, dropping off Bonnie and Jeremy. No one expected Klaus to try anything until he had taken a few days to regroup, so the group was comfortable separating. The rest of them had headed to Elena's house, tears coming to Elena's eyes at the sight of her childhood home. She had burst inside, startling Alaric into spilling a whole mug of tea down his shirt, and hugged him tightly nonetheless.
When Elijah had been asked inside, and crossed the threshold, Alaric had lunged for a crossbow, Elena beating him to it and explaining the situation quickly. Magdalena and Sasha had lingered on the front porch awkwardly, until Elena had calmed down Alaric and realized she should invite them in. Trying to play the hostess, she decided the girls should share Jenna's room; she didn't feel as sharp a pang in her heart anymore as she opened the door for them, knowing she was doing the right thing.
When everyone was finally settled, and Alaric making friends with a new bottle of Scotch downstairs, Elena had flopped down on her bed, exhausted, Elijah lingering at the window and staring outside. When at last he turned from the window, he made to leave the room, Elena stopping him with a quick "Where are you going?"
He had turned to her, raising a brow and muttering something about securing the house.
"It's fine," Elena retorted, grabbing a pillow and tossing it at Elijah, who of course caught it reflexively. "Klaus can't get in, we just...we need to relax or we'll lose it! I know you're just as stressed as me. Stay here...please?"
Elijah had visibly relaxed, tossing the pillow back at her. "Compromise. I'll look around while you get ready for bed."
Elena had nodded, realizing his mind would not be at rest until he was certain the remainder of his family was safe. Moving to the bathroom, she'd showered quickly, brushing her teeth, and slipping on a cami and shorts like she usually wore to bed. She ran a brush through her damp hair, and walked back into her room, rubbing her eyes.
Spotting Elijah sitting on her bed, jacket removed and sleeves rolled up, she smiled sleepily, climbing onto the bed and getting right under the covers. Elijah joined her, wrapping his arms around her as she tucked her head under his chin.
Elena sighed. "I can't believe Rachel is gone. She was so full of life, so confident, so...badass." They both chuckled at her choice of words, falling silent as an ethereal breeze moved Elena's curtains. Her window was closed tightly.
After a quiet moment, Elijah broke the silence. "I don't believe she's fully gone, I could never be fully rid of someone so annoying." Elena chuckled, closing her eyes and shifting until she was comfortable. Elijah placed a kiss upon her hair as she fell asleep, glancing around the room amusedly as a few books toppled over from their secure placement in Elena's bookshelf. "Never."
What did you guys think? What do we think of Sasha and Magdalena, of Rachel's death and potential afterlife? The "Day" action? Please let me know what you think, review or hit me up on twitter with the same username! Thanks! ~xoxo Bon
