Disclaimer: I am in no way connected to nor own the Vampire Diaries.

AN: I'm updating a little sooner than I said I would, I got really excited about this chapter. And I have 96 reviews so far, do you want to know how excited I would be if I went over the 100 mark? Like super duper luper nuper wuper and every other word that rhymes with super...excited. :) Oh and just a heads up, I went back through chapters 1 - 9 and edited them, there are about 700 added words and most of the changes happened in the first two chapters. But honestly, the integrity of the material is still the same...it just sounds and reads a bit better now, so unless it tickles your fancy...there's no need to go back and read the edited stuff.

Oh and lastly, I would highly recommend that before you read this chapter you internalize that this story is in the 'angst' section. Okay, have we all internalized that now?...Yes? Okay, good...here you go. Enjoy!

Klaus was seated in one of the most obnoxiously uncomfortable banana chairs he had ever had the misfortune of encountering. Gretchen had placed him there and told him not to move while she performed the spell. She could have picked anywhere for him to sit and stay still—she was obviously purposefully trying to annoy him.

Rebekah was standing off in a corner, trying her best not to burst into laughter, "Aww, Nik…you look so cute all hunched over in your seat like that." She got out her smartphone that she was still trying to learn how to use, "Can I take a picture? I want to upload it to Bookface."

Klaus scowled, "No you may not upload a picture of me to Facebook." Klaus said making sure to stress the actual correct pronunciation of the social media site.

Rebekah laughed, "Hey, I'm new to all of this." She said while attempting to snap the picture anyway but got a blurry picture of herself instead.

Klaus just glared at her and started tapping his foot in anticipation, he hoped the spell Gretchen performed would work—he couldn't afford for it not to.

Gretchen called out, "Stop tapping your foot Klaus, it's messing with the energies."

Klaus sighed and did his best to stand as still as a statue. He didn't even know what the hell energies meant, it sounded like a made up concept to him—but he complied anyway.

An hour later Gretchen finally stopped her spell casting, "I think it will work, I've gone through every possibility."

Klaus finally stood up from the banana chair and stretched out his back, "You know I can't afford for any mistakes."

Gretchen smirked, "Well then I suggest for you to go and find out if I made one or not. You already know where she is."

Klaus raked his fingers through his hair while nodding.

"Finally!" Rebekah exclaimed from her corner. "Something actually interesting to do." She smiled a little bit, "I've been looking forward to seeing how you interact with your carissimi."

Klaus muttered as Rebekah followed him out the door, "Let's just get this over with."

Ella looked at her surroundings as she sat in the grassy field, the sun slowly moved across the sky; it had been a few hours since she had arrived in the field, she was sure Klaus would have found her by now. But she didn't mind waiting, her new tattoo glistened in the sunlight—its white floral pattern was much more noticeable to her now. The tattoo was now a reminder; she had messed with the natural balance and order—the universe would eventually see to a punishment. But Ella was no longer afraid of any punishment, she was at peace with her decision—helping Elena was the right thing to do. She didn't want to live her life obsessing; she accepted her fate, regardless of what may happen.

Ella peacefully closed her eyes and let the warmth from the sun soak into her—she felt a gush of wind and immediately just knew. She slowly opened her eyes, "Hello." She simply said to Klaus and Rebekah standing a couple feet away from her.

Klaus scrutinized her from where he was standing, "Your skin…" he remarked, his eyes widening in surprise.

Ella looked down at her new markings and then back up at Klaus, "It was a side-effect of the spell; I don't know when they will go away, or even if they will."

"You should have listened to me and not have done it; it's never wise to make the spirits angry love." Klaus said in anger.

Ella shook her head and softly said, "I had to find a way to stop you."

Klaus walked over and knelt in the grass in front of her sitting form, "It was all for naught little one."

"What do you mean?" Ella cautiously asked.

Klaus just ignored her, "Rebekah, come over here and test to see if she really can't be compelled."

Rebekah sped over and made direct eye contact with her, "Stand up Ella." she said as her eyes expanded.

Ella made no move to stand up.

Klaus sighed and looked like he wasn't looking forward to what would happen next, "Thank you Rebekah, we're going to be staying at our house in Mystic Falls. Gretchen is securing the perimeter around it." He looked at Ella but still addressed Rebekah, "Would you mind setting up a room for Ella to stay in, she's going to be staying with us."

Ella started quickly shaking her head, "No…no, no I'm not!"

Rebekah had already sped away.

"Klaus I am not staying with you." She firmly stated.

Klaus just looked at her with no expression, her worry starting to seep into him.

"I forbid you from taking me to your house." Ella said, again trying to get him to respond. She gave him a direct command so he would have to obey her order.

Klaus sat all the way down in the grass and picked up a yellow flower growing to the side of him—he twirled it in his hand, "Ella, I have something to tell you that you aren't going to like."

Ella bit on her lip with worry, "Are you saying that you broke the carissimi bond?"

Klaus' full attention was on the flower—picking at the petals, "No, that can't be done little one. I merely found a loophole to the obeying clause of the curse." The flower he had in his hand now had no petals in it, "Do you honestly believe I would have come here if I knew that my freewill would be susceptible to your direct commands?"

Ella reached out and touched Klaus' knee, "What did you do?"

"Nothing nearly as extreme as you, I assure you." He threw the flower with no petals far into the distance and then looked down at where Ella's hand was on his knee, "I can feel you becoming more worried and scared, there's no need to be—you already know I won't harm you." He lightly traced the newly white floral pattern on her hand, still seeming so bewildered that it was even there.

Ella looked up into the sky and withdrew her hand from his knee, "Klaus, taking me to your house against my will would harm me."

Klaus scoffed, "You know what I mean."

Ella shook her head, "I don't, but feel free to explain it to me. What did you do?"

"If I hear a demand from you, I would have to obey it." He gave a half smirk, "So Gretchen completed a spell that assures that I'll never hear a demand from you."

Ella's eyes shone with confusion, "You mean…"

"Instead of your commands being heard by me, I see them in written form instead—they are visually projected into my mind." He stood up and held out his hand for Ella to take, "It's the loophole that will allow me to take you back to my house, even though you commanded me not to." He gestured with his other hand for her to stand up and take his hand, "If I can't physically hear the commands, I don't have to obey them."

Ella remained on the ground and ignored his outreached hand for her to take, "Klaus I meant what I said, I'm not willingly going to your house with you." Ella calmly stated. She looked at Klaus with a firm expression, she was not going to roll over and accept his hand.

Klaus scrunched his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, "Ella, this is pointless." He then crouched down next to her sitting in the grass, "You know that it will end with you coming with me, you are just making this difficult."

Ella laughed, "My purpose in life isn't to make things easier for you Klaus."

Klaus gritted his teeth, "I am well aware of that."

Nonchalantly, Ella asked, "So what are you going to do?"

Klaus grabbed ahold of her arms and Ella immediately began resisting him as hard as she could. She thrashed about, pointlessly trying to move out of his grip. Even though she was no match for his strength, she was slightly stronger than the average human—Klaus concluded that her being an empath probably contributed to that.

Because she was slightly stronger, there was a better likelihood that she would accidently hurt herself trying to resist him so Klaus tried to soothe her. He brought his arms completely around her stomach in a vice-like grip with her back against his chest, "Shh…Ella, it's okay. Please, stop…I'm afraid you're going to hurt yourself—I don't want to inadvertently hurt you."

She made no effort to listen.

Klaus decided he was just going to hold her until she either calmed down or grew too exhausted. He figured that staying in the field was probably the best way to calm her. He could feel her frustration growing; she was becoming more and more hysterical. He just stayed still and tried to reason with her, "I can't just let you go Ella, you're my weakness—somebody could use you against me." He moved his head down so it was resting on the back of her head, "You're not safe out there by yourself."

"I've been doing just fine." Ella hissed.

"But you're practically as fragile as a human; your skin so easily bruises, your bones could completely shatter in less than a second. One misstep, one accident—it would all be over for me." He noticed that Ella's resistance was beginning to die down; he suspected she was getting tired, "Perhaps after the ritual to turn myself into a hybrid we could have a real discussion about you venturing out into the world with bodyguards, but right now I need to not have to worry about your safety." He turned her around in his arms and let go of her, "I just need you to be safe."

Ella looked up into his eyes with frustration still coloring the features of her face, "I don't want you to do the ritual; I don't want you to kill Elena."

Klaus nodded his head, "I know little one, I know."

He then picked her up and sped back to his house in Mystic Falls, now all newly protected—warding off anyone that wasn't supposed to be there or keeping in anyone who wasn't supposed to venture out.

Klaus set Ella down so her feet touched the floor when they made it back to his house. Ella looked around at her surroundings, everything looked so beautiful and immaculate—it was decorated with things Ella could tell had a history behind them.

Klaus jostled her out of her admiration, "You can go anywhere you'd like in the house; I'm sure there will be many rooms that are to your satisfaction: I have a full-time staff that cleans and cooks, there's a library, a pool room, a gym, and I'm sure Rebekah will soon be installing an in-house movie theater—she's become obsessed with movies since she woke up."

Ella nodded and didn't respond to anything he just told her, "I can't leave because of a spell Gretchen performed on your house, right?"

Klaus gritted his teeth—not wanting to get into this again, "That's correct."

Ella looked up at him pleadingly, "There is one thing that's not here that I would like, especially if I am going to be staying here for a long time."

"What is it Ella?"

"My violin…" She looked at how torn he suddenly looked, "Please Klaus, it's really important to me."

"Fine Ella, I'll go get it tonight." Klaus said looking off to the side of her.

Ella gave him a small smile, "Thank you."

Klaus ignored her gratitude and asked, "Is it at your apartment?"

"Yeah, it is." She suddenly got a worried look on her face, "If you see my roommate Samantha, promise me you won't hurt her Klaus."

Klaus felt her worry seep into him, "Why would I hurt her?"

"People keep telling me that you're the most evil vampire in existence—that you've done so many terrible, horrible things."

Klaus' jaw tensed at her words.

She looked at the ground, "You might see her as inconvenient and decide it would be better if she was dead. I don't know; to be honest, I don't really know a lot about how you operate."

"I've already compelled her not to worry about you, but if you need me to promise you—I promise I won't hurt her." Klaus said trying to get his point across.

"Okay, I believe you." Ella said quietly.

Klaus walked over to his fancy living room couch and gestured for Ella to come join him, "Since I am going out of my way to retrieve your violin for you, I'd like for you to answer a few questions I have."

Ella cautiously sat down on the couch, "I'm not going to tell you where Elena is." She looked into Klaus' blue eyes and saw amusement in them. But Ella was determined not to give anything away that would help him get to Elena. Even though the original plan was now blown to smithereens, Ella still wanted to try and find a way to stop him.

Klaus gave a full grin, "Oh, I don't need you to tell me anything love."

Ella started feeling a little fearful, "Why…not?"

"Because I've been waiting to become a hybrid for over a thousand years; I'm methodical, and I don't make mistakes." His cunning smile seemed to get even bigger, "But those baby vampires who are protecting the doppelgänger eventually will."

Ella didn't say anything to that.

Klaus gestured to her, "No, my questions are purely just about you my carissimi."

"What do you want to know?"

Klaus' features grew angrier, "When that stupid, selfish witch performed the spell that made the spirits so angry that they marked you…" He gestured at her new tattoo, "Did the spirits tell her anything about what they were going to do to you?"

Ella shrugged her shoulders, "She just said they told her that they were going to punish me."

Klaus gestured for her to continue with his hand.

"That was it." She looked at his still angry eyes, "They didn't tell her how or when."

Klaus sighed, "How unhelpful. I'll have Gretchen look into it."

Ella nodded, "Thanks."

"You don't seem too worried; you made a stupid decision Ella—angering the spirits is no light matter." Klaus said annoyed at how uncaring she looked.

"I made my decision Klaus to help clear my conscience, whatever happens next will happen." Ella said staring off at a painting of a grand piano she found interesting.

"I felt your pain." Klaus gently said.

Ella took her eyes of the painting and looked back at him.

Klaus looked at her white floral markings on her arm instead of making eye contact, "I assume it was during the spell. I wasn't able to feel any emotions or anything from you while you were away. But I certainly felt that—it, it…must have been excruciating."

Ella nodded in agreement; it was certainly one of the worst pains she had ever felt.

"The tattoo, does it reach everywhere on your body?" Klaus curiously asked.

"Yeah, from my head to my toes; I don't mind it though, I think it's kinda pretty—it suits me."

Klaus stood up from the couch and held his hand out, "One last question; where's your cell phone?"

Ella narrowed her eyes, "Why?"

Klaus slightly wiggled his fingers, "I want to make sure you can't communicate with anyone you shouldn't be talking to."

Ella sighed and reached into her back pocket, "Damon retrieved it from my apartment when I was with them." She then put her cell phone in his hand, "Of course you would want it."

Klaus ignored her slight aggression in her last comment and crushed her cell phone in his hands, "Feel free to ask one of my staff which room Rebekah chose for you. Get comfortable, explore, do whatever—I don't care."

Ella looked longingly at her crushed cell phone.

"I'll be back with your violin soon." Klaus said as he walked over and threw her now destroyed cell phone in the trash on his way out the door.

As soon as the front door closed Ella went over to the painting she was looking at earlier, the grand piano. She admired the details of the painting; the colors used were truly beautiful. But behind the grand piano, there was a shadow of a human—it gave the painting a lonely feel. Ella looked into the corner of the painting and saw Klaus' signature, "Of course you painted this." she quietly remarked to herself.

Ella looked around Klaus' house, it was quiet—the only thing that breathed life into it was the various emotions she could feel from Klaus' house staff. Everything else around her just seemed dark and dreary—lonely.

After Ella had that realization, a cheerful staff maid approached her, "May I show you to your room Miss Ella?"

Ella looked the maid over; she looked really young and had bright red hair. She also had freckles that lightly dusted her cheeks. Ella smiled at the young maid, "Sure, I'd love to see my room."

The staff maid led Ella up the stairs, "It has everything you should need—I'm confident it will be to your satisfaction, but if you need anything else just give me a holler, my name's Rosie." She looked back at her as she was climbing the stairs, "I've been charged with looking out for you."

As Rosie led Ella through many turns and more staircases, she made sure to point of the highlights of the house—the library, gym, pool, etc. "Here you are…" Rosie said as she stopped in front of a door, "I believe this is the room Rebekah picked out for you." She opened the door and pushed it wide open so Ella could see inside.

The room was gigantic; king size bed, many dressers, a big television, walk-in closet, a connecting bathroom—it was a lot for Ella to take in, just this room was bigger than her entire apartment.

After Rosie had shown her around, she went to leave Ella to her devices.

"Wait Rosie…" Ella called out.

"Yes Miss Ella?" Rosie asked turning back to her.

"Is Elijah staying here? Do you know where he is?" Ella asked not wanting to be surprised if she ran into the vampire who previously stabbed her.

Rosie paused for a moment, "I don't believe he will be staying here…no."

Ella was confused; Elijah had been Klaus' right-hand man this entire time, "Why not?"

Rosie looked behind her to check for other people walking past the room and whispered, "I believe Elijah was daggered by Mr. Mikaelson. He will not be returning."

Daggered? Ella was sure she had heard Rebekah mention that word before when she caught Ella snooping around the cabin attic. "Thank you Rosie." she said dismissing her, not wanting to get her into more trouble by asking more questions.

"You're welcome Miss Ella." Rosie quickly exited the room to attend to other things.

Ella reached in her back pocket and pulled out the horrific painting of Klaus ripping out the heart of an old woman—the titled 'Carissimi' painting. She unfolded the painting that was folded into fourths and stared at it for a few moments. She was still baffled as to the context of the painting, but was too afraid to ask Klaus—he would most certainly not want her questioning him about it. She walked over to her nearest dresser and pulled the top drawer open; she hid the painting under some socks and then closed the drawer—she resolved for its secrets to be unraveled at a later time.

Klaus walked into Ella's apartment, her roommate was nowhere to be seen but he felt like something was off. Like there was someone else—hiding, watching him. Klaus saw Ella's violin case in the living room corner; he walked over and picked it up, setting it down on the coffee table. But he still felt off, "Whoever's out there you better come out, I've never been the biggest fan of surprises."

Nothing happened.

Klaus started spinning his head in every direction, "Come on mate, you know I'll find you."

Slowly Stefan Salvatore sauntered from out of a room in the back of the apartment.

Klaus smirked, "Ah, Stefan…of course."

"What have you done with Ella?"

"Oh is that why you were in her apartment? Thought she might return here when she was done commanding me not to participate in the ritual?" Klaus asked while still smirking.

In his usual bored and fearless tone Stefan remarked, "Well, she would have gotten back to us by now if she had succeeded." He stopped and his eyes searched Klaus curiously, "Which means you did something."

Klaus sped over and started walking in circles around Stefan, "I must say, I knew I was the far cleverer one, but I never suspected a baby vampire to be this stupid. I knew I'd had have to wait for a mistake, but in my wildest dreams I never expected it to be this soon."

Stefan's eyes narrowed as he continued to watch Klaus walk in circles around him, "What do you mean?"

Klaus suddenly stopped directly in front of Stefan, "Checkmate…mate." He started laughing, "Stefan, did you know that original vampires have the ability to compel other vampires?"

Stefan's eyes widened in understanding, "You can't compel the safe-house location from me. Bonnie made sure that the protection spell covered that." Stefan quickly said.

Klaus started taunting, "Tut, tut Stefan…that wasn't what I was referring to." He then paused for a dramatic effect, "No guesses?"

Stefan gritted his teeth and didn't respond.

"You are Elena's gentleman caller…are you not?" Klaus asked with a wide smile. "I would imagine the doppelgänger would be extremely distressed if she were to discover that I was harming you."

Stefan started to frown.

"Perhaps enough to come out of hiding?..." Klaus asked condescendingly.

"Damon won't let her."

Klaus walked even closer, "We'll see about that." His eyes expanded, "You are to follow me back to my house and will not try to escape."

The compulsion settled over Stefan and he nodded his head.

Klaus patted Stefan on the back, "I'm so glad you are being cooperative." He walked over and picked up Ella's violin case from where he had left it on the coffee table. "Follow me."

Ella had spent the last half hour in Klaus' library, running around the tall bookcases and looking at the many different books he had—many of them super old. She could only imagine the hundreds of years it took to amass this many books. He of course had all the classics, Ella thought he most certainly seemed like the guy who would. Ella wanted to choose something she had never read before, which definitely wasn't impossible in this library. She found a book title that looked interesting, Leaves of Grass—a collection of poems; she was in the mood for some poetry. Walking over to what looked like the comfiest love seat in the room, Ella sat down and started reading, but after reading a few poems she eventually started drifting off.

It could only have been minutes later when Ella was jolted awake by extremely strong emotions: fear and pain. She heard some distant screams and started running in the direction of them, her poetry book forgotten on the floor. Navigating the many hallways was difficult; she got lost a few times, but eventually made her way back to the main floor. She scanned the area, not seeing Klaus and whoever he was obviously torturing.

Suddenly some moans of pain sounded from what seemed like beneath her. Is there a basement? Ella started running around the main floor, trying to find basement stairs. She was worried about this individual; she could tell there was a lot of pain, to the point where his or her breaking point was quickly reaching. The emotions were clearly emoting so she suspected the individual was a vampire, which was even more troubling—why would Klaus be torturing a vampire?

Klaus' house-maid Rosie rounded the corner with some linen—walking at a brisk pace to her destination. Ella immediately ran over so she could catch up with her.

Rosie looked surprised and stopped, "Is there something I can help you with Miss Ella?"

"Where's the basement?" Ella asked while panting—slightly out of breath from all her running.

Rosie paused conflicted; she was in charge of Ella—supposed to give her anything she needed, "I don't think Mr. Mikaelson would want you down there right now."

Still panting, "Please Rosie, I need to go down there—someone is being hurt."

Rosie looked around nervously, "They probably deserve it Miss Ella."

Ella narrowed her eyes, "You know that's not true."

Rosie's eyes widened, "I know no such thing." She then whispered, "He'll be cross with me if I tell you—he can be quite scary, we're not supposed to interfere."

"I won't tell him." Ella looked at her imploringly, "Please…"

Rosie sighed and pointed to a door to the left of her, about fifteen feet away.

"Thanks!" Ella called out, running to the door. She quickly opened it and dashed down the stairs leading downward, afraid of what she would soon see.

Ella heard Klaus' voice before she saw anything, "There we go, aren't you a lovely specimen. Do you think it's time to call Elena now?"

Ella reached the bottom of the stairs; the room was poorly lit with a light above flickering every few seconds. The room was large and spacious and consisted only of cement with drainage pipes on the floor that Ella didn't think were meant for water. But the most disconcerting thing Ella saw was Stefan Salvatore propped up on a vertical wooden slab—his shirt was off and his arms and legs chained. There were various stakes embedded in his body in strategic places designed to bring the most pain—most were centimeters away from his heart. His blood was flowing freely and he was moaning softly.

Ella looked back and forth between him and Klaus, "What in the world are you doing?!" she directed at Klaus in bewilderment.

Klaus whose attention was previously focused solely on Stefan turned his head toward Ella—noticing her presence, "Leave now Ella." Klaus said as his eyes darkened.

Ella rushed over to Stefan and attempted to pull out one of the stakes in his body, but before she could reach him Klaus shoved her away—she fell on the cement, scraping her knees a little.

Ella got up from the cement and looked incredulously at Klaus, "Did you just push me?!" She shook her head, "Did you really just do that?"

Klaus' face was now a blank mask, "I've already told you that you need to leave."

"No!" she shouted. "Let him go."

A maniacal smile started creeping onto Klaus' face, "What was that last part you just said?"

Ella gritted her teeth, "Let Stefan go Klaus." She gestured at Stefan, seemingly too weak to do anything but slightly moan in pain.

"Hmm…this spell is miraculous." Klaus openly started laughing, "I mean…I know you want me to let him go, but I didn't actually hear it." He stopped laughing and looked at her seriously, "This is your last chance Ella; I know you are feeling his emotions and want me to stop, but I'm not going to. This is the mistake the baby vampire made and I'm cashing in on it." Klaus gestured around the room, "Unless you want a seat up close and personal to Stefan's torture, I suggest you leave."

Stefan breathily whispered, "Go…away Ella."

Ella shook her head, her eyes filled with unshed tears. But she made no move to leave, "Don't do this."

Klaus shook his head in annoyance and snarled, "I warned you." He grabbed Ella's arm and started dragging her to a wall that was facing Stefan.

Ella panicked, "Klaus!? What are you doing?"

Klaus was extremely angry at her, he had an opportunity—one he had waited nearly a thousand years for. Why didn't she understand that?

Ella started pulling back against his grip but it was no use.

"I'm giving you the front row seat that you opted for." Klaus angrily stated. He brought two long chains down from the upper part of the walls and used them to cuff her arms—the clinking sounds making it all too real for Ella. Klaus pulled back and looked at Ella chained to the wall—she was tugging on the chains, not quite believing what he just did.

"You chained me up?! Chains Klaus…really?" Ella exasperatingly asked.

Klaus shrugged in indifference; her emotions of confusion, hate, and disgust not really bothering him at the moment. "You wouldn't listen and I need you out of the way." Klaus turned his back on Ella and walked over to Stefan—clasping his hands together, "So mate, where were we…?" He brought his finger up as though he suddenly just got the idea, "Ah, yes…the lovely Elena."

Stefan just looked at him with hatred in his eyes.

Klaus pulled out a cell phone, "This is your cellphone is it not?" Klaus asked ignoring Stefan because he already knew the answer. "I'm sure you have the doppelgänger's number programmed in here somewhere." He shuffled through Stefan's contacts, "Ah, here it is!" Stefan's phone was a smartphone so he made sure to make it a video-chat so that he and Elena could have a conversation face-to-face. "It's ringing, oh isn't the anticipation building?" Klaus asked as he shoved one of the stakes further into Stefan's body.

"No!" Ella cried out as Stefan moaned in pain.

Klaus turned back to her, "Hush Ella. For every time you make a sound I'm going to add an extra stake into Stefan." He gestured over at his collection of stakes on the ground, "Do you understand?"

Tears started leaking out of Ella's face—she nodded her understanding, making sure not to verbalize it so he wouldn't use that as an excuse to stake Stefan again.

Klaus smiled, "Good." He then looked down at the phone in his hand, "Oh look!" he said showing the phone to Stefan, "It's connecting." He turned the phone back to him so he could greet Elena.

Elena's face suddenly popped up on the screen and she immediately showed confusion since it wasn't Stefan.

Klaus slightly wiggled his fingers in a 'hello' movement at her, "Elena my dear, I'm so glad I got in touch with you."

Elena's eyes widened, "Damon!" she called out.

Damon sped over to where she was seated and saw Klaus on her phone screen—he put a protective hand on Elena's shoulder.

"He's using Stefan's phone." Elena nervously told Damon.

"What is this Klaus, why in the world would you have Stefan's phone?" Damon glared at Klaus through the phone, "Where is he?"

"Ah yes, silly me…of course you are worried about him. Let me put him on, just one moment." The phone went shaky for a moment and then focused on a bleeding-out Stefan.

"Stefan!" Elena worriedly called out.

"You see Elena I have a goal." Klaus said while still focusing the phone on Stefan. "This goal requires me sacrificing you in just over a week; it will be the full-moon and all—apparently that's the best magical time for rituals." He walked closer to Stefan and his hand lightly grazed the stakes—suddenly pushing one that was extremely close to his heart even deeper.

Stefan cried out in pain—panting, "Leave…her out of this." He spat some blood out of his mouth.

Ella still watched the exchange in silent horror from where she was chained up to the wall, unable to do anything in fear that Klaus would hurt him even more.

Klaus brought the phone back so it focused on him, "I will release Stefan if you give yourself up to me." He gave a catty smile, "Your little boyfriend here will never have to worry about me again—he'll be as free as a bird."

Damon still looked hardened—giving Klaus a death glare. But Elena had a few tears falling down her cheeks, "What will you do if I refuse?" she asked.

With no emotion Klaus darkly declared, "I'll kill him."

Ella broke her silence, "No…you can't do that Klaus!"

Klaus whipped around and glared at Ella.

Damon's face shone in confusion, "Wait, was that Ella's voice?"

"You have her too? What have you done to her?" Elena demanded.

Ella was breathing in ragged deep breaths.

Klaus just continued glaring at her, "She's fine." he finally answered. "But I made a deal with her and she just broke it, now Stefan will have to pay for the consequences." He walked over to the stakes he had lying on the ground and picked one up and looked back at Ella.

Ella's eyes immediately had a pleading look in them; she poured all her energy into her emotions—trying to get Klaus to feel how sorry she was for making a noise and how badly she didn't want him to harm Stefan again.

Klaus looked away from Ella, "I'm sorry Ella, that's not going to work." He walked over and plunged the stake he had just picked up directly above Stefan's knee—making sure the phone captured every detail and howl of pain from Stefan.

"Stop!" Elena cried out. "Just stop!"

Klaus turned the phone back to him, "Are we ready to come to an agreement?"

Damon stepped in before Elena could answer, "There is no freakin' way in which I would allow her to turn herself over to you."

"Damon!" Elena turned to look at Damon and then turned back to the phone, "I…I…" Elena started stuttering.

"Careful doppelgänger, choose wisely." Klaus narrowed his eyes, "I will not stop at just Stefan; I will go after Damon and any family member you hold dear. I hear you have an aunt and a brother, there is not a place they can run and hide—I will hunt down everyone you have ever loved." He pointed at her through the phone, "You will eventually break; the only question that remains is how many people you will allow to die for you."

Elena started openly sobbing and reached out to Stefan through the phone, "I have to go Damon, I have to go…"

Klaus smiled, "That's a good girl."

Damon's entire body stilled—he had made a decision, "I am not going to let you die Elena, you are not going to be a lamb for the slaughter."

"…Damon no!" Elena screamed. But the phone went black—Damon had disconnected the call.

Klaus' jaw tensed, "No…no…" he muttered. He dialed Elena's number again—no answer. Again he dialed—no answer. A third time—no answer. He put the phone back in his pocket and took a deep breath.

Stefan was barely even conscious—looking wearingly at Klaus.

"No, you may not speak yet Ella." Klaus said bringing up the palm of his hand toward Ella—anticipating a comment from her.

Ella just bit her lip; wanting more than anything not to see what she expected might come next.

Klaus focused in on Stefan, "It appears your little girlfriend is no longer taking my calls." He reached over and patted Stefan's cheek, "No doubt the reason is because of your brother—quite the protective one of your girl….isn't he?"

Stefan didn't say anything to that comment.

"How does it feel to know that your brother is signing your death warrant?" Klaus taunted.

Stefan weakly looked over at Klaus, "He's protecting Elena—I wouldn't want him to do anything less." He slowly moved his head to look over at Ella, "Remember this. Remember him as this…" He spat more blood onto the cement and then harshly said, "He's a monster—don't let him convince you he's anything different."

Ella shook the chains around her arms a little and nodded, "I…I won't."

Klaus side-stepped into Stefan's view of Ella, "Are you ready Stefan?"

Stefan looked up at Klaus—resigned to his fate, "Ella, if you see Elena again…tell her, tell her I love her."

Ella brokenly started crying, "Klaus…"

"Do what you will…" Stefan muttered to Klaus.

Klaus smirked, "I always do mate." He then plunged his hand into Stefan's chest and gripped his beating heart. He squeezed it a little, "See you in another lifetime." Klaus then yanked Stefan's heart out of his body, throwing the now lifeless heart to the other side of the room…right in front of Ella's feet.

Ella looked down at the heart in gaping horror as Stefan's form greyed into nothingness.

AN: So yeah...that just happened. Was the warning about the whole 'angst' section enough to prepare you? Reviews are the best thing since sliced bread! Well actually, I've never really liked bread so they are even better. :) I'd love to know what you're thinking, feeling, or any ideas you have for what you think might come next, any disappointment out there, or even a rant about how often I update. Just let me know, I'd love to hear from you in a review. Reviews are my lifeblood, it is what motivates me to keep going.

Thank you to all the people who reviewed last chapter (it means so much):

InaBenihime, Mrs. Barnes, bubbles1311143, NoseInANovel, Daisywoo, ILoveYou1978, and lexi1864.

Mrs. Barnes: Hopefully I answered your tattoo question in this chapter. Ella doesn't really know how long the markings will last, but it seems to be staying. I doubt I'd write about it suddenly leaving her, I think it is a pretty safe bet that it is permanent...but who knows, maybe in the future my muse might say differently (I highly doubt it though...).

bubbles1311143: I hope you had a fabulous birthday and that you liked this chapter. :)

NoseInANovel: I think there was sympathy and understanding in this chapter, at least until it took a dark turn. Hopefully it didn't disappoint. :)