This chapter is a little shorter than usual, but I'll make up for that in the next one I promise. Feedback is very much appreciated
CHAPTER 10 – THE LAST DANCE
Rhiannon was moping. Big time. She wanted to go to the lake house with Damon to help and convince Elijah to not go on a murder spree, and somehow ended up wolfsbaned on the couch in the Salvatore study. When she woke up, Stefan and Elena were back, Elijah daggered in a cellar and Damon made it very clear that if she tried to undagger him, he would break her arms.
She was in her new room at Salvatore boarding house recapping everything that went horribly wrong since they daggered Elijah two days ago. Katherine got out of tomb and took residence at Salvatore's setting everyone's teeth on edge. The Martin witches of course retaliated for Daggering Elijah which cost both of them their lives. Katherine ended up in Klaus's paws after double-crossing them with Isobel, who first kidnapped Elena only to set herself on fire couple hours later and let her go, leaving Elena with only one biological parent. Serves them all well for crossing Elijah, Rhiannon thought to herself uncharitably. He had an actual plan whereas they were just running around like headless chicken.
Next day she decided to skip history and came to school to grab lunch with Elena and Bonnie and help them prep the gym for decade dance after. Then Dana came over to them saying that this totally hot guy named Klaus wanted Elena to save him the last dance. That totally freaked them out and they headed back to the Salvatore house.
"So we go to the dance and we find him," Damon stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Really? How're we gonna do that?" Stefan objected. "We don't even know what he looks like."
"Something tells he he's not going to be sixteen and pimply," Damon retorted.
"He could be anywhere at any time," Stefan continued. "He compelled someone in school. Guess it's not as safe as you guys thought, huh?"
He was interrupted by Alaric knocking on the door and coming in. He stopped dead in his tracks looking at Rhiannon as if he were seeing a ghost, but it was only for a split second before he snapped out of it.
"Are you alright Alaric?" she asked, a little weirded out.
"Yea, I'm fine, just tired of everything that's going on," he mumbled.
"I need you to put me down as a chaperone for the dance tonight," Damon stated oblivious to the awkwardness between the two. "Klaus made his first move."
"Okay, so we find him and then what?" Elena asked.
"Yea, what's our plan of attack?" Rhiannon added folding her arms across her chest.
"Me," Bonnie stated matter-of-factedly. "I'm the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel. If you can find him, I can kill him."
"That's not gonna be that easy," Alaric interjected. "I mean, he's the biggest baddest vampire around."
"Alaric has a point, I mean what if he –" He didn't continue the rest of his sentence and ran towards Bonnie vamp-speed and she sent him flying across the room with a casual flick of her hand.
"Damn girl!" Rhiannon cried out trying really hard not to laugh.
"Well I was impressed," Stefan joined in, looking like he had a problem keeping his laughter at bay as well.
"It doesn't matter if he's an Original," Bonnie said walking towards Elena. "I can take down anyone who comes at me. I can kill him Elena. I know I can."
"Well I guess we're all set," Rhiannon said casually. "Tonight, Klaus's ass is going down."
She was in her room, getting ready for the dance. She put on her light green dress with a crazy pattern, putting her hair into a high braided ponytail to recreate one of the famous Twiggy look.
Half-hour they were meeting up with Bonnie and very reluctant Jeremy in front of school. She was Damon's date for the night. They decided that the smarted way to play this was to search for Klaus in pairs. They were walking beside each other when they caught the conversation between Bonnie and Jeremy about her odds of surviving her fight with Klaus.
"Did you hear what I heard?" Rhiannon asked Damon stopping dead in her tracks.
"Yea, I'll talk to her later and find out what's that all about," Damon said reassuringly. "In the meantime try and not blab anything about this to Stefan and Elena."
"How am I supposed to do keep something like that from them?" Rhiannon snapped at him. "Bonnie is one of my best friends. This is a disaster!"
"Just keep your mouth shut and make sure Elena's safe until I talk to Bonnie," he bit back dragging her towards the gym.
"Fine," she snarled.
It turned out Klaus was one twisted bastard dedicating a song to Elena as they were all entering the gym.
"That was a lame, cheap shot," Damon said. "He's just trying to bait us."
"I know everyone here," Elena chimed in looking around.
"Maybe he's not even here," Stefan objected. "He just wants us to believe he is."
"It's a party people, blend! Let him come to us," Damon said grabbing Rhiannon dragging her along with him.
"Good idea," Bonnie agreed doing the same thing with Jeremy who mumbled something about not feeling like dancing but she didn't give him much choice in the matter.
"There's Rick," Damon shouted at Rhiannon over blasting music. "Let's talk to him."
"Special dedication, huh?" Alaric stated. "This guy's a little twisted."
"I'll say," Rhiannon mumbled looking around cautiously.
"I'm not impressed," Damon retorted.
"No?" Rick asked surprised.
"Let me know if you see anything out of whack," Damon instructed dragging Rhiannon to the dance floor.
"Can I just say that none of the things that happened during these past few days, didn't have to happen if just played by Elijah's rules," Rhiannon said before she could stop herself.
"Don't even start that," Damon shot her down. "You really trust him enough to bet Elena's life on it?"
"I do Damon," she said solemnly. "Not that it matters anymore. You really do have some major trust issues. Has anybody told you that yet?"
"Pfft, I lost the count by now," he retorted. "I'm gonna talk to Bonnie."
"Okay," Rhiannon said and walked towards the table with drinks, so she could eavesdrop on their conversation. Finding out that Bonnie will die for sure if she takes on Klaus, she decided to find Elena and tell her. There had to be another way.
Moments later she was walking outside with Elena and Bonnie.
"How could you not tell me?" Elena asked, upset.
"Because I knew how you'd react," Bonnie retorted.
"NO, no way! It's not an option!" Elena objected.
"It's our only option!" Bonnie countered.
"Then we'll find another way, okay?" Elena said.
"No Bon, I'm with Elena on this one," Rhiannon intervened. "There's gotta be another way. There is another way," she said looking at Elena pointedly. She got the message, loud and clear. Elijah was their only option.
"Bonnie, you're not dying to save my life," Elena pleaded.
"I have the power to save you," Bonnie objected. "If I don't use it and something happens that would kill me more."
"None of you is dying because of this stupid curse!" Rhiannon yelled out loud.
The argument continued for a while until Alaric ran up to them saying that Klaus got Jeremy. They immediately followed him into an empty hallway where he started slowing down chuckling under his breath.
"Where is Jeremy?" Bonnie asked panicked.
"I just had to get away from that dance," Alaric retorted, turning around on his heel nonchalantly. "Sixties… ugh… not my decade. And whose call was that anyway? I much prefer the twenties. The style, the parties, the jazz."
Something was wrong. He looked really creepy sending them smile that didn't reach his eyes though.
"Alaric," Elena started cautiously. "Are you on vervain?"
"Now why would you ask me that question Elena?" he asked. Rhiannon's instincts kicked in and she slowly stepped in front of Elena and right next to Bonnie.
"He's been compelled," Elena murmured.
"Nope, try again," Alaric said jokingly.
"What's going on?" Bonnie demanded, getting ready to attack.
"Okay, I'll give you a hint," Alaric said exasperatedly. "I am not Alaric."
"Klaus," Elena whispered in shock.
"Surprise," he chirped happily.
"What the hell?" Rhiannon mumbled.
"No, it's not possible," Elena said.
"Just relax Elena," Alaric/Klaus smiled. "I'm not here to hurt you or your werewolf friend over here. You're not on my hit list tonight. But you are," he said charging at Bonnie who sent him flying across the hall with her hand.
He got up, recovering really quickly, and saying: "Did I mention that I know a witch? You're gonna have to hit me a lot harder than that," he charged at them once again. Rhiannon realizing that purpose of this attack was to provoke Bonnie into using too much of her power, blurred to one of the lockers, tearing the door and smacking Alaric straight across the face. Bonnie then sent him flying into a shelf.
"Run," she yelled, ushering them both out of the hallway before slamming the door shut with her magic.
"What happened?" Damon asked walking straight up to them.
"It's Klaus, he's possessing Alaric's body!" Rhiannon said.
"What?!" Damon asked incredulously. "Elena, Rhiannon, go find Stefan! Now!"
They ran back to the gym that was still swarmed with people and it took them a while before they could find Stefan and get back to find Damon alone in a hallway.
"Where the hell is Bonnie?!" Rhiannon yelled panicked.
"She's doing what she has to do," he said calmly approaching them.
"What?!"
"Where is she?!"
"Stefan, let her do this," Damon said pointedly.
"Dammit Damon, where is she?!" Stefan yelled at him.
"This way!" Rhiannon yelled, hearing the crackling of electricity from the lunchroom.
They arrived just in time to find Bonnie standing over hunched Alaric, but before they could stop her, she slammed the door shut with her magic again. They were trying to pry the door open but with no effect and soon they witness Bonnie convulse and spasm, then slump to the ground, lifeless. The spell on the door was broken, Alaric/Klaus gone and Bonnie dead.
Rhiannon just kneeled beside her dead friend listening to Elena beg Stefan for help. She was sobbing hysterically, not able to do anything else, until Damon came. When she saw him, the fury that overcame her made her eyes turn yellow once again and she knew that if she didn't run, she would seriously hurt him. Granted she was no match for him, but in the short period of her being a werewolf, she learned that strong emotions such as this could trigger her transformation without the full moon. So she ran. She ran until she couldn't run anymore and somehow she ended up at the boarding house.
She got into her room and threw herself on the bed crying her eyes out. She fell asleep, exhausted until Elena came into her room, shaking her lightly.
"Rhiannon," she whispered. "Rhiannon wake up."
"What is it Elena?" she mumbled numbly.
"Rhiannon, Bonnie's okay, she's alive and well," she whispered happily.
"What?" Rhiannon whispered incredulously. "Tell me!"
Elena then told her everything Damon said to her earlier making Rhiannon sigh in relief and wow to herself to give Bonnie crap for scaring them like that later.
"Elena, you know that the only way to kill Klaus without either you or Bonnie dying is Elijah?" Rhiannon whispered to her urgently.
"Yea, I know. That's why I'm here," she whispered, barely audibly. "Stefan and Damon are both asleep, let's go!"
"Okay, let me just change first," she whispered back at Elena. She was still wearing her Twiggy outfit from earlier. She put on simple black skinny jeans, white T-shirt and her leather jacket and she was good to go.
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Rhiannon asked hoping her friend wouldn't change her mind in the last minute. She was going to do it even if she would have to knock Elena out. Elijah was their only hope, not to mention the other reason why she wanted him back.
"Yea, I'm sure," she whispered and they both sneaked into the cellar where they kept Elijah's body.
"God I just hope he'll listen," Elena whispered leaning against the door frame.
"He will," Rhiannon whispered back reassuringly pulling the dagger out of Elijah's chest.