A/N: thank you as always for all your reviews! I wish I had time to respond to all of them, just know that I truly appreciate all of them :) I know I said at the beginning of this fic that this would be 10 chapters long, but I think there will be a couple more chapters to really wrap everything up and answer all remaining questions!

"Damon, w-what's happening?" Elena scrambled backwards away from him as the light from her hands spread throughout her body, until her entire being was glowing. "What's going on?"

He looked at her with wide eyes. "I don't know."

All of a sudden, the light burst from her in a powerful explosion.

Elena screamed, clapping her hands over her ears. She cowered on the ground, her eyes scrunched tightly against the blinding light.

Chaos.

She heard someone else screaming—or was that her too? Someone was shouting her name, but she couldn't move, couldn't open her mouth to answer.

And then just as suddenly—it was over. The sound died away and the light faded, leaving a darkness that was somehow just as blinding.

She slowly opened her eyes to see that the cell door was hanging off its hinges. Her gaze lowered to see Damon lying across from her, unconscious. "Oh my god," she leapt up, rushing over to him. "Damon! Can you hear me?"

"Elena?" He groaned, opening his eyes blearily. "What happened?"

"There was…" she hesitated, "Some sort of explosion."

He blinked twice, his eyes finally focusing on her. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, helping him sit up. "Come on, the door is open. Let's get out of here."

"Wait," he grabbed her arm, stopping her from moving. "You said…" Damon trailed off, for some reason looking unsure. "That you remembered."

Elena met his gaze. "I do." Then she stood, holding her arm out to him. "We need to find the others, come on."

Damon got to his feet, frowning at her. "Elena, we have to talk about this."

"We will," she said over her shoulder as she hurriedly made her way through the dungeons, peering through each cell to see if anyone from their kingdom was captured. "After we make sure everyone is safe."

The air got colder the deeper they went, and still she didn't find a single occupied cell. "Elena, we should go back up," Damon said from behind her. "We need to find out what Katerina is up to."

Elena stopped, confused. "Klaus said the staff was locked up in these dungeons, but we haven't found any of them."

"Don't tell me we wasted all this time on the word of Klaus, of all people," Damon snapped, "You know he lies, Elena."

Her eyes flashed, "He wasn't lying." She waved an arm around, "Doesn't this emptiness seem, oh I don't know, suspicious to you?"

"Maybe they didn't want anyone to hear as they tortured their princess and king," Damon retorted, turning around to leave. "Let's get out of here, I need to find my brother."

Elena began to follow him, but then she ground to a halt. "What about Bonnie?"

Damon turned at that, looking concerned. He walked several paces past Elena, to where Bonnie's cell had been. "It's…empty," he crossed his arms, staring at the space as though expecting the witch would miraculously appear out of thin air.

"Think Katerina got to her?" Elena asked, and was surprised to see—just for a moment—fear actually flicker across Damon's face.

"We have to get upstairs," he said sharply, gathering Elena in his arms. "Close your eyes," he warned, and she complied as the air whirled past her at lightning speed.

He set her on her feet a couple seconds later, and she opened her eyes to take in the empty hall. "Where is everybody?"

"Time to find out," Damon looked tense. He held his hand out to her, which she took. It was only when they had started walking did she realize how natural it felt. She glanced at him out of the side of her eye, but he wasn't paying attention. "From what I know about Katerina, she likes to put on a show."

Elena paused, thinking. "The throne room?"

"Smart," a voice drawled from behind them. "If I wasn't already married, I'd take her off your hands, Damon."

Elena whirled around, glaring. Damon let go of her hand, but only to position himself slightly in front of her. "Elena is free to speak for herself, of course," he answered in a dangerously low voice, "But I have a feeling she'd sooner stake you than be your wife."

Klaus smirked. He was lounging against a staircase they had just passed, but now he straightened and faced them. "Perhaps you're right," he allowed, tilting his head. "Shall I offer my brother's hand in marriage instead? He seems quite…taken…with the girl."

Damon looked disgusted. "In case you've missed the memo, Klaus, Elena and I are to be married as soon as you freakshows clear out of my castle. So you and Elijah can take your little doppelganger fantasies and shove them up your—"

"Oh boys," a ringing throaty voice interrupted, "Play nice now."

Elena looked around wildly, but didn't see anyone. "Damon," she clenched onto his arm, "She…she sounds like me."

Damon didn't turn around, keeping his eyes fixed on Klaus. "Don't worry Elena, you're nothing like that cold hearted bitch."

"Well that," Klaus suddenly blurred forward, until he was inches away from Elena, "Remains to be seen." He peered at her, even as Damon growled in warning. "Judging by the little explosion that occurred earlier, I take it the curse is broken."

Elena's mouth dropped open, "W-what? It is?"

"It is," Klaus eyed her, "You have your memories back, do you not?"

"Yes, but I got them back before the explosion."

"The catalyst that broke the curse," Klaus nodded, looking thoughtful. "I'd always wondered what would break it. Only Katerina knew, of course." He shrugged, "Speaking of which, the dear queen is waiting, as you guessed, in the throne room. Come along, now."

"Fine," Elena lifted her head, "After you."

Klaus grinned and suddenly reached out to bring her hand to his lips. "Royalty suits you, Elena."

She shuddered in response and snatched her hand back. "My first act as queen," she said to him sweetly, "Will be to order your execution."

He threw his head back and laughed. "As I said to you earlier," his eyes glittered, and the amusement abruptly faded from his expression. "Many have tried." Then he turned on his heel and began walking towards the throne room. "Hurry up, I don't want her to start killing people without me."

Elena gritted her teeth. Damon looked murderous, but didn't say anything as they followed behind Klaus. When they neared the throne room, he took Elena's hand and stroked the inside of her palm. She looked over at him, but he was staring steadily at Klaus' back. "Be careful," he said under his breath, his lips barely moving. She had a feeling he was trying to exclude Klaus from the conversation. "You haven't met her, she's—"

"A force to be reckoned with," Klaus turned slightly as he opened the door, winking at Elena. "Your boyfriend speaks the truth. You should be careful."

Elena's cheeks heated. She glanced at Damon, just in time to see the mask slip onto his face. His eyes grew cold, his gaze turned mocking. All emotion slid off, leaving him expressionless. She gaped at him, but he didn't look at her. He kept their hands entwined as he walked into the room behind Klaus, his head held high.

Elena followed his lead, holding her breath as they entered. Klaus was walking ahead of them into what was a very crowded room. Her eyes widened fractionally as her head swiveled back and forth, taking in the crowd on both sides of the room. She scanned them as quickly as she could, but didn't see Stefan or Bonnie. She did, however, see Enzo standing near the front of the room. He met her gaze, but his face was impassive. She frowned.

"I present to you," Klaus was saying, "The King and princess of Mystic Falls."

Elena suddenly realized that Damon had stopped pulling her along, and she focused her attention to the front of the room. There was Damon's throne...and there was a woman sitting in it. Beside her, Damon bristled.

For all the talk of mirror images, Elena still wasn't prepared for the sight of her own face staring back at her.

"I assume no introductions are necessary," Klaus stepped off to the side, but turned towards Elena all the same, making it clear he was speaking only to her. "I present to you my queen, Katerina."

"Thank you dear," Katerina purred, crossing her legs. Her blood red lips stood in sharp contrast to her almost startlingly pale skin. Her eyes were dark, almost black. A silver crown adorned the top of her head, encrusted with ruby jewels. "So, Elena," she smiled pleasantly, "I see you've broken the curse I painstakingly put in place 10 years ago." She examined her nails, fiddling with one of her many rings. "A lot of blood and power went into the spell," she went on, her tone deceptively light as though they were discussing something mundane. "Two of my witches died in the process." Katerina lifted her gaze back up, her voice growing stony. "And now you've gone and broken it."

Elena didn't reply. Damon's hand squeezed tighter around her own. "Speaking of witches—"

"You will speak," Katerina thundered, "When I give you permission to." Soldiers Elena hadn't noticed before suddenly appeared behind them, blocking the only exit out of the room.

Damon looked angrier than she'd ever seen him. "This is my kingdom," he hissed, "I will not be spoken to like one of your common subjects." He paused and added scathingly, "Or like how you speak to your dear husband and his fool of a brother."

Elena sucked in a breath, suddenly terrified. What the hell was Damon doing?

Klaus started forward, rage etched onto his features. But then Katerina held up a hand and he stopped, seething. "Your bravery is commendable, Damon," she said airily, "Are you trying to impress Elena? Because if so, then that makes you no less of a fool than Elijah."

Elena's eyes darted back and forth but she didn't see Elijah anywhere. She frowned slightly, suddenly realizing she didn't recognize anyone in the crowd except for Enzo. But her memories were back and the curse was broken, so that meant...

"Where's my family?" Elena demanded, pulling out of Damon's grip to look around the room. "The curse is broken, so the other world doesn't exist anymore, right?"

Katerina watched her idly, "Maybe when the world died, they died with it."

Elena stiffened.

"Or," Katerina went on, amusement twisting her lips into something cruel. "Maybe they're stuck in limbo forever."

"Tell me where they are!"

Katerina stood up suddenly, and the entire room went silent. "Between what you remember and what you've no doubt been told..." she paused at this point to look over at her husband. Klaus raised one eyebrow, but didn't challenge her claim. "You've probably pieced together that my quarrel is with you, not your friends or family."

Elena watched with trepidation as Katerina descended the steps from the throne. Her heart was beating painfully fast, something that she was pretty sure every vampire in the room could hear.

"I know that, yes," Elena said shakily, realizing that her doppelganger was waiting for an answer. "Though I don't know why."

"You don't need to pretend with me," Katerina waved a hand dismissively. "I know Elijah told you what it means to be the heir." When she caught Elena furtively scanning the crowd again, she gave a short laugh. "No need to look for him, he's not here." She smiled, "He had to be punished for his disobedience."

Elena swallowed.

"Now where were we?" Katerina pondered, continuing to walk leisurely towards Elena. She paused, however, when Damon shifted sideways so that he was standing directly between them. "Aren't you sweet?" her voice was honeyed, "Trying to protect your princess." Then she waved her hand and Damon suddenly went flying backwards.

Elena gasped, as did most of the crowd. Since when could vampires do that?

"Vampires can't," Katerina said, answering her unasked question. "But I can."

She can read minds. Elena's heart sank and she turned around to see what had happened to Damon. He was on his feet, but was forcibly being restrained by the soldiers. He met her gaze, looking desperate.

Katerina used the nails of her thumb and index finger to twist Elena's chin forward again. "You see," she went on, "I would like to continue to have all these powers, but that won't happen if you're alive."

Elena stumbled back, "You—"

Katerina held up a hand, "I'm not unreasonable, Elena. I'm prepared to offer you a deal. I'll bring everyone back from your Mystic Falls, and I'll show you all of them here safe and sound." She paused and then added, "And they won't be harmed."

"In exchange for what?"

"Oh I'm sorry, I thought I made that clear," Katerina patted Elena's shoulder condescendingly, "For your death, of course."