Chapter 12: The Bittersweet End
Ivy exited the house and onto the Gilbert's porch. She suddenly felt very claustrophobic after seeing the former couple together again. She leant on the white picket fence surrounding the porch. She inhaled a big breath of air to try to settle her pulse. She looked around maniacally, trying to find something to focus on. Her eyes found some bright yellow flowers planted in the front garden.
She felt conflicted; on one hand she was happy that Elena had found peace when it came to the Salvatores. Yet, she didn't want Elena to pick Stefan. She knew that the two of them were somehow destined to be together. It's not a coincidence that Stefan fell in love with both Katherine and Elena. Ivy remembered seeing the two together when she first visited Mystic Falls. They were always smiling, laughing and holding onto one each other. It was new love and she envied it. She probably felt something for Stefan then. But couldn't acknowledge it because she was with Noah.
Noah.
She couldn't help but feel guilty for having feelings for someone else. It had been two years since he died, but it still felt so fresh. It felt like it was only yesterday. She could still feel his cold skin against hers as she held his lifeless body.
It would all be so much easier if he were still alive. She wouldn't be feeling so lonely and she would be able to go back to him after a long day. She missed the way he would hold her when they had nights in. The way he would stroke her head when she had a bad day at work. The feeling of his warm body against hers when they feel asleep on the sofa.
Ivy was so distracted by her thoughts; she didn't notice the gentleman approaching the house. He saw the young woman immediately. Her ginger hair standing out against the white painted wood of the house. He cleared his throat to gain her attention. She immediately straightened up after seeing him.
He was a dashing well-dressed young man. She was captivated by his strong facial features. His high cheekbones, angular jawline and dark hazel eyes. The man wore a black suit, grey dress shirt with a black silk tie. She would compare him to a prince in a fairy tale from the way he held himself. In response to his presence, she tried to improve her posture by standing up straight.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for Elena Gilbert." His voice had a smoothness to it that enveloped her. She could also hear a slight accent which made her think of the terrible original siblings.
"And who are you?" She cringed as her voice came out sounding posher than normal.
"I'm Elijah. You may know my brother Klaus." He saw the grimace that appeared on her face at the mention of her brother's name. "Yes, I get that reaction a lot." Ivy seemed to falter as she stood close to an original that could easily killer her. She needed back up.
"Excuse me for a moment." He nodded in reply. She opened the door to go inside and inform the others of the visitor. Ivy just missed hitting Elena with the door, who had had enough of resting. Elena opened her mouth to speak, but Ivy stepped aside to show Elijah standing behind her.
"Stefan" Elena called for the younger Salvatore at the sight of Elijah. She could sense that Elijah was different from his brother. If it was Klaus she would already be dead. But he still gave off the superior impression she got when she first met Klaus and Rebekah.
"Elijah" Stefan stated in a deadpan tone as he approached the three at the Gilbert entrance.
"Hello again. I believe you have something of mine." Ivy and Stefan's eyes met knowing Elijah was talking about Klaus. "I'm here to negotiate."
Ivy looked to Elena and Stefan who seemed to be sharing a silent conversation. Unbeknownst to Ivy, Elijah had already been invited in by Jenna when he posed as a writer. Elena and Stefan knew that Elijah's word was sacred when it came to making deals. But, the last time they trusted him, when Klaus broke his curse, was still very fresh in their minds. Elena turned back to Elijah, wanting to hear what he had to say and to see what they could do about Klaus.
"Please come in." Elena welcomed Elijah in, who followed Ivy into the Gilbert house. They all made their way back into the kitchen where Matt was. Ivy saw his body stiffen as he saw Elijah following the trio. Stefan decided to ring Damon so he could be a part of the conversation.
Elijah sat down at the head of the table in the kitchen so he was able to address the group. Elena and Ivy sat a few chairs down with Stefan and Matt standing by one of the kitchen counters. The group waited patiently for Elijah to begin his bargaining about Alaric and Klaus.
"All we need is to take that stake away from him. Once he's been disarmed and the weapon's in my possession. My family will scatter to the ends of the Earth and Alaric will follow us." Elijah explained to the group. His priority seemed to be the indestructible stake instead of his daggered brother.
"So what? I'll never see my father again unless one of you comes running to Mystic Falls?" Ivy asked hurt by the suggestion.
"And you'll just run?" Stefan sat down at the table between Elena and Elijah. Ivy began to realise that her father was getting ignored in all this. All everyone cared about was Elena's life. Yes, she did too but her family was important to her, especially her dad.
"We've done it before. Klaus and Rebekah spent the better part of a thousand years evading my father. What's another half century while Elena is able to live out the rest of her natural life?" Elijah continued to explained. Stefan glanced at Elena, contemplating what the original had said. The deal didn't seem that bad as long as Elena got to live a full life.
"We've finally stopped him, Elijah. After everything that he's done to us, I can't just let you bring him back." Elena tried to argue with the brunette. She couldn't go back to fearing for her life every day.
"I give you my word, Elena. I will not revive Klaus within yours nor even within your children's lifetimes. Perhaps that will finally teach him some manners."
"Why should she trust you? All you've done is screw her over." Matt stepped forward towards the group at the table. Someone finally said what everyone seemed to be thinking.
"And for that, I am deeply ashamed. But know this, she could have been dead the instant I walked through that door tonight. So Elena, I leave it to you to make the decision whether to trust me or not."
"Not! Hello? Did that concussion give you brain damage?! His lunatic siblings will kill you the first chance they get!" Damon's voice echoed in the room from the phone's speaker. He was on the road still transporting Klaus' body, but still wanted a say.
"Rebekah and Kol will honour the terms. If you return Klaus' body to us, Elena will come to no harm." Elena turned to Stefan next to her. She was considering everything the original was saying. "Do we have a deal?"
"No! No, no, no, no! Did I mention no?" Damon tuned in again, but just seemed to get ignored.
"Elena, it's up to you." Stefan faced the brunette as her eyes flickered between him and Elijah.
"Why do you want Klaus' body?" Elena questioned him.
"He's my brother. We remain together." The group understood where the original was coming home. Family was important to every one of them.
"We have a deal." Elena stared sternly at Elijah. She hoped that this time he would keep his word. She didn't want to regret trusting him.
Ivy jumped up from the table, the scraping of the chair legs on the wooden floor announcing her leave. The red head stormed towards the front door, feeling hopeless once again. Elena, Matt and Stefan all looked at each other in confusion wondering what was wrong with the red head.
Ivy was almost to her car when she heard racing footsteps behind her.
"Ivy, wait!" Stefan shouted to the young woman as she went to grab the door handle of her old Mustang. Ivy turned around to face him. Her body was rigid with stress. Her brows were drawn together in frustration. She sighed when she saw the confusion on Stefan's face. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to the Grill. If this is the last time I get to see my dad, then I- I need to- I just need to see him." Ivy's voice was breaking due to the rage and sadness she felt. Stefan went to speak but Ivy continued venting. "Everyone seems to have given up on him but he's still my family. All everyone cares about is Elena's well being but I need to put my family first. I know he's still in there." Tears started to fall from her blue eyes. "I need to see him" Ivy's broken voice whispered. Stefan raised his hand to wipe the tears away but she had already turned to get into the car. She left Stefan standing on the sidewalk as the Mustang drove away.
It was perfect timing. The mustang pulled up to the Grill just as Alaric was exiting. Ivy's eyes followed her dad as he got into his car and drove off. Ivy didn't stay long enough at the Gilbert house to listen to the groups plan. She decided to tail Ric, hoping she wouldn't need to step in if something went wrong.
She followed him as he drove out of Mystic Falls and even out of Virginia.
Ivy made sure she was a few metres from her father's car but realised he probably knew he was being followed. They were driving down some back roads that looked rather sketchy to. The only source of light were the cars headlights and even they weren't helping. Alaric turned off the road into a car park for what looked like a storage unit.
The red head parked her car and switched off her headlights straight away. She watched Alaric get out of his car and walk to the boot. He opened it up to reveal his hunting weapons. From her hiding spot she couldn't see the contents of the trunk. However, she did see the familiar white oak stake. He grabbed the indestructible before slamming the trunk. Ric stormed towards the storage unit with purpose. Ivy held back for a few minutes not wanting to ruin the group's plan yet.
She got out the mustang as another car pulled up. She kept walking unsure if she wanted to know who the driver was. Ivy heard the driver open and close their door, followed by a whooshing sound.
In the blink of an eye, the blonde original was stood in front of the red head. "What are you doing here?" Ivy asked in frustration at the intrusion of her personal space.
"I could ask you the same thing." Rebekah looked the red head up and down. Ivy raised her eyebrows whilst placing a hand on her hip in annoyance. Rebekah sighed, rolling her eyes at the younger vampire. "I'm here to meet Damon to get Klaus' body. Honouring the little deal, you made with my brother." The blonde explained.
"Don't look at me, that was all Elena. Look, you need to be careful down there. Alaric just went in with the white oak stake." Ivy saw panic cross Rebekah's features. Ivy understood that Rebekah was scared and actually felt sorry for the original for a second. Rebekah shook her head returning to her bitchy self. She knew it was a risk but she had to get her brother's body.
Rebekah spun on her heel to enter the building. Ivy shrugged, following the blonde into the storage unit. She silently prayed that she wasn't walking into certain death.
The elevator arrived at the basement level. Ivy cussed when the elevator dinged at their arrival. She didn't know what she would see when the doors finally opened. But she wasn't expecting to see an empty corridor. Ivy stood in the elevator, creeping forward as she assessed the scene.
"Damon! Damon, where are you?" Ivy face palmed at the stupidity of the original. She had signed her death certificate. Rebekah strutted forward down the corridor hoping to find Damon. Ivy veered away from the main corridor, choosing to sneak down one to the left.
After several minutes of getting lost in a maze of storage units, Ivy could hear a commotion. She guessed that her possessed father found the other two vampires. She vamped towards the sound, stopping every now and again to listen.
There was silence again. She walked further towards where she heard the sounds last.
And then darkness.
Not Again.
Ivy felt the familiar ache of a broken neck as she slowly woke up. She carefully opened her eyes, unaware of her surroundings. Lying next to her was a bloodied and bruised Damon Salvatore. He was on his back looking up at the ceiling. Or so she thought.
A black leather boot proceeded to kick Damon in the face. Making all the open wounds pour with more blood. Ivy rolled onto her back, not only showing Damon she was awake, but also his assailant.
Alaric Saltzman was stood over his 'best friend' with bloodied knuckles and a snarl on his face. Blood was splattered over his clothes and his skin. His fist was clenched around Damon's shirt, holding him up slightly. This was not the man she knew. She had never seen him look so evil. She winced when his eyes moved to look at her. She wasn't used to seeing such hatred in his brown orbs.
"Well look who's up." Alaric let go of Damon's shirt, dropping him with a soft thud. He moved so he was standing between the two vulnerable vampires.
"Leave her alone, Ric." Alaric violently turned to face Damon. He delivered a strong kick to the vampire's gut.
"I said, don't call me that!"
"Is that all you got?"
"Not quite." Alaric pulled out a stake, kneeling over the blue eyed vampire. Damon's eyes widen as he saw the familiar wooden weapon. Alaric went to stab Damon with the stake but was stopped by the Salvatore. Damon used all his strength to lift the weapon away from his chest, whilst Alaric was trying to do the opposite.
Alaric was tackled to the floor by his own daughter. His grip was still intact around the wooden stake. She was trying to save Damon and not hurt her father at the same time. She offered a hand to Damon to help him up, increasing his distance from the hunter.
Alaric shot up, already advancing on the two vampires. The darkness within him was dedicated to the cause Esther had bestowed on him. Alaric raised the stake above his head to plunge into the older vampire. Damon grabbed his wrist causing Ric to drop the stake out of reflex.
The hunter's face began to change. His scowl was replaced with one of confusion. He stumbled back a few steps, unstable on his feet all of a sudden. "What's happening?!" He exclaimed in a desperate attempt for help. Alaric dropped to his knees looking up at his best friend and daughter. Both of them quickly realising what was happening.
"Oh no!" Damon whimpered, both of them falling with Alaric to the ground.
"What's happening?" Alaric's face grimaced, starting to feel the pain of dying. He looked towards Ivy, recognition on his face. "Kiddo?"
"Daddy?" Ivy whispered, unable to speak due to the tears already trailing down her cheeks. She grabbed a hold of him as he fell forward. He was too weak to even hold himself up.
"No. No, no, no, no. Ric, Ric!" Damon begged as the older man started to desiccate.
"No! Daddy, please! You are not dead. You are not dead." Ivy sobbed as she rested her forehead against Ric's. Her body was shaking violently as she witnessed the slow death of her father. She pulled away to look at her father. He was a dull grey colour, veins protruding from his skin. She looked to Damon for help. She needed something. Anything.
She gasped seeing his own tears fall from his eyes. He grabbed a hold of Ivy, bringing both her and Alaric into an embrace. Not only had he lost his best friend but also the love of his life.
Ivy pulled away to look at Damon. "Elena!" Ivy had had the same realisation as Damon. "Go, Damon!" The blue eyed vampire looked surprised at the red head. Shocked that she would tell him to go at a time like this. "Go say goodbye to her." Damon nodded knowing he needed to. "Go!" She screamed at him, hurrying him up.
Damon vamped leaving Ivy alone with her father.
Ivy rocked the two of him, almost like she was sending her father to sleep. She couldn't believe that she was saying goodbye to him again. This was worse than the first time because no one was coming along to bring him back. He was gone.
Alaric's skin began to shine lightly as her watery tears dropped from her chin. "I love you, dad. I'm so sorry I couldn't help you. I'm so sorry." She apologised over and over again to the lifeless body of her father.
Not knowing that he was stood right behind her. "I love you too, kiddo" his own tears falling from his eyes.
"I love you too."
AN: Well that's Season 3! I hope you enjoyed it so far because it's about to get good.
