I do not own Vampire Diaries.

I am going to change the plotline a little here people.

Screw the plot.

It was so much worse than she had ever imagined it could be.

Pinned against the wall her body went slack as she let her emotions flood in like an insatiable river that had been damned up for far too long. She was unaware of sinking to the floor guided by Elijah's arms. When she finally sat she was still looking into his eyes as his hands cradled her face. She was flooded with the overwhelming urge to embrace him but she was unable as her clock moved backwards to the moment when she had shut her emotions out. She was trembling she was so frightened by what she knew she would have to face. The countless lives that she had wasted and the amount of blood that she had spilled was almost too much for her soul to bear exposed now as it was.

Her breathing sped up as she neared the beginning of it all. A thick fog of memory blanketed her and she delved deep into her past. The first memory she had was her father and mother's deaths. She had not dealt with that and now the heartache seeped from her. She could feel tears in her eyes as she saw the tombstones along with the heavy hatred that followed being left by the Mikealson's. The feeling of abandonment flooded her caused by people that she had wrongly felt were her family. But as the silent tears worked her way down her face she looked up at Elijah who was still holding her tenderly with so much compassion that she didn't know whether to hate him or love him.

"Elijah..." She shuttered

"Yes Annette." Even his voice was gentle for her. But now she remembered that he had known what Kol had done and left her in New York alone anyway. She pulled away from him and before he could detest she flew from the room. She stopped in the hall before rushing down the hallway. She ran into a few people and heard the voices from the party. They meant nothing to her. She needed to find a place to hide. Somewhere to be alone. She opened a door to a sitting parlor and closed it behind her. There was a secluded corner with a book shelve where even if someone came looking for her they would not see her behind it. She crouched in the corner and let the memories flood over her open wound that was her heart.

It was funny to think of the heart as a wound. But that is exactly what it was. A huge open wound just crying out for someone to hurt it. Almost begging for someone to break its trust. All with the hope that it gets to feel loved. The heart is both the weakest and the strongest part of a human.

Annette braced herself against the wall as a list of her victims coursed over her their blood running in her eyes. Their pleas for mercy lost on her soulless eyes now coursed over her mortal wound and cut her in ways that only one who feels twice the emotion can understand. She had met vampires who would never turn their emotions off for fear of this moment.

She realized now that she never should have. And she never would again. The burden was too much compared to the time she had spent without it.

To a human a heartbreak is a terrible thing. To a vampire it is almost unbearable. Retribution for immortality.

She neared the end. It seemed like days later.

She was interrupted right when her feelings for the family started to re surface.

Voices came into the room. One she knew well and the other she knew well and the other a little more foreign to her. They moved around and started speaking as she came out of her stupor to hear what they were talking about.

"Fin I placed a silencing spell on the room so no one can overhear our conversation." The woman said. Unless you happen to be in the room Annette thought shaking her head.

"I think they all want to believe the forgiveness and bring the family together." Fin said "Except perhaps Elijah."

"Yes Elijah is more suspicious than the others. Less trusting. He always has been. But he will do anything for the family." The woman that Annette knew as Esther said. "Do you feel guilty for assisting me with this Fin?" She asked after a momentary pause.

"No." He said bluntly and Annette tried hard to keep her breathing shallow. "What we are is against nature. We should have a long time ago."

Annette's heart hurt for him. It was a tugging sensation that she had not felt in a while. Fin had always hated what he was. He had always hated what he became more than the others. Struggled with it the entire time she had known him; probably his entire life.

"I love all my children" Esther said "But it is time for them to atone for what they have done." Another pause. "Go get the doppelganger." Annette heard the door open and close before there was silence. She assumed that Esther was still in the room so she did not move and was still. Vampires could move quickly and hear everything and need be they could be still as statues and make no noise. Annette was grateful for this at this moment.

While she had time she delved into the memory of Elijah telling her that he cared for her. While his words meant nothing to her before, they meant a great deal now. However she also had to deal with the remnant of what she felt for Kol. She could feel hip lips on her neck now. The way that he tasted and the fire than ran through her veins when he was around. Her heart ached after all of these years and she hated herself for it. She had been betrayed by all of them and still wanted nothing to do with them.

She decided then that she would leave now just as she had planned to before. She would not reciprocate either Kol's or Elijah's intentions or not intentions. It would be the best option for her. She would go back to her golden retriever (that she missed a great deal more than she had before) and live her life without them. This decision was not without heartbreak on her part because she loved them all still but they were unhealthy and hurt every life that they came into contact with.

The door to the study opened again and two sets of feet walked through the door.

"Elena thank you for joining me." Esther said.

Elena Gilbert. Annette knew who she was even though she hadn't been here long. She was the doppelganger of this century. Which meant that she meant a great deal to the supernatural world. It meant she meant a great deal to Klaus for reasons that Annette herself was unaware of.

"You wanted to speak to me?" The girl asked. She sounded very young. Not only in age but by the fear in her voice though she was trying to mask it.

"I understand that you want my children out of your life and out of this town of yours." Esther said smoothly. Fin was silent. Elena had no answer for her. "Don't be frightened my dear we both want the same thing, my children dead." Annette took a breath at this and tried to control her shock.

"I only want Klaus dead." Elena protested. Annette tried to decipher what was going on. She had figured by the conversation that Esther and Fin were planning something for the siblings but death had not been what had popped into her head. Daggered in a box perhaps but death was a very serious price to pay. It was a heavy ax to wield on your own children.

"My children have done much harm in this world. It is my fault and I want to right it. Elena Gilbert with your help I can link them all through your blood and when I kill one the rest of them will die." She stated like she was talking about a sporting event. Annette didn't' hear Elena's response because she was thinking of what she should do exactly. Her soulless self would leave them all to die without so much as a how ya do. She would have been happy in fact because no Elijah meant no control. But now she felt torn. Part of her wanted to let them go through with it and part of her wanted to intervene. To tell Elijah perhaps.

"All I need is a single drop of your blood to connect my sons and daughter. I will put it in the champagne and when they drink it they will all be linked and Fin will sacrifice himself to save pain." Esther explained. There was silence from Fin but Annette wanted to slap him. What a selfish thing to sacrifice all of his sibling simply because he was unhappy.

Though she supposed she couldn't really judge him.

"Will you help me or won't you?" Esther asked Elena.

"They won't come back?" Elena asked

"No Dear they won't." Esther promised. There was an exchange of some sort and she heard Elena muffle a groan as she cut herself. "It is about time that the toast of the evening will be done my. Thank you for your help Elena."

The door opened and closed again.

"Fin make sure this gets in every one of your glasses and deliver the champagne to your brothers and sister yourself." Esther said. "Let's go join our family my son." Again the door opened and shut and there was silence in the room. Annette wanted to wait just to be safe but she knew that if she was going to do something she would have to move now. She flew from her hiding spot and through the door passing a witching bowl in the center of the room that was Esther's no doubt.

She straightened herself before exiting the room and walking down the stairs to the kitchen. Trying to draw the least amount of attention to herself as possible. Though she supposed her makeup was all over her face by this point. She reached the kitchen just in time to watch Fin put the small amount of blood into an open bottle of champagne. His back was to her as he poured the bottle into five glasses on a silver tray that was separate from the others. He went to turn and she ducked out of the doorway into the hall and around the corner as she watched him leave the kitchen. He would be back momentarily.

Yet Annette still hesitated. Why should she care if they all died? Then she shuttered because that part of her was still with her and probably would never leave. The harder darker part of herself that made her stronger braver colder and more reckless.

But she stepped into the kitchen. Swiftly she dumped the entire tray of champagne glasses into the trash and got new ones off a nearby table. She popped open a bottle of champagne. Would Fin notice if the few drops of blood weren't present? She decided not to take the chance as she sliced her finger open and added a few drops of her own blood. She poured the champagne and set them on the tray. Hoping that this worked. She did not want to get caught working against Esther. She threw the bottle away in a large garbage can behind the counter with the now broken champagne glasses and Elena's blood. She hurried out of the kitchen and into her dark corner. Seconds later fin walked by her and was in the kitchen and then out again with the tray of champagne.

Many serving people went in after he had gone and came back out with the drinks for the guest. She followed the last one. She walked into the great hall as Elijah made a speech. She took a glass off a nearby tray and listened to the bullshit that Elijah was spinning about the importance of family. Though she supposed it wasn't bullshit if you believed it.

The toast was over and he turned to look at her. She raised her glass to him and smiled.

Okay so I haven't seen this episode in so long that the conversation between Esther and Elena is very very fuzzy so I did the best I could. Obviously I put some stuff in there to fit my storyline. Hope you enjoyed.

Annette with emotions yay.