THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Hayley slowly brought up her head. This wasn't her. She didn't sit around, hoping someone would save her. She saved herself. What was the point of trying to prove to everyone that she wasn't a damsel in distress if she just waited for someone to come? That was what the Salvatore brothers needed. They wanted Klaus or Elijah to come get her so they could kill them. No. Hayley told herself. I can save myself.

She glanced around the cellar again, trying to see if there was absolutely anything that could help her. But there was absolutely nothing. Hayley told herself to think. Than Elijah's words echoed into her head, "Find your enemies weakness and figure out what you have that they do not." Hayley closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and thought of what she had that the Salvatores didn't. Then her eyes snapped open. Her speed. Damon and Stefan were over a century older than her. They were stronger than her. If it came to a fight, she had no chance. But Hayley was fast and Elijah never failed to reassure her of it.

Out of nowhere, an idea came to her. She didn't have a lot of time. How long had she even been passed out for? She wondered. There was no way of knowing if Elijah or his family realized she was missing or if they were looking for her right now. It wouldn't be hard to find her. That was the point. This was one of the first places they would look. But Hayley knew she had to escape before her disappearance could put them in danger.

Hayley looked at her wrist in hesitation just for a second. Then she felt her fangs slide out. She tore into her wrist and immediately held the wound over the dirt floor. She shook it, making sure it looked how it was supposed to. She positioned herself, crouched on her knees with hands holding up her upper body and her neck hung in defeat. Hayley took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. There was a chance it couldn't work. But if it did, she had one shot and that was it.

Damon was standing in the den of the boarding house and looking out the window. Stefan paced back and forth, not caring if it was driving his brother crazy. They didn't know when the originals would show up. But when they did, they would be prepared. Damon knew it would only be one or two. The original family was more dysfunctional than even his relationship with Stefan. They would be able to handle two of them. At least, long enough for Alaric to drive a dagger through one of their hearts. The human was hidden in the boarding house and would only show himself with the dagger when Damon or Stefan had an original pinned. Then they would rip the bridge apart and stake their captive. And the original family would drop like flies.

The plan wasn't to take Hayley so soon. The stakes weren't ready yet and their plan hadn't been set in stone. But when she was completely inattentive outside the grill, Damon saw his chance. He had to take it. Who knew when she would be alone again? Stefan immediately stated the obvious, what if Elena found out? She made it clear that she refused to let Hayley be used like she was by the originals. But, to Damon, that was exactly the reason why it was justified.

Stefan stopped pacing. Damon instantly knew why. He heard something. It was Hayley in cellar. She was groaning in pain and clearly coughing. Stefan's eyes flickered to his brothers. It was filled with concern. Damon had made it an unspoken rule that only he would deal with Hayley. Stefan still felt guilty for everything he put her through. And his guilt had only become worse when his humanity slowly returned to his consciousness.

"What's happening to her?" Stefan asked quietly as he turned his ear in the direction of the noise. Damon's brow furrowed. There was nothing in cellar that she could harm herself with. Then he remembered a side comment Bonnie had made after she performed the spell. Hayley wasn't just in love with Elijah. She was connected to the originals. Damon wondered if they'd somehow done something to her as well.

"Keep an eye out." Damon said to his brother before brushing past him to the cellar.

In a flash, he was at the door and peered through the small gap. Hayley was hunched over, clearly in pain. Her wavy, blonde-red hair hid her face. But Damon could hear her violent coughing perfectly. Then his eyes noticed the red blood splattered on the ground in front of her. Was she coughing up blood? His face creased with concern. She was no good to them if she was dead.

Hayley seemed to sense his presence. She slowly turned face him. Her eyes were wet from the hacking and there was blood on her lips. But she didn't look at him for help. Then she fell on her back, grabbing her stomach as she cried out in pain.

Damon immediately wanted to unbolt the door. But his hand lingered on top of the handle. "What's happening to you?" He asked her, making sure there was no concern in his tone.

Hayley had uneven gasps of breath. "I…I don't know. It hurts…it-" But she was cut off by another wave of coughing. Damon looked over his shoulder as if Stefan would be there, shaking his head for him not to open the door. But he was alone. Before he could change his mind, Damon unlocked the door and was there in a few seconds. He knelt at her side.

"Blood." Hayley gasped. "I need blood." And she felt him disappear to get her a blood bag.

He was back in a second and knelt down at her side. Without looking at him, she sloppily grabbed the blood out of his grasp. Then, in a split second, she was behind Damon. Her hands were around his neck and in one fluid motion; she twisted it to its limit. She did it all so quickly that Damon didn't even have time to react. Hayley let out a gasp of relief. Without even thinking, she grabbed the blood bag off the floor and drank it in seconds. Getting her neck broken and being out for what she assumed was hours, made her weak. And if she was going to get past Stefan, she was going to need to be at full strength.

Hayley made sure not to make any noise. If Stefan were listening, which she was sure he was, he wouldn't be able to distinguish who had been attacked. Hayley closed the cellar door and locked it. She allowed herself one quick glance at Damon. He lay on his side, his limbs fallen hazardously around him in an unsettling manner. She could have ripped out his throat. She could have really killed him. But Hayley didn't let herself linger on the thought. There was no time.

She turned and sped around the corner and up the stairs. The front door was straight away. All she had to do was get outside and she could make it back to the mansion. Stefan wouldn't be able to catch her. She raced toward the door. But she was propelled backwards, off her feet. She slid across the wood floor from the strength of it. Quickly, she jumped to her feet and faced Stefan who was now standing between her and the door.

Alaric was around the corner, waiting for some kind of signal to attack Hayley. But Stefan wouldn't give it. He wouldn't kill Hayley. He told Alaric just before she came up the stairs to stay hidden. They needed someone to tell the others if something happened. If they were all dead, there was no way for the others to know.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Stefan asked her, his hands ready at his sides. Hayley smirked at it. She would have been insulted if he wasn't prepared for a fight.

"You and your brother are fucking idiots, Stefan." She said calmly. "I told you that if you ever tried to use me against them, I would rip out your heart."

"Feel free to try and rip out my heart after I kill the originals." Stefan replied. Her threat didn't seem to have any effect on him.

"That's the thing though." Hayley said with her head tilted. She took a slow step forward. "Even if I can't do it…even if you kill me first, Elijah will. Stefan…you're a dead man no matter what happens. Damon claims you have a brilliant plan to kill them. But even if it works, Elijah will stay alive until he's sure that he's killed you." She enunciated every word, making sure she got her point across. Even if she didn't scare him, the threat of Elijah would. And she wanted to see fear in his eyes. She wanted to see him shift from the thought of it.

"I don't want to kill you, Hayley." Stefan said, surprisingly softly.

"If you keep me here, you'll never get Elena back."

Stefan's eyes widened at the name. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Hayley didn't know that Elijah had already taken her. She just knew it would catch Stefan off guard. She could lie. It was a skill that she'd perfected at a young age. "Klaus said he was leaving. And he said he wasn't leaving without the doppelgänger. She's the key to his hybrids after all. You really didn't think he was going to let her out of his sight, did you?" Stefan's posture completely changed and that was when Hayley knew that he took the bait.

"Go ahead." She urged. "Call her and see if she picks up." Hayley knew Elena would pick up. She knew her lie would be exposed. But it didn't matter. As soon as Stefan heard Elena's voice, a wave of relief would wash over him. And in that exact moment, he would be off guard. Hayley wouldn't try and break his neck. She just needed to get past him and out the door.

Stefan eyed her for a moment before he slowly grabbed his cellphone from his pocket. His fingers raced across the screen as he called Elena. He took a slight step away from the door as he heard the tone ring and ring. Hayley's heart sank when she heard Elena's voicemail start. She hadn't thought of a plan if Elena didn't answer and made Stefan truly believe that she was taken. Stefan's eyes went dark when he hung up the phone and stared Hayley down. She swallowed. Her throat was dry from the panic she was now thrown into. But before anything could happen, the front door of the boarding house was thrown off its hinges. It flew so far that Hayley had to dive out of the way to avoid getting hit by it. The door banged onto the floor a few feet away from her. It wasn't really a door anymore, more like bits of wood and splinters.

Now Hayley's eyes looked at the opening to see Elijah for a split second. He hadn't spotted her. Instead, he grabbed Stefan and threw him so hard against the wall that the wooden panel cracked under the force. "It is evident to me now. You are searching for a death wish. I will rip you apart. Where is that imbecile you call your brother?" His voice seemed calm. But Hayley almost shuddered at how utterly terrifying it sounded to her. He was mad…No, furious. To her disbelief, his hand shoved into Stefan's chest, who let out a yell of excruciating pain.

Hayley instantly pushed herself up off the ground. "Elijah!" It was meant to come out like a yell. But it sounded desperate and was nowhere loud enough. But he still whipped around at the sound of her voice. It was clear he was absolutely relieved. But his hand didn't unleash Stefan's heart from its grasp. And his eyes were still filled with the fury. He was going to kill him. She could read it all too well. And as much as she had just threatened Stefan with this precise act, she didn't want it to actually happen now that it was unfolding before her eyes. She didn't want Elijah to be a killer. She didn't want him to seek revenge on her behalf. But it wasn't really for her, was it? He was doing it for himself.

"Don't kill him." Hayley whispered. He would've protested, but his jaw was too clenched to even open it to speak. "They weren't going to kill me. They didn't even hurt me. I was just here for them to get to you." She told him softly as she slowly walked toward him. Her eyes flickered to Stefan. His face was covered in beads of sweat. Some of his hair was stuck to his skin due to the moisture. He bit his lip from the pain of Elijah squeezing his heart.

"He's not worth it." She pleaded. Stefan looked so pitiful this way. There was hardly even any fight left in him. "Please…just let him go." Her pleading caused Elijah to look him in eyes. His gaze was full of the darkest hatred. Hayley was scared he'd rip out the heart right there. Her last few steps toward him were rushed. She wrapped her fingers around his wrist gently. He looked away from Stefan to her. "Elijah…will you please do this for me? Just…just let him go." Her gaze dug into his, begging and pleading with him silently.

Elijah blinked a few times and then slowly took his hand out of Stefan's chest. It was covered in blood. Stefan exhaled and keeled over the second their contact broke. Hayley stepped away in absolute relief. But Elijah wasn't satisfied. He grabbed Stefan by his collar. The younger vampire barely even put in effort into defending himself any longer as he grabbed onto Elijah's arm, trying to free himself. Elijah threw one punch, just one. But it was so hard that it knocked Stefan unconscious. Hayley jumped a little and cringed when she heard the snap. Elijah had broken Stefan's neck with one punch. It would have killed a human. But Stefan would be back in an hour or two, just like his brother.

Elijah stared down at Stefan and breathed heavily with his teeth clenched together. It wasn't from exhaustion, but from his rage. Hayley watched him cautiously. He seemed to be trying to control the urge to kill him right there or cause him more harm. It took a minute for him to finally put down his hand that was still tightened into a fist so strictly that Hayley thought the skin over his knuckles would split. Elijah clenched and unclenched his hand, trying to remove the violent impulses that wouldn't stop. Then he slowly looked at her. Hayley's medium length hair was messily framing her face. And her eyes were slightly wider than usual from the fear of what he was capable of doing.

Elijah instantly pulled her into his arms, his hand firmly on the back of her head. She let out a sigh of relief before he stepped away. But he didn't let her go far. His hands rested on either side of her face as he dipped his head to stare into her eyes. "Did they hurt you?" He said evenly. But the question was so much deeper than that. Hayley must choose her words carefully. If she said yes or even implied a confirmation, Stefan and Damon wouldn't be safe. Nothing she could say to him would save them. She knew it.

Hayley instantly shook her head. "They didn't touch me." She stated firmly.

"Where is Damon?" He asked as soon as he was reassured that she was fine.

"Locked in the cellar…unconscious." His eyebrows rose just the slightest bit. "I snapped his neck." She added in a low mutter. "Is everyone okay? Klaus…all of them, are they hurt?" The words rushed out of her mouth. Just because Elijah came for her, didn't mean that the rest remained unscathed.

"They're fine." Elijah said steadily. "Why wouldn't they be?"

"Let's go." She quickly said. "I'll explain it to everyone."

They walked into the mansion a few moments later. Elijah hadn't said a word to her after they left the Salvatore boarding house. She couldn't decide if he was mad at her or just mad in general. But she couldn't think about it any further since his family came out of various rooms to see who had returned.

Kol came bounding down the steps first. "The knight in shining armor saves his maiden. The world is right once again." He paused on the last step and made a satisfied noise as he smirked at their entrance. His comment shouldn't have bothered Hayley. She was an expert at dealing with Kol. But for some reason, anger sparked inside of her. She glared at him as her chest heaved with deep breaths. Elijah wasn't paying attention to her or he would have caught on. Kol bounced down the last step of the staircase and crossed his arms as he leaned against the banister. Hayley stormed past him, her shoulder ramming into his as she flew up the stairs.

Elijah uncrossed his arms and watched her carefully, now seeing that something wasn't right. But before he could go after her, Klaus, Sage, and Finn came into the entrance hall of the mansion from one of the many other rooms. Klaus just barely caught Hayley's tall and narrow frame disappearing around the corner of the hall. He relaxed at the sight of her safely back except he didn't show it enough for anyone to notice.

"Oh my. Did I say something?" Kol jokingly asked rhetorically. Even if he realized he'd upset her, he wouldn't do anything to show that he cared. He never intended for his comment to bother Hayley. In all honesty, it was his messed up way of saying he was glad she didn't die.

"And why wasn't I informed that they took her?" Klaus asked Elijah angrily. Elijah's eyes flickered away from where Hayley disappeared, to Finn and Sage, silently accusing them of confessing.

"Oh, I figured it out for myself. Thank you." Klaus growled. "Rebekah comes into the grill looking for Hayley and when I call both of them a few minutes later, neither pick up their cell phones. It really wasn't that hard to grasp."

"We should burn the bridge…before they've realized I told you about it." Sage interrupted. She knew just as well as anyone that the originals could spend the entire night arguing amongst one another. And she wanted any threat to Finn to be destroyed immediately.

"Alright then. Have at it!" Klaus snapped as if he was going to rip out her heart for even speaking directly to him. "Take Bekah with you. I'm sure she'd enjoy it." Then he realized that she seemed to be missing. "Where is our little sister?" He looked at his oldest brother for the answer.

"I sent her on a personal task of mine. Do not concern yourself." Elijah said it so casually that Klaus wouldn't question his honesty. He started for the stairs. But Klaus put on a hand on his chest, stopping him. Elijah looked down at the hand like he would rip it off its wrist.

"One day you will have to admit that there are certain things you will never understand about her. It might as well be today." Klaus said it evenly. But his eyes were dark and filled with warning. "You may be the one meant for her, but there is still a side of her that is exactly like me." He waited for Elijah to attack him for his cruel and honest words. But Elijah just blinked before stepping away, completely lost in his thoughts. "Tell Rebekah to go with Sage since apparently you want to keep her whereabouts a secret for reasons I do not care for right now."

Elijah was about to laugh in his little brother's face for trying to give him a command. Those days were over and they had ended the moment he separated from Niklaus. But Elijah knew if he tried to defy him, questions about Rebekah's whereabouts would really come up. And nothing would throw Klaus into a tantrum more than a threat to his precious doppelgänger. But Elijah had no intention of releasing Elena any time soon. He was sick of the Salvatore brothers and their constant disrespect to the original family.

So Elijah didn't take another step up the stairs. Instead, he let Klaus go speak with Hayley while he watched from below, hating himself for allowing it. Once he saw his brother disappear around the hallway corner, Elijah turned on his heel and went out the front door without speaking to the rest of the group.

Klaus slowly opened Elijah's room to see Hayley rummaging through the room, not caring about the mess she was leaving behind. Her hair was up in a sleek ponytail and she was only wearing black running shorts and a dark grey sports-bra. Her toned abs and lean legs practically asking for a man's attention. Klaus just stood still with his arms crossed as he watched her continue to ignore his presence.

"Hayley." He said sternly, but still gentle.

"I don't have any running shoes…" She instantly answered as if she had started the conversation. "Or my iPod. I keep forgetting that none of my stuff is here." Hayley didn't look at him as she spoke, just continued to look around the room even though she knew she wouldn't find any of it.

"What are you doing?" Klaus sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm going for a run." She retorted.

"No you're-"

Hayley was in front of him in a blink of an eye. She was finally looking at him. "I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to talk to anyone. So whatever you planned on discussing with me before coming in here…it's not gonna happen." She tried to shove past him, but Klaus roughly grabbed her by the arm.

"Stop being dramatic, Hayley."

She instantly ripped her arm away. "Damon and Stefan think they found some way to kill you!" Hayley yelled without meaning to. "How's that for dramatic?" She added in a whisper.

"Yes, I know." Klaus tried to sound bored. "Sage informed us of the second white oak tree that grew in replacement to the one we burned down. The Salvatores have all the lumber records. It was used to build the Wickery Bridge. Rebekah and Sage are about to burn it down as we speak. Damon has no idea that Sage deceived him." He quickly added all the details after seeing the horror and confusing in her face when he said he already knew about everything.

"Sage…" Hayley muttered to herself. But her anger and frustration hadn't depleted in the least bit. Finn's love had caught her eye as soon as she saw her. That was when Hayley remembered the woman who she'd been staring at before the Salvatores took her. Although their hair was the same color, the length was completely different along with their facial structure and figure.

Hayley took in a deep breath, proving that everything he just said wouldn't stop her from leaving. She started for the door again but Klaus blocked her path at a supernatural speed. "You're not going anywhere, Hayley. Don't be a fool. You know everyone in this mansion is stronger than you are." He explained to her in a threatening tone.

"So what, you're going to kill me so I don't leave?" She challenged.

Klaus groaned at her stubbornness. "Fine. If you must have it your way…but you are taking two of my hybrids with you."

"I don't need a fucking babysitter." She snapped, her eyes at the ground.

"Well, I'm sure Elijah would disagree. If he finds out I let you leave the mansion, I will have to worry about another person wanting to kill me." Klaus pined.

Hayley narrowed her eyes and took a step toward him. "Don't try and pretend like you care what Elijah thinks of you." She was trying to push him to get so angry that he would just stop caring altogether what she did with herself. Hayley wanted space. She needed it, even if it was for an hour or two. Everyone was worried about her safety. Everyone thought she couldn't handle herself. Klaus was the only one that ever risked putting her into danger because he wanted her to be stronger.

Hayley took another step close. Only an inch separated their faces. "I got out of there by myself. I snapped Damon's neck and locked him in the cellar. And I would've got past Stefan perfectly even if Elijah hadn't intervened. When will your family realize I'm not the one who needs to be saved?" Without realizing it, she'd made a reference to what Esther had asked her to do. Hayley's eyes stared out blankly as she tried to recall the conversation with the original witch.

Klaus swallowed deeply, realizing that his throat was dry. "I know." He opened his mouth to say that her safety scared him just as much as it scared Elijah. But he couldn't. He raised a hand to just touch her, hoping the contact would tell her all the things he couldn't say. Except Hayley stepped away from his skin, practically flinching away. Klaus pretended like he didn't notice.

Hayley stared at him. Her eyes were filled with wretchedness and almost hopelessness. "You know what's worse than having a weak spot, Nik?" She stopped, actually giving him time to answer. But Klaus just waited patiently through her abuse. "Being someone's weak spot." She confirmed. Her head shook slowly before she moved around Klaus. "I'm going for a run."

Elijah looked down at the hole in the ground he had created. Human eyes would only be met with darkness. But he was able to see the details below with his vampire sight. Elijah looked around, looking for anyone who could possibly be around. It was simply a precaution. He probably would have heard them before he saw them. In one graceful step, Elijah jumped down and landed gracefully on the dirt floor of the cavern. He listened for his sister but he ended up hearing Elena's heart first. It wasn't beating in a panic, but it wasn't relaxed either. In a second, Elijah was standing next to Rebekah. Elena jumped at his quick appearance.

"Please, let me go, Elijah. I'll talk to them about letting her go." The doppelgänger begged. Rebekah rolled her eyes at the pleading and crossed her arms to wait for Elijah's response.

"That will not be necessary." Elijah replied calmly. He turned to his sister and whispered for her to leave with Sage and burn down the bridge. Meanwhile, he would watch Elena. There was no way she could hear what he was saying. She tilted her head and appeared worried about their conversation. She began wondering if they were discussing how they would kill her.

"I'll see you soon, Elena." Rebekah with charm that made Elena scared. "Or…maybe I won't." She added with a giggle as her fingers shook a goodbye wave. And she disappeared into the tunnels of the cave in seconds.

Elena backed against a wall and slid down it until she was sitting. Her knees at her chest and her hands wrapped around them, she looked defeated. Elijah watched her while she wasn't paying attention to him. He didn't want to kill her. But he taking her was the best way to get his message across to the Salvatores and everyone else in Mystic Falls.

"Klaus will kill you when he finds out you murdered me." Elena said as her doe eyes stared up at him. Then she rested her head back against the rocky wall.

Elijah didn't want to speak with her at first. But a short surge of guilt over came him. He'd already put Elena through so much and betrayed her trust. "Well, my brother is uninformed of your whereabouts or even that I took you. And who said anything about killing you?"

Elena's eyes flickered to his again. "Rebekah did."

Elijah really didn't know what he would do with her. He couldn't kill her. Even if he wanted to, he knew that he couldn't actually do it. That would make him no better than Klaus. But he didn't want Elena to know that. So he let her believe she was waiting for her death. He just regarded her with a hard look, not giving her any sort of indication of what he would do. If he killed her, Klaus would stop at nothing for his revenge. And Hayley would never forgive him. But if by some miracle she did, Klaus would make it his mission to turn her against Elijah.

Hayley was sprinting through the woods at a human's sprinting pace. But being a vampire, it would take her days to get exhausted from it. Therapeutic running didn't have the same effect on her anymore now that she was supernatural. She needed to figure out a different sort of escape. But as soon as she started thinking of things, she heard a twig snap in the distance. She instantly went into predator mode. It was probably one of Klaus' hybrids. He must have sent one after her to make sure she didn't do anything stupid. But then there was another sound that came from right behind her. Hayley whipped around and instantly saw a woman staring back at her.

"You." Hayley whispered. It was the same person she saw before she was injected with vervain. There was no way she could forget that vibrant red hair. And now that she was closer, she saw that the woman's eyes were almost the same exact red as well. The woman had on a smirk as if she knew all the secrets in the world and Hayley was begging her for to reveal them.

"Are you going to tell me who you are? After all, you're the reason I was taken." Hayley said rudely. She wasn't in a better mood than when she left the mansion.

"If you weren't, you would never have spoken to Esther." The woman said calmly.

Hayley shifted her weight. Suddenly, she felt certain energy in the air. Her eyes narrowed on the woman. "You're a witch." She clarified. And a powerful one too, she thought. She'd never felt something like that before. It was like her magic lingered around her.

"My name is Genevieve. There is no need to tell me your name. I already know of you."

Sorry if there were some typos/grammatical mistakes. I edited this really fast because I wanted to give you guys another chapter.

Let me know what you think :)