Hey there!

I hope you're all doing okay and as always thank you so much for taking the time to read and review.

Also a huge thanks to Amber for being the most amazing beta ever, I could never thank her enough.

Now, I must warn you evil cliffhanger here and honestly there's a bunch of angst coming aaaand we are getting to the end of this, this has been my longest story and I'm so proud of it!

Love you all!

"The worst day of loving someone is the day that you lose them"

-The Vampire Diaries-

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Growing up Elena had always been the princess of her family, spoiled, pampered and protected by everyone, showered in affection and love. She was the baby hence everyone's need to protect her, everyone but her big sister Katherine. For some reason, Elena couldn't quite understand or explain to anyone, she had never got along with her sister. Kat and her were as different as night and day; where Elena came off as shy and innocent, Katherine appeared bold and jaded.

Elena had always felt that her sister resented her somehow and their issues got aggravated even further when the younger one married the man Katherine wanted for herself. But in spite of all their differences and the fact that they never were close to each other, Elena felt her gut clenching in fear and her heart beating wildly as she watched Elijah dragging her whimpering sister behind him.

"Don't hurt her!" she shouted as she eyed the faint bruises on her sister's cheeks.

Klaus let out a throaty laugh, a sound Elena was starting to loathe, "How kind of you to feel sorry for your sister especially when she couldn't give a damn about you."

Katherine shook her head passionately, "That's not true Lena!"

"Quiet!" Elijah hissed as he let the girl fall into the chair Klaus had placed facing Elena and Caroline. The younger man kept his hold on the girl's hair as he eyed Elena and a twisted smirk appeared on his face. Elena reproached herself for her stupidity at failing to see the evil in that man.

Klaus started pacing behind the chair Katherine was seated in, "Do you want to know the story? I bet you're dying to," he addressed Elena, as a smirk as twisted and evil as his brother's, materialized on his face.

Caroline snorted, "We don't really want to hear you talk but it seems you love the sound of your own voice so much I'm sure you'll regale us with this tale anyway," Elena's eyes widened at her friend's words as she realized without a doubt that her friend was made of steel and it would take a lot for the Russian to break her.

He stopped his pacing as his eyes darkened while looking at the blonde beauty, "Such a pretty mouth you have Caroline, I'm going to enjoy fucking it,"

She let out a disgusted sound, "Go to hell!"

Klaus released another one of those ear shattering laughs before he resumed his pacing, "I know you're wondering what your evil sister is doing here? At some point you must have wondered if she was working with Elijah."

Katherine let out a whimper as her teary eyes went to her sister, "I'm so sorry, Elena!" the younger sister was at a loss for words because never in her life had she seen Katherine in such a state, she had always seen her sister as a force of nature, wild and strong, and to see her reduced to a crying girl made her heart shatter.

Klaus made his trademark tsking sound as he stopped behind Katherine and bent so that his mouth was next to her ear, "Such a delusional girl. With big dreams of being a Mafia Queen."

Elijah laughed at this, "Ambition can be your biggest enemy sometimes."

Klaus straightened up and those fierce blue eyes looked at Elena again, "She sought me out you know? After your boy toy rejected her she found me and said she wanted to be Russian royalty."

Elijah released the girl's hair and caressed her cheeks with his hand in a gesture so eerie it made Elena's skin prickle, "To be fair to her she was smarter than all of you. Figured my secret before any one of you could."

Elena's eyes were accusatory as she looked at her older sister, "You knew?" She remembered how Damon had shared with her that it was a possibility that Katherine was working with Elijah but never in a million years had she contemplated the idea of her sister being in so deep as to betray her own blood.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried while looking down.

Elijah gripped her chin and forced her face upwards so she could stare into her sister's eyes, "Your ambition blinded you my dear, don't deny it. You wanted all of it for yourself like always. But don't believe her to be completely evil, after I killed Jeremy she wanted out, didn't expect that one!"

Elena felt like the air had been sucker punched out of her, her whole body was trembling as she regarded her sister. Images of her brother's dead body plagued her mind, "How could you?"

The oldest sister shook her head fiercely as tears streamed down her face, "I didn't know Elena I swear," her eyes were pleading, something Elena had never seen before, "I'm so sorry!"

Klaus shook his head as he watched the exchange between the sisters with amusement, "But one thing you should all learn is once you're in, you can never get out," his jaw clenched as he spoke, "You were ours since the minute you reached out to me, dear Katherine, and you were useful only until we needed you."

"I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you… but I was so scared," Katherine choked out between sobs, the feeling of impending doom was lurking above her and she tried her best to let her sister know how sorry she truly felt for the way things had turned out, "I never wanted for him to get hurt Elena, I swear."

Klaus ignored the sister's cries, "And I am sorry to tell you this but you are no longer of use to us." In what seemed like slow motion Klaus reached back into the holster and pulled out a gun. Elena's eyes widened as she watched him raise the weapon and pull it against her sister's head. "Goodbye Katherine!" he smirked before firing and ending the young girl's life in less than a second.

Elena and Caroline screamed in horror as the body of Katherine slumped to the ground, a very shocked Elijah watched in complete dismay as the blood poured out of her and soaked the gray cement floors.

"Oh my God! Oh God!" Elena cried with unbearable grief and she felt as if there was a hole gaping open in her chest where her heart used to be. It didn't matter if they were close or not, she was still her blood, her family, she couldn't believe her mother and father would have to bury another child. She couldn't hold back the tears anymore as she watched the body of her sister awash in her own blood. She knew that no matter how long she lived the image of that evil man blowing her sister's head off was going to remain forever etched in her brain, "Oh dear lord!"

They were never best of friends, never shared clothes or gossip; there was never any sisterly advice or late night talks. But when she saw the lifeless body of her sister on the ground, she felt devastated. Her memory took her back to when she was five and Katherine had put make up on her face and dressed her in a frilly tulle pink dress. She had paraded Elena in front of her parents and Jeremy like she was a doll, barely eight herself at that time Katherine had proclaimed Elena to be her own personal doll and she remembered the feeling of joy that her sister was so proud of her.

"I love you sister," she whispered very softly to make sure none of them heard her. No matter what happened between them or the mistakes she had made, Katherine was her sister and for Elena there was nothing more important than her family.

"This was not part of the plan," Elijah hissed at his brother who only dismissed his anger with a wave of his hand.

"Relax little brother, I didn't realize you had become so attached to her."

Elijah seemed taken aback at his brother's words, "It's not that… but…"

Klaus shrugged, "She was no longer of use to us."

Elena watched both the Russian men with nothing but hatred, the emotion was so strong it was burning inside her veins. Her hands tied behind her back tried their best to release themselves, she managed to loosen up the ties slightly and she was not going to stop until she made it because there was no way she was dying in this hellhole at the hands of these cockroaches.

Elena said in calm steady voice, "I will kill you for this!"

"Really? Damn I guess I should really be afraid then," Klaus said while eyeing the girl and chuckling, "We truly did her a favor; the poor girl could barely live with herself because of all the guilt she was feeling. It was disgusting."

Caroline looked between the two brothers with disgust, "You're monsters - both of you are."

Elijah walked closer to her, composing himself from the shock that was Katherine's death, "Funny you say that, considering whom you were planning to marry and who your mother is." The older man said with a small smile and a glint in his hazel eyes, "I guess it all depends on the eye of the beholder."

Klaus chuckled, "This is a dog eat dog world sweet Caroline," he said softly. "We just happen to be the most dangerous of the monsters."

"Go to hell!" she bit out.

"I'm sure I'll be heading that way someday but not before enjoying some of my time here with you," Klaus walked towards the fierce blonde, making his brother step aside so he could stand in front of her, "Katherine was not cut out to be a mafia queen but you… you are, my love!" he took a knife out of his pocket and ripped the ropes as he gripped her tightly by the shoulders.

"No! let me go!" Caroline shouted and thrashed against him, but to no avail, since he was much stronger than her and had her subdued since the beginning.

"Leave her alone!" Elena shouted as she looked with panic as the blonde man held her friend tightly, "Leave her alone!"

"Quite frankly I'm tired of hearing your voice," Klaus said before slapping her so hard her lip started to bleed."

"Stop it!" Caroline shouted as she flailed in his arms.

"You and me are going to have so much fun tonight, love," he whispered close to her ear as he started dragging her back. Not even for a second did the blonde stop fighting against her captor.

"No, no! Let her go," Elena watched in pure helplessness as he dragged her friend through the metal door on the other side of the room, "No, please."

Elijah cursed under his breath and directed his attention towards the brunette still tied to a chair, "Shush Elena; you don't want to get on his bad side."

Her eyes were wild as she looked at him, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"It's all going to be all right, sweetheart," he moved towards her and caressed her face with his fingers, "You'll get used to it soon enough."

Elena shook her head trying to move away from his touch, she remembered for how long she had craved it and now she couldn't be more disgusted by it, "I will never get used to this life."

His eyes became hard as he looked down at her, "You got used to Salvatore didn't you," resentment laced his voice as he spoke.

"Don't you dare compare yourself to him. He would have never hurt me this way."

He chuckled while shaking his head, "You're so naïve dear Elena!"

In the blink of an eye and without Elijah realizing what was happening, Elena sprung up from her chair and lunged herself at him, scratching his face. He tried to pull her away from himself and reach into his back to pull out his gun, but Elena went the same way and both their hands found each other fighting for the gun, "You're out of your league here," he bit out as he flayed against her. Elena leaned down and bit hard on his hand forcing him to drop the gun.

She raised the weapon in front of her and without hesitation, just like Damon had shown her, pulled the trigger hitting Elijah Mikaelson in the chest. He looked down at his wound in complete shock before he raised eyes to hers, "I didn't see that coming," he muttered before she fired twice more.

His body dropped to the floor as an enraged Nikklaus thundered back into the room, Elena tried to shoot again but unfortunately the gun was out of bullets. She cursed her bad luck when she saw the Russian raising his gun and aiming it at her, "What have you done?!" His eyes were distressed as he looked at the lifeless body of his brother on the floor, next to her sister, "You little bitch, what did you do?!" he shouted before Elena felt his fist connecting with her face. "I am going to make you suffer for this!"

"Kill me if you like, but it will not change things. You've lost," he hit her once more pushing her on the ground when the sounds of gunfire distracted his attention. He stood up quickly and moved towards the entrance when Damon, Stefan and all his men busted inside. Elena felt dizzy and winced as Klaus dragged her up by the hair and placed her in front of him, "Kill me and she dies."

"You have lost, Nikklaus!" Damon said as he stepped further into the room, his gun aimed at Klaus as his eyes briefly scanned Elena's appearance. His jaw clenched when he saw the blood on her lips and the now-forming bruises on her face.

"I might be, but I won't go alone," he pulled Elena's hair making her wince and brought her face close to his, "This little principessa will go with me."

Damon's hand gripped the gun hard as he fought against the surging panic and his need to charge at the man immediately, "There's nothing for you here anymore, all your people are dead." The Italian man's voice was soft and hard as he spoke to his enemy, "Your siblings are all dead you are the last of them all Nikklaus and believe me when I say I will have you in pieces before the night ends."

Klaus snorted in frustration; only a few seconds ago he had everything he had ever wanted, in arm's length and now it was all vanishing in front of him like a mirage, "You sound so confident!"

Damon smirked in a way Elena hadn't seen in a while. He was not her Damon at the moment; he was the most feared mobster in New York, "I have the upper hand."

"Do you?"

"Yes, I do!" Damon smirked again and his eyes strayed to where Marcel was standing with a gun aimed at Klaus. He shot at Klaus which caused him to lose his balance and toss Elena to the front but before Damon could reach her he aimed his gun and shot her right in the back, the bullet piercing the skin and going through her chest as she dropped onto the floor.

Blind rage clouded Damon's brains as he raised his gun and put a bullet through the blonde man's forehead, "Make sure he's dead," he screamed as he rushed towards his wife.

The sound of her gasping for air pierced his ears as he took her in his arms, "Call a fucking ambulance!" Damon was sure there was going to be a lot to answer for but he didn't care, Elena needed a hospital and that was the only thing he cared about.

"You're alive!" Elena managed to say between gasps, her trembling hands were pressed below her wound as she tried to breathe through the pain.

Damon stroked her cheeks softly, "Of course I am silly girl, I'm unbreakable remember," he smiled down at her as his eyes filled with tears.

Elena smiled through the pain and raised her blood stained hand to caress his wet cheeks, "I feared to never see your face again," she kept gasping for breath and Damon closed his eyes hating the sound of her grasping onto her life.

"Impossible!" she shook his head, "You're going to be fine my sweet Elena!" his hand now caressed her hair as his eyes drank her in, he felt like ages had passed since he had last seen her and now he couldn't fathom the idea of letting her go again. He felt more scared than he had ever before, the thought of losing her was intolerable to him. He couldn't bear the thought of never hearing her tinkling laugh or seeing her tuck her hair behind her ears when she was shy or nervous or the stubborn pout when she stood her ground against him. The thought that she would not make it was making his heart feel like it would explode, it made him feel helpless and furious at the universe for daring to do this to him.

"No I won't," Elena said between gaps looking into his face as she tried to memorize each feature and give him one last look in case she wouldn't see him again.

"Yes, you will," he said firmly, his heart hammering with fear as he tried desperately to convince himself that she would be okay.

"I'm dying, Damon…I…love…"

He clenched his jaws as he stared at her, "Stop talking nonsense, you don't get to die today!" he would never forgive himself if his sweet dear Elena died because of the war he had with the Russians.

Damon could hear the commotion move outside, as his men vacated the room to search for more of Klaus's men and also give him space to be with his wife. Only Ric and Enzo had remained behind, guarding him.

"I love you, Damon…" she choked out and he closed his eyes in pain. Silent tears streamed down his face without him realizing it. Over twenty years had passed since the last time he had shed a tear and now as he held onto his dying wife he couldn't stop them from coming.

"No, don't you dare say goodbye," he said firmly refusing to entertain the dreadful possibility that he would never see her again, never touch her, never talk to her.

"You are crying…" Elena murmured in amazement as she touched the tears that fell unchecked down his cheeks, leaving blood stains on his face.

He chuckled, "And if you ever repeat it, I will deny it"

A small smile appeared on her lips, "Cheeky!"

"It's going to be fine, tesoro mio you're going to be fine," he stroked her cheeks as her eyes started to drift shut, "Don't you close your eyes Elena, stay with me," his voice was a broken sob as he leaned down and kissed her warm forehead repeatedly, his voice hoarse as he cried out, "You don't get to leave me!"

Once upon a time there was a fiery dragon that lived in the highest tower in the castle of a faraway kingdom. He was feared by everyone and lived in complete reclusion as no one was brave enough to face him. Until one day, a young girl arrived and decided she was not going to be frightened by a silly dragon, she went into the castle and climbed into the tower were the dragon dwelt.

When she arrived and stretched her hand to touch him she realized that he was only human and the dragon was forever changed because of the kind soul that was brave enough to discover what was underneath his fiery façade.

The dragon loved the girl for all eternity and their love was the stuff great stories were made of.

"You don't get to leave me Elena," he cried, "You can't!"

He held her body in his arms looking up, his face scrunched in agony as tears flew unabashed down on his cheeks and he cried in a desperate plea to a God he hadn't believed in before, "Don't take her away from me, you can't take her away from me."

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