The Cruel Twist of Fate
He breathed a mouthful of air as his eyes flew open. A white ceiling was above him, and he immediately realized that he was lying on the hardwood floor. There, he heard footsteps that made the floor creak. Immediately, he got up on his feet and pushed that man that was slowly approaching him with his vampire speed. Fury was in his eyes, thinking that this was the one who had put him here, but he saw fear in this man's eyes.
"You're awake..." The man uttered as he struggled in his grasp. But for a second, he glared at him before a smile slowly crept on his lips as he released him. He recognized who he was, and now it all made sense.
"Marcel..." Klaus then said and Marcel smiled at him as well. "I've always known that your loyalty would come very handy one day... And that day has arrived." He added knowingly as he turned. He saw his reflection through the mirror. Or in this case, Elijah's reflection.
"Katherine came and made a deal with me." Marcel then replied as Klaus saw that he was in his brother's body. "But the deal was off when she couldn't find what she was looking for. And so, I took matters into my own hands..."
"By using one of my old tricks," Klaus amusedly finished for him as he nodded in approval. He then glanced at him proudly. "Well done." He added and Marcel smiled. He walked towards the couch and sat down. "What was she looking for exactly?" Klaus asked with his eyebrows raised in interest. He had been out of the loop after all.
"This," He then raised what Klaus realized was a dagger – a white oak ash dagger. And he narrowed his eyes at it. Why would Katherine want it? Unless, she would want it to use against his family – which could definitely be the case.
"Ah, the dagger..." He commented in consideration.
"She used it with your brother's body." Marcel then said, and Klaus slightly frowned in wonder.
"What was the deal again?" He asked as he watched Marcel put the dagger on the coffee table that was in front of him.
"She wanted me to help her get it, and in return, I could wake you." He then replied, arching his eyebrows matter-of-factly. "But she didn't find it, and she quickly called the deal off." Klaus nodded.
"That sounded very much like her," He amusedly replied as he stood up. "So where is my body?"
"It's here," Marcel led him to the other room where there was a large box that looked like a crate. Klaus smiled at him proudly once Marcel looked at him. He thought that he would be stuck in that coffin forever, but he guessed, he spoke too soon. Of all places in this Earth, why would Elijah bring him to New Orleans? He could've dropped his coffin into the deep seas of the Atlantic Ocean. But apparently, Elijah had a shed of mercy and care for Klaus.
It was predictable.
What did get on Klaus' nerves, though, was the fact that his siblings made a secret alliance with Elizabeth to end him. They were there to help her with whatever she wanted them to do just to get it done. Elizabeth was very clever, though. She was the one who injected this mixed concoction that had absolutely weakened him. And he had to admit that that impressed him.
But he still wasn't pleased with any of it.
"I made sure that it was safe," Marcel then added with a knowing look. And Klaus smiled as he nodded. But he didn't really need him, nor to be in this town. What he needed was to go back to Mystic Falls.
"Thank you, Marcel," He then said with a smile as he gave a light pat on his shoulder. "You have done a spectacular job. But I'm afraid that my stay will be short-lived." Marcel nodded. As much as Klaus knew how much Marcel wanted him to stay, he couldn't oblige. He had better things to do. "I want my body delivered by your men tomorrow afternoon."
"Of course," He replied.
"And I want you to stay here, and take care of this little town." Klaus then added with a faint smile. But his tone was firm and had a hint of authority. "Just as I had told you a hundred years ago..." Marcel slowly smiled and nodded. He was easy to convince since he was sired to Klaus after all.
"I will," He said.
Apparently, he couldn't just leave without saying a proper goodbye. And so, he gave him a quick hug before he turned, got the dagger that was on the coffee table, and disappeared. Klaus had to admit that he was a tad excited to go back. What could be more exciting than a surprise?
And he was sure that Elizabeth and his other siblings will be.
There was this tremendous pain near her chest, by her collarbone. Her eyes opened as she decided to move, but she was shackled by her wrists and her ankles. She glanced around and she saw that there were stone walls around her, and the chains were bolted. She couldn't break free.
"So you're finally awake," She heard a familiar voice say, as she also heard footsteps. Once she turned, she saw that it was Rebekah wearing a black leather jacket over a green halter top, and dark jeans with black knee-high boots. "Took you long enough..." Elizabeth glared at her as she saw that smirk on her face.
It was safe to say that she was rather surprised about this, but basically, she already knew. She just didn't expect that this would be her form of attack, though. The thing was, a few encounters with Rebekah had given Elizabeth some time to read her thoughts and her memories. She knew about her vengeful intentions, the deal she made with Katherine, and the fact that Katherine had gone missing when Rebekah invited them to the dance party. Though, that invitation sparked some suspicion in her that she couldn't possibly resist to not know.
"I'd never thought you'd be able to execute your plan..." Elizabeth let out a scoff, and her voice was hoarse and strained. Rebekah only arched her eyebrows.
"It was a surprise, wasn't it?" She asked, matter-of-factly. "And in what better way could I have executed it than by catching you off-guard with a little confrontation by your dear Damon Salvatore?" Now she smirked in amusement. But Elizabeth only arched her eyebrows in consideration.
"Perhaps so..." She replied. When she shifted her shoulders, she felt that stabbing pain of the white oak stake, that Damon personally stabbed her with and broke in half just so she wouldn't be able to get it out.
"Of course, I had to inject some vervain in your system to weaken you..." Rebekah then added. And Elizabeth looked up at her and gave her a scornful smile.
"Of course," She knew that she was in trouble and that she needed to get out of her as soon as possible. Rebekah meant business and she definitely wanted to succeed with ending her this time. But apparently, Katherine didn't know anything about this and Rebekah was just about to tell her. So hopefully, Katherine would make another grave mistake (other than disappearing for days to get the other dagger from Elijah), but before that, Elizabeth knew that she should patiently wait.
Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw this glaring light. Quickly, he closed his eyes and turned away. Once he opened his eyes again, he waited for it to adjust before he saw that he was by the small entrance of the tomb. That was strange. How did he end up here again? He then sat up and looked at his clothes. He was still wearing the tuxedo from last night's dance party.
That's when he remembered.
But before he could put things into detail, he heard voices. It came further into the tomb, and it was familiar. There, he got up on his feet as he walked in to see who it was. Or who they were, since he heard someone's hoarse voice and he immediately frowned in wonder. So with his vampire speed, he didn't waste any more minute. He got there, and once he did, he immediately stopped. There, he saw that it was Rebekah, who looked at him, and Elizabeth who sat on the ground with shackles and chains that were bolted by the wall just above her.
Rebekah smiled.
"Right on time…" She amusedly said. And Damon narrowed his eyes at her then at Elizabeth. The last thing he remembered was when he handed her a drink last night at the boardinghouse. After that was all a blur. Although, he did remember some scenes where he demanded something to Elizabeth, stabbed her, and when she was finally unconscious, he brought her here where Rebekah was. Immediately, he realized what really happened. This bitch compelled him, and his now glaring gaze landed on her, who continued to smile. "Now I could use your help."
Damon rolled his eyes as he made a bitter smirk. "Didn't you already?" His gaze landed back at her as he made that sarcastic comment. Rebekah only shrugged in amusement. "You weren't even a little discreet."
"I was, actually…" She then said. "But that was when I turned off your humanity. After that, I figured it would be more fun if you knew." She made a knowing smile, and Damon continued to glare at her. "Besides, you wouldn't be able to do anything anyway. Like now…" With her vampire speed, she was already standing in front of him. "I want you to inflict pain on Elizabeth, and make her suffer. I want to give her a slow but painful death, and I am sure that you will do just that." He then nodded – even if he didn't want to! It made sense now that she compelled him to do what she told him to. With that, she turned to Elizabeth who was watching them intently. "See that? It was that easy to compel him, and make him play with you and your emotions from his fingertips."
"And I am certain that that took much of your efforts, judging by the fact that you're only doing this now…" Elizabeth replied with much sarcasm. For a moment, there was a stare down between them, before Rebekah finally turned away and Elizabeth's gaze landed on Damon.
"I'm not dumb enough to be hasty with my plans." Rebekah then said. "Now what is more painful?" She then walked towards her. "Stabbing you with a white oak stake? Or by letting your dear beloved inflict pain in the most horrible way as possible until you finally die?" Elizabeth glared at her as Rebekah's tone was saccharine. But then, Rebekah slowly smiled. "In case you hadn't noticed, I chose the latter…" She then backed away when Elizabeth tried pulling her chains to grab her. As she did, she maintained that smile before she finally turned to Damon, who only watched them. She gave him one knowing look before she finally disappeared using her vampire speed.
Once she was gone, Damon found him picking up a stake and using his vampire speed, he got to be in front of her, and then stabbed her by the neck. She let out a gasp as her eyes widened. He plunged it deeper before he swiftly pulled it back out. She let out another gasp, but before she could feel relieved, he crouched down and stabbed her above her hip.
"Damon…" She managed to utter, when he pulled it out again. He only looked down because he couldn't look at her. And he refused to. If he did, he would feel pity and guilt when he shouldn't. He had to do this because he couldn't stop even if he wanted to. And he really didn't want to stop. So with that, he quickly wrapped the chains around her neck, and afterwards, he pulled it to begin choking her. "Damon…" She called him again as she struggled, but he only tugged on the chains again. And after a few seconds, he finally released and she breathed mouthfuls of air as he backed away. He finally glanced at her. He was pissed alright. No, he was furious. He didn't want to be in this position, but he couldn't stop.
In one quick movement, with his vampire speed, he managed to crouch down again and drove his hand straight through her heart. As much as he didn't want to look at her, this time, he couldn't turn away because when he did, she immediately looked up at him with her wide deep green eyes. It was as if time stopped when their eyes met as he held onto her heart. She couldn't breathe properly nor move because if she did, he might kill her any second. "Stop… saying… my name…" Damon managed to say firmly. His gaze turned into a glare as he let go of her heart and withdrew his hand back. And she sat there frozen, when he gave her a lingering look before he stood up and backed away. When he turned away from her, he scrounged his nose in anger and frustration. Then he punched the stone wall.
Damn Rebekah!
Damn her to hell!
"Why are you still here?" He then demanded to Elizabeth, who was breathing heavily as she looked down. Her gaze landed on his. "Why don't you just get out of here?! Don't be an idiot, Elizabeth!" He knew that it was strange enough that she chose to stay when she was strong enough to break the chains and get out of here. It was another one of her antics where he didn't have any idea of her intentions. It was also a stupid idea.
"She injected vervain in my system," She quietly replied. It sounded as if it was a whisper, but he heard it due to his heightened senses. Damon rolled his eyes. That was a lame excuse.
"So what?" He asked. "You're an Original!"
"I'm weak." She firmly replied now as her voice rose in the slightest bit. "I couldn't break free even if I tried…" Damon shook his head in disapproval. He never heard such crap come out of her mouth until now. And he was angry enough to get that small dagger that Rebekah left for him to use. Then, he threw it towards her, and it landed by her chest, near her heart.
If he had to make her suffer through a slow and painful death… Then so be it.
"You really should've heard it," Stefan heard Caroline say on the other end. "And you really should've seen the reaction on Elena's face. It was crazy." He poured some bourbon on an empty tumbler by the liquor table. Caroline called him to tell him about what happened last night, which was Elizabeth's conversation with Elena where she nearly heard all of it. Stefan had to agree that it was quite surprising. But he learned that with Elizabeth and her family, nobody could ever tell what they really have under their sleeves. What was more surprising, though, was the fact that his very own brother hid that piece of information where Elena was actually sired to Elizabeth. And who wouldn't be angry with that? Stefan couldn't help but wonder now if Damon already knew when he and Elena had that fight when he insisted that she should drink from the vein.
Was he purposefully making Elena suffer?
Was he really that close to Elizabeth to do that to Elena?
Was Elizabeth the one who wanted him to keep it from her?
So many questions but Stefan won't probably know the right answers. If he felt this way, he was sure that Elena had more questions of her own. But judging by what Caroline heard, it looked like she was more upset now since Elizabeth managed to answer her questions during their conversation. There was no doubt that she felt hurt and betrayed by Damon. And now, that definitely made Stefan think. Perhaps he was wrong after all when Elena confessed about her feelings for Damon.
"I think you should talk to her." Caroline then said on the other end. Stefan held on the bottle of bourbon and was about to pour some on an empty tumbler, but then he put it down. He wanted to, but it seems as if he couldn't. "You can't be angry with her forever." She then added. Stefan then inhaled deeply.
"It's complicated, Caroline." He breathed.
"Look, I heard her say it to Damon," She suddenly replied. "At least, I overheard them. And Damon didn't even reply." He rolled his eyes and decided that he didn't need to hear this. "I was able to interrupt them, but that gave him time to at least reply to her, and he didn't."
"I don't need to hear this."
"I know what that look on his face meant." Caroline quickly interjected. "You guys need to talk! You've gone through so much already; you can't just let it go so easily."
"Caroline…" He interjected.
"No, Stefan." Caroline knew what he was going to say. He was making her stop this whole speech thing with her. "Just talk to her." She then firmly added before she suddenly hung up. Stefan then frowned at his phone's screen. Did Caroline just got all authoritative on him? A part of him felt a little annoyed, but another part of him was surprised. Of course Caroline had been a good friend, and it reminded him so much of Lexi, but maybe she should just stop intervening.
Then again, maybe he really should take a moment to set his feelings aside and be rational about this.
Because maybe, she's right.
"So you have her?" Katherine asked with her eyebrows raised as she crossed her arms over her chest. She was impressed with the fact that Rebekah managed to get a hold of Elizabeth, but she was also annoyed by the fact that she wasn't even involved in it. Who was the one who made a deal with Rebekah again? Oh that's right, it was her – Katherine. Who was the one who really came up with the plan of making Damon turn off his humanity again? Yup. That's her. And who was the one who managed to get Elijah off of their backs? Did she need to answer that?
There was no doubt that this pissed her.
"So you actually went behind my back to get it done?" She then challenged. But Rebekah maintained that amused smirk on her face. She, however, maintained to glare at her.
"I was expecting for you to be happy." Rebekah replied, matter-of-factly. "Besides," She then added as she began to walk past her, further into the woods. "You did go behind my back to dagger my brother, so that makes us even." She looked back at her and gave her a lopsided smile before she turned away. Katherine pursed her lips as she tilted her head and took this into consideration. At least that was a better way to get even than to end up dead, so she might forgive her this time. And so, she immediately blocked Rebekah's way using her vampire speed.
"Now where is she?" She then asked as Rebekah slowly smiled.
"She's in the tomb," Rebekah replied. "Suffering in the hands of Damon Salvatore," She added. She seemed to be quite proud of that information, and Katherine's lips slowly developed a smile. That was impressive. At least Damon's turned off humanity was put into good use. Although, she was quite sorry for him because he will absolutely feel guilty after this, judging by his affections for Elizabeth.
"Oh," She replied with her eyebrows arched. Rebekah continued to smile as she nodded.
"And she will be gone soon." Now that faint smile disappeared from Katherine's lips.
"You mean, he's going to kill her?" She then asked incredulously. Rebekah nodded.
"Yes," She replied. Katherine narrowed her eyes. If Elizabeth was going to die, she wanted to be the one who would do the deed. Not Damon. And she's definitely not going to make Rebekah use him for that.
"No," Katherine then slowly said. "I am." She then finished as her gaze hardened at Rebekah's. "I'm not going to let Damon Salvatore be the one who finishes her, because I want to."
"Well then," Rebekah casually shrugged with that silky accent of hers. "Let's hope that she's still alive." She then turned away, and Katherine glared her eyes away. It was already afternoon, nearly sundown, and they were in the middle of the woods with these colossal trees shadowing them and the ground. And Katherine blinked more than a few times before she blocked Rebekah's way again. This time, Rebekah rolled her eyes impatiently as she stopped. "What now?" She demanded.
"This wasn't part of the plan." Katherine then said. "I'm going to kill her. And when we get there, you leave Damon out of this." Their gazes met and they stared intently at each other's for a more than a few seconds before Rebekah nodded.
"Fine," She replied. "But let's make sure that we get the plan straight…" Rebekah trailed off and let out a gasp. Katherine frowned as she watched Rebekah suddenly turn pale. It was only a few seconds before she finally dropped to her knees, and on the ground, unconscious. Confusion immediately clouded her mind, but then she saw who was behind Rebekah, and she let in a sharp breath.
"Elijah," She finally breathed, and her eyes landed back on Rebekah where she saw the dagger behind her back. As she did, she heard Elijah say…
"Guess again…" He said with a menacing smirk. Katherine began to breathe heavily. Elijah was supposed to be daggered. But then, it only took her a few moments before she got to put two and two together. Her wide eyes landed back on him.
"Klaus." He continued to smile knowingly at her.
And that was her cue to run.
Elizabeth shouted in pain as Damon continued to strike her with a whip laced in vervain. It stung, it burned. It was all too painful that she couldn't think anything but. There was anger in his dark eyes as he did this mercilessly. It reminded her of what he said about not having any remorse. And it now made her realize how ruthless he was – regardless of the fact that he was compelled. Tears fell down on her cheeks and he whipped her again.
"STOP…" – He whipped – "CRYING!" And whipped yet again. That was until he cursed and with his vampire speed, he backed away. His back landed on the stone walls with a loud thud that echoed through the walls. Elizabeth inhaled deeply as she bowed down in pain and in exhaustion. He had backed away far too many times, trying to fight the compulsion. But it kept winning. She heard him let out a groan as she heard the loud thud. She then glanced and saw that he was all around, trying to stop himself by hitting the walls with his body and his vampire speed. He went to the other side and he let out a shout as he hit a sharp edged rock that cut through his skin in the middle of his back.
But Elizabeth remained to breathe weakly as she watched her drop on his knees. Within a blink of her eyes, though, he was in front of her again, holding the whip, and looked at her blankly in the eyes. "I have to kill you… slowly." He then said breathlessly as the compulsion took over yet again. Without another word, he whipped and whipped using his vampire strength and speed. Elizabeth was too tired to even try to shout and resist the pain, so she let them be. She continued to cry in pain as he did. Her weary eyes were shut as she did.
He then stopped.
She let out a few huffs before she slowly opened her eyes and saw Damon sitting on the ground, breathing heavily. She had to admit to Rebekah, she had never experienced this much pain before. Not even in the hands of Klaus himself. Not from Mikael either. She usually got the upper hand, and outsmarted all of them. Although, she already knew about Rebekah's plan and Katherine's, they managed to outsmart her by using Damon. And sure, she also knew that this side existed in him, but she never thought she would get to experience this first hand. Then again, she did want to see what was up in her cousin's sleeve. She wanted to be impressed. She wanted to see what she would do if she didn't claw onto the opportunity to get the upper hand – to take control.
And this was what she got.
But, she was hopeful that there was a mistake bound to happen. There will always be one. And she knew that she wouldn't be wrong about that. But for now, she wanted to weep. She wanted to weep so bad as if she had never wept before – and she hadn't for such a long time. Yes, she wept when Klaus staked Damon and she thought that he was dead. But this time, she wanted to weep for herself. She was going to use this as an excuse to be a human with real emotions for once in a while. She would use this to weep because she was sorry that Damon had to go through this emotional torture. And perhaps this was an emotional torture for herself, as well.
So she wept.
And she bowed her head down and closed her eyes, before she heard this loud sound and felt something on her wrist. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that Damon unshackled her wrist, and now he unshackled her other wrist. Immediately, she collapsed towards him, where she caught him in his arms and she let out another cry – not in pain but because she really did weep. He quietly shushed her as he reached for her ankles and unshackled her. And then, he pulled the White Oak stake that was left near her collarbone in one swift movement.
She was finally free.
"It's gone…" He slowly and quietly whispered as he stroked her disheveled hair. But she ignored him. Of course the compulsion's gone. She didn't know how or why – but she guessed someone probably daggered Rebekah or worse, really killed her. She couldn't really try to figure it out now. She was too tired to even do so, and because she was letting every fiber of emotions in her being out. "You're alright now." He then whispered again. And so this time, she slowly nodded as she quietly let the tears fall. Then Damon moved her legs towards him as his other arm was wrapped around her.
He then carried her as her face was buried on his chest.
It was already night fall. And with his vampire speed, he quickly got them out of the tomb and up into the woods again. He heard her sniffle more than a couple of times, but when they arrived at the boardinghouse, she was already asleep. So he laid her weak body down on his bed and he settled next to her. Revealing his vampire features, he immediately bit on his wrist and held it up against her lips as blood spewed out, and she eventually woke. "Drink," He said as she finally bit and drank. When he decided she had enough, he withdrew his wrist away and settled her down again. He watched her for a few moments as she drifted back to sleep. Then he finally stood up and decided to take a shower.
He never saw her do that – weep. But he knew that it wasn't just for him. Although, there was a small part that was, still… The events that happened earlier made them feel somewhat different. The sacred bond made them know what each other felt and somehow earlier, it was both clear to them. And there were no restraints from them, too, because both of them were projecting their thoughts to each other. She knew that he was trying to fight the compulsion, and he knew that she was waiting for Katherine or Rebekah to make a mistake. She tried to see what Rebekah would do, tried to see if she would be impressed or not – and Damon couldn't help but think that she was an idiot for that.
In the end, both of them were devastated. It was an emotional torture. He didn't want to hurt her, and she didn't want him to go through this emotional spiral for her. And as she did, she went through the same emotional spiral. It was frustrating, devastating, and infuriating.
And both of them were exhausted.
He then got in the shower, turned it on, and let the cool water grace down on his skin to help him calm down. And he closed his eyes as it did.
