Chapter 25: Backdoor Deals

Elena and Damon stood from the bench in town square as Klaus approached, flanked by a dark-skinned witch with beautiful voluminous curls. They had debated back and forth all morning about whether or not Elena should be coming with him for this meeting, but ultimately, she won, and here they were.

Damon positioned himself in front of Elena. "Stay close."

The original glanced around with a sly smirk. "Interesting choice of venue, Damon. Are you worried I'll go back on my word?"

"I don't trust you." He responded simply.

Klaus peered around him. "Well lucky for you, she does. Elena and I have reached an understanding, mutual trust; if that trust breaks, then the whole thing comes crumbling down. You'd do well to get on board, mate." he said with a teasing tone, but the warning was still there.

Damon's eyes narrowed. "Oh, I'm on board; albeit reluctantly…but on board nonetheless. But let's get something straight…" he took two casual steps forward. "I'm doing this for Elena, because killing you is off the table for obvious reasons and every other option ends with the rest of us dead, so…I'll cooperate, as long as you keep your end of the bargain and make sure she survives this ritual. And I'm not your mate." he finished with a sneer of disdain.

Klaus grinned wolfishly, linking his hands behind his back. "Aja is a very competent witch…as I'm sure you know." he leered salaciously.

Damon's eyes snapped over to the witch with a heated glare, the veins under his eyes darkening and his eyes glowing red. He barely heard Elena tell him to calm down with a hand on his back, but her touch was enough to lessen the anger boiling inside him. "I don't trust her either." He growled, his dark eyes never leaving the witch. "I'm fully aware of the damaging effects of her magic. I had the misfortune of learning firsthand."

Aja's lips turned up in an easy smile and she shrugged her shoulder nonchalantly. "It was just business, Damon."

Elena crossed her arms pinning her with a sour glare. "Does your business usually involve force feeding vampires the blood of children?"

Aja rolled her eyes. "I do what ever pays. If you want to question anyone's morals, you should start with the people that paid me to do it…your parents." She smirked when Elena's gaze turned away. "The point is that it worked." She gestured to Damon with both arms outstretched. "And look! Here he is, still valiantly defending your honor."

"Can we get back to the task at hand?" Klaus butt in, drawing Damon's attention again. "The white oak; where is it?"

Damon glanced back at a car parked near the Grill and gave a little nod. Seconds later, Caroline walked over holding a duffel bag, curls bouncing, and her chin raised confidently. Klaus regarded her curiously, tilting his head as she approached. Caroline looked him up and down with a raised brow. "This is almighty Klaus Mikaelson? I thought you'd be taller." she jabbed, causing Damon to snicker and Klaus' mouth curve in a genuine grin.

"My reputation proceeds me, I see. All good things I hope." he countered.

She shot him a plastic smile. "Not even in the slightest." She opened the duffel bag to show Damon. "It's all there, although I still don't like the idea of giving up all of our leverage to the Son of Satan." she said pointedly. "What exactly are we getting out of this again?"

Klaus smirked, but his jaw clenched in irritation. "Me not killing you. Seemed fair to me."

"Not exactly. Which is why I'm making an amendment to our deal. We like those here in America, so we don't get screwed." Damon crooned with cockiness. "We need something to make sure you hold your end of the bargain." His gaze swung back to Caroline. "Leverage, if you will. Say, you didn't happen to find that moonstone laying around, did you?" The aloofness to his tone said he knew exactly where it was.

Klaus' face hardened, and Aja's head dropped. "No." he ground out through clenched teeth. "I suppose you have something to do with that."

Damon scoffed. "Not me; I was laying in a cellar shot chock-full of vervain. Nope, you can thank blondie for that one. While you were droning on and on about how you had us in a checkmate, I had ears listening to the whole thing. So, when you said you had a witch retrieving the moonstone, we had our witch get it first." He pulled it out of his back pocket. "So, here's my proposition." The Original glared at him, but gestured for him to continue. "We hold onto the moonstone until the ritual, and your witch works with mine to safely return Elena to me when the ritual is over…alive."

Neither Damon or Caroline noticed Elena's wide eyes snap up, but Klaus did. "Well…I appreciate your tenacity, Damon, but I have to humbly decline."

His response didn't seem to bother the younger vampire, in fact, in made his grin broaden. "Okay…let's sweeten the deal."

"Damon, what are you doing? This isn't what we talked about." She interjected nervously.

He continued on. "What if I told you, I know where daddy dearest is?" He was satisfied when the color drained from Klaus' face.

"What do you know of Mikael?" he couldn't keep the tremble out of his voice as his Adam's apple bobbed in his throat.

Damon paced back and forth slowly, spinning the moonstone in his hands. "I know he's awake, and I know he's hell bent on killing you, which we obviously want to prevent as much as you do. So, I'll tell you where he is…hell, I'll even help you kill him." His lips raised in a lopsided smirk.

Klaus glanced at Elena over Damon's shoulder and she gave a subtle shake of her head. Klaus' resolve hardened and he pinned his stare back on Damon again. "Your terms are acceptable." He extended his hand, and Damon took it, sharing a firm shake of agreement.

Elena let out a small huff of annoyance as she turned away planting her hands on her hips. Caroline frowned, catching Elena's unexpected reaction. She made a mental note to revisit that later. Damon slipped the moonstone in his back pocket, and nodded for Caroline to pass the duffel bag over, which she did with a narrow glare in the Original's direction.

He grabbed the bag from her smiling in satisfaction, but before she could walk away, he grabbed her arm. "Is this all of the white oak you have?" he demanded, his eyes piercing into hers.

"Yes." She answered immediately, before blinking out of her trance and ripping her arm free and turning to Damon. "Can we go now?" He nodded, and Elena brushed passed him following Caroline back to the car.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Damon. I'll be in touch." Klaus watched as Damon followed the girls, before turning to Aja, handing her the bag. "Burn all but one. I'll need it for Mikael."

…

Elena stormed into her house with Damon hot on her heels, following her up the stairs. He caught the door of her bedroom before it slammed. "Why are you so mad? This is a good deal, Elena!"

She spun around in the center of her room to face him. "I'm mad because you had this whole plan and you left me out of it…again!"

Damon blinked incredulously. "Oh, I'm sorry! I thought that was par for the course these days! Or is it only okay when you make deals with the enemy?" he exclaimed in frustration, throwing his arms out to his side.

"That's not fair!" she countered, knowing deep down he was right.

His eyes darkened. "And why not! Why are you the one that gets to make all the decisions?"

"Because it's my life, Damon!" she shouted back with pain in her voice. "I know you think you can fix all of this, but I need you to trust me when I say I know what I'm doing!"

"I do trust you, Elena…" he closed the distance between them and reached for her hands. "I just think there's another way."

She pulled back, crossing her arms. "You mean your way."

He shrugged. "Well…yeah."

Elena shook her head, biting down hard on her lip. "You don't get it, do you? This is my choice; my life. I get to decide what happens to it."

Damon balked at her with a combination of disbelief and anger. "Well, I'm a part of your life, Elena! We're together now, I think it's fair to say I get a choice in this too!"

She sighed, dropping down to sit of the edge of her bed. "I don't want to fight with you." she reconciled quietly fiddling with her hands. "You're right, I'm just scared. The last thing I want is for anyone I love to get hurt." He came over to sit beside her and her eyes raised up to meet his sadly. "I don't want to lose anyone else."

He grabbed her hands, lacing them with hers. "You won't. There is always a loophole, and I'm going to find it. Look, maybe there is a way to keep you alive and complete the ritual, but I want Bonnie to make sure of that, because I'm definitely not going to take Aja's word for it. I like to keep my enemies close."

Elena nodded. "Okay…but I don't like the idea of you going after Mikael. I agree, it's better if he's…taken care of," she started uneasily. "but this isn't your fight, Damon."

"I know, and I appreciate the concern." he pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

She rolled her eyes in irritation. "But you're going to do it anyways."

Her threw her a cheeky grin as he stood up. "My life, my choice…right?"

An indulgent smile pulled on her lips, but she tried hard to suppress it. "Well, I guess I walked right into that one, didn't I. Where are you going?" she stood with him.

Damon stopped and turned in the doorway with a wolfish smirk. "No rest for the wicked."

…

Later that night, Caroline waited at in booth at the Grill for Tyler to show up. Tonight was supposed to be their first official date and suffice to say she was feeling more nervous than she thought she would; so nervous that she showed up thirty minutes early just to collect herself.

Her head darted up when someone slipped into the seat across from her and immediately felt a wave of uneasiness but she was quick to brush it off with an air of aloofness. "What do you want?"

Klaus chuckled. "You aren't afraid of me."

She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "No, but that doesn't mean I like you, either."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "I actually find it quite refreshing…most people fear my name alone." He pointed at her. "But not you."

"Well…I'm special." she shot him a sickly-sweet smile that barely hid her disdain.

"I won't disagree with you there." he commented with a raise of his brows.

"You don't know anything about me."

That brought a genuine smile to his face. "I beg to differ. You're Caroline Elizabeth Forbes. Head cheerleader, Homecoming Queen…Miss Mystic Falls." he chuckled when she reeled back with shock written all over her face. "I also know that for some reason completely unbeknownst to me, you play second fiddle to Elena Gilbert. Why is that?"

Caroline scoffed. "You figured that all out in one day?"

"I figured that all out in the half an hour you've been sitting here, love. Small towns…people love to gossip. Why do you live in her shadow, Caroline?"

She averted her eyes briefly, collecting herself, before focusing on him again. "I'm meeting someone. He'll be here any minute."

Klaus leaned back in his seat, fiddling with the knife on the table. "Right…Tyler Lockwood. The wolf."

Caroline swallowed. "He hasn't turned."

Klaus' eyes locked on her from under thick lashes. "Not yet. Come on…" he coaxed playfully. "Get to know me."

She blinked. "Why should I?"

He smirked. "Maybe I'll surprise you." He watched as she eyed him warily, and gave her a more sincere stare. "I'm intrigued by you, Caroline. I find you fascinating."

Her breath caught in her throat, and she responded in a strained whisper. "Why?"

"Because in the first five minutes of meeting me, you insulted me, made me angry and made me laugh all at once. Most people wouldn't dare."

Caroline took in a deep breath. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe if you didn't threaten to kill everyone that didn't give you everything you wanted, that most people wouldn't be so afraid of you."

Klaus cast his eyes down letting out a soft laugh before meeting hers again, hardened with an icy stare. "You misunderstand me, love. I want people to fear me. I enjoy it almost as much as I enjoy torturing people."

She scoffed, flicking her bangs out of her face. "Is that supposed to be making me swoon?" He shrugged. "Look, I don't know what kind of demented little game you're playing, but if you think you can just swoop in here and charm me with this whole powerful, dangerous, bad boy routine-"

"Is it working?"

She stared at him in disbelief. "No!"

Held her gaze for a long moment, and for some reason she couldn't look away. The moment was interrupted when Tyler walked over, standing beside the table with a hard glare down at the man across from her. "Hey Care," his eyes never left Klaus. "Who's this?"

Caroline stood abruptly, grabbing Tyler's bicep, and pulling him away. "No one. Let's go."

…

Bonnie eyed him suspiciously as he looked around her room curiously. "So…are you going to tell me why you're here, or are you going to snoop around my room some more?"

Damon turned to her with a little smile. "Sorry…never been here before. Was starting to think you lived under a bridge." He dodged a pillow she threw at him and chuckled to himself. "I came to fill you in." he tossed her the moonstone and she flipped it around in her hands. "Klaus agreed to our terms."

Bonnie's eyes raised. "Really? He'll let me work with Aja? How the hell did you get him to agree to that?"

"I have to tell him where Mikael is and help Klaus kill him." Damon stated flatly.

"Well, that's great, except we have no idea where Mikael is." The vampire pinned her with a pointed stare. "Which I suppose you want me to help with."

He broke out in a satisfied grin. "You know me too well, Bon Bon. But that's not the only reason I'm here." He sighed and rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. "There's something Elena isn't telling me. I have a bad feeling it's something serious that could put her in danger, but I know if I push her too hard, she's going to shut down." Bonnie nodded in understanding, knowing how her friend could be. "Maybe she needs a girl's night; let loose a little, have a couple drinks. Maybe she'll…" he trailed off looking for the right word.

She raised a brow. "Let something slip?" He had the decency to look away guiltily. He didn't want to have to use her friends to get information, but her words today left him feeling uneasy. This is my choice; my life. I get to decide what happens to it. "I'll invite Elena and Caroline over tomorrow."

Damon nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Bonnie. I owe you."

She frowned, with a ghost of a smile. "If memory serves you still owe me from the last favor."

He laughed with a lazy roll of his eyes. "Start a tab. Have a good night." he left her room and closed the door behind him.

…

Elena walked from her bathroom back into her room in her robe, and sat at her vanity to brush out her freshly washed hair. She couldn't help but feel anxious; this plan of Damon's made her deal with Klaus a lot more complicated. She ran the brush through her hair as she stared at herself in the mirror.

.

Elena let him lead her around in the waltz, her mind spinning along with them. "I'll get you the moonstone, whatever you want just please don't hurt them." She forced back the tears, swallowing them down.

"Oh, I'm not worried about the moonstone. My witch already located that and is on her way to retrieve it as we speak." He smiled as he danced her around effortlessly, giving the impression of a happy couple.

"Then what do you want?" She snapped back, his eyes locked on hers, penetrating through her soul. The music came to an end, and while all the other couples bowed, Klaus gripped her arm tightly, speeding her away to a secluded area at the top of the hill. "Let go of me!" She wrestled in his grip once they were alone, and he released her. She glanced around, turning to look at her surroundings, wondering how far they'd come, and if anyone was following.

"I want your word, Elena. And in return, I will let those you love most live." he uttered casually linking his hands behind his back.

She whirled back around to face him. Elena knew where this was going, and felt her heart sink. "My word on what? You know we can't kill you…you want the rest of the white oak? Fine, it's done!"

He laughed. "I want your word that the sacrifice will not be interfered with. You see...I know that you can see the bigger picture here. If you sabotage this, I'll punish you by killing all your friends, Damon included, and then I'll force you to live with that for the rest of your life, however long that may be. And Damon…well, he'd let everyone die, so long as it meant you got to live so negotiating with him is obviously pointless." Klaus smirked as he watched the realization come over her, and he could hear the heavy pattering of her heart.

"You want me to sacrifice myself willingly." She acknowledged with a painful swallow, her eyes focusing listlessly on a spot on the ground.

Klaus shrugged. "Whether you go willingly or not is entirely up to you. The ritual happens, whether you like it or not. The question is…will you let everyone you love go down trying to stop it?" he challenged in a dark tone that sent a chill down her spine.

She thought about the future, and what life would be like knowing what her selfishness meant for everyone else; Caroline and Stefan, staked and desiccated. Ric and Jenna buried side by side in the family plot. Bonnie, fighting through her last breath…and Damon – no, she couldn't even think it. It felt as though there was a vice gripping her heart. "You have my word." Elena whispered shakily. "But I have my own terms." she finished stronger, tilting her chin up with resolve.