She's So Cold
Elena sleeps so soundly nestled in the covers that Klaus is overly confident he'll be able to sneak away without her noticing. When he slides carefully out of bed, she turns and reaches for him. He keeps an eye on her as he scrawls a note explaining his absence with the excuse of breakfast. He meant every word he said last night and hearing Elena declare war only invigorates his belief in her ruthlessness and in them. It was as if she'd been holding her breathe under water and last night he watched her break through the surface, fiercely re-claiming air. It only stoked further the fires of his devotion. He leaves their bed that morning in hopes of proving it to her.
He watches the sheriff stretch on the front lawn. He observes him securing his gun, likely filled with wooden bullets, at his hip. He delights from the woods as Matt runs along the shoulder of the small, lonely two-way road leading out of town. He supposes that the music must be engaging since it has so limited the sheriff's senses. A human's pace is entirely boring. Elena surprises him constantly, but Klaus can't wait for her to be ready to embrace his eternal offer. He especially can't wait as he slowly stalks Matt, trudging along at an impossibly mind-numbing pace.
He follows along, only satisfied after Matt turns around several times trying to catch that feeling of being watched. Only when he can feel his heart spike unnaturally does he reveal himself, startling Matt back as he nearly trips over his own feet.
"Good morning, Sheriff. Enjoying an early run before the heat of the day beats you down?"
"What are you doing out here?"
"Is it illegal to hike in Mystic Falls? I like a little time in the outdoors to contemplate the meaning of life and death. I find it invigorating."
"Look, I'm sorry for crashing the reception." Matt reaches back behind him and Klaus smiles.
"That's not an apology for me, sheriff. That one needs to be directed to Elena. Not that you'll get the opportunity to see her again." Matt blinks, unable to say anything. "No, the apology you owe me regards Elena's safety. You nearly got her killed."
"I didn't know that they'd hurt her like that."
"So, when someone tells you they need a loved one's blood for ritual magic, precisely how do you imagine them acquiring said blood? Or do you not imagine at all?"
"They promised me no one would get hurt."
"Are you going to tell me you were doing the noble thing? You were looking out for humanity. One unremarkable human saving the whole world from a legion of the undead."
"I had to try." Matt's head is a swivel attempting to follow Klaus's easy circles around him. He pulls out his gun, pointing it at Klaus. He's on Matt now, angry for having dared even this. He outshines the former quarterback easily, launching the weapon deep into the forest.
"You should have been looking out for those you were closest to instead of trying to care for the world at large, an impossible task. You should have been looking out for Elena." Klaus's voice comes out harsh and low.
"What do you want from me? I'm sorry! Is that what you want me to say?"
"I don't want you to say anything. I want to watch the panic rise in your throat and smell the dread bleed into your skin and hear terror turn your heartbeat into a thready, hopeless noise as you realize that you aren't leaving this encounter alive."
Matt is so careful to make sure Klaus stays in front of him as if the danger mounts only when a vampire is at his back. Klaus proves that danger exists no matter where it stands as he plunges his hand into Matt's chest, green eyes staring into blue. The human heart pumps wildly in his hand and begins a descent as he squeezes. Matt's hands grip his arms, seeking out stability even for a moment. Even from his enemy.
Klaus pulls him closer and whispers, "This is for Elena," right before he rips the beating heart from his chest. He takes inspiration from Stefan and arranges the body next to a tree, Matt holding his own heart out like an offering. In blood, Klaus writes "I'm sorry" across Matt's forehead. Satisfied, he picks up bagels and coffee and returns home.
"Hey! Where did you go?" Elena pops out into the hallway like she'd been on a spring, waiting for him to come home.
"Breakfast, love. Didn't you see my note?"
"I did. You could have woken me up so I could go with. What's this?" He grabs her hand, reaching for his shirt collar stained with a little of the sheriff's blood, and pulls her into a kiss meant to distract her.
"Just some jam, love," he waves off her concern. "I couldn't disturb you this morning. You looked too comfortable," he explains, kissing her forehead and then looks up, escalating voices coming from the kitchen. "What's happening in my home?"
"Liv and Bonnie came over. They don't exactly agree on our next steps." She reaches down and grabs his hand, an action that normally makes him feel warmer but the way she grips his hand is worrying, like she's afraid he'll disappear if she lets go. Still, he says nothing and follows her lead into the kitchen where Liv and Bonnie are arguing and Elijah watches on, drinking his coffee in silence.
"If I can link them all together, all we have to do is kill one to kill them all."
"The rest of the Gemini are already on their way. We are going to create a prison world and send the Travelers there."
"It sounds a bit like you are planning to give them what they want. Whose side are you on?"
"No, I'm the only one thinking a few steps ahead. Markos has already proven that he can escape from the Other Side. No one has escaped a prison world, not one created by my coven."
"If we kill them all, they can't sacrifice themselves to send him back."
"That's a big if Bonnie. The prison world is more certain."
"I have an idea." The two witches turn to look at Elena, surprised to find that she had come back to the kitchen. "I think you should send them to the prison world." Liv looks triumphantly at Bonnie and then her face falls a little as Elena says, "Everyone except Markos."
"'Lena, he's their leader. We can't leave him as a loose end."
"I know. I want to send his people to a place where they can finally be together. I want him to know that we accomplished what he couldn't. And, only after he knows that they will be together without him, then he can die. I want him to feel everything I'm feeling right now." Her tone sounds so reasonably but the words impact Bonnie, who looks at her like she's lost her mind. She doesn't know if she's ever seen Klaus look so pleased with her, at least while her clothes are on. Liv and Elijah are the only ones who look indifferent, though that is Elijah's default expression.
Liv shrugs, "Works for me." She grabs a bagel and sits back down, Bonnie shooting her a look. "What?"
"You're staying?"
"Why not? Free breakfast. Tyler never wakes up early enough so I usually have to fend for myself."
They strategize over food and Elena finds that she doesn't mind Liv so much. It might be the conversation they had the other day when she forcibly drove her back to the house or it could be that Elena has a soft spot for those rough personalities. Either way, she's glad the fierce witch is here.
After pointing out the logic of Elena's plan through the emotional brashness of it, Bonnie agrees and takes them down into the basement of the Salvatore Boarding House where they chained up Caroline. Stefan's been staying with her, waiting for the rare moments when she shone past the Passenger.
"Hey," Stefan eyes Klaus warily, "She's not herself right now, but be careful?"
"We need answers. No matter what we do, she'll be fine in the end. We've tried it your way." Liv takes up every space like she owns it, hand stuck on her hip.
"Yeah, and Damon's been trying it your way, Liv. Nothing is working. She's not cracking."
"I'd like to talk to her," Elena declares, but doesn't wait for anyone to respond before she opens the heavy wooden door, leaving Klaus at the doorway. Winning the witches over to her plan has imbued her with a sense of coolness, feeling like she could do anything, so she sits on a stool, just out of reach but eye level with Caroline. "Hey, I'm Elena."
"I know who you are."
"No, you know what I am. There's a difference." She can feel Klaus assessing her, his gaze tingles at the back of her neck, and she fights a smile. "What's your name?"
She throws her blonde hair back, a little heavier now from the days of being unwashed. "Elena! Come on, you know who I am. Seriously? You're freaking me out right now."
"Are all Travelers as cruel as this? As cruel as Markos?"
Caroline's face falls. "I'm not like him." Her voice is low and flat as her eyes dart around the room, anywhere but Elena. "My name is Ava."
"Well, Ava, you are inside my best friend right now and I would love if we could find a way to get her back."
"You already have the tool. That one," she nods past Klaus to Elijah, "has our knife. All you need to do is stab her body and you can expel me forever."
"I would really like to do that, but I can't. We need to know where the rest of you are right now."
"So you can kill us?"
"No, I only want to kill Markos."
"You're lying. Markos told us how duplicitous the doppelgängers are. You want to get rid of us forever."
"I'm not. I don't have any ill feelings towards you or any of the others, just Markos."
"You're lying to me! How could you not want us dead? We kidnapped you. Tried to kill you."
"I know, but you did it for your family. Your people. I understand the lengths a person will go to in order to protect those they love. I tried so hard to protect Jenna, but I couldn't. Markos killed her and I didn't have much family left before that. Now it's just me and my brother."
"He wouldn't do that. He always gives people a choice. She must have done something."
"The only thing she did was be related to me," Elena takes a breath to quell the anger rising inside before she continues, "Is it still a choice if he backs you up against a wall? Did Sloan know exactly what she was signing up for?" Elena can tell she hit a stride and continues. "I don't want to kill you or your people, Ava. I want to send you all somewhere where you can actually be together. Just the Travelers."
"I don't believe you."
"It's true, Ava. It doesn't sound great, but I want the Gemini to create a prison world just for your people. Any time you prefer, anywhere. A world just for you where you can gather without fear."
"You want something for it."
"I just want Markos. I want to kill him for what he did to me. That's all," she smiles like it's the sanest request she's ever made.
"What do you want from me?"
"We just need to know where your body is, where all the Travelers are."
Ava sighs and starts detailing exactly where they are, under the cave system beneath the town. As she describes the location, she starts crying and partially because she looks like Caroline, Elena reaches out to comfort her. "We'll take care of you. I promise."
"You aren't like how he said you'd be."
"I'll take that as a compliment. We are going to send you back to your body now. Can I trust that you'll help us when we find you in the caves?"
"You promise to send us to a place we can call home?" The way she phrases the question makes Elena wonder for the first time how old Ava is. She assumed she was much older, but she second guesses herself now.
"Of course. It's what we all want. The entire Gemini coven is here to help and I promise that at the end of all this, you get to be together. Just not Markos."
"That's okay with me," she smiles and Elena looks back for Elijah, who walks in with the knife.
They all get ready in the foyer to descend into the cave system from the Lockwood mansion. Tyler is standing next to Liv as she laces tight her boots. Bonnie is studying up the spell used to create a prison world, batting away Damon's hands from distracting her from the grimoire.
Elena is watching Stefan hug Caroline, holding her tight as they talk inches from each other's face. Her friend beams, seemingly unfazed from her time as a backseat driver in her own body.
Klaus pulls her aside and away from her friends. "Love, I've called Jeremy."
"Oh! Good idea. Just in case there's any resistance down there."
"No, sweetheart. I called him to come get you. He and the rest of the Hunters will stay with you at the house."
"What? No. You're not leaving me behind."
"It's too dangerous to take you down there, Elena."
"No! That's what you said before. It's too dangerous for us to be separated." Her fingers grip tight the front of his shirt, threatening to tear a button loose.
"Only as long as it takes to perform this spell. Then I'll be home and I won't leave you alone again."
"Why do you even need to go down there then?" Her jaw is set tight, but he can see the panic in her eyes.
"I don't trust anyone else with Markos. After all that he did to you, I want to take care of him personally. I can't focus on what I need to do if I'm worried about protecting you."
"Please, Klaus. Please don't leave me." There it was again, that anxious energy she's never had before.
"I could never leave you forever, love, but I need to take care of this right now. Jeremy and the others will make sure nothing bad happens," he assures.
Jeremy leads her outside and to his car by her upper arm. Her eyes never leave Klaus, but he retreats inside the house before they leave the driveway. He's too uncomfortable with how she looks at him to watch her leave. She looks at him like he's betrayed her.
A/N: If she ever finds out, how will Elena react to Klaus's pre-breakfast errand? Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts.