"I do love nothing so well in the world as you: is not that strange?" - William Shakespeare
7. Masquerade
The day had started much like any other. She'd woken up to her blood-bonded's kisses, they'd shared a wonderful shower that had made them more dirty than clean, and he'd made her breakfast.
It had begun going downhill with Caroline's arrival, which usually brought a smile to Thea's lips. Currently though, the blood-witch was twitching with anger, pacing back and forth in front of her 'sister', rage burning through her veins.
"Could you stop pacing please, you're stressing me out," mumbled the blonde, huddling into herself.
Thea raised her head to hers, expression contrite, "Sorry," she murmured, "I'm just angry and Stefan's taking way too fucking long."
"Here," Damon appeared with a crystal glass in hand, filled to the brim with blood. He handed it to the blonde with a small smile, and she took it with a flicker of gratitude in her expression, before it shuttered into fear once more.
"I'm still shaking," she admitted, motioning towards her hand, which was indeed shaking minutely.
She took a deep drink, as Stefan appeared with a concerned expression carved into his usually brooding features. "What happened?" He asked.
"Go ahead, tell him." Said Damon, looking at his brother with a small smirk, he added, "You're gonna love this."
"I saw Katherine today." The cheerleader explained.
"Where?"
"At the Grill. I just stopped by to gawk and...quasi-stalk Matt."
She began telling them the story, explaining how she'd gone to observe Matt.
"Skip the teen drama and get to it." Interrupted the blue-eyed vampire with a roll of his eyes.
"Then I had to pretend to use the bathroom even though I didn't really have to go because I'm a doofus." She continued, ignoring him. She proceeded to inform them that Katherine had ac costed her in the Grill's bathroom with a supposed message for the brothers.
"What was the message?"
Caroline took a deep breath, before reciting word-for-word, "Tell Damon and Stefan that I want the moonstone or I will rip this town apart until it rains blood."
"Tell him the rest of it bear." Added Thea, placing a soft hand on her friend's knee in support.
"Tonight, at the masquerade ball."
Stefan began pacing in frustration, running a hand through his hair, "She wants to do it in public. Killing Mason threw her off guard."
"No," disagreed the witch, taking a seat besides her frightened friend, "She's running scared. What she did to Jenna was desperate. She's out of tricks."
"Thea, we can't underestimate her. We have to play this smarter than her."
"I know," soothed the raven-haired girl, "And we will, but you need to calm down. None of you tend to think rationally on your feet, and we can't afford having you fly off the seat of your pants right now. It's crunch-time."
"Can we just give her the moonstone so she'll leave?" Interjected Caroline with a frown.
"No, Katherine's not getting dick." Stated the older vampire. Turning to his girlfriend, he added in a resolute tone, "I've had it. I'm gonna go to the masquerade ball and I'm gonna kill her, tonight."
Thea shrugged carelessly, while Stefan disagreed, "You're not gonna kill her."
Looking at him with exasperation, Damon scoffed, "Don't give me that goody-goody crap."
"You're not gonna kill her." Repeated the green-eyed vampire.
Raising a brow, Damon asked, "Really?"
"Because I am." he nodded.
The blood-witch rolled her eyes in aggravation, "You're both idiots if you think she doesn't have multiple contingency plans. She knows you're not going to fold to her threats that easily, so she's got something else up her sleeve, and we need to prepare for that."
"What? She's played all of her hands Angel."
"Has she, though? Because I can think of about five different ways to interfere with whatever you two have planned, and I'm not nearly as vindictive as she is."
"Well, she's not as smart as you."
"Probably not, no." agreed the blood-witch, adding before Damon could reveal his smugness, "But she's more desperate, and in my experience, desperation leads to trouble. This is all a chess game to her, and currently, she's hidden the board from us. To play our queen right now, would be idiotic at best."
"Well, we're doing it anyway." Interjected the younger vampire, "I've had enough of her interfering in my life and happiness."
—
They'd called the cavalry. And by cavalry, she meat Rick, the pseudo-hunter, Bonnie, the other witch who would be willing to help them, and Jeremy Gilbert, for some reason.
Thea was seated in the library, away from all of their ruckus. She could hear Bonnie's voice speaking through the closed door, and knew the witch had arrived with her grimoire, as per Stefan's request. She knew Damon and Rick were looking over their various weapons, and she figured Jeremy was simply loitering around, attempting to seem like he knew what he was doing.
But she also knew it would all be futile if Katherine had a side plan, and she probably did. One did not survive this long without preparing for every circumstance and potential problem. But they weren't listening to her, convinced that their centuries of existence ended them more credence and experience.
They were idiots. Thea may have been younger than them, but she was a survivor. She was a strategist and manipulator on her best day, and she'd used both of those skills to stay alive.
When in danger against a strategic opponent, life became a chess board, and as she'd told them, Katherine had currently hidden it form their view. They simply assumed she'd played all of her hands with Mason, but Thea was sure she hadn't.
Mason Lockwood was a pawn at best, the simplest way to get her hands on the moonstone, but he wasn't the only pawn she had. For some reason, they seemed to believe that they were the only ones with access to witches, as though Katherine Pierce could have survived this long, without having a few magic-welders owning her favours left and right. So that was the first contingency Thea was planning for.
She knew the vampire wouldn't dare go after her, she was too powerful a target, but Elena wasn't. And with everyone's apparent suicidal-level eagerness to keep her safe, she'd be the easiest way to rattle them. They were also related, sharing the same direct bloodline, as well as being each other's doppelgängers. That made their blood practically identical, with the only difference being Katherine's vampirism.
With these notions in mind, if the blood-witch were in Katherine's shoes, she'd link herself to Elena, to ensure that no physical harm could come to her. And because they were relatives, a spell of that magnitude would be virtually impossible to break.
The raven-haired witch threw her head back in aggravation. She knew this was the route Katherine would take, her gut was telling her so, but she didn't know how to fix it. Blood-linked spells were notoriously difficult to break, and impossible when one wished to do it covertly, as she did. She didn't want to let the others know of her plans, as their ignorance would lend credence to her counter-moves, plus she felt slightly offended that they'd refused to believe her warnings, refused to trust in her instincts.
Therefore, she couldn't gain access to Elena's blood without alerting the rest of the gang. So that took the possibility of breaking the spell completely out. But perhaps there. Could be a way to bypass it, get around the link.
Standing up suddenly, she made her way out of the library and towards the stairs.
"Tee!" Bonnie's voice stopped her in her tracks, and the blood-witch looked at her friend over her shoulder. "Bonnie-kins," she greeted with a small smile.
Reaching her, the witch panted slightly, before saying with a beaming grin, "Why aren't you with everyone, planning tonight's murder?"
Thea shrugged nonchalantly, answering, "because they're being idiotically obtuse and I refuse to let anyone die because the men are too stubborn to take the advice of a girl who's much younger than them."
"What do you mean?"
Gesturing for the witch to follow her up the stairs, she led them into hers and Damon's shared room, walking towards the drawers and rifling through until she'd found the particular grimoire she was looking for.
"I keep telling them that Katherine has some kind of back-up plan up her sleeve, but no one wants to believe me. And that oversight's gonna get someone killed." She said, turning back to her friend.
"How do you know that she does? They know her better than you."
"Do they? The Katherine they knew was one she created to get them under her spell, and she was a little over 300 years old at that point, so who knows who she really is. All I know is that she's a survivor, and for her to have stayed alive this long, she had to learn to think of every possible worst-case scenario and plan accordingly. It's what I did."
"So what do you think her plan is then?"
Thea sighed softly, before turning o her friend with a soft smile, "Let me deal with it, and focus on helping them make their plan as airtight as possible."
"Tee…" Bonnie said cautiously, her tone indicating her mounting worry, "what are you planning?"
"Nothing you need to worry about, I promise. Just, don't tell them. The minute Damon finds out, he's gonna lock me in here, and that's only going to make me angry." She joked in response.
The witch nodded unsurely, before looking back towards the door, "I should go then, before they start wondering where I disappeared to. Please be careful."
"I promise."
With a final smile, Bonnie existed the room, closing the for softly behind her. Thea drew her gaze back to the leather-bound volume on her lap, biting her lip in mild worry.
She may have lied to Bonnie a little. The spell she had in mind would be dangerous, both to perform and the effect it would have on her if her suspicions regarding Katherine turned out to be true. But it would be worth it in the end.
Taking a deep breath, she began flipping through the old pages, absorbing the words engraved in one of Ursula Shipton's Dark Magicks grimoires.
—
Thea sat back on the bed with a pained sigh. She'd just finished performing the spell, blocking hers and Damon's physical connection while she was at it. While she may have been willing to risk her own safety, she wasn't willing to risk his.
The spell had been painful to perform, requiring her to slash a deep wound on her side, a wound that had taken plenty of energy to heal. It still stung if she moved in certain ways, and her side had dissolved into complete numbness, tingles being the only indication she had of her healing process kicking in. She knew she'd succeeded though, she could feel the ancient magicks at work, and she knew the price to pay would be heftier than usual.
Dark Magicks were no joke, they often left physical reminders of their presence, and once the spell had been performed, it would curdle within the caster's veins. Usually, that meant deep bruises, ones that covered her skin, but would be hidden easily enough by wearing long sleeves and pants. The problem would be dealing with Damon's wrath at her actions, and the risks she took on herself. But she would cross that bridge when she came to it.
For now, everything was set in motion, and all she had to do was wait until the Masquerade.
Speaking of her blood-bonded, the door to their room opened softly, and his head peeked in "there you are," he said, walking in, a smile spreading across his lips.
"There I am," she replied in the same tone.
He walked to her, and drew her into his arms. The girl returned the gesture, hiding her wince at the pain in her side the pressure of his arms was inducing.
"You okay Angel?" He questioned.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
Damon pulled away, looking into her eyes, "I know it may have seemed like Stefan and I completely disregarded your concerns, but I promise, we know what we're doing."
"I know, I just…For a second, you made me feel like my age mattered. Like I wouldn't know what I was talking about because I was so much younger than you." Taking a. Breath, she continued in a whisper, "I don't know, I guess I never expected you to make me feel immature, or less-than."
"Of course you're not!" He replied earnestly, fingers hooking beneath her chin and raising her eyes to his. "Of course you're not naive, and your age has nothing to do with this. I know how smart and mature you are Angel, I would never doubt that."
Resting his forehead against hers, he whispered apologetically, "I'm sorry I made you think that, fell that, for even a second. I can't believe I did that."
"It's okay," she soothed softly, cradling his cheeks in her hands, "I know you didn't mean to, and I can feel how sorry you are. I'm not mad at you Ace, I swear. I was just worried."
"We have a good plan baby. After tonight, we won't have top worry about Katherine and her bullshit every again."
The with nodded, slightly shocked at her boyfriend's naïveté. Painting a small smile on her face, she asked, "So what's the so-called plan then genius? Let me in on the deets."
"Bonnie's gonna spell us inside a room with her, and we'll stake her in the heart."
Raising a brow, she questioned, "And where do I come in? Or do you expect me to stay home like a good girl?"
He chuckled slightly, laying a soft kiss on her palm, "I mean, I'd hoped you would, but I knew you'd find your own way there, so I figured you could come with us, help Stefan and I put her down."
"And once that's done?"
"Once that's done, I'm gonna dance with my gorgeous blood-bonded, and then take her home and give her the night of her life." He raised smug brow when she swallowed visibly, shivering due to the waves of arousal and love he'd sent her way, before he continued in a sultry whisper, "Does that sound good baby?"
Thea nodded slowly, eyes closing against the deluge of emotions she felt from him, before she could answer though, he'd placed his lips over her own, kissing her with a fiery passion; all tongues and teeth. Her hands glided into his hair, tugging at it ferociously, and he picked her up, hands against her thighs, slamming her back softly into the wall, before he cupped her ass and began kneading it.
She moaned into his lips, hips rolling reflexively into his own, before she pulled her face away, breathing hard and unsteady. "Was that a preview?" She asked.
"No. That was me ravishing you the way I should every minute of every day." He murmured, lips falling to her neck. She titled it back, exposing more of her skin to his sensual assault as she whispered, "How would we get anything done then?"
"Don't need to do anything else apart from that. The rest of the world can go fuck itself."
A breathless giggles escaped her, before he jerked his hips into hers, and they turned into a soft moan. "Damon…" she whispered, "There's no time."
"I know," he replied, voice just as breathless. His lips pressed soft kisses into her neck, before she felt his fangs scraping against the skin. Taking the warning, she bit into her tongue, and mumbled a spell she'd become very familiar with, watching a his own skin split open, laying her lips over the wound at the same moment his teeth sunk into her.
They both groaned simultaneously, the stimuli proving to be too much to handle. She could feel his love for her, as well as his overwhelming desire, and she sent her own back to him in return.
Hips jerking against each others, blood flooding their mouths, emotions flowing between them in crashing waves.
The Angel and her Ace, as connected as they could be.
—
"Small diamond or chandelier?" She asked, stepping into the room, holding both options up for him to choose.
She'd been getting ready in the bathroom, away from his distracting gaze.
His breath whistled out from between his teeth, as he said, "You look…incredible."
Thea smiled at him, his reaction being the one she'd hoped for. Her dress was short, and blood-red. She'd paired it with a matching pair of stilettos and a choker with a hanging ruby. Her lips were painted the same crimson colour, and she'd pulled her hair up, neck on full display, a few pieces hanging enticingly around her face.
"But which earrings Ace?" She repeated, shaking her hands to draw his attention back to them.
"Neither," he replied, walking to his dresser and pulling a small box out, "I'm thinking these may work better." He added, opening it and showing her its contents.
Thea gasped softly, her hands rising to her mouth in shock. He'd. Bought her earrings. Stunning ruby earrings. They were made up of three small blood-red stones, each hanging after the other, encased in small diamonds.
"They're beautiful Damon," she whispered reverently, looking into his eyes.
"I know. They reminded me of you, of your eyes when your power rises." He whispered back, walking towards her and pulling one of them out, gently placing it into her ear, before repeating the process with the second pair.
Pulling back, his eyes roamed over her figure, before he said, "Perfect."
Thea jumped on his, pulling his lips down to her own, kissing him with all the love in her heart. Raising her head, she murmured "I love you," into his skin.
"I love you too," he answered, before pulling away and grabbing onto her hand. "Time to go, before Stefan barges in here with all of his righteous fury."
The blood-witch chuckled in amusement at the image, before grabbing her clutch and matching mask from the bedside table and following him out the door.
Downstairs, she found everyone gathered in the foyer, game faces on.
"Are you sure you guys don't want me there tonight?" Asked Rick as soon as he was certain everyone was present.
"No, I need you to stay with Elena. I don't want her to know about this." Replied Stefan.
"Okay. Well, I'll make sure she doesn't leave my sight."
Looking at everyone around, the green-eyed vampire said, "Alright, if anybody wants to back out, I'll understand."
Damon added, "Yeah. Cold feet speak now. I don't want this going wrong if someone chicken's out." Before turning to the blonde in warning, "Caroline."
Care shook her head, "I won't. Look, she killed me. Fair's fair. As long as there's no werewolf running around."
"No worries, we took care of Mason," interjected Thea assuredly, heart pinging slightly at the mention of the Lockwood man she'd killed. Damon's hand slipped into hers, squeezing softly, as though to remind her that he was there with her. For her.
"As long as Tyler doesn't kill anyone, he won't turn." Stated Jeremy assuredly.
Nodding, Stefan looked at Bonnie, "Bonnie? Are you with us?"
The witch hesitated, before sighing in resignation and agreeing, with one stipulation, "But no one gets hurt."
"Except Katherine." Assured her Damon, continuing, "Tonight Katherine gets a stake through her heart."
—
They'd arrived at the party in separate groups. Thea had gone with both Salvatore brothers, and they were currently standing at the entrance, looking around as though Katherine would make her presence that obvious. The blood-witch rolled her eyes slightly at their idiocy, before Damon asked, "Do you see her?"
"Nope. You're sure you can do this?" Replied his brother, throwing him an unsure glance.
"Who are you talking to?"
"Oh, I had the chance to kill her and I hesitated."
"Well that is the fork in the road between you and me my friend. I don't hesitate."
"You spent 145 years loving her, it could happen."
At the reminder, Thea tensed slightly. She truly couldn't help it, as sure as she was of Damon's love for her, the reminder that he'd spent 145 years being devoted to one other woman rankled her slightly, filled her with possessiveness. She felt his arm wrap around her waist, drawing her into his side, before he told his brother in a hard tone, "She's threatening Thea's safety. Thea, my blood-bonded. I won't hesitate."
Stefan nodded resolutely, "Okay."
"And if for some godforsaken reason both of you hesitate, I'll just rip her heart out of her chest. I have no attachment to the bitch, so…" interjected the raven-haired girl, a smug grin painted on her scarlet lips.
The brothers chuckled slightly, before they all decisively made their way inside, heading towards an uncertain situation.
They'd separated, Stefan heading towards the dance-floor, while Damon drew Thea in the direction of the bar. She reached over and grabbed his bourbon, taking a strong sip, before crunching her face in disgust.
"I still don't know how you drink that stuff. It tastes like gasoline." She muttered. Her blood-bonded chuckled in reply, stealing his glass back and asking, "Why did you steal it then, if you knew you'd hate it?"
"I need some alcohol. This whole thing is stressing me out." She replied, glancing around her in anxiety.
"Hey," his soft voice drew her attention back to him, and he continued in a reassuring tone, "Nothing's gonna go wrong tonight, I promise you. And besides, I've got a whole plan for later tonight."
"Does it involve anymore of my scarves?" She questioned teasingly, raising her brows.
"I don't know Angel. Do you want it to?"
Thea shrugged in feigned nonchalance, retorting, "Ehh, wasn't that fun anyway."
His head dipped to her ear, before he whispered enticingly, "Now, we both know that's a lie baby. Because I distinctly remember you coming all over me and the sheets."
She swallowed heavily, feeling a blush take over her face, before she replied in a forced casualness, "maybe I wanna tie you up, you up for that?"
"Yes. If that's what you want."
Thea turned to him in surprise, before asking, "You'd be willing to give me all the control?"
Damon shrugged, before a wicked smirk pulled at his lips, "Who said you'd still be in control? Besides, I trust you, implicitly."
She was about to answer him, but his phone dinged instead. He glanced down at the screen, before his shoulders tensed, and he grabbed her hand. "C'mon, Katherine's made her move and Stefan's requesting our presence."
She sighed, preparing herself for whatever may come. She'd known the vampire wouldn't just submit peacefully, she just hope her own contingency plans would put a wrench in hers.
—
The bitch had already killed someone. Poor Aimee, who'd been nothing but nice, if a little nosey.
Thea was pacing around the room, as both brothers discussed the plan, again.
"I put the body in the trunk for now." Said Stefan.
"We'll dump her when we get back." Replied her blood-bonded in a tense voice.
Stefan sighed in response, "This is exactly what I didn't want, Damon."
"It's collateral damage, Stefan. You can't have not expected something like this to happen." Retorted Thea in frustration.
"Right, which is why we need to call it off." He responded.
Damon glared at him viciously, stating, "What? Who's hesitating now? Hey! Don't do this to me! This woman ruined our lives, she destroyed us! Tonight it ends. We can do it together. I got your back. All right?"
The younger man nodded resolutely, "All right."
They all headed into the spelled room, waiting for the woman of the hour to make her arrival. Thea was hiding behind the drapes, her back to the room, gaze resting outside the windows. She wasn't particularly excited for the events to follow, knowing she would inevitably be in tremendous pain, and if Damon was the one to administer it, he would feel incredibly guilty. Which was not something she wanted. But it was inevitable, and much as he and Stefan had done what they must to ensure hers and Elena's safety, so had she.
Suddenly, Caroline's voice piped up, "I did it! I really didn't think that I'd be able to fool you but I did it!"
The blood-witch tensed slightly, listening as Katherine noticed her trapped state, and Stefan's presence. It was go-time.
"What the...? Stefan?" She said in confusion.
"Hello, Katherine." He replied.
"Goodbye Katherine." Parroted Caroline in a jovial tone, before leaving, as they'd previously planned.
"You don't really think that you can kill me with that now, do you?" Said Elena's evil twin in a sarcastic tone.
"No, but he can."
Thea stepped outside of her hiding spot, watching as Damon sped towards the brunette woman, and staked her with one of Alaric's weapons. She felt the wound appear on her own back, and held back her own scream of pain.
Katherine kept fighting, before she burst into laughter, "Did you really think I wouldn't have a back-up plan?"
"I did." Retorted the blood-witch, coming into view. They all turned to her with various states of surprise and rage. The rage coming from her own blood-bonded. Ignoring him for the moment, she continued heading confidently in Katherine's direction, "I knew you'd bind yourself to Elena, with her being your doppelgänger and all, so I intercepted the spell. You're bound to me, which yes, means that they can't kill you, but they wouldn't have done it regardless if your plan had worked. Plus, bonus for me, I lowered the intensity levels, so it doesn't hurt me nearly as much as it does you."
Katherine nodded at her, gaze gleaming with a new-found respect, "I underestimated you, little witch. You're more cunning than I thought."
Thea shrugged nonchalantly, hiding her wince at the pain the action induced, "I know, and I took advantage of it. I told you I'm a survivor Kat, I thought you'd understand what that entailed."
"I can see why he's so smitten with you," she said, nodding towards a still fuming Damon, "He likes strong, capable women. It's why he fell for me."
"I know."
"But what makes you think I won't purposely hurt myself now? If only to watch Damon's face fall in painful realisation." Katherine smirked in supposed victory, only for the smile to fall at Thea's next words.
"Because you and I both know that you don't want to be my enemy. I know you've done your research Kat, you know who I am, and what I'm capable of. You'd much rather have me as a potential ally, than an assured enemy. Because you know, if I have my sights set on you, you won't survive."
The vampire nodded, before turning to the two brothers, "What now boys? It seems the gorgeous Thea here has placed a wrench in all of our plans, so what to do?"
She placed herself confidently on the couch, before continuing, "Okay. So, how about that moonstone?"
Damon ignored her, leaving his younger brother to deal with the woman. His eyes were set on his blood-bonded, gaze both hard with fury, and soft with concern. Reaching for her back, he grazed his fingers softly over the wound, before asking, "Are you okay?"
She nodded, saying, "I healed as soon as she did. That's the loophole I added. Elena wouldn't have." Thea raised her gaze to his, repentance in her eyes, and flowing through their bond, "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, but you would have stopped me. And Katherine would have figured it out immediately, since neither yours nor Stefan's poker face is any good."
His lips tightened, before he muttered, "I am so angry with you, but we'll deal with that later. For now, I need to know, how did I not also get hurt?"
"I temporarily blocked the physical aspect of our bond. It's gonna fade in a couple of minutes, but I couldn't have you get hurt because of my plan."
"And yet you're so willing to get yourself hurt." He retorted, before walking away from her.
The raven-haired girl blinked the tears from her eyes, inhaling deeply and steeling her shoulders. She couldn't fall apart right now, she still had a Katherine to deal with.
Walking back to the group, she noticed that Damon was making drinks, as Kat said, "The three of us together just like old times. The brother who loved me too much and the one that didn't love me enough. As well as the all-mighty blood reaper."
The girl winced at the title, before raising a brow in feigned smugness at the woman, "And the supposedly evil, definitely manipulative vampire who likes to play with her boy toys. Doesn't make us all that different, does it?"
Katherine chuckled slightly, before agreeing, "No, I supposed it doesn't. I was right by the way, I do like you. We would make great friends."
"The blood reaper and the slutty vampire? Worst comic book duo ever," snorted the blood-witch in amusement.
The woman giggled coquettishly, before looking at Damon and asking, "What happened to you Damon? You used to be so sweet and polite."
The man snorted, "Oh, that Damon died a long time ago."
"Good. He was a bore."
"You two need to quit antagonising each other, before I decide to spell both of your mouths shut." Warned Thea.
"Where is the moonstone?" Asked Katherine determinedly.
"What do you want with it?"
"Does Elena enjoy having both of you worship at her alter?" She asked, before pausing and continuing, "Although, I suppose Damon only worships at Thea's now, seeing as they're bonded and all."
Stefan raised a brow, wondering, "That was really desperate, Katherine. Don't you think that we can see right through you?"
"So it doesn't bother you that Damon's got a deeper connection and love than you and your girlfriend ever will? That's he's found the one thing you've always longed for?"
"Oh, stop it."
"Or what? You'll hurt me?" The woman got up, taking sultry steps towards the green-eyed man, "Come on, Stefan. Everything that I feel, Thea feels, so go ahead."
Turning towards Damon, she added, "Or better yet, kiss me Damon. She'll feel that too. Bet she'll enjoy it too."
Stefan ignored her taunts, continuing, "You know, this whole Mason thing has me a bit confused. Why a werewolf? The moonstone can break a curse that would help them destroy all vampires so what's in that for you?"
Damon interjected mockingly, "Sorry about your pet wolf, probably should have kept him on a tighter leash."
She shrugged carelessly, saying, "I'll have to remember that for next time. He's not the only wolf in town."
—
They'd been stuck in the room together for half an hour now, before Dawn suddenly exploded, "Damn it! Where is that witch?"
The brunette shrugged, "We could play charades."
Thea however, was thinking. Her mind had been playing out all scenarios, all involving Kat's apparent interest in the moonstone and a curse that did not affect her.
"You bargained the moonstone," she mumbled under her breath. They all went quiet at her realisation, before Damon asked her softly, "What are you mumbling about, Angel?"
The blood-witch ignored him, looking directly at Katherine as she explained, "When you struck a deal with George Lockwood, to help you fake your death, you told Stefan that you gave George something that he needed. It was the moonstone, wasn't it?"
"Again, you're far smarter than you seem, little witch. And it would have worked except that people found out that I wasn't in the tomb." She replied, before turning to the blue-eyed man with an aggravated expression, "Thanks to you, by the way. Have I mentioned how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?"
Damon snorted in amusement, replying, "You and me both, honey."
"Why do you need it back?" Asked Stefan suddenly. The woman looked at him, gaze hearting up with lust, before she said, "I love you in a suit, so dashing."
"What were you doing with it in the first place?" He continued.
"You're wasting your breath, Stefan." Warned Damon, clearly growing more and more aggravated at their current situation.
"No, he's onto something." Interjected Thea, before turning to cat and asking in a softer tone, "You faked your death, bargained a stone that you now need back. Who are you running from, Kat?"
Katherine ignored her words, but the witch spotted the subtle wince she had. The brunette turned to Stefan and continued in a nonplussed voice, "In 1987 you were in Chicago, at a concert of all places with that wench, Lexi. Come on Stefan, don't look so surprised. Of course I checked in on you over the years. You were standing in the front row, dancing all night. You were watching Bon Jovi and I was watching you."
The green-eyed man kept a straight face, as he repeated Thea's previous question, "Who were you running from?"
She didn't answer, simply mouthing a smug "I love you," at him.
Thea rolled her eyes, before remarking, "I mean, it's someone powerful, for sure. Older than you, but by plenty of years. Centuries, even. You wouldn't be this terrified otherwise. You probably first encountered them when you were human, and they most likely were the reason you chose to turn, and the moonstone's got something to do with it. My guess? This person wanted to break the 'Sun and Moon' curse, and the blood of the Petrova doppelgänger was the binding agent, so you needed to die. You escaped, and turned, rendering your blood useless, and now they've been after you since."
Looking back at the woman, she found her staring at her with wide eyes, fear and admiration evident in them. "You're incredible," she whispered, continuing, "My informant wasn't lying when he said your intelligence and wit were unrivalled. But you can't know. You shouldn't."
Thea tilted her head to the side, eyes narrowed in focus. This was a game, one she played well. And whoever Kat was running from, she was tired of it. "You were going to bargain for your freedom, weren't you? Give this person the moonstone and the other Petrova doppelgänger in exchange for your freedom. You're tired of running, of constantly looking over your shoulder."
"Thea.." She warned, voice wobbling slightly, "You can't look it this. I said I didn't want to hurt you, and I meant it. But if you keep digging, you'll hurt yourself."
"Why?"
"Some questions are better left unanswered, little witch. Just let this go."
Damon looked at the woman, tensing at the implied threat against his bonded, before he hissed, "The second the spell is lifted, I'm gonna drive a stake right through your heart."
Kat smirked, replying,"God, you're hot. When did you get so hot?"
Suddenly, a woman appeared at the doorway, the moonstone clutched in her hand, "Katherine, the spell on this room has been broken, you're free to leave." She announced.
The brunette woman stood up to leave, muttering, "Thank God."
Raising her hand, which was clutching the milky stone, she woman said, "When I hand this over my debt to you is over."
"Done."
"I owe you nothing."
"I said done. Give it."
"I wouldn't do that." Interjected Damon in a menacing tone, glaring. At the unknown woman.
She ignored his warning and handed the stone to Katherine, but the minute it made contact with her hand, the woman fell to the floor, gasping for breath.
"You should have told me another witch was involved. She's a Bennett witch, Katherine, but I'm sure you knew that. And this one," she nodded her head towards Thea, before continuing, "She's the last blood-witch. You know who she is, and who she's destined to become. I will not have her harmed in my presence, or by my actions."
The blood-witch raised her brow curiously, but before she could question the new-comer, she turned to them and said, "I apologise for my involvement." Before turning on her heels and existing the room as abruptly as she entered it.
The three looked at teacher in bewilderment, before they unanimously turned they gazes on the unconscious vampire at their feet.
"Before you both jump to killing her, hear me out." Stated Thea, before explaining, "I think we should lock her in the tomb. Give her the ending she'd faked so long ago. It's a poetic ending, and she'd be out of our hair for the remainder of eternity."
—
She'd decided to head to her house, to wait for her blood-bonded there. She could feel his anger still, but it. Had been tempered by the admiration he held for her intelligence. She supposed he hadn't been lying, when he'd previously told her that he was constantly awe-struck, whenever she revelled in that part of herself.
As she walked across the parking lot, heading towards her car, she felt a hard smack against her head, and the view of the gravel heading for her face was the last thing she saw, before she fell unconscious.