"Do I love you? My god, if your love were a grain of sand, mind would be a universe of beaches." - William Goldman
10. The Sacrifice:
When she woke up, it was to Damon's eyes gazing at her softly.
"What?" She mumbled, still groggy.
"Nothing," he replied, voice soft, "I just like watching you like this, all relaxed and happy. No worries of responsibilities on your shoulders."
Smiling slightly, she shifted closer to him, nuzzling her face directly into his chest, feeling it shake slightly at his chuckled laughter.
"I like waking up next you, makes me feel safe and loved, which isn't something I'm used to." She said.
"I know," he retorted, pulling her deeper into him, before flipping them over, resting on top of her, with his forearms bearing all of his weight. Touching their noses in a small eskimo-kiss, he continued, "We're gonna change that. You're gonna feel nothing but love for here on out."
"Will I?" She smirked, raising a brow at him.
He hummed slightly, before laying his lips over hers in a passionate kiss. Thea moaned, wrapping her arms around his neck in response, fingers running through his soft hair. His tongue tangled with hers seductively, taking the contours of her mouth, sucking on hers.
"God, Ace," she mumbled against him, desire evident in her tone.
He didn't respond with words, but she felt his love flooding her, filling every crevice in her soul, running through her veins like electricity. She tightened her grip on his hair in response, raising her legs to wrap them around his hips, pulling him onto her.
His hand trailed down her body, sending shivers where it touched, until he reached the junction of her thighs. She detached her lips from his, mouth falling open with a soft moan as he began circling her clit with a soft touch. He didn't speed up in response, only spread her open, before slowly sinking into her, groaning at the feeling.
"You're always ready for me." He murmured against her skin, lips leaving kisses in their wake.
Thea nodded slowly, before she reached down and pulled his face up to hers, "I love you," she said, looking into his eyes, making sure he saw the depths of her emotions in her own.
Damon nodded, leaning his forehead against hers in response, before he began moving. Slowly, gently. They weren't fucking or having sex. He was making love to her, ensuring she knew, she understood what she meant to him through every move, through ever jerk of his hips, and every kiss he pressed against her lips.
—
Unfortunately, the afterglow didn't last very long, as they had to head back to the tomb once Stefan had also woken up.
Truthfully, Thea wasn't that excited to revisit the dark place. She'd had so much more than enough of it, and every bad memory it seemed to hold. Plus, she wasn't exactly sure how Damon would react to hers and Kat's newfound respect for each other, but she doubted it would be good.
As they stood at the door, Stefan turned to the couple and asked, "ready?"
Thea nodded, but just as she was about to step through, Damon's hand held her back. Looking at his brother, he said, "You go ahead, we'll follow."
After he'd left, the blue-eyed man turned to his bonded and asked, "Why are you worried?"
Feigning ignorance, the blood-witch raised her brow, "I'm not."
Damon rolled his eyes slightly, hands reaching down to her hips and pulling them into his, "Angel…I can literally feel your worry, so you wanna try that again?"
The girl bit her lip slightly, before answering, "I'm just worried about your reaction. Cat and I are sort of on friendly terms currently, shared respect and all, and I'm slightly afraid of how you're going to see it."
"She respects you? She told you that?" He asked.
Thea simply nodded, before raising a questioning brow at his answering laugh. Damon shook his head slightly before explaining, "You can never tell me you're unlikeable now. You got Katherine Pierce to see you as a friend and want to protect you. That's a fucking impossible task in and of itself."
She giggled slightly, before asking, "Think I could work my magic on Klaus as well?"
He pressed a small kiss to the tip of her nose in response, before pulling her into the tomb, saying, "if anyone can, it'd be you Angel."
The two walked into the tomb, observing silently as Kat and Stefan stared at each other. Rolling her eyes, the blood-witch asked loudly, "So…should we leave you tow to continue eye-fucking each other, or should we get to the point of this pointless visit?"
Katherine looked at her, before smiling wide and honest. "Slanchitse! Good to see you again."
"Hello, skapa." Replied the blood-witch, a smile on her own lips.
Damon glanced between them, before turning to his bonded with an impressed look, "I forgot, you speak Bulgarian too."
Thea nodded softly, but before she could retort, Stefan interrupted the moment with an aggravated, "We're here for the moonstone."
"Feel like tossing it over?" Added Damon with a raised brow.
Kat turned to Thea with a questioning, yet incredulous expression, and the witch sighed exasperatedly, "You try getting them to listen to you when you tell them their plans are stupid. Trust me, it doesn't work. I had to bind myself to you last time to prove that I'm smarter than them, but here we are."
Nodding at her, the vampire woman looked at the two Salvatores, "Tell you what, you get your little witch to hocus pocus me out of here, you can have whatever you want."
"Why haven't you asked Thea to do it?" Interjected Stefan with a slight nod towards the raven-haired girl.
Damon tensed beside her, but before he could reply, the brunette did it for him, "because breaking another witch's spell is too dangerous, and I like having her alive and healthy."
"Would you look at that…" mumbled the blue-eyed man in surprise, "You and I finally agree on something."
Kat nodded to him, the look in her eyes softening slightly, "Is it so surprising that I feel an inkling of protectiveness over her? She's hard not to like, much less respect." Before hardening her gaze, "That being said, you hurt her, and I'll figure out a way out of here and make it my mission to make your existence hell."
The man groaned, while Thea giggled slightly, throwing a grateful wink the brunette's way. Damon wrapped his arm around her tightly, pulling her into him, as Stefan once again interrupted the moment, asking the imprisoned vampire, "I thought you liked it in here. Nice and safe where Klaus can't get to you."
The woman rolled her eyes in response, "I've had time to reconsider."
"Meaning you're hungry," guessed the blue-eyed man smugly.
"I'm starving, Damon. And dirty. But above all, I'm bored." Stepping closer to the boundary, she continued, "At least running from Klaus wasn't boring - so here's the deal: you get me out of here, you get the moonstone and I'll disappear from Mystic Falls forever."
The two brothers made eye-contact, and the vampire turned around, stepping back into the darkness as she said, "Let me know what you decide. See you later, slanchitse."
—
They'd headed directly to Elena's after that, with Stefan eager to inform her of the latest developments. Damon, meanwhile, seemed to not care in the slightest about the brunette's opinion, as he turned to his bonded and asked, "What do you think, about this whole de-spelling the moonstone business?"
Thea looked at him in surprise, before asking in a joking tone, "Are you asking me for my opinion and expertise, Mr. I've-got-a-plan-and-you-don't-need-to-worry-about-it-baby?"
He rolled her eyes, before stating, "I've learned from my mistakes. It happens."
She giggled slightly, before replying, "Honestly, I don't buy it. I've never heard or read anything like that, and if anything, it seems like the mother of all misdirects. I think it would be a large mistake to place all of our eggs into that basket, but we can't be certain until I do further research, which could take some time."
Damon nodded slightly, before parking in front of the brunette's house and turning to look at the blood-witch, "Alright. We'll keep our minds open, but I'll hear you out for any other ideas. I think it's too easy to be true as well, so…"
She leaned over to him, and pecked his cheek softly, before opening her door and getting out. Joining her side, he grabbed her hand and they ambled towards the door, waiting with Stefan as the younger man knocked on it decisively.
The brunette opened up a minutes later, and the green-eyed man asked hesitantly, "Hey. Uh, can we talk?"
"Why?" Replied Elena, a suspicious look in her eyes.
"We uh, we went to see Katherine." He continued.
At this, she stepped aside, and pulled the door open wider, waving them in with a soft, "Come on in."
The four made their way to the kitchen, and the younger vampire dove straight into his explanation. Once he was done, Elena turned to him with a skeptical look, "You don't believe her, do you?"
Snorting, the blue-eyed vampire replied from his spot, leaning against his girlfriend who was sitting on the counter, "Of course not, we just want the moonstone."
"According to Rose's friend Slater, there's a way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break." Continued Stefan.
"Doubt that's true, but it doesn't hurt to keep our options open." Interjected the witch softly. At her words, both Stefan and Elena turned to her in confusion, and she explained, "I've read plenty of books and grimoires, but have never come across a spell that could disable a cursed object, which is what a witch would refer to the moonstone as. Don't you think that's a little odd? If it were that easy, those spells would be taught to burgeoning witches left and right."
"Slater wouldn't have told Rose this if it wasn't true." Stated Stefan stubbornly.
"You're ignoring the fact that we don't know Slater from Jesus. He's just some dude Rose trusts, but who the hell is Rose anyway, except for the woman who wanted to sacrifice mine and El's lives in exchange for her freedom? How did you deem her as a trustworthy source, exactly?"
"She knows a lot more about this than you do, at any rate."
Thea scoffed, looking at him in slight disbelief, "Are we gonna do this every time Stefan? Where I tell you something, and you doubt my words because you're…what? Insecure about your masculinity? Intelligence? Sorry to break it you darling, but I'm way smarter than you'll ever be, whether you were really seventeen or a century and a half. Intelligence isn't based on age, it's neurological. And while you may have more life-experience than me, trust me when I tell you, you're not half the strategist I am. I've had to fight and think to stay alive, and I've had to learn to outsmart everyone around me. You haven't. So please, spare me the 'I'm older, therefore I know better' lecture, and just take my word for it for once, before time makes a fool out of you, again might I add."
The green-eyed man gritted his teeth, jaw clenching visibly, as he took a small step towards her. Damon's voice stopped him in his tracks though, "I wouldn't come any closer, if I were you. Because if she doesn't flay your ass out of frustration, than I will if you threaten her in any way."
"Anyway," interrupted Elena in an attempt to distract them from their tension, "It's Katherine who has the moonstone. She's not gonna give it to you."
"We're gonna get it from her." Reassured Stefan softly.
"What he means to say is, we will pry it from her cold, dead hands if we have to." Interjected the blue-eyed man, still glaring slightly at his brother.
"Bonnie just needs to find a way to release the seal long enough for us to get in, get the moonstone, and get out in time for her to return it." Continued the green-eyed man.
"Oh, and is that gonna be before or after cat uses her extended age and strength, as well as her wiliness, to snap your neck and escape, probably leaving you behind in her place." Asked the blood-witch casually, raising a skeptical brow at the boy.
Stefan ignored her, as Elena said, "Wow. I mean, it sounds like you guys already have it all planned out."
"Yep. We're team awesome." Retorted Damon with a roll of his eyes. Sensing his mounting aggravation, Thea laid her hand onto his shoulder, rubbing the tense muscle softly, until she felt him relax under her ministrations.
"Except for one thing. I don't want you to do it." Continued the human, surprising them all.
Looking in her direction with widened eyes, Stefan asked, "What are you talking about? Elena, we don't have a choice."
Clearing her throat loudly, Thea waited until all parties were looking t her before asking what she felt was a rather important question, "Not to seem like a contrarian here, but what about Klaus? You know, the evil original vampire that's intending on sacrificing us, and seems to not like having the word 'no' as an answer?"
The human pointed to her, and said, "Exactly."
"We'll find him after we get the moonstone." Soothed the green-eyed boy.
Thea raised her brow, before pushing Damon slightly away and jumping from her previous position atop the counter. Walking towards Stefan, she chuckled menacingly, "Do not patronise me, Salvatore. It mocks my intelligence. So tell me, this grand plan to capture Klaus, a creature that's about a thousand years older than you, is it happening before or after he kills everyone El and I care about, including both of your stubborn asses?"
Stefan ignored her rant, keeping his eyes on Elena as he said, "Elena, if we can de-spell the moonstone, we can save your life."
The brunette sighed softly, "I know. Everyone keeps saying that," before turning on her heels and leaving the room.
Thea rolled her eyes skyward, praying to some unknown deity to save her from Stefan's stubbornness. Looking back at her bonded, she asked, "Can you take me back to my place? I need to do some research onto this cursed object thing, and if I have to look at Stefan's Edward impression any longer, I may just pulverise his brain out of frustration."
The blue-eyed eyed man chuckled, before grabbing her by the hand and pulling her towards the door. As he began driving towards the house, he said, "I'm sticking with you today. We'll figure this out together."
—
She'd begun digging through her multiple grimoires the instant they'd reached her house. Heading straight towards her bookshelves, Thea began pulling old, leather-bound volumes out, throwing them at her bonded. "We're gonna have to look through mainly the older ones, because I've memorised all those written recently." She said.
"How recent, is 'recently'?" He questioned, following behind her.
"Umm, I don't know. Like, turn of the nineteenth century maybe?" She replied hesitantly. Her entire focus was dedicated to her shelves, until she finally turned around. She giggled at the sight before her; her bonded was holding onto a towering pile, so high it hid his face from her view.
"Put them down Ace, you're making me feel self-conscious over the amount of grimoires I have." She chuckled, helping him out.
"You should. This is insane. No one witch requires this many cookbooks." He laughed in return, placing the remainder of the pile on the table.
"True, but I've always had a deep love for old books, and grimoires? Nothing is quite as precious as that, and those," she gestured to the collection laid out before them, "those are museum quality, both in contents and age."
"Am I going to be able to read any of them, or are they all written in some obscure witchy language?"
Thea giggled slightly, handing him one of the books, "Most of them are written in Old English Ace. You're what? 160 years old and raised in a rich family, you should be able to understand it."
Damon didn't reply, and as she looked back up at him, she found her face inches away from his own. Pressing a passionate kiss to her lips, he pulled away and took a seat on the couch, before looking back at her with a smug grin, "Well come on then, Angel. These books aren't going to read themselves, we gotta focus."
She shook the temporary haze he induced in her out of her mind, before rolling her eyes fondly and taking a seat beside him, plopping her legs on his lap.
He was right after all, these grimoires weren't going to read themselves.
They'd been at it for a couple of hours, when Thea dropped her current grimoire in frustration.
"There's nothing there," she sighed. "There's nothing about removing a cruse from an object in any of them."
The vampire raised his eyes to her, brows raised at her frustration, before he said, "We knew it was a long-shot anyway Angel, so it's really not that surprising."
The blood-witch was running her fingers through her hair roughly, as she grumbled, "no, I know that. I just thought that maybe we'd get an inkling of information, a hint, anything really other than ' if an object has been cursed, you're shit out of luck.' "
"Hey," his hands grabbed onto hers, before she was pulled into his lap. Cuddling into him, he began running his own fingers through her hair softly, in stark contrast to her own previous ministrations. "It's okay. We'll figure something else out. If anything, that proves your theory that Slater was lying."
"Still don't understand how you guys were so willing to trust Rose blindly. It's like you're looking to get betrayed." She mumbled into his chest. The muscle moved under her, his chuckle filling the air as he exclaimed, "Hey, I told you I didn't trust it, Stefan's the one who did. But I also know my brother well enough to know that once an idea is in his head, it won't leave. So I figured we'd run our own show from the sidelines, and let him believe that he saved the day."
"There is something else though," she whispered suddenly, meeting his eyes. "My mom and sister left me their grimoire, and unlike the rest of those, they dabbled in archaic magicks. Mainly for information, so I doubt we'll find any practical spells, but they may have something about Chaos Wielders or Klaus or the curse or something."
"Any particular reason you only thought of it now?" He questioned with a raised brow.
The girl gulped softly, lowering her gaze to their joined hands in her lap, before whispering sadly, "I put it away after Meda died. It was too hard to look at it, hurt too much."
"We don't have to, baby. If you're not ready, we can wait."
Thea shook her head, standing up, "No. I'm ready now. And you'll be here, right?" At his earnest nod, she smiled, "So there's nothing to be scared of. You're here, and it would be a dishonour to their memory, to keep their compendium unopened forever."
She headed to the last bookshelf, before pulling on a particularly thick volume. The wall behind the books unlocked, and with a deft hand, she pushed it away, revealing the hidden compartment it shielded.
"You've got a secret hiding place in your bookshelf. Why am I not surprised?" Questioned Damon with a soft laugh.
Throwing a small smile his way, she reached into the hole as she said, "because I'm me, and 'expect the unexpected' is practically my middle name?"
"Is it? I thought it was Self-sacrificial." He joked.
She giggled slightly, before her hand touched a leather-bound book, and with a soft gulp, she pulled it out.
It wasn't quite as old as the other grimoires around the room, and one may argue that its value was significantly less, but for Thea, this was her most prised possession. It was filled with memories of her mom and Meda, hunched over it, writing with old feather quills instead of pens, because it was more 'aesthetic' as her sister would say.
She placed it on her dining table, fingers running over the engrossed cover reverently, unable to open it.
A familiar arm wrapped around her waist, her back pressed into a hard chest, as Damon's voice whispered, "Are you alright baby?"
She nodded slowly, before replying, "Can you open it? I can't…"
He pressed a small kiss to her temple, before his hand reached over hers, and slowly, they both opened the book.
To her surprise, right there on the front page, was a CD with her name written on it.
"I have no idea what this is. Mom was kind of allergic to tech of any kind." She mumbled in confusion, picking it up slowly.
"Do you want to watch it?"
"I think I have to." She whispered slowly, as she booted up her laptop.
"Do you want me to leave?" Her Ace questioned slowly, kneeling in front of her.
She shook her head vehemently, "Please, stay. I can't watch it alone."
"Okay." He replied, getting up and taking a seat beside her, watching as her screen suddenly filled with her mother's smiling face.
Pressing play, Thea held onto his hand tightly, as Eleanor Anette Montgomery began speaking.
—
"Hello bébé," she said, a shining smile on her face. "I know this is probably very weird for you. I mean, if I gave you this, or knowing me, hid it someplace I was sure you'd find wen you needed it, then I'm dead. And watching your dead mom on a screen is the height of weirdness. In fact, I hate how cliché this is, very Hollywood-like, but this was the only thing I could think of apart from writing you a letter, and that's even more dramatic so…" she stopped taking a small breath and chuckling slightly, before she continued, "I don't know how old you are right now, but happy birthday for every birthday I missed. I want you to know a couple of things that I'm sure you've forgotten before I get into the meat and potatoes of this, so here we go.
Number 1: Never forget that your papa and I adore you. You were the greatest joy for us, you were our petite étoile. I know you're probably wallowing in guilt, you've always had a tendency to wallow and take the pain of others onto yourself, but Ally, this was not your fault. Nothing that has happened has ever been your fault.
Number 2: The greatest gift I've ever received, was you. When Elijah brought you to us, asked us to care for you, to raise you as one of our own, I took one look into your mismatched eyes and fell in love. And watching you grow and blossom into this wonderful, brave, strong, intelligent young woman has been the greatest blessing of my life.
Number 3: You are not an abomination. And don't roll your eyes at me, young lady, you know I'm correct. You are strong, more powerful than you could ever comprehend, and with power comes fear. And fear, my darling, can turn the most gentle souls into monsters. So what happened to us? The Pura-Sanguinis and all they've done to our family? That's their prerogative, their fault. Not yours. You had no control over your own powers or your existence, and even if you did, I would have you no other way.
Fourthly, here are a couple of things I want you to have, to allow yourself to have. I want you to have friends, true friends, not like those Upper-East Side bitches you hang around. Friends who don't care about your money, or what you can give them, but rather care for you, for who you are, inside and out. I want you to have trust, not too much of it, because that would make you an. Idiot and maman didn't raise no fools, but enough to allow your heart to feel joy, to make connections with others. I know it's hard for you, I know you think you're too strange, too different. But believe me, your difference are what makes you perfect. They distinguish you from the rest, in a world where we are all doomed to always be the same. I want you to keep practicing your music. Not for success or fame, not for Juilliard or schooling, because we both know your big-brain will allow you to succeed in anything you choose, but because it feeds your soul. Music is how you've always expressed yourself, and it would be shame, if you allowed your pain to steal that away form you. And besides, your dad is boring, so please, just play some of my favourite songs to entertain me as I watch over you Fromm beyond the veil. And lastly, I want you to find love. True, real love, not an infatuation, or someone to warm your bed at night. I know that you know that you're beautiful and attractive, but I want you to find someone who sees beyond that, you knows who you truly are, imperfections and insecurities and all, and loves you regardless. I want you to find a love like the books, one that you could write hundreds of songs about. And between the both of us, go looking for the owner of those blue eyes you've been dreaming about recently, I have a feeling they could be the answer and solution to most of your questions."
She coughed slightly, clearing her throat, before she continued, "I've rambled enough, and again Althea, don't roll your eyes at me, you know how I get once I begin ranting." The woman giggled, before her face grew serious, and she began talking once more, "Tye real reason I needed to make this, needed you to see me talking, is so you understand that this following information is important, but it does not change a single thing. You're still Althea Nikolai Montgomery, and that will always remain the truth. But you're not just a blood-witch baby. This is the reason the Pura-Sanguinis has been after you for so long, why they've been so determined to kill you. Centuries ago, a prophecy was made, one detailing the rise of the Chaos Wielder, a witch with unprecedented power, who would be recognised by her eyes. One was green as emeralds, the other a glowing gold."
Eleanor sighed softly, shaking her head, "Now, you know my stance on prophesies. I think they're complete bullshit, so although your father and I were aware of it, we did not believe it. Until recently. You were asleep, having a nightmare I believe, when these red wisps began surrounding you, list a mist none of us could penetrate. They evaporated the moment you woke up, but Ally, I swear to you, for a second after you opened your eyes, they were glowing red. The brightest crimson I'd ever seen. And this, this alone was the only sign I needed to confirm what you would become."
"It is not a bad thing to be powerful bébé, in fact, it reassures me that you'll be strong enough to protect yourself. I just needed you to know. In the last half of my compendium, you'll find all the information your papa, Meda and I have gathered about Chaos Magic over the years, hopefully you will then be able to better understand yourself."
A slight sheen came over her blue eyes, before she raised her hand and wiped it, chuckling wetly, "i am so sorry, that we couldn't be here with you, to help you. I am so sorry, that you've had all of this power, this responsibility put on your shoulders, and I am so sorry, that sometimes, it seems like the world can never give you a break. But Althea, you would not have been given these gifts, if the powers-that-be did not fully believe you could handle them, if you were not strong enough to continue thriving. You are a survivor, my darling, and there is no one in the world as strong as you. I love you, and I miss you. And rest assured bébé, I am always watching over you, whether you feel me or not."
And with a small smile, the video cut off.
—
Thea was shaking, tears leaking from her eyes, and breath stuttering in her lungs. She was shaking, and sobbing and nothing was registering in the confines of her mind. Nothing except her mother, her beautiful, smart, hilarious, loving mother, who'd loved her so much, that she'd filmed herself before dying, knowing that her daughter would need her words of wisdom sometime in the future.
It was overwhelming, she missed her more now than she had in the days following her death. She missed her hugs, and the way she would blast rock music at the loudest volume in order to annoy her dad. She missed her inability to cook anything, and her deep love for books and fashion. She missed it all, and right now, she wanted nothing more than to burrow her face in her mother's chest, and smell that vanilla-amber perfume she always wore.
A warm caress of love and affection flowed over her, and finally she registered Damon's arms wrapped around her tightly. He wasn't saying anything, simply allowing her to cry into his chest, to release all the emotions she'd been bottling for years. Sensing that she'd calmed down, he pulled away, and lovingly ran his hands over her cheeks, wiping her tears away, before cupping them.
He leaned his forehead against hers, before he said, "I can see where you got your assertiveness from. She wasn't even talking to me, and I felt like I had to listen." He joked softly.
The blood-witch giggled wetly, sniffling as she replied, "yeah, she could hold an entire room's attention just by standing up. It was impressive. And she was funny too, in a really dry, snarky kind of way. Used to drive dad crazy by taking the weirdest jokes with a serious face, and he wouldn't know whether to laugh or not."
He chuckled slightly, before asking, "Are you okay?"
Thea nodded slowly, whispering in reply, "Yeah. It was just a lot. I never realised how much I missed her, until I saw her again. It just hit me how alone I am all of a sudden, no family or anything."
"I know it's not the same," he murmured softly, "but you've got me. You'll always have me."
She nodded against him, "I know. And sometimes, that's all I need. I just miss her, you know? But she was right. I needed to find you, because you do have the answer to most of my questions. And I will forever be grateful to whatever power decided you belong with me."
His lips laid over hers in a tender kiss, and she responded, kissing him with all the love and heartbreak she felt, letting him feel all of her emotions, and feeling his in return.
The Angel and her Ace, bonded.
Their impromptu snuggle-session was interrupted by Damon's ringtone. Upon hearing it, Thea groaned slightly, pulling the man into her more firmly and groaning, "leave it,"
He nodded into her neck, before resuming his previous occupation, which was leaving bruises on the tender skin beneath him. As she began moaning softly at his actions, his phone rang again, and this time, he was the one who groaned into her. Reaching into his back pocket, he answered blindly, "Whoever this is, you better have a damn good reason for calling."
He stilled, tensing above the girl, before he growled out slightly, "Not a good time, Rose." Waiting for her to explain, he began laving his bonded's neck with kisses once more, feeling her squirm under him, before he suddenly said, "Why, what did you do?"
As the woman clearly explained what was happening, Damon stood up suddenly, before reaching over and pulling Thea up with him. Shutting his phone with a decisive, "I'm on my way." He began gathering their things, before turning to his girlfriend and explaining, "Elena tricked her. They're in Richmond, and apparently, she's bargained the both of you out for Klaus."
Thea stilled, anger flooding her before asking, "What do you mean, she bargained the both of us?"
"I mean, she managed to reach one of his contacts, and told him the doppelgänger and blood-witch were ready and willing to surrender peacefully." Sensing her mounting distress, he grabbed her hands tightly, "I know, I'm furious too, but right now, we need to go and get her away. I'll let you wring her neck after, I promise. Hell, I might even join, Stefan be damned."
The blood-witch nodded, following him to his car. She was fuming on the inside, how dare Elena make that decision for her, how dare she take her choice away. Thea had not excepted the clutched of death countless times, only to have her blood be spilled over a curse for some fossilised vampire dickhead. No way.
—
They'd snuck into the tiny cafe, walking up behind Elena decisively. Thea had decided to let Damon do the speaking, feeling far too angry with the brunette to not lose her cool and accidentally hurt her.
Coming up behind her, the blue-eyed man hissed out, "What are you doing here?"
The human gasped in surprise, hand placed over her heaving chest, before her eyes wandered behind him, and to Thea's glowing ones. She gulped, asking, "What are the both of you, doing here?"
Neither of them had a chance to reply, as this was the moment Rose chose to make her entrance. The brunette turned to her angrily, "You called them?"
Rose sighed, "I'm sorry, Elena."
"You said that you understood."
"Yeah, well, se lied. I think you'd be familiar with the concept." Interrupted Thea with a menacingly growl. Se knew er eyes er glowing, she could feel the magic trimming through her veins, filling her with an uncomfortable electricity she couldn't seem to shake. It made her want to itch her veins open, to spill her own blood and let chaos run loose, if only to grant her momentary peace.
Sensing her agitation, Damon slipped his hand into hers, before turning his own glare to the brunette. An unknown voice suddenly exclaimed in a starstruck tone, "Damon Salvatore!"
The man rolled his eyes in disgust, turning to Rose and saying, "Get rid of her."
The woman nodded, comlying immediately, while he looked at the human and demanded, "Come on. We're leaving."
"No." She shook her head.
Inhaling sharply, he repeated, "I said we're leaving."
"I'm not going with you." She continued, stubbornly.
That seemed to be the last straw for him, as he exploded, "You do not get to make decisions anymore. Especially not ones that involve my bonded. Especially not ones that put her in danger. I don't give a rat's ass whether you live or die, Elena. But you've included Thea in this harebrained scheme of yours, so now, I have to put an end to it."
The human continued arguing, ignoring his words as she stated, "When have I ever made a decision? You and Stefan do that for me. Now this, this is my decision."
"Is it?" Asked the witch casually. She waited until they were both looking at her, before she turned her gaze to the brunette, raising a questioning brow. "Is it your decision, Elena? Yours alone? Because the last time I checked, the sacrifice involved the both of us, not just you." Her tone was glacial, leaving frostbite in its wake. She knew Elena could feel the danger, the warning in her voice. And yet, she for some reason chose to ignore it, and she walked towards her and said in a patronising tone, "tee, you know this is the only way. He's going to kill them all otherwise. I'm doing the right thing."
The blood-witch raised her brow even higher, before allowing her eyes to flash a dangerous red. She saw Elena wince, but she ignored it, taking a slow step towards her, like a predator circling its prey of choice. "Hmm, and here I thought I had autonomy over my own life. Someone puts a gun to your head, threatens those you love, and you fold like fucking house of cards. Pathetic. On top of that, you take it upon yourself to drag me with you, making a choice that wasn't yours to make. Who told you I would agree to this? What brain damage did you sustain that made you believe I would lay down and play the victim as gladly and as easily as you? Did you forget what I've been through? That Klaus isn't the first, nor would he be the last predator to come after me?"
She was face to face with the girl now, looking down at her. Her shoulders were ramrod straight, and she was smiling, a smile as sharp as the edge of a guillotine, one that was currently hanging precariously over Elena's neck. The human girl was shivering in slight fear, shaking slightly, as the witch continued, "if someone puts a gun to my head, I rip their heart out. I don't let them shoot me. You want to die, go for it, but don't ever for a second, think I'll follow you. And don't you ever make decisions for me again. So now, you're gonna follow us like a good little girl, or so help me god, I will immobilise you for the foreseeable future, and take your autonomy completely out of the equation. Understood?"
She waited, until a tiny, imperceptible nod came from the human girl. Turning back to her bonded, Thea stated, "We can go now, she knows not to pus my buttons anymore."
Damon nodded, turning his attention to the other room, before stating, "We can go now. Rose compelled the other human, she's asleep and won't remember a moment of this horribly stupid day."
The girls nodded, but before they could head to the front door, it burst out, revealing three men behind it. The one in the middle, clearly the supposed leader, said, "We're here to meet the doppelgänger and the blood-witch."
Elena nodded suddenly, attempting to walk towards them saying, "Thank you for coming." But she found herself immobilised by red smoke, as Tea's voice whispered menacingly, "you take one more step, and I swear to god, I will break your ribs."
"There's nothing here for you," answered Damon instead, glaring at the men menacingly.
They ignored him, staring in awe at Thea's display of powers, before one of them dropped to the floor, dead. Elijah appeared behind him, and Damon exclaimed, "I killed you. You were dead."
The man nodded slowly, a small smile pulling at his lips, "For centuries now." Ignoring them for the moment, he turned to the supposed leader and asked, "Who are you?"
The vampire gulped loudly, before answering in feigned bravado, "Who are you?"
"I'm Elijah."
He seemed relieved for a moment, shoulders dropping from their previous weight as he stated with a victorious grin, "We were gonna bring them to you. For Klaus. She's the doppelgänger. And the other one, she's the Chaos Wielder. I don't know how she exists, but she does. Klaus will want to see her too, right?"
Elijah ignored him, simply wondering with a calm voice, "Does anyone else know that you're here?"
"No."
At his reply, the old vampire smiled menacingly, murmuring, "Well, then, you have been incredibly helpful." Before thrusting both of his hands foreword at once into the vampires' chest, pulling them out with their hearts. As they dropped dead, he similarly dropped their hearts at his feet, before turning a smug look at the remaining three.
While Elena gasped in fear, and Damon took a fighting stance, Thea simply rolled her eyes, before mumbling, "You can go now. I expect you'll reappear soon dramatically. Thanks for the help."
The man nodded at her, winking slyly, before disappearing. The blood-witch turned to her bonded and motioned towards the door, indicating that they should head on out.
"Are you going to release her?" He asked, pointing in the human girl's direction.
Thea shrugged, before allowing her magic to dissipate, but before Elena could speak, she warned, "keep your mouth shut for now. Anything you say will piss me off, and I seriously cannot guarantee that won't hurt you out of spite." Seeing her eyes turn to Damon, she snorted, "And don't look at him to protect you, he's angrier than I am."
—
They'd arrived at the Gilbert Household after the universe's most uncomfortable car ride, one where Elena had been constantly glared at by the blood-witch and her bonded. And truthfully, Thea found that she had no sympathy for the human girl, she'd deserved what she'd gotten and more, especially after she'd embroiled the itch in her scheme, without her consent.
Stepping out, they walked the brunette to her door in silence, before she turned to Damon with a soft smile and said, "Thank you for bringing me home."
The man rolled his eyes, and replied in a slightly aggravated tone, "Well, your ride left you. I didn't want to leave you stranded."
The brunette looked at him softly, "She was just scared. She didn't mean to run."
Thea snorted, and as Elena looked at her, she took up position next to her blood-bonded, and observed keenly as the human's eyes narrowed slightly when he wrapped his arm around her waist, before said, "She absolutely did. She'd been running for 500 years, it's all she knows how to do."
The human nodded, "I can't believe Elijah's alive. Why do you think he killed those two vampires and just let us go?"
Damon tightened his arm around Thea protectively, pulling her more firmly into his side, retorting in frustration, "If I had a dollar for every time some evil vampire surprised me."
"Well, I'm pretty sure it means that he doesn't want to hand us to Klaus," interrupted the blood-witch with a small smile at her bonded, before raising her brow at the human girl, "Seems to me like the seemingly evil vampire has more common sense than you."
Elena sighed, ignoring the witch and looking at Damon appreciatively, a look that was so soft and loving, it instantly raised the blood-witch's guard, and she huddled into him more tightly in response.
He could sense her sudden jealousy and possessiveness, and although he was clearly confused over it, he let it go for the moment, glaring at the human, "What you did today was unbelievably stupid."
"Actually, the only thing that was stupid was that I got caught." The brunette replied, adding, " I don't question why you and Stefan and everyone else tries so hard to save me. You shouldn't question why I would try to save all of you."
"Actually," he mocked, anger clearly growing on his features as he gripped her arm tighter, "I didn't mean your mission to get yourself killed. I don't care about that, die if you want to. I meant the fact that you dragged my blood-bonded into it, put her life in danger, and forced her to reveal the extent of her powers to Elijah as a direct result." Leaning closer to the girl, he whispered menacingly, "Don't ever think I'll let that go, Elena. I'm not Stefan, and you batting your eyelashes at me won't work to your benefit. You pull a stunt like that again, you ever put Thea in danger again, and I'll lock you in our cellar for the remainder of your days."
She nodded fearfully, opening her front door and beginning to head in without a word, but Jeremy's voice stopped her in her tracks. Looking at the young boy's expression, Thea sighed, before asking, "What happened Jer? Who got themselves locked in the tomb this time?"
—
Walking up to the tomb, Thea sighed in aggravation, mumbling under her breath, "I was joking, I didn't think someone had actually gotten themselves locked in there."
She tightened her grip on Damon's hand, sending him waves of calmness and reassurance through their bond, feeling the distress and worry he was under. The brunt human ran straight to the entrance, calling out Stefan's name urgently, "Stefan! Stefan!" As she began heading in, Damon grabbed onto her arm tightly, muttering, "Don't you dare."
She turned to him, screaming, "Stefan's in there, Damon! How could you let this happen?"
Crimson smoke wrapped around her form suddenly, pulling her away from the entrance and immobilising her in place, as Thea stated calmly, "He's not his handler. Stefan is 150 years old, fully capable of making his own decisions. Also, we were trying to keep you from getting the both of us killed, so if anyone's to blame for this situation, realistically, it's you. I'd reserve the judgements for when you're morally clean, Elena."
Screaming in frustration at her inability to move, Elena screeched, "You didn't even have to go after the moonstone in the first place!"
"Didn't we?" Thea's tone was calm, a stark comparison to the emotions rolling from the human. But it was all a shield. She was fuming on the inside, a rage so fiery, it literally could not be translated into her actions. Unlike most people, Thea's anger wasn't fire, it was ice. Cold, cool, and deadly without even drawing attention to itself. When she reached this point, this stage of absolute stillness and calm, she was at her most dangerous. Stepping closer to the human, she tilted her head slightly, asking, "Didn't we have to find it, in order to try and figure out a way for the both of us to live? Or did you expect us all to bow down at your feet and follow your instructions? To listen to Elena Gilbert, 17 year old teenager, from Mystic Falls, with zero life experience and no talents to speak of, nothing to show for who she is. News flash darling, your word means jack shit in this world, and unlike high school, your popularity and liveability won't influence any of our opinions," chuckling slightly, she shook her head, before amending her previous statements, "Except for Stefan, of course, who's fucking you regularly."
She could see the girl tense in fear, fear for her life, for what was about to happen, before she straightened her shoulders in an attempt at faking confidence and said, "How was any of this the right call, Stefan is locked in the tomb?!"
Thea shrugged, continuing to circle the human, "his fault, not ours. He's an autonomous creature, who makes his own decisions fully aware of the consequences. And his choices aren't my fault, and they certainly aren't Damon's, who will no longer be the coat-rack you can hang every thing that's gone wrong on. Were I you, I'd keep quiet for now, and let those with two functioning braincells deal with this."
"He's my boyfriend!" She screamed.
"Ex." Thea smirked sinisterly, "he's your ex-boyfriend. You broke up with him because of Kat, remember? And Elena?" Leaning closer, until she was nose to nose with the shivering human, she added, "my patience with you and this whole catastrophic day has run very thin, so I'd shut up now, before I decide that cutting your vocal cords off is a good idea."
The human girl nodded, and Thea followed suit, before walking back towards the entrance of the tomb, which now held a frowning Stefan.
Before she could open her mouth, he questioned, "Are you okay? Something's off with you?"
The blood-witch snorted, "Was the constant threats, the menacing aura, or overall deadly demeanour that gave it away?"
"All of it." A small, sad smile made its way on his face.
Thea shook her head slightly, refusing to acknowledge the emotional storm occurring inside of her at the moment, before replying softly, "I'll live." Sighing, she gave the young man a sad look, "on a scale of one to ten, I'd rank on at a solid 85 right now."
Stefan laughed slightly at her reference to one of their previous conversation, before his brother interjected in a sad tone, "Of all the idiot plans, Stefan."
The younger vampire nodded, "Yeah."
"We'll find a way to get you out."
He shook his head, mentioning to his current predicament, "Ah, it's all right. I'll handle myself. Bonnie has the moonstone. Work with her. Try to figure out how to de-spell it."
Thea shook her head slowly, "that's what Ace and I were doing today. There's nothing in any of the grimoires I have about de-spelling a cursed object Stef. We think it may have been a misdirect by whoever killed Slater."
Damon nodded in agreement, before sighing, "You martyr yourself in a tomb and we get partnered with a semi-competent witch. Wonderful." Grabbing onto Thea's hand, he pulled her into his side tightly before continuing, "We'll check Bonnie's grimoire, maybe we'll find a hail Mary of some kind."
Stefan nodded in gratitude, adding, "I know neither of you can deal with her right now, buy please, keep Elena away from here."
Thea shook her head, "I can't Stefan. If I have to argue with her again today, I can't guarantee that I won't fly off the handle and hurt her. Even I don't have that much self-control."
The younger man glanced at her pleadingly, "Please, just promise me you'll keep her safe, both of you."
Damon nodded solemnly, "Promise." Before pulling his girlfriend out of the tomb with him, grabbing a still immobile Elena along the way.
—
She'd had Damon drop her off at her house first, feeling the need to gt away form Elena immediately.
Currently, the blood-witch was in her bathtub, resting amongst the bubbles, encased in the scent of sandalwood and amber, which she associated with her bonded and the comfort her brought her. She knew she'd lost her cool today, had shown a side of herself she often only reserved to her enemies. The cold predator, the blood reaper, one who was capable of untold damage and hurt. As she closed her eyes, and sunk deep underneath the water, she tried to let her mind quiet, to follow the flow of the water around her, to be as still as it. But she couldn't.
Rising up, she found herself face to face with her bonded, who was in the process of removing his pants. Walking in her direction, he gestured for her to move forward, before sliding in behind her, and encasing her within the circle of his arms, drawing her into his chest.
Pressing a soft kiss to her temple, he asked softly, "You alright Angel?"
Thea sighed, shaking her head, "No. One of my supposed best friends just took it upon herself to sign my life away for me, and seems to feel no remorse, and another one of them got himself locked into the vampire-proof tomb. And on top of that, my mother said that an 'Elijah' was the one who gave me to them as a baby, and I can't help but wonder whether it's a coincidence or not. Plus, I turned into a goddam predator today, and lost control, something I haven't done since I was fifteen, and found my sister's dead body in our kitchen."
"Not the best day all around, huh." He murmured.
The girl simply chuckled sadly in reply, remaining silent as he continued, "First of all, you have every right to be as angry as you want with Elena. What she did was inexcusable, and unacceptable. Hell, even I still want to snap her neck. Secondly, we'll get Stefan out, so you can stop worrying about that. While we're at it, I also don't think the Elijah situation is a coincidence, but we don't really have any way of confirming or deny it, so we can also let it go. Finally," he drew his arms down, wrapping them around her hips, before spinning her into his lap, pulling her face to his. Leaning his forehead against hers, he finished, "You weren't a predator, you were angry, and justifiably so. And you didn't lose control, because last I checked, Elena was still alive. Did you scare her? Yes, but she deserved it. And seeing you like this, feeling your powers crackling over my skin like electricity, it was the hottest thing I'd ever witnessed."
She chuckled into him, breath skimming over his face, before he drew her lips to his in a tender kiss, whispering a soft, "I love you," just before he pressed his lips to hers.