"What the hell is tragedy? I am." - Sylvia Plath

12. The Descent:

Thea wasn't surprised to notice that she'd woken up first. Damon had spent the majority of the night tending to Rose, trying to make her more comfortable.

Truthfully, she would never allow anyone to refer to him as monstrous again, especially not after having witnessed first hand how he helped a woman he could not otherwise stand.

Stealing a quick glance at the alarm clock, she noticed it was nearly 10 in the morning and with a soft sigh, turned to her bonded to begin waking him up, knowing that he would not want to waste the day in bed…sleeping, that is.

Running her hand softly over his shoulder, she dropped a couple of quick kisses onto the skin, murmuring his name all the while. A sleepy groan came from his mouth, as his opened his eyes, and stared at her groggily.

"Morning sleepyhead," she whispered softly, laying her palm on his cheek, rubbing it.

A peck was deposited on her palm, before he rasped out a tired, "Morning," back. Looking at her, he mumbled, "What time is it?"

"Nearly 10. I know you've got something planned so I figured I should wake you up."

"Rose?" He questioned softly, sitting up.

The girl shook her head, joining him in a seated position, "I haven't had time to check on her yet, I just woke up too. But i. Haven't heard any grunts or moans of pain, so she may still be sleeping."

Damon nodded slowly, before his hand reached to her waist, and pulled her to him, smiling at her surprised giggled. He kissed her softly, stating as he pulled away, "Now I can get up."

She smiled, watching as he got out of bed, and headed into the bathroom, before she closed her eyes and rolled her neck, wincing at the tenseness she felt there. Yesterday had been, to quote her counterpart, a no-good, very bad day. On filled with too many emotional moments and revelations, and right now, she was completely emotionally drained. She hope today would be better, but knew, in her heart of hearts, that it wouldn't be. After all, Rose had been bitten, and would surely die, seeing as none of them knew of any way to cure a werewolf bite.

"I'm not going to ask if you're okay, because I know you're not. But can you handle today, or do you need a break?" He asked, voice sounding distinctly close to her. Thea opened her eyes, before smiling tiredly and shrugging, "I would love nothing more than a break. 48 hours of just you, me and a bed, but we both know we can't afford to lose any time now."

His hands came to her cheeks, pulling hr face up to his, meeting her eyes, as he whispered, "Are you sure? Because you just say the word, and I'll take you away for a little bit."

"Ad leave Stef and Elena to their own devices? We'll come back to find Mystic Falls burned to the ground, no doubt," she chuckled. Placing her hands on top of his, she continued with a small smile, "I'll be alright baby, promise. Besides, I'm meeting with Elijah today. There are a couple of questions I want to ask him."

"Family meeting?" He questioned, raising a skeptical and worried brow.

"I guess, yeah. I just…I need to know more, you know? I need to understand how any of this is possible, and where to go from here. Plus, seeing as he's a current danger to you, I gotta warn him that you're on the off-limits list. And, I want to know what deal he and Elena came to yesterday. I don't like the idea of her scheming again."

"Well, looks like you've got a full day ahead of you. You'll keep me updated on what you find out from him?" He questioned, dropping a small kiss to her forehead.

She nodded, before tilting her head curiously, "i have a theory, if you're down to experiment with the bond a little."

He looked at her in interest, gesturing for her to continue, and so with a grin, she did, "I've heard of blood-bonds involving a mental connection, so if we were able to make it happen today, you could get into my head and listen to everything as it happens. Side effect would probably be a mild form of telepathy or something though so…"

"Yes." That was all he said, and she raised her brows at him in surprise, "You do understand what I just said, right? I fit works, we'll probably be able to sort of read each other's minds, or communicate like that or something."

Damon didn't blink, he didn't hesitate, simply held her gaze and retorted, "Yes. I don't care if you read my thoughts, and this way, we'll be able to keep better track of each other when we're apart, and I won't have to worry about you getting yourself killed every minute we're not together."

Thea laughed in surprise, nodding, and gesturing for him to come closer. "We're gonna have to share blood," she said, explaining at his curious look, "it's when we feel closest to each other, and also when both of our walls are completely down, so it should make access easier. Once you feel my blood entering your system, just focus on keeping your walls down, I'll do the rest."

She felt his lips pressing kisses to the skin of her neck, and she tilted it back, giving him more room to explore. Meanwhile, she bit on her own tongue, and mumbled the familiar spell, watching as his own blood began pearling out. His fangs sunk into her neck at the same time her lips wrapped over his wound, and they both groaned simultaneously.

The blood-witch focused on her own wound, allowing her magic to read down to their bond and strengthen it. She didn't really know what she was doing, the whole process being more instinctual than practical, but she kept focusing, until she felt it pulse between them powerfully. She could feel Damon's mind, she noticed, as though he was in her head, and keeping her attention on it, she sent a single thought through, Ground control to major tom?

She heard his laughter floating through his head, before it reached her ears, and keeping her focus, she told him, focus on my presence in your head, and try talking back.

Suddenly, his voice filled her mind, as rich and sensual as it usually was, out of all the things you could have said, it had to be a reference to a Bowie song?

Thea pulled away from him, raising her eyes to his and laughing, "Hey, don't you diss Bowie, the man is a lyrical genius."

"No disagreement there Angel, I just though you'd tell me you loved me or something."

The girl stuck her tongue out at him jokingly, saying, "You already know I love you, besides that would have been way too cliche, and we're already one step away from becoming a rom-com couple."

You never seem to mind it otherwise, she head whispered through her mind, before she turned to him, grinning widely, "It worked! And I can't hear your thoughts involuntarily, so that's even better!"

"You didn't want to be in my mind at all times?"

"No way. I love you Ace, but that would have been too much of an invasion of privacy. I want you to tell me what you're thinking when you want, I don't want to just be able to hear it without your consent." She stated, smiling lightly at him.

He kissed her strongly, passionately, swallowing her gasp of surprise, before realising her and heading towards the door. Turning back, he saw her standing in her place, too surprised to move, before he sent her a sly wink, and his voice whispered across her mind, I love you.

—

She and Elijah had agreed to meet in the park, deciding the place was private, while still remaining public. She was already there, holding tow cups of coffee in her hands and waiting. Looking across the grounds, she thought, you there? I'm bored and he hasn't arrived yet.

His reply came immediately, stroking against her thoughts, I'm here. Rude of uncle dearest to be late to your first family meeting.

Shush, Ace. It's not a family meeting, more like an inquisition, if anything.

Isn't that basically what a family meeting is? She could feel his chuckle in her brain, and she shivered at the sensation, as though it was caressing her inner most self. His voice returned to her head, growly and low, whatever you're thinking about and feeling right now, stop. Or I'm gonna be forced to come and take you against the nearest tree.

Thea giggled out loud, blushing lightly, before replying, that sounds both painful and uncomfortable Ace. I prefer the bed.

Angel, we haven't even begun exploring the semi-public sex yet, and trust me, I'll make sure that all you can feel is me.

She bit her lip, before spotting a familiar suited figure headed her way, and sobering up, he's here, she thought to him, keep your mind open to mine, so you can hear everything.

She felt his approval and slight worry skim across their bond, sending him reassurance back, as Elijah took a seat beside her. Turning to him, she pulled a leg up on the bench and leaned on it, handing him one of the cups, "You stuck me as a black coffee kind of man, so that's what I got. Sorry if that's not your thing." She said.

The vampire smiled back, and took it gratefully, "I am. I take it you are as well?" He questioned, gesturing to her own cup. The girl nodded, taking a sip, before smiling at him, "I think I must get it form you somehow then, because no one else in my entire life has liked their coffee black." Breathing in hesitantly, she tilted her head and said, "I read your letter."

"I assumed you had, once you asked me to meet."

"I had a teddy-bear," she told him. At his curious expression, she smiled lightly and continued, "He was a gift from mom, I think. I was too young to remember properly, but he had these brown eyes, and brown fur and I called him Unca Ja. Didn't really know why at the time, except that to me, he reminded me of an Unca Ja."

His expression became wondrous, eyes widening slightly as he whispered, "You remembered?"

"Yeah," she replied, "I may have been three months old, but some part of me has always remembered you. It's why I wasn't scared when I saw you in the house with Rose and Trevor, some part of me thought you looked familiar, as though I knew who you were, and instinctively trusted you. Which is why I believe you now." Raising her gaze to his, she gave him a wobbly smile, tears shimmering in the corners of her eyes, as she murmured, "it's nice to see you again, Uncle Elijah."

The man nodded softly, before his hand reached over and held onto hers, "And it is nice to see you again as well, my little one."

"How?" She asked him suddenly. "How is this possible? How could I be a half-vampire-half-witch hybrid? I don't understand."

"A dhampir." He said. "You would commonly be referred to as a dhampir/witch hybrid."

She nodded slowly, "Makes sense I suppose. In Russian mythology, dhampirs were commonly thought to be the offsprings of the strigoi and humans. Thought don't think the phenomenon has ever been proven true." At his impressed look, she shrugged bashfully, "I like folklore. Always have. Plus, I've got a bit of a vested interest in learning as much as I can about the supernatural world, and legends, as far as I've learned, usually stem from some form of truth."

"Indeed. However, your case is rather rare. Incredibly so, actually. It is a one.-in-a-million phenomenon, one where only a blood-witch, as they exist outside of nature's supposed boundaries, can be impregnated by a hybrid of another kind."

"Klaus is a hybrid?" She whispered in wonder. Her father was apparently, very similar to her, in more ways than she would have initially thought, knowing what the legends told of him and all.

"Our mother had an indiscretion in her youth with the leader of a werewolf clan, and from it bore Niklaus. He had not triggered his curse before we were turned, but yes, I suppose he is a hybrid of sorts."

"But, this can't happen with normal vampires right? Because I'd rather not end up pregnant somehow."

HIs brow raised arrogantly, before he questioned, "And who would that be? Perhaps one of the Salvatore brothers? I thought you would have more common sense than that, little one."

Immediately irritated at his patronising tone, she raised a similar brow, stating, "First of all, you've been may uncle for all of five seconds, so calm down with the parental tone. Secondly, he is not an indiscretion, but rather my blood-bonded, which brings us to another thing I needed to talk to you about, he's off limits."

"You've found your bonded?" His voice was filled with wonder, and a certain happy light shone in his eyes. At her nod of agreement, he sighed, "I suppose that means that I no longer have to worry about your safety, if the legends regarding bonded couples and their protective instincts hold any truths."

The blood-witch snorted, nodding her head, "oh yeah, rest assured, he'll probably lock me in a padded room if he thought it would keep me safe."

"Good. I assure you, the eldest Salvatore shall reach no harm from me or any of my allies. I give you my word."

"Okay." She sighed in relief, finishing off the last of her coffee, before looking at him again and asking, "Can you tell me about him? Klaus? I only know what I've read through legends, but none of it is good, and I'm sure there's more to him than the supposed 'Demon King' title."

Elijah closed his eyes tightly, breathing in, before he turned to her with a sad smile, "No one is ever quite as the stories paint them, little one. But we have been alive for so long, that the brother I thought I knew is no longer there. DO not hold out any hope for Niklaus, he is doomed. I once thought you could be his redemption, that if he knew of your existence, of who you are, then he would become a better man, but no, I am certain that will not happen."

"Is he going to kill me?" She whispered softly.

"No, of course not!"

"Isn't that what's required for the sacrifice though? The Petrova doppelgänger's blood, as well as the blood-witch's. And since Elena has already allowed word of my existence to spread around, I have no doubt he knows who I am by now."

"He will not harm you. I will not allow it. You have my word, little one, you shall come out of this alive and unharmed. I shall ensure you live the happiest possible life, as I have been from the beginning."

—

She'd headed back to the boarding house after a couple of hours, knowing her presence was needed there to deal with Rose, as Elena was still just a human. Walking up the stairs, she could hear the women in hers and Damon's room, and she leaned against the doorway, watching as Elena took the room in.

"You've never been in Damon's room before, have you?" Asked the vampire with a smile.

"He's typically in here with Thea, and we like to give them their privacy." Shrugged the brunette softly, before picking up one of the books from the bedside table and looking at it.

"Not what you expected?" Questioned rose.

"It's just a room with a bed. Maybe I expected there to be silk sheets."

"We took them off this morning." Interjected the witch, walking into the room and making her presence known. She looked at the ill woman with a soft smile, wondering, "How're you feeling? Any better?"

Rose tired to nod, but wound up groaning in slight pain instead, and Thea chuckled lightly, "Yeah, probably best to not move your neck until we figure something out. You'll keep pulling on the tendons otherwise." She took a seat on the bed next to her, before gesturing towards her shoulder, "May I?"

At her nod, she lowered the robe, hissing lightly at the sight of gruesome wound. "Not pretty, is it?" Joked the vampire.

Thea chuckled softly, "No, not at all. I can make you more comfortable though, if you'd like."

"How? The blood hasn't helped at all?"

"I'm a blood-witch Rose. I can do things your pretty little British mind can't even imagine."

The vampire nodded and laughed, and returning the smile, Thea reached into her bedside table, and pulled out a small blade, running it over her palm. She laid the hand over the woman's shoulder, muttering a small apology when she hissed in pain, before closing her eyes a focusing on taking her pain away. On numbing the feelings for as long as she could, making Rose as comfortable as she could. The vampire sighed in delight, murmuring, "it's gone. The pain, i can't feel it anymore."

Opening her eyes, she grinned at her, "Told ya. It's not a permanent solution, more like the magical equivalent of high strength morphine, but it should help for a little."

The woman's eyes softened, before the looked at the two young girls and said, "You're lucky, you know. No one's ever love me the way you're both loved."

"I doubt that." Stated the human, taking a seat beside the witch, wincing slightly when she tensed in anger.

"Trevor was my best friend. Nothing more. I spent all those years on the run from Elijah. I just never thought it was a good idea to set up roots. The whole idea of family is not exactly compatible with being a vampire." She directed her next words to the brunette human solely, "Why are you so eager to give up? Why do you not want to fight like Thea does?"

"I'm not giving up on anything."

"What do you call this whole deal with Elijah?"

"I call it my best option."

"It's your easiest option." Interjected the witch, rolling her eyes. Looking at the human, she continued, "I told you, if someone puts a gun to your head, you've got about 101 different options, other than simply just doing what they want. You don't want to fight, or call their bluff, so you choose to be passive. To lay down and allow the events to occur as they would, and break the hearts of everyone who cares about in the process."

"That's not fair, Thea. I'm not like you, I'm just human." Muttered the girl in response.

"It's got nothing to do with your mortality. The strength I'm talking about isn't physical, its mental. It's knowing your worth, and being willing to fight tooth and nail for it. It's fighting for your life, until you don't have anymore energy to fight left."

"I've been fighting. I'm tired of fighting."

"You haven't fought Elena! At the first chance you got, you rolled on your back and offered both yourself and me as sacrificial lambs for Klaus. You want to know why I'm still angry? Because you literally led them to me, were willing to offer my life up along with yours, not caring that I've already been maimed at and almost killed far more times than I'm willing to count. I'm not telling you too try and kill Klaus, you can't. I'm telling you to find that will to live inside of you, to fight for the life Miranda and Grayson would have wanted for you. Because that's what kept me alive and fighting for so long."

"She's right." Mumbled the vampire sluggishly, "At least I ran, and she's been fighting her entire life, you're not even trying."

She closed her eyes slowly, yawning, "I'm so tired."

The two girls made eye-contact, standing up and heading towards the door, intending on letting the vampire get as much rest as she could, but her voice stopped them.

"No, stop, wait. Tell them to prepare the horses."

"It's okay Rose. Just get some sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up." Soothed Elena softly, sharing a worried glance with Thea.

The witch was looking at the woman, who although she could not feel pain, was still shivering and sweating profusely. She didn't know if the hallucinations were a direct result of her fever, or a symptom of the bite, but she knew she couldn't keep Elena in here, in case she became hostile. Especially with the brunette's resemblance to Kat.

Gesturing for the human to leave, she whispered as she pushed her out of the door, "Wait for me in the living room. I'll try and calm her down, and your try and reach Damon."

Elena nodded, existing the room quickly. Thea meanwhile, turned back to the sickly woman, who was now looking at her tiredly, "I need more blood."

"Of course," she nodded softly, during the woman a drink and handing it to her, "here."

Rose drank it all, but it came back up immediately. As she continued hacking, Thea softly rubbed her back, "It's okay, everything's gonna be alright."

She ran to the bathroom, wetting a washcloth to clan the woman up with, but found the bed empty. Straightening her shoulders, she turned around quickly, finding herself face to face with Rose, who was glaring at her, fangs bared. The girl felt her eyes flash crimson, and she raised her hands slowly, warning the vampire, "Rose, it's me, Thea. Not Katerina or Elena. I don't want to hurt you, so just calm down."

She seemed to not hear her though, snarling menacingly, "You betrayed us!"

Thea closed her eyes, and placed her hand on Rose's temple forcibly. She watched as the woman's eyes flashed a bright crimson, before widening again, as she wobbled away in horror. "Thea?" She mumbled.

The blood-witch nodded slowly, wiping her hand under her nose, where. She'd begun to feel blood leaking onto her upper lip. "It's me. It's okay, you didn't hurt me, I'm alright."

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled, "I don't know what's happening to me. I'm sorry."

"It's alright Rose-Marie. You didn't harm me at all."

"My mind, I'm…"

"It's alright," Thea soothed her quietly, placing a caution hand on her uninjured shoulder, "it's okay."

The woman gulped audibly, before looking up at her a whispering, "I'm sorry, don't be scared of me."

"No, of course I'm not. But you need to rest okay?"

At her nod, she guided her back into the bed, covering her with the blankets softly.

"I'm scared," she murmured.

"I know. But you're not alone. I'm right here."

"Here, where's here?"

"In Damon and mine's room."

"I want to go home."

"Yeah? Where's home Rose, tell me about it."

"St. Austell, thirty kilometres south of London. With fields and trees and horses."

The witch shifted her tone, adopting an accent similar to the ill woman's knowing it would grant her a sense of greater familiarity and comfort, give her something she's always known to hold on to. "It sounds beautiful," she whispered.

"When you live long enough, everything disappears. So much time wasted, I just wish I wouldn't have been so afraid."

The girl watched her as she closed her eyes, and she dragged a chair by her bedside, taking a seat and grabbing the woman's limp hand. She felt her powers awaken, her eyes glow, and closing them, she allowed images of St. Austell, third kilometres south off London, with fields and trees and horses too fill the woman's mind. Hoping it would help her feel better.

She'd left the room once she was sure Rose was asleep, grabbing a clean set of sheets before heading back in quickly. To her surprise, she found the room completely empty, no trace of the woman to be found.

Running outside in a panic, she screamed out, "Rose?!" Receiving no reply, she quickly ran to the library, where she found Elena standing up.

"She's gone. Call Damon or Stefan, tell them to find find her before she kills someone. She's hallucinating, so anyone will be perceived as either a threat or dinner, and if she kills someone, she won't be able to forgive herself for it pose she's lucid again."

The human girl nodded, before dialling a number on her phone and saying quickly, "It's Elena, I'm worried about Rose. I think you should come home."

They hear a noise coming from the basement and quickly head in that direction. The witch motioned for Elena to follow behind her, and allowed for her powers to wrap around her hands, lighting their way with a scarlet glow. She could feel the toll their usage was taking on her, and she knew if she kept going, she was likely to hurt herself again, but right now, finding Rose was the priority. She'd heal later.

"Look," whispered the human, pointing towards an empty blood-bag on the floor, and a trail of liquid leading up from it. Following it, they find Rose kneeling on the ground, surrounded by empty blood-bags. She was clearly unstable, a crazed gleam in her eyes. As she looked up at them, her eyes zeroed in on Elena, before she hissed menacingly, "Katerina!"

Thea turned to her friend, shouting, "Go! Lock yourself in a bathroom somewhere and go! I'll keep her down." When the girl hesitated, Thea sent a wave of crimson her way, pushing her out. She kept her other hand raised towards the rabid woman, as she said clearly, "Rose, it's me. Althea. It's okay. You're alright."

But she was incoherent, unable to hear or, and Thea assumed that at that point, she probably couldn't see her either, only seeing whatever hallucination had brought this bout of mania on.

She sped towards her, slamming hr harshly against the wall. Thea grunted, before the sent her powers towards the woman, pushing her away. "Rose!" She screamed, "It's Thea. Not Katherine!"

The vampire sped towards her again, and they kept repeating the cycle, until Thea could feel blood dripping slowly from her ears, and her muscles spasming under the strain.

"Rose…" she tried one last time, holding the woman at bay with a scarlet ribbon, "Rose, you don't want to hurt me. It's Thea. Not Katherine."

But she didn't hear her, and with one final, incredibly strong push, she flew toward the witch, who was now incapacitated due to the strain the constant usage of her powers had taken on her. She felt her head slam against the way behind her, before Rose's fangs descended onto her neck, tearing at the skin viciously.

Her bloodstained mouth, and menacing eyes were the last thing she saw before she lost consciousness.

—

She was laying on something soft, hands were running through her scalp shakily. Opening her eyes with a groan, she found herself staring at Elena's chin, before she mumbled, "What happened?"

"Thea!" Gasped the girl, before continuing, "How do you feel? Are you okay?"

"Elena, I'm okay. Can you help me sit up, please? I feel like someone cracked my skull with a jackhammer." She whispered, holding onto her head in pain.

The girl complied, sitting her up slowly and carefully. Looking around, she found that they were in the living room, seated on the couch. Turning back to the brunette, she questioned, "What happened?"

Elena shook her head slowly, "I don't know. I locked myself in a room like you told me to, but then everything went too quiet and you were gone for too long, so I went to look for you. You were bleeding and passed out on the floor in the cellar, so I dragged you up here, before Damon came, and fed you his blood. He's really angry at you, by the way."

"Yeah," she muttered, wincing slightly at the rage she felt flowing across their bond. Sending her own regret and apology through, she continued, "I can feel it." She glanced around slowly, before whispering, "They're not back yet?"

The girl shook her head, but just before she could continue, the front door opened, and Damon walked in, carrying an unconscious Rose in his arms. He ignored the witch, turning to Elena and saying, "Go home, I've got it from here."

Elena bit her lip, looking at the witch hesitantly, who nodded in return, "it's okay. He's just angry I overused my powers and got hurt, rightfully so too. I'll be okay. Go home."

The human nodded, standing up and leaving the boarding house. Closing her eyes, Thea leaned her head back against the couch and waited, attempting to regain her strength, while giving her bonded the space he needed to calm down. She knew not to confront him when his anger was still at an all-time high, knew he was likely to say something he did not mean, simply to lash out.

But she felt a deep sadness spreading through their bond, and biting her lip, she sent a thought across, do you want me to come up?

It was quiet for a while, and as she resolved that he still did not want her around, she heard him say, please.

She complied, heading towards the room slowly, still feeling weak from her previous injuries. Walking in, she found him sitting next to the prone woman, holding onto her hand. She knew he was in her head, and while the more primitive, possessive part of her did not like the idea of him being inside anyone else's head, she understood that he was simply offering the dying woman comfort.

Walking to him, she wrapped her arms softly around his waist from behind, and placed her face into his neck, kissing the skin softly. She didn't speak, only sent him her love and reassurance through their bond, giving him the space to help.

When his hand reached for the stake, she held onto it with him, whispering a quiet, "You're not alone love," when he looked at her questioningly, and together, they pushed into Rose's heart, watching as her skin slowly turned grey, and veins began appearing, signifying her death.

"Hail and farewell, Rose-Marie, may peace find you beyond the veil," murmured the witch respectfully, before looking at her bonded, who's eyes were filled with tears.

She wrapped her arms around him slowly, pulling his head into her chest, running her fingers through his hair. Only a minute later, she felt his own wrap around her tightly, holding onto her, as though she was his only lifeline.

—

She'd walked back to her own house, once he'd left with Rose's desiccated corpse. He hadn't spoken a single word to her, and she knew that he was still angry, beneath all the hurt and need for comfort. So she figured she would give him time, allow him to think everything through, and find her when he was ready.

She didn't want to push him, didn't want to force him to forgive her if he wasn't ready. It hurt, to feel the anger coming from him, to feel his pain and know her comfort and presence wouldn't be welcome, but she knew she'd caused this, and was now bearing the consequences of her actions.

As she slipped beneath her sheets, she sent him one final message, before closing her eyes, and falling into an exhausted and pain-filled sleep.

I love you, and I'm sorry.