"What do you mean you have a werewolf in your trunk?" Miranda's voice is shrill on the other end of the phone and Eloise forces herself to take a deep breath before she says anything else.
"I don't have a werewolf in my trunk now, I had a werewolf in my trunk three minuted ago... I'm just not sure what to do with her now that she's not in my trunk anymore."
There's a short pause before Miranda asks, "Why do you have her in your trunk then?"
"Uh, because she's a dangerous criminal and she murdered one of my best friends?"
"Seems reasonable."
Pinching the bridge of her nose as she pulls the phone away from her face Eloise stares down at the werewolf sprawled out on the ground at her feet. Kidnapping her had be a spur of the moment decision that Eloise has come to regret as she has no where to hide the unconscious woman and isn't entirely sure what she's going to do with her after she finds somewhere to keep her. Clearly, Eloise didn't think any of this through which is why she called Miranda when she hauled the dead weight of the woman out of her car.
"Do you have any suggestions on what I should do with her? Because I'm kind of flying by the seat of my pants."
"Aren't you just going to kill her?"
"Not if she's going to be useful in the future, Miranda."
Miranda sighs loudly before she says, "Well it looks like you're in luck then, because I happen to know of a certain ritual that needs a werewolf sacrifice."
"What?"
"You know, the curse? The cure currently keeping Klaus Mikaelson the most dangerous Vampire in the world and not the most dangerous hybrid?"
"It needs a werewolf sacrifice?" Eloise presses her lips together.
Murder isn't something she's new to. This wouldn't be the first person she's killed whether directly or indirectly. If Klaus needs a werewolf sacrifice for this curse to be broken then what else does he need? The Doppelganger, clearly, he wouldn't go after her if he didn't. Miranda only confirms her suspicions when she starts talking again.
"Supposedly the ritual needs to take place on a full moon with a vampire, werewolf, and doppelganger sacrifice. I think the moonstone's involved somehow too but I honestly don't know how it fits in. A binding agent maybe?"
"Think I could make a deal with Klaus? Get him a werewolf and a vampire and somehow save the doppelganger?"
"Dunno, hon. The guy I talked to seemed pretty twitchy and I wasn't willing to get myself pinged on a certain cursed vampire's radar. Maybe you could? Do you have a vampire?"
There are a handful of vampires she knows but only three- soon to be four - in the immediate area that she could use for the curse. Eloise presses her lips together as she contemplates what she's going to do. Seems a little specific but aren't most curses? To unlock his hybrid nature Klaus needs to kill the things that represent him and then killed the doppelganger as well, it's the only way he's going to be able to make more hybrids and the witch who cursed him really didn't make it all that easy for him to... oh.
Oh.
"Miranda?"
"Yeah?"
"If I were going to curse someone what advice would you give me?"
"... I'd tell you to make them hurt. Not in an obvious way, subtly. I'd tell you to make them suffer."
"And if a certain doppelganger was needed to make more hybrids? Would that fit the bill?"
Miranda's laughter is panicked and high-pitches as she catches on to what Eloise is implying. Klaus Mikaelson is going to kill Elena, it's inevitable, but when he goes to make more hybrids will it work? Cursing someone requires hate. It doesn't have to be hate directed at the person being cursed specifically but as the caster you need to be packing some pretty dark feelings in order to perform most curses... And maybe the witch who cursed Klaus did hate him, or maybe just what he became after he was turned into a vampire. Doppelganger blood was used to bind the curse and doppelganger blood is needed to unseal it. Nature is full of loopholes, curses and cures aren't much better. Eloise stares down at the werewolf sleeping on the forest floor and swallows.
"That would work," Miranda's voice trembles. "Give him what he's always wanted by deny him the opportunity to be part of something bigger. Eloise, if you're right about this..."
"I am."
"Then you might be able to bargain with Klaus but I without any proof there's no way he would listen to you."
"I know, just get get me an email address or something ok? Please?"
"You better lock that werewolf up somewhere nice and tight before you go and find yourself a vampire." Is all Miranda says before she hangs up the phone.
Fingers tremble as Eloise shoves her own phone in her back pocket before she kneels down to press those same fingers against the temples of the unconscious woman. Damon had said that the werewolves kept Caroline in a camper right? If she can get the location to the camper then maybe she can somehow keep her locked up there and hidden until she gets into contact with Klaus. A quick enchantment and a bloody nose later Eloise is shoving the werewolf back into her trunk - she'd been planning on killing her earlier ok? Sue her for not wanting blood all over her trunk - and then she's speeding off in the direction of the camper. Without any of her supplies all she can really do is create boundary spells and hope to god no one comes along with another witch who can undo them. Maybe Eloise can put up an illusion of some sort? Make it look like the camper is gone? Might be a little tricky but Eloise has always liked a challenge.
When she reaches the camper Eloise does a quick search of the area and when nothing tries to kill her Eloise returns to the werewolf curled up in the trunk. She's still asleep, which makes it easier for Eloise to haul her out of the tiny space and to the camper where she quickly shoves the woman into a blood spattered cell someone managed to put up. It's probably the same cell they kept Caroline in. Eloise doesn't know exactly what happened that night but it must have been really bad because Damon had come home pissed off and tense. Smiling, Eloise snags a Tupperware container and cleans it out as best she can before she snags a nasty looking knife and uses it to slide the werewolf's arm open, once there's enough blood in the bottom of the container Eloise puts it off to the side and pops the lid on before she slams the cell door shut so she can watch as her spell fades away from the safety offered by the cage. While she waits for the werewolf to wake up Eloise puts up a few barrier and containment spells. Better safe than sorry, after all.
Minutes pass before the werewolf's eyes flash open and she springs to her feet, charging the cage bars with a vicious snarl only to be flung back as the stench of burning skin fills the camper.
"Kind of works like a shock collar. Get to close to the bars and it zaps you a little, touch the bars and, well, werewolves heal quick right?" Eloise asks and they botch glance down at the reddened, blistered palms of the werewolf's hands.
She let go quickly, good for her.
Means she's smart.
"Why are you doing this?" The werewolf snarls, blue eyes teary with pain and rage.
"Did you know that the Sun and Moon Curse is a joke? The moonstone can't let a vampire walk in the sun or a vampire avoid their shifts, it only unlocks one curse and that's the curse keeping Klaus Mikaelson from reaching his full potential as a hybrid. That stone wouldn't have done shit for you unless you're looking for a quick death... Now you're gonna sit here and rot until Klaus Mikaelson shows up and I can exchange you and some other poor fucker for mine and Damon's safety."
"Damon Salvatore? I should have known." The werewolf spits at her feet, "So what are you? His whore?"
"Close, I'm his witch actually. A very powerful one that you pissed off."
The werewolf's hands have healed and she uses them to balance herself as she sits down.
"Tyler will come for me, and he'll get his witch to let me out."
"He won't even know where you are," Eloise smiles, a malicious twist of her mouth that displays her teeth, "All he's going to know is that you abandoned him, used him, tried to kill his friends... He's not coming for you. No one is."
Panic fills those pretty blue eyes for a moment and the werewolf leans forward until she's forced to stop.
"I'll die before Klaus gets here. I'll kill myself if it means I get to fuck you over."
Eloise holds up the container of blood and smiles, "See this? It's your blood. Most darker spells require a targets blood to work and I know some pretty nasty spells that'll keep you from dying long enough for Klaus to get here." Eloise puts the container in her lap, "Not that I'm too worried about it, the spells on your cage won't let you anywhere near the bars and there's nothing on that side of them that can kill you."
"Aren't witches supposed to hate vampires?" The werewolf's voice cracks, her attempt at looking tough and brave good but not good enough.
"We're supposed to hate werewolves too, poppet." Eloise winks before she rises and adjusts her hold on the container of blood, "I'll be back tomorrow with some food for you."
The sound of the werewolf's enraged screaming follows Eloise out of the camper, echoing off the trees surrounding the small clearing the vehicle had been parked in. Eloise doesn't waste time feeling guilty about leaving the woman in the camper nor does she feel bad about kidnapping her and spends the valuable time she has sealing the camper off from anyone who might try to stumble upon it. Sloppily done as they are the simple enchantments will allow her time to go home, get what she needs, and return to put up sturdier boundaries. When she's satisfied no one's going to barge in and take her werewolf Eloise climbs into her car and begins the trip back to the boarding house.
Elijah's car is gone but so are Alaric's and Damon's, which Eloise is honestly thankful for because the last thing she wants to do right now is deal with any of them demanding to know where she's been for the past few hours. With little time to spare Eloise parks her car, pockets the key, and makes for her workspace. The sooner she spells the werewolf the sooner she can go to bed and the sooner she can go about finding a vampire. Thankfully, spelling the werewolf o that she's relatively unharmable is easy. Spiteful old witches really are a gem when it comes to thinking up nasty little hexes. And they think vampires are monsters. Eloise scoffs as she dumps some of the leftover blood in a vial marked with a bit of scotch tape and her tiny lettering, it's going in the mini-fridge Damon keeps some of his emergency blood in and hopefully the fucker doesn't mess with it before Klaus shows up... not that getting more blood out of the werewolf would be hard. Inconvenient as hell, but not all that difficult.
Sharp pain lances through Eloise's legs as she rises from her kneeling position, the sudden rush of blood through her limbs causing pins and needles to jab at her nerve endings as she hobbles into the section of the house the brothers keep their vervain - which is fucking weird for vampires to keep around but it's gotta be for the doppelganger because why else would they have it? - so that she can deposit her vial of werewolf blood before she makes her way to her bedroom. No one passes her in the hall, no one questions where she's been, and Eloise wonders if maybe Rose had the good sense to abandon ship before things get too messy. Probably one of the smartest things Rose has ever done in her life. Eloise gnaws at the inside of her cheek, shutting the door to her temporary bedroom behind her as she questions whether or not Rose has actually left or if she's currently riding out her first few days as a newborn vampire in the privacy of a remote location. Damon and Rose had been talking about it, and the daylight ring Eloise had made for Rose went missing not too long ago... It's for the best. Freshly turned vampires are a pain to deal with and Eloise doesn't imagine all of Rose's well-earned control has followed her into this new life.
Eloise groans as she strips out of her day clothes, shoes kicked off at the end of the bed to wait for the morning next to a pile of dirty clothes. Too tired to put on pajamas Eloise climbs into bed, pulls the covers up to her chin, and settles in for a fitful night. Soft creaking from around the house lulls her to sleep surrounded by too many blankets and the smell of burning sage. It's the same smell that greets her the next morning when Eloise wakes in a cold sweat and trembling. A quick glance at her phone tells her it's well past noon, so either Damon was a gem and decided to let her sleep or Eloise was so dead to the world that his attempts at waking her didn't do much. She shoots Damon a text to let him know she's awake and has some errands to run before she shuffles off to the bathroom where she finds herself grimacing at her appearance.
Growing up Eloise had her fair share of insecurities, still does, but as she got older she became more appreciative of her face. It's a nice face; ovular with sharp cheekbones, a nice nose, and a set of lips that aren't too big and aren't too small. Her prettiest feature though, and maybe even her worst, are her eyes; one a soft foresty green while the other appears silvery beneath the heavy curtain of her lashes. They're her father's eyes, the eyes that connect her to the family she left behind, the monsters she left behind. Frowning, Eloise tuns on the shower head and steps into the still frigid water where she finds herself shivering for reasons far beyond that of the chill caused by the water pounding against her shoulders. Eloise showers quickly, attempting to rinse her apprehension down the drain along with her body wash, it doesn't help all that much but when she gets out of the shower she feels a little better about life.
Unfortunately, Damon is waiting for her in her bedroom when she slips into the room and the ok feeling she'd been sporting turns into something hesitantly annoyed as she adjusts her towel so that she doesn't accidentally give Damon a little peep show.
"We're having a dinner party tonight, Elijah's coming, so I'm gonna need that dagger." Damon says.
"Get rid of Andie yet?" Eloise asks as she pulls open her top dresser drawer to fish out a pain of underwear, when Damon doesn't answer she continues with a bored, "Then you won't be needing that dagger."
"You cannot be serious right now."
Eloise turns to level her friend with a look and says, "I'm very serious, Damon... Besides, he already knows about the dagger."
"What?"
"You asked me to help you keep Elena safe, double-crossing an original vampire isn't going to help you accomplish anything." Eloise says, deciding on a cute little red set she's been toting around but hasn't actually gotten to wear yet.
"So you told Elijah that we have a weapon that can kill him?"
"Damon," Eloise turns to face the furious looking vampire, "get your head out of your ass, it's not a hat."
"Killing Elijah is the only thing keeping Elena alive! With him dead we can focus on Klaus! Focus on keeping Elena from being murdered by some sociopath!"
"Do you really think that killing Elijah's going to get you anywhere? Ok, I'll give you the dagger. I'll let you stab Elijah in the back, but when it doesn't work we start doing things my way? Got it?" Eloise asks, eyes narrowing on Damon.
The vampire seethes from his spot on Eloise's bed and the young witch releases a slow breath before making her way over to her friend. When she's close enough she tosses her underwear onto the bed before taking both of his hands in hers.
"Have I ever intentionally screwed you over?" Eloise asks.
Damon offers a terse, "No."
"Have I ever done anything to betray the trust you've put in me?"
Another terse, "No."
"Then why do you think I'd do anything like that to you now? I've only ever been your friend and as you're friend I'm going to try and keep you alive. I'm not here for Elena, I'm here for you. I'm here because you're my best friend and you asked me to help you. So let me help you."
Ice chips away in Damon's eyes as they stare at one another and soon enough warm lips are pressing against her knuckles before Damon gently presses her away from him so that he can stand.
"I'm going to kill Elijah tonight, Elle.."
"Then I hope you're ready to deal with the fallout, Damon, because I'm not your mother. I won't clean up all of your messes."
Damon offers a slow non before he disappears from the room, the door closing behind him with a soft click.
Moments pass before Eloise pulls an outfit from her closet so she can change. Once she's dressed Eloise makes for her workspace so that she can grab the dagger and ash before Damon can start pestering her about it. The hilt of the dagger is cold in her hand and Eloise wonders if she's really going to do this. Is she really going to let Damon get himself killed because he's convinced killing Elijah is for the best? Damon's her best friend, one of the few she's got, and it doesn't sit well with her to let him go into this alone. But he won't be alone. Because Alaric will probably be there along with whoever else wants Elijah dead - Eloise thinks that with as many people as the doppelganger has wrapped around her finger that's probably a lot - so he's not going to be alone with Elijah when things go south. Eloise purses her lips and stares at the dagger. Damon needs to learn that not everything is as cut and dry as stabbing someone with a sketchy ass dagger. He needs to know that his actions have consequences but is letting him kill the only real threat to Klaus the right way to do it?
No.
The answer is no.
Adrenaline fills her as Eloise digs around in the supply bag she keeps down here and pulls out her athame, which looks nothing like the dagger resting across her lap. Eloise presses her lips together, scoots back so she can put the athame on the ground, picks up the dagger and wraps her hand around the silver blade, and then uses a quick jerk to rip her palm open. Because she needs pain and blood for her spell to work and this? Well, this gets her both.
Blood drips from the blade of the dagger and splatters across the surface of the athame as Eloise mutters, "Ex forma mutata. Summa partes. Ex forma mutata. Facti sunt figura novi."
Around her the air thickens into a muggy soup that leaves Eloise heaving for breath as she folds herself over the dagger, watching through blurry vision as the athame's shape morphs into something new. Trembling, Eloise waits for the power in the room to fade before she cleans up the silver dagger and shoves it into the inside pocket of her oversize cardigan. Blood pools in her hand, stains the stone floor as it drips from her palm. With a huff Eloise tries to stem the flow as she makes for the library where Damon is probably waiting. She swings by the bathroom to grab a towel and performs a quick spell to clean up the blood trail she left in her wake before going off to find Damon.
"You're bleeding." Damon says as she enters the library but his eyes never leave the liquor he's pouring into his glass.
"Accidentally sliced myself open on my athame."
Damon snags another glass from the tray, bites into his wrist, and waits until the wound seals back before offering her the glass. A vague sense of guilt fills her as she takes the glass. What she has to feel guilty about is beyond her. Damon's a big boy and it's not like the disguised athame isn't going to incapacitate Elijah for a while. Eloise takes a deep breath through her mouth before she drains the contents of the glass as quickly as she can. It may have it's uses but vampire blood is still blood and Eloise is still just a human. Blood doesn't hold the same appeal to her as it does a vampire, so if she gags a little bit as she hands the bloody glass back to Damon who's going to blame her?
"Dinner's at seven by the way." Damon tells her, tone full of glee.
"Yeah, I'm not going to be there," Eloise offers the dagger and ash, "I've got to run some errands and tie up loose ends so I won't be here when your plan backfires."
"You wound me, Elle."
"I'm being pragmatic. You should try it sometime."
Damon's arms fold across her shoulders as he pulls her against his chest, chin resting on the top of her head. Casual embraces are commonplace in their relationship but Eloise can't say that's going to stay a thing after tonight so she coils her arms around Damon's waist and squeezes a bit.
"Promise me that if this fails you'll listen to me from now on, ok?" She's not begging.
"I promise, Elle," Damon's tone is soft.
"And you'll handle Andie."
A sigh, then, "And I'll handle Andie. Happy?"
Eloise pulls away and smiles, "It's the best I'm getting from you so I suppose I am."
Leather creaks as Damon pulls away, making for a table with the dagger and ash in his hand. Her inner pocket feels like it's full of lead but Eloise doesn't say anything as Damon puts the weapon in a large wooden box. A quick goodbye is exchanged between them when Eloise starts feeling ill to her stomach. Thankfully, Damon doesn't ask where she's going or what she's doing so Eloise doesn't have to lie about the fact that she's going to the grocery store to get the werewolf currently locked in the camper some food. Getting her shit together would be a good thing for her to do about now wouldn't it?
The dagger is slid under the driver's seat and when she gets the chance Eloise has every intention of burying it somewhere in the forest.
Directions to the closest grocery store are quickly put in her gps, which guides her back into the business district of Mystic Falls near a cluster of stores closer to the residential area than anything else. Eloise is quick to get things the werewolf is going to need; cereal, some bread, some sandwich meat, some bottles of Gatorade, some sweets that one of her customers is always raving about after the full moon rolls around, and then some personal hygiene items. She's a lot of things but a monster Eloise is not. Being caged like a dog has to be humiliating enough right? Eloise isn't going to further shame the woman by not allowing her the opportunity to brush her fucking teeth and put on some deodorant. Eloise smiles at the teenager at the register before she leaves. Because sometimes customer service is a shit job and Eloise likes to think of herself as an aspiring ray of sunshine.
The drive to the camper is silent. There are no phone calls from Damon, no texts, no calls. Nothing. Eloise tries not to let that bother her as she slides her car in beside the camper. It's hardly seven o'clock. Damon wouldn't just stab Elijah the second he stepped into the boarding house... but would he even get the chance? Would Eloise's spell hold? There's no reason it shouldn't but Eloise is banking on this not working out for Damon because she needs him to listen to her. She also needs a reason for Elijah to trust her and what better way to get that trust than to give him the thing that could possibly rob him of his opportunity to do, well, anything? Can't kill Klaus if he's dead but he also can't skip town and live his life however it is he wants to live it.
Eloise gathers the bags from the backseat and makes for the front door.
"Where have you been?" The werewolf snarls as Eloise steps into the camper.
There's blood on the floor of her cage, looks like maybe she tried to claw herself open. Eloise sighs as she sets the bags on the small counter in the kitchen space, sorting through everything and putting the items that need to be refrigerated where the minifridge is. She disposes of the blood bags piled up toward the back because no one's going to use it and they're probably bad anyway.
"Getting you things. Do you need to use the bathroom?" Eloise asks, gathering the hygiene items as she does.
"Why are you doing this? I thought you wanted me dead."
"I don't want you dead, you're a means to an end but that doesn't mean I can't treat you like a decent human being." Eloise offers the woman an acidic smile. "I'm not you and your asshole friends. I don't torture seventeen year old girls because they're vampires and I want something from them."
The werewolf scoffs, "For a witch you're awfully chummy with those parasites."
"Just the one actually." Eloise says before she makes for the bathroom where she puts out the hygiene items and removes anything that could be a weapon.
She's not stupid enough to give the werewolf free reign of the house as there are too many weapons that could be used against her, but she's also not going to be that person that watches her prisoners use the toilet to make sure they don't do anything fishy. When she returns to the cages the werewolf is staring at her through narrowed blue eyes and Eloise releases a tired breath.
"Look, if I don't have to hand you over to Klaus I'm not going to." Eloise runs a hand through her hair, "but I do need you to stay here where I know you aren't going to try and kill anyone. Now, I'm sure you probably need to pee, so I'm going to walk you out of this cage and let you go to the bathroom. Deal?"
A jerky nod is her only response and Eloise uses her magic to pin the werewolf in place before she opens the cage door, and as expected the werewolf bolts. Charging for the front door without so much as a second glance at Eloise only to bounce back with an agonized shriek as the same barrier that keep her in her cage zaps against the opposite wall. After a short pause the werewolf regain her bearings and in an act of pure, animalistic desperation lunges at Eloise, who merely raises her hand and freezes the werewolf in place.
"Try something like that again and I'll give you a pot to pee in next time, yeah?" Eloise curls her fingers into a fist, watches as the werewolf begins to squirm as the air is crushed out of her lungs, then Eloise drops her hand and the werewolf crumples to the floor seconds later.
Trembling and clearly terrified, the werewolf gets to her feet before staggering off in the direction of the bathroom. Eloise waits until the door slides shut before turning to make the woman some dinner. When her werewolf returns from the bathroom she smells like mint and deodorant, the bloods been washed off of her arms, and she looks less haggard. She takes a seat at the table with a hateful glare and Eloise rolls her eyes as she leans back against the cage bars to watch as the werewolf scarfs down the sandwich Eloise made her. Once she's finished Eloise is quick to knock her out. Now that she's gotten the woman some food and spelled the camper - and the werewolf herself - there's no reason for Eloise to stick around. She'll come back in a few days to check on her but she can't spend ever waking moment of her day tending to the blonde. So she leaves her slumped against the table in a camper she can never escape without a witch's help and no way to contact the outside world until Eloise can get into contact with Klaus.
Is it cruel? Eloise doesn't doubt it. Cruelty is subjective but Eloise can't imagine that being forced to live in a camper where you tortured vampires as you wait for your possible execution is a good thing. Eloise leaves before she can start feeling things for the werewolf. Seals the camper up nice and tight from the outside before hightailing it back to her car where. She's sliding into the driver's seat when her phone goes off. It's a text from Damon.
Took care of it. Don't take out the dagger xoxo.
Something cold settles in the spaces between her bones as Eloise contemplates the possibility of having accidentally given the wrong dagger to Damon. Only time will tell she thinks, but it doesn't stop the chills that wrack her body as she drives off toward the boarding house.