The next morning, Klaus had awoken to an empty bed; he was completely consumed with happiness, the night had spent with Elena had been one of the happiest of his life, he'd never shared so much with another person.

He quickly dressed into a pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt to match and walked downstairs peering his head into the living room, it was empty so he assumed everyone was in the kitchen; he walked into the room and his siblings where all sat around the table, drinking coffee and discussing there plans for the day.

"Where's Elena?" He asked, grabbing himself a cup of coffee.

"I'm not sure, Nik," Rebekah spoke, her voice had a twinge of annoyance in it, "but we heard her... all night."

He couldn't help but avert his gaze to the mug of coffee in his hand, a coy smirk curling up on his lips.

"I actually haven't seen her this morning," Elijah realised, his panic starting to rise, "I assumed you were both still sleeping?"

"No, brother," he placed the mug on the counter and used his speed to search the entire mansion; his fear and concern rising within him, he returned to the kitchen in a panicked state, "she's not here."

"Well, where could she be?" Rebekah also began to panic, Elena was her only true friend, she couldn't bare the thought of losing her.

"I have an idea," Klaus spoke through gritted teeth, he stormed out of the house and used his speed once again, travelling through the city of New Orleans, his anger making him faster.

-w-

He arrived at the Abbatoir, he placed his hands on the gates and pulled them from there hinges, throwing them to the other end of courtyard. It was daytime, so there weren't that many vampires lurking. He walked into the centre of the room, looking around and counting how many enemies he had here.

"Marcel!" He roared loudly, his voice echoing through the entire building.

Marcel suddenly came running to the balcony, a confused expression plastered on his face, "what are you doing here?"

"Where is she?" He growled, his patience non-existent and his rage fuelling him.

"Where's who?" He snapped back, his voice raising slightly.

"Don't play the fool, Marcel, I know you took Elena," he narrowed his eyes slightly as more vampires appeared around him, "give her back to me or you can watch as I kill every single person here."

He simply snickered in response, his head shaking slightly at his outburst, "what makes you think I'm the one that took her?"

"Not even 24 hours after you meeting her, she's missing," he was becoming more enraged at his denial, "you attempt to set one of your vampire lackeys onto her, which I'm still going to hurt you for, and then you take her? You must have a death wish."

"I don't have Elena, Klaus," he smirked slightly, "you're free to look around and I'll even extend my help in looking for her."

Klaus was silent for a few minutes, contemplating his next actions; he could start ripping the hearts from the vampires surrounding him until Marcel hands her over or he could choose to believe him and not have a single lead in her whereabouts, both scenarios didn't bode to well with him.

"If you're lying to me-"

"I'm not," Marcel cut his sentence short before he could make any more death threats, he was tired of hearing them, especially in his own home, "anything you need in your search, you got it."

Rebekah and Elijah had appeared moments later, standing in the entrance where the gates once stood; they walked inside, standing beside Klaus.

"Is she here?" Elijah spoke, his voice cold and collected.

"Marcel, you bloody idiot," Rebekah spat, "if you've touched even one hair on her body, I'll-"

"Like I just told Klaus, she's not here," he grinned slightly, he always did enjoy Rebekah's feistier side, "I'll help you find her."

"Your help won't be necessary, Marcellus," Elijah exclaimed, "if you receive any information regarding her disappearance, don't hesitate to call."

"Let's go," Klaus left the compound quicker than he arrived; his rage was starting to dwindle and he was left with just worry. He stood in between his two siblings, racking his brain for any ideas, "if he didn't take her, then who did?"

-w-

"What do you want from me?" Elena had found herself trapped in Lafayette cemetery after she was kidnapped by Finn and Esther; she was locked in the crypt where the original witch was resurrected. They had paid no attention to her since her unexpected arrival and left her sat in the corner whilst Esther prepared a spell, "you can keep ignoring me but I won't stop."

Finn was growing tired of her constant complaining but Elena refused to be a part of something that could hurt the originals, she has tried to escape when she was brought here but it didn't end well, an open and bloody gash on her arm would prove that.

"I won't help you," she spoke, her tone of voice stubborn with only a hint of concern, she was trying to be brave but that can only go so far when you're trapped in a crypt with two 1000 year old supernatural beings, "I'd sooner kill myself than help you."

Finn snapped, he used his vampiric speed to appear in front of her, his hand clutching to her neck.

"That's enough, Finn," Esther finally spoke, her attention lifting from the altar of ingredients and relics and turning to Elena, "let her go."

"As you wish, mother," he released his hand and moved away from her, taking his rightful place behind Esther.

"I'm terribly sorry for the way we had taken you, Elena but I needed to speak privately with you away from my children," she stood from behind the table, moving a few steps closer to her.

"So, talk," she spat, her arms folded across her chest.

"A thousand years ago, I performed a spell that upset the balance in nature, I made my children into vampires in order to protect our family from the wolves that killed my youngest," she began to speak, telling her story, "nothing means more to me than my children but I went against everything natural in this world when I completed the ritual, Klaus had become an abomination due to my own mistakes and I destroyed who they where and now, they are nothing less than monsters."

"I know the story," she spoke, pausing for a long moment and taking a deep breath, "I also know how you transformed Mikael and he had spent a thousand years hunting them all down, he beat Klaus and forced his siblings to help him, they may have been evil at one point but you created them, you're the only monster I see."

"I should rip out your tongue," Finn snapped, his patience towards Elena dwindling.

"That's quite alright, Finn, she's not wrong."

"So, what am I doing here?" She asked once again.

"I've watched for centuries from the other side, feeling the pain of every victim my children have murdered, there bloodlust uncontrollable and sickening. I have returned to the land of the living for one purpose only, to undo the magic I used in creating my children and restoring the balance of nature."

"How?" She asked curiously, trying to obtain as much information as possible.

"I'm going to kill them and in doing so, destroying every vampire that roams the earth."

Elena's lips parted slightly at her words, she couldn't imagine her life without them in it; she had to do everything she possibly could to stop her.

"I'm going to use a spell to link all my children, so what happens to one will happen to all; I have a strong source of power here in New Orleans, I just lack one ingredient in my spell that will link them," Elena had a feeling she knew what Esther was going to say, "your blood."

"I won't do it," she answered instantly, "I won't let you kill them."

"I don't need a lot of blood, only a few drops; in the original spell, it was the blood of your ancestors that bound the curse to them and it will be the answer to undoing it."

"We have company, mother," Finn spoke, his gaze averting to the exit of the crypt as heard the voices and footsteps of his siblings circling around them.

-w-

"It had to have been Marcel," Klaus paced back and forth, they where still on bourbon street; he was too distracted by her safety that he wasn't thinking straight.

"We will find her, brother," Elijah spoke reassuringly, "whomever has taken her must need her for something or they would have just killed her last night."

"That's not comforting, Elijah," Klaus spat, his hand rubbing against his head in attempt to ease his frustration.

"We already have Kol looking for the witches, they may know something, Nik, we'll get her back," she smiled kindly towards her brother but it was met with a blank expression.

"Witches..." He suddenly stopped pacing, something seemingly clicking in his brain; he slowly turned to face his siblings, his heart full of dread, "Esther."

"You think mother took her?" Rebekah reiterated, contemplating his words.

"Who else?" He grimaced, his lips pursing at the thought of it, "we have been waiting for her to make a move, maybe this was it."

"What would she want with Elena?" Elijah questioned, his brow furrowed.

"I'm not sure, at the very least to torment me."

He felt lost without Elena, his heart was heavy with worry and guilt; since the day she entered his life, he had been a better person and the happiest he had ever been but he only did the complete opposite for her, he had let her down numerous times and she's now a pawn to his enemies, taking her to hurt him.

"She'll be at the cemetery where the ancestral power is," Klaus took an educated guess, "we have to leave now."

Within seconds, they all disappeared from the street; the cemetery wasn't far from bourbon street so it didn't take much running to get there hastily. They entered through the gates and walked through, Klaus had his ears focused on the area, searching for any sound or voice that could indicate she was here.

He neared the crypt, the door was locked but he could hear Elena and Esther talking, he couldn't quite make out what they where saying but he was slightly relieved to find her alive.

All 3 of them had attempted to storm through the door but it was magically shut, they just kept trying, Rebekah even lifted a small boulder from the ground and threw it at the door.

"Finn, if you can hear me," Klaus spoke near the door, his voice filled with anger, he knew his brother would be listening, "you return Elena to me now or I will kill you both.

-w-

"The door won't hold much longer," Finn spoke, the banging against the small building becoming stronger, "the magic surrounding it is weakening."

Esther took a deep breath and walked towards the exit, "if she tries to escape, kill her."

Finn watched as she left the building, his eyes glued to Elena; she was happy to hear that the original vampires had found her but she didn't see how she would be able to leave her alive, not without giving her blood to Esther.

Esther approached the door, raising her hand towards it and pushing it open magically; the 4 siblings where stood side-by-side, she walked out of the darkness from the crypt and saw them standing there, a look of shock on each of there faces.

"Mother," Klaus spoke, his voice cold and his violent demeanour unscathed, "return Elena to us or I'll go through you to get her."

"Enough of your threats, Niklaus, haven't you done enough?" She asked, mostly rhetorically, "I can't return Elena to you just yet, I need her."

"For what?" Elijah spoke, he barely recognised the woman he once called mother.

"That does not concern you, Elijah."

"Why are you doing this to us?" Rebekah spoke, more hurt in her voice than anything; a daughters bond to her mother is strong and all this was doing was causing her pain.

"I shouldn't have done this in the first place, my darling," Esther was regretful, she adored her children, just not the monsters they had become, "I should never have made you vampires, I need to rectify my mistake, Rebekah."

"I care not for your excuses, mother, we're only here for Elena, bring her to me now," Klaus growled slightly, his attachment to his mother long dead.

Esther was silent and tired of Klaus' threats, she raised her hand slightly towards him, her fingers extended as she twisted her hand into a fist, magically sucking the air from Klaus' lungs; he grabbed onto his own throat, gagging and desperately trying to breathe in any oxygen he could. He fell to his knees, gasping and coughing.

Elijah couldn't stand to see his brother pain, not anymore; he used his speed to approach Esther but she quickly raised her free hand, throwing his body backwards; Kol was close behind him, she didn't have time to recover from her last spell so he caught her, grabbing onto her arm to free Klaus from her spell, he held onto her, his arm wrapped around the front of her neck.

Meanwhile, inside the crypt, Elena was still held captive by Finn, he hadn't took his eyes of Elena; he was unreachable, she didn't even attempt to talk him down or escape past him.

His attention was diverting, he could hear something she couldn't; Esther must have been in trouble, she couldn't think of another reason he would risk taking his eyes of her, he still hadn't moved, she was still unable to slip past him.

"It sounds like Esther is going to lose," Elena antagonised him, anything to get him to leave; he became angrier but if she was escape from them, there plan would be lost, he had to follow his mothers orders, "gosh, I hope she doesn't die."

He completely turned his body to look towards the door, he couldn't see much, he could only hear her groan in pain; before he had the chance to leave and attack his siblings, she stood up quickly and ran to the front of the table that contained all the ritual equipment and destroyed it, she smashed relics onto the floor and tossed the cauldron of ingredients after them, kicking the table on the wooden leg so it split into the middle.

"Is that..." When all the items fell to the floor, one item in particular stuck out at Elena, she had to look twice to make sure what she was seeing was true, "is that the white oak stake?"

Finn had quickly responded, he grabbed her by both arms and tossed her back into the corner; he used his speed to catch up to her as she hit the floor, his fangs retracting and the veins under his eyes darkening, without even thinking about it, he plunged his teeth into her neck; a loud scream emitted from her lips at the pain in his forceful contact.

"Stop," she screamed out, small tears unwillingly falling from her eyes as he fed from her; he wasn't gentle, far from it, she could feel her energy and strength drain with each drop of blood that left her body.

"Elena," Klaus called out, racing past his family whilst they subdued there mother; he appeared behind Finn, Elena's eyes widening when he was ripped from her neck and flung into the wall.

Klaus' face had changed, his eyes turned yellow and his fangs where retracted, he was enraged at his brother; he leapt for him, his fist connecting with his face, "what where you thinking, Finn?"

"I'm surprised by your reaction, Niklaus," Finn smirked slightly, standing from the ground and brushing himself off, "the doppelgänger? Really, brother?"

Klaus looked over to Elena, her hand was pressed against the wound on her neck in attempt to stop the blood; she was weak and he hated seeing her like that, his guilt was too much to handle. Whilst he was distracted, Finn saw an opportunity, he used his speed to grab the stake from the floor, holding it firmly in his hand, he aimed it at Klaus, lunging forward towards him.

"Klaus!" Elena screamed out frantically; he snapped back to reality, watching Finn near him, he grabbed his brothers arm and took the white oak stake from his hand, turning it around and plunging it into his chest. Finn fell backwards, his body starting to catch fire.

Klaus used his speed to appear next to Elena, his arms wrapped around her; he watched as his brother went up in flames, even though Finn was evil and hellbent on destroying his family, he was still his brother, this would still eat him up inside for a while, "come on, let's get you home."

He helped Elena back onto her feet and wrapped his arms around her, speeding off out of the room and back into the cemetery.

When they appeared outside, Esther had gone and only the siblings remained; Klaus wasn't surprised by her exit, as soon as she felt Finn die, she had no real chance of destroying them.

"She's gone," Kol spoke, "she said a little spell and vanished."

"Oh my god, Elena," Rebekah said, moving her hair away from the bite wound on her neck, "did Finn do this to you?"

"He won't be an issue any longer," Klaus spoke, his arms still wrapped around her; Elena was still weak, she needed rest, "he was going to kill us all and he attacked me with a white oak stake, I had no other choice."

"Finn's dead?" Rebekah's lips parted slightly.

"We should go," Elijah stated, there wouldn't be any love loss between him and Finn and right now, all he cared about was Elena's safety, "she may come back, Finn was her favourite, we should expect nothing less than vengeance from our mother now."

"Let's go," Klaus placed a soft kiss on her forehead before they all moved like a blur, speeding off into the distance.

-w-

Once they had all returned to the plantation, Elena hadn't said much, she went straight up to the bedroom and ran herself a hot bath in the en-suite; Klaus was concerned by the distance she was putting between them, he was tired of seeing her hurt because of him and his long history of enemies. All he wanted was her safe but he was starting to see himself as the problem.

She stood at the bathroom sink, staring into the mirror; she fixated on the teeth marks on her neck, they where deep and large, the whole area was inflamed; she couldn't help but cry slightly at the sight of it, the lower half of her arm was ripped open and her whole body ached.

Elena was so overwhelmed by everything that had happened to her, it was easy for her to take most of it in her stride when protecting the ones she loves but it all hits her in the end; she stepped into bath, laying still and letting the hot water wash over her whilst she organised her thoughts and processed everything.

Klaus had been stood in the hallway outside her door, he had to fight the will to go in and talk to her; he knew she needed to be alone for a while and that seeing him would probably make things worse but his concern was overfilling him.

"How's she doing?" Rebekah's voice brought him back to reality and he turned to face her.

"I'm not sure, I'm afraid to go in and ask," he spoke honestly, attempting to confide in his sister, something he wasn't very good at.

"What are you afraid of, Nik?" Her head tilted to the side slightly, a small part of her was shocked that he was talking so personally with her.

"What she might say," he turned his gaze back onto the door, his hand constantly hovering over the handle, "a part of me wants to take her back to Mystic Falls, compel all of these bad memories from her mind and let her live a happy life with her friends and family but another part of me can't stand the thought of her leaving."

"Nik, she's a part of this family now, as much as we all would hate to admit it, we love her," she placed her hand reassuringly on his shoulder, "and she loves us, I don't believe for a second that if you took her back to Mystic Falls, she'd be happy, probably quite the opposite."

"What makes you so sure, little sister?"

"You, Nik, you're the reason," she spoke, her frustration mild but there, "don't let her get away, you hold on to what you two have and fight for it with every ounce of strength you have; for some of us, that's all we want and when we get it, there's nothing on this earth that could pull it apart, not even our family history."

Klaus was taken aback by her words, his lips parted slightly at the realisation that his baby sister was right, for the first time in a thousand years, he had an actual reason to fight, one that was pure and real.

"Now, get in there and you fight for her," Rebekah opened the door for him, a small smile on her lips, "don't let her get away, Nik."

He walked into the bedroom and across the floor until he was stood outside the door to the bathroom, tapping his fist against it several times, "Elena?"

"It's fine, come in," she called through the door, sitting herself up and bringing her knees to her chest, covering herself as much as she could.

He opened the door and walked inside, closing it behind him; he just looked at her for a long moment, he had every intention of walking in and explaining deeply how much he couldn't live without her and how she had to stay but he saw her wounds, the bite on her neck and the gash on her arm, slight bruising across her back and his emotional wall cracked.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, trying to put as much fake happiness as she could in her voice.

He knelt down beside the bath, becoming eye level with her; he lifted up her arm and inspected the wound more, he pushed the wet hair that wrapped around her neck away and traced his fingers along the puncture marks, sadness overcoming him, "Elena-"

"Don't, please," she shook her head slightly, her voice croaking as she spoke, "I can't even think about it."

"I'm so sorry this happened to you," she could hear how genuine he was, how tore up he was about it too and she couldn't handle how hurt he was.

"I'll be fine in the morning, I just need some sleep," a small smile curled up on her lips.

"This isn't fine, Elena, you've been hurt more times in the past month you've been with me than you have in your entire life, I don't want that for you," he placed his hand on her head, his fingers stroking along her hair.

She closed her eyes for a second, leaning further into his hand and enjoying his touch, "you know I lived in Mystic Falls, right? This doesn't even come close to a typical vampire encounter there."

She tried to lighten the mood but this only saddened him more, he didn't want her to be used to pain because of him, "This isn't righ-"

"Can you hand me that towel?" She interrupted him, trying to change the subject before he delved any further into it; she watched as he stood from his kneeling position and took the towel from the rack, handing it to her.

She took the towel and stood up, hiding herself as much as she could before wrapping it around her; she stepped out of the bath and pulled the plug before returning to the bedroom. She tried to avoid all big and emotional talks by pottering around the room whilst she got herself ready for bed, she dried her hair and her body before slipping into a pair of short pyjamas with a vest top to match.

Klaus had sat down on the bed, watching as she roamed around the room and avoided him; a good 30 minutes had passed since then and he only had time to think more into the whole situation.

"Earlier on, I stood outside the bedroom door wondering what I should do," he began speaking as she sat down on the bed beside him, "whether I should compel your memory clean of me and my family and return you to Mystic Falls or just ignore another attempt on your life and let you stay here with me."

"You don't get to make those decisions, Klaus," she took a deep breath, trying to stop her exhaustion and sadness turning into frustration and anger, "we make those decisions, you can't just make me leave because someone tried to kill me."

"It wasn't just someone, Elena, it was my brother, all of this is because of me," he tried to argue back but her stubbornness wouldn't allow it.

"No, I made the choice to be here and I keep making the choice to stay," she shook her head slightly, standing from the bed and pacing slightly, "do you want me to leave?"

"No, of course not," he stood from the bed, stepping in front of her and placing his hands on the top of her arms, stopping her pacing, "but what I want isn't important, I just want you safe."

"And I just want you," her yelling stopped and emotion seeped out into her voice; she took a chance, allowing her heart to make this decision.

His eyes widened slightly at her words, his face softened and a wave of emotion washed over him; he'd never felt so strongly for someone as he does her, it consumed him, "Elena, for the first time in my entire existence, I don't want to be selfish with you."

"Stop," she spoke, her voice lowering into a whisper and her gaze turning towards the floor, "I don't exactly know what this is between us, we've spent so much time talking about everything else but this, so just be honest with me."

He brought his hand to her face and moved her head up slightly, returning her gaze to his; he stared intently into her eyes, he didn't doubt his feelings towards her and he didn't have to think any longer, he just slowly neared his lips to hers, there eye contact unbroken, "Elena, I love you."

Her heart was beating so fast it almost ripped through her chest, his words where completely unexpected; he left her no time to say anything as he pressed his lips onto hers, his arm sliding around her waist and pulling her into him completely.

She sunk into there kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers rummaging through his hair as she pushed his face closer to hers.

They indulged in each other for a few minutes, before she slowly started to move her face away from his; her heart began to race as she rested her forehead on his, speaking those three little words that would cement there bond, "I love you."