Elena found herself with a throbbing headache and more nausea than she needed for a day that's supposed to be spent preparing for the battle; there was only two days left until the full moon, her anxiety ran high and the hangover didn't help, everyone was bustling around the mansion and she was sat in the kitchen nursing a cup of coffee.
When she came downstairs, she was barely awake, she had bypassed the living room as quietly as she could in attempt to ignore Rebekah and Kol, she hoped they where too busy to notice her walking past, she made her coffee, grabbed an aspirin and began to wallow. Klaus was still in bed, the rest of there evening was spent in a haze of more wine and bourbon.
Her mind flashed back to the night in general; the restaurant and how much they talked, she hadn't laughed as much as she did last night in a while, they came home and drank the night away, they even danced and she remembered the rest of the evening very well, they went to bed, flashes of there exposed bodies joining was enough to make her heart flutter, the way he touched her so gently but with such desire and force and the way helooked her dead in the eyes, she saw how much he needed her, she was in love and there was no denying it.
"Elena?" She heard a mumbled voice call out, she was too busy stuck in her memories, "Elena!"
"What?" She snapped out of it, her word flew out of her mouth without much thought and she was brought back to reality, only to see Bonnie stood before her, "sorry, Bon, did you say something?"
"I said 'are you alright?'" The Bennett witch spoke, a small and amused grin spread on her lips, "long night, huh?"
"Yeah, I can't believe we stayed out so late, by the time we got back, everyone was asleep," she explained herself, the guilt of her leaving her friends to do the hard work was starting to flood in but her headache was enough to shut it away, "I'm going to devour another coffee and then I'm all yours, anything you need."
"Don't worry about it, we only read through some more grimoires and diaries, we have all the information we need, it's just prep work now and we need to talk to Davina," Bonnie spoke but Elena was barely comprehending it, she felt like she was going to vomit, "that's your first task, invite her here."
"I'm on it," she mustered as much energy as she could to smile and seem enthused but she was exhausted, "I'll text her."
"Great, I'll see you in the living room soon?" Bonnie asked.
"Give me 15, the aspirin needs to kick in," she chuckled nervously, she always felt slightly embarrassed at the state she got herself into the day after she had a drink; Bonnie nodded her head and exited the kitchen, leaving Elena alone to continue wallowing.
A few minutes later, Klaus had appeared in the doorway, he leaned against it and watched as she suffered, he does tend to find amusement in hungover humans but a part of him was sympathetic, "you look terrible, my love."
"I feel it," she spoke, averting her gaze from her coffee mug to him, a small smile curled up on her lips at his presence, "I am not going to make it through the day without vomiting at least twice."
"Anything I can do to help you feel better?" He spoke as he entered the kitchen, taking a seat beside her at the table.
"I don't think so, this will just have to ease on its own," she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before heading towards the coffee pot, pouring herself another mug and sitting back down, "I promised Bonnie I'd help today with prep and Davina, once this cup is empty and the aspirin work, I'll be the busy little bee she needs me to be."
"I'll help where I can too, of course," he offered with a smile.
"Thanks," she returned his kindness before reaching for her phone, she opened the messages and scrolled through until she found her recent chat history with Davina.
"Hey, D, can you and Marcel head over here today? S.O.S!" She typed before hitting send and letting her phone drop back to the table.
"It's going to be a long day," she spoke unenthusiastically with a slight pout and a whine.
"We'll get through it, my love," he took her hand and brought it to his lips, placing a soft kiss on her skin.
"I know we will," she truly believed that for the first time since The Order showed up in town, his words warmed her heart and gave her all the willpower she needed to survive this.
"And then we're getting out of here for as long as you desire," he spoke, "wherever you want to go."
"I'm holding you to do that," he smiled, squinting her eyes slightly; her phone suddenly vibrated against the table and she sighed, "and so the day begins."
She opened the message from Davina and read over it, "we'll be there soon, is everything okay?"
Elena hit reply and began typing, "I'll explain everything when you get here, see you soon."
She kept a hold of her phone and stood from the chair, there hands where still entwined as Klaus followed her through the kitchen and towards the living room; once they walked in, Bonnie and Rebekah darted towards them, they both had hold of a book each.
"Finally," Rebekah spoke with a small roll of her eyes, "I thought you'd never come, we found something."
She held the book up towards Elena and Klaus, she had to blink her eyes several times to get them to focus at the paragraph she was pointing at, once they did, she quickly read over it; her lips parted slightly at the words before she turned her attention back onto Bonnie and Rebekah, "is this true?"
"This is one of Mikael's earliest journals, we found it in a box in Elijah's office and this is the grimoire that Esther wrote the ritual into that created the vampire line, the dates are the same."
"If what Mikael wrote is true, then they where lying to you this whole time, they didn't make you into vampires to protect you from the wolves, they did it so The Order could never have true power," Elena explained, her words filled with shock, she turned to face Klaus, his facial expressions where just as blank.
"Read the paragraph to me," Klaus spoke, before taking the book from Rebekah and passing it to Elena.
"Tonight, my worst fears came to fruition, the wolves murdered my youngest son, Henrik, my whole family is defenceless against not only the beasts but our town elders, they have dubbed themselves 'The Order' and they bring nothing but misery to our families. I even believe the murder of my son was planned, the elder of the wolves despises me because I overheard there plans to use dark magic to erase everything in existence but themselves and witches, including humans, to bring forth a supernatural utopia as they called it, so no other creature or supernatural entity will ever grace the earth again but we cannot let this happen, my wife and I will find a way to avenge my Henrik's death and put an end to them all."
"Every time Father would say to me 'you know nothing, boy', he was telling the truth," Klaus was completely shocked by Mikael's words and revelations, he was blind to it all, "why wouldn't they just tell us? We knew of The Order and there plans of attack, why leave out so many details?"
"To keep us safe, Nik," Rebekah spoke, her voice soft and full of sympathy, "they where incredibly hard to defeat, mother made us vampires and then banished them to the other side, it wasn't her fault it wasn't permanent."
"I need a drink," he left the group and went to the drinks cupboard, he grabbed the bourbon and a glass and continued to pour himself a large shot, he knocked it back in seconds and remained silent, even Elena knew he needed to be alone for a little while.
"Davina will be here soon," Elena spoke, she glanced around the room quickly, noticing not everyone was there, "where's Elijah?"
"He's on an errand for me," Bonnie stated, before closing the grimoire and returning it to the table, "there's one last thing you should know about what I've been reading, the reason why Esther used the blood of Tatia in the ritual to make vampires was because The Order had ties to the Petrova bloodline, right the way back to the original doppelgänger, Amara, theres no other information except the ancestors of them all bound there magic, making them as strong as they are today."
"Which is why she used Tatia, she tapped into that magic to be able to create us," Rebekah spoke, her lips parting slightly from shock.
"Amara needed the magic for her one true love, Silas, he was already powerful in his own right but with the extra magic from The Order, he was practically unstoppable, they basically transferred all of there magic between them," Bonnie continued, her voice solemn, "there's no other information, that's all Esther knew."
"Wait," Elena paused for a long moment, she spun on her heel and walked a few steps away, her mind racing with trying to process all of this information, "that means there power is tied to me, right?"
"Yeah, so?" Rebekah responded.
"I'm the last of the Petrova bloodline, if I die, there magic goes with me," she didn't hesitate to speak the words, she never did when it came to dying for the ones she loved.
"Not happening," Klaus interjected, appearing by her side in the blink of an eye, "we have a plan, you're not dying for this."
"Klaus is right, Elena, you're not thinking straight," Rebekah protested.
"This is the only way to ensure they can never try to end the world again, they'll lose a lot of magic-"
"Yes but not all of it," Bonnie interrupted her before she could continue, "they had there own magic in the beginning."
"Not enough to bring forth there utopia, they need my ancestors magic to be able to complete the ritual, without there ties to my bloodline, you could kill them all and they'll stay dead forever, they lose the magical anchor they've got to be able to come back from the other side, me."
"Elena, enough," Klaus spoke firmly, the heartache he felt poured out into his voice, "you're not going to die, how can you say all this?"
"How can I not? Everyone in the world will die," her voice was completely serious, maybe this was her true purpose in life, to save it.
"We're sticking with the original plan, Elena, we'll find something to channel there magic into and then kill them, all we have to do is protect it and they shouldn't be able to return," Bonnie ended the discussion, "I won't hear any more of this, you're my best friend, you're not dying, there's always another way."
Knock, knock, knock.
Silence filled the room for a long moment before Elena turned to exit the living room, "that'll be Davina and Marcel."
She walked to the front door and opened it, revealing them both, "thank you so much for coming."
"Anytime," Marcel spoke, "so what's the emergency?"
"Come in, we have a lot to catch you both up on."
-w-
An hour had passed, Davina and Marcel sat on the sofa beside Elena as they took in a truck load of information from them all, everything they had learnt about The Order, the true reason why vampires where created, the link to the Petrova bloodline, what utopia really meant and there plan on how to stop them.
"So, you want to be able to use the harvest ritual to drain them of there magic and put it somewhere else?" Davina reiterated, trying to make sense of everything.
"Essentially, yes," Elena answered half-heartedly, now that she knew she could just end her life and it would all be over, she didn't see the need to this plan any longer.
"I sent Elijah to find an ancient item with enough power to hold there magic, any mystical item he can come across, he knows witches and warlocks up and down the country, he'll find someone powerful enough to own an item like the one we need. Once we have it, we can perform the harvest on the night of the full moon and kill them all, all there magic will be gone and they can rot on the other side forever," Bonnie explained.
"I want to help," Davina spoke, folding her arms across her chest.
"It's too dangerous," Marcel protested.
"I agree, you could get really hurt, Davina," Elena said, her worry for the young witch growing.
"I don't care, the whole world could end, we could all die, what would be the point to me being alive when all of you are dead? Only witches will survive the utopia ritual, right?"
"Right," Rebekah confirmed.
"Plus, you'll need me, the harvest is a very powerful ritual and I've already survived one, Bennett witch or not, you'll need my help," she smiled towards Bonnie, her courage impressing her.
"I think Davina's right, if the harvest ritual is as powerful as it seems, I might not have enough magic to complete it alone, together we can do it," Bonnie agreed.
"I'll be there to protect you, no arguing," Marcel finally agreed, he wasn't happy about her being involved but there was no point trying to make her see sense, she was too stubborn when it came to protecting her loved ones.
"We have a plan then," Bonnie exclaimed, a small and hopeful smile spreading across her lips, "me and Davina will coordinate on the harvest ritual and get everything ready, all vampires will come up with a battle plan and get as much back up as we can find and Elena, stay with Klaus, we'll go over everything tonight."
Elena knew why Bonnie made her stay with Klaus, he would be the only one who could talk her out of her plan to die; she didn't have a death wish, all she wanted to do was survive this battle and if the harvest plan would work, then great but everyone had to accept that the only other way may have to result in her death.
But she did what she was told, she followed Klaus into the kitchen whilst he, Marcel, Rebekah and Kol all tried to agree on a battle plan; so far, there was more bickering then anything else, they all felt like they had to be right.
Elena stood from the chair and went to leave the room but she was stopped by him appearing in front of her, "where are you going?"
"To see if Bonnie and Davina need my help, I can't listen to you all argue for the rest of the afternoon," her voice was defensive, she didn't need to be questioned about her every move and she was growing tired of being in suicide watch.
"Bonnie said to stay with me, they're working on the spell, we need you here more," Klaus responded before placing his hands on her shoulders and spinning her around so she was facing the kitchen table, "instead of sitting back and listening to us argue, help us."
"Fine," she muttered under her breath, before a small sigh escaped her lips, she slumped back down into the chair and began to think of a course of action they could take.
"We could just wait until the ritual starts, they'll all be there and they'll be distracted by the ritual," Rebekah suggested.
"What if we don't have enough time to complete the harvest ritual before they finish theres?" Kol argued.
"Rebekah's right," Elena interjected, sitting up straight and looking between them all, "there's no other guarantee that they will all be together throughout the day, we know when the ritual is going to start, the second the moon is at its apex, when Bonnie and Davina start the harvest, we can attack, we basically have a small army, we have Marcels vampire and Klaus' hybrids, they'll be enough of a distraction for them to complete it and stop them before they can kill any of us."
"All it takes is for one of them to kill Bonnie or Davina and all hope is lost," Marcel argued.
"They need to be close to them to do the harvest, otherwise the magic won't reach the urn, this was always a risk, at least this way, there will be enough manpower to protect them and plus, they are the two strongest witches I have ever known, nobody is touching them," Elena spoke firmly, she had all the faith in the world in the two witches, "I can't see any other way, not without creating more risk."
"She's right," Kol nodded his head slightly at Elena.
"I agree," Rebekah joined her side.
They looked at Marcel and Klaus, they where silent for a long moment before they reluctantly agreed.
"My hybrids are already on there way," Klaus spoke, before turning his attention to Marcel, "go and rally your vampires, tell them everything they need to know and to prepare for the full moon, we'll protect Davina until you return. Only your most trusted vampires need to know about the plan, tell the others they're just needed for a fight with us, the less that know about The Order, the better."
Marcel nodded his head before leaving the mansion, he filled Davina in quickly with where he was going and what he was doing before he left. The others joined the two witches in Elijah's study, they both appeared to be happy.
"We've done it," Bonnie said with a wide smile, "we've rewrote the harvest spell and made it so there magic will drain and go into whatever item Elijah can find, we'll be more specific when he returns."
"The only catch is you can't kill them until the spell is done, otherwise there magic will seep back into the earth and the harvest won't work," Davina explained.
"We have enough manpower to hold them back until the spell is ready," Klaus reassured.
"All we need now is-"
"An ancient magical item that can hold a vast amount of power?" A voice emerged from behind them all and cut Davina's sentence short, they all turned around and saw Elijah standing in the doorway, holding up an urn of some kind. It was made of a dark grey clay and it looked like it had seen better days, there was markings and runes etched into the porcelain and it had a small lid that sealed the top of it.
"Elijah, finally," Elena spoke, relief apparent in her tone of voice, "we're glad you're safe."
"What is that?" Bonnie asked, before approaching the eldest sibling and taking the urn from him.
"This belonged to our mother, it had been in her family for generations, it has been used in countless spells, including the vampire ritual and it was also used in the witches blessing after they where killed, there is a lot of power in this, I think it will be perfectly capable of holding the magic of The Order."
"It's perfect, where did you get it?" Bonnie asked, still inspecting the urn.
"I've kept it safe for a thousand years, I've never had much use for it, so once I knew a witch I could trust, I gave it to them," Elijah spoke.
"Leanna," Klaus rolled his eyes slightly, a small smirk appearing on his lips, "you gave it to her, didn't you?"
"Indeed, brother, she has kept it safe for decades."
"This is great, we'll work this into the spell and then we'll be ready," Bonnie smiled excitedly before returning to the desk beside Davina and placing the urn down carefully, "thank you, Elijah."
"Once the harvest is complete and there magic is inside it, we have to keep this safe always, if it breaks, there magic will be returned to the earth and there will be nothing stopping them from returning," Davina explained, as she too inspected the relic.
"I'll put it somewhere no-one can find it," Elijah stated.
"Well, now that is all cleared up, it's our turn to catch you up on what you've missed, brother, come with me," Klaus spoke.
"Uh-oh," Kol chimed, sarcasm and amusement clear in his tone of voice.
"This doesn't sound good," he cleared his throat and followed Klaus into the living room, Elena went too and left the others in the study, "what is it?"
"Our father has a journal with information regarding The Order and the real reason why they made us into vampires, they lied to us this whole time, the line of doppelgängers stretches back as far as 2000 years and somehow Elena is tied to there magic and now she wants to die," Klaus summarised, notes of frustration in his voice.
"What?" He turned his gaze onto Elena, his eyes locking onto hers, "as honourable as you think this choice is, it might not work and then you'll just be dead, we'll all have grief we've never known before and it means not only the end of you but your bloodline, although you see it as a curse, it's a gift, Elena, it's what makes you so special."
His words repeated themselves in her head over and over again, he had approached her in a way that didn't belittle her thoughts or feelings and he was trying to make her understand the consequences of her actions rather than trying to completely stop her; she loved how much they understood each other, he was the only one who could truly know what it was like to be the oldest sibling and not being able to escape the need to protect everyone.
"Thank you, Elijah," she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight embrace, "hopefully the harvest works."
"It will, I have faith," he embraced her for a long moment before they released each other.
"Is that all I had to say?" Klaus quipped, a small smirk appearing on his lips, "one day, you'll have to tell me how you did that, brother."
"I think I'll keep this one to myself," he spoke to his brother but he kept his eyes locked onto Elena's, they both shared in a small laugh before she returned to Klaus' side, she nudged him with her elbow and rolled her eyes.
"I didn't actually want to die, Nik, I want to spend the rest of my life with you but I can't watch the people I love risk there own lives and potentially die because of me, especially when I can do something about it, that'll never change, this might have to be something you need to learn to accept about me," she explained, her voice calm and collected, "I love you, never doubt that even for a second."
"I can learn to live with that," he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into him, there faces were mere centimetres away from each other, "I love you too."
"Stop being so sweet, Nik," Rebekah called out from the other room, "it's disgusting."
They all laughed briefly, before Klaus released her from his grip and entered the study, Rebekah came running out and Klaus followed, the two of them where racing around the house like a blur, the whole time Klaus was just tormenting her.
"Everything is complete," Bonnie said as she exited the study, Davina close behind her, "the harvest is ready."
Klaus and Rebekah stopped in there tracks and stood beside there siblings and Elena.
"Tomorrows the eve of the full moon, we have one day left to be together, then we fight," Klaus spoke, his voice solemn.