It was 7pm, the full moon was in an hour, they had left the house and they had all been taken into the forest at the back, there was a large field in the centre of it; The Order had spent the rest of the afternoon preparing it for sacrifice, there where 5 circles painted into the grass, each with a different symbol within them.
The white oak tree, the moon, the sun, the earth and the one in the centre had a pentagram.
Elena could tell who would stand where, each symbol represented a different species; vampire, werewolf, human, witch and doppelgänger, she would be in the centre, the blood that linked them all.
There was fires burning and there was a boulder being used as an altar; Seth had dragged her into the middle, she refused to go easily, she had to co-operate but that didn't mean she had to like it. The Originals stood in there circle, they hadn't stopped watching Elena.
Several werewolves came next, they where tied up and tossed into the circle, once you where inside, you couldn't move, there was a magical barrier surrounding them; then came the witches, happy to sacrifice there lives for utopia, the humans where terrified, they didn't have even an inkling of what was going on, there was screaming and howling and everything Elena saw was the stuff of nightmares.
The Order appeared in a large circle surrounding them, there was 13 of them, each of them in black nodded robes with a relic around there necks; there faces where hidden and she couldn't tell who are what they where. Her heart raced and her stomach was in knots, the werewolves where starting to slowly transition, there faces changed and they where on there knees, they seemed to be relatively new considering there change was taking longer, she wondered if that was planned.
Seth approached her circle and held out the amulet, she edged away from him but she knew she wouldn't be able to get far.
"Put it on," he spoke through gritted teeth, all she could do was oblige.
She turned to face Klaus once more, she was starting to feel frantic.
"It's time," Seth spoke, as he looked up to the sky and saw the moon at its highest and fullest point; he stood behind the altar and lit a black candle, he picked up a dagger and made a slice in his palm, the blood dripped into the bowl and the fires surrounding them roared. The chanting began and so did the ritual.
Elena could only watch as each member of The Order took each other's hands and formed a large circle, the wind picked up a heavy blast swooped across the area, making Elena a touch wobbly on her feet; to Elena, it felt like nature was fighting back, like it didn't really want this spell to be completed.
They broke the circle and several of them approached the humans circle, they where frantic as Seth picked up a dagger and walked towards them, he waved his hand in a circular motion and the barrier dropped, each member of The Order restrained a human each and Seth slit there throats one by one, there eyes remained open out of shock and fear as there bodies fell lifeless to the floor.
Elena screamed at the violence, her hand pressing against her mouth; Klaus was trying to fight his way through the barrier to be near her but he couldn't, the magic was too strong.
The blood of the humans leaked into the earth and the grass began to burn; each member returned to there places and joined the circle once more, the chanting continued and the weather worsened, it began to rain and the wind was blowing so hard, the trees where thrashing.
The wolves where next, they where still in there transition which made the kill for Seth easier, they where in pain and could barely move; he dropped the barrier, he was joined by 2 different members of the order and they all knelt down, plunging a dagger into each of there hearts.
Elena turned to look at Klaus again, he had stopped panicking and looked at her intently, he simply nodded his head and she knew it was time, she looked around the surrounding area and she saw two figures emerge from the bushes, Bonnie and Davina where hand in hand and they fought back, they chanted loudly and with all the strength they could muster, the power between them both was immense, maybe even more so than The Order.
"What?" Seth exclaimed, watching as the two witches approached the ritual site; several other members had left there positions and tried to attack.
"Now!" Klaus roared out and within seconds, a small army of hybrids had appeared from within the forest and stood behind each member; Marcel stood in front of Bonnie and Davina, followed by his day walkers.
"Fools," Seth called out, his voice echoing through the area above all other noise. a small smirk appeared on his lips, as he held his hands outwards beside him, "do you think I did not plan for this?"
Suddenly, his army emerged; there where vampires, a few werewolves and witches, they instantly leapt towards Bonnie and Davina, Marcel and the day walkers held back as much as they could but the hybrids had to help.
"Bonnie, drop the barriers," Klaus called out, his rage was at the highest it had ever been, he hated not being able to join in the fight and help, he let useless.
Seth's witches where trying to stop there spell but they weren't strong enough and the hybrids where faster, it took mere seconds for the, two of them to snap each of there necks; Seth continued with the ritual, he noticed that the hybrids and vampires weren't trying to kill anyone in the order.
The next barrier to drop was the witches, they stood proudly as Seth and several others approached them, they nodded there heads and Seth slit there throats one by one, ready to live in the afterlife at peace knowing utopia could happen.
Elena watched as the entire scene turned red, it was a bloodbath, vampires and hybrids where slaughtering each other and Bonnie and Davina where struggling with the spell; completely out of the blue, the barriers dropped, Klaus was instantly beside Elena, his arms wrapped around her, "we have to get you out of here."
"No, I'm not going anywhere," she spoke adamantly, Klaus just sighed slightly and moved her behind Bonnie and Davina, Marcel and several of the day walkers still stood guard, there was the safest she could be, he reluctantly left her side and helped with the onslaught of vampires and werewolves Seth had up his sleeve.
The Order continued with the ritual, thunder roared through the sky and the rain worsened, all Elena could see was blood and earth flying everywhere, the hybrids where stronger than any vampire Seth could throw there way but the wolves where beating Marcels vampires; Klaus, Kol and Elijah teamed up to defeat them, only Klaus managed to walk away with a bite wound that wouldn't effect him.
Elena watched as the people she loved fought for there lives and all she could do was watch; the spell was starting to it's toll on Bonnie, there were several droplets of blood trickling down her nose but she fought on.
"It's nearly done, get them ready," Davina spoke, before closing her eyes and taking the urn from her bag and holding it up, they're chanting grew louder the closer the spell came to a finish.
"Get the urn," Seth called out to the vampires, they all turned there attention to Bonnie and Davina, the hybrids and day walkers all stood in front of them but there where too many, The Order continued on with the ritual and Seth took a white oak stake out from behind his robe where the rope held it all together.
"Rebekah!" Elena screamed as Seth appeared behind her, using her speed, the blonde vampire spun on her heel and grabbed the stake before he could impale her; she tossed it into one of the fires and went to attack Seth, he was too powerful and sent her hurling back to the ground.
Seth stared at Bonnie and Davina, he muttered a chant under his breath and Davina suddenly began to cough; Elena was instantly at her side and they both went down to there knees together, Elena was trying to hold her up but the coughing grew worse and sounded like she was choking on water.
The urn fell from her hands and rolled a short distance away from her, one of Seth's vampires quickly leapt for it and took it, the hybrids had there hands full with the vampires that still kept coming, the Mikaelsons where fighting the werewolves and Marcel was trying to help Davina; the vampire blurred towards Seth and handed him the urn.
"Fools," he placed it on the altar and picked up a rock, he looked at the Mikaelsons, each of them ready to race towards him to stop him but they where too late, he brought the rock down on the urn and it smashed into pieces.
"No!" Klaus called out, all siblings raced towards him and the werewolves where free again to fight the vampires; there attack was in vain as he sent them all flying backwards away from him, he was untouchable.
Elena watched as it smashed as if it happened in slow motion, she knew this was going to happen; she raced from behind the vampires and across the field until she reached Elijah, she placed both of her hands on either of his arm and locked onto his eyes, "do it."
"Elena.." his breath was sharp and he was covered in blood but she could see the concern in his eyes, "you might not survive."
"I don't care, we have no other choice," Elena was stern and ready to sacrifice it all for her loved ones; Elijah sped off into the distance and left her standing alone, she didn't know where to turn.
"What's going on, Elena?" She heard Klaus ask behind her, she slowly turned to face him, a look of sorrow in her eyes; the more she looked at him, the more guilty she felt, all she wanted was the life they had started planning together and it may not happen.
"Klaus," she dipped her head slightly, her gaze averting to the ground, "I'm so sorry."
"Elena, what is it? What did you do?" His voice was calm but filled with emotion and hurt.
"What I had too," she placed both of her hands on his face and pressed her forehead to his, "I have to make sure all of you live and there was no other way."
Elijah reappeared with an all too familiar witch, they emerged from behind the trees and she was chanting; she joined an exhausted Bonnie and Davina and held onto her hand, the two witches stopped chanting when they realised she was saying something completely different.
"Leanna.." Klaus' voice trailed off slightly as he turned to face Elena once again, "why is she here?"
"Get ready to kill every single one of these monsters," Elena said confidently, before crushing her lips against his, her arms tightly clung to his neck and she sunk into him just for a minute, possibly for the last time, "I love you so much, Nik."
She had to contour every ounce of willpower she had to let go off him and join the witches, they all joined in a circle and the chanting grew louder; each member of The Order all fell to there knees, screaming out in pain and clinging there hands to there heads.
"Now!" Bonnie screamed out, the chanting stopped and the harvest was ready, each sibling stood behind a member of The Order and they plunged there fangs into there neck, ripping whatever life they had left in them away, Klaus went straight for Seth, he was on his knees, refusing to scream.
"You have not won," he spoke, his words forced due to the agony.
"Our family always wins," his final words to the monster before him, he stuck his fangs into his neck and tore his jugular away, his body fell lifeless to the floor and to Klaus, it finally felt over.
As the hybrids and the siblings finished off the rest of the members of The Order, they all stood there In silence; Leanna looked over to Elena, she was stood in front of Bonnie and Davina and a wave of relief washed over her, everyone she loved was alive and The Order where gone.
Klaus raced to Elena's side, holding her as tightly as he could, he didn't understand what had happened and what Elijah and Leanna had to do with it but in that moment, he didn't care, they won the battle.
"I can't wait to marry you, Elena," he lifted her from the ground and placed a long and soft kiss on her lips before landing her back on her feet.
"I can't wai-" she stopped her sentence abruptly when she felt an energy whirling across the field, the trees began to sway with the breeze and the fires had all extinguished, Elena pushed Klaus back when she felt the energy force its way towards her, her fingers began to radiate a white light and all the magic from The Order was absorbed into her.
She screamed out in pain as the magic kept flowing, everyone stood in complete shock and tried to get as close too her as they could, all except Klaus, his face was full of hurt and regret as he watched the love of his life suffer.
Elena felt an overwhelming energy consume her, it was powerful, almost too much for her body to handle but she fought on, she wanted to live; she chose this, she chose to saved her loved ones at any cost. Everything began to fade to black as the magic finished consuming her, she felt weaker than she ever had done before and she fell limp to the floor.
Klaus was instantly at her side, cradling her body in her arms; Elijah, Kol and Rebekah knelt beside her and they all tried to wake her.
"What did you do, Elijah?" Klaus spoke through clenched teeth, he fought to hold back the tears that so desperately wanted to escape, "answer me, Elijah!"
"It was her idea, she made me swear to keep it secret," his voice was filled with emotion as he thought back to the day he made that promise, "it was the eve of the full moon."
His mind raced back to the morning they spent in the kitchen together, reading the newspaper and trying to keep her nerves calm, everyone else had ritual related business that needed tending too.
"I think I have an idea for a backup plan but you have to make me one more promise." Elena spoke.
"Anything."
"You can't tell anyone, especially Klaus."
"I promise."
"Seth is always one step ahead of us, I've noticed vampires going missing in the quarter and he can mind control, he could already know of our plan with urn, he'll break it and our plan will fail, we'll all die."
"It's a possibility, Elena but I'm not risking your life."
"You won't have too, I'll be the backup urn, I'm a doppelgänger, I have magical blood or so everyone keeps telling me, I'm a supernatural occurrence made by nature, what if I can take in there magic."
"I'm confused, how can you take in there magic?"
"Like Davina did during the first harvest, they're bound to my bloodline already, I'll just be taking the magic."
"It's too dangerous, you might not be able to handle that much magic."
"I think I can, I was meant for something, Elijah, this could be it, not only will I be saving the world from them, I'll be saving everyone I love."
"There's no changing your mind, is there?"
"I'm afraid not."
"What can I do?"
"We need Leanna."
He snapped himself back to reality, his eyes gazing at Elena, he couldn't look his siblings in the eye, not yet, he felt responsible for this.
"How could you let her do this, Elijah?" Klaus wanted to be angry but he was hurting too much.
"If I didn't help her, she would have found someone else, at least this way I knew Leanna wouldn't betray us and kill her anyway, I had no other choice, I'm sorry, brother," Elijah's voice was full of emotion, he cared deeply about Elena, he too was struggling with his pain.
Elena," Klaus spoke, his fingers trailing along her cheekbone, "you have to wake up."
"She's still breathing, Nik, her heartbeat is strong," Rebekah attempted to reassure her brother but she was the love of his life, this would destroy him.
"She'll wake up, she isn't done torturing us yet," Kol mused, trying to bring a bit of comfort through his usual charming self.
"Isn't there something you can do?" Klaus turned to look at the three powerful witches standing beside him, Bonnie and Davina where crying and Leanna looked guilt ridden.
"We can't," Bonnie croaked slightly, wiping the tears that stained her cheeks away, "that was a powerful spell, her body will be weak, if we try using more magic on her, she might die."
Klaus looked back to Elena, staring at the red flush in her cheeks and listening to the rhythm of her heart; he loved everything human about her but he couldn't lose her, his fangs appeared in between his teeth and he went to bite into his wrist.
"Don't, brother," Elijah quickly caught his arm before he had the chance, "she doesn't want to be a vampire, you'll lose her forever."
"She didn't want to die either," he argued, his grief taking over his logical thinking.
"She was ready too," Elijah responded, placing his free hand on his brothers shoulder, "if I could take her place, I would."
"We all would, Nik," Rebekah interjected, "but she won't be happy if you turn her."
"I can't lose her," he admitted, his voice uneven and a single tear rolling down his cheek, "I asked her to marry me, we were going to travel, we made plans."
"You asked her to marry you?" Rebekah reiterated, her lips parting slightly, "what did she say?"
"I said yes," A quiet and weak voice emerged, everyone's attention shot to Elena and her eyes slowly started to open a crack, "you're not getting rid of me that easy."
"Thank god," Rebekah smiled slightly, reaching for her hand and taking it in hers.
"I thought I'd lost you," Klaus pierced his lips together to stop the flood of tears.
"Not quite yet, I still have to torture you all for a little while longer," she weakly grinned towards Kol.
She tried to pull herself up into a standing position with the help of everyone around her, Klaus wrapped his arm around her waist and supported her as she stood, her legs where still wobbly but they managed it.
"Did we win?" She asked, her eyes glancing around the field; her vision was still blurry and her head was pounding.
"We won," Klaus spoke, a small smile curling up on his lip.
"We"re gonna finish up here," Kol spoke, standing beside Rebekah, "burn the bodies and leave no trace, you should get Elena home."
"Thank you, brother," Klaus responded, nodding his head towards him.
Bonnie and Davina rushed to her side and they gave her a light hug, "I can't believe we nearly lost you."
"You didn't, Bon, I'm here," she slowly wrapped her arms around the two witches, Klaus still hovered near her in case she lost her balance again, "come on, let's get out of here."
Klaus took Elena and Bonnie and Elijah took Leanna and Davina, they sped off into the distance, away from the forest and the farmhouse and back into the heart of the French quarter, Elena was just happy to finally be heading home.
-w-
It had been an hour since they arrived home, Kol and Rebekah weren't long back and they where all sat in the living room, having there usual celebratory bourbon; Elena sat beside Klaus and Bonnie, with Davina and Rebekah sat opposite, Elijah was content standing near the fireplace and Kol hovered behind the sofa where she sat. Everyone was feeling slightly more overprotective of her, they did nearly lose her, after all she is family.
"How do you feel?" Bonnie asked, her brow furrowed, "you took in an insane amount of magic."
"I feel fine," Elena shrugged her shoulders lightly, taking a large sip of her bourbon, "I can feel the magic inside me but it doesn't hurt, maybe this was the whole point of a doppelgänger, too stop the power that the ancestors had."
"But you still have it, it still exists," Rebekah pondered.
"I was made by nature to battle the wrong done 2000 years ago, I strongly believe the whole point to my curse is this, evil will never have this magic again," Elena smiled slightly, she never felt like she belonged in this world, like she was always meant for me and this felt like her purpose.
"So, you're like the keeper of there magic now?" Kol asked, trying to make sense of it all, "what happens if you have children? Will it be passed down and it will be there job to protect it?"
"I guess so, makes sense," she wasn't too sure about the details and what else could come from having the magic, only time would tell.
"I'm just happy you're okay," Klaus spoke, trying to change the subject.
"We all are," Bonnie grinned at her best friend.
"Does anyone need a refill?" Rebekah asked, holding up her empty glass.
"I'll get it," Elena smiled, trying to feel useful again.
"Don't push yourself, my love," Klaus spoke softly, he was extremely paranoid something bad still could happen to her.
"I'm fine, don't worry," she placed a soft kiss on his cheek and stood from the sofa, she walked over to the drinks cabinet and took the bottle, "it's empty."
She walked out of the living room and into the kitchen, she went straight to the drinks cabinet and pulled open the door, taking out the first bottle she saw and closing it again; she stopped for a long moment, she wasn't sure if it was the drink getting to her,p but she suddenly felt down, a lot had happened over the past week and she hadn't truly had the time to process it, it came in waves and she had no handle on her emotions.
The lights surrounding her started to flicker and the appliances started to fritz, a small gasp escaped her lips when the fuse in the microwave exploded, the bottle slipped out of her hand and hit the floor, the liquid poured out between the smashed glass and the lighting sparked once more, popping the bulb above her.
"Klaus!" She called out, her voice frantic and her nerves completely gone; he was beside her within seconds, "someone's here."
"Find whoever is doing this and kill them in the bloodiest way possible," Klaus demanded of his siblings, they all quickly scoured the house; Bonnie and Davina went into the living room and began trying to form a protection spell.
She was starting to become scared, the toaster blew next and it sent her into overload; the cupboard doors starting opening and closing and the whole kitchen was alive, "make it stop."
"We'll find who it is," he brought her into his embrace and held onto her for as long as she needed; the back door flew open and Elena jumped, she buried her head further into Klaus' chest and tried to ignore it but she was paralysed with fear, her emotions where all over the place and the more she reacted, the more she fed into the magic being used against her.
Elijah appeared in the doorway like a blur, all Elena could see was a dark figure, the lights flickering made it difficult for her to see and she couldn't make sense of who it was; she was startled and scared, a loud gasp escaped her lips and Elijah went hurling to the other end of the hallway.
"What's going on? Who was that?" She spoke frantically.
"That was Elijah.." his voice trailed off as he thought more deeply about the situation, he tilted his head to the side slightly and placed his hands on both of her arms, he came down to her eye level and stared intently into her hues, "Elena, sweetheart, I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, not now or ever, everything is okay, I promise."
"Something is trying to attack us, Nik," she argued, her frustration heightening the more he tried to reassure her; the window behind her smashed and a small scream escaped her lips, she clung onto his arms and her whole body went rigid.
"Elena, look at me," she forced herself to look at him, her eyes locking onto his, "look into my eyes, I swear to you, no-one is going to hurt you, not whilst I'm here. Where do you want to get married? Pick a country and we'll have our wedding there."
"I don't know," she softened slightly the more she thought about there wedding.
"First country that pops into your head," he responded, pushing the subject further.
"Greece," she smiled slightly and her body began to relax, "a summer wedding in Greece."
"Sounds perfect," a small grin appeared on his lips, "will you wear white?"
"Yes, a white dress and a vail," the grip she had of him was loosening.
"I want to say our own vows, I have so much I want to say and promise to you and I want everyone to know it."
"We should definitely say our own vows," she smiled slightly, her heart beginning to warm.
"I love you so much, Elena, you're my whole world, i won't let anyone ruin that, I give you my word," he placed his hands on her cheeks and crushed his lips onto hers, her entire body relaxed and she sunk into him; the lights stopped flickering, the cupboards stopped slamming and the whole room calmed.
All she could focus on was Klaus and how perfect he was, his touch and his kiss instantly brought her back from any emotional whirlwind she had and he was her perfect calm; she broke there kiss for a long moment to look around the room, there was a few smashed plates and glasses that had flew out of the cupboard and glass all over the floor, the furniture was sprawled out everywhere.
"Wait..." she turned around to face Klaus, her brow furrowed, "was this me?"
Bonnie and Davina came running into the kitchen, slightly out of breath from performing the spell, Bonnie was the first to speak, "the source of the magic is coming from inside the house, we've put a protection spell up and tried to trace it, whoever it was is still here."
"It's stopped?" Davina questioned.
Elena looked between Klaus and Bonnie, her worry growing, "what happened?"
"We're not sure," Klaus questioned, his mind racing with the possibility.
"Was this me?" She repeated, the volume in her voice was growing and her frustration was returning; the lights began to flicker again and she was losing herself to her emotions.
"Shall we go for a walk, my love?" Klaus asked, trying to distract her from everything, he reached for her hand and she took it but he felt a surge of electricity emerge through his body, he grunted slightly and his hand felt as though it was frying.
"Oh my god, Nik," she began to well up slightly, confused by everything that was happening to her, "I didn't mean to do that, I'm sorry."
"Im alright, my love, let's go for a walk," he hesitantly placed his hand on the small of her back, once he realised he wasn't go to bed shocked, he wrapped his arm tightly around her and guided her out the back door, taking her for a quiet stroll along the fields and gardens behind the house.
Elena was silent for a while, she was taking in the serenity of the outdoors, the trees where swaying gently from the wind and the moon was shining brightly, there wasn't a sound or a disturbance for miles.
"It's there magic, isn't it? That's what was happening in the house, that was me," she finally spoke, breaking the silence and ready to figure it all out, "let's head back to the house, we should talk to Bonnie and Davina."
"Are you sure you're ready for that?" Klaus asked, his concern for her growing.
"Not knowing is making me feel worse," Elena reached for his hand and took it in hers, holding on tightly, "whatever it was, it's stopped now."
"We'll get through this, my love," he pulled her arm gently and brought her body into his, she smiled coyly before he placed a long and soft kiss on her lips, all her worries went away when they where together, she never realised just how much she needed him until now.