OG Author's Note: A/N— Wowww It's been two months, guys! TWO MONTHS! I just... I'm so sorry. Life. I guess it just got in the way.

Thank you thank you thank you to all who have followed, favorited and reviewed! We've past the 75 follower and 50 favorites marker! Wooo!

I didn't think that this story would get so much positive feedback so thank you thank you thank you!

Onto Rayna's personality. She's a very loyal and brave person but she isn't afraid to fight for what she believes in— even if it means putting her relationships with family or friends in jeopardy and is often put in the shadow of Elena but she isn't bothered by it much, as she is used to it.

She lives with the belief that she cannot cry— because if she does she thinks this makes her selfish and weak— as she puts others before herself and wants to be strong for them.

She is sarcastic, quite loud at times but very perceptive of the world around her and she certainly looks at the bigger picture of what is wrong and right whereas a lot of her friends worry only about how things affect (effect?) themselves.

So that's her basic personality, I think. There will be situations in the future where she will develop more as a character but for now, this is her, and this is chapter four!

Here is Chapter Four— I hope you all enjoy.

I smiled to myself as I looked up at the blue sky. The clouds were the purest white, and were dotted around, non of which covered up the blazing sun.

"Clouds." I sighed dreamily. I closed my eyes, relishing the feeling of the soft freshly mown grass beneath me. The wind blew through my curls as I lay in the flower-dotted meadow.

"They are beautiful." A voice said.

The voice belonged to a man, and though I could recognise it I couldn't quite place who it was. For some reason I didn't open my eyes, but frowned slightly.

That voice made me feel so safe— and yet the feeling of safety that came with a feeling of guilt. It was as though the fact that that specific voice could make me feel safe made me feel guilty.

But why?

I didn't know why he had made me feel safe. Or how. But he had.

I felt a hand grasp mine, and it was shortly followed by lips being pressed against my knuckles.

"Not nearly as beautiful as you."

I laughed, despite the blush I could feel in my cheeks. "I'm not beautiful. Far from it, really. Elena's the beautiful one... Always has been. But not me."

I heard him scoff. "Elena doesn't even compare to—" "Don't say her name!" I snapped angrily.

He let go of my hand at the same time that I opened my eyes. I could see that the sun was gone to be replaced by dark swirling clouds. The wind had become far more furious and it was raining— but I couldn't feel the water as the droplets hit me.

I just felt cold, empty, and for some reason, angry.

I stood slowly, and looked around for the man, but he was gone.

I was alone.

I woke up slowly, taking in my surroundings.

I tried not to think about the weird dream I'd had, and focus on what exactly was going on and how I was going to get out of this alive.

When I realised my arms and legs were strapped down to a chair, and that they seemed to be burning my skin, I wasn't very surprised.

Startled and in pain, yes.

But not surprised.

It wasn't like I hadn't been in such a situation before.

FLASHBACK

At the Masquerade Ball I'd ran there in the dead of night.

Elena had taken my car there even though she was supposed to be at home.

I knew that it wasn't safe for her there— but Elena, being Elena, was curious. So she went and risked her life because if Katherine saw Elena she would have killed her.

And then we got kidnapped.

I remember waking up, and my eyes snapping open. But it was dark.

I felt movement and knew I was in a car boot. I slowed down my breathing as the car stopped moving and closed my eyes, opening them just a tiny bit to see what was happening.

A man, who I later learnt to be called Trevor, picked up Elena whose legs and arms were bound with rope like mine. He then looked at me and a sadistic grin played on his features.

"And you can be my new toy."

The boot was then slammed shut and I was surrounded by darkness. I never got to know what being Trevor's toy would be like as Elijah killed him before Trevor could return to his car.

I also remember screaming for hours on end. When I realized that nobody was going to find me the tears threatened to come.

Don't cry, don't cry.

The darkness that surrounded me was suffocating, and I opened my mouth to scream for help once more but no sound came out. I took a deep breath and shook my head.

No. You don't need help. You're Rayna Gilbert and you can save yourself.

I closed my eyes and using as much power as I could, the door to the boot of the car was blown off it's hinges. I opened my eyes slowly to see more darkness. It was night time.

I focused on the ropes around my wrists and they turned into a pile of ash. Slowly I sat up and winced at the pain in my back. I untied the clumsy knots around my ankles and jumped out of the car determinedly. I had to find Elena.

I looked around at the dry fields and trees in the distance before turning and seeing an old house just metres away. I inhaled deeply before running towards it.

I opened the front door of the house to find it heavy. Well — heavier than a door should be anyway. I pushed it open and saw that this was a very old dirty and seemingly empty house.

When I turned around to look at what had made the door quite so heavy— I saw a man. He had brown hair and wore a suit— he was pinned to the door by a wooden stake. His face was covered with purpley-black veins and his eyes closed.

He was a vampire. A dead vampire.

If I had seen that a few months ago I would have gasped… but it was harder to be shocked by things lately. Instead of shock I found myself filled with dread.

"ELENA!" I screamed. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Something told me that I was alone— and if the stake in the vampire's heart had anything to do with the situation I guessed that Stefan had come to fetch her… But he left me behind.

He obviously hadn't known I was there, but still... It sort of hurt to think about.

At least Elena was safe, though.

I heard a sharp noise behind me and turned on my heel to see the vampire in the suit. He had dropped the stake on the ground and was looking around, an angry expression on his face before his eyes settled on me.

"Y-You were dead." I stuttered stupidly.

"For centuries now." He said, watching me with interest.

I shook my head and composed myself. "Never thought I'd live to meet an original."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise and the corners of mouth twitched slightly.

"There are tales about you… You're in books I've read. You're Elijah, aren't you? I mean, I know there are other originals but they'd have surely eaten me by now."

He seemed shocked and almost surprised. He raised an eyebrow and nodded. "So you know who I am, but who are you?"

"Rayna Gilbert." I replied shortly. "What have you done with my sister?"

END OF FLASHBACK

"This stuff better not be vervain." I said, gesturing to the liquid that was dripping off my ropes, along with my blood.

I was trying not to show how much the ropes were hurting me, but it was proving to be difficult.

I looked around and saw that I was in fact in Gloria's bar — except the chairs and tables had been piled and pushed up against the walls, leaving a large space in the centre of the room which I was in the middle of. Opposite me was a table, and surrounding the chair and table was dozens of candles in different shapes and sizes.

Oh, and Gloria was there too. Sat at the table with her knife in hand. I wondered if she had some sort of knife fetish.

Gloria laughed. It was a cold, horrible sound.

"It's not vervain," she said, shaking her head. "If your thinking that I turned you. I didn't. I spelled some herbs and coated the ropes in them. They're to help you... Cooperate."

"Oh," I said. "Well, you're going to have to try a little harder than that if you think for a second I'm going to do anything to help you." I said with courage I definitely didn't feel.

My voice was uneven and the ropes seemed to tighten slightly as Gloria narrowed her eyes dangerously at me.

The ropes rendered me too weak to use any magic and my 'Prophet' abilities hadn't even warned me about any of this happening, so I figured I had three options.

1) Physical ability.

I couldn't exactly break the robes hulk-style so that wasn't really much of an option.

2) Use my brains.

3) I had to wait for Stefan or Klaus to come and get me.

Except I didn't need saving. I knew I had to make it out of this on my own, and soon.

"Where is the necklace?" Gloria asked. I oculd tell she was losing her patience. "Tell me!" she hissed, the grip on the hilt of the knife tightening.

You can get yourself out of this! You don't need help!

"No!" I cried out as the ropes tightened. My hands were now covered in my own blood. I screamed.

Need Stefan, need Stefan!

"No one is going to hear you!" she yelled. A strong wind had picked up in the room, blowing most of the candles out. "Not even Stefan!"

Need Klaus need Klaus.

"Tell me where the necklace is!"

"No!" I screamed as I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I looked down, to see the knife lodged into my stomach and it was like the breath had been knocked out of me.

But that wasn't the last thing that I saw. The last thing I saw before my world once more became a very dark place, was the very worried, very angry eyes of Stefan Salvatore.

I swallowed, not liking being in such a strange place alone. I was back in the dream again.

I just wanted to wake up and help Stefan fight Gloria.

You can't, A voice inside of my head rationalized. You just got stabbed.

It was still raining, and the field seemed to go on forever. But I saw a nearby tree, and recognized it as an old Willow tree. It was beautiful.

Something seemed to pull me towards the tree, so I slowly walked towards it.

I stopped when I saw a pale hand grasp one of the Willow fronds and pull it out of the way. A familiar looking woman stepped out from under the branches and leaves of the large tree.

"Oh my God." I gasped, then grinned. "Jenna! Aren't you supposed to be dead, or something?"

Jenna. She looked the same, only paler.

It felt like my body wasn't doing what I wanted it to. I wanted to hug my Aunt, to tell her all the things I should've before she died.

I wanted to cry, even. And for me, that was...

But it was like I wasn't in control of this dream. Or what I was saying.

My mouth seemed to be speaking on it's own.

Jenna just looked at me sadly. "You aren't my niece anymore. Not if you're going to fall for his lies."

"Wh-What?"

"You can't trust him." she said urgently, shaking her head. "Don't ever trust him. Don't try and see the good in him because there isn't any good in him at all. He's going to kill you, Rayna. One way or another, he will. Whether it be to turn you against your will or if you make him angry. And one of these days you're going to push him too far, and he will hurt you. You have to escape him while you can. Don't get pulled in. Not everyone deserves a second chance."

Her face changed from one of desperation to fear and pain as she looked over my left shoulder.

"Don't listen to her, sweetheart." I heard the man's voice whisper in my left ear.

I spun around, but there was no one there. I frowned and turned back to Jenna, but she too was gone.

I was alone.

The dark clouds and rain disappeared and the sunshine returned again. I walked past the large willow, and stopped as I saw a stream flowing through the flowers.

I walked along the stream and slowly but surely it widened into a large, deep river and soon it had lead be to a lagoon surrounded by rocks and flowers. In the centre of the lagoon were bubbles emerging from beneath the water, and soon a head emerged from the clear pool.

Stefan.

He grinned and waved at me. "Coming for a dip, Rayna?"

"Stefan." I frowned. Suddenly, I was in control of my own mouth again. "Stefan! I just saw Jenna."

"And Jenna just saw you!" he nodded encouragingly. "This is a very weird dream." I said.

"Why don't you wake up then?"

"I can't. Unless I pinch myself, which," I pinched my arm. "Doesn't work cause I'm still here."

"Why would you want to wake up?" he asked, still treading water.

"Because, you know, real world. And then there's you. You may or may not have killed a witch, but equally she may or may not have just hurt you. I need to get back so I can either save you or help you dispose of the body." I said bluntly. "And then yell at you for killing her."

"Why would I have killed her?" he asked.

I shrugged. "She was torturing me and—"

"Yeah, I probably killed her." he shrugged. "Why the long face?"

"I probably shouldn't be talking to you." I admitted. "This dream is weird and I need to focus on waking up."

"In my experience, people wake up from dreams when they start wanting to stay."

"Very wise." I said. "You definitely aren't the real Stefan."

He laughed, and I grinned. Even though it wasn't my Stefan, it was good to see him happy.

My Stefan? Where did that come from? I wondered.

"Join me." he said.

I shrugged and ran into the water, but it got deep a lot quicker than anticipated, so I had to swim the rest of the way. I felt two hands on my waist and frowned.

"Stefan, I can swim without your help."

"I know." he shrugged.

"You told me vampires don't like to swim." I said.

"No." he shook his head. "Damon told you that once. You know when he was drunk and you were both at the Grill? He hates it cause he can't be fast in the water, but I love to swim."

"Why?"

"It makes me feel human."

"... Oh."

"What's wrong?" he asked quite suddenly, frowning. "I just... I just miss home a lot."

He threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, Rayna. You don't need to go home! You have me!"

"I can't stay in a dream world forever, Stefano." "No. I mean the other me."

"Ripper you?"

"No."

"Oh. Real you." I said, nodding. With a start, I realized just how close Stefan had pulled me by the waist. I could stare straight on at his chest.

His bare chest.

Wow.

My reverie was stopped when I heard a scream in the distance. I grabbed onto Stefan's arms.

"Stefan, that was you!" I said frantically. "That was real you, wasn't it? Wasn't it?!"

He looked down at me and nodded gravely. "You're going to try and be a hero, aren't you?"

"No. I'm going to save my best friend's life!" I snapped. He smirked at me.

I opened my eyes, and winced. I looked down to see a large gaping wound in my stomach.

My eyes widened when I remembered just how the wound had gotten there. It didn't feel nearly as painful as it should, which told me Gloria probably spelled it so I wouldn't scream and attract someone's attention. Someone like Klaus.

I looked around on the floor to see the many candles, and then finally on the table at the centre.

Stefan.

He was crying out in pain as Gloria leant over the table placing her palms on his exposed chest. Smoke sizzled from his skin. Vervain.

"Get off of him!" I spoke, but my voice was quieter than intended and my throat was dry like sandpaper.

"Oh hello, Rayna. Finally decided to wake up, I see." Gloria smirked. "Don't you worry dear, you'll be next. Consider yourself a back up if this fails. You were a very good bait, however."

My eyes widened. She knew. She knew I'd never tell her anything so she used me as bait to get Stefan? But how would Stefan hear my screams?

Unless she knew he had another reason to come back.

Stefan's screams grew and grew. "I SAID GET OFF OF HIM!" I screamed, my voice breaking, causing me to wince.

A wind picked up in the room, blowing many candles out in the process. I felt a small energy build up inside of me as the wind became more vigorous.

Stefan was still screaming. "RAYNA, STOP!" he yelled. "SHE'LL HURT YOU!"

"GET OFF OF HI—" I began but that's where my sentence finished. I opened my mouth again, but no words came out. I couldn't speak.

"That should shut you up." Gloria said, removing her hands from Stefan's chest. "I don't like hurting my own kind, Rayna. And a Prophet, at that."

Well you're doing a pretty good job at it.

I watched Stefan who was watching me. He breathed heavily and I saw the pain he was in. I had to do something. He'd tried to save me, after all.

It's all my fault. It's all my fault.

I tried to perform a spell in my head, to make the wind again, to make Gloria pass out, anything! But nothing happened.

Gloria sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. "The more you try and do magic the more faint you will feel and the more of your energy will flow into me."

"You're... taking her powers." Stefan said.

Gloria nodded, grinning, obviously proud of her achievement. "And you are incredibly powerful, my dear. Had you been more experienced I wouldn't have stood a chance against you."

She turned back to Stefan.

"Just let go, honey." she said before putting her hands on his bare chest. I winced as I heard his screams.

All my fault.

"There we go, honey." Gloria said, closing her eyes. She was entering Stefan's mind. "There we go... there's the girl with the necklace. You love her... You'd do anything for her, and you have." she frowned. She was obviously talking about Elena. "A lot of darkness. A lot of guilt... All to keep her away from Klaus. Why would he be interested in one girl?" Gloria asked. Stefan made a strangled choking sound, and my shoulders dropped. Gloria was going to find out everything, and then what if she told Klaus? He'd kill me and my entire family, including Elena, because we lied. Because I lied.

Gloria removed her hands from Stefan's chest and took a step back. "She's the doppelgänger. She's supposed to be dead and that's why Klaus can't make hybrids, isn't it?" she asked, and she began to laugh.

I saw someone flash, right behind an oblivious Gloria and grinned as I saw Katherine.

"Well this is creepy." My sister's doppelganger said. Gloria turned around not a second before Katherine plunged a knife into her neck.

The same knife that had been used to stab me.

"Maybe you do need my help after all." Katherine said, looking down at Stefan.

After Gloria's body had fell to the floor, Stefan hadn't wasted much time in flashing to me. He ripped all the ropes off and I saw his jaw clench as he looked at the blood.

Great. My best friend wants to eat me.

He bit into his wrist and fed me his blood.

"Are you okay?" he asked as I pulled away, grimacing at the horrible taste of his blood.

I nodded, and that was that. I had a feeling we'd continue the conversation once Katherine was gone.

I spent the next twenty minutes in the bathroom wiping away all the blood and changing into some spare clothes. I wasn't sure where Katherine had gotten them from but they looked designer.

Every cloud has a silver lining, I thought to myself, smiling slightly. As I emerged from the bathroom and into the bar I saw that the candles were gone and Stefan was carrying Gloria's body in a bag which he held over his shoulder.

Katherine sent me an agitated look as it seemed I had just interrupted a pretty heated discussion between the two.

"Stefan." she said annoyedly.

"Katherine." Stefan said in a mocking tone. He then looked at her seriously. "I'm in this alone. If you're looking for a diabolical partner in crime, I suggest you look elsewhere." he said before turning and leaving Gloria's.

I looked at Katherine who looked very, very angry.

I made a note to ask Stefan what they had been talking about later.

"Thanks." I told her. "For the help."

She looked at me for a moment before nodding. I returned the gesture and followed Stefan to his car.

I was back in the bar at Gloria's, and Klaus had gone around the back to go look for her.

Little did he know, she was dead.

He appeared before me, an angry expression on his face. He was mad.

"She's gone." he growled. He picked up a chair and threw it against the wall like it was nothing. I swallowed.

He was very mad.

"We have to find another witch." he said. "A powerful one."

"Gee, thanks." I scoffed.

He looked at me and smirked. Why did he find my sarcasm and irritation so amusing?!

"We're leaving." he said, and he left me to follow him out and to the car.

"Seriously?" I muttered under my breath.

"Seriously what?" he asked, turning back to face me.

"Most people say, 'Hey, let's go!' or 'Shall we go?'. With you, it's just 'We're leaving'." I said the last bit in a low British accent.

He just chuckled, and I rolled my eyes.

"Gloria's gone, she's cleared out. We need to find a new witch," Klaus said as he stormed into the warehouse where Rebekah's daggered body had once been kept. Stefan and Rebekah looked up at us and then at me as I walked behind Klaus. "Immediately."

"What's going on?" I asked, looking at Stefan and Rebekah.

"Something's wrong." Rebekah said, looking at Klaus. "He was asking about Mikael." she turned to look up at Stefan. "He's not with us, Nik. I can sense it."

"She's wrong." Stefan said.

Klaus looked from Stefan to me, I gave him my best 'I literally have no idea what's happening' look, and he turned back to Stefan who looked at him pleadingly. "Niklaus." he said, but Klaus didn't seem to hear him.

I could only watch as Klaus flashed towards him and snapped his neck.

"What the hell was that for?!" I yelled as I watched Stefan fall to the floor.

Klaus turned and looked at me. "What do you know about Mikael?"

I swallowed and said in a short breath, "He was a member of the Jackson five and is a very popular singer known universally as the King of Pop."

Rebekah gave me an incredulous look.

"What?"

Klaus did not look amused. "Come with me." he said.

I had no choice but to follow him. And as we left, I couldn't help but feel like something was terribly wrong.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

He smirked. "Home, of course."

"What?" I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at him.

He looked at me and smirked. "We're going to Mystic Falls."

Rebekah grinned, but I was not happy. Not in the slightest.

Elena, I thought as I followed Klaus like a zombie. My face pale and my body rigid. When Klaus finds her... He's going to kill her. He's going to kill us all.

OG Author's Note: A/N— Chapter five is already in the process of being written.

Definitely more Klaus next time.

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