Kol was at the bar when he saw the eldest Salvatore walking towards him. He slammed the rest of his drink and turned to face him. "Where is Elena?" Damon asked, clearly annoyed.
"Isn't it your job to follow her like a lost puppy and make all of her decisions for her?" Kol teased. A knowing smirked creeping across his face.
"Cut the crap Abercrombie. I saw you dancing with her and now she's missing. Now just tell me what you know, and I won't hurt you too bad."
Kol laughed at this young vampire "As if you could hurt me. I have over 900 years on you Damon. You don't scare me. I'm an Original. Remember that the next time you try to threaten me. And as for Elena, she is...occupied. But if I see her, I'll be sure to tell her you're looking for her." Kol winked at him and started to walk away.
Damon grabbed Kol's arm and threw him into the bar and grabbed him by the throat. "Stay away from Elena. She is mine!" Damon hissed as he squeezed Kol's throat. Stefan appears out of nowhere and places his hand on Damon's shoulder. "Damon not here. There are too many humans. Let this go for now."
Kol broke out of Damon's grip "You should listen to your brother. And if you touch me again I will rip your arms off." He dusted himself off. "Well I'm off to go find my lovely Elena." He smirked at them. That was the last straw for Damon and he lunged at Kol. Kol was too quick and grabbed Damon by the neck and with a quick flick of his wrist, he snapped Damon's neck and threw his limp body at Stefan. "Get him out of here before I kill you both. This is your last warning. Don't test me." He said menacingly and walked towards Elijah to fill him in.
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Elena found Esther and she revealed her plan for her children. She believed they all needed to die to balance nature. Elena stood there stunned. She thought this was just about Esther's revenge on Klaus. No, she wanted to kill all her children. Elena couldn't let that happen. No matter how much she hated Klaus, he and his siblings did not deserve to die. Not by her hand or will.
"I just need a few drops of your blood and I can link my children as one, so that when one falls, they all fall." Esther said as she walked towards Elena with the knife. "So will you do it, or shall I?"
"I won't help you!" Elena screamed. "I won't help you kill your children. They don't deserve this. Not even Klaus."
"My child, you think you have a choice? You will help me willingly or not. By tomorrow's full moon, my children and you will be dead."
"Me? You're trying to kill me too now?" Elena shrieked, now panicking more than ever.
"Yes dear. It was your bloodline that created vampires, so it's your blood that will end them. So when my children fall, you will fall too. Then nobody can ever recreate that spell and the world will be as it was meant to. I will erase my thousand-year mistake. It is what the Spirits want."
"You're insane! You cannot honestly believe the spirits want you to kill your own children?" Elena paused, the words clicking in her head. "Oh my god, you want to get rid of all vampires. If your children die, every vampire dies. You cannot honestly believe that the spirits and nature want you to commit genocide?! Vampires have been on this earth for a thousand years; nature has found a way to adapt and find balance. If you do this, you will destroy the balance of nature and murder your children. For what? To make yourself feel better about turning them into what they are in the first place? You're sick!"
Esther had heard enough. She lifted her hand and threw Elena against the wall, knocking her unconscious. She walked over to the unconscious doppelganger and sliced her hand, holding the goblet under to catch her blood. Esther took Elena's blood and put it into the champagne. When she makes the toast tonight, her children will ingest the blood and she can link them. She then bustled around the room, collecting the things she needed for the linking spell.
Esther re-emerged to the ball and stood at the top the stairs, watching. She noticed Elena's friends searching for her. She needed to do this now before anyone got suspicious. She waved at the waiters to pass out the pink champagne as her children joined her on the stairs. "It has been a long time since our family has been United and I thank you all for being here tonight, welcoming my family to your lovely town." She raised her glass "To family." And she watched as all five of her children sipped the champagne, seemingly unaware of her plans.
Elena woke up in the same room, trying to remember what happened. She slowly stood up, gripping the wall to help support her. She made her way down the stairs, barely conscious. Kol saw her staggering down the last few steps and rushed to catch her before she fell unconscious again. He held the unconscious brunette in is arms as he made his way to the garden when Elijah stooped him.
"What happened?" Elijah roared at him.
"I found her staggering down the stairs and I barely caught her before she fell unconscious." Kol seethed back. Offended his brother would think he would do something to the lovely Elena. "You should be asking what dearest Mother did to her." Kol spat. That's when he smelled blood. Fresh blood. He noticed the cut on her palm. His mother wanted her blood for something. But what? Most likely for some sort of spell. He moved her head and saw blood in her hair. He hesitated for a second before biting his wrist and shoving it in her mouth. He sighed in relief when she drank his blood. Her eyes opened and she said "I'm too late. It's too late." And she closed her eyes again.
"What does she mean? What did mother do?" Kol said, fear flickering across his face.
"Kol take her home before mother sees her. Whatever is going on, Elena is obviously a key to it. We need to keep her safe. Tomorrow we can ask her what Esther has done." Elijah told his younger brother in a hushed tone. Kol picked her up bridal style and vamp sped her out of the house and into the night.
He reached her front porch as her eyes fluttered open, "Darling you need to invite me in." Kol said softly.
With all the energy she had, she managed to mutter 'come in' before her eyes closed once again.
He took her up the stairs and into her room where he gently laid her on the bed. He debated for a few minutes on getting the blood off her and getting her into something more comfortable than her ballgown. He decided it was worth the risk of a slap to the face and drew her a bath. He gently removed her dress, leaving her in her bra and panties. He wanted to help her keep some dignity. He set her in the bath and she stirred slightly. He rinsed the blood from her hand and washed the blood from her hair. Once she was clean he dried her and put her in a t-shirt and shorts and laid her back on the bed.
He brushed her damp hair away from her face as he gazed at her. 'Damn that face.' He thought as he stared. This isn't him. He isn't concerned about humans. He doesn't help them. He uses them, feeds on them, then discards them. So why did he care so much about what happens to the brunette laying before him? He couldn't explain it, but since they first touched during their dance, he felt a pull to her. An instinct to protect her. All of his plans for using her for revenge were quickly disappearing. His main focus now was his mother and what she had done tonight. Whatever it was, it's not good.
He bent down and lightly placed a kiss on her forehead and turned to walk out when he felt a dainty hand grab his wrist. Her eyes barely opened as she whispered "Will you stay? I don't want to be alone."
He sighed and took off his suit jacket and shoes and scooted in bed behind her. Elena turned and snuggled into his chest, he instinctively wrapped a hand around her waist and his other hand running through her hair. "Sleep now darling, I'm not going anywhere." And with that, they both fell into a peaceful sleep.