The Lost One

by Jewelz1642

There was another girl who Elijah and Klaus fought over, their best friend and the twin sister of Tatia. She was supposedly gone forever, until they find not only Tatia's doppelganger, Elena, but her twin sister and also doppelganger, Emilia. Season 1-4 OC rewrite. Full summary inside. Officially rewritten and now updating regularly(ish)

23. Chapter 23

Ch. 23 Klaus – 2x19

A/N: Ok. Here we go. We are going to see the return of Elijah. Also, we are finally revealing Emilia's background. I hope I've teased it enough throughout the story to keep you interested. Trigger warnings for this background include mentions of abusive relationship, emotionally abusive partner, attempted murder, rape, and suicide, self-harm, victim blaming, and potentially more. If any of this makes you uncomfortable, there is a warning before the specific line breaks. I will have a trigger-free summary in the next chapter, which I will hint will be incredibly fluffy to make up for this one.

---

She can't even answer before I leave. She can deal with her actions. I have to deal with…something else. Somewhere else.

I run back to my room. I mean 'my' (designated) room here in the Salvatore Safe house. I can't be down there. But I can't leave her alone either.

It takes a while and it's very late, but I eventually calm down enough to fall asleep. Like I said, I've been off for weeks. Elena wakes me up in the early morning. He still hasn't woken up. She wants to know why I left and if I told the Salvatore's. I only answer one of her questions with a simple, 'no'. She grabs me before dragging me downstairs. Apparently, waiting alone all night for a pissed off Original vampire to wake up took too long and now she's too nervous to be alone.

I did not get enough sleep for this. And that is the only reason my heart is beating like this.

I mean, I also could just be nervous. I mean, we did kill this incredibly powerful vampire and left him in a cellar. Who knows how he is going to react?

I take the White Oak dagger from where Elena left it on the ground and keep in my hand, just in case.

The morning light is just cresting through the small window when I finally ask, "Why?" and bother to listen for an answer.

"We need the help," Elena murmurs back next to me.

"You really think he's going to offer it? After you killed him?" I turn to her. She looks at the still body in front of us. "Technically, we killed him twice."

"We don't have a lot of choices here, Lia," she replies, a little tersely.

I sigh. She's right. I just wish it didn't have to come to this. I don't want to deal with…whatever this is. We sit in silence for a decent amount of time before it occurs to me.

"This is taking too long," I comment. He hasn't moved at all since the dagger was first removed, hours ago.

"Is it?" Elena asks quietly.

"Did you give him any blood?" I question.

"No. Did I need to?" she replies.

I stand up and look closer at the body, "He's been daggered for weeks. I mean Damon tried to burn him" which is how Luka died, "and yet he looks fine- I mean not damaged. He's probably at least somewhat desiccated. Which means he needs blood to get going," I say.

"How are we going to do that?" Elena asks.

I am about to walk out, "Damon's stash of blood bags," as my answer, when Elena stops me.

"Wait, no. Don't."

I turn back to her, "Why not?"

Elena stands up, hands out, "He can't know until we're gone."

"How is he going to figure it out from one missing blood bag?!" I ask in disbelief.

Elena shrugs and crosses her arms, "I'm not willing to risk it."

I'm too tired for this. "Fine." I place the White Oak ash dagger in an empty sheath on my lower back, roll up my sleeves, grab my dagger from its sheath along my side and take a deep breath. I walk over to Elijah's head and crouch above it when Elena catches on.

"What are doing?!" she whispers loudly.

I turn my head to stare at her, "We need to blood to wake him up or we'll never get out of here. And since you aren't willing to use blood bags, this is our only option." I take another deep breath and run my knife along the middle of my left forearm. Elena and I gasp - her in shock and me in pain - and I flip my arm to place the now bleeding wound over the man's mouth. In this position, I could almost pull his head to rest on my legs, but instead I keep as much distance as I can while still staring directly into his closed eyes. And even with the blood, there's no movement.

After a few moments, I get up and sneak upstairs to grab some medical supplies. I clean the wound and wrap it in some gauze before I am back in the cellar a few minutes after I left. Elena is staring at the Original vampire, still frozen in the same position, this time with my blood still resting on his lips.

"Still nothing?" I ask, more out loud to myself than anything as I can see that fact myself.

Elena looks over and shakes her head. She shrugs.

I look down, "Maybe it was my dagger? It has vervain on it. Maybe-"

I'm interrupted by Elijah gasping awake. His body arches off the ground like a person possessed. Elena, being closer gets to him first. He body arches towards her, but I make it to the other side to pull him back. I can see the protruding veins on his face disappearing and the grey pallor of his skin fading into something more lifelike as he gasps.

"Elijah," Elena calls, his focus already on her but not seeing.

He gasps out, "Katerina."

Elena and I exchange glances over the panting man. She leans back down, "Elijah, shhh. It's me. It's Elena. Please shh."

"Oh my god," he pants out. His eyes still unfocused. He looks like he is lost in his memories, somewhere likely long ago. He lets out a long breath and his head falls back to the ground, the dusty dirt of the cellar ground getting into his hair. His head lolls to my side and Elena and I stare.

"What do we do now?" Elena asks.

I give her a small shrug. I reach out to him, about to touch him in efforts to rouse him, when his body jerks and rolls towards Elena. She flinches back into the dirt wall and again when he punches the ground to help him stand.

He gasps, "I can't- I can't breathe." And he falls to the ground in front of me again. I grab his shoulders to help him up and his head whips to me. He gasps out my name, part breathless part shocked. He looks me in the eye to ask, "What's- What's happened to me?"

Elena and I exchange another shocked quick glance. Elena tries to stammer out an answer when Elijah stands up and tries to flash out but hits an invisible wall. He leans too far to his right, so I grab his left arm to help counterbalance and support him. Elena is there a moment later to support his other side. He leans in my direction, almost falling on me. We have to pull him back to keep him from falling to the floor completely.

He turns his head to me, his gasps getting harder, "I can't- I can't be in this-"

I realize what the signs - the invisible wall and the discomfort – mean, "You haven't been invited in."

He starts to fall to the door again, trying to get out, but I pull him back in balance. He says, still gasping but sounding stronger than his previous sentences, "You need to get me out of here."

I nod and he tries to flash off, but runs into the wall, leaving a dent in the stone. He then flashes off again down the hallway.

Elena and I immediately start running, following him all the way to the now-open front door. He's crouched on the front patio, breathing easily for the first time since he's woken up. He glares at Elena as she walks up. She slows down and stops a few feet from the doorway. He tries to flash in to attack her but hits the doorway protection.

I place myself back in front of her. Elijah and I make eye contact and he relaxes slightly. Very slightly. But it's enough that I can shift slightly so Elena is more visible to him.

"What happened?" he asks softly, but Elena still shushes him. She points to her ear and then upstairs.

"I'll tell you," she whispers softly, "Not here. Can I trust you?"

Elijah glances toward me, so fast that I think I imagine it. He stares at Elena over my shoulder, pressing against the barrier, "Can I trust you?"

I glance behind me. I watch as Elena looks upstairs and sighs quietly. She looks to me and nods to my back with her head and a few glances. I sigh when I get what she wants me to do. I lift the back of my shirt just high enough for her to grab the white-oak-ash dagger out of the sheath I placed it in just a few minutes earlier. She takes it out and hands it to the man in front of us, the one giving me one of his usual stares. I have not missed that inscrutable gaze. He looks to the dagger, stares down Elena, and silently sighs before taking it and pocketing it.

He steps back from the barrier and Elena tries to push us out the door. I sidestep, hold up one finger, and rush back downstairs to grab a blood bag and a bag of stuff I had hidden down there back when Sheriff Forbes was stuck here. God, that was ages ago. And all in all, the trip takes less than 3 minutes but the tension by the front door has risen exponentially by the time I get back. I toss the blood-bag to Elijah as I step outside, Elena close at my heels.

Elena has since grabbed the keys and I realize as we walk to the car, that this puts me in the backseat. Fucking shitballs.

Bad things happen when I'm in the back seat.

Elena notices my hesitancy as we get in the car. She gives me a look, but I wave her off. We have more important things to do. At least this time, I am behind the driver's seat. I shake out my arms and take a deep breath before I get in the SUV.

I try to focus very hard on going through my things and definitely avoiding the gaze of anyone in the car.

---

As soon as we get far enough away from the Boarding House, Elijah looks back to normal, having slowly sipped at the blood-bag. Elena pulls over to comment the same.

"You look better," she says. I mean other than the completely ruined suit, he looks just as he used to.

Elijah pays no mind to the compliment, playing with the empty blood-bag, "Where did you get the dagger?"

Elena evades, "I'll tell you everything. But we have to work together, Elijah. I need your word," she finishes, staring him down. That's a bad choice.

"Your ability to make demands has long since passed," Elijah responds. Oh, maybe I should be the one leading this discussion. Fuck, I'm useless. I grip my hands tight as I rub them anxiously on my thighs.

"No demands," Elena explains. She looks out the front window, "I'm offering you my help." She turns to face him again, "And in return, I want yours."

"And why should I even consider this?" Elijah asks, looking at her for the first time in the car ride.

"For the same reason you haven't killed me," Elena answers. And I flinch way too hard because Elijah notices and glances at me through the overhead mirror. "You need my help to kill Klaus. And I need you." My flinch is smaller when Klaus is mentioned, and I force myself to look out the side window. I can still feel his gaze burning my skin.

Elena's cellphone takes the opportunity to buzz. "Looks like someone's been found out," I comment quietly. I glance and see Elijah's face in the mirror, smiling out his window.

Elena sighs and answers.

I can hear Stefan's voice on the other side, demanding her to answer. "Where are you?" he asks a little too forcefully for my tastes. "Are you okay?" he asks softer.

Elena does answer, "Yes, I'm fine."

"Where's Elijah?" Stefan asks.

"He's right here," Elena points out, looking to the man next to her. Stefan can't see that, Elena. You are on the phone.

"Where? I'm on my way," Stefan commands.

Elena stops him, "No, Stefan. Elijah and I need some time alone. And Emilia is with me for back-up."

"Listen to me," Stefan says. "He can't be trusted. He'll use you to get to Klaus." I roll my eyes at that. It's not like you really spent much time with the man, Stefan. How do you know he can't be trusted?

Luckily, Elena is better for dealing with Stefan, "Elijah is a noble man, Stefan. He lives by a code of honor. I can trust him." Elijah seems impressed by her words. She continues, "He knows that I'd be incredibly stupid to betray him again. By removing the dagger, I have proven myself."

"You can't do this alone," Stefan replies. Hey! I'm here! She's not alone.

"It's my decision, Stefan. Please respect it," Elena says. Which is valid. "And make sure that Damon doesn't do anything stupid." And there it is. I snort out loud, but quietly. That's not likely to happen. Damon's stupidity knows no bounds. "I'll be in touch." She ends the call.

Elijah nods lightly and holds out his hand. She looks down at her phone sadly. He tilts his head and raises his eyebrows. And she hands the phone over with a sigh. He puts the phone in his ruined jacket's pocket.

Elena sighs, turns back to focus on the road ahead of us and admits the problem at hand, "He's here."

"Klaus is here?" he asks in confirmation.

"He's currently possessing Alaric's body," I say. He looks back and I raise my eyebrows in confirmation.

He leans back into the front passenger seat, "Of course he has. It's one of his favorite tricks."

"What are his other tricks?" Elena asks.

"What is most likely gonna be his next move?" I reiterate. Elijah turns to face me. "You know him best."

Elijah sighs, "Yes, I do." He looks lost in his memories for a moment before he says to Elena, "First, drive to the Lockwood manor. I cannot remain in this suit." And that's all he says until we drive off.

---

Elijah is the one to ring the doorbell at the Lockwood's. Carol is the one to open the door.

"Elijah!" She says in shock, probably based on his appearance and the fact he disappeared for weeks without a word. And then she notices us, "Elena, Emilia!" Is it me or does her voice actually seem less excited when she says my name? "What are you doing here? What happened?" she asks, gesturing to his destroyed outfit.

"I had a bit of an incident, Carol. I'm hoping you can help," Elijah answers. And you can see her melt when he says her name.

"Well, I'm on my way to a meeting, so I-" Carol starts.

Elijah steps up and gets closer to her, looking her in the eye, and her smile goes softer, either by the fact that he's closer to her or by compulsion. "It won't take but a minute of your time," he says.

"Of course, anything you need," she says, stepping aside. Wow, I would do anything to have her be that agreeable.

We step inside the foyer and Elijah says, "Well, first things first. I'm going to need a change of clothing."

Carol closes the door behind us, "Well, we can try one of my husband's suits. I haven't boxed them up yet."

Elijah smiles politely, "Wonderful." And Carol walks off smiling dreamily. I scoff lightly.

Elena turns to Elijah, "How did you know she's not on vervain?"

"Cause I'm the one who took her off of it," Elijah answers. "Right before you and your friends killed me. Twice."

"Wait," I say. "You're saying that she was still on vervain during the tea?"

Elijah turns to me and smirks, "Yes."

"You mean, she reacts to you like that based on just your charm?" I ask.

"What can I say? I'm charming," Elijah responds.

"Damn, I was really hoping it was compulsion," I mutter.

"And why is that?" Elijah asks.

"I've been trying for years to get her to like me. If it were compulsion, I could've fixed that ages ago," I remark. Not that it would've made my life all that much easier, but I would've liked it a lot more if I didn't have to deal with Carol's dislike.

Elijah chuckles before looking down at himself, "Now, if you'll excuse me. I'll be down in a moment."

As he follows Carol's path upstairs, I call out to him, "Could you just give her a quick little compelled message while you're up there?"

He chuckles as he walks up the last few stairs and turns the corner out of view. I smile to myself and turn back to Elena, who I just realize saw that whole conversation. The small conversation that just occurred. The small, very innocent conversation.

Elena's confused stare unnerves me, I'm not gonna lie. But I give her a shrug, and try to explain, "We need him to like us. Getting on his good side can only help with getting his assistance."

Elena shrugs it off, focusing on the task at hand instead of the odd conversation she just overheard. I try to do the same, but…

---

A few minutes later, Elijah comes down and we sit in one of the sunny sitting rooms close to the side of the house. Elijah on one couch, Elena and I on our own chairs facing him, her on the right and me on the left. Cups of tea for each of us on various coffee and side tables.

"So, I assume the Martin witches are no longer with us," Elijah says, staring off through the archway on the side of the room to my right (his left), into the music room next to us. Not that any of the Lockwood's really know how to play the instruments, but Carol does often hire a piano player for certain Founders' events.

"No," Elena answers while I look down in shame. My mind repeating Dr. Martin's last moments, as well as flashes of what I can remember from the confrontation after the wolves, which is very little. "I'm sorry," is all Elena says.

"They were loyal to the end," I comment. Elijah looks to me for an explanation, and I give him one, "They continued to try to reach you and, in their efforts, Luka was killed during a spell done to revive you. Dr. Martin went on a grief-stricken rampage, destroying part of the Mystic Grille. After removing Bonnie's powers, he tried to attack Elena in response. In defense of my sister, Katherine attacked Dr. Martin, knocking him out. In his last moments, he shot up to use the last of his energy to return Bonnie's powers. But the spell made it seem like he was attacking her, and…" I have to take a moment to breathe and to swallow the catch in my throat. "In order to protect her, I stabbed Dr. Martin and he died…he died urging me to…urging me to revive you for your help." I take a shaky breath and despite how much I don't want to, I hazard a glance at Elijah in front of me. He looks away, sadly. "You should be honored to have inspired such loyalty from these warlocks," I say, looking at the marble man in front of me. With my words, he remains quiet; his emotions hidden behind a solid wall. I finish with as much sincerity as I can manage without falling apart, "They were true, steadfast, and dedicated men and I am so sincerely sorry for my role in their deaths."

Elijah looks to me and nods and I take a deep breath, falling back. It feels better to have gotten the truth of their deaths off my chest, but the regret and guilt is still there. I doubt that will leave any time soon. We spend a moment in respectful silence, honoring the men who passed. Elijah turns to Elena and asks, "And Katerina? She would've been released from my compulsion when I died."

"Klaus took her," Elena answers. Elijah looks slightly more solemn at the news, which after the gasp of her name earlier makes my brain tingle with potential connections. "We think she may be dead," Elena finishes.

"I doubt that," Elijah smirks. I stare at how the gesture lightens his face. "Not Klaus's style. Death would be too easy for her after what she did." Keeping someone like Klaus from achieving their goals, especially with the goal being ending Klaus's curse, I doubt she'll be free of torture any century soon.

"I don't understand," Elena says. "You say that you want Klaus dead, but you still made Katherine pay for betraying him."

Elijah replies, "I have my own reasons for wanting Katerina to pay." Wow, Katherine really does make a habit of screwing over everyone she comes across. Elijah starts reminiscing, "There was a time I'd have done anything for Klaus." He pauses lost in his memories for a moment before he turns to Elena and reveals, "You see, Klaus is my brother." He takes the time to detail how they met Katerina back in 1492, a gift from Trevor for Klaus's birthday. The memory fascinating and detailed enough to keep me hooked and to give Elena time to process.

He quiets after ending the story of this initial meeting and takes a sip of his tea. I take the opportunity to check on my sister. She still looks unbelievably shocked. "Elena, did you hear what he said?"

Elena nods, "Yeah, I heard. I'm just…processing."

"Yes, I'm a little behind on the times," Elijah says, lifting his cup closer to his lips, "but I think the term you are searching for is 'O.M.G'" and he takes a sip of the tea.

The dead silence lingers for too long and I can't help it, I start chuckling. Elena's shocked face and Elijah's smug one combined with the general sense of absurdity surrounding a one-thousand-year-old immortal vampire, one of the oldest in history, saying 'OMG' is just too much. After a few moments of tension-releasing chuckling, I cough a few times and apologize softly. Elijah takes that moment to place his now-empty cup of tea down and stands, fixing the cuffs of his slightly ill-fitting suit.

Elena is the one to break the silence, asking, "Wait, there's a whole family of Originals?"

Elijah moves to the fireplace on my left side, fixing his collar and buttoning his top shirt button in the mirror above it. "My father was a wealthy landowner in a village in Eastern Europe. Our mother bore seven children." I check that with the names I know of. To my knowledge, there are only 5 Original vampires and whatever their father is. I wonder what happened to the other two.

"Your parents were human?" Elena asks.

"Our whole family was," Elijah replies. "Our origin as vampires is a very long story, Elena. Just know…we're the oldest vampires in the world."

"They are the Original family and from them, all vampires were created," I finish for him.

"Right," Elena says. "But Klaus is your brother. And you want him dead?"

"C'mon, Elena," I say. "A thousand years of sibling rivalry. You've seen what Damon and Stefan are like after 150 years. You think those two haven't at the very least considered killing their sibling?" I mean you can literally see those thoughts appearing in their heads like animated thought bubbles every time they fight over Elena. "You don't know what Klaus may have done to inspire Elijah's actions, but I assure you, he has done so much worse than the petty squabbles Stefan and Damon go through." And that's including Stefan's ripper past and Damon's treatment of women.

Elena still looks disbelieving, so Elijah, changing the topic announces, "I need some air. I'm still feeling a tad…dead." And he starts to walk off, "Come." Elena takes a moment to grab her jacket off her chair and I finish my tea and place it back on the saucer before I stand up and follow. Ugh, I wish it was coffee. I need the caffeine to deal with all of this.

We walk out the backdoor and down the patio steps onto the grass backyard that starts the rolling greenery of the Lockwood estate land, when Elijah points out, "As you have seen, nothing can kill an Original. Not sun, not fire, not even a werewolf bite. Only the wood from one tree, a tree my family made sure burned."

"The white oak," I figure out.

"That's where the white ash for the dagger comes from," Elena realizes.

"Yes," Elijah answers both of us. "The witches won't allow anything truly immortal to walk the earth. Every creature needs to have a weakness in order to maintain the balance."

"So, the sun can't kill an Original, then why is Klaus so obsessed with breaking the sun and moon curse?" Elena asks. And wow, I completely forgot that this is what she thinks this is all about. I actually stop walking for a moment as it never occurred to me to explain. As soon as I knew that it was fake, I was trying to find ways to stop Klaus's curse. Even with all the drama with the werewolves, I never thought about it beyond the Originals. I had to find out how to stop Klaus, not how to explain that Stefan, Damon, and Caroline will forever need daylight rings.

I guess it is finally time to fess up. "The Sun and Moon curse is fake, Lena. Klaus made up the Aztec curse along with a bunch of other curses in other cultures."

Elena startled can only ask the smaller question, the easier one to deal with, "But why would he-?"

Elijah answers, "The easiest way to discover the existence of a doppelganger or to get your hands on some long-lost moonstone, is to have every single member of two warring species on the lookout for it." Elijah gives her enough time to gather her thoughts before we proceed walking around the grounds and he continues, "Klaus and I faked the sun and moon curse dating back over a thousand years."

"But if there's no curse," Elena starts to ask.

"There is a curse, just not that one," Elijah interrupts.

I catch her attention, "The curse is on Klaus. That's why he's so obsessed with breaking it."

"What are you talking about?" Elena looks, her head bouncing between looking confused at the two of us. Her phone's ring goes off, but it remains ignored.

"Klaus has been trying to break it for the last thousand years. And the doppelganger is his only hope," Elijah finishes, spinning around to face Elena. Her phone still buzzing in his suit pocket.

"What is this curse?" Elena asks, and I look up at Elijah intrigued. I never found out actually. I figured out all the previous information about the fake curse, but Elijah didn't give me details when we spoke on Wickery Bridge. He only mentioned that the curse was on Klaus, that the plan involved a witch channeling immense power after the sacrifice when Klaus is likely to be the most vulnerable. And the fact that he needed the location of the dead witches in order to access the power needed. I've found quite a few of Klaus's secrets but I never found out this one.

Elena's phone vibrating is too much for Elijah as he pulls it out to hand it to her, "Your phone will not stop it's incessant buzzing." He hands it to her between his index and middle finger, "answer it, please."

Elena takes it and sighs, answering "Stefan-" she starts before Stefan's quickly mumbled words interrupt her. "What's wrong?" she still asks. I can't hear the explanation, despite my clarity of hearing their previous one in the car, but I can see Elena's shocked face and her small gasp of "No." She repeats the word a few more times before she agrees, "Ok, I'll be right there," and ends the call. She looks up at Elijah in front of her, "Klaus went after Jenna. I have to go to her."

"What did he do to Jenna?" I ask, pulling her focus to me physically with a tug on her arm.

"He revealed vampires to her," she answers.

"Oh my god," I gasp out before I realize. I take a quick step back and away to breathe. "No, you know what? It's going to be fine. I was going to tell her but we just have to deal with this now." I grab Elena and get her to focus on me. "Ok, so here's what you are going to do. Find my laptop in the Boarding House. I have a folder labelled 'Jenna'; it should be on the screen. Scroll through the pictures folder to the end, I created a file specifically for this occasion after the Isobel reveal. In that file should be everything you need to explain the supernatural world to Jenna."

"What do you mean? You're not coming?" Elena asks.

Elijah speaks up, "I'm afraid leaving was not part of today's arrangement."

"She's our family, Elijah. We have to," Elena defends. "We'll be back. I give you my word."

"That does not mean anything to me," Elijah says. "Not until you live up to it."

"Look, Elena," I say. "You go and I'll stay. I'll be a guarantee of your return. You need to be there for Jenna."

Elena grabs my arm, "No, I can't do this without you. I can't just leave you here with him."

I rub my arms along her grip on me, "You'll be fine. I've given you everything you need to do this. And this has to be done by you." God, I wish I could explain that last sentence better, but how do I explain to her that she needs to do it because I may not live long enough to have a relationship with Jenna anymore. "I'll be fine here. You need to go."

Elena still looks hesitant, but I nudge her a bit to get her going. She gives me a quick affectionate squeeze and a polite nod to Elijah, who returns it, and she starts running back to the house.

And now, I'm stuck alone with Elijah.

Fantastic.

---

I watch Elena's retreating back for longer than I can see her. Elijah stands next to me silently for a while, which I appreciate. I sigh and turn to him, "I'm sure we have things to discuss."

"I assume she does not know of your role in the sacrifice," Elijah says, first looking off in the direction of Elena's departure and then looking down at me as he finishes his sentence.

I sigh, "No, but Klaus does."

"He recognized you," Elijah comments, not bothering to ask it as a question.

"Didn't you?" is all I say in reply.

Elijah sighs lightly.

"I recognized his possession spell rather quickly. Alaric would have never let me take over class the way that Klaus did. Alaric would have never gotten confused as to the events of the 60s, in fact."

"And Klaus did?" Elijah questions.

"Klaus said that the only thing that made the 60s bearable was the Beatles," I reply. "And listed Watergate as an event of the 60s."

"And you could not let that stand, I imagine," he smirks at me.

"Of course not. You baited me into enough arguments to know that," I remark. He gives me another low chuckle. "Well, there was no way for me to hide after my little display in class, so I made sure that when he found me, I was alone."

"Where did he find you?"

I smirk, "The art room." He realizes the connection without me saying it and he chuckles lowly again. Am I really that desperate to hear his laugh that I am deliberately making jokes? No, no, no. I'm just being a good conversationalist. I mean, I can be charming when I want to. "He failed a series of small tests. Information, small details, that Alaric would know, but Klaus would not. It also just so happened that Klaus made his first move right before he found me. I could confront him through pretending to believe his disguise and then call him out by name."

"How did he react?" Elijah asks.

"Shocked and then smug. He knew someone would figure it out. I tried to leverage that into a deal."

"Klaus is not one for deals," Elijah remarks.

"As I found out," I answer.

"You offered yourself as a sacrifice," Elijah guesses.

"That and keeping his secrets."

"What secrets of his have you discovered?"

"I'm sorry for the loss of your sister, Rebekah. I know he killed her back in to 20s," I say, looking away sadly to give him privacy to register and grieve my sentence.

Elijah is quiet for a while, staring out into the lake. After a few minutes of silence, he finally admits, "Yes, well. You can see why I might want Klaus dead."

"He's done the same to the rest of your siblings, hasn't he?" I venture a guess.

"Yes, and buried their bodies at sea, so I may never see them again."

"I am so sorry, Elijah," I say. "You have my assistance, whatever you need."

All Elijah says in response is "Thank you." We spend a few more quiet minutes just admiring the view. I hate to say it, but the Lockwood manor looks spectacular from here. It's a comfortable silence, with the bond over our similar goal resting comfortably around us. The wind from the lake starts to pick up a bit when Elijah stiffens. "Emilia," he asks, "are you bleeding?"

It takes me a second to come back from my thoughts, "Hmmm?" And then what he says registers, "Oh, yeah." I pull up my left sleeve to see that I've bled through my gauze. "Oh, that's not good."

"Emilia," he starts, reaching out to the wound.

I interrupt, "Let's head back to the house. I have more bandages inside." I pull my arm back and start walking towards the house. We are silent as we return to our previous sitting room and I grab my stuff. But we don't stay there. Elijah leads me back to 'our' room, the one where we discussed literature during the tea. Despite there being no fire this time, there is still the same level of comfort drawn from the coziness of the room and our previous interaction here. I grab my bag and pull out my gauze roll, gauze pads, medical tape, and anti-bacterial cream and sit in 'my' chair. I am fine until I have to unroll the last piece of gauze, where the blood has dried a bit and has stuck to my skin. Elijah crouches in front of me and is the one to pull of the last pieces. We both gasp when my laceration is revealed, me in pain and him in shock. The knife slice isn't deep, but both of us are thinking the same thing: the episode he witnessed back with the Martin's.

"It's not-" I start. "It's not what it looks like."

Elijah just glances up for a moment, giving me a skeptical look before he grabs the antibacterial cream and starts covering the wound. "What is this?" he asks.

"It's not. It's just- You weren't waking up," I explain.

He looks up from placing gauze pads on the still-bleeding injury, "You did this in order to give me blood?" he questions. He looks down again at the now-slightly covered cut and he starts to wrap it incredibly carefully. "You healed me with your blood. I would be remiss not to offer you the same."

"Thank you. But that's not a good idea," I say.

"You did not react pleasantly the last time I healed you with my blood," he states, focusing on holding my arm and wrapping as carefully as possible.

I realize. "With the werewolves. That was your blood?" I ask.

"Yes," is all he says.

My next breath shudders a bit. I understand what it means to have an Original give you their blood. The basis of vampirism is in their blood and ones who are turned directly by the Originals are often much stronger than a typical vampire, let alone the fact that they were granted the protection needed to age to stronger years. Still, there's a lot of far-reaching consequences to the sharing of blood. It hasn't been much of an issue previously, as I don't think the Salvatore's truly understand what blood-sharing between people, let alone supernatural creatures, really entails. But Elijah and I both have ideas of what this could mean.

The fact that I reveal what I do next can be attributed to this potential bond is what comforts me as soon as I start talking, "You know, if things had gone differently, if I had never encountered the supernatural world, I would've turned out a lot like Carol Lockwood."

Elijah chances a glance at me in surprise at my change in topic. He looks back down as he tapes the edges of the wrapped gauze. "Really?" he whispers.

"Married to a member of a founding family. Running the Historical Society. Large house I fill with antiquities and parties to show them off. An unsatisfying marriage that I use large amounts of wine to cope with while my husband runs around with someone younger and prettier. Yeah."

"The supernatural world changed that?" Elijah asks.

"This world, how I found out about it changed me," is what I answer.

"How?" Elijah asks.

I take a few deep breaths, preparing myself for attempting to reveal any of my past. I back down though, "It's a long sad story. One I've never told anyone."

Elijah keeps looking down, crouched in front of me, "Would you like to share with me?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I ask, my voice shaking. "Don't you want an explanation for the things you've seen me do?"

His fingers run lightly along the bandage on my arm, grazing against some of my previous scars, far lighter than when he last saw them. They are almost invisible now, but Elijah's finger run along each one as if he can see them perfectly. "I don't want to know if it would cause you this much pain."

"Someone should know before I die," I say.

"Why?" he asks, looking up.

"I don't want to only be remembered as Klaus's sacrifice." Elijah falls to a knee at my words. The tears start to fill my eyes as I see this ancient being fall to the ground because of my whispered confession. "If everything goes right, I'll make it out of the sacrifice and Klaus will not. But we both know that odds are that that is not going to happen. I'm likely to die just due Klaus's efforts to break his curse, I'm sure a historical moment in supernatural history. I'll be known as 'the doppelganger used', 'the Petrova sacrifice,' or just 'that girl'; something I'm all too used to in my life as 'Elena's twin'. I've lived that way long enough, I don't want to die, only to continue to be remembered that way."

Elijah stands, brushes off his borrowed suit, and moves to face the empty fireplace. As if he could start a fire with the intensity of his gaze. The marble man façade back in place, but it's cracked in places that I can now see. After a few moments digesting my words, Elijah asks one more question, "Why me?"

"You seem like the only person I've met who would care," I answer.

He turns to me, his face not even bothering to hide how stunned he is. I can see the half-formed questions he wants to ask but doesn't.

I answer anyways, "You came to town pretending to be a writer, a historical one. I've found that the best lies have an ounce of truth to them. We spent hours in this very room discussing literature. You had entire paragraphs of stories memorized. You've lived a thousand years and you still want to read and discuss books. You liked talking about your favorite characters, discussing the intricacies of their characters, getting to the heart of who they are and solving all the mysteries that come with it. You've been wanting to figure me out since our first meeting, but you have done it with the same care and respect you show for the characters in these stories." I stand and walk to him, placing my hand on his arm, "A thousand years, you've met countless people and I'm sure a great deal of their stories are kept in your very mind. A trustworthy maid who worked for you back in the 1300s, a human acquaintance from the 1670s, a lover from the 1800s, who knows how many people from ages ago are still living inside your memories. You will continue living long after I'm gone, meeting people and telling stories. But as long as I'm remembered, I'll never really die. And telling you seems like the best choice for being remembered as Emilia Gilbert and all that may entail."

I take a quick, quiet breath before I quote, "Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story".

"The Things They Carried", Elijah murmurs, citing my quote.

After, he remains steadfast in his silence and his focus on the fireplace. I'm sure he doesn't even feel the warmth of my left hand on his right forearm. I've gone this far down this path, if I'm going to finish it, I'm going to have to jump in all the way. I don't look at him as I reveal, "I trust you, Elijah. More than I ever expected to." I shrug a little sadly, a little disbelieving, still looking at the dead fireplace in front of us. "More than I really should considering who we are and the situation we are in. But I do, despite everything. Despite Klaus, despite my family's distrust, despite the fact that you are an Original vampire and Klaus's brother and you've threatened me and my sister. Despite all of this other crap, you were honorable and respectful, and you've treated me with more decency than I have seen from even my own friends and family. And I want to tell you my story, not just because I think that you would be the best one to remember, but because," some tears escape despite how hard I try to keep them from doing so, "because I want you to hear it."

I let the reveal hang in the air for a while. Letting the tears dry on my skin unaided and my head and heart rest. Until Elijah grabs my hand and squeezes it. I turn to face him, and he is looking down at me, and into my eyes. He squeezes my left hand again, takes a deep breath, and says, "Tell me."

I nod and we sit down. This time, while I sit in my chair, Elijah grips my hand and sits on the coffee table in front of me. He squeezes my hand again, asking with his eyes if I'm sure. I look to the fireplace, look to our joined hands, and look in his eyes. And then I nod.

I take a deep breath, focus on his eyes and the surprising warmth of his gaze and his hands on mine, and I let the words flow out of me.

---

Trigger warning (from this next line break until the asterisks): past abusive relationship including graphic violence against women, references to sexual assault and statutory rape, emotional abuse, self-harm, suicide attempt, panic attack

Stay safe and a trigger free summary will be in the next chapter

---

"I was always 'Elena's twin' first and 'Emilia' second. She was the older twin and the prettier one. She charmed the adults of our town when we were kids with her pretty words and her cute face, while I was the afterthought. It didn't bother me so much when we were kids. I had my books and I had my friends who didn't care that I was not pretty. They cared more about if I wanted to climb trees, dig up worms, play adventures, and find hidden treasures. It wasn't until I was older, maybe 11 or 12, that I began to notice how people treated Elena and I differently. It really hit when it came time for boys to start noticing us. They noticed Elena, with her dark hair, clear skin, and doe eyes. They didn't see me in her shadow. I mean I had the frizzy hair, the brace face, the acne that Elena never seemed to suffer from. Even when those things got better, I was still left behind. All the boys fell for Elena, even ones she didn't want. And somehow, always the ones I did." I take a breath and shake my head. "It's fine, they were stupid boys and it's not like she was trying to hurt me, but," I shake my head, "it still did."

I sigh, "It stopped mattering that Elena was my twin sister, it became all about trying to win some guy before her." I look down at our clasped hands and tilted my head a bit. "I don't know if you've ever been interested in the same person as one of your brothers, but if you have, you know that sibling rivalry can get vicious in the name of love." Elijah nods in understanding and I continue, "Despite how much I loved her, resentment was getting to me."

"Even when she had Matt, who was my friend first, guys were still falling head-over-heels for her. No one paid attention to me...Until one day, someone did."

I shake my head, "It was the exact wrong person. His name was Keith. He was older, the classic bad boy. All leather jackets and smoking cigarettes. I was a freshman in high school. And we became the good-girl-bad-boy stereotype, and I knew that he was a bad idea. But he was the first person to see me before Elena and I was desperate for that kind of attention. So, we started going out. And at first, he was dangerously sweet. All smiles and gifts and compliments. But his compliments came with insults. He said he was constantly trying to 'make me better'."

I take a deep breath and my heart falls to my stomach. His voice laps over mine in my mind as I quote him, "Don't eat that cupcake, Emilia. I'm just trying to make you better." "You should wear that sexy shirt. I'm just trying to make you better." "You should talk less, Emilia. I'm just trying to make you better." His voice still rings in my ears even as I try to press the story forward. "It quickly became that nothing was good enough for him and I needed to change a lot for him to 'make me better.' I didn't realize how much he was changing me until Caroline pointed it out one day, but she didn't say that his changes were bad. She told me that I started looking really hot since I was dating Keith. It kills me to this day that that is what she saw, but it opened my eyes to what he was doing. But it was just his first step."

My heart quickens and my foot begins to shake, "He started pulling me away from everyone. He told me that I shouldn't hang out with Caroline anymore because she was spreading rumors about me. Tyler and Matt were guys, and he was a jealous man. Bonnie was a crazy hippie, destined to be an alcoholic, just like her grandmother. My parents were better off spending time with each other, I mean I was the only one of their kids who didn't have a social life. With Elena, he was always trying to remind me how inferior I was to her. Any time I mentioned wanting to double date with her and Matt, he would make comments about how she was so much prettier than I was. That he should have dated her instead. And I hated it, but I fell into his trap every time." My first tear drops as his voice whispers louder in my head, derision staining his tone in my memories as if he were here in the room. "He always ended every accusation with, "but you don't need them anyways, you've got me. I'm all you need." And suddenly, I was missing every Family Game Night, every sleepover, and all my cheer competitions. I didn't go to cheer camp for the first time in years, that summer after my freshman year. And then, people stopped inviting me."

Another tear drops as I recall the next stage of our relationship. The shaking in my legs gets more pronounced as my chest gets heavier, my panic feeling more intense. "Once it was just us, about 6 months into our relationship, things changed again. Gone were the sweet words. Everything he said to me was an insult or laced with disdain." His voice again laps over mine in my head as each accusation rings out from my memory, "He kept telling me that I was worthless. That I was useless. Incompetent. Weak. Stupid. He gloated about how easy it was for him to get me to fall for him. How I listened to every one of his commands. How he could tell me to do anything and I would, because all I needed was him" I swear it's like he's here. Like he's always been here with me. He never left. I swear that if I look up from my far-off stare at my hands, he'd be here in the room. I continue despite him, despite the shaking and panic. I need this. I need to get these feelings out. I need his voice gone.

"And the sad thing was that most of it was true. I fell for every trick, every line, I listened to all his commands from day one. I had no one to blame but myself. But now, I couldn't tell anyone what was happening. I couldn't admit to anyone that I was stupid enough to fall and too weak to leave. I was seen as the smart twin, how was I going to destroy that by telling someone what he did?"

"Emilia," Elijah starts, his tone nothing but comfort. I wish the sound of my name from his lips could wipe away the sound of it coming off Keith's, but Keith's voice is still in my head and it won't come out unless I finish this.

I shake my head and continue, "What I didn't know was that Keith was part of the Council, well his father was. Their family came from the Lockwood family, a daughter who was married off a couple generations ago but stayed close enough to be Founding Family-adjacent. Keith's father had all the anger of the Lockwood werewolf gene without the actual gene. And he used it on Keith's mother, killing her. He went to jail and Keith was sent away for most of his childhood, but not before hearing all of the Council secrets. Keith came back years later, after being dishonorably discharged from the military. He had the same anger as his father, only he used the Council's knowledge of the supernatural world to benefit himself. He wanted typical lowlife things: money, drugs, guns; anything to make himself feel more power, especially as he was trapped in this small town. And he found people who were willing to provide those things for a price. One day, he lucked out by finding a vampire as much of a greedy lowlife as he was. Only this vampire was worse. He didn't just want blood; he wanted a very specific kind of blood."

I shudder and Elijah takes his right hand and rubs it up my left arm. "What kind of blood did this vampire want?" he asks, softly.

I shudder again, a few more tears slipping out before I can stop them. The memories of what this vampire did starting to rise up, like my revulsion. It takes a second before I can swallow everything down enough to answer, "He wanted the blood of young girls. Young virgin girls, in particular."

Elijah wipes my tears and squeezes my arm and my other hand, which he is still holding, "He can't hurt you anymore, Emilia."

"I know" I answer, but it's a lie. Their actions still linger. Like a slowly developing cancer or disease. Like their hands have marked me forever. Elijah must sense something off about my answer, but he doesn't push. I just continue, "I killed him a long time ago." Elijah just nods and his hand returns back to mine. It gives me enough strength to start the next part. "Keith invited me to his house one day about 9 months into our relationship, but this time instead of asking me immediately to get him a beer and then degrading me for being too slow or giving him a shitty beer, he let me in the house, looked me up and down and turned to the vampire and said, "Is this what you wanted?" The vampire nodded, handed Keith something, and then the vampire attacked me. I don't remember anything from that first feeding other than the pain and waking up hours later, my clothes covered in my own blood and the taste of blood in my mouth. I don't know how I snuck in undetected with my clothes destroyed like that. But I did and that was only the start of months of being used as a human blood bag."

After a few moments of me being lost in those hazy initial attack memories, Elijah pulls my attention back to him with a question. "When did you come to learn that he was a vampire?"

"It took me a while. A couple weeks, maybe a month, I don't remember much from that time. I know that I was being fed on 2 or 3 times a week, but I can't…I don't remember anything until after I started researching. I just know that I must have stayed conscious long enough at one point to get the idea that he was drinking my blood. From there, I started my research. I tried the internet, but I didn't know how to truly find the supernatural world, so all I got was Twilight-fan-style vampirism and the human-goth subculture. It wasn't until my dad was going through our ancestor's, Johnathan Gilbert from 1864, journal that it even occurred to me that vampires may be the answer to what he was. I read that whole journal through multiple times trying to get every last bit of information on vampires that was available. I learned about vervain and wooden stakes, but it would take weeks before I gained the courage to try either one out." It's amazing how times have changed. Now, I don't go anywhere without that plant in multiple forms. Along with my precious knives and stakes.

"I first kept the vervain to myself. I put it in a bracelet and found out about the compulsion that I was frequently under. The vampire would constantly wipe my memory of every time we met. I lost days of memory because of his shitty compulsion technique. But the vervain only allowed me to remember what happened when I was conscious. And I can't even remember some of it anymore, I don't know if it's from the compulsion or…something else. But, it was only time before the vampire found the vervain and things escalated again. Instead of leaving me in Keith's house on the floor, they would leave me in various hotel and motel rooms, each time without my clothes and vampire blood still on my lips." Elijah's grip on my arm gets tight enough to hurt, but I can't stop. Not yet. But the pain is enough to ground me from getting too far lost in my head.

Each chapter of this story is getting more and more painful to tell. It's getting harder to continue. To keep pressing forward and not get lost in the haze of shame and fear that rings through the memories I have. The panic stops feeling like just a pit in my stomach or pressure in my chest. It feels more like poison surging through my bloodstream with every heartbeat. Sharp and painful, burning different parts of my skin and causing them to shake. It's not just my one leg bouncing anymore. My whole body is shaking slightly.

This next part I know will hurt to tell physically. It's the actual part I need to explain. Everything prior to this was just painful backstory. This is the part he needs to hear. "I would wake up in robes, in their clothes, in some stranger's, each time never knowing what they might have done and what they fixed with blood. It drove me crazy. And I couldn't stand the thought of vampire blood in my system. So, I started cutting myself to get it out. Each time I healed, I knew they had done something. I was constantly checking, running knives across my skin to make sure I wasn't healing supernaturally quickly. It got to the point where I would be doing it at school, even on days when I hadn't seen them, just because I was so paranoid that they were dosing me somehow and just wiping my memory." I try to break my grip on Elijah's hands, but he only let's go of one. My right hand runs along my left arm, along scars that are not visible anymore, but I can still see on my skin. Even through the gauze currently there.

My brain is starting to fade in and out. It's like my head is filling with water and I've been bobbing along and now I'm starting to sink. Sink into some kind of fugue. Someplace where I'm safe from the memories and the panic and the shaking. That place that I made to deal with Keith and that vampire's threat. Where words don't register, so they don't matter. Where I can be safe.

But Elijah keeps bringing me back. His hands, every time they move, I'm brought out of my head and into the present. Almost as if my brain decides that the threat of Elijah is more prevalent then sinking to that safe space. But most of the time, his presence doesn't feel threatening…it feels warm.

I wipe a tear dripping down my face, before I go back to rubbing my arm. "Months went by, and it got bad enough that someone at school noticed, I don't know who. But one day in the middle of December my sophomore year, I was called into the guidance counselor's office. They asked me how was I feeling, was I doing well in class, was I too stressed taking the courses I was, could anything be going on? They never directly accused me of anything, but it was enough to set Keith off. He backed off for a bit. I was allowed to spend Christmas with my family. But I wasted it hiding in my room trying to draw all my pain away and getting my first taste of supernatural research. That was our last Christmas as a family."

"That Christmas is what inspired me to keep fighting. I got more vervain and moved it between a lot of different pieces: jewelry, teas, lotions, and perfumes. I spent days figuring out how diluted I could make a solution enough that it still protected me from compulsion but not enough to make them suspect I had vervain. I started fashioning stakes and training so I would be strong enough to stab someone. All preparing for the one day I would fight back. But it would take a few more months before I did anything. Months of enduring Keith's taunts and insults, his threats about what they did when I was unconscious, the vampire's attacks. The only reason I know they never crossed that line" I try to swallow but my throat is so dry. "The sexual assault line is because the vampire kept taunting me about how pure I smelled."

Although, I'm getting to the final pieces of the story, it still feels like a weight is on my chest and poison in my veins. Like that one episode of Grey's Anatomy with that kid in concrete. Every piece of the story that I reveal is another block of concrete off my body, but the more I say, the freer from the pressure I become, the more that poison flows through my body, leeching me of my strength and will to continue.

With a hand to my face, Elijah draws me back. The surprising warmth of his hand on my skin is enough to refocus on him.

"You are alright, Emilia," he says gently. "You have explained enough."

I shake my head gently, not enough to dislodge his hand. Instead, it's almost as if I'm rubbing my face into his hand. But I can't…I can't focus on that. "I have to finish this" I say to both of us.

I take a deep breath. "It was mid-March when I finally made my move. One day, despite my fear and shame, I brought a stake and my first silver knife to Keith's house. I was just going to keep it to feel safe, but that day, the vampire made the comment. He said…he said that my blood tasted so pure, so good, that it was almost worth it to see what I would taste like when I wasn't pure anymore." As soon as the words come out, I collapse into my hands. I can still feel his, that vampire's, breath, dousing me in his words like a thick oil that I can never truly wash off. Elijah tries his best. He pulls me into a hug. He wraps me in his arms, as if he can prevent the words from covering me with his body alone. He rubs my spine and murmurs my name softly until I can catch my breath. As soon as my breathing returns to almost normal, Elijah backs off. He wipes my tears with his thumb and then returns his hands back to mine, gripping with the strength I need to continue.

"I don't know what happened, one second he's saying these horrible things to me, the next I'm stabbing him with my knife. He falls to the ground groaning from the wound and the vervain. He falls loud enough that Keith noticed from upstairs. I had to stake the vampire quickly, too quick for me to pull the stake back out and run. I hid, but Keith, pissed off his dealer was dead and that it was my fault, found me quickly. He chased me around the house. I threw things to slow him down. He threw things at me to hurt me enough for me to stop. But the adrenaline kept me from being in too much pain. He eventually chased me upstairs and I locked myself in the bathroom. He banged on the door, screaming about how he would rape and kill me for what I did. Throwing every insult he could at me while throwing himself at the door to break it down, which he eventually did."

I clear my dry and painful throat. Elijah flashes quickly and returns with a glass of cold water. I don't know how he did that without spilling. He supports my shaky hand when I take the glass from him. I take small sips to soothe my throat and so I don't choke on my rising emotions. I've been pushing down so much - the tears, the pain, the shame, the guilt, and the flashbacks - that I need to get through as much as possible before I completely break. Despite my continued words, old memories and past emotions are being relived in my brain. Their insults still sting, their actions wound, and admitting everything has left me wrung out. And I'm not even done yet. Elijah takes the glass from me silently when I stop taking sips. He grabs my hands again and I give him a small smile. He gives me a solemn squeeze back. I can't imagine I would have gotten as far as I have without his support.

"He broke through the door and dragged me out by my hair. I kept hitting him, but he wasn't fazed by anything. It wasn't until I remembered my dagger and stabbed him in the shoulder that I was released. He was trying to drag me to his bedroom, intent on following through on his threats, but when I stabbed him, he jerked his arm and somehow tossed me down the stairs. I fractured my left clavicle, got a major concussion, bruised some ribs, and I still managed to up get in time to run out the door. But Keith wasn't deterred. He ignored his bleeding enough to get into his car and follow me out that way. But I ran like hell through woods that I had spent months getting accustomed to and played in as a child. I made it to a road before he did, but he caught up quickly. I screamed for the first time when I saw his car. And I kept screaming when I ran further into the woods. Somehow, someone - I assume whoever lived closest to Keith's rather isolated house or by the grace of Magic herself, I don't know – but someone heard my screams and called the police. But before they found me, Keith did. He got me with his car, hitting me while trying to run me over before I could escape. I got clipped enough to injure me further and knocking me out. The next thing I know, I'm in a ravine and I see Keith running. There were sirens. But not before I could feel him checking to see if I was alive. Apparently, I was close enough to death, and hidden enough for him to think they wouldn't find me before I did die, that he left me there. It was a cold night and I was dying in the woods alone, terrified, and in so much pain."

My walls come crumbling and tears fall as I remember the complete helplessness I felt. Bleeding out in the woods from the injuries I let myself get. I had fallen into this situation so willingly and even as terrified as I was of dying then, I wasn't sure I even wanted to be found. How I prayed to be left alone and let nature decide my fate.

"But somehow, I didn't die. I didn't even fall unconscious again. I had just enough strength that when sirens stopped and I heard voices, I could cry for help. My eyes were sliding shut when I could feel flashlights being shined on me. I was battered, bloody, and bruised all over, they couldn't recognize me at first. I remember hearing the Sheriff, climbing down the ravine, praying that it wasn't her daughter. And I was grateful that it was me too. No one else deserved what I was going through, only I did. I begged for the attention, I fought with my sister for stealing it away from me. I asked for what happened to me, not Caroline. Not her, not my sister, or Bonnie. I did. And it's all I could think about when they got me in the ambulance. That I had asked for all of it. I was barely conscious and repeating that it was my fault over and over again, until the Sheriff joined me in the ambulance and identified me, saying that she was going to call my parents. I screamed at her not to. That they couldn't know and for some reason, she pitied me enough to listen. She took responsibility for me, stayed in the waiting room for news on my condition. I don't know how long she waited, but my parents didn't find out that I was in the hospital until the next morning. They heard it was a hit and run car accident, nothing more. But when I saw them for the first time in months, I broke down so completely that my parents were terrified for me."

I wipe my eyes as I remember their faces, how obvious their love was for me despite how terrible of a daughter I really was.

"I don't remember much of my hospital stay. I know I had a few surgeries. I think one to fix the internal bleeding that I had sustained." I motion with my hand over where the faded scars should be. Where I still feel like they are. "One I do remember was to fix my clavicle and another to fix my femur, which broke when I got hit by the car. Or maybe they did those two at the same time." I shrug. "I was too doped up on pain medications to remember much of my days healing from my injuries. What I do remember was coming home. Every little thing would set me off. I couldn't stand to look at Elena for the longest time, irrationally angry at her for what I had gone through. It took me a month before I could spend time with my family again and even that didn't stop the nightmares." I squeeze Elijah's hands to remember that he was still her with me. He rubs his thumb along the back of my hands, and I give him a squeeze of thanks. "You saw one of my episodes. The first one in almost 9 or 10 months. I used to have episodes almost every other day. I would have a nightmare that I didn't escape, that one of them had followed through on their threats, that I was back in one of those hotel rooms without my clothes, and suddenly I would wake up slicing my arm to shreds."

Without my notice, my right arm moved up to start rubbing my left arm again, catching on the gauze and starting to disrupt the carefully done wrapping that Elijah had completed. Elijah spots it and grabs it with his hand, linking our fingers to keep our hands together. I smile softly at the care he's been giving me this whole time. He hasn't wavered once, picking up on when I need his support and when I need him to step back all without me telling him. He hasn't interrupted or made a face. He hasn't raged out at what I've suffered through. He hasn't cried or gotten uncomfortable when I have. He's kept me grounded here in this conversation the whole time and I want to cry at how good he's been to me. But I wouldn't have been able to get through this if he wasn't.

A few more tears slip out anyways and with all the care in the world, he wipes them away, not even letting go of either of my hands. I hiccup a bit at the gesture and he gives me a soft smile.

"Finish your story, Emilia," is all he says.

I give him a nod and I take a deep breath, blinking away this last round of tears. "My dad found me once. He apparently had to watch as I slashed my arm with a kitchen knife one night. He came in from an emergency patient visit late one night and I was just standing in the kitchen, blood everywhere. I don't even remember it. Just that I was unresponsive for the longest time. I don't even know how long. The only thing I remember is waking up to seeing him crying. I had never seen him cry before, and I realized what he saw. He never asked though. He didn't ask anything about why or what happened. He just brought me into his office, gave me a block of wood, a different knife, and showed me how to whittle. I don't think he realized that he was showing me how to whittle a stake, but that night gave me the key to my recovery. I threw myself into researching the supernatural. Every time I had a nightmare, I would carve stakes. But despite all of my progress, I still had really bad nights. Nightmares that would leave me screaming. Luckily, Jeremy is a heavy sleeper, so he never knew. But I would wake up my parents and Elena, who thought it was due to the car accident. So, they sent me to our family's lake house; hoping that the new environment would help me recover."

I sigh as I reminisce over those last few days with my parents. One of the only times I had their full attention, despite how horrible the circumstances were. I hate that I can't remember these memories without the sick guilt of running their last days alive. Or how I killed them.

"And it did for a time. I found more of my ancestor's journals and more connections into the supernatural world. As soon as I got cleared for exercise, I was training in self-defense, different kinds of weaponry that I had (before settling on knives, daggers, and stakes), and vampire killing techniques. And I returned to school in full capacity after doing all my work from home since the accident. But the good didn't last, because there was a really horrible night that was bad enough to off-set my recovery. My parents found me, bleeding out too much from self-inflicted wounds. I don't remember what set it off exactly, but I remember how hopeless I felt, how desperate I was for the pain to end. I already had a knife, and I just figured 'what if I cut too close? What if I didn't put pressure on it after?' My parents found me after I had already lost a decent amount of blood, enough that they had to drive me to a hospital. But on the way, they got a call from Elena."

*****End of Trigger Warning******

I take a deep breath. I'm almost there. I've gotten through almost all of the most difficult stuff and now we are getting close to the end.

"It was supposed to be a Family Night, so Jenna was already there and could watch Jeremy while my parents took me. But Elena had gone to a party and she wanted to leave, so she called our parents to pick her up. She was on the way to the hospital, so we swung around to grab her. She didn't even have a chance to figure out why we were all in the car before we crashed."

My head hurts from all the emotions still coursing through me, now including some flashbacks from the crash. Sadly, these ones aren't as painful as the other ones that have passed through my brain today. That or I'm just becoming numb as my story continues.

"Our car fell off Wickery Bridge and we were all supposed to drown. But instead, Stefan managed to save Elena and I, while our parents died in that water, and our whole life changed. Elena was so despondent, thinking that the crash was her fault. She fell into such a deep depression I thought that I would have to drive her to the hospital for the same reason I was supposed to. Jeremy fell apart and turned to drugs. There wasn't a time that summer when he wasn't high. Jenna was our new guardian, overwhelmed by trying to take care of three depressed, teen orphans. I decided then-and-there that I was saved for a reason. I dove into researching the vast supernatural world and training for attacks from it. I discovered Katherine's existence, even though I didn't know she was my ancestor and my twin's doppelganger. I created new weapons and got good at fighting. I found contacts in the supernatural world. One coven of witches in particular was really helped. Life-saving, in fact. They specialized in healing magic. I know one witch, Sarah, is dedicated to helping women who had suffered like I did, at the hands of evil men – whether they be mundane or not. I spent the summer in contact with her, working through a lot of my issues, especially the ones that lead to me finding Keith in the first place. Paying for therapy spells-" I shake my head as I realize- "like the one that I now recognize that Dr. Martin cast on me during my episode." I focus back on what I was saying. "and new supplies. I spent the other part of my summer taking care of my family, preparing for the new school year as a marker of our fresh start."

"I've spent this entire year protecting my twin, my brother, my friends and family when I wasn't supposed to live it. I should've died in that ravine. Or in the water. Either way, I survived for my siblings and I can't let them die. So, when the time comes, when Klaus comes for Elena, I will take her place willingly. Because this is what my life has been building up to."

Elijah and I sit in silence for a few minutes. Elijah glows in the light of the setting sun. Hours have passed since I started my story, but Elena has yet to return.

"Thank you for telling me," Elijah says, staring at our clasped hands.

"Thank you for listening," I reply. He nods. No other words are said. They just… aren't needed. Neither of us make a move to release the other or to lean back enough to let the world in. We just sit for these last few moments in silence, bathing in the other's presence.

---

Elijah is the one to move when he hears something in the distance. His head perks up, turning towards the front door of the house. As the sound - which I can't hear but he can – persists, he starts to straighten his spine. I watch as he replaces his 'man of marble,' honorable Original vampire mask piece by piece. Every second that passes I can feel him building his walls again, turning back into the Elijah that Elena would recognize.

Right as I think her name, Elijah stands, fixes his suit and says, "Come, your sister has returned." He offers me his hand, which I grab to help me stand after being in that chair for so long. I can only imagine how I would've felt had I been in Elijah's spot for the amount of time he was.

Speaking of Elijah, I hold his hand for one more second, pulling his focus to me for the last chance I have him here. "Thank you for what you've done Elijah. I didn't want to die without speaking about what happened to me, but I've never been able to bring it up before. Let alone tell the whole story. You will never be able to know how much you have done for me today alone, nor know the depths of my appreciation for your actions. I can only say how thankful I am for today and for you." I guess I can't even really elaborate on that last word, can I?

Elijah squeezes my hand one last time and stares me dead in the eye as he says, "You're welcome, Emilia."

Our hands drop and I can finally hear Elena's car approaching. "Reality enters in once again."

"Indeed," is all he says. It sounds a bit sad to my ears, but that may just be me. I bend to pick up my bag and the trash from the redressing of wound. God, it seems like that happened days, weeks, ago, instead of only a few hours. But I throw out the only physical remnants of our conversation as we leave behind the room and the moment we shared.

---

Elena returns in a huff. Despite Elijah's assurance of her return by the fact that I was left, he still looks a little surprised when she walks through the front door.

She walks into the room on a mission. She takes off her jacket and throws it on the antique coffee table in front of me and the couch I'm on. She throws it down as if it were a gauntlet challenge between knights, something the man across the room notices, as he perks up, standing by the mantle of the roaring fireplace. Elena words do not assuage from the ideal of a challenge, because that is exactly what she issues with her words, "Tell me. What is Klaus's curse?"

He hold his hands, gesturing her to sit on the couch with me, and says, "Please." Elena sighs and sits on my right side, her side pressing against mine. It's good to have the reassurance of her presence. After the emotional upheaval of this afternoon, I thought I would cry seeing her. But she sets a serious tone with her entrance and so I feel focused on the task at hand. There's work to be done, I can cry later.

Elijah sets down his wine glass, which he had acquired after our conversation (while I tried to hide my puffy, tear-stained face), on the coffee table as he walks to the side. He starts explaining, "My family was quite close. But Klaus and my father did not get on too well. When we became vampires, we discovered the truth." He leans on the arm of the couch on my left side. "Klaus was not my father's son. Our mother had been unfaithful many years before. This was her darkest secret. Klaus is from a different bloodline." Elijah stands and returns to standing next to the fireplace, this time his arm resting on the mantle. "Of course, when my father discovered this, he hunted down and killed my mother's lover and his entire family. Not realizing, of course, that he was igniting a war between species that rages until this day." Wait.

"A war between species?" Elena asks the question floating through my mind.

"Vampires," Elijah starts.

"And werewolves," I realize, while also finishing Elijah's sentence.

"So Klaus's real father was from a werewolf bloodline? What does that make Klaus?" Elena asks. "A werewolf? Or a vampire?" Oh my god, is he?

Elijah answers before I can fully form the question, "He's both."

I breath out, "A hybrid," as the explanation to Klaus's species.

"Yes," Elijah affirms. "A hybrid would be deadlier than any werewolf or vampire. Nature would not stand for such an imbalance of power." Elijah puts his hand in his pocket and walks to the archway entrance on the other side of the room. "Therefore, the witches, the servants of nature, saw to it that my brother's werewolf side would become dormant."

"That's the curse Klaus wants to break?" Elena asks to confirm.

Elijah nods, "He wants to trigger the part of him that's a werewolf. If allowed, Klaus will sire his own bloodline. He'd build his own race. Endangering not just vampires, but everyone."

Elena grabs my arm, luckily the right one, in worry. "But you helped him," she says.

"I helped him because I loved him," Elijah explains. "That has changed. Now he must die," he replies, a little terse.

"We have the dagger now. We can stop him," Elena suggests.

"The dagger won't work on Klaus," I realize. "Due to his wolf side."

"Indeed," Elijah agrees. "When a werewolf is injured by silver, it heals. An Original can't be killed by anything but white oak ash on a silver dagger. You see the conundrum. The dagger would not work."

Elena crosses her arms against her chest, "What, are you saying Klaus can't be killed?"

"There's one way to kill any supernatural species," Elijah fixes. "At the hands of the servants of nature themselves."

"A witch," I reiterate. "If they can channel enough power."

Elena sighs, interrupting, "But it would kill them."

"The curse must be broken during the full moon," Elijah states, moving towards us. "When Klaus is in transition. That's when he'll be at his most vulnerable. A witch, with enough power, can kill Klaus."

Elena and I exchange glances. She sighs, "What if I told you that we knew a witch that could channel that much power?"

"Then I would tell you there's one more thing that you should know," Elijah replies. He details another story from 1492, and Katerina's failed sacrifice, revealing that he had an elixir made by witches that was to save the life of the doppelganger.

Elena is the first one to respond, asking, "You found a way to save the life of the doppelganger?" I can't believe that this is happening. I have been spending countless hours trying to find a way to use my death to save everyone else, I never thought that there may be a way I might not have to die at all.

"Yes," Elijah says. His eyes turn to me. "I did." He focuses back on Elena before looking down and grabbing Elena's jacket off the coffee table. "But unfortunately, Katerina took matters into her own hands first." He hands her the jacket, "I believe you already know how that played out."

Elena realizes before I do, because I'm still stunned by the fact that I could actually survive the sacrifice. She points out, "You cared about her, didn't you?"

Elijah glances at me, but I avoid his gaze. Both of us uncomfortable at the question based on the tension that jumps to his shoulders. And I'm not willing to deal with the ramifications of caring for any outcome for this situation, so I look down and focus on how to work this elixir into my plans. Elijah mutters, "It's a common mistake, I'm told." He pauses and sighs, "And it's one I hope not to make again." I flinch and ignore the glance in my direction from him. I know it's not as hurtful as he means it. Neither of us can risk being distracted right now. The only reason we had today was lucky coincidence of timing. We have to focus on the task at hand, not on caring for someone, not when death is on the line like this.

And with that, we set off back to the Boarding House.

---

We come back just in time to see Damon and Stefan trying to choke the other one out in the living room. Both of them locked with their hands on the other's throat, down the stairs by the fireplace. Hmmm, I wonder what they could be fighting about.

Elena comes running into the room, calling for them to "Stop!". They push back and drop their hands, distancing themselves from their brother.

Damon seems to notice our new guest and quickly points out, "Now you've invited him in?"

"I invited him in faster than I invited you, Damon," I comment. "Besides you are not one to talk."

Elena speaks up, "Elijah and I have renewed the terms of our deal."

"Really?" Damon asks, his tone dripping in his usual special brand of sarcastic disdain.

"The two of you will come to no harm at my hands," Elijah answers. The Salvatore's pause stunned. Elijah steps forward to the wooden guard rail between the floors, "I only ask for one thing in return."

"What?" Damon demands.

"An apology," Elijah responds.

"A what?" Damon asks.

"Yeah, I'm sure you've never heard of it before," I comment. "Let alone actually given one." Nothing makes me feel more myself than mocking Damon, who just rolls his eyes at me.

But Stefan wises up. He looks to his brother and then to us pissed off at said brother, and then he steps up to Elijah, "I'm sorry for the part that I played in your death. I was protecting Elena. I will always protect Elena." The intensity of that final sentence along with the faces Damon is making behind him leads me to think that I was right about what they were fighting about. Damon is getting touchy about Elena's safety and Stefan is getting pissed off about how his brother is not respecting Stefan's relationship with Elena and putting his feelings first.

Elijah accepts the apology with, "I understand."

Speaking of Damon putting Damon's feelings first, Damon shakes his head.

Elena, the best one to convince him, speaks up, "The sacrifice is going to happen, Damon." It will, just not as anyone thinks it will happen. "Bonnie will be able to kill Klaus without hurting herself and Elijah knows how to save my life." I clear my tightening throat slightly. Elena turns, "Oh, sorry. Elijah knows how and Emilia has plenty of plans to save my life." I mean that wasn't why I was doing that, but I'll take it. Elijah turns slightly to glance at me. I give him a small shrug. He turns back smirking slightly. Elena doesn't see our interaction as she is focused on Damon, "I told you I'd find another way. And I did."

Damon turns to Elijah, "Is that true?" he asks, brusquely.

"It is," Elijah answers.

"And you're trusting him?" Damon asks Elena.

"I am," she replies.

"You can all go to hell," Damon says. And he walks off. I move to go after him, but Elena stops me.

Stefan turns to Elijah, attempting to explain Damon's behavior as something rational, "He's angry with me right now. But he'll come around."

Elijah just looks off into the direction Damon disappeared to, "Perhaps." The rest of us remain silent, all trying to gauge how to respond to Damon's actions, when Elijah answers that for us. "There is nothing left to do tonight. We will reconvene in the morning." And he leaves with all the grace of his Original vampire status.

I follow him to the front door anyways. I can make up some excuse about going back home. On that note, I actually do need to go home. I need clothes and to sleep in my own bed. And to crash somewhere alone. With John gone, Jenna here, Jeremy at the witch house, and Alaric being possessed by Klaus, the house should be totally free, and that's what I need right now.

The walk to the front door is silent, the distance between us polite, and the air slightly awkward. I am about to walk out with him when he stops me, "Stay with your family, Emilia." The confusion must show on my face because he continues, "Be reminded of why you keep fighting and cherish the moments you have left with them. It's all too easy to get wrapped up in your anger and grief in a world such as ours, and you lose precious moments such as this. Your family needs you. Don't let what happened today distance you further from them. That distance that you keep from them can quickly turn into a divide that lasts forever."

I cross my arms against my chest. If he asks, it's the cold air of this spring night, and not the truth of his statements. "Is that what happened with your family?"

He stiffens, looking out into the distant woods, "My family broke apart for a lot of reasons. Anger and betrayal being common themes in our family dynamic. But despite any of our actions, I still wish to be reunited with them. To have moments like this. To be able to fight with them again, to laugh, to derive comfort from being together." He turns to me, standing next to him. "Time moves too fast, Emilia. Don't waste the last of yours away from them."

"But what if I'm not strong enough?" I ask quietly. "I can't let them see me break down."

"You've survived so much, Emilia," he answers. He grabs my hand, his right in my left. "You will survive this." A tear falls down my cheek at his words and he turns to stand in front of me to wipe it away. He opens his mouth to say something else, but he closes it, takes a breath and says, "I will see you in the morning," his hand still lingering on my face.

And he flashes away, the warmth of his hand, still graces my face.

I take his advice and walk back inside.

I need to be with my family.

---

A/N: Wow. Almost 16,000 words. I never intended for this chapter to be so long, but the muse took me where it will. I had planned the basics of Emilia's background when I first started this story back in 2014. Now, as I have developed as a person and a writer, so has Emilia's background. I knew when I was rewriting this story that I needed to make some major changes to who Emilia was if I was going to pull of something like this. Now, I am not a licensed therapist, nor a survivor to Emilia's extent. I have not dealt with an abusive partner, so I can only write Emilia to the best of my ability, and I know some things may not be accurate to the real experience. But I really tried to portray Emilia as someone who was damaged by her experiences but not broken. They will still impact her in the future, especially when it comes to relationships (of all kinds *wink wink*). I sincerely apologize to anyone who is bothered or triggered by the scene, I never want anyone to be hurt or come to any harm from reading my story.

As I said in the beginning, the next chapter is going to be very fluffy, as fluffy as I will probably get in this story, so please be on the lookout for that. We are getting to the end of season 2 and it's going to be a really crazy ride from here and I look forward to when you read it and your responses.