Ch. 24 – The Last Day 2x20
A/N: I swear I really mean to update faster, but in my defense, I've been working and in school since January. I just wanted to post something as I've been working on season 3 and I'm super excited for you all to read it. It may be a while because clearly I suck at updating, but you can always plead with me in the comments if you're passionate about it.
Posted: 8/5/22
Trigger Free Previous Chapter Summary: Emilia and Elena were often compared as children with Emilia feeling lesser because of it. This lead her to dating an older guy who turned out to be abusive. This guy sold her blood to a vampire which became Emilia's introduction to the supernatural world. As the situation turned more volatile and with compulsion leaving Emilia very uncertain, she turned to self-harm to check if she was healing from vampire blood. She read Johnathan Gilbert's journal and learned about vervain. After a sexually violent comment, Emilia attacked and killed the vampire who had been feeding from her. But this sent the abusive partner into a rage that left Emilia run over by a car and near death in a ravine. Despite being saved, Emilia still suffered from the trauma, which lead to Grayson Gilbert teaching her to whittle stakes instead of self-harming. During her recovery she learned about the supernatural world and began her training with knives, daggers, and stakes. Unfortunately, recovery isn't linear and after a bad episode, Emilia was to go to the hospital for treatment, but they wound up picking Elena up from the party and driving off Wickery Bridge. After surviving two near-death experiences, Emilia has undergone therapy and magical forms of treatment and has dedicated herself to keeping her siblings safe ever since.
"Tomorrow night is the full moon," Elijah starts. "We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse."
Stefan speaks up, "Elena said that the Sun and Moon curse is fake? That it's actually a curse placed on Klaus."
"Klaus is a vampire, born of a werewolf bloodline," Elijah answers. "The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting. But if he breaks it, he'll be a true hybrid."
Damon comes swaggering in, "Then why are we letting him break the curse? We can kill him before then." He turns to us, "With Bonnie."
"Damon," Stefan starts.
"No, Bonnie can't use that much power without dying," Elena starts.
"I'll write her a great eulogy," Damon replies. And I'm officially fed up.
I get up and punch him in the face, knocking him to the ground. "God, that feels good," I say, shaking out my hand a bit and pulling one my favorite daggers out of my left sleeve. I stand over his groaning body, I place my booted foot on his chest, and crouch down, putting more pressure on his chest. "I don't know if this has ever occurred to you, but the world does not revolve around you or your feelings. I get you want to keep Elena safe, and I've put up with your behavior for a long time because of that. But you step a toe out of line now, you mess with my plan to keep my sister safe," I hold up my dagger and hold it up to his neck, "and you are going to get reacquainted with this dagger here. I'm sure you remember how fun it was last time I played with you." I lean closer to him, "And if you fuck up, and she dies, I will kill you, mark my words." And with that, I stand up, flipping my dagger in my hand. "Do you understand Damon?" He nods and I turn back to the group. "Now, let's proceed with the plan."
It feels good to be back.
Stefan shakes out of his stupor asking as I fall back into my chair, "So…how do we break the curse?"
Elijah answers, "Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward. The ingredients, so to speak, you already know."
"The moonstone," Stefan guesses.
Elijah crosses the room, slowly pacing, while answering, "A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that's bound within the stone. After that, Klaus being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each."
"And where do I fit into it?" Elena asks.
Elijah and I exchange a quick glance and I look down. Elijah glances at Elena before turning to the bookshelves to answer, "The final part of the ritual." He pulls a box off the shelf. "Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelganger to the point of their death." I look away, but I can see everyone react from the corner of my eye. I see Stefan and Elena join hands, looking sad and hurt, respectively. Damon just fidgets angrily.
"And that's where you come in," Elena asks Elijah.
He nods, setting the box down. He places his hand on the top, "This is an elixir that I acquired some 500 years ago for Katerina." He takes out an ancient porcelain bottle. Shivers go through me as I see what might save my life. "It possess mystical properties of resuscitation."
"So I'll be dead?" Elena asks.
"Anyone who takes it and dies will be revived," Elijah answers, playing with the bottle. "Blood removed will be replaced, wounds healed, while the soul remains in the body until the person awakens, alive again." He looks to me and I nod, understanding. I can see how this would bring me back. He explained enough of the mechanics that I can figure out how the witches were able to create something like this.
"That's your plan?" Damon asks, derisively. "A magical witch potion with no expiration date?"
"If you are going to be so judgmental, Damon, I'm not going to tell you the rest of the plans," I interject quickly.
Damon ignores me, turning to Elena, "You want to come back to life, what about John's ring?"
"The rings only work on humans," I explain. "Doppelgangers are born of magic. A supernatural occurrence. The ring won't work."
"I'll take that over the elixir," Damon mutters. I roll my eyes. Sure, ignore the potential elixir and take a ring that is certainly not going to work. Damon turns to my sister, "What if it doesn't work, Elena?"
"Then I guess, I'll be dead," Elena answers matter-of-factly.
"That's not going to happen," I tell her. I take her hand, pulling her focus to me. "I have other plans in the works. This is just the one with the most potential. But if worse comes to worst, I promise you, I will try everything to bring you back."
Elena squeezes my hand and gives me a small smile. She's placating me. She doesn't believe me. But it doesn't matter. I will do anything to keep her safe, including keeping all of my plans from her. She won't like what I have planned, but if I would rather have her hating me and alive than dead.
Damon is clearly still unsatisfied because he walks away.
Elena sighs, and turns to Elijah, "Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this? Does he have a werewolf?"
"Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a thousand years. If he doesn't already have a werewolf, my guess is by tomorrow night, he will," Elijah responds.
Stefan grasps Elena's hand with both of his. She gives him a small sad smile. They are mourning each other already.
"Elena," I start. She turns to me, her eyes sad, filling with tears. "We have until tomorrow night. Don't waste your last day being sad. Go somewhere with Stefan, enjoy your day."
Elena looks to Stefan and smiles, and then she turns back to me, "What about you?"
I give her arm a squeeze, "I'll be okay. I have work to do. Don't worry; I'm going to save you. We'll have more days."
She gives me a hug and says when she pulls back, "Thank you, Lia."
"Always, Lena," I reply.
She gives me a smile and then she turns to Stefan, giving him a bright smile as she takes his hand. And they run out happy.
My smile and body falls as soon as she's gone.
"They still don't know what you are going to do," Elijah points out as he moves to stand next to me.
"No," I sigh. "But she deserves to spend one more day being happy," I finish sadly.
"You deserve to spend your last day with your sister," he comments.
"I don't need it. I just want to see her happy. This is enough," I reply. We stand silently for a moment before I ask, "If you knew today was your last day, how would you want to spend it?"
His eyebrows furrow as he thinks over my question. I guess someone as old, as immortal, as he is has never really had to think about it. I turn back to facing where I last saw Elena, thinking over what to do with my last bit of time. When there's no plans to be made or to take steps to implement, nothing that needs to be researched, and nothing left for me to do for Elena now, what do I do? Elijah takes a breath before he answers, "I guess I would want to spend my day doing the things I loved most."
"And if you can't do that?" I ask.
His head turns to me, "Then I would try to live as much as I could in the time I had left."
And then it occurs to me what I want to do.
"If I asked you for a favor, would you do it?" I ask, turning to him.
"Depends on the favor," he answers.
"Spend the day with me?" I ask before I lose my confidence.
"What?" he asks.
Follow through. Don't lose it now, Emilia. "Let's spend the day being humans. No vampires, no werewolves, no witches, no magic and no curse. Just one day to be ourselves and nothing else. You aren't an Original vampire, I'm not the Petrova doppelganger about to be sacrificed. We can just be Elijah and Emilia, just us and nothing else. If we only have today, I don't want to waste it with the sacrifice hanging over me. I just want one day to be free…Join me?"
"Emilia-" he starts.
"Don't overthink it," I interrupt. Please don't think about it too much or I might just die of embarrassment; I can't believe I'm actually asking him. "Just…one day. One day of freedom. We can discuss books, art, movies. Live and experience life as much as I can for this one day. It's my last day… and I would like to spend it with you."
Elijah stares at me. This time his eyes are shining with something bright, something warm. Something that feels a lot like…admiration. It's the most honest emotion I have seen out of him before. He sighs, shakes his head, and smiles. "Emilia Gilbert, it would be my pleasure."
I give him the brightest smiles. One I'm sure rivals the smile my sister gave Stefan earlier. And I take his hand, "C'mon, we are wasting daylight."
And we run.
I speed to my house and grab as much as I can hold in my arms. All my classic novels, my art supplies, blankets, bug spray, towels, pillows. I even grab some snacks. I walk in with nothing and out with like 5 full bags of stuff in under 5 minutes. And we do the same at his apartment. It takes all my focus, but I ignore all the memories from the last time I was here. Apparently, this is where I was brought after the stuff with the werewolves. And, well, I tried very hard to keep calm and away from the few memories I have of this place while I was there. Luckily, the only things we really need to grab are books, so the trip is quick. After his apartment, we make our way out of town to our first destination to get us in the casual day mood.
A local farmer's market.
We spend the final hour of the morning sampling various fresh foods. Organic fruits and veggies. Freshly made bread and baked goods. Meat, milk, and cheeses from local dairy farms.
The whole time Elijah is regaling me with stories of his travels. The simple foods he grew up eating – how they mostly subsided on meat they hunted and herbs and berries they picked from the forest. Whole-meal bread made from rye and oats, porridge containing oatmeal and barley. Eggs, milk, cream, butter and cheese all coming from either the animals their family had or from other villagers'. He gives me details of the simple life he led as a human, growing up with his siblings, eating together as a family and a village.
He speaks fondly of all of his siblings, telling me stories that give away details as to who each of them were, and a bit about their parents. Enough to recognize that there were some difficulties there. But no one is spoken of more fondly than Klaus. The sweet, quiet brother Elijah describes barely resembling the monster we have to fight tomorrow.
But it doesn't matter to us. Not today.
As we walk, he details how their diet changed as the ages went by. The Original family made a name for themselves among the gentry more often than not, so they got the best of the best when it came to food - not that they appreciated it enough as vampires, with their cravings revolving only around blood. He tell the stories of some truly memorable moments. Feasts with amounts of food beyond comprehension. Tasting certain common delicacies for the first time. The serenity of walking in the vineyards of Italy and France, sampling the wears. Adventures beyond imagination over lifetimes lived.
My favorite was definitely the story of tasting chocolate for the first time.
You see, the word chocolate may conjure up images of sweet candy bars and luscious truffles, but the chocolate of today is little like the chocolate of the past. Throughout much of history, chocolate was a revered but bitter beverage. Not a sweet, edible treat.
Apparently, while on their mission trip of the world for spreading the Sun and Moon curse, the Originals came to South America, land of the cocoa bean, well before the Spanish conquistadors. Elijah tells the story of their time with the Aztecs.
The Aztecs took chocolate admiration to another level. They believed cacao was given to them by their gods. Like the Mayans, they enjoyed the caffeinated kick of hot or cold, spiced chocolate beverages in ornate containers, but they also used cacao beans as currency to buy food and other goods. In Aztec culture, cacao beans were considered more valuable than gold. Aztec chocolate was mostly an upper-class extravagance, although the lower classes enjoyed it occasionally at weddings or other celebrations. (History/./com)
Perhaps the most notorious Aztec chocolate lover of all was the mighty Aztec ruler Montezuma II who supposedly drank gallons of chocolate each day for energy and as an aphrodisiac. It's also said he reserved some of his cacao beans for his military. (History/./com)
Elijah detailed not only their experience with the eccentric Montezuma II, but also regaled me with each of his siblings' initial reactions to the chocolate of that day.
Rebekah, being the youngest, did not enjoy the bitterness of the drink, no matter how it was prepared. But eventually, when the Europeans combined the cocoa beans with cane sugar in the late 1500s and began the chocolate craze of the time, Rebekah was known for how much she enjoyed the delicacy. Royals and upper-class gentlemen from all over would gift her their supplies of it as courting gifts. But after becoming sick of the men, she got over her craze for the treat and would only indulge once every decade.
Kol loved the original Aztec version. He became very fond of Montezuma II and his policies of chocolate being an aphrodisiac and part of the military. Kol caffeinated during the common blood-fueled rages he went through was a new level of destruction that the siblings had yet to encounter before. Kol was quickly cut off from caffeine.
Klaus also enjoyed the original version, but not at first. The heat of the area combined with the heated drink did not sit well with the middle child of the family. It wasn't until they tried the heated version with colder weather that Klaus came to enjoy it. He would reminisce for centuries about that initial Aztec drink, despite only liking it during colder seasons. He did not enjoy the cold version of the drink or the sugar version of the Europeans.
Elijah enjoyed the beverage, but not to the extent of his younger siblings. He liked the culture and ceremony behind the trade within the Aztecs more than the beverage itself. But even better, he enjoyed aiding the trade of the cocoa bean and even owned a variety of chocolate houses that became very popular for wealthy Europeans once the chocolate mania began.
But as we sampled chocolate from a local confectionary, he did admit to a fondness for today's fine chocolate. Especially spiced chocolates that remind him of the Aztecs.
His stories make our walk in the market come alive.
But time continued to pass and after our stomachs and baskets to take home were full of delicious food, we went back to the car and drove back to Mystic Falls.
But just because we returned to town doesn't mean that our day was anything close to over.
I grab some of my bags from the car and I lead Elijah into the forest. I lead him to a clearing by the river, close to the falls the town was named after. I lay down blankets, a few that were in my car already for days like this. Warm spring days that you can waste soaking up sun.
But the warmth can't be wasted, so after finalizing our spot for the afternoon, I point to the falls. "I've always wanted to jump off the falls and you are going to do it with me."
Elijah grabs my arm, "Emilia, no. It's too dangerous."
I grab his hand, pulling it off my arm and clasping it in my hand. "What's life without a little danger?" And I smile and start to walk up the path to the top of the falls.
"Emilia," he calls after me.
"They made it safe years ago," I call back to him. "They dammed the river to remove the rocks after kids in the 70s made it a graduation tradition to jump." I can see his body relax. But I can't let him relax too much, "Gotta catch up, Elijah!" And I start running.
He makes it up before I do, leaning against a tree close to the edge of the cliff. "Stupid vampire speed," I murmur, and he chuckles lowly. He heard me. Stupid vampire senses.
I look over the side of the cliff and I'm regretting this plan already. This is much higher than it looks from the ground. Ok, I can do this.
Elijah must sense my hesitance, because he offers, "You don't have to do this, Emilia."
"It's a Mystic Falls tradition. I don't want to miss it because I chickened out." I have to do this. But oh, it's so far. And probably really cold. I mean it's only May, so it's not like this water is going to be very warm yet. And what if they didn't get rid of all the rocks. I know no one has died recently, but that doesn't exclude the possibility completely. What if I die in this random accident, then I can't protect Elena?
Elijah crosses his arms, "I don't think you can do it," he says calmly.
"What?" I turn to him.
"You're too scared. You are not going to jump."
"Watch me," I say. I channel as much of Caroline as I can as kick off my shoes. I drop my shorts and pull off my shirt. Don't think about it. I am ignoring with all of my might the fact that Elijah is watching strip and now in my bathing suit. Don't think about it. Just go.
And I run. And jump.
I scream down the falls and I scream when I pop up from the water. God, it's cold!
Elijah is laughing at me from the top of the cliff.
"I did it!" I call to him over the sound of the waterfall.
"I saw!" he calls back.
And I realize what he did. He challenged me and goaded me just like with the debates. And I completely fell for it, again like with the debates. "Oh, you suck, Elijah!" He just laughs. He mentioned he had a trickster younger brother, Kol, I think it was. But he didn't mention that he was a prankster in his own right.
"It got you to jump!" he defends.
"It was a dirty move and you know it!"
"I will agree to nothing."
"It's your turn!"
"This is not a tradition I need to fulfill."
"Lame!" I call him.
"I will see you when you're ready to get out of the water."
"It may be a while. I'm going to do it again in a minute." He backs away from the edge and I take the moment to swim under the waterfall, enjoying the rush and chill of the water and how the splashing covers all other sounds around. It's invigorating and it pulls me to get out and jump again.
I jump a few more times, each time laughing as I fall. I probably spend an hour total in the water. But time continues, and despite the thrill of the jump, I eventually get out, grab my clothes and join Elijah in our spot. He's relaxed, reading To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. I pick up To Kill a Mockingbird, first starting to read just to relax and dry off in the sun. But I find a quote that I feel the need to share.
I first read to him, "Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing".
Elijah smirks into his book, and we continue reading in silence. Until he replies, "It was odd, she thought, how if one was alone, one leant to inanimate things; trees, streams, flowers; felt they expressed one; felt they became one; felt they knew one, in a sense were one; felt an irrational tenderness thus (she looked at that long steady light) as for oneself."
And somehow it becomes a game to read quotes to each other, things we thought were interesting, ones we thought the other would enjoy, only from the books in our hands. But then, Elijah starts pulling quotes from memory from other books, and the game changes. It becomes more than that, it becomes a true conversation.
He quotes from memory, "My idea of good company...is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.' 'You are mistaken,' said he gently, 'that is not good company, that is the best." Persuasion, Jane Austen. Never thought he would read something like that, let alone have this quote memorized, but who am I to judge someone's reading habits.
I pick up a new book, The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, "Ah, good conversation - there's nothing like it, is there? The air of ideas is the only air worth breathing."
He picks up Middlemarch by George Eliot and we banter back and forth between the two books, "Blameless people are always the most exasperating."
"We can't behave like people in novels, though, can we?" Age of Innocence
"After all, the true seeing is within." Middlemarch
"But after a moment a sense of waste and ruin overcame him. There they were, close together and safe and shut in; yet so chained to their separate destinies that they might as well been half the world apart" Age of Innocence. How true to our situation this quote is.
"If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heartbeat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence." Middlemarch
I switch to Wuthering Heights for a moment, "I'm wearying to escape into that glorious world, and to be always there: not seeing it dimly through tears, and yearning for it through the walls of an aching heart: but really with it, and in it." He's not the only one who can quote from memory.
He changes to War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, "Man cannot possess anything as long as he fears death. But to him who does not fear it, everything belongs. If there was no suffering, man would not know his limits, would not know himself."
I land on The Count of Monte Cristo for my next quote, "It's necessary to have wished for death in order to know how good it is to live."
He remains on War and Peace, "Pierre was right when he said that one must believe in the possibility of happiness in order to be happy, and I now believe in it. Let the dead bury the dead, but while I'm alive, I must live and be happy."
"We are always in a hurry to be happy...; for when we have suffered a long time, we have great difficulty in believing in good fortune" Count of Monte Cristo
He returns to Middlemarch, "But what we call our despair is often only the painful eagerness of unfed hope."
I stay with the Count, "When you compare the sorrows of real life to the pleasures of the imaginary one, you will never want to live again, only to dream forever."
He goes back to Tolstoy, "Here I am alive, and it's not my fault, so I have to try and get by as best I can without hurting anybody until death takes over."
The Count gives me one last word, "Ah, lips that say one thing, while the heart thinks another"
Elijah continues with Middlemarch, "For pain must enter into its glorified life of memory before it can turn into compassion"
I return to Wuthering Heights, "I have dreamt in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind."
"One can begin so many things with a new person! - even begin to be a better man" Middlemarch
"I have to remind myself to breathe - almost to remind my heart to beat!" Wuthering Heights
Elijah switches to his original book, To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, "For now she need not think of anybody. She could be herself, by herself. And that was what now she often felt the need of - to think; well not even to think. To be silent; to be alone. All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and one shrunk, with a sense of solemnity, to being oneself, a wedge-shaped core of darkness, something invisible to others... and this self-having shed its attachments was free for the strangest adventures."
I return to Age of Innocence, "I swear I only want to hear about you, to know what you've been doing. It's a hundred years since we've met - it may be another hundred before we meet again."
"And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees and changing leaves". To the Lighthouse
The last line of the conversation is mine, from The Count of Monte Christo, "There are two ways of seeing: with the body and with the soul. The body's sight can sometimes forget, but the soul remembers forever".
The conversation ends, but our words linger in the air. The messages we sent to each other through these author's words still surrounding us, like the books we used themselves.
The warm afternoon sun dries my clothes from the remnants of my adventure in the Falls. I still take a moment to break away and change into something warmer before the sun starts to set. Despite the warmth of the May evening, I don't want to be caught unawares by a cold night. The time to myself gives me a moment to quickly think about how nice the day has been as I watch the now setting sun. Easy and freeing. But Elijah's continued presence keeps me from wandering off to fully contemplate the meaning behind today.
When I return, Elijah has relaxed, leaning against a tree, providing shade. He is still reading, this time The Hobbit, which comes from my bookcase. I guess he doesn't take the opportunity to read much fantasy, but today seems a good opportunity. I grab my sketchbook, my pencils, and I lean against another tree, facing him. He looks…well, perfect. The sunlight glows golden on his skin, peeking through the leaves which cast shadows in such an artful way. I mean his comfortable pose - leaning back, one leg propped up to hold his book, one leg out, one hand holding the book, the other flipping pages, his head tilted down to read – looks like something a model might have done in a human form art class. One piece of his hair falling gracefully across his forehead. His focus entirely absorbed on the book. I have to draw him.
And that's how I spend the evening, drawing him.
He looks up a few times. Most of his glances are relatively quick. But one time he does catch my eye. He catches me staring at him. I quickly look back down and fix some of my lines.
"What are doing?" he asks. I glance up and he's looking directly at me, his book falling to the wayside.
"Nothing," I reply, focusing on my drawing. He continues to look at me, raising his eyebrow at my vague non-answer. "Drawing," I add.
"And what are you drawing?" he asks.
I glance at him, and then back down at my page. His face staring back at me from my sketchbook. I try to slide further down to hide my face. "It's nothing."
"Nothing?" he questions.
"It's just a drawing," I reiterate.
"And might this drawing be of me?" he asks, smirking.
"…Maybe?" is all I can respond. Damn, I really wasn't going to admit it.
"Well then, can I see it?" he asks, shifting as if he's about to get up.
I pull the drawing to my chest, "Absolutely not."
"And why not?"
"It's not done yet."
"May I see it when it's finished?"
"Maybe. I'll let you know," I say, pulling the sketch back out and fixing some details. He leans back smirking at me still, and I tell him, "Just go back to what you were doing, so I can finish, please."
He leans back, picks up The Hobbit again, and laughs as he settles back into the book.
I don't tell him when I finish the picture, but the sun sets as we quietly continue our own activities.
When it finally starts to get too dark, I pull out some lanterns to light the edges of our space. He starts a small fire, while I grab a few more cozy blankets and the snacks. The crackling fire gives us some warmth while I teach him how to make s'mores and other campfire treats and provides some bonus background noise to the music I play from my iPod and speaker.
Despite how much I tried, Elijah could not get a handle on the perfect s'more. I think he burned them every time because it made me laugh to see him have to blow out this burnt mess.
It gets quiet again after we eat.
We are sitting together, leaning against the same tree when Elijah asks about my music choice. Lost in my other drawing, it takes me a moment to place the song. "It's called 'This'. It's by Ed Sheeran, a British singer-songwriter."
He listens for another moment.
The song goes through its chorus:
This is the start of something beautiful
This is the start of something new
You are the one who'd make me lose it all
You are the start of something new, ooh
"I like it," he whispers.
"Really?" I ask, surprised.
"Yes. It's…pleasant."
I smile softly, "Yeah, he's got some good stuff."
"What's your favorite of his?"
I swipe some eraser shavings off my parchment before I answer, "From this album, I really like his song, 'Give Me Love'. It's kind of an eclectic mix of like three songs, with the first part being rather beautiful – romantic and sentimental -, along the lines of this song and a few of his others on this album, then there's chanting. And then it goes silent for a minute, just so you think the song is finished. And then, there's this cover of the traditional song, I think it's Scottish or Irish or something. 'The Parting Glass'. I don't know why, but the combination of all of it is…odd but touching."
"I'll be sure to listen to it then."
I smile and nod into my drawing, finishing the last couple of details.
When I feel that it's as good as it's gonna get, I take a deep breath and lean back, stretching out from being cramped over my sketchbook for the past couple of hours. And I as lean back, I can see the stars peeking out from behind the leaves of the tree. I close my sketchbook as I get up. I walk further away from our lights and fire, to a more open spot, where the canopies of the trees leave enough room to see constellations.
My breath leaves me in a whoosh as I see the stars shining as bright as I have ever seen them. Elijah joins me after a few minutes.
"I never learned about constellations," I say to him as he walks up. "I know a lot of them have stories, and I meant to learn about each one of them, but I never got the chance."
"I happen to know a few stories; would you like me to share?"
I move my head to face him, "Would you?"
He faces me and gives me a small smile, "Today, I would."
I return his smile, but brighter. Then it occurs to me, "Wait, let me get comfortable." And I run quickly to grab a blanket, place it on the ground, and lie down. I place my arms behind my head and turn to the sky and Elijah standing above me, "Ok, I'm ready."
He sighs, staring at the sky before he lies down next to me. I chuckle when he dusts off his suit, despite the fact that he's lying on a blanket.
"Trying to prevent creases?" I ask.
"You can see how it would be undignified for me for my suit to not be perfectly pressed," he replies.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," I promise. "Just start the story."
"Well, first, you should know that there are seven major constellations seen during this month. We'll probably be able to spot five or six. The first one we will start with is Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs." He points to a series of stars that form a 'V' shape, with two small stars on the left side, one larger star as the base, and another larger one as the right peak, plus a small star above the other. "This constellation is bordered by Ursa Major to the north and west, Coma Berenices to the south, and Boötes to the east. Canes Venatici was originally included in the constellation Ursa Major by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century. The constellation's name means "hunting dogs" in Latin. While there are no myths associated with this constellation, it represents the hunting dogs, Asterion and Chara, held by Boötes as he hunts for the bears Ursa Major and Ursa Minor in the night sky. The two dogs were first depicted with Boötes on a map by the German astronomer Peter Apian in 1533. The stars were separated out by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687. He took the faint stars under the bear's tail and formed the modern constellation Canes Venatici."
"The next constellation is Centaurus, the centaur, which is located in the southern hemisphere of the sky." He points to a cluster of stars, ones that form a triangle with legs coming out from two points and the final point connecting to a mess that sort of forms a body with arms coming out. "Centaurus is one of the 48 constellations first identified by the second century Greek astronomer Ptolemy. It represents a centaur, a half man half horse creature from Greek mythology. It is an ancient constellation that dates back to the ancient Babylonians. They know it as the Bison-man. It was depicted as a four-legged bison with the head of a man. The ancient Greeks identified it as a centaur, but it is not clear exactly which centaur it represents. It is most commonly said to represent Chiron who was accidentally wounded by Hercules. After his death, Hercules honored him by giving him a place in the stars."
"Now look back towards where we saw Canes Venatici and find three stars forming a right angle. That is Coma Berenices or Berenice's hair. Coma Berenices was original considered part of the constellation Leo by Ptolemy. It originally represented the tuft at the end of the Lion's tail. It remained there until the 16th century when the cartographer Caspar Vopel separated the stars out into a new constellation. It was named after Queen Berenice II, the wife of Ptolemy III of Egypt, whose beautiful long hair was given to Aphrodite as a gift. Aphrodite was so pleased by this gift that she placed it in the night sky."
"Kind of a weird gift, if you think about it," I say.
"I agree. Now this next one may be harder to see, but you are looking for 5 stars, 4 of which form a quadrilateral that is almost shaped similarly to a kite."
"I don't see it," I tell him.
He directs with me his finger, "look in that direction. You may see more of a trapezoid than a kite."
"I found it!" Kite, my ass.
"Good, now that is the constellation Corvus. It is bordered by Virgo to the north and east, Hydra to the south, and Crater to the west. The four brightest stars in this constellation form a square asterism known as the Sail, or the Spica's Spanker, because two of the stars point the way to Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. Corvus is another one of the 48 constellations identified by the astronomer Ptolemy in the second century. Its name means "crow" in Latin. It is an ancient constellation that was known since the time of the Babylonians. They saw it as a raven, and it was sacred to Adad, the god of rain and storm. To the ancient Greeks, it was a crow sent by Apollo to fetch water. The raven wasted his time eating figs. After returning late, Apollo punished him by throwing him into the heavens. He was also condemned to endure eternal thirst. It is said this is why the crow caws instead of singing like other birds."
"Now, speaking of Virgo and the star, Spica, which is that bright one right there," he says.
"I see it." I didn't but I don't want to tell him that.
"Good, now follow that trail of stars and that is Virgo. Now, Virgo is the second largest constellation in the night sky. It is located between Leo to the west and Libra to the east and as we demonstrated, it can be easily found through its brightest star, Spica. It is one of the thirteen constellations of the zodiac, which means it lies along the path the Sun travels in the sky during the year. The September equinox is currently located in Virgo. This means that the Sun will be in Virgo during the September equinox. Since the Sun passes through Virgo in mid-September, this makes it the constellation that announces the harvest. Virgo was also cataloged by Ptolemy in the second century. Its name means "virgin" in Latin. It is an ancient constellation. The Babylonians knew it as "The Furrow", representing the goddess Shala's ear of grain. In Roman times she was represented by the goddess Ceres, who was the mother of Proserpina, or as she is better known, Persephone. Ceres's festival was in the second week of April, the same time that the constellation first appears in the spring skies. Virgo was also sometimes identified as the virgin goddess Astraea, holding the scales of justice represented by the constellation Libra. Virgo is usually depicted on charts as a maiden with angelic wings holding two ears of wheat, one of which is marked by the bright star Spica."
"You know, I always liked the story of Persephone," I tell him.
"Did you?" He asks, turning his head to face me.
I turn to glance at him, "Yeah, at first I thought it was funny that the God of the Underworld was married to someone so bright as the Goddess of Flowers." I turn back to face the stars, "Then, when I got older, I recognized that the darker themes of the story: the kidnapping and rape. And just when I was about to give up on the story, I read one version where Persephone was just wandering and found the Underworld. And she just stays because she likes it there. And Hades is simply confused because she is alive, but he still allows it. Then, Demeter goes nuts because she finds her daughter missing, curses everything and that's why we have winter. And Zeus has to come into this to mediate, which, seeing how Zeus typically causes more problems than he solves, should not be a good idea. But he gets Persephone to return and that's why we get spring again. It was something of note because this story mentions the name 'Kore' which is what she originally goes by in this version. It meant 'little girl' or 'daughter' and then Zeus changes it to Persephone, which means 'chaos bringer', which is I find rather funny."
"That is quite a difference in name meaning."
"Yeah, anyways, back to stars."
"Alright," he agrees. His head turning back to the sky as well, "Can you find a cross close to the south? It will be close to where we saw Centaurus."
"I don't see it," I say.
"That's alright. We may be out of range to see it. It is typically seen closer to the southern hemisphere. Had you seen it, you would be seeing, the constellation Crux, the southern cross. It is bordered by the constellations Centaurus on the east, north and west, and Musca to the south. Crux is one of the most familiar constellations in the southern hemisphere. It is an easy constellation to identify, due to its obvious cross shape and bright stars. Since the southern hemisphere does not have a bright star near its pole, Crux was used by sailors as a navigational aid. They would draw a line using the stars in the cross in order to determine the location of the south celestial pole, which is actually located in the constellation Ocatans. Crux was considered to be part of the constellation Centaurus by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century. The Greeks were able to see the celestial cross before it disappeared below the horizon due the procession of the Earth's axis. Some linked the disappearance of the cross with the crucifixion of Christ. By the year 400, the stars were no longer visible from Europe. The Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius was the first to separate the stars into their own constellation in 1592. The Southern Cross carried special significance for many cultures in the southern hemisphere. The ancient Inca know the constellation as Chakana, which means "the stair". The Mori called it Te Punga, which meant "the anchor." To the ancient aboriginal people of Australia, is represented part of the head of the Emu in the Sky. It is represented on the Australian flag and on the flag of Brazil."
"That's really cool," I respond.
"As we cannot see Cruz, we are highly unlikely to find the last one, Musca. This one has no myth, it is simply called Musca, or fly, because it looked like one to various astronomers."
"That's okay. I learned enough stars for the night" I respond. "I think the only astronomy we need to focus on is the full moon." And our waning time comes running into the forefront of our minds with my comment. Ugh, why did I have to say that? We were having a nice time. It goes quiet, so I change the topic with the question, "How do you know so much about astronomy?"
"I had the time to learn," Elijah comments. I roll my eyes.
But I turn my head to face him again, "No, really. Why made you decide to learn all of this?"
"I learned direction via the stars long ago, when I was human. If I could see the stars, I could find my way home, even in the most remote parts of the forests. After I was turned, I had the time to learn and explore topics that I hadn't had the opportunity to in my first life. Like you, I was inspired by the stories and myths I heard were kept in the skies and I sought after the information I could find about it. I gave up the endeavor after a while as I focused on new topics to research. But now, I find myself wondering if I should have spent more time looking up, as these are the very same stars I saw in my childhood, but time has worn them down, made them harder to see, and I find myself missing the simpler days of my youth."
"Ah, the simpler days," I muse. "How life was so much easier back then."
(All information about constellations comes from seasky/./org/constellations. Also, I have no idea if you can really see these constellations in Virginia in May/June. Probably not, because Virgo is definitely something seen later in the zodiac. Oops. But I am not a star person, so just go with me here)
We quietly pack up the remnants of our day. Returning blankets and books to my car, while dousing the fire and throwing away any trash. The tension builds as the little bubble we have built here slowly breaks down. Tomorrow becomes an ever-present concern, one that is in full force after being blocked for the day. The painful awkwardness of an unsteady partnership feels inching towards us, and no matter how much I wish it otherwise, is painfully set in stone. My sketchbook is the last thing out as I return to my car, where Elijah is about to close the trunk with everything else inside.
I stop him, "Wait one second." And I quickly run through the books, separating out the ones that belong to him. I place them all in one bag, including my copy of The Hobbit and I bring them out and hand the bag to him. "This is where our day ends. It's probably best to say goodbye here."
"Thank you, Emilia. Despite my misgivings, I found this day to be extremely…pleasant," he says, his tone full of surprising warmth, hidden behind the polite words.
I pull out my sketchbook, "I want to give this to you." And I rip out the two pictures I drew today, the one of him and my other one.
"Emilia, no. It's your work," he protests, dropping the bag of books and holding his hands up.
"I want you to have it," I say, stepping up and placing the designs into the bag of books, enclosing them between two books to keep the pages unfolded. "Something to remember this day by."
"Emilia," he starts.
I get up close to him, placing my hands on the lapels of his suit. God, where is this confidence coming from? "Elijah, please. Take the gift."
He acquiesces, "Alright."
I keep my focus, following through on whatever strange confidence I have right now to get out, "I just want to thank you for today. You didn't have to join me, and I really appreciate your presence. Not only for the fact that you agreed and acquiesced to my plans, but that you made this day into one of the best ones that I could've imagined."
"Emilia," he tries to interrupt.
"Shhh," I say, bringing my hands further up his body to his shoulders. "You don't have to say anything. In fact, I might prefer it, because if you say something, I'm going to lose my courage." Oh, I probably shouldn't have admitted that. But now is not the time for regret. That can come after I'm gone. "I need you to do one more thing for me. And it's not something that we ever have to discuss or acknowledge again. I just want to do one last thing to really mark this as the perfect day, and then you can forget all about this and me if you want. But I would like to do one more thing."
"Emilia," he tries to say again.
"Elijah," I breathe out. And I summon all my courage and go for it. I raise my hands to the back of his head, and I pull myself to him.
Placing my lips on his for the lightest kiss. After a moment, I press deeper, pulling him closer for the second I have him here and then I pull back. "Thank you, Elijah," I breathe out.
And I run to my car, never looking back as I drive away.
I wake up bright and early the next morning, having slept better than I can remember having for a long time. I take advantage of waking up in the Boarding House, by raiding the kitchen to make breakfast.
Damon finds me in the middle of making pancakes. "What are you doing here?" he asks, sauntering in.
I'm rummaging through one of the million cabinets in this ginormous kitchen at the moment, so I reply, "Looking for a pancake griddle."
"I meant, why are you here? In my house? In my kitchen, cooking?" he clarifies.
Not the I needed him to. "You know, it's technically my house now. Name on the deed and everything. Which means, this is my kitchen. And I can do whatever I want in it. And right now, I want to make pancakes." If only I could find the pancake griddle. They've got tons of gadgets around: three standing mixers in different colors, a milk froth-er, food processor, whip cream maker, an ice cream maker, and a ton of other crap that they never use. They have to have a pancake griddle somewhere.
Damon, reading my mind, opens another cabinet, and pulls out the exact thing I'm looking for.
"Ah, thank you," I tell him, as I place it on the stove burners and start heating it up.
"Is this really the best thing you can be doing right now? The sacrifice is tonight. Shouldn't you be researching or sharpening your little daggers, and I don't know, doing something important to saving your sister's life?" He says, leaning in close to me.
I pull out my trusty dagger, this time hidden at the base of my spine. I flip it and hold it to Damon's neck. "Don't mistake my actions for anything other than love for my sister. You think I don't know the sacrifice is tonight? I've been preparing for this longer than you've even known about Klaus. I have all of my plans, locked and loaded, ready to save Elena's life. I'm willing to go further than you would know to save my sister. And I'm not going to have you messing that up. Do you understand me?"
He backs up, raising his hands, "Crystal Clear, Buffy."
I replace the dagger in its holster and turn to grease the pan and spread some batter into 3 medium circles. "Then get out of my way, Demon. I'm making pancakes for Elena. They are her favorite."
"Save me some," he says, backing out of the kitchen.
"Not on your life," I reply, testing the pancakes to see if they are ready to flip.
Elena luckily walks downstairs right as I'm finishing the last couple of pancakes. It's lucky, because I didn't want to search her out in Stefan's bedroom. I may have given her the day to spend with Stefan, but I don't want any details after that. She gives me a big smile and a hug when she sees the stack of pancakes.
She thanks me and starts to tell me about her day with Stefan yesterday. The romantic walks, the meals he cooked for her. How they savored their time together after my words. Jenna also wanders down from the room she's been staying in as she absorbs the reality of the supernatural world and chats with us for a few moments, stealing some bites off Elena's plate. Elena is just about to tell us about her and Stefan's night when there's a knock on the front door. Ugh, saved by the bell.
I go to get it and find Elijah waiting patiently on the other side. I hate how I both want to smile at him and also run away. But no, I'm not going to do either. Polite distance of reluctant allies and nothing more. Yesterday doesn't matter. "Hello, Elijah. Do you have the elixir?"
"Yes," he answers.
"Then come on in. Elena is inside, and I will gather everyone else," I open the door and I walk off to find Damon and Stefan.
I find Stefan outside, looking into the distance and I inform him of Elijah's arrival. I am just about to look for Damon when Jenna yells, "Get out!"
I rush to the front entrance to find Jenna holding a crossbow at Alaric. Oh, right, the last time she saw Alaric, Klaus was in his body and forcing Stefan to reveal vampires to her.
"Jenna, Jenna," he pleads. Well, that answers the question of who is in Alaric's body. That's definitely him.
But Jenna is having none of it, "Get out!"
"Jenna, put the crossbow down. Ok? It's me," Alaric says.
"Stay away from me," is all Jenna says in response.
Elena and Stefan walk in, with Elena asking, "What's going on?"
Damon walks in as Alaric answers, "It's me, Elena. I swear, ok? He let me go. Klaus let me go."
"Prove it," Damon states. Which is fair. If I wasn't already sure of Alaric's identity based on his behavior, I would ask the same.
"Ok, uh," Alaric starts. He turns to Jenna, "First night you and I spent together, Jeremy walked in right as I was about to-"
"Ok!" Jenna interrupts. "It's him."
"Oh, that's disgusting," I comment. "I didn't need to hear that." Elena's face agrees. Disgusting images aside, we need to get back on topic.
And Stefan steps up to do so. "Why did he let you go?" he asks.
"He wanted me to deliver a message," Alaric replies. He turns to Elena. "The sacrifice happens tonight." I look down as everyone turns to Elena, who is at my side. She in turn, turns to face Elijah, who is in the shadows behind her. Despite the fact that we all knew this coming in, the confirmation from Klaus is disheartening. It's as if we all collectively hoped in the back of our minds that if we didn't think about it too hard, maybe Klaus would forget, and we'd have more time. But time's up and we need to get moving.
We move to the sitting room. Alaric on one couch to be interrogated. Jenna and I are on the other, Elena is in a separate chair with Stefan standing on one side, and Elijah stands in the back.
"So you don't remember anything?" Stefan asks.
"No," Alaric answers. "It's like I blacked out and woke up a week later." He looks to Jenna, and then he looks up to Damon, "Katherine was there."
"She's under compulsion," Stefan explains. "Damon snuck her some vervain, but she can't leave until Klaus tells her she can."
"Where is Damon?" Elena asks.
Jenna answers, "I saw him go upstairs." Elena sighs and stands, most likely to go get him. I would do it, but my methods are less likely to be pleasant for him.
Alaric sighs, "So, what else did I do?"
No one really wants to answer. It goes quiet enough that we can hear when Elena screams, "Damon, no!" And we rush upstairs, Stefan and Elijah flashing up there faster than the rest of us humans can run.
We find Stefan throwing Damon off of Elena, who collapses to the floor, gagging and crying. "What did you do?" Stefan yells as Damon rights himself, standing up again.
I rush to Elena to see her crying on the ground, blood staining her lips. "What did you do, Damon?!" I cry. He might have just ruined everything. Jenna also joining me at Elena's side, trying to get her to calm down.
"I saved her life," Damon answers.
And I have officially had enough, "You just killed her!" I yell, standing up. My head running through how this may change everything. Stefan takes my place at Elena's side.
"She's so bent on dying, at least this way I know, she'll come back," he says.
"As a vampire," Stefan responds. "She'll come back as a vampire."
"It's better than nothing else," Damon says.
"No! You don't understand what you have just done!" I yell at him.
"I saved her," he reiterates.
I go up to him and push him further away from Elena, "No! You killed her! Did you ever think for a moment that magic may be precise in what it asks for to save someone?! No! You just thought about yourself! And your feelings! How you would feel if Elena died in the sacrifice! Do you ever think?! Do you use the brain inside you head or are you so wrapped up in your own ego, that you never considered for a moment that I had a plan? Did you even consider for a moment that Elena is not going to be the one sacrificed?! You may have just ruined everything!"
And that shakes everyone to the core. "What?" I hear from various voices behind me. Including Elena's. And Damon's.
"Elena isn't going to be the doppelganger sacrifice, I am," I explain.
"Emilia, what?" Elena asks, standing up. Shocked faces surround her.
I take a breath before explaining. I guess it had to come out sometime. "Katherine had a twin sister, Lidiya. She died long before Katerina was on anyone's radar. But I found her. Katherine may have never talked about her, but Elijah and Klaus both recognized me immediately for what I was, another doppelganger. I have been working tirelessly for months to find various ways to protect Elena from Klaus. And the plan was always for me to be the one sacrificed. In the unlikely event that she was taken anyways, I found a spell that I was going to use to have us to switch places. But that magic is invalidated by vampire blood! It won't work. And neither will the elixir. Almost all of my plans were just ruined by this. One. Stupid. Action." I step up close to Damon, "So you better hope that Klaus chooses me to kill, because if Elena is chosen, she is not going to survive. And if she dies, so do you."
I turn to face the group, not looking anyone in the eye, but directing them anyways, "Stefan, take Elena. Somewhere, the lake house, anywhere. Just get her out of here. Calm her down. Alaric, you take Jenna back to campus. She can't be here for this. All of you, I don't care if any of you are against this. I've planned this for a long time, and by doing this, I'm saving all of you. I'm not going to give that up, no matter how much you ask. Now, I need all of you to go, regroup while I make my final preparations. I will see you guys tonight for any goodbyes."
And I walk out.
I find Elijah downstairs, packing the elixir away. I grab it from his hands, "Don't put this away just yet. It looks like I'm going to need it still."
"What is your plan now that everyone knows you intend to be sacrificed?" he asks, following me out the door.
I answer while we walk to my car. "Avoid them for now. I planned for them to be mad at me for hiding this. I've written letters explaining everything for after I'm gone. It's cruel, but necessary. I can't have anyone interfering with this any further." I unlock the car and open the driver's side door.
"And what are you going to do if Elena is the one chosen?" he asks, sliding into the passenger seat.
I start the car, "Find a spell to fix everything. There's gonna be a lot of magic floating around tonight. Breaking a 1000-year-old curse, the magic Bonnie's going to be using to kill him, even the elixir's resuscitation magic. I have to find some way to use that to bring her back."
"Where do you want to start looking?"
"How about with the Martin's collection of grimoires?"
"Drive on."
Omake: Jenna and Alaric are walking down a hallway of the Boarding House, having just left Damon's room, after Stefan and Damon's fight and the reveal of Emilia's plan
Alaric starts, "I know it's, uh, it's a lot to take in."
"Yeah," Jenna breathes out.
"I tried to protect you from all of this, but I should've known that you can handle it," Alaric says.
Jenna turns to him, stopping, "Can I?"
"Well, you just did," Alaric points out.
"I mean I just stood there when Emilia revealed," and she trails off.
"We all did," he says, placing a hand on Jenna's shoulder. "Look, no one was expecting her to do something like this. She kept it a secret from all of us. Don't feel bad for not knowing."
"But I was out of the loop for so long," Jenna cries. "I left her. I wasted so much time being mad about Isobel that I dismissed her even when she explained. And now, she's gone. She's disappeared on the day that… that she's going to die. And we might not even get to say goodbye to her at all." Her voices hitches and she starts to cry in earnest.
Alaric pulls her into a hug, "It's going to be alright. I've never met someone who is smarter or more determined than Emilia. I'm sure even if she is going to the sacrifice willingly, that she is going to fight like hell to come back. I have no doubts about it."
Jenna cries into his shoulder, murmuring, "I just wish she would have told me. That we had more time."
"I know. I do too," he whispers into her hair. "Look, Jenna. I know we still have a lot to talk about."
Jenna pulls back and pulls him into a kiss, "I'm glad you're okay. I should've said that already."
Omake 2: Stefan and Elena are walking through the woods. Stefan guiding them somewhere with Elena behind.
"Where are we?" Elena asks, stepping over a larger branch.
"It's a surprise," Stefan answers. "Just a little bit longer," he says, stepping around a tree.
"I'm not a vampire yet, you know," Elena tries to make light of the issue. One of them at least. "My legs still get tired."
"Ready to talk about how you're feeling about all of this?" Stefan asks.
"Uh…This morning I was eating pancakes and wondering if I would live or die. And now," she stops to lean against the tree in front of her as it hits her, "And now, I have to wonder over if I'm going to be a vampire or if my sister dies. I either die and live to be a vampire or watch as my twin sister dies to protect me as I remain human. I- I don't know how I'm feeling."
Stefan grabs her hand and takes her a few more feet forward. And they stop at the base of a waterfall. A smaller, more hidden but not less magical, waterfall that gave the town its name. This one is almost several waterfalls in one, with the steep rock face often redirecting the water flow in a new direction before it falls, creating a wonderful, multilayer cascading effect.
"My god, this is beautiful," Elena comments.
Stefan nods and turns to look at her watching the waterfall. He looks down, and then looks back at her as he says, "I think you do know how you feel. I just want you to know that it's okay to tell me."
Elena shakes her head, "I can't. Stefan, I just," she stops again. She thinks for a moment, takes a breath and finishes, "I just can't talk about it."
"Well, if you don't want to, that's your choice," Stefan replies. "Today's about you." He turns to face the top of the waterfall, "But…it's a long way to the top." He starts walking. "Let's go. You never know what might come up."
Just when I am on the path to finding something, a call interrupts me.
"Hey, Matt," I answer.
"Emilia, you said you're always here for me and now I really need your help," he rushes out.
I sit up, worried "What is it?"
"I know Caroline's a vampire," he blurts out. "When Caroline first told me, I went to the Sheriff and she gave me vervain. I've been pretending that I can't remember because the Sheriff asked me to. But now, Caroline might be in danger and I don't know what to do."
"Matt," I start.
"Please say you can help, Emilia," he pleads.
I sigh. "Where are you? I'm on my way," I say.
"I'm at the Grille," he answers. And we hang up.
I turn to Elijah, "I think I found something, but I have to go. My friend might be in danger."
"Hurry, you are running out of time," he replies, taking the grimoire from my hands.
"I've always been running out of time," I comment, running out.
Matt explains everything when he jumps in my car. He tells me how Caroline isn't answering her phone. They were supposed to meet for lunch after she visited Mrs. Lockwood, who apparently fell. Something sparks my memory and when I see Damon, striding out of Alaric's apartment building, I follow him.
He leads us along the path to the tomb. Klaus may be keeping Caroline there for the sacrifice. I pull my car over on the side of the forest, just as Damon flashes off. I pop open my trunk and I hand Matt a wooden bullet gun, while I grab a crossbow and a couple vervain grenades. And we walk off towards the tomb.
We get there just in time to see Damon being attacked by a warlock. I shoot a crossbow bolt, while Matt shoots him with the gun. The warlock falls to the ground, releasing Damon from the spell. Damon then gets up, flashes and snaps the warlock's neck, before turning to us.
"What are you doing here?" Damon asks.
"Rescuing Caroline," I answer for Matt.
"Where is she?" Matt asks, lifting the gun to point it at Damon.
Damon turns to Matt, "Listen, man. Not a good time to play the hero."
"We don't have a lot of time here, Damon," I say, pulling up my crossbow to point it at him. "I'm supposed to be researching ways to fix what you broke. So, where is Caroline?"
Damon nods his head to the entrance, "Down there."
I lower the crossbow and head down, finding both Caroline and Tyler chained to opposite walls.
"Emilia?" Caroline perks up. Tyler on the other hand, falls backwards in shock and in shame. At least what looks to me to be shame.
"Yeah, Matt called me to help find you. Apparently, he wasn't compelled to forget," I respond, while trying to pick the locks on her chains.
"What?" she asks.
"Matt knows about you?" Tyler asks.
"What? No, I," Caroline starts.
Damon comes sauntering up, pulling Caroline's chains off the wall, "Shh. Tomorrow's problem. Let me just get you out of here."
We help Caroline up, "Wait, no. I'm not leaving without him," she says, stopping us.
"It's getting dark soon, and it's a full moon," I point out.
"How fast can you get away from here?" Damon asks.
"I need to get to my family's cellar," Tyler answers. "I can lock myself up there."
"I can help," Caroline says.
"Damon, just do it. If you waste any more time, you're gonna get caught out in the woods with a werewolf." I check the time on my phone, "Speaking of time, I've gotta go. Everyone get out of here and be safe." I stop to wonder if I should say more, something of a goodbye, just in case. But I don't have anything prepared and I can't waste the time to think of something. So I just run instead.
Omake 3: Stefan and Elena are at the top of the cliff looking out at the sunset.
"Wow," Elena says, looking out at the picturesque view.
"Yeah," Stefan breathes out. He turns to her, "Hey, you can say it."
"Say what?" Elena asks.
"The thing you've been trying to say, but…been afraid of how it'll make me feel."
"There's nothing I can say, Stefan. It's not going to change anything."
"Might make you feel better."
Elena stays silent.
"Look, I know this isn't the first time you've thought about it. Drinking vampire blood to survive," Stefan says. "I mean, I know I've thought about it a hundred times."
"And before all of this with Klaus, did you think about it then?" Elena asks.
"Of course, I did," Stefan answers. Stefan grabs her hand. "If it were my choice, I'd want to be with you forever."
Elena shifts, "Why have you never brought this up?"
"Cause I knew if it was an option, you would have. It would be selfish of me to ask you," Stefan says.
"Didn't stop Damon," Elena points out.
"He shouldn't have done what he did," Stefan grouses. He sighs, "He did it because he loves you."
"But he did this to me, which means, he doesn't really know what love is," Elena comments. "And to be honest, I don't know if I do," she says, looking out at the sunset. "I'm 17 years old. How am I supposed to know any of this yet?" Stefan nods. Elena grabs his hands. "I know that I love you, Stefan. But my future? Our lives together? Those were things I was supposed to deal with as they came along. I was supposed to grow up," she says, starting to cry. "Decide if I want to have kids and start a family. Grow old. I was supposed to have a lifetime of those choices, and…now?" She stops and continues to cry.
"Say it," Stefan encourages.
"I don't want to be a vampire, Stefan."
"It's okay," he says.
"But it's not, because if I choose this. If I choose to stay human, to keep that lifetime of choices, then I'm choosing to kill my sister. To let her die for me. And she might not come back at all. So how, Stefan? How can I choose to kill her?"
"You're not choosing this, Elena," Stefan says comforting her. "Emilia made her decision to do this for you. She wanted you to have a lifetime."
"I can't accept it. Not like this."
Stefan pulls her into a hug, "Emilia will come back. She will survive this."
"I can't," Elena sobs. "I can't lose her."
"You won't," is all he can reply as she continues to cry into his shirt.
Everything is finalized as night falls. With one last word, all I can do is done.
With a look and a small nod, Elijah hands over the elixir.
The only toast I can think of is "To life. Let's hope this works." And I swallow the elixir.
It's disgusting.
I cough as it goes down. "Ugh, 500-year-old witch's potion tastes terrible."
"I cannot have imagined it would taste good," Elijah replies, taking the empty bottle and putting it back in its box.
"Yeah, but I didn't anticipate it would be THAT bad," I reply. With one look up at the full moon, I know it's time to go. "Walk with me?" I ask him.
He nods as we both silently prepare for what's ahead.
We remain quiet for the walk. I guess there's really nothing left to say. Or there is, but neither of us are willing to open that Pandora's box. Eventually, we reach our destination. It's just some spot in the woods, but I know Klaus is coming for me here. This is where we separate.
I could take the chance. To say everything. To say something, I don't know. I don't even know what I would say.
We could make promises. Say, 'if we get out this, then'. But what would that mean? What could we really promise? There's no guarantees here. All of my planning may not succeed. I may not make out of this at all. Or Klaus could do something, be more prepared than we expected, and all of this may still be for naught. We have no assurances of anything that is about to happen here, and so there are no promises to be made.
For the same reasons, there's no use for goodbyes.
All I can say is, "Thank you, Elijah. For everything."
Elijah turns to me. He takes my hand, "Emilia Gilbert, it has been my pleasure." And with a kiss to my hand, he flashes away.
And I am left alone.
It doesn't take long for Klaus to find me.
I recognize him instantly.
"Are you ready, sweetheart?" he asks.
I take a deep breath.
"I am."
A/N: So…how was it? I know it's fluffy and I'm not sure it's 100% in character. But I thought it was a fun moment and a little respite from the drama that's been the past couple of episodes and will continue to be the next, so I hope you enjoyed it! Leave a review if you want to!
Next update will come when I get around to it. I'm about to start my graduate program which will be new for me, so I have no idea what my schedule will be. But like I've said, over half of season 3 is already written, so if you want an update, feel free to nag me about one.