Chapter 36: Know Thy Enemy
April 8, 2010
Ellie stood there in shock as this woman, who was apparently her supposedly dead birth mother Isobel, said, "Hello, Elena. It's nice to see you again."
"Again?" Both Jenna and Ellie asked as they looked at Elena in disbelief.
"So you're the woman who's dating my husband." Isobel commented. "I need to speak to Elena and Ellie. May I come in?"
"N-n-no, don't." Elena stuttered. "Don't invite her in." A sudden realization struck the other two girls in the house as they shared a look. If Elena was so insistent on Jenna not giving Isobel permission, then Isobel had to have been a vampire.
"I need to talk to you and Ellie, Elena." Isobel insisted.
"No!" Elena replied as she slammed the door shut.
Jenna didn't bother to try and hide her tears. "You knew she was still alive?" She asked in shock. "Ric? John? Did they know?"
"I can explain everything, Jenna." Elena tried to say as she also started to cry, but Jenna yanked her hand away from her niece.
"No."
Ellie didn't try to stop her aunt as she ran up the stairs. "No, Jenna, please." Elena cried, but Ellie blocked her path up the stairs.
"You said no more lies, Elena. You swore that there was nothing else that you were keeping from me. How could you not tell me our birth mother was still alive? That you'd met her?" Ellie was openly crying as she let Elena see how badly her betrayal had hurt her own sister.
"Ellie, wait, no, Ellie, please you don't understand." Ellie turned to run up the stairs and Jenna thankfully let her into the room before slamming the door in Elena's face. "Jenna, Ellie, please you guys have to talk to me. I- I need to explain what's going on." Jenna slid down against the door as she cried. Ellie dropped down next to her as she listened to Elena beg for them to listen to what she had to say.
Her attention was caught when Jenna started to hyperventilate. She took a hold of Jenna's hands and started to hum the lullaby that Katherine had been singing earlier. While she could have used her magic to calm Jenna down, it felt wrong. If she used her abilities to alter Jenna's emotions when she was like this, how would she be any better than Damon compelling Jeremy's grief over Vicki away?
So instead, she sat and she hummed the music as she tried to drown out the sound of Elena's voice. After a while, Elena finally seemed to go away and it wasn't long after that their harsh cries turned into sad sniffles. With the amount of crying she'd done tonight, her eyes were going to be so swollen in the morning and she was going to have a raging headache. "Did you know?" Jenna finally asked as she wiped her face dry. "About Isobel?"
"No." Ellie confessed. "She never said a word about Isobel."
Even through her own feelings of betrayal, she knew that this must have really hurt Ellie. "Do you wanna sleep in here with me tonight?" Jenna asked softly. "I don't want to be alone right now." She added it as an afterthought. Ellie would be more willing to stay if she told herself she was doing it for Jenna's sake instead of her own.
"Yeah." Ellie agreed. "I'd appreciate that." Jenna lent Ellie some pajamas so that the other girl wouldn't have to leave and after she'd changed, Ellie asked, "Jenna, will you come with me somewhere tomorrow?"
They crawled under the covers as Jenna replied, "Of course, where are we going?"
"To a funeral." Ellie said sadly. Jenna didn't press the issue when she saw the way Ellie's eyes watered once more. Instead, she pulled her niece close and hugged her until the both fell into a somewhat peaceful sleep.
Ellie had woken up at some point in the middle of the night. In the blissful quiet of the night, she packed a bag. The last thing she wanted was to stay in this house anymore, at least not for a while. It wouldn't be a surprise if Jenna also went to stay somewhere else. When they'd woken for good in the early morning, Jenna did exactly that. "Guess you didn't feel like staying here either." Jenna commented as she stuffed her things into her bag.
"This is a lie that I'm gonna have trouble getting over." Ellie said honestly as she double checked that she had everything that she needed. "Are you going to be staying on campus?"
"Yeah. What about you? Do you have somewhere you're planning on staying?" Jenna questioned. "You can stay with me on campus if you want." She offered.
"No, that's ok. Where I'll be crashing is pretty safe." Ellie assured her. "You know that Elena is probably waiting on us down there to try and talk to us again."
Jenna nodded as she sighed. "Yes, I know. If I had to guess, she probably called Ric too. But I don't really want to talk to either of them right now. Even if they thought that it was best to keep me out of the supernatural stuff, they could have at least told me she was alive if they didn't want to get into the vampire topic."
"I'm sure that to her whatever reasoning she has makes perfect sense." Ellie huffed slightly.
"So whose funeral are we going to exactly? Also when is it?" Jenna questioned as Ellie zipped up her bag.
Ellie sniffed as she shook her head. "I'll tell you after we drop your stuff off at campus, I'll tell you about it."
Jenna didn't press the matter. Instead, they grabbed their bags and headed out. Both Elena and Alaric were waiting at the steps. "Hey." Elena greeted as she looked up at them hopefully. It just made Ellie more upset.
Alaric looked at the two of them as he said, "Jenna-"
"I don't want you here Ric." Jenna cut him off. "You need to go."
"Ok, listen, I can't begin to imagine what you must be feeling right now." Alaric tried to say.
"Rage and betrayal would pretty much cover it." Jenna replied.
"Where are you going?" Elena asked them as Jenna and Ellie picked their coats up off the rack and pulled them on.
"I'm going to stay on campus." Jenna informed her without really looking at her. "I have a thesis to write, and I don't want to be in this house."
Alaric tried to convince them to stay. "Jenna, please, just stop. Let us explain to you exactly what is going on."
Jenna didn't give him an answer. "Elena, I need you to go to the Lockwoods' today and accept the historical society's check for your mom's foundation. I doubt Ellie is in the mood for it and I'm not going to make her go."
"O-ok but, Jenna, please just-" Elena stuttered.
It seemed that their attempts weren't only upsetting Ellie, because when Jenna turned back to face Elena and Alaric, she once again had tear stained cheeks. "I don't have it in me to hear any more lies from you." Jenna snapped before slamming the door shut behind her. "Where are we going again?" She asked as she wiped away her tears.
"I'll meet you at campus. I'm gonna go drop my stuff off and then I'll meet you there." Ellie said as they put their things into their cars. "Are you gonna be ok?"
"I should be asking you that." Jenna replied. "You're the one that found out that her biological mom is still alive."
"Would have been better if Elena hadn't lied to me, but I have more pressing matters." Ellie confessed. "I have an errand to run first. I'm not sure how long it'll take."
Jenna looked vaguely concerned, but if it was something that was important enough that she was putting her betrayal aside then she wasn't going to question it. "Be careful, and call me when you're headed to campus."
"Love you."
"Love you too." Jenna replied.
They went their separate ways and Ellie's heart ached for Luka and Dr. Martin. Maybe if something had been different, she might have had a chance to save them both. The drive to Elijah's apartment felt like an eternity when she was drowning in her thoughts. She waved to the lady at the front desk and made her way up to his apartment and dropped her bag onto the couch.
She wished that Elijah was here. He would know what to do. Even if he didn't, she would still stand a better chance at survival with him there to help. That hadn't known each other for very long, but he'd gained her trust in the time that they had. She shook her head to free herself from thoughts of Elijah as she turned on her heel to leave.
Once she was back in her car, she dialed the now familiar number belonging to Katherine. "Hey." Katherine greeted. "I'm at the funeral home. Do you want to help pick out the caskets or do you want me to take care of it?"
"No, no I want to be there. I'm headed there now." Ellie replied. It was convenient that there was really only one funeral home in Mystic Falls.
"Is everything ok?" Katherine asked after a moment of silence.
Ellie sighed. Apparently, even over the phone, Katherine had gotten to know her well enough that she could pick up on when Ellie was upset. "No, not really, but I don't want to talk about it over the phone. I'll tell you about it after we get this done."
"You sure?" Katherine questioned.
"Yeah. I'm sure. If I don't take all of this one step at a time I might have a breakdown." Ellie said it nonchalantly, but it was still concerning to hear. "Do you… where did you put Luka and Dr. Martin?"
"I put them in an abandoned house until we could get them buried properly. They won't be disturbed there." Katherine informed her.
Ellie bit the inside of her cheek to try and keep her emotions in check. "Ok. I'll be at the funeral home soon." She hung up and tried to ignore the pain in her chest. A few minutes later and Ellie was pulling into the parking lot. Katherine was waiting for her there.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Katherine asked with concern.
"They deserve to be put to rest. I owe this to them." Ellie said sadly. She was grateful when Katherine didn't stop her from taking the vampire's hand. "I just want to get it over with."
"Come on, I've seen a few that I think you'd like. Nothing too flashy, but respectable." Katherine told her as she led the young witch inside.
The old woman running the place, Mrs. Johnson was giving them an incredibly sympathetic smile. "You must be Ellie, your sister was telling me about you." Mrs. Johnson greeted. Ellie wondered if she thought that Katherine was Elena, or if Katherine had introduced Ellie as her sister either way. "I'm so sorry for your loss. It's very kind of you to take care of your friend's final resting place."
Katherine squeezed Ellie's hand to remind her that she wasn't alone. "Mrs. Johnson was just showing me a few of the options that she thought would be nice." Katherine told her and the two girls followed as Mrs. Johnson showed them to Ellie as well. Katherine kept a watch on her lookalike as they picked out the caskets. It didn't take long for them to find ones that Ellie liked, and Katherine paid for it without batting an eye.
"They were expensive how did you-"
Katherine cut her off with a small grin. "You live as long as I have, you can save up a nice little chunk of money." She assured her. "And I hope it's ok with you, but I already got headstones for them."
Ellie was surprised. "You did?" She asked. Before Katherine could respond, Ellie gave her a watery smile. "Thank you."
"Let me get the last few things settled with Mrs. Johnson and then we're done." Katherine told her before walking over to where Mrs. Johnson seemed to be filling out paperwork. Once she returned, Katherine explained, "I've got one of the hearse drivers going to pick up Dr. Martin and Luka. I had them put in suits earlier, so they'll be prepared."
Despite not knowing the Martins, or even really caring about them, Katherine had still gone to such lengths to put them properly to rest. It meant more to Ellie than Katherine probably realized. "Is it ok if Jenna comes? I want her to be there." Ellie asked as they headed to Ellie's car.
"Is she going to have an issue with me being there?" Katherine questioned. She hadn't really had any interaction with Jenna other than when she was using her as a spy and when she compelled Jenna to stab herself. It wasn't really the track record for them to be besties.
"No, and even if she did, she'd suck it up for my sake." Ellie informed her before she called Jenna to let her know she was coming to pick her up.
When they arrived on campus, Katherine followed Ellie towards a dorm building. They knocked on one of the doors and it only took a moment for Jenna to open it. "Ellie, I really don't want to deal with Elena right now." Jenna huffed as she went to close the door.
Ellie caught it before she could shut it all the way. "Jen, this isn't Elena." Ellie said quietly. It was almost comical how large Jenna's eyes went. At least, it was amusing in Katherine's opinion.
Katherine watched as Jenna stared her down. She did a double take between the two doppelgängers. "When you said that you and Elena looked like her… I don't think I realized that you meant exactly the same." Jenna said as she opened the door. "So you're Katherine?"
"The one and only." Katherine confirmed.
"I stabbed myself because of you." Jenna said bluntly.
Ellie winced. While it was true, Katherine had eventually apologized for it, and that she'd done it to get a message across. "That's true, but at least you didn't hit anything vital. Plus I did damage control." Ellie offered. "If Damon and Stefan and Elena hadn't been reckless, Katherine wouldn't have needed to send a message."
She hadn't expected for Ellie to defend her actions, especially when someone Ellie cared about had gotten hurt in the process. But in Katherine's defense, she hadn't wanted to kill Jenna. She'd just needed for the Salvatores and Elena did listen to her. She'd even gone so far as to make sure Jenna knew exactly where to stab herself. Had Jenna accidentally died, it would have messed up her plans and she just knew that they'd have tried to kill her. "I'm glad you're not dead, if it makes you feel any better." Katherine offered.
Jenna seemed to be considering something. "Ellie's told me about her friendship with you. From what she tells me, you're not all bad. And from what she tells me, you've had a rough go of things. So just don't hurt her and I'll consider it a flesh start."
That was also something Katherine hadn't expected. "Do you know where we need to go?" Ellie asked Katherine as Jenna exited her dorm, locking the door behind her.
"Yeah, I can drive." Katherine offered and the three of them were off.
The funeral was small. In all honesty, it was only Katherine, Jenna, and Ellie. The two had stood back as Ellie went and knelt at their caskets. They waited as she apologized profusely for failing them. It was painful for Jenna to watch, but eventually Ellie stood and walked back to them and Katherine signaled for the workers to lower them and begin to bury the two men.
It was when they dropped the first scoop of dirt on top of the caskets that a broken cry escaped the witch. With every drop of dirt, Ellie's shoulders started to shake and it wasn't long before she dissolved into sobs. Katherine hated how much Ellie's distress bothered her. With some hesitation, Katherine pulled the younger girl closer and to her relief, Ellie held onto her tightly as she cried. Jenna didn't seem to take any offense to Ellie clinging to Katherine. Instead, the blonde rested her head on Ellie's shoulders as she hugged her from behind.
Katherine wasn't sure how long it took for Ellie to calm down, but like last night, her cries eventually turned to sniffles. Once the men were finished they packed up and walked away. Katherine had already paid them for their services. "Why don't we go and eat?" Katherine asked softly. "Maybe it'll help you feel better."
"You think?" Ellie asked softly.
"I think it's a great idea." Jenna confirmed. "You need to eat something. You'll feel better." The three walked closely together as they headed back to the car. They didn't think twice about letting Katherine drive while Jenna climbed into the back with Ellie. Katherine listened silently as Ellie filled Jenna in on what had happened and who Dr. Martin and Luka had been.
It seemed that telling Jenna about them helped her feel better a good bit and by the time they arrived at The Grill, Ellie's tears had dried and she was laughing slightly as she told Jenna some of the things Luka had done. They made their way to a booth in the back. Not exactly where Katherine and Ellie sat last time, but close enough. Ellie and Jenna sat on one side, with Katherine across from them. One of the waitresses came and took their order, and Ellie couldn't help but laugh when Jenna's eyes went wide at Katherine's flawless impersonation of Elena. "She's gotten good at it." Ellie said with a shrug.
"Just a bit." Jenna agreed. She wasn't sure how she felt about spending time with the vampire. She was a threat, and had not only hurt her but other people that they cared about. But at the same time, Ellie seemed to care about the other girl. At the very least, the things that Katherine had done to them was nowhere near as long a list as the things that Damon and even Stefan had done.
After their food was brought to them, Katherine questioned, "So what else is bothering you?" Ellie looked a bit surprised as Katherine added, "You said whatever was wrong that you didn't want to talk about it over the phone.
Ellie glanced at Jenna before sighing. "Isobel, mine and Elena's birth mother, showed up out of nowhere last night saying she wanted to come in. I had no idea that she was even alive. This whole time, Elena never bothered to tell me."
"She didn't tell you about Isobel?" Katherine asked curiously.
"You knew?" Ellie asked. She couldn't help that she felt slightly betrayed.
"I didn't know that you didn't know. If I had, I would have told you. It just never came up and I assumed that she would have at least confessed that much when you called her out." Katherine told her, and Ellie had no reason to doubt her. She was well aware that Katherine would do anything to spite Elena, so she wouldn't intentionally help Elena keep a secret like that.
"You really seem to dislike Elena." Jenna commented before she bit into her burger.
Katherine scoffed. "That's an understatement. No offense, but I wouldn't exactly be heartbroken if she died." Jenna was aware of this, but it was strange seeing someone that looked like her nieces be so malicious. "Little Elena likes to act like a saint, but people have died because of her choices, and yet, somehow, there's always someone else to take the blame and her conscience gets to remain clear. At least when I fuck up, I know it's on me. I don't use someone else as a scapegoat."
Jenna was sure that Katherine was thinking of the death of her family. Maybe even about her daughter being taken away. Suddenly, Jenna somewhat understood why Ellie liked the other girl. In a way, she was an interesting mix of both Ellie and Elena, but also something else entirely. There was no way she would have ever been just like the twins when she had five hundred years of a life on the run. "Ellie told me that a man named Klaus was coming. Do you know much about him? She told me you knew him when you were human."
"Oh, I know plenty about him. And only very little did I like. He had seemed nice enough at first. I was wrong about him though. He's going to find them eventually. He's nothing if not consistent." Katherine warned. She stood by what she said, she would be completely fine if Klaus sacrificed Elena. She wouldn't even bat an eye. But Ellie had wormed her way under Katherine's skin just enough for her to give a damn on whether or not the witch lived or died.
"Do you know how he thinks?" Jenna inquired.
"I know enough about him to stay ahead of him. I also know that when he gets here, the moment he finds out Ellie's a witch, it's going to be Elena that he wants to sacrifice." Katherine told them. Of that she was certain.
Ellie's face drained of color. "You're sure?" She asked worriedly.
"Without a doubt. You're too valuable, Ellie. Had you been a regular witch, he would have still thought about it before he decided if you lived or died. But a doppelgänger witch? Do you have any idea how rare that is? Doppelgängers are rare already, which makes you even rarer. He won't kill you unless someone monumentally fucks up. If I wanted to make a bet, I'd say he'd go to great lengths to keep you safe." Katherine explained.
Jenna mentally cursed herself for the small amount of relief she felt that at least one of her nieces should be safe. She would still not forgive herself if Elena died. Miranda would never forgive her. "Klaus and his witches." Ellie sighed.
"Klaus and his witches." Katherine repeated. She had told Ellie a while back at how Klaus loved keeping a group of witches around to keep him safe.
Jenna turned towards her niece. "You said that Damon and Stefan were keeping Elena safe. So who's keeping you safe?"
"Well, I like her enough to keep an eye on her." Katherine shrugged. She knew the boys could be very one track minded. And Elena, that little brat, was surely taking all of their focus.
Ellie gave Katherine a fond smile before turning back to Jenna and saying, "I have Katherine, and I do have some ability to protect myself." She hesitated before adding, "Dr. Martin and Luka had been looking after me. And Elijah had promised to keep me safe."
Katherine didn't react much to where the two of them could see, but she'd almost forgotten that Ellie had been working with Elijah. She wasn't sure how she felt about him promising to protect Ellie. He hadn't given Katherine such an offer. He'd even gone so far to hunt her in the woods. She wasn't sure if Ellie realized it, but when she spoke of the Original, her heart would give a little tick. A beat just a little too fast. She wasn't sure if it was a crush, or just admiration for Elijah. But Katherine was sure that Ellie felt something for him. Did Ellie even know how her body reacted when he was brought up?
She hadn't noticed Ellie's reaction for a while, but when she did, it was something she caught easily every time. Katherine couldn't entirely blame Ellie for whatever she felt for Elijah, because Katherine had also been taken with him. Sometimes she thought she still was, but she also still had feelings for Stefan. If she were going to try and get one of them back, she'd go for Stefan. Taking him from Elena would just be a bonus.
Jenna knew that Damon and Stefan had found a way to take him out of the picture, though they didn't actually kill him. When Ellie had revealed that Klaus and Elijah were brothers, it had been hard to try and figure out what could have happened between the two that could push Elijah to the point that he thought he had to kill his own brother. Ellie refused to tell her. She said it was a personal matter and that it wasn't her place to say. While she was still curious, she didn't press the matter. "I would feel better if Elijah were still able to protect you." Jenna said as she snacked on her fries.
"Me too." Ellie confessed, her voice somewhat quiet. "But I have no idea where he is, and no one seems inclined to tell me. I just have to keep practicing to try and get stronger. Especially since Bonnie's lost her powers. With Dr. Martin dead, I don't think she'll ever get them back."
Ellie felt awful for her friend. She couldn't imagine having her magic ripped away like that. "How is she dealing with it?" Jenna asked.
"Not too well, and that was before his death. I can't imagine how she's feeling now." Ellie said.
It was an interesting dynamic, Katherine decided. The relationship that Ellie had with her aunt was so different than any relationship Katherine would have had with any of her family when she'd been human. Everything was much more formal back then. The only people that Katherine had ever felt relaxed and truly comfortable with had been her mama and Malina. Her father had been incredibly strict. When it came to her aunts and uncles, they barely had any kind of relationship at all.
Maybe it was because Ellie and Jenna were relatively close in age. Or maybe times had changed and it wasn't uncommon to have this kind of closeness with your family. But the two of them didn't miss a beat, and somehow managed to get Katherine involved with the conversation they were having. If Jenna didn't think about it, it really felt no different than if she were having a conversation with Ellie and Elena.
After a while, sound erupted from the watch around Jenna's wrist. "What's the alarm for?" Ellie asked curiously as she finished off her drink.
"My ever so dedicated thesis advisor has yet another revision that I need to complete. It's my alarm telling me that I need to get back to work." Jenna sighed. "I will be so happy when I graduate."
"The last thing we need is to give them a reason to give you more crap than they already do. So we should probably go." Ellie said and the three of them started to stand. "Were you done eating, Katherine?" Ellie asked.
Katherine nodded her head as she slid out of the booth. "That's fine. There's somewhere I need to be anyways." Katherine replied. "I can get myself there, but call me if you need anything."
"I will." Ellie agreed. "See you later."
"See you later." Katherine strolled out of The Grill, and then she was out of eyesight, headed to who knew where.
After they paid, Jenna confessed, "She's not so bad."
Ellie grinned as she turned the car on. "Don't let her hear you say that. I think her having a tough exterior is very important to her. But you're right, she's not so bad. Although she's not a saint either." Ellie replied. "But at least she's never pretended to be."
Ellie had just finished putting flowers on Dr. Martin and Luka's graves, as well as the graves of her parents when her phone buzzed. It was a text message from Elena.
Where are you right now? It's important.
She replied, telling Elena where she was but Elena didn't text back. That was strange. No matter how rocky their relationship was currently, Elena wouldn't say something was important and then not respond. When several minutes passed with no response, Ellie began calling Elena, hoping that she would answer. All she got was a recording telling her to leave a voicemail. "Elena, where are you? Why aren't you answering your phone? Did something happen?"
"She's alright." Isobel spoke from behind Ellie. The young witch whipped around, but something pierced into her neck and suddenly there were two Isobels before her. "It's ok, don't fight it." As she began to lose consciousness, she spotted Elena, passed out in the backseat of Isobel's car. Her magic faltered, she didn't have a strong enough grip to stay awake and fight Isobel off. Finally, she collapsed into Isobel's arms.
Sometime later, Ellie stirred as the car went over a particularly large bump. It immediately took her back to her first meeting with Elijah. How Trevor had wanted to drink from Elena. How scared she'd been because she hadn't known that vampires even existed. Somehow, this was worse. She'd failed to protect herself and Elena again. How could she protect them from Klaus if she couldn't even protect them from their own birth mother?
Elena was still passed out, her head in Ellie's lap. Isobel didn't seem to be aware that Ellie was awake. Not long after she woke, Isobel's phone began to ring. "Are we good to go?" Isobel asked. She tried to listen to see who the person on the other end was, but it was too quiet. "We'll be long gone before that." Isobel told them. "I'm sorry, Katherine." Ellie's stomach plummeted. "I had to do what I was told. He wanted the moonstone, and he wanted you."
That was when Elena brought a hand to her head, and Ellie held up a finger to tell her to be quiet. She couldn't get past the sudden fear she had for Katherine's safety. The only person she knew of that would want the moonstone and Katherine, was Klaus. "Where are you taking us?" It was Elena that broke the silence.
"We're almost there. Don't worry." Isobel said. She sounded entirely unconcerned that she'd kidnapped her own daughters. A minute or so later, they approached a cemetery. The strange man that sat in the front passenger's seat unnerved Ellie. He didn't say anything, didn't even really have a reaction to anything. Once they parked, the man got out and opened the door for Isobel, and then the door for Ellie and Elena. When Elena didn't immediately follow, Isobel said, "Just because you can't be compelled doesn't mean I can't force you to come with me."
"So is that what happened?" Elena questioned as she finally stepped out. "You were compelled to betray Katherine?"
"If I was, I couldn't tell you." Isobel replied as the man closed the doors, before getting in the car and driving off. Ellie was going to take that as Isobel had been in fact compelled, which meant she'd come in contact with Klaus.
"So you lied." Elena said. "You did find Klaus, didn't you? He knows where we are now. Are you taking us to him?"
"I think if she were, we wouldn't be meeting him in a cemetery." Ellie commented as she followed Isobel. She was careful to make sure that she stayed between the two of them at all times. At least now she was more than prepared for Isobel to try something.
Isobel stopped and knelt as Elena asked, "What is this?"
Ellie felt her heart clench as she read the headstone. It was Isobel's grave. "My parents, your grandparents, they put it here when it became clear that the police weren't gonna find my body." Isobel explained. She had a fond look on her face when she spoke of her parents. "They visit every week, and they bring flowers, even though there's no one buried here. The Isobel they knew is dead. So maybe there's a part of me that's buried here, the… the human part. The part that I abandoned when I… when I chose to become a vampire. The part that used to dream about the day that she'd know her daughters."
Isobel looked so sincere, so lost in a memory of herself that was gone. It was painful to know that the vampire in front of her had once been her mother that missed her and Elena terribly. That the vampire in front of her had once longed to be with them again. The vampire that had loved them. "What?" Elena asked softly.
"And instead the two of you got to meet the other part. The part that would betray her own flesh and blood." Isobel said as her phone began to ring again. Elena stepped away and Ellie followed. She didn't know how to process what was happening. "Yes." Isobel said. "Let them go?" She asked in confusion as both Ellie and Elena turned to face her. "I'm done?" Isobel let out a breath of relief as she hung up the phone.
"Who was that?" Ellie asked.
"I am so sorry, Elena, that I was such a disappointment to you." Isobel said. "And Ellie, you'll never know how sorry I am that I didn't spend more time with you, and that this is the mother you got to meet, instead of the version of me you deserved." Ellie's eyes watered slightly. Suddenly, Isobel ripped off her necklace and flames erupted on her skin.
"No! No!" Ellie cried, she used her magic as she tried to stop the flames. Though they were smaller, the fire continued to spread across Isobel's body as she let out pained screams. "No!" She must have still had the drugs in her system, because no matter how desperately she tried, the flames consumed Isobel and she dropped to the ground. Isobel wasn't screaming anymore, but both Ellie and Elena sobbed into one another as the fire continued to burn.
"She's gone." Elena said as she regained her composure.
Ellie, on the other hand, was still struggling to catch her breath as the fire died out. She walked over and picked up what had been Isobel's daylight necklace. "We need to call Stefan or somebody to come get us." Ellie said softly as she clutched the necklace tightly. There were too many deaths. Too many people she cared about were dying back to back. Even though she and Isobel hadn't really had a relationship, she was still their biological mother and that meant something.
While Elena called Stefan, Ellie sat near the road. She couldn't handle being any closer to Isobel's body. There was a certain numbness that consumed her. Like she had reached her limit for hurt and her body was shutting down to protect her. That's probably what was happening, but she couldn't care enough to stop it. It was better than breaking down in hysterics again. She wasn't sure how much time had passed when Stefan's car pulled up beside her. "Ellie are you ok?" He asked softly as he helped her stand.
"No." She replied as she ran her fingers across the pendant. "We can't just leave her body there."
"I know. Why don't you and Elena get in the car and I'll take care of Isobel?" Stefan suggested. She didn't wait for Elena to join her before she climbed into the back seat. She zoned out, focusing on the pendant until Stefan and Elena finally joined her in the car. The ride back to Mystic Falls was silent but Ellie noticed the way Elena kept a tight grip on Stefan's hand. It must be nice to have that kind of comfort.
When they got back to Mystic Falls, Stefan brought them to the boarding house. It reminded Ellie suddenly that Katherine was in very real danger, and it made her feel sick. But she wasn't currently in the position to do anything to help the other girl. She followed Elena inside, not particularly paying attention to her surroundings. "Ellie, why don't you sit down?" Elena suggested as she pulled Ellie down to sit next to her.
She was still fiddling with the necklace when Stefan approached. "Is that Isobel's?" He questioned.
Ellie nodded as Elena spoke up and said, "I never thought I would feel bad about her being dead, and yet…"
"She was your mother." Stefan said in understanding.
"Why did they let us go?" Elena asked.
Stefan shook his head. He had no answer for that. "Well, anything John told Isobel, we have to assume that Klaus knows, right? So he knows that you're not gonna turn yourself into a vampire. He knows that you have us keeping you safe." Stefan said.
"He knows I'm not gonna run." Elena said as her eyes widened.
"Which is why we need to take some precautions, cause we got played, all of us." Damon said as he shot a look at Ellie before dropping a stack of papers in Elena's lap.
Ellie straightened up suddenly and looked over to the brothers in a panic. "Did you guys tell John that I'm a witch?" She asked.
"I didn't, did you?" Stefan looked over to Damon.
Damon scoffed. "Why would I tell John anything?" When Stefan gave him a look, Damon rolled his eyes and confirmed, "No, I didn't tell John."
"What's this?" Elena asked as she looked at the papers in her lap.
"It's the deed to our house." Stefan explained. "It's in Zach's name. As soon as you sign it, it'll be in your name."
"You're giving me your house?" Elena questioned.
"Isobel had the right idea with the safe house." Stefan told her. They must be talking about some sort of meeting they'd had with her that she hadn't been a part of. "You'll just stay here till it's all over. That way, you can control who gets invited in and who doesn't."
"Although I'll be super pissed if you lock me out." Damon joked. Had Ellie's emotions not been so drained and out of sorts, she might have even laughed.
A sudden, ragged gasp caught Ellie's attention and her focus shot over to the side, where John was laying on the ground. Ellie and Elena both stood and Damon was over to John in an instant, holding him up by the collar of his shirt. "I swear, I had no idea what she was gonna do." John panted. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." He apologized.
"Damon, let him go." Elena said. "He and I need to talk." Damon didn't look happy about it, but he dropped John unceremoniously.
Elena and Ellie took a seat on one couch, with John sitting on the couch across from them as Stefan and Damon left the room. It seemed that John didn't need prompting, because he jumped right into it. "I always knew that she and Katherine were close, but I never realized that Isobel and her were working against me." He confessed. "Two of the world's most uncaring and selfish vampires, and yet they were genuinely friends."
"If that's what you thought of her, why did you ever put your trust in her at all?" Elena asked.
John looked lost in a memory as he replied, "Because I was there when she gave birth to the two of you, Elena. I saw how heartbroken she was to give you two up. And because she was the first girl I ever loved, and when she said she'd help keep you both safe… I believed her. At this point, I will do whatever you want me to do. If you feel safer with me not around, then I'll go."
Ellie looked down at the pendant she held onto. John was officially the only living parent she and Elena had. He sighed and began to stand when Ellie bumped her knee to Elena's. "You screw up everything, John." Elena told him and Ellie shot her a look. "Everything you touch just falls apart. But you're the only parent Ellie and I have left. So maybe we can learn not to hate you."
There was a look of relief on John's face at her statement. "Ok." He agreed.
"It would be a step in the right direction if you could drive me to where my car is." Ellie suggested. John looked even more relieved.
"Of course." He agreed. "Elena, do you need a ride?"
"I'm gonna stay here for a bit." She told him.
John nodded and brought Ellie out to his car. He noticed her holding tightly to the necklace and said, "Are you going to be ok?"
She shrugged. "I know I didn't know her, but she was still my mom. I wish I'd gotten the chance to know her before she was a vampire."
"You would have loved her and she would have loved you." John told her confidently. "I think she'd be happy knowing you kept her necklace." It brought Ellie a small peace of mind, and with Klaus having arrived, it would probably be one of the last times she felt so calm for a while.
Author's Note:
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and as always, please leave a review and let me know your thoughts!
To Aryabloodlust: No, Ellie didn't know about Isobel. You just so happened to be on the nose with that one! She will be staying in Elijah's apartment. Part of what you need for a locator spell is a significant item, or like their blood or something, Ellie didn't have that. I didn't think about the witches messing with her spell, but I suppose it could be possible.
To Mimi: Lol, I felt like it would be more true to Katherine's character to kinda have a reminder that even though she likes Ellie, she hates Elena. You did get a bit of Kat, Jenna, and Ellie interaction this chapter, I hope you liked it. I can't tell you how bad I want Kat and Care to make amends, but it's probably gonna have to be something big for that to work.
To Daynesky: Letting the Martins die was really hard, but I thought it was a very important moment in Ellie and Kat's relationship. I also thought the vulnerability of Ellie was important and a reminder that she's still a new witch and can't always save everyone. I'm gonna try and work in more of her magic, but it's a work in progress. Elena is very manipulative, and it's dangerous because she doesn't think she is. Never apologize for long comments I live for them lol!
To RiRi: I'm glad you liked the softer side of Kat, I was worried it was going to seem too OOC for her. I actually haven't gotten a start on Kat's redemption arc, because the main plot hasn't given room for it yet, but I do intend for it to happen. So I can't give you any answers on it yet. Losing the Martins was important because I didn't want Ellie to seem overtly powerful for a new witch, or somehow always in the right place at the right time. Sometimes, I think Elena is just as guilty as the Salvatores.
To Oz: Yes, we're finally getting into where the two of them are starting to act more like sisters, whether they realize it or not. Elena really never did try to understand Kat, and blamed her for things that weren't her fault. I hadn't intended for them to die, but the story decided their fate, and that it was an important moment for Ellie. Her having a goodbye with them as ghosts is actually a really good idea. Elena did just lose all the trust she had. Ellie vs Stefan won't be as explosive as Ellie vs Damon, because of upcoming events...
To afralmazouei: I'm glad you love Katherine. I won't be updating twice a week, because if I did that, I'd run out of chapters that I already have written and I won't risk having to go on hiatus because of writers block. I'm sorry that you didn't find last chapter super exciting though. Love you too!
To Guest: I haven't written it in, but it wouldn't surprise me if she was. The only thing is, Ellie doesn't have a supply of vervain to give her.
To Guest(2): Oh yes, not telling them about Isobel was a big mistake, and their trust is gone. I do intend for Klaus and Ellie to be close, but it's gonna take time. Ellie absolutely would fight for Katherine's freedom though. I actually could see them all being a big dysfunctional family. The sudden image of Katherine really just taking Elena's place with her whole family is hilarious.
To Guest(3): Yes, absolutely. Make no mistake, Kat still hates Elena and because she's getting to be protective over Ellie, would have no problem being a bitch to get stuff done. I've just started on season three, but I do intend for her to be there, I just don't know how it's gonna happen.
To GreenHoneyTea: They're eventually going to find out that Jenna already knew. It will happen sometime this season. I can't tell you how excited I am at how well everyone received the softer side of Kat, it makes me so happy. Exactly, Kat is a bitch with a heart. I'd like to think she's brutally honest, and that's what Ellie needs. Elena messed up with not telling them about Isobel, but yes, Ellie and Jenna are there for each other.
-Madame Magic
Posted: 10/17/20
