Chapter 46: The Reckoning

Summer 2010

"She's still alive." Klaus stormed into the moving truck. Ellie had just woken up after being suffocated yet again, and his rage was more than a bit scary. "She's still alive!" Klaus was at her in an instant. "All summer and you didn't feel the need to mention that Elena was still alive?" He asked. "Were you aware she was still alive? Were you?!"

"Yes!" Ellie confessed. "I didn't know it would affect your hybrid making! Klaus please I swear!"

"And why would you think a silly little thing like that?" Klaus hissed.

"Because you killed her!" Ellie yelled back, shaking with panic and rage. "Damn it, Klaus! Her body was cold! She died! Ok? You killed her! Bonnie's spell didn't keep her from dying. It only brought her back. She would have come back even without Bonnie's interference. Damon had forced her to drink his blood earlier that day. Bonnie only did what she did so that Elena would still be human when she came back!"

Klaus straightened when she shouted back at him. "Well, now you're going to help me fix it. Where is she?" Ellie hesitated. "Where is she?" He demanded.

Ellie knew he'd find Elena with or without her help. She thought about what the day was, and her heart twisted slightly when she realized she was supposed to be at the school tonight. They'd been looking forward to senior prank night since they were freshmen. "The high school." Ellie finally confessed. "It's senior prank night. Everybody's gonna be at the school."

"Then we should be there soon." Klaus said as he got out of the back, closing her and Stefan inside. The truck started moving a second later, and Ellie longed to call Jenna or Caroline. To call anyone and warn them that Klaus was coming. A few minutes later, the truck was opening once again. Both Rebekah and Klaus stood outside. "Come now. I won't risk any witch business for you to try and warn her. You're already on very thin ice, little witch. Best not to let it break."

"I'll stay here with Stefan." Rebekah told them as she stepped into the truck.

Klaus didn't pay her any mind as he kept a firm grip on Ellie's wrist. "Take me to her." He insisted. "Now."

Ellie reluctantly nodded and let her magic search the school. Her heart ached with longing as she felt Caroline and Tyler and Bonnie, but filled with dread when she sensed Elena. "This way." She told him and he let her lead him in the right direction. It was almost surreal to be back inside the school. Her time there as a normal student felt like it had been so long ago. She stopped outside a set of double doors. "She's that way, but so is Caroline, Bonnie, and Tyler."

He nodded and released her arm as she stole a glance through the little window. Not even ten feet from where she was, stood Tyler, grinning to a group of his teammates from football. "I love you!" Caroline's voice was just loud enough for Ellie to hear. Ellie's eyes watered slightly. She'd never gone so long without hearing Caroline's voice.

When Elena was starting to approach, Klaus pulled Ellie back so that Elena would have to get through the door before she'd see her. Elena walked into the hall and her eyes went wide when she spotted her sister. "Ellie?" Elena asked breathlessly. She pulled Ellie into a fierce hug, but Ellie's panic stopped her from returning it properly. "Ellie, what's going on? How are you here?"

Ellie tried to warn Elena through her eyes, but there was no time. "There's my girl." Klaus drawled.

In an instant, the blood drained from Elena's face. "Klaus."

She tried to run, but Klaus moved before she ever moved. "You are supposed to be dead. What are we going to do about that?" Klaus yanked Elena forward, his grip on her arm surely bruising her. "You put a rather large kink in my plan, sweetheart. The whole point of breaking the curse and becoming a hybrid was to make more hybrids. I haven't been able to do that. Now, my bet is, it has something to do with the fact that you're still breathing."

"If you're going to kill me, just do it!" Elena gasped.

"No! Klaus please!" She begged as she tried grabbing at his free arm, trying to slow him down.

It didn't faze him and he kept with the speed that had both the girls practically jogging to keep up with his pace. "Not until I know I'm right. But I do have ways of making you suffer." He said as he dragged both girls towards the gym. "Attention, seniors! You have officially been busted. Prank night is over. Head on home." He called in his American accent. "You two. I remember you."

Chad and Dana looked over at him and Dana frowned slightly. "I'm sorry. Who are you?" Dana asked in confusion.

"Oh, don't worry. I wasn't in my right head last time we met." Klaus assured her as his voice went back to normal. Ellie was standing on the other side of Elena as her sister held her hand in a death grip. "Lift your foot up, please, Dana." He compelled the girl. When she complied, he compelled Chad as well. "If she drops her foot, Chad, I want you to beat her to death. Understood?"

"No!" Ellie begged.

"Don't, Klaus. You don't have to hurt anybody." Elena pleaded.

"Oh, come on, love. Of course I do." Klaus replied.

"No, you don't!" Ellie insisted. "Please, Klaus, please don't do this."

Klaus just looked at her without responding. Ellie and Elena held tightly to one another. They didn't know what Klaus was waiting for. When Dana's balance faltered, Ellie's heart stopped for a split second. "Keep it up." Klaus reminded her.

He said nothing about Ellie helping Dana out. So, as discreetly as she could, she used her magic to keep the girl in place. It wasn't total control, though she could if she needed to. It was just enough to keep her from falling and to keep her from realizing she wasn't doing all the work. "Where's Stefan? What did you do to him?" Elena questioned.

"Stefan's on a time out." Klaus told her.

Ellie looked over to the double doors just as they opened and Matt and Bonnie walked inside. "Bonnie, get out of here!" Elena called in warning.

Klaus was behind Bonnie immediately. "Ah, I was wondering when you'd show up." He told her casually. "Now we can get started. Ah, Dana, why don't you relax? You and Chad sit tight." Dana collapsed into Chad's arms as Ellie made her way over to where Klaus, Bonnie, and Matt stood. "I assume you're the reason Elena's still walking around alive?"

"That's right." Bonnie confessed. "If you want to blame someone, blame me."

"Oh, there's no need for blame, love. Just your witchy interference seems to have caused some undesirable side effects. And since you caused the problem, I'm going to have you find the fix." Klaus explained.

The doors opened once more, revealing Rebekah forcing Tyler inside. "Tyler!" Ellie yelped.

"Hush now." Rebekah told him.

"I'd like you all to meet my sister, Rebekah. Word of warning, she can be quite mean." Klaus told them as Rebekah grinned.

"Don't be an ass."

"Leave him alone." Elena demanded.

Klaus pulled Tyler forward. "I'm gonna make this very simple. Every time I attempt to turn a werewolf into a vampire hybrid, they die during the transition. It's quite horrible, actually. Ask Ellie, she's seen it for herself."

"Klaus, please don't do this." She begged him.

He bit into his wrist and forced Tyler to drink it. "I need you to find a way to save my hybrids, Bonnie. And for Tyler's sake, you better hurry."

"Klaus, no!" Ellie's scream wasn't enough to cover the sound of Tyler's neck getting snapped. "Tyler!" Ellie cried as she dropped to the ground, pulling Tyler towards her carefully. "You son of a bitch." She hissed, but Klaus didn't seem to care.

"Ellie." Matt asked worriedly as he pulled her into a hug. "Are you ok?" She sniffed harshly and shook her head. Dana was crying softly as Chad held her. "He killed him." Matt said. He didn't look like he knew how to handle what had just happened.

"He's not dead. Klaus' blood will turn him into a vampire." Elena denied.

"And if Bonnie's successful, he'll live through his transition." Klaus announced. "Go on, then. Go and fetch your grimoires and enchantments and what not. I'll hold onto Elena, for safekeeping."

Bonnie was looking at Ellie, panic clear in her eyes. Ellie nodded once. "Bonnie, you have to hurry." She insisted. At that, Matt stood and he and Bonnie ran out of the gym.

"So this is the should-be-dead doppelgänger." Rebekah said as she walked around Elena. "The original one was much prettier."

"Enough, Rebekah." Klaus drawled. "Take the wolf boy elsewhere, would you?"

Rebekah gave Elena a fake smile before walking over to where Ellie was holding Tyler. She gave Ellie a look and then shrugged, and took Tyler's arm and started to pull him across the gym like a sack of potatoes. At Ellie's squawk of indignation, Rebekah paused and looked back at her. "He's dead. It's not like I'm hurting him." She said bluntly before continuing on as she was.

"Just ignore her." Klaus was telling Elena as Rebekah walked away. "Petty little thing."

"Let me go help, Bonnie." Ellie suggested.

"No."

"No?" Ellie asked in disbelief. "What do you mean no?"

Klaus just stared at her. "One way or another, I will get to make my hybrids. And Bonnie is going to be the one to figure it out." He told her.

Ellie just glared at him as he moved to Elena. "Are you ok?" She asked worriedly. Elena's heartbeat was racing when Ellie took a hold of her wrist. "Elena, breathe."

"I was so worried about you." Elena said as she hugged Ellie again. "How did he find out?"

"Stefan wouldn't let go."

"What?"

"Stefan. He's been holding onto himself. He hasn't turned into the Ripper like Klaus wanted. Rebekah suggested that there was something here that was keeping him from letting go. He didn't know you were still alive until we got here." Ellie confessed. There was something akin to hope in Elena's expression.

"We're gonna die." Dana said softly.

Both Ellie and Elena turned to their two classmates on the ground. "No, no you're not going to die." Ellie told her as she and Elena knelt down to their level. She brushed a stray hair out of Dana's face and for the first time, she used her magic to help calm someone's emotions. It was like watching Dana be compelled as her breathing suddenly slowed and she stopped shaking as badly.

The door opened and both Ellie and Elena turned towards it. "Stefan." Elena said as she and Ellie stood back up.

"Klaus." He called.

"Come to save your damsel, mate?"

Stefan's expression was carefully controlled. "I came to ask for your forgiveness. And pledge my loyalty."

"Well you broke that pledge once already."

"Elena means nothing to me anymore." Stefan announced. Ellie had a feeling it was the wrong thing to say. He lowered his voice slightly and said, "Whatever you ask of me, I will do."

Klaus looked pleased. "Fair enough." He told him as he rose off the bleachers. "Let's drink on it." He pointed to Chad and Dana. "Kill them." Dana and Chad scrambled to their feet. "What are you waiting for? Kill them."

"No, Stefan, don't. He's not going to hurt me. He's already said-" Elena was cut off as Klaus backhanded her.

Ellie shoved Klaus away from her. "What the fuck Klaus?!"

Stefan also rushed Klaus, but Klaus had him by the throat instantly. "She means nothing to you?" Klaus asked him. They all knew that Stefan had lied. "Your lies just keep piling up."

"Let her go!" Stefan begged. "I'll do whatever you want, you have my word!"

"Your word doesn't mean much." Klaus shot back. "Now, I lived by your word all summer. During which time I never had to resort to this. Stop fighting."

The compulsion was unexpected, and Ellie was pulling desperately on Klaus' arm, trying to get him to release Stefan. "Klaus, please! We've done everything you've asked all summer! Don't do this! You don't have to do this, Klaus, please!"

"Don't do this. Don't do this." Stefan begged.

"I didn't want to." He told them sincerely. "All I wanted was your allegiance. Now I'm gonna have to take it."

"Don't… don't…"

"Klaus, please, we've done everything you wanted! We have never said no, you don't have to do this to him! He's done everything he's been told!" Ellie knew she sounded desperate, but if Klaus took away Stefan's free will, not only was he severely hurting Stefan, he was taking away the only person she'd had to rely on all summer.

"I didn't want to do this, Ellie. But I have to." Klaus said without looking away from Stefan. "You will do exactly as I say when I say it. You will not run. You will not hide. You will simply just obey."

"No." Elena gasped. "Stefan."

"Now kill them. Ripper." Ellie watched as the emotion faded from Stefan's face. Never, not a single time during the summer had she seen him look like that. The veins under his eyes shifted as his eyes went dark. Stefan rushed over and Dana's scream filled the gym. She dropped dead a second later. Ellie took a shaky breath as she looked away. "It's always nice to see a vampire in his true element. The species has become such a broody lot."

"No. You did this to him." Elena denied as Stefan turned to face this once Chad was dead.

"I invited him to the party, love. He's the one dancing on the table." Klaus said.

The doors were yanked open violently as the heels of Rebekah's shoes clicked loudly on the floor. "Where is it?" Rebekah yelled. "Where's my necklace?"

"What are you talking about?"

"She has my necklace. Look." Rebekah offered up a phone, and Ellie leaned over to see the picture Rebekah was showing Klaus. It was a picture of Elena and Stefan, with the vervain necklace that Stefan had given Elena on display.

"Well, well, more lies." Klaus said.

Ellie looked over to Rebekah. "That's your necklace?" She asked in confusion.

"Yes! Did you know she had it?" The other girl hissed.

"I didn't know it was yours." Ellie told her honestly.

Rebekah was pissed. "Where is it?" She asked through clenched teeth.

"I don't have it anymore."

"You're lying!" Rebekah sunk her fangs into Elena's throat before anyone could react.

"Klaus!" Ellie shouted.

He moved instantly, ripping Rebekah away from Elena. "Knock it off!" He shouted.

"Make her tell me where it is, Nik!"

Ellie watched as Klaus knelt down next to her and Elena. It was clear that Klaus was trying to keep his temper in check. "Where's the necklace sweetheart? Be honest." Klaus asked Elena calmly.

"I'm telling the truth." Elena whimpered. "Katherine stole it."

A wave of understanding rushed over Ellie. Katherine had somehow known about Elena's necklace actually belonging to Rebekah. But did the girl have a death wish? Why would she steal it? "Katerina." Klaus sighed. "Of course. Well, that's unfortunate. If we had the necklace it would make things a whole lot easier for your witch, but since we're doing this the hard way, let's put a clock on it, shall we?"

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked worriedly as she pressed a hand to the wound on Elena's neck.

Klaus walked over and turned on the basketball timer. "Twenty minutes." He announced. "If Bonnie hasn't found a solution by then, I want you to feed again. Only this time, I want you to feed on Elena."

"No!" Ellie shouted.

"You know you want to." Klaus added.

"No, Klaus. Don't do this to him!" Elena begged.

Klaus didn't seem to care. "No one leaves. If she tries to run, fracture her spine." He turned to Ellie. "Come now, can't have you interfering." He took her by the forearm. "Come along."

Ellie looked between Elena and Stefan in a panic. "No, Klaus, no." She pleaded, but she didn't stop him from dragging her along. It would only make things worse.

She watched as Klaus took the phone from Rebekah and set a timer. "That timer should go off when the gym timer goes off. If we don't have an answer by then, well, for that witch's sake, she better hope we do." He handed the phone back to Rebekah "Now, little witch, why don't you go with Rebekah and keep an eye on the wolf until he wakes? I'll come collect you before the timer runs out."

While she was aware that it wasn't really a question, she wasn't inclined to fight him on it. She desperately wanted to check on Tyler. "Ok." She agreed and followed Rebekah down the hallway. Rebekah didn't say anything as they walked. She took Ellie to one of the chemistry labs. When they walked in, Ellie's heart pounded violently in her chest. "Caroline!" She yelped.

Caroline turned on her heel, eyes wide at the sight of her best friend. "Oh my god!" The two collided in an instant. "Oh my god! Oh my god! I've been so worried about you!" Rebekah watched the interaction with interest. They were clearly very close. "Are you ok?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm ok, have you gotten the…"

"Yeah, I got all of them. I've kept Jenna up to date about everything. She's still been worried sick." Caroline told her. Caroline looked over to Tyler before looking over at Rebekah. "She said that Tyler was… that he was in transition. I thought Klaus was looking for a pack in Tennessee?"

Ellie nodded as they walked over to Tyler. "We found them on the full moon. He tried to turn the whole pack. They all died. If Bonnie can't figure out what's going wrong during the transition process, Ty's gonna die." Ellie said softly.

Caroline looked horrified. "You watched that pack die?"

"Every last one." Ellie said. The memory of the bloodied faces of shaking werewolves would be burned into her brain for the rest of her life. "It was bad, Care. It was so so bad." She confessed. "Some of them went insane, but the others… I think somehow they were worse. They started bleeding out of their eyes. We didn't know it was as bad as it was until it was too late. They bled out. I remember them shaking because they were so cold and couldn't get warm no matter what they did."

Her blonde friend looked sick. "Oh my god. Why isn't it working? He did the sacrifice."

Rebekah looked smug. "My guess is it has to do with that stupid doppelgänger bitch that stole my necklace that's still breathing. And when that witch doesn't have an answer by the time the timer runs out, we'll get to kill her."

Ellie ignored how excited Rebekah sounded by that potential outcome. Instead, she replied, "But it doesn't make sense. Elena did die. So in theory, the sacrifice should have worked. It did work! Otherwise Klaus wouldn't be the Hybrid right now. So I don't know what's going wrong." The blonde Original reluctantly seemed to realize that Ellie had a point. It didn't make sense for one part of the curse to be broken and not the other part. But she didn't comment on it.

The three girls had waited in relative silence as Rebekah kept a check on the timer. Caroline had stayed as close to Ellie as she could get. They didn't know how long Ellie would get to stay, and they didn't want to waste any time. Ellie was sitting next to Caroline as they waited for Tyler to wake up. He'd been dead for a while now, which meant he should be waking up any minute. As if on cue, the werewolf jerked up violently, gasping for air. "Hey! Shhh." Caroline shushed as she ran a hand through Tyler's hair.

When he calmed down slightly, he asked, "Where am I? What happened? Ellie?"

"It's me, Ty." Ellie confirmed as she gripped his hand tightly.

"Tyler…" Caroline started.

"Don't be shy about it." Rebekah told her as she cut Caroline off.

Rebekah just smiled softly at them. "What's going on?" Tyler asked as he tried to catch his breath.

Caroline just shook her head, as if she couldn't process what was happening. Ellie took pity on her friend, and confessed, "Klaus is turning you into a vampire, a hybrid. You're in transition."

Tyler's expression flickered between panic and horror. "Don't leave out the hard part, little witch." Rebekah chided. She looked over to Tyler. "You'll only survive if your other witch is successful. If not… you're pretty much dead."

"You're going to be ok. Ok? It's going to be ok." Caroline insisted as she brushed Tyler's hair from his face as he sat up on the table.

Tyler was panting as Rebekah piped up. "I wonder how she's doing. Tick tock goes the gym clock."

It was after the timer ran out that Klaus stuck his head through the door. "Come now, little witch. We have another doppelgänger to fetch." Klaus said and Ellie followed him after squeezing Tyler's hand one last time. In an instant, Ellie could feel Elena running through the school and picked up the pace. Klaus followed, clearly knowing why she was nearly running through the halls. He moved just ahead of her right as they came to Elena, catching her twin by the forearms. "We've got to stop meeting like this." He said with a smile.

"Elena, you're neck." Ellie said worriedly. She hadn't gotten the chance to heal it before Klaus had dragged her off.

"Oh she'll be fine. Now, where is dear Stefan?" Klaus asked her. Knowing she had no choice, she led him to the cafeteria. Ellie was startled to see the broken piece of a broom protruding from Stefan's stomach. "Now this is fascinating." Klaus commented. "I've never seen this before. The only thing stronger than your craving for blood is your love for this one girl. Why don't you turn it off?"

At Klaus' suggestion, Ellie felt a panic start to creep in. "No! Klaus, no."

"No!" Stefan's yell came at the same time as hers.

"Come on." Klaus said. "Your humanity is killing you! All the guilt must be exhausting. Turn it off."

"No!" Stefan yelled again.

"Stefan…" Elena said softly.

Klaus walked over to Stefan. "You're strong. But you're not that strong." He pulled out Stefan's makeshift stake. "Turn. It. Off."

Stefan was breathing heavily as he stared Klaus down. To Ellie's surprise, Stefan shoved Klaus roughly and shouted, "No!"

"Turn it off!" Klaus roared and both girls flinched.

They stood there with bated breath as they waited. Ellie watched as the expression faded from Stefan's face. He made a strange noise before he leaned back against the wall. "What did you do?" Elena asked in horror.

Klaus turned towards them as Stefan seemed to struggle. "I fixed him. But I think a test is in order, don't you?" He strode towards them hastily. He stepped behind Ellie and kept a firm grip on her. "Ripper… perhaps you'd like a drink from the doppelgänger's neck." Klaus said as he gestured towards Elena.

He pulled Ellie away from Elena as she looked between her sister and Stefan in panic. The veins under Stefan's eyes went dark as his fangs emerged. "No." Ellie gasped. "Stefan, no." But Stefan wasn't listening. This time, he didn't hesitate to sink into Elena's neck. When Elena screamed, Ellie didn't think. She just reacted. The pain she inflicted on Stefan was stronger than what she'd inflicted on Damon when he'd force fed Elena his blood and when Stefan pulled away from Elena, she snapped his neck. She ripped away from Klaus and rushed to her sister. "Are you ok?"

Elena was shaking as her focus darted between Klaus and Stefan. "I…"

"Well, now that that's settled. I need one more thing from you Elena." Klaus said as he produced a vial from his pocket.

Ellie stepped in front of Elena protectively. "What do you want from her?"

"Just a vial of her blood, love. I'd like to test a theory." Klaus told her placatingly. He held up his hands as if to indicate that he wasn't dangerous. "Just a vial, and then you can heal her afterwards. Fair enough?" He asked her.

The twins shared a look, before finally agreeing to it. It's not like Klaus was opposed to taking it by force. "Why do you need her blood?" Ellie asked once she'd healed her sister.

"Come along and see." Klaus told her. "You, however, Elena, you stay put with good ole Stefan here. We'll be back soon." Klaus led her back to the chemistry room and announced, "Well, the verdict's in. The Original Witch says the doppelgänger should be dead."

There was a pit of dread in Ellie's stomach, but she was also confused. If Klaus already knew that, why hadn't he hurt Elena? "Does that mean we can kill her?" Rebekah asked excitedly.

"No, I'm fairly certain it means the opposite." Klaus replied.

"What?" Rebekah asked as she took a hold of Caroline, holding the other girl back.

"Rebekah…" Ellie said in warning. She didn't want to use magic against the Original, but she wouldn't let Caroline get hurt.

"Call it a hunch." Klaus said as he offered up the vial to Tyler. "Elena's blood. Drink it." Klaus instructed.

Tyler was sweaty and panting as he looked at the hybrid. "No! No, no, no, Tyler, don't!" Caroline begged.

"If he doesn't feed, he'll die anyway, love." Klaus reminded her. "Consider this an experiment."

Tyler looked to Ellie for help and she nodded. "It's ok, Ty. It's just Elena's blood. You need to drink." Finally, he took the blood from Klaus and drank it before he choked. Tyler cried out in pain as he fell to the floor and Ellie's hand flew out, gripping the sleeve of Klaus' shirt tightly. "Tyler!" She called in concern, Caroline's worried cries mingling with her own.

Both she and Klaus knelt down in front of the writhing boy. It was a moment of screaming later before Tyler snapped his head up and growled. "Well, that's a good sign." Klaus said, clearly pleased.

"Oh my fucking god." Ellie breathed as she dropped down onto the ground.


There was a lot of arguing that went on between Ellie and Klaus before they finally came to a solution. Klaus wanted Elena's blood. Ellie didn't want Elena getting hurt. It was a miracle that they compromised with him admitting Elena to the hospital to get her blood drawn, on the agreement that he wouldn't take so much blood that her life would be in danger. Ellie had slyly reminded him that if he kept her alive, he could get more blood in the long run, giving him a nearly endless supply of blood to create doppelgängers. Stefan was still unconscious in the back of the truck. "So the doppelgänger isn't the problem. Her blood is the solution." Rebekah commented.

"Seems so." Klaus agreed.

"How did you know?"

"Well, you know how much the Original Witch hated me. Do you honestly think I would do anything other than the opposite of what she says?" Klaus asked his sister. Ellie was intrigued. It made sense, the Original Witch had cursed him for a thousand years. But what could he have possibly done to make her hate him so much?

"A thousand years in the grave and she's still screwing with you." Rebekah told him.

Klaus turned back to her as Ellie lingered towards the back of the car. "Well, it makes sense if you think about it from her perspective. It was her failsafe in case I ever broke the hybrid curse. The doppelgänger had to die in order for me to become a hybrid, but if she was dead…"

"Then you couldn't use her blood to sire yourself a new species." Rebekah finished for him.

"Leaving me alone for all time." Klaus added.

Ellie caught the shift in expression on Rebekah's face. "Is that what this is about?" The blonde Original asked. "Your obsession with hybrids. You just don't want to be alone?" Rebekah was clearly confused, and Ellie felt a sudden rush of empathy for the both of them. If Jeremy had said that to her, she probably would have taken it as a personal insult that she wasn't enough, because she would never leave him. Was that how Rebekah felt? Why did Klaus feel the need to have hybrids in order to not feel alone?

"What I want is to take my girl, take my witch and my hybrid and get the hell out of this one pony town." Klaus told her. Rebekah was right, Ellie could see it in the way Klaus had straightened his shoulders. "You know, why don't you, uh, why don't you and Ellie get the truck? I'll get Elena." Rebekah slid off the random truck she'd been on top of.

The two girls walked away without protesting. Ellie wanted to comment about the interaction she'd just witnessed, but didn't know what to say. "Your necklace…" Ellie finally said. "You'll get it back."

Rebekah looked over to her. "What makes you so sure? And why do you even care?"

"Well, for one, Katherine's going to be back with it eventually, and if I can get it, I'll give it back to you." Ellie told her.

"Why would you do that?"

Ellie shrugged. "Klaus doesn't need the necklace for anything anymore since he's figured out the solution to his hybrid problem. But it's been your necklace for a thousand years, and it seems really important to you." Ellie looked down the necklace draped around her own neck. "This necklace was my mother's. My birth mother. When we met, she was a vampire and died shortly after, Klaus compelled her to kill herself. This is the only thing I have of hers." Ellie confessed softly.

"Oh." Rebekah said quietly. Gone was the girl from earlier, the one so ready to rip Elena's throat out. Instead, the girl beside her seemed to be full of understanding. After a long moment, Rebekah confessed, "That necklace, the one I want back, it was my mother's. She gave it to me for safe keeping."

It was a connection. Something that might seem small to someone else. But now, Rebekah's distress when she realized the necklace was gone made perfect sense to Ellie. "You asked why I care." Ellie said after a moment. "If nothing else, now I understand the significance of it. I'd want this necklace back too if I'd lost it. Plus, I have no reason to not want you to have it back."

They'd just gotten to the truck when Klaus appeared. "Where's the doppelgänger?" Rebekah asked. "What's wrong?"

Klaus looked furious. "Ellie, you will stay here in Mystic Falls until I return. Keep an eye on Elena, do not let anything happen to her." He barked the order at them.

"Wait, what's going on?" Ellie asked in confusion. It wasn't that her heart was beating rapidly in her chest with the chance of getting to be with her family again, but something must have happened to change Klaus' mind so suddenly.

"Nothing for you to worry about. Don't see why you even care. You get to go home to your family. To that aunt you were willing to give your life for." Klaus reminded her. Klaus went and spoke with a newly awakened Stefan, but neither Rebekah nor Ellie went to listen in. Finally, the excitement started to build in Ellie's gut. She was getting to go home.


Author's Note:

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays to everyone celebrating, I hope you all have a great day. Also your reviews would be the best Christmas present so please leave reviews and let me know your thoughts! We'll be back tomorrow for our regularly scheduled programming!

To brigitm28: I'm really glad you enjoyed Ellie and Rebekah's interactions. They're so much fun to write together. Honestly, hearing you guys let me know that stuff feels realistic instead of forced makes me so happy. I feel like nothing ruins a story for me faster than characters just being really OOC in a way that doesn't make sense. Yeah, Katherine's whole reason for not telling her was because she knew how Klaus would react, not because she didn't want to tell Ellie. I get what you mean. Like I hate Esther and Mikael, but I think losing Freya really traumatized him and that affected how he interacted with his other kids. Still don't like him, but I can empathize with him on that. Thank you so much, I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

To xenocannan: Poor Ellie was so stressed out this chapter with everything going on. She did technically keep her part of the deal and even though Klaus is mad, I think he understands that. Yes, exactly! Keeping Ellie in Klaus' good graces was exactly why Katherine made the decision to not tell Ellie.

To Aryabloodlust: Yes! I'm pretty sure we'll reach the kiss in February if I'm counting right. Happy late birthday! Did you have a good one? I'm glad you enjoyed Ellie's scenes with Klaus and Rebekah. Also, I'm counting down for those moments too. I can't wait to see your reactions.

To vivi. wie: I literally love Kat so much. She's amazing. Bekah and Ellie are going to get close, though I won't spoil about what Elena may or may not be able to do. Finn, at least at first is going to stay pretty much the same as he was in the show, just because of how things turned out, but maybe I could get to develop him more in The Originals. Did you enjoy the Care-Ellie reunion?

To Oz: She's definitely going to warm up to Ellie, but I actually haven't written any interaction between Katherine and Rebekah. That's mainly due to Ellie not yet being in a position to get Katherine her freedom, but we'll get there. You're definitely going to get more Katherine than there was in the show, though I hope to work in more of her. My thing with the way Klaus treats her is that he really isn't a completely bad guy. If you remember Greta, Luka's sister, she seemed very fond of Klaus and he was never cruel to her. I don't think he's the type to be vicious to the people he's associated with unless he has to be. I do think they continued to cause problems after Klaus had stopped. They should have just left him alone when everything was peaceful, but no, Elena had to go and make it worse. I didn't even think about having Ellie mention that when Damon showed up he was only trying to save Stefan, but that's a good idea.

To Guest: There's going to be a lot of stuff that Ellie calls Elena out for as time goes on and that will probably be one of them. I honestly don't know why she doesn't drink vervain. They never really gave a reason for it. Honestly the moment she started having feelings for Damon, she should have taken off the necklace.

-Madame Magic

Posted: 12/25/20