Chapter 50: Homecoming
September 17, 2010
Ellie had ended up staying the night at the boarding house, piled up in the bed with Rebekah. She held the girl and let her cry until she'd worn herself, eventually falling asleep on a tear stained pillow. Rebekah, to Ellie's surprise, hadn't pushed the girl away. In fact, Rebekah was nearly attached at Ellie's hip. She didn't mind. If she brought comfort to the other girl, then Rebekah could stay as long as she wanted, especially when it was Elena's fault Rebekah was so distraught.
She was downright furious at Elena. Jenna had noticed very quickly how bluntly Ellie dismissed her sister. If Elena would walk into a room, Ellie would walk out of it. If Elena spoke to her, she would turn and give the girl a dark look, but say nothing. "What happened?" Jenna asked when Elena was nowhere to be seen. "What did she do?"
She scowled at the thought of it before explaining, "Elena basically traumatized Rebekah just to get Rebekah to do what she wanted."
Jenna frowned. "Wait what? What happened?" Elena wasn't a malicious girl, at least Jenna thought she wasn't.
"A thousand years ago, when they all became vampires, Klaus told Rebekah that their father killed their mother for cheating. Apparently, it was Klaus that killed his mother for turning her back on him." Ellie told her. "Klaus lied about it so he wouldn't lose her. Elena dropped that bomb on Rebekah to try and get her to switch to Elena's side to kill Klaus."
"You're kidding." Jenna said in disbelief.
"I basically threw her out of the boarding house and Rebekah had a breakdown." Ellie confessed. "Jenna, she looked so broken. And I know it's not the same, but I know that feeling of betrayal by your sibling. She just had a thousand more years to make it hurt worse. I don't even know if I agree with killing Klaus. Him wanting to break the curse had nothing to do with us. We were collateral damage. And Elena's whole reasoning is that he's got Stefan compelled, but I don't see why Rebekah couldn't just compel him to turn it back on. Killing seems a little extreme."
"You seem pretty sure you don't want him to die." Jenna commented as she made herself a sandwich.
With a huff, Ellie brought up her most regularly used defense. "He hasn't done nearly as much to us as Damon has, but no one seems inclined to kill Damon. It seems kind of hypocritical to me. I mean, Katherine's done bad stuff too and I don't want her to die." She added. "Plus, Rebekah's actually pretty alright, and even though she's hurt right now, she loves her brother. She's not going to want him to actually die."
Jenna seemed to agree. "You make a point."
"They're planning on killing him. They're going to somehow get Mikael here, and they're going to go after him. It's a death wish." Ellie groaned. "From the way Rebekah described him, he's not a good man, at all. I can't imagine anything good is going to come from him being around." After school had gotten out, Elena had gone off with Bonnie, which gave them the opportunity to talk about stuff like this. Ellie wouldn't have dared with Elena in the house.
"What else is going on in that head of yours?" Jenna inquired as she passed over a sandwich for Ellie to eat.
"You know how this necklace was Isobel's, and even though I didn't get to know her well, I still feel better having it?" Ellie asked as she rubbed the gem of the necklace absentmindedly. Jenna nodded in understanding. "The necklace that Stefan gave Elena when they first started dating, is actually Rebekah's mother. I think I'm gonna go see Bonnie. Rebekah hasn't done anything to anyone. I think she should have it back, since it apparently can't be destroyed."
Jenna walked around the table and hugged her niece. "I'm proud of you for being so kind to her. It sounds like she needs someone to do it." Jenna praised.
"Thanks. Love you." Ellie told her as she finished off her sandwich before getting her things. She'd already promised Rebekah that she'd head over to the boarding house to help her get ready for the dance. When Rebekah had confessed that she'd never been to a high school dance before, Ellie's heart softened a bit. The ride to Bonnie's was short and unsurprisingly, her dad wasn't home. "Bon?"
The other witch appeared at the front door, giving her a surprised smile. "Hey! What's up? I was going to head over to your house in a few minutes to help Elena find a dress. Is everything ok?" Bonnie asked worriedly as she stepped aside to let Ellie in.
"Hey, I won't be here long, but I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you?" Ellie confessed.
"Of course." Bonnie agreed easily. They hadn't spent as much time together as Ellie would have liked since she'd gotten back. But with Rebekah having no one else, she'd needed time with Ellie. "What's up?"
She'd followed Bonnie into her room as Bonnie gathered her things to get ready to go over to Ellie and Elena's. "Ok… so Elena's necklace, Rebekah's necklace, after the whole 'send the ghosts away' thing it wasn't destroyed, right?"
"Well, I mean, it was and then some magic ghost stuff happened and it was ok again." Bonnie told her.
"Do you have it?"
"Yeah. Why?" Bonnie asked almost suspiciously.
Ellie gave her a pleading look. "It's nothing bad. I promise." Ellie assured her. "Look, I get the whole 'hate Klaus' parade, but Rebekah hasn't done anything bad. It was her mom's, Bon. She wore it for a thousand years after her mom was killed. I just want to give it back to her. She's not a witch, it's not like she can do anything bad with it."
"Why do you even like her?" Bonnie asked.
She messed with the edge of Bonnie's blanket. "She doesn't have anyone, Bon. Klaus hasn't been here, and it's not like she wants to talk to him right now since it turns out he's the one that killed their mom. She's in love with Stefan, they were together before she was daggered, but he's off his humanity right now and so she doesn't have him either. Even if his humanity was on, he's in love with Elena so she still wouldn't have him. She's really not so bad, she's witty. She reminds me of Caroline, even though Care would kill me for saying it. Care calls her, and I quote the 'evil blood slut'."
Bonnie laughed lightly. "Sometimes I think you're too willing to give people chances." She confessed.
"You're probably right, but please, please trust me on this one." Ellie pleaded, reaching out to hold Bonnie's hands. "Do this one thing for me, please."
Bonnie sighed heavily, before nodding. "You're right. There's no harm in her having it back." Ellie beamed at her as Bonnie stood to get the necklace, passing it to Ellie. "I hope you're right about her."
"I think I am." Ellie agreed. "You're a good friend." She hugged Bonnie tightly, and they both took a moment to let the comfort sink in. They probably needed to talk about everything that had happened when the ghosts were back, but now wasn't the time. "I love you, you know?"
"I love you too." Bonnie replied. "Go give it to her. I'll be at your house with Elena."
Ellie was more than grateful for Bonnie. Sometimes they didn't agree, especially when Elena's in the middle of it, but Bonnie was good. She was back in her car and headed towards the boarding house in an instant. She let herself in and called, "Rebekah! You here?"
A loud yell came from somewhere upstairs, "I'm in my room!"
There was a rush of cold air, and Ellie spun on her heel, stumbling back when she saw Stefan in front of her. "Jesus, Stefan!"
He grinned at her as he kept her from falling. "Going to the dance tonight?" He asked her curiously.
She frowned at him suspiciously, but nodded. "Yes… why?"
"Got a date?"
Her eyes were nearly in slits as she tried to figure out why he was asking. "Why?" She repeated.
"Well, Rebekah's got a date, and I doubt Elena wants to go with me. So I figured I'd take you instead."
She couldn't help but scoff. "'Figured you'd take me'. How gentlemanly." She sassed.
He stepped back and bowed dramatically. "Oh, I'm sorry your majesty. Would you be so kind as to formally allow me to accompany you to the dance as your escort?" He asked. If he'd had his humanity on, she would have laughed. As it were, she didn't know how she felt. When she didn't immediately reply, he gave her a look. "Come on, Ellie, let me take you to the dance."
It was true that she didn't have a date, and even with no humanity, he wasn't the worst. "Fine. Just don't be a dick tonight. Ok?" She pleaded.
That time, his smile seemed a little more sincere. "We both know I won't be the one messing up the plan." He told her. "I'll pick you up at your house?" She nodded and then he stepped back. "Well, Rebekah's waiting on you, so I won't keep you."
Ellie smiled slightly at him before heading up to Rebekah's room. She laughed slightly when she saw that the playstation looked like it had been paused in the middle of a survival game. "Rebekah?" Ellie called. "I'm here."
"Hi." She turned at the sound of Rebekah's voice, and found the other girl standing in the red dress Elena and Ellie had picked out the other day. "Do you really like this dress?" She asked softly as she ran her hands down the front of it.
There was a vulnerability in Rebekah's eyes, one that Ellie had seen more often since Rebekah's breakdown. "You look beautiful." She said sincerely. Rebekah rang her hands together as she stepped towards the long mirror she had. "I mean it. Rebekah, you're one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen."
"You're just saying that." Rebekah denied as she fluffed her hair. They were little anxious tics that she didn't seem aware she was doing. "I know it's probably stupid to get ready this early, but I didn't want to leave anything to chance."
She took Rebekah's hands in hers, not entirely surprised to realize they were shaking. "I did the exact same thing for my first dance. So did Elena and Bonnie and Caroline and basically every girl I've ever met. It's not stupid, it's normal. What's on your mind?"
"I talked to Mikael. I know what the plan is, but I don't trust him. Plus I…" Ellie knew what she meant without her having to say it, but Rebekah pushed through it anyways. "I've been running for a thousand years and for good reason. He's not a good person. Even when we were human, he frightened us, all of us. I've spent my whole life loving and hating my brother in equal measure. I never thought that I…"
With the way the last couple of days had gone, Ellie didn't hesitate to hug the blonde. "It's ok, Rebekah. I know what you mean. Are you sure you want to go through with this?" She asked. One sweep with her magic told her that no one else was in the house and they could talk freely.
"I have to be. I've already sealed his fate." Rebekah said as she pulled Ellie a little closer. "I just don't know what to do. I've spent a thousand years by Nik's side. What am I to do when I have no one?"
"You won't be alone." Ellie said immediately. "We're friends, aren't we?"
"We are?" She asked, pulling away to search for a lie.
It was oddly reminiscent of the conversation Ellie had had a million years ago with Katherine. "We are." Ellie said with certainty. "I'm glad I met you, Rebekah. Plus, once this is over, we can undagger your siblings. How long has it been since you've seen Elijah?"
That seemed to bring some sense of peace to Rebekah. "It's been ages since I've seen Elijah. It's been even longer since I saw my other brothers." She explained as she sniffed, trying to keep from crying. "I've missed them so much." She turned back to look at herself in the mirror. "How should I do my hair and makeup?" She asked.
Ellie easily let her change the subject, she didn't want the girl to cry. "While your hair does look gorgeous straight, I think curls with this dress would be perfect, maybe some light make up. You're already so stunning you don't need much." Rebekah smiled at the compliment. "But you need a bit of jewelry to really complete the look. I actually know what would be perfect."
She pulled the necklace from her pocket and held it up. Rebekah's eyes widened as she said, "My mother's necklace. You actually got it back." Her lip trembled as she tried to keep her emotions in check.
"I promised you I would. You should wear it tonight." Ellie told her. "May I?" Rebekah nodded eagerly and lifted her hair for Ellie.
Rebekah sniffed as Ellie clasped the necklace in place. "Thank you." Rebekah said sincerely. "For being my friend and for giving this back to me."
"It's my pleasure. Honestly." Ellie replied. She wasn't surprised when Rebekah hugged her again. She smiled warmly at the Original. To change the subject so that Rebekah could have a chance to get her emotions in check, Ellie asked, "So, I heard from Stefan that you've got a date for the dance. Who might that be?"
Rebekah flushed a pretty shade of pink as she replied, "Matt's taking me."
"Matt?" Ellie said in surprise. He tended to stay away from the supernatural stuff, so she was a bit surprised that he'd agreed to take her. "Just be nice to him, ok? He's my friend and he's been through a lot. You guys both deserve a good time tonight."
"I'll be good, I promise." Rebekah agreed easily. "You know, for a doppelgänger, you're not half bad."
Ellie laughed at that. "Coming from you, that's a pretty nice compliment." She replied and she squeezed Rebekah's hand tightly. "You're gonna look so beautiful tonight, you're gonna take Matt's breath away."
"You think?" Ellie wondered idly what Rebekah's life had been like to leave her as insecure as she was. But at the same time, she found it meant a great deal to her to have Rebekah willing to express her vulnerability in front of her.
"I know." Ellie replied. Rebekah smiled gently at the doppelgänger, surprising even herself at how much she'd come to like the younger girl. All the other doppelgängers that she'd ever met had been selfish bitches. Including Ellie's stupid sister, Elena, who had stolen Stefan from her. But Ellie was kind and had been there for Rebekah when no one else was. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to give this one a chance, a real one. "Do you want me to help you get ready? If you want I can go get my stuff and come back here. We can get ready together?"
Rebekah, who's emotions were still a bit all over the place, shook her head. "No, no, it's ok. I think I need a bit of time to myself." She said honestly. "But thank you, and thank you again for the necklace. I can't tell you how much it means to me."
"You don't have to thank me. It's what friends are for." Ellie said simply, hugging the girl one more time. "I'll see you at the dance." Ellie promised. "We'll take pictures together."
"Ok." Rebekah agreed. She walked Ellie to the front door and smiled as Ellie headed to her car. Maybe all the doppelgängers weren't so bad after all.
Ellie had just finished getting dressed and was putting in her earrings as her phone rang. "Caroline?" Ellie asked as she answered. "I'll be there soon."
"The gym is flooded!" Caroline cried. "What the hell are we supposed to do? I spent ages getting everything ready!" There was something, someone talking to Caroline just out of range so that Ellie couldn't hear. "What? Really? Oh my god, are you serious right now?" There was a pause before Caroline said, "Oh my god, you're the best!"
"What's going on?" Ellie asked curiously as she put the phone on speaker and put on her other earring.
"Tyler is moving the party to his house. He said he didn't want me to not have a good night just because the gym flooded." Caroline said in relief.
"Kegs and beer pong for homecoming? That's new. But hey, what the hell, might as well. I'll be there I promise. As soon as I can find my shoes, that would be great." Ellie told her. "I'll be there, I promise."
Caroline sighed in relief. "Thank god. Ok, hopefully everybody goes to his house. I'm gonna stay here for a bit to redirect people to his house and then I'll be there."
"See you soon, Care." Ellie hung up once Caroline said her goodbyes before texting Stefan to let him know she was ready. Elena had gone to the boarding house to get dressed, though Ellie wasn't sure why. She just hoped that Elena didn't ruin the night for Rebekah. She heard the front doorbell ring as she was trying to find her shoes. "Jenna, can you get that?"
"I got it!" Jenna yelled back.
When Ellie looked up from where she'd clasped her shoes, she saw Stefan standing before her. "You got me a corsage?" She asked in surprise.
He shrugged before holding his hand out for her wrist. "It's homecoming. If I'm stuck going I might as well do it right." He replied simply as he placed it on her wrist. "You look nice."
"So do you." She replied carefully, as if she didn't know how to handle this approach.
It seemed like Stefan understood her hesitation, because he huffed slightly and said, "Listen, you asked me to not be an ass tonight. You were there for me all summer, I owe you this much."
She startled slightly. He wasn't supposed to have his humanity, but that sounded pretty human of him. "I… well, ok. In that case, you owe me a picture." It was the same thing she did every dance, and to her surprise, he didn't fight her. "Come on." She dragged him down the stairs, trying to not let the events that were planned for tonight send her into a panic. "Jenna!" She called.
"Yeah?" Jenna asked as she strolled in from the kitchen.
"Pictures please. If Stefan's gonna not be a dick tonight, I'm taking advantage of it." Ellie said bluntly. The vampire snorted in amusement as Jenna took the camera. "Well, your words not mine." Stefan didn't fight her on it, and the two posed for Jenna. "Thank you." Ellie said as Jenna passed the camera back.
"Be careful tonight, yeah?" Jenna said as she hugged her niece. "I wouldn't know what to do if something happened to you."
Ellie smiled at her reassuringly, though her stomach was in knots. "I'll be careful. I promise." Once they were on the road, Ellie asked, "Do we trust Mikael?"
"We don't really have a choice." Stefan replied.
"If he finds out the plan, a whole lot of people are gonna die." It was one of her worst fears. She'd seen Klaus' temper first hand, they both had.
"This is our only shot. There's no backing out now." He reminded her. It was a bit comforting to see behind his cool façade, that Stefan was nervous too. They didn't say anything else on the matter and the rest of the ride went quickly.
She frowned when they pulled up. There was an absurd amount of people milling about. "Do you recognize all of these people?" She asked as they got out of the car.
He looked around before shaking his head. "No, I don't." He confessed. "Come on, let's go."
"Jesus this place is packed." She huffed as she stepped closer to Stefan. The sound of music just barely made it through the sound of people chattering. "Is that a band outside?"
"Let's go see." Stefan suggested as he parted a way through the crowd, Ellie following closely behind him.
There was a massive crowd outside where a band was playing. How on earth had Tyler pulled something like this off so fast? Speaking of Tyler, the hybrid was carrying a case of beer as he approached Stefan and Ellie. "Hey, Stefan, Ellie, what's up?"
"Hey, Tyler. Nice party you got going on here." Stefan commented.
"Thanks, but I'm not the one throwing it." Tyler confessed. "I'm just doing what Klaus wants."
That was all it took to make Ellie feel like her stomach was filled with lead, and she reached out to take a hold of Stefan's forearm nervously. "What do you mean?" Stefan asked as he stepped slightly towards Tyler.
"It's not a party, man. It's a wake." Tyler explained.
As he said that, the song ended and the crowd cheered as Klaus stepped up to the microphone. "Good evening everyone! I want to thank you all for being here with me to celebrate. It's been a long time coming." He said. Everyone listened to him excitedly but Ellie had a death grip on Stefan. She didn't entirely want Klaus dead, at least she didn't think she did, but she definitely didn't want any of her friends dead. She was absolutely stuck between a rock and a hard place.
After Klaus walked off stage, he was unsurprisingly next to them, grinning. "Ellie, you look lovely." He praised as he raised her hand to kiss it.
Tyler walked in one direction with Ellie, Stefan, and Klaus walked in the other. "Quite the homecoming." Stefan commented.
"I've been planning my father's funeral for a thousand years. Granted, in no version of it were any of these people invited, but you get the idea." Klaus replied.
"So what now? You just stop running?" Stefan inquired.
"Now I reunite my family." Klaus explained.
Ellie felt her heart thump violently with hope. Rebekah deserved her family back, and if Ellie were honest with herself, she still missed Elijah. "Your family? You mean, the people you cart around in caskets?" Ellie squeezed Stefan's arm in warning, but Klaus didn't seem angry.
"None of that matters anymore. Mikael's gone. Bygones will be bygones." The homecoming queen passed by them, commenting on the great party. "Seems the homecoming queen still walks among the living, which leads me to believe that Rebekah isn't here. Where is she?"
"I have no idea. I thought she was coming with Matt." Stefan told him.
"Oh, be honest now, Stefan. Where's my sister?"
"I said, I have no idea."
Klaus looked over to Ellie for confirmation. "He's telling the truth. Last I saw her was earlier, she was getting ready for the dance. I was supposed to meet her here."
"Now would you like me to take you to your father?"
"Well, it wouldn't be a party without the guest of honor, would it? Bring him to me."
"Alright." Stefan agreed. "Perhaps there's something in it for me? My freedom from your compulsion."
"Oh, you want your freedom? Well, once he's dead and his weapon destroyed, you'll have your freedom. It'll be my pleasure to give it back to you."
Ellie and Stefan walked away from Klaus after that. During the conversation, Ellie hadn't let up on her death grip on Stefan. They seemed to both understand the severity of their situation, and that Stefan's freedom was now in his grasp. "You should probably go get Mikael." She suggested.
"Yeah. I think so." He replied before pulling his keys out of his jacket pocket. "If something goes wrong, get the hell out." He warned her. She didn't even get the chance to thank him before he was gone.
She walked around, finding herself in a less occupied room. Out of reflex, she scanned the room she was in, and turned at a familiar feeling. A few yards away stood her twin, but it wasn't Elena. "Katherine?" She whispered, her voice so low that she could hardly hear herself.
Katherine looked startled at being discovered, but grinned. "Missed me?" She teased. "Haven't gotten to see you much."
"No, not since you kidnapped my brother." Ellie hissed quietly. Katherine hadn't hurt him more than a bump on the head, so she wasn't actually mad. It was more an annoyance that Katherine hadn't given her a heads up. "Where's Elena?"
Katherine glanced around the room. "Just go with it. It's safer if she's not here." She replied just as quietly.
"We both know you don't care about her safety." Ellie scoffed.
"Well, you're not wrong, but I can't leave any of this to chance."
Ellie felt the magic as a hybrid headed their way and straightened up. "Elena, I didn't know you had that dress. It looks great." Ellie said at a normal level as the hybrid walked in. It was a girl with short hair and suspicious eyes. "Come on, we've gotta take pictures for Jenna." Katherine thankfully understood as she spared a momentary glance at the hybrid.
"Of course." Katherine agreed, her voice shifting slightly as she pretended to be Elena. "I was just with Bonnie, maybe we can find her to get pictures with her later."
It was disturbing, quite honestly, how well Katherine could pretend to be Elena. Once the pictures were taken, Ellie put the camera away. They were standing together, watching the band, when Klaus approached them. "Where's your date?" He asked Katherine curiously.
"Getting me a drink." Katherine replied carefully.
Klaus offered up his beer bottle and Katherine shot him a look. He grinned at her and said, "Well, seems I have you to thank for Mikael's demise."
"He came at me. I didn't have a choice." Katherine explained.
"Still I'm impressed. It's not easy for a human to dagger an Original."
"It wasn't the first time." Katherine replied.
"Right. Elijah." Klaus nodded. He noticed the way Katherine was looking around anxiously, but didn't notice the way Ellie slipped her hand into the other girl's for comfort. "You seem nervous."
"I'm not nervous. I just don't like you." Katherine said defensively.
Klaus widened his eyes slightly and said, "Right, straight to the point then. Shall I, love? People have been after me for a thousand years. And I am always one step ahead. So whatever it is you're thinking of trying, go for it. Give it your best shot. You won't succeed."
"It won't be for lack of trying." Katherine replied.
She tried to step away, but Klaus blocked her and told her, "Now you'd be smart to tell Damon to mind his manners tonight. Cause, if I die, I've already insured that he'll die along with me. Even in death, my hybrids have their orders. So, you kill me, you're killing him too."
Once he was gone, Ellie hastily dragged Katherine through the house and out to where Stefan's car was parked. "We have to tell Stefan." She insisted.
"I thought you didn't care about Damon?" Katherine asked.
"I'm not his biggest fan, but I don't entirely want him dead. He's looked out for Elena, and he's Stefan's brother." Ellie confessed. "Listen, Stefan was all I had all summer. I was all he had too. He's saved Elena repeatedly, I owe him this much to save his brother."
"Fair enough." Katherine agreed as they kept an eye out for any of the hybrids. "So what do we do?"
"We can't just not go through with the plan. Rebekah is absolutely terrified of Mikael. If we screw him over, we're all dead." Ellie insisted. "Klaus promised Stefan that if Mikael died and his weapon was destroyed, then he would free Stefan."
Katherine's eyes widened. "You want to double cross them?"
"We don't have any other choice. It is the only way we all survive. If we tell them, they'll try and stop us. Elena is blinded by hate. She wants Klaus dead, badly. I can't trust her to be rational." Ellie explained. "Right now, the only person I trust to get this done is you."
Katherine was touched, but they didn't have time for that. "So what do we do? Stefan flipped his switch."
"How do you turn it back on?"
"You have to care, care about something enough that you're willing to let the pain back in."
Ellie thought for a moment before an idea hit her. "When he was human, you were in love with him yeah?" She asked. "He was in love with you, right?" Katherine nodded softly. "He stalked me and Elena for months after he saved us from the car crash, because we look like you. There had to have been part of him that still cared about you. If there's anything that can get through to him right now, it's you and the threat of Damon's safety. Everything that's happened this summer has been because Stefan was desperate to keep his brother alive. I don't see him just letting that all go to waste just to kill Klaus."
Katherine grinned at her. "My, my, look at you plotting away. I see myself in you. I'm proud."
"Be proud later. Save Stefan and Damon now." Ellie insisted. The two of them knew exactly what they needed to do and Ellie was willing to go behind everyone's backs to get it done. But this plan was going to hinge solely on whether or not Stefan came through. As Katherine disappeared in a blur, Ellie prayed.
She hadn't needed to wait long before the hybrids started moving the crowd out back. One sweep of her magic, and the powerful presence that could only be Mikael was nearly overwhelming. Ellie made her way towards where she knew Mikael and Klaus would both be. "Hello, Niklaus." Mikael said.
His expression alone was enough to make Ellie wary of him. "Hello, Mikael. Won't you come in? Oh, that's right. I forgot. You can't." Klaus sassed. If the tension wasn't so thick, Ellie might have laughed.
"Or you can come outside, if you want."
"Or I could watch my hybrids tear you limb from limb." Klaus shot back.
"They can't kill me."
"True, but it'll make a hell of a party game. All I have to do is rub these two fingers together, and they'll pounce."
Mikael smirked. "The big, bad wolf. You haven't changed. Still hiding behind your playthings like a coward." He taunted. "You only forget. They may be sired by you, but they're still part vampire and they can be compelled by me."
The short haired girl that Ellie had seen earlier stepped up beside Mikael, and jerked Katherine forward. "Elena!" Ellie gasped, moving forward, only to be held back by Klaus.
"Come out and face me, Niklaus. Or she dies."
"Go ahead. Kill her."
"No, Klaus, he'll do it." Katherine begged as she panted.
"If she dies, this lot will be the last of your abominations."
"I have Ellie. I don't need Elena. And I don't need them. I just need to be rid of you."
"To what end, Niklaus?" Mikael asked as Katherine shook. "So you can live forever with no one at your side? Nobody cares anymore about you, boy! Who do you have? Other than those whose loyalty you've forced?" Ellie stepped to the side slightly. She didn't like the way that Mikael talked to Klaus. "No one." It was unnecessarily cruel, and malicious. Ellie saw Klaus' eyes water and felt her resolve strength to kill Mikael instead. "No one."
"I'm calling your bluff, father. Kill her." Klaus' tone was carefully controlled as he refused to cry.
"Come outside and face me, you little coward. And I won't have to."
"My whole life you've underestimated me. If you kill her, you lose your leverage. So go ahead, go on. Kill her. Come on, old man. Kill her. Kill her!"
Mikael laughed at him cruelly. "Your impulse, Niklaus. It has and will forever be the one thing that keeps you from truly being great." Ellie watched as the tears rolled down Klaus' face, and felt a strong rush of anger at Mikael. Katherine gasped as the knife sunk deep into her back.
"Klaus!" Ellie shouted as he screamed in pain, the stake burrowed low into his stomach.
Ellie watched as Katherine stood, and knew now was their only chance. "Katherine…" Mikael hissed.
Katherine looked over at Ellie and grinned before turning to the hybrids. She pulled the pins on two wolfsbane grenades. "Kaboom." She said smugly.
They exploded and the hybrids cried out in pain as Ellie turned back to Klaus and Damon. He had moved to plunge the stake into Klaus' chest, but Ellie's hand flung out, stopping him in his tracks while also holding Mikael into place. "Witch." Mikael hissed as the stake tumbled to the floor.
"Klaus! Now!" Ellie yelled. He didn't hesitate before he picked up the stake and tackled Mikael. Mikael let out an ungodly scream as he was staked. A fire erupted from it, quickly consuming Mikael's body.
"What the hell did you do?" Damon asked angrily as he fought against Stefan, who had pinned him down, and as Klaus made his way back inside the house.
"He's earned his freedom." Klaus said simply. Stefan turned his head sharply, and Ellie could see he was shaking as he stood. "Thank you, my friend." Klaus said sincerely. "Thank you both." He turned back to Stefan and said, "You no longer have to do as I say. You're free."
Damon disappeared at that, leaving the three of them standing in the foyer. "Oh my god." Ellie breathed, throwing her arms around Stefan's neck. "You're free." She repeated. It seemed to take Stefan a moment to process what had just happened, but he hugged her back with vigor. The blowout with Elena and the others would come eventually, but in the moment, all Ellie wanted to do was celebrate Stefan's freedom and Mikael's death.
Author's Note:
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts!
To xenocanaan: Honestly, Ellie's had to use a lot of restraint to not use magic on Elena, because she's her sister and she hadn't wanted to hurt her. As for her and killing Damon, at this point, she's not capable of killing someone, which we saw with the fact that she couldn't kill the werewolves even when they were trying to kill her. So that's a big part of why she hasn't killed Damon.
To brigitm28: I think no one thought about the fact that Mikael was really dangerous because Elena was basically running the show and she really didn't care about the risk. But honestly her telling Rebekah about what Klaus did was so messed up. In the grand scheme of things, you really could say that the Salvatores are pretty young vampires, they're like, one fifth of the Mikaelsons' age. Don't apologize for getting excited I like that you do! Those are good one shot ideas!
To flawsome4ever: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!
To Oz: Elena really never learns anything. Rebekah really is the meaner version of Caroline, and I love them both. It would definitely be a Kol thing, but seeing Rebekah and Kol bond over it would actually be really sweet. Elena was a backstabbing bitch, and she didn't even really pretend to be her friend, she gave her a compliment long enough to get close and then literally stabbed her in the back. I don't think they literally ever asked Jeremy how he felt about anything. There's going to be a somewhat moment of that at some point, where Jenna's a baddie, but I haven't gotten to write much on that.
To lolistarkiller: Probably, I guess adults just ruin your death wish fun. She definitely realizes that Elena isn't seeing the bigger picture, though she might not realize how blindsided Elena gets yet. Elena is definitely worse than Katherine. I totally agree, if Katherine knew how insane Mikael was, she never would have helped to wake him. Oh Elena absolutely keeps Ellie out of things if she thinks that Ellie's going to try and stop her.
To Guest: I feel like Elena also keeps Jenna out of her plans, so she doesn't know how badly Elena is acting. But there's probably going to be one point where they refuse to take any more of her insanity. Alaric really is kind of useless. Like I think he cares about them, but doesn't know how to parent them. Care will definitely be team Ellie when it gets down to it. Bonnie does have me worried, she's on a very slippery slope.
To RiRi: Welcome back! We really haven't gotten much Care this season, but part of the reason is because Ellie ends up preoccupied with Rebekah or Klaus, and she doesn't get time for the others. You will get to see more Katherine, and yes, she's definitely a better sister. I definitely could see them doing that. I haven't fully written that yet, but there will be a time when Ellie really calls her out. I think Elena was probably an attention grabber as a kid, and could act cute enough to draw people in, but I think she's way worse than the show was willing to call her. She's definitely going to get called out for the people that she's gotten killed, though I already have that planned specifically. Sheila is worried, because Bonnie is easily influenced by Elena, so we'll see. Well, in Dr. Martin's death, he did it because he thought that he was hurting Bonnie, which I think Ellie would understand and Sheila's was an accident. But they've also spent months with no one but each other, which is a big part of it. There's going to be more Jenna, but Jeremy and the sireline thing doesn't come until season four, because they used him to find the cure. But I haven't decided if he's going to refuse to help.
To Emily209: I'm so glad!
To Guest(2): I'm so happy you love it, and if you're a new reader, this story gets updated every Saturday around this time unless there's a holiday or special occasion where I'll post an extra chapter.
To AdiraBraelynn: Their friendship is honestly everything. I can't wait for the Originals to meet either. You got Kat back this chapter! I hope you liked it! Honestly, Elena big on manipulation if she gets what she wants, which makes me want to fight her. I liked Ellie using her magic on Elena to protect Rebekah too.
-Madame Magic
Posted: 1/9/21
