This chapter starts in Season 2, Episode 17 and then continues into the time period before the next episode. According to the timeline on the Vampire Diaries Fandom page, "Know Thy Enemy" takes place on April 9, 2010 and the next episode with the 60s Decade Dance doesn't take place until April 26th. So there was some time to play with there that I decided to take advantage of.

This chapter was pretty challenging, I rewrote it completely a few times before finally settling with this version. I do want Kiara's character to have an influence on the Vampire Diaries storyline we know and love, which does mean it will change a bit. However, picking and choosing where she will change things is tricky because if too much is changed then it is no longer the same overall story. Thankfully the Originals move in and out of Vampire Diaries quite often and I plan on filling in those gaps with my own imagined events.

That being said, please read and I hope you enjoy this update.


Chapter Ten: A Fate Worse Than Death

"So, is it true that you feed off of sexual energy?" Katherine asked. Her heels clicking on the tile floor as she paced the large bathroom Kiara was showering in.

"Yes."

"I hear it's quite the experience, especially if your victim's a vampire. Heightened senses and all," Katherine said, looking herself over in the mirror. "Is it true it turns them into love slaves until the effects wear off?"

Kiara didn't comment. Mainly because she wasn't sure if she knew the answer herself. She had only fed off one vampire. Elijah. And she didn't feel comfortable talking about that experience with anyone. Least of all the beautiful vampire doppelganger that he may or may not have unresolved feelings for.

"Well, it must be true for you to have Elijah wrapped around her little finger so quickly. What was he like with you anyway?" When Kiara didn't answer, Katherine continued. "I bet he was dominant. He always seems so put together, he must be wild in bed—"

"Katherine!" Kiara pulled back the shower curtain to give her an exasperated look.

"What? There's nothing wrong with it. So you had your fun with Elijah… I don't blame you, I mean, the man's gorgeous."

Kiara shook her head and disappeared behind the curtain once more.

"It wasn't like that with him," she said. Or at least she didn't think it was. The more she thought about it, the more she doubted herself. "I really care about Elijah," she said, closing her eyes to focus on the hot water rolling down her shoulders, forcing herself to relax her sore muscles for a few minutes.

"Are you saying you didn't feed on him?"

"No, well I, yes, I did. A couple of times. But he wasn't, I wouldn't say he was a love slave or anything," Kiara said, unsure how to even describe the connection between them. "It's just hard to explain, okay?"

"Alright. Alright. Jeez. Who would have thought a succubus would be such a prude?" Katherine laughed.

"I'm not a prude!" Kiara said, turning off the water. "I just, I don't know, I haven't talked about this stuff much and I'm still processing everything."

Katherine pulled back the curtain, towel in hand, and managed to sneak a peek at Kiara before she grabbed the towel to cover herself. "And you need to feed?" she guessed. When Kiara raised an eyebrow at her, she said, "Everyone gets a little grumpy when they're hungry or horny or whatever you feel when you don't feed on people's energy."

"Yeah, I guess," Kiara grumbled, stepping out of the shower and walking out of the bathroom.

"You can feed on me," said Katherine.

Kiara paused. "What?"

"Feed on me," Katherine repeated as Kiara turned to face her

"Why?"

Katherine smirked at her. Her fingers sneaked up to play with the towel covering Kiara's body. "Why not? I'm sure I'll enjoy myself… I mean, it's guaranteed, right?"

"No, I mean, what do you get out of it?" Kiara said, eyeing the vampire uneasily. "I doubt you just want my friendship… I'm really not all that nice."

"We both know that's not true," Katherine said, tucking lightly on the material between them. Kiara caught her wrist to stop her and make it that she couldn't lie. "Fine," Katherine sighed. "I want to know more about Elijah and what he was planning for Klaus."

"I can't tell you that," Kiara said.

"Why not? It could really help us and it's not like Elijah can hurt you, he's dead."

"For now," Kiara said, taking a step back. "But I won't betray his trust. He was good to me. He made me feel safe. And I don't plan on leaving him here to rot."

"You're scared…" Katherine realized, recognizing the look in Kiara's eyes. "Elijah was protecting you from someone. Who?"

"It doesn't matter," Kiara shook her head. "At this rate, Klaus will get to me before they ever do."

"Klaus? What does Klaus have to do with anything?"

"Let's just say I managed to piss him off."

Katherine raised her eyebrows, a little surprised to hear that. "You too?"

"Yes, unfortunately," Kiara smirked. "Now, can I get some clothes or what?"

Katherine looked her over again, biting her lip in consideration. "Fine," she turned to the bed where she left the clothes she had picked out for Kiara while she was in the shower. She picked up a dark green top with a plunging neckline and lace accents.

"You can't be serious…" Kiara said, looking it over as she pulled on undergarments underneath the towel. "I would never have picked this."

"I know," Katherine smirked. "Consider it an upgrade. You seriously need to change up your style. Lesson one: pick clothes that flatter your body," she finally yanked off the towel. "And lucky for you, you have a great one. Perks of being a succubus I assume?"

Kiara stared at her for a moment feeling anxious under her evaluating gaze. Then she realized the vampire wasn't going to give her any other clothes to wear. She sighed and reached for the shirt. Only for Katherine to pull her hand back.

"You sure you don't want to feed on me?" she asked teasingly, tilting her head to the side.

Kiara sighed and wrapped a hand around Katherine's throat. She gasped at the jolt Kiara's touch sent through her. "Of course I do," Kiara said and backed her against the wall. "The question is, are you sure you want me to feed on you? After all, you could become one of my little love slaves and find yourself at my mercy..."

Katherine only blinked at her. "You might have a point," she said, her eyes shifting down to Kiara's lips. "Can't blame a girl for being curious."

"No," Kiara's eyes shifted as her control wavered. "I guess I can't."

"You know I gotta ask," Katherine said, her breathing growing more labored the longer Kiara's hand was on her. "Why do you hold yourself back? You're so tense all the time, just let go. There's nothing wrong with feeding on people when you need to."

"I could hurt someone…" Kiara's eyebrows scrunched together at the thought. "Maybe even kill them."

"Maybe," Katherine nodded, boldly walking Kiara back until she fell onto the bed behind her. "if they're human, but not a vampire."

Suddenly, Katherine climbed on top of her and pressed her lips against Kiara's. Kiara's eyes flickered as she fought to control herself. It would be so easy for her to lose control again, especially after she felt what it was like with Elijah. A part of her craved to feel that way again and it scared her. She tried to push Katherine off of her, but she had no chance against the vampire in her current state. Katherine grabbed her wrists and pressed them down against the comforter. She moved her mouth harder against Kiara's and swiveled her hips as if determined to break the succubus's control. Unable to resist the need to feed for long, Kiara could feel herself pulling energy from Katherine's body. The vampire tensed above her but groaned happily at the feeling. Once Kiara was done, Katherine pulled back and grinned down at her.

"There," she said. "Feel better?"

Kiara didn't need to answer. Color had flushed back into her face. The bruising left on her stomach was completely gone and her strength had returned. She pushed Katherine off of her and stood up.

"Don't do that," Kiara told her. "You may think you were helping... but it could have made things worse for me."

"But it didn't," Katherine said, wiping the corners of her mouth. She watched Kiara pull on the revealing shirt and tight black jeans she picked out.

Kiara only shook her head at her before she stormed out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen trying to find something to drink. Preferably alcohol to help calm herself down.


"Well if isn't Katherine 2.0," Damon said, finding her drinking some of his whiskey. "Hey! That's mine."

"So? So's everything else in this house. You telling me you'll force me to stay here, but won't let me drink your alcohol? What kind of host is that?"

"I'm more like a warden than a host," he said, pulling the glass from her hand and downing the rest of it.

"Fine," Kiara said. "It was gross anyway. Can I at least borrow a phone? I can't find mine."

"That's because I took it," he said, pulling it out of his pocket. "Don't want you making any plans with your witch friends to stab us in the back."

"Can I at least call my mom? I want to let her know that I'm okay before she files a missing person's report." Kiara said.

That seemed to convince him.

"Fine," Damon said, handing her her phone. "One phone call."

Kiara just rolled her eyes and dialed her guardian's phone number. She answered within a couple of rings. "Kiki? Where the hell are you? Are you okay?"

"Hey Hol, it's kind of a long story, but I'm kind of... staying at the Salvatore house for right now," Kiara said, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. She hated having to lie to her.

"What? Why?"

"I'm, uh," Kiara glanced at Damon. "Making friends here. You know, one supernatural creature to another. Keeping the peace and all that."

"Kiara," Holly's voice dropped in volume. "are you in trouble?"

"Not any more so than usual," Kiara forced herself to laugh. "I'll, I'll talk to you soon. Okay? Don't worry about me," she said and then hung up.

Damon took the phone back and walked out of the kitchen.

"Wait," Kiara went after him. "Where are you going?"

"None of your business," Damon said. Then turned to her like he just remembered something important. He sped over to her, grabbed her wrist, and in a blink she was downstairs in a cell. Before she could even process what happened, he locked the door shut behind him and said, "Stay."

"You've got to be kidding me," Kiara said, but he was already walking away from her. "Hey, you can't just leave me here! You'll regret it! I can promise you that!" She yelled and deflated when she heard the front door shut.

First, she tried calling for Katherine. When no one answered or came to see what was wrong, she realized Katherine was gone too.

Annoyed, Kiara banged and kicked at the door until she bled. She slid down to the floor with frustrated tears in her eyes. She stared at the stone wall separating her from where Elijah was laying. It seemed exceptionally cruel for Damon to leave her alone without even being able to see Elijah's body. She doubted it would offer her much comfort at the moment, but it would have made her feel a little less alone just looking at him.

Kiara closed her eyes and forced her muscles to relax. As a succubus, it was easy for her to fall asleep. She had tried getting into Elijah's head a few times since he disappeared and it didn't work, but she could still control what she dreamed about. Dreams were her domain. She had complete control there, which meant she didn't need to be in that cold basement if she didn't want to. Not mentally at least. She could go somewhere else, even if it was all just a fantasy.

It took some time for her mind to focus. At first, she only saw darkness. Then suddenly she saw him. Elijah. She was walking down the street toward her house like she was the first time they met. Only this time, she noticed him first. He was in one of his perfectly pressed suits. His dark hair falling into his face as he looked down at his watch to check the time.

"Elijah?" she asked, rushing across the street toward him.

"Miss. James?" he asked like he didn't seem to believe she was really there. Like she imagined he might look at her if she really were in his head at the moment.

"Yeah, it's me," she nodded, smiling at him.

He reached out and touched her face.

"It's me," she repeated. "It's really me. God, I almost forgot how handsome you are. Is it weird that I miss you after only knowing you a couple of weeks?"

"No, in fact, I don't believe that's weird at all," he said. Slowly he reached for her hands and looked them over. The bruises were fading, but they were still stained with her blood. "You're hurt," he frowned.

"Oh, no," she shook her head and tried to pull her hands away, but he held onto them. "I'm okay."

He ran his thumbs over her knuckles. "I was daggered," he said. When she nodded, he asked, "For how long?"

"Six days," she told him. "I, we tried to get you, but they lit Luka on fire and then Katherine stabbed me in the stomach. Now I'm stuck in this stupid house and everything's just… a mess. I don't know what to do."

"Shhh," Elijah wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay. Everything will be just fine, I promise," he said and kissed her forehead.

Tears formed in her eyes as she realized that that was the last thing he had said to her before being daggered. Before everything started going to shit. She swallowed and wrapped her arms around his waist. Pressing her face into his chest felt real and it made her feel a little better somehow.


When she woke up, an angry Damon was standing over her. Before she could blink, Damon grabbed her and slammed her into the wall behind her.

"Ouch! What the hell is your problem?" she grumbled.

"Katherine took the moonstone," Damon told her. "And the only other person who could tell us what the hell is going on, killed herself in front of Elena about an hour ago so let's just say I'm having a bad day."

"Same," Kiara said. "Except I've been stuck in this cell. All-day. By myself."

"Well, lucky for you, I might just let you out of here after all," Damon smiled. "I'm thinking you know more than you're saying. And so I'm asking you, once again, what do you know that you aren't telling us?"

A lot. Elijah had told her a lot over the past couple of weeks.

She knew that Klaus and Elijah are brothers.

She knew that their mother was the witch that turned them, their siblings, and their father into vampires.

She knew Klaus was holding his other sibling's hostage and if he died, Elijah might never find them.

She knew that their father had hunted them for centuries, intent on killing them all and that Klaus was terrified of him. With good reason.

Kiara knew all of this and yet, she couldn't help but laugh at the audacity of Damon. "You haven't given me a reason to tell you jack, Damon. Maybe you should work on your people skills. Here's a tip, locking someone in your creepy basement is a huge no-no. It makes people feel resentful and much less likely to help you when you need them to."

He tightened his grip on her neck and said, "Noted."

When he released his hold on her, she nearly fell to the floor. By the time she steadied herself, he was on the other side of the locked door looking smug once more.

"Maybe you'll feel differently in a few days," he said and walked back upstairs.


That was about a week ago.

Or at least it felt like a week had passed. It was hard to tell since there weren't any windows in the basement. She hadn't fed since Katherine practically forced her to, which she now realized was probably just Katherine's way of getting her out of the room so she could make her escape. Kiara could feel her body weakening a little more each day. Her temperature was rising and breathing felt like a chore, but she'd felt worse.

Every few hours or so, Damon would come and ask her the same question.

What did she know?

Sometimes he would bring her a drink or something to snack on. Most of the time he didn't. The more she suffered, the more likely she was to tell him what he wanted to know. Although he didn't know exactly what that was, he had it in his head that she knew something that would be of value to them.

And he was right.

Unfortunately for Kiara, she was just too stubborn to give in. She knew it would be a betrayal of Elijah's trust and she didn't need to give him a reason to be upset with her. He promised he would help her find answers about what she was when this was all over. He knew about her father. He had the Martin's do a spell to keep her safe. He was a good friend, which meant he would be a terrifying enemy.

For the first couple of days, Kiara worried that Holly would try to come for her and get herself killed. She tried to enter Holly's dreams and then Luka's, to tell them to stay away, to just wait it out and let them deal with Klaus first, but the more she tried the more exhausted she felt.

Eventually, she found herself spending most of her time dreaming. It was easier. In dreams, she could be outside. She could feel the warm sunshine on her skin, smell Holly's vanilla perfume, and listen to music in her own room. The more she tried to escape into her own head, the easier it became. Suddenly, she could dream while she was wide awake and it was getting harder to know what was real and what was an illusion.

When she looked up one day and saw Mr. Saltzman looking back at her from behind the doorway, she was positive it was a trick of her mind. No one else had visited her since Damon put her there. She had no clue if Stefan or Elena even knew she was there. It seemed unlikely that they weren't aware of it, but she hadn't seen either of them and it pissed her off that they could pretend Damon wasn't keeping her there against her will.

"Mr. Saltzman?" she asked, not caring if he was really there or not at this point. Her back was pressed against the cool stone wall behind her. Her eyes stared out in front of her. They were only body parts she moved at the moment. "What are you doing here?"

For a moment, he just stared at her as if he were seeing her for the first time. She imagined she didn't look much like herself. After days of being stuck in the same outfit, with little food and water, and no energy feeding, she would expect nothing less.

Of course, she had no way of knowing that the man looking at her through the little barred window wasn't Alaric Saltzman, but Klaus Mikaelson. And he was merely trying to catch his breath.

When he first arrived in town, he had looked for the little witch who had invaded his dream weeks ago. The one he couldn't seem to get out of his head. He even had his witches attempt a locator spell with no success. Imagine his surprise when Elena came to him after class one day and explained in a panic that Damon had been holding Kiara James, an apparent succubus, in his basement for the past week. Not only that, but it seemed Kiara was quite fond of the body he was currently in and had even risked her life once to save it. He simply couldn't help himself.

He needed to see her.

Only he found the sight of her suffering didn't please him like he thought it would. In fact, it pissed him off a little.

"Kiara," he said, his voice broke and he had to clear his throat before saying, "I just heard Damon was keeping you here… and I thought—"

"That you'd check on me?" Kiara smiled weakly at him, freezing him in place. "Typical." When he didn't say anything, she said, "You may be my favorite teacher Mr. S, but it's not going to work. You might as well go tell Damon that I won't tell you anything either."

"I figured," he lied with a nod. "What does Damon want you to tell him anyway? Is it really worth all this?"

Kiara looked away from him. Her eyes were sad on the ground. "You wouldn't understand," she told him.

"Try me."

"He wants me to tell him…" she brought her eyes up to look at him again. "Everything I know about the Originals."

Klaus swallowed down the shock. "Why?"

"He's hoping I know something he can use against Klaus," she told him, rolling her eyes. "He'll do anything to save Elena. Just like everyone else in this town. It's irritating."

"Is Damon right?" Klaus asked, clenching his fists to keep himself from doing something reckless. "Do you know something that can be used against Klaus?"

"Maybe… " she eyed him warily.

"I don't understand…" he shook his head. "Why wouldn't you just tell him?"

"Elijah, he…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes wandered to the wall on her right as if willing herself to see through the stone. "He trusted me with things."

Klaus stepped closer to the door. He couldn't believe this woman. What was keeping her from telling Damon? Why wouldn't she just save herself? Anyone else would. "So?" he asked.

"So…" she sighed. "I want to be worthy of that trust."

The words struck Klaus like a slap to the face. He leaned his hand against the door for support.

"Besides…" she smiled again. "When Klaus gets here, he'll break his curse and come for Elijah. And he'll find me here. And then… well, then I'm probably dead anyway."

Klaus frowned. "So why wouldn't you just tell them what you know now, while you can? Most people would at least try to save themselves… don't you want to live?"

"Not after betraying someone I care about," she shook her head. "Besides, it's a lose-lose for me no matter how you look at it. I've spent enough time running from someone to know, it isn't much of a life. A life always looking over your shoulder, constantly fearing what's around the corner, unable to trust anyone, or anything. It turns you isn't something you aren't. I mean, look at Katherine. She's been running from Klaus most of her life and what did it get her? She isn't happy. She's surviving. She doesn't have any friends, or family. She's just… all alone," her eyes glazed over. "And living an eternity alone… well, it's a fate worse than death, isn't it?"

Before Klaus could answer, Damon stepped down the stairs clapping his hands. "What a pretty speech, Kit-Kat!" Damon looked over at Alaric with an annoyed expression on his face. "Oh, come on, buddy, you're not actually falling for this crap, are you? Don't let that pretty face fool you. She's a manipulative bitch, just like Katherine, trust me. Isn't that right, Kiara?"

Klaus didn't like the way Damon spit her name out of his mouth. But he didn't say anything, he didn't want to break character. Instead he said, "What if you're wrong?"

Damon put a hand to his chest. Like the very suggestion hurt him. "You think I'd torture some poor helpless girl in my basement if I wasn't sure?"

"I don't know," Klaus shrugged. "Would you?"

Damon frowned at his friend and yanked the door to Kiara's cell open. He was carrying a water bottle and bread. He lifted the bottle and shook it so the water swished around. "You thirsty?"

Kiara just stared at him.

"Come on now, you're making me look bad here," Damon said, in his usual arrogant tone. "How about this… you tell me one teeny tiny thing about Klaus and I'll give these to you." He opened the bottle and poured a bit into his mouth as if to prove it was safe to drink.

Before he could twist the cap back on, Kiara pushed off the ground and kicked the bottle out of his hands. It dropped to the ground, the clear liquid pouring onto the floor.

In a blink, Damon had Kiara up against the wall by her throat. "Bad move," he told her.

But she just smirked at him, her eyes glowing a deep green. "I hope when Klaus sacrifices Elena that you're there to see it," she told him. "Really, I do. And I hope once she's finally dead, he rips her heart out… and shoves it down your throat."

Klaus couldn't help feeling a bit of pride hearing her stand up to him like that. A smirk snuck it's way onto his face, despite himself.

In a rage, Damon bit into her throat. It was rough and bloody and when she dropped to the ground, she could hardly keep her eyes open. Breathless, she looked up at him and said, "Damon, do me a favor, and get some sleep."

Instantly, Damon fell to the ground. Unconscious.

Slowly, she dragged herself over to the vampire's body and leaned over him.

Klaus watched in amazement as a strange mist floated out of Damon's mouth and into hers. Without her even touching him. She gasped and tilted her head as the energy moved through her body. The large wound on her neck sealed itself shut. Color flushed into her cheeks and life came back to her eyes. She took a deep breath before getting to her feet. Without a word, Kiara stepped out of the cell and pulled the door closed behind her. She stared at her teacher for a moment as if debating what she should do.

"You," Klaus tried to speak, but he was suddenly, frustratingly, tongue-tied before her. "You really are a succubus."

"Yes," she nodded and then brought a finger to his head. The word sleep was the last thing he heard before slipping unconscious.

Kiara turned to the cell next to hers and opened the door to finally reveal Elijah to her. His body was daggered. His suit was tattered and burned. She bent down and pulled the dagger out of his chest. When he didn't wake up right away, she picked up Elijah's arm and wrapped it around her shoulder before lifting him off the ground. She didn't' want to waste any time, not if she was strong enough to get him to the front door.

Suddenly, he jolted awake. His body contorting like he was in pain.

She paused and leaned against the wall for support so she could place a hand on his chest. "Shh, it's okay. It's me, Kiara. I got you."

"I can't—I can't breathe," he told her, bending over to clutch his chest. "What's happened to me?"

He pulled away from her, only to run into the wall. Kiara rushed to keep him from falling back to the floor. "I can't…" he turned to her. "I can't be in this house."

"You're not invited in!" she finally realized. "They must have signed over the deed to the house to keep vampires from getting in…"

"You need to get me out of here," he told her, but disappeared before she could even say anything.

Luckily she was fast enough to keep up with him. She followed him through the house, out the door, and into the nearby woods. When he stopped, he was already looking better and she was relieved. Unable to stop herself, she threw her arms around him. He seemed shocked at first but slowly wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Kiara," he said, pulling back to look at her. "What happened?"

She looked behind her, at the house that she had been trapped in for days, and shook her head. "I'll tell you everything," she said. "Just not here."


Okay, so there you have it. We saw some Klaus and got Elijah back! I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I would love to respond to the recent reviews, but I'm really tired right now and just want to get this story updated. Please know I appreciate every one of them.

As always, thank you for reading!