"Are you worried at all?" Jeremy asks and she nods to his surprise.

"Just a little. If I tell you to go, you need to go, okay?" Elena's suddenly very serious and he shakes his head.

"I'm staying wherever you are. I'm not leaving you." Jeremy says and Elena adjusts her earrings.

"If this ends badly-" She trails off before she can get the rest of her sentence out of her throat.

"Jenna and Alaric should at least still have one of us. I'd rather it be you." She's not suicidal, but if it comes down to her life or Jeremy's-she'd save him, no questions asked, no hesitation. It's not up for discussion or debate.

"Elena-" Her little brother is a little alarmed and she has to remember she's only dealt with a few vampires and he hasn't dealt with any at all. Once Elena revealed the truth, Ric offered to train them how to fight vampires and they've been doing well. She knows it isn't enough, and Elijah gave her his word he'd protect her, and anyone she cared about at the ball, they've been giving each other their word a lot lately. In the silence Elena stares at her brother to find something else to say.

"Your bowtie is crooked." She says.

"What?" Jeremy looks confused and she straightens it for him.

"There you go. Let's go to the ball." Elena says, as Jenna and Alaric walk down the stairs to look at them.

"Have fun." Jenna smiles and Alaric echoes her.

"We will." Elena lies. She has a feeling it won't be very fun at all.


Elijah's lip part without his permission as he looks at her, Elena is simply a vision in the dress. She looks around the large and imposing entryway before he walks to her.

"Elijah." The look on her face is one of relief, more than one set of eyes notices.

"Elena." He says and she gives him a small smile before they speak in code. Jeremy is maybe only a minute behind her, she has to tell Elijah he needs to be protected too, a reminder of their agreement. She can lose a lot and she already has, but she can't lose her brother. Elijah nods, and he can see her relax with the knowledge that if it all goes absolutely sideways and to hell, Jeremy will be safe. That's what matters.

Jeremy arrives a minute after she ensures his safety. As he greets her and he meets Elijah briefly, she notices where the vampires in the room are, despite the fact she hasn't been introduced to his siblings. Elena's not sure she wants to meet them. Klaus tried to kill her and she messed up his plan and caused all of his siblings to be undaggered. It'll be a cleaner break if she only knows Elijah, she tells herself.


Elijah gives a nice speech with his family standing on the grand staircase next to him about family and she recognizes them all from his descriptions of them.

When he mentions dance partners Elena spots a familiar face. She adjusts her position, and sees Damon Salvatore, she wasn't sure at first but there's no mistaking him. Her eyes widen, and he sees her too. She hopes Elijah's speech is over quickly Damon's making his way over to her. The speech ends and she sees Elijah making his way down the stairs.

Elijah reaches her first and she lets out a sigh of relief.

"May I have this dance, Miss Gilbert?" He inquires politely and she smiles.

"You may." She tells him and they make their way to the ballroom. She notices Elijah's sister find Stefan, but it's none of her business. Stefan glances at them and his eyes widen when he realizes it's her. There's a question in his face, and she wonders if he tried to keep her from this, from the supernatural. It's in the past and it's a past of her past that doesn't really matter anymore so she focuses on moving as Elijah does as the music begins.

"I guess dancing is like riding a bike." Elena says to Elijah and a smirk pulls at his lips before they both notice Finn a few feet away. Elena asks him what the plan is in code and he tells her it's really up to what his mother has planned. Mikael is coming within the next few days, he knows that for sure because Rebekah is planning to leave with Stefan and Kol wants to leave Mystic Falls as soon as he can.

There's a moment where they change partners and Elena realizes she's dancing with Finn. He's struggling with the dance just a little but Elena supposes between helping his mother and being daggered for a few centuries, he hasn't had much time to dance or practice.

"Hello, Miss Gilbert." Finn says as they take careful steps.

"Hello." She says, faking confusion, pretending like she doesn't know who he is.

"I'm Finn Mikaelson." He introduces himself and she nods, understanding on her face.

"Oh." She says and he looks at her with a different interest than she's seen for a long time. It looks like he's trying to find something in her or on her.

"Is there something wrong?" She asks and he shakes his head.

"You just look like someone I knew, a very long time ago." He sounds old in that moment, and utterly exhausted. Elena can't condone his actions but she understands why he's doing what he's doing. Immortality isn't for everyone, she guesses.

"Tatia." The name comes out a little sharper than she wanted but there's nothing she can do about it when it's already out out her mouth. Finn doesn't deny it, he nods thoughtfully.

"I don't know much about her." Elena admits as they spin, she's careful to avoid Finn's feet.

"There isn't much to know. She wasn't terribly interesting." Finn dismisses her ancestor and she feels a flash of anger on Tatia's behalf, but she also tries to understand his position.

"My mother would like to speak to you tonight." Finn tells her in the silence, he knows he might have offended her with his comments about Tatia but it doesn't matter. Nothing matters but the plan and Elena is part of it. The song ends and they move away from the dancing, from Elijah and Jeremy and her sense of relative safety.

Finn leads her up a set of stairs and through a hallway and to a room. The door opens and it smells like smoke, and Elena sees Esther again.

"Leave us Finn." Esther says and it's not a demand but it's not exactly a request either. Elena enters the room and Esther shuts the door.


"My son introduced you to vampires, is that correct?" Esther asks as Elena's bleeding over a bowl for the stupid curse the witch is about to do.

"No, actually. I was kidnapped by vampires who wanted me to be given to Klaus in exchange for their freedom or something." Elena tries to say something that would endear her to Esther.

"One of them bit me. Ever since my life has been filled with vampires wanting to kill me or wanting my blood or looking at me because I look like Tatia and Katherine." She admits and it's the truth.

"That will stop after I cast this spell. You and every other human on this planet will know peace from vampires after tonight." Esther promises and carefully whispers a few words. Elena's hand heals and Esther wipes the blood away from her palm, almost like a mother. Elena reminds herself that Esther hasn't acted like a mother for a very long time.

"And if for some reason my spell doesn't work, my husband will be here after the ball to kill my children. Either way, the world will be free of vampires tomorrow." Esther assures her.

"Isn't your husband a vampire?" Elena asks and Esther nods.

"He only feeds on other vampires, Elena. Never the innocent. When our children are dead I will kill him and I will die when my task is complete." Esther says and Elena smiles.

"You'll be together after so long." She tries to see the positive in it but she can't, not really. Esther doesn't notice that, she looks far away for a moment.

"I'm looking forward to it. Now, go have fun. I need to make sure all of my children drink the champagne I'm going to put this in, if you'll excuse me." Esther says and Elena nods.

"Of course." Elena fakes another smile.


"Elijah." Elena greets after she finishes a glass of white wine. It's an open bar and she needed that honestly.

"I'm a little warm from dancing, would you like to accompany me to see the gardens?" He wonders and she smiles at him.

"I would like that." Elena says and they walk out the front doors, out into the warm night.


Vampire speed is handy, and Elijah pauses for a moment.

"We're out of hearing range." He tells her and she takes a deep breathe before she tells him everything. She pulls her phone out of one of the pockets in the dress, and tells Jeremy to go home immediately as she speaks. Elijah pauses and asks her what her favorite part of the dress is.

"The pockets. I have my keys and phone in here. It's amazing." She answers honestly and then continues telling him not to drink the champagne. If he doesn't drink it none of the Originals are in danger and they can kill their mother or make her a vampire or whatever their plan is. Her phone vibrates in her hand and she looks at it. Jeremy is almost home. Thank goodness.

"How are you doing?" Elijah asks and she intends to say that she's fine. It's a little lie and she's sure Elijah won't mind if she say that. It's a little white lie that everyon says anyway. It's not what comes out of her mouth.

"I'm a little overwhelmed." She admits and her eyes widen. Something's wrong he can sense her fear.

"Elena is there something wrong?" He needs to know.

"Lie to me." She says and his brow furrows.

"What?" He asks and she can't take this, she bolts. She doesn't make it very far, damn vampire. Damn him. His hand is wrapped around her wrist and she's trying to run again. She's trying to pull away but his fingers are still around her wrist, not uncomfortably but she wants to run, dress and him be damned.

"Elena?" He asks and he wonders if she lied to him but her heartbeat hasn't revealed such since they met.

"Let me go." She demands, she's panicking and he doesn't understand.

"Explain and I will." He says.

"Give me your word." She demands again and he nods.

"You have my word. Tell me what's wrong." He needs to know what's wrong, why she's so eager to get away from him.

"I can't lie to you. I'm guessing you can't lie to me either." She admits quietly and his fingers twitch and release her. Elena grabs handfuls of her skirt and he sees shoes that aren't heels before she sprints.

He stares for a few moments before she disappears out of sight. He had his soulmate a few feet away and he let her go. She doesn't want him. He never thought he'd find his soulmate, but he also didn't think they wouldn't want him either. He stays there for another minute before he goes back to the ball. He's not going to chase her if she doesn't want him and he needs to help his siblings. Once his parents are dead he'll allow himself to think about this again, but not a moment later.


She parks and is out of her car in a flash, unlocking the door. Jenna and Alaric must be asleep already and once she reaches her room she practically rips the dress off, and begins to cry.