Elena jolted awake, gaining the attention of Caroline, Elowen and Veronica.
"You okay?" Caroline asked.
Elena nodded. "Yeah. I just… had a really crazy dream."
"What about?" Veronica asked offhandedly, not actually caring, as she went back to her vanity mirror to finish doing her makeup.
Elena awkwardly cleared her throat. "It doesn't matter."
Veronica rolled her eyes and looked at Elena through the mirror. "Oh, come on. It's not like you had a sex dream about Stefan or something."
Elena didn't say anything, choosing to scratch the back of her head. Veronica's mouth dropped open and she whirled around in her seat.
"Oh my god! You totally did, didn't you?"
"It was not a sex dream!" Elena quickly defended. "Just… a dream."
"Yeah, about someone who's not your boyfriend."
Elowen held her hands up. "Okay, let's all calm down." She turned to Elena. "What exactly was it about?"
Elena shrugged. "I don't know… I was meeting Stefan for the first time, except it was different. I was in front of this cafe, and… I don't know."
"Okay, hold on."
Elowen walked over to Elena's bed and sat on the edge. She held her hands out towards her.
"I've never tried this before, but maybe I can use my power of premonition to see your dream."
Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Nope," Elowen answered, popping the 'p'. She looked at Elena expectantly and finally, Elena sighed, giving in. She nodded.
"Okay."
Carefully, Elowen placed her fingers on either side of Elena's temples and closed her eyes. She evened out her breathing and concentrated. After waiting a few moments, images started to play behind Elowen's eyelids as Elena's dream flooded her mind.
Like Elena had said, she was sitting in front of a cafe, writing in her journal. She scribbled something down before growing frustrated and eventually ripped the page out of the journal. She set it down on the table she was at and set a salt shaker on top of it to keep it in its place, but a gust of wind caught the paper and it slipped out from underneath the salt shaker and fluttered through the wind. Elena gasped and quickly got up to chase it. The paper landed on the sidewalk a few feet ahead of her, and as she reached out to grab it, someone bent down and beat her to it. Elena looked up and her eyes met with Stefan's.
He held up the paper. "You lose something?"
Elena nodded. "Uh, yes. It's a particularly mortifying page from my journal."
"Ah. You, uh, censor your journal? Pretty sure that's against journal rules."
"And I'm pretty sure that you're not the journal police. Trust me, it's really bad."
Stefan hummed. "I'm officially intrigued."
"And I'm officially not kidding."
Stefan handed over the paper and Elena took it.
"Thank you." She paused. "I'm Elena."
"I'm Stefan."
Elowen opened her eyes when the dream ended and blinked a few times to catch up with reality. She frowned.
"Huh."
"So?" Elena asked. "What's it mean?"
Elowen looked at Elena and shrugged. "No idea. Sometimes dreams are just dreams."
"And you're okay with me having dreams about Stefan when I'm dating Toby?"
"Am I supposed to be mad at a dream that you have no control over?" Elowen got up from Elena's bed. "Let's just go meet Liz for lunch. The dream probably means nothing."
Elena nodded. "Uh, yeah, okay."
Elena slowly pushed the covers off of her and got up so she could get ready.
xxxx
Elowen, Caroline, Elena and Veronica all entered The Grill. Caroline peered around to look for her mom, but didn't see her.
"Well, I guess my mom's not here yet. I'm gonna get us some coffees."
Elena nodded. "Sure."
"I'll grab a table," Elowen said, beginning to walk off, followed by Veronica. Veronica looked over her shoulder and saw that Elena hadn't moved. She rolled her eyes and doubled back to grab her.
"Come on."
Veronica led Elena to the table Elowen settled down at and pushed her down into a chair, before sitting next to Elowen. Caroline came back with their drinks and set them down as she took a seat next to Elena.
"My mom's minutes away," Caroline said, passing the coffees around. When she went to hand Elena hers, Elena didn't say anything. "Elena? Hello? Elena!"
Elena jerked as she was brought back down to earth. She looked down at the table and frowned.
"How did I get here?" She asked. "I was just standing at the doorway."
"Uh, you walked?" Veronica asked in a duh voice. "Oh my god. Did you just have one of those dreams, like, right here?"
"It didn't feel like a dream, okay? It felt like it was real, like I was there. My parents were still alive. It was like a different life."
Elowen's phone started to ring and she pulled it out of her pocket to pick it up.
"Stefan, hey," Elowen answered.
Veronica smirked. "Speak of the devil."
Elowen kicked Veronica under the table and her mouth opened in pain. She reached down to rub her leg where Elowen hit her as Elowen went back to her conversation.
"What's up?"
"Well, uh… This is gonna sound weird, and it's gonna be awkward for the both of us, trust me, but I figured that since you're a witch, you might know the answer," Stefan replied.
Elowen furrowed her eyebrows. "Okay, that didn't sound ominous and cryptic at all."
Stefan sighed. "I was walking to my car, and I nearly got plowed over in the middle of the street because I was having some vision of Elena."
Elowen's eyes flickered over to Elena. "You're not the only one. Something's going on."
xxxx
Bonnie was walking on campus, trying to get ahold of Angel. His phone went into voicemail, and the automated message droned on in Bonnie's ear.
"Hey, Angel," Bonnie said after the beep. "It's me, Bonnie Bennett, your girlfriend, just in case you need reminding, which I'm happy to keep doing until you call me back, so call me."
She hung up and felt a small breeze against her face. She smiled to herself and turned around to see Sheila and Josiah standing there.
"Hey, Grams," she said. "Josiah."
"We heard the travelers did a number on you last night," Josiah spoke up.
Bonnie's eyes flickered over to him. "Did you read that in that other side newsletter?" She furrowed her eyebrows. "You two don't look right."
"Something's wrong over here, Bonnie," Sheila told her. "Some of the witches think that the travelers tried to overwhelm you so that someone could get through."
"As in, come back?"
"Whoever it is, he's hiding from us, and now this place is-"
Sheila was cut off as the other side shook lightly as if there was an earthquake, accompanied by a loud screeching noise, like a train's wheels squealing against the track. Bonnie looked around their surroundings before settling back on Sheila and Josiah.
"That wasn't creepy. What's going on over here?"
Josiah shook his head. "We don't know, but whatever the travelers did and whoever managed to get through, it's got the witches scared. Be careful."
xxxx
The first thing Elowen did after hanging up with Stefan was call Damon.
"Hell-"
Elowen cut him off. "You know how we all laughed off the notion that the universe is drawing Stefan and Elena together?"
"... Yes?"
"Well, guess what's happening?"
"Something tells me I'm not gonna want to know the answer."
"Now that Tom is dead, Stefan and Elena are the last pair of doppelgangers, which might explain why Stefan and Elena are suddenly having vision type situations of each other."
"Okay, I'll bite. What kind of visions?"
"I don't know, visions of some kind of human alternative universe. And before Enzo asks, no, they're not sex dreams."
"Well, how do you know she's not lying?" She heard Enzo ask, his voice muffled in the background.
"Because I saw one. It was innocent and harmless."
"Well, where's Stefan?" Damon asked.
"He went to the traveler camp to see if anyone's still there that can tell him what's going on."
"Toby's not answering his phone," Elena said from behind Elowen. "I've tried him like, three times."
Caroline frowned. "Bonnie said she hasn't been able to get ahold of Angel, either."
"Adriana hasn't been picking up her phone all morning," Veronica added with furrowed eyebrows. "That doesn't sound right, but we have more important things to worry about right now."
"Here's what we're going to do," Damon spoke up. "Get your mom and call Liv, and get over to the boarding house. Let's figure out what the hell's going on."
xxxx
Bonnie knocked on the door to Angel's apartment and stood and waited for someone to open up. She'd called and texted him multiple times with no answer, and she was starting to get worried. After her talk with Sheila and Josiah, she was a little spooked, and needed somebody to talk to. The door finally opened after a moment and Angel appeared on the other side. He paused for a second when he saw her.
"Bonnie."
"Surprise. Actually, not really." Bonnie sighed. "I left you a voicemail, and I texted."
"Yeah, I know. Sorry. I've, um, been busy helping Jeremy move in."
Last night, Jeremy told Elena that Angel and Adriana offered to have him stay with them as the Lockwood mansion was a little full with him, Elena, Toby, Tyler and Matt all there at once. Bonnie nodded.
"Right. Jeremy. Actually, that's convenient for me. I think something's going on on the other side."
"What do you mean?"
"My Grams and Josiah said the witches are worried someone got out, and maybe since Jeremy can see ghosts-"
"Angel, come on," Liv's voice rang out, before she appeared behind him. "Back to work."
"Liv's here?" Bonnie asked in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"
"It's not what it looks like," Liv said. "I'm here helping Jeremy with math."
"Right. Was that before or after you tried to kill his sister?" Bonnie turned her eyes onto Angel. "Tell me what's going on."
Angel shook his head. "I can't. I'm sorry. We have this handled. I just… I need you to trust me, okay?"
Bonnie stared at Angel for a moment before she turned and left. Angel slowly closed the door behind her and turned to face Liv.
"I told you I didn't want to keep any secrets."
Liv shrugged. "Nothing personal, Angel, but sneaking up on the travelers requires them not to know that we're doing it. I already broke my rule once for you, Tyler, Matt and Toby. I'm not doing it again."
xxxx
Matt woke up on the other side in a cemetery. Sheriff Forbes, possessed by a passenger, had stabbed him in the neck with a pen and killed him. Thankfully, since he was technically killed by a traveler, the ring worked. He sat up and saw a man sitting on a nearby tombstone. The man looked over at Matt, causing him to furrow his eyebrows.
"Can you see me?" Matt asked.
The man nodded.
"Are you a witch?"
The man shook his head.
"Then how?"
"Matt," a soft, feminine voice called out from behind him.
Matt looked over his shoulder and found Marisol standing over him, holding her hand out towards him. He looked at it for a moment before taking it and allowing her to help him up.
"I don't know if you remember me," Marisol spoke quietly. "I don't think we interacted very often when I was in Elowen's body."
"No, I remember you," Matt replied. "Marisol, right?"
Marisol nodded. Matt looked around and saw that there were other people roaming all around the cemetery.
"What's going on here? I thought the whole point of this place was to live out your afterlife in solitude. Why can I see you?"
"The witches are saying that somebody got out, and now this whole place is falling apart."
"Not that it matters to you."
Matt and Marisol both looked over and found Kol a few feet away, leaning against a tree. Marisol averted her eyes away from him and rubbed her arms awkwardly. Like she'd told Elowen before, after the veil went back up, her and Kol had a falling out. She hadn't really seen him since, and this was one of the first times she'd ran into him after it all went down. Kol's eyes briefly flickered towards her, but went back to Matt a second later.
"You're just on holiday, which means you're going back."
"Vicki," Matt mumbled.
"Never heard of her."
"She's my sister. She's over here. If I can see you, then that means I can see her."
Matt looked around again before moving past Marisol and walking off to find Vicki. Once Matt was gone, Marisol cleared her throat and turned to walk away when Kol stopped her.
"Marisol."
Marisol stopped in her spot, but didn't turn to face Kol. There was a brief pause before the sound of leave crunching were heard, and then he appeared in front of her a second later. Marisol looked down at the ground, dragging the tip of her shoe along the gravel, and avoided his eyes.
"Look at me," Kol said gently. "Please."
Marisol allowed herself to look up at Kol through her bangs, but didn't say anything. Kol reached out, brushed her hair away so he could get a proper look at her face, and kept his hand settled on her jawline. Kol sighed.
"I'm sorry."
Marisol opened her mouth to say something, but closed it a moment later. She looked back down again and shook her head. Kol's other hand came up and he cupped her cheeks.
"I'm sorry that I tried to make you something that you're not. I'm sorry I asked you to kill Elena Gilbert. I'm sorry I called you naive. I was angry and I had tunnel vision-"
"I don't know what that means," Marisol mumbled, looking back up at Kol again.
The corner's of Kol's lips quirked up into a small smile. "It just means that I had my eyes on one thing and one thing only, and that I couldn't see anything else, like the girl right in front of me and what her needs were. All I wanted was the veil dropped and to enact some grand act of revenge on our friends of Mystic Falls, and you, being you, blindly followed behind me until you realized it was wrong. Sometimes I just need someone to tell me I've gone too far. I won't always listen, but I still need to hear it. If it's not too much to ask, I'd like you to be that person."
There was a pause as Marisol and Kol simply looked at each other, before Marisol suddenly soared forward and crashed against Kol, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck. Kol stumbled back slightly, but slowly encircled his arms around her waist.
"It was really lonely without you," Marisol whispered in his ear. "I don't want to feel that way ever again."
"You won't, darling," Kol whispered back. "I promise."
xxxx
Elowen, Caroline, Elena and Veronica all walked through the door to the boarding house and into the living room.
"I thought you were bringing the blonde," Enzo said when he looked over and saw them.
Elowen rolled her eyes. "I said I'd call her. I never said I'd pick her up."
Damon came into the room and nodded at Elowen. "Hey. Where's Esmeralda?"
The front door opened again and Esmeralda walked in. She came into the room.
"What did I miss?"
Enzo leaned over to Damon. "You didn't mention that the mom was hot, mate."
Damon elbowed Enzo in the side as Esmeralda narrowed her eyes at Enzo and crossed her arms.
"Excuse me? Who the hell are you?"
Enzo grinned. "Ah, sorry. Where are my manners? I'm Enzo."
"Ohh, you're Enzo. Also known as the guy who helped Damon reverse any kind of respect I had for him."
"Is it just me, or is everyone in this town judgy?"
Suddenly, fire erupted on Enzo's arm. His eyes widened and he started hitting himself, trying to put it out, when in reality, there was no fire.
"Put it out!" Enzo yelled at Damon. "Do something!"
Damon watched Enzo in bewilderment. "Do what? There's nothing there!"
Elowen figured out what was going on and she nudged Esmeralda.
"Mom! Knock it off and be nice!"
Esmeralda looked down at Elowen. "Where's the fun in that?"
Elowen gave Esmeralda a look and Esmeralda sighed.
"Fine."
Esmeralda dropped her magic and the fire Enzo saw on his arm extinguished. He was breathing heavily and patted his arm down when he saw it was gone. He looked over at Esmeralda.
"What in the bloody hell did you just do to me?"
Esmeralda shrugged. "I can make people see what I want."
"Under any other circumstances, that would be a turn on."
Esmeralda resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm gonna be in the kitchen. I haven't eaten yet."
As Esmeralda disappeared, Enzo watched her go before following her. Esmeralda entered the kitchen and went straight for the fridge. Enzo came in behind her and hopped up onto the counter to watch her.
"I didn't realize Stefan or Damon kept human food in this house," Enzo commented as he watched Esmeralda. "Doesn't quite seem fitting for a house full of vampires."
"They had to start keeping food in the house once they started dating Elowen," Esmeralda explained offhandedly as she grabbed a carton of milk out and set it on the counter next to Enzo, before going over to the cabinet. "She stayed over a lot, and then the triplets moved in. Adriana and Veronica had to eat something, didn't they?"
She pulled open the cabinet and pulled out a box of cereal, then set it by the milk. She went over to a different cabinet and grabbed a bowl. Enzo watched her as she poured herself out some cereal and put the milk in.
"So, what's your deal?" Esmeralda asked once she was done. She looked up at Enzo as she held her bowl in her hands and ate some of her cereal. "You're held in captivity for 70 years, abandoned by your one and only friend, and once you get out, you find him and forgive him? I would've been pissed."
Enzo shrugged. "You weren't there. I know I kind of charged in here and meddled in Damon's life, sort of cost him his girl in the long run, but he was a good friend to me."
"You only forgave him because if you didn't, you would've been alone if you hadn't. Right?"
Enzo chuckled. "Right, you're the empath. Nothing can get past you."
"Not really. You get used to it."
It was silent for a moment as Esmeralda ate. She paused after a minute.
"So, then… who's Maggie?"
"Ah, word gets around fast here, doesn't it?"
"Depends on what the word is. Elowen told me."
Enzo sighed. "70 years of captivity, and she was the face that I clung to, the notion that one day I'd get out and see her again."
Esmeralda felt a pit of sadness settle in her stomach, and she couldn't help herself from feeling sympathy for him.
"The travelers didn't follow through with their promise, did they?"
"No, they didn't, not before they lit themselves on fire. Talk about a lead going up in smoke."
"I'm sorry."
Enzo shrugged, but didn't say anything. His eyes flickered down to Esmeralda's left hand, where her engagement ring glared in the sunlight pouring into the kitchen. He nodded at it.
"Who's the lucky bloke?"
Esmeralda looked down at her ring and faltered. Enzo had a feeling this was the wrong thing to ask, and opened his mouth to apologize when Esmeralda beat him to it.
"His name was Alaric. He's dead."
"I guess it's my turn to say sorry. I'm sure that someone as beautiful as you will find someone new."
Esmeralda shot Enzo a look. "Are you trying to flirt with me, or make up for the fact that you very tactlessly called me hot?"
Enzo grinned. "Why can't it be both?"
Esmeralda laughed and shook her head, going to finish her cereal off before taking her now empty bowl over to the sink.
"Are you sure someone as old as you wants to settle down with a 35 year old mother of two-" She caught herself quickly and cleared her throat. Enzo tilted his head in curiosity, but didn't ask. Esmeralda turned around to face him. "Mother with a 19 year old daughter?" She finished, doing her best to will herself not to look sad, but Enzo saw right through it.
"You've been through it, haven't you?" He asked quietly. "Losing the love of your life and your child. You're a mother. It's your job to be there for your children, but I hope that you have someone to be there for you."
Esmeralda took a deep breath, feeling herself getting emotional, and forced herself to smile.
"I'm fine," she replied with a slightly shaky voice. "I have to be. If I'm not, then who else is there?"
She cleared her throat.
"I hope you find Maggie."
Esmeralda went to leave the kitchen, and right as she reached the door, Enzo said something.
"I hope you find happiness."
Esmeralda paused for a second before continuing on without looking back. Esmeralda walked back into the living room just as Damon opened the front door, revealing Luke on the other side.
"Luke!" Esmeralda said in surprise, gaining his attention.
Luke grinned when he saw her. "Esmeralda?"
Damon looked between Esmeralda and Luke in confusion before it clicked in his head.
"Wait. Luke, as in Liv's twin brother?"
"The one and only," Luke said.
Veronica leaned over to Elowen. "He's cute," she whispered.
"He's gay," Elowen whispered back.
"Damn."
Damon opened up the door further and Luke walked in. Esmeralda opened her arms and Luke went over to hug her.
"Where's Liv?" Elowen asked as they pulled apart.
Luke faced her. "Busy."
"Okay," Elena cut in as Enzo came back into the room. "The visions. How do we stop them?"
Luke shook his head. "We don't. I can't stop them."
Damon frowned. "What do you mean you can't stop their visions?"
Luke turned to Damon. "Our magic doesn't work like that. We're not bigger than the universe."
Damon looked at Esmeralda expectantly, and she threw her hands up.
"Hey, don't look at me. The stupid doppelganger curse is over 2,000 years old. My grimoires don't go back that far, and my family wasn't involved in the original story. My mom only told me about Silas and Qetsiyah, not the universe part."
Damon opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Elowen cut him off.
"Please don't suggest getting ahold of my grandmother. She won't answer. My mom tried reaching out when Jo died, but we never heard back from her. She seriously wants nothing to do with us anymore."
"Like, at all?" Veronica asked with a frown.
Elowen turned towards her. "It's complicated." She turned her attention to Luke. "If you don't know how to stop the visions, why are you here?"
"Because we need your help," Luke replied. "We think the travelers are about to make their move. Their leader, Markos, is here."
"From where?" Damon asked. "Chant camp?"
"The other side. He's been dead for centuries, and we think the fire sacrifice allowed him to escape."
"Perfect," Elena huffed. "A dead, old guy with a mysterious, evil plan."
Elowen's phone vibrated and she took her phone out to check the text. It was from Stefan.
There's nothing left here. Everything's gone.
"Stefan says the scrap yard's been completely cleared out," Elowen told everyone.
"And let me guess," Damon drawled. "The witches don't know where Markos is."
"You guys said the visions are trying to draw Elena and Stefan together for something," Luke said.
"For our doppelganger blood," Elena explained. "The travelers need it for some prophecy."
"And if the travelers are the ones who need your blood, doesn't it make sense that you're not only being drawn together, but also…"
"Being drawn to them."
Veronica made a noise of annoyance. "Well that's just peachy."
Caroline furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait. I don't get it."
"If the visions are a road map, then we need more clues," Enzo piped up. "Break out the popcorn, everyone. Elena's little sex romp isn't over yet."
xxxx
Elowen was sitting outside on the steps of the porch, looking up at the sky, when Damon came out with her.
"What are you doing out here?" He asked as she sat down next to her.
Elowen sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Thinking about how I was stupid enough to think Qetsiyah was was wrong about the universe thing. She's probably laughing at me from the other side."
"Hey," Damon mumbled softly, reaching out to grab her hand. "You're not stupid, Wen. They're just visions. As soon as we find Markos, they'll stop."
"Are they really just visions, though?" Elowen looked from the sky to Damon. "We were always going to end up here, sooner or later."
"The universe doesn't control anything. If there's anything stupid here, it's that. Wen, listen to me. You and Stefan… you two belong together. Him and Elena have barely spoken three words to each other since he first got to town. How could they go from that to some kind of love conquers all love story? That's our thing. Her and Toby are so vanilla it almost hurts."
Elowen chuckled lightly and Damon grinned.
"I got you to smile. I win."
Elowen playfully rolled her eyes. "I didn't realize we were competing."
"Elowen?"
Elowen and Damon turned around and saw Elena standing in the doorway. She cleared her throat.
"Can I, um… can I talk to you?"
Elowen blinked. "Uh, sure."
Damon started to get up. "I'll leave you two to it."
Him and Elena traded places, with Damon disappearing back inside the house and Elena settling down next to Elowen. Elena was quiet for a moment before she spoke.
"I just wanted to, uh… say… actually, I have no idea what I want to say. I guess I wanted to apologize. I know I can't control the visions, but I still feel… wrong, having them. Stefan's your boyfriend, and-"
"Ex," Elowen cut in quietly.
Elena paused with a frown. "Ex? You mean… you two broke up?"
Elowen shrugged. "It's complicated."
"Well… that still doesn't change anything. He was still your boyfriend, and I'm dating Toby. This whole situation is just…"
"Awkward?"
"Yeah." Elena sighed. "Look, I know we've never exactly been friends, and we've had our moments of truce throughout the years, but I want you to know that I would never go there with Stefan, universe thing be damned. I love Toby, and none of this is real…"
Elena trailed off and her eyes became unfocused. Elowen frowned before realizing what was going on. Slowly, she lifted her hands towards Elena's temples before pausing.
"I'm going to regret this," she muttered to herself before placing her fingers on either side of Elena's head and closing her eyes.
Elena walked into the kitchen of a house and saw that Stefan was cooking on the stove. Stefan looked up when he heard her walk in.
"Hey," he greeted offhandedly.
Elena watched him for a second before grinning. "You're really trying to pull off this chef thing."
"Yeah. Well, it's our anniversary, so, uh, no holding back."
"Well, if it turns out anything like your last 22 attempts," Elena pulled out a bottle from one of the bags she brought in, "wine."
"Mm. Perfect."
"I always forget. Where do we put the opener?"
Elena walked over to the drawers and started pulling them open. Stefan turned around and tried stopping her.
"Oh. No, no, no. Not that drawer, not that one."
But it was too late. Elena found a small black box inside and slowly reached out to grab it. She started to smile and whirled around to face Stefan.
"Yes!"
Stefan gestured at the box. "You didn't even open it."
"I don't have to."
Elena walked over to Stefan and kissed him passionately. Stefan deepened the kiss and hauled her up onto the counter, causing the stack of mail to fall onto the ground. The envelope on the very top had an address that stood out. 4620 Walnut Drive.
The vision ended and both Elowen and Elena snapped out of it. Elena blinked as Elowen brought her hands down.
"Did I just…?" Elena started to ask when Elowen nodded her head.
"Yeah."
"And did you…?"
"Uh-huh."
"That good, eh?"
They looked up and saw Enzo leaning in the open doorway.
"He's here," Elowen told him. "We know where Markos is."
"4620 Walnut Drive," Elena said.
Enzo smirked. "Perfect. Let's go."
xxxx
Elowen, Enzo and Damon all walked up to 4620 Walnut Drive and stopped at the door. Elowen opened it and Damon tested the doorway with his hand. When it went through without a hitch, the three of them all walked in.
"Huh," Damon mused. "Clear."
"I wonder if this is where Stefan and Elena had crazy vision sex," Enzo spoke up as they passed through the front room. "Eh, it's probably the bedroom. Stefan's pretty vanilla, but apparently that's Elena's favorite flavor."
"Keep this up and I'll staple your balls together," Elowen said nonchalantly, not even sparing Enzo a glance.
Damon grimaced. "Ouch, Wen. Brutal."
"Then tell your friend to shut up."
"Please stop fighting in my house, please."
Elowen, Damon and Enzo all arrived in the living room, which was lit dimly by a fire burning in the fireplace. Standing in the middle of the room was a man, presumably Markos.
"Markos, I take it," Damon spoke up. "Well, I'm not Stefan, and these two are not Elena."
"Why are you here?" Markos asked.
"I was about to ask you the same question. Plus, what do you want, and why are the doppelgangers having visions of each other?"
"First two are complicated. Last one's easy. I'm the reason Stefan and Elena are having visions of each other."
Elowen raised an eyebrow. "You?"
"Well, would you look at that," Enzo piped up. "I think we just met the universe."
"You mind telling me what the hell is going on?" Damon asked.
Markos turned away from the fireplace and faced the three of them. "I'm afraid the doppelganger lore's been misinterpreted over the ages."
"As in, there's no prophecy?" Elowen questioned hopefully.
Markos looked at Elowen. "The prophecy is that the doppelganger blood can help the travelers, but they're being drawn together because of a spell I cast 1,500 years ago. I had no idea where they were, and it turns out the best way to get people to go searching for each other is the promise of true love. Is it stuffy in here? Why don't we take a walk?" Markos glanced at Enzo. "You stay here."
Enzo shook his head. "Not bloody likely."
"You want to find Maggie? You stay here." Markos turned his attention to Damon and Elowen. "Shall we?"
xxxx
Elowen, Damon and Markos were walking down a street near the town square. Both Elowen and Damon were waiting for Markos to say something when he finally spoke up.
"Mystic Falls is a beautiful town."
"Oh, yeah," Damon said. "Picket fences, block parties, uncannily high death rate."
"Which is your fault, need I remind you," Elowen quipped.
Damon side eyed Elowen and she simply grinned in response.
"You take your homes for granted," Markos commented.
Elowen shook her head. "Can we just get to the point? I'm getting really tired of villain monologues."
"2,000 years ago, Silas and Qetsiyah cast a spell for immortality. It created a schism in the traveler community, giving rise to the witches. They tried to keep us scattered to make us forget how powerful we can be."
"And started a war between the travelers and the witches. Blah, blah, blah. We know this part."
"The witches put a curse on us that kept us from settling down as a tribe. Whenever we tried to gather, disaster struck. Plagues, earthquakes, fire. Something inevitably wiped us out."
"Let me guess," Damon cut in. "The doppelgangers can fix this, so you found them. Now what?"
"We simply need their blood, but we're not your enemy, Damon, and to prove that to you, I'm gonna stop their visions."
All around them, townspeople stopped what they were doing, faced Markos, and started chanting.
"The curse might prevent us from gathering in our own bodies, but we've found ways around that," Markos explained.
Elowen wrinkled her nose. "Passengers. How many are here?"
Markos shrugged. "A few, here and there. Shall I continue?"
Markos joined the chanting, and a few moments later, he opened his eyes.
"It's done."
xxxx
Elena woke up from her vision just as Stefan walked into the room.
"Did you feel that, too?" She asked him.
Stefan nodded. "And then it just ended."
"Does that mean that it's over?"
"Yeah. It's over."
Elena looked over at Veronica, who was asleep on the couch, and then back at Stefan. Esmeralda and Luke had left a little while ago, so it was just them. Elena dropped her voice to a whisper.
"Can I talk to you?"
Stefan nodded. "Yeah, of course."
Stefan and Elena left the living room and went into the library. Elena sighed and faced Stefan.
"You want to know something that I never told anybody?"
Stefan tilted his head.
"I had a huge crush on you back when you were just the mysterious new guy at Mystic Falls high."
Stefan's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Elena laughed.
"Yeah, I know. I expressed interest to Caroline and Bonnie once, but they both shot me down. I thought it was weird. I mean, your best friends are supposed to encourage you with that type of thing, and then… I saw the way you looked at Elowen, and it clicked. When I found out that you came back to Mystic Falls for me, part of me hoped that that meant you secretly wanted me all along. Looking back, that was so stupid to think. Then Toby came into the picture, and I forgot all about it. Until today." Elena sighed. "I think… it's a good thing we never dated. You and Elowen… you two just make sense. You belong with each other. I never could've lived up to her, or given you what you needed." She paused. "Elowen… told me that you two broke up. I don't know exactly what's going on, or why it happened, but you need to win her back. It's just… better around here when you two are together."
Elena walked closer to Stefan, holding her hand out.
"Are we good?"
Stefan nodded, reaching out to shake Elena's hand.
"Yeah, we're good."
Elena smiled. "Good." She drew her hand back. "I'm gonna go. Veronica's passed out. She can catch a ride back to the dorms with Elowen."
Stefan nodded. "Okay."
Elena nodded, and then moved past Stefan to leave.
xxxx
Matt stood in the middle of the woods, a pained expression on his face. He'd found Vicki, only to have her ripped out of his arms as she was sucked into nothingness.
"Alright, then," Kol said from behind Matt. "Mourning time over. Chip chop. Not to be insensitive, but she was already dead. Little bit of a grief overkill, don't you think?"
Marisol, who was standing next to Kol, elbowed him in the side.
"Be nice!"
"Where'd she go?" Matt asked them both. "Did she move on? Did she find peace? Because it certainly didn't look like that."
Marisol shook her head. "She's just… gone. I don't know where exactly she went, and… I really hope I don't find out. Matt, you need to go back and tell everyone what you saw happen."
Matt shook his head. "It doesn't matter. When I go back, I'm not gonna remember any of this."
"Well, you better find a way to remember it," Kol said, taking a step towards Matt. "Look, you might not like me, but I'm not the only one over here and if this place goes down, then what happened to your sister is going to happen to us all. Please, mate, you have to go back. You have to find out how to stop this."
Marisol reached out and grabbed Kol's hand. "Matt, please. I've already died twice. I don't wanna die again."
Matt took a deep breath and then nodded. "Okay. Okay, I'll try."
"Thank you. Now go. Find your body."
With one last look, Matt turned and walked away to find his body.
xxxx
Elowen knocked on Stefan's bedroom door, gaining Stefan's attention. He turned around the face her.
"Can I come in?" She asked.
Stefan nodded. "Yeah."
Elowen came in and went over to sit on the edge of his bed. Stefan came over and sat next to her. She was quiet for a moment before she said anything.
"Are the visions gone?"
Stefan nodded again. "Yeah."
Elowen sighed. "I saw some of them. I was able to use my premonition power to manipulate my way into Elena's head. You guys were… happy."
"Yeah, but it wasn't-"
"Real. Yeah, I know. That's not what I'm talking about, though."
Stefan furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about then?"
Elowen sighed, keeping her eyes trained on her shoes. "Seeing you and Elena living this perfect, human life just reminded me that we're never going to get that. The cure is gone. We could've had our chance if Damon didn't give it away. I never really forgave him for that. I was so… angry at him, even after her explained to me why he did it." Her eyes flickered over to Stefan. "Did he ever tell you why?"
Stefan shook his head.
"He didn't want to say goodbye to his little brother. I understood, but I was still mad. We had a shot for Evelyn and Claire to be ours."
"Hey." Stefan brushed his fingers over Elowen's cheek. "They still can be, if you still want that."
"Of course I still want that, but…"
"But?"
"I'm not ready to get back together with you, Stefan. One day I will, but today is not that day. I'm sorry."
Stefan ran his fingers through her ends of her curls. "I understand. I'm a vampire. I have all the time in the world to wait for you."
The corners of Elowen's lips quirked up. "Thank you, for being so patient with me. I always did love that about you."
Stefan smiled back at her. Elowen reached into her pocket and pulled her phone out, turning it around in her hands. She sighed.
"This is going to sound crazy, and stupid, but… I was thinking about contacting my grandma."
Stefan frowned. "Esmeralda's mom?"
Elowen nodded.
"I thought… she disowned Esmeralda after she divorced Luis."
"She did, but… she knew about Silas and Qetsiyah. Maybe she might know more about the travelers."
"If you think calling her is a good idea…"
"I don't, but… I think now that the travelers are here, we need all the help we can get."
Elowen unlocked her phone and scrolled through her contacts, her finger pausing over her grandma's number when she found it.
"I don't even know if this is her number anymore. I haven't talked to her since 2007."
"Well, try it, and if it's not in service anymore, then take it as a sign."
Elowen nodded, and then pressed call. She held her phone up to her ear and felt anxious as the call started to ring. It picked up a moment later.
"Hello?" A feminine voice answered in Spanish. It was a good sign, seeing as how her grandma lived in Puerto Rico.
"Hi. Is this Elvira Ramirez?" Elowen asked, easily switching into Spanish even though it was a little rusty (she'd only ever spoke it now when she was doing spells as she didn't really have an excuse to speak it outside of magic), wanting to make sure it was her grandma before continuing.
"Yes. May I ask who's calling?"
Elowen took a deep breath and prepared herself for the worst.
"It's Elowen, grandma. Please don't hang up. It's important."
There was a pause as Elowen waited with a bated breath. Finally, Elvira responded.
"Elowen. I wasn't expecting you to call. Is everything okay?"
"No. What do you know about the travelers?"
The line went dead for a brief second.
"What did you just say?"
Elowen flinched slightly at the stern tone in Elvira's voice. She hadn't been expecting that kind of reaction.
"The travelers," Elowen repeated carefully. "Do you know anything about them?"
"Elowen, listen to me carefully. Stay away from the travelers. They're dangerous."
Elowen frowned. "Dangerous how?"
"They believe in a type of magic that is wrong. It goes against everything witches stand for. Why are you asking me this?"
"Because the travelers are here, in the town that I live in. I think they're trying to take it over."
There was a long pause.
"I'm coming," Elvira said at last.
Elowen furrowed her eyebrows. "Coming where?"
"To you. To your town. I'm coming to help you."
"What? No, no, no, grandma, that's not-"
"Enough. Your mother moved out of Atlanta after the divorce, correct?"
"Well, I mean… yeah."
"Where?"
"Really, grandma, you don't need to-"
"Enough." Elvira's tone was sharp and felt like it cut deep into Elowen's core."Where did you move?"
Elowen sighed in defeat. "Mystic Falls."
"Mystic Falls? Where Sheila Bennett lives?"
"Lived. Sheila Bennett passed away in 2009."
"Oh. That's a shame. What about her daughter, Abby?"
"You knew Abby?"
"Of course I did. I was there when Abby was born."
"Abby… isn't here, but her daughter is. Bonnie. I'm friends with her."
"Good. Bennett's and Ramirez's have been friends for centuries. Our families are tied together. That's how it's always been."
"I know, grandma. Look, you really don't need to come."
"Nonsense. I'll be on the first flight out."
"Grandma-"
"Goodbye."
Elvira abruptly hung up. Elowen slowly drew her phone away from her ear and stared at it for a moment. Stefan watched her intently.
"Elowen? What did she say?"
Elowen looked over at Stefan.
"My grandma is coming to Mystic Falls."
xxxx
Author's Note: aaaaaand we're meeting Elowen's grandma! I will say that things will be... tense while she's in Mystic Falls. BTW, Elvira's FC is Ivonne Coll! I also wanted to say that I finally got around to rewriting chapter 2 of PTL season 1, so maybe pop over and give that a read as well? The new chapter doesn't effect anything in the present story, it would just be nice to hear feedback about it :) Hope you enjoyed!
