"I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it."
—Audrey Hepburn
———
Chapter Three:
Change Of Plan
———
"Lovely. Now, let's go drop little Elena at home so we can go to the boardinghouse. Your brother has been blowing up my phone for the last two hours and I'm sure you haven't talked to him yet. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that the Slater thing didn't end well."
———
Desi couldn't stop the entertained smile from spreading across her lips as she and Stefan came back into the house.
The lustful pheromones in the air were nearly overwhelming, and the succubus assumed that the eldest Salvatore and Rose clicked better than she had thought they would.
Although, he's probably using her to distract himself from Katerina's innocent double, Desi mused.
As she and the brooding younger Salvatore continued their journey further into the boardinghouse, they stumbled upon the rather interesting sight of Rose and Damon making out heavily on the chaise longue that Desislava had laid on during her prior visit.
With a slight wince, the succubus quickly made a mental note to avoid furniture that could be laid on in the future while within the boardinghouse.
With two of these hot blooded young vampires, especially one who was as well-renowned as Damon, she knew she never wanted to see this place under a black light.
Stefan was stunned to say the least and was very much rooted in place as the two older vampires took notice of them and promptly separated.
Rose felt panicked.
The green-eyed vampiress had let herself get swept away in her mourning of Trevor, and had found herself a friend in Damon, a development that neither of them had predicted. When they had gotten back to the boardinghouse, there was suddenly this electric tension in the air that was impossible to ignore, as if they were lost at sea and completely swept up in the tide.
Of course, she was attracted to the very handsome vampire—she wasn't blind— however, she didn't know what this meant for her and Desi.
Little did she know, Desi wasn't jealous or angry in the slightest.
The succubus felt a significant amount of amusement, actually, and wondered if they'd let her snack a bit with them.
"Well," Desi started jovially, "Isn't this an exciting development?"
If Damon could describe how he felt at the moment in one word, it would be conflicted.
He didn't know when the tension started ratcheting up with Rose, but it was there. He didn't know what he felt about Elena, and there was no way in hell he was going to dive into that.
What he did know was that he wanted Desi badly.
He had smelled her and Stefan the moment they had walked in, and he knew that his bad boy tendencies were very interested in playing with the demoness.
Said succubus had that same playful pout on her delectable lips that he had on his mind when he thought of her. All the vampires in the room couldn't help but be reminded of Katherine as they watched Desislava walking over to pour herself a glass of bourbon.
Was Desi not related to her at all? The resemblance was uncanny.
Dark eyes narrowed on the other three as she took a prim sip of the strong alcohol.
"Now, onto business as usual, starting with why you saw fit to blow up my phone when none of you have agreed to my terms. I thought we had made it clear that until you say yes, I owe you no loyalty, Damon. Was I wrong?"
Said vampire put on his signature smirk before replying in a fake friendly tone, "I thought that maybe you'd help out of the kindness of your not-so-beating heart."
Her laugh as clear as a bell rang out, "Salvatore, if there is one thing I am not, it's kind. Anyway, where's the fire? I'm going to guess things didn't go so well."
Blue eyes hardened into ice chips while his grin stayed on his face. Everyone else besides the two involved in a staring contest would have guessed that the elder Salvatore hated her.
Oh, but Desi knew better.
She could feel the barely suppressed lust for her radiating off of him, and she made it a mental note that if she needed a strong snack he was readily available, along with Rose. Desi had a good hunch that if she tried she could get both at once, and what a fun experience that would be. Not to mention a great way to get information.
However, Desislava was very interested in seeing how long the unattached, bad boy could resist. Or, if he actually would at this point.
Very interesting, indeed.
Rose decided to break the tension by responding to the given question, "Long story short, Klaus is very aware of what we're trying to do."
This made the succubus frown in thought.
She didn't think Nicky would catch on that fast, and if he was in Virginia already, she'd have to speed up her plans by quite a bit.
The next thing the vampiress said halted Desi's accelerated planning.
"Either he or one of his lackies shattered the glass windows in the coffee shop— right as we were discussing breaking the curse."
Oh, so, it was Elijah most likely. She would definitely message him to verify, but Desi had forgotten that they all thought that Originals died easily. Idiots.
Desi's slender hands clapped once, capturing everyone's attention as she locked her fingers together before pressing them thoughtfully to her lips. She was selling the act of being perturbed like a bonafide actress.
"If that's the case, you may have escalated our situation to where Klaus not only knows that Elena exists, he actually knows where Elena is. Let's hope he's not here already— but, I fail to see how this is my problem, considering I'm not part of your Losers' Club."
Stefan sauntered over to the bourbon besides Desislava before suggesting, "Well, your goddaughter is still locked in the tomb, and we're the only ones with the key to get her out."
Dark umber eyes glinted mischievously as they narrowed on Stefan, "Ah, you forget, Little Salvatore, that she is in the safest place she can be in this situation. Dare I say, she's much safer than your little doppelgänger. But, you could agree to my very, very lenient offer and we can quit playing around. If Klaus is here, you'll need all the help you can get. And probably a miracle."
Damon scoffed, but Stefan's forest green eyes betrayed just how nervous he was about the situation. "Damon, I think we should take her offer."
Bright blue eyes blinked incredulously at the younger brother. Damon knew he didn't have a secret ace in the hole to deal with this, and he hated it.
Damon Salvatore was used to having a plan B— but, without having a clear idea of what the sneaky succubus was getting out of it, he was out of luck. Especially since she was related to Katherine; and judging by the intelligent flicker in her dark eyes, they both shared a propensity for outwitting their opponents.
But, he'd just have to deal with her later. If he just knew a way to kill her, he wouldn't be nearly as concerned, but he was running out of options to save Elena.
"Alright, gorgeous; you got yourself a deal. Welcome to the Scooby Gang— let's hope we all don't die."
Perfect.
—
Humming as she walked the long trail to the tomb the next day, Desislava Petrova was a very pleased succubus.
Not only had the Salvatores accepted her offer, she had received verification from Elijah that he was the one who shattered the coffee shop windows, so Klaus was still unaware of Elena. This was going better than she'd hoped.
The succubus gleefully shoved the boulder over with ease.
She was always much stronger the morning after she ate, and the three human campers she sucked the life out of had been fulfilling to say the least. Poor little humans.
The supernatural could handle her— with a bit of difficulty depending on what they were and their age— but, humans couldn't survive how much Desi took.
Gleefully, the succubus crossed the spelled barrier of the cave and took in the sight of her poor, darling goddaughter.
She was dirty on the floor, still wearing the same dress. Desi had brought her extra clothes, but Katerina had suggested to stay in the dress as to not give off that she was much stronger than she was acting. Not to mention, there was nothing to bathe in within the catacombs, so it'd be a waste anyway.
"Zdravei, dearest. Are you alright?"
Large fox-like brown eyes looked up at her dully. Katherine rolled her eyes before standing up and dusting herself off.
"I'm so very, very bored, Mama. I thought that this would be a lot more fun, but I'm starting to prefer running from Klaus to this dusty cave."
Desi's brow arched, "Are you saying you're going to barter the moonstone to get out?"
Katherine was about to answer before they both heard multiple footsteps descending into the cavern very quickly. Twin brunette heads peaked around the corner of the cave they were nestled in, only to find the Brothers Salvatore.
"Is that you in there, Desi?" Stefan called out.
The Petrovas figured that the young vampires were hoping no one had released Katherine. Said younger Petrova walked forward weakly, and Desi was impressed by her daughter's acting prowess.
"Please," Katherine started, tiredly, "Come on in. There's plenty of room for all of us."
Desislava rolled her eyes as she sauntered into the light before leaning against the wall inside the cave. Damon, however, was leaned up against the wall of the entrance and after checking Desi out blatantly, he turned his attention back to Katherine.
"I'd rather poke my eyes out."
"Mmm, they're such pretty eyes," Katherine replied coyly.
"We're here for the moonstone," the younger Salvatore interrupted, before Damon could continue his banter war with Katherine, "Feel like tossing it over?"
Well, that's convenient, Desi thought with a small smile as she inspected her boots.
The cave was awfully dusty, she'd have to get them polished after this meeting was finished. They were idiots if they thought that Katherine wouldn't use this situation to her advantage though.
"Tell ya what, you get your little witch to hocus locus me out of here, you can have whatever you want."
There's my daughter.
Stefan cocked a thick brooding eyebrow before turning to Desi, "You're okay with that? After all wasn't she safer in here?"
Desislava chuckled at his attempt to ruffle her feathers, "Last I checked, Stefan, she was a grown woman. Katerina is fully capable of making her own decisions."
Green eyes then narrowed back on Katherine, "And, I thought you liked it in here. Nice and safe, where Klaus can't get to you."
Katerina let the jab roll off of her as she said, "I've had time to reconsider."
"Meaning you're hungry," Damon sarcastically put in.
"I'm starving, Damon," Katherine sighed, "And dirty. And above all, I'm bored. At least running from Klaus isn't boring. So, here's the deal— you get me out of here, you get the moonstone and I'll disappear from Mystic Falls forever." The cunning vampiress lifted the moonstone up teasingly, "Let me know what you decide."
Then, Katerina promptly turned back into the darkness of the cavern. Her godmother turned to follow but stopped at the sound of Damon clearing his throat.
"Come on, Desi, the Scooby Gang has got some work to do now. You're tagging along with us back to Elena's."
The beautiful succubus couldn't help but roll her large eyes at the baby vampire trying to tell her what to do. "I'll be back in a bit, dearest, gotta go see your knockoff."
———
The walk to the doppelgänger's home was interesting to say the least.
The succubus was walking between the brothers, and all was quiet— for a moment. Then, it started with Damon opening his big— albeit, attractive— mouth.
"If we're gonna keep doing business, you need to knock off the secret visits with our ex."
Dark eyes sharpened slightly, but otherwise, the succubus seemed completely unperturbed.
"Well, Damon, unless you have something to offer me— no. I've already stated what I'd do for your clone, and I refuse to be removed from my goddaughter's presence again. This is the first time I've been with her in 500 years, and if you attempt to stop that, I promise that you will all pay dearly."
Blue clashed with umber in a heady glare at the threat, but Desi's gaze stayed firm and sincere. Damon finally rolled his eyes, trying to ignore what her intense stare had made him feel as he licked his lips.
The younger Salvatore watched the interaction tensely, partly worrying what exactly Desi would do when she discovered their plan to take the moonstone from Katherine by force, and partly wondering how she had gotten his brother to back down— albeit, very reluctantly.
Finally, they had reached the sun bleached house of the Gilbert's and Stefan promptly knocked, hoping that Elena was free so they could all discuss the issue.
As Elena opened the door, she wasn't that surprised to see Stefan and Damon there. They had been coming over frequently to discuss Klaus, Katherine, Desi, and all the rest of their mess. The doppelgänger was, however, surprised to see Desi with them. Warm green eyes filled with affection held hers as she looked at him in question.
"Can we talk?" He asked semi-awkwardly.
"Why?"
Stefan looked back at Damon asking with his eyes for him to explain instead. The younger brother hated giving Elena bad news because of how much she worried and blamed herself.
Damon then fixed his blue eyes onto Elena's innocent form, "We went to see Katherine."
Immediately, understanding filled her warm brown eyes as she let them in. She blinked in surprise as Desislava let herself in first, shooting a questioning glance to the Salvatores.
The elder muttered in reply, "Succubus rules."
The succubus was sat on top of Elena's kitchen counter checking her manicured nails as the brothers regaled the human with what all happened in the tomb.
"You don't believe her, do you?" Elena asked after absorbing the information.
"No," Damon started as he grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl, "Of course not. We just want the moonstone."
With that, Stefan cut in, "According to Rose's friend Slater, there's a way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break."
And once again Damon added, "No spell, no doppelgänger sacrifice. Ergo, you live."
Desi's brow furrowed at the shear stupidity of the vampires. Did they think Klaus wasn't going to seek retribution?
Desi primly coughed to get their attention before saying with a cold smile, "Were you all born yesterday? You can't be so hopelessly optimistic as to think Klaus is going to snap his fingers like Swiper the Fox and say 'aw, man, guess that's that!' and leave. I died during Klaus' last temper tantrum over the curse, along with my entire family outside of Katerina. And that was just for making him wait longer to break the curse, not destroying it. He will burn this town and everyone in it till there's only embers. Not only will Elena die— everyone will, you wankers."
Only by the end of her rant did she realize she had slipped into her Bulgarian accent— and not only that, she had said Rebekah's favorite insult. That bit made her wince in grief.
Bekah.
Elena's eyes widened in fear as she heard the truth in Desislava's words. Her whole family would die if they did this, and she wouldn't survive a world without them if she managed to escape like Katherine. She could feel herself getting worked up and panicky, like she was trapped in a small space. Damon and Stefan, however, were wearing matching raw glares at the succubus. If Elijah was that easy to get rid of they could definitely handle this Klaus prick.
"Thank you," Damon started sarcastically, "oh-trustworthy coworker. Now, let the grown ups talk."
As soon as he finished that sentence, Desi was on him in a flash, holding his throat in her hand as her eyes flashed a violent shade of purple. Her glare on the struggling vampire was unflinching, and as she heard Stefan and Elena start to move towards her, she turned her sharp penetrating gaze on them both. The doppelgänger froze, and Stefan felt a dangerous chill run up his spine warning him not to take another step closer.
Desi then turned back to Damon who was currently struggling to break her wrist to trigger his escape.
"Watch your tone with me, boy. I will not be disrespected."
Then, she promptly dropped him before hopping back on the counter, looking at her phone.
Damon rubbed his rapidly healing neck, trying to catch his breath.
She was insanely strong, and didn't follow orders that went against her interests well.
Concerning— to say the least— but, Rose had done something similar when he threatened her, so he wasn't too worried about it. Brushing himself off he glanced at Stefan and Elena's worried expressions, before shaking his head, "Back to business. We're gonna break it. But, we appreciate your input, Desi."
Said succubus rolled her eyes as Elena finally snapped back to the conversation, "How do you destroy it?"
In an attempt to make Elena relax again, Stefan leaned onto the kitchen island lazily before replying, "By releasing it from the moonstone."
Duh.
Desi could see that Elena saw the reason in her words and was getting frustrated with the rescue attempts, so she wasn't surprised when she asked intuitively, "How do you guys even know this is gonna work?"
Damon quipped, "'Cause we have a crafty witch on our side."
Desi lazily corrected, "A baby witch," which earned her yet another pair of hard glares from the Brothers Salvatore.
"You discussed it with Bonnie," the doppelgänger stated rather than asked.
Stefan saw how frustrated Elena was beginning to get and tried to soothe her with a shake of his head by saying, "She agreed to do anything to help us."
"It's Katherine who has the moonstone," Elena didn't notice her volume steadily rising with her nerves, "She's not going to give it to you."
Now that was insightful, Desi thought to herself.
Elena was 100% correct. Katherine would probably take the moonstone for herself to broker a deal for her freedom from Klaus.
Stefan, always eager to appease Elena and forgetting Desi momentarily, immediately soothed, "We're gonna get it from her."
Dark eyes shot up, paying very close to what the Salvatore had said.
Damon rolled his eyes at Stefan's idiocy before correcting, "What he means to say, is that we will pry it from her co— her hands if we have to. You got a problem with that, Desi?"
She let the thought tumble around her head for a moment before shaking her head in acquiescence.
"As long as she lives, that's what I care about. That's why when you execute this plan, I'm going as insurance. For her sake."
Stefan cocked a brow in confusion at that, "I thought you said she was a grown woman who could make her own decisions? Doesn't she want to leave?"
A small smile graced her pretty pout and both vampires felt their slow hearts skip a beat, "She is an independent woman who can very much make her own decisions. That being said, so am I."
Stefan shook himself out of his stupor, how could he do that in front of Elena?
"Bonnie just needs to find a way to release the seal long enough for us to get in, get the moonstone, and get out in time for her to return it."
Sassily, Elena quipped, "Wow, I mean, it sounds like you guys already have it all planned out."
The elder Salvatore either didn't notice her tone or didn't acknowledge it, "Yup. We're awesome."
"Except for one thing. I don't want you to do it."
Desi's eyes widened slightly as everyone in the room was stunned by what Elena said. The succubus had once again made a mistake about Elena's character.
Did the human truly want to make this sacrifice for them?
Desi felt her opinion of Elena shift to a more positive light. The human's efforts were noble even though it was abundantly clear by her vampire protectors' reactions that she wouldn't get her way.
Vampires.
So possessive.
"What are you talking about, Elena," Stefan questioned incredulously, "We don't have a choice."
"What about Klaus?" She asked, clearly pointing to the glaring issue neither of the brothers were comforting her on.
"We'll find him," The blond said emphatically, "But, after we get the moonstone."
"Is that before or after he kills everyone I care about—including the two of you?"
Desi smiled, "Good! You're not all insipid."
Stefan groaned in frustration at Desi before turning back to Elena with increasing desperation, "Elena, if we can de-spell the moonstone, we can save your life."
It's fairly obvious that's not what she wants.
"I know. Everybody keeps saying that."
And with that, the young human turned out of the kitchen, leaving two angry vampires and one very entertained succubus to their thoughts.
———
"Rosie Posie!" Desislava called into the entryway of the Salvatore boardinghouse, letting herself in since she knew Damon and Stefan were not here.
Adjusting the donut shop bag on her wrist, she pulled down her Ray Bans, walking into the kitchen without hearing a reply back to her shout. She could feel the vampiress' energy vibrating off of the gauche walls of the house, she just needed to wait for Rose to head her way.
Desi took a deep inhale through her nose as she waited for the green-eyed vampiress.
This was exceedingly difficult.
She was having difficulty finding joy in much today, her heart heavy with what Elijah had informed her. What had happened to Kol and Bekah.
What Klaus had done.
Desislava rapidly blinked, snapping herself out of an subconscious watery-eyed stupor as Rose came into the kitchen— bright and glowing, if not a bit nervous. And wasn't she a treat to look at. Desi recognized the slim curves of Rose's figure from beneath her purple silk kimono, and she salivated at the thought of getting a quick bite to eat.
Looking flushed, Rose was decidedly nervous.
Rose had thought, at first, that the intruder was Damon, and she was extremely glad that she hadn't called down to him flirtatiously as she had planned. Hearing Desislava's melodious voice through the hallways had been more than enough to make the vampiress jump naked out of bed and put on a quick robe to greet her. The vampiress firmly decided that the rush was worth it as Desi greeted her with a warm smile.
"I brought rations," the succubus joked, tossing Rose the donut bag.
Catching it with ease, she smiles down at the thoughtfulness of Desi bringing her breakfast. Maybe the succubus wanted the same thing she did?
She could never tell with Desislava.
But, when she moves to ask, there's another intruder at the front door. Both women sped to the entryway to see who their guest was, and were both surprised when they spotted the human doppelgänger, Elena Gilbert.
Dark eyes flickered curiously at the young human, trying to accurately determine her goal for being here when she knew that Elena knew that the vampiress who orchestrated her kidnapping was here, alone.
What could she possibly have up her hard-headed sleeve?
"Oh, Elena," the vampiress greeted in surprise, narrowing her intelligent eyes at the young human. She too was increasingly suspicious of Elena's presence in the house without the brothers.
Both supernatural women watched the young human girl's doe eyes widen at the sight of Desislava behind the robed vampiress' shoulder with interest, trying to discover her intentions.
Elena Gilbert, on the other hand, was rapidly trying to change her plan of approach to get Rose to hand her over to Klaus. She didn't want any of her family dying for her sake, and with the status of Desi's opinion of her, she had no idea whether or not she'd go for the same thing.
This was Katherine's godmother. She had no reason to let Elena run off to Klaus— especially considering Katherine's status as a Salvatore prisoner.
Desislava Petrova was already five steps ahead of the young girl's thought process— quickly deducting that considering Elena's funk this morning in the Gilbert's kitchen must have something to do with this, and deducing that the girl is probably on a suicide mission.
Now, usually, Desislava would have immediately put a stop to this.
The doppelgänger's headstrong attitude was going to draw all the wrong kinds of attention— and she didn't mean Klaus. The Petrovas were somewhat infamous around supernatural circles thanks to the failed curse-breaking five hundred years prior, so a lot of people had their eyes out for them.
Not to mention, Desislava had amassed quite a reputation for herself as well.
In fact, it was a miracle that Stefan and Damon hadn't heard about any of this from someone else in their last hundred and some change years— but then again— they were young, obsessed with love, and relatively stupid.
However, none of this mattered at the moment to the Petrova succubus.
All she could see was an opportunity to get Klaus to explain himself.
And if not explain himself— then she'd decide right then and there to never look back.
The dark-eyed succubus would never again feel guilt for anything she did to Klaus Mikaelson in an attempt to get her daughter free of him, if she found out that what Elijah had said was true.
If they were truly at the bottom of the ocean— she would never forgive him.
Desi wouldn't let her affection for Klaus Mikaelson steal the one thing that had made her happy since she had to leave the Original family's side in the first place. She wouldn't let him take the last family member she had left, even if she died trying.
But, she needed to know the truth first.
Katherine would be able to handle herself against the Salvatores today, she was sure.
What Desi wasn't aware of was her fatal flaw that always seemed to shine through where Klaus Mikaelson was involved: she got reckless. Something about the hybrid had always made her jump the gun where she never would have otherwise.
He was very good at making her angry.
And so, the succubus fed herself the excuse of getting the truth for purely Kol and Rebekah's sake— that her goddaughter was five hundred years-old and could handle anything the Salvatores could throw at her.
Mentally, the succubus hoped that Elena had some lie made up already that would assuage Desi from the majority of the responsibility, and potential Damon-scolding, after.
So, not for the first time in her extensive life, Desislava decided to play the fool.
Rose subconsciously tugged on the tassels of her robe, realizing that no matter who— whether it was Desi or Damon that Elena thought the vampiress had slept with— it was still weird to walk in on the not-so-dressed vampiress.
"I-I.. Uh..," Elena stuttered out, not knowing how she felt about the implications of Rose and Desi sleeping together. She wasn't anti-gay, or anything like that— she just couldn't see Desislava with Rose.
Maybe it was with Damon?
Said vampiress decided to put the awkward stuttering girl out of her misery, noticing the playful curl of Desi's lip out of the corner of her eye.
"There's no one else here besides us," she assisted, assuming the doppelgänger would be looking for one of her vampire beaus.
Let it be known that while Rose was friendly with Damon, she didn't like the continued encouragement from Elena. The doppelgänger was well aware of who's ex she looked like, and Desislava and Rose could both agree that the girl should've had enough tact to be careful in how she dealt with the handsome vampire.
Frankly, Desi couldn't understand why the girl was entertaining either brother.
It was obvious that psychologically-speaking, both brothers were not over Katherine whatsoever, so they were desperately clinging to the version of Desi's goddaughter that treated them nicely. They wanted a Katerina Petrova that was sweet, kind, and forgiving. They wanted a Katherine that wouldn't be selfish with her love.
None of the qualities the doppelgänger vampiress really embodied.
"Actually, I came to talk to you..," the human girl slowly replied, giving Desislava a look to indicate that she meant that Desi needed to get gone.
"Anything you need to say in front of me, you can say in front of Desi. She's trustworthy," The vampiress affirmed, making the succubus' brain start to think— not only of Rose, but to re-analyzing their assumed relationship.
That was something you said of someone you deeply cared about.
Desi would have to think seriously on if she thought it was prudent to make an often meal of Rose during her stay in Mystic Falls. A superpowered meal close by was definitely a necessity, but Desi didn't want to leave someone she actually liked with a broken heart when she left with Katerina.
"Um..," Elena paused, thinking briefly on whether or not to try to get Desislava to leave again, or try to trick the succubus into delivering her to Klaus, as well. Quickly deciding on the former, she found herself not knowing how to start the conversation— instead, she awkwardly stared at Rose's flimsy purple robe.
"Then, I should probably get dressed," Rose awkwardly assisted yet again, not knowing why Desi had only been watching this entire time.
The scantily vampiress sped off to her and Damon's room with a confused furrow on her brows, while Desi continued to smirk knowingly at the young doppelgänger, making Elena feel as if she could see right through her.
"... I-," Desislava quickly cut her off with a press of her slender finger to her own pouty lips, playfully smiling at her momentarily before mouthing something that made the girl freeze.
Klaus?
Unsure of what to do now that she had clearly been caught, Elena's thin brows furrowed in deep confession when the succubus smiled brightly at guessing right. Desislava just taps her finger on her mouth twice, again in the 'shh' motion just as Rose appears in the entryway once again, freshly dressed.
"Good to see you've been entertaining our guest, Desi. Let's move this party to the living room, shall we?" Rose quipped sarcastically, not knowing what was going on with the succubus.
Why had they been silent the entire time?
The vampiress didn't know for sure— but, she could guess it had something to do with Elena looking like a cheap-knockoff of Desislava's goddaughter.
While Rose despised Katherine for everything she had done, her current opinion of the 'evil' doppelgänger was somewhat better than her opinion of Elena.
She could acknowledge which doppelgänger was superior without getting bitter about it.
And with that, the three women proceeded into the living room, Elena and Desi quickly perching on separate couches as Rose quickly lit the fireplace before turning back to Elena.
"So? What's with all the cloak and daggers?" Rose finally asked after Elena didn't immediately jump in to explain her sudden visit.
Were teenagers always this.. awkward?
Rose couldn't remember for sure, but she knew it was annoying now.
Elena Gilbert licked her lips, as if to help make the words sound smoother when she finally said, "I want more information about Klaus. And the only way to get any straight answers is from Slater."
Not the best lie, but it'll do, thought Desi.
The immediate response from Rose was the correct one— an automatic, "That's a bad idea," leaving her lips as she looked down at the sitting doppelgänger.
The teen seemed to have been prepared for the immediate refusal, immediately replying, "No, it isn't. Your friend, Slater, obviously has more information about Klaus. You and Damon just gave up before you got it."
Dark brow arching in amusement, Desi watched on, curious to see how the five-hundred year-old vampire took the blunt disrespect from the vampire equivalent of a toddler.
"Because a coffee shop blew up with us in it," Rose immediately rebuffed, scoffing at the little human's boldness.
If Damon didn't love her— she swore she'd snap the little doe-eyed girl's neck without another thought.
Elena's eyes were firm, and unflinching as she watched the vampiress, glancing briefly at the still-smirking Desi, before she looked back at Rose.
"There's still more to learn. We just have to find a way to learn it," Elena said, sending Rose into an eyeroll so powerful she actually turned away from the doppelgänger.
That was, until the vampiress once again questioned herself on why the human was even here to begin with— and for that matter— why Elena wasn't discussing Klaus with the Salvatores.
"Why are you coming to me with this?" Rose asked suspiciously, and Elena watched as Desi's grin widened more.
Desislava was very amused watching the little human attempt to lie her pants off. Elena obviously wasn't very good at manipulating now, but if she had any Petrova blood in her— she'd get the hang of it quick.
"Because you owe me," the doppelgänger quickly ramified, making herself sound like an asshole. "One word from me, and Damon and Stefan could have killed you for kidnapping me."
Rose decided to call the doppelgänger on her bluff.
"Or, maybe it's because you know they wouldn't want you doing this," the vampiress deduced, "And their moonstone caper gives you a chance to sneak away."
Properly caught, the doppelgänger finally digressed.
"We're having a disagreement, okay?" Elena finally admitted, "They're willing to risk everyone that I love, and I'm not. Desi was right this morning. If this doesn't work, Klaus will kill everyone I've ever cared about and me."
Desislava spoke for the first time since their encounter.
"You're not wrong, Elena. Perhaps there's more information to be found with this 'Slater.'" She lied.
Odds were, Slater was dispatched by Elijah now.
But— if Elena was trying to contact Klaus, and this Slater did house the information Elena was looking for— then, all the more easy for Desi to get to the truth by tagging along. The Original hybrid was not an easy man to find if he wasn't looking for you first— so, any leads to how to find him was pertinent.
Rose found herself in the bizarre place of disagreeing with Desislava, but somehow still agreeing to take Elena and her to Richmond. Of course, the doppelgänger's offer of a daylight ring helped— but, she couldn't deny the tiny bit of nagging guilt as the three of them drove off.
She knew they were going to be in big trouble with a pair of vampire brothers if they didn't come back with some great intel.
And even then, it might not be enough.
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A/n: Hey guys! Finally got something new for you all in this chapter from the last book! I hope you guys enjoyed the latest chapter of the Other Petrova.
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