The room held only two bits of furniture, a table with an array of objects on it and a single chair. It had chains hanging off it, attached to hooks in the floor and the wall behind it. Two IV drips had been set up, one with blood, the other with a clear viscous liquid inside. They alternated, so when one stopped flowing, the other started.

In the chair, chained and blindfolded was Lucien. There were manacles on his wrists and ankles, attaching him to the chair and the IV feeds were connected to the base of his throat. As I stared, I realised that it was not only the chains that kept him in place. Ropes of Vervain had been tied around him. He was shirtless and the tendrils of the plant criss-crossed over his chest. Whenever he twitched, his skin brushed the ropes and a terrible hissing sound would fill the room, accompanied by the smell of burning flesh. Small stakes had been impaled through his limbs, securing him at his hands, feet, wrists, ankles, forearms and thighs. A metal collar had been fitted to his throat, a chain at the back attaching it to the ground and preventing him from moving his head forward. When I took a step closer I saw that the inside had a series of small wooden spikes fitted, which glistened with Lucien's blood.

"A little crude, I know," Tristan said. "But I knew you'd never feel truly safe from Lucien unless I gave you proof." He walked over to the chair and checked the IV feeds. "So I'm giving him to you. You can do what you want to him. Torture him, stake him, remove the blood bag and let the wolf venom kill him. It's your choice."

Hesitantly I approached the chair.

"Can he hear us?"

"No. He was getting a little wild so I had to have him subdued. Shame really…"

"You're sure he can't get out of there?"

"Positive. I've taken every precaution. He's been pumped full of a cocktail of Vervain and diluted Wolf venom. I compelled all the humans in his employ, bribed or killed all the vampires. The chains, the chair, the door, the room, all reinforced. He can't break out. And there's only one key." He held out the key to me. I took it and slipped it into my pocket. "You are safe Elena. You're free. And as soon as you're done here, I'll take you back home."

"How did you manage this?" I asked softly.

"I knew I could never hope to get him when he was at his peak but as soon as he went to see the sisters, I had them put a paranoia spell on him. The effects have been worsening over time, causing him to behave… erratically."

"I noticed."

"I'm sorry about that, by the way, it was the only way I could see to sufficiently distract him into a position of vulnerability. I apologise for any extra unpleasantness you had to endure because of it."

"It's okay… I understand."

He nodded and gestured for me to do as I wanted, before heading over to the door and leaving the room. I turned my focus back on Lucien, moving until I was stood directly in front of him. I crouched down, placing my eyes at the same level as his blindfold. After all this time, all those nights lying awake after he'd violated me when I'd imagined what I'd do to him if I got the chance. Now the opportunity was here and I had no idea what to do.

I went over to the table. There were knives and a few other pieces of equipment that I had no idea about but looked painful. I picked up a small knife and moved back in front of Lucien's chair, eyeing him coldly.

I reached up and removed Lucien's blindfold. His head lulled forward. His eyes opened but they were glazed over and disorientated, staring through me rather than at me. I gripped his chin and slapped him, trying to revive him to an extent. If I was going to do this, I wanted him to know what I was doing. I wanted him to feel it, like I'd felt it.

"Wake up!" I slapped him again. He growled softly, his eyes flickering over me. I saw the briefest spark of recognition. "Lucien Castle. You know me? Or has what remained of your mind been rotted out?"

"I know you…"

"Good. I want you to see me, know what I'm going to do to you. I'm going to kill you Lucien. I'm going to make you suffer for what you did to me and then I'm going to kill you."

His lip curled in to an imitation of a smile.

"You're not going to kill me."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you're one of the good guys Elena. You don't kill. You sacrifice yourself to save people and that's great but you're not a killer."

"No, I'm not a killer. But you're not a person. You're a monster and I WILL kill you." I leant forward slightly. "Tristan told me that if I wanted, I could just remove this blood bag and let the diluted wolf venom kill you… that would probably be painful but I don't think that's personal enough for what you did to me. And a stake through the heart, well that would be over far too quickly."

"When did you develop this flair for the dramatic Elena?"

"Maybe I got it from you." I eyed him. "Do you remember the night you stapled my mouth shut for screaming too loudly? Or… how about the night that you slammed my head into a mirror and imbedded pieces of glass in my body? Or when you took my daughter away from me and kept her for EIGHTEEN MONTHS?!"

"Do you want me to say sorry? Is that what you want? Okay… I'm sorry, really and truly I am. From the bottom of my heart."

I paused and looked down at the knife, turning it over between my fingers.

"I don't want your apologies Lucien. I want your blood."

I jammed the knife into his eye. He let out a cry of pain, struggling at his chains in an attempt to fend me off. I pulled the knife free and watched as his body began to repair himself. I felt a strange sensation in my stomach. Lucien let out a strangled laugh, blood running down his cheek.

"You're going to regret this Elena…" he said softly.

"I regret many things Lucien. This is not one of them."

I left the room, thoroughly shaken. My top was stained with Lucien's blood and my hands were shaking. Tristan was sitting nearby and he looked up as I entered.

"Did it go okay?"

"As well as can be expected."

I went over to the sink and started washing my hands. I heard a scuffle from outside and lifted my head. Tristan frowned and took a cautious step towards the front door. A second later the door was thrown open and one of Tristan's security guys was thrown across the hall. Tristan went to his side and knelt down. I pressed myself against the kitchen cabinet, trembling slightly. I could see from where I was stood that the security man's face was greying, a bloody hole torn into his chest. Simultaneously, our heads turned to the door. Another body was slumped on the floor and after a moment, a figure stepped into view.

Rebekah.

My heart skipped a beat at the sight of her. Rebekah, my sister. Her eyes were filled with fury and her hands were coated in blood, up to her elbows.

She moved to enter the apartment and seemed to hit an invisible wall. She frowned. Tristan stepped over the body of his fallen comrade and approached the door.

"Rebekah," Tristan said. "Sorry about that, precautions. It's a spell to prevent people of different sire lines from entering."

"I want my sister," Rebekah said. "My brothers may be content to sit around complacently and wait for you to bring her home, but I am not." She folded her arms.

"Of course. Elena, go and pack your bag."

Rebekah seemed to register me for the first time since she'd arrived. I saw relief cross her face and then concern as she noticed the blood. Her expression hardened.

"What have you done to her you bastard?"

"Nothing in the slightest. It's not her blood. And had you not arrived so abruptly and killed some of my security team, I was actually planning on bringing her back this evening."

"If that's true, let me in."

"Fine. Rebekah, please, come on in."

Rebekah immediately sped to my side and hugged me tight. I clung to her, so grateful to be close to her.

"Are you alright? Really?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I promise." I wasn't sure if that was the full truth but in the sense that she meant, physically okay, I was fine.

"I wasn't sure when Elijah told me… I couldn't believe that you were here…"

"How long have you known?"

"Today. I would have broken that door down a lot sooner if I'd known. He'd been acting weird since he disappeared on the full moon and I finally managed to get it out of him." She gave me another hug. "Are the girls okay?"

"They're… it's… difficult… it's been difficult for them. Especially Lilah… I'll explain later. For now, I'll just go get them."

She nodded and released me, but I could sense the reluctance to distance herself. I headed towards the girls room to fetch them.

"I'll grab your things Elena. Do you want anything in particular?"

"I don't want any of that stuff," I said. "It's got nothing but bad memories on it."

I went into the girls room. They were playing together and looked up when I came in. I gave them a bright smile and for once it didn't feel strained.

"Girls, I have some big news." I sat on the floor and patted my lap. They came over, eager and excited. "We're going home. We're going back to your daddies. Isn't that good?"

Blair let out a happy gasp and even Lilah gave a rare smile.

"We're not going to take anything, except your extra special teddy bears." I picked up the fox and the wolf from their beds and handed to them. I didn't want to take anything that Lucien had given with us. It was tainted by his touch.

I took the girls by the hand and guided them out of the room. Rebekah and Tristan were regarding one another in the living room but the second Rebekah saw the girls, her face split into a look of absolute happiness. Blair clung to me, suddenly shy. Lilah gave Rebekah a tentative smile back.

"Girls, this is your auntie Rebekah. Do you want to say hello?"

Blair stayed at my side but Lilah, surprisingly, went over to Rebekah. Rebekah knelt down and gave Lilah a light hug, before allowing her to scurry back to my side.

"Shall we go then?" she asked, giving Tristan a cold look. I smiled and nodded. I turned back to Tristan and smiled.

"Thank you, Tristan, for everything you've done."

"It's been good knowing you Elena. I hope to see you again soon."

I gave him one last smile and followed Rebekah out of the apartment, the girls at my side. We went downstairs and started walking down the street towards the Mikaelson house. Rebekah didn't speak as we walked, perhaps waiting for me to initiate the conversation. I wanted to talk. After five years of writing letters to her that she'd never read, wanting to talk to her, I couldn't conjure up the words. I didn't want to have to explain everything I'd been through, everything that had happened to me…

I just… things were supposed to be good now I was going home but I felt like I was just falling into a whole new set of troubles, that I had no idea how to deal with.